Chapter 678: Reputation Damaged [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
"How's it going, Xian Deng?"
Shen Tang watched Jiang Sheng's expression closely.
“Strange…” Jiang Sheng murmured, “This shouldn’t be happening.”
Bai Su looked radiant. As a martial artist with abundant martial energy, she could remain energetic even after staying up for three to five nights without feeling stressed. Jiang Sheng took Bai Su's pulse again, and with his current medical skills, he could only tell that she had abundant blood and energy.
Jiang Sheng asked Bai Su, "General Bai, is something on your mind?"
Since it's not a physical reason, it must be psychological.
Bai Su shook her head firmly: "No."
Even the most stressed lord is always cheerful, how could she possibly be so stressed that she suffers from dissociative identity disorder? Jiang Sheng ruled out all possibilities one by one, leaving only one guess: "If none of these apply, then did General Bai have any ancestors who suffered from dissociative identity disorder?"
This question stumped Bai Su.
She couldn't say for sure whether it was true or not.
Because it's completely unclear.
Bai Su had no choice but to tell the truth.
Jiang Sheng was fairly certain that this dissociative identity disorder was hereditary, and there had been similar cases before. He suggested that the military doctor prescribe some medicine to stabilize Bai Su's soul and calm her mind. Because the pathogenesis was unknown, Bai Su's personal guards had to be careful when she slept.
Bai Su remembered it carefully.
As it was getting late, everyone dispersed one by one.
Gu Chi lingered until the very end, leaving only him and Bai Su in the tent. He looked at Bai Su, who was wrapped in a cloak and staring intently at the prescription, her brows almost knotted together. He hesitated before speaking, "Just now, General Bai seemed to have something to say?"
Bai Su sighed, "I have nothing to say."
He then summoned his personal guards and ordered them to fetch the medicine and prepare it.
After the guards left: "I must have killed him..."
"evidence?"
"I killed someone in my dream, and now another person has died in reality..." Bai Su looked at her hands, her palms still covered in thick, not-yet-dry blood. Her expression was slightly confused and fearful. Dissociative identity disorder—it's not a major problem, but it's not insignificant either.
This wouldn't be a big deal for an ordinary person, but she is a martial artist whose strength is rapidly increasing, and the commander of a female battalion. If her dissociative identity disorder flares up, she will kill people. How will she be able to command troops in the future? Today she killed an unlucky scholar, but what about later?
If later he kills the personal guards, kills the deputy general...
The label of "bloodthirsty" would be deeply etched onto her, a fatal blow to her prestige in the army. If her condition worsened, who knew what trouble it might cause? Bai Su dared not voice her fear and worry; she was truly terrified.
Fear of the unknown, worry about the future.
Lost in thought, she didn't notice her fingers trembling uncontrollably until her palm touched another person's warmth, jolting her awake and causing her to pull her hand back in fright. Only when she saw the person before her did her tense nerves relax slightly. Gu Chi's voice was gentler than usual as he patiently asked Bai Su, "What did you experience in your dream? Why did you kill someone? Who did you kill?"
Bai Su said, "I'll kill you."
Gu Chi: "..."
Did I get caught up in the drama myself?
I suddenly felt a chill on my neck: "Me?"
"I dreamt of the day I first condensed my Martial Spirit. At first, it was exactly the same as I remembered. General Gongshu came to find me and said, 'Congratulations, Bai Su, a lowly scholar.'" Bai Su will always remember that day, including the weather, the colors of the trees and flowers, and the fragrance in the air. It was the first time she felt the subtle operation of her Martial Spirit in her Danfu and the ever-flowing fullness of her Martial Qi in her meridians. "I said, 'Leader Gongshu, I have something else to ask,' and then drew my twin swords from their sheaths."
She challenged Gong Shuwu to a duel.
As a low-ranking scholar.
The result was, of course, a crushing defeat.
Gong Shuwu broke both of her swords with a single move.
Bai Su continued, "After that, General Gongshu told me to return to the camp for roll call in half an hour later, and then..."
"Then I came out and said, 'Half a step really doesn't give you any face at all'?" That day was very ordinary for Gu Chi, but Wenxin Wenshi's memory was strong, and he could still recall some details.
Bai Su said indifferently, "No."
Gu Chi said, "How could it not be?"
“In my dream, I discovered your whereabouts, and I called out to you, ‘What are you hiding for? Come out!’ You came out and said, ‘You’re just a lowly martial artist, how dare you be so rude!’” After Bai Su finished speaking, she silently looked at Gu Chi’s face. She still clearly remembered the anger in her dream. “The person in the dream wasn’t joking. These eyes clearly showed what you really meant.”
Gu Chi retorted, "Then how could it be me?"
Bai Su asked, "The you in the dream isn't you anymore?"
Gu Chi: "..."
He usually takes the blame for his lord, but now he has to take the blame for someone from his dreams? Isn't that a bit too unreasonable?
Bai Su admitted that the words she used to summon Gu Chi carried a command, but that was a routine part of her training. Gu Chi wasn't an inconsiderate person, and his words had indeed crossed a line. She demanded, "Gu, what do you mean by this?"
Her heart yearned to kill, her hands even more so, but she restrained her temper. However, Gu Chi in her dream knew nothing of restraint. He glanced at Bai Su, turned to leave, and Bai Su's anger, which she could no longer suppress, erupted instantly.
Stop right there and explain yourself!
"So, what about my dream?"
Bai Su scoffed, "No, and you even told me to step back."
Gu Chi: "..."
Bai Su figured it was all a dream anyway, and Gu Chi in the dream was so arrogant and disrespectful, how could he possibly have the right to stay in her dream? She decided to kill him instead of letting him get away with it.
Bai Su said calmly, "After all, he was just a figure in a dream. He was taken down in just a few moves. I taught him a lesson by beheading him."
Gu Chi: "..."
Beheading... to teach him a lesson...
Bai Su's relaxed brows furrowed again.
"Who knew, I had just mentioned your head..."
Gu Chi quickly corrected her: "It's not my head. My head is firmly on my own neck, not in your hands."
"In short, I was just brought up when I was startled awake by that unfamiliar headless corpse, and you know what happened after that." At that moment, Bai Su was traumatized by the sight of a headless corpse gushing blood on her bed.
If it weren't for the headless corpse, this dream would have been quite enjoyable.
Gu Chi seemed to be caught in some huge problem.
"You killed him so readily?"
Bai Su said, "Are you suggesting we keep it until we wake up from the dream?"
Gu Chi was speechless, and even felt that Bai Su's words made a lot of sense, but he wanted to remind her: "But that's me!"
Shouldn't you hesitate a bit when you look at this face?
Bai Su looked at him with a half-smile.
He asked, "What kind of preferential treatment does Military Advisor Gu want?"
It's already good that Gu Chi in her dream didn't affect her real life; she still feels frustrated when she recalls that dream.
Gu Chi chose to mute himself.
He told Bai Su not to kill his dream self, and that Bai Su was implicated in her real self because of her dream self—both of these statements sounded quite unreasonable. When the soldiers brought in the brewed medicine, Gu Chi frowned uncomfortably just from the smell.
Bai Su remained calm, drinking the medicine in one gulp after it cooled slightly, without even frowning at the bitter taste on her tongue: "Aren't you used to drinking it?"
Gu Chi said, "But this time it's your turn to drink."
If the root cause of the illness cannot be found and completely cured, you will have to drink it for a long time.
Bai Su didn't care: "As long as the medicine works."
Whether it's tough or not, it's nothing compared to the future.
Gu Chi was surprised that Bai Su wouldn't need to take medicine the next day.
Following Chu Yao's suggestion, Shen Tang hung the headless corpse high on the gate of her own camp before the night had fallen.
The news quickly reached the ears of all the factions. A meeting was scheduled for that day to refine the details of the mission agreed upon the previous day.
The meeting had not yet started, and not everyone had arrived.
Shen Tang sat Wu Xian to his left and Gu Ren to his right.
She was eating her pancake bite by bite. She had gone to bed too late last night and had to arrange things in the military camp. Plus, the meeting was urgent, so she hadn't even had a proper breakfast. She was making the most of her time before Huang Lie arrived. The eyes of the allied soldiers were occasionally glancing at her, because she was eating heartily, because of the headless corpse in her camp, while Shen Tang was focused on eating.
"Brother Chen, what's the deal with the corpse you hung up so early this morning?" Wu Xian chose to get straight to the point and inquire about the information.
Gu Ren strained his ears to listen for any sounds.
Shen Tang wiped the crumbs from his mouth: "A little thief."
Wu Xian was about to ask another question when the alliance leader, Huang Lie, entered the tent.
Other faction leaders also entered one by one.
Huang Lie looked down at Shen Tang with a complicated expression. He probably hadn't expected Shen Tang to cause trouble so soon after arriving. The headless corpse hanging in the camp was a deeply meaningful and intriguing sight. Who was he trying to intimidate, warn, or provoke…?
"Prefect Shen, I heard this morning that something happened at your camp?"
Shen Tang was a straightforward person and didn't mince words: "Yes, shouldn't we just leave the body out at the door? An unpleasant guest came in the middle of the night. If we don't deal with him, are we supposed to invite him down to my tent to rest, have a couple of drinks, and take a nap before he leaves?"
The crowd erupted in commotion upon hearing the noise.
Huang Lie was startled: "This person has offended Prefect Shen?"
Shen Tang didn't want to involve Bai Su, after all, killing in a dream wasn't a good thing to talk about. She said, "Hehe, an uninvited guest, in the eyes of the Alliance Leader, is just a light offense? I like to kill in my dreams. I was sound asleep when this little thief came in, he was just asking for death! When I woke up, his head and body were already separated. I just didn't know who he was, so I left the body out to make it easier for someone to take it back."
As she spoke, her gaze swept over the crowd, her eyes filled with suspicion.
Huang Lie hurriedly said, "Prefect Shen, please be careful with your words."
Gu Ren also joined as a firefighter.
“We are allies sworn to by blood, bound by a common destiny, united in our fight against a tyrannical ruler. We would never stoop to such a despicable act as betraying our allies. This person is most likely a henchman sent by Zheng Qiao, with the aim of sowing discord among us…”
Others chimed in, hastily defining the nature of the matter!
"Yes, yes, we can't fall for that."
"It must be Zheng Qiao's despicable trick!"
"Fortunately, Shen Jun is highly skilled in martial arts..."
"Otherwise, it would have been a tragedy..."
As they spoke, a hint of relief appeared on their faces.
If they had started fighting amongst themselves before the battle even began, their already fragile cohesion would have plummeted instantly. Thinking about it from this perspective, everyone broke out in a cold sweat—that was close! We were almost doomed! Thank goodness!
Then someone else made a suggestion.
"Why not hang that little thief's corpse in front of the battle lines!"
Hanging it in front of Chen Tang's camp gate isn't intimidating enough. It should be displayed so Zheng Qiao can see that his methods are easily defeated!
"Yes, yes, that's how it should be!"
"Putting it out can also demoralize the enemy!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Disrupting Zheng Qiao's plot before the battle can boost our army's morale.
Huang Lie also agreed and looked at Shen Tang to ask for her opinion.
"What does Prefect Shen think?"
What else can Shen Tang do?
With no one claiming the headless corpse, her chance to extort money from it was gone. Hanging a worthless headless body in front of the camp gate was also quite frightening, so she nodded and handed the body over to Huang Lie to dispose of. Everyone clasped their hands in salute, praising Shen Tang for her magnanimity.
As for her fondness for killing in her dreams, no one cared. After all, it wasn't them whose lives were in danger; it was the soldiers and scholars around Shen Tang who were filled with anxiety. For a time, the atmosphere in the camp was harmonious and peaceful, but—there was one person who was very unsociable.
This person was Gu Chi's primary target for observation.
Tao Yan!
As he expected, the man from last night was Tao Yan's subordinate.
but--
What the heck is Tao Yan's inner thoughts?
The anger that had just risen was startled back down by the other person's inner thoughts.
The other party's thought process is as follows—
[Truly hateful and despicable, hanging the corpse of Strategist Li! Shen Youli deserves to be torn to pieces... No, how could Shen Youli have killed him? Wait, if he did, doesn't that mean Gu Guanchao's homosexual relationship was with him? Shen Youli and Gu Guanchao, Shen Youli and Gu Guanchao... these two are actually involved together, hahaha, Teacher Gu was a man of integrity his whole life, but his only surviving bloodline is a shameless scoundrel, a sycophant, truly wonderful indeed!]
Gu Chi: "...???"
His head suddenly thumped three times, filled with question marks.
This Tao Shenyu really doesn't live up to his name. What does it mean to call him a "bent-butt rabbit"? And how did he get involved with the lord? What exactly did the other party base this absurd conclusion on? Wouldn't Chu Wuhui kill him if he heard that?
I was initially furious, but now I'm filled with doubt.
They couldn't spare a thought for Tao Yan at the moment.
Throughout the meeting, Tao Yan's thoughts were either cursing Gu Chi and Shen Tang, plotting how to avenge Li Laojunshi, thinking about how to get rid of Gu Chi, and occasionally making some unhealthy speculations about the two men.
If one of them wasn't himself, and the other wasn't a male ruler, it would be a pretty good taboo story about a ruler and his subject.
Today's partner is still Luan Xin.
He noticed that Gu Chi's expression was strange.
Only after the meeting temporarily ended, and Huang Lie invited everyone to have some tea to soothe their throats, did Luan Xin communicate with him telepathically.
"Gu Wangchao, did you find anything?"
Gu Chi felt a surge of malice: "Yes."
Luan Xin asked again, "What is it?"
Gu Chi said, "Some people speculate that the lord has favored me."
"Cough cough cough—"
Luan Xin choked on a mouthful of water and coughed violently.
After recovering, she scolded Gu Chi: "Gu Wangchao, you bastard!"
His desire for Dao Guchi grew stronger.
In the end, the knife was not used.
Within two days, news spread that Shen Tang not only enjoyed killing in his dreams but also had a penchant for homosexuality. One of his subordinates, deeply favored by the master, infuriated Chu Yao, who was determined to find the culprit. And the culprit wasn't just the one spreading the rumors, but also another person mentioned in the rumors!
This gossip brought a different kind of relaxed atmosphere to the dull and solemn military camp, but it was quickly dispelled by the commotion in Zheng Qiao's camp!
(*^▽^*)
Have you seen the mushroom five-pointed star head pendant?
Also, did you manage to grab the Star-Up Monthly Ticket Red Envelope this morning?
Shiitake mushroom is so happy! From July 15, 2021 to February 18, 2023, it took a year and a half, and it was finally a success!
Hopefully, this level of quality can be maintained in the future.
PS: Let me do a survey. If there's a new book (not starting now, just asking), do you prefer a story about warlords vying for power in a chaotic world, or one about siblings fighting for the throne and then waging war?
(End of this chapter)
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