Chapter 2017: Meeting Again in a Foreign Land

When the Black Armored Army entered Mian City, and when Guo Bai Yu's head was impaled on a spear and displayed publicly, cheers rose like a tidal wave, and the townspeople lined the streets to welcome them.

From the brink of death to a narrow escape, from defeat to victory, Mian City was filled with joy, immersed in the happiness of this extreme reversal.

The Black Armored Army entered the city, standing ramrod straight.

No matter how many times they were warmly welcomed, this feeling was addictive, especially since the people's gratitude came from the heart.

The cheers, applause, and the smiles on people's faces let them know their fighting and sacrifices were worthwhile.

The defenders of Mian City were moved to tears.

They had won; after enduring dozens of days and nights of torment like purgatory, they had survived, and the reinforcements promised by the Dragon God had arrived.

Wan Qi Liang looked left and right, but saw no local official: "Where is the Huang County Magistrate?"

"The Huang County Magistrate has unfortunately died in battle." Tu Shanfang's face was grim. "Hao County was breached by Guo Bai Yu, and we took in over thirty thousand refugees from Hao County. But the former county magistrate, Yu An, seized the opportunity to sabotage the Huang County Magistrate, using insect demons to control him and shut down the city's guardian beasts, which led to Mian City facing today's military disaster."

"Where is he?"

"Yu An tried to sneak out of the city, but we stopped him."

Wan Qi Liang immediately said: "Send someone to bring me to see him."

Post-battle Mian City had countless matters to attend to, and he was not a leader who needed constant companionship, so let Tu Shanfang handle the urgent affairs first.

Sure enough, as soon as Wan Qi Liang walked away, all sorts of affairs inside and outside the city government came to Tu Shanfang, giving him a headache.

The city defense forces, he could barely manage; but the internal affairs of the city government—this rough old man who couldn't even recognize all these characters, besides signing his name, what else could he do?

Hidden among the nearby crowd were five or six people, all in plain clothes. One of them was none other than the Qingwei from Qingyang's command, stationed in Guo Bai Yu's army as a supervisor.

After Guo Bai Yu was driven back, the people of Mian City went out to clean the battlefield and carry back the wounded, with many people coming and going, so the supervisor took the opportunity to slip in.

He was still holding a woman's hand, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with an ordinary face, somewhat dark and somewhat rough, not much different from the local girls of Mian City; once blended into the crowd, she would be impossible to find.

The supervisor asked the woman: "Do you know what you should do?"

She answered with unwavering firmness: "Yes!"

At this moment, Fan Shuang and his son arrived, wanting to declare a batch of supplies; the items gathered from outside the city were too many, including both their own and the enemy's.

Fan Shuang had just said a few words to Tu Shanfang when he saw someone walk out of the Black Armored Army, with a fat monkey sitting on his shoulder.

He looked somewhat familiar, and Fan Shuang immediately raised his hand to greet: "Hey, Mr. Wei!"

Isn't this the Wei Yishan who was beside He Xiong? During He Xiong's stay as a merchant of Yangshan in Tianshui City, this Wei Yishan had been a long-term resident of Yongquan Mountain Villa, and it was said he even had a private workshop. Fan Shuang was also curious about his work, but no one in the villa could explain it clearly—only that when he retreated into seclusion, he would stay for ten or twenty days, and when he emerged, mysterious boxes of various sizes would go in and out.

Moreover, He Xiong treated him with exceptional courtesy.

As a regular guest of Yongquan Mountain Villa, Fan Shuang had seen Wei Yishan four or five times and had become familiar with his face.

Meeting again in a foreign land, it felt as if separated by lifetimes.

"Fan Shuang?" Dong Rui saw him and was somewhat surprised: "How did you end up here?"

Actually, he wanted to say: "You kid, your life is really big." On the day Bai Tan launched his uprising, he slaughtered half of Tianshui City's high officials, yet he didn't wipe out the Fan family—just because of Fan Shuang's and He Xiong's relationship.

"Ah, hard to put into words!" Fan Shuang shook his head with a wry smile. "The state of Yaoyang fell, our family fled in disarray, and finally we found refuge in Mian City. Tu Brother helped us father and son find a position in the city government."

He pointed to Tu Shanfang to introduce both parties, and the latter immediately bowed to Dong Rui: "Thank you, my lord, for saving my life!"

That bat-like monster killed people indiscriminately; after Dong Rui entered the city, he happened to see the little monster crawl into Dong Rui's sleeve and disappear again.

Dong Rui was bewildered: "What favor?"

"I was fighting on the city walls, and it was your demon servant who killed the insect demon." Tu Shanfang gestured, "A monster like a bat..."

He had not been following He Lingchuan and Dong Rui, so he didn't know that thing was called a "demon puppet."

"Oh, it's fine." Dong Rui, always talking about his profession, said, "Where are the remains of the insect demon?"

"Still on the city wall, not yet cleaned up. I'll send them over later." Tu Shanfang again put on a thick-skinned face and asked, "You, your demon servant—can it spit fire?"

Most⊥new⊥small⊥say⊥in⊥⊥⊥first⊥release!

He was referring to the little monkey on Dong Rui's shoulder.

Earlier, it had been killing people in the chaotic army, clearly tall and mighty.

The monkey didn't even glance at him, just holding its water pouch and drinking by itself.

"Yeah, so what?"

"The feeding port of the guardian beast was tampered with, and it's still a block of ice to this day; even ordinary fire can't melt it. I'm afraid chiseling or axing might damage the mechanism."

"Isn't that simple?" Dong Rui was also very straightforward, and he jerked his chin at the monkey on his shoulder: "Let it go."

At the master's command, the ghost ape had no choice but to roll its eyes and follow the city guards up the wall to melt the ice at the feeding port.

The Qingwei in the crowd, after hearing the three words "Mr. Wei," began to scrutinize Dong Rui more closely, then asked the demon puppet master beside him:

"Is it him?"

"Yes, it's this sly-eyed, rat-faced thing!" the demon puppet master affirmed, "His monkey killed my Nine Rings, and its body is stained with the Nine Rings' fluid, so I can always track it!"

"Good." The Qingwei still remembered the Palace Master's instructions, glanced at the little girl beside him, "Activation also takes time, so we'll go set up first."

"The Palace Master said, this person is naturally solitary, won't always be in a crowd, and must have moments of being alone."

The demon puppet master also nodded: "People in our line of work usually don't like crowds."

The crowd in Mian City kept pressing forward with the army, and Fan Shuang was also assigned to be beside Dong Rui. Now the city government was in chaos and manpower was tight, so his current duty of inspection and verification had to change to reception. Dong Mr. is not an ordinary person, and it's rare that the two of them are somewhat familiar, so this task—if not given to Fan Shuang, who else could it be given to?

Fan Shuang originally wanted to arrange for Dong Rui to stay in the private residence behind the city government, but Dong Rui complained that place was too noisy, after all, too many people were coming and going from the city office today. So he found a garden near the east city; although not far from the city gate, the residence was large, and the gate was far from the main house, belonging to the type that finds tranquility in noise. What pleased Dong Rui even more was that the owner of this household had already fled with his family before Guo Bai Yu attacked Mian City, so the vast residence was now Dong Rui's alone, quiet and peaceful.

After helping him settle in, Fan Shuang looked left and right: "Eh, why hasn't your ape servant come back yet?"

"Probably the ice on the city wall is hard to deal with, after all, it's formed by divine powers." Dong Rui yawned, "Alright, no need to be so meticulous—I'm only staying one night, and I'll set off early tomorrow."

The Black Armored Army's tasks are heavy; since Guo Bai Yu has already been beheaded, Wan Qi Liang will set out for other battlefields early tomorrow morning.