Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

“Master Shang… no, traitor Shang Zhong, I’ve heard about you.”

Shangzhong: "..."

Du Yaoye turned around completely and faced Shang Zhong directly: "Back then, when the escort agency changed its business, you left with your sword, becoming a traitor to the escort agency. Since then, you have settled in the mountains and lived in seclusion."

It seems you've been running away all this time just waiting for my father to come up the mountain.

Shangzhong lowered his eyes slightly, but his tone remained unchanged as he said:

"Since you know all this, do you know that among the bodyguards Zheng Qingyue abandoned back then, there was my son and your biological father!"

Since then, Zheng Qingyue has even turned a blind eye to the decline of the escort agency and avoided failure, you know?

Later, your mother also left Shangshu and returned to her hometown, Du Yaoye. Did you know all this?

Shang Zhong's words did not cause Du Yaoye's expression to change in the slightest.

She glared at Shang Zhong and retorted, "Who do you think I am? Do you think I've really grown up in a greenhouse all these years like the rumors say, like a fool?"

I know everything about my own parents, and I know better than you what Old Man Zheng has done and how he's acted all these years!

Du Yaoye raised his chin and continued without any politeness:

“I can’t stand what he’s done over the years. You say he’s running away, that he’s cowardly, and I think so too.”

But what about you? In my opinion, it's true that you harbor resentment, and it's true that you hate Old Man Zheng, but your stubbornness in trapping yourself in that rainy night from back then is, in my view, utterly foolish!

"Back then, my son..."

"My father died back then too!"

Du Yaoye interrupted Shang Zhong's rebuttal, her eyes reddening slightly: "Am I just supposed to keep my hatred on my lips and leave the escort agency without a care? Are all the people and escorts in the agency just going to disband and go their separate ways?"

Shangzhong, let me tell you, whether it's the old escort agency or the current tavern, it will eventually belong to the Du family. I will take responsibility for everyone who is still making a living under my command!

Don't compare me to a traitor like you. You may have gotten your revenge, but have you ever considered what the foundation of our escort agency is? It's our reputation!

Shangzhong opened his mouth, gritted his teeth, and said:

“I said I wasn’t criticizing Zheng Qingyue’s decision, I just…”

"What are you? Are you just mocking him for choosing to run away while also running away yourself?"

Du Yaoye stepped forward, pointed at Shang Zhong's nose, and loudly rebuked him:

"I also can't stand Old Man Zheng's current style. He acts all slick and worldly, looking for so-called benefactors everywhere, currying favor with those so-called backgrounds and backers."

But I won't just turn my back and wallow in self-pity. If you don't agree with Old Man Zheng's decision, then gather those who agree with you, openly and honestly resist his decision, and help the escort agency make positive changes. We, the escort agency, will resolve our own affairs behind closed doors.

Look at you now, making a scene in front of so many people, is this what you wanted?

Shangzhong was speechless after being rebuked, unable to utter a single word.

The group of people around looked at each other, a hint of surprise in their eyes.

Liang Xun stroked his chin and sighed sincerely:

"Miss Du's usual willful and capricious behavior has actually fooled everyone. Her mindset is not something that ordinary people can handle."

Qi Yan moved closer to him, crossed her arms, and said with certainty:

"Her willful and capricious nature is definitely not an act."

Liang Xun couldn't help but chuckle and nodded: "Yes, thank you for pointing that out, Lord Qi Yan. I was just being prejudiced."

I was just expressing my opinion, how did that become an awakening for you?

On the other side, Shangzuka was deep in thought, and the carrying pole in his hand unconsciously fell to the ground.

Zheng Qingyue was speechless, staring in astonishment at his daughter who was standing in front of him.

He never imagined that the little girl he had always protected under his wing had grown up to be what she is today.

"Alright, alright, let's talk things out. Harmony brings wealth, after all."

Old Li stepped forward at the right moment to smooth things over: "The person is gone, and the grudges are hard to erase, but we who are still alive must always look forward, right?"

Shangzhong remained silent for a moment, then finally responded with a soft hum, put away his carrying pole, and retreated to the side, becoming withdrawn.

Old Li looked at Zheng Qingyue with a gentle yet pleading smile.

Zheng Qingyue quickly bowed to Lao Li, but in the end he looked at Qi Yan and waited for Qi Yan to make a decision.

Du Yaoye's rebuke also shocked him, but he was still Zheng Qingyue, knowing that the only person present who had the right to decide the course of events was Qi Yan.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You don't actually think I care about your trivial family matters, do you?"

Qi Yan chuckled and shrugged: "It's just that I opened the little gift that someone had carefully prepared in advance and gave it to two other people... oh, another person."

Qi Yan turned to look at Xi.

Xi blinked, shook her head, and sighed:

"I saw it. Humans... are so unpredictable and hard to understand. Two people who care about each other can turn against each other because of their emotions. Their love, hate and grudges become entangled and gradually become distorted."

Xi's comments made Taihe and the others present feel a little awkward.

Sometimes, they also thought these giant beasts were unpredictable and difficult to understand.

They never dreamed that this situation would occur for both of them.

Giant beasts cannot understand humans, and humans cannot understand giant beasts either.

Liang Xun and Taihe exchanged a glance, sensing the doubt in each other's hearts.

It's understandable that giant beasts and humans are not of the same race and cannot understand each other, so... how can Qi Yan move harmoniously between the two camps and be accepted by both sides at the same time?

Chapter 858 Order

As soon as he climbed up from the bottom of the mountain, he opened his mouth to curse his sister for being heartless and for conspiring with Qi Yan to harm him.

Before she could speak, she found that everyone had already gathered together, leaving her behind and continuing to head up the mountain.

"Hey! Wait for me! Aren't you afraid I'll be carried off by a giant monkey if you leave a beautiful but weak woman like me in the mountains?"

Nian quickly somersaulted onto the plank road and hurried to catch up with the others.

Xi turned around and glanced at her, unusually waving for her to follow.

Nian was dumbfounded. He raised his hand and slapped himself twice. Only after confirming that he hadn't fallen into a dream did he dazedly run to Xi's side and look her up and down.

"Don't be afraid, little melon girl, tell your big sister what's wrong," Nian said with a grin.

"You're the one who's scared."

Xi rolled her eyes in annoyance: "If you want to talk to someone, I'd tell Qi Yan and my older sister. What's the point of telling you?"

Upon hearing this, Nian stood there dumbfounded.

By the time she came to her senses, the group had already walked some distance away.

"Qi Yan, what kind of bewitching potion did you give my little sister?!"

Suddenly, Nian let out a strange cry, rushed forward, pushed through the crowd, and pounced on Qi Yan: "Give me back my reclusive sister!"

"Are you trying to die? This is a mountain road!"

Qi Yan was thrown onto Nian's back, and his steps immediately became disordered.

The crowd wanted to stop the two, but for a moment they didn't know what to do. They could only watch helplessly as Qi Yan stumbled and lost his footing, falling down the valley with Nian once again.

A group of people stood in neat rows along the edge of the walkway, watching the two figures gradually disappear into the distance, their entangled screams echoing through the sky.

Naozuka tried his best to control his expression and asked dryly:

"Is this some new entertainment project developed by Qu Jiangfeng?"

With a blank expression, Liang Xun replied, "Don't look, don't learn, don't ask."

"Hmm, why is it so noisy?"

In the clouds, in a pavilion that did not exist in this world, came the muttering of a woman deep in sleep.

The woman lay back on the stone bench under the pavilion, raised her hand, which bore markings similar to those on New Year's Eve, and brushed aside her long, blue hair.

After glancing at the sky, the woman let out a languid moan, closed her eyes again, and reached for the wine pot on the stone table in the pavilion.

I tried twice, but couldn't reach it.

The woman frowned, then reluctantly sat up and reached for it again.

This time, she successfully reached her gourd-shaped wine jug, but also knocked over the walking stick with a lamp hanging next to it.

The cane fell to the ground with a thud. The woman didn't even look at it, but shook her somewhat empty wine flask and wrinkled her nose in dissatisfaction.

She got up, slung the wine jug over her shoulder, and prepared to go down the mountain to buy some wine, but suddenly saw the morning sun peeking through the clouds, dyeing the vast white clouds with a brilliant gold.

"What a beautiful view..."

The woman smiled, sat down again, and leaned against the pavilion railing, happily admiring the beautiful scenery, completely forgetting her earlier thought of buying wine.

A gentle breeze swept by, ruffling the woman's dark hair, her white dress, and the scattered poems behind her.

"Oh my, this is... I just wrote poetry again while I was drunk?"

The woman turned her head and watched her poem drift away on the wind.

She smiled freely, neither chasing after the poem nor dwelling on her earlier doubts, and stretched her waist comfortably, revealing her stunning figure.

"Since things have come to this, why don't we take another nap?"

The woman fell asleep immediately, and the wine pot fell to the ground, rolled out of the pavilion, and plummeted straight down from the clouds.

The woman suddenly sat up again.

She patted her forehead, trying to recall despite her weariness: "At this time, it seems like there's something particularly important..."

Oh right, Shang Shu's new brew is about to hit the market!

The woman suddenly realized what was happening, and with a swift movement, she leaped off the railing, following the wine jug as it plummeted into the sky.

Qi Lin walked through the mountains, the golden light of the dawn reflecting in her eyes.

The Grand Tutor and Bai Tianshi followed Qi Lin on either side.

"There's a platform ahead with some teahouses and taverns," Bai Tianshi reminded him. "Once you pass this point, you'll officially enter the territory of Qujiang Peak. There won't be any places to rest further ahead."

Qi Lin remained unmoved and continued walking.

Bai Tianshi scratched his face awkwardly.

He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this way of being ignored.

The Grand Tutor knew that with Bai Tianshi's abilities, he wouldn't need to rest after climbing a single peak like Qujiang Peak, so this was clearly speaking up for him.

"It's alright, my old bones can still handle it." The Grand Tutor waved his hand and declined.

As soon as the Grand Tutor finished speaking, he noticed that Qi Lin and Bai Tianshi were both looking up at the sky.

The Grand Tutor, belatedly realizing this, also raised his head.

In the still-dark sky, amidst towering mountains, a small, dark shadow fell from the clouds.

The Grand Tutor squinted and looked closely, discovering that it was actually a gourd-shaped wine pot.

"Could it be her?" The Grand Tutor's lips curled into a slight smile. "Did she notice I was coming?"

The wine jug plummeted, and a graceful figure in white followed closely behind. While still in mid-air, she elegantly caught the jug, raised it, and drank the last remaining wine in one gulp.

As the last drop of wine was poured out, the beautiful figure landed steadily not far from Qi Lin and the other two.

The Grand Tutor stepped forward and smiled, "It's been a long time, Ling."

Hearing someone speak to him, he belatedly turned his head and carefully identified the person.

"It's you! Welcome, welcome!"

Ling smiled and returned the greeting, then picked up the wine jug and hurried toward the tavern not far away.

The Grand Tutor's smile froze for a moment.

He suddenly realized that Ling didn't seem to have come for him.

During the day, Master Bai seemed to be possessed by Master Shen, finding a stone and staring at it intently, as if he hadn't noticed anything amiss.

Qi Lin, however, took a few extra glances at the order.