It was the temptation given by Lang.
"Ye Shoujun, didn't you just say you were going back to the camp? There are so many people here, if you have something to do, you can go ahead and don't worry about me."
Ye An glanced at him and said, "No, I promised my brother I would ensure your safety."
Tang Qi's eyes darted around, and as if he had thought of a wicked idea, he suddenly grabbed Cheng Junshi's arm and said, "He's here! With Cheng Shaoqing here, we're guaranteed to be fine. Besides, the First Army has been away from its garrison for so long, we can't afford to delay if something happens."
After saying that, he deliberately nudged Cheng Junshi's shoulder. Cheng Junshi turned his head and clicked his tongue. Although he was still displeased, he actually went along with Tang Qi's words and said, "What he said is right. The base is indeed more important."
Ye An lowered his head as if thinking for a moment, and then said, "Very well, since you two have said so, I will not refuse. Take care, everyone."
After he finished speaking, he mounted his horse. Cheng He, who was standing next to him, seemed a little hesitant and said, "Um... Commander..."
Hearing the sound, Ye An looked at him from his horse, then glanced at Lu Juezhen beside him—he was holding Lu Chenghe's hand, staring at him with a hint of expectation in his eyes.
He sighed, wrapped the reins around his hand again, and then said, "You're on leave today, so you don't need to come back with me. Since your brother is here, you should help Cheng Shaoqing escort them back safely."
"Yes, Commander Ye!"
After Ye An rode away, Cheng Junshi twisted his wrist and broke free from Tang Qi's grasp. Tang Qi, however, grabbed his hand even tighter and asked, "What are you doing to me?"
“If anything I said hurt you, I can apologize,” Tang Qi said, looking stubbornly into Cheng Junshi’s eyes, her voice softening slightly. “But please don’t ignore me, okay?”
"Does it matter whether I pay attention to you or not?" Cheng Junshi finally spoke.
"Of course!" Tang Qi exclaimed excitedly. "You are definitely important to me."
Cheng Junshi finally stopped avoiding his eyes and stared straight at him: "Which is more important?"
"Which...which one is more important?" Tang Qi choked, froze for a moment, and whispered, "Important is important, why does it have to be one kind...?"
Cheng Junshi sneered and withdrew his hand from Tang Qi's. He lowered his head and finally chuckled lightly, as if mocking himself, and said, "It's my fault."
“You have to understand people’s sudden little temper tantrums.” Cheng Junshi said to him, mimicking Tang Qi’s words.
Although he still felt a little strange, Tang Qi was finally relieved to see Cheng Junshi finally smiling.
"Brother Zhengye, when did you and my master meet?" Lu Juezhen, who had been watching the show for a long time, asked, rubbing his chin.
Tang Qi: "Why did you ask this not long ago?"
Lu Juezhen shook his head and continued, "It's nothing, I just had a feeling that you guys have known each other for a long time."
"Maybe we've known each other for a long time."
Tang Qi was surprised to hear Cheng Junshi say those words. He stared blankly at him as Cheng Junshi continued, "After all, there's a saying, 'It's a pity we didn't meet sooner.'"
"That's great." Lu Juezhen laughed. "Isn't it much better to regret not meeting sooner than to miss out?"
The two remained silent, while Cheng Luhe, standing nearby, was so frightened that he was about to break out in a cold sweat. How could his younger brother be so overly familiar with him?
Tang Qi, however, glanced meaningfully at Cheng Junshi.
Could it be that he recognized me?
That's impossible. If Cheng Junshi knew his true identity, why would he waste so much time talking to him and put on such a show of brotherly affection? He would probably have told him to get lost long ago.
Thinking of this, Tang Qi suddenly felt a little regretful. What if Cheng Junshi found out one day? What if he found out that he was lying to him? For the first time, Tang Qi realized that he was actually afraid, or at least he was unwilling to face it.
"I am deeply grateful to both of you for taking care of Juezhen. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you in the future." Cheng Luhe's voice interrupted Tang Qi's thoughts at the right time.
"Are you one of Ye An's soldiers?" Cheng Junshi asked.
Lu Cheng nodded, then frowned and said, "I feel like I've seen you more than just in Li Guangjun's army."
"Wow, Master, your memory is amazing!" Lu Juezhen exclaimed cheerfully from the side, "My brother wasn't originally from Li Guangjun's unit; he was transferred here."
"I've heard that transferring troops isn't easy. Brother Lu, where were you from before?" Tang Qi asked casually.
"I--"
"Jinbei! My brother used to be a soldier under General Wu."
Before Lu Chenghe could even speak, Lu Juezhen beat him to it.
"Oh, why did you suddenly decide to switch to the military?" Tang Qi tried to get information out of them as they walked.
"I'll transfer if I want to. The pressure in Jinbei Army is too much for me to handle."
The journey and the details are not so easily fooled.
Lu Juezhen pursed her lips and muttered to herself, "It's obviously not true, why do you have to lie?"
He snorted at Cheng Luhe's disdain and walked ahead on his own.
Tang Qi and Cheng Junshi continued to attack from both sides, but Cheng Luhe blocked two blows with one punch, giving a flawless answer.
He had truly walked into a wolf's den. Lu Juezhen occasionally turned around and smiled at them, while Cheng Luhe was seething with hatred. And then there was this biggest ingrate!
As the journey continued and vigilance was still maintained, the person in front suddenly stopped.
"Brother, I think I do—"
"careful!"
Before he could finish speaking, Tang Qi pounced on him and pinned him to the ground. An arrow grazed his foot and embedded itself in the mud. Tang Qi immediately turned to the other two and said, "Hide!"
He grabbed Lu Juezhen by the collar and dragged him behind a tree. Several arrows whizzed into the tree trunk, making his back tremble.
Tang Qi secretly regretted not letting Ye An leave so soon.
"Three people in the southeast."
Tang Qi quickly made his assessment and spoke to the two people over there.
"The distance is about the same, we can fight." He rubbed his hands together, eager to get started.
"Four against three?" Lu Juezhen was also a little excited, but Tang Qi quickly snapped him back to reality with a flick on the forehead: "It's three against three. It's an adult's war, kids shouldn't get involved."
Cheng Lu and Cheng Junshi each stood on one side. Tang Qi suddenly darted out, and several sharp arrows shot towards him. The two immediately moved to attack in the direction from which the arrows came.
Upon seeing the two men rush out with bows and arrows, the man was startled at first, then immediately adjusted his aim. Although there were two of them, the arrows and bows were both pointed at Lu Chenghe after he recognized them.
"Getting distracted can lead to a terrible death." Tang Qi rolled over, picked up a rock from the ground, and threw it at the person's eyes.
The moment the man on the other side cried out in pain, Cheng Junshi and Cheng Luhe pounced on him, snatched the bow and arrow, and bound the man's hands with the bowstring, rendering him unable to move.
The remaining men, still reeling from the shock of being hit, were about to draw their bows when Tang Qi kicked them hard, forcing them to their knees.
"You still need to practice. With this little skill, you think you can learn assassination?" Tang Qi pressed down hard on the man's neck. "Who is your master?"
The captured men all shut their mouths, but Tang Qi's eyes were sharp. He flicked the arrow in his hand at the man's waist, and with a sneer, he sent the object hanging from the arrowhead to Lu Cheng and his face: "Oh, so this is your former colleague? Want to say hello and recognize our kinship?"
Seeing that Tang Qi had taken the military tag, the man struggled even more fiercely. Tang Qi was no kind-hearted man either. He pressed the arrow down to slide the military tag away, then twisted it in his hand and pressed it against the man's neck before stabbing and slashing it.
The man fell sideways. Cheng Junshi and Cheng Luhe opposite him were both shocked, while Tang Qi calmly wiped the blood from his hands and said, "Why keep it?"
Then the other two fell to the ground in the same way.
Lu Juezhen leaned closer and said, "Brother Zhengye, your skills are truly fast, accurate, and ruthless."
Tang Qi chuckled, slowly walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and laughed, "I'll teach you next time." He pressed his hand on Lu Juezhen's shoulder, wiping the blood off his own hand on Lu's clothes, then turned back to Cheng Luhe and said, "Their target is you, are you honored, Brother Lu?"
Lu Cheng remained silent. Tang Qi finished wiping her hands and swaggered back towards him, continuing, "We've benefited from your help, so we can't leave without saying a few words."
Lu Cheng bowed slightly and said, "I thank you all."
Tang Qi had just returned when he heard him say that. He let out a long sigh and tilted his head back: "Brother Lu, I'm telling you, why don't you understand yet?"
Lu Cheng was puzzled and looked up to meet his gaze as Tang Qi continued, "How did you get to the banquet?"
“There’s an invitation letter!” Lu Juezhen interjected from the side.
"Who gave it to you?" Cheng Junshi asked him, arms crossed.
"No one gave them to me, I bought them. There are two of them." He said proudly.
Pfft.
Tang Qi couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Looks like you're a lucky star indeed. You bought two princess letters so easily—oh, two of them."
Lu Juezhen suddenly stopped. He thought to himself, "Why didn't I ever suspect this? I was so overwhelmed by this incredible surprise back then. Now that I've come to my senses, it really doesn't feel right."
"And Brother Lu, haven't you noticed that every fork in the road in Dongshou Mountain has one side with lush grass and the other with sparse grass?" Tang Qi crossed his arms and stared at him. "I was wondering about that before. The difference between lush and sparse grass in natural growth wouldn't be so obvious. When a person encounters a fork in the road in an unfamiliar place, they usually subconsciously walk towards the sparser side. The grass on both sides of the fork has been cleared by people. People who dare to come to Dongshou are basically veterans and won't be affected by the grass. But you are different."
He laughed and raised his eyebrows at Cheng Luhe: "In other words, no matter where you come down the mountain, their arrows will be your destination."
"The only thing they overlooked in their ambush was the princess's disappearance. You met Ye Qian on your way down the mountain, and you could say that this incident saved your life."
“But these people aren’t lying in ambush at Dongshou Mountain. How did they know my brother would be here?” Lu Juezhen asked.
"It's simple. It's because someone discovered that your brother wasn't at Dongshou Mountain. So they tipped them off and had them change their ambush location."
Lu Juezhen was stunned, his mind a jumble.
"Do you know why they dared to wear military license plates while carrying out assassinations?" Tang Qi asked.
Lu Cheng looked at him, and Tang Qi smiled and said, "That's because they're not afraid at all. If the assassination succeeds, you won't have a chance to find out. If it fails—what can you do about it?"
Tang Qi took two steps forward and continued, "There's nothing you can do."
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