Chapter 430 Secret
Ye Yan is right, some things cannot be investigated too deeply.
In life, it is best to be confused. People who are too smart often live the most painful lives.
After Yun Chen finished making half-cooked dumplings in the kitchen and burped over the pickled cabbage, he pulled Ye Yan to join the barbecue that had just been prepared.
Fu Lin and Duan Jie were busy grilling the meat. The large, plump slices of meat sizzled and dripped with oil on the iron plate, and the aroma made people's appetites whet.
Luo Dongdong was busy burning wood and lighting a fire, his only remaining arm moving around non-stop, more nimble than anyone else's two arms.
Rong Yi and Xixi were busy pouring wine together. Rong Yi would whisper something into Xixi's ear from time to time, making the beauty laugh so hard that she was shaking with laughter.
Huo Gannian never sat with his subordinates to eat, drink and chat. He went to the main tent alone to take care of military affairs.
Everyone was actually quite afraid of his presence. Except when talking to Yun Chen, Huo Gannian always wore a serious and unfathomable expression, which often made the atmosphere tense and tense. Without him around, the barbecue around the fire would be rather dull.
Now that they were not bound by their superiors, everyone was talking and laughing, eating and drinking to their heart's content.
Under the leadership of Xixi, a smart, tactful, playful yet measured character, the atmosphere became increasingly lively.
By the time it was completely dark, everyone was a little drunk.
Xixi, with a pretty face that looked slightly tipsy, beckoned everyone to come closer, and said with a mysterious smile:
"How about something fun?"
"Shall we play drinking games?" Rong Yi asked.
Xixi waved her hand, took out a dice from her pocket, and a sly smile appeared on her face:
"Let's play 'Truth Telling'. Each person rolls the dice once. The person with the highest number gets to ask the person with the lowest number a question. The person being asked must tell the truth and answer absolutely honestly. If they don't, they'll be punished. How do you do it?"
It sounded interesting, so everyone joined in and started rolling the dice.
After the first round, Duan Jie rolled a seven and Luo Dongdong rolled a one.
Two grown men stared at each other, and after a long time, I didn't know what to ask.
Finally, Duan Jie said:
"You only have one arm. Is your life easy? Do you have any difficulties on a daily basis?"
What a boring and official question!
Everyone was saying it was boring and asked Xixi to demonstrate. When they asked what would be fun, Xixi covered her mouth and laughed:
"Then let me ask you, General Luo only has one arm left. Can he handle the care of the girl? How does he do it?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces turned red and they exclaimed and gasped.
Ye Yan directly covered Yun Chen's ears.
Duan Jie gave Xixi a thumbs up and said with a red face:
"Miss Xixi is a heroine. I admire her!"
People rarely deal with girls like Xixi. How could they have known that a girl who grew up in an opera troupe and worked her way up in the business world would have to be so vigorous to be popular?
Luo Dongdong couldn't answer this question, his face almost turned purple, and he finally said:
"I don't know, I haven't done that yet..."
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, and Luo Dongdong was so embarrassed that he almost buried his head in his ankles.
Then in the second round, Xixi rolled an eight, Rongyi rolled two, and Xixi asked with a smile:
"May I ask, including wives, concubines, and mistresses, how many girls has General Rong had?"
When this question came out, everyone laughed.
Ye Yan smiled and said, "If you can't answer this question, don't blame General Rong, because he can't count them even if he wants to!"
“Hahahahahaha——”
Feeling the temptation behind Xixi's question, Rong Yi didn't want to let such a little beauty escape from his hands, so he could only smile helplessly and pick up the wine jug:
"Is it okay for me to drink? If I can't answer, I'll be punished. Who's afraid of who?"
Xixi covered the spout of the kettle with her beautiful hand and said, "I have the final say on what the punishment is. Since General Rong can't answer, then I'll punish you—"
Xixi glanced at everyone, her eyes rolled around and landed on Fu Lin, she covered her mouth and jokingly said:
"I'll punish you by making you kiss General Fu—General Fu looks like he likes men, hahahaha—"
Everyone laughed along.
Seeing Fu Lin's bad expression, he cursed "Nonsense!" and looked like he was about to run away. Duan Jie quickly grabbed him and called out to Rong Yi:
“Come on, come on!”
Rong Yi suppressed the nausea in his stomach, his heart wavering between "confessing how many lovers I have but I'll lose Xixi" and "kissing a man? How disgusting!"
Finally, he made up his mind, drank a big bowl of wine, and roared "Here I come!" with great courage. He strode towards Fu Lin, and Fu Lin was so scared that he knocked Duan Jie to the ground and ran away while cursing.
This scene made everyone laugh so hard that they doubled over, and Yun Chen even laughed to tears.
At this moment, Xixi grabbed Yunchen's hand and looked at the dot on the third round of dice in surprise, with a sly smile on her face as if her conspiracy was finally coming to fruition:
"General Yun, you have the fewest points this round!"
All of a sudden, everyone's eyes were focused on Yun Chen.
Everyone subconsciously felt that there were no questions to ask.
After all, Yun Chen is such a pure and clean person. Apart from the secret of being a woman disguised as a man that is known to the world, what else can excite her?
"No, no, no." Xixi gently waved her index finger and gestured towards the main tent where Huo Gannian was. "General Yun doesn't have any secrets, but General Huo does. He has quite a few."
Duan Jie moved his mouth but didn't say anything. Ye Yan pretended to be serious:
"Miss Xixi, my young master does have many secrets, but they are all of great importance, so I dare not ask about them carelessly."
"Tsk!" Xixi waved her handkerchief, "Who's interested in those?"
As she spoke, she leaned on Yun Chen and smiled ambiguously:
"What I'm interested in is, General Yun, you and General Huo have been in love for so long. You should have done all the 'bad things' you could have done, right?"
"No, no!" Yun Chen was afraid that Xixi would ask some dangerous questions, so he waved his hands in fear.
Ye Yan also rushed over to help, but before he could say anything, Xixi had already asked:
"General Yun, can you please tell me if General Huo has any hidden characteristics that ordinary people don't know about? For example, a birthmark?"
This question didn't seem... obscene, at most borderline, so it was okay to ask. Everyone thought so.
Ye Yan rolled his eyes and recalled for a long time, "When the young master was in a wheelchair, Runhe and I often helped him bathe. I just remember that his skin was so white, as if he didn't have any birthmarks."
"Actually, there is..." Yun Chen said in a low voice with a red face like a crab.
Everyone suddenly became interested and wanted to do something bad. They surrounded Yun Chen and urged him to hurry up and say:
"What birthmark? Where is it?"
"What shape?"
"What color?"
"How did you see that? Hey, and you said you didn't do anything bad?"
Yun Chen was panicked by the crowd and looked at Xixi with a look of help, but the latter smiled evilly:
"General Yun, don't look at me. If you can't answer, I'll punish you by making you snatch General Huo's pants right now. Hahahaha, it's your choice whether you want to tell the truth or not!"
There was no other way, Yun Chen could only cover his burning cheeks with the help of alcohol and whispered:
"He had a birthmark on the inside of his thigh. It was red and shaped like a small snake. I saw it in the water when I first joined the Huo Gang and accidentally ran into him bathing... But it's gone now. Later, he was assassinated by the Yu family and was shot with an arrow. Now only the scar remains."
"Wow..." Ye Yan sighed, "The inner thigh? Who can easily see that place? I guess Runhe hasn't even seen it."
Rong Yi opened his eyes wide, "Boss, are you sure you're not seeing things? Is it a snake-shaped birthmark? Isn't it that thing?" He scratched his head and thought seriously:
"That's not right. Even if I'm mistaken, General Huo's physique, his high nose, his big hands, his broad and long tiger's mouth, it definitely can't be a 'small' snake! It must be a 'big' snake!"
"Ah, stop talking!" Yun Chen's face flushed red and he covered his ears and tried to run away.
Ye Yan and Duan Jie yelled, "Are you going to die? You drank too much! You can't control your mouth anymore, right?" They rushed over and beat up Rong Yi, making Xixi beside them laugh so hard that she fell backwards.
Everyone was laughing, joking and making a lot of noise. The laughter echoed through the night and even reached the main tent.
In stark contrast to the lively atmosphere outside, the air in Huo Gannian's main tent was as cold as deep winter.
Huo Gannian sat on the general's seat, wearing a python robe with flowing satin patterns. The ferocious python embroidered on the robe was standing tall and proud, illuminated by the candlelight as if it were alive. Fine light patterns fell just around the python's body, as if it had added sharp claws, making it look like a dragon.
He stretched his arms and leaned against the back of the chair, his sharp outline hidden in the shadows where the candlelight could not reach, revealing only the straight downward corners of his lips, which echoed the sharp corners of his phoenix eyes, reflecting the cold sparks in his eyes, like a cold blade tempered by ice.
Fu Lin stood opposite him, his arms folded, and calmly recounted the scene of his murder of Song Lan.
Huo Gannian didn't show any special expression after hearing this, and only asked:
"Has her residence been searched? Has everything been handled properly? This is a serious matter, and we must not be lenient and leave any future troubles."
Fu Lin nodded. "They've gone to all of them, using the excuse of donating Yun Chen's valuables to the orphans at the school. They've also arranged for someone to imitate Su Songlan's handwriting and send letters to the Su family regularly. But I don't think they can keep it a secret for long. The Su family is quite powerful and they won't let their eldest daughter wander around forever."
"That's fine. The day when we can no longer hide it will also be the day when we don't have to hide it anymore." Huo Gannian said.
Fu Lin understood the meaning of this statement. When the day came when he could no longer conceal it, the world would change its master and there would be no need to conceal it anymore.
But for the first time, he did not feel full of confidence, nor did he have the urge to make earth-shaking changes. Instead, he unconsciously looked in the direction of Yun Chen outside the tent.
Yun Chen's laughter was so happy and pure that Fu Lin felt inexplicably uneasy and scared for Huo Gannian - afraid that he would never hear such laughter again.
Perhaps it was because Fu Lin had been too accustomed to hiding and disguising himself over the years, so Huo Gannian did not notice his emotions.
"Avoid going to places like the black market. If you run into someone from the past who recognizes you and then 'accidentally kills' them, that wouldn't be appropriate."
"knew."
"Don't let anyone see that tiger-tooth dagger; it's too conspicuous. Also tell Duan Jie not to let anyone see his."
"Well, it was my negligence. When the Lion Army crossed the defense line and I led the rebels to fight, I thought I was doomed, so I left a suicide note with a dagger. I didn't expect to survive. I will be more careful next time.
Oh, and where's that molar pendant? I heard Yun Chen mention it. Did you keep it in your private vault? Remember to take it out and lubricate it with oil occasionally, or it might dry out and crack. Then, that Zhuang brat will definitely be unhappy again."
"Yeah." Huo Gannian responded, then said, "You should go back. Being away for too long will arouse suspicion."
Fu Lin left obediently, but stopped before leaving the tent and looked back at Huo Gannian, who had picked up the military documents again and was reading them.
After hesitating for a moment, Fu Lin couldn't help but say:
"You...don't be too tired, there are still many days to come."
Huo Gan didn't even think about it and just said "hmm" casually.
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