Monarch of Evernight

At this point, Zhao Fenglei realized something. “If his Majesty is indeed intent on shifting the power structure of the imperial court to make space for the new nobility, he’ll surely be paying particular attention to which family he should target.” He continued with a vexed tone, “Then this battle is indeed vital. Unfortunately, Sister Yuying has been wounded at such a juncture.”

Count Yuyang replied, “There’s no need to worry about the big picture. Yuying is injured, but there won’t be a big change with Jundu around. On the other hand, it’s no longer possible to overwhelm the Zhang clan in this battle. Zhang Boqian has also arrived in Evernight. He won’t interfere with the younger generation’s fight, but we can forget about using cheap tricks under his watch. The only way is to compete for contributions fair and square.”

With that, Count Yuyang sighed lightly. “It’s just that the Duke Chengen lineage will take all the glory. Do you understand now?”

Zhao Fenglei wore an ashamed expression and said in a grave tone, “It’s all because I’m disappointing.”

Count Yuying shook his head. “No need to undervalue yourself. At least us old bones were also the same at your age. Zhao Yuying’s aptitude is extremely rare, and Zhao Jundu is even more of a heaven’s chosen. It’s very normal to lose to them. It’s just that…”

Seeing the count hesitate, Zhao Fenglei couldn’t help but ask, “It’s just what?”

Count Yuyang shook his head but refrained from speaking more. “You don’t need to know so much yet. Just focus on the battle ahead.”

Zhao Fenglei nodded. Something flashed through his mind at this moment. “Great Uncle, I have an idea.”

“Oh? Let’s year it.”

“Sister Yuying’s injury might be a good thing if handled properly. I heard Nangong Xiaofeng has a queer temperament and is absolutely unrestrained in handling matters. Meanwhile, the Yishui Nangong Family has no grudge against our Swallow Cloud Zhao Clan. Injuring Sister Yuying must be his own decision.”

Count Yuyang responded with an “mm”, indicating that he should continue. Zhao Fenglei spoke on, “There’s no doubt at all that the fault in this matter lies with the Nangong family. In the recent years, Nangong Yuanbo isn’t so well-regarded as he seems on the surface. There are a lot of problems both inside the family and in the imperial court. If we exert enough pressure and throw in some benefits, it might not be too difficult to make him yield. At the very least, he can support us in secret. With the Nangong family’s full support, the Zhao clan will be able to suppress the Zhang clan in this bloody battle. Moreover, our Duke Yan and You lineages will also triumph over the Duke Chengen lineage.”

Count Yuyang nodded slowly and praised, “One must not be controlled by emotions when thinking of the big picture. You’ve matured quite a bit. All this time, I’ve been thinking about how to report the matter of Yuying’s injury to the family. What you said just now are my thoughts exactly. Humph! Nangong Yuanbo can’t refuse.”

Zhao Fenglei took the opportunity to add, “We’ll gain great merit in the clan once this matter succeeds. At that time, if we can combine our two lineages by marriage, the next clan lord’s position… might not fall to another branch.”

Count Yuyang shot Zhao Fenglei a glance. Seeing his great-nephew\'s eyes filled with passion, he couldn’t help but sneer, “The idea isn’t bad, but the probability of success isn’t looking good. You can’t tame Yuying. At that time, who will be the master and who will be the deputy?”

Zhao Fenglei lowered his gaze and said, “I’m very sincere in my fondness for Sister Yuying. I’m sure she’ll eventually understand this in the long years following our marriage. Besides, combat strength doesn’t necessarily decide how suitable one is for the Zhao clan lord’s position; take Duke Chengen for instance… I’m sure the elders understand this very clearly, right?”

Count Yuyang disapproved of this initially, but he soon revealed an expression of contemplation and proceeded to close his eyes in silence. There was also another reason—Zhao Fenglei hadn’t spoken it out loud, but both of them knew what it was. Presently, the Yan and You lineages appeared quite close since they were in the same situation, but in terms of bloodline, the Duke You lineage was much closer to the Duke Chengen lineage. That was Duke Yan’s true concern. So, any path that would solidify the Yan-You alliance was worth walking.

Moments later, Count Yuyang said, “That’s fine too. It’s not necessarily impossible to achieve.”

Delight appeared on Zhao Fenglei’s countenance. “Then I’ll contact the Nangong family immediately. We must make Nangong Yuanbo submit!”

Count Yuyang nodded. “Go then.” He was actually the one in charge, but he allowed Zhao Fenglei free reign since the purpose of this trip was for the younger generation to gain experience.

It was at this time that hurried footsteps were heard in the hallway. Someone knocked lightly on the door and said, “Urgent report!”

Zhao Fenglei recognized the voice of his trusted aide and walked over to open the door. He received the short note and only scanned it once before crying out involuntarily, “The Nangong family’s base of operations was destroyed? Nangong Xiaofeng escaped with grievous injuries and his fate is unknown?! What’s going on?”

This news came too suddenly. Even the calm Count Yuyang sprang up from his seat in astonishment.

Although he hadn’t come to a decision on how to handle the matter of Zhao Yuying’s accident, the meticulous Count Yuyang had issued a secret order to the nearby Zhao clan branches and affiliated organizations, instructing them to keep an eye on the Nangong family estates and search for Nangong Xiaofeng’s whereabouts. He had never expected such a quick reply, and it was such a shocking news too.

Zhao Fenglei looked toward Count Yuyang and suddenly said, “Could it be Sister Yuying’s doing? It’s too much of a coincidence otherwise.”

Count Yuyang frowned in silence. He was certain that Zhao Yuying’s injuries at this moment were very severe, and that it was impossible for her to do battle in the short term.

Zhao Fenglei suddenly recalled something and said in a thoughtful manner, “Could it be that Qianye?” But he shook his head immediately afterward. “How can someone who’s not even a champion pull this off?”

Count Yuyang paced around the room for a couple of times and muttered, “You go and check on Yuying and try to sound her out. Her injuries are grave, and it’s unlikely for her to be so willful.”

Zhao Fenglei also recalled this matter—there would be severe after effects if Zhao Yuying were to suppress her injuries with a secret art in order to go and exact revenge. He felt rather worried about all this. He instructed his aide to summon the messenger and, after asking him a few questions, hurried toward the Dark Flame base.

It was already deep into the night at this moment, but the lights were still on in one of the rooms within a small building at the back.

Qianye was naked on the bed with only a towel around his waist, and the room was suffused with the intense smell of medicine. Meanwhile, Nangong Xiaoniao and Zhao Yuying were standing on each side and dressing his wounds.

Qianye quietly returned to Blackflow City with Nangong Xiaoniao and fell into a deep sleep as soon as he arrived.

He had twice charged forcefully into the grenade’s explosive range in an effort to launch a surprise attack and kill the enemy in one strike. In truth, he had also paid a steep price for this, and his body was covered in dozens of wounds from head to toe. The shrapnels in some of them had already reached his internal organs. Fortunately, Wei Potian’s chestguard served to protect the vitals in his chest, and there was no lethal damage despite the multitude of injuries.

That Nirvanic Red and the shot from the Twin Flowers also consumed a great deal. Add to that the two instances of recoil from Nangong Xiaofeng’s all-out defense, Qianye had accumulated a fair amount of internal and external damage. His daybreak origin power and blood energy had all bottomed out, and it was already quite the ordeal for him to hold on until he got back.

It was just that there was a bit of Nangong Xiaofeng’s origin power left in his body, and it would require an expert to remove it. Neither seventeen nor Nangong Xiaoniao could do it. Qianye wanted to use stimulants to recover some origin power and then clear it out himself but received a bout of serious scolding after being discovered by Zhao Yuying. There were side effects to any type of medicine that served to rapidly recover origin power. They had no choice on the battlefield, but doing such a thing during recovery was, according to Zhao Yuying, courting a slow death.

In the end, Zhao Yuying took action personally and cleared out Nangong Xiaofeng’s origin power. Next up was to clean the wounds, remove the shrapnels, and dress it. Since it was such a slow and painful process, Zhao Yuying gave Qianye a special medicine for his injuries. It was just that he would be restricted from using his origin power for one day.

Zhao Yuying and Nangong Xiaoniao treated Qianye with entirely different attitudes—the latter was extremely meticulous and took half a day to clean one wound, meanwhile, Zhao Yuying worked quickly and ruthlessly while spewing out a stream of profanities. Sometimes when she was angry, she would even push the shrapnel in before pulling it out.

No matter how harsh Zhao Yuying treated him, Qianye only smiled. He would only reply once in a while, “How can I tolerate such a matter?”

Zhao Yuying glared until her eyes turned round and roared, “This mommy hasn’t even complained yet. When is it your turn to find it intolerable? No need to rush even if you want to die so badly. You must return the money you owe me first.”

“When did I ever owe you money?” Qianye was baffled. He had already dispatched her fair share. On the contrary, it was Zhao Yuying who kept putting things on his tab during her stay at Dark Flame. After detailed calculations, it should be her who owed Qianye.

“Anyway, you owe this mommy here! Dammit, you dare talk back after being wounded so badly!”

With that, Zhao Yuying was so furious that she picked up a rather large piece of shrapnel and proceeded to jab Qianye’s shoulder with it. She soon found that the sensation wasn’t quite right as the shrapnel connected. Zhao Yuying was startled to find that Nangong Xiaoniao had reached her hand out to cover Qianye’s body. The shrapnel pierced into the back of her hand and fresh blood flowed out immediately.

“Xiaoniao, you!”

“He’s so injured already! He mustn’t be wounded anymore!” Nangong Xiaoniao’s eyes were red, and it seemed tears would fall at any moment.

Zhao Yuying was momentarily speechless. “How is this a wound? Don’t be fooled by his listless appearance. All of them are just superficial injuries. He’ll be up and about in three days at most. Besides, this guy courted disaster by jumping into the origin grenade explosion for no reason and even fought until he was completely drained of origin power. He deserves it!”

“But you’re so heavy-handed!” Nangong Xiaoniao was almost shouting.

Zhao Yuying put her palm to her face and sighed. “It’ll scratch his skin at most. This fellow looks tender, but his skin is even thicker than a wild boar. Ordinary people can’t cut him even with a knife. Do you think he’s the same as you? Xiaoniao, you—”

Nangong Xianiao glared at Zhao Yuying angrily and was almost resting on top of Qianye’s body. She refused to let Zhao Yuying touch Qianye no matter what she said. Zhao Yuying could no longer endure. She slapped Qianye’s buttocks and said, “Qianye! Stop playing dead and explain things to her!”

Qianye let out an extremely awkward cough. “It’s like this. Xiaoniao, Sister Yuying is only trying to clear away the necrotic flesh in my wound and teach me a lesson in passing.”

Nangong Xiaoniao produced an “Ah” as her face turned red.

At this time, a clamor arose from outside the door, followed by Seventeen’s scream. “You can’t go in!”

“Scram!”

Seventeen cried out in pain, followed by a muffled groan and then silence.

The door was kicked open with a bang, and in walked Zhao Fenglei. His gaze was so fierce that his eyes were about to lacerate, but he laughed instead of showing anger. “Sister Yuying, it’s already so late, but you too seem to be in quite the mood. What a cheerful scene of romance!”