Chapter 496: All wisdom is destroyed

Lin Changning had no idea what her second brother was thinking. How could he suddenly associate her with impotence?

After sighing, he realized that using that as an excuse was indeed quite appropriate, and reluctantly agreed.

"Second Brother!"

"Um?"

"Don't tell anyone."

"From my second brother's province."

Lin Changning lay on the bed with a look of utter despair, and a moment later, Wan Jin lifted the curtain outside.

Wan Jin strode in carrying a food box: "Commander, clerk, we left in a hurry and didn't bring any good food. I just heated up some porridge on the fire. Please make do with this for now."

The two sat up together, took the warm soup bowl from Wan Jin, and after drinking a few sips, Qi Rong suddenly asked.

"Has the ferry crossing been captured yet?"

Wan Jin replied solemnly, "Reporting to the commander, the ferry crossing was captured three days ago."

Qi Rong and Lin Changning nodded in unison. They thought so too. With the two missing, their elder brother must be furious, and their father must be enraged. They would probably launch a strong attack on the ferry.

Seeing that the two seemed completely unsurprised, Wan Jin pursed his lips, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes, and continued, "After capturing the ferry that day, the Crown Prince directly ordered the massacre of 3,000 surrendered imperial soldiers..."

At this point, a look of surprise flashed in Qi Rong's eyes. His elder brother had always been a steady and soft-hearted person, yet he had killed so many people because of his and Xiao Liu's disappearance.

Somewhat incredulous, he asked, "Didn't the prince stop him?"

Wan Jin shook his head: "Reporting to the commander, the prince did not stop them. Those who caused the commander and the assistant commander to fall into the water that day were executed by the prince. Their heads are now at the ferry. The general here was also beheaded by the prince of Mingde."

Qi Rong and Lin Changning exchanged a glance, seemingly neither of them expecting the two to use such force.

Logically speaking, they should be in need of manpower right now. If all the surrendered soldiers are executed, the generals will have something to say when they attack other cities in the future.

It is of no benefit whatsoever to the great cause.

Lin Changning hadn't expected that the two held such a high position in the King of Chu's heart. Although he felt that this matter was somewhat inappropriate, he felt a warmth in his heart.

They also understood that whether it was Mingde, their elder brother, or their father, they were all avenging the disappearance of the two of them.

Qi Rong sighed softly: "Since things are as they are, there's no point in saying more. Let's rest for one night and return tomorrow."

Lin Changning was also a little curious. Logically speaking, it would take four days to get from here to the ferry, but they only traveled for one day before encountering Wan Jin, which was quite a coincidence.

"Wan Jin, what are you doing here? If I remember correctly, it takes two days to ride a horse from here to the ferry."

Wan Jin looked at Lin Changning respectfully and said, "Reporting to the Vice Minister, there are more than just our group on both sides of the river. We were just the first group to set off. Ever since you and the Commander fell into the water that day, we have been searching for you on both sides of the river. However, we were initially held up by the soldiers sent by the imperial court. The Prince had no choice but to lead us back. After capturing the river crossing, he dispatched a thousand cavalrymen to form different small teams to search along the riverbank."

Lin Changning frowned: "Thank you for your hard work."

Wan Jin looked at Lin Changning's face and scratched his head, feeling a sense of joy at having something lost and then found: "As long as the commander and the assistant commander can come back, it's not hard work."

As Wan Jin spoke, he gestured wildly: "Most of our Right Guard elders came out. Old Ma couldn't sleep well for those two nights. You could always hear him crying in his quilt in the middle of the night. Old Zhou was the same. He was so distracted on the way to search that he almost fell into the Yellow River several times. Commander Wei has been acting like he's been hit by a firecracker lately. Last time, he led the charge at the ferry crossing and crossed the Yellow River by himself, taking the head of the enemy commander. And that kid Lu Shan, if Commander Wei hadn't arrived in time, he would have almost lost his life in the battle at the ferry crossing."

After Wan Jin finished speaking, he looked at Lin Changning and Qi Rong, who were smiling at him, and his eyes reddened again.

"Commander, Vice Commander, it's so good that you're still alive."

After saying that, she turned her face away, wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, and said in a rough voice with her neck stiff, "Oh dear, a little bug got into my eye, and it hurts."

Lin Changning felt comforted and looked at Wan Jin with a gentler expression: "Thank you for your hard work these past few days."

"It's no trouble at all! Commander, you all rest first. I'll head down now. Everyone's waiting for you to go back. We'll head back first thing tomorrow morning!"

Lin Changning nodded and waved to Wan Jin: "Go."

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Wan Jin instructed a kind person to prepare porridge and bring it to Lin Changning and the others. After breakfast, the two rode their horses toward the ferry.

Not long after they started walking, Lin Changning and his men suddenly became alert. Besides the roar of the Yellow River, they could hear faint tremors coming from the ground on both sides of the riverbank, as if a large wave of cavalry was approaching them.

Lin Changning quickly gripped his knife, warily watching the direction from which the sound came. At the point where the sky met the Yellow River, he saw a person riding a fine horse speeding towards them.

A group of cavalrymen followed behind, their banners fluttering—the very banner of the King of Chu. A flicker of joy flashed in Lin Changning's eyes: "Second brother! It must be eldest brother!"

After exchanging a glance, the two quickly mounted their horses and galloped towards Li Mingxiu's direction. Li Mingxiu had just received the news the night before and led a troop of cavalry downstream.

He couldn't put his mind at ease until he saw the two people were safe with his own eyes. When the cavalry stopped, Li Mingxiu saw the two people who were smiling at him, sitting on their horses right opposite him.

"Second brother, sixth brother, you..."

Lin Changning smiled at Li Mingxiu: "Big brother, you're alive and well!"

Li Mingxiu's gaze swept over the two faces several times. After venting the resentment he had been holding in for so many days, he took a deep breath and said.

"It's good that you're safe, it's good that you're safe."

After speaking, he carefully examined the two men: "I remember you were injured when you fell into the Yellow River that day. How are your injuries now? Have you seen a military doctor?"

Qi Rong nodded to his elder brother: "I've seen it. Thanks to the help of a fishing family, it's alright now."

Lin Changning nodded in agreement, but Li Mingxiu was still somewhat uneasy. He turned to look at a military doctor and Shilang behind him and said, "Let me take another look at you, otherwise I won't feel at ease."

When Shiro saw Lin Changning return alive, he was so excited that he staggered off his horse and ran quickly towards Lin Changning.

"Sixth Brother, come down quickly so I can take a look at you."

Lin Changning looked at Shilang with some suspicion: "Didn't I tell you to stay in the military camp? Why did you come here?"

Li Mingxiu quickly replied, "After receiving the news, I thought I would come and welcome you. I remembered that your family brother has good medical skills and is used to seeing your injuries, so I brought him along."