Chapter 893: with translation of chapter title

Liu Yan watched Yu Shumei lying sideways on the bed, somewhat exasperated, "That Chen-surname little thief, how could he possibly have so many experts around him? A down-and-out Mud Leg from a fallen family, even if his luck defies heaven, it couldn't possibly reach this point, could it?"

On the bed, Yu Shumei, who had just finished applying medicine, was pretending to sleep; hearing this, she sneered and murmured, "Is it meaningful to dwell on these things in the face of facts?"

"Yes!" Liu Yan said forcefully, "If I can't figure out that brat's background, I won't be at ease; I've already made one blunder, I can't make this kind of mistake again."

Yu Shumei gave a cold laugh, "Do you still realize you've lost your head?"

"You are the Premier's close confidant; some things I shouldn't have said to you, but now we've come to this point, we're like grasshoppers on the same rope—speaking won't hurt." Liu Yan said with a wistful expression, "I personally led the troops out, both as a gamble and to avoid that old fox Li Yu."

"I've already said these things to the Premier before, but the Premier didn't believe them, and Li Yu harbors ulterior motives. Although I have no solid evidence in hand, I can determine this is true."

Staying in Yanzhou Cheng and obeying Li Yu's orders would only make me more passive; better to feign ignorance and take a gamble in Shenxian Ling. I hadn't originally planned to make a side thrust into Shenxian Ling and truly attack Nan Jun; my purpose is to flank and counterattack.

Too bad, I didn't expect Chen Wuji this bastard to not play by the rules—he didn't attack Yanzhou but instead charged straight into the mountains and is chasing me.

Yu Shumei lifted her eyelids slightly, gave Liu Yan a cold glance, "You don't need to tell me these things; I won't carry any word you whisper in my ear to the Premier; I only speak what I see."

"You'll see all that I've said," Liu Yan said.

"I might see you beheaded by Chen Wuji."

Liu Yan nodded, "That's also possible."

The two in the crude wooden hut suddenly fell silent.

Late at night, with only a man and a woman alone, there was nothing amorous; Liu Yan didn't even glance twice at Yu Shumei's exposed smooth back, his gaze dull as a blunt knife, lost in thought.

Yu Shumei's eyelids slowly closed again, and she murmured, "In Nan Jun, our intelligence forces are too weak; Chen Wuji has already gained the upper hand—don't waste time daydreaming about pulling off something in intelligence; you can only gamble again."

"It's just a few experts; even if the Premier doesn't care for your face, he'll give some thin favor to the lady you see daily. If they come, even if they can't take Chen Wuji's life, they can at least save yours."

Liu Yan snorted, "Those words coming from your mouth sound truly absurd."

Yu Shumei shifted her body, letting her curled form stretch out, and said nothing more.

"I'll consider it," Liu Yan said, rising.

"I'm leaving, otherwise tomorrow the camp will have rumors that I took advantage of your severe injury to force my way in; a bright future lies before me, and I don't want to be a rag-like consort."

"Get lost!"

Liu Yan snorted, hands behind his back, and left Yu Shumei's crude wooden hut.

Returning to the camp tent, Liu Yan ordered someone to light two more oil lamps, sat at the desk, kept adjusting the wicks, then spread out paper and ground ink, picking up his brush.

He had expected a dog-eat-dog scenario, but it didn't happen; the assassination plan also fell through. For the situation ahead, it seems he can only take Yu Shumei's advice as a reference, yet he still doesn't intend to merely set things up that way.

Chen Wuji is strong in troops and horses, but not strong enough to make him lose his bearings now; he's not wholly pinning his hopes on experts breaking the situation.

……

In the blink of an eye, several days have passed since the nighttime assassination encounter.

These days, Chen Wuji's life could even be described as dull—nothing but marching, marching.

Battles were almost daily, but he never got a chance to do anything.

In these days, the largest enemy force they encountered was about thirteen hundred strong, and it wasn't a fleeing army but one that had received orders from superiors to come and counterattack him.

Liu Yan reacted, no longer sitting idle, and instead ordered the rear troops to counterattack.

However, judging by the forces he dispatched, this guy seems to look down on people a bit.

A mere thousand or so troops actually tried to wipe out his elite central force.

Chen Wuji couldn't understand why Liu Yan did this, but his intuition told him there must be a conspiracy.

After several days of marching, they had now reached the true heart of Shenxian Ling.

This is an area where ordinary hunters dare not venture; without Afu, this spiritually perceptive little companion, Chen Wuji wouldn't dare to wander alone into these places.

Any hill here could at any moment burst forth with packs of fierce beasts.

Of course, for large bodies of troops, this is hardly a threat.

"Family Head, we've run into another enemy force of about a thousand, and Old Master Lu buried them in the mountains with a single slash." On a giant stone platform at the mountaintop, Wushuang strode over, clasped his fists, and said.

This is Chen Wuji's temporary encampment for the past few days, with high, jutting rocks and excellent visibility.

The only drawback is that the place is a bit small—only two camp tents can be pitched on top, and the rest must stay in the woods.

"Has Old Master Lu returned?" Chen Wuji, who had been spacing out, came to and asked.

"Yes, and he brought along an old gentleman, and two ladies accompanied them."

Chen Wuji looked left and right, "Where are they?"

Wushuang's expression suddenly turned odd, "Madam Lu wants to raise a tiger as a playmate; the two Old Masters went to catch it, and Third Madam went along."

Chen Wuji: ……

He turned his head, incredulous, and asked, "You just said they went to catch a tiger, and then Lu Wanwan wants to keep the tiger as a pet? My ears are fine, right?"

Wushuang's mouth corner twitched stiffly, he nodded, "Yes!"

Chen Wuji remained silent for a moment, suspecting that Lu Wanwan had been misled by Afu, or perhaps provoked.

How could one even think of keeping a tiger as a pet?

That's also downright fantastical.

Not all tigers in this world are like Afu.

Afu, who has become a spirit, is perhaps the only one of its kind in the whole world.

Although Lu Wanwan's martial arts seem decent, trying to train a ferocious beast to be as docile as a pet is no easy feat.

Afu is so obedient and clingy that Chen Wuji has never even considered such an idea.

Although Chen Wuji, in his previous life, had seen online people keeping tigers as pets, he didn't know if it was true.

After all, a tiger is a ferocious beast; to turn it into a pet would probably cost several human lives to tame.

Lu Wanwan's own mischief aside, the two old men not only didn't stop her but actually supported her—what on earth are they thinking? There's no need to spoil a granddaughter to this extent, is there?

"Ah, you just said two old men—who is the other one?" Chen Wuji suddenly realized; Lu Daye had earlier mentioned having some private matters to attend to, which must be related to this old man.

"Seems to be Madam Lu's own grandfather." Wushuang said, not entirely sure.