Chapter 891: The Issue of Supplies (2)

Editor: Henyee Translations

Qi Kaiming bowed respectfully, “Yes.”

Tang Jinghong stood up and headed towards the gathering area of the refugees.

Feeding over ten thousand refugees required a lot of porridge. Like a flowing river, porridge was continuously delivered to the gathering area, keeping the entire military camp extremely busy.

Upon seeing Tang Jinghong, Chu Qingzhi waved at him, “Jinghong.”

Tang Jinghong approached Chu Qingzhi, and they distributed porridge to the refugees together.

“General, thank you.”

“Thank you, General.”

Several youngsters, holding their porridge, kept thanking Tang Jinghong. Their pitiful appearances tugged at the heartstrings.

Chu Qingzhi said, “Jinghong, send people to collect food from the surrounding large cities. I have a feeling that someone is going to hinder our way in the future, and we might not be able to collect food.”

Although they had brought a lot of food, they required a significant amount daily. Now, with the need to share with the refugees, their food supply would last only five more days.

She strongly suspected that driving the refugees to this point was aimed at depleting their military supplies.

“Okay.” Tang Jinghong immediately instructed the officer in charge of food supplies to start collecting food.

It wasn’t until late at night that the affairs of the refugees were finally settled.

Tang Jinghong had some cotton clothes distributed to the refugees, as the weather was very cold at night, being the end of January.

The refugees expressed their gratitude in various ways.

The supplies from the county magistrate arrived the next afternoon. The preparation was quite extensive, presumably in hopes of sending Tang Jinghong on his way as soon as possible.

But with the refugees present, he couldn’t leave yet and had to delay for a few more days.

Time flew quickly, and three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Meng Shengdong entered the main tent to report, “General, Officer Wang has not returned yet.” Officer Wang was the officer in charge of escorting the grain supplies.

Tang Jinghong’s brows furrowed, “You immediately take the fourth squadron of cavalry and go to their aid.”

Meng Shengdong bowed, “Yes, General.”

After making the necessary arrangements, Meng Shengdong led the fourth squadron of cavalry towards the west.

Chu Qingzhi, returning from outside, saw them departing and asked Tang Jinghong, “What happened?”

Tang Jinghong looked up at Chu Qingzhi, “Officer Wang and his team went to gather food supplies. By all accounts, they should have returned by now, but there’s no sign of them. I fear something has happened.”

Chu Qingzhi also expressed concern, “If we continue to consume our food and medicinal supplies at this rate, I’m afraid we won’t make it to Liang City.”

At that moment, a letter was delivered, stating that the second batch of supplies from the capital had arrived yesterday, asking if Tang Jinghong had received them.

Tang Jinghong’s expression changed slightly, “We haven’t received any supplies!”

After showing the letter to Chu Qingzhi, he immediately replied, indicating a significant problem.

Chu Qingzhi, after reading the letter, shared the concern, suspecting their supplies had been intercepted. With the vast world out there, where could they begin to look?

“Jinghong, I’ll go after Shengdong and the others. We absolutely cannot afford to lose this batch of supplies; otherwise, the military camp will soon run out of food.”

Tang Jinghong hesitated but eventually looked at Chu Qingzhi, “Then be careful.”

Chu Qingzhi assured, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

She left the tent, mounted a fast horse, and pursued Meng Shengdong and his team.

At this moment, Meng Shengdong and his team were ambushed…

Atop a hillside, a burly man wielding an axe laughed boisterously, “Haha, capture them all!”

They were a group of bandits who had hijacked Officer Wang, planning to capture Meng Shengdong and his team next, then negotiate a ransom with Tang Jinghong, a cunning plan indeed!

Chu Qingzhi, riding fast, one hand on the reins and the other pulling a dagger from her boot, threw it towards the burly man.

With a flash of cold light, a blood mark appeared on the burly man’s neck, and he fell dead.

“Big brother!”

“Big brother!”

Seeing this, the other bandits panicked.

Some tried to retrieve the burly man’s body rolling down the hill, while others rushed to intercept Chu Qingzhi, “Kill her, she killed our big brother!”

Chu Qingzhi grabbed a handful of leaves, sending them flying towards the bandits like a celestial maiden scattering flowers. The leaves, swift and sharp, formed a line, cutting the throats of those unable to react in time.

On the hillside, the remaining bandits, seeing how formidable Chu Qingzhi was, immediately abandoned their attempt to retrieve their leader’s body and fled towards the forest.

The bandits who were ambushing Meng Shengdong and his team also saw the tide turning and chose to escape.

Chu Qingzhi handed the reins to Meng Shengdong, “Go back and bring more people to support me. Also, inform Jinghong to stay in the camp no matter what. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Meng Shengdong, awed by Chu Qingzhi’s martial prowess, responded, “Yes, Miss.”

Chu Qingzhi then climbed a tree to track the fleeing bandits. Logically, they would return to their stronghold, so following them should lead her right to it.

The bandits, in a frenzied rush, headed back to their stronghold, then ordered their subordinates to shut the gates, allowing no one in.

The second-in-command hurriedly went to a suspended floor in the stronghold, “Sir, our leader was killed by a girl.”

In the suspended floor, a man with a black eye patch stood by the window, “Which girl?”

The second-in-command trembled with fear, “I was too panicked to see her face clearly, but she was incredibly powerful. A single handful of leaves killed my brothers.”

The man with the eye patch sensed trouble, “Chu Qingzhi?!”

“Chu Qingzhi!” The second-in-command was horrified. “How did she end up with Tang Jinghong?”

The man with the eye patch turned back, “They’ve always been together. Didn’t you know?”

The second-in-command panicked, “We rarely leave the stronghold, so we don’t know much. What do we do now?” Everyone knew that being targeted by Chu Qingzhi meant there was no escape.

The man with the eye patch said, “Pack up and run. She should be reaching your stronghold’s gate by now.”

The second-in-command’s heart raced, “What do you mean, sir?”

“Exactly what I said.” The man with the eye patch turned, his arm sweeping, and a glint of cold light from his fingers slit the second-in-command’s throat, who then fell dead.

It was essential to keep his visit to the stronghold a secret, so silencing him was the best option.

The man with the eye patch dusted off his hands and leaped out from the suspended floor, disappearing after a few jumps. Meanwhile, Chu Qingzhi arrived at the gates of the stronghold.

The gates were firmly shut, and the bandits inside ordered not to let anyone in. The second-in-command quickly went to a building in the stronghold to inform his superior, “Sir, our leader was killed by a girl.”

Inside, a figure stood by a window, “Which girl?”

Fearing for his life, the second-in-command stammered, “I didn’t see clearly in the panic, but she was formidable. A single handful of leaves was enough to kill my brothers.”

The figure by the window tensed, “Chu Qingzhi?!”

“Chu Qingzhi!” The realization struck fear into the second-in-command. “Why is she with Tang Jinghong?”

The figure turned, his gaze cold. “They’ve always been together. Did you not know?”

The second-in-command, confused and scared, replied, “We seldom venture out, unaware of many things. What do we do now?” It was widely known that a target of Chu Qingzhi had no chance of survival.

“Pack up and flee. She must be approaching the stronghold’s gates by now,” the figure instructed, his tone ominous.

The second-in-command felt a chill run down his spine. “You mean?”

“Exactly as I said.” With a swift turn, the figure’s arm flicked, sending a fatal slice to the second-in-command’s throat, instantly silencing any future threat.

To prevent any leaks about his visit, the figure made a quick exit, blending into the night as Chu Qingzhi approached the stronghold, ready to confront whatever awaited her inside.