Five Immortal Sects

Chapter 34: The Pillow Is Delivered

When Li Yan heard Liu Chengyong’s offer to give him a weapon, he couldn’t help but feel a stir in his heart, but he quickly dismissed the idea.

He put the long sword back in its scabbard on the weapon rack and smiled.

“Captain Liu is too kind, but I haven’t learned any martial arts yet. I’m only focused on cultivating my internal energy, so I wouldn’t be able to use it even if I had a weapon. If I learn a martial art in the future and you have a suitable weapon for me, I’ll definitely come to ask for it.”

Liu Chengyong laughed and nodded in agreement, but he thought Li Yan didn’t like his weapons. How could a martial artist only practice internal energy and not learn any martial arts? Moreover, with Military Advisor Ji’s exceptional martial skills, wouldn’t he be able to obtain a divine weapon?

After laughing, Liu Chengyong looked outside and then turned to Li Yan.

“Brother Li, a few days ago, General Hong mentioned something to me after our meeting in the military. He said that when you have time, you should go see him. It seems that there’s some incomplete registration information from when you enlisted, and the records need to be updated.”

Li Yan was taken aback by this news. He was thinking of how to reveal some information to Liu Chengyong and have him pass it on to General Hong.

But before he could say anything, Liu Chengyong gave him the result he wanted. This was indeed the saying “when you want to sleep, someone will send you a pillow”!

However, with Dong Fuyi’s guidance, he had already made a guess that this was General Hong’s signal to take action.

What’s with the incomplete registration information? With the military’s capabilities, they could investigate his family history in no time, even if he had only filled out his name and hometown on the registration form.

And if the registration information was incomplete, wouldn’t General Hong be paying for his salary and benefits out of his own pocket? Didn’t they need to keep track of the accounts?

But this way, he didn’t need to worry about it. He could just go with the flow.

He pretended to be surprised and looked at Liu Chengyong, then thought for a moment.

“Oh, that’s right. After I became a disciple of the military advisor, I didn’t complete some of the procedures. I suppose that’s what happened.”

Liu Chengyong kept staring at Li Yan, initially hesitant to say anything, unsure if Li Yan would be willing to go.

But after hearing Li Yan say this, he knew that it was Li Yan’s first time at the military that day, and some things were indeed unknown to him, but he was an old man in the army, and he still doubted the purpose of General Hong asking Li Yan to meet him.

He didn’t believe that the matter was as simple as it seemed, but he didn’t dare to investigate further. As long as Li Yan was willing to go, that was enough. After all, he thought that General Hong didn’t have any ill intentions towards Li Yan, who was Military Advisor Ji’s disciple.

“Since that’s the case, let’s not delay. Why don’t…”

“Of course, of course! Military affairs can’t be delayed! But I’ve never been to the military camp before, so why don’t you take me on a tour of the camp first, and then we can go?”

“Ah, that’s naturally possible. Oh… shall we go later? Chen An and Li Ying might report to Military Advisor Ji that we’re not handling things properly, and we have even troubled the General and that would be troublesome. You see…”

Liu Chengyong hesitated, unsure of the consequences if Chen An and Li Ying found out. In fact with General Hong’s power, there was no need for Li Yan to go over for such a matter, but General Hong’s words and deeds showed that he didn’t want to “alarm” the MIlitary Advisor Ji.

As one of Hong Linying’s old subordinates, Liu Chengyong wouldn’t misinterpret this.

“No need to be polite, just speak directly. It’s not a big deal,” Li Yan said to Liu Chengyong, thinking to himself.

‘I’ll see how General Hong handles this issue. Let’s see if he’s a rough and straightforward person or a cunning one.’

Liu Chengyong was taken aback, but Li Yan had already said it, and he could only agree. Otherwise, Li Yan might not go at all, and he knew that he wouldn’t be able to satisfy General Hong’s expectations.

Later, Liu Chengyong took Li Yan on a tour of the military camp, only showing him the public areas. During this time, he also showed off his skills in front of other teams.

When Chen An and Li Ying found out that Li Yan was going to the General’s mansion, they looked hesitant, but Li Yan just walked away without looking back at them. The two of them exchanged a glance and could only follow him.

They didn’t dare to block Hong Linying’s actions! If Hong Linying wanted to make them disappear from the military, even Military Advisor Ji might not be able to stop him.

From their expressions, Li Yan had already made a further guess.

‘It seems that my teacher has given them instructions not to let me interact with outsiders too much.’

Before long, they arrived at the General’s mansion. Liu Chengyong went forward and explained the situation to the guard.

After a short while, the guard reported that only Li Yan was allowed to enter, which meant that even Liu Chengyong couldn’t go in. Chen An and Li Ying didn’t dare to follow him either.

Li Yan followed a guard through several winding corridors and arrived at the large hall outside the General’s mansion. The guard stopped and turned to Li Yan.

“Lord Li, the General is inside. You can go in by yourself.”

The guard didn’t wait for Li Yan’s response, bowed, and turned to leave.

Li Yan looked around and saw that there were no guards outside the hall, and the red lacquer door was wide open. He took a deep breath, lifted his feet, and walked towards the door.

When he entered the hall, he felt the light was slightly dimmer. He focused his eyes and looked around, and the hall was very spacious.

In the center of the hall, someone was sitting in a chair, looking at him. It was none other than the bald-headed man he had seen before. Li Yan took a few steps forward and bowed.

“Subordinate Li Yan pays respects to General Hong.”

Hong Linying had been staring at Li Yan since he entered the hall. He felt that Li Yan’s aura was much heavier than two months ago, which didn’t seem like the aura of a beginner in martial arts.

This made him take a deep breath, and his heart was filled with suspicion.

‘Is this the internal energy of Ji Wenhe’s sect? Can it make an ordinary person’s internal energy so stable and heavy in just two months?’

But the more he thought about it, the more his anger grew.

“No need to be so polite, sit down.”

Hong Linying pointed to a row of chairs below.

Li Yan thanked him and sat down in a chair beside him.

“Deputy Li Yan, it’s been over two months since we last met at the military academy. Today, I see that you’ve made great progress under Ji Wenhe’s guidance.”

“Thank you, General, for your praise,” Li Yan said with a bitter smile.

Hong Linying saw Li Yan’s expression and his face turned serious.

“Oh? Did I misjudge with my eyes?”

Li Yan shook his head, as if thinking about how to answer, but didn’t speak.

Hong Linying saw him like this and his heart was moved. He straightened his body and leaned back against the chair, his sturdy body relaxing.

“Thinking back to when Fang Yu entered the Military Advisor’s residence, and when I saw him again, but unfortunately, it was already too late!”

Li Yan, of course, knew who “Fang Yu” was, referring to his unfortunate senior brother. His expression faltered for a moment before he spoke with a hint of hesitation.

“What do you mean, General?”

“Oh, nothing. I just felt that although Deputy Li’s aura has grown thicker, your complexion seems unstable, as if you’re hiding something.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Li Yan, seemingly unintentionally. He had received intel from the Military Advisor’s residence that Li Yan’s mood had been unstable lately, and his aura was fluctuating, which was why he said this.

Li Yan’s face revealed a shocked expression.

“Can General Hong see through my flaws?”

Hong Linying’s heart was delighted, but his expression remained calm.

“I can sense a thing or two, but I don’t know the reason. Hehe, it’s impossible to make mistakes in cultivation, especially with Military Advisor Ji’s guidance. Perhaps it’s due to other reasons, or maybe I’m just mistaken.”

Li Yan’s face was a mix of emotions, and all of them were caught by Hong Linying’s eyes, who remained expressionless.

After a while, Li Yan hesitated before speaking, “General, do you know how to cure someone who has been poisoned in the martial arts world?”

Hong Linying was taken aback, then his face revealed a puzzled expression.

“Why ask this? Oh, are you worried about Military Advisor Ji’s poisoning? You don’t need to worry about it. Even I can’t help him, let alone you, with your current abilities. You’re a respectful and dutiful person, sigh…”

As he spoke, his face darkened, and he let out a sigh before continuing.

“However, I do know some methods to cure poisoning:

Firstly, one can use an antidote, but that requires knowing what kind of poison it is;

Secondly, people like us can use our internal energy to expel the poison from our bodies, but this isn’t always effective, as some poisons can penetrate deep into our organs and bones, making it difficult to expel;

Thirdly, there’s a secret method used by the demonic path in the martial arts world, where one finds someone with strong internal energy to act as a poison vessel, and then uses this secret technique to transfer the poison into the other person’s body.

At the same time, one would need to use the other person’s pure internal energy to cleanse their own organs… However, this method requires knowledge of the demonic path’s secret techniques, and few sects possess this knowledge.”

As he spoke slowly, Li Yan’s forehead began to sweat.

After a short while, Li Yan asked in a hoarse voice, “What happens to the person used as the poison vessel in the third method?”

Hong Linying replied, “They’re basically doomed to die, unless they also know the demonic path’s secret techniques and can counter it. Oh, let’s not talk about this anymore. I originally wanted to discuss this with you, but it seems it’s no longer necessary.

This morning, the military council received your detailed information from the government officials of Great Green Mountain, and I was about to call Liu Chengyong to inform you, but it seems I’ve missed the timing.”

Li Yan seemed to still be processing the conversation, and it took him a while to react. His face finally returned to normal, but he still looked distracted, and he bowed before speaking.

“Since that’s the case, I’ll take my leave.”

“You may go,” Hong Linying said with a slight smile.

Li Yan turned to leave, and just as he was about to exit the hall, Hong Linying’s voice called out again.

“Li Yan, don’t worry too much about Military Advisor Ji’s poisoning. After all, he’s been poisoned for a while now, and he’s a skilled martial artist. I’m sure he’ll find a way to resolve it.”

Li Yan heard the words and stopped in his tracks, then disappeared into the hall without a sound.

After a while, the sound of whispering and murmurs arose from within the hall.

“Senior brother, it seems this kid has already started to suspect Ji Wenhe.”

“Hehehe… Today, we can confirm three things. Firstly, their internal energy is indeed impressive, and he’s made significant progress in just over two months. If he continues to cultivate at this rate, it’ll be a problem.

Secondly, he’s the one who’s supposed to be used as the poison vessel, and it seems Ji Wenhe really does know the demonic path’s methods.

Thirdly, it’s good news that this kid has already started to realize his situation and suspects that he might be used by Ji Wenhe.”

“Then, senior brother, our next step is to wait for him to come to us for help.”

“Hehehe… I think he’ll make his move soon! Who wouldn’t cherish their own life?”

Li Yan walked out of the hall, thinking to himself as he went.

‘This General Hong is extremely eager to get his hands on that so-called ‘martial art’, and he’s already started to sow seeds of doubt in my mind.

Since I’ve confirmed his intentions, I can proceed with the next plan. However, I didn’t discover the other expert Dong Fuyi mentioned today, which shows that my cultivation is still too low, and I’m unable to sense even the experts in the mundane martial arts world.’

As he thought, he had already walked out of the General’s residence and saw the three people standing under a tree about thirty steps away, chatting and occasionally glancing in his direction.

This Hong Linying was indeed a good strategist. Li Yan’s brief entrance and exit had only taken the time it took to drink a cup of tea, which was exactly the time it took to report his background and family information, making it difficult for anyone to suspect that there was anything else going on.