Chapter 63

Despite always having a bad feeling, Lin Sha couldn’t just stay holed up in the military camp all the time. After all, he was the rising star of the Yunnan Army. He couldn’t hide in the camp out of fear of being assassinated, that wouldn’t make sense, would it?

Of course, Lin Sha wasn’t foolish enough to do something as stupid as Sun Bo Fu, who would challenge others to one-on-one duels or fight multiple opponents at once, knowing that someone wanted to harm him. That wasn’t bravery; it was foolishness!

He divided his trusted soldiers into three groups, each consisting of seven to eight men. Whenever he went out, at least one group would be fully armed and accompany him for protection. Then, he would continue with his usual activities, moving between Kunming city and the camp outside the city.

With his keen senses as a peak expert, he always felt that someone was secretly watching him. However, whenever he followed his instincts to search, he found nothing.

What he didn’t know was that every time he left, there were always one or two ordinary-looking men with very sharp eyes, wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads, feeling relieved. They thought to themselves that keeping an eye on this guy was really not a job for humans; he was too alert!

At the same time, there were also two handsome young men, pressing their chests with fear, but feeling excited and stimulated. They exchanged glances and continued their surveillance with great enthusiasm.

...

What puzzled Lin Sha was that after nearly half a month of moving between the city and the camp, nothing happened to him, but the supply camp had a problem.

“What? Our transport team was robbed, and the personnel suffered heavy losses?”

Lin Sha’s eyes were filled with a cold, murderous intent as he looked at the defeated soldiers kneeling before him.

“Yes, yes, sir. Our goods were completely looted, and the brothers responsible for the escort suffered more than half the losses!”

The officer in charge of the escort mission trembled all over, his head lowered as he stammered his answer.

“Who did this, do you know?”

Suppressing his anger, Lin Sha tried to keep his tone calm.

“It was the Red Wolf Gang from western Yunnan!”

The officer’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat, his head bowed to the ground. He then recounted in detail how they had been ambushed.

It turned out that the supply camp had accepted a transportation task from a large merchant in western Yunnan. They were traveling with a civilian transport company and hired bodyguards. Because they were traveling with civilians, they did not use the Yunnan Army flag or wear uniforms.

As a result, on a remote road in western Yunnan, they were surrounded by hundreds of bandits.

The civilian transport company and the hired bodyguards scattered in a panic, suffering a complete defeat. The supply camp, following Lin Sha’s rules, immediately abandoned their cargo and formed a small military formation to fight their way back. After losing nearly half of their men, they finally broke through the encirclement.

After such a major incident, they couldn’t just return to Kunming without doing anything. They fled to the nearest county and, through the local government, learned about the bandits. Then, they returned with the injured.

“What is the strength of the Red Wolf Gang? Do they have any powerful backers?”

Since they were all part of the same army, Lin Sha didn’t mind being straightforward.

In this era, officials and bandits often colluded. Who knew if the Red Wolf Gang had connections with local powerful figures?

After receiving a negative answer, he informed his superior and obtained a military order to mobilize. He then gathered his troops and set out, determined to flatten the Red Wolf Gang in western Yunnan!

As soon as he took action, the skilled men of the Mu王府 (Mu Family Manor) who had been closely watching him immediately received the news. After a discussion, they decided to send some of their people to follow and find an opportunity to eliminate Lin Sha.

The battle against the bandits was a resounding success. Although Lin Sha’s troops numbered only a few hundred and were from the supply camp, their training and discipline were far superior to those of the Red Wolf Gang. A simple "lure the snake out of its hole" and "divert the tiger from the mountain" strategy made the bandits fall for it. A large group of bandits was completely annihilated in a small valley, and then the supply camp advanced rapidly, surprising the main base of the Red Wolf Gang and capturing all the remaining able-bodied men, women, and children.

To Lin Sha’s delight, after this long battle and the spilling of blood, his men had transformed. Their eyes were sharp, and they exuded a fierce aura, truly becoming a real army.

Even more pleasing was the large amount of money and supplies seized from the Red Wolf Gang. In addition to the goods that had been looted but not yet sold, the total value of the remaining money and supplies was a staggering 5,000 taels of silver!

Indeed, robbing and suppressing bandits was the best and fastest way to make money. In a good mood, he generously rewarded his men, giving each of them five taels of silver and twenty pounds of fine grain. The officers received more, and a small portion of the remaining money and supplies was put into the supply camp’s petty cash. The rest, except for half to be handed over, was kept by Lin Sha.

For a time, everyone in the supply camp was overjoyed and excited. After returning to their temporary base in the nearest county, they held a bonfire party, feasting and drinking. Of course, the meat and alcohol were provided by the local gentry.

Because he was always worried, Lin Sha didn’t drink much and left after a brief appearance, while the rest of the supply camp soldiers continued to revel.

“Who’s there?”

What he feared came to pass. In the middle of the night, just as he was half asleep, he suddenly heard a faint noise outside his tent and immediately woke up. He grabbed the double-ended staff by his side and shouted.

“Corrupt official, prepare to die!”

Who knew that in this era, the righteous heroes would always shout before attacking, as if they were afraid that others wouldn’t know they were coming.

Swish!

A nimble figure burst into the tent, the long sword in his hand transforming into a flurry of star-like points, shooting towards Lin Sha.

What the hell, did I offend you or provoke you?

Lin Sha was furious and swung his double-ended staff, which whistled sharply as it flew out.

The assassin was truly skilled. Caught off guard by Lin Sha’s preparedness, he quickly changed his thrust to a horizontal block, using the force from the sword to retreat. He then touched the ground with his toes and swiftly attacked again.

Martial arts!

Lin Sha’s pupils suddenly contracted as he felt a cold wind rush towards his face. Without time to think, he rolled to the side, dodging the sword aimed at his head. He then swung his double-ended staff downward, which hit the ground with a loud thud, sending up dirt and debris and temporarily forcing the assassin back.

But when he tried to get up again, the assassin, relying on his superior martial arts, struck first with his sword.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Lin Sha struggled to defend himself, his double-ended staff whirling like a windmill. However, after testing him, the assassin didn’t engage in a direct confrontation. Instead, he used his speed and sharp sword to launch a continuous attack, leaving Lin Sha no chance to catch his breath...