Arknights: Studying medicine can't save Terra

"I understand the deeper meaning behind Lord Wei's move. Now that a storm is brewing at Yumen, Brother Zuo is forced by the situation to make some decisions that will offend people."

You are willing to debase yourself to seize the power of decision-making, partly because of your grasp of the situation, and partly because you are competing with Brother Zuo for the identity of the villain.

But we are all involved, and we should stand together through thick and thin. How can we let you bear all the blame?

Wei Yanwu paused, not expecting Chongyue to speak so frankly.

He shoved the report back into the shadow guard's arms, then lay back down on the stretcher, his dragon eyes gazing at the inky night sky.

"Grandmaster, I'm not a good person to begin with," Wei Yanwu said casually. "Of course, for someone like me, judging me as good or bad is too naive. I'm already used to the so-called bad reputation."

"Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be a big deal, but now that Qi Yan is involved in Yumen, even though he acts recklessly, I'm still quite grateful to him sometimes. Because with him around, the outcome is already decided, and I can let go of some burdens and make decisions that follow my heart."

"Since that's the case, then I won't say anything more."

Chongyue nodded and stepped into the military camp.

With him leading the way, the soldiers patrolling the camp, though curious about the four shadow guards and the strange mummy, did not approach to question them.

However, one soldier stepped forward nervously and whispered:

"Grandmaster, you're finally back. The general is most likely in trouble."

"What do you mean?" Chongyue asked, puzzled.

"Qi Yan is here." The soldier lowered his voice as much as possible. "The general is afraid of getting too involved, so he ordered me not to make a sound. Now, I'm afraid only a Grandmaster can help the general."

Chongyue was clearly somewhat surprised.

Wei Yanwu's reaction was even more exaggerated. He immediately sat up and waved his hands repeatedly, urging, "Go and check inside the tent quickly!"

Upon recognizing Wei Yanwu's voice, the soldier was startled, then felt a surge of emotion welling up within him.

Look, even though Duke Wei himself is so badly injured, he still cares so much about his general.

Is this the kind of friendship between important people?

They're not as cold and heartless as the rumors suggest!

Wei Yanwu waved to stop the soldier from following, and kept urging the shadow guards to escort him to the camp.

Chongyue quickened his pace to keep up with Wei Yanwu, and asked curiously:

"You have great confidence in Qi Yan, so why are you so worried about Brother Zuo?"

Why should I worry about him?

Wei Yanwu explained, "I was afraid that if I arrived too late, I wouldn't be able to see how miserable Zuo Xuanliao was being bullied by Qi Yan."

Chongyue: "..."

The truth came so suddenly, so starkly.

While Chong Yue was still in a daze, the Shadow Guard had already been urged by Wei Yanwu to use his movement technique to speed up, and in the blink of an eye, he rushed into the main tent of the military camp.

Chongyue quickened his pace and followed into the camp.

Upon seeing the contents of the account, Chongyue was stunned.

There were no signs of battle as expected, and Zuo Xuanliao was not as disheveled as he had imagined.

The old general, who had fought for many years, sat alone in a chair, holding an empty teacup in one hand, but there was no teapot on the table, while he played with a black jade pendant in the other hand.

Wei Yanwu blinked, looking at the situation before him with disappointment, and said:

"Given your personality, you bumped into Qi Yan alone and didn't get beaten up?"

With a hand on his shoulder, Chong Yue shook his head solemnly, signaling Wei Yanwu not to speak.

Zuo Xuanliao raised his eyes and glanced at the two of them, then said softly:

"You came."

“You shouldn’t have come,” Chongyue said in a deep voice.

"I didn't intend to come."

Zuo Xuanliao gently stroked the jade pendant in his hand with his fingertips and asked, "Do you still remember her?"

Following Zuo Xuanliao's words, Chongyue stared at the jade pendant. Memories of the past surged into his mind like a tide, but he forcibly suppressed them.

"So this jade pendant was your work. You actually made your move back then."

Chongyue frowned and said, "But what do you mean now? You should know Brother Zuo's identity. Taking over his body will only exacerbate the conflict and will not benefit your plan in the slightest."

Zuo Xuanliao, or rather Wang, gave a bitter smile, held up his empty teacup and said sadly, "My chessboard has been overturned, what's the use of saying all this?"

Qi Yan started making arrangements on my chessboard without asking, but given the current situation on this land, if I continue to be stubborn, I'll seem too petty.

"What do you mean?" Chongyue was momentarily confused.

Wang said slowly, "I possessed General Zuo's body, which was even suggested by him himself. This action didn't have much deeper meaning; I just wanted to use you to convey a message to the Grand Tutor on my behalf."

My game with him is temporarily over. Now I'm going to start cheating. After it's done, Qi Yan will personally help me achieve my goal.

After saying that, Wang didn't give Chongyue a chance to speak again. Black mist appeared on the black jade pendant in his hand.

In the blink of an eye, the originally pure black jade pendant lost its color and transformed into a crystallized, warm white jade pendant.

Zuo Xuanliao nodded slightly, regained his balance, and returned to his usual demeanor.

"Brother Zuo, are you alright?" Chongyue asked with concern.

Zuo Xuanliao rubbed his temples and said bitterly:

"It's alright, it's just that this feeling is really not good, but what's worse is Qi Yan's current attitude."

Wei Yanwu frowned, sat on the stretcher, and asked in a deep voice:

What did Qi Yan say to you?

"He said... he wanted to invite me to join the Mountain and Sea Clan." Zuo Xuanliao smiled bitterly, "Not the previous Mountain and Sea Clan, but a new one that he created."

Upon hearing this answer, Wei Yanwu immediately lay down.

Judging from Zuo Xuanliao's expression, he thought Qi Yan had done something, but it turned out she was just performing normally.

As soon as he lay down for a second, Wei Yanwu sat up again as if a spring had been pressed into his lower back:

"He invited you, so why didn't he invite me? Am I that unpopular?"

Zuo Xuanliao cupped his hands and said, "Lord Wei, you are mistaken. He may not have invited you because he simply thinks you are useless."

Wei Yanwu: “…”

I thank you!

Rolling his eyes, Wei Yanwu sulked and lay back down.

As soon as his back touched the stretcher, Zuo Xuanliao spoke again:

"Getting back to the main point, Qi Yan's attitude this time was indeed strange. This Xinshan Haizhong he mentioned seems to be revealing something to me."

I could sense an impending storm brewing from Qi Yan's jokes. He had even invited Taifu to join the Xinshan Haizhong, and was extremely confident that Taifu would set aside past grievances with Wang and join his ranks.

"The Grand Tutor has joined as well?"

Wei Yanwu sat up again.

This time, however, his already injured back finally gave in, and everyone in the tent heard a crisp sound of bones dislocating. Immediately afterward, Wei Yanwu gasped and lay back down.

Zuo Xuanliao and Chongyue looked at Wei Yanwu, remaining silent for a long time.

Finally, Zuo Xuanliao looked at Chongyue and prepared to tell him about the dog attack on his home.

Before he could speak, a soldier strode into the tent and reported loudly:

"General, the Grand Tutor's troops have arrived outside Yumen Pass!"

Zuo Xuanliao stopped himself from speaking, got up, and prepared to go with Chongyue to the city gate to welcome the Grand Tutor.

Wei Yanwu shakily raised his hand from the stretcher, gesturing for the shadow guards to help him up.

This time, he wasn't acting at all; his back pain was genuinely so bad he wanted to cry.

Chapter 896 Qi Xiaobai: Techniques? As long as your punches are fast enough, even a grandmaster would have to kneel!

Qiu Bai slowly woke up, a scent of Chinese medicine lingering in his nostrils.

Instinctively, the first thing she did upon regaining consciousness was to touch the waist where she usually carried her sword.

But this time, she found nothing.

Qiu Bai's heart tightened, and a sense of panic and helplessness washed over him.

Before she lost consciousness, she only remembered finishing a day of practice at the master's house and sitting cross-legged in the room to meditate and rest. Suddenly, she heard the sound of outsiders breaking into the master's house, so she got up to check.

And then... that was it.

She didn't even know how she fainted, only vaguely hearing a girl's soft cry and a man's wicked chuckle.

Clutching his still swollen and painful neck, Qiu Bai propped himself up and cautiously surveyed his surroundings.

Her long, gray hair was a little messy, and her bangs fell down, obscuring part of her vision, but she had no mind to fix it. Her gaze immediately locked onto the two people in the room, and she noticed that the man and woman were holding a sword that she recognized very well.

That is Chongyue's sword.

The two people inside noticed the commotion behind them and turned around at the same time.

Jie Yun had already been amazed by Qiu Bai's beauty when Qiu Bai was unconscious, but now that Qiu Bai had woken up and brought vitality to that stunning face, coupled with Qiu Bai's lingering confusion after waking up and the stray hairs on her forehead, even though Jie Yun was also a woman, she couldn't help but gasp at the sight of such a beautiful scene.

"Oh, you're awake?" Qi Yan said with a smile. "If you hadn't woken up, I would have questioned whether the staff at this clinic were quacks and started causing trouble."

Qiu Bai cautiously remained silent.

Jieyun couldn't help but mutter, "It was clearly you who hit her too hard, knocking this lady unconscious. She had no choice but to come to the clinic for treatment, and yet you're the one who's blaming others first."

Without blushing or panting, Qi Yan earnestly and patiently explained:

"Xiao Jieyun, when you're out and about, you can't be too honest. When something happens, blame others more and complain less about yourself."

"You truly live up to your reputation as one of the villains of the Mountain and Sea Clan." Jie Yun said with disgust.

"It's 'New Shanhai Zhong,' don't forget the prefix!" Qi Yan quickly emphasized.

Jieyun couldn't help but wrinkle her little face.

This person is quite strange. He is considered a villain but does not refute it. Instead, he pays more attention to the name of the faction he belongs to.

"Are you from the Mountain and Sea Clan?"

Qiu Bai finally spoke, gritting his teeth as he questioned, "You stole the Grandmaster's sword and kidnapped me. What is your conspiracy? And where is this place?"

"There are so many questions, you answer them." Qi Yan poked Jie Yun with his sword sheath.

Jie Yun disdainfully slapped open the sword sheath, turned to Qiu Bai, and explained:

"My name is Jieyun. I am not a member of the Shanhai Clan. As for my purpose, it was all a misunderstanding. I had already returned the sword to General Zuo Xuanliao of your Yumen, but it was later snatched back by this guy named Qiyan."

"Qi...Qi Yan?!"

Upon suddenly hearing Qi Yan's name, Qiu Bai's eyes widened in shock.

Qi Yan looked at Qiu Bai and revealed a faint, dangerous smile.

One ticket available for hanging on the bridge of Rhodes Island.

Even though Qi Yan hadn't said anything, Qiu Bai inexplicably felt that he might be in deep trouble.

Still oblivious, Jie Yun tilted his head, looking at Qi Yan with a suspicious expression:

"How come you have another new name? How many names do you actually have?"

Qi Yan tapped Jie Yun's head with his sword sheath, warning him:

"If you still want to use me to become a Grandmaster, then don't ask questions that could easily get you an acceptance letter from Bridge University."

"……Oh."

Jie Yun swallowed her anger, covered her head with a wronged expression, and moved away from Qi Yan.

Qiu Bai felt a headache coming on as he listened to their conversation.

It wasn't because Qi Yan hit him, but because he was worried about the complexity of the current situation.

Qi Yan's interest in the Grandmaster level wasn't surprising to her, but lately, far too many people had their eyes on the Grandmaster. During the day, rumors circulated about a person named Ji Jing who claimed to challenge a Grandmaster, and now a girl from another race had joined the ranks of those eyeing the Grandmaster. If you included herself...