Chapter 731: The Worry‑Inducing Ladies

On the battlefield, everyone wants to be the oriole, but no one wants to be the cicada.

But in fact, no one can so easily become that oriole.

What is being tested is absolute strategic planning ability.

Even though Xu Zengyi is such a veteran strategist who has been famous for a long time, he does not dare to be absolutely confident in his own plans; after finalizing the ambush plan prepared for the enemy, he solemnly also gave Chen Wuji a few retreat routes in case of special circumstances.

If battle is possible, this is the ambush plan.

But if we cannot win, the ambush forces on all sides will become reinforcements.

"Sir, did you miss something?" Chen Wu Yin suddenly asked.

Xu Zengyi chuckled, "General Chen also wants to be an ambush soldier?"

"My forces may be few, but after all they are an independent unit; don't treat me like a side dish!" Chen Wu Yin shouted. He strained his ears listening for a while, but hearing nothing of Xu Zengyi's arrangements for him left him feeling somewhat unhappy, a sense of being ignored.

Xu Zengyi laughed, "It's not that I forgot; it's just that General Chen's forces are all cavalry, unsuitable for ambush. The general's duty is more arduous, requiring direct confrontation with the enemy."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wu Yin immediately brightened: "Arduous is good; I like arduous tasks, I can't look down on things without difficulty. Direct confrontation is good; this indeed suits me very well."

"Wu Yin, don't underestimate the enemy!" Chen Wuji reminded.

This kid now seems to have gotten a bit full of himself.

Chen Wu Yin argued, "My lord, I have never had a careless heart; I still fight very cautiously, and in my eyes they are just mud chickens and tile dogs."

"As long as you have it in mind, that's fine." Chen Wuji said.

After tea and meals, the great army set out again.

Chen Wuji ordered all scouts withdrawn, and he steadfastly acted as a blind man.

In the afternoon, assassins still occasionally disguised themselves as merchant caravans or refugees, intending to approach Chen Wuji, but all were cut down by Kong Jianshi and his men into corpses littering the ground, then hung from trees to become a wind chime.

The more frequent the assassins' movements, the more obvious their purpose became.

Now there is no need for any doubt.

To protect Chen Wuji's safety, Kong Jianshi was almost acting as the vanguard himself.

This man of few words, the sword knight, becomes especially earnest in his actions.

What he is doing now, Chen Wuji never ordered; it's entirely work he found for himself.

At night, Chen Wuji led the troops to camp at a place called Burning Person Mountain.

In Da Yu, this is the sort of mountain that gets a name because of some special event.

How Burning Person Mountain originally burned people cannot be verified, but it certainly did burn.

This somewhat shocking name is not an isolated case in Da Yu; rather, it is very common and frequently seen.

Its equal is the Bury Person Ditch.

In these times with limited medical conditions, many who died of illness or stillborn children would be sent into the mountain ditch; over time, that ditch acquired a name.

After setting up camp, Chen Wuji, during the break from cooking, made his usual rounds of the camp, but upon returning discovered that Qin Zhanhong and Lu Wanwan were missing.

I asked the Personal Guard on duty at the Zhongjun Camp; they said they saw Qin Zhanhong and Lu Wanwan leave, though they didn't know where, but it had been about an hour.

"Such a late night, truly not reassuring."

Chen Wuji helplessly muttered, then sent Chen Wuyi with people to check the surroundings of the Daying.

Qin Zhanhong often appears and disappears unpredictably; she could be anywhere.

But the two of them probably wouldn't go far.

Nothing was left behind in the Big Tent either; it doesn't look like they went far away.

Chen Wuji hadn't yet seen the person meant to warm his blanket when he first saw Chen Wushuang.

He had already returned from Zhuque City.

"Was the journey smooth?" Chen Wuji asked at the entrance of the Big Tent.

Chen Wushuang clasped his fists, "We encountered several waves of assassins; they indeed did not want us to leave."

"Any survivors left?"

"None!" Chen Wushuang shook his head.

"They took us for ordinary scouts; although several waves came, the numbers weren't large—each wave over ten men. To avoid startling the snake, I disposed of the corpses as well."

"You did well; go eat something hot and rest properly." Chen Wuji said.

"Yes!"

It was not until nearly the time of Shen that Qin Zhanhong and Lu Wanwan sneakily returned to the Big Tent.

Chen Wuji stood at the desk reading, eyelids slightly lifting.

Qin Zhanhong and Lu Wanwan's bodies stiffened, wearing guilty expressions.

Qin Zhanhong gave a hehe laugh, saying, "Husband, we also wanted to help you out; those assassins are annoying, so we two hid outside for a while."

"Shi Yi Shu, send someone to call Chen Wuyi back!" Chen Wuji shouted.

"Yes!"

Chen Wuji looked at the two women and gave a light hum: "You two hid quite deeply; Chen Wuyi took people out and still couldn't find you!"

"Ah? Chen Wuyi went looking for us? I thought..." Qin Zhanhong gave an embarrassed laugh, "We saw you, but I thought Chen Wuyi was also out to catch assassins... this... my mistake, I should have said hello."

"You only now remember?" Chen Wuji asked, speechless.

Qin Zhanhong walked over with a guilty expression, pinched Chen Wuji's shoulders, and said coquettishly, "I'm not always doing this, I thought there was nothing going on, I admit my fault, I admit my fault!"

"Don't grin and bear it; can things now be the same as before? Who knows how many flies are swarming around the army; these martial artists vary in strength—what if you run into someone you can't handle?" Chen Wuji said impatiently.

If it were usual, he really wouldn't have anything to worry about.

Qin Zhanhong also often does this—comes and goes as she pleases.

"Wrong, wrong!" Qin Zhanhong said with an embarrassed laugh, secretly giving Lu Wanwan a glance, "Wanwan, you weren't preparing a dance for your husband, were you? Quick, dance for him!"

Lu Wanwan, still dazed, immediately reacted, stepped forward with lotus steps and assumed a stance.

"Stop, I'm not in the mood to watch a dance today," Chen Wuji shouted.

Qin Zhanhong leaned close to Chen Wuji's ear and whispered softly, "Husband, this dance is different; it's a boudoir pleasure—take a look!"

"You still know this?" Chen Wuji looked at Lu Wanwan in surprise.

Lu Wanwan's cheeks flushed slightly, "I originally learned a proper dance, not that kind; my older sister changed it for me. She said that from now on I probably won't be able to dance for others to liven things up; the only way to please my husband with my looks is to dance more explicitly—I feel there's some…… sense to that."

"What she said about this really makes sense," Chen Wuji expressed his agreement.

As for Qin Zhanhong's talent in this area, he still greatly admired it.

"Then shall I dance for my husband to see?" Lu Wanwan asked shyly.