Chapter 100

On the main road, two groups of soldiers were at odds, yet they allowed the bandits to leave calmly. Such an absurd situation was unfolding right before him, and Zhang Ke's face was cold as ice. He gripped the hilt of his sword and stepped toward Zhou Ting.

Initially, Zhou Ting had not taken Zhang Ke seriously. A newly appointed defense commander with a bunch of inexperienced soldiers—what could he possibly do? As Zhang Ke approached, he suddenly felt as if he were being stalked by a cheetah, making him extremely uncomfortable!

"Commander Zhang, why aren't you returning to Dacheng Fort? Do you intend to defy military orders?"

"Ha ha ha!" Zhang Ke laughed loudly. "May I ask what your rank is?"

"A thousand-man commander under the Jin Yi Cang Jiang. You can't even tell that? Truly a greenhorn! You should go back to the forge and be remade, lest you make a fool of yourself!"

Zhang Ke suddenly burst into a fit of laughter.

"Thousand-man Commander Zhou, if I'm not mistaken, you are a sixth-rank official, while I, a defense commander, am a fifth-rank official. Although we don't belong to the same command, you are not in a position to issue orders to me!"

"You!" Zhou Ting's eyes widened. Although a thousand-man commander was of a lower rank, he managed the recruited soldiers, which were far superior to the military households under the defense command. No defense commander had ever spoken to him like this!

"Commander Zhang, you are indeed bold, but don't forget, my brother is—"

Before Zhou Ting could finish, Zhang Ke abruptly interrupted him.

"Thousand-man Commander Zhou, please be careful with your words!" Zhang Ke smiled slightly. "If you mention his name, you might regret it for the rest of your life!"

Zhou Ting rolled his eyes in anger and sneered, "I'm not scared by threats. The one who should regret is you!"

Zhang Ke shook his head with a smile and took a few steps forward. "Thousand-man Commander Zhou, I never threaten anyone! The military supplies were robbed by the White Lotus rebels."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ting's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he quickly sneered, "Nonsense! There has been little White Lotus activity in Liaodong."

"Ha ha ha, there may not be much in Liaodong, but there are plenty of White Lotus rebels on the grasslands! Since the Jiajing era, countless White Lotus rebels have fled to the grasslands. They have multiplied and now number at least a hundred thousand. The White Lotus are rebels, and now they have fled to the Tartars, making them even more dangerous. They are guilty of two crimes, and their sins are unforgivable! Thousand-man Commander Zhou, you must know that no one in the Ming Dynasty would dare to protect such criminals! If you interfere with my pursuit, and if I bring up the people behind you, it could lead to mutual destruction!"

Zhang Ke's voice was clear and loud, and many of the soldiers behind Zhou Ting heard him, their faces turning pale. Once linked to the White Lotus, there would be no good outcome.

Zhou Ting had not expected Zhang Ke to know about the White Lotus so quickly. This kid was indeed capable!

"Commander Zhang, these are just your words. Who would believe you?"

"Whether they believe me or not is not important. Thousand-man Commander Zhou, since you have taken on the responsibility of pursuing the bandits, you should act immediately. Otherwise... heh heh..."

Zhang Ke fell silent and turned to walk away, his hands behind his back.

Zhou Ting's heart was pounding. Could this kid know something? But even if he did, what could he do without evidence?

"Commander Zhang, don't go! Wait and join us in the pursuit!"

"Ha ha ha, Thousand-man Commander Zhou, I won't get involved. I'll wait for good news."

Zhang Ke turned and led his men back, as if he had never been there. Zhou Ting watched in shock. The kid had indeed left, but why did he feel so uneasy?

He decided to pursue the bandits, regardless of whether he could catch them, just to show he was doing his job.

...

"Brother Ke, I know a mountain path. If we enter from the right, we can cut off the bandits on the west side of Dajing Fort."

Everyone perked up at Qiao Fu's suggestion, rubbing their hands in anticipation. Taking a shortcut was a clever move, and perhaps the commander had planned this all along.

"I said we are returning to Dacheng Fort, and that's what we're doing!"

Zhang Feng's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Brother, the White Lotus stole our supplies. Don't you want to get them back? Are you afraid of the White Lotus or Zhou Xiong?"

"Ha ha ha, Brother, do you think I'm afraid of anyone?"

"This..." Zhang Feng scratched his head. He remembered how Zhang Ke could chat and laugh with the Liaodong governor and had many powerful backers. How could he be afraid of a mere thousand-man commander?

"Brother, do you have a plan?"

Zhang Ke nodded slightly and said meaningfully, "The fish are too big and too many. The old net isn't enough. We need to weave a new, larger net to catch more fish!"

The troops quietly returned to Dacheng Fort. They had left with high hopes but returned empty-handed. The villagers looked at each other in confusion. Had Commander Zhang failed to recover the supplies?

They couldn't help but slap themselves. Commander Zhang was no ordinary man; how could he fail?

The villagers whispered among themselves, but Zhang Ke paid no attention. Upon returning, he ordered the three captured White Lotus rebels to be taken to the prison. Zhang Ke was not a fool. How could the White Lotus know about the supplies sent by Wang Huazhen? And how could over two hundred people enter the Ming territory so easily, given the watchtowers along the Great Wall?

Moreover, how did Zhou Ting appear when he was leading the pursuit? It was clear there was a traitor, and a high-ranking one at that.

If the traitor wasn't caught, even if the supplies were recovered, they would still be in danger. It was better to plan carefully and eliminate both the White Lotus and the traitor.

"Do you three have anything to confess?" Zhang Ke smiled.

"Nothing, you dog! I won't say a word, even if you're my son!"

Zhang Ke smiled coldly and gestured to Tang Bi.

"Magistrate Tang, you are in charge of criminal affairs. Do you have a way to make them talk quickly?"

Tang Bi nodded with a smile. "Don't worry, sir. I have my ways!"

He clapped his hands three times, and three burly men with whips walked in. The whips, made of rawhide and wrapped with iron wire, were dipped in saltwater and lashed down with a loud crack.

After a few lashes, the skin was torn, and the three men screamed in agony. After a hundred lashes, they were bloodied and weak, but they still refused to confess. The White Lotus were indeed tough!

"Add more, use the branding iron and the leg press!"

Tang Bi said expressionlessly. His subordinates brought in the instruments and applied them to the three men. They were tortured for the entire afternoon, repeatedly losing consciousness, their bodies torn to shreds, but they remained silent.

"Hit me, kill me! Death is just a return to the embrace of the Mother of the Unborn. I'm not afraid. Do your worst!"

The beastly howls surprised even the executioners. Were these White Lotus members made of iron?

Sweat dripped from Tang Bi's forehead. He had boasted, and now he might have to eat his words. He gritted his teeth. "Sir, I will prepare the nail board and the flaying torture. I will make them talk!"

"No need!" Zhang Ke suddenly smiled. "Bring the young one to a separate cell. I will interrogate him personally."

Tang Bi nodded and had the youngest man dragged to another cell, where he was tied to a wooden frame.

"Dog, don't waste your time. I'm made of steel. You won't get a word out of me!"

Zhang Ke smiled and drew a short sword from his belt, twirling it skillfully. Suddenly, a flash of cold steel, and a blood-curdling scream echoed. Blood gushed from between his legs.

"I know you're not afraid of death. Death is nothing to fear. You have the Mother of the Unborn and Maitreya Buddha. You can enter paradise and enjoy endless wealth. But they didn't tell you that without your manhood, you are incomplete, like a eunuch. The Mother of the Unborn won't accept you, and even the King of Hell won't care. You will be a wandering ghost, forever hungry and cold, forever suffering!"

The stubborn cult member was not afraid of death because he believed in a better afterlife. Zhang Ke decided to shatter this illusion.

Sure enough, the young man's face changed from madness to pain and fear.

"Wandering ghosts are sent to the eighteenth level of hell, where they are tongue-torn, ground, devoured by tigers, and boiled in oil. You will experience all of this. Rest assured, ghosts never die. You will suffer eternally, your body torn apart daily, surrounded by the screams of demons, with no end, no rest. The demons of Avici Hell are waiting for you..."

The more he spoke, the wider the young man's eyes grew, the more afraid he became. He heard the howls of ghosts and saw ghostly claws reaching out, dragging him to hell. Finally, he could no longer bear it.

"Ah! Stop! Stop! I confess, I confess everything!"

...

"According to the confessions of the three White Lotus members, they were led by the second young master, Xiao Xu, and the protector, Huang Jiugong. They were indeed helped by Ming soldiers along the way, but they don't know who."

Zhang Ke smiled and explained to everyone, "I also learned a crucial piece of information. The White Lotus leader on Shuanglong Mountain claims that the third day of the third month is the day Maitreya will descend, and they will celebrate grandly."

Qiao Tieshan couldn't help but ask, "What does Maitreya's descent have to do with the current situation?"

"Ha ha ha, Maitreya is the future Buddha, who will descend to save the world at a certain moment. The White Lotus uses this to spread propaganda, claiming the world is corrupt and Maitreya will save it. Anyone who claims to be Maitreya is trying to incite rebellion, and the third day of the third month is their day of action!"

Wu Boyan nodded in realization. "Sir, the third day of the third month is not far off. No wonder they are looting armor and weapons. They are preparing for rebellion!"

Zhang Ke smiled. "These White Lotus rebels have fled to Mongolia. If they want to rebel, they have two choices: attack the Ming or turn against their Mongol masters. Our priority is to understand their plans. Knowing the enemy is key to victory. This is a serious matter, and I must go beyond the Great Wall to gather information on the White Lotus's plans. Only then can we take decisive action and eliminate this threat."

...