He glared with eyes as large as brass bells and bellowed, "Fight!"
"You even fought within the Changfeng Building with those civil officials. You have some nerve, eh? Ten of you against thirty-four, and you managed to incapacitate several of them to the bed. The Vice Minister’s son took at least ten stools—speak up, who dealt the unfair blows?"
Excluding Li Guanyi, the other nine stepped forward in unison.
Both Li Guanyi and Gong Zhenyong’s mouths twitched.
The youths looked towards Li Guanyi.
Li Guanyi pondered, then stepped forward.
Gong Zhenyong laughed angrily:
"Your families are indeed capable and influential, not afraid of them, but today a group of people came to me!"
"I just got out of bed, opened the door, and there were thirty-four crimson robes!"
"And damn, an imperial purple robe was just standing there. I’ve never trembled even when facing the charge of the Tiger Barbarian Cavalry of Ying Country!"
"Damn it, I nearly went limp down there."
"You bunch of dogs..."
Though he was of an aristocratic family, he came from the ranks, climbed from the very bottom, his language crude, fought tough battles, and habitually wanted to curse someone born of a bitch. Yet, he suddenly realized that these fellows’ mothers were either direct descendants of noble families or imperial relatives.
And one of them was related to him through marriage, the son of his own sister.
Were he to curse out loud, it wouldn’t just be thirty-odd crimson robes at his door tomorrow morning,
It would be his own sister.
He had a good relationship with his sister.
He forcefully swallowed the words back.
Gong Zhenyong, holding back his rage, face flushed, said: "...dog, dog, darling dog."
"You rotten youngsters!"
A few noble sons could not help but laugh, Gong Zhenyong raged endlessly, his voice clearly audible outside where even dogs passing by tucked their tails and hurried away, knowing the wrath of this elite military general of the imperial guards, who had become a general at just over thirty years old.
But after scolding them for a good while, he paused to drink some tea to soothe his throat, just coughed once, and said nonchalantly;
Zhou Liuying blinked.
He caught on and proudly said:
Gong Zhenyong’s face showed a trace of a smile and said, "That’s more like it."
Zhou Liuying said, "So, General, does this mean we won’t be punished..."
Gong Zhenyong’s smile turned fierce: "Not be punished? Nonsense! What I mean is, if you win, you get the usual punishment. Lost?"
Including Li Guanyi, all ten Imperial Guards shivered, the general stood up, impressive and imposing, being a general starting from the Third Layer Heaven by default, returned from battlefields, likely at the Fourth Layer Heaven, capable of flipping these ten men with a single slap without blinking.
Everyone held their breath.
Gong Zhenyong’s eyes widened as he rebuked: "Now go guard the Cold Palace!"
Using the harshest tone for the softest sentence; the crowd froze, overjoyed, a youth shouted: "Uncle, can we go guard the Qilin Palace instead?"
Gong Zhenyong kicked him, scolded, "Outside, you address me as General, General!"
He knew the matters of his boys well, aware of their obsession with the Qilin Palace and said, "Alright, alright, go on, don’t bother me."
"I’ve never seen anyone like you, unwilling to guard the Cold Palace but rather, the Forbidden Palace."
The youths thanked the general and scattered, collected their weapons and armor, and all headed for the Qilin Palace together. Although they had been reprimanded by their fathers and elders the previous day and were injured, they marched with chests puffed and heads high, not appearing to be punished but as if receiving some kind of reward.
Li Guanyi went silently along with them to Qilin Palace, where not many people came, the group of youths just practiced martial arts, chatted casually, talking about how they had been beaten by their fathers and elders the day before.
Military fathers typically taught their sons through their fists.
Somehow, it turned into a competition, one said how many punches they took, another how many canings they endured, and they started comparing. Ye Buyi closed his eyes to meditate; Li Guanyi did the same, only after an hour or two, after a few young officers had gone, he mentioned he needed to relieve himself.
He approached a water well, activated his Qi Observation Skill, ensuring it was safe.
Bent over and found a thin rope.
Pulled up the spoils of war he had hidden there.
The treasure of Hou Zhongyu, that alchemist of the Third Realm whose cultivation was extremely high, that creature that even the Qilin Fire could not burn to death, it was unknown what exactly was recorded in it, was it Divine Skill, Absolute Skill, or some secret transmission?
Li Guanyi looked at the undisturbed leather pouch.
After a long and cautious journey post-murder, he had finally arrived, extra cautious.
Qilin Palace’s secret transmission, Hou Zhongyu’s treasure.
Finally in his hands.
What could be inside?