To be completely fair, if there were any other way out, Wu Youren truly would not have invoked Hong Yan's name.
A grand knight's banner wasn't something one could raise lightly. Just from the last time, he already owed three thousand silver dollars, and that had merely been Hong Da giving him a light slap on the wrist.
Moreover, invoking her name carried a real chance of causing trouble for Instructor Hong.
Yet he had no choice. The other party's malice ran too deep. To pin a crime on him, the patrol knight had already begun resorting to unscrupulous means.
He could have dropped subtle hints instead of stating it so bluntly.
However, he had one major concern—if he were subtle, the man might not even understand!
These barbarians feared power but had no concept of grace. Beyond fists and blades, one had to speak to them in a language they could comprehend!
Wu Youren didn't know whether people in Jin were usually indirect, but the people of Liang certainly weren't!
So laying it out plain and simple was for the best. Even if the man wanted to play dumb, he wouldn't have the chance.
Sure enough, the knight froze upon hearing his words.
Only after a long silence did he ask, "Hong Da? Which Hong Da?"
"Chief Instructor Hong Yan," Wu Youren answered in a low voice, saying nothing more.
Others might assume he was striking an arrogant pose, but the truth was, he couldn't afford to say another syllable.
Those words were enough. The more he said, the more likely he was to slip up!
The knight stared at him for a full five seconds before turning around and walking away without a word.
His face was calm, but inside he felt a wave of relief: *Thank goodness I didn't tie the kid up!*
*I knew it! How could a Jin hostage not have some big shot backing him?*
Seeing this, the other patrol members exchanged glances and quietly backed down as well.
The two who had struck him earlier discreetly took several steps back—it had only been a light punch and a kick; surely that wouldn't cause a problem, right?
Though the Martial Academy had a large staff, there were only a handful of chief instructors, and Hong Da was notoriously dangerous to provoke.
The other grand knights were by no means weaker, but Hong Yan's explosive temper was known to everyone.
Perhaps because she was a woman, she ran into martial artists who harbored ill intentions or spoke disrespectfully far more often than others did.
Among them were knights, and even grand knights.
And Chief Instructor Hong's attitude was simple... she never tolerated such people!
When it was time to strike, she wasted no breath on empty words. She went straight for the kill, and she had even crippled knights before.
Half an hour later, the knight leading the squad returned, his face still frozen in a scowl.
Looking at the Jin hostage, he said coldly, "Setting such a vicious trap in Red Pine is wrong!"
"Understood," Wu Youren nodded, his gaze clear. "I know. It's just that having encountered the Guizu before, I feel unsafe."
"Red Pine... is actually relatively safe," the knight said, his expression unchanged. "Otherwise, our night patrols would be for nothing."
"I know I was in the wrong," Wu Youren continued to nod, his eyes still steady. "Thank you for the reminder, Instructor."
"However, I might have been targeted by the Guizu. What kind of legitimate defense should I take?"
Killing too many Guizu made one a target—that was common knowledge, so his words could hardly be called an excuse.
Of course, whether it was an excuse or not wasn't up to him to decide.
Yet the knight couldn't even be bothered to argue with him. He waved an impatient hand. "You don't need to explain that to me!"
Was that truly 'no need to explain'? That was dropping the matter entirely!
Even the surrounding squad members understood—tonight's incident was back to square one, treated as an ordinary student dispute.
As for the deeper reasons, or what had gone through the knight's mind during his change of heart, was there any need to press further?
And indeed, the matter truly did return to square one.
Wu Youren had been waiting for the situation to develop, expecting to be summoned by the academy for further questioning.
He had raised Hong Da's banner, and he had no idea how she would react... He couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.
Yet nothing followed. The matter seemed to blow over just like that.
Although he wasn't held responsible for injuring anyone, no announcement was made regarding any punishment for the offending students either.
It was as if the entire incident had never taken place.
Wu Youren understood. Turning a major incident into a minor one, and a minor one into nothing at all—such maneuvers between nations were nothing out of the ordinary.
Even in civilian life, plenty of matters were handled the exact same way.
Still, had it really blown over? He didn't believe it.
As a hostage, the slightest carelessness could leave him dead without a burial ground.
Late the following afternoon, Rossi drove Cynthia and Liu Jingming over to his cabin once again.
Wu Youren was busy in the vegetable patch—it had suffered a disaster yesterday, and today it needed serious tending.
Seeing the scene, Liu Jingming flared with rage. "This is fucking intolerable! It'll take at least half a month to put this back in order!"
"It won't take that long," Wu Youren replied calmly. "About three days will do it."
The scene was indeed a mess, and cleaning it up was frustrating enough, but aside from the plants whose roots were destroyed, the rest could still be salvaged.
After all, it was only a little over a hundred square meters, barely a fifth of a mu.
Liu Jingming didn't see it that way. "These vegetables... how long will they take to grow back!"
Wu Youren gave a slight smile. "Have faith in life's resilience."
"Little Wu, let's talk for a moment," Rossi called him aside.
His arrival on the day of the incident hadn't merely been out of concern for the Jin hostage.
He had come with an important task: to mediate on behalf of last night's patrol knight.
"He asked me to pass a message to you. He wasn't deliberately targeting you. It's just that he's been on night patrol lately, and with the Guizu threat being so severe, he's under immense pressure..."
*If he wasn't targeting me, I'll gouge my own eyes out!* Wu Youren smiled and nodded. "I understand."
*Like hell I believe you!* Rossi had already heard from the knight just how scheming this youth was.
He let out a soft sigh. "To put it plainly, he comes from a humble family. He doesn't want to get dragged into court politics... you understand?"
That was the patrol knight's true mindset: he had grown afraid.
A Jin hostage managing to latch onto a grand knight of an intermediate martial academy sounded plausible enough—who didn't have a few connections?
But what would the price be? If a mistake was made, could one simply start over... and would it really end there?
Facing a dispute, some might see an opportunity; yet others knew that when the waters were too deep, you shouldn't wade in without the strength to back it up.
If the whirlpool was too big, people would die! More importantly, it might drag down far more than just one person!
Wu Youren couldn't help but chuckle. "He's a sensible man!"
The knight had filled in quite a few blanks on his own, but for someone from a humble background to resist the temptation of an opportunistic gamble was truly rare!
Especially for the people of Liang, those with brains were few and far between.
"You Jin people are truly insidious," Rossi said, giving him a deep look. "You understood all of that right away?"
Wu Youren rolled his eyes at him. "If you'd lived as a hostage, you'd understand too!"
"As long as Great Liang keeps winning, that's enough," Rossi replied nonchalantly. "Why would I ever need to be a hostage? Besides, I wouldn't even qualify!"
Seeing them finish their conversation, Cynthia spoke up, her expression solemn. "I'm afraid this matter won't end so easily."
"One of them was injured quite badly. Treating him last night cost over thirty silver dollars!"
"Didn't he have it coming?" Liu Jingming snapped, unable to hold back. "Youren was minding his own business farming here in Red Pine. Did he provoke them?"
"That's not how it works," Cynthia said, casting him a cool glance. "Or rather... he has the right to say that, but you don't!"
She was a Liang martial artist after all. Love might make her headstrong, but when someone lacked the standing, they lacked the standing!
Liu Jingming rolled his eyes. "I won't lower myself to argue with you."
Then he looked toward his compatriot, his tone turning serious. "Keep setting up your mechanisms. The other Jin students... are looking forward to it too."
Was that really the case? Wu Youren wasn't so sure. Curious, he asked, "Word spread that fast?"
"How could it be slow?" Liu Jingming scoffed. "The other students don't care much, but word spreads like wildfire among the Jin circles."
For some reason, there wasn't much excitement on his face.
Wu Youren felt a sliver of anticipation regarding his compatriots' reaction—he was, after all, still young.
"Are they all willing to offer support?"
"Some even wanted to organize a rally to voice their support for you," Liu Jingming said, his expression turning odd. "They claimed this harms diplomatic ties between the two nations."
Truly... naive fools could be found anywhere. Wu Youren considered it and shook his head. "Did you talk them out of it?"
"I just told them the risks," Liu Jingming said placidly. "They might face private retaliation."
So it was merely moral support. Wu Youren nodded calmly. "That's good. There's no need to blow this out of proportion."
The fewer people who knew of his hostage status, the better.
Rossi spoke up again. "Well, my message has been delivered."
"That instructor's actions weren't really an issue anyway," Wu Youren replied—what else could he say?
To set Rossi's mind at ease, he even added, "You were the one who helped me buy many of the materials, so I'll definitely give you this face."
*I never intended for you to harm people like that!* Rossi rolled his eyes.
"Spare me. I'd rather not have this face; I've practically become your accomplice."
Previously, when the youth had bought materials to set up defensive traps, he hadn't minded lending a hand.
Yet seeing the outcome... he genuinely felt a twinge of regret.
Though those troublemaking youths were unruly and reckless, they were still the future of Liang.
Over the next few days, as expected, no one came to harass him again.
The vegetable garden quickly regained its vitality. In addition to replanting some vegetables, Wu Youren set up several more mechanisms.
He even covered the light bulb outside his cabin with a layer of tempered glass—it didn't do much practically, but it demonstrated an attitude.
Moreover, he stayed close to his cabin, practicing his stances and cultivating only within its immediate vicinity.
Most importantly, regarding his meals, he had begun cooking for himself, and his current stores of grain and oil were sufficient.
Cynthia had told him that if he needed groceries, he could simply contact her to buy them on his behalf.
However, she didn't visit often. The incident had caused ripples in a small circle, and the Mirage Sea League had warned her to show restraint.
They hadn't forbidden her from visiting, but she had to maintain boundaries.
The Mirage Sea League carried substantial influence, but they didn't want her growing too close to a Jin native, as it would hurt their reputation.
At the very least, regular contact would have to wait until the dust settled.
Chapter 90