Finding the Iron Cavalry
Ye Youqing still wanted to say something, but looking at her pitiful expression with her beautiful eyes tilted up, she was momentarily speechless.
There were faint footsteps outside. Ci Ke quickly released Ye Youqing, pushed her away with both hands on her shoulders.
Ye Youqing knew she couldn’t say much, so she silently hid the handkerchief, stood up, and looked outside the door.
In the distance, torches were rapidly approaching.
Ye Youqing turned to leave but suddenly paused, squatted in front of Ci Ke, brushed aside the hair on her forehead, and gently placed her hand on the back of her head, rubbing it softly.
Ci Ke stared into her eyes, instinctively leaning into her palm.
“Are you not angry anymore?” Ci Ke whispered.
“I’m not angry.” Ye Youqing lied, then softened her voice, like a gentle stream, soft yet firm.
“If he dares to touch you, even if I can’t get out of this village, I will cut off his hand.”
After speaking, without looking at Ci Ke’s expression, she withdrew her hand, stood up, and went outside. Standing straight under the night sky, she saw several torches getting closer. The Second King dragged in a barefoot doctor from somewhere, hurriedly bursting through the door.
Ye Youqing listened quietly to the commotion inside. The doctor couldn’t say much, only that she had eaten something bad and prescribed some herbs to be boiled, instructing Ci Ke to rest well.
After a noisy while inside, it finally quieted down. Second King came out, hands behind his back, and told another guard, “Keep a close watch, report any issues immediately.”
Then, yawning, he went to a house lit on the other side of the mountain. Ye Youqing watched his burly figure disappear and the lights go out.
About half an hour later, a guard in black came to change shifts, followed by Shi Li, who looked sleepy. The two guards exchanged a few low words, then the man who had stood with Ye Youqing for half a day pulled her along.
“Go rest.” The man said, pushing Ye Youqing down the steps. She smiled wryly and followed him down the mountain, back to the room full of bunk beds.
Inside, a few people were lying around, sleeping in all directions. The man soon fell asleep too. Ye Youqing lay down in a corner, pretending to sleep. When the snoring started, she slowly opened her eyes and saw a tall, thin man come in with a large bowl of rice, sitting by her feet, eating quickly.
Ye Youqing watched him for a while, then suddenly made a few sleep-talking noises and kicked at him. There was a loud crash as the man’s bowl fell to the ground, spilling the food everywhere.
The noise woke two people, but they seemed used to it, turning over and snoring again.
Seeing his meal wasted, the man was furious. He grabbed Ye Youqing by the collar, almost lifting her.
“Are you blind?” he growled through gritted teeth.
Ye Youqing feigned just waking up, stared at him blankly, then looked at the floor. She quickly pushed his hand away, apologizing repeatedly, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I sleepwalk sometimes and act out in my sleep.”
“Sleepwalking? You ruined a perfectly good bowl of food! I have to stand guard after this, now I’ll be hungry all night!” The man spat angrily, pushing Ye Youqing aside and bending down to pick up the broken pieces of the bowl.
He sighed heavily as he cleaned up the mess.
“I really didn’t mean it,” Ye Youqing said with a mournful face, getting out of bed to help him. “Where do you have to stand guard? Let me take your place to make up for this bowl of rice.”
The man holding the broken pieces looked at Ye Youqing, shaking his head repeatedly, “No, no, guarding the cave entrance is important. If Second King finds out, he’ll skin me alive.”
Ye Youqing’s eyes widened, pointing at the man, then at herself, “We’re about the same size. On this dark and windy night, who will notice? I’ll take your shift, you go get another bowl of rice, and I’ll feel better.”
The man, holding the rice bowl, looked at Ye Youqing, seemingly struggling with himself.
In the end, unable to resist his growling stomach, he stood up, clapped his hands, and took off his black clothes, tossing them to Ye Youqing reluctantly, “You better do a good job. Don’t talk much during the shift change. If anyone finds out, we’re both done for.”
While he undressed, Ye Youqing scrutinized him, not seeing a cross-shaped tattoo.
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“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Ye Youqing smiled, taking his clothes and covering her face with a black cloth.
“The fourth cave entrance.” The man waved her off, then began cleaning up the mess.
Ye Youqing gave a compliant “oh,” turned, and walked out the door towards the corner. She took out the handkerchief Ci Ke gave her and examined it carefully, then found the right location.
It was hidden behind a group of houses. Compared to the first cave Ye Youqing had been in, this one seemed more deserted. There was only one guard at the entrance, dozing off, head nodding.
Ye Youqing walked up to him and coughed gruffly, waking him with a start. He looked at her sleepily and muttered, “Why are you so late?”
He handed her his knife and left along the path.
Seeing he had no suspicions, Ye Youqing relaxed a bit, leaning against the cave entrance with the long knife, listening carefully. The cave seemed very deep, too quiet inside, with only the sound of air flowing.
Ye Youqing took out the handkerchief again, looking towards the fifth cave entrance. It seemed hidden halfway up the mountain, blurry and hard to see, but there were a few people patrolling, clearly more guarded.
Knowing it was impossible to sneak in, Ye Youqing shook her head and slowly backed into the shadows of the cave entrance. Seeing no one was watching, she stepped inside.
The passage was similar to the previous cave, with no forks along the way. After walking a bit, the terrain became steeper, leading downwards.
Caves began to appear on the sides, filled with loud snoring. Following the slope down, she reached a mine, similar to the previous one but larger, with many forks. Afraid of getting lost, Ye Youqing didn’t go deeper.
Suddenly, a shadow flashed behind her. Ye Youqing quickly turned, meeting the gaze of a tall, thin man pulling up his pants. By the light of a distant torch, she saw his sunken cheeks and deep-set eyes.
The man looked at her a few times, then turned into a smelly cave. Ye Youqing covered her nose, not daring to enter.
When he came out, Ye Youqing approached him.
“Lost?” the man asked, looking around.
“Yes.” Ye Youqing played along, nodding quickly.
“Inspecting the mine?” he asked, then pointed to a wider fork, “This way.”
Ye Youqing thanked him and followed.
The empty passage echoed with their footsteps. The man spoke first, “Usually Jiang Sheng comes. Why a new face today?”
“Jiang Sheng?” Ye Youqing, wary of a trap, made up a name, “I’m new, just following orders.”
The man nodded, seemingly unconcerned, and led her to a large mine shaft, winding and wide, with many chiseling marks on the walls. The ground was scattered with sharp stones and tools.
“Are you new here? Can you understand this?” The man was quite gentle, without any temper along the way, and pointed to the mine tunnel. “The original mine didn’t produce much. This is a recently opened tunnel, just dug not far. However, the mountain wall here is solid. As long as you don’t widen it too much on both sides, it won’t collapse.”
Ye Youqing nodded and reached out to pick up a chisel, cutting down two pieces of black magnetite using the method she had learned before.
“Just checking it out,” Ye Youqing said with a smile.
The man nodded, turned, and left the mine tunnel. Back under the torchlight, he seemed very curious about Ye Youqing, pulling her aside and asking, “How does the Second King recruit new people without exposing the stronghold?”
Ye Youqing’s heart skipped a beat at his question, feeling a slight thrill, and she shook her head. “I don’t know either. I was just brought here a few days ago to run errands and do odd jobs.”
The man nodded. “Are you from Weizhou?”
“Yes,” Ye Youqing lied without a hint of embarrassment.
“How is Weizhou nowadays?” The man seemed interested and kept asking questions, pulling Ye Youqing along.
“Same as usual…” Ye Youqing changed the subject. “How long has it been since you last went out? How come you haven’t even been to Weizhou?”
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The man rubbed his chin and thought for a while. “I went out a month ago, but it was just to deal with some minor soldiers. Usually, I don’t dare to leave this mountain and spend all my time working on these ores.”
It seemed the man didn’t know about the missing people in Weizhou, which made Ye Youqing happy. She suddenly pointed to the man’s right hand. “Your sleeve is torn.”
The man glanced down, casually rolling up his sleeve, and Ye Youqing clearly saw the cross-shaped tattoo.
“Weizhou is still the same, but I heard from Bianjing that King Si Rong was exonerated.” Ye Youqing casually mentioned, watching the man tear a big hole in his already torn sleeve with excitement or agitation.
“Is this true?” The man’s expression was hard to read, either excited or agitated. He grabbed Ye Youqing’s arm tightly and asked again, “Is this true?”
“It’s just news from the capital. I heard it from passing merchants, so I’m not sure if it’s true.” Ye Youqing replied.
The man calmed down a bit but his hands were still visibly trembling. He exhaled several long breaths and punched his palm.
“Great,” he murmured. “King Si Rong’s spirit in heaven, finally exonerated.”
Ye Youqing saw his genuine excitement but didn’t dare to confirm anything lightly. She added, “But they say there’s something fishy about it. It’s said that King Si Rong’s rebellion was real…”
Before she could finish, the previously gentle man suddenly became furious, grabbed her throat, and pushed her against the wall, shouting, “King Si Rong was a patriotic and loyal minister of the entire Great Qi. Who dares to speak ill of him? How detestable!”
He was filled with righteous indignation, but then saw the slender man he was holding pull down his mask, revealing a calm and clear face.
His phoenix eyes were calm like a still ocean, which gradually calmed the man’s anger.
“Let me show you something,” the man said gently.
When Ye Youqing emerged from the cave, the sky was still dark. A bright morning star hung in the sky, indicating that daylight was about to break.
Ye Youqing stood for a while, and the black-clad guard coming for the shift change walked over, rubbing his eyes. Ye Youqing pretended to yawn, covering her face and nodding before quickly returning to the dormitory.
As she changed back into her gray clothes, she saw Shi Li coming in from outside, holding two bowls of lamb dumplings, handing one to Ye Youqing.
The others were either still sleeping or had already gone out. The two of them shrank outside the door, gobbling down the food.
“I’m used to eating and sleeping in the open, but I didn’t expect a pampered girl like you to last this long,” Shi Li said in a low voice.
Ye Youqing hadn’t eaten all day, so she stuffed a few bites in her mouth before having the strength to speak. She shook her head. “I can barely hold on.”
Shi Li chuckled.
“Ci Ke is heavily guarded and hard to approach. I didn’t dare to make any rash moves last night and didn’t gain anything. What about you?” Shi Li asked.
Ye Youqing swallowed her food, took a few gulps of water from a nearby jug, and briefly recounted the events of the night.
“You said some of the Iron Cavalry are held underground?” Shi Li was stunned.
Ye Youqing nodded. “Not really held, but they don’t know what’s happening above and are unaware of the Second King’s kidnapping of civilians.”
Shi Li frowned in thought for a while, disbelief on her face. “That’s absurd.”
“So, the problem lies with that self-proclaimed king. Betraying his brothers as a member of the Iron Cavalry to live as a bandit, eating, drinking, and being merry, it’s disgraceful,” Ye Youqing said, wiping her mouth, then whispered a few words in Shi Li’s ear.
“We don’t know how many people are loyal to the Second King. To control him, we need a plan,” Shi Li said worriedly.
Ye Youqing nodded, putting away the bowls and standing up, just as the scar-faced guard rounded the house and approached.
“You two, come here,” he said impatiently.
Ye Youqing, holding the bowl, hesitated. “We just took the night watch, we might…”
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“He watched, you didn’t!” The scar-faced guard, irritated, snatched the bowls from her hands and gave them to Shi Li, then grabbed her collar and pulled her down the mountain.
Ye Youqing realized he was right and gave Shi Li a helpless look.
Shi Li folded her arms and shrugged.
Ye Youqing, despite being so tired she saw blue spots, had to keep going. Following the scar-faced guard down the steps to the mountain pass, she asked, “What’s this?”
She looked at the wooden box placed in her hands. The box was heavy, seemingly filled with iron blocks.
Before she could finish speaking, another wooden box was placed on top, making her squat slightly before standing up to barely hold it steady.
“It’s none of your business. Don’t ask too many questions. Deliver these to that young lady’s room carefully. You can’t afford to break them,” the scar-faced guard said, waving her off.
Ye Youqing could only nod and cautiously leave, heading back up the mountain.
When she turned a corner and saw no one around, she coldly opened the box.
The dazzling corner reflected the sunlight, blindingly bright. Ye Youqing bit her lip, almost overwhelmed with anger.
It was a bridal phoenix coronet and robe.
