The Rebirth Of The General Who Always Sees Himself As A Replacement

Chapter 66: What Does It Have To Do With Me?

Gu Heyan: “Don’t make me look down on you.”

When Pei Hantang heard Gu Heyan say all that, he couldn’t help, but laugh. Pei Hantang hugged Gu Heyan’s shoulders with one arm, and said with a smile, “Gu Yuyi, you’re talking a lot today, huh?”

Gu Heyan: “……”

Pei Hantang: “Do you perhaps know the saying; ‘the one who has retreated 50 steps laughs at the one who has retreated 100 steps1’?”

Gu Heyan didn’t reply, looking unperturbed. Contrary to what one might expect, Gu Heyan appeared to be unflustered.

“Let me ask you something, how long have you had that inclination? Hmm? About that little Gongzi of yours, when did you start to develop….hey, hey, don’t go ah.” Before Pei Hantang could finish asking, he felt that someone beside him was missing. When he looked up, he realized that Gu Heyan had walked several meters away. “Yuyi, where are you going?”

Gu Heyan: “To get water.”

“Water? Drinking water? Are you thirsty?” Pei Hantang was confused. “It’s the middle of the night, where are you going to find a bag of drinking water?”

Gu Heyan didn’t reply. He simply took a light jump and his figure disappeared into the night sky.

Pei Hantang let out a slight ‘tsk’. But when he remembered that they were still in the middle of an investigation, Pei Hantang turned his head toward the Capital Prefecture Guards and said: “Brothers, search every corner with extreme care and see if you can find any evidence.”

—

Mu Zhiming sobbed for what felt like a long time in Wen Heyin’s arms. But all of a sudden, Mu Zhiming suppressed his emotions and stopped crying, sobbing quietly instead.

Wen Heyin: “Young Master…..”

“Don’t say anything.” Mu Zhiming rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and said: “I feel so ashamed that as soon as you say anything, I’ll want to dig a hole to bury myself. Be quiet for a moment and I’ll pull myself together right away.”

Wen Heyin: “Young Master—”

Mu Zhiming: “I’ll go dig a hole.”

Wen Heyin hurried to pull him and said: “No, Young Master, I wanted to say that there’s a pile of earth near your feet. Be careful not to trip. Although this courtyard is very beautiful, this mound of dirt spoils the scenery. The owner of this mansion sure lacks elegance.”

“Mmm?” When Mu Zhiming looked down, he noticed the earthen mound for the first time. Since the mound was well hidden next to the rockery in the bamboo forest, Mu Zhiming hadn’t noticed it when he first arrived at this place. Mu Zhiming then bent down and noticed that the soil from the mound was slightly moist, as if a hole had been filled in recently.

At that instant, something came to Mu Zhiming’s mind. Therefore, he turned to Wen Heyin and urgently said: “A-Yin, go and call Lord Pei!!!”

—

The Guards of the Capital Prefecture exerted themselves and worked together to excavate the mound of earth. There, they found the female corpse that was recently stolen.

Pei Hantang was overjoyed: “Great! The evidence is solid. Let’s see how he’ll try to deny it now! Let’s go back to the Capital Prefecture!”

Mu Zhiming looked around, felt somewhat puzzled, and pondered for a moment. Then, he walked over to Pei Hantang to ask: “Lord Pei, where’s Heyan?”

“He left.” Pei Hantang waved his hand.

Mu Zhiming muttered under his breath: “He left….?”

‘Makes sense. Now that the matter has been settled, and since it’s quite late at night, it doesn’t make sense for Gu Heyan to keep waiting here for nothing. It’s better for him to go back and rest.’

After leaving the Yuan Residence, and confirming with his own eyes that Yuan Baode would be put into the prison carriage, Mu Zhiming could once and for all bid his farewell to everyone with Wen Heyin, and leave with no further worries.

—

Four Guards from the Capital Prefecture had taken the lead, clearing the way, while the last two Guards escorted Yuan Baode out of the Yuan Residence.

However, as soon as they reached the entrance of the Yuan Residence, they were unable to get out.

Pei Hantang, who was behind everyone, sensed that something was wrong. So he asked out loud: “What’s wrong? Why did you all stop?”

In front of him, a Guard shouted in panic: “Lord Pei….!” His tone of voice sounded frightened and helpless, as if something terribly bad had happened.

Pei Hantang walked a few steps forward and stood at the entrance of the Yuan Residence to look outside. However, as soon as he got there, all of his limbs became extremely stiff. Pei Hantang found it hard to breathe, and he even felt as if his blood had stopped flowing in his veins.

The cold moon hung high in the sky, on a calm night devoid of wind. There, outside the Yuan Residence, dozens of Imperial Guards from the Jail Department stood in front of the stone lions at the foot of the steps. They were dressed in black and purple robes, holding lit torches in their hands. There were only six people on horseback, the rest were standing. The leader of the group, Huo XIn, was mounted on a black-maned steed, coldly staring at those who wanted to leave the Yuan Residence. His gaze was as sharp as that of a predator. 

As for the Capital Prefecture’s prison carriage that was originally parked in front of the Yuan Residence to arrest Yuan Baode, it was now badly parked by the roadside. Far out of reach for the people of the Capital Prefecture.

At that moment, Mu Zhiming also walked to the front of the Yuan Residence to see what was going on. As soon as he arrived, his eyes met Huo Xin’s for a moment.

Huo Xin looked at Mu Zhiming with disdain, eyes as icy and threatening as a sword.

In an instant, memories of his previous life flashed through Mu Zhiming’s mind.

Mu Zhiming recalled that the day the Mu Residence was raided, it was a day as cold as this one. On that day, Huo Xin led the Imperial Guards, dressed in their purple and black robes, into the Mu Residence. As if they were evil spirits who had emerged from Hell itself, they dragged the people of the Mu Residence, one by one, into a never-ending torment. From then on, Mu Zhiming fell into an ice-cold world filled with sorrowful tears.

Although that bitterness and sorrow were deeply buried inside his chest, as soon as Mu Zhiming crossed glances with Huo Xin, those almost forgotten feelings surfaced again. This caused Mu Zhiming to unconsciously shudder.

“I wonder, Lord Huo, what is your intention behind this?” Although Pei Hantang was initially startled, he soon regained his composure and asked with tightly clenched fists.

Huo Xin slowly shifted his gaze from Mu Zhiming to Pei Hantang. After sizing him up and down, Huo Xin spoke with a voice as calm as a dusk bell: “The Yuan Family is suspected of being involved in a case recently investigated by my Jail Department. Therefore, it is necessary to bring the Head of the Ministry of Justice, Yuan Zihuai, and his son….” At this point in his speech, Huo Xin began to speak slower. At the same time, his gaze gradually became gloomy. It was as if he was mocking Pei Hantang for his excessive efforts: “And his son, Yuan Baode, who will be detained by the Jail Department. The trial will be held at a later date.”

Pei Hantang: “Dare I ask Lord Huo, what case is the Yuan Family involved in?”

Huo Xin: “What does that have to do with you?”

Although Pei Hantang was tremendously aggrieved, he still didn’t dare to make any mistake. Therefore, he said: “Lord Huo, Yuan Zihuai’s son indiscriminately murdered an innocent person. The evidence of such an act has already been confirmed, and all the evidence is already stored at the Capital Prefecture. This case has been arduously investigated by my comrades for several days, and just today it has been solved. It is my duty now to escort the son of the Yuan Family to the Capital Prefecture as a prisoner.”

Huo Xin slightly raised his head and condescendingly looked at Pei Hantang. Huo Xin’s words, like a hammer, struck so hard that it made one shudder: “What does it have to do with me?”

Footnotes

五十步笑百步 wǔ shí bù xiào bǎi bù; A metaphor about having the same shortcomings and mistakes as others, but to a lesser extent, and yet you still laugh at them without knowing it.