Chapter 344: Chapter 344 Staying at the Inn_1

After some thought, Xu Zhengyong said, “Apart from me, there’s Lord Wei, Lord Zheng, the Seventh Prince, and the two who manage the grain depot. There might also be some deputies of other lords. I can’t say for sure, I’ll have to go back and ask.”

Those who knew weren’t many, but they weren’t few either.

Since this matter wasn’t exactly classified within the military camp, no security measures were taken, and they couldn’t pinpoint exactly where the leak might have occurred.

After mulling it over for a while, Wei Ruo said, “First, let’s bandage the injured and regroup, we’ll discuss the rest later.”

Xu Zhengyong nodded.

Fortunately, this assault ended quickly, and nobody from Wei Ruo’s or Xu Zhengyong’s groups was killed. However, eleven were injured.

Four of them were farmhands from the manor who accompanied Wei Ruo to deliver grain, and seven were subordinates of Xu Zhengyong.

Wei Ruo had Xu Zhengyong, Xiumei and Xiaobei treat the wounds of the eleven injured, apply medicine and wrap their wounds. The medicine was something Wei Ruo had brought, initially intended to be taken to the camp by Xu Zhengyong, but it came in handy now.

Wei Ruo, alongwith Wei Jinyi, personally inspected the site of the ambush on the slope.

Due to the power of the bombs, the deaths of the ambushing party were rather gruesome.

Wei Ruo furrowed her brow, Wei Jinyi immediately noticed her discomfort and said, “If it’s too disturbing, you don’t have to look.”

Wei Ruo shook her head, “It’s not the sight of the bodies that unnerves me, I can handle any form of death. I just haven’t gotten used to people dying because of me.”

After a pause, Wei Ruo added, “But I don’t regret it at all, I can’t show mercy to those who want to kill me. If I do, the one to die would be me. So, Second Brother, you don’t have to worry about me, I’ll just need a moment to adjust.”

Wei Ruo was emotional, yet ultimately it was reason that held sway.

Wei Jinyi looked at Wei Ruo’s eyes for a moment as if moved by something deep within.

After they had conducted their survey, Wei Ruo and Wei Jinyi found that besides the horses the ambushed party used, they also had various old wounds on their bodies, similar to what one might get on a battlefield. Some of the knife wounds even looked like they were made by the katana unique to the Japanese pirates.

These findings further corroborated their initial guess that the ambushers were likely from the Anti-Japanese Army.

After coming down from the mountain, Wei Ruo ordered her party to set off back home and left Xu Zhengyong and his men at the scene.

The booming noise from the explosions was extremely loud, especially as it got amplified by the peculiar acoustics of the narrow path, it was likely heard from afar.

If the military camp heard the noise, they would probably send people to check it out.

Wei Ruo didn’t want to deal with the military for the time being. Her initial plan for delivering the grain was to blend into the crowd, drop off the grain at the camp gate, and leave.

So she decided to leave first and let Xu Zhengyong handle the rest.

Before leaving, Wei Ruo briefly instructed Xu Zhengyong on what to say to the military after they arrived. She guessed that once the military arrived, they would want to know about the bombs.

Not long after Wei Ruo and her party left, Chu Lan arrived at the scene with his men.

Remnants of the conflict and bodies could still be seen on the site.

The most astonishing sight was that of the bodies of the ambushers, their dismembered state was not something any weapon they had seen could cause.

Chu Lan asked Xu Zhengyong about the situation, Xu Zhengyong reported the ambush in detail.

“What caused the injuries on the ambushers on both slopes?” Chu Lan asked.

“It’s a very special weapon, I don’t know much about it. I was leading people up the mountain for an assault, I didn’t get a good look at it. I only vaguely saw something thrown towards the slopes, then heard a loud noise. By the time I reacted, the ambushers were already in this state.” Xu Zhengyong replied.

“Where did it come from?” Chu Lan asked again.

“My cousin bought it off a merchant. Originally, it was to be shipped to the camp together for inspection by the lords to see if it could be used on the battlefield. It just so happened that we encountered this ordeal and had to use it.” Xu Zhengyongexplained.

After listening to Xu Zhengyong’s description, Chu Lan was silent for a long time before asking, “How many are left? I want to see it.”

“They’re all used up.” Xu Zhengyong replied.

Actually, there were some left, but Wei Ruo took the remaining ones with her when she left.

“Is there a way to get more?”

“I’m not sure, we’ll have to be lucky. If we can buy some more, it would be great.” Xu Zhengyong replied.

Upon hearing this, a hint of disappointment flickered on Chu Lan’s face. Still, he instructed Xu Zhengyong, “Tell your cousin to find out more. If there are any left, be sure to send them over to the military.”

“Understood.”

###

Because of the delay, they could not make it back to Government City before dark.

Since there were injured among the group, Wei Ruo decided to stay for the night at an inn in the city of Xianju County, and return to the city next morning.

Considering they were near a battlefield, the inn wasn’t doing brisk business. That night, only Wei Ruo’s party checked in.

The usually quiet inn was lively because of their presence.

After a simple dinner, Wei Ruo instructed everyone to retire to their rooms to rest.

Wei Ruo and Wei Jinyi were staying in the two rooms at the back of the second floor.

In the evening, Wei Ruo knocked on Wei Jinyi’s door.

Through the shadow on the door, Wei Ruo saw that Wei Jinyi was standing in front of it, but he didn’t open the door immediately, seemingly lost in thought.

After a while, Wei Jinyi opened the door.

Wei Ruo saw that Wei Jinyi was neatly dressed, still wearing the moonlight colored clothes from the day. He looked absolutely spotless and you couldn’t tell that he had been in a fierce fight that day.

He was truly skilled in martial arts, to the extent that he was able to fully protect her without getting a scratch.

Wei Ruo looked down at Wei Jinyi’s shoes, which were stained with some dirt, then asked, “How are your feet, Second Brother?”

“Fine.” Wei Jinyi responded for the third time.

“Let me take a look.” Wei Ruo felt that even if there was something wrong, Wei Jinyi would still say it’s fine.

Wei Jinyi stepped back two steps and said sternly, “No.”

“Second Brother, don’t be shy. I’ve seen a lot of feet. Back in the countryside, everyone worked barefoot in the fields, regardless of age or gender, there was no such taboo.” Wei Ruo said.

“Ruoruo, I’m not injured. I used my martial arts skills, dexterity, not force. I didn’t directly collide with the thing you made.” Wei Jinyi explained.