A flicker of dark light flashed in Dugu Mingyu’s eyes. Zhao Xu had rebelled?
“Xue Meng, this is good news!”
Xue Meng looked at the delighted Dugu Mingyu and thought, *He's been scared silly.* General Zhao was an old hand at Yangguan and knew it like the back of his hand. His rebellion was a serious disadvantage to them.
“Brother Mingyu, if General Zhao has rebelled, with his knowledge of Yangguan, we’ll be trapped like flies in amber!”
Dugu Mingyu patted Xue Meng’s shoulder. “You, you’ve been by the Young General’s side for so long, why haven’t you learned his composure?”
“Brother Mingyu, you’re mistaken. I’ve been with the Eldest Miss for longer. I was only recently thrown into the army by my father to train with the Young General,” Xue Meng explained. “However, I feel like the current Eldest Miss is a completely different person from before.”
“Why do you say that?” Dugu Mingyu was also very curious about Xiao Man. There were too many things about her that he couldn’t understand. Sometimes, he even had the illusion of seeing his own sister in Xiao Man.
“The former Eldest Miss was arrogant and willful, doing whatever she pleased without a care for what others thought. The current Eldest Miss, while still doing as she pleases, feels different. I think she’s changed,” Xue Meng pondered Xiao Man’s demeanor and style of doing things. “She’s become more reserved. Even when she’s picking a fight, she does it in a way that leaves the other party no room to argue and can only accept their fate.”
“That means she’s grown up and knows not to cause trouble for others.”
“It’s more than that. Sometimes, I feel like she can see right through my little thoughts with just a glance. In front of her, I feel like I’m completely exposed. Her tone of voice has changed too, like she’s looking at a junior. I’m two years older than her, but she makes me feel like a child,” Xue Meng scratched his head. They used to be like brothers, but now he felt like Xiao Man had become his older sister.
“When did the Eldest Miss start to change?” Dugu Mingyu asked, testing the waters.
Xue Meng furrowed his brows and thought for a long time. “It should have been around March of last year.”
March… A painful memory flashed through Dugu Mingyu’s mind. His sister was attacked in March of last year. No, the timing was too coincidental. His sister was attacked in March, and the Eldest Miss’s personality changed drastically. A'Luo had always treated the Eldest Miss as his sister, and Zhan Tianque, along with the Crimson Feather Iron Cavalry, all obeyed the Eldest Miss’s orders! It was known that these two only took orders from his sister!
Dugu Mingyu swallowed, a thought flashing through his mind, then he shook his head. Impossible. Sister was sister, and Eldest Miss was Eldest Miss. These two could never be the same person!
“You two rest well. I’ll go out to gather information.” To avoid overthinking, Dugu Mingyu decided to go out for news.
“There are wanted posters everywhere for you. You can’t go out!” Xue Meng immediately grabbed Dugu Mingyu. Dugu Mingyu was their backbone now. If he were caught, they would fall apart.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’m just going to meet someone as agreed,” Dugu Mingyu reassured Xue Meng. “If I’m not back by midnight, find a place to hide. The Young General will definitely return. Also, there’s someone who definitely won’t just stand by and watch you all die.”
“Brother Mingyu, the Young General is in trouble himself right now. If something happens to you, we really won’t know what to do. Besides, who can save us at this time?” Xue Meng was on the verge of tears. He had only arrived in Yunzhong City not long ago and encountered such a situation. It was truly bad luck. It was much safer to be by the Eldest Miss’s side!
“That brat He Ye… he’s probably already left Yangguan,” Dugu Mingyu said with a smile. How could he forget? The current He Ye was not under Xiao Luo’s command, but under Xiao Man’s!
“He Ye, that scoundrel, he actually escaped by himself!” Xue Meng gritted his teeth, then felt relieved. It was one less person, and they couldn’t all die here.
“Foolish. He’s gone to rally reinforcements. What we need to do is wait for an opportunity to coordinate with the reinforcements from the inside and outside!” Dugu Mingyu lightly flicked Xue Meng’s forehead. Whether it was the Eldest Miss or the Young General, they were both people who planned before acting. How could Xue Meng, who followed them, not learn even a fraction of their skills! Su Dan Novel Network
“Then don’t go out. Stay with us and wait.”
“I have to go. At this moment, he probably can’t handle everything on his own and needs our help. You two wait for my news with peace of mind.” Dugu Mingyu put on a straw hat, pulled down the brim, and quietly slipped out. The Young General had once said that if anything were to happen at Yangguan, there was one person who could be trusted. And his task was to test whether this person was truly trustworthy.
The Guan Gong Temple appeared particularly eerie at night. The colossal statue of Guan Gong stood in the center of the temple, its great saber seemingly ready to swing down at any moment, cleaving all demons and monsters.
Dugu Mingyu crept into the Guan Gong Temple and heard a voice say, “Finally, someone has arrived.”
“Who?”
A faint light appeared, and Dugu Mingyu finally saw clearly. The person who had arrived was Zhao Ge, the young attendant by General Zhao’s side. He had met him a few times before; he was usually unremarkable.
“I’ve been waiting here for two days, and you’ve only just arrived.” Zhao Ge threw something to Dugu Mingyu. Dugu Mingyu caught it and looked. It was the military tally from General Zhao’s hand.
“The military tally!”
“The old man is being watched and can’t come out. He told me to wait here, saying that if the Young General trusts you, he will definitely tell you where to go if Yangguan is in trouble. I didn’t expect this to make me wait for two days,” Zhao Ge said. He was about Xue Meng’s age and usually a nobody, so no one paid attention to him. Thus, he could sneak out without anyone noticing.
“General Zhao entrusted the military tally to you, so I must be a trustworthy person.”
“He has no other choice but to trust me,” Zhao Ge said nonchalantly. “King Yan is currently at Yangguan. Fan Sheng is King Yan’s man and holds the authority at Yangguan. General Bai is imprisoned and safe for now. The Young General has led his men into the forests outside Yangguan and is not in immediate danger, but they have no food or water. If this continues, they may be in danger.”
“I understand. Dugu Mingyu will not fail this mission.”
“Then I leave it to you, General Dugu.” Zhao Ge turned to leave.
“You… you’re going back?”
“I have to go back and watch my old man. I’m afraid he’ll do something rash out of impulse,” Zhao Ge waved his hand lazily.
“You… you are General Zhao’s son?” Dugu Mingyu asked, a little surprised.
Zhao Ge waved his hand. He had been in Yangguan for several years, yet no one knew he was General Zhao’s son. Everyone thought he was just an insignificant soldier by General Zhao’s side. They didn’t know that his inconspicuousness was precisely so that when Yangguan was in crisis, he could be the one to relay messages!