While the two sides were arguing, seven or eight soldiers rushed out from the Guizu domain, escorting a grand knight.
Wearing a visor, the grand knight inquired about the situation, then waved a hand to signal that everyone should be let through, though their harvests had to be strictly inspected.
Here at Mount Xuanling, inspecting people's harvests was genuinely a rare occurrence.
Fortunately, it was not entirely unprecedented, and given the upheaval in the Guizu domain, everyone could more or less accept the order.
Someone sneered, however. "Did some rare Guizu relic drop that they haven't been able to find?"
Properly speaking, such remarks brushed against classified matters and should only be muttered in private. But among the factions able to come here, how many lacked weight?
Since people were annoyed, they made a point of discussing it openly.
The military was helpless and simply pretended not to hear, processing team after team with meticulous inspections.
Fortunately, they only checked the harvests and asked a few questions at most, without confiscating anything by force.
Seeing this, the grievances of the martial artists gradually subsided, and they could only urge the soldiers to hurry with the checks.
The people from Red Pine Martial Academy had it rougher; because their squad was relatively intact, they were cut in line several times.
Although Instructor Hong was not easy to deal with, seeing those blood-drenched martial artists, she could do little more than roll her eyes.
By the time their group went through the inspection, some time had passed, and the check remained just as thorough.
During this process, Wu Youren stole a bit of the spotlight.
His backpack was packed with an extraordinary number of strange, eccentric knickknacks, forcing the soldiers to ask several extra questions.
Once they learned these were all handcrafted mechanism components, another question found its answer.
No wonder this fellow was merely an apprentice knight yet could accompany an instructor into the Guizu domain.
As for Aviators on the youth's shoulder, it stirred almost no controversy at all.
The soldiers tested it and found no Guizu aura on the chick, merely asking, "What kind of bird is this?"
Aviators stood blankly still. When the youth answered that it was a snow harrier, the soldiers immediately understood.
Whether for raising or eating, this breed was well worth a try.
Passing through the checkpoint to the parking area, they ran right into Rossi driving up in a vehicle.
He had heard at the military encampment that a major upheaval had occurred in the Guizu domain, with many people fleeing in panic and casualties running high.
Worried about his own team and unable to get through on his wrist comm, he had rushed over in the car.
"The communication channels are jammed," Daiqisi offered as a professional explanation. With an event this big, such an occurrence was only normal.
In any case, Red Pine's squad had suffered virtually no losses, which was a cause for celebration.
The military encampment was not far, only a ten-minute drive.
When the three vehicles returned to the camp, they found the place in chaos as well—mainly from treating the wounded, which created quite a stir.
The Red Pine team gathered together once more; having rested a bit at the exit of the Guizu domain, they were not overly exhausted.
Everyone began taking inventory of their gains and exchanging information.
Wu Youren rummaged through his supplies, intending to find something for Aviators to eat.
He lacked much confidence in whether he could keep it alive, but he figured he might as well try every bit of food on hand.
Unfortunately, the little fellow was extremely picky... or perhaps simply not hungry? In short, it refused to eat anything.
Beside the room where he stayed were the people from Count Shengming's estate.
The gloomy grand knight had taken men to reinforce the Guizu domain earlier and had yet to return.
However, the others from the count's estate also knew that this young apprentice knight was not to be underestimated and should be courted with every effort.
Seeing his lack of success in feeding the chick, someone strolled over to initiate a chat.
While everyone else was busy treating casualties, someone here was figuring out how to feed a bird—it was quite an amusing contrast.
Count Shengming's estate placed great emphasis on commerce, and plenty of unpromising scions indulged in carrying caged birds and perching falcons, making them no strangers to such hobbies.
Snow harriers were indeed rare, but someone from the count's estate genuinely knew how to raise one!
Yet Aviators stubbornly refused food; it had taken a tiny bite of two offerings, only to spit them right back out.
The people from the count's estate were at a loss as well, promising to check back with the estate to see if there were other suggestions.
Wu Youren tugged at the little bird, but seeing that it clung too tightly to his shoulder, he simply took off his shirt.
Inside the Guizu domain, there were no conditions for doing laundry, let alone taking a bath.
Still, at his cultivation level, cleansing his skin with inner breath was quite convenient.
Doing laundry was out of the question for the moment; the sinks were crowded with people washing bandages and scrubbing blood-soaked garments.
Just as Wu Youren changed into fresh clothes, Aviators grabbed his shoe and began wobbling its way upward.
"Shoo," he said, lightly nudging the creature aside with a foot.
A moment later, Rossi came around the corner.
His expression was somewhat odd. "I hear you're on good terms with Ailin, the student from Fanghua Martial Academy?"
"We just know each other," the youth replied offhandedly after a brief pause, his demeanor cold.
"She was attacked." Rossi closely observed his expression.
He had an impression of that Ailin—a youthful, gorgeous beauty whom anyone would easily remember, even without harboring improper thoughts.
"Oh. That's really... terrible." Wu Youren wasn't even sure which word to use.
Rossi waited a moment before asking in astonishment, "And then?"
The youth returned a baffled look. "I said it's terrible."
"That's it?" Rossi truly found it hard to stomach. That was a great beauty, and one he personally knew!
"Then... what should I do?" Wu Youren looked at him curiously. "Catching the culprit is the authorities' job, isn't it?"
Rossi shook his head. "When she left, she gave you quite a few things. And this is your attitude?"
"You said it yourself—she gave them to me," the youth said with a face full of innocence. "It's not like I asked for them..."
Before the other could respond, he added decisively, "In fact, I haven't even opened them. I've been waiting for her to come back so I can return them."
"You..." Rossi was truly left speechless.
After a pause, he said, "The word came from the New Army. Whether you want to know more... is up to you."
"Mm, thanks for letting me know," the youth replied casually, then gave another gentle kick to nudge away Aviators as it approached again.
"You... sigh." Rossi shook his head and turned to leave. "Your standards are impossibly high."
Wu Youren was completely unfazed. Picking up a twig, he doodled on the ground, entirely relaxed in body and mind.
By the time he kicked Aviators away for the umpteenth time, a pair of ankle boots appeared before him—New Army issue.
It's not even late autumn yet; isn't he worried about athlete's foot? Wu Youren looked up. "Greetings, Commander."
"I'm not doing well at all." Jeff slumped onto a nearby stool with a heavy sigh. "The New Army suffered catastrophic losses this time."
"Oh. That's really terrible," the youth decided to treat everyone equally.
"I don't need your comfort," Jeff grunted. "You're probably secretly rejoicing inside."
The youth shook his head; there was simply no way to respond to that.
Jeff was not in the least surprised by his reaction and cut straight to the chase. "Ailin was attacked right at her doorstep. She's been reduced to an idiot."
"Mm, quite a terrible thing," Wu Youren nodded.
Jeff snorted. "Aren't you even a little curious about who did it?"
"Why should I concern myself with that?" Wu Youren asked in astonishment. "She's the one who was attacked, not me!"
"Heh." Jeff let out a dry laugh. "She already adopted your proposal, drafted the memorial, and was just about to submit it!"
Wu Youren went silent. Only after a long while did he ask, "What does that have to do with me?"
"You're the instigator! You're already dragged into this!"
"Don't scare me; I startle easily," the youth waved a hand and said impassively. "Just because she was attacked, the memorial can't be submitted?"
"Not necessarily. There are others. The little girl made quite a racket lately."
"See?" Wu Youren nodded. "I'm a hostage from a foreign kingdom. I don't even have the standing to submit a memorial. What do I have to worry about?"
"You came up with the idea!"
"Commander, there's no point in saying that," the youth said solemnly. "I only said it off the cuff, and I certainly don't qualify to submit a proposal.
"Whoever wants to steal the credit for proposing it first can just take it. What could that possibly have to do with me?"
Commander Jeff was finally taken aback. It took him quite a while to ask, "You think... the person who attacked her was someone trying to claim the credit?"
"What else?" Wu Youren wore an expression between tears and laughter.
He felt it was bizarre enough to run into such things in the first place, and now to be entangled in it was endlessly exasperating.
Hardening his resolve, he said bluntly, "Is stealing credit such a rare thing? Who doesn't want to climb the ladder?
"Besides someone taking credit, someone also has to take the blame. Commander, didn't you... already pick me for that long ago?"
"You little punk!" Jeff was genuinely at a loss for words. "If someone wanted to steal credit, a single word is enough—they wouldn't even have to give warning."
"And what if the person being robbed refuses?" Wu Youren retorted, equally exasperated. "Silencing them makes things so much simpler, doesn't it?"
"You kid..." Jeff pointed a finger at him. "What a truly filthy mind!"
The New Army commander was hardly a gentle soul himself, so for him to make such an assessment showed just how extreme the youth's cynicism was.
Wu Youren remained unmoved. A moral bottom line was something that simply did not exist for certain people.
"You've got it all wrong," Jeff said when the youth didn't react. "Someone didn't want the memorial submitted at all."
Wu Youren blinked twice, then nodded woodenly. "Oh, no wonder..."
Such a possibility certainly existed; he understood well enough how brutal political struggles could be.
Yet to do this to a young girl—even if she was a swallow, on the surface at least, she hadn't even begun official service.
The job was a bit too crude, which was why he had prioritized the other possibility.
No wonder they hadn't killed Ailin and merely crippled her—killing her was unnecessary.
His reaction appeared sluggish, but the New Army commander was not fooled by appearances.
He sharply seized on the phrase. "No wonder what?"
Wu Youren answered offhandedly, "No wonder you came to inform me and tell me to be careful."
"That's not what you were going to say." Jeff's intuition was keen. "Trying to hide your sharpness?"
The youth looked at him with clear, untroubled eyes, offering no answer.
Forget it, it doesn't matter anyway! For a moment, the grand knight felt a bit dispirited. "Aren't you afraid?"
Wu Youren blinked twice and asked softly, "Would being afraid do any good?"
The New Army commander looked at him coolly: Of course it would. As long as you turn to us, you'll have protection.
Still, the little fellow was blatantly playing dumb, and he was stubborn beyond all reason.
Chapter 148