Chapter 214: When Can I Return To The Battlefield?
They had just left on their front feet when Kong Xiao arrived at Chen Lingyuan’s camp tent on his back feet. The expression on his face was somewhat panicked and also carried a bit of ferocity. Seeing this made Chen Lingyuan’s heart skip a beat. He pursed his lips and said nothing.
Kong Xiao had come in a hurry and did not notice the changes on the ground. He strode quickly to the bedside and, seeing that Chen Lingyuan was not asleep, breathed a sigh of relief. “General, the Western Rong people sneaked into the large camp under cover of night, burned a granary, and killed a patrol team of soldiers.”
Chen Lingyuan’s expression changed. He knew very well what the consequences would be of the granary being burned. Enduring the intense pain from his wound, he sat up from the bed. “What about the people who sneak attacked?”
“······They ran······” Kong Xiao said awkwardly, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
“Why didn’t you discover them?”
Kong Xiao hung his head and did not answer. Could he say it was because he had arbitrarily changed the patrol route and frequency that the general had previously set in order to show off his own abilities?
Seeing his appearance, Chen Lingyuan could roughly guess what had happened. He felt even more disappointment toward Kong Xiao in his heart. Suppressing his anger, he asked him, “What do you plan to do to clean up after this?”
“I······” Kong Xiao hemmed and hawed, refusing to answer. He kept glancing at him one after another, clearly wanting him to handle the aftermath.
“You go back! I need to think about what to do. Also, have Mo Ziyuan come to my camp tent tomorrow morning to discuss matters together.” Chen Lingyuan instructed. Seeing that Kong Xiao still wanted to say something, he waved his hand to stop him. “No need for you to say more. I have already decided.”
“······Yes, this deputy general obeys the order.” Kong Xiao clenched his teeth and responded. His twisted expression could not be concealed at all. He had never imagined that he had only made a small change to the general’s deployment, and it would unexpectedly produce consequences that he himself found hard to accept.
But now, it was too late to say anything. From the general’s intention, he would certainly make heavy use of Mo Ziyuan, while he himself would further lose his own speaking power because of this incident.
The more he thought about it, the more unfair he felt it was. Why? He had followed the general for so many years and obeyed him in every word and action, yet he could not compare to an unfavored heir who had come from the capital city. How unfair this world was to him!
Kong Xiao left the camp tent full of resentment, unaware that in the shadows behind him, there was always a black shadow following him.
Entering his own camp tent, Kong Xiao smashed a fist on the table. Just as he was about to throw a second punch, he suddenly looked up toward the doorway. A ghost-like black figure was standing there leisurely, looking at him with a gaze that carried three parts mockery, three parts disdain, three parts scheming, and one part certainty of success.
“Who are you? How did you enter the camp tent?” Kong Xiao gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist, his gaze sharp as he looked at the intruder.
“You don’t need to know who I am. As for how I got in, heh,” the man sneered contemptuously, “Is that something hard to achieve? Do you need me to remind you how your grain and fodder was burned?”
“You, you’re a Western Rong person!” Kong Xiao’s pupils contracted. He drew his sword and pointed it straight at the other. “We were just worrying about not catching you, but you delivered yourself to our door. Since that’s the case, stay and don’t leave!”
The intruder didn’t buy it at all. He lazily walked a few steps inward from the doorway and sat down on the only chair in the tent, looking at him unhurriedly and saying, “I wasn’t planning to leave so quickly anyway! Otherwise, how could you lot possibly make me show myself based on your abilities?”
“You, you’re so arrogant.” Kong Xiao stared fixedly at the other without blinking.
“Enough, stop pointing that piece of scrap metal at me. Since I showed myself in front of you of my own accord, I definitely have absolute confidence in being able to retreat unscathed. And you—” He raised his chin extremely contemptuously. “You’re no match for me!”
“You insolent fool!” Kong Xiao was so angry his eyes nearly popped out. He brandished the sword in his hand and rushed forward, only to feel a blur before his eyes and his body lighten. His vision suddenly flipped. By the time he reacted, he found himself lying flat on the ground facing upward, and the sword that had originally been his was now stuck in the ground mere inches from his cheek.
“I told you, you’re no match for me!” The man patted nonexistent dust from his hands, strode leisurely to Kong Xiao, squatted down in front of him, and lowered his voice to ask, “Do you want to move into that tent?”
Kong Xiao subconsciously looked in the direction his finger was pointing and swallowed. He was pointing precisely in the direction of Chen Lingyuan’s camp tent.
Seeing the flash of desire in his eyes, the man chuckled lightly and said in a low voice again, “I can help you.”
Kong Xiao suddenly jumped up. The finger pointing at the other was trembling slightly. He wanted to righteously say some words of refusal, but no matter what, he couldn’t make a sound.
“No rush, you can think about it slowly. I’ll come find you again in a few days. I believe you’ll give me an answer that satisfies me, right? Kong······General?” After saying this, the man stood up to leave. When he reached the tent doorway, he suddenly turned around, smiled at Kong Xiao, and then exited the tent.
Kong Xiao was momentarily stunned before chasing out in a few steps. However, apart from the pitch-black night, he could no longer see that figure.
Just then, a patrol team of soldiers passed by here. He asked casually, “Did you discover anything unusual?”
The soldiers all shook their heads. “Report to the deputy general, everything is normal.”
“Thanks for your hard work, carry on!”
The patrolling soldiers left, and Kong Xiao returned to his own tent. He lay on the bed fully clothed. The words that man had said kept echoing in his ears, making him extremely irritable. He turned over forcefully, pulled the quilt over his entire head, but found it completely useless.
Early the next morning, Kong Xiao appeared in Chen Lingyuan’s tent with dark circles under his eyes.
The military doctor was treating Chen Lingyuan’s wound. Mo Ziyuan and Lin Xin, along with several other deputy generals, were standing some distance from the bed talking.
Hearing the sound, they all looked toward the doorway. Seeing it was Kong Xiao, they nodded to him one after another.
However, at this moment, Kong Xiao felt extremely out of place here. The way those people looked at him seemed full of mockery, probably laughing at his overestimation of his abilities yesterday and the serious consequences it caused.
Even he himself had not noticed that, starting from this moment, the balance in his heart had already begun to tilt.
“The general’s constitution is really good. To recover to this extent in such a short time from such a severe injury is simply a miracle.” After cleaning and applying medicine to Chen Lingyuan’s wound, the military doctor packed up his things while marveling in admiration.
Hearing this, Chen Lingyuan wanted to look at Lin Xin but forcibly held back. He glared at the military doctor and asked, “Then when can I return to the battlefield?”
The military doctor’s expression changed rapidly. He said irritably, “What are you thinking, General! Surviving this time was already a huge stroke of luck for you. Don’t you know how serious your injuries are? And you still want to go to the battlefield!”
“I······I was just asking. If not, then not!” Chen Lingyuan shrank back imperceptibly and muttered softly.
“Hmph! Not a shred of self-awareness!” The military doctor snorted coldly and rolled his eyes at him exaggeratedly.
Lin Xin found it amusing. Wasn’t this General Chen supposed to be the highest leader in this military camp? How was he like a rabbit seeing a tiger in front of the military doctor?
