Chapter 9

Although it was somewhat unexpected, they all lived in the same village—it wasn’t unusual for her to know a few things behind the scenes.

Jiang Xiao spoke in a low, commanding voice: “Bring her here.”

Soon, a soldier escorted Yun Shuang and the two children behind her toward the gathered officers.

As she walked, Yun Shuang deliberately avoided looking directly at the man on horseback. She had only glanced at him earlier and already sensed—this was a man who had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Someone like that, wielding immense power and ruthless by nature, was not someone to cross lightly. If she made a wrong move in front of him, there’d be no future left for her or her children.

But little Erya knew nothing of her mother’s concerns. She clung nervously to Yun Shuang’s side, peeking curiously around. By accident, she looked up—and found herself locking eyes with the fearsome man on the horse. Her face froze in shock.

Jiang Xiao gave her a glance and was about to look away when the little girl suddenly blinked, eyes wide with curiosity. Her small mouth curved into a tentative, appeasing smile.

Jiang Xiao—who was used to scaring children to tears—was speechless.
Meanwhile, the boy kept clutching Yun Shuang’s clothes, his expression tense and guarded as he watched the General closely.

Looks like Yan Fang was right—these three were unusually bold.

Yun Shuang arrived at the horse’s side. Reaching into the original Yun Shuang’s memories, she offered an uncertain salute. “Greetings, General. My surname is Yun. I live in Changsheng Village alongside the Wu family. I have some leads on Wu Chengqi’s whereabouts and came to report them to you…”

“You live in the same village as the Wu family…”

A cold voice interrupted her.

Yun Shuang paused, stunned, as the man above spoke in an indifferent tone. “Why are you reporting him?”

The question hinted at suspicion—perhaps he thought she had ulterior motives, hoping to use this to get closer to them.

Yun Shuang resisted the urge to roll her eyes and answered bluntly, “Because I have a grudge against the Wu family.”

Such a candid response visibly surprised many of the soldiers nearby. And her composure—how was she so calm?

There weren’t many men who could stay steady in front of this General, let alone a woman.

Jiang Xiao regarded her in silence, then said flatly, “Lift your head.”

Yun Shuang hesitated. “I am a humble woman… I wouldn’t dare…”

“I said, lift your head.” Same cold, commanding tone—no room for argument.

Yun Shuang: “…”-

She had always been headstrong by nature and deeply disliked being ordered around. But when under someone else’s roof, one must learn to bow. Fine then—she would just treat him as a tool she planned to use.

Yes, that’s the way.

Yun Shuang took a moment to steady herself, then slowly lifted her head. Her almond-shaped eyes locked directly with the man atop the horse, and in an instant, an overwhelming wave of pressure swept in from all sides. She steadied her nerves and spoke. “It is a privilege for a humble woman such as myself to gaze upon the General’s face.”

Her words were graceful, and her emotions well concealed, yet Jiang Xiao still caught a trace of rebellious defiance in her eyes and tone. He said nothing—just stared at her for a long moment before uttering in a low voice, “Speak.”

Yun Shuang: “…”

What an impossible, vexing man. She hadn’t encountered someone this infuriating in ages. Suppressing a sigh, her voice turned faintly cold. “Wu Chengqi is likely being hidden by his family. Earlier, I noticed his parents—Wu Youjin and Madam Fan—had yellow mud on their shoes. That specific color of mud can only be found at Doghead Mountain on the outskirts of Changsheng Village. And since yesterday’s rain fell in the evening, they must have gone to the mountain at night to get mud on their shoes. Why would they hike there so late, especially when Wu Youjin has a bad leg and struggles even to walk on flat ground? What reason could they possibly have to climb a mountain? Also, when the soldiers searched the Wu household kitchen, they found a basket filled with dirty dishes. I saw that those plates and bowls were coated in greasy residue. The Wu family isn’t rich—normally, they wouldn’t cook with that much oil. And in our village, breakfast is always simple and light. No one eats oily food that early in the day.”

The others had assumed this woman’s intel came simply from living in the same village as the Wu family. But who would’ve thought she’d pieced all this together just from observing the household search?

Yan Fang’s jaw dropped farther and farther open. In the end, he couldn’t help blurting out, “Damn—who knew all that junk had so much to reveal!”

Wu Qi glanced at her with genuine admiration and couldn’t resist poking fun at Yan Fang. “Did you think everyone’s brain was stuffed with straw like yours?”

Yan Fang glared at him. “Wu Qi, you miserable punk—”

The man on horseback raised a hand to silence their squabble, his gaze never leaving Yun Shuang. From her expression alone, he could tell she wasn’t lying. This woman was more than he’d expected.

In a firm voice, he said, “Men. Send a team to Doghead Mountain immediately. Chen Ye will lead.”

“Yes, sir!”

Yun Shuang watched the troops ride off, knowing full well she wouldn’t be leaving until they returned.

Wu Qi stood lost in thought, staring at the woman beneath the horse. A brave, sharp-minded, and strikingly beautiful villager—something about her felt oddly out of place. No wonder the General had suspected her earlier and made her look him directly in the eye. He suddenly glanced at the two children beside her and remarked as if offhandedly, “Miss Yun seems quite young, yet you have two children this age already? When you take on something this dangerous, does their father know?”

But the moment he finished asking, the little girl—who had just been curiously glancing around—instantly dropped her expression. Her lips trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes. The boy, on the other hand, glared at him like a little wolf cub.

Wu Qi, ever sharp, immediately sensed something and was about to apologize—only for one loud-mouthed idiot nearby to blurt out, “Those two brats don’t have a dad! That’s why the other villagers bully them so badly!”

Wu Qi: “…”

Seeing the children nearly explode with emotion, Yun Shuang quickly pulled them close and gave Wu Qi and Yan Fang a calm, frosty glance. “I have no husband. These two children have no father. Our family doesn’t need such a person—I can raise them on my own. Will that satisfy you, sirs?”

Wu Qi: “…” Great. Now they’d really offended all three.

Yan Fang belatedly realized his slip and scratched his head, fumbling. “I didn’t mean… ugh!”

Jiang Xiao cast a detached glance at the trio, then said in a cool, commanding voice, “When did you all start talking so much nonsense?”

She looked more authentic now than she had when she was hiding her emotions.

Wu Qi and Yan Fang, still awkward, shut their mouths immediately.

Yun Shuang looked at Jiang Xiao, then quickly shifted her gaze away. Did they really think she hadn’t noticed their suspicions? But such doubts were understandable—she had no energy to care.

Erya noticed that as soon as the scary uncle spoke, the two loud ones immediately went silent. Her eyes lit up as she watched Jiang Xiao. Scary or not, that uncle was kind of amazing.

Goudan, too, couldn’t help sneaking glances in Jiang Xiao’s direction.

After that, no one said a word. Amidst the eerie silence, Chen Ye finally returned with the squad. Before his horse had even fully stopped, he dismounted with clear excitement and reported, “General! We found him! That bastard Wu Chengqi was indeed hiding on Doghead Mountain! As soon as he saw us, he tried to escape—I immediately ordered my men to break both his legs!”

His face carried a ruthless edge.

Yun Shuang quickly covered Erya’s ears, silently lamenting that she didn’t have four hands—Goudan was still listening intently.

Jiang Xiao glanced behind Chen Ye. Several soldiers were approaching with a makeshift stretcher. He nodded, then unexpectedly spurred his horse forward two steps, stopping right before Yun Shuang. Looking down at her, he said, “You gave a valuable report. What reward do you want?”

Yun Shuang was taken aback. Her goal had been to take down the Wu family—she hadn’t even considered there might be a reward.

Suddenly, she remembered something Sister Hua had once casually told the original Yun Shuang: back when desertions were common, the court often issued reward notices, and reporting a deserter could earn silver—sometimes ten taels or more. Her heart stirred. Thinking of her pitiful stash of ten copper coins, she instinctively licked her lips and said, “Just give me silver. That will do.”