I'm convinced

Yunzhong, the commander’s base.

For several days, there was chaos.

The formation master rushed around, and the doctors worked day and night. The fragrance of medicine mixed with the smell of blood filled the air in the front and back halls.

At dusk, an elite guard rushed to the city, stirring up several plumes of dust.

King Lu Xingde of the West rarely left Weiweiguan City, where he had been stationed for decades.

Lu Xingde was approaching his 50s. Throughout his life, he had experienced high spirits, harmony among his family, family reunions, and separations from his loved ones.

In his life, he had sent away his three adopted sons and three sons for the Weiweiguan City in the western border.

Now, even his youngest son has become like this.

The young man was tied to the couch with a mysterious chain, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was deeply tainted by evil, and had almost completely lost his mind.

Lu Xingde leaned over and carefully took his son into his arms.

The young man's strength was as light as paper due to his cultivation.

Lu Xingde felt extremely distressed. He coaxed her in a low voice: "Xiyun, be good. It's father."

But the man in his arms no longer understood. His son could neither understand his own name nor recognize him, and only a meaningless hoarse sound came from his throat.

A veteran of countless battles, he had seen the ravages of life, never shed a tear amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood. But at this moment, his voice was a little hoarse:

"Xiyun, it's father. Father is here, so be obedient."

Lu Xingde carefully increased the strength in his arms, his voice growing hoarse, but every word weighing a thousand words: "Don't be afraid, Daddy is with you. Even if the sky falls, Daddy will hold it up for you."

There are no stars or moon in the night, only sparse starlight falling on the steps.

The wind blows through the corridor, and there is a slight sound of wind in the courtyard.

Lu Xingde opened the door quietly and entered the room.

The young man on the couch struggled to get up.

Lu Xingde quickly stepped forward, helped the young man lie down, and said gently, as if coaxing a child, "Lie down well."

Lu Xingchuan looked very sick, and he even lacked the strength to stand up: "Second brother, what happened? Everyone in this camp is lying to me..."

Lu Xingde sighed. His younger brother had been smart since childhood, so there was nothing he could hide from Lu Xingchuan.

He spoke slowly, "Xingchuan, I'm not lying to you. I went to see him just now. Xiyun is deeply tainted by evil."

Lu Xingde pressed his younger brother's shoulder and spoke with a calmness as steady as a mountain: "I have sent a letter to Brother Han Wang in the northern border, inviting him to come to the western border. I will take Xiyun back first and ask Brother Han Wang to see it."

He spoke soothingly, "Xingchuan, just focus on recovering from your injuries. Don't worry about anything else."

Lu Xingchuan, who was lying on the couch, had a pale face. "The Han family's method is ultimately a slowdown, not a solution."

The young man gritted his teeth and said, "...Brother, let me handle it. It's just an evil infection. I have a 'friend' who can solve it."

Lu Xingde knew his younger brother's temperament very well and could only sigh: "Xiyun will never recover. I will support him for the rest of his life. Using a life-threatening method to save others? Our Lu family's life is life, but other people's lives are not?"

Lu Xingde looked at him and said earnestly, "Xingchuan, even if we take a step back, this is Yunzhong's territory. If you go and call on your 'friends' for help, you're dragging His Highness Prince Xiang into this infamy."

Lu Xingchuan's eyes darkened. "Second brother, Qin Shu knows everything that everyone in Yunzhong does. If I don't do this kind of thing, he will do it too. I'm not causing him to bear the infamy, I'm helping him bear the infamy."

Lu Xingde was shocked by his words and said angrily: "What nonsense! The royal majesty... How dare you overstep your bounds!"

Lu Xingchuan was silent for a while, and finally raised his eyes: "Second brother, Qin Shu will not let you leave, and will not let you leave with Xiyun."

Lu Xingde was shocked, and before he could refute, he heard footsteps outside the house.

When Lu Xingde arrived in Yunzhong, it was a bit rude not to see Qin Shu first.

But it was Qin Shu who apologized first: "Old Prince, Xiyun's matter was my fault. I promise to resolve the evil contamination in him."

Lu Xingde responded, "Your Highness, you are too kind."

Qin Shu glanced at Lu Xingchuan on the couch, and his tone changed: "It's just... Lord Lu is in Yunzhong's territory, and he has contacted the Huyan family, so I have to take care of it."

Lu Xingde was startled and immediately turned to Lu Xingchuan and cursed, "Who told you to go find him? The evil magic of his Huyan family can cost people their lives!"

Lu Xingchuan almost had a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat. He gave in. Before he could even start to move, Qin Shu put the blame on him.

But it was obvious that Qin Shu had already made up his mind.

Lu Xingchuan also supported letting Qin Shu handle this matter.

Lu Xingchuan swallowed his blood and had to cooperate with Qin Shu to finish the scene.

The young man lowered his eyes and whispered, "Second brother... you can't... let Xiyun stay like this forever."

Seeing Lu Xingchuan like this, Lu Xingde couldn't vent his anger. He could only lift his robe and kneel down to apologize for Lu Xingchuan: "Your Highness, Xingchuan is young and does not know the severity of the crime. All the blame will be borne by this old minister."

Qin Shu hurried to help him: "Your Highness, I have already said that this matter is my responsibility. I will definitely not take my anger out on the Marquis."

His tone was sincere, as if he really couldn't bear to see Lu Xingchuan 'go astray': "But, I hope that Your Highness will keep Xiyun in the clouds, so that I can look after Lord Lu. If Your Highness makes further mistakes because of my mistake, how can I feel at ease?"

Lu Xingchuan was so angry that he almost laughed. The performance was so real.

Seeing that Lu Xingde was still hesitant, Qin Shu bowed solemnly and said, "I also have some clues about the matter of Xie Ran in Yunzhong. I hope Your Highness will believe me."

A very vague memory flashed through Qin Shu's mind.

In a trance, the light and shadow of the past life overlap with the sight of this life

Qin Shu was shocked by the seemingly ambiguous memory fragment in his mind.

Had he once made such a solemn promise? And then—hiding it from everyone, he performed a forbidden technique.

Fortunately, Lu Xingde did not notice his abnormality. At this moment, Lu Xingde was more shocked than him.

Lu Xingde hurriedly went to help Qin Shu: "Your Highness! This is impossible! This is impossible! How can you bow to an old minister? This is unacceptable!!"

In such a situation, Lu Xingde had no way to refuse: "With Your Highness's words, how can this old minister not believe it? I will ask Brother King Han to come to Yunzhong."

···

It's late at night, but the lights are still on.

Fang Cun, who was "plucked" back by Ren Xuan himself, lived up to the title of "strange man" as soon as he landed, and indeed found a new way.

Fang Cun shrugged casually, and said lightly: "If you don't exchange your life, then gamble your life."

Qin Shu's eyebrows moved: "What do you mean?"

Fang Cunyun said calmly: "If we find someone to exchange his life for his, he will definitely be fine. If we don't want to exchange his life, then we can seal the acupoints, seal the evil stain and the Qi Yuan together. If the evil stain dissipates quickly, he will live. If the Qi Yuan dries up first, he will die."

Qin Shu asked in a deep voice, "How likely is it to succeed?"

Fang Cun didn't answer him. He simply glanced at the unconscious figure on the couch, his eyes fixed slightly. "You'll have to ask him about that. The flow of Qi and Yuan varies from person to person. The deeper the foundation, the more stable the control. Of course, the subjective desire to survive is also very important."

Qin Shu was annoyed for a moment: "He only has a seventh-grade foundation now. How confident are you?"

Fang Cun's eyes settled: "30%."

He paused, a slightly inappropriate smile curling up the corner of his mouth. "However—Your Highness, if you can give me three hundred prisoners to use as a guide, that's a 100% chance."

Qin Shu lowered his eyes, his gaze gloomy.

Only Ren Xuan spoke decisively, his voice resolute: "No matter how confident you are, you can't rely on this method. Even if you are 100% sure, how will you face the old prince in the future? How will you face the prince?"

Fang Cun raised his eyebrows and turned to stare at Ren Xuan: "General Ren, when did you become so righteous?"

Ren Xuan nearly spat out a mouthful of blood—was this a moral issue?!

I give up, I have read the entire script of the first chapter, and I made the wrong choice here, and I will go straight to BE!!!

Ren Xuan felt his blood boiling. "It's just a few hundred lives. Your Highness can carry it, Lord Lu can carry it, and even I, Ren Xuan, can live well with this little blood debt. But Lu Xiyun can't carry it, it would crush him to death!"

Qin Shu seemed to be persuaded by his words. He was silent for a while and said nothing to Fang Cun: "I will give you the answer tomorrow."

Fang Cun didn't care and left leisurely.

The lights were dim. Qin Shu didn't say anything else. He looked up at Ren Xuan and said calmly, "Want to drink?"

Even though it was the middle of the night and he had to stay to work overtime, Ren Xuan just nodded slightly and agreed straightforwardly.

Ren Xuan sat down, poured a glass of wine for the two of them, and said calmly: "Your Highness is different from before."

Qin Shu tilted his head to look at him: "What's the difference?"

Ren Xuan looked at him, his tone calm but pointed, "Your Highness used to only trust yourself. Everything in the world is predetermined in your mind. Any variables are interference to you. What you want is for every move to go according to your intention."

He paused, "But now, Your Highness is making room for 'people's hearts'."

Qin Shu drank the wine in the cup in one gulp, his eyes calm and almost cold: "If I really use evil magic, it's not for his good, but for my own good."

He laughed at himself, "I am afraid of his death. But I am selfish."

Qin Shu knew very well that Ren Xuan was right. What Lu Xiyun could not resist were those hundreds of lives.

And the person who cannot tolerate variables, who wants to have everything under control, and who wants to gain "certainty" even at the cost of human lives.

It's him.

Qin Shu was silent for a long time, then said, "Xiyun... trusts me very much. I can't possibly betray that trust."

He paused, and finally a wave of emotion appeared in his eyes: "I followed Fang Ci all day long to curse that bastard in my previous life. If I want to act like that bastard now, then what's the difference between me and that bastard?"

Ren Xuan was stunned when he heard this, and a hint of surprise flashed across his eyes.

Ren Xuan laughed, then paused and said, "Your Highness is certainly different from that bastard. Your Highness has done many 'useless things' in this life."

Ren Xuan chuckled softly, "Sometimes, useless things can be quite interesting."

He raised his cup and drank it all, then said leisurely, "I am a former soldier. Even killing people requires payment, let alone these things. The first time I did a good deed for free was to save Jiang En. We are not related, but because of Shi An's request, I traveled thousands of miles to rescue that kid.

He smiled and shook his head: "To punish evil and promote good, he actually found me."

Qin Shu laughed at him: "Are you flattered?"

Ren Xuan spread his hands frankly: "Yes. After that, as long as it doesn't get in my way, I can do such useless things. I want to try... to see if I can live up to his gaze."

He shook his head and laughed, "I've done this kind of thing so many times, and I've begun to think that people aren't that good, but they're not as bad as I thought. At least now, I consider Jiang En a brother, and I think I've made a profit. And the so-called useless things are also quite interesting."

Qin Shu listened quietly, the wine in the cup already cold. He raised his eyes to look at Ren Xuan, his eyes dark: "Ren Xuan, tell me. What is my image like in his eyes?"

Ren Xuan said jokingly, "Your Highness, in the eyes of the princess, you are a bastard, the kind who is hopeless. But I can solemnly guarantee that in the eyes of the prince, you are absolutely a good person."

He leaned closer, his voice low, and said, "I'll tell you in secret, when the prince was infected with that evil thing—"

Ren Xuan quietly concealed the name "Xiao Jingxiu" and quickly recounted the incident, adding fuel to the fire - how the boy instigated Lu Xiyun to conceal the truth, and how Lu Xiyun turned around and ran to find Qin Shu.

In short: "Your Highness. The way the prince sees you is definitely much better than the way you see yourself."

Qin Shu lowered his eyebrows, looking at the clear and slightly shaking surface of the wine, as if he was looking at some unspeakable past and future. He drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, as if he had made a decision.

Ren Xuan didn't say anything, but raised his hand to fill his glass with new wine.

Qin Shu seemed to be relieved. He relaxed a lot, then raised his eyes to look at Ren Xuan and changed the subject: "That person - Xiao Jingxiu, right?"

Ren Xuan choked and his heart skipped a beat.

From this, we can guess that the Dog Emperor is really good at this...

Seeing him silent, Qin Shu narrowed his eyes and pressed his gaze: "Are you involved too?"

Ren Xuan shuddered and sat up straight. "That's absolutely not true! It was all Wen Congren who said that. I wasn't even there at the time! It was Xiao Jingxiu who framed you for no reason!"

Qin Shu was furious and threw his wine glass. Under the hazy drunkenness, he gritted his teeth and said, "Get rid of that bastard Xiao Jingxiu."

"Right, right, right—" Ren Xuan nodded quickly, and said, "That brat deserves to be punished! Your Highness, I will dock his salary for three years tomorrow. I will show no mercy!"

After a busy whole night, Ren Xuan returned to his room when it was dawn. He took off his outer robe and planned to lean against the couch to take a nap.

But just as he closed his eyes, there was another knock on the door. He took a deep breath and went to open the door with gritted teeth.

Seeing the person coming, Ren Xuan swallowed back the string of curse words that were about to hit his throat.

Lu Shian got down to business right away: "Ren Xuan, Congren and I have discussed this. We don't have to wait until the evil stain in Xiyun's body is completely dissipated. As long as the evil stain is controlled within the range of the formation's suppression, I can take over. This way the risk is much smaller."

He said in a leisurely tone: "Congren said that this way, the probability of success can be increased from the original 80% to another 10%."

Ren Xuan was a little confused: "Wait—didn't you say 30%?"

Lu Shian said in a normal tone: "That's what the Yanshi said."

The young man said solemnly, and repeated the calculations in front of Ren Xuan: "Old Prince Han has arrived. With Congren's medicine, and Fang Ci also getting the golden silk plant from southern Xinjiang, if we combine it with Qin Xuan's national defense policy, we will have at least an 80% chance of success."

Ren Xuanren was completely stunned. Even so, the dog emperor looked half-dead last night?!

I give up. I comforted him all night!

Later that evening, the innocent creditor came to the door and asked, "General Ren, did you enjoy your drinking last night?"

Xiao Jingxiu stared at Ren Xuan sinisterly, with a forced smile: "When I woke up this morning, His Highness inexplicably fined me half a year's salary. Do you have any idea?"