Hidden Shadow – CH 222

Chapter Two-Hundred-Twenty-Two: The General

The supervising officer’s face darkened. He’d been doing well in the capital, but being suddenly relegated to this menial supervisor post was already frustrating enough. Now, even a lowly Shadow operative dared to show him attitude—this was intolerable!

“Quite the temper!” The supervising officer slammed his hand on the table, the teacup rattling and spilling tea. “You’d better understand this clearly: who’s on whose orders?”

Gao Dazhuang swayed, grabbing the officer’s collar and lifting him. He said menacingly, “We are all men who live on the edge, our lives hanging by a thread. We are here on His Majesty’s orders to offer our meager assistance in this battle, not to watch you show off! You’d better stay put, or we will skin you alive before we even kill any Liao soldiers!”

The others remained motionless, as if they had not heard or seen anything.

The supervising officer’s face turned ashen with rage, but Gao Dazhuang’s bloodthirsty aura prevented him from uttering a single word in rebuttal.

Seeing this, Gao Dazhuang was even more disdainful, tossing him onto a chair with a look of disgust. “Farewell.”

Hearing his words, the others quickly slipped out, disappearing into the moonlight in the blink of an eye.

The supervising officer stared intently at the empty doorway, his teeth grinding, his expression gloomy; whether from fear or anger, it was hard to tell.

The group stopped in the shadows a hundred paces away from the supervising officer’s residence, each finding a place to settle down—some hidden in trees, some on rooftops, some in dark alleys…

Everything returned to calm, except for Gao Dazhuang’s muttering to himself from the alley, “Tsk, why bother arguing with that supervising officer? I should have just slept in that mansion.”

He also wanted to stay in a better environment, but seeing the supervising officer’s airs made him unable to control his anger. Did those scholars even know how to fight? The Song Dynasty would perish sooner or later at the hands of these cowardly yet arrogant fools! Seeing these ignorant fools putting on airs gave Gao Dazhuang a headache. However, the supervising officer still had direct command over him, and if someone was intent on revenge and trying to trip him up, there was nothing he could do.

Now, realizing the situation was irreversible, why did he make things difficult for himself?

Gao Dazhuang felt that his impulsiveness was suicidal!

He did not know that his earlier display of “heroism” had successfully salvaged his “dead eunuch” image. An Jiu and the others, who had initially been reluctant to accept him as their leader, now tacitly accepted his position.

Even though Gao Dazhuang’s actions were irrational, he was right. They were people who risked their lives; being able to live a little more freely was a kind of consolation.

“Are you not going to see the General?” Li Qingzhi asked.

Gao Dazhuang, silent in the alley, replied after a moment, “I have not received any orders.”

The Konghe Shadows had to strictly follow orders from above; matters like these, without instructions, could not be decided on their own.

An Jiu paused, then asked, “Who is this supervisor?”

Gao Dazhuang, still holding a grudge, had not intended to respond, but he could not help but speak his mind. “His name is Zhao Ling. He passed the imperial examination seven or eight years ago, but his ranking was not high, and he’s not well-known in the capital. He’s just related to the royal family. He’s good at scheming, so his official career has been smooth. For some reason, he was recommended as a supervisor. What does someone like that know about warfare?”

His anger flared again as he spoke.

They could not go see the army commander. Hearing Gao Dazhuang’s words, everyone felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

A scholar who had never experienced war only knew how to scheme in the court. Did he really understand warfare? As members of the Konghe Shadows, none of them valued their lives too much, but the thought of possibly dying under meaningless orders felt both pathetic and laughable.

Silence.

The second day, awaiting orders, had just begun when three soft coughs came from Supervisor Zhao Ling’s courtyard.

“Everyone, go over there. Sui Yuntong and I will appear together. The rest of you, wait around the courtyard,” Gao Dazhuang said.

A series of dark figures darted about, arriving at the supervisor’s quarters in the blink of an eye.

Gao Dazhuang and Sui Yuntong landed silently two zhang away from Zhao Ling like ghosts.

Zhao Ling had just been threatened by Gao Dazhuang two days ago, and feeling somewhat embarrassed, he waited a while. When Gao Dazhuang did not speak, he coughed a few times and said in a deep voice, “These past two days, Liao cavalry have been wantonly burning, killing, and looting in border villages. I want to know the distribution of the Liao troops. You have three days to give me an answer.”

“Yes,” Gao Dazhuang acknowledged the order and waited quietly.

Zhao Ling said, “That’s all.”

Gao Dazhuang and Sui Yuntong flashed out.

The rest of the group gathered around.

“You all heard it too. This mission will be carried out by Lou Mingyue, Li Qingzhi, and Qiu Yuntong,” Gao Dazhuang said.

“Yes!” the three replied in unison.

After they left, Gao Dazhuang happened to see An Jiu and said irritably, “If your lightness skill was not so terrible, I would not want to keep you hanging around in front of me for even a second!”

An Jiu said calmly, “If you really hate someone, you do not need to waste your breath.”

Gao Dazhuang was stunned. Thinking carefully, he realized that his dislike for An Jiu stemmed from some trivial matters and an inexplicable feeling, not from deep-seated hatred. That’s why he vented his emotions on her.

Most people would find it difficult to remain calm when faced with insults, yet she saw right through him, demonstrating either exceptional composure or extraordinary insight.

The wind in the north was still quite sharp, and the nights were much colder than in Bianjing.

They huddled around the courtyard eating dry rations, while the supervising officer, Zhao Ling, had a late-night snack prepared—six dishes, a soup, and some wine.

This difference fueled the resentment among the group.

Only An Jiu seemed oblivious, eating her dry rations heartily.

Gao Dazhuang took a big bite of his dry bread, glared at An Jiu, and said, “Useless!”

An Jiu finished her bread, wiped her mouth, and said coldly, “Is it more impressive to just drool over other people’s food?”

Gao Dazhuang gritted his teeth in hatred. “Incompetent, and not only are you alluring, but you also have an unpleasant way of speaking. You are only alive because of your good fortune in your past life. If you do not use it wisely, heaven might just take you away!”

“Thank you for your concern,” An Jiu said, tying her face towel around her neck, her tone indifferent. “As a token of my appreciation, I will kindly remind you that heaven might be interested in androgynous creatures.”

This was easy to understand; it simply meant he was neither male nor female. Gao Dazhuang’s face instantly turned ashen, and the dry bread in his hand turned to dust in an instant.

“Please calm down, My Lord,” Sui Yuntong said quickly.

Gao Dazhuang snorted, “A wretch like her, so utterly despicable, does not need my help! If you want to plead for her, you’d better burn incense and pray to Heaven!”

Sui Yuntong handed him the dried bread. “Please have some, My Lord.”

Gao Dazhuang was about to take it when An Jiu said coolly, “Such a promising person, eating dried bread?”

“No! I will stay here and keep watch. Go get any orders, and I will make arrangements when I get back!” Gao Dazhuang said through gritted teeth, then turned and disappeared into a cluster of houses.

Sui Yuntong sighed, “Young Lady Mei, you should not have offended him like this.”

“He will not do anything.” An Jiu had a keen intuition; although Gao Dazhuang acted coy, he was not a petty person, as could be seen from his recounting of the Liao-Song war.

Seeing that Sui Yuntong was still worried, An Jiu said, “I feel his personality is somewhat similar to Li Qingzhi’s.”

“Similar?” Sui Yuntong was slightly surprised. What could a burly, bold man and a timid, sarcastic person have in common?

Now that An Jiu brought it up, Sui Yuntong suddenly remembered Gao Dazhuang’s words when he recounted his experiences. That kind of temperament certainly did not seem like that of a petty person.

Thinking of this, Sui Yuntong could not help but glance at An Jiu again, realizing that he did not understand this woman in front of him at all, who always seemed to speak without thinking.

Halfway through the military supervisor’s late-night snack, a general in armor strode in with his men.

This man was about thirty-five years old, tall and imposing. His chiseled face was half-hidden by a beard, and he had a deep scar on his cheek. His hair was haphazardly tied in a bun on his head. Although his armor was relatively clean, it still looked somewhat dirty and disheveled.

What caught An Jiu and his companions’ attention was the murderous aura emanating from this military officer, an aura only achievable through mountains of corpses. He stood there, exuding an imposing presence without even needing to utter a sound, capable of intimidating ordinary people.

Someone went in to report, and Zhao Ling quickly came out to greet him, reeking of alcohol.