CMWKSD -Chapter 213 Barbecue

Ying Yi immediately sent the news from this side out using a sea eagle.

By roughly nightfall, all the men from the Capital Suburban Garrison had arrived.

Of course, they did not have a roster in hand yet.

Whether there were any minor commanders inside the Capital Suburban Garrison who had been swapped out—

For the moment, Jiu Yue had no way of knowing.

They would need to return to the capital to check the case files.

To see whether any of the officers and soldiers of the Capital Suburban Garrison had once participated in the encirclement of Black Tiger Stronghold.

But they did not have the time.

What was more, no one knew whether, before the campaign against Black Tiger Stronghold, those people had already been replaced by other means.

Was it really only Black Tiger Stronghold?

Jiu Yue felt her brain was about to be wrung dry.

On the contrary, the brothers Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian, perhaps because they were used to handling such matters, worked with Shao Qing to sort through and categorize the intelligence that Dark Moon Pavilion had gathered over the past two days, to see if they could dig out anything useful from it.

Jiu Yue frowned as she looked toward the entrance of the camp.

Two thousand five hundred elite troops—checking them one by one would take who knew how much time and effort.

Jiu Yue had no intention of doing such a mentally and physically exhausting job.

Too tiring.

“Ying Yi, make the preparations. After the people from the Capital Suburban Garrison arrive, I’ll treat them to barbecue.”

Ying Yi responded with a puzzled acknowledgment.

For someone from Eagle Eye, the single most important thing was this:

Execute.

No matter how outrageous the order might sound.

Dusk gradually deepened. At the horizon, orange clouds looked as if someone had splashed a cup of orange juice across the sky—rich, thick, and carrying a hint of fruity sweetness.

In a modern, highly technologized age, even with such a beautiful sight, few people would stop to admire it.

But at this moment in the camp, many people, like Jiu Yue, paused to watch for a while.

Cold wind wrapped together with yellow sand.

The men from the Capital Suburban Garrison arrived.

The last trace of orange cloud at the horizon disappeared.

The sky darkened inch by inch, as though daylight were being devoured by the night.

The encampment here was not flat enough, so they could only move toward the forest.

Even so, Jiu Yue still had everyone gather as much as possible in the open ground.

Chen Anmu was bound, with a fire pit built beside him.

Standing atop the raised platform, Jiu Yue swept her obsidian-like eyes over the dense mass of soldiers below.

Then she turned to Chen Anmu. “I want the list.”

Chen Anmu frowned. “What is the Princess talking about? This old minister does not know. What exactly does the Princess intend to do today? Casually slapping a crime onto this old minister and speaking such nonsensical words—what, is it because this minister did not welcome the Princess to Pingtai County with great fanfare that the Princess is acting like this?”

“What overbearing authority!”

“Does the Princess even put His Majesty in her eyes?”

…

Even at this point, Chen Anmu did not forget to smear Jiu Yue.

He truly took endless pleasure in throwing such insinuations.

Insisting that it was because he had not welcomed Jiu Yue with the most lavish reception,

that she was now taking revenge on him.

Painting Jiu Yue as petty-minded, indulgent in luxury, abusing her authority—just one step short of pointing at her nose and saying she was unworthy of her position, arrogant and decadent, unfit to be a Princess of Great Qi.

Jiu Yue smiled faintly, idly toying with her favorite scalpel.

“In Pingtai County, there is a mountain, called Yunlai…”

The men from the Capital Suburban Garrison all looked at Jiu Yue on the platform in confusion.

They had no idea what she was trying to do.

Many of them had only heard of Jiu Yue, and some had never even heard her name.

Chen Anmu’s pupils shrank. “What is the Princess talking about? This minister does not know…”

“Five Cities Military Command—Yang Li’an. Ministry of War official Qian Lai…”

Chen Anmu suddenly let out a sharp shout. “You… who exactly are you?!”

Jiu Yue looked at Chen Anmu. “I want the list.”

Chen Anmu clenched his teeth and said nothing.

Jiu Yue turned her head to the dark, surging mass of soldiers below the platform. “Everyone has traveled a long way to get here. I imagine some of you already know that the matter has been exposed.”

“I promise here that if anyone steps forward voluntarily and speaks up, then all past matters will be treated as passing clouds—gone with the smoke.”

“But if I find you myself, then I’ll treat everyone to a barbecue.”

The soldiers looked at one another.

One or two people’s faces had already gone slightly pale.

It was just that in the darkness, it was hard to see.

But there were also people who, upon hearing about barbecue, immediately broke into wide smiles.

Some, more lively in temperament, who had had a bit of contact with Jiu Yue before, knew her personality and could exchange a few words with her, directly shouted out, “Princess, do you mean it?”

Jiu Yue’s brows curved into a smile. “Of course. Today, I’ll start by rewarding Magistrate Chen with a barbecue, inviting him to enjoy a good meal.”

Quite a few people had already realized that Chen Anmu must have committed some serious offense.

Falling into Jiu Yue’s hands—what good end could there be?

Still, some were curious.

If this man had committed a crime, why would the Princess still reward him with meat?

They themselves had not eaten dinner yet—after rushing here all the way, they were already starving.

Firelight flickered as Jiu Yue, playing with the scalpel in her hand, walked toward Chen Anmu.

Each step she took was like a lotus blooming beneath her feet; in the darkness of night, she looked like a demon.

With every gesture, she could take a person’s life.

“Strip him.”

Ying Sansan and the others immediately stripped off Chen Anmu’s outer robe and inner garments,

leaving him with only a pair of underpants.

The weather had already turned cold.

As soon as his clothes came off, Chen Anmu broke out in goosebumps from the cold.

The unease in his heart surged to an extreme.

Only then did the people below see the members of Eagle Eye.

Those who had been joking no longer dared to laugh.

With Eagle Eye present, this was serious trouble.

Chen Anmu’s lips trembled, cold and fear intertwining…

“You… you…”

Jiu Yue’s scalpel flicked lightly, slicing off a piece of flesh from Chen Anmu’s chest.

Chen Anmu screamed.

The entire camp was bathed in firelight,

so Jiu Yue’s movements were extremely clear—those in the front rows saw everything distinctly.

As for those in the back who couldn’t see, along the sides of the formation, there were even people specially explaining what was happening, determined to let everyone know just how “delicious” this barbecue was.

After that, with a swift motion, Jiu Yue tossed the sliced piece of flesh onto an iron skewer by the fire pit.

Then she turned back to look at Chen Anmu.

Chen Anmu stared at Jiu Yue in terror.

Jiu Yue smiled. With a few quick movements of her blade, four or five more slices of flesh were cut off.

Chen Anmu let out muffled groans of pain, but he could still endure it.

Wasn’t this just lingchi?

“Too noisy.”

Ying Yi immediately stuffed a cloth into Chen Anmu’s mouth.

Everyone thought that was all.

Who would have known that Jiu Yue’s technique was so good—by now, the meat on the iron skewer was already giving off the aroma of roasting flesh.

But no matter how fragrant it was, no one felt like eating it.

Jiu Yue walked over, picked up the iron skewer, then came back to stand before Chen Anmu.

“Lord Chen, have a bite of barbecue. Perfectly balanced fat and lean—delicious to the extreme.”