Lu Tu cupped his hands in greeting: "I trouble you to lead the way, brother."
He picked up the string of heads and followed the guards into the Commandant's Mansion. Unlike the dilapidated and dirty environment outside, the Commandant's Mansion, located on the northern border, had a touch of the elegance of the Jiangnan water towns. Inside, there were pavilions, waterside terraces, carved beams and painted pillars, exuding a noble and grand atmosphere.
As expected, the rich feast while the poor feast; the common people of Wuchuan outside the city eat only one meal a day, yet the Commandant's mansion is so extravagant.
Lu Tu watched without showing any emotion and went to a place inside the mansion that resembled a training ground.
At this moment, a young general was sitting in a grand chair, resting with his eyes closed.
"Reporting to Deputy General Yun, Squad Leader Lü Tu has arrived."
Yun Ao slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Lü Tu with an air of authority. When he saw the Wuhuan head Lü Tu was holding, his eyes gleamed with a sharp light.
"Come forward!"
Lu Tu did as instructed, dragging the head to the open ground of the training ground, throwing down the straw rope, and immediately someone stepped forward to untie it and inspect it.
“Deputy General Yun, there are a total of 9 Wuhuan cavalrymen, one of whom is a chainmail cavalryman.” One of them pointed to the head of the Wuhuan man who was killed by Lü Tu. He had a flame-shaped tattoo on his face, which represented his status in the Wuhuan tribe.
"Lu Tu, is it? Tell me, how did you kill him?"
Lu Tu stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and told the truth. Yun Ao frowned upon hearing this: "You mean, of these nine people, only one was killed by your soldiers, and the other eight were all killed by you alone?"
“The villagers of Kuishan and Songshan witnessed it firsthand.”
Yun Ao slammed his hand on the armchair: "How dare you! You actually dared to deceive this general!"
Upon hearing this, Lü Tu was instantly enraged; the border troops of Wuchuan were rotten to the core.
"Every word I said is true and I have not lied!"
"You're still being stubborn. I've been stationed in Wuchuan for 10 years and I've never seen anyone fight off 10 riders single-handedly!"
Lu Tu smiled arrogantly, showing no fear of Yun Ao's pressure. At such close range, he was confident that he could hold Yun Ao hostage with his bare hands. If the negotiations failed, he would simply fight to the death with Yun Ao and leave Wuchuan with Song Yuxi.
Anyway, the wanted posters in this world are practically useless; he can just move to another place and continue living. But this rebellion is something he's determined to cause!
How can we gain trust?
Yun Ao waved his hand, and a young general dressed in a red robe stepped out from behind him, holding a bright silver spear, looking very flamboyant.
“This is Bian Wei, the martial arts champion from Wuchuan.”
Bian Wei said loudly, "Unless you can withstand 10 moves from me without dying, your military merit will be suspected of being cheated!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Tu burst into loud laughter. He was already imposing and his voice was like a drumbeat. Every laugh seemed to strike the hearts of everyone, including Yun Ao, making everyone feel intimidated by his imposing presence.
After Lü Tu finished laughing, he looked at the young general in red robes with disdain: "If you have the ability, go and kill the same Wuhuan cavalry. Always turning your swords and spears towards your own people is no skill."
Since Bian Wei defeated 36 people in a row and won the championship in the army-wide competition a few months ago, he has become a hot new star in Wuchuan. Everyone who sees him calls him the champion!
He never expected that this commoner sergeant in his tattered cotton-padded coat would dare to mock him like this!
Bian Wei roared, "Just for what you said, I'll stab three holes in you to vent my anger!"
After saying that, Bian Wei took the initiative and swung his spear at Lu Tu, who had no weapon at the moment and could only dodge.
Upon seeing this, the guard who had led Lü Tu in earlier spoke up righteously, saying, "General, this competition is unfair!"
Yun Ao glared at him: "Fair? He was able to kill nine Wuhuan cavalrymen by himself, including one chainmail soldier. Now, I think it's perfectly fair to let him fight Bian Wei empty-handed."
"But the spear is the king of weapons. Even ordinary swords and knives are at a disadvantage against Bian Wei, let alone bare hands."
Yun Ao was furious: "How dare you! Since when did it become your place to make decisions for me? If you're not satisfied, then go and replace him!"
Lu Tu heard their conversation clearly, and while facing Bian Wei's relentless attacks, his anger grew even stronger.
This is forcing him to rebel!
Bian Wei lived up to his title of champion, wielding his gleaming silver spear with unparalleled skill. Even Lü Tu couldn't completely dodge all of his attacks, and could only use his arms to block a fatal blow.
Using the momentum of the attack, Lü Tu rolled over and arrived next to a guard, drawing the guard's sword directly from his waist.
He said loudly, "Deputy General Yun, you've gone too far! I came here to claim military merit after killing the enemy, and not only have you not honored my promise, you've also made me fight with weapons bare-handed! Don't blame me for that!"
Lu Tu had already made up his mind to turn against Yun Ao. With his speed bursting out at full force, he dodged Bian Wei's spear and charged towards Yun Ao.
At that moment, an arrow struck, hitting Lü Tu's blade and causing him to stop in his tracks.
"How dare you!" Bian Wei attacked again.
Just then, a majestic voice rang out, and a middle-aged man in golden armor, holding a bow, strode in with an imposing presence. "Insolence!"
As soon as he appeared, everyone immediately knelt on one knee, clasped their hands in greeting, and said, "This humble officer greets Commandant Yun!"
The newcomer was none other than Yun Tian, the Commandant of Wuchuan. As soon as Lü Tu heard this, he knew that Yun Ao must be his son. This wretched place, Wuchuan, is all about nepotism.
Yun Tian stepped forward, dragged out a dagger, and slashed the panicked Yun Ao's thigh, causing blood to spurt out instantly.
Shocked, Yun Ao dared not make the slightest move. He glanced at Yun Wei with a terrified expression and quickly lowered his head: "Father, I was wrong."
Yun Tian punched Yun Ao in the abdomen. The punch was powerful and heavy, sending Yun Ao flying more than three meters away.
He angrily rebuked, "How many times have I told you! In the military, you must be addressed according to your rank!"
"Do you know what you're doing? You're violently injuring a warrior who killed a Wuhuan cavalryman. If word gets out, who will dare to go into battle in the future!"
Lu Tu originally thought that Yun Tian would be hypocritical like Zhou Taishan, but he didn't expect him to be serious. If that knife had been slightly off-target, it probably would have crippled Yun Ao's arm.
However, he still treated it as a show, secretly sneering to himself. The betrayal was inevitable, and no one could change Lü Tu's mind.
As Yun Tian grew angrier, he stepped forward and kicked Yun Ao in the leg bone. A cracking sound was heard, and Yun Ao clutched his right leg in pain, rolling on the ground.
None of the people present dared to stop him; it seemed they had become accustomed to Yunwei's methods.
Yun Tian waved his hand: "Remove this good-for-nothing from his military post, demote him to a commoner, and send him to the countryside to recuperate. Once he recovers, he shall never set foot in Wuchuan again!"
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