Chapter 43: The Meddler

Chen Qian never imagined that danger would descend so suddenly and leave him no time to react. At this moment, there was nowhere left for him to hide; he could only watch helplessly as the shadow of the whip drew closer and closer, finally lashing across his face.

“Aaah…” he let out a wretched cry as pain seared through him.

The scene had escalated so abruptly that everyone present was stunned, their eyes wide with shock. Who could have foreseen that a young lord would be so “uncouth”?

A few had intended to step forward and mediate, but witnessing this, they abandoned the idea at once. None of them wanted to risk being struck by that whip themselves. Besides, it seemed this was a matter between Chen Qian and Wei Wuji—why take sides in someone else’s quarrel, especially when they were merely errand boys?

As for Chen Qian, the one who had just been whipped and was still crying out, he forced himself to endure the pain and slowly straightened his body, letting blood trickle freely down his cheek.

When Wei Wuji had started assaulting people outside and before even forcing his way in, Chen Qian had already sent someone to report the incident. It wouldn’t be long before his powerful patron arrived, and then Wei Wuji would no longer have the freedom to act so wildly.

All Chen Qian had to do was endure until that person arrived.

Straightening up, Chen Qian spoke in a trembling voice, “Young lord, even if you beat me to death, I will never violate military law.”

These words should have sounded righteous and resolute, but the sly smile lurking on Chen Qian’s face ruined the effect. In fact, it made everyone who saw him want nothing more than to land another punch.

This, indeed, was Chen Qian’s intention. Go on, beat him, make him suffer: the worse he looked now, the graver Wei Wuji’s offense would be when he was summoned before the military tribunal. So what if Wei Wuji was a nobleman? Under military law, he would still have to endure punishment. In his mind’s eye, Chen Qian could already envision Wei Wuji’s future, stripped of his title and reduced to a commoner, living in misery.

But before Chen Qian could finish savoring the image, another lash landed on his body.

“Trying to play games with me? Let’s see how many lashes you can take,” Wei Wuji said coldly, rubbing his wrist.

Clearly, things could not be resolved peacefully today. So be it—he might as well have his fun! A wild excitement coursed through Wei Wuji. He even entertained the notion of robbing the entire supply office.

Of course, he didn’t truly intend to loot everything—he wasn’t that reckless—but taking what he wanted, that he could do.

“Speak. Where is the wine cellar?” Wei Wuji barked at the supply officers.

Intimidated by Wei Wuji’s ferocity, they all took two steps back, each terrified the whip would turn on them next.

“Where are the goods?” he demanded again.

They retreated another two steps.

Wei Wuji hadn’t expected his intimidation to be so effective. Very well! Since they refused to cooperate, he would find a way to make them.

“Men! Tie them all up!” Wei Wuji waved to his soldiers.

His troops, their blood already stirred by his boldness, could barely contain themselves. At his command, they leapt forward like rabbits, eager for action. Such excitement was exactly what they craved. After all, when they returned home, these tales would be enough to brag about for years.

For the Wei soldiers, skirmishes and power struggles among the various units were nothing new; this was simply the supply office’s turn.

Fueled by admiration for Wei Wuji, the soldiers threw themselves into the work, their spirits soaring at this chance to act with impunity.

In no time at all, the supply officers were bound and dumped together in a corner.

Now, it was Wei Wuji’s time to shine—he would have these men cough up everything he wanted.

…

Meanwhile, not far from the main command tent of the Wei army stood a grand and imposing tent. Inside, a young man sat at the seat of honor, holding a bamboo scroll before his face as he listened to a report. The scroll just happened to shield his features from view.

The man giving the report was sniffling and sobbing. “My lord, the Fifth Young Master suddenly led troops into the supply office and started attacking people everywhere.”

He wiped away tears and continued, “Master Chen said he fears the Fifth Young Master may have discovered our dealings. To prevent him from acting rashly, he begs you to come at once and stop him.”

The man at the head table put down his scroll, revealing his face. It was none other than the Second Young Master, Wei Chengze, the same one who had once interrogated Wei Wuji in the main command tent.

“How could my fifth brother cause such havoc!” Wei Chengze’s face was full of feigned outrage, as if genuinely worried about Wei Wuji.

The messenger, moved to tears, pleaded, “My lord, the Fifth Young Master is violent and easily enraged. If you do not intervene soon, the supply office will be in utter chaos!”

Wei Chengze took it all in. In truth, he was somewhat grateful to Wei Wuji for being so reckless, for driving the supply office’s people into his own camp and amplifying the offense.

“Very well, I shall go and see what’s happening,” he said decisively, as if moved by the messenger’s earnestness.

On the other side, Wei Wuji was also making short work of the supply officers.

No matter how stubborn they were, under Wei Wuji’s methods, they soon confessed everything.

The results were remarkable! Wei Wuji felt a surge of satisfaction as he glanced down at the feather in his hand. Sometimes, it was not brute force, but a soft touch, that worked wonders.

His method was simple: he had his soldiers remove the officers’ shoes and then mercilessly tickle their soles with feathers until they were “ecstatic” with laughter.

Few could withstand it for long. After a few minutes of raucous laughter, they surrendered entirely.

Once he knew where the various supplies were stored, Wei Wuji immediately sent men to the warehouses to haul out what he wanted—these were the spoils he would take back.

“Young master, look, these are fine goods!” said the officer who had followed Wei Wuji, holding up a basket of pork knuckles with delight.

After days of eating gruel and rough fare, he was more than ready for a change. Their current conditions were far worse than when they were stationed at Dashiyi.

Watching his men bustle about, Wei Wuji beamed. “Move it, move it all! Take as much as you can carry. Tonight, we’ll feast until we drop!”

His words sent a cheer through the troops—they hadn’t enjoyed themselves like this in a long time.

A few supply officers looked as if they wanted to protest, but under Wei Wuji’s fierce glare, they quickly fell silent.

Muttering under his breath, Wei Wuji turned away to continue directing the operation.

Once most of the goods had been moved, Wei Wuji ordered, “Hurry, get it all back to camp! It’s not safe to leave it here.”

Soon, soldiers were streaming out with sacks and boxes, carrying everything back to their own camp.

Only a dozen Wei soldiers remained, guarding Wei Wuji.

“Honestly, what were you thinking? Making trouble for me is just making trouble for yourselves!” Wei Wuji said.

No one replied. The supply officers all hung their heads, lost in thought.

Wei Wuji knew he’d made enemies out of these men, but he no longer cared about offending the powers of Wei. He continued to rant at them.

“You sit here in the supply office all day, never setting foot on the battlefield. All the blood and danger is ours, while you enjoy a carefree life.”

“And yet you still drag us down—well, then I have no choice but to be hard on you!” Wei Wuji paced in a circle, continuing, “Tell me, whose fault is all this? If you hadn’t meddled, would any of this—”

But before he could finish, Chen Qian, huddled in the corner, suddenly found new strength upon spotting a familiar figure in the distance, and interrupted Wei Wuji.

“Young lord, today you have acted wildly, disrupting the army’s supply lines. According to our great Wei’s military law—”

Before Chen Qian could finish, Wei Wuji lashed out with his whip yet again.

“I hate being interrupted the most!” Wei Wuji said coldly.

But as the words left his mouth, a voice called out from outside, “Fifth Brother, how impressive you are! Today, you have truly opened my eyes!”