Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

The Yan Kingdom's attitude towards those beings is not one of complete condemnation. Whether we call them gods or behemoths, as long as they bring benefits to the people of Yan, we will show them respect; if not, we will simply dethrone them. That's all.

"That Qi Yan..."

"At least for now, it poses no harm to Yan Kingdom."

The Grand Tutor put his hands behind his back again and turned to look in the direction of the inn: "I didn't expect Wang to include Qi Yan in this game. Perhaps he has discovered something and is preparing to verify it on Qi Yan."

Bai Tianshi frowned: "We must stop Wang; his attitude toward Yan is obvious to all."

The Grand Tutor seemed lost in thought and did not rush to answer.

Faced with the Grand Tutor's silence, Bai Tianshi also fell silent.

After a long pause, the Grand Tutor finally spoke again:

"Qi Yan has clearly been aroused by Wang. Stopping Wang now is stopping Qi Yan."

Bai Tianshi was no fool; he immediately grasped this line of thought.

But just because he understands this doesn't mean that Master Bai Tian is willing to accept it.

"So now, it seems we're the ones at a disadvantage? Qi Yan has become Wang's shield?"

The Grand Tutor shook his head and corrected him: "Qi Yan will always be an outsider. No one will be protected by him except those he has chosen, and Wang is obviously not one of them."

As for Qi Yan's entry into the game, it was clearly a playful one. He could easily walk away, or even flip the chessboard and beat us all up.

Bai Tianshi: "..."

Someone of your status shouldn't be talking so cheekily, right?

Does the true dragon know that you speak like this in private?

The Grand Tutor saw through Bai Tianshi's inner turmoil, smiled, and didn't point it out.

He continued to explain to Bai Tianshi: "Qi Yan's appearance may seem like a huge hidden danger, but in reality, he has unintentionally become a buffer between Yan Kingdom and all the agents of the Year Beasts."

With him around, both of us are in an invincible position.

Why are you so confident?

"I don't have any yet, it's just a deduction based on the available intelligence." The Grand Tutor turned and strolled down the street. "But once the matter of Shang Shu is over, the answer will be fully revealed, and Yan Kingdom's attitude towards Qi Yan will be accurately determined."

The Yan Kingdom's attitude towards those agents of the Year Beast will also come to a conclusion.

Bai Tianshi followed the Grand Tutor, puzzled, and asked:

"Isn't Wang's attitude already very clear?"

"No, I was referring to the three officials in charge of the New Year's Eve ceremony."

It took Bai Tianshi a moment to react before he suddenly understood the Grand Tutor's thoughts.

In this game of chess between Taifu and Wang, both sides seemed to be constantly putting pieces into the chessboard, as if they were determined to win.

But in reality, Wang's true thoughts are still unknown, and the Grand Tutor has never thought of deciding any outcome with Wang in this game.

The Grand Tutor's true goal is the pieces themselves that are placed on the chessboard!

Based on Shang Shu, Qi Yan and Wang were allowed to do as they pleased, just to test the attitude of Qi Yan and Nian Xiling, the three agents of the Year Beast, towards the people of Yan Kingdom at a crucial moment!

"Grand Tutor... isn't your move a bit too risky?" Bai Tianshi's expression was rather unpleasant.

“Adventure? I never thought of taking any risks.” The Grand Tutor shook his head. “In fact, I only recently arrived in Shangshu, and I was quite surprised that the situation in Shangshu had developed to this point.”

Upon hearing this, Bai Tianshi's expression turned even more unpleasant.

He gritted his teeth and said, "We have to do something."

"It's something you have to do."

The Grand Tutor looked helpless: "You can't expect me to go and confront Qi Yan, can you? I can't retire at Qi Yan's nursing home for the time being."

Bai Tianshi: "..."

Just because you can't go doesn't mean I can.

Seeing that Bai Tianshi was about to lose his temper, the Grand Tutor spoke up:

“I told you, you no longer need to confront Qi Yan directly. Instead, I want you to help Qi Yan, starting with this small matter at hand.”

"what's up?"

“The wine cup was taken away by Ning Shilang’s men. I would like to trouble Master Bai to make a trip and return the wine cup to Qi Yan.”

"Everyone keep up, don't fall behind!"

Qi Yan held up a knife sheathed, with a tablecloth from an inn tied to the hilt, which he had hastily combined to make a white flag.

Holding the banner of the Gallic Orthodox Army, Qi Yan led his team along the mountain path outside Shangshu City.

The others followed behind him with long faces, and even Liang Xun and Taihe couldn't escape this ordeal.

No one knew what had suddenly gotten into Qi Yan. He whispered something to Qi Lin in a secretive manner for a moment, then arranged for Qi Lin to go out and carry out a solo mission, while he led the others to climb the mountain overnight.

As Chen walked along the dark mountain path, looking at the inky black night around him, he subconsciously held his breath as he took each step, afraid that he might slip and fall into the ravine.

In the group, Wu You tightened his clothes, shivering from the night mountain wind.

As he walked, he cautiously glanced down beside the plank road, and seeing the abyss-like dark ravine below, he quickly took two steps back.

"If you fall down there, you'll probably get bruises all over."

When Nian heard Wu You's joking remark in the team, he casually threw a pebble down below.

She listened intently for a moment, then shook her head at Wu You:

"Don't worry, there won't be any bruises, just some spots here and there. Then we'll throw a big feast for you at the inn, and we'll share the food with you."

Utopia: "..."

The conversation between the two did not affect Xi in the group, who was reluctantly following at the back of the group.

Xi didn't know why Qi Yan wanted to go up the mountain overnight, but she knew that her eldest sister, Ling, lived in seclusion in this mountain, and she would inevitably meet her in the end.

It wasn't that she had any issues with Ling or didn't want to see him, but rather that she was holding a grudge and didn't want to rush over to find Ling before he came to find her.

This would make Xi feel very embarrassed.

Just as Xi was filled with resentment and had nowhere to vent it, Qi Yan, who was at the very front of the line, suddenly pointed at her from a distance:

"Big Xigua, where did you get such a big grudge? You have enough to feed a dozen evil sword immortals, yet you're still at the back of the group. Be careful you don't get hooked up to some dirty thing."

"Are you trying to scare the kids?" Xi wrinkled her nose in displeasure. "What kind of filthy thing dares to put its arm around my shoulder?"

Qi Yan couldn't help but chuckle: "There are so many rules to follow when paying respects at the mountain peak at night. You never know whose hand is on your shoulder."

"Big Xigua, listen to my advice, don't say I didn't warn you!"

"You're getting more and more excited as you talk."

Xi scoffed dismissively, but her gaze drifted uncontrollably behind her.

Just then, a hand landed on her shoulder without warning.

Screams echoed through the sky.

The mischievous Nian contorted his face, removed his hand from Xi's shoulder, and forcefully covered his buzzing ears.

Before she could even complain, she was horrified to discover that Xi, in a state of extreme panic, had closed her eyes and turned around to slap her.

The crisp sound of slapping echoed through the mountains.

This time, Nian screamed in pain as Xi slapped him off the plank road, sending him tumbling into the dark valley.

Chapter 853 Mission and People

"what sound?"

Old Carp looked up alertly, glancing around at the pitch-black mountain scenery.

Beside him, a middle-aged man with plump hooves used a flat shoulder pole as a cane to support himself on the ground, looking around with the old carp.

The man's wheat-colored skin silently testifies to his years of experience working outdoors. His coarse linen clothes and a hemp rope tied around his waist constitute all the belongings he possesses as a porter.

“Master Shang, the sound sounds like a woman’s exclamation.”

Old Li dared not make a decision rashly, and looked to the guide he had paid for for help: "In your experience, Master Shang, is it really that someone had an accident while walking on the mountain path at night, or is it that mountain spirits are causing trouble and luring us over there?"

Master Shang withdrew his gaze, his rugged face remaining calm and composed.

"I have lived in these mountains for nearly ten years and have never seen any so-called spirits or monsters."

After explaining the situation, Master Shang stopped talking and simply waited silently for his customer, Old Li, to make a decision.

"Are you sure?" Old Li seemed hesitant. "Shangshu has been quite turbulent lately. Things that we've never seen before are appearing one after another."

Master Shang, expressionless, picked up his carrying pole and said calmly:

"I am only responsible for answering your questions. As for whether you continue to complete the mission you mentioned or go to rescue people, I have no right to interfere."

"...No, we should save them first."

After a moment of hesitation, Old Carp still couldn't bear to stand idly by and do nothing about the scream.

Upon hearing this answer, Master Shang's expression finally softened slightly, his rugged face becoming a little more relaxed.

"Then, Mr. Koi, please follow me and watch your step."

Master Shang turned back with his carrying pole and headed down the mountain along the path the two had taken. He carefully instructed them, "Be careful when walking in these mountains. Going up is easy, but going down is difficult. Going down may seem easier, but it's actually very dangerous, especially at night."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Old Li readily agreed and obediently followed behind Master Shang.

The two walked one after the other. Master Shang took special care of Old Carp, slowing down his pace and even carefully using a carrying pole to sweep away the stones on the boardwalk to prevent any possible accidents from happening to Old Carp.

The two hadn't gone far when they heard a dispute coming from ahead.

"Why are there suddenly so many people traveling at night in these mountains?" Master Shang asked, somewhat surprised.

He turned and exchanged a glance with Lao Li. The two of them stopped in their tracks, holding their breath and observing the situation ahead.

In the quiet mountains under the cover of night, the sounds of arguing could still be clearly heard even from a distance.

"Father, you heard those screams, why didn't you turn around and check? What if someone was in danger?"

"Ye'er! Listen to me! This place, Qujiang Peak, is dangerous. Even during the day, there are few people around, let alone in the middle of the night."

"It's not that there are few people around, but it's not that there's absolutely no one. You and I both heard those two screams clearly; they were definitely women's voices."

"Is the task Young Master Qi assigned to us more important, or is helping two women of unknown identity more important?"

"Even if he were here in person, I would still go and rescue him, let alone just give him a task!"

“Ye’er! You have no idea who Young Master Qi is. We absolutely cannot disobey him…”

"Enough! I need to go save people!"

As the old carp listened to the arguing ahead, his expression gradually became strange.

He never expected to meet Du Yaoye and Zheng Qingyue here. Judging from their conversation, Zheng Qingyue had also been recruited by Qi Yan and was now acting in accordance with Qi Yan's plan.

Seeing the argument ahead, Zheng Qingyue was finding it difficult to persuade his daughter, so Lao Li reached out and patted Master Shang on the shoulder:

"Don't be nervous. The two people ahead are acquaintances. With this father and daughter here, our chances of rescuing them will be much greater."

Master Shang did not give a reply.

Old Li could even feel the muscles in Master Shang's shoulders slowly tightening.

Before he could react, Master Shang had already strode out and headed straight for Zheng Qingyue and his daughter.

Even in the pitch-black night, Master Shang's speed was not affected in the slightest, and he rushed forward as if walking on flat ground.

In Shangshu City, a woman dressed in black night clothes looked wary.

She looked around and, seeing that no one was following her, picked up a plump little animal at her feet, flipped over the wall in front of her, and nimbly arrived at the backyard of an inn.

The woman patted the sleeping beast in her arms and whispered, "Little Hat, it's up to you now."

The sleeping beast nuzzled against the woman's chest a couple of times, found a comfortable position, and then raised its nose to exhale two transparent bubbles.

As the bubbles burst, a mysterious gas was released.

The snoring of those who were fast asleep in the inn grew louder, and those who were still awake became drowsy and disoriented.