Ning Ye received the news that evening, but he wasn't in a hurry. He wanted to see if there was really a tail behind this. However, nothing happened until now, so the other party probably didn't catch any trace of Hu Laosan's return.

Ning Ye could no longer contain himself. He had clearly sent Hu Laosan with a lot of people, but only one person returned.

Moreover, according to Zhang Zihe, when the third brother returned, he was covered in wounds; otherwise, he wouldn't have been seriously injured and unconscious. He still has a high fever, and it's unknown whether he can pull through.

In ancient times, when there were no anti-inflammatory drugs, if a person developed a fever due to severe injury, it was basically a death sentence, and whether they survived depended entirely on luck.

When Ning Ye arrived at Zhang Zihe's house again, neither Zhang Zihe nor Sun Qingyu were there, as they should both be teaching at the school.

Zhang Zifeng had naturally gone to school, so apart from Hu Laosan, there was no one else in the house.

Zhang Zihe originally wanted to stay and take care of Ning Ye, but Ning Ye directly refused, since keeping everything as normal was the most important thing.

When Ning Ye pushed open the door and saw Hu Laosan lying on the bed with a pale face, his heart clenched.

Ning Ye liked this honest, kind, and hardworking man very much, but now he was on his deathbed.

Ning Ye didn't feel that anything was wrong, because he was the one who issued the order, so he should also bear the responsibility.

Touching the forehead of the brain-damaged man, Ning Ye found it was indeed burning hot. Without hesitation, he took out a fever-reducing injection. There were only two of these in total, just in case, and Ning Ye was willing to use one now.

After the fever-reducing injection was administered, Ning Ye was basically relieved, since the system's products had never disappointed him before.

Ning Ye sat quietly to the side, waiting for Hu Laosan to wake up. He wanted to know what had happened to cause Hu Laosan to fall into such a state.

About two hours later, Hu Laosan opened his eyes. His fever had subsided somewhat, and at least he no longer had that splitting headache.

"My lord, I'm sorry to disappoint you. You've returned looking like this."

Ning Ye comforted him, "It's good that you came back alive. Besides, this was a difficult thing for you. I just wanted you to practice, but I didn't expect you to be so happy."

This tough man suddenly burst into tears, "Sir, everyone who went with me is dead. They all died so that I could escape!"

Hu Laosan, a dignified seven-foot-tall man who had always been silent, was now sobbing uncontrollably. Who knew what kind of torment Hu Laosan had been going through all along the way?

When a person places all their trust in another person, the burden they bear will be incredibly heavy, because they are carrying the weight of many people on their shoulders.

Ning Ye patted Hu Laosan on the shoulder and said, "A real man sheds blood and sweat but not tears. They are willing to die for you, so they must have no regrets. Why be so sad? Just avenge them in the future."

Hu Laosan cried and said, "Sir, they are just a group of children. Should I not have taken them with me? Then they wouldn't have died."

Ning Ye stood up, turned around, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back. "This was their own choice. You didn't force them. As long as they chose their own path, there's no way they can be considered wrong."

Hu Laosan's tears did not stop, but he remained silent until the tears stopped flowing from his eyes, at which point he wiped his face dry.

"I understand what you mean, sir, and I will definitely avenge them."

"Alright, stop getting sentimental with me. Just remember what you did. Now let me check your injuries so that there are no lasting effects that could affect you in the future."

The soft armor underneath Hu Laosan's clothes was already tattered and torn. He had countless wounds on his body, the most fatal of which was a knife wound on his chest that had shattered the breastplate and penetrated half an inch into his chest.

After escaping from the grove, Hu Laosan encountered two more enemy pursuits, the most fatal of which came from a man who appeared to be the leader of the household guards.

Even so, Hu Laosan still managed to escape the pursuit in the wild, relying on his skills and some knowledge he had learned from Ning Ye.

Ning Ye immediately took out a bottle of super healing medicine. He had never actually tried this stuff before. After pouring out the emerald green liquid, Ning Ye began to carefully apply the medicine to Hu Laosan.

Hu Laosan shuddered. "I can handle this myself. How could I trouble you, sir?"

Ning Ye scoffed and said, "How can you take care of this back injury all by yourself? It's just applying some medicine. Stop talking nonsense. I've said before that there's no superior-subordinate relationship between you and me under normal circumstances."

Being treated like this would probably move anyone to tears, after all, this matter of rank and status cannot be changed by Ning Ye's words alone. Even if time passes, it would take generations to erase what is ingrained in one's bones.

While Ning Ye was inspecting the place, he also listened to Hu Laosan recount what had happened. As expected, he had underestimated that prince; investigating someone was bound to be noticed.

After hearing about the setup for the pursuit, Ning Ye became somewhat suspicious. Wasn't this setup a bit too extravagant?

It seems rather strange that a prince who has been exiled to the frontier still possesses such power.

Ning Ye would never believe that the Prince of Huaiyang had no ulterior motives, but it didn't really concern him now. After all, if a prince truly harbored some hidden power, it was something he couldn't possibly have any designs on.

After checking Hu Laosan's injuries, Ning Ye finally felt relieved. Apart from the high fever, the other injuries were nothing serious and would heal completely in a short time.

"Let's leave this matter here for now. If there's an opportunity in the future, I'll let you take revenge yourself, but now is not the right time."

After getting dressed, Hu Laosan nodded and said, "Please rest assured, sir. I am not an ungrateful person. I also know the saying that a gentleman's revenge is never too late. I will never do anything foolish."

Ning Ye patted Hu Laosan's shoulder and said, "I'm already very happy that you understand these things. If you have any questions in the future, you can ask me. Maybe many things are not as difficult as you think."