Chapter 102 – Little Bastard Murong
In the military camp of Luo City, Xiao Cheng was in a good mood, patiently waiting for the imperial edict from Xijing.
After waiting for three days, instead of the imperial edict from Xijing, he received the news of Court Guard Zhang Ziwu’s death.
Upon receiving Zhang Ziwu’s death news, Xiao Cheng’s confidant rushed into Xiao Cheng’s camp to report: “General Xiao…”
Seeing his confidant rushing in, Xiao Cheng thought the imperial edict from Xijing had arrived. He excitedly rose from his master chair and interrupted his confidant: “Speak quickly, has the Empress Dowager sent someone?”
The excited look on Xiao Cheng’s face made his confidant a little hesitant to report the truth. After a moment, he said with a heavy tone: “Sir, something bad has happened. Vanguard General Zhao Duo is not dead, but Court Guard Zhang Ziwu is.”
Zhao Duo was not dead, but Zhang Ziwu was.
Xiao Cheng could hardly believe his own ears. His eyes widened as he confirmed with his confidant: “Did you just say, Zhao Duo is not dead, but Zhang Ziwu is dead?”
“Sir, I’m afraid we’ve been outsmarted by the War King.”
This time, Xiao Cheng believed his ears. He had heard right, Court Guard Zhang Ziwu was really dead.
Half of his body went limp, and he fell back into his master chair.
Silent for a moment, he raised his eyebrows and asked his confidant in a deep voice, “How did Zhao Duo come back to life? Didn’t our spy at the border see Zhao Duo take an arrow to the chest? And, how did Zhang Ziwu die?”
His confidant replied, “Sir, it is true that Zhao Duo was struck by an arrow. However, it seems that Zhao Duo had cunningly feigned death. Regrettably, the military doctor’s medical expertise proved inadequate, leading to an erroneous assessment of Zhao Duo’s demise. Subsequently, while Zhao Duo was wounded, the sudden attack by the Rong Di prompted him to send Zhang Ziwu as the vanguard. Tragically, Zhang Ziwu fell victim to the hands of the Rongdi forces.”
Zhao Duo was playing dead, and the army doctor misjudged his death due to lack of medical skills.
These excuses, they might as well try to fool a fool.
Xiao Cheng didn’t believe any of it, including Zhang Ziwu’s death, which he thought must have been a setup by War King Long Yu.
The timing of Zhang Ziwu’s death in battle seemed far too coincidental, considering that Xiao Cheng had recently revealed Zhang Ziwu’s true identity as a court guard and even recommended him to assume command over the thirty thousand troops under Zhao Duo’s control at the border.
Zhang Ziwu was the Empress Dowager’s man. Now that Zhang Ziwu was dead and the thirty thousand troops were still in Zhao Duo’s hands, how was he going to explain this to the Empress Dowager?
Thinking of the trouble to come, Xiao Cheng’s brows furrowed deeply, his face also darkening considerably.
War King Long Yu, he had underestimated that man. That man’s schemes were even deeper than he imagined.
Seeing Xiao Cheng’s face darkening considerably, his confidant cautiously asked, “Sir, now that Court Guard Zhang Ziwu is dead, how should we explain to the Empress Dowager?”
“How to explain? What else can we do but immediately write a letter of apology to the Empress Dowager?”
Xiao Cheng had a grave expression as he thought about Empress Dowager Wei’s ruthless methods, “We can only hope that the Empress Dowager will give us the chance to make up for our mistakes.”
……
At the border camp.
Inside the main tent of the vanguard general, Zhao Duo looked reverently at the man sitting on the master chair with a solemn face.
“My lord, your face is healed. When will you return to Luo City? Now that Zhang Ziwu is eliminated, I will guard this place and ensure that the Rongdi’s army won’t be able to advance one step further.”
While these words of disrespect were uncharacteristic of a subordinate, Zhao Duo couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease whenever he contemplated the actions of the cunning old fox, Xiao Cheng, stationed in Luo City.
Long Yu glanced at Zhao Duo, “How is your injury? Are you sure you can hold this place?”
Zhao Duo was moved.
It turned out that the reason why the War King had not returned to Luo City was because he was worried about his injuries.
“This minor injury is nothing. My lord, you don’t need to worry about me.”
Long Yu moved his gaze away from Zhao Duo, slowly rose from the master chair and said, “Since you have confidence in holding this place, then I should return to Luo City.”
There was a very important matter that he needed to return to Luo City to announce.
“I will see you off, my lord.”
Zhao Duo escorted Long Yu out of the camp.
On the Luo City military camp side, a soldier responsible for guarding Long Yu’s coffin accidentally noticed something odd about the corpse of the War King while dusting the coffin.
He dropped the cloth and hurriedly went to report to General Xiao Cheng.
In a short while, General Xiao Cheng, the Five Dragon Guards, and some major generals gathered in front of the War King’s coffin.
An army doctor circled around the coffin, then reached out and peeled off a human skin mask from the War King’s corpse.
“This… this is not the War King.”
As the human skin mask was torn off, the true face of the male corpse was revealed, and it was not the War King at all.
The army doctor was so scared that his hand shook and the human skin mask fell to the ground.
Having anticipated that War King Long Yu wouldn’t meet his demise so easily, Xiao Cheng’s countenance revealed a mix of excitement as he looked upon the discarded human skin mask. However, beneath the surface, his heart remained remarkably composed.
The fact that the War King of Great Chu was alive ignited a wave of excitement. The attending generals of Great Chu couldn’t hide their elation, and even the Five Dragon Guards and Xiao Cheng feigned their excitement to blend in with the crowd.
Long Yi was so moved that his eyes were filled with tears. “The master is not dead, that’s great, the master is not dead.”
At this moment, a few soldiers escorted a man in a black cloak to the outside of the camp.
The soldiers guarding the camp stopped them for questioning. “Who goes there?”
The man, riding on a horse, lifted his hand, took off his face-covering cloak, revealing an astonishingly beautiful face. “It’s me.”
Seeing that astonishingly beautiful face, the soldiers guarding the city were shocked, then without hesitation, they knelt to the ground and said: “Long live the War King.”
The War King is not dead, the War King is not dead.
The soldiers guarding the camp who saw Long Yu were all excited.
After a short while, inside the main commander’s tent.
Long Yu was sitting on the commanding chair, his gaze sweeping over everyone below before finally glancing at Xiao Cheng.
Being looked upon by Long Yu, Xiao Cheng instantly felt an invisible pressure on him.
“Long Yu, I knew you were like a cat with nine lives, an indestructible cockroach, you wouldn’t die that easily.”
Seeing Long Yu without any missing limbs, Murong Qinjian excitedly walked up to him.
“If you died, it would have been better, I would be free.”
Murong Qinjian, originally a wandering doctor, had caught the attention of Long Yu due to his exceptional medical skills. Long Yu cunningly lured him into the military camp, exploiting his skills for Long Yu’s own purposes.
Long Yu glanced at him and coldly replied, “Don’t worry, I am sure to live longer than you, so Murong Qinjian, don’t think about leaving the military camp in this life.”
This sharp reply immediately angered Murong Qinjian.
“You didn’t come back, and I was worried about you.”
He really was a fool.
Long Yu looked at his annoyed expression, the corner of his mouth curling up, “I brought back two jars of apricot flower wine for you, and I’ve already ordered the soldiers to send them to your big tent.”
The moment the word “wine” reached Murong Qinqian’s ears, a spark of enthusiasm ignited in his eyes, erasing all signs of annoyance. He swiftly parted ways with Long Yu and hurried outside. Aware of Murong Qinqian’s penchant for wine, Long Yu had cleverly discovered the delectable apricot flower wine at the De Yun Inn in Daxing Town and purchased two jars. It was through Murong Qinqian’s fondness for wine that Long Yu managed to cunningly convince him to serve as a military doctor in the camp.
