"Ah, I know, and I know even more than that. Don't worry, demonspawn wouldn't dare show themselves in broad daylight. Even if they did, do you really think our mighty Xijie Nation's Xuanfu Army couldn't handle them?"

The boys all found it funny when the old soldier said this place was "unsafe." The biggest "villains" in Wildwood Town were this group of kids themselves, and in the hands of the Xuanfu Army, they were as docile as chicks. Where was the danger?

Old Soldier gave in, nodding to the other soldiers to indicate they could rest.

The soldiers were quite pleased, dismounting one after another, lifting their visors to eat their rations and drink water, taking turns to relieve themselves behind the forest. They didn't say a word to each other, as if they were all very wary of that short officer, doing their best to display a soldier's seriousness in his presence.

The officer did not dismount, keeping his head down to watch over the prisoners he had caught, as if they were heinous traitors.

Baldy was trembling from holding it in, and Jack mustered his courage, looked up, and said loudly to the officer, "I need to pee."

"Me too." Baldy had been holding it for a long time; not even the fear of prison could suppress this urge. The string of prisoners all started clamoring for the same thing, and Bruce Smith even wanted a piece of rations—watching others eat was torture for him.

"No shouting," the officer said sternly.

The boys dared not act up, but only Jack kept staring at the officer. "Prisoners need to use the latrine too. We're about to burst."

The officer was silent for a moment. "The others can go in turns. You can't."

"Why?" Jack asked in surprise. He was hoping to use this chance to slip out of the ropes and execute his escape plan.

"Because your crime is serious."

Jack was furious. The Xuanfu Army around him didn't look so tall and imposing anymore; he had already regained his stubbornness. "Grace doesn't want to marry into the Shen family—is that a crime? You adults, do you really have to force a young girl?"

The officer snorted disdainfully. "The marriages of common girls are of no concern to Xijie Nation. You—you're the one who let fourteen government horses go, and even stole one. That's a serious crime."

Jack's mouth fell open. All the horses he herded belonged to the Shen family; he had no idea the Shen family was raising horses for the government.

The other boys, hearing this, breathed a sigh of relief. Lance immediately voiced what he was thinking: "So it's about the government horses. Then it has nothing to do with us—the horses were all let go by Jack."

"You are accomplices," the officer said bluntly. "You will also be punished."

The word "punished" was not something the boys heard often. They would rather be "taught a lesson" or "dealt with," but couldn't imagine how frightening "punishment" might be. At the officer's signal, two soldiers began untying the prisoners, leaving only Jack still bound, kept within the Xuanfu Army's line of sight.

When it was Grace's turn, she shook her head, refusing to have her ropes untied, remaining connected to Jack.

Jack's first plan failed before it even began, so he had to think of something else.

"What are demonspawn? Why are you so afraid? In Wildwood Town, we've got all kinds, but we've never heard of demonspawn."

The officer snorted again, not expecting this prisoner to have the nerve to question him. He refused to answer, instead ordering, "Tie him tighter." A soldier came over and pulled the rope on Jack's right wrist even tighter, stopping only when it bit into the flesh. "And her," the officer said, pointing at Grace with his riding crop.

"What does she have to do with it?" Jack blocked Grace.

"Because you can't keep your mouth shut," the officer said, clearly enjoying his authority, a hint of smugness in his voice. "This is just a little punishment."

The soldier pushed Jack aside and tightened the rope on Grace's wrist as well. The man's strength was a bit much, and Grace let out a soft cry. Jack glared at the officer but dared not say another word.

The boys who had gone into the woods to relieve themselves gradually returned. The officer silently counted, "One is still missing."

Lance pointed fearfully at the woods. "Baldy, he... he's taking a dump."

The officer turned his head in contempt. The crude language of the border town boys grated on his ears, but after waiting a while and still not seeing the last prisoner come out, he grew impatient. "Call him out. We're leaving immediately."

"Baldy," called Lance.

"Baldy!" Eric raised his voice.

It was just before noon. The branches hung low, even the insects were too lazy to make a sound, and the woods were utterly silent.

The officer grew angry. "Go get the prisoner. Five lashes, hard."

"Baldy, get out here now," the boys all shouted together, hoping he could still avoid the whipping.

A soldier strode toward the woods, clearly unhappy with this task. Even without the officer's order, he would have given the boy a good beating.

The soldier entered the woods, the swaying branches soon stilled, but no sound came from within.

The boys looked at each other in surprise. Baldy being so bold was beyond their expectations.

The Xuanfu Army, however, had other ideas. Nine soldiers almost simultaneously drew their swords and took shields from their horses, standing shoulder to shoulder, facing the woods.

The officer seemed to be witnessing such a formation for the first time. He looked a bit nervous, tightened the reins, and made his horse circle in place. "Send in two more men."