?71: Chapter 57: Li Guanyi, Here I Come!

    71: Chapter 57: Li Guanyi, Here I Come!

    At the literary meeting in the royal retreat, Xue Daoyong restrained his gaze, shifting it away from his granddaughter, sweeping his aged but fierce eyes across all the distinguished scholars present, causing a slight tremble in their hearts.

    Among them, the renowned scholar Qiu Shiheng, who once served as a Grand Scholar at the court, pondered for a moment before saying:

    “Elder Xue, please accept my condolences.”

    Xue Daoyong replied, “It’s not yet time for condolences.”

    Yue Qianfeng had gone to the Mo School’s Assassin branch as he suspected that Li Guanyi was not present and had been abducted.

    Before leaving, he had asked Xue Daoyong to search in Guan Yi City.

    The elder, having dispatched most of the Guest Elders outside, had returned himself to recruit more people.

    His gaze swept over the scholars as he paced slowly and spoke softly.

    “Disciples of the Ming Sect, Mixture School, and novelist families, skilled in sensing presence.”

    “I ask you all to find traces of my child.”

    “Alive, we must see the person; dead...”

    “we must see the body.”

    “Regardless, my Xue Family owes you all a favor.”

    As an elder, he bowed respectfully at this moment.

    The expressions of the scholars from various schools were visibly moved, all feeling compelled to help, yet Qiu Shiheng firmly declined, “Elder Xue need not be so formal.

    Li Guanyi is a prodigy and is unlikely to have died here.

    My disciples of the Ming Sect will exert all efforts without needing any favors.”

    “A scholar does not act for profit but for righteousness!”

    The other schools also agreed likewise.

    Qiu Shiheng glanced at the distraught Xue Shuangtao, reminded of his own past when he was young and still not recognized by the jinshi exam, the woman who was pressured into marriage and had killed herself.

    Even now, as a prominent Grand Scholar, those memories still pained him.

    He said, “Elder Xue, why claim it’s all certain?

    There might still be hope.”

    Xue Daoyong replied, “...the war horses prostrated, weapons broken, yet the man was gone.”

    “It’s a fifty-fifty chance between life and death.”

    “Rather than eventually telling Shuangtao he’s still alive but never returned, better to let her lower her expectations now.

    His return would be a great joy, but even in the worst case, it won’t make her suffer a second time.”

    Qiu Shiheng sighed.

    “You truly do dote on this granddaughter...”

    Changsun Wuchou looked up at the sky, still somewhat bewildered.

    Could that spirited young man really be dead?

    A businessman who wouldn’t give up on the hope of profit until the very end, he turned to the back hall and wrote a few lines, describing the day’s events.

    Finally he wrote: “Li Guanyi is presumed dead.”

    He requested to utilize some resources and hidden personnel from the Duke Mansion here.

    This request, naturally, was exaggerated a bit.

    Tying the letter to the leg of a Golden Feathered Eagle.

    After reporting, he immediately took out an order and turned to leave, saying,

    “I will also help.”

    The young businessman said, “I hit it off with Li Xiaoyou at first sight.

    To contribute even a modest effort is best.”

    Under the elder’s promise of a favor, the originally reserved scholars became enthusiastic.

    The disciples from various schools, each practicing different Cultivation Techniques and possessing unique abilities, left the city.

    After Yue Qianfeng departed, the garrison commander from the military governor’s mansion also arrived here, an aging man with graying hair, a pillar of Chen Country who had defended the border and fought against the Western Regions’ horse archers and Ying Country’s Tiger Barbarian Cavalry, renowned for his defensive prowess.

    When he arrived, he was still wearing dark armor.

    His stern presence dispersed the chaos here.

    As Lu Youxian entered, he was met with Xue Daoyong’s icy gaze.

    The elder coldly said, “General Lu, as calm and unmoving as a mountain.”

    Lu Youxian remained silent and said, “Yue Qianfeng’s target might be Jiangzhou.”

    “Guan Yi City must not fall, my foremost duty is to defend.”

    “A garrison commander should not abandon his post.”

    “He must not be lured away from his mountain.”

    Xue Daoyong stared at this unwavering rock.

    When Lu Youxian came, he had already known about the previous events.

    Xue Daoyong pointed at the bow and said:

    “So you would have me fight, then sit back and watch me die, is that it?”

    “If it weren’t for this child venturing out of the city, I would have been nearly assassinated by an assassin myself, while he alone fiercely battled the assassin until his spear was broken, his war bow shattered, and his war horse killed.

    And the city’s troops not stepping a foot out?”

    Lu Youxian was at a disadvantage, but staying within the city walls was the court’s command.

    He was a solemn War General known for his successful defenses and a cautious and steady style.

    After everything had ended, scouts had already been sent out.

    Some fugitives had fled the jurisdiction, and it was necessary to deal with these entering fugitives.

    Scouts had also come across the site of Li Guanyi’s fierce battle.

    The defensive troops of Guan Yi City, rarely witnessing such a brutal battlefield, saw the traces left by frantic war horses, the standard issue long spears of the city guard chopped to pieces.

    The spear tips were stained with fresh blood, the tassels soaked in blood that had congealed into black.

    Four renowned assassins lay each on the ground, their weapons also bloodied.

    Scouts are best at gathering intelligence.

    Any experienced soldier could tell from this what a fierce battle had taken place, already reported back, even Lu Youxian himself looked sideways, somewhat pitying such a brave young Military Officer dying in battle.

    Master Mo, not skilled in sensing presence, opened his eyes and said, “When the soldiers of Guan Yi City were about to close the gates and lock the civilians out, it was he alone who left the city, ordering the gates to be opened.”

    “It was the Ninth-Rank Military Officer, Li Guanyi.”

    Lu Youxian remained silent, while the other scholars, prompted by Xue Daoyong, also spoke up in criticism.

    When these scholars spoke, they typically did not name names, but their insinuations could stir more anger.

    Knowing he was at fault and affected by the scholars’ influence on the court as well, Lu Youxian said: