Chapter 275: Please don't leave me
Sounds of distant horse hooves were approaching their way. Lou Zigui turned and glanced over. He spoke in a low tone, "The officials are coming. Let's go."
Lou Zigui grabbed Ning Xiaoyao and ran. However, Ning Xiaoyao was confused. "It's Second Young Master Pei though! So why are we running?"
"If we let Pei Yan save Chen Lu, perhaps Chen Lu will think we were sent by Xie Wenyuan." Lou Zigui whispered.
Ning Xiaoyao stretched her long 'ohhhhhh'. This guy seriously has evil tricks up his sleeves all the time!
Pei Yan came over with his people and stood in front of Chen Lu and his guards. At first glance, he didn't recognize Chen Lu. Out of the five, Chen Lu was the only one still conscious. So, he asked, "Who are you guys?"
Chen Lu didn't say a word. When he saw that it was Pei Yan, he had lost all hope. Pei Yan would never save him. But thinking on a deeper level, puzzlement swept across his face.
Pei Yan was clearly His Majesty's people. If His Majesty had sent the assassins, why would they run after seeing Pei Yan? Were those two assassins sent by His Majesty or not? (Author: It's good you're thinking this way…)
The deputy general next to Pei Yan commented, "This looks like Chen Lu's horse."
Pei Yan and Chen Lu had never really crossed path before. Pei Yan stared at the horse with a greenish black fur that possessed a hint of purple. "Are you certain?"
The deputy general was firm. "His horse has a very unusual colour. I'm sure it's Chen Lu's."
Pei Yan crouched down and found the general badge of the capital city barracks. "Who would've thought that the almighty Great General Chen would be beaten up like this?" Pei Yan kneaded the golden general badge in his hand and spoke in a condescending tone. "Did your wife beat you up again?"
Chen Lu's eyes were swollen like a line. As a result, his resentful glare was thoroughly hidden.
"If you can't speak, then write it on the ground," Pei Yan stated, "Who did this to you?"
Chen Lu could move his fingers and there was a thick layer of dust around him. Writing a few characters was no problem, but he refused to communicate with Pei Yan.
"Where's Grand Preceptor Xie now?" Pei Yan smirked as he tossed the general badge. "Could it be that Xie Wenyuan finds you useless and wants to get rid of you?"
Pei Yan's words stabbed through Chen Lu's heart and increased his insecurities. Previously, Grand Preceptor Xie had mentioned that His Majesty would probably attempt to kill him. Grand Preceptor Xie had assured him that he would send guards to back him up. But where were the guards now?
"At this moment, this old man cannot give you any proof," Grand Preceptor Xie had told Chen Lu, "So this old man will let you see for yourself. His Majesty is the type that will crush those opposing him. He will kill you. Even if you live today, one day, he will slaughter you. This old man will send people to protect you from a distance. This is to prevent His Majesty from not making a move. If His Majesty thinks you're well protected, he won't do anything. Also, this will prevent you from getting killed and assuming I'm scaring you with frightening words."
Chen Lu reflected on Grand Preceptor Xie's speech while Pei Yan ordered his people to send him and his guards back to the Chen Estate. Chen Lu thought to himself. What if His Majesty isn't the one who wants him dead? Could it be true that he's no longer useful to Grand Preceptor Xie?
At this moment, Xie Laibao, the head steward of Grand Preceptor Estate, had arrived with a bunch of their own guards. They were at the very end of the street. From a distance, they could see the Nine Gate Infantry guards standing in the middle of the road. Xie Laibao quickly lifted his hand from his sedan to halt his people.
"It's Pei Yan," A sharp-eyed guard recognized Pei Yan from the group and informed Xie Laibao right away.
"There are people laying on the ground."
"There's blood."
"Great General Chen's horse is over there. Is he one of the victims on the ground?"
"We were too late!?"
…
The guards were all making their own observations and discussing quietly amongst themselves. Xie Laibao secretly sighed in relief. He had slowed down their arrival on purpose.
Looks like coming late was the right thing to do. As expected, His Majesty made a move on Chen Lu. Since he didn't ruin His Majesty's plans, the demonic Lou Zigui isn't going to make his life difficult.
"Should we head over and save Great General Chen?" a guard asked Xie Laibao.
"Can you guys guarantee you'll be able to defeat the Nine Gate Infantry troops?" Xie Laibao asked.
Who would dare to give Xie Laibao a guarantee?
"So we're not going?" another guard asked.
Xie Laibao acted like it was a painful decision to make so his people would think he actually wanted to fight, but was helpless under the current circumstances.
Meanwhile, their opposition also noticed them. A subordinate alerted Second Young Master Pei. "Second Master, Xie Laibao has brought some guards with him."
Pei Yan looked over, unconcerned. "If they don't come over, we'll pretend we didn't see them. If they come over, we'll kill them."
The subordinate panicked. "Second Master, they are Grand Preceptor Xie's people though."
"I know. So what?"" Pei Yan challenged.
The subordinate didn't say anything else. The Lord Protector’s estate held a strong grudge against the Grand Preceptor’s men. It wouldn't be surprising even if Second Young Master Pei exterminated the whole Xie Clan.
Pei Yan got on his horse and commanded. "Head over to the Chen Estate."
A row of people lifted Chen Lu and his four soldiers and headed in the direction of the Chen Estate.
When Pei Yan and the others had gone a far distance, Xie Laibao sighed. "Let's return and quickly tell Master about this."
"What should we say?" a guard asked Xie Laibao.
"We'll state exactly what we saw," Xie Laibao educated his guards. "In front of Master, we must not lie. As servants, we need to act according to our roles."
All the guards immediately nodded. Who would dare to lie in front of Grand Preceptor Xie?
"Let's head back," Xie Laibao instructed. In regards to Chen Lu's well-being, head steward Xie didn't give a shit. Tao Chen's family consisted of Grand Preceptor Xie's daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild. But they still ended up dying a tragic death. How much could Chen Lu's life be worth?
Pei Yan took the five victims back to the Chen Estate. The moment they arrived at the front door, Lady Xu's personal guards aggressively stormed out with their weapons in the air.
Seeing their ill intentions, the Nine Gate Infantry troops also pulled out their weapons.
When the leader of the guards saw that it was the Nine Gate Infantry troops, he was surprised. However, his shock quickly turned into anger. He shouted, "Don't be such an unbearable bully!"
Chen Lu was lying on a wooden board. From the leader's tone, he could tell something was wrong. In a moment of panic, Great General Chen fully rolled off the board.
Ning Xiaoyao and Lou Zigui were hunched over and watching from a nearby rooftop. Ning Xiaoyao was alarm. "Something happened in the Chen Estate? No way!?" They only left for a brief moment!
"Don't worry," Lou Zigui calmly replied, "Let's wait and see."
"You are?" the leader of the guards stared at Chen Lu. The change was beyond recognition. He didn't dare to make any guesses.
Chen Lu was freaking out. He forcefully opened his mouth to speak. Although his voice didn't sound human, it was understandable to some extent. "Did something happen to Lady Xu?"
The leader of the Chen guards stood there, baffled.
Pei Yan coolly pointed out, "You can't recognize the person. But don't tell me the people of the Chen Estate can't recognize the horse either?"
All the guards turned their attention to the greenish black horse.
"What happened to Lady Xu?!" Chen Lu was so anxious that he was practically hysterical. However, since his mouth was severely injured, his scream caused him to drool out of control.
The leader recognized the horse and ran back to report to Chen Lu. "Someone wants to kill Lady Xu. L-Lady Xu… is seriously hurt!" he blurted out.
Chen Lu nearly fainted from the news. Pei Yan's brows crinkled as he leaped off his horse. He ran up the steps and stood in front of the stoop. "What happened?"
The leader of the guards didn't trust Pei Yan and gave him a cautious glare.
With difficulty, Chen Lu took a deep breath and commanded his guard, "Tell him."
On the roof, Ning Xiaoyao turned to Lou Zigui. "Is this Grand Preceptor Xie's fault?"
Lou Zigui shook his head. "Most likely, it's self harm."
"Whaa?" Ning Xiaoyao was in disbelief.
"If she doesn't do that, how will Chen Lu make up his mind to rebel against Xie Wenyuan?" Lou Zigui whispered.
"Well dang…she's renouncing the dark and seeking the light." Ning Xiaoyao murmured. (Author: Wow, why are you suddenly so serious?)
"Let's hope Lady Xu carries enough importance in Chen Lu's heart." Lou Zigui was talking to himself. If his wife could easily be replaced like clothes, then even if Lady Xue died, it would be useless against Chen Lu.
Ning Xiaoyao remarked, "Too foolish. I would never make that type of move."
"Oh?" Ning Xiaoyao's words evoked Lou Zigui's curiosity. "What would you do instead?"
Ning Xiaoyao blinked her eyes. "Why did she have to self-harm? She wants Chen Lu to feel a heartache so that he would renounce the dark and seek the light? Why must she do that? If Chen Lu refuses, Lady Xu can simply be on her own. It may be hard to find a two legged frog, but the streets are full of two legged men. She could just find another guy!"
Suddenly, Lou Zigui didn't feel too good. He gazed at Ning Xiaoyao. "They've been married for so many years. If Chen Lu disagrees, Lady Xu could just walk away?"
Ning Xiaoyao didn't understand what the issue was. "If the paths are different, I can't continue to accompany you. Why is it necessary we stay together?"
"It's not us," Lou Zigui overreacted a little and emphasized.
"Is something wrong?" Ning Xiaoyao asked. Why is he turning weird again?
"If one day, we're walking on separate paths, will you leave me?"
Ning Xiaoyao scrunched up her brows.
Lou Zigui was suddenly afraid. The words had already came out, but he didn't really want to hear her response.
Ning Xiaoyao crooked her head at an angle and stared at Lou Zigui. "You don't want to kill Xie Wenyuan?"
"Of course I do," replied Lou Zigui.
"Then, you don't want to defeat the Northern Hu people?"
"Of course I do! I have to avenge for my father and brother!"
"Then… you don't want to deal with Xiang Nong and his rebel forces?"
"We have to deal with the rebel forces and the refugees. Or else, the entire country will never be at peace." Lou Zigui was adamant.
Ning Xiaoyao rubbed her chin. "Then we're on the same path, Supreme Commander. Why are you so worried?"
Lou Zigui's heart was in chaos but he squeezed out a smile. "I was just asking."
"You're faking it." Ning Xiaoyao drew blood on the first prick. "What's going on your mind now?"
Lou Zigui shook his head and gazed at the front door of the Chen Estate. Pei Yan had left half his troop to guard the door while he entered the Chen Estate with the remaining half.
"Do you wanna chat?" Ning Xiaoyao tugged Lou Zigui's sleeve.
"In the future," Lou Zigui turned back to look at Ning Xiaoyao. He lowered his voice. "Xiaoyao, if I ever do something that makes you unhappy, I hope you'll tell me. You can yell at me, hit me, get mad at me, but please.. don't l-leave me."
Lou Zigui stuttered when he uttered the last five words 'but please don't leave me'. He looked rather embarrassed and awkward. Clearly, this was the first time Supreme Commander had ever said such words. He had never made a request like this to anyone else before.
Ning Xiaoyao blinked her almond-like eyes and thought it over. The only reason why she would leave is if Supreme Commander found his true love that isn't her. If that happens, Supreme Commander would probably want her to GTFO* as soon as possible. "Mmhmm. I won't leave!" Ning Xiaoyao nodded and agreed.
Even if she broke a promise like this, it wasn't a big deal. Meh, she'll just promise for now. (Author: Do you dare to tell Supreme Commander your true thoughts?)
*For those who don't know, GTFO stands for "get the f**k out"
Wow, poor Supreme Commander…I included a teaser of 276 this time! If you don’t see it, it’s because you’re reading on an AGGREGATOR SITE. *glares* (I feel really bad for Chen Lu though :P)