Feeling the warmth of Zhou Nuo in his hand, countless images flashed through Zhao Cheng's mind, his past and present lives intertwined, as if he had experienced another life full of joys and sorrows, giving Zhao Cheng a feeling of being in another world after waking up.

"How did I survive?" Zhao Cheng asked weakly.

Zhou Nuo held Zhao Cheng's hand and said, "The Thorn Scale Armor on your body blocked Du Yucheng's Fangtian Halberd, but his internal strength was too great and injured you. After you fell into the sea, you swallowed too much water. It was Gan Lang who rescued you."

"I see..." Zhao Cheng asked nervously, "Where is my father?"

Zhou Nuo said, "After you fell into the sea, your father also jumped in. Fortunately, Gan Lang is a good swimmer and managed to rescue you both."

Why would Ganlang appear there?

"Xiao Luomu sent Gan Lang with Xiao Luofeng, but Gan Lang hid in the shadows."

"My trip to Jiangyang County was worthwhile. I never expected that the people who saved my life would be Tu Ziming and Gan Lang."

Zhao Cheng sighed and then asked, "How are the others?"

Zhou Nuo said, "Mr. Lian led his men down the mountain to meet us. Our men have all gone up to Lingshan to join us. It's just that Zhao Yan was seriously injured and was unconscious for a long time, just like you. He only woke up a few days ago. Then... the Right Prime Minister's troops suffered heavy losses. Only a few dozen of the three hundred troops are left. The men of Marquis Qingdong, Prefect Yue, and Xiao Luofeng have basically all been wiped out."

Zhao Cheng let out a long sigh and said, "They saved the Zhao family by compiling a list of fallen soldiers and providing them with proper compensation to their families."

"Yan Zheng is handling this matter."

Zhou Nuo's expression turned serious, and he suddenly tightened his grip on Zhao Cheng's hand, saying, "There's one more thing..."

Seeing Zhou Nuo's expression, Zhao Cheng knew it couldn't be anything good and said, "Speak, it's come to this point, I can handle it."

“Cai’e, she…”

Zhou Nuo hesitated, and Zhao Cheng didn't dare to ask any more questions, but just stared intently into Zhou Nuo's eyes.

“Cai’e was in poor health. She suffered a miscarriage while walking up the mountain after abandoning the car, and the baby in her womb could not be saved…”

Zhao Cheng felt a pang of pain in his heart, but also breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "How is Cai'e now?"

Zhou Nuo said, "Stay and rest with Chunqin. Oh right, while you were unconscious, Chunqin gave birth to a baby girl."

Zhao Cheng felt a mix of sorrow and joy, and asked, "Have you chosen a name yet?"

Zhou Nuo said, "Father firmly believes you will wake up, so he's keeping it for you to come and get."

"Zhao Changge".

"Um?"

"Let's call him Zhao Changge."

This name wasn't something Zhao Cheng had already thought of, but he blurted it out at this moment simply because a sentence suddenly popped into his mind.

The world kissed me with pain, but I responded with a song.

We should live for happiness!

Zhao Cheng's awakening was a momentous event for the Zhao family. In order to treat Zhao Cheng and the wounded soldiers, Li Dai arranged for Shi Minghua and a group of medical students to be sent over. After a week of recuperation, Zhao Cheng was finally able to get out of bed and walk normally.

Du Yucheng's attack was filled with all his hatred and killing intent towards Zhao Cheng. If Zhao Cheng hadn't been wearing the Thorn-Scale Armor, he would have been pierced by the Fangtian Halberd. But even with the Thorn-Scale Armor, the internal injuries he suffered were extremely serious.

His survival was due not only to Shi Minghua's medical skills but also to his good fortune.

Xu Shouli and Yue Jiti both brought their families to Lingshan. Xiao Luofeng's family was not implicated because Xiao Luomu had agreed to the court's conditions, and he himself went to Lingshan.

The combined forces of the three men had dwindled to just over a thousand men. Excluding the wounded who were unable to recover their fighting strength, their actual combat power was reduced to only about a thousand men.

However, after Zhao Cheng took a stroll around Lingshan, he discovered that the number of people on Lingshan was far greater than that.

As Zhao Cheng walked toward Zhao Huan's house, he saw Zhao Yan and Yang Huanyun practicing shooting outside. Zhao Cheng was not surprised by Yang Huanyun's appearance, as he had already thanked Yang Huanyun after waking up.

If it weren't for Yang Huanyun, Zhao Yan would most likely have died at Wen Pojun's hands.

"Third brother, you've only recently recovered, so don't overexert yourself," Zhao Cheng advised.

Zhao Yanshu stopped, gripping his spear, and said, "Brother, I benefited greatly from the battle with Wen Pojun. I want to strike while the iron is hot and further improve my cultivation."

Yang Huanyun also said, "Ayan has his own ideas. He wants to create a combination of gun techniques with me so that he might not lose to Wen Pojun next time we meet."

"Ah Yan, tsk tsk... you two are doing pretty well."

Zhao Cheng smiled. At this moment, Lian Zhongyi came out of the house and said, "Come in, all of you. The old marshal has something to say."

The room was not as large or as nice as the main hall of the Right Prime Minister's residence, but it could still accommodate several dozen people. Zhao Cheng looked around and saw that Yang Taozhi, He Zhi, Zhao Hu, Xu Shouli, Yue Jiti, Xiao Luofeng, Yan Zheng, Yuan Fei, Gan Lang, and others had all arrived. Seeing these familiar faces, he felt very gratified.

Atao stayed with Yuan Yun, while Heng Wenhao was still recovering from his injuries, so they were not present.

With his back to everyone, Zhao Huan looked up and said, "Yuan Fei received news from down the mountain that the champion is gone."

Zhao Cheng and Zhao Yan, who had just entered the room, were stunned for a moment and subconsciously exchanged a glance.

The two brothers had already established a friendship with Yuan Zhang after the battle at Muqiaokou, and were very surprised by his death.

Zhao Cheng asked, "How did it disappear?"

Yuan Fei repeated it to Zhao Cheng.

"The King of Champions and his son died in the palace, and the blame was even placed on Sister Taozhi. This kind of behavior is clearly the work of Wen Hu!"

Zhao Cheng clenched his fists and roared, "Wen Hu is trying to seize power and rebel!"

Zhao Huan said, "In Wen Hu's eyes, the Zhao family and Yuan Zhang are gone, and Yuan Li has no military power. No one can stop him anymore. Next, Da Jing will probably undergo a major change."

“Father!” Zhao Cheng took a step closer to Zhao Huan and said, “We can no longer sit idly by and wait to die like before. If Wen Hu wants to cleanse us afterward, many people will die because of us!”

Zhao Huan asked, "You want me to rebel?"

"Yes!" Zhao Cheng replied affirmatively.

Zhao Huan said, "You used to be afraid that I would rebel, but now you're like the fourth brother, trying to persuade me to rebel?"

Seeing that Zhao Cheng shared the same attitude, Zhao Zhan quickly said, "Father didn't rebel before because he was concerned about his reputation. Now, in the eyes of outsiders, Father and Elder Brother have been forced to jump into the sea by the court. The people sympathize with the Zhao family, and public opinion is in our favor. It's time!"

Zhao Huan looked at the crowd and asked, "What about you?"

Xu Shouli was the first to speak: "I have already rebelled."

Lian Zhongyi said, "I agree."

Zhao Yandao: "I agree too!"

Yue Jiti shouted, "Rebel, damn it!"

Xiao Luofeng said, "They've rebelled!"

"I knew Father had been prepared for this, but I didn't expect him to be so tight-lipped. He wouldn't even tell me the truth when he left Yanchuan City."

Zhao Cheng stared into Zhao Huan's eyes and asked, "Father, just how many people have you hidden on Mount Ling?"