Refining the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 1609 – Brothers In Arms

The atmosphere in the Marshal Tent was heavy. Although people started to feel uneasy as Ye Sangdu was about to leave, they still could not believe it until all the evidence had been gathered together…at the same time, there was an icy cold feeling deep within their hearts.

This was not because of the possibility that Ye Sangdu dared to order an assassin to kill Marquis Chongwu, Ning Qin, in front of everyone. Instead, it was because all of the events that happened today felt like they went too smoothly.

While investigators of the military were the best at their job, they could not help having their hearts jump in fright at how successful they were with this investigation.

After all, it was not a pleasant thing for an assassin to be used as the knife in the hands of another, especially if the other person was Ye Sangdu.

However, they could only suppress all of these thoughts in their hearts. The evidence linked up cohesively – the instigator of the attack was evil remnants from the previous dynasties who directed him to assassinate Marquis Chongwu in front of everyone. Regardless of the success of this, if they did not handle the matter well, there would be chaos in the military. It would not be possible for them to evade danger then.

This was a truly severe crime!

Wu Tongtian sighed deeply and slowly said, "This matter is grave. Until the capital judges it, please do not speak about it and reveal anything to others." He paused slightly before continuing, "I will personally suppress this matter as well and will invite the great general to the Marshal Tent to wait for the messenger's arrival."

This sentence was the nail in the coffin, and before the people in the Marshal Tent could witness a lively play, Great General Ye Sangdu was finished! With the position of great general now empty, their hearts clenched as they observed the solemn expression on Marshal Wu's face.

In the West Border Army camp, the only person who could push Ye Sangdu to a corner with a single blow and not give him any chance to struggle were Wu Tongtian and the subordinate Marquis Chongwu who remained silent.

Because of the issue of time, everyone excluded Marquis Chongwu from this list from the start. As such, it could only be Wu Tongtian who slammed the descendant of the Later Ye Family and the second most powerful great general in the West Border Army against the floor.

But why?

Marshal Wu had maintained a close relationship with the Later Ye Family for all these years. Although it seemed like the Later Ye Family was being tossed around in the wind now, their roots for power grew deep into the ground, and Marshal Wu was thoroughly cutting all ties with them now. Even if he was the grand marshal of the West Border Army, this was such a risky action to take.

Furthermore, the West Desolate King was not in favor of Wu Tongtian. This was a publicly known fact in the West Border Army. Now that His Majesty has stabilized things in the capital and obtained the permission to extend his rule for another hundred years, Wu Tongtian should be strengthening his relationships with the Later Ye Family to ensure that he would be able to survive this harsh, cold winter. He should not be backstabbing them to try and change His Majesty's opinion.

After all, a hundred years may seem like a very long time for ordinary men. However, for elite cultivators at the peak of cultivation realms, it was nothing but a single snap of the fingers. At most, it took four or five snaps; the future was still coming!

No one could understand what was going on and they felt that Wu Tongtian's actions were a mistake. They believed that he was foolish for doing it, but this did not resolve their shock. Ye Sangdu had finished speaking. If it were them, who would be in a better state if they were suddenly targeted by Wu Tongtian?

"Marquis Chongwu, things have progressed to this state, are you satisfied?" Wu Tongtian slowly spoke. His eyes looked tired and it seemed as though the events of the past few days had taken a toll on him.

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Qin Yu placed his cup down and cupped his hands, "Grand Marshal has investigated the incident down to the finest detail in a fair manner. I am very satisfied." He stood up and continued, "Grand Marshal, you may take full control going forward. 400,000 men are still in the mine without a place to call home; I shall not stay for long and will take my leave now."

Wu Tongtian nodded, "Setting up camp is a strenuous task. Once you have settled things there, gather the numbers and report it back to me."

Qin Yu smiled, "Thank you Grand Marshal." He turned and walked out of the Marshal Tent. It seemed as though today was a splendid day. However, if he carefully thought about it, he was supposed to be in power but he had to report back to the Marshal Tent. Although the outcome was good, it felt like he was the knife in another person's hand.

He was slightly dissatisfied and also afraid, but the overwhelming feeling that he had was satisfaction. After all, from whichever angle, taking down Ye Sangdu was a good thing for Qin Yu. Wu Tongtian must have thought of this too, and that was why he was willing to cooperate with Qin Yu.

This also explained the reason for his last words.

"Marquis Chongwu, please wait!" A shout came from behind him. Zhao Chong hurried to chase after Qin Yu. He smiled brightly and said, "Brother, how can you leave if I have not congratulated you on your promotion to marquis? I've got a pot of new tea in my tent, Marquis, you ought to come and try it. Please do not turn me down in front of so many people. I will be very embarrassed."

It seemed that Zhao Chong had really been taken aback by the events in the Marshal Tent today. Although Qin Yu was not bothered about Zhao Chong's reputation, he thought about it and nodded eventually. "Alright, most things in the Marshal Tent are good, but the tea isn't on the same level. I will head to your tent for a drink first before leaving."

Zhao Chong beamed in elation. He extended an arm out and said, "Marquis, please!"

He truly brought forward a humble and respectful attitude.

The two of them talked along the way but Qin Yu mostly just acknowledged Zhao Chong's comments and did not say much. On the other hand, General Zhao Chong was incredible and he burst into laughter frequently. He even pushed his luck by patting Qin Yu on his shoulder. He acted familiar with Qin Yu for others in the camp to see.

Once they reached the tent, Zhao Chong busied himself and personally brewed the tea for Qin Yu. He served a cup to Qin Yu and said, "I am only trying to ensure my own safety. I previously leeched onto you; I hope you don't mind."

Qin Yu smiled. He started to feel like Zhao Chong was an interesting man. He lowered his head and admitted his faults directly without any sloppiness. After some thought, Qin Yu sipped his tea, "General Zhao, you should tell me what you want to say. I can only drink one cup of tea."

A few moments later, Zhao Chong was all smiles as he sent Qin Yu off. He stood outside the entrance of his tent and waved until Qin Yu disappeared into the distance. Only then did he turn and return into the tent.

Big Head Wang and the others were waiting nor far from the tent. They hurried to greet Qin Yu when he returned.

Qin Yu glanced at them and smiled, "Let's go back to the mine."

As he sat on the comfortable seat of the horse carriage, Qin Yu sighed deeply and a thoughtful look crossed his eyes. Just now, Zhao Chong got to the point and expressed that he was willing to follow Qin Yu. He only requested that Qin Yu be acceptive of him and be his support in the future.

Although Qin Yu admired Zhao Chong's straightforwardness, he was a general who was ranked highly in the border army. This display felt rushed and rash, and it was not an exaggeration to say that he stepped over his boundaries.

However, after leaving the tent, Qin Yu had a much clearer thought and he realized the reason why Zhao Chong rushed out of the Marshal Tent and shamelessly invited him for tea.

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Zhao Chong had guessed that Wu Tongtian was working for the king!

No one was a fool. Wu Tongtian had a stable position commanding a million troops in the West Border Army. He was obviously an intelligent person and he did not just rely on his cultivation rank to get his position.

As such, the move of backstabbing his friend in order to gain the acknowledgement of His Majesty was not foolish. There was a deeper motive in it.

If Wu Tongtian was always working for the king, his actions were only logical.

Rulers could not conform to both sides without either getting angry. This was an act that was in play for many years. Because both sides were equally good at acting, many people were fooled.

Now, the king had displayed his stance and he was going to take down the Later Ye Family. It was only natural that Wu Tongtian acted as the vanguard to take them down.

As such, Zhao Chong's urgent desire to wish for Qin Yu's support was because he was also the king's man.

In other words, after Ye Sangdu fell, the West Border Army camp would have Wu Tongtian in the first seat and Marquis Chongwu in the second. They were brothers in arms working for the same man. If they wanted to make any moves in the future and send someone to jail, a simple sentence to give the order would suffice.

In the horse carriage, Qin Yu sighed and he raised an arm to rub his forehead. He agreed that Zhao Chong's thinking was a possibility. The West Desolate King had not trusted Qin Yu from the start, and this was something that he could confirm. As such, it was possible that he hid Wu Tongtian's real motive from Qin Yu while Wu Tongtian served as someone who would monitor Qin Yu!

Qin Yu successfully passed the test in Grandeur Nation and Millet Nation. Although his memories weren't clear, he could confirm that. Otherwise, he would not have safely arrived at the border army camp now.

As such, if Wu Tongtian was really instructed by the West Desolate King to do this, he would wait until the dust settled to give Qin Yu an answer.

Shaking his head, Qin Yu case aside these thoughts. The matter of who Wu Tongtian was working for was not important to him. After all, Qin Yu's current identity was fake too. The unexplained fear and wariness the West Desolate King had towards Qin Yu may one day take form and push Qin Yu to a corner.

It was pointless to ponder over it. He would rather spend his efforts cultivating. If the time came when he had to run, he needed to make sure that he had the capabilities to run.

As such, Qin Yu closed his eyes and cultivated after he gathered his thoughts.

Outside the horse carriage, the guards sensed that the marquis' aura had changed. They could not help being in admiration as they thought about the position and cultivation the marquis had. Even with his status, he focused himself on cultivating and did not waste any time.

Compared to the marquis, they were lowly peasants who served in the army. Time frittered away for them and they felt like they had been slapped in the face.

Big Head Wang sighed deeply and tilted his head to scan the people around him. His gaze stopped on his nephew, Wang San, and his voice deepened, "When we return to the mine, I will personally supervise your cultivation once we settle things! Otherwise, even if the marquis looks highly upon us and asks us to continue to be his personal guards, all of us should be ashamed of ourselves!"

A bitter look crossed the group's face. They thought of the two assassination attempts the marquis faced in the capital and then the Marshal Tent. They were useless on both occasions and they held empty positions. Their faces turned red from embarrassment and they nodded.

Gritting their teeth, they made the resolution to work hard in their cultivation. Even if they couldn't help the marquis singlehandedly, they needed to be like the two Old Four Claws of the palace. When the enemy came, they ought to help the marquis fend them off!