Tonight, Yongwang Garrison was as bright as day. The soldiers all had solemn expressions and moved in a hurry. The clashing of armor sounded all night long. Many people were called out of their beds, but they dared not show any hint of complaint.
Gu City was sealed off, followed by a city-wide search overnight, posting notices, and apprehending the escaped Third Master of Bald Mountain!
This night seemed exceptionally long.
Ning Yue saw several old traditional Chinese medicine doctors going in and out of Xue Ren's bedroom. Over a dozen Qianhu and several Zhenfu were also waiting outside the room. Xue Zhenfu, who was at the very front, had a look of deep sorrow on his face. His once commanding arms hung limply, and his tall, straight back was now hunched as he remained silent.
Immediately after, shocking news spread: Xue Ren was gravely wounded, his martial arts utterly crippled, and he couldn't even be taken back to the Xue Family for treatment. Currently, he could only barely sustain his life with spiritual ginseng.
The entire garrison was instantly filled with panic.
The incident happened so suddenly that Xue Youwei hadn't even had time to change his clothes. Hearing this, his face turned ashen, and he said with a choked voice, "Ning... Ning Yue, are you saying my cousin... he's really not going to make it? Wasn't he fine just now?"
Ning Yue's mind was also in a turmoil at this moment. If his boss truly didn't make it, where else could he switch allegiance to?
He had just offended the Mo Family, and politely declined Han Yu's recruitment. The Zhao Family was out of the question. As for the Xie Family, Ning Yue thought of Xie Qing's character...
Best not to mention it.
"Things have come to this; there's nothing more we can do. I only wish that all my colleagues can capture the bandits and uncover the mastermind behind them. Xue will thank everyone here first."
Xue Chengwu, who was guarding the door, bowed deeply. When he straightened up, he found it difficult to stand upright. He looked as if he had aged more than ten years.
Everyone had different thoughts, but their expressions were all filled with sorrow. After bidding farewell to Xue's father one by one, they each departed.
Once the crowd dispersed, Xue Chengwu pointed a finger at Ning Yue, "You, come!"
Ning Yue bowed and stepped forward, remaining silent out of politeness. He originally thought Xue Zhenfu wanted to give him some instructions, but unexpectedly, he turned sideways and said meaningfully, "Xue Ren wants to see you. Go in."
Stepping through the door, in a hall nearly ten times the size of Ning Yue's bedroom, a zitan wood screen with stacked chi patterns stood in the center, separating the interior.
The left half of the wall was made into a display shelf, filled with a dazzling array of rare ornaments: glazed golden goblets, enamel basins, sea coral trees, and southern jade stones, each worth a fortune, making Ning Yue's eyes widen and his mouth water;
On the right was a twenty-eight constellations map, made of stacked arrowheads with gold thread outlining, which made Ning Yue really want to pull out the gold threads to exchange for money.
If Ning Yue lived in a single dorm room, this was a luxurious suite, even beyond five-star quality.
But now was not the time to ponder such things. Ning Yue wiped his drool, lifted the curtain, and entered the inner room.
He saw Xue Ren sitting at the desk, his face glowing with health, holding a plate of golden thread lotus leaf cakes, eating with great relish. "Oh! You're hungry too. Have some."
You, damn it!!
Eating so well, did you think of your struggling brothers?!
Do you know that I almost thought of switching allegiance?!
Ning Yue's eyes instantly reddened. Without a word, he snatched the plate, too busy to speak, and while wolfing down the food, he glared fiercely at Xue Ren.
These pastries... they were even better than Furong Pavilion's!
Xue Ren chuckled, not getting angry, and occasionally offered a cup of tea to help Ning Yue clear his throat.
Only after Ning Yue had eaten and drunk his fill did he say, "It's not that I deliberately wanted to hide it from you all. If a plan isn't kept secret, it won't succeed. Tonight, someone clearly targeted my Xue Family. The enemy is hidden, and we are exposed. I can't see how many people are working behind the scenes, so I had no choice but to feign illness and hide."
"Alas! Now, I don't know who among my subordinates I can trust. You are the only one I can rely on."
His voice was desolate, but Ning Yue couldn't help but roll his eyes. He remembered a famous idiom from his past life: 'fishing for law enforcement'!
"Hehehe! You really are a smart kid, you understand immediately." Xue Ren saw that Ning Yue wasn't falling for it and chuckled again. "I suffered such a huge loss tonight, almost lost my life. How can I let it go like this? If I can't uproot the forces behind this, wouldn't my injuries have been for nothing?"
Ning Yue stood up and meticulously observed Xue Ren from left to right, top to bottom, but couldn't spot a single injury. So he sat back down and asked, "What does Lord want to do? Just say it directly."
"Hehehe!" Xue Ren's smile was a bit sinister. "Come closer."
...
One stick of incense later, Ning Yue, with tears in his eyes, slowly walked out of the room.
Xue Youwei was a straightforward person. Seeing this, he was deeply saddened and rushed forward to meet him.
In fact, he had wanted to go in and visit earlier, but Xue Zhenfu was unsympathetic and insisted he go back and change his clothes first.
It was an emergency, who had time to worry about changing clothes?!
"Ning Yue, how is Xue Ge?"
Ning Yue subtly avoided Xue Youwei's attempt to grab his sleeve and said with a hint of disdain, "I say, Brother Youwei, don't you want to go back and change your clothes?"
Xue Chengwu covered his nose and also left sadly.
That night, Ning Yue summoned all of the Xiaoqi officers under Xue Ren.
Looking at the concerned Xiaoqi officers before him, Ning Yue took out the military tally from his Pregnant and held it up in front of him to show everyone, saying, "By Lord's command, I will temporarily assume the position of Zongqi. Does anyone here have any objections?"
The crowd was silently quiet.
News spread fastest in the military. Tonight, Xue Ren bringing his cousin and Ning Yue to the banquet together had already sent a clear enough signal: Ning Yue was gaining power.
Now that Xue Ren was gravely injured, he only summoned Ning Yue alone, and even Xue Youwei didn't object to his words. Although some of the remaining eight people felt resentful, they didn't say much at this moment.
Ning Yue waited for a moment. Seeing that no one spoke, he put away the token and then said, "Since that is the case, there is a military order: starting tomorrow, morning and noon drills and patrols will resume. The North Third Lane to North Eighth Lane of the outer city will be our responsibility. Xue Youwei will lead the team. I ask everyone to follow the order and not make any mistakes!"
"Yes!" x 8
"Ah?!" Xue Youwei was stunned, then asked, "What about you?"
Ning Yue said sternly, "I will lead a team myself and guard the courtyard until Zongqi recovers from his injuries."
"Ning Yue, how serious are Lord's injuries exactly? Can we go in and visit him?" The old Xiaoqi officer Xu Mu, who was over fifty, was the first to ask.
"That's right. Now rumors are flying everywhere, all saying that Zongqi is critically injured and beyond recovery. Is it true or not?" Feng Hai, who was usually silent, but was actually the strongest among the Xiaoqi officers, also spoke up at this moment.
Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
Zongqi's injuries concerned the future of everyone present. If they could know in advance, they could make plans sooner.
"Nonsense! Brother Xue can't be in trouble. With his martial arts, it wouldn't come to this!" Xue Youwei roughly interrupted everyone's speculations, but his own eyes were red.
Ning Yue looked at the crowd. His comrades, who he usually called brothers, were all anxious and uneasy. For a moment, he couldn't distinguish between truth and falsehood, so he could only reply in a deep voice, "I have received a direct order from Xue Zhenfu. During Xue Zongqi's recovery, no one is allowed to visit, nor is anyone allowed to reveal Lord's injuries. Everyone, please return."
Ning Yue, who usually addressed them as brothers, had not been particularly conspicuous before, but now, acting in his temporary capacity, he was reasonable and composed. With just a few words, he seemed to become the backbone for the panicked crowd, and their hearts settled slightly.
So, everyone dispersed.