Chapter 92: Head Wounded

“I’m not an idiot. I got hurt this time because I never expected he was a spy. I considered that other colleagues in our Intelligence Office might be spies, but I never once thought it could be him,” Su Hanlin sighed.

“This proves you have a blind spot in your thinking. Everyone’s just a passing acquaintance. You don’t even know him well—do you even know where he came from? Maybe he’s been trained as a spy since childhood and is better at acting than you are,” Su Jian scoffed. “As long as it’s not someone you’re extremely close to, you need to be more cautious from now on. Yesterday, he showed ‘sentiment and righteousness’ by stabbing you in the stomach—if he’d gone for your heart instead, you’d be dead right now.”

“I’m not that foolish—I’d never leave my heart unprotected. I placed two Heart-Protecting Mirrors, one in front and one behind my heart. Even with a Splitting Dagger, he couldn’t pierce through. I suspect he knew I had the mirrors there, so he stabbed my stomach instead,” Su Hanlin said. “What sentiment and righteousness? Who in your family would coat a stab wound in deadly poison and aim for the stomach?”

Su Jian nodded in agreement. “Fine, you’re right.”

Su Hanlin smiled faintly.

“I’ll get you hot water—wash up early. Once you’re done, eat your breakfast while it’s still hot.”

“Alright.”

After Su Hanlin finished breakfast, Su Jian made him lie back down to rest before going to eat his own meal.

While eating, Su Jian noticed Su Jin and Su Hua had already finished and were preparing to head to the clan school. He said between bites, “Su Hanlin got injured—he’s resting at home. Don’t disturb him when you get back from school. Understood?”

Su Jin and Su Hua nodded quickly.

“Wife, keep an eye on Xiaohe—don’t let her bother Hanlin. He needs several days of proper rest.”

Liu Yunniang had already known yesterday that Su Hanlin’s injuries were severe.

She immediately nodded in assurance. “I understand.”

“For lunch, make him chicken soup. Our chicks are still too young—go buy a hen from outside.”

“Don’t worry.”

After breakfast, Su Jian went to work, while Su Jin and Su Hua walked together to the clan school.

As soon as Su Jin arrived at the clan school, she noticed Su Cheng had a clean white cloth wrapped around his head.

“What happened to you?”

“The day before yesterday, I visited my aunt’s house in Nancheng. I got trapped there when the fighting broke out. The battle reached my aunt’s home—her house was destroyed, and she was injured. My uncle and aunt fled east with us, but we were caught in the fighting again. This wound on my head? I got hit by flying debris.”

“Damn, it hurts like hell.”

“The doctor said my skull was cracked.”

“The situation’s tense right now—nobody’s leaving home. Why did you go with your aunt to her house?” Su Wuji leaned over to ask.

“My aunt said she was worried about her home, so she planned to go back and check on it the day before yesterday.”

“Then why did you go with her? Don’t you know staying in the clan territory is safest?” Su Wuji asked again.

Su Cheng couldn’t answer. “I was stupid.”

“Didn’t your aunt enthusiastically invite you? She probably knew she couldn’t carry her whole family back alone—so she brought you along to help. After all, you’re a legitimate Su clan descendant,” Su Wuji added.

Su Cheng glared at him silently, thinking: Shut up. I already realized this after I came back yesterday.

“Your aunt’s got too many schemes—first the medicinal bath, now dragging you to Nancheng during a crisis. If you’re not truly an idiot, you should contact your parents and grandparents right away. Stop letting her ‘care’ for you.”

“If she keeps ‘caring’ like this, I’m worried you won’t live to see seven,” Su Wuji said.

Su Cheng stayed silent for a long while, lips pressed tight.

“When I was little, my aunt was very kind to me.”

“Are you sure she wasn’t just angling to get the job of looking after you at school?” Su Jin frowned. “My older brother and his wife took care of me. My grandfather gave them a house in the clan territory worth fifteen thousand spirit stones.”

“Of course, my grandfather deliberately subsidized them.”

“But I think your aunt’s care for you comes with benefits your parents and grandparents are definitely giving her too.”

“Cough cough!” Su Wuji stared at Su Jin in shock. “Your grandfather gave them an entire house inside the clan territory just so your older brother could take care of you?”

“My parents had to go on a sect mission. My grandfather couldn’t look after me, so my older brother and sister-in-law took responsibility,” Su Jin nodded.

“Then your parents must’ve given your aunt a lot too,” Su Wuji said. “No wonder my grandfather only assigned servants to look after me. The ‘care fees’ over these three years must’ve been enormous. At least he can come back to visit me often.”

“I don’t know what my parents promised my aunt,” Su Cheng thought, his suspicion deepening after hearing about the house Su Jin’s grandfather gave her brother.

Did my aunt truly care for me out of affection?

Or was it just for the benefits?

“No matter how close the relationship, no one will care for you for three years without compensation. Looking after a child attending clan school takes real effort,” Su Jin said. Parents going on sect missions usually return after three years.

Su Cheng’s parents would likely return in three years too.

“I…” Su Cheng had no words. Why did his head wound suddenly hurt more?

Soon, Su Yunhu and the others arrived.

Everyone began discussing yesterday’s battle.

As students, they’d all stayed hidden in the clan territory and hadn’t seen the battle firsthand.

So Su Cheng, who had actually witnessed the southern city battle, became the center of attention.

He was surrounded as he recounted how he and his family fled through the southern city during the battle.

Su Linyuan and Yang Guan listened intently, utterly absorbed.

“It was terrifying. My aunt and uncle led the children, fleeing desperately toward Chengdong. But everyone was running—ground chaos everywhere. Several times, enemies burst out and slaughtered indiscriminately.”

“It was the Police Inspectors who rushed in and blocked the enemy’s frenzied advance.”

“On my way back, I saw at least ten Police Inspectors dead.”

“When I grow up, I’m joining the Police Inspector Office,” Su Cheng said longingly.

Su Linyuan stared at him blankly. “I heard the death rate among Police Inspectors is extremely high—one in three years on average.”

He thought: Who in their right mind would go to such a death trap unless forced?

Su Cheng’s breath caught. “I still want to go. I’ll tell my parents to have more kids—so if I die, they won’t be too heartbroken.”

“Then your parents wasted their effort raising you,” Yang Guan retorted. “They spent years turning you from a tiny baby into an adult—only for you to vanish? Have you calculated the emotional trauma you’d leave them with?”