Chapter 12: The Problematic Five

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A big, simple-minded giant; an eccentric old man; a little madman; and finally, a big fool.
Is such a combination really reliable?

Li Dao shook his head and opened the registry in his hands, scanning through the remaining three individuals’ information.

“Name: Little Madman”
“Gender: Male”
“Age: 17”
“Crime: Assaulting the Imperial Guards, resisting arrest”
“Cultivation level: None”
“Details: Fast, agile, incredibly tough, with sharp nails”
...

“Name: Old Ghost”
“Gender: Male”
“Age: 101”
“Crime: Selling fake medicine, hoarding deadly poisons, practicing medicine without a license”
“Cultivation level: Postnatal Grade One”
“Details: Skilled in medicine, poison, and health preservation”
...

“Name: Xu Hu”
“Gender: Male”
“Age: 12”
“Crime: Resisting arrest, murder”
“Cultivation level: Postnatal Grade Nine”
“Details: Born with divine strength”

Besides these details, the registry also contained special remarks about the three.

According to the notes, Little Madman was originally an ordinary child who was captured by a supernatural being and turned into a poison child. His body was permanently altered in the process, and his mind suffered due to the grotesque nature of the transformation.

He was imprisoned here because the supernatural being who harmed him was captured and released him to fight the Great Qian Imperial Guards. However, the supernatural being was killed on the spot by the guards, and with no one controlling him afterward, Little Madman was brought here.

Li Dao was even more stunned when he read Old Ghost’s notes.

Old Ghost was originally just a disciple from the Medicine King Valley. After saving someone once, he became obsessed with rare and difficult diseases, eventually driving himself to madness.

There was also an explanation about Old Ghost’s Postnatal Grade One cultivation.

He practiced a technique from Medicine King Valley that was easy to learn but hard to master. It didn’t grant great power but mainly promoted health and longevity.

Therefore, even with Postnatal Grade One strength, Old Ghost lacked real combat power. His only means of attack was poison, but he had a bad habit: he never used poison to kill.

Due to his solitary and strange nature, the authorities feared he might one day cause a disaster with his poisons. Moreover, he once offended a powerful figure when treating a patient, which led to his imprisonment here.

As for little Xu Hu...

Li Dao carefully rechecked the name and then glanced at the towering Xu Hu beside him.

Twelve years old?
Who has a child of two and a half meters at twelve?

But since this information was verified by the Imperial Guards, such a glaring mistake was unlikely.

With that physique, this was clearly a gift from heaven.

According to the notes, Xu Hu was an orphan. He was so large at birth that he caused his mother’s death. His father, enraged, abandoned him in the mountains.

Instead of dying, Xu Hu was taken and raised by a tigress.

His surname was Xu, so he was named Xu Hu.

Perhaps drinking tiger’s milk as a baby and his innate gifts accounted for his current size at twelve.

He was captured because his foster mother—the tigress—was killed by hunters in the forest. In a fury, Xu Hu killed all the hunters to avenge her.

The Imperial Guards apprehended him upon learning this.

Regarding cultivation, the guards detected a small amount of true energy in Xu Hu’s body, classifying him as a Postnatal martial artist.

How he cultivated this true energy remained a mystery.

After reviewing the registry, Li Dao felt that aside from Shen San, the others were all problem children.

However, despite their issues, they were also talents.

Little Madman, though mentally unstable due to being made into a poison child, still retained some intelligence—evident from his fear of Li Dao.

Being a poison child, his bones were like steel, incredibly fast. Even Shen San, skilled in lightness skill with Postnatal Grade Six cultivation, could not easily outrun him.

With better aptitude, his future achievements would be impressive.

Old Ghost needed no further introduction.

Living over a hundred years, he was considered a venerable figure. Despite his eccentricity, he was undoubtedly the most knowledgeable among them.

And Xu Hu was even more remarkable.

A true gift from heaven, though with a poor background.

If Xu Hu had a better upbringing, a twelve-year-old with that physique would be a perfect battlefield general.

If he had even some talent in cultivation, he would be a battlefield slaughter machine.

With his natural gifts, this was a lethal combination.

Li Dao found himself admiring Wei Yun’s ability to assemble such a team.

Che Guevara wasn’t lying—this prison was truly full of talents.

As for Shen San, Li Dao glanced at the big fool still doubting life and shook his head.

This guy looked more like a mascot.

No, with him around, it wasn’t lucky at all—at best, just a trinket.

“Enough, fatty. Stop dwelling on why you were caught. Instead of wasting time on that, focus on how to get out of this death row camp,” Old Ghost couldn’t help but remind him from the side.

Shen San snapped back to reality, casting a resentful glance at Wei Yun, silently cursing his bad luck.

Li Dao put down the registry and looked up. “Is there a mission now?”

Wei Yun was momentarily stunned. “You five just got assembled. Are you sure you don’t want some time to get used to each other?”

Li Dao glanced at Shen San and the others, hesitated briefly, then shook his head. “No need. Rather than sharpening knives here, we might as well go straight away.”

“Alright then,” Wei Yun nodded. “I have an urgent matter that needs your hands.”

“What is it?”

“To assassinate the third prince of the Luoyun Tribe.”

“Hm?”

Later, after Wei Yun’s explanation, Li Dao and the others understood the mission.

Although the Northern Barbarians were nominally an empire, their internal forces were complex, more like a coalition of large and small tribes.

Relations between tribes varied—some friendly, some hostile.

Currently, a large tribe within the Northern Barbarian Empire was targeting the Great Qian Dynasty: the Tamu Tribe.

They targeted the Great Qian partly because winter was coming, and the Tamu Tribe wanted to plunder resources.

Also, the Tamu Tribe bordered the Great Qian Dynasty, with daily skirmishes and deep resentment.

The plan to assassinate the third prince of the Luoyun Tribe was because Great Qian had intelligence that the Tamu Tribe intended to ally with Luoyun to attack Great Qian.

The third prince of Luoyun was the negotiator for this alliance.

Due to the suddenness of the incident, Great Qian didn’t have time to mobilize troops internally.

They had to select people from the border military camps.

Moreover, to keep the assassination secret from the Luoyun and Tamu tribes, internal soldiers could not be involved.

Thus, special death row prisoners became the preferred candidates for the mission.

Changgu Town was near the route the third prince would take, so Wei Yun was assigned this task.

“Luoyun, Wei Yun,” Shen San chuckled, “Commander Wei, this tribe seems to be your natural nemesis.”

Wei Yun ignored him and looked at Li Dao. “Well, do you accept this mission?”

“What if we refuse?”

“Nothing. This mission came up suddenly; even if you don’t do it, no one will blame me. But if you do it, I might get some credit,” Wei Yun said casually.

“Have you learned anything about the third prince’s escorts?”

Li Dao asked casually.

“Yes,” Wei Yun nodded. “Because the Luoyun Tribe’s decision to negotiate was sudden, there shouldn’t be many experts with him. Even if there are, they won’t be top-tier. But there are definitely many ordinary soldiers. I’ve learned there are at least three hundred troops with the third prince.”

Not many experts?
At least three hundred troops?

Li Dao was stunned. Was this mission being handed to him on a silver platter?

For him, killing experts was challenging, but killing a large number of ordinary soldiers was easier—and the rewards were greatest.

If all this was true, this mission was perfect for him.

“Is it difficult? Well, it should be. Five of you against three hundred is tough,” Wei Yun said, seeing Li Dao silent and thinking he might decline.

“Wait, we accept,” Li Dao suddenly said.

“You accept?”
“Yes.”
“This is three hundred people, possibly with hidden experts, and you’re only five.”
Wei Yun looked puzzled.

He wanted Li Dao’s group to handle the task but not to send them to their deaths. He had said before he wouldn’t let them take on suicidal missions.

In his view, even if they succeeded in assassinating the third prince, they might not escape or would suffer heavy casualties.

Li Dao smiled faintly. “You have to let you break even, don’t you?”

Wei Yun: “...”

He wanted to say that’s not how breaking even works, but since they agreed so readily, what could he say?

Anyway, no matter if they succeeded or failed, it wouldn’t affect him.

As always, these were death row prisoners—some with special abilities, but still prisoners whose purpose was to create value for the Great Qian Dynasty. If they didn’t, no one would care.

“Alright, but aren’t you going to ask the others?”

Wei Yun looked at the other four. He had appointed Li Dao as leader but couldn’t force the rest if they disobeyed.

“Do I need to?”

Li Dao didn’t answer, looking back at the four.

Xu Hu grunted, “I’m with you. You decide.”

Little Madman, already intimidated by Li Dao, naturally didn’t object.

Old Ghost chuckled, “Young people always like to act recklessly, but I like that. Three hundred? When I tested medicines, my poison children were more than that. I’ll play along this time.”

Only Shen San was left.

“I... I...” Shen San began to protest but saw all eyes on him and muttered softly, “You four have no objections, what can I say?”

Li Dao turned back to Wei Yun. “They all agreed.”

Wei Yun gave a thumbs-up, “You five really fit well together.”

“Since you all agree, the mission is yours. If you need anything, ask now.”

An incense stick later.

Shen San happily inspected the confiscated equipment.

Old Ghost muttered eccentrically, holding a pile of bottles and jars.

Little Madman and Xu Hu ate and drank ravenously from a large pile of food, clearly starved in the cell.

“What do you want?” Wei Yun asked, looking at the last remaining Li Dao.

“What do I want?” Li Dao thought briefly. “If you really want to give something, give me a blade that won’t dull after cutting down three hundred men.”

Wei Yun raised an eyebrow. “Planning to do the job alone?”

Li Dao shrugged. “That’s the plan, but I don’t know if I can pull it off.”

“You really are a talent.” Wei Yun took the sword from his waist and placed it before Li Dao. “Made of hundred-year-old mysterious iron. You can borrow it for now.”

Li Dao raised an eyebrow. “So generous? Aren’t you afraid I might fail and the Luoyun Tribe will seize this blade?”

Wei Yun smiled. “At first, I thought you were crazy, but then I realized someone as smart as you wouldn’t take on a hopeless task. So I’m betting you’ll come back.”

“If I lose, at worst I lose a sword. If you lose, you lose your life.”