Commander Jeff could not be bothered to rack his brain any further. "Ailin was severely injured, and it is estimated she will never recover... Do you not care at all?"
"Me?" Wu Youren lifted a foot and nudged Aviator aside once more, answering calmly, "I can barely look after myself."
"Hmph," the New Army commander grunted softly, turning around and walking away.
Watching his retreating figure, the youth could not resist muttering under his breath, "So rude."
As Jeff walked, his right hand shifted upon hearing this, naturally brushing against his waist—where his dagger hung.
After a brief pause, his hand dropped again, and he turned a corner as if nothing had happened, disappearing from sight.
Wu Youren shook his head and walked back into his room. He could consider this gamble a decent success.
It was not that he was addicted to courting death, but to expand his room to maneuver and survive, he had no choice but to test the waters step by step.
Grand Knight Jeff was absolutely the sort who killed without blinking, yet today he had tolerated Wu Youren's insolence.
That meant the matter of the reform proposal was likely still fermenting, which explained why Jeff had reacted the way he did.
Wu Youren let out a soft sigh and quietly reminded himself: such probing could be done once, but not twice—at the very least, not too frequently.
Before long, Manna strolled over. "Let me see your bird!"
She teased Aviator for a bit, showing some concern over the little fellow refusing to eat anything.
After a while, she muttered softly, "Master told me to pass on a message... Rein it in. She won't always be around."
Instructor Hong had been watching the scene, and she believed Jeff had held back from punishing him because she, a senior instructor, was present.
That view could not be called wrong either; many things in this world had more than one answer.
"Please thank Her Ladyship on my behalf," Wu Youren nodded slightly. "Will there be any repercussions since she didn't participate this time?"
He was very curious about what was going on with the Hall of Esoteric Masters, but obviously, even if anyone else could ask, he could not.
The Hall of Esoteric Masters had summoned the grand knights, and Hong Da had not answered the call; there would surely be fallout from this.
During the day, so many martial artists had appeared outside the Guizu domain's exit, proving that far more than two or three factions had ignored the summons of the Hall of Esoteric Masters.
It came as no surprise; this world was never lacking in clever people!
Back then, the military had displayed nothing out of the ordinary, at most refusing to provide medical treatment, though that had always been the tradition of the Liang army.
The military was the military, and martial artists were martial artists; whoever wanted to tag along behind the army to make a fortune had to shoulder the costs of their own supplies, weapons, injuries, and deaths.
However, just because the military did not lower itself to settle scores with martial artists did not mean the Hall of Esoteric Masters would not!
In fact, given the chaotic scene at the time, it would have been unrealistic even if the military wanted to suppress them, as that might have sparked an even larger uproar.
Now that everyone had returned to the military encampment, it was entirely feasible in theory for the Hall of Esoteric Masters to start settling accounts at their leisure.
"We asked," Manna said, indicating that many people were worried about this. "Master said not to worry about it."
"As for you, it's rare to see you show a bit of conscience."
"Come on, Sister," Wu Youren gave a wry smile. "Have I ever done anything to wrong anyone?"
"What about Instructor Kelly?" Manna actually called him out directly. "She waived your tuition, so why did you report her?"
Seeing how open and forthright she sounded, and recalling that Instructor Kelly had not been disciplined afterward, Wu Youren was certain there was more to the story.
He gave a soft cough and said in all seriousness, "Her actions risked sabotaging friendship between the two states. Did I do something wrong?"
"Cut the grandstanding," Manna said, showing no patience for that kind of talk. "Either way, that was pretty shabby of you."
Wu Youren wanted to argue, but it was truly inconvenient to explain.
He could not be bothered to say much either. "What do you think about Ailin getting hurt?"
"With my eyes," Manna snapped in annoyance. Earlier, she had held high hopes for the two of them, but now there was no need to speak of that anymore. "If she hadn't gotten to know you, this never would have happened."
"Why is it always my fault?" The youth decided not to take it lying down anymore. "Does it make any sense for a New Army commander to cry injustice on behalf of a student from Fanghua Martial Academy?"
"Isn't that normal?" Manna gave him a look. "Ailin's upcoming reform proposal is connected to the development of the New Army!"
"As for you, you're not even familiar with Liang's government system, so could you please stop suspecting ghosts at every turn?"
'If I were as naive as you say, I'd have died eight hundred times over!' Wu Youren smiled wryly, too tired to argue.
Yet Manna kept laying it on. "By the way, what little you do know about the government system was taught to you by her. Don't you feel even a shred of guilt?"
"And you still had the nerve to claim you've never wronged anyone... The cheek on you!"
Her words were rather harsh, though they could also be taken as plain speaking, but Wu Youren refused to take the bait.
The youth smiled and asked, "Sister, Kelly is an academy instructor just like you. Why haven't I seen you standing up for her?"
Manna choked on her words at once, as if someone had grabbed her by the throat. Only after quite a while did she manage, "Her situation is more complicated!"
Regarding Kelly, she offered only that single line.
"See?" Wu Youren nodded. Having already received experience points, he did not need anyone to spell out what Instructor Kelly really was.
He said seriously, "Sister, you don't want to elaborate, and I don't want to pry, but... my situation is genuinely difficult!"
"She's just a bit loose in her conduct," Manna muttered, before adding, "Either way, you owe Ailin."
What she did not know was that at this very moment, within an inconspicuous courtyard in the city of Tianjing, several figures were discussing the exact same topic.
"Li Hu said that fellow has a frighteningly cold heart and keeps his guard up exceptionally high... He didn't show the slightest concern or ask a single question."
"Does that mean the New Army won't be able to leverage the Jin hostage contingent?"
"At least with this guy, we can forget about it in the short term. Could the other Jin hostages be utilized, perhaps?"
"I advise against it. Why must we consider Jin? The hardest people to get cooperation from are the Jin people."
"Since we're resorting to hostages anyway, wouldn't hostages from other states work?"
"Enough," a raspy voice rang out. "Since that fellow won't cooperate, spread the word... that Ailin is in critical condition."
"It won't work," a soft sigh sounded. Even in a sigh, the voice was remarkably clear and crisp—none other than Ailin's.
"His heart is made of stone, and he is far too shrewd. There is no need to continue."
"Commandery Princess, that is not what we mean," the raspy voice said with a wry smile. "It is to make the nobility panic!"
"If they cannot resist taking risks, it will be hard for them to explain away whether the previous attackers had ties to them."
"Very well, then. Approved," Ailin said after a moment's thought, speaking slowly. "Are there any living witnesses to the ambush on me?"
"Two men, one woman, and a child. All silenced... They all died violent deaths, so it could easily arouse suspicion."
"Mm," Ailin hummed softly. "In the future, try to choose barbarians rather than the state race."
"Commandery Princess is wise!" The raspy voice sighed softly. "A great fortune for Great Liang!"
"Spare me the flattery," Ailin said calmly. "Anbei, who was to submit the proposal on my behalf—he won't survive tonight, will he?"
"Tonight is not recommended," someone spoke up. "We have already arranged the manner of his suicide... sixty-seven stab wounds to the back."
"However, the situation over at Mount Xuanling is very severe, and all factions are watching it closely. If Anbei commits suicide today, it won't draw much attention."
"I think that's all the better," Ailin remarked indifferently. "It will make it look even more like a clumsy cover-up. I suggest you consider it."
"I just wonder how my elder brother, the Crown Prince, will explain it."
"Still, sixty-seven stab wounds is a bit too many, too deliberate... Let's make it nineteen."
The raspy voice brightened. "Commandery Princess is brilliant. But why nineteen? Could you enlighten us?"
The clear voice replied, "I just said it on a whim. I seem to recall someone mentioning something like 'crisscrossing nineteen blades, mesmerizing countless souls'?"
"Commandery Princess, this suggestion of yours... very well."
"Commandery Princess, someone asked whether the Hall of Esoteric Masters lost something this time around."
"Don't ask me about the affairs of ability masters," Ailin scoffed coldly. "Get ready. In a few days, you might have to attend my funeral."
When Wu Youren woke up, broad daylight had flooded in, and it was nearly noon.
He did not even need to step out of his room to know that a large number of martial artists had returned.
The noise was deafening; setting aside the chatter back and forth, the groans and wails alone resonated through the entire military encampment.
Yet such commotion did not disturb his sleep—he could fall asleep just as easily inside the Guizu domain.
He had been awakened by someone pounding on the door. "Whoever's inside, come out! There are severely wounded who need to rest!"
The demand was overbearing, but listening to the racket outside, it did not feel entirely surprising.
The buildings in the military encampment were limited. In normal times, lodging was spacious only because large numbers of martial artists were fighting inside the Guizu domain.
With only personnel on rotation and guard duty remaining in the camp, rooms could easily be swapped around.
At a time like this, however, packed rooms were only natural—yesterday at the Guizu domain's exit, even the communication channels had been congested.
Waking up, Wu Youren was about to say something when he sensed something was amiss.
He looked down and saw Aviator scratching at his chest with its talons—right where his jade biguijue was hidden.
As the little creature scratched, it threw its head back, gaping its beak wide and chirping, "Cheep, cheep!"
Its tiny beak stretched open wider than its entire head.
Not only had it survived, but it was also this energetic? Wu Youren found it rather peculiar.
He tried to pull the little fellow off, but unexpectedly, its fledgling claws clung tightly to his tunic.
He flicked a finger gently against the little claw. Feeling the sting, Aviator abruptly let go, and Wu Youren tossed it to the floor.
The knocking at the door persisted, urgent and hurried.
Wu Youren could not be bothered to respond; with the current racket outside, there was no way the person could sense what was happening inside anyway.
He took a piece of dried meat to feed the chick. The little fellow swallowed it in one gulp, and then... spat it right back out.
He offered some more water. Aviator drank a few drops, but then stopped drinking as well.
After a moment's thought, Wu Youren reached into his lapel for his parcel, retrieved the jade biguijue, and held it up to the little creature's beak.
The chick flapped its bare, stubby wings and strained its neck forward desperately, clearly wanting to swallow it down.
Ever since asking for water yesterday, it had never shown such an eager posture in seeking food!
No way? Stunned, Wu Youren moved the jade jue a bit closer.
The little fellow actually snapped it up in its beak, craned its neck, and tried desperately to swallow it down.
The biguijue was clearly too large for it to swallow, yet the tiny chick refused to give up, straining with all its might to gulp it down.
Chapter 149