HBBMAWH Chapter 109

Liu Neng was angry, but Jiang Manyue didn't even spare him a glance. Even though someone had used Liu Neng's badge, it was clearly not something Liu Neng would do.

He had already ordered someone to keep an eye on Gu Ren's movements, but the person sent to watch Gu Ren hadn't reported any activity. This indicated that everything should have been calm over at Gu Ren's place.

Feeling ignored, Liu Neng was very angry, and he was determined to clear his name. Even if he had issues with Jiang Manyue, or with this prince who had dropped in out of nowhere, he wouldn't do such a thing.

However, when he arrived, he heard the man claiming to have used his badge.

He tried to find the badge on his person, only to realize it had been lost at some point. He had seen it just yesterday—Liu Neng broke out in a cold sweat. This meant that regardless of whether this person was sent by him or not, the badge was indeed his.

It was his negligence, and it could potentially lead to a death sentence. But Liu Neng was unwilling to be implicated because of it; this position was something he had obtained through great effort.

So, he decided to take preemptive action, at least to clear his own suspicion.

However, Jiang Manyue didn't listen to him at all, and Yan Cai even turned away. Half of the people sent by the Emperor were stationed inside Gu Ren's tent. This was because Jiang Manyue was suspicious of this strange person.

Although in his past life Gu Ren didn't seem to have done anything wrong and hadn't shown his true colors, this person gave people a cXierli down their spine and was not as simple as he seemed.

So even if there was no concrete evidence against him, he was still regarded as the primary surveillance target. According to reports from the surveillance guards, Gu Ren had hardly left his tent these past few days except during meals, and even then, the food was often brought to his tent.

Gu Ren did not have a very good relationship with other people in the army. He rarely made friends. Apart from Liu Neng, there was hardly any interaction with others in the camp.

Sometimes, he seemed like an invisible person, easily forgotten by most, only remembered when mentioned—oh, there's actually someone like that in the army.

Even though he was supposed to be in a highly conspicuous position next to Liu Neng, his presence was strangely absent. It was quite peculiar.

One could only speculate that he deliberately reduced his presence, making everyone overlook him.

A soldier rushed over, saying he had some news. Seeing several people present, he appeared timid and fearful. He had always been timid, otherwise he wouldn't have hesitated to report the conversation he overheard earlier.

But now that the fire had started, he felt he couldn't keep silent anymore, or he would betray his conscience.

"Your Highness! I—I have something to tell you." The soldier stuttered as he looked at Yan Cai, his eyes avoiding Liu Neng.

Liu Neng was infuriated. He was still a general in the army, yet this little rascal dared to bypass him and report directly to the prince. It was audacious.

"Spit it out, what do you want to say?"

"I-!" The soldier jumped in fright, his face turning pale as he looked at Liu Neng. Liu Neng thought he had done something to him, seeing him in such a state!

Only Yan Cai appeared calm and gentle, so the soldier dared to speak to him.

"Y-your Highness, I heard it! That day, I heard it! General Liu and Master Gu, they said..." The soldier summoned the courage to spill the long-held secret, stumbling at first, but soon becoming confident.

"That's it." The soldier finished, feeling a cold sweat breaking out all over his back. Liu Neng's eyes seemed to shoot fire! Clang! The sound of a sword being drawn, Liu Neng unsheathed his sword, a cold light flashing, and the soldier's legs went weak.

But Jiang Manyue knocked Liu Neng's sword away.

"General Liu, what's the rush? Why are you so eager to kill a witness? What are you afraid of?"

Liu Neng was speechless, his actions just now indeed looked like he was guilty and trying to silence a witness. But in reality, he was just furious and wanted to kill this lying scoundrel.

But now all the evidence was pointing at him: the guard identified the badge as his, and the soldier pointed out that he heard him say that he wanted to burn down the granary...

And just now he wanted to kill a witness.

"I didn't! This kind of nonsense, would Jiang Tanghua listen to his stupid words?"

"Whether it's true or not doesn't matter. I just have one question for General Liu: where is the Master Gu you usually have by your side? Why isn't he here?" Jiang Manyue didn't dwell on Liu Neng. Regardless of whether Liu Neng did it or not, the missing badge belong to him, and he couldn't escape blame.

"He..." Liu Neng frowned. He had rushed out and didn't have the time to specifically wake Gu Ren up. But under normal circumstances, Gu Ren wouldn't be able to sleep at a time like this. He probably would have been awakened by the noise in the army.

"You don't know?" Jiang Manyue asked in return.

"I don't know," Liu Neng replied bitterly.

Jiang Manyue supported Yan Cai and said, "Let's go and see where Gu Ren is."

Yan Cai could feel Jiang Manyue's fingers trembling slightly, realizing that this matter was indeed quite troublesome. But Jiang Manyue remained calm, at least appearing to have a solution in the eyes of outsiders. 

Yan Cai believed that Jiang Manyue would definitely have a solution.

Gu Ren's camp was pitch black, and it looked like he was still sleeping inside. After calling the personal guards who had been quietly guarding outside without being noticed, they found out that no one had gone in or out since Gu Ren went to sleep until now.

He should be the only one inside.

"Let's go in and have a look."

However, the scene inside was surprising. Gu Ren committed suicide by taking poison. He seemed to have concluded that he couldn't survive, so he chose to end his life decisively.

His goal has been achieved, and death was a kind of honor. The entire army was sent to search the group of soldiers who had gone into the granary to deliver the oil, but no trace was found.

It wasn't until daylight that people discovered several bodies in the ashes. It seemed that the people who had delivered the oil yesterday had perished in the fire.

They had resolved themselves to die. When counting the numbers, they found that a few logistics personnel were missing.

It was said that these few people had been in the camp for four or five years, and everything seemed normal; no one had noticed anything wrong.

They spoke in the Chen Dynasty dialect, had the faces of Chen Dynasty people, without a trace of any foreign appearance, no one had ever suspected their true identity.

More and more evidence suggested that Gu Ren was likely a traitor.

So, Liu Neng panicked. The military advisor who had been by his side for so long turned out to be a traitor, which was a huge blow to him.

Moreover, it will not only bring doubts from others, but also punishment - the position of general he had just obtained would very likely be handed over to someone else.

However, he didn't want that. This is what he has worked so long to get. Liu Neng decided to turn the tables, shifting all the blame onto Yan Cai and Jiang Manyue.

With the destruction of the granary being a major issue, he had already written a letter directly to the court. While the content remained the same, due to different wording, it seemed like Liu Neng had little to do with it, attributing the incident to Yan Cai’s mismanagement.

In any case, he tried to shift blame however he could, but he didn't know that Yan Cai had already decided to strip Liu Neng of his position. There was no hesitation at all!

"I have thought about this method before, but it is not the first option." Jiang Manyue admitted truthfully, discussing with Yan Cai.

Although Yan Cai couldn't fully understand these matters and wasn't particularly interested in doing so, Jiang Manyue respected him greatly. He wouldn't make decisions on his own; he would definitely discuss with Yan Cai.

After hearing this, Yan Cai nodded.

"If you want to do it, go ahead. I support you."

"This is the only way. We don't have much food; we can't afford to drag this out. We can't engage in a protracted war with the enemy. In fact, I don't even want to fight them at all. Regardless of the outcome, our casualties would be severe. Killing a thousand enemies but losing eight hundred of our own. I don't want to make such an exchange," Jiang Manyue continued.

He added, "Tomorrow, we'll infiltrate the city of Beirong. This method is somewhat risky, but if executed properly, we can avoid any casualties and subdue the enemy without fighting."

However, Yan Cai could see a hint of hesitation in Jiang Manyue's eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Manyue smiled, but it made Yan Cai feel uncomfortable.

"You're smiling so awkwardly." Yan Cai reached out and touched Jiang Manyue's lips, forcing them into a smile with his hand.

"I... you saw it." Jiang Manyue embraced Yan Cai, resting his head on Yan Cai's usually broad shoulders. Yan Cai patted Jiang Manyue's back, feeling the frustration in this usually confident man.

"I'm not omnipotent. I have weaknesses, I make miscalculations, I hesitate, and I make big mistakes. I should have been more decisive and captured Gu Ren directly. Surveillance and the like were useless. I..."

"You're fine." Yan Cai held Jiang Manyue's shoulders, kept a little distance from him, and looked at Jiang Manyue with unusually firm eyes.

His gaze was clear and pure, when he looked at you, his heart and eyes were full of you, as if he had stored you in his heart.

Jiang Manyue felt his heart pounding with Yan Cai's words.

"No one is perfect, but you are very good. I will go to Beirong with you. I have heard your plan, and I think it is feasible."

Jiang Manyue sat next to him, their shoulders touching.

"Really?"

"Of course. No one is flawless, that's reserved for the gods."

"You're right. I've done quite a lot of stupid things too. You know what? Actually, I don't think my memory is very good."

"Oh?" Yan Cai turned curiously, staring at Jiang Manyue, wondering why he suddenly brought up this matter.

"I could never get everything right. In my past life, I made mistakes and was hit by a fatal arrow, nearly dying there. At that time, I felt like I was facing the end, but I was lucky, someone saved me."

Pausing here, Jiang Manyue's eyes flickered with confusion, "When I say my memory isn't good, it's not a lie. Somebody saved me; I should remember very clearly who they were. But, I have absolutely no impression of this person. All I know is that someone saved me when I was close to death. Who was he? Tall or short, fat or thin, male or female, I have no idea. Isn't it strange?"

"Then it's over. With such poor memory, when you get old, will you forget the way home? By then, will I have to go out every day to find you and bring you back home... No, I'm afraid my memory won't be any good either."

Yan Cai felt somewhat distressed. Both of them had already detached themselves from the sadness and depression they had just experienced, and began to truly worry about their future memory.

"Manyue, do you know? My name was given to me by a laboratory technician, but I can't seem to remember who that person was. It's very important. My original name was K0527, and that person gave me a name, but I can't recall this benefactor... It's a disaster, both of us are forgetful, we'll end up lost together outside, unable to find our way back home."

"We can do this..."

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