Lieutenant Lin was scheming to his heart's content and returned to the Yuan camp cheerfully. At this moment, he didn't think it would be difficult to persuade these Yuan soldiers to surrender. And indeed, it wasn't.
They might even thank him for it when they heard about it. After all, surrendering could avoid war and death. Why not?
However, the truth proved that Lieutenant Lin was doomed to be just a lieutenant all his life. He would never have the chance to be promoted to a general.
When he returned to the camp and gathered all the soldiers to propose that the Dan Kingdom should surrender to the Yuan Kingdom, the soldiers below suddenly fell into a moment of silence. The cheers he had anticipated didn't appear. The current silence and the complex expressions on the soldiers' faces made him a bit flustered.
"Warriors of the Dan Kingdom, I know you are all brave and fearless. But in the current situation, we have no choice but to accept surrender. Otherwise, not only will the Duke of Ding lose his life, but you will also surely face the fierce attack of the Yuan Kingdom. Many will surely die then, which is what I least want to see!"
The soldiers below remained silent. They looked at each other and exchanged glances. The atmosphere became more and more strange.
No one responded to his order, which made Lieutenant Lin feel extremely humiliated. His face showed a faint hint of anger. "You—"
Just then, a soldier in the crowd spoke up. "You're simply a traitor! It was you who framed General Li and got him arrested! You're the culprit!"
"That's right! You're a traitor! You betrayed General Li and the Third Prince!"
"We refuse to surrender. Get off, you traitor! Get off quickly!"
For a moment, the shouts rose and fell, deafening and continuous.
Lieutenant Lin looked at these soldiers who were resisting him and accusing him of being a traitor. Finally, he no longer bothered to hide himself. Under the torn false mask was nothing but disgust and disdain.
"How dare you! General Li and the Third Prince have committed heinous crimes and should be arrested and interrogated. Now in the entire camp, my order is the highest. Who dares not to obey?!"
Then there was another moment of silence. Suddenly, a soldier raised his weapon and shouted, "Down with the traitor!"
It was like a spark igniting a bomb, and this bomb quickly exploded among the soldiers.
"Down with Lieutenant Lin! Down with the traitor!"
"Outrageous! Someone, drag these audacious and ignorant fellows out and behead them!"
Normally, at this time, Lieutenant Lin's order would have been quickly carried out. However, today, the soldiers in the entire Dan camp were already out of control like wild horses.
Not only did no one come forward to carry out Lieutenant Lin's order, but several people even rushed up to attack Lieutenant Lin. Lieutenant Lin was greatly shocked and hurriedly picked up his weapon to fight back. As his long knife waved, several bloody corpses appeared on the ground.
This bright red blood instantly ignited the anger of the other soldiers. Their eyes were blood - red, teeth gritted, and they rushed forward tightly gripping their weapons.
"How dare you—"
"Puff—"
Just as Lieutenant Lin's panicked and hoarse roar faded, the sound of a weapon cutting through flesh sounded at the same time. The blood splashing everywhere was like the blooming mandalas beside the Naihe Bridge in the underworld, emitting a light of death.
With Lieutenant Lin's death, the entire Dan army completely collapsed. As the saying goes, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. These soldiers only wanted to go home. They didn't even have time to pack their luggage. Fearing that the Yuan Kingdom would send troops, they threw down their weapons and fled in a hurry towards the Dan Kingdom.
...
"My lord, everything has happened as you expected. Lieutenant Lin has been beheaded. Now the entire Dan army is in chaos, and the soldiers are fleeing in a hurry. Should we take this opportunity to wipe them out?"
Helan Yanting let out a cold sneer from the corner of his lips. There was too much information contained in this sneer.
"No need to wipe them out. I've already made arrangements."
After saying that, Helan Yanting instructed Chang Ying, "Have you completed what I asked you to do?"
Chang Ying stepped forward and bowed. "My lord, General Li and the Third Prince were originally on their way back to the Dan Kingdom under escort. Your subordinate, together with several secret guards, successfully intercepted them. The people have been rescued safely."
Helan Yanting nodded. "Well, how are they?"
"The Third Prince is seriously injured. After Doctor Hong's rescue, he is still unconscious. According to Doctor Hong, whether he can survive depends on whether he can get through tonight safely."
"General Li's situation is much better. He only suffered a flesh wound and it didn't hurt his internal organs. He has woken up and is waiting in the tent."
"Is he willing to surrender?"
Chang Ying's expression tightened slightly and he shook his head. "My lord, General Li is not willing to surrender to the Yuan Kingdom."
Helan Yanting was silent for a moment, then got up and was about to go out. "I'll meet him in person."
Chang Ying nodded and then followed Helan Yanting towards the tent where General Li was. Yan Qi also immediately followed. As soon as the two met, they disliked each other. They competed to take an extra step forward as if to show who was the most favored subordinate beside Helan Yanting.
Just as they were competing, Helan Yanting suddenly stopped. But the two of them didn't notice. Yan Qi just took an extra step forward. He was about to show off to Chang Ying when he unexpectedly bumped into Helan Yanting's back—
The scene instantly froze. A chill ran up Yan Qi's spine, and his blood seemed to freeze. Chang Ying's face also changed a bit and he silently took a step back.
"My lord, your subordinate..."
Yan Qi's mind went blank. He didn't know what to say and just instinctively apologized.
Helan Yanting's face was cold. He turned his head and glanced at Yan Qi indifferently. "I think you've been really idle these days."
Yan Qi quickly shook his head. "No, no, Your Highness, your subordinate knows his mistake! Your subordinate will never be so childish again! It was Lieutenant Chang Ying who provoked me first..."
Chang Ying silently gave Yan Qi a dirty look, but under Helan Yanting's gaze, he didn't continue to argue. He obediently admitted his mistake. "Your Highness, your subordinate is wrong. I shouldn't have argued with Guard Yan Qi, who is still a bit childish."
Yan Qi immediately widened his eyes. "You—"
"Both of you go to the city wall and do handstands immediately. Don't come down without my order."
"My lord, this—"
This time, the two were unexpectedly in sync and spoke in unison.
Helan Yanting cast another indifferent look. "Do you have any objections?"
Yan Qi and Chang Ying again nodded in sync quickly. "No, no! How could we have any objections? Your lord is right!"
After saying that, the two immediately turned around and walked towards the city wall one after the other.
When they left, Helan Yanting continued walking towards the tent where General Li was. As he left, his peripheral vision casually swept in the direction of a tent not far away, and then he strode forward.
After seeing Helan Yanting leave, Feng Yunshu, who had been hiding behind the tent, pulled Kong Ze out.
"Third senior brother, did you see clearly just now? The man standing next to Yan Qi just now is Chang Ying. Is he Zhushan?"
Kong Ze looked up in the direction where Chang Ying left and couldn't help frowning.
After pondering for a while, he slowly shook his head. "No, this man is not Zhushan."
Feng Yunshu was immediately confused. "Third senior brother, how do you know he's not Zhushan? Just based on his appearance? But you know there's a spell called soul - snatching. He could completely use any identity he wants to hide himself."
Kong Ze nodded. "I naturally know. But he's not. Although there is indeed a trace of demonic aura around this Chang Ying, I'm sure he's definitely not Zhushan."
"Third senior brother, why are you so sure? I didn't see you use any spells just now..."
Kong Ze suddenly smiled and reached out to touch Feng Yunshu's head. "Little junior sister, even if Zhushan really appeared in front of you, you might not be able to recognize him, right?"
"This..."
Feng Yunshu pouted and mumbled. "Who says... If he really appeared, I'm sure I could recognize him immediately! After all, I've been practicing for so many years. You make me sound like a fool!"
Xiaoling blinked her eyes on the side and whispered weakly, "I actually think what Third senior brother said is quite right. Even if Zhushan appeared, master might not be able to recognize him."
Somehow, as soon as Zhushan was mentioned, Xiaoling suddenly felt a dull pain in her head. There seemed to be a blank segment in her memory, and the context was a bit disjointed.
"Xiaoling..." Feng Yunshu gave Xiaoling a sinister look and wanted to give her a knock on the head. But seeing that Xiaoling was touching her head and looking a bit strange, she asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Xiaoling shook her head and murmured in confusion. "I don't know what's wrong. As soon as Zhushan was mentioned just now, my head seemed a bit confused. I always feel like I've forgotten something, but I just can't remember... It's really strange."
"Didn't you bump your head against the door when you were in a hurry to go out and become stupid?"