Chapter 116: The Shattered Magic Ring

Eager to save his life, Aberni told them everything he knew. However, he was merely responsible for probing potential targets and luring them into traps within the sand bandit group. He was aware of the general situation, but details like where Sa Badel’s treasure was hidden were beyond his rank.

Sa Badel’s gang primarily operated around the Graal Oasis, numbering nearly a hundred men. Half of them were sand bandits, while the other half engaged in legitimate business activities at the oasis, scouting for suitable targets for the bandits.

The men Sa Badel brought were his loyal subordinates. Additionally, there were over thirty others positioned about a five-day journey to the northwest, lying in wait to ambush caravans crossing the desert. They had a temporary base nearby with a water source, guarded by four or five meerkat people overseeing the supplies.

This was somewhat frustrating for Wu Qingsong. To completely eradicate this band of sand bandits, he would have to waste nearly half a month in the desert. Even just to deal with the accomplices at Graal Oasis, he’d need to travel four days back.

Forget it, I’m not a constable, do I really have so much spare time?

That was the only way he could console himself.

Anyway, they hadn’t seen Ling’s abilities. If on their return journey, they used the same route and those fools were still there, then they couldn’t blame him for what happened next.

“Take us to his temporary base,” he then said.

Thanks to the sand bandits’ overconfidence, they only lost one horse and one camel in the battle. The rest of the horses and camels had scattered a bit during the fight but soon stopped not far away. Beck and others gathered them, so now they had a total of twelve camels and sixteen horses.

Following the principle of ‘never leave empty-handed’ honed under Wu Qingsong’s command, Beck and his men meticulously searched the bandits’ bodies. These fellows, probably distrusting their comrades, carried all their valuables on them. They found nearly three hundred gold sols and over five hundred renals, as well as a set of intact insectoid-shell armor and several sets of ordinary leather armor. It was a moderate fortune.

With no trees nearby to cremate the bodies of the fallen warriors, they could only temporarily tie him onto a horse and take him with them. Beck and others, looking resentfully at the dead bodies on the ground, asked Wu Qingsong, “Sir, what about these bodies?”

“Do you still have the strength?” Wu Qingsong relaxed, knowing there were no more threats nearby.

“Of course,” the houndmen replied.

“Then hang them all on the cliff,” Wu Qingsong ordered.

Since his nickname had already become “The Hangman,” Wu Qingsong felt it was only natural to live up to it. These sand bandits’ friends would surely come back looking for them, and this would serve as a warning to them. If they dared to seek revenge, Wu Qingsong wouldn’t mind finding another place to hang them up.

Aberni, trembling with fear, watched them carry out this task. Then, cautiously, he led them westward. After more than an hour, they came upon a cave hidden in an eroded forest.

The cave entrance was camouflaged with high piles of sand and covered with a piece of yellow-brown leather. If it weren’t for someone guiding them, they might have passed nearby without noticing it.

The meerkatpeople inside had probably seen them approaching from a distance and, sensing danger, had already fled. Wu Qingsong didn’t bother to chase such small fry.

They searched the base and found mostly various kinds of goods, assorted and varying in age, likely the loot from the sand bandits’ years of plundering.

These items were of little use to them–heavy, not very valuable, and certainly difficult to sell. Otherwise, Sa Badel would have likely sold them off long ago.

Following Wu Qingsong’s instructions, the houndmen filled their water bags in the spring and then splashed the water around inside the cave. Soon, they discovered a box buried underground. Upon opening it, they found it brimming with gold sols and various jewels, which left the houndmen utterly amazed.

“Sir, you are truly…” Beck struggled to find the right words to flatter Wu Qingsong but couldn’t come up with anything suitable. “You are truly wise.”

Such low-grade flattery did not impress Wu Qingsong at all.

This was nothing special. Anyone who enjoyed reading, not just skimming through books to kill time, could remember some useful things. Ordinary ground is fairly solid, so water does not easily seep into it. However, ground that has been dug up before is looser, and water easily flows towards such areas. By using this method, it’s easy to locate places that have been dug up before.

Was this knowledge from a novel about ancient detective cases? But that was not important. Finding this treasure meant the trip hadn’t been in vain.

“Your wisdom is as vast and boundless as the stars in the sky. Even a deity might not possess your intelligence,” Aberni immediately prostrated himself on the ground and exclaimed loudly. “If it weren’t for a brave, intelligent, and kind great person like you, these damned bandits would still be causing untold suffering. You truly are a savior sent by the heavens. Praise be to the heavens, and praise be to you.”

“Enough, enough.” 

Such excessive flattery was so cringe-worthy that it actually made Wu Qingsong shiver despite the hot weather.

But Aberni, knowing that his value had greatly diminished and that his life now hung on Wu Qingsong’s whim, continued to spout increasingly shameless flattery, astonishing Beck.

‘Is this even a thing?’ 

A sense of crisis emerged in Beck. If this guy kept hanging around the boss, could he still maintain his position as the top lackey?

“Sir, this guy is no good,” he quickly kicked Aberni away, shouting loudly.

Aberni didn’t dare to resist, lying on the ground and desperately pleading his case, thoroughly annoying Wu Qingsong.

If Aberni hadn’t seen Ling use her powers, letting such a petty character go might have been tolerable, perhaps even useful to spread the notoriety of “The Hangman” and keep other bandits in the desert at bay. But such a spineless person was useless to keep around and a risk if set free.

His fate had been sealed from the beginning.

“Take him out and end it quickly,” Wu Qingsong then said. 

Now that they had so many horses and camels, as long as they kept heading south and then turned east upon seeing the snowy mountains, they shouldn’t get lost. With Ling’s newly developed abilities to find water, this noisy fellow had become completely worthless.

Beck responded eagerly, reaching out to grab Aberni, who screamed and desperately clung to Wu Qingsong’s legs. In his frantic struggle, he knocked over the box of jewels at Wu Qingsong’s feet, scattering the jewels all over. This infuriated Beck, who punched Aberni hard and then lifted him up by the neck.

Aberni howled in despair, but in truth, he had already anticipated this end. Over the years, the merchants and travelers he had led to this place to be killed had wept far more pitifully than him, yet not one had survived.

Was this retribution, perhaps?

“Wait a moment,” Wu Qingsong suddenly said.

Aberni’s joy was so overwhelming he almost couldn’t believe his ears.

“May the heavens praise your mercy!” he exclaimed loudly.

“Shut up.” Wu Qingsong snapped. 

“Have you ever seen this before?” He picked up a ring from the ground.

The pattern on it was almost identical to the magic ring he was currently wearing. Although there were some differences in detail, he was certain it was made by the same creator. The only difference was a crack on this ring. Perhaps it was this very crack that caused it to lose its magical properties, leading to its being treated as an ordinary piece of jewelry amongst these items.

“I’ve seen it! I’ve seen it!” Aberni said loudly. “That was taken by Sa Badel from some treasure hunters the year before last. Sir, I was the one who led them to this place. I know where they found this ring. If you spare my life, I will take you to that place.”