Rebirth of a Star General 99
Thank you Chocobo for the Kofi! Here is the bonus chapter~
Who are you?
Outside the latrine, a circle of maids had already gathered around. The maid in lead said anxiously, “Master Cheng, Master Cheng, are you okay? How about letting the servants come in?”
What answered her was the young boy’s anxious voice, “No! Don’t come in! Just wait outside for me.”
The maids looked at each other in disbelief, this young man from Shuojing, who had always looked so elegant, had fallen into the toilet pit and must be in a great mess, so he didn’t want to be seen by others in such an embarrassing situation. However, they can’t just leave him alone!
The maids were so anxious that their heads almost turned bald.
He Yan stood in the side room and sighed silently.
To be honest, the Sun’s mansion was gorgeous and exquisite, even the toilet was squeaky clean. But she had to make such a scene just to get rid of the incense ball that Ding Yi put on her waist.
Young Master Cheng, who fell into the toilet pit, will certainly have to wash his whole body completely. Even if it’s the incense ball used for fragrance, can only be thrown away after such a mess. Therefore, even if Yuan Baozhen, the master and servant, asks anything, this excuse would be reasonable and flawless. It is unreasonable for a young master to walk out of the pit and still put a dirty incense ball on his body. That would be disgusting.
It’s just… He Yan looked at the stain on her body through the cloth strip, thinking that the sacrifice she made was really great. As the child Cheng Lisu who was not good at using his brain, no one would ever think that he was clever. All this dirty work is now being done solely by He Yan.
What’s this called?
She was immersed in her thoughts when she heard someone shouting outside, “Master Cheng, come out! General Xiao is here!”
Xiao Jue is here? He Yan was thinking that Fei Nu would come to pick her up. Why is it Xiao Jue… Why did he come back so early today? Before she could think clearly, she heard Xiao Jue’s voice from outside, “Cheng Lisu, come out.”
He Yan, “…”
Why is she always in such an embarrassing situation whenever she meets Xiao Jue? He Yan took a deep breath and walked out tremblingly with the bamboo stick.
The people outside held their breath.
The clothes worn by the boy were stained, and his hair was a little messy. The black cloth was covering his eyes, and no one could see the look in his eyes, but his mouth was flat. As soon as he came out, he rushed in a direction haphazardly, complaining, “Uncle, you are here! If it weren’t for my luck, you would have a nephew who fell to his death in the latrine!”
Xiao Jue, “…”
He Yan took a step forward, and Xiao Jue stepped aside to avoid her. This man loves cleanliness the most, and being able to endure his dislike to come here to pick up He Yan was probably the biggest concession he has made.
“Fei Nu, take him back to the room and wash him clean.” Xiao Jue turned around and left as if could not stand the peculiar smell from He Yan’s body.
He Yan cursed in her heart. Look, is this something a human would do? She fell into the toilet. Just for who? Xiao Jue is really a white-eyed wolf.
Fei Nu came over to help He Yan. This person was also like his master. He usually followed He Yan closely, but now that she fell into the toilet pit, he maintained a proper distance and even used a handkerchief to not make any direct contact. He Yan was speechless.
When they arrived outside the room where they lived, this time without He Yan reminding him, Fei Nu asked people to send hot water and a wooden tub for bathing, after that he said to He Yan with a stiff expression, “You can go in and wash yourself.”
“You’re not going to serve me in the bath?” she asked tentatively.
“You have a fiancee. It’s not convenient.”
Tsk, time really reveals a person’s heart. He Yan didn’t bother to pay attention to him, closed the door tremblingly, and jumped into the bathtub.
It was really upsetting to think that General Feihong, who was once dignified, was now so helpless that she had to jump into the pit to avoid disaster. If this was seen by her subordinates and colleagues, they might have made a joke out of her.
But when she thought about Yuan Baozhen, he wouldn’t expect that the incense ball he gave her would be abandoned even before it could reach Xiao Jue. After all, it’s normal to slip and fall on a rainy day, no one care as it’s under no one’s control.
Outside the room, Fei Nu crouched down and fiddled with the dirty clothes that He Yan had thrown on the ground with a branch. A round incense ball rolled out of the clothes. Fei Nu held the branch against the incense ball and said, “This should be it.”
Xiao Jue glanced at the incense ball on the ground and did not speak.
“Master, is he doing this intentionally or unintentionally?” Fei Nu was also a little confused. If He Yan did it unintentionally, it would be too much of a coincidence that he accidentally fell over the toilet and made this incense ball unusable. But if it was intentional, and he and Yuan Baozhen are in cahoots, why did she bother to do so? Even if it’s a bitter trick, it’s just a little too convincing.
“Intentionally. But,” he grinned, not knowing whether it was disgust or surprise in his gaze. It felt very complicated, as he said, “It’s quite unconventional to think of such a way.”
This was also true. Who could think that He Yan woud fall into the pit? He felt afraid that even Yuan Baozhen himself would not have thought of it. He Yan’s move was really unimaginable. Anyone with a decent appearance would never think of this approach.
“If he did it deliberately,” Fei Nu looked at Xiao Jue, and said in amazement, “Master, does that means He Yan can see with his eyes?”
Xiao Jue raised his eyebrows, “Eight or nine out of ten.”
“Then what is his intention in pretending to be blind?” Fei Nu was a little puzzled, “is it to deceive us, or to deceive Yuan Baozhen?”
“Both.” Xiao Jue said slowly, “He may not be on anyone’s side.”
Just as Xiao Jue had kept an eye on He Yan while coldly watching Yuan Baozhen make a ploy, He Yan had most likely put himself out of the way. He probably saw him fighting with Yuan Baozhen from the perspective of watching a play. So when it came to deceiving Yuan Baozhen, he also lied to Xiao Jue aloong the way. As for what his purpose was, he still couldn’t tell.
“Master, will He Yan hinder us from doing things?”
“No.” Xiao Jue said, “It’s almost over.”
Fei Nu was silent for a moment and said, “The letter from Shuojing will probably arrive tonight.”
After tonight, he would know who this He Yan is, where he is from, and what he wants. As for Yuan Baozhen, his good life will soon end.
…
In the room, Yuan Baozhen almost couldn’t believe his ears. He asked his servant, “What did you say?”
The servants of the Sun mansion were taken aback by his expression, and said nonchalantly, “Just now, Master Cheng fell into the toilet, and General Xiao picked him up.”
Ding Yi’s expression changed drastically. Yuan Baozhen held his forehead and waved his hand, “Go down.”
The servant left.
Yuan Baozhen slapped the table with a palm, “Asshole!”
There was no need to look into it, it’s clear that the incense ball given to He Yan today was a useless effort. If he fell into the pit, his whole body will inevitably be contaminated with filth. Everything would have to be cleaned inside and out. How could the incense ball escape?
“Not good.” Yuan Baozhen stood up, feeling a little uneasy, “The incense ball will not be found by Xiao Jue, right?”
“Xiao Jue loves cleanliness, so he won’t touch it deliberately. It’s just that,” Ding Yi looked unpredictable, “He Yan is not necessarily the same.”
“You mean he did it on purpose?”
“Don’t you think it’s too much of a coincidence? We just gave him the incense ball, and he fell into the toilet. Before too, the so-called flying insects in the night banquet was only his side of the story. More importantly, why would Xiao Jue leave his nephew alone in the Sun’s mansion? This person is very fishy. I always feel that Cheng Lisu is not as simple as he appears to be.”
“If he has a problem, wouldn’t he know what you and I are planning this from the beginning? Could this be a trap set by Xiao Jue?” Yuan Baozhen asked.
He had a deep-seated fear of Xiao Jue, probably because he knew that the captain of the right army would really kill people regardless of their status.
“I suggest to take action tonight.” Ding Yi said after an unknown period.
“What?” Yuan Baozhen said anxiously, “With Xiao Jue in a sober condition? You can’t beat him.”
Because of this, they didn’t dare to fight Xiao Jue directly. Unfortunately, they couldn’t make a single blow on the night banquet, and it would be difficult to find opportunities anymore. Originally, they wanted to start with Cheng Lisu, but this kid was even more evil, not slick and inexplicable. Until now, they have not been able to figure out what is going on.
Yuan Baozhen’s words seemed to annoy Ding Yi. He swept away the shame on his face and said in a dark voice, “I didn’t intend to start with him. His weird nephew is my goal.”
…
He Yan washed herslef clean, and in the end, in order to dispel the smell, she took Cheng Lisu’s balm and wiped it all over her body. After changing into clean clothes, she dared to see Xiao Jue.
Xiao Jue sat at the table and stopped her from moving forward, “Stay ten feet away from me.”
He Yan rolled her eyes in her heart, but smiled on the surface, “Uncle, I have washed myself clean. If you don’t believe it, you can smell–“
She tried to move forward, a scabbard hung in front of her, hitting her on the nose and blocking her way. Through the gap of the black cloth, she could see Xiao Jue covering his nose with his sleeves, his expression unhappy, his brows frowning as if he had encountered a rebel attack.
He Yan spread her hands, “Well, well, I won’t go forward.”
Second Young Master Xiao was really sophisticated, just don’t know if this particularity could save his life. If she hadn’t jumped into the latrine herself, the second son would not know how long he could have held on under the poison of the incense ball. He Yan felt regretful in her heart. If she had known it before that he would behave like this, she would have thrown the incense ball directly in front of Xiao Jue.
She touched a chair with the bamboo stick, sat down on it, thought for a while, and asked, “Uncle, how long are we going to live in this house?”
“What?” Xiao Jue said, “Do you want to go back?”
“Not really. It just feels strange living here.” He Yan replied. She also wanted to dig out more about He Rufei from Yuan Baozhen and Ding Yi, so of course, she couldn’t go back so soon. But it’s not right to stay here. Although He Yan didn’t know what Xiao Jue was doing, Xiao Jue’s various actions had caused Yuan Baozhen to notice He Yan, and come looking for her to find faults instead. If this continues, before she could dig up He Rufei’s secrets, she would be discovered by Yuan Baozhen’s plans instead.
“What’s strange?” Xiao Jue said unhurriedly, seeming not to take her words to heart.
“Lord Yuan has been looking for me to talk now and then,” He Yan simply got to the point. “I feel as if he’s trying to set up a ploy. Uncle, aren’t you afraid to leave me here alone and that I might reveal some secrets to him?”
Xiao Jue glanced at her with a faint smile, “What secrets do you have to reveal?”
He Yan, “…”
Xiao Jue and Fei Nu had never told He Yan what they were doing secretly, and they also made it clear that they do not take her as their own. Even if Yuan Baozhen wanted to inquire about the news, He Yan really had no secrets to disclose to others. She was a marginal figure outside the core and knew nothing about the matter.
She said, “That’s not right! What kind of uncle leaves his nephew alone in a tiger’s lair? Isn’t it suspicious to look at?”
Who knows if Yuan Baozhen will make another sachet for her to switch, she can’t throw it into the pit, again and again, it’s not the eyes, but the brain that would suffer.
“Suspicious?” Xiao Jue lowered his eyes and slowly said, “I don’t think he has any doubts in the past few days.”
He Yan shouted in her heart, that was because she has been helping to round up the lies! This kind of clumsy lie, of course, anyone would be suspicious. But He Yan also noticed that Xiao Jue was deliberate. He was deliberately making a diversion that led to this disaster. This person’s heart is too dark, doing such things without any shame.
She said, “Then uncle, you run around all day long. Have you found the murderer?”
When she said this, there was a faint sarcasm in her tone. Although her eyes were covered with cloth strips and no one could see her eyes, but one still could still think of the boy rolling his eyes. Xiao Jue replied calmly, “I found him.”
“Found…found?” He Yan was taken aback for a moment, “Who?”
“You will know soon.”
What does he mean she will know soon? She obviously already knew it. The murderer was Yuan Baozhen, the master and his servant. He Yan scratched her head anxiously, wishing to bring Xiao Jue to Yuan Baozhen now, and point to Yuan Baozhen and Ding Yi while urging Xiao Jue, “It’s him, this person, catch him!”
But she can only pretend to be stupid right now, and ask, “Won’t uncle catch him now?”
“Not yet.” Xiao Jue hooked his lips.
“When will it be?”
“When the liar is in action.”
He Yan, “What?”
She didn’t understand Xiao Jue’s meaning, and before she could continue to ask questions, Fei Nu had already walked over, pulled her up, and pushed her out of the door in a different direction, pushing and saying, “It’s too late, you should rest first.”
With a “clang”, the door was closed again, really ruthless and unjust.
He Yan stared at the door behind her, cursing in her heart wildly. Not to mention the friendship of being classmates in her previous life, they even have dealt with assassins together in this life, which can be regarded as the situation dealing with life and death, but still what kind of attitude does Xiao Jue have? Even with this much attitude, Da Wei still has so many girls admiring him. I am afraid if they are being bewitched by the southern witch tribe, it’s really perplexing!
She climbed up on the bed and lay flat, pulled the quilt up, burrowing her whole head in.
No matter what, rest is important. Anyway, who Yuan Baozhen wants to kill is not herself, so who cares.
…
After the mid-autumn, the night was even colder.
He Yan was awakened by the cold.
The quilt of the Sun family was made of silk, delicate and soft, with exquisite embroidery on it. Although such a quilt was thin, it kept her warm. He Yan has been impeccable in terms of bed quilt during the few days she slept at Sun’s house. It was her first time to be awakened from the cold like this.
The black cloth strip was next to her. She took it off before going to bed. At this moment, He Yan sat up slowly, thinking whether it was too much of a nuisance to call someone to add a quilt for herself in the middle of the night. When she turned her head, she saw the window next to her was opened, and the wind was pouring in.
No wonder it’s so cold, the cold wind was blowing inside, and it would be useless to cover oneself even with three layers. He Yan wanted to get up and close the window. She suddenly remembered something, turned her head, and indeed, under the faint lantern light outside the window, on the other side of the bed where Fei Nu used to sleep was empty, and the person was not there.
Fei Nu was not there, and she didn’t have to go into the inner room to know that Xiao Jue definitely wouldn’t be there. The master and servant were probably doing some shady business deals behind her back again. He Yan was not surprised, so she stayed, put on her shoes, and wanted to walk over to close the window and continue to sleep.
The wind was so strong and cold that the branches beside the bed were swaying, and a drop of dew fell. He Yan stretched out her hand to close the window. Suddenly, she saw a dark shadow passing by from a short distance. Feeling dazzled.
This night, even the dogs were asleep. How could there be people wandering around? He Yan’s thoughts flashed as she grabbed her clothes and followed out.
That person was good, but it was He Yan who followed, and He Yan was also very careful. She had stayed in the forward camp in her previous life. She had the experience of raiding at night and hiding her traces to escape into the enemy camp, so this kind of thing was easy to do.
This man in black was not Xiao Jue or Fei Nu, Xiao Jue and Fei Nu are tall, but this person was not. His whole body was covered in dark clothes to conceal his presence. He seemed to be familiar with the courtyard of the Sun’s house, as he avoided the place where there might be guards, and walked to an abandoned courtyard of the Sun’s house.
There was such an abandoned yard in the large Sun Mansion, far away from the main hall. In the past few days when He Yan was pretending to be “blind”, she hid under the window and listened to the maids chatting outside, knowing that this yard was once taken by Sun Ling to make one of his concubines live in captive. This concubine was originally the youngest daughter of the shopkeeper of a rice shop in Liangzhou. She was beautiful and lovely, unfortunately, she was favored by Sun Ling and snatched from home.
The rice merchant girl originally had a marriage fixed with a scholar who was living outside the city with his widowed mother. The scholar wasn’t happy with the humiliation of getting his wife taken away and wanted to file a complaint. However, the officials in Liangzhou City were already protecting each other, and the city was already under the control of the Sun family. In the end, the scholar and his widowed mother were thrown into prison and died soon after.
The rice merchant girl spent the days in tears when she heard the bad news. Sun Ling was a person who loves the new and dislikes the old, and abandoned girls in just a few days. Seeing her crying day by day, it was only an eyesore, and he felt that bad luck has approached him, so he rewarded the girl to his men.
A good girl, just like that, was tortured to death.
Maybe she died too miserably, and soon there were rumors in the yard that someone heard the girl’s cries at night. Sun Ling felt unlucky, so he sealed the yard. There were rumors of ghosts and demons, and no one dared to enter this yard normally, so it became a deserted courtyard.
When He Yan heard this past incident, she just wanted to rush up to break Sun Ling’s head. There are always people who are full of evil in the world, who have committed countless sins, and it is ridiculous that such people are also afraid of karma, and they dare not move forward because of ghosts in their hearts.
The man in black chose this place, but this place was just a deserted yard. Even the maids and servants have been evacuated for many years. There was nothing at all. What does he want to do here?
A lot of weeds grew in this place. Some trees were dead because of no watering, and some were still alive, but no one was pruning them. The branches grew strangely, and the shadows on the ground also looked ghostly. Except for the wind sound, it was death-like silence, with no vitality, as if it was a graveyard.
The man in black reached the house where the girl once lived and stepped in.
He Yan hesitated. Instead of entering from the door, she jumped in from the window.
She didn’t know if there was a ghost in Sun Ling’s heart. There were a lot of Taoist seals posted on the front door and windows of this house. It was probably because he was afraid that the girl who died in vain will come to find him, so he was being extra cautious.
He Yan sneaked in from the window. The strange thing was that the lamp was lit in this unoccupied room. He Yan couldn’t help being surprised when she saw the scene in front of her clearly.
In the room, on the table and the ground, there were many Buddha statues densely packed. The lamp was the oil lamp lit on the Buddha’s altar. People might have filled it from time to time. The Buddha’s incense curling up does not make people feel calm, instead makes the whole body feel cold.
Outside the house were Taoist talisman seals, and inside the house were statues of Buddha. The Sun family’s father and son might have been in conflict in choosing between the two. Therefore, Buddhism and Taoism both were integrated. It looked like they’re also not as calm as they seem on the surface.
Sleeping on the bloody pillow, I’m afraid one will have nightmares every day. He Yan ridiculed in her heart. Since he was so afraid, why did he do so much evil. It can be seen that the evil in the human bones cannot be changed.
At this moment, a flower dart flew out of the oblique stab. It came quickly and eagerly. He Yan avoided it sideways and blocked it with the dagger in her sleeve. With a “clang, ” the flower dart landed and knocked over an angry-looking statue of king Kong. [T/n: buddha’s warrior attendant]
“You really are not blind.” Someone walked out from behind the altar.
After being chased for so long, this man finally showed his face, still the kind of mediocre face, but his expression changed. It was no longer flat, and his eyes even flashed with excitement, as if he had caught an interesting prey.
“It took you so long to find out. You are the one who is blind.” He Yan said.
Ding Yi smiled, smiling a little weirdly. He said, “You are really courageous, you are alone, yet you still dare to follow me all the way.”
“You deliberately opened the window, deliberately flashed past the window, deliberately walked slowly so that I could catch up. Wasn’t it just to let me follow? I have always been a very amiable person,” He Yan also smiled, “I don’t like people’s painstaking efforts to go in vain.”
She found out at the beginning, but since he had already set a trap, it meant that her disguise has been exposed, so there was no need to pretend to be stupid. Besides, real experts are never afraid of traps.
Only those who are not strong enough will hesitate.
Ding Yi was poked, and his expression changed slightly. After a while, he smiled and said, “Did you learn to talk from Xiao Jue?”
“It’s in my nature.”
“You are not Cheng Lisu.” Ding Yi stared at He Yan, “Who are you?”
He suspected He Yan, even earlier than Yuan Baozhen. It was only because that day at the night banquet, even when Xiao Jue had not drunk his wine, the boy happened to glance over.
In that gaze, a mixture of surprise, anger, hatred, unwillingness, and doubts, mixed with all kinds of feelings, were forced towards him, although He Yan looked away very quickly, the gaze at that moment still caught Ding Yi’s attention.
He had never seen this boy before, but it was clear that this boy had seen him.
“Who are you?” he asked again.
He Yan smiled.
As the Gods and Buddhas on the ground watched silently, and the talismans outside the house cleared the hearts to exorcise the devil, it seemed that there was a distant chanting sound curling up. The young man slowly raised his head. His expression looked a little familiar, as if deja vu, and his gaze was like lightning, piercing people’s hearts.
“I am the ghost you killed,” she whispered softly, “crawling out of the netherworld just to take your life.”
