126: Chapter 126 Young Master, You're So Bad!

Ji Yingying's face flushed crimson in an instant.

Even her snow-white neck was tinged with a layer of pink.

How could she not understand her husband's meaning?

Shyly, she buried her head into Su Bai's chest and spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum:

"Young Master... you... you're bad..."

That voice didn't carry the slightest hint of rejection; instead, it held a trace of coy bashfulness, as if she were resisting while actually yielding.

Su Bai let out a loud laugh upon hearing this.

No longer hesitating, he scooped up the beauty in his arms by her waist.

With great strides, he walked toward the bedroom.

"A moment of a spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold. My wife, we cannot waste such a beautiful moonlit night..."

...

The next day.

A refreshed Su Bai had just stepped through the gates of the Yunzhou City Prefecture Yamen.

He immediately felt that the atmosphere was somewhat off.

The entire Yamen was shrouded in a gloomy, dismal cloud.

The officials and Yamen Runners passing by all had solemn expressions and were in a great hurry.

They even walked with their heads bowed.

Su Bai's heart skipped a beat.

Had something happened?

He quickly walked into the office of Prefect Li Han.

As soon as he entered, he saw Li Han sitting behind the desk with a grim expression.

An open dossier lay before him.

Seeing Su Bai enter, Li Han only lifted his eyelids slightly, then tapped the dossier with his finger and said:

"Su Bai, you're here."

"See for yourself."

Su Bai stepped forward and picked up the dossier.

With just one glance, his pupils suddenly constricted!

The dossier was none other than the casualty reports.

Specifically, it was the casualty reports related to "banditry" within the jurisdiction of Yunzhou City over the past month.

Every word on it made Su Bai see a scene of tragic brutality.

"Yong'an County, Wang Family Village: The entire village, one hundred and three people, were slaughtered in a single night. All the able-bodied men were beheaded, and their heads were hung high by the Bandits on the large tree at the village entrance. The women and children were abducted, and their whereabouts remain unknown. All property and grain in the village were looted, and the entire village was burned to the ground!"

"Qingshi Town, Li Family Merchant Caravan: Ambushed on the official road thirty miles outside the city. All twenty-seven guards of the caravan were killed in battle. Goods worth three thousand taels of silver were stolen. The caravan manager, Li Erfu, was flayed alive by the Bandits, and his corpse was hung from a crooked tree by the roadside as a warning to others."

"Luoxia Mountain: Herb gatherer Zhang San was kidnapped for ransom by the Bandits of Black Tiger Cliff. His elderly mother sold all their family assets to gather fifty taels of ransom to send up the mountain. In the end, the person was not redeemed; she only brought back a jar of ashes."

One case after another!

Each and every one!

The bloody crimes were shocking to behold.

Su Bai's hand felt as if it were burning as he gripped the dossier.

A monstrous killing intent rose from the depths of his heart.

Bastards!

These animals!

They could no longer be called human!

They were simply a group of demons wearing human skin.

"Was this all done by that gang from Black Tiger Cliff?"

Su Bai's voice was as cold as if it had come from the depths of the Nine Underworlds.

Li Han nodded heavily.

He sighed, his voice filled with helplessness as he said:

"Most likely."

"In the past, although Liu the Tiger of Black Tiger Cliff claimed the mountain as king, he still acted with a modicum of 'honor,' mostly only robbing wealth without taking lives."

"But ever since the news returned of the imperial court's great defeat in the Northern Expedition and Your Majesty being captured by the Yao Race..."

"This Liu the Tiger seems to have completely torn off his disguise, becoming increasingly arrogant and inhumane!"

Li Han stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the gray sky.

His eyes were filled with gloom.

"Su Bai..."

"The times are changing."

"The Emperor has been captured, the court is in turmoil, and regional princes are hoarding troops and developing ulterior motives. Our Great Zhou is now truly facing internal strife and external threats; we have reached the final moment of life and death."

"At a time like this, our Yunzhou must not fall into further chaos."

"The banditry outside the city is like a malignant tumor on Yunzhou City. If it isn't removed quickly, once they collaborate with certain ill-intentioned people inside the city, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Li Han suddenly turned around and stared intently at Su Bai, speaking with a hint of hope:

"Su Bai!"

"I know that asking you to lead a group of new recruits who have just put down their hoes to exterminate that gang of vicious Bandits at Black Tiger Cliff is a bit much."

"But now, in all of Yunzhou City, you are the only one I can trust."

"This bandit suppression mission is entrusted to you!"

"I only ask one thing of you."

"Exterminate those animals for me! Leave not a single one alive!"

Su Bai did not speak.

Standing where he was, he watched as Li Han slowly closed the report again.

Then, he solemnly clasped his hands toward Li Han and bowed:

"Rest assured, My Lord."

"Su Bai will not fail his mission!"

...

That same afternoon.

The Great Training Grounds in the west of the city.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The drums for an emergency assembly echoed throughout the camp.

The new recruits, who had just finished lunch and were resting, instantly leaped up from the ground upon hearing the drums.

They put on their armor as quickly as possible.

They grabbed their weapons and rushed toward the training grounds.

In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

All one hundred and fifty soldiers of the newly formed Local Militia Camp had arrived.

In the center of the training grounds, they formed a neat square formation.

Although their movements were still slightly unrefined.

Every face was filled with solemnity, and some were even quite excited.

Clearly, these people understood what the assembly drums at this time represented.

It meant they were going to war.

Su Bai, dressed in black martial attire with a long saber hanging at his waist, strode onto the general's platform.

Behind him followed Su Tao, Su Yan, Su Xing, as well as Ma Lie and Zhao Ding.

Standing on the platform, Su Bai's gaze swept across the youthful faces below.

He didn't waste any words.

He simply held high the casualty report he had brought from the Yamen.

"Brothers!"

His voice rang out like a great bronze bell:

"Do you know what I am holding in my hand?!"

"This is a list of our fellow countrymen in Yunzhou City who have been victimized by those animals outside the city over the past month!"

"Wang Family Village, one hundred and three people! Li Family Merchant Caravan, twenty-seven people! Herb gatherer Zhang San!"

"Just like you, they were raised by parents. They were also someone's husband, someone's son, someone's father!"

"But now, they are all dead!"

"They died at the hands of those scumbags at Black Tiger Cliff who can't even be called human!"

Su Bai's voice was filled with grief and indignation.

He slammed the report onto the ground.

"I ask you!"

"As fellow people of Yunzhou, seeing your own elders and neighbors being so brutally harmed, do you feel hate?!"

"Yes!"

One hundred and fifty people roared in unison!

"That group of scumbags burns, kills, and loots, committing every evil imaginable! They are a malignant tumor growing on the side of our Yunzhou City!"

"Today, I will lead you to dig out this tumor!"