On his back, Yan Haobo grimaced in pain but only gritted his teeth without making a sound.
Many of Yan Haobo’s bones were broken. If a normal person was in his shoes, that person would have been unconscious long ago, but Yan Haobo endured it with his strong will.
Ou Yangming comforted, “Squad Leader Yan, hold on a little longer, we’ll be back in the camp in no time.”
He did not mean the Immense Forest Military Camp, but the Prefecture Military Camp. Although General Chen would not be present, it would not be easy for anyone to lay a finger on them as long as they entered the military camp.
Nevertheless, when they were reaching the gate, they heard a deafening sound coming from a gong. “Catch the thieves, close the gate, catch the thieves!”
A “creak” was heard as the gate that led to the military camp was slowly closing. Ou Yangming’s face changed, and he yelled, “Charge our way through it!” The fact that they suddenly encountered the unforeseen event was clear even to a fool that it was a scheme against them.
If they were really stuck here, Ou Yangming would not fear the Liang family because he had the backing of the Ni family and the Fang family. Despite that, if he had to resort to that, he would lose face.
Sui Hezhi responded to him, then they shouted as they made their way through the crowd toward the gate. The front of the gate was already chaotic by then. The commoners naturally dodged as they dared not tread on muddy water; the soldiers who guarded the gate raised their spear, but they looked flustered.
Prefecture guards were naturally chosen soldiers, and in terms of training only, they were not inferior to the Immense Forest Military Camp at all. However, as well-trained as the soldiers were, if they had never gone on a battlefield and had not seen blood, they were not the best soldiers.
While the soldiers at the gate had uniform movements at that moment, their eyes betrayed the agitation and fear inside them.
Ou Yangming stopped when he saw the gate being closed slowly, and he suddenly called, “Brothers, the three of us are soldiers from the Immense Forest West Camp. Our squad leader is severely injured, so he needs to enter the camp to be saved! Please let us out of the prefecture since we’re all brothers in the military!”
The gate, which was slowly being closed, actually stopped.
Many soldiers fixed their blade-like gaze on Ou Yangming and his companions. If a timid person was being stared at violently instead, one would have probably dropped to the ground already.
That said, Ou Yangming and Sui Hezhi stood side by side. Though Ou Yangming was also carrying a person on his back, they did not flinch…
Men in the military gave the most weight to one’s aura. Therefore, the soldiers were hesitant after they saw Ou Yangming and Sui Hezhi’s expression.
At the spur of the moment, someone asked out loud, “Who are you?”
Ou Yangming noticed an officer when he looked up. “I’m Ou Yangming from the Immense Forest Military Camp’s Armament Camp. Who are
you?”
The officer looked up and responded, “You don’t have to try to connect with me because I don’t know who you are. I just want to ask — why is he injured? Why did someone sound the horn and give us the order to close the
gate?”
Ou Yangming answered, “Squad Leader Jiang Chengwei from the Middle Camp died in an accident while on duty. As a result, his younger sister has nobody to rely on, their property was forcibly occupied by the Liang family servants, and her current status is still unknown. Squad Leader Yan Haobo from the West Camp came to investigate this matter, but he was attacked and injured by the Liang family servants. We’ve just saved him earlier!”
The soldiers were in a clamor after they heard what happened. Even though military orders were like a mountain, which was why they still held their weapons, they began to look fierce.
There was a unique temperament between soldiers, thus the soldiers approved of Ou Yangming and Sui Hezhi after seeing their behavior earlier. They could not distinguish the truth from the false yet, but they subconsciously trusted the men.
“Okay, I trust you!” The officer furrowed his eyebrows a little and expressed loudly.
The soldiers around him looked at him in shock as soon as he said that, but he had an extremely high status among the soldiers, so the harsh atmosphere immediately reduced by half.
Nevertheless, the officer added, “I trust you, but the military has laws and regulations. Since an order was given to close the gate, nobody can pass. You should… Stay!” Before his voice died away, he already raised his spear to launch an attack.
The spear traveled at the speed of light, and it was ready to take out everything in its way.
Ou Yangming widened his eyes, but he had a strange expression on his face.
“Swoosh…”
When the spear was shot out, its mightiness was unparalleled.
In spite of that, the powerful spear’s accuracy was so off that it completely missed its target.
The swift and fierce spear flew half a meter to the side of Ou Yangming’s body, hence it could not hurt him at all no matter how forceful its spear force was.
Subsequently, the officer shouted, “Hey, this fella’s very sneaky. Brothers, let’s attack together!”
“Yes”
The other soldiers roared and raised their spear to attack. They were well-trained and were aggressive when they attacked, but the spears that were shot out missed their target such that they were nowhere close to Ou Yangming and his companions.
“Thank you,” Ou Yangming uttered softly as he was touched. Following that, he and Sui Hezhi ran past the soldiers.
Wherever they ran, the soldiers were instantly thrown off their feet and countless spears were thrown in their way, but not even their skin was grazed.
“Don’t let the thieves get away, quickly close the gate!”
Far away, about ten people were charging toward the gate as well. Judging from their body technique, the soldiers could tell that the person in front was a Yang Grade powerhouse.
The officer’s face changed, and he yelled sternly, “Quickly-close the gate!”
Ou Yangming and Sui Hezhi quickly hastened out of the gate, which was about to close. It was only when they successfully escaped that the officer uttered the words “close the gate”. A loud “boom” was heard as the gigantic gate was finally closed.
When the martial artists, who caught up after a while, witnessed the scene, their blood boiled, and they were red with anger.
“You, why did you let the thieves get away?”
The officer glanced at him snappily. “I received a military order to close the gate to obstruct the thieves, what’s wrong with that?”
“You, you’re… Okay, I’m not going to argue with you. Quickly open the gate!”
“Who do you think you are? How dare you order me around? Brothers, a bugle was sounded to alert us about thieves who were going to escape through the gate. I’m guessing that they’re the thieves! Come and take them down now!” The officer glared at the martial artist.
“Yes
“
The soldiers immediately wielded their spears and pressed forward.
On the other hand, the martial artists looked at each other. Based on their numbers and strength, they could easily kill all the soldiers, but if they really dared to do it, it would be considered a revolt.
Without wild ambition, how many people actually had the guts to do it?
The Yang Grade powerhouse, who was the leader, was furious. “Ni Feihong, do you not recognize me?”
“I’m carrying out a military task, and I’m not making any allowances for anyone. Get them…” The officer expressed coldly.
Seeing as the soldiers were pressing on at every step, the martial artists refrained from attacking to avoid getting into trouble. They were deeply infuriated, but they could only retreat and escape in the end.
The officer watched coldly as they left, then he waved his hand to
call for his subordinate and ordered with a soft voice, “Return to the residence and inform Eldest Young Master that Master Ou is in trouble.”
His subordinate responded to him and quickly left.
****
Ou Yangming and Sui Hezhi sped all the way and finally arrived at the military camp, which was stationed outside the prefecture.
The guards at the camp stopped them, but they quickly called for the medical officer.
Before long, two captains showed up.
They were Captain Wu Guotu from the Middle Camp and Captain Yu Hailiang from the South Camp. Both of them had a grave expression on their faces, which was clear that they had found out about the situation from Sui Hezhi.
“Master Ou, you acted too rashly,” Yu Hailiang remarked with a deep voice once he saw Ou Yangming. He added after a pause, “General Fang is in the prefecture, why didn’t you just ask him to intervene?”
“Squad Leader Yan had already fallen into the enemies’ hands. If I delayed it any further, I’ll regret it forever.” Ou Yangming chuckled, then he cupped his hands at the captains. “I’m at ease now that I see you. Please send Squad Leader Yan and Brother Sui back to General Chen Yifan in the Immense Forest Military Camp.”
Wu Guotu pulled a long face and asked, “What about you? Aren’t you going?”
Ou Yangming smiled and said, “No, I have something to do.”
“What is it?”
“Of course I’m going to take revenge for Squad Leader Jiang,” Ou Yangming answered and then continued, “Squad Leader Jiang died saving me, but I failed to protect his family. Heh, how will I have the face to meet him again in a hundred years…”
Wu Guotu’s face darkened. It looked like it was covered in black ink.
“Ou Yangming, do you know about the Liang family?” Yu Hailiang asked with a deep voice.
“No, but I don’t want to know either.” Ou Yangming strode away and waved his hand as he left. His voice was clearly heard even though he had gone far away. “I only know that my brothers in the military mustn’t be humiliated! i’ll chop off the limbs of those who hurt my brothers, and I’ll endlessly pursue those who bully my family…”
Seeing as Ou Yangming walked away and disappeared in the blink of an eye, the captains of the Guards could not help but exchange glances; their eyes were burning with a raging fire.
Yu Hailiang suddenly asked after a brief moment, “Brother Wu, how many people from the Middle Camp’s Guards are here?”
“About thirty of them.” “Okay, please lend them to the South Camp for a while. Don’t worry, if anything happens, our camp will bear the responsibility!” Yu Hailiang smiled sinisterly. “No.”
Yu Hailiang was stunned, and he cursed. “Pfft, you’re a Yang Grade powerhouse, but you’re just a coward!”
Wu Guotu cast a cold look at him, then he suddenly shouted, “Fall in!”
As soon as he ordered, thirty sturdy men ran over and got into three rows.
“Did you see?” Wu Guotu asked loudly.
“Yes, we saw!” The men answered at the same time.
“Did you hear?”
“Yes, we heard!”
“Who was Jiang Chengwei?” “The Middle Camp’s squad leader!”
Wu Guotu waved his hand and instructed, “Come… With me!”
“Very well, how dare you use this trick?” Yu Hailiang was dumbfounded when he watched them, thus he also waved his hand and asked, “Brothers, can the South Camp be inferior to the Middle Camp and the West Camp?”
“No!”
“Why are you still standing there then? Let’s
go!”
With that, another twenty men buckled on their armor to go into battle. Each of them looked grim and fierce, and the fire of enmity spread out like a night dragon, which was going to sweep Heaven and Earth.
Chapter 162 - Just Do It
Chapter 162 Just Do It
“General, this is bad…”
In the military camp, Li Xinfan, the Middle Camp’s commander, glanced at the Guards captain beside him and said, “Leshui, why are you panicking? The sky isn’t falling.” Wang Leshui furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “General, are you going to let them leave the camp as they wish? Are you not going to restrain them?”
A normal soldier would not dare to speak to Li Xinfan in a questioning tone. However, not only was Wang Leshui the general’s Guards captain, but they also shared a different relationship because they were like brothers. As such, Wang Leshui did not have to hold back.
Li Xinfan could not help but laugh and responded, “I’m not their direct general, so how can I stop them?”
“But they’re in the Prefecture Military Camp now!” Wang Leshui debated, “The imperial family is trying to find fault with us, aren’t you letting them have something on us by doing this? Did you forget who the Liang family is?”
Li Xinfan shook his head and said, “I know that the Liang family is the imperial family’s chess piece in Linlang County, but so what? They’ve indeed done something wrong. Besides, they offended three generals in the Immense Forest Military Camp at the same time. Hehe, I’m already giving them face by not getting involved. Moreover… The fact that they bullied a soldier’s family makes one’s hair stand on end, and everyone in the military is already viewing them as a common enemy. If I stopped the soldiers earlier, I’d definitely lose my reputation!” There was a flash of luster in his eyes.
Wang Leshui was stunned for a while before he said, “Sir, you’re right.”
“Since we’re in the military, we have to sit upright. If I handle things unfairly and disappoint the soldiers, I’m afraid that they’ll abandon me when I need them to risk their lives while performing their duties in the future.” Li Xinfan chuckled.
“Sir, you’re very wise. I only thought about how we should fear the imperial family, but I forgot about how our brothers would think.” Wang Leshui’s face reddened.
Li Xinfan curled his lips into a bright smile and said, “You don’t actually have to worry too much because it won’t be a big issue.”
Wang Leshui was surprised. “Sir, how do you know?”
“The leader behind this is clearly a smart person, so he should know when to stop,” Li Xinfan explained slowly.
“Sir, according to what I heard, he has already killed two men,” Wang Leshui asked in confusion.
“The men he killed were from the Liang family, and they were protectors who jointly attacked the squad leader. As for the constable and soldiers who guarded the gate, were any of them injured?” Wang Leshui’s eyes lit up. “You’re right, he has a good sense of propriety indeed.”
“Hmph, it’s not just because he has a good sense of propriety,” Li Xinhan commented, “I heard that the Ni family and the Fang family actually had a small conflict when Ou Yangming arrived at the prefecture. Hehe, the nearest gate from the prefecture to our camp is actually the small southwest gate, but they came out from the west gate. Think about it, which clan has influence around the west
gate?”
“The Ni family,” Wang Leshui answered.
“Yes. The fella seemes ruthless, but he knows to take advantage of someone else’s force. Once his companion was captured, he didn’t just go to save him. The fella also killed the attackers at the speed of light to set a reputation for himself and to destroy the enemies’ mental line of defense, then he proceeded to save his companion.” Li Xinfan paused for a while before he continued, “Later on, instead of continuing the fight, the fella sent his injured companion to a safe place, and he only carried on with his plan when he had no worries.”
Li Xinfan shook his head and remarked, “It’s rare that he’s only so young, but he’s experienced and vicious when he deals with matters. He has a bright and promising future!”
Wang Leshui’s face changed as he wondered, “The general’s remark for the young fella is a bit too high, isn’t it?’
Li Xinfan gazed into the distance as though he looked through the limitless spa
ce ahead and saw the young fellow, who was already far away.
Instead of returning the way he came, Ou Yangming entered through the small southwest gate.
Sure enough, the gate was not closed yet, and he did not alert anyone when he entered.
Nonetheless, someone approached him after he had just taken a few steps into the prefecture. When Ou Yangming glanced at the person, he instantly recognized that it was a Ni family servant, who served him in the residence.
“Master Ou, I finally found you!” The servant was surprised but delighted. “Eldest Young Lady said I’d definitely find you if I waited here.”
Ou Yangming could not help but laugh, and he felt a warmth in his heart. “Since Yinghong sent you here, she probably has something to tell me?”
The servant looked at him admiringly and answered, “Yes. Eldest Young Lady said that the men you killed were the Liang family protectors, who were not worth mentioning. As for the person you interrogated, he’s the private butler of the Liang family’s third young master, and he’s now hiding in Third Young Master Liang’s residence.”
Ou Yangming’s eyes wandered about, and he asked, “Do you know the way?”
“I do.” The servant then hesitated for a while before he added, “Eldest Young Lady told me to ask you, do you know the Liang family’s background?”
“What did Yinghong say?” Ou Yangming smiled faintly.
“Eldest Young Lady asked me to tell you if you want to know, so that you can weigh the pros and cons, but if you don’t want to know, just do it!” The servant answered while he lowered his head.
Ou Yangming frowned and suddenly asked, “Did Eldest Young Lady really say that?” The servant looked up in shock, but he could not let a word out.
“Since that person’s so emboldened, he probably has high status in the clan, doesn’t he?”
“Master Ou, I-I dare not say it…” The servant looked troubled. He cupped his hands, but he lifted three of his fingers with the hand that was cupping the first, and he pointed them in the sky.
Ou Yangming inhaled deeply as he was confused why the three figures would give him such a promise.
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