After Exile, I Married the Amnesiac General [Rebirth] Chapter 41

Lu Zhi was not a fool. As soon as he heard Li Chanxiu’s words, he understood that he was being persuaded to surrender, or to put it more nicely, to accept imperial amnesty.

From this, he was even more certain that Pei Er’s identity was not that of an ordinary soldier, at the very least, someone with a certain level of command, someone who could make decisions.

He looked at the two of them, pondered for a moment, then suddenly guessed something and said, “It seems you already have a plan to attack the mountain. Perhaps… you’ve even made preparations and confirmed the timing of the attack?”

Upon hearing this, Xuanping and the steward behind him immediately grew more tense, unconsciously looking toward Li Chanxiu and the others.

After all, this situation was different from before. In the past, those government troops might search for a long time and still fail to find where the stronghold was. But this time, someone had directly infiltrated them, who knew how much of the stronghold’s defenses this fellow had already figured out?

Li Chanxiu and Pei Er both remained expressionless, revealing nothing, making it impossible to judge from their reactions whether Lu Zhi’s guess was correct.

As for Physician Hu, knowing that he couldn’t hide his thoughts well, even before Lu Zhi spoke, he had already hidden behind Pei Er, using his figure to shield himself.

For a moment, Lu Zhi also couldn’t determine whether his guess was right. But since someone had already infiltrated the stronghold, the situation must have been understood to some extent, an attack on the mountain was only a matter of time, and wouldn’t be delayed for long.

He couldn’t help but sigh softly. To still specially try to win them over and persuade them to surrender before attacking the mountain, Miss Shen and her husband could be considered quite benevolent toward them.

Moreover, Miss Shen had the grace of saving his life and did not hold it against them for being abducted before. Logically speaking, with the other party persuading him so kindly, he shouldn’t fail to appreciate it, only…

Lu Zhi gently shook his head and said, “Many thanks for Miss Shen’s goodwill, it’s just that… this stronghold does not belong to me alone. I must beg forgiveness, I cannot agree.”

Li Chanxiu knew he was a man with a sense of responsibility and duty, and hadn’t expected to persuade him in one go.

Combined with Pei Er’s earlier analysis, that Lu Zhi would not be the first to act against Chief Song, he quickly guessed that Lu Zhi likely did not want to stab the West Stronghold in the back.

Thinking this, he said, “Young Master Lu’s words are mistaken. Precisely because the stronghold is not yours alone, you should consider everyone’s way out. What kind of person Chief Song of the West Stronghold is, you surely know. Some people who went up the mountain may have done so out of necessity and may not have committed great evils, but if they continue following Chief Song, they will only sink deeper and deeper. Why not lead them to abandon darkness and turn toward the light, and seek a new path for survival?”

Hearing this, Lu Zhi fell into silence for a moment.

If he were not wanted, then at this moment he should indeed abandon darkness and turn toward the light. No, if there had been no warrant for his arrest, he would not have gone up the mountain at all. It was just that he truly should not implicate Xuanping and the others.

And the West Stronghold, Lu Zhi actually knew clearly that parting ways with Chief Song was only a matter of time, but at this moment…

He frowned slightly.

Xuanping understood his thoughts. Seeing this, he glanced at the people present and hesitantly spoke: “Miss Shen, you may not know, my elder brother isn’t concerned about Chief Song and those people, but rather… we were brought up the mountain by the Third Boss of the West Stronghold. It could be considered a rescue.”

At that time, they had been hunted down and encountered the group of the Third Boss. They went from fighting to friendship. Afterwards, in order to have a place to shelter, they accepted the Third Boss’s invitation and went up the mountain with him.

“The Third Boss… he’s not exactly a good person, but not entirely bad either, he can only be said to have followed the wrong person. When we first came up the mountain, we helped rebuild the stronghold, but they also gave us a place to stay. To ask us to stab them in the back when the stronghold is under siege, that’s something we truly can’t do.”

Xuanping’s tone was troubled. He could tell Li Chanxiu meant well, but he also felt he couldn’t betray the stronghold.

Hearing this, Li Chanxiu said seriously, “In that case, you should all the more pull that Third Boss back, so that he doesn’t end up like the others, sinking deeper and deeper with Chief Song. This is not betrayal, it is saving them.”

After a pause, thinking that in the dream they were likely harmed by Chief Song, Li Chanxiu added a reminder: “You are concerned about the other brothers in the West Stronghold and bear no ill will toward Chief Song, even tolerating him. But he may not think the same. He has repeatedly been suppressed by Young Master Lu and unable to do as he pleases, he likely already harbors dissatisfaction. If he develops malicious intent and strikes first, it will be you who suffer.”

Xuanping was startled upon hearing this.

Lu Zhi also frowned deeply. He didn’t think Chief Song would dare to fall out with him now, unless someone was stirring things up from the side… Suddenly, he recalled last night’s fire attack, and his expression changed slightly.

With Song Wanqian’s mind, he would never have come up with such a method. Who exactly had given him the idea? If that person were stirring things up…

Just then, Tan Yun suddenly came to report that a servant from the West Stronghold had come looking for Xuanping.

Upon hearing this, Xuanping seemed to think of something and suddenly said, “I’ll go take a look.”

With that, he turned and hurried out.

Li Chanxiu glanced at him, then quickly withdrew his gaze and continued persuading Lu Zhi.

All the pros and cons had already been laid out. If the other party was still hesitant, it could only be because of past experiences and his lack of trust in the frontier army.

Thinking this, he suddenly pulled Pei Er aside to discuss.

As soon as Pei Er left, there was no one in front of Physician Hu to shield him, and he immediately became somewhat flustered. Just then he looked up and met Lu Zhi’s gaze again, couldn’t help but give an awkward laugh, and hurriedly turned around to face the wall.

Lu Zhi: “……”

He touched his face and looked suspiciously at the steward beside him, did he look that frightening?

Li Chanxiu soon returned, still holding Pei Er’s hand.

This time, it was Pei Er who spoke: “If you do not trust the frontier army, I can guarantee that after you accept amnesty, you and your trusted subordinates will be allowed to leave.”

After a pause, he added, “Only a few.”

After saying this, he turned to glance at Li Chanxiu again. Honestly, he felt that recruiting them like this greatly reduced the significance, it might lower casualties in this bandit suppression, but if Lu Zhi left and established another stronghold, they would have to suppress him again.

When Li Chanxiu saw him look over, he instinctively tightened his grip on his hand and smiled at him.

Pei Er: “……”

However, what Miss Shen said also made sense, Lu Zhi was not bad by nature, and had only turned to banditry out of necessity. After leaving, he likely wouldn’t establish another stronghold. He quickly thought this somewhat awkwardly.

Hearing this, Lu Zhi’s gaze shifted slightly, he was clearly wavering.

Suddenly, Xuanping quickly walked back in and leaned down to whisper something into his ear.

Lu Zhi’s expression changed drastically. He raised his head in disbelief and looked sharply at Xuanping.

Xuanping’s expression was serious as he nodded in confirmation.

Lu Zhi’s face darkened. After coming back to himself, he suddenly said to Li Chanxiu and Pei Er, “My apologies, the two of you, I have something I must attend to and need to leave for a moment. As for what we were discussing…”

His tone paused before he continued, “Let’s talk again shortly.”

After saying this, he hurriedly left with Xuanping and the steward, and the door to the room was closed.

Pei Er walked to the door, glanced outside through the crack, then quickly stepped back and said, “There are two people guarding outside.”

Li Chanxiu also looked, it was Tan Yun and another young man who had also been in Lu Zhi’s room yesterday. They were likely both trusted aides.

After all, Pei Er’s identity had been exposed, and since they hadn’t reached an agreement yet, it was impossible for them to simply leave them unattended.

“They are not my match,” Pei Er added.

Implying that those two people couldn’t hold the door.

Li Chanxiu nodded. However, Lu Zhi had clearly already been persuaded just now, so they could wait patiently for a while, there was no need to rush to leave.

But why had Lu Zhi suddenly left? What had Xuanping said to him? Had something happened in the stronghold?

Just as he was frowning in thought, Pei Er’s voice suddenly sounded beside his ear again, his tone faintly dark: “That one surnamed Lu, did he really offend you last night?”

Li Chanxiu let out an “uh,” suddenly raised his head, and for a moment didn’t come back to his senses.

Seeing this, Pei Er thought he had truly been taken advantage of, and suddenly gritted his teeth: “No more recruiting, I’m going to kill him!”

“…Hey, wait!” Li Chanxiu quickly grabbed him, dumbfounded, and said, “What are you thinking about? He was just injured on his leg and shoulder, I helped him treat it.”

Pei Er was held by the arm, his tone still dark: “But he said he offended you, and even…”

He pressed his lips together and said in a muffled voice, “He even said he would take responsibility.”

If it was just treating injuries, would that also require taking responsibility?

Li Chanxiu was stunned and said, “How would I know? I really only treated the injuries, didn’t do anything else.”

Who knew why Lu Zhi would say that? No, why was he even explaining it like this? It was almost like… a wife explaining to a jealous husband.

Physician Hu, who had been “facing the wall,” heard this and, afraid the young couple would quarrel, quickly turned around to explain, “Yes, Little Pei, don’t misunderstand. I was there at the time, your wife only helped treat his wounds. It’s just that to treat the wounds, some upper clothing had to be removed. When you were in the wounded soldiers’ camp, weren’t you treated the same way by Miss Shen?” You even exposed more, in fact.”

“I suppose it’s because Young Master Lu is conservative by nature and didn’t know your wife was already married, that he said those things,” Physician Hu tried to smooth things over.

Pei Er’s expression finally improved quite a bit, though his tone was still somewhat sullen: “He wishes nicely.” And he’s quite good at imagining.

Back when he was in the wounded soldiers’ camp, he hadn’t even thought of that.

He felt a bit of regret.

But thinking about it, there were so many people being treated in the wounded soldiers’ camp, who would be like Lu Zhi… so shameless? Daydreaming!

The more Li Chanxiu listened, the stranger it felt, so he simply turned around as well and followed Physician Hu in “facing the wall.”

Maybe Pei Er was just acting out of urgency… caring about him. After all, even between friends, if one heard the other had been offended, it would be impossible not to show some concern, right?

***

In the courtyard, after Lu Zhi’s wheelchair stopped, he turned and asked Xuanping in a low voice, “Is this news confirmed? They really robbed official salt?”

“Confirmed.” Xuanping nodded. “Not only that, it was someone above deliberately letting them rob it.”

After a pause, seeing Lu Zhi’s expression darken, he added urgently, “Big Brother, it seems the official circles in Yongzhou aren’t clean either. No wonder several nearby counties have been short of salt recently. What Chief Song is doing is playing with fire.”

How could Lu Zhi not understand? Originally, he hadn’t intended to cut ties with Song Wanqian so quickly, but now, it was no longer possible not to.

“Who sent you this information?” Lu Zhi asked suddenly after coming back to his senses.

Xuanping’s expression suddenly turned somewhat awkward. He coughed lightly and said, “I have an informant by the Third Boss’s side, his name is Ah Fu. He came to tell me.”

After saying this, seeing Lu Zhi’s face remain solemn, he added, “Don’t worry, Big Brother, he doesn’t usually come to me directly. This time it was because the matter was important that he made a special trip.”

Lu Zhi shook his head and said, “I still feel uneasy. Go bring him back to the East Stronghold. Also, have everyone make preparations.”

Xuanping was startled upon hearing this, and couldn’t help glancing toward the side room where Li Chanxiu and the others were, thinking: could it be that Big Brother… has already decided to accept amnesty?

But he didn’t have time to think further, and quickly turned to have someone go find Ah Fu.

After he left, Lu Zhi waved his hand, telling the others to go make preparations, and sat alone in the courtyard.

Pei Er and Li Chanxiu watched the scene in the courtyard through a crack in the window. After a moment, Pei Er said, “He will agree.”

Li Chanxiu couldn’t help but turn his head, looking at his side profile carrying a certain confidence.

The person Xuanping sent to find Ah Fu didn’t return for a long time. Only after nearly half an hour did he come back in a hurry, his eyes red as he said, “Fourth Boss, Ah Fu, he…”

Xuanping’s heart sank. He quickly asked tensely, “What happened to him?”

The man wiped his eyes, his voice slightly choked: “When I got to the West Stronghold, I couldn’t find Ah Fu. After asking around several times, I finally heard that Ah Fu… he was captured on the orders of the Chief, accused of colluding with the enemy, and has already, already been killed by the Third Boss.”

Xuanping froze upon hearing this. After a long while, he asked hoarsely, “Are you sure… it was the Third Boss who killed him?”

***

In a courtyard of the West Stronghold, the Third Boss sat at an empty stone table, holding a bloodstained blade.

Just this morning, the younger brother Ah Fu had come to the courtyard with him, following behind him and chattering, saying the book he held was upside down, saying his speech sounded quite refined…

In just half a day, his blade was stained with Ah Fu’s blood. A person who had been alive just a moment ago had suddenly fallen before him like that.

This blade of his had been stained with the blood of people from rival strongholds, with the blood of government troops who came to suppress bandits, and had even, by chance, killed a Hu person and been stained with their blood, but this was the first time it had been stained with a brother’s blood.

At the time, Big Brother had praised him at his side, saying he had done well, that this was how his good Third Brother should be, this is how traitors should be dealt with.

But he recalled when he had first been called over by Big Brother and told that Ah Fu was the Fourth Boss’s informant, and when he was forced to kill Ah Fu, this usually clever, somewhat cowardly boy, who would shrink at just a glare from him, had instead stood firm, his thin chest held straight, unafraid of death, and said to him: “Third Boss, go ahead and do it. I’m not afraid to die. Third Boss, I’m sorry to you, but didn’t you say, we and the East Stronghold are all brothers!”

The Third Boss’s hand holding the blade suddenly trembled. He felt that the blood on the blade was still warm.

He couldn’t understand, when the Second Boss and the others had first come up the mountain, everyone had gotten along quite well. How had it become, now that life was better, that it had turned into life-and-death struggle?

Suddenly, footsteps sounded in the courtyard. A servant dressed the same as Ah Fu ran over and hesitantly said in a low voice, “Third Boss, the Fourth Boss just sent someone to look for Ah Fu.”

The Third Boss suddenly came back to his senses. He quickly turned his back, raised his hand to wipe his eyes, and said hoarsely, “Go tell the Fourth Boss, Ah Fu… Ah Fu has been buried by the pine tree at the back mountain. If they go now, it’s still in time.”

The servant was stunned for a moment, then after coming to his senses, hurried off.

…

Li Chanxiu and Pei Er were still waiting for Lu Zhi to make a decision when they suddenly saw Xuanping come in with several others, carrying a person whose chest was stained red.

“Miss Shen, please save Ah Fu quickly,” Xuanping pleaded in a hoarse voice as soon as he entered.

Li Chanxiu was slightly startled and hurried over to check the situation. Physician Hu also quickly followed.

“Quick, take off his clothes first,” Li Chanxiu urged Xuanping and the others.

Xuanping hurriedly, hands trembling, went to undo the clothing at Ah Fu’s chest.

Pei Er paused for a moment before walking over and asking, “Who is he?”

After undoing the clothes, Xuanping stepped back, his hands still stained with blood, and said hoarsely, “He’s a spy I placed in the West Stronghold, discovered by Song Wanqian…”

At this point, he clenched his teeth.

Pei Er’s expression changed upon hearing this. He suddenly went into the courtyard and set off a signal flare.

Then his gaze met Lu Zhi’s, who was sitting in the courtyard, and they looked at each other from afar.

After a long while, Lu Zhi said hoarsely, “If I’m not mistaken, that just now was the signal to attack the mountain?”

Pei Er remained silent and did not deny it.

The time he had agreed with Zhang Hu to attack the mountain was tonight, but if there were special circumstances, he would send a different signal.

Although he did not know what this spy named Ah Fu had overheard, the fact that Chief Song directly killed him clearly meant he was preparing to make a move and completely tear relations with the East Stronghold, perhaps even already bringing men to surround the Stronghold.

The situation had changed; waiting until night to attack the Stronghold was already too late.

***

At the foot of the mountain, when Zhang Hu saw the signal, his expression changed slightly, and he hurried to whisper to Thousand-man Commander Li.

After listening, Thousand-man Commander Li immediately gave the order: “Everyone, follow the previous plan, attack the mountain!”

Not far from them, the garrison troops of Yongding Town were sitting dejectedly on the ground. Many burned soldiers were groaning in pain.

Commandant Qian’s arm was also burned; he too sat on the ground, his face ashen.

Hearing the neighboring troops preparing to move, he quickly got up, ignoring the pain in his arm, and staggered over: “Thousand-man Commander Li, Brother Li, are you going to attack the mountain? Do you have a way to attack the Stronghold? Take us along, I…”

He turned to look at the remnant soldiers behind him; his tone no longer had its earlier force, and he pleaded, “Look, I came out under a military pledge. If I return in such a defeat, it will definitely be a capital offense. And even if you don’t pity me, at least pity these brothers behind me.”

Thousand-man Commander Li frowned at him, feeling troubled, unsure whether Commandant Qian could be trusted. Pei Er had entrusted him with such an important matter, if he messed it up…

At that moment, Zhang Hu walked over and said in a low voice, “Centurion Pei also anticipated this situation. He said if Commandant Qian comes to ask, we can assign him the task of guarding the small path by the cliff to prevent the bandits from escaping.”

As soon as Commandant Qian heard this, he immediately said excitedly, “Good, good, good! I’ll guard the small path. That Centurion Pei is wise, I suffered a loss there, and today I won’t let a single bandit escape from that path!”

Commandant Qian had just suffered a major defeat on that small path; hearing he was assigned to guard it, his heart was immediately filled with the desire to wash away his shame. Moreover, having made a military pledge, if not for anything else, just to avoid execution upon return, he had to complete the task well and strive to earn some merit.

It was precisely because Pei Er had thought of this that he gave Zhang Hu the extra instruction, so that more manpower on their side could be used to attack the Stronghold.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers behind Commandant Qian also could not help but stand up, each with killing intent in their eyes, gritting their teeth, wanting to avenge their previous defeat.

Seeing this, Thousand-man Commander Li gritted his teeth and said, “Alright, then the task of guarding the small path is entrusted to you.”

After speaking, he led his five hundred men up the mountain according to the plan given by Pei Er.

***

In the courtyard, Pei Er and Lu Zhi looked at each other in silence for a long time.

Finally, Lu Zhi turned his wheelchair and, as he passed by Pei Er, said, “There is still a secret path in the Stronghold leading down the mountain. Song Wanqian and the others don’t know about it. In a moment, have Miss Shen and Physician Hu leave through there.”

After saying this, he continued forward.

At this moment, Pei Er turned around and suddenly said, “What my wife and I said earlier still stands.”

Lu Zhi paused. After a moment, he seemed to smile slightly. “Thank you.”

After speaking, he turned his wheelchair and continued toward the side room.

Inside the side room, Li Chanxiu and Physician Hu worked together urgently and finally stabilized Ah Fu’s condition.

He lifted his head and let out a sigh of relief, just about to wipe the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, when Pei Er, who had entered the room at some point, suddenly walked to his side, took out a handkerchief he carried with him, and carefully wiped it for him.

Li Chanxiu stiffened, glancing at the others present from the corner of his eye, not daring to show anything unusual.

At this moment, Xuanping urgently asked, “Miss Shen, has Ah Fu been saved?”

Lu Zhi also looked at him, his gaze much steadier than Xuanping’s.

Li Chanxiu nodded. “The person who struck had very precise blade skills and did not injure any vital points.”

Xuanping was stunned, his expression suddenly becoming somewhat complicated.

At this moment, Lu Zhi suddenly spoke: “Xuanping, you and Tan Yun take Ah Fu, Miss Shen, Physician Hu, and the others and leave immediately through the secret passage, be quick!”

He spoke very quickly, yet calmly and unhurriedly.

Clearly, his thoughts were the same as Pei Er’s. Song Wanqian having the Third Boss kill Ah Fu meant he was already prepared to break with the East Stronghold. He likely knew that after Ah Fu informed on him, they had learned about the official salt robbery, and he would not tolerate it.

He might even have already begun mobilizing his men, preparing to surround and attack the East Stronghold. The East Stronghold had few people; to be safe, they had to send Xuanping, Miss Shen, Ah Fu, and the others away first.

Moreover, leaving through the main gate would result in being surrounded and killed by Song Wanqian’s men, so they could only use the secret passage.

Upon hearing this, Xuanping naturally understood the meaning behind his words and immediately said, “I won’t leave. If I leave, you’ll be left alone to defend the Stronghold, and your leg is still injured, I won’t be at ease. You should go with Tan Yun, Miss Shen, and the others. I’ll stay.”

“You…” Lu Zhi frowned.

Was this kid truly foolish or pretending to be? Letting Miss Shen leave through their secret passage, Pei Er might not feel reassured. By staying behind, not only would he hold the East Stronghold until the government troops arrived, but he would also, in a way, serve as a hostage.

But Xuanping, for once, simply could not understand his intentions and stubbornly refused.

Pei Er frowned and said directly, “Then Xuanping stays as well. The rest of you leave immediately.”

After speaking, he turned his head to look at Li Chanxiu.

The two said nothing, only nodding to each other in mutual understanding.

Originally, they had planned to wait until the mountain attack began and then slip out through the West Stronghold amidst the chaos, where Zhang Hu would meet them. But now that the situation had changed, they could no longer go through the West Stronghold and could only use Lu Zhi’s secret passage.

Before parting, Pei Er still reached out and grabbed Li Chanxiu’s hand, his gaze pausing.

Li Chanxiu also turned and looked at him.

Pei Er said in a low voice, “There should still be soldiers at the foot of the mountain. Once you get down, stay with them and don’t go far. Wait for me to return.”

Li Chanxiu looked at him and nodded deeply.

Pei Er gradually loosened his grip. Sensing that his fingertips were about to slip from his palm, he couldn’t help but suddenly tighten his hold again, but he was still a step too late, grasping only the faintly cool air.

Li Chanxiu did not notice, nodding as he said, “I’ll go first.”

Pei Er also nodded. After he turned away, Pei Er took a deep breath, an indescribable sense of loss surging in his heart.

After those who should leave had all entered the secret passage, Xuanping slowly closed the stone door.

The two of them walked together into the courtyard, where Lu Zhi was sitting in his wheelchair waiting for them.

Xuanping slowly let out a breath and said to him, “They’ve all left, big brother.”

Lu Zhi nodded, then looked at the expressionless Pei Er and suddenly sighed, “By now the entire East Stronghold should already be surrounded by Song Wanqian’s men. Thank you, Young Master Pei, for being willing to stay and go through this difficulty with us.”

Pei Er glanced at him but said nothing.

It wasn’t that he was willing to stay. Rather, the secret passage took too long a detour. If he also left through it, by the time he got down the mountain and came back up, it would waste too much time. It was better to remain in the Stronghold and coordinate from within with Thousand-man Commander Li and the others attacking from outside, so they could take the Stronghold more quickly.

Seeing that he didn’t speak, Lu Zhi fell silent for a moment, then said, “Since we are now in the same boat, may I venture to ask, what is Young Master Pei’s identity in the army?”

For some reason, he felt that the person before him was not an ordinary man.

Pei Er suddenly looked at him as well, answering a question with a question: “I also have something I very much want to know. You previously said you offended my wife, may I ask… to what extent was that offense?”

As he spoke, he gripped the newly issued blade in his hand, his face expressionless.

Lu Zhi froze, then suddenly began coughing violently.

Xuanping, momentarily forgetting his earlier sadness, hurriedly explained, “Young Master Pei, please don’t misunderstand. Last night Miss Shen was only treating my big brother’s injuries. Although my big brother inevitably had to remove his clothes during treatment, you saw just now that when Miss Shen treated Ah Fu, he also removed his clothes. My big brother hasn’t gone that far.”

Lu Zhi: “……”

Pei Er loosened his grip on the blade, thinking to himself that Physician Hu hadn’t lied to him.

But to think of repaying such a level of contact with one’s body in marriage, he was thinking a bit too beautifully.

Pei Er glanced at them again, then strode away, saying, “I’ll go take a look at the attack on the West Stronghold.”

After he left, Lu Zhi finally stopped coughing.

Thinking about how he had actually said, in front of someone else’s husband, that he would take responsibility, he had never lost such face in his life. He couldn’t help but glare fiercely at Xuanping and said, “What a fine idea you came up with.”

After speaking, he turned his wheelchair and left as well.

Xuanping looked wronged. He had made the suggestion, but those words hadn’t come from his mouth, how could he be blamed? Besides, when he made the suggestion, he hadn’t known Miss Shen was married.

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