I Need an Explanation

Without saying anything more on the spot, Han Qingyu stood up, turned his head, and called out to the side: "Rusty Sister." The steel armor clanked as she turned. "Yeah?" "Hand me that knight sword." Because there had been no time to retrieve the black wooden case during their retreat by the river, Shen Yixiu currently had the blue starlight column sword and the knight broadsword separately wrapped in pieces of tent canvas, slung side by side across her back, angling to the right. "Okay." Answering, Shen Yixiu unslung the knight broadsword and casually flicked it upward. The sword slipped out of its canvas wrap and flew toward Han Qingyu. Han Qingyu raised his hand. *Rrrrip-snap!* The rapid, snapping sound of bandages tearing to shreds followed immediately. Shattered gauze drifted down as he lifted his arm. With the very left hand that had previously been heavily wrapped from severe injuries, Han Qingyu caught the knight sword out of midair. This sword was the one Sean had used—used in an attempt to kill him. Its dead iron was of an exceptionally high grade, extraordinarily rare. The officers and interpreters in the middle of standing up all started or froze at Han Qingyu's sudden move, their expressions and gazes varied. Han Qingyu looked at them and said, "Just testing to see how the injury is doing... Safe travels, gentlemen." With that, he glanced at Wen Jifei. Their eyes met... confirmed. Han Qingyu then ducked his head and went straight back into his tent. Once the officers had walked a hundred meters away, Wen Jifei immediately went to Wu Xu, pointed at the departing figure of a somewhat short officer who carried four short blades on his back, and said, "Tail him... He's Alphonse's man." That man was shrewd and well-trained; throughout the preceding conversation, he hadn't shown the slightest flaw or irregularity. Yet at the very end, the moment Sean's knight broadsword appeared before his eyes while Han Qingyu suddenly looked completely unharmed, he gave himself away. "He'll head back to report soon. Keep an eye on him. If you see anyone from the Alphonse family make a move, come back and tell us immediately." "Right." Wu Xu nodded briskly. Setting aside Binggu and carrying only his heavy sword on his back, he took two steps forward, then suddenly stopped and looked back at Wen Jifei. "Can't keep up with him?" Wen Jifei asked, somewhat helpless under his gaze. Wu Xu shook his head, hesitated a moment, and asked, "Can I kill them?" Wen Jifei: "...Better come back and tell us first." "...Okay." Wu Xu departed. He had just asked whether he could kill them—kill members of the Alphonse family, the current frontline commanders of the Nepal Front, right here in the frontline command post. *Could they even do that? Let me think this through,* Wen Jifei turned to look at the tent, guessing... perhaps Qingzi's little test just now, rooting this man out, was really just to make surveillance easier, for fear that they might slip away in secret. If they ran, who knew when the next chance would come? The tent flap was soon pushed outward again. Han Qingyu bent low, stepped out, and straightened up. On his back now were his twin blades and the blue starlight column sword wrapped in canvas. "Qingzi, what are you doing now?" "I'll go see if I can get in touch with the commander-in-chief first," Han Qingyu said. Wen Jifei nodded. "Alright." Han Qingyu walked off. Wen Jifei didn't follow. He stood outside the tent watching Han Qingyu's retreating back. He had a good sense that this was already the limit of Qingzi's restraint—the very most he could hold back. Throughout this night, Qingzi had appeared far too calm, far too patient. It wasn't like him. ………… In an ordinary military tent tucked away in an outer corner on the other side, few knew that the old chief of staff from Chen Buer's side at Xilang Peak had already arrived here. "I was still worried something would go wrong. Ah, it's exhausting for an old man with mediocre martial strength like me." The old chief of staff was seated now. He took a sip of warm water, set the cup down, and spoke to the major general sitting across from him. The major general's name was Shao Xuan. Shao Xuan had arrived as well, even earlier than Han Qingyu and the others, and had even shown his face early on. Strictly speaking, his presence here made no sense either, but no one dared question it. According to the dispatch previously issued by Commander-in-Chief Chen Buer, he was supposed to be deep within the plateau battlefield taking part in the mop-up operation, or searching for Han Qingyu. In that case, he should at least have returned alongside Han Qingyu's group, or at least appeared on that battlefield at some point. Yet neither had occurred. Where Shao Xuan had actually gone was... "Reporting!" A Huaxia officer called out from outside the tent and hurried in after receiving permission. Those who knew to come report here were naturally trusted confidants. The old chief of staff nodded, gesturing for him to speak freely. "The acting frontline commander of the Nepal Front, Denis Alphonse, along with Eric and Charles from his family." The officer's martial strength seemed limited, and he was panting slightly as he spoke. "Three generations of the Alphonse family just submitted a verbal request to command, asking to leave early." The old chief of staff frowned slightly. "On what grounds?" "The battle is basically over, and old Mr. Alphonse back home has suffered a flare-up of his old injuries." "Oh." The old chief of staff pondered for a moment. "Fine, you may step out." The officer remained standing, inquiring with his eyes. Having received permission, he turned to Shao Xuan and said, "Um, Captain Shao, Major Qing is looking for you." In fact, Han Qingyu had already sought out Shao Xuan once before. Coming again now, he was clearly anxious to contact the commander-in-chief. Shao Xuan looked toward the old chief of staff. The old chief of staff nodded and said to the waiting officer, "Bring him straight here." "Yes, sir." The officer turned and left. The old chief of staff turned back to Shao Xuan, his eyes narrowing slightly. "In that case, could it be that those two strikes you traded with Alphonse caused his old injuries to flare up?!" No third person heard those words. Had there been one, they would have been thoroughly bewildered. The rising super combat power of the Huaxia Front before him, Captain Shao Xuan of Golden Eraser—hadn't it been publicly announced that he would join the battle on the Perimeter Xilang Peak battlefield? ...How, why, and when had he already run off to Nepal to trade two strikes with the first-generation Star of Azure? Thus, the true course of events was actually like this: After Chen Buer abruptly announced that Golden Shao Xuan had become Huaxia's fifth super combat power and would immediately deploy to the Perimeter Xilang Peak battlefield, most in Azure felt only surprise, followed by delight and exhilaration, eager to see this rising super combat power display his might on the plateau battlefield. As for those capable of discerning political maneuvering to some extent or sensing something amiss, their assessment was that Shao Xuan's public reveal signaled Chen Buer's resolve and stance—he was going to the plateau battlefield to protect someone, and that someone was likely Han Qingyu. Of course, those people had no idea who exactly was threatening Han Qingyu's safety. If forced to speculate, their thoughts would drift toward the Cleansing Faction or the Self-Preservation Faction. And then there was the Alphonse family, who knew the inside story best of all. They, too, thought the same. They believed Chen Buer was flexing his muscles at them, warning them not to touch Han Qingyu. Yet in truth, all of the above were wrong. Where Shao Xuan had truly gone was Nepal's Third Fixed Exploration Site, Alphonse's lair. He had gone to search for evidence—to pull the rug out from under them and attempt to resolve the matter directly at the root. The old chief of staff had gambled that Han Qingyu and his companions could make it out on their own, and gambled that the Alphonse family would never anticipate such a countermove. On both counts, his gamble had paid off. Han Qingyu had hacked Sean to death and walked out on his own. And at the Third Fixed Exploration Site, because all attention was fixed on the frontline operation, security was indeed lax, allowing Shao Xuan to successfully infiltrate. However... "Impossible. Alphonse's life source energy is exceedingly deep and boundless. When he caught up to me back then, it was fortunate enough that I made it back alive; there's no way I could have wounded him." Shao Xuan stood up, shaking his head, making it plain that he could not have inflicted serious harm on Alphonse. "Besides, by startling the snake in the grass, I may have prompted them to expedite the destruction of every last piece of physical evidence and every witness that might have been found." Shao Xuan spoke with a touch of self-reproach. "If anyone's to blame, it's me. The plan was mine." The old chief of staff sighed, then looked at Shao Xuan. "By the way, your injury... let me see." Shao Xuan hesitated, then raised his left hand and squeezed his right upper arm... The sleeve caved inward, leaving nothing but skin and bone. "Life source energy devouring?!" The old chief of staff bolted to his feet. Shao Xuan nodded. "Probably. But it's fine, I can recover." Just as his words fell, footsteps sounded outside the tent. "Reporting." "Send him in," the old chief of staff called out, then gestured for Shao Xuan to sit back down. Han Qingyu stepped inside alone and glanced around. "Chief of Staff... Captain Shao." The old chief of staff raised his chin slightly. "It's fine, no need to salute. Say what's on your mind." Since the old chief of staff was here, speaking to him was no different from contacting the commander-in-chief. The rims of Han Qingyu's eyes abruptly flushed red. Stifling his emotions, he struggled to get the words out: "I need an explanation. Otherwise... I can't let this go." The old chief of staff naturally knew that when Han Qingyu spoke like this, he wasn't demanding an accounting from him or Chen Buer, nor demanding that they accomplish any specific thing... He was merely treating them as his last hope for resolving this through lawful justice.