Chapter 200: General Mu, long time no see

A while later.

Mu Cheng suddenly heard someone shouting from afar: "General, we've caught someone!"

Immediately after, torchlight swayed and footsteps sounded hurried and chaotic.

Mu Cheng was puzzled.

Caught someone? I haven't even been discovered yet—who did they catch?

Wait……

Besides myself running into this mountain range, the only others could be my family and those mysterious people who rescued me!

Thinking of this, Mu Cheng panicked, crawling low in the thick grass, inching toward the direction of the shouts.

"General, Mu Cheng's parents and wife have been captured!" a subordinate reported loudly before Liu General, "The rest of his children, though escorted by a dozen people fleeing, have also been surrounded by another of our troops—no escape!"

Liu General laughed: "Good, bring them to me!"

The subordinate waved his hand behind him.

A dozen soldiers then escorted the three people to Liu General's presence.

Mu Cheng, hiding in the dark, saw the scene, but because the distance was somewhat far, his view obstructed, and the torches beside the soldiers flickered, he could not clearly make out the three people's appearances.

Regarding this, he was full of doubts in his heart and decided to continue observing first.

"General, how should we handle these three?" the subordinate asked, "Or should we first send someone to escort them back to the frontier?"

Liu General waved his hands repeatedly, "No need to waste time and effort on these three; the life or death of Mu Cheng's family is actually unimportant—so long as Mu Cheng isn't dead, even bringing back his family's heads would be useless, we can't report success."

The subordinate said: "Then… release them? Anyway, leaving them in these wild mountains is as good as dead."

Liu General snapped angrily: "Bullshit! Mu Cheng nearly got me killed; how could I swallow this anger? First beat his parents and his woman to vent my fury—beat them to death for me! Kill them outright!"

"Yes, General!"

The subordinate turned and walked to the side of the dozen soldiers, lowering his voice to quickly instruct: "All of you, act the part."

"Especially you three." The subordinate kicked the three curled up on the ground, then loudly ordered: "Hit them!"

As the words fell, the dozen soldiers began to act.

They formed a circle and rained punches and kicks on the three.

The three emitted painful wails.

Mu Cheng clenched his fists in the weeds, straining to widen his eyes and prick up his ears, focusing all his attention to try to confirm further.

But he really couldn't see clearly.

As for the three's wails, listening, they indeed sounded like one man and two women.

But because the cries were too miserable and they spoke no words, he still couldn't confirm whether they were his parents and wife.

"Why hasn't he shown up yet." Liu General, while keeping an eye on the surroundings, quietly asked the subordinate, "Your idea is good, but won't Mu Cheng see through it?"

The subordinate whispered: "General, rest assured; even if he suspects further, he wouldn't dare gamble on whether those three are really his parents and wife—as long as he can't be certain, he'll surely come out, for he values his family more than his own life."

Just as Liu General's subordinate said.

At this moment, Mu Cheng's inner torment grew ever more intense.

That shrill wail was like a knife, slicing into his heart over and over.

Although both intuition and reason told him it probably wasn't his family, most likely a ruse by Liu General.

But the more he thought, the more fearful he became—what if… what if it were true?

After all, he had no way to be completely certain his family had already crossed the mountains to reach safety.

"Stop it!" Mu Cheng bellowed, rising from the grass, "I'm here!"

"Over there!" Liu General exclaimed delightedly, pointing toward the sound's direction, "Quick, seize him!"

A group of soldiers rushed at Mu Cheng like wolves pouncing on prey, quickly pressing him to the ground, binding his hands and feet with rope, then only then lifting him to Liu General.

Liu General clapped and laughed loudly, "Hahaha! Mu Cheng, you've practically walked into the net yourself!"

"Release them!" Mu Cheng gritted his back teeth, "His Majesty wants to kill me; you only need to take my head!"

Liu General laughed, doubling over, waving his hand to the side, "Come on, come on, let General Mu Cheng get a good look at his parents and wife, hahaha!"

The dozen soldiers also laughed heartily, helping up the three who had just been beaten.

The three staggered to Liu General's face, pushing aside their messy long hair, revealing faces swollen from the beating.

Mu Cheng now finally saw clearly that all three were men.

"You've suffered some flesh wounds for your hard work!" Liu General patted their shoulders, "You acted the part well, even mimicking women's wails lifelike—excellent! Now go clean up, put your armor back on, and after returning to the frontier, I will surely reward you handsomely!"

The three grimaced, supporting each other as they walked away.

"Mu Cheng, you're really stupid, hahaha!" Liu General laughed triumphantly, "Are you regretting taking the bait now?"

On Mu Cheng's exhausted face appeared a faint smile of relief, "I have no regrets; at least I know my family hasn't been captured by you."

"Hah, still stubborn," Liu General stepped on Mu Cheng's face with one foot, "Capturing you is enough."

Liu General then pulled off Mu Cheng's helmet, holding it in his hand to examine.

Looking closely now, he discovered the helmet's material was special, seemingly a metal finer than refined iron.

Next he drew Mu Cheng's sidearm, the more he looked, the more shocked he became.

"Mu Cheng, where did you get this armor and sword? As far as I know, not only in our Great Wilderness, even Yu Guo couldn't produce such Divine Weapon."

Mu Cheng merely gave a cold laugh, offering no reply.

Liu General laid the blade across Mu Cheng's throat, "No need to say more; such a Divine Weapon is likely the only set in the world, from now on it will be mine—go on your way in peace."

Having said that, he gripped the hilt with both hands and slowly raised the blade.

The sharp long blade gleamed in the torchlight, and a shaft of moonlight filtering through the branches added an extra edge of sharpness to the blade.

Mu Cheng calmly closed his eyes.

"A fine sword, truly a fine sword—using it to behead you will surely be a wonderful pleasure!" Liu General's face showed a feral grin as he swung the blade down at Mu Cheng's neck.

Whoosh!

A sound of breaking the air suddenly rang out.

Then came a clear 'ding' sound, and the long blade that had fallen halfway was struck by something.

General Liu's hands went numb at the tiger's mouth, the long blade slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.

"Who! Who did this!" he shouted, turning his head.

The surrounding soldiers looked at each other, eyes wide, completely bewildered.

General Liu was furious and about to burst out in a tirade when suddenly another soft sound rang out.

Whoosh!

General Liu's body stiffened, he collapsed with a boom, and a short arrow was seen embedded in his forehead.

He never saw where the arrow came from, even until his last breath.

More short arrows followed, flying out from the darkness all around like a torrential rain.

These Wasteland Nation soldiers had no time to react; in the blink of an eye, countless were killed or wounded.

What shocked them even more was that their helmets and armor were useless against these arrows; anyone hit was either killed or injured, and they didn't even know who was attacking them.

"Run!" someone shouted.

None had the courage to fight; they dropped helmets and armor and fled in disarray.

From the mountains and forests, lithe black figures darted out, pursuing and attacking them like ghosts.

"General Mu, are you injured?" a man in black armor hurried to Mu Cheng's side and cut the ropes binding his hands and feet with a dagger.

Mu Cheng was a bit dazed, "I'm not hurt, you are…"

"General Mu, your family has already reached the safe zone; please follow me." Without further explanation, he grabbed Mu Cheng and ran deeper into the mountains and forests.

Only after they had put distance between themselves and the sounds of battle did the black‑armored person slow his pace, pull out a palm‑sized square object, and examine it.

Mu Cheng saw that the object glowed on its surface and had ripple‑like patterns; finding it very strange, he couldn't help asking, "What is this?"

"This is a signal locator provided by the Fairy," the black‑armored man explained while observing, "the thing you, General, swallowed is a signal transmitter; we used it to find you, and now we must use the same method to return, or we'll get lost."

"Signal? Locator… transmitter…?" Mu Cheng listened to these unfamiliar terms, his mind nearly unable to keep up.

The black‑armored man continued leading the way, while Mu Cheng followed closely, full of questions.

After walking for about an hour and a half through dense woods, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

Mu Cheng looked up and saw a campsite with several pitched tents; many people in the same black armor were patrolling around, and he urgently asked, "Where are my family?"

"Please follow me."

The black‑armored man led Mu Cheng into a large tent.

Inside the tent glowed a soft oil lamp, and several beds he had never seen before were set up; his parents, his wife, and several children lay asleep on them.

"Great General," the black‑armored man whispered, "their injuries and illnesses have been effectively treated, and they are resting after having eaten and drunk their fill; you can rest assured."

Mu Cheng stepped lightly over, watching his family breathe peacefully and sleep soundly; he couldn't help feeling a great weight lift from his shoulders, and his eyes grew moist.

"Father… Mother…" he knelt down softly and whispered an apology, "Lady… children… I have caused you to suffer…"

At that moment, he noticed that his family members were all wearing garments he had never seen before.

Pure white as snow, the texture soft and supple; he did not know what fabric it was.

Even more strangely, the sick little daughter had a kind of needle inserted into the back of her hand, connected to a thin tube whose other end was linked to a peculiar bottle hanging beside the bed.

And this transparent bottle contained an unknown liquid.

"What… what is this?" Mu Cheng felt a little shocked, "What's happened to my daughter?"

The black‑armored man said, "Please rest assured, Great General, this is an intravenous treatment for your daughter, using medicine and equipment supplied by the Fairy for our military doctors."

Mu Cheng grew more doubtful, "Who exactly is the Fairy you speak of? Could you let me see her?"

"Of course, the Fairy said she also wants to meet you."

The black‑armored man then led Mu Cheng to another tent.

Just as he stepped inside, a rich, enticing aroma rushed into Mu Cheng's nostrils.

He hadn't even had a chance to take in the interior when his stomach began to growl.

"Jinli Fairy, General Mu has arrived." the black‑armored man reported, then withdrew from the tent.

"Oh, perfect timing; as soon as I heard General Mu had arrived here, I whipped up a cup of instant noodles," Ning Jinli greeted with a smile, "General Mu must be starving—come sit down and eat."

Mu Cheng froze for a moment, feeling that this young, beautiful woman was unlike anyone he had ever seen before.

But having encountered one incomprehensible thing after another today, his mind was nearly muddled; now his stomach growled fiercely, and he had no time to think, striding straight up to stare fixedly at the steaming food on the table.

"How fragrant…" Mu Cheng gulped down saliva.

"Here," Ning Jinli handed him a plastic fork, "use this to eat; first fill your stomach."

"Thank you, Jinli Fairy!"

Mu Cheng could wait no longer; he picked up the fork and lifted the bowl of instant noodles.

The instant the first mouthful of noodles entered his mouth, his face filled with astonishment.

To him, not only were the utensils for holding the noodles, the fork for eating them, and the style of the noodles themselves extremely special, but even more so was the flavor.

Who would have thought such delicious food existed in the world?!

This is certainly not just because he was starving that it tastes supremely delicious!

Mu Cheng finished the bucket of noodles in a few bites, even drinking the broth down to the last drop.

"What kind of noodles are these? They're so delicious!" he licked the corner of his mouth, still wanting more, "May I ask, Fairy… is there any more?"

"Plenty, plenty, plenty—enough to fill you up." Ning Jinli immediately continued to prepare more instant noodles for him, and also took out a heap of meat cans, opened them, and let him eat them with the noodles.

After about half an hour.

On the table, the instant‑noodle buckets and cans were piled up like mountains.

Mu Cheng finally ate his fill, even having to take off his armor so his stomach wouldn't feel tight.

He felt a bit embarrassed as he rose, clasped his hands and said, "Jinli Fairy, I have been rude, actually eating so much..."

Ning Jinli smiled and said, "It's fine, it's fine—being able to eat is a blessing; besides, you expend a lot of energy, so there's nothing impolite about it."

"Jinli Fairy," Mu Cheng asked respectfully, "did you send those people to the Wasteland Nation to rescue me? Are you the master they spoke of?"

Ning Jinli waved her hand, "No, it's not me; their master is someone else."

"Is that so? Then who is this master, and where is he?"

"Why don't you rest first? You can see him tomorrow."

"No, no," Mu Cheng pleaded, "if we wait until tomorrow to meet, that would be too rude."

"All right, anyway that guy probably isn't asleep yet; come with me."

Ning Jinli led Mu Cheng to another tent.

"Hmm, he's indeed not asleep; there's still light inside." Ning Jinli pointed at the tent flap, "Just go in yourself."

"Yes, Fairy."

Mu Cheng took a deep breath and slowly lifted the curtain to enter.

A remarkably straight and tall silhouette appeared before him, much taller than an ordinary person.

Merely seeing that silhouette, one could sense an extraordinary aura.

Mu Cheng clasped his fists in salute, "I am Mu Cheng; thank you for your rescue, Benefactor. May I ask who you are?"

"General Mu, long time no see." The other person slowly turned around.

Mu Cheng stared again, looking at the other's half-smiling, handsome face; for a moment he couldn't recall knowing such a person, but the faint arrogance glimmering in those deep eyes seemed… somewhat familiar.

"Don't you remember me, General?" a low voice sounded, gradually revealing killing intent, "Besides, when I was a hostage prince in the Wasteland Nation, I was still young; you didn't see me often, General, but the last time you saw me, you said to my face that this child should not be kept, that you wanted to kill me—do you still remember that?"