INTO THE ENEMY'S HEADQUARTERS 5

Long after Zhu Su and his subordinates left Xie Wang's headquarters, Xie Wang and the rest of his army returned home. Han Zhong was right. Xie Wang brought all of his soldiers down the mountain because he was being oppressed by the central government forces. And, unlike the previous war, this time he failed miserably. His army had been completely crushed by Mu Ying. Only a few could escape with him. And all of them had their bodies filled with blood and wound. Xie Wang himself, his left hand and leg were badly injured.

"Liu Ku! Where is Liu Ku?! Come here, treat His Highness!" Rumilie called out. But of course, his screams were useless. Liu Ku was truly determined to become Zhu Su's subordinate.

"Sir Rumilie! Bad news, Sir, bad news! You must take a look in here!" A young soldier called out.

"What the hell do you mean by bad news?!" Rumilie felt anxious. It was not Liu Ku who came, and now he even had to go towards the direction the soldier pointed.

"Look at this, Sir! Our people have been beaten when we are not here!" The soldier pointed at those who had been stunned by Payloth and Wu Qi.

Rumilie's eyes widened. He soon approached the soldiers, then kicked their heads.

"Hey, get up! Get up, quick!"

Rumilie's kick directly made the soldiers gain consciousness. They began to move, then raised their heads.

"Sir Rumilie!" They quickly saluted.

"Why can you be stunned?"

"Um, Sir... There is a group of intruders coming here! They are also very skillful in martial arts! And we get defeated by them..." The soldiers bowed in embarrassment.

"What?! Intruders?!" Rumilie's brain was spinning fast. He could immediately figure out who might have been the intruders here. "Is he... that Ming Prince?"

"We have no clue, Sir. That group consists of many men and women."

"Huh, yes, that is indeed him! But... why does he want to infiltrate here? What is his real purpose?..."

Rumilie said to the soldier again, "Check this entire place thoroughly. Find out whether something has been stolen from here or not."

The soldiers bowed again before they started their duties. Annoyed, Rumilie said, "Huh, where the hell is Liu Ku?! From the past, that kid has been very fond of throwing tantrums! I don't understand with the Prince who says that he is the most genius among his entire family lineage. Because in my opinion, he is the most selfish, and also the most rebellious brat!"

A loud moan was heard from the Palace Hall where Xie Wang was now sitting at. Rumilie immediately walked over there. "Your Highness, are you okay... geez! What are you all doing here?!?"

Several women who were cleansing Xie Wang's wound twitched in surprise because of being yelled by the fierce-faced Rumilie. Xie Wang himself, said, "I order them... Waiting for Liu Ku is too long for me..."

"Humph! That kid is throwing a tantrum again! Prince, you must punish him very hard as it should be when he comes, don't be too soft like the last time! Let him be deterred!" Rumilie slammed both his hands on each other.

"May we report, Sir Rumilie!" The soldiers had already completed their tasks. "We have searched everywhere as you've instructed, but nothing is missing. All is well."

"What's going on?" Xie Wang still did not know the incident.

"Some intruders have entered our palace, Your Highness. I think they have stolen our valuables. But according to the report, everything is alright." Rumilie glared at the soldiers. "Are you sure that you've checked all the rooms?"

"Yes, Sir! Um... there's only Sir Liu Ku's experiment basement where we haven't checked, because it smells so bad."

"Liu Ku's experiment basement..." Suddenly Rumilie knew for sure of what had happened. He hit the table, eyes blazed with fury.

"Goddamn it! They have the eyes on Liu Ku! Exactly! The intruders' main purpose is to take Liu Ku away!"

"What?! Liu Ku is not here?!" Xie Wang also shouted.

"We have been searching for him, Your Highness. Liu Ku is found nowhere. My Heaven... if the Ming Prince has really kidnapped Liu Ku... we must be very careful. Liu Ku knows all the secrets of poison and if the Ming Prince uses it to kill us, it will be so dreadful! We must silence him!"

"Now it seems that you have realized how smart Liu Ku is, after you've always despised him all this time?" Xie Wang asked.

Rumilie looked down, embarrassed. "Ah, that... eeerrr..."

"I don't think that Zhu Su kidnaps Liu Ku, instead, it is Liu Ku himself who wants to follow Zhu Su. He did show strange signs recently. He is a Fangshi, he is also excellent in counting *. Perhaps that kid already knows that we will be defeated and lose our power. He assumes that following us is useless, and following Zhu Su will give him more benefits."

"Huh, such a lower betrayer!" Rumilie cursed. "Is it he who makes us defeated now?!"

"I have no idea. It goes too far."

"F*cking brat! I'll make you regret your betrayal!"

"Chill. Remember our fate, Milie. We are already lost," Xie Wang sighed. "The reason why I still return here, is just to treat my wounds. Especially now Liu Ku isn't here to treat me, we can't stay longer here. Zhu Su already knows the location of this place. The central government forces will attack here soon. All we can only do is running away... damn you Zhu Su!" Xie Wang clenched his fist, truly furious. "This time, I may lose to you... but only for this time! Next time, I'll make sure that you will lose, and be finished miserably!"

"Don't worry, my Lord." Rumilie suddenly grinned. "That Ming Prince will definitely end up miserably, and no need for us to intervene. Liu Ku will take care of it. I believe, a traitor can't be loyal to anyone. Moreover, Liu Ku is insane. He won't be able to control Liu Ku. We'll watch the scene of murder haunting them."

...

* count = it actually refers to fortune-telling, but since the Chinese for divination is "suanming", and "suan" is literally translated as "count", then I will use the word "count" instead of "tell". More closer to Chinese culture, eh?