With avenging themselves against Alphonse as the goal, Han Qingyu had his advantages, while Shu You had the upper hand in raw strength.
So if Han Qingyu could also close the strength gap with Shu You, every advantage would be his.
By the time the news of their duel began spreading, the first lunar month was drawing to a close.
One morning near the end of the month, Wu Xu was defeated in one-on-one sparring by Zhe Qiuhong, whose hands had occasionally itched for a match.
From then on, in Stream Vanguard's internal combat power rankings, the only one definitively beneath Wu Xu was Yang Qingbai, who was far away in Huaxia.
Plague Chicken was an unknown; he didn't dare step onto the field, afraid that a stray slash might kill Wu Xu.
"If this keeps up, won't Wu Xu end up unable to beat an ordinary person?" The playful, optimistic mood finally vanished, replaced by genuine worry.
Rather than worrying about losing an important fighter, they worried far more about Wu Xu's state of mind.
It was hard to imagine how someone like Wu Xu, once stripped of his combat power, could validate his own existence.
Even though he still appeared as calm and silent as ever, even getting up early every day for personal training... he could no longer wield the Binggu Spear.
Even Zhe Qiuhong was helpless in this regard.
In the days that followed, whenever it was Wu Xu's turn to go buy fried dough sticks, either the Little Prince or Han Qingyu would follow him in secret.
Wu Xu probably noticed, but held back from pointing it out.
Until the morning of the second day of the second lunar month. He got up early to train, washed up, walked a few steps out the door, then stopped, turned back, and said:
"Qingzi."
"Yeah?"
"Could you come with me to buy the fried dough sticks?"
"Sure."
Han Qingyu quickly wiped the toothpaste froth from the corner of his mouth and jogged over.
As the two walked shoulder to shoulder toward the street:
"If it really comes down to it, I want to learn how to cook. I can do laundry too," Wu Xu said out of the blue.
"Sounds good," Han Qingyu said with a smile. "That way, after we win this war and you come to my home, you can help with the chores."
Wu Xu: "Mm."
Then, in what seemed like a miracle, a bitter smile crossed his face—he actually laughed—and after laughing, he cursed softly under his breath, "Fuck it all."
That almost made Han Qingyu die of laughter.
Right around the time Wu Xu's combat power was continuously deteriorating, the outside world began hearing once more of a name they had once known so well.
[Major Qing is really still alive.]
[And Lieutenant Wu Xu, Second Lieutenant Shen Yixiu, Second Lieutenant Wen Jifei, He Tangtang...]
[They're all alive.]
[In the City of Iniquity.]
[Major Qing has reached super tier.]
The reports coming out of the City of Iniquity were never officially confirmed, amounting to little more than street rumors, but they spread wider and wider, carrying immense weight.
People had assumed that with the passage of time, his influence had gradually faded. But as word spread and cries of debate and anticipation erupted on all sides, the Azure high command finally realized:
The legend he had etched into Azure was simply too deep.
"That's Major Qing with super combat power! A miraculous warrior who was already touching the Star of Azure back when he was merely top-tier."
"If only those things had never happened..."
"If Azure still had him..."
People pondered, and people talked.
Because of these rumors, Azure's Swiss Front placed an officer named Yin Caixin under house arrest, and two heavyweights from the Huaxia research system and the Council personally ordered the house arrest of Xin Yaoqiao, Deputy Chief of the Linguistics Section.
…………
March 1, 1993. Coalition Headquarters, the Central Council Hall.
In the tiered ring of seats, nearly three hundred councilors were in attendance.
"Since it is now confirmed that they are not dead, and are in the City of Iniquity, the Coalition naturally ought to bring them back for investigation."
In the front row to the right of the rostrum, Alphonse, wearing the Starlight Azure Medal on his chest, attended in person to exert pressure.
Even though the rumors filtering out of the City of Iniquity had included him as well... claiming he had personally gone there, plotted to ambush and kill Major Qing and his comrades, failed, and was hunted in return before fleeing aboard a boat in disgrace.
The gazes on the rostrum shifted, settling on the representative of the Huaxia Front below, their expressions conflicted.
This military representative was extraordinarily difficult to deal with—they had already seen it for themselves.
Rumor had it that Red Shoulders had experienced it as well...
"General Liu, what do you think?"
"What is there to think?!" Liu Yiwu stood up and said, "I miss them dearly, but where are they? Who is going to guarantee to me that they are truly still alive, that they are truly in—"
"The intelligence is conclusive. They are in the City of Iniquity," Alphonse said in a deep voice.
"Then bring them back and show me! Didn't you go there? Why didn't you bring them back?!"
Liu Yiwu paused, reminding the young female interpreter he knew well, "Remember to translate with my exact tone."
Then he turned back to Alphonse. "So you didn't really go there to kill them, only to get chopped up and flee like a drowned rat, did you? Don't tell me the rumors were true?"
The earnest young interpreter translated in Liu Yiwu's tone to the letter—first vehement, then sarcastic and mocking, rendering it with immense color and flair.
For a moment, more than half the assembly struggled to stifle their laughter. They had watched this affair devolve from a grave incident into a farce for over a year now.
Alphonse's face darkened; this was something he could never acknowledge.
"Since it was the Huaxia Front that lost them in the first place, and to prove that you didn't secretly let them go back then, this matter should naturally be investigated by you. You should be responsible for bringing them back for interrogation," an officer beside Alphonse suddenly stood up and declared.
"We looked! As soon as we heard, we investigated. I've already admitted it: I miss them, and I wish with all my heart that they're still alive. So when we heard the news, we rushed to investigate... Unfortunately, we turned up nothing at all."
Liu Yiwu spread his hands.
"If there's truly nothing, why are you so happy? That contradicts the logic of your statement," the officer asked bluntly.
"Am I happy?" Liu Yiwu asked in return.
"You are happy."
"Then maybe it's because the weather is nice today." Liu Yiwu leisurely turned back, then abruptly raised his hand.
"General Liu?" the rostrum inquired.
"Since we're all here, I propose that the Coalition immediately conduct a seventh investigation into the Third Fixed Exploration Site, and I request to join the investigation team."
"Well... since both sides are plaintiffs against each other, doing so would appear improper under our rules," the rostrum explained.
"Is that so? Never mind then, pretend I didn't say anything."
Seemingly easy to talk to, Liu Yiwu sat back down.
The hall fell into an eerie silence.
Bang!
Alphonse slammed his palm heavily against the conference table. Without a word, he rose and stormed out of the hall.
The meeting adjourned.
Ashleia and Ian stood by the doors with excited eyes. When Liu Yiwu walked past, Ashleia cautiously greeted him in halting Chinese:
"General Liu."
Knowing this female journalist was the one who had written that article for Qingzi back then, Liu Yiwu paused, looked at Ashleia, and smiled.
"Is the... is the weather really nice?" Ashleia asked, nervous and full of hope.
She was almost certain the rumors were true, and the excitement had kept her awake for nights on end. Yet that word "almost" prevented her from letting down her guard and rejoicing completely.
"Yes. The weather is very nice," Liu Yiwu said with a smile, then turned and walked out the door.
Ashleia's tears spilled over.
Around the same time, at the headquarters of the Sole Witness Legion, Huaxia Front.
The old chief of staff was seated, reaching for his teacup, only to find it empty.
Chen Buer stood nearby, holding a thermos, and attentively refilled it for him. "He's reached super tier," Chen Buer said.
"Mm. What, aren't you happy?" The old chief of staff kept studying the map of Antarctica on the table without looking up.
Chen Buer's eyes hesitated for a moment. Looking somewhat embarrassed by his own sentimentality and worry, he asked, "They will come back eventually, won't they?"
"They should. What, you know to worry now? Wasn't this your idea in the first place?" the old chief of staff said, circling a location on the map.
"I'm afraid they might hold a grudge."
"Their grudge isn't against you."
"I know. But if they truly don't want to come back, am I supposed to pressure them with personal loyalty?"
Chen Buer shook his head, set down the thermos, turned, and went outside to light a cigarette.
Chapter 513