Chapter 33: Deception
After completing the ideological work for the army, they began to set up the trap.
Ji Ma stared at the trap plan floating in front of her, visible only to her. The words were legible solely to her. She had spent a full hour writing the trap plan and felt it was already quite refined.
She had never been as meticulous even when writing the outline for Huangwen. If there were any loopholes, then so be it; her abilities only reached this limit.
After reviewing the plan again, Ji Ma began to direct the soldiers like a foreman:
“You all go that way, through the woods, and then disappear onto the main road.”
“Keep an eye on the animals’ mouths. I said keep an eye on their mouths! Don’t let them eat anything, or else when we leave, their droppings will expose our tracks.”
George and Eve Frostleaf were together, watching Ji Ma point and gesticulate.
Eve Frostleaf said, “What kind of background does she have to be so experienced?”
George replied, “It’s best not to ask, because she hates people prying into her past.”
“Hey, hey.” Ji Ma rode over on her horse and shouted, “Don’t just stand around. George, you’re heavy, and in armor, go run east for about ten kilometers, then come back retracing your footprints.”
“Okay.”
George agreed and started walking to catch up with the army heading eastward into the woods.
Ji Ma grinned, dismounted, and stood beside the expressionless Eve Frostleaf, glancing at her long legs and fair ears, feeling much better. Especially standing next to the elf, watching George run laboriously.
Eve Frostleaf remained silent, turning to leave.
Ji Ma called out to her, “Sister Frostleaf, where did you buy those stockings on your thighs?”
Eve Frostleaf simply replied, “Not for sale.”
A few steps later, she left Ji Ma alone.
What a dilemma. Never mind, I won’t obsess over this corner; I refuse to be a sycophant. Just having those long legs to look at is enough.
Ji Ma comforted herself. However, she thought about how this ice-cold beauty always gravitated toward George whenever she had the chance. The ice queen for herself, the sycophant role for George; it was a bit displeasing. Silently, she added a line to a text titled “Chronicles of the Long-Legged Sin”: “I tried to talk to her but she rejected me without a hint of courtesy. One day, I’ll find a chance to make her angry.”
Up and down, they fussed until the afternoon when the army set off toward the dirt road to the north. Behind them, on the heap of beastmen corpses, a flag was planted, with the white cloth inscribed:
“Imitating humans walking upright… We’re heading east, come if you dare.”
As the army moved along the dirt road, this path had typically been trampled by merchants and their beasts, so the army left little flattened grass, broken branches, and crushed bushes.
The road was lifeless, with no sign of people in sight. It made one feel uneasy.
Previously, folks would have thought it normal not to see many people. But knowing there was a large band of beastmen nearby, everyone believed that the humans had all been eaten.
Silence enveloped the group; no one felt like talking, only the clattering of chainmail could be heard. Each time the wind blew through the trees, dozens of gazes shifted to the adjacent woodland, straining to catch a glimpse of the beastmen.
This silence lasted until the sun began to set. Suddenly, a cart’s tracks burst out of the dirt road, veering off the “track” into the depths of the nearby woods.
Ji Ma used a straight branch to flip the cart tracks and said, “In these two days, it was likely attacked by beastmen. The frightened horses pulled the cart into the woods, nothing to worry about; we can continue forward.”
“I think I can follow the cart’s tracks to see if anyone survived.”
“It’s almost dinner time; do you really want to ruin your appetite?” Ji Ma asked. “You’ll probably just find a few leftover corpses.”
“We won’t know unless we check,” George turned to the soldier and ordered, “Continue forward until we find a suitable place to set up camp. No fires, and bury the latrines well; leave as few traces as possible… and keep the soldiers from touching the tracks.”
“Understood, sir.”
The soldier looked around and deemed this spot suitable for camping—plenty of shade, a flat path, and short weeds that would leave minimal traces. He ordered the troops to halt and set up camp.
George held onto the celestial warhorse, stepped into the stirrup, and prepared to ride over to take a look. But as soon as the celestial warhorse saw the soldiers taking off their cloaks and chainmail to rest, it let out a low wail, slumped down, knelt on the ground, and laid its head on the ground, foaming at the mouth.
“Old Bai, are you tired?” George dismounted from the celestial warhorse.
“Moo~~.”
“Well, you’ve worked hard carrying my fully armored self.”
Ji Ma noticed immediately that the celestial warhorse without armor was faking it. But why didn’t George realize it was a lie? She asked, “Why is it mooing? What did it say?”
“I don’t know; I can’t understand what it’s saying,” George replied. “It must be tired, forgetting it’s a horse.”
“What a smart horse.”
While Ji Ma was recalling her blacklist of Eve Frostleaf, she remembered a grudge related to a horse. Back in Shalin City, this horse had been particularly bad, even reporting her as a snitch, which led to her getting a spanking. That scumbag had then figured out her weakness and had been abusing her ever since.
“Can you stand?” George asked the celestial warhorse. “You should rest under the shade, drink some water, eat some feed.”
“Meh~~.”
Old Bai hung its head dejectedly, shaking it.
“Maybe it’s going to suffer from heatstroke; I’ll carry you.”
Saying this, George squatted down and surprisingly lifted the celestial warhorse right up.
This drew the attention of the soldiers all around.
George wobbled and walked forward step by step; the celestial warhorse was tall and mighty, even though George was over six feet tall and heavily armored, he still looked small beside it. He resembled an ant carrying a small stone.
All the soldiers were mere mortals; they knew George was strong, but they didn’t realize just how strong. Some were shocked by the sight, forgetting to hold back the floodgates, their fingers wet before they could react. Others forgot to control the direction of the water flow, soaking their companions’ boots, but the latter didn’t even notice.
George placed the celestial warhorse under the shade, took a breath, and said, “It was a bit heavy. Soldier, get a few people to take good care of this horse, and tell my attendant to learn how to handle it well.”
Ji Ma led a chestnut mare over and said, “I think you could make a fortune as a dockworker.”
A child with horned hair brought a small keg of light beer; most of the drinking water the army carried was light beer to prevent spoilage. The celestial warhorse gulped down the small keg in one go, while several soldiers splashed water on it with water from their canteens, ensuring it was comfortable.
Ji Ma said nothing as she tied the chestnut mare to a tree, a good distance from the “heatstroke-prone” celestial warhorse, and specially instructed:
“When a horse is suffering from heatstroke, don’t let it stand up and wander around. Intense movement can lead to sudden death, so keep an eye on it.”
The horned child and the soldiers nodded in agreement.
Ji Ma glimmered a glance at Eve Frostleaf, who had unknowingly followed along, and smiled as she walked over to George and tugged at his cloak:
“The forest path is soft, and you’re heavy; you’ll easily leave deep footprints. Let me help you undress like before, okay?”
With that, her delicate fingers reached out toward George.
George felt Ji Ma was a bit strange, but even stranger was that when he removed his helmet, a cool breeze suddenly blew, brushing across his face, refreshingly.
It wasn’t just an ordinary cool breeze; the surroundings seemed to cool down.
He looked up at the sky, puzzled, saying:
“What’s going on?” Ji Ma stated as she removed his heavy shoulder armor.
“I thought it was cloudy.”
Ji Ma caught a glance of Eve Frostleaf’s frosty expression and raised the corner of her mouth toward her.
“Hmph.”
Eve Frostleaf scoffed disdainfully, as if to show the tactic was too childish. She didn’t move an inch, witnessing the entire process of Ji Ma removing George’s armor.
With the armor off, George was left in only his padded shirt, which had a piece of chainmail sewn under the armpit to protect the vulnerable spots of armor. The padded shirt is usually used to secure the armor panels, especially for leg armor, and provides cushioning, making it quite comfortable to wear.
Just as George was about to get moving, Ji Ma tugged at his shirt again and said:
“Don’t go; we haven’t finished undressing yet.”
“Taking off my padded shirt is enough.”
“It looks hot. In any case, with your abilities, if there’s a beastman ambush, taking it off won’t matter.”
George was good at taking advice, so he removed the padded shirt. Ji Ma skillfully helped him take it off; this was her most serious moment yet. Her movements were practiced, as if she had done it thousands of times.
Eve Frostleaf couldn’t help but bite her lip, but when George looked at her, she quickly relaxed, maintaining her usual expressionless face.
George took the massive two-handed sword offered by the horned child, and Ji Ma grabbed the sword as well, saying, “Just like usual, I’ll carry the sword and follow you.”
With that, she held the golden great sword and walked alongside George. To her surprise, Eve Frostleaf also started walking with them, almost as if she felt there wasn’t enough drama.
Could she be a cuckold?!
Ji Ma couldn’t help but entertain the thought, her mouth running non-stop, chatting with George about the little bits and pieces from Shalin City.
An elven maid saw Eve Frostleaf walking with George again and ran over, calling out:
“Lady Frostleaf, the army needs a top-tier transcendent to hold the fort. You should—”
Eve Frostleaf slightly turned her face, her eyes shooting daggers.
The elven maid’s tone weakened as she said, “…going together isn’t a bad idea.”
The three of them walked along the cart tracks for almost six minutes.
Finally, they came upon a overturned cart in a ravine, alongside two dead horses that had met a gruesome end, impaled by several arrows, and missing their heads.
Beside them lay the corpses of three shabby horned beasts.
“I told you,” Ji Ma said. “Everyone is dead, or they escaped long ago. There’s no reason to check here, it’ll just be turning our stomachs.”
Eve Frostleaf said, “No, there’s still breathing.”
“Someone’s still alive!” A middle-aged woman hurriedly helped an injured man out of the cart, tears streaming down her face as she pleaded, “Kind-hearted person, can you help us?”
Ji Ma weakly replied, “I knew it; it feels like the main quest is to go to Deadwood Mountain, but now a side quest involving a decoy pops up, and now another task arises. It’s no different from getting caught up in gambling while trying to find a daughter.”
