Huo Fenglie and Qin Yu spoke for a long time, and when they emerged, both of them looked unhappy.

Qin Yu immediately left with his head down. He Lan looked left and right, but remained there and said: “What did he want with you? Why did he look like that when he came out?”

Huo Fenglie glanced at He Lan and said: “Zichuan is responsible for sneaking into the team transporting the weapons and tracking them all the way, so he will act alone and not accompany us.”

Upon hearing this, He Lan was shocked: “What?!”

Liu Zhenqing gave Huo Fenglie a surprised look.

He Lan immediately jumped in front of Huo Fenglie and pulled his collar, saying: “Are you crazy?! I wanted to go, but you wouldn’t let me leave. What did you send him to do? Are his martial arts as good as mine? Is he much smarter than me? And his injuries still aren’t completely healed! How can you send him on such a dangerous operation?”

Huo Fenglie frowned and looked at He Lan, who had reacted with such agitation. “He is not my subordinate and does not require my permission. He only informed me that he intends to take action.”

He Lan was stunned. Letting go of Huo Fenglie, he said: “No way, there must be some reason. What is it?”

Huo Fenglie regarded He Lan expressionlessly, and He Lan knew he wouldn’t answer the question.

“Being from the Dongchang, he is indeed better at spying than you,” Huo Fenglie said frankly.

He Lan’s expression changed at once as he looked at Huo Fenglie. “I don’t care. If he intends to go, I will go with him.”

Huo Fenglie’s eyes flashed. “I mentioned this, but he didn’t agree.”

He Lan immediately glared. Eventually, Huo Fenglie sighed after being tormented by his brother and said: “It is better to respect his choice. He never lets others influence what he wants to do, and if you go, it may ruin his original plan.”

Others. No, he was not “others!”

He Lan gave Huo Fenglie a fierce glare and said: “He was fortunately able to tell you everything, but you still don’t know to stop him!”

He Lan hated that Qin Yu would think of Huo Fenglie first when something happened, and also discussed it with him first. Sure enough, where there was life-saving grace, the heart was there as well. He was truly becoming more and more suspicious that Qin Yu secretly liked Huo Fenglie.

When He Lan finished arguing, he turned around and ran. After going out, he found that Qin Yu had long since vanished. He didn’t know what Qin Yu planned to do, so he could only follow the Yue family’s shadow guards and tail the transport team from the outside.

When he saw He Lan run away furiously, Liu Zhenqing turned to look at Huo Fenglie. “You’re willing to stay for treatment? And you let Qin Yu do such a dangerous thing alone? In fact…..even if they aren’t trailed to the end, there is always a way to uncover the truth.”

Huo Fenglie said: “I won’t stop him. It is his decision.”

Liu Zhenqing really couldn’t understand. “There’s no reason…..”

But Liu Zhenqing stopped mid-sentence, because since Huo Fenglie kept it a secret from He Lan, this proved that Qin Yu didn’t want others to know, so it wasn’t good for him to ask.

In the end, he heard Huo Fenglie say: “It’s because we are being hunted down, and it may be the hand of the Dongchang.”

Liu Zhenqing was shocked at once, and looked at Huo Fenglie in astonishment.

Huo Fenglie told him all of the speculations Qin Yu had revealed to him.

“As we traveled all the way south, only Qin Yu would send prompt letters to the Dongchang to report the progress of the situation. The head of the Dongchang is Qin Yu’s adoptive father. Qin Yu is loyal to him, so he naturally never concealed things in his reports, and the Dongchang is meant to be loyal to the emperor, so Qin Yu never doubted them. Qin Yu didn’t think much about it the first two times we lost important witnesses at critical moments, and only thought that the enemy was one step ahead of us. But the first assassination caused Qin Yu to realize that something was wrong, because our route was decided at the last minute and very secretive. Since we were ambushed so quickly, the only possibility was that our route was leaked.”

“I have considered this too, but there were only the four of us at the time, so I didn’t doubt it. I figured that their people ambushed us only because it was the correct route.”

“Qin Yu also had this concern, so he was only suspicious until the second assassination.” Huo Fenglie said with a cold expression: “Xuqian was well hidden. Only Qin Yu’s report revealed this information. When he received the Dongchang’s reply, the second assassination came at the same time.”

“So he completely suspects his adoptive father. But he’s from the Dongchang, after all. Is he going to rebel against his adoptive father?”

Liu Zhenqing was confounded. This was a dilemma between filial piety and justice.

Huo Fenglie shook his head and said: “He is not completely certain yet, but he had already thought that these things were related to the rebel case in the capital some time ago, so he planned to investigate it himself.”

Liu Zhenqing understood. “He’s personally going to the rebel den to find out if it has anything to do with the Dongchang. But what if it does?”

Huo Fenglie said with a slightly cold expression: “If that happens, then the Dongchang will be Great Zhou’s enemy as well as my enemy. Qin Yu is not willing to be the enemy of me, Great Zhou, or his adoptive father. He will choose to leave this dispute and not assist either party.”

Liu Zhenqing was a little surprised. He thought that Qin Yu would definitely choose. Unexpectedly, in the middle of all kinds of conflicts, he would simply retreat. It was truly a surprising choice.

“Then if he told you in advance, you’re not afraid…..”

“This is what he gets in exchange for taking the risk. He’ll leave us clues in exchange for giving him time. Before he is certain, he has asked me to keep it secret and not tell anyone about his suspicions.”

“He was so honest with you, which can be regarded as genuine and forthright, so you’re even hiding it from He Lan. Ai, why did you tell me right away?” Liu Zhenqing raised his eyebrows.

Huo Fenglie looked at Liu Zhenqing helplessly, as if questioning why Liu Zhenqing was still confused about such a normal thing.

Liu Zhenqing deliberately teased: “Therefore, I am not other people, so of course you had to tell me.” Liu Zhenqing spoke in a light tone. “But Qin Yu trusts you so much. It can be said that he only trusts you. Does he treat you differently because you saved his life?”

Huo Fenglie was taken aback for a moment. “What?”

Liu Zhenqing said uneasily: “He Lan said that you saved him in the palace when he was a child.”

Huo Fenglie thought back, his face expressionless. “It could be regarded as such, but when he was found being drowned by other people in the palace, the person who pulled him ashore was He Lan.”

Liu Zhenqing was surprised, and couldn’t help but gossip: “There is such a secret, ah? Could it be that Qin Yu didn’t see clearly who the person was that saved him, and mistakenly thought it was you?”

This was too dog-blood. No….these were the memories from He Lan’s perspective. Shouldn’t it be clear whether he had saved him or not?

Huo Fenglie smiled helplessly and said: “Although He Lan helped him ashore and gave Qin Yu a chance to breathe, He Lan didn’t have much power at that time and couldn’t actually save Qin Yu. Other palace officials said that there was an order from above that Qin Yu must be executed. He Lan was unable to stop them, and when he ran out to beg for help, he happened to meet me.”

“So it was you who took the lead and made sure those palace people didn’t kill Qin Yu. No wonder He Lan says it was you who saved him.”

Huo Fenglie nodded and said: “Because Qin Yu broke the palace rules and was going to be executed, I rescued him and gave him to the director of the Dongchang to work outside the palace as much as possible. Later, Qin Yu gained favor and was adopted as his son. The friendship between the three of us also started at that time.”

Now, Liu Zhenqing didn’t believe He Lan’s previous guess at all. He felt that if he liked someone, Qin Yu would most likely like He Lan. He only spoke of his matter to Huo Fenglie, because he really couldn’t tell He Lan. After all, He Lan was in a very similar situation to him, with a force behind him, and on the surface, it was truly difficult to say whether this force was loyal to the emperor.

Sometimes, not speaking of it was also protection in disguise in order to avoid conflict.

This was the tenderness behind Qin Yu’s indifference.

Liu Zhenqing frowned in thought. “Why don’t we stop him and think of another way? Although he is the adopted son of the director of the Dongchang, according to the Dongchang’s usual habits, there should be more than one adopted son. It is normal to sacrifice one or two for the sake of profit. He values ties of friendship, but his adoptive father may not.”

Qin Yu had mentioned the name of his adoptive father before. He was not the main eunuch around Liu Zhenqing at that time, so he was unaware of his character, but since he was able to sit in that position, he couldn’t be easy to deal with. 

Huo Fenglie refused: “I won’t stop Qin Yu.”

Seeing Liu Zhenqing’s worried expression, Huo Fenglie pulled him outside and said: “Naturally, I won’t stop He Lan. He will follow. They’ will be together and nothing will happen.”

“Didn’t you just stop…..”

“That was only to convey Qin Yu’s intentions. They have their own opinions on what to do.”

Sure enough, when they went out, both of them were gone.

Liu Zhenqing thought of the embarrassing situation between them before. Would this really be okay?

He thought for a moment and said: “Actually, I have a suggestion, but I must shamelessly ask Young Master Yue for assistance.”

One day later, seeing that something had happened in the second house, Yue Xuqian looked at Liu Zhenqing with a wry smile. 

Liu Zhenqing hid behind Huo Fenglie and said: “General Huo will pay double the amount.”

Yue Xuqian shook his head, saying: “Luckily, you came up with this solution. Indeed…..some information must be leaked. The enemy’s target will still be on you, and the people following the transport team will be relatively safe.”

Huo Fenglie looked at Yue Xuqian and said: “You should leave with your family.”

Raising his eyebrows slightly, Yue Xuqian said, “I cannot live in peace if you are not safe.”

Soon after, the Yue family carriage team began to move slowly. Yue Xuqian came out to see them off, and Huo Fenglie and Liu Zhenqing naturally stood beside him.

At this moment, a little girl suddenly rushed out and hugged Yue Xuqian’s thigh, saying: “Dad, won’t you come with us?”

The sound of “dad” practically stunned Liu Zhenqing.

“Dad?” Liu Zhenqing looked in astonishment at Yue Xuqian, who was hugging his precious daughter. He kissed her and held her up high, then looked at Huo Fenglie.

Startled, Huo Fenglie said: “I forgot to tell you. Xuqian married a few years ago, and his wife and daughter also stay in another courtyard.”

Liu Zhenqing sucked in a breath and stared at Yue Xuqian, who noticed this and didn’t feel any shame at all when the truth was revealed. He only smiled and said: “I’m the same age as Fenglie. Isn’t it normal to have a wife and daughter at this age?”

Liu Zhenqing understood something immediately, and his face contorted with anger. However, looking at the little girl watching them with big round eyes, he still felt itchy and stepped forward to greet her. “Ya, where did this little fairy come from? Why is she so pretty?”

The little girl looked at Liu Zhenqing, feeling shy. With a blush, she turned her head and crawled into Yue Xuqian’s arms.

Just as they were talking, the carriage sent to pick up the family passed by and he saw a woman shyly whisper through the curtain: “Husband, quickly pick up your daughter.”

“Here she comes.” Yue Xuqian revealed a gentle expression that Liu Zhenqing had never seen before and stepped forward to send the child up. Then he spoke with tender care to his wife through the carriage curtain.

Listening to the soft words of advice, one could imagine that Yue-furen was a gentle and graceful woman. She said goodbye to them through the curtain.

Right away, Liu Zhenqing heard the voice Yue-guniang from inside the carriage. Due to the situation, she didn’t say much to the current Liu Zhenqing, and just said thank you and goodbye to Huo Fenglie. The thank you was of course for the music score. There were other children’s voices in the carriage, happily laughing and chattering.

Huo Fenglie sent Liu Zhenqing a guilty look, but Liu Zhenqing wore a calm expression as he watched the carriage slowly leave.

Not long after the Yue family departed, a shadow guard following the transport team came back to report.

As expected, the transport team had chosen the river transport, and it was the Liu family’s river transport fleet. He Lan had given instructions not to follow.

And He Lan had disappeared along with the team. They were unsure how He Lan would sneak in later, and Qin Yu had not been seen since.

At night. The river water was dark, the cabin quiet, and on the bottom floor, secretly hidden boxes contained a multitude of weapons.

Because the place was so hidden, there was no need for supervision. The only sounds that could be heard in the cabin were the flowing of the river outside and the creaking of the ship’s planks.

Suddenly, there was a very faint noise. After a long wait, there came the sound of wooden boxes rubbing against each other.

A dark figure climbed out of a wooden box. This person was Qin Yu. He carefully held his breath and looked around, then walked quietly to the stairs. Once he ascertained the movement above, he slipped up to check on the situation. But soon, the people in that cabin began to patrol regularly. Because the ship was not large and there were many people, Qin Yu could only keep retreating into the dark. As the lights from the lanterns shined, Qin Yu was suddenly forced into a difficult situation.

Liu Zhenqing had said previously that if the transport went by river, it would be difficult to track precisely because of this. In such an environment, an extra person would be easily discovered.

If he was discovered, he would be besieged by a boatload of people, and at this time, Qin Yu was uncertain as to how many martial arts masters there were on the ship.

Just when Qin Yu was planning to take a risk and escape with the fastest speed, a hand suddenly appeared from the darkness and covered Qin Yu’s mouth, dragging him back into a hidden compartment.

Qin Yu initially tried to attack reflexively, but when he noticed something passing by outside the hidden compartment, he could only suppress his reaction and adapt to the current hair-raising change.

Where had the hidden compartment come from? Who was the person holding him tightly from behind? Why did they feel so wet, as if they had just been fished out of the water?

The footsteps outside soon disappeared. 

Qin Yu was about to take action when he heard the person behind him scoff.

That familiar tone instantly shocked Qin Yu.

“Zhanyuan said that you Dongchang lurkers are professionals. I don’t think you’re any better than our Jinyiwei guards.” The person behind him was He Lan.

The secret compartment was already narrow, so the two of them had to stay close. And He Lan hugged Qin Yu tighter, as if he was trying to embed himself into his body. The hand that originally covered Qin Yu’s mouth shifted to grasp his chin, forcing Qin Yu to turn his head.

Even though it was dark there and nothing could be seen, Qin Yu could feel the other person’s lips near his own, because when the other spoke, his breath blew on his lips.

“Xiao Qin, you brat. Without me, you would have to explain yourself tonight. Laozi….is your life-saving grace!” As He Lan said this, his tone unconsciously sounded like he was gnashing his teeth.

Qin Yu allowed He Lan to hold his chin without resisting, and just said coldly: “How are you here? How did you get up here?”

“I can be wherever I want. It wasn’t difficult to swim up.”

Qin Yu was shocked when he heard this, and said: “Are you crazy?”

He swam across the river and snuck into the cabin. Although it was not easy for him to be discovered, and he could follow the trail at any time, every step was extremely dangerous, so Qin Yu had not considered such a method of infiltration. 

“You’re the crazy one. What reason was there for you to take such a risk?” He Lan gritted his teeth.

Qin Yu was silent for a moment, then he said: “It’s none of your business. Find an opportunity to get off the boat.”

He Lan scoffed coldly: “Don’t even think about it. Qin Zichuan, from now on, I will go wherever you go. Don’t even think about leaving me alone.”

Qin Yu froze. He wanted to look back at He Lan, but stopped himself and sneered: “He Yundu, what on earth do you intend to do? Could it be that the accident really caused you to have strange thoughts and become obsessed with me?”

Qin Yu’s ridicule made He Lan choke, and he said soon after: “I just don’t want your Dongchang to get any of the credit, that’s all. If you want to jump ahead, there’s no way.”

“You…..”

“You don’t need to say anything. In any case, I’m not leaving. Either we cooperate to track them down to the end, or…..if you make a commotion, we’ll die together on this ship.”

He heard He Lan’s firm tone. If he didn’t go along with what he said, this person might really go crazy. Qin Yu gritted his teeth, and his voice became colder. “This….how do we get out.”

“This was originally a built-in cabinet for fishing gear. I found that no one had used it for a long time after I came up, and it is also in a blind spot suitable for hiding, so I just changed it a bit. Those people outside patrol every length of time it takes a stick of incense to burn. After they return and pass by, we can move to another location. However, I think it is safer not to move. We’re not easy to spot here.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I lay on the stern of the boat and observed for a while before coming up.”

Hearing what He Lan had done, Qin Yu really had to call him crazy again. He was not afraid of growing weak and being swept into the river to drown.

Qin Yu held his breath and endured, but the person behind him kept moving. This place was small, and any slight movement would squeeze Qin Yu, who was already close to him. Qin Yu was forced to press against the boards. “What are you doing?”

“Taking off my clothes, ah.”

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Chapter Sixty-Seven << Table of Contents >> Chapter Sixty-Nine