Chapter 336 Li Rong Returns Home
Li Rong immediately stood up and neatly packed his belongings. He didn't have much to begin with; the food that A Nuan had packed for him to eat before going out had all been eaten up. Now, all he had was a small bundle containing his clothes and portrait, along with the bundle that Chen Junshi had just brought back. He put the two in one bundle, tied a knot on his back, and said, "I'll head back now."
Upon hearing this, General Wan was greatly startled: "General! You mustn't! How can you put yourself in such danger? I'll just send some men back to check on things. Besides, Physician Jiang is intelligent; perhaps everything is alright at home."
This is no joke! He's not stupid; he understands about 70-80% of what the Emperor's decree means. Now he and General Li are practically family; if General Li gets into trouble, his dream of becoming a second-rank official will be over.
Now that he's grown old, General Wan is no longer like he was in his youth, thinking about making a name for himself. He only wants to serve a few more years and then retire to enjoy his old age. The allowance for a second-rank official is incomparable to that of a third-rank official.
Furthermore, on a personal level, he didn't want anything to happen to General Li. He had already suffered enough.
The strategist nodded in agreement: "It's really not safe outside now. The main problem is that the way back is mostly through mountainous terrain, which is notoriously difficult to traverse. If we make a mistake, we'll regret it. General, don't worry. Physician Jiang is the most intelligent woman we've ever met. I'm sure even a heavy snowfall won't be a problem for her. Didn't you mention in your letter that Physician Jiang said she had stockpiled food at home? I assume there's nothing to worry about."
Li Rong glanced at the group, his eyes remaining unchanged, and said, "There's no need for you to try to persuade her. Anuan is clever, but she will still be worried and afraid. Besides, if she really encounters reckless madmen during a major disaster, it will be difficult for Anuan to take care of the family alone. The family needs me."
Then he looked at General Wan and said, "I would like to trouble you to lead the troops to me. If I return home safely, I will send them back."
General Wan wanted to persuade him further, but seeing that Li Rong's mind was made up, he immediately said, "General, you're too kind. The soldiers in the Canglin City camp are yours now. You can use as many as you want." As he spoke, he made a joke with a bitter smile, "If those rascals knew that they were escorting you and that they could also see Doctor Jiang, they would probably fight tooth and nail for them."
Li Rong clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Thank you for your trouble."
Without saying a word, General Wan ordered Military Advisor Shen to send men. Leaving aside how excited the soldiers who went out with Li Rong were, Li Rong himself was ready in less than a quarter of an hour and set off with eleven men.
Why eleven people? Well, that's because there's one more, Sun Tzu.
Naturally, Sun Tzu parted ways with Li Rong not long afterward.
Li Rong appeared calm, but his heart was in his throat, especially as he led his men on a long journey and was about to enter Gu Kui City.
The initial journey back through Canglin was relatively easy, but the snow grew deeper and the path became increasingly difficult to clear. They hurried and hurried, finally entering the territory under the jurisdiction of Gu Kui City at night. Then came the most arduous section of the mountain path. As they walked, the snow was already above the horses' knees, making walking extremely difficult. To prevent anyone from falling into snowdrifts, the group wore ropes around their waists and walked one after another. The horse in front would soon run out of energy, and another would take its place. This process repeated itself.
"General, the horse can't stand up." Later that evening, a young soldier approached Li Rong. He touched his face, which was red from the cold, and his eyebrows, eyelashes, and even his beard were covered with a layer of frost. Unlike the joy he had shown when he first went out with the general, his face now showed signs of exhaustion.
Li Rong was no less exhausted; looking around in the icy snow, everyone, both men and horses, was completely worn out.
"Rest where you are. Start a fire and set up camp."
This place is fraught with risks, and traveling at night can easily lead to problems, so they decided to rest here for the night. Fortunately, there was a sheltered spot at the foot of the mountain. After clearing the snow, they could barely spend the night there. There were many of them, and the journey to Gu Kui Road wasn't too far, so they carried some firewood on their horses. It would burn for a whole night, which was just enough.
Li Rong looked at the rising fireworks, his mind heavy with worries.
My eyelids are twitching; I have a feeling something bad is going to happen. Ah Nuan, please, please don't let anything happen to you.
Meanwhile, Sun Wu rode swiftly to Pingning City to find his master.
"What did you say? He took that portrait home!! I'm telling you, even if it kills you, you must stop him at all costs, you absolutely cannot let him go home!"
At that moment, Chi Heng was leaning on the soft couch, sipping fine wine, when he heard this. He immediately sat up and stared at Sun Wu with wide eyes.
Sun Wu was also bewildered: "Sir, is that the point? The point is, when General Li heard that there was snow in Gu Kui, he went back in such a heavy snowstorm without saying a word. Everyone knows that in this snowy weather, home is much safer than traveling. As long as there is enough food and drink, nothing will happen. But General Li seems to have lost his soul."
Chi Heng chuckled twice upon hearing this: "He's just a hero who can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman! Didn't you see that portrait? His wife might really look like that. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't be able to let her go either."
After thinking for a moment, he added, "But you can't be sure. Maybe Chen Shu painted it to look better."
Sun Wu suddenly realized something was wrong: "Why are you and General Li's wife in the same portrait?"
Chi Heng choked, then slapped him hard on the forehead: "You idiot! I specially transferred you back from the capital because you have the best skills. You had already gotten the item, yet you still managed to let Li Rong take it back. You are truly useless!"
Sun Wu was horrified. His mouth gaped open, and his jaw nearly dropped to the ground. "You! Why didn't you say so sooner! If I had known, I wouldn't have just wiped your face off; I should have stuffed the portrait into my mouth!"
He never imagined that his Duke would be so shameless! He stared at Chi Heng in disbelief.
Chi Heng seemed relieved upon hearing this: "You erased the face in the portrait? Can't you recognize me?"
Sun Tzu nodded with a strange expression: "Yes."
Chi Heng immediately exhaled: "That's good news. Even if Li Rong asks me about it in the future, I can deny it to the death, and he won't have any evidence, hehe."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wu couldn't help but recall how General Li had looked when he was thinking of his master. He couldn't help but look at Chi Heng with a hint of reproach in his eyes: "Master, you were wrong in this matter. How can you act like this as a brother? You are really not human."
As he was speaking, his mouth was covered by his own brother, Sun Wen, who was also Chi Heng's other personal bodyguard.
Chi Heng stared wide-eyed, pointing incredulously at her own nose: "That idiot of a man, is he talking about me?"
Sun Yat-sen gave an awkward laugh: "Sir, he's talking nonsense."
Chi Heng gritted his teeth, then suddenly jumped up in anger: "Chen Shu! I'm going to kill you!"
Sun Wen blinked twice, and after a while, he added, "Master, Chen Shu went to Gu Kui but hasn't returned yet. I guess he's probably stuck somewhere in the blizzard."
Chi Heng gritted his teeth, paced around several times, and suddenly slammed his hand on the table in a fit of anger: "Let's go, let's go to Gu Kui too!"
Then, his gaze fell on Sun Wu: "You, stick with me every step of the way! I'll show you how I act as a brother!"
Chi Heng woke up in the middle of the night: Is he sick?
Chi Heng woke up again in the middle of the night: No, is he sick too?
Illustrator Chen Shu: Achoo!
Sun Tzu, who destroyed the painting: Achoo!
(End of this chapter)
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