Chapter 19: The Commander's Token

He Yue retreated rapidly, shouting angrily: "Commandant Nian, please respect yourself!" Nian Songyu not only didn't respect himself, but also wanted to grab the young man.

He Yue was so scared that his face turned pale.

Fortunately, a person rushed out from the side, punching Nian Songyu in the face!

This heavy punch was powerful; if hit, Nian Songyu would have flown at least a zhang, his nose bruised and face swollen.

But he was quick to react, his body slightly shrinking, meeting fist with fist, while simultaneously kicking the other person's chest with great force, clearly having moved with anger.

But this way, he let go of He Yue.

That person was actually feinting a punch, but the killing move was the short blade in his left hand, silently stabbing toward Nian Songyu's ribs.

Since Nian Songyu noticed, he also retreated two steps, dodging that kick with foresight.

He Yue's shout finally arrived: "Stop! Don't fight!"

The person who came was He Lingchuan.

Without waiting for Nian Songyu to speak, he tilted his head, looking surprised: "Commandant Nian, why is it you!"

"I thought some shameless lecher had snuck in, wanting to ruin my second brother's purity." He Lingchuan wondered, "Commandant Nian, what are you doing standing in front of his latrine?"

"I recognize the bed and can't sleep at night, so I walk around at will. When I met Second Young Master He, I chatted with him." Nian Songyu patted his sleeves. "The Great Capital is the true place where fish and dragons are mixed. When you go there from the countryside, you need people to look after you even more."

He smiled gently at He Yue: "Second Young Master He, it's rare that we are compatible; how about we drink together again tomorrow night?"

He Yue's face was pale, and he didn't say a word.

"Good, then my second brother and I will definitely accompany you, and we won't return until we are drunk!" He Lingchuan took over the conversation. "It's just that my energy for drinking and playing is a bit high; Commandant Nian, you have to endure it."

Nian Songyu chuckled twice, always feeling that this guy's demeanor was a bit wretched, and didn't want to talk.

He Lingchuan said again: "By the way, have you found the person who leaked the news of my serious injury? I think it's an inside traitor!"

Nian Songyu's smile slowly disappeared: "Not yet." After speaking, he turned around and walked away leisurely.

As soon as he disappeared, He Yue ran to the pond to wash his hands, his speed as fast as a rabbit shot in the tail.

He Lingchuan heard him curse a dirty word, which was rare, and saw his face pale, washing his hands over and over again, wishing he could scrub off a layer of skin. "Big brother, fortunately you were there."

He was only fourteen after all; no matter how mature he was, he had to rely on his brother to support him at such times.

"Looking at his annoying appearance, my hands are itchy too." He Lingchuan comforted him. "But even if I weren't there, he wouldn't have really done anything to you today."

"Was he pretending?" He Yue frowned. "I checked Nian Songyu; he seems to really have this hobby."

Several generations of Yuan Emperors liked the male wind, which became the fashion of the Great Capital, and it was common for high-ranking nobles to keep beautiful men. A young man like He Yue, who had delicate eyebrows and eyes, was exactly the prey some people liked.

"Whether he's pretending or not, I don't know." He Lingchuan chuckled. "But he intimidated you; for the sake of your purity, our family has to speed up our work. Luring with profit in the afternoon, intimidating at night; this is called double-pronged."

He squeezed his younger brother's face hard: "Look at this delicate skin and tender meat; no wonder others have evil intentions. I told you to practice martial arts with me early on, but you wouldn't."

He Yue slapped his hand away with a "pa": "They are already impatient. Is it because the changes in the Panlong Desert are imminent?"

"Perhaps." He Lingchuan turned and walked out. "You sleep early; I'll go find something to eat."

"The low cabinet in the big kitchen often hides snacks."

"What is it today?"

"A pot of walnut cakes." He Yue coughed. "But only half is left."

"Not apple honey crisps?" He Lingchuan suddenly realized. "I said why I couldn't find them sometimes; it turns out they were stolen and eaten by you!"

Walking to a quiet and uninhabited place, he shook his left fist hard.

"Sss, it hurts." He looked at his red knuckles; the skin wasn't broken, but it was a bit swollen. "That guy Nian Songyu has some goods."

His fist had been tempered with iron sand and flint for years, and could easily break a knife-wood as thick as a bowl. But the punch he threw at Nian Songyu sent back a force that made his finger bones ache.

￥￥￥￥￥

Early the next morning, the two guests were invited to the main hall, and He Chunhua personally reported the good news to them.

"The entire leopard corpse has been found." Governor He had been busy until late last night and had only slept for one hour, but now he was radiant, even more energetic than his two sons. "But I think you two should only want this leopard tooth."

He spread his palm, revealing the leopard tooth.

Nian Songyu leaned in impatiently: "Let me see!"

No one cared how the leopard corpse was found. It was just a set of rhetoric, and everyone knew it well.

But He Chunhua sighed: "I thought it was some opponent who made a move in secret. After all, Black Water City is located on the frontier, surrounded by external enemies, and I didn't expect there to be so many inside stories. Delaying the State Preceptor's major event, I hope you two will forgive me."

What else could State Preceptor Sun say? He could only be magnanimous: "It doesn't matter, those who don't know are not guilty, not to mention Young Master He was also seriously injured."

So He Chunhua took out the leopard tooth and poured the contents onto a brocade tray: "It's all here, State Preceptor, please look, which one is the token?"

Everyone gathered to look, and Sun Fuping asked for a cup of water and dropped a grass seed into it.

After shaking it twice, the grass seed began to take root and sprout, growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just over ten breaths, it grew into a flowering plant, and it only bloomed one fluffy white flower, with six petals, the size of a fingernail.

Sun Fuping picked up the things on the brocade tray, one by one, and brought them close to the small flower.

The flower had no reaction, until—

Until He Lingchuan brought the broken comb close, the white flower suddenly withered, even the stems and leaves withered, and finally turned into powder, drifting away in the water.

"It should be this one." Sun Fuping just wanted to reach out, but He Chunhua took the comb first and examined it carefully. "It's been over a hundred years, and the attached resentment is still so strong."

Nian Songyu wondered: "The token of the dignified Commander of Panlongcheng is actually a comb?"

He Lingchuan shrugged: "He also once had a wife and daughter."

He Yue intervened and asked: "I have one thing I don't understand. When the Xianyou Kingdom finally broke through Panlong City, why didn't they take away the Great Square Pot? They suffered no small losses and should have known its value."

"According to the history of the Xianyou Kingdom, after the army broke through Panlong City, they slaughtered the city. On the third day, the river wells dried up, and even the water in the moat disappeared overnight; on the fifth day, the plants and grass turned black and rotten, and the crops and withered grass all died; on the seventh day, all the livestock fell to the ground and died. The Xianyou army saw that this place was very ominous and had to withdraw as soon as possible, not to mention that without water or food, people couldn't persist. Moreover, this troop was immediately transferred to fight in the north and didn't use the Great Square Pot." State Preceptor Sun drank a cup of tea. "Not only that, I searched through all the historical records of Xianyou and didn't see any battle where the Heart-Confusing Worm was suspected to have been added. Such a treasure, once the Xianyou Kingdom got it, how could they not put it on the battlefield?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 20 =====