The soft armor in my hand is much lighter than ordinary armor, but it still has some weight. I can tell from the weight that the material is very solid. There are also dragon patterns woven with gold and silver threads on the surface of the soft armor. Just by looking at its exquisite workmanship, I know that it is a very precious item.

Xue Shu stroked the soft armor with care, his eyes filled with joy, but he did not take it immediately: "This soft armor is rare, and ordinary armor is enough for me. Your Highness should keep it for self-defense."

As he spoke, he held the soft armor in both hands and handed it to Yin Chengyu.

Seeing that he still didn't accept it, Yin Chengyu felt a little unhappy.

He squinted at the man and said, "I give you this as a reward, just keep it. What do I need this for? Do you want me to charge in front and break through the enemy lines?"

Hearing the displeasure in his tone, Xue Shu stopped refusing.

He put away his soft armor, and did not retreat at all because of Yin Chengyu's cold expression. He still met his gaze without avoiding it, and said solemnly: "I will be your highness's armor."

At this time, my mouth is very sweet.

Yin Chengyu then smiled: "Since the soft armor is given to you, remember to wear it, don't keep it like that."

Xue Shu agreed, and when he saw him waving at him, he knew that he was still busy, so he happily retreated with his soft armor in his pocket.

Because he had predicted the Red Army's movements in advance, Xue Shu deployed his troops as usual in the next few days, but secretly ordered the generals of the four guard camps to be more vigilant and on guard in secret.

But after waiting for three days, there was no movement from Xiashizhai, and there was no sign of an attack on the city.

Even Yin Chengyu found it strange, but he didn't think his inference was wrong. He just guessed if something went wrong.

It was not until the spies who were stalking near Xishizhai returned that they learned that the Red Army had delayed attacking the city because of internal strife.

Before dawn today, Gao Youwen sent Shi Hu to lead 5,000 Red Army soldiers down the mountain. Originally, they wanted to attack Yidu City at night. However, when they reached Shagu Road, they were robbed by He Shan who had received the news early.

He Shan was a man of generous and righteous character. Although he was the Right Protector, he was not arrogant. Whether in Putai or now in Xiashizhai, as long as he had a bite to eat, the soldiers who followed him would not be hungry. In contrast, Shi Hu, who always acted like the Left Protector and emphasized the difference between the upper and lower, was far less popular than him.

However, when He Shan fled with Ying Hongxue, he only took away his direct relatives who had followed him from Putai. The rest of them had nowhere to go and could only stay in Xiashizhai.

Seeing He Shan and his men coming to rob, the soldiers following Shi Hu were already ready to make a move. When He Shan said that Shi Hu attacked Yidu City for his own future and didn't care about the lives of the soldiers, the soldiers became even more uneasy.

After He Shan's lobbying, nearly three thousand people were willing to follow him.

Shi Hu, who was supposed to lead 5,000 men to attack Yidu City at night, ended up with only about 2,000 men left under his command.

Due to the delay in timing, insufficient troops, and panic among the people, it was naturally impossible to continue sending troops. Shi Hu could only change the plan temporarily and return to Xiashizhai with the remaining men.

After hearing this, Yin Chengyu was not surprised at all.

If He Shan did not have some abilities, he would not have been able to gather 50,000 rebels in his previous life.

The imperial court is currently lacking such brave generals, and this news made him even more determined to recruit the two men.

However, how to dispel the hostility of He Shan and others towards the court is a difficult problem.

If a tiger is in the wild and cannot be used for one's own purposes, one has to get rid of it as soon as possible to avoid future troubles.

Just when Yin Chengyu was hesitating, a letter from Zhao Lin changed his mind.

——This time he went to Shandong to quell the rebellion in person. Although he brought Zhao Lin with him, after entering Shandong, he asked him to take people to Jining Prefecture.

One was to inspect the disaster situation in other prefectures in Shandong on his behalf, and the other was to continue to inquire about Xue Hongxuan's whereabouts.

Now Zhao Lin's letter came, and it was exactly that there was news about Xue Hongxuan.

Zhao Lin said in the letter that he found an old servant of the Xu family in Yutai. The old servant had served the Xu family for many years. When Yutai was closed due to a major epidemic, the Xu family bribed the soldiers guarding the city and fled with their family, and the old servant was among them.

According to the old servant, when he escaped, he was indeed accompanied by a concubine named Xue Hongxuan.

However, Xue Hongzhuan did not leave voluntarily, but because Xu Yuanwai was reluctant to part with his new concubine, he knocked her out and took her away by force. Xue Hongzhuan was very aggressive and wanted to escape halfway through the journey. Xu Yuanwai was afraid that she would leak the news and implicate himself, so he broke Xue Hongzhuan's leg in anger.

Unfortunately, the Xu family was unlucky. Not long after leaving Yutai, they were targeted by bandits. All the men in the family were killed, and the women and servants were taken to the mountains.

Because of her outstanding appearance, Xue Hongxuan was favored by the bandit leader and became his wife.

Ordinary servants like the old servant stayed in the village and did odd jobs to save their lives.

After being captured and taken to the mountain, the old servant stayed in the mountain stronghold for more than half a year. He had no chance to see Xue Hongxuan, so he didn't know what happened to her in the mountain. He only heard from others that she was favored by the big boss, and everyone in the village called her Madam. But after more than half a year, it was heard that the Madam took advantage of the absence of the second boss and poisoned the big boss. With the death of the big boss, the stronghold was leaderless, and those who could escape took the opportunity to escape down the mountain. The old servant also escaped down the mountain at that time, but because he had nowhere to go, he returned to Yutai.

Zhao Lin followed the thread the old servant had told him and found several bandits who had turned over a new leaf. He also got some information, but it was different from what the old servant had said.

The bandits said Xue Hongzhuan was a beauty who brought disaster to the village. The first and second leaders turned against each other and killed each other for the beauty, which caused chaos in the village. Afterwards, Xue Hongzhuan disappeared, and the second leader took the brothers who were willing to follow him down the mountain and stopped being bandits.

There are several speculations about Xue Hongxuan's whereabouts. Some say that she went to a nunnery to become a nun, some say that she ended up in a dusty place, and some say that the second in command killed her in a rage after he came to his senses... There are many different opinions.

These stories passed down by word of mouth are often far from the truth. Yin Chengyu does not believe them completely. What he cares about most is that the second in command of the village is named He Shan.

He picked up the pen and wrote down He Shan's name, and then wrote the names of Xue Hongxuan and Ying Hongxue next to He Shan.

Xue Hongxian.

Ying Hongxue.

Yin Chengyu silently recited the names of these two people and suddenly smiled.

If you read Xue Hongxuan backwards, isn't it Ying Hongxue?

If the information Zhao Lin found was correct, Ying Hongxue in the Red Army might be Xue Shu's long-lost sister.

Just by looking at what Xue Hongzhuan did, Yin Chengyu felt that the siblings behaved in a similar way.

I am not a law-abiding person at heart.

However, to confirm further, Xue Shu had to go and see it in person.

When the siblings were separated, Xue Shu was already fourteen years old, and Xue Hongxuan was about three years older than him, so even if their appearance had changed, they should still be recognizable.

Yin Chengyu thought for a long time before putting away the letter and calling Xue Shu over.

Xue Shu had just finished practicing martial arts when he heard the prince summoning him, and he came over without even having time to change his clothes.

He had long hair tied up and wore no crown. He was dressed in a black outfit that was resistant to dirt and leather military boots. The hard studs on the soles of his shoes made a dull sound when they stepped on the ground. The youthful spirit when we first met him had unknowingly transformed into the sharpness and wildness of a mature man.

Yin Chengyu hadn't noticed it before, but the more he looked at him now, the more he felt that he was similar to his previous life.

It's just that in the previous life, Xue Shu was very aggressive and would cut anyone who got close to him. But now Xue Shu has learned to restrain his edge, like a sharp blade in its sheath.

In Yin Chengyu's eyes, it was much more pleasing to the eye.

He took a quick look at Xue Shu, then quickly regained his composure and got down to business.

"I heard you mention your lost sister earlier, so I thought of looking for you to ask, do you still want to find her whereabouts?"

He suddenly mentioned this matter. Xue Shu was surprised for a moment, then lowered his eyes and said, "Your Highness, don't waste your time on me. After the epidemic in Yutai, I once inquired about the Xu family. I heard that the Xu family encountered bandits on the way and the whole family was killed."

When he learned that the Xu family had left the building and his sister was missing, he felt pain in his heart but also relieved.

Yutai is like hell on earth. Whether my sister leaves voluntarily or not, it is better than staying. At least she can survive.

Although Mr. Xu was not a good match, my sister was not weak-willed and always tried to find ways to make her life better.

After the epidemic in Yutai subsided, he sent his mother's body for cremation and then went around asking for the whereabouts of Xu's family.

He thought that if his sister lived well in the Xu family, he would leave by himself. If she didn't live well, he would take his sister with him. No matter where they were, there would always be a place for them.

However, after several months of inquiring, he only got the news that the Xu family had encountered bandits several months ago and the entire family was wiped out.

In the disaster year, everyone suffered. No one sympathized with the Xu family's plight, but it became a topic of conversation after dinner. When those people talked about it, their faces were full of excitement, saying that no one collected the dead Xu family members, and the bodies were exposed on the roadside for nearly two months. The bodies were rotting and full of maggots, and the stench was unbearable. Only wild dogs and vultures ate them.

When Xue Shu went there as they said, the body had already been collected and cremated by officers and soldiers.

He didn't know whether his sister was one of the rotting corpses lying on the roadside, so he could only deceive himself and comfort himself by thinking that his sister was smart and didn't see the corpse, so maybe she escaped.

Over the years, whenever he mentioned his sister, he always said that she was lost, but he knew in his heart that he was just deceiving himself.

Now that his mother is gone, his sister is the only relative he has left.

If even his sister was gone, he would be truly homeless and rootless.

Xue Shu lowered his eyes, looking gloomy.

This was the first time Yin Chengyu saw him like this, and looking at his expression, he guessed something.

The words I had already thought of suddenly became difficult to say.

He was afraid that if everything was just a coincidence, Ying Hongxue was not Xue Hongxuan, and Xue Shu would be disappointed.

After a long silence, he sighed and finally did not hide the truth from him: "Earlier, I asked Zhao Lin to find out the whereabouts of your sister. Recently, he found some information and sent a letter back." He took out the letter from his sleeve and put it in Xue Shu's hand: "Take a look for yourself."

Xue Shu took the letter and read it quickly, his gloomy expression gradually turning into surprise.

He raised his eyes and looked at Yin Chengyu, his voice a little hoarse: "Ying Hongxue..."

Apparently, he and Yin Chengyu had the same idea.

"I'm not sure, so you have to go and see for yourself." Yin Chengyu saw through the anxiety in his eyes, supported his shoulders, and slightly exerted force in his palm: "If it is really your sister, it would be the best. If it is just a coincidence..." He paused, and then said in a light tone: "I will never leave you alone."

I will never leave you alone.

Xue Shu looked at him, feeling a surge of emotions in his heart.

He has been alone for too long.

After coming out of Yutai and learning the tragic news of the Xu family's annihilation, he was confused for a long time.

The universe is so vast, yet there is no place for him to stay.

He has traveled to many places, moving goods at the docks, selling his art with jugglers, working as a thug in a casino, and being a gangster... However, wherever he went, the hustle and bustle of the world did not belong to him.

He was wandering alone, with no place to return to.

Later he remembered the gods who had come gracefully from Yutai City.

I thought, since there is nowhere to go, I will just go in the direction where God is.

From then on, he went all the way to Wangjing.

No longer a rootless traveler, but a pilgrim.

He placed all his hopes and wishes on the gods of the Ninth Heaven. He thought that for the rest of his life he would have to kneel in the mud and look up at the cold moon above his head.

Fortunately, God was merciful and the untouchable spirit came to him.

"Your Highness..." Xue Shu grabbed the hand on his shoulder with such force that veins popped out on the back of his hand.

Yin Chengyu frowned, but did not scold him. He lowered his eyes and pried open Xue Shu's fingers one by one. He did not need to use too much force, Xue Shu relaxed his force, and he held Xue Shu's hand instead.

He lowered his eyes and looked at Xue Shu's palm.

Xue Shu's palms were broad and his fingers were slender, but there were thick, unremoved scabs on his palms and fingertips, and his finger joints were slightly protruding, which showed that his hands had been used for heavy work. They were completely different from his hands.

When he met Xue Shu in his previous life, the other party was already a powerful 9,000-year-old man.

He has lived a life of luxury, and although his hands are a little rough, there is no trace of the hardships of his early years.

He never talked about the past.

Yin Chengyu stroked his fingers one by one, feeling the roughness of the cobweb scratching his skin. Then he slowly moved his fingers to the back of Xue Shu's hand, inserting them into the gaps between his fingers one by one and holding them tightly.

He met Xue Shu's eyes that could see through him, touched his lips, and said in a hoarse voice: "Be obedient, I will love you from now on."

The author has something to say:

Gougou: I! Am! Very! Obedient!

Big Dog:? No future.