Splash—
A bucket of cold water poured over his head, and the bone-chilling cold instantly tore a gap in his chaotic consciousness.
"Cough cough... cough cough..."
Li Gui shivered violently and coughed intensely.
He opened his eyes in a daze, and what greeted him were damp stone walls and dim firelight.
"I... where am I..."
Two disdainful snickers came from beside him.
"Naturally, you're in the Yumen Pass prison."
Li Gui was stunned, his mind still a mess, and he subconsciously asked, "Yumen Pass? I... I'm back?"
"Hmph."
The two Demon Suppression Guardss watching him exchanged glances, both shaking their heads, not bothering to say more to him.
Even though the person in front of them was a Squad Leader.
But leaving the pass without permission, disobeying military orders, and almost letting Demons into the pass, causing a colossal disaster.
With such serious crimes, even if his father was a Brigade General in the Region army, he wouldn't be able to protect him in the future.
Li Gui's mind was blank, his memory seemed to have been forcibly gouged out, blurry and indistinct.
But the remaining memories still made him recall something.
He struggled violently, shouting hoarsely, "That's right... Demons! There are Demons! Quick... quickly report to Lord Jiang!"
One of the Demon Suppression Guardss looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"Demons? Lord Jiang already killed them all alone, why would you still need to worry here?"
"If you know what's good for you, just stay put and wait until Lord Jiang remembers you and decides your punishment."
"Killed... killed them all?"
The look of terror on Li Gui's face instantly froze.
Immediately, an indescribable sense of absurdity surged wildly from the bottom of his heart.
How is that possible?
Those were more than a dozen Demons!
Among them were powerful Demons of the Minggu Realm!
How could one person... kill them all?
As if seeing his confusion, a slightly younger Demon Suppression Guards kindly explained, "Half an hour ago, Lord Jiang, carrying a saber, single-handedly chopped up all those dozen Demons that had disguised themselves as your team."
He smacked his lips, his face full of awe.
"That scene... tsk tsk, it was like slicing melons and dicing vegetables, one slash per Demon, terrifyingly fierce!"
"Lord Jiang has just returned to camp to rest. She'll probably come to see you tomorrow."
"..."
Li Gui knelt on the ground in a daze, his mind buzzing.
Impossible... This is absolutely impossible!
But the expressions on the faces of the two Demon Suppression Guardss did not seem fake.
Could it be... true?
But... the Demons died, and he lived.
Living is worse than dying.
Disobeying military orders and leaving the pass without authorization is a capital offense.
Luring Demons into the pass and almost causing a great disaster is an even greater crime, not enough to die ten thousand times over!
His death alone wouldn't be enough; he would likely implicate his Family.
A wave of regret surged into his heart.
If only... if only he had honestly obeyed military orders in the first place, how would he have ended up in such a state?
Seeing his dejected appearance, the two Demon Suppression Guardss exchanged glances and both shook their heads.
Young masters from aristocratic families have always been like this.
When things go smoothly, they are arrogant, thinking they are second only to heaven, but when they really encounter trouble, they can only cry and wail.
The two ignored him, leaned against the damp wall, and chatted amongst themselves.
Inside the prison, only Li Gui's heavy breathing remained.
After a long while.
Just as Li Gui was utterly despairing, his heart like dead ash.
A soft voice, without warning, echoed in his mind.
The voice was dreamlike and illusory, carrying an indescribable allure.
The next second.
Li Gui suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, but those pupils had long lost their focus.
He slowly stood up from the ground.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
The guarding Demon Suppression Guards noticed something was wrong and immediately stepped forward to reprimand him.
But it was too late.
Crack—
The Demon Suppression Guards didn't even have time to draw his saber before his throat was crushed by a hand!
The other Demon Suppression Guards was horrified, and just as he opened his mouth.
"Ugh..."
Li Gui expressionlessly released his grip, letting the two bodies fall softly... Jiang Yuechu took the secret letter handed to her, her brow slightly raised.
"Given to you by Great General Wei's personal guard?"
"Yes!"
"Where is he?"
"Uh... that person left in a hurry after delivering this letter..."
"Oh."
Jiang Yuechu tore open the wax seal and pulled out the letter.
The content of the letter was simple, just a few lines.
It instructed her to immediately leave the pass and head to a lone peak thirty li outside the pass, where someone would be waiting to meet her.
At the end of the letter, a special instruction was added.
Go alone, and do not make a sound.
Jiang Yuechu slowly folded the letter, her heart filled with doubts.
Counting the days, Wei He's army would arrive tomorrow at the latest.
What could be so urgent that it couldn't wait even one day, requiring her, a Vanguard Battalion Captain, to leave the pass alone to handle it?
Moreover, although she hadn't interacted much with Wei He, she knew that he was always steady and cautious in his actions.
This kind of abrupt, almost commanding tone, truly didn't seem like his style.
She narrowed her eyes, carefully scrutinizing the person kneeling on one knee before her.
Although the night was deep, by the light of the lantern hanging at the entrance of the barracks, she could still see the other person's face clearly.
It did look somewhat familiar; she vaguely remembered him as a subordinate of another Squad Leader in the Vanguard Battalion.
"You've worked hard."
Jiang Yuechu put away the letter, her expression unchanged, "You may go down first."
"Yes!"
The man, as if granted a great pardon, quickly stood up and turned to leave.
Just as he turned, Jiang Yuechu's gaze inadvertently fell upon his left ear.
The lamplight flickered.
A very faint black mole, faintly visible... Outside Yumen Pass, at the peak of a lone mountain.
By the cliff, the White Ape stood with his hands behind his back, letting the night wind blow, his cloudy eyes fixed intently on the majestic pass in the distance.
"I say... can this method really work?"
A Wolf Demon finally couldn't help but look at the enchanting figure sitting cross-legged not far away, his face full of doubt, "From such a distance, is there really a way to make the Demon Suppression Division people obediently come out of the pass?"
"Exactly, exactly, could it be that this fellow is just spouting nonsense to curry favor with the True Monarch?"
"Shut up!"
Another Leopard Demon with a slightly stronger aura snorted, "What do you know?!"
"Fox Third Mistress is a direct descendant of the Tu Shan Clan; how can her exquisite illusion techniques be fathomed by the likes of you?"
The Wolf Demon stiffened his neck, still unconvinced, "No matter how exquisite the illusion technique, can it be cast from hundreds of miles away?"
The Leopard Demon sneered, "Let alone hundreds of miles, what if it's thousands of miles away?"
"When Li Gui was captured, Fox Third Mistress had already planted a seed in him. Although he is now imprisoned by that woman, his Divine Soul has long been controlled by Fox Third Mistress."
"Furthermore..."
"They can even use that wisp of a seed to distort his appearance in the eyes of others. This kind of method is undetectable and impossible to guard against."
As soon as these words came out, the several Demons who were eavesdropping all gasped.