Chapter 71

Helian Yong knocked down Doctor Chang as carefully as possible without making a sound. However, something was amiss. The guards outside were very alert. After listening for a long time without hearing Doctor Chang's voice, they immediately felt something was wrong and rushed into the tent without giving any warning.

The bamboo tube lid was sealed very well. Helian Yong used a lot of force to pull it open, and immediately a very refreshing fragrance spread out. Helian Yong unconsciously twitched his nose and moved closer. Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed in front of him, and an insect pounced directly at his face.

"Wow!" Helian Yong was so surprised that he raised his hand to block it, and the bamboo tube fell directly to the ground.

He felt a sharp pain in his arm and saw that the insect had bitten through his skin and was trying to burrow inside. He immediately disregarded everything and reached out to crush the insect.

The guards entered at that moment, and upon seeing the situation, they immediately drew their swords and rushed over to help: "Young general, don't be afraid, I'm here to help you!"

He rushed over without noticing the bamboo tubes rolling on the ground, and stepped on them directly. The bamboo tubes shattered with a crack, and the fragrance in the tent suddenly became exceptionally strong, so strong that it made people dizzy and disoriented.

The worm burrowed into his arm too quickly; Helian Yong had no time to stop it. He immediately turned red with anger and looked at the guard who had said he was coming to help him but had just stood there doing nothing. He said irritably, "Instead of standing here daydreaming, you might as well go out and do something productive!"

"What important matter is it?" the guard actually asked him.

Helian Yong was frowning as he looked at the wound on his arm, thinking about how to force the Gu worms out. Upon hearing this, he replied without hesitation, "Of course, we should gather all the soldiers and officers in the camp to fight against the rebels!"

"Gather the people together to fight the rebels, gather them together to fight the rebels..." The guard repeated as he turned and walked out.

Helian Yong finally realized something was wrong. It was already night, and the soldiers who were supposed to take over the second half of the night shift had already gone to sleep. If he were woken up... Helian Yong shuddered. He didn't dare to think about the consequences. He rushed out to try to stop the guard.

The other guard at the gate saw his companion come out and walk straight out without looking to the side. He assumed his companion had some urgent business to report and didn't take it seriously. But when he saw Helian Yong rush out after him, he immediately reached out to stop him.

"Why are you stopping me? Go stop him now! Confiscate his weapons and lock him up. We absolutely cannot let him wake up everyone in the camp. Go now!" Helian Yong could only shout anxiously.

He didn't realize that he was standing there with the curtain half-open, the overpowering fragrance wafting out of the tent and hitting the guard in the face. His expression gradually became blank, and the light in his eyes slowly disappeared.

"Stop him, disarm him, lock him up..." The guard muttered the same words repeatedly, then drew his sword and charged at the figure walking away.

With no one blocking his way, Helian Yong stood frozen in place, his face filled with terror.

Both guards were fast, but the one who chased after them was a former martial arts practitioner who had learned some internal martial arts by chance. However, he had limited talent and had only developed a little bit of internal strength over several years, barely enough for him to fly for a while. His martial arts skills were weak and his appearance was not outstanding, so he naturally did not make a name for himself. In the end, his parents sent him to join the army to exchange for some money.

Although the guard's martial arts skills were rudimentary and subpar, he at least knew lightness skills, and with the boost, he caught up with the guard in front.

The two started fighting, and not in the way of a normal sparring match, but in the way of fighting when facing an enemy, where they disregarded life and death.

Such a fierce fight naturally attracted the attention of the patrolling soldiers. However, by the time they rushed over to capture the two men, the latter had already successfully completed one of their tasks: disarming the former.

"All of you, stand right there! Who are you? How dare you start a fight to the death in the Northwest Army? Surrender now!" The patrolling soldiers rushed over and took down the one who still had a weapon first.

As dusk fell, they assumed it was outsiders who had broken in and were disobeying the rules. However, upon closer inspection, they discovered that the intruders were from their own camp, and even more so, they were General Helian's personal guards! Those who could be recruited into the General's personal guard were the elite of the elite, holding a prestigious and lucrative position in everyone's eyes. They were not only the objects of envy and jealousy but also the objects of everyone's eagerness to curry favor with.

Therefore, almost everyone in the general's personal guard knew them and could call them by name.

The patrolmen were completely taken aback when they realized the culprit was one of the general's men. Their brows furrowed immediately, sensing something was amiss. They had just drawn their swords to stop the one with the sword when the one without a sword suddenly darted away from the side and ran straight towards the camp.

"Oh no!" They quickly gave chase. "Stop! If you run again, we'll shoot you!"

The patrolmen unleashed the ingenious hidden sleeve darts, naturally the soft-arrow version.

They eventually managed to stop the crazed general's personal guard, but it was all too late.

Helian Cheng's army was in disarray.

A "camp riot," also known as a "camp whistle," refers to the phenomenon where soldiers under intense mental stress are suddenly awakened, causing them to lose their sense of location and surroundings, and blindly attack their surroundings. This is a terrifying event, and soldiers who riot may even kill each other.

Soldiers are naturally alert even in their sleep, especially those stationed on the border. Helian Yong's words today eventually spread, causing unease among many soldiers and making it difficult for them to sleep soundly.

Just then, the sound of pursuit came from outside, which immediately woke them up. For a moment, they didn't know whether they were dreaming or in reality, nor could they judge whether the sound of pursuit was near or far from them. They just instinctively grabbed the weapons beside them and swung them in front of them.

...

The only right thing Helian Yong did was probably to tremble and find Helian Cheng immediately after the incident, crying, "Father...Father..."

His lips were trembling, and he was too terrified to utter a complete sentence.

The moment Helian Cheng saw him, he realized something was wrong. With his eyes wide and his expression cold and stern, he strode out of the main tent and bumped into a personal guard who was about to go in to report: "General, there seems to be something strange at the camp over there."

"Let's go!" Without saying a word, Helian Cheng used his lightness skill to rush over.

When Helian Cheng arrived, the camp was already in chaos. The patrolmen were shocked by the absurd and chaotic scene and couldn't react at all. Fortunately, he arrived quickly. With a roar full of internal force, he directly shocked everyone to the spot. Some of the less skilled ones couldn't even hold their weapons.

Helian Cheng's appearance brought this farce to an end.

Helian Cheng had never been so fortunate. He was glad that he had set a rule that the soldiers should collect their weapons and hand them in when they were off duty. As a result, the weapons in the hands of the soldiers in the camp were all made of wood or were dull or broken swords that had been taken from the battlefield. They only held them in their hands to make themselves feel more at ease.

Thus, this brief bombing of the camp did not result in serious casualties.

The personal guards were left behind to comfort the frightened soldiers. Helian Cheng went to the tent where Helian Yong was being held. Just as he was about to lift the curtain and go in, he was stopped by a voice from inside, "Don't come in!"

Although the voice was muffled and a little hoarse, Helian Cheng still recognized it as Doctor Chang's voice, and he immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

Having just forcibly awakened from his coma, Doctor Chang, who was leaning weakly against the table with his sleeve tightly covering his mouth and nose, paused slightly. He naturally recognized Helian Cheng's voice from outside, and he breathed a sigh of relief. His tone was no longer so tense. "It seems that the matter outside has been resolved."

"Hmm, how's it inside?" Helian Cheng asked.

Doctor Chang didn't hide anything and replied helplessly, "It's not good. It's full of Gu poison. I have no strength at all and can't even crawl. If I don't get out soon, I'll die here."

This Gu worm was given to him by a friend when he decided to become a military doctor in the Northwest Army. The friend was worried that a doctor with no physical strength would not be able to survive in the harsh environment of the border. He said that it should never be used unless absolutely necessary, because this Gu can produce Gu poison. A light touch will only make people feel dazed, a little more will cause hallucinations, and even more can directly bewitch the mind. At this time, if you give him an order, he will completely obey your idea. If you are in the Gu poison environment for a long time, you will not die, but your brain will definitely be affected.

It can be described as an extremely powerful Gu.

However, there is one thing: the poison can be released, but the worm must never be released, especially not into contact with humans. Otherwise, it will immediately burrow into the flesh and blood of humans, find a place with the most vigorous blood energy to form a cocoon, and begin to evolve. When it emerges from the cocoon after evolution, it will be a Soul-Separating Gu without the poison, capable of directly bewitching people's minds. As for the humans who were used as a breeding ground, they will die at the moment of emergence.

—Because the heart is the body's blood pressure pump, all the blood flows through it, which is naturally the place where blood flow is most vigorous.

My friend only started studying insects because he liked them, so he wouldn't kill people to raise Gu for no reason. That's why the Soul-Separating Gu has always been in a juvenile state.

Doctor Chang had kept the bamboo tube containing the Gu poison hanging on his old imperial physician jade pendant for years, and he had completely forgotten about this deadly weapon. Who would have thought that Helian Yong would accidentally use it today?

Fortunately, Doctor Chang regained consciousness after only a short period of unconsciousness. During that moment of clarity, he pulled out silver needles and inserted them into acupoints to force himself to be more alert. This allowed him to cover his mouth and nose, shortening the time it took for the poison to enter his body. However, he still felt weak.

Helian Cheng recalled hearing Doctor Chang mention this matter before. If the places where Gu worms were prevalent within the Great Qi territory were the Lingnan region of Dianzhou and the Miao people's gathering place, then the land of Gu poison outside the border was the Southern Frontier. Helian Cheng had been guarding the border for many years and had naturally seen many people from the Southern Frontier. He had also heard about Gu worms from them. Although there were some surprising aspects, they were not as mysterious as they seemed.

Helian Cheng then thought that Gu worms were just poisonous insects, and that the people in the martial arts world who talked about them in such a mysterious way were just making a fuss because they were ignorant.

Doctor Chang knew that Helian Cheng didn't like martial arts practitioners who broke the law, so when he talked about Gu worms, he only mentioned that Gu worms were a way to hurt the enemy a thousand while hurting himself eight hundred, and that the Gu poison was very poisonous. He didn't know that the worm in the bamboo tube was an immature version.

Helian Cheng recalled the conversation and immediately realized how potent the poison was. He told everyone around him to stay at least three feet away and not to release the poison. He held his breath and rushed in to pull Doctor Chang out.

As soon as he stepped outside the tent, the fresh, fragrance-free air filled his lungs, and Doctor Chang instantly felt relaxed, almost fainting on Helian Cheng's body. Helian Cheng was so frightened that he pinched Doctor Chang's philtrum hard, "Doctor Chang, are you alright? Doctor Chang, wake up!"

Dr. Chang, who had just fainted for a second before being jolted awake by the pain: "..."

"Don't worry, you won't die." Doctor Chang said, forcing himself to stay awake. He ordered someone to fetch all his medicine, and after taking a bunch of pills, his expression improved considerably. Finally, he fainted with relief.

Helian Cheng quickly settled Doctor Chang in before striding back to the main camp.

"Helian Yong!" Helian Cheng was truly enraged. When he saw Helian Yong again, he delivered a powerful kick to the chest, sending Helian Yong flying and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Father, godfather..." Helian Yong tried to get up but couldn't manage it for a moment.

Helian Cheng took a deep breath to suppress his anger. He didn't look at Helian Yong, but ordered his men to carry him away before returning to his desk to sit down. He still had to deal with the aftermath of this matter, the most important thing being the problem of the army's morale being too low.

They desperately need a victory now, otherwise this low morale could very well affect the entire Northwest Army after the exercise ends.

It seems we'll have to confront the Red Team head-on. Helian Cheng changed his strategy and began a complete re-analysis.

...

Xue Jin'an discovered that the soldiers in the Blue Army camp treated him with awe, even though they looked down on him before entering the tent for the meeting. Xue Jin'an didn't understand the fickleness of human nature, but he accepted it with pleasure.

He quickly discovered the benefits of establishing his authority within the team. For instance, when he gave orders, his subordinates never asked questions and would simply do as he was told. For example, if he put up a sign at the entrance of his tent that read "Sleeping, Do Not Disturb" before logging off to sleep at night, no one would disturb him until that sign was taken down.

Xue Jin'an got up on time, opened the fitness app, and immediately removed the "Do Not Disturb" sign. In no time, everyone had gathered in the main tent.

“There was some unusual activity at headquarters last night. It didn’t last long, but something still felt off.” They talked about it one after another, and someone even added more details.

After listening to everyone's report, Xue Jin'an said with certainty, "They caused a disturbance last night."

"A camp collapse?!" Those present were the backbone of the Northwest Army, and naturally knew the dangers of a camp collapse. They also knew that if the camp really collapsed, it must be related to Helian Yong, whom they had tricked and driven away.

They were both furious at Helian Yong's incompetence and deeply regretted following his foolish actions. For a moment, they looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering, "With the General in charge, shouldn't this be unusual?"

But they also knew that once a riot occurred, it was beyond human control.

"It's just a minor incident, nothing to worry about." Xue Jin'an's honest words sounded light and airy to everyone, and many even thought he was too young to understand how serious a disturbance could be.

Xue Jin'an knew, of course, that if the losses from the bombing were significant, Helian Yong wouldn't have survived until this morning; he would have been executed as a warning to others, and Helian Cheng wouldn't have been able to remain in power until this morning either.

Of course, even a minor disruption is still a disruption, and Helian Yong will still be punished after the exercise ends. Helian Cheng, who is stricter with himself than with others, will most likely punish himself as well. However, these are matters for later. Helian Cheng's immediate priority should be to boost the morale of his soldiers.

Therefore, Helian Cheng will inevitably take action as soon as possible.

Xue Jin'an went through countless calculations in his mind and finally gave the most likely route and time for Helian Cheng to make his move: "We'll pretend to flank the Red team and then take the opportunity to enter the camp."

...

When Chen Zheng, the Red Team's commander, learned the whole truth, he asked incredulously, "So, General and Long Aotian, you schemed against each other and betrayed each other, and in the end, it was me who fell?"

When Chen Zheng learned that the Blue Army was going to gather all its forces to attack him, he immediately recalled all the Red Army's forces without any regard for anything else. It was the first time he had learned that the Blue Army had changed its commander. He chatted and laughed with the young man in the midst of the battle between the two armies.

The other party said that he recalled all the Blue Team members simply because his tactics were different from Han Qi's. Han Qi was good at guerrilla warfare, while he was better at head-on battles. Then he even challenged him to face the enemy head-on the next day, where winning was winning and losing was losing... Even when a cook suddenly jumped out halfway through the conversation and said some strange things that were hard to understand, Chen Zheng believed Long Aotian's words.

Then, instead of the promised frontal battle, the general led his troops to launch a surprise attack on his rear, cutting off his supplies and provisions. Just as he managed to organize an effective resistance, the Blue Army took the opportunity to nibble away at his vanguard, cutting his army in half... After this literal left and right advance, he could only flee with his remaining hundred personal guards.

He saw the general's army pouring out, while the Blue Team was pouring in. He assumed it was a robbery and had a sudden idea that he could also sneak in and steal some supplies. He wasn't greedy; he just wanted enough to get through the exercise.

However, he never expected that the Blue Team was heading straight for their base! He had walked right into their trap, and his hundred-man personal guard was completely lost!

It was only at this time that Chen Zheng learned about the tactic of occupying someone else's base camp. What he didn't expect was that the group of big-eyed guys on the Blue Team were actually following Long Aotian in rebellion in order to surround and intercept the Great General!

He certainly couldn't possibly miss such a heinous and insubordinate act!

"General, please don't blame me. You struck first, and I had no choice but to do this, hehehe~" Chen Zheng changed his red ribbon to a blue one and led his men out to cause trouble for Helian Cheng.

Helian Cheng had already realized Xue Jin'an's scheme when he discovered that the Blue Team had only cut off the Red Team's forces, rather than actually encircling and nibbling them away. However, he was now in a bind and had no choice but to act. Since he had lost his base, he might as well swallow up the remaining Red Team forces.

After the Blue Team took over the base camp, they immediately retreated with their men, giving the Blue Team no time to pursue them. However, this was only a temporary measure. Long Aotian would definitely not give them time to rest and recuperate, and would force them to run around in the snow.

"I never expected Long Aotian to have the same idea as me. I was really careless." Helian Cheng said helplessly, but his expression was one of relief and arrogance. "However, if that's all, you can't defeat me."

Helian Cheng truly lived up to his title as the marshal of the Northwest Army. His leadership skills were first-rate. Even when wandering in the snow, he was a tough nut to crack, further solidifying the admiration his underlings had for him.

However, precisely because they respected their elder brother even more, they became increasingly ruthless in their attacks against him, each displaying their true abilities and resulting in many spectacular battles.

In the end, they even joined forces to besiege him, but Helian Cheng still managed to survive the three-day exercise. It can only be said that his reputation was well-deserved, and Helian Cheng truly deserved to be the commander-in-chief who was trusted and respected by the Northwest Army.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the exercise, the sounds of clashing weapons ceased, and Vice General Han and his men were even somewhat dazed: "Is it over? Was it... a draw?"

"It's a draw against you, but tactically, I lost out." Helian Cheng let out a long breath. After such a long chase, even an iron man would be a little tired. He gave them a thumbs up and said with a smile, "Fortunately, your commander only stayed at the headquarters and did not directly attack me."

This means that if Long Aotian also gets involved, Helian Cheng will most likely suffer a double loss.

Xue Jin'an did indeed only issue the order to surround and intercept them, and then let them do whatever they wanted with their men. After all, for him, the competition was already won from the moment he entered the base camp. He regarded the subsequent pursuit of Helian Cheng as just a bonus. Seeing that Han Qi and the others were quite eager to try, he simply let them have some fun.

For Xue Jin'an, he was actually more interested in what Helian Yong had done to cause the commotion, which was something he hadn't anticipated. He thought Helian Yong wasn't capable of causing such a commotion.

Because Helian Yong was kicked in the groin by Helian Cheng, he was forced to lie down in bed. Helian Cheng didn't take him with him and left him at the main camp. Xue Jin'an met this man two incense sticks later when he entered the main camp.

Bound hand and foot, Helian Yong's face was ashen. His eyes were filled with extreme ferocity as he looked at Xue Jin'an. He struggled to pounce on him, but was stiffened and fell back down when the Green Dragon Crescent Blade was pressed against his chest.

"What? Have you had enough of watching me being toyed with like an animal, and now that I've lost everything, you're finally fed up and want to kill me?" Helian Yong couldn't help but sneer.

Xue Jin'an held the Green Dragon Crescent Blade with remarkable steadiness, denying his unfounded accusation and stating the truth, "You are filthy."

Helian Yong's expression froze. He was indeed very dirty, still wearing the clothes he had worn when he fled back in such a disheveled state that day. He said coldly, "What exactly do you want?"

"You caused a ruckus? How did you do that?" Xue Jin'an's pure curiosity directly triggered Helian Yong's fury. He glared at Xue Jin'an with eyes wide open, his anger and embarrassment almost palpable.

Then Xue Jin'an learned that Helian Yong really didn't have the ability to cause an attack on the camp; the attack was purely due to a Gu worm.

To ensure the veracity of his words, Xue Jin'an directly grasped the rope binding Helian Yong and activated the USB connection, immediately displaying the familiar exclamation mark:

[Warning! This device poses a high risk. A virus is attempting to scan your device. Your security software is currently in antivirus mode.]

Helian Yong felt a force coursing through his body, and a sudden sharp pain shot through his heart. His heart pounded violently. He thought it was Xue Jin'an's internal energy and felt that he was indeed up to no good. He gritted his teeth and said, "What exactly do you want?"

The virus has infiltrated core system components. Insufficient permissions led to failure to take over the firewall, and antivirus removal failed!

Xue Jin'an tilted her head and asked him, "Do you need me to help you remove the virus?"

Helian Yong was taken aback, and immediately realized that he was talking about Gu worms. His heart pounded and his face turned deathly pale.

Of course he wanted the Gu worms to be eliminated, but the person in front of him was Long Aotian, who had been targeting him at every turn. He couldn't bring himself to do it, so he sneered and said, "I don't need your fake kindness."

"Oh." Xue Jin'an was a very understanding person; he immediately let go of her hand.

Helian Yong, who had expected a refusal, choked on his words. He clutched his flustered chest and glared angrily at Xue Jin'an: "You really are just pretending to be kind!"

Xue Jin'an didn't take him seriously at all, and had him dragged away. He planned to go and check out the tent full of Gu poison.

"Wait!" Helian Yong didn't dare to leave. He wanted to ask Xue Jin'an to remove the Gu worms from his body, but the words that came out were dry, "Don't you have anything else you want to ask me?"

"No." Xue Jin'an wasn't particularly interested in unremarkable humans, but seeing him staring at him intently, as if saying "I'm not leaving until you ask," he casually asked a reader's guess about Helian Cheng's death in the isolated city: "If you hadn't become the new commander of your Northwest Army, would you have killed Helian Cheng?"

"I didn't become the new commander-in-chief of the Northwest Army?" Helian Yong's first reaction was to vehemently retort, "Impossible!"

My adoptive father only has me as his child. He raised me with all his might, and he wanted to entrust the Northwest Army to me... How could the Northwest Army not be mine?! If it's not mine, whose is it? Han Qi? Chen Zheng? Or Long Aotian? No, no, no, no! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Xue Jin'an understood: "You do."

These two words were like a verdict delivered to Helian Yong. He froze completely, and didn't react until he was pulled away.

Xue Jin'an ignored Helian Yong and went directly to the tent where he had been imprisoned. The tent was now sealed off, and a sign at the entrance read, "Poison inside, do not enter." The handwriting was hasty but sharp, undoubtedly Helian Cheng's own.

The tent was sealed tightly with glue and rope. Xue Jin'an took one look and thought it would be too much trouble to open, so he simply took out his Green Dragon Crescent Blade and planned to dismantle the tent directly.

With the first cut, a strong fragrance filled the air, and Xue Jin'an's security system was immediately activated, annihilating all the viral factors that were trying to invade his body.

The tent was torn to pieces. He went inside and saw the broken imperial physician's jade pendant and the bamboo tube that had been trampled into pieces.

Xue Jin'an recognized it at a glance: it was Yunnan bamboo, a specialty of Yunnan Province.

Dr. Chang knows Zhou Yushu, so if that's the case with Helian Cheng...

*

The generals were all shocked by Helian Cheng's words, and looked at each other in disbelief. Han Qi, who was most familiar with Long Aotian, hesitated and said, "Commander Long is indeed a very capable person. He is young but can be described as having a brilliant strategy. However, he does not have much battlefield experience. In terms of combat, he is still inferior to you, General..."

As Han Qi thought about Long Aotian's comprehensive plan, he suddenly became somewhat uncertain.

"You see, as you all know, his greatest strength isn't tactics or combat, but his calculation." If someone can calculate all the possibilities in a battle, that's truly terrifying, like a precognitive ability.

Following Helian Cheng's words, Han Qi and the others couldn't help but shudder. Chen Zheng said in horror, "Could it be that he didn't come because he knew we would talk badly about him?"

"..." Han Qi firmly denied it, "No, I didn't say anything bad about him. I praised him for his perfect strategy and his almost supernatural wisdom at such a young age!"

"Yes!" The others nodded in agreement.

Han Qi then said to Chen Zheng, "I will tell him that you are demonizing our Commander Xiaolong."

"Yes, yes, yes!" The others echoed even louder.

Chen Zheng glared fiercely at them, his eyes filled with insult: You bunch of beasts with thick eyebrows and big eyes, don't think I don't know you want to die for your fellow Daoists instead of me, don't even think about it!

Seeing their expressions, Helian Cheng couldn't help but laugh heartily, nodding to them and saying, "Very impressive. With you guys around, I can finally relax."

"General!" Han Qi and the others immediately turned red in the eyes.

Then Helian Cheng suddenly asked, "I know that it was your commander's idea to surround and intercept me, so who was the first to agree to it?"

The generals: "..."

They were silent for a moment, then led by Han Qi and other Blue Team generals, they all turned their gaze to one of the Red Team commanders who had been recruited last.

Chen Zheng: "..."

"I was so stupid, really." Chen Zheng's eyes lost their light. "I only knew that Long Aotian was a heartless man, and he never told me a single truth from beginning to end, but I never imagined that you guys were the same..."