Chapter 143: What Is Your Dream?

The Gao Family Old Residence shook violently, and those on the ground also felt a moment of dizziness.

The exquisitely designed skylights were shattered instantly, and turbid shockwaves erupted from every hidden ventilation duct.

Needless to say, anyone still alive and possessing self-awareness would know that something had definitely gone wrong inside!!

Those originally guarding various parts of the residence, seeing this, were so terrified their souls nearly flew out of their bodies; with eyes splitting, they scrambled toward the house.

Down in the cellar, in the kitchen.

Just moments ago, Zhao Shaozhu had finished setting the door bolt and hadn't even had time to speak when the entire person was shaken as if their soul had left their body, unable to stand and falling to the floor.

Much debris from above was shaken loose, and the once seamless kitchen door was now visibly deformed; the lock looked as if it had been broken by the shock.

Zhao Shaozhu remained dazed for quite a while before their eyes regained focus.

Seeing Wen Gu busy moving heavy objects in the kitchen to brace the door, Zhao Shaozhu shook the debris off their body and hurried over to help.

Having braced the kitchen door, the two sat on the ground, leaning against the nearby wall.

After the high-intensity escape and confrontation, they were actually quite exhausted now.

Wen Gu glanced at Zhao Shaozhu and asked, "That was loud enough, right?"

Zhao Shaozhu's brain was buzzing, and they didn't hear clearly: "Huh?"

Wen Gu raised their voice: "I said, was that loud enough?"

The corners of Zhao Shaozhu's mouth twitched: "Loud! Loud enough to almost send us both away!"

As they spoke, they began to laugh loudly, tears in their eyes.

They moved over, patted Wen Gu hard with trembling hands, wanting to say something, but their emotions were too complex to speak for the moment.

Zhao Shaozhu panted and coughed, feeling a sharp pain in one spot on their body. They touched it—oh, it was where Wen Gu had kicked them earlier.

Recalling the booming roar from just now, the way the entire cellar had shaken, and then thinking of their own foolishness in rushing out—

"Thanks for that kick earlier!" Zhao Shaozhu said, overwhelmed with emotion.

"Glad you understand, it was emergency avoidance!" Wen Gu said.

Outside the kitchen, the manic roars of the Plague Ghosts sounded again, and Zhao Shaozhu grew tense once more: "They weren't blown to death?"

"No," Wen Gu said. "If one blast could kill everything outside, hiding here would be useless; we'd all share the same fate. However—"

He continued: "The explosion just now will drive them mad. Listening to the noise outside, they have already entered a berserk state, attacking everything around them indiscriminately. Even if the death soldiers are still alive, they won't last long."

Facing a group of monsters with dulled pain receptors and filled with a desire to attack, what could even the most fearless, elite death soldiers do?

Zhao Shaozhu's tense expression relaxed slightly; their hearing had recovered a bit, and they pressed against the wall to listen carefully.

One could imagine what the outcome would have been if they had stayed outside.

As long as the death soldiers were gone, they could still hold out for a while hiding in the kitchen.

Exhaling the stifled air from their chest, Zhao Shaozhu leaned against the wall: "I don't know what the situation is like outside."

Wen Gu analyzed: "The door at the cellar entrance definitely has issues, and the key won't open it. People outside wanting to get in must pry or chisel it open by force, and they have to take protective measures to prevent the cellar from collapsing—it will take some time. We can wait patiently."

Hiding in here, they were safe for the time being.

Zhao Shaozhu kept replaying that highly impactful explosion in their mind and asked: "What was that you threw out at the end?"

Wen Gu said: "You've seen it before; it's that little gadget Qingyi Daozhang made. The key to the explosion lies in that flour. I saw it during my Study Tour; when we get out, we can do a little experiment, and you'll understand at a glance."

They didn't wait too long; noisy human voices came from outside, and the sounds of the Plague Ghosts gradually faded.

"Shao-zhu?"

"Is anyone still there?"

"Shao-zhu, where are you?"

Anxious voices came from outside one after another.

Wen Gu tapped the kitchen door with the hilt of his sword and gave Zhao Shaozhu a look.

Zhao Shaozhu shouted: "Who all has come?"

Hearing the kitchen door, the people outside gathered around quickly. Hearing Zhao Shaozhu's voice, they felt slightly relieved. The leaders among them quickly reported their identities and names, and mentioned the subordinates they had brought.

There were members of the guard team and the Patrol Guard Division; Wen Gu was not familiar with them.

Listening to the list of names, Zhao Shaozhu whispered to Wen Gu: "They should be trustworthy."

Wen Gu tilted his head toward the outside: "Let's go; we don't have a better choice."

To be honest, if those people outside were all untrustworthy, staying here would be the end anyway.

They moved the heavy objects aside, opened the door, and walked out.

Zhao Shaozhu and Wen Gu put on clean masks to protect their mouths and noses, and left under the nervous protection of the group.

The small leaders, whose faces had been filled with anxious, shattered expressions, seemed to come back to life the moment they saw Zhao Shaozhu walk out.

Zhao Shaozhu looked carefully at everything outside the kitchen.

The Dining Area was in chaos; the fences were destroyed, and the various sundries piled there had been scattered by the explosion. Physically scattered.

Fires were burning in several places, ignited after the explosion. The guards outside had begun cleaning up after entering.

Besides the corpses of the Plague Ghosts, they also saw a death soldier. The explosion must have left this death soldier severely wounded and dying, and subsequently, they had suffered indiscriminate attacks from the Plague Ghosts; they were no longer recognizable.

The guards and Patrol Guard Division members outside had already been shocked once upon entering the cellar; at this moment, they were hesitant to speak, wanting to know exactly what had happened here just now.

What mysterious method was used to create that massive commotion that nearly blew the roof off the cellar?

Was it immortal magic?

But Zhao Shaozhu had no intention of stopping to explain, leading Wen Gu as they walked out.

Before leaving the cellar, Zhao Shaozhu gave a few instructions to the people from the Patrol Guard Division.

The remains of the fallen personal guards were also to be brought out for wound inspection.

The Patrol Guard Division had experts in this field who could infer the circumstances before death from the wounds.

Zhao Shaozhu wanted to know who else was a mole, besides Xiaotian and the two personal guards at the cellar entrance.

What compensation, what desecration of a corpse!

Seeing the sunlight outside the Cellar again, Zhao Shaozhu felt as if a lifetime had passed.

However, this ordeal had not yet fully passed; they needed to be quarantined for observation to confirm they had not been infected by the Evil Poison in the Cellar.

They did not remain at the Gao Family Old Residence for the quarantine, as since a Plague Ghost had appeared here, who knew if there were other poisonous things.

A courtyard at the county government office was urgently cleared out, and with the guards and the men from the Patrol Guard Division guarding against each other, both sides sent people to provide protection.

The disturbances throughout Shuo City were quelled, and the defensive battle outside the city had also entered its final stages.

City Defender Lin took over the follow-up work, while General Wu lay on a long bench to rest, squinting his eyes as if he were about to fall asleep.

At this moment, an urgent report suddenly arrived: "Zhao Shaozhu has been ambushed! A Plague Ghost and death warriors have appeared at the Gao Family Old Residence!"

Upon hearing this news, City Defender Lin felt his scalp go numb.

As for General Wu, who had been about to fall asleep, he fell off the bench with a thud, scrambled up, and grabbed the messenger, questioning him sternly.

If the young master's life was not in danger, they still had a chance to prove their innocence.

But if the young master met with a mishap, some things would be impossible to explain!

The sky gradually darkened.

In normal times, once the city defense battle ended, people from the wealthy families who kept their doors tightly shut would come out to visit one another.

But today, every great and powerful family stayed obediently at home, fearing that coming out would invite trouble.

In several places in Shuo City, lights were blazing, and the Patrol Guard Division and the City Defense Army were coming and going, having arrested quite a few people.

Before dark, the Patrol Guard Division had already released a messenger bird to send word to Xinzhou City.

Xiao Liu had originally been intended to let Matuan deliver the letter, but Zhao Shaozhu stopped him.

Now, Zhao Shaozhu was not sure if there were still spies around him, so he bypassed those from Xinzhou and chose Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu was from the South, had followed Wen Gu all the way north as a refugee, and was only selected by Pei Jun to enter the Patrol Guard Division later.

At a time like this, compared to others, Xiao Liu was more trustworthy.

Zhao Shaozhu had to be quarantined for one night first; if there were no issues, he would then send the letter to Xinzhou City.

In the room.

Although still in the quarantine observation period, the young master's status was different after all, so several trusted aides were guarding here, and a Doctor familiar with the Zhao Family was carefully examining the injuries on Zhao Shaozhu's body.

Generally, there were no problems, except for one spot, clearly an injury from being kicked. Judging by the marks and the injury, the force had been quite heavy.

The Doctor had watched Zhao Shaozhu grow up and they were close; seeing the injury, he was about to curse, "Which dog-hearted—"

The trusted aides nearby also had grave expressions.

Zhao Shaozhu: "Wen Gu kicked me."

Everyone looked over.

The Doctor's mood shifted abruptly: "Cough—uh—Young Master Biao?"

Zhao Shaozhu felt a lingering fear: "The situation was critical at the time; it was an emergency measure to avoid danger, and it saved my life."

Everyone showed gratitude.

If one kick truly saved a life, it was indeed worth being grateful for!

The assassination attempt Zhao Shaozhu encountered this time could be called a certain-death situation, and all the personal guards he brought with him had died in the line of duty.

But Wen Gu had forcibly blasted out a path to survival!

It was no exaggeration to say that they would be willing to enshrine Wen Gu!

Still in quarantine, the crisis had not been completely eliminated, but Zhao Shaozhu had many things that had to be arranged. Both positive and negative, he had to be prepared for everything.

After finishing giving instructions on some matters, Zhao Shaozhu turned his back to his subordinates and looked at the sky that had completely darkened outside the window.

The trusted aides could not see the young master's expression, but they could guess the other's mood at this moment.

After a good while, Zhao Shaozhu raised his hand, signaling for them all to leave.

Sitting alone in the room for a while, Zhao Shaozhu opened the door and went to Wen Gu's room next door.

Wen Gu was wiping the Cen Tai Sword.

After coming out of the Cellar, the sword body had been cleaned and disinfected; unable to sleep at this moment, he was wiping the Cen Tai Sword to calm his mind and ponder some things.

The place he thought was safe turned out to be even more dangerous.

He thought something could not possibly happen, but there were madmen in this world.

"Young Master" was indeed a high-risk profession!

Seeing Zhao Shaozhu come over, knowing that the other was feeling restless and might have something to talk about, Wen Gu put down the Cen Tai Sword and waited for the other to speak.

Zhao Shaozhu walked to the table and sat down, remaining silent for a moment before asking: "What is your dream?"

A seemingly casual inquiry was actually also a promise.

Wen Gu did not hesitate: "I hope the world is at peace."

Zhao Shaozhu was just about to say "Be serious," but heard Wen Gu continue: "That way I could go out on a Study Tour."

Zhao Shaozhu was silent for even longer this time, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

Wen Gu asked at this time: "What is the identity of the death warriors in the Cellar? I only caught a glimpse at the time, and they didn't feel like normal people."

Zhao Shaozhu did not hide it and said: "They are death warriors raised with secret drugs; they do not fear common plagues or miasmic poisons, can survive in certain extreme environments, have a low sense of pain, and can launch a desperate attack even when severely injured. You might not even be able to cultivate one out of ten."

"Because their bodies have already been damaged by drugs, their lifespans are greatly shortened. Their movements seem fine, but there is actually a subtle tremor in their gestures."

"Now it seems that these death warriors, who are covered in the smell of medicine, can also avoid attacks from Plague Ghosts!"

"The cost of cultivating such death warriors is enormous; without a massive family fortune, they simply cannot be raised."

Although Zhao Shaozhu did not explicitly point it out in these words, he had actually already given the answer.

Secret drugs, a massive family fortune, and a need for such death warriors—

—The Emperor?

At this time someone came looking for him, so Zhao Shaozhu returned to his own room to handle affairs.

None of them slept that night; no one could fall asleep.

Time gradually slipped away.

Zhao Shaozhu watched the clepsydra, feeling the tranquility brought by the top-grade Exorcism incense.

He pushed open the window and looked at the morning glow painting the sky, emotions surging in the depths of his eyes like thick, unmoving clouds.

This tribulation had finally passed.

But some things could not be let go of by him!

A Falcon carrying a secret letter written by Zhao Shaozhu's own hand flew toward Xinzhou City.

In the room next door.

Confirming that he too had survived this tribulation, Wen Gu lay down on the bed in peace to sleep.

Smelling the top-grade Exorcism incense used by the imperial family, he had a rare pleasant dream; in the dream, he pried open a massive Granary.