Seeing Ellie arrive, Gao was very excited. He once again told Yun Zhe that he wanted to go after the bastard who had launched the sneak attack. However, this time Yun Zhe did not object. Instead, after hesitating for a moment, he asked Gao to go and call the soldiers back, which puzzled Gao.
Yun Zhe patted Gao on the shoulder. "Gao, I feel safer with you soldiers around. Quickly tell them to come back. I'm worried that if you all go too far, the enemy might launch a surprise attack, or that they have accomplices who could take the opportunity to strike again."
Gao nodded. Yun Zhe's argument convinced him. Indeed, it wasn't impossible for a bastard who dared to ambush more than forty soldiers to do it again while they were searching.
"Don't worry, sir. It's just a pity we might not be able to catch that bastard tonight. But don't fret, we'll intensify our search tomorrow and bring that bastard to justice!"
Gao kept calling her a bastard, oblivious to the fact that Ellie's face was flushing red and her gaze towards Yun Zhe was no longer friendly. Yun Zhe, seeing Ellie's expression, could only suppress his laughter, finding it very difficult to hold it in. Yun Zhe quickly lowered his head, signaling Gao to immediately carry out the order and call them back.
Seeing Gao walk away, Ellie glared angrily at Yun Zhe. "You rascal, you win, but are you sure they won't come looking for trouble again?"
Yun Zhe looked around and then sighed, "I'm not sure yet, but I have a part of my plan to implement tomorrow. After I finish using it tomorrow, I'll be 90% sure they won't come to Pas again in the short term."
Ellie looked at Yun Zhe with suspicion, "What other ideas do you have? Is something more effective than me secretly shooting an arrow at you?"
Seeing Ellie's expression, Yun Zhe could only smile wryly and said, "It's not a big plan. Tomorrow I'll tell Andrew or Serena that I was ambushed by mercenaries or hunters tonight, and hope they'll ban mercenaries from entering Pass City. Anyway, there are no witnesses, but the physical evidence is complete. This crossbow doesn't look like something a normal soldier would use."
Ellie nodded, finding Yun Zhe's explanation plausible; it sounded as if she had truly been ambushed. However, she knew that everything tonight was a staged performance, a pre-planned scheme by Yun Zhe to frame her.
That very night, when Yun Zhe realized that Jia Li had discovered the bloodline suppression, he had already begun to consider how to dispel the suspicions of the three. His initial thought was to secretly kill them, but considering the close relationship between the woman named Livia and Ellie, he figured it wouldn't be easy to kill Ellie, and if he did, Ellie would likely find it hard to forgive him. Therefore, he settled for the less desirable option of driving them out of Pas City, at least until the great battle. So Yun Zhe did two things.
The first thing he did was tell Ellie about his plan and give her a hunter's crossbow, instructing her to place it somewhere outside the city and use it to shoot herself when the time was right.
Another thing he did was to feign drunkenness while observing soldiers drinking in the tavern, subtly revealing his plan to inspect drills the following morning and hinting at extra training that night. The two captains were the best part; they were practically divine interventions. Upon hearing this, they transformed the vague hint into a clear order.
The bet between Ellie and Yun Zhe was made when Yun Zhe told Ellie about tonight's plans. Ellie thought Yun Zhe was being overly anxious and worrying too much. Yun Zhe, however, confidently bet with Ellie that the hunters would definitely come to check their identities tonight. Ellie, on the other hand, had great faith in Livia; she believed that with Livia around, the hunters wouldn't investigate her. The bet was struck: if Yun Zhe won, Ellie would have to instruct the soldiers on crossbow training for a whole day tomorrow. If Ellie won, then Yun Zhe would have to spend five consecutive nights alone with Ellie.
As a result, as soon as they left Pas City, Yun Zhe realized they were being followed. He then signaled to Ellie to prepare for their plan, and to come back to meet Yun Zhe after the plan was completed. This led to the conversation we just heard.
Ellie snapped out of her thoughts and saw the soldiers slowly returning, their morale low and their efforts fruitless. She felt a sense of relief. Naturally, she didn't want her identity exposed; if that happened, Livia would likely find it difficult to continue as a hunter. Knowing Livia as she did, she suspected the girl might resort to more extreme measures to resolve the situation. Even more so, she didn't want Livia and her companions to be captured. After all, this was all part of her and Yun Zhe's scheme, a frame-up to cover their own identities. If they were caught, Ellie felt it would be difficult to face her best friend.
Fortunately, things turned out for the best. Although Yun Zhe was hit by an arrow, he was perfectly fine, and even without the scroll, he was wearing mithril armor. Livia and the others weren't captured either. If they had given up, it would have been the perfect ending.
A moment later, Caroline stood before Yun Zhe, looking quite ashamed, while the soldiers behind her also wore expressions of guilt. Gao stood to the side, looking rather embarrassed. He had sent word for Caroline to return, but Caroline initially refused. The soldiers didn't believe Yun Zhe's words, so they chased after him for a while until they completely lost him, at which point they had no choice but to return with their heads down.
"It's alright, it's alright. The enemy dared to ambush me, so their strength must be much greater than that of ordinary soldiers. It's understandable that you didn't catch up. Don't blame yourselves too much," Yun Zhe comforted them generously.
"My lord, there are three of them in total. I ordered them not to shoot arrows, otherwise we might have been able to save one of them. It was my mistake in commanding them."
Ellie looked at Yun Zhe with great dissatisfaction, having just learned that the soldiers were using crossbows.
Yun Zhe felt a little uneasy under her gaze. "Swords have no eyes. Crossbow bolts can hurt them, but what if all three of them are shot dead? How will we extract information then? Your approach is not wrong, it's just that our skill level is still quite far behind those assassins. Don't think about this anymore. Tonight, everyone, please escort me back to the castle, okay? Then everyone can go back and get some rest. The inspection tomorrow morning can be postponed until noon. Thank you all for your hard work."
Yun Zhe spoke politely, but the soldiers were not happy. "Sir, we've been practicing all night. If everyone practices tomorrow, won't our practice tonight have been for nothing?"
Yun Zhe was surprised by the soldiers' ambition and competitive spirit. He paused for a moment, then nodded and smiled, "Alright, we'll do the inspection at the original time tomorrow morning. I wish you all the best in your performance. Now, listen to my command: Assemble!"
The soldiers quickly lined up in two rows, one in front and one in back, with Yun Zhe, Ellie Gao, Caroline, and the other two in the middle.
“My lord, I have an idea,” Caroline said softly as he approached Yun Zhe. “Do you think we could become as strong as those people?”
"You mean the person who ambushed me?" Yun Zhe's heart skipped a beat. He glanced at Ellie and asked back. Ellie turned her head, her brows furrowed slightly, but she didn't say anything.
Caroline nodded, and Gao beside him nodded in agreement. "I think so too, sir. If we were as strong as those mercenaries or the hunters we were drinking with tonight, we might be able to catch them tonight."
After listening, Yun Zhe nodded, then looked at the curious soldiers peeking out beside him, "Do you think so too?"
The soldiers nodded in agreement. Yun Zhe looked around and then smiled, "Alright, since you all think this way, I can't be too complacent. I've remembered everyone's thoughts. I'll go back and think about it carefully, and give you all a new training plan in a couple of days!"
"Great!" the soldiers cheered, startling the birds in the forest.
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