Thump!
The hunter crashed heavily to the ground, his chest a mangled mess of blood and flesh.
“What just happened?”
Big Liu instinctively turned to look at Jin Feng.
Jin Feng was holding both arms straight out. One hand gripped the hand crossbow, the other clutched a strange iron lump that Big Liu had never seen before.
Wisps of green smoke were still rising from the iron lump.
“What are you standing there for? Get to work!”
Jin Feng gave Big Liu an irritated kick.
“A-Chao, check if he’s dead!”
Big Liu snapped out of his daze. He directed the personal guards to examine the hunter while asking nervously, “Sir, are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Jin Feng shook his head and said. “Muluan can’t have gone far yet. Send someone immediately to catch up with her. Tell her what happened here, have her send a few riders to scout the official road, and bring the rest of the troop back as quickly as possible!”
The more the enemy does not want you to do something, the more advantageous it is for you.
The appearance of this hunter meant there was a ninety percent chance the Ninth Princess had taken the minor path.
Sending Qing Muluan to the official road now would just waste time.
Still, to be safe, Jin Feng decided to have her dispatch a small group to check the official road anyway.
“Yes, sir!”
Big Liu acknowledged the order and immediately sent riders on fast horses to pursue Qing Muluan.
“Sergeant Chen, take the men and follow this path first. Once we link up with Muluan, we’ll catch up with you!”
Jin Feng pointed at the small track leading to the sunken-boat site and said coldly, “If you encounter bandits on the way, kill without mercy!”
“Yes, sir!”
Sergeant Chen, the escort in charge of the ferry station, quickly led all the escorts except the personal guard unit forward along the minor path at a run.
Once they had gone, Jin Feng turned to the hunter. “How is he?”
“Already dead.”
One of the guards kicked the hunter’s head; there was no reaction.
“Search him for anything that might give us a clue.”
Jin Feng had originally hoped to interrogate the man, but that was no longer possible. They would have to rely on whatever a body search revealed.
While the guards searched the corpse, Jin Feng walked over to Qian Tong. “Old Qian, you okay?”
Qian Tong had taken a solid kick from the hunter. Against an expert of that level, one kick could easily break ribs.
“With the inner armour you gave me, sir, of course I’m fine!”
Qian Tong grinned and patted his chest.
When they defeated the Tieguan Mountain bandits, Jin Feng had seized a golden-thread vest from the chief. He later copied the design and tried making a batch of inner armour using iron wire.
Although these iron-wire vests were not as soft or comfortable as the golden-thread one, and their protection was not quite as good, ordinary arrows and sword slashes could rarely penetrate them.
So Jin Feng had secretly issued one set to each personal guard to wear under their clothes.
“Good to hear.”
Jin Feng patted Qian Tong on the shoulder and said encouragingly, “You did extremely well this time. If not for you, we might all have been fooled. When we get back, I’ll ask Brother Liang to reward you properly!”
The hunter’s acting had been flawless, from his clothing to every word he spoke.
If Qian Tong had not spoken up, Jin Feng really might have fallen for it.
“I only noticed something wrong because I live near Lianzi Gully.”
Qian Tong’s face turned red from the praise.
“Credit where credit is due. No need to be shy about it.”
Jin Feng patted his shoulder again.
“Sir, what is this treasure?”
Seeing that Jin Feng finally had a moment free, Big Liu sidled over and pointed at the iron lump. “May I have a look?”
The other guards were equally curious and pricked up their ears.
“It’s called a fire gun. It’s the next big challenge Full-Cang and I have to overcome!” Jin Feng replied.
Firearms are the best weapons against cavalry. In the history of his previous world, only the invention of the heavy machine gun finally ended the dominance of cavalry on the battlefield.
Ever since obtaining saltpetre, Jin Feng had never stopped researching gunpowder and guns.
Unfortunately, Da Kang’s industrial level was far too primitive; almost everything had to be built from scratch.
Jin Feng had no idea how much time he had spent before finally producing this fire gun.
It was still in the testing stage. Jin Feng could not guarantee whether the steel used for the barrel could withstand the explosive force of the gunpowder, whether it might burst, or when it might burst.
If the situation today had not been so urgent, he would never have used it.
Moreover, this gun had practically been filed into shape bit by bit with a small file. Mass production was still a very long way off.
“Fire gun?”
It was Big Liu’s first time hearing the term. He rubbed his hands together. “Sir, could I take a look?”
“Actually, the range of a fire gun is shorter than the crossbows you carry at your waist. There’s not much to see.”
The powder and iron shot inside had already been fired, leaving nothing but an iron lump. Jin Feng casually handed it to Big Liu.
The crossbows currently made at Xihe Bay already had a range of over a hundred metres, much farther than this fire gun.
However, the fire gun had major advantages of its own.
When fired, the iron shot in the barrel was propelled by the exploding powder and burst from the muzzle. At short range it was faster than an arrow and covered a far wider killing area than a crossbow.
“Sir, come here a moment!”
The guard searching the body called out.
“Found something?” Jin Feng asked.
“His clothes, hatchet, bow and arrows, everything looks normal, but sir, look at this.”
The hunter’s clothes had now been stripped off. The guard parted the man’s toes and said, “There’s a tattoo here!”
Between the big toe and the second toe was a tattoo the size of a fingernail. It appeared to be a character, but Jin Feng did not recognise it.
“Does anyone know this character?” Jin Feng asked.
“No idea!”
The guards shook their heads one after another.
At that moment, the dense sound of hoofbeats came from the distance.
Qing Muluan was returning with her mounted troop.
Jin Feng draped the clothes back over the hunter, then pointed at the toe. “Muluan, perfect timing. Do you recognise this character?”
“So this is the hunter?”
Although Qing Muluan was anxious, she knew Jin Feng would not stop her without good reason.
She leapt from her horse, leaned in for a look, and her expression changed instantly.
“What is it?” Jin Feng asked.
“Sir, this is a Dangxiang character. It’s pronounced ‘Mi’. The secret guards of the Dangxiang royal family all tattoo this character somewhere on their bodies!”
Qing Muluan explained, “Some put it in their hair, some on their thighs. This is the first time I’ve seen it between the toes.”
“Dangxiang secret guard?”
Jin Feng was stunned.
No wonder the man had been so skilled; he had that kind of background.
“I heard about Dangxiang secret guards when I was in the Iron Forest Army, but why are they in Jinchuan?” Big Liu asked, puzzled.
“Princess Wuyang’s marriage alliance to Tubo this time is mainly intended to persuade Tubo to raid the Dangxiang, thereby easing pressure on Da Kang’s northwest border. Naturally the Dangxiang do not want this to happen, so sending people to sabotage the marriage alliance is perfectly normal.”
Qing Muluan gave a bitter smile. “I just never expected them to move so quickly. Wuyang hasn’t even reached Jinchuan yet, and Dangxiang secret agents are already here!”
