Chapter 1095: Decisive Battle (5)

Qi Haoran smiled ingratiatingly and said, “Big Brother, if I left the city safely, the historians will only praise me for being brave and resourceful. They will also praise you for your excellent deployment of talent and praise our brotherhood. Who’d dare to say that you sold your brother for glory?”

Qi Xiuyuan said coldly, “What if you don’t manage to leave the city safely?”

“Don’t you know how skilled I am in martial arts? Although I’ve never been in the pugilistic world, my qinggong is recognized by Eldest Uncle and Second Uncle. It’s said to be one of the best in the pugilistic world. It’s definitely not a problem for me to escape.”

War was fought on horseback, but when it came to fighting alone and escaping, martial artists were still the best. As a general, the fact that Qi Haoran could be ranked in the pugilistic world showed how impressive his martial arts were. This was also one of the reasons why he insisted on entering the city.

Since he had a 70% percent chance of escaping, why wouldn’t he go in?

To Qi Haoran, a 70% chance of escaping was already very high, but to Qi Xiuyuan, even if it was 99%, he was still unwilling to take this risk.

Qi Haoran continued to persuade him. “Big Brother, I only had 70% confidence previously. But now that Zhou Ju has sent out the news, my chances of survival have increased to 90%. I am 90% certain that I can take down the Central Capital without expending a single soldier. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t let me do it.”

“If you’re afraid of putting me in danger, fighting a war is dangerous in and of itself. There’s no need to talk about weapons on the battlefield; just a stray arrow can kill me. But that didn’t stop you from letting me go to the battlefield, did it? It’s just a different battlefield now. To me, this is just a different way of fighting in the war. As long as I’m 50% confident in a battle, I’ll do my best to fight. Moreover, now, we actually have a 90% chance…” Qi Haoran looked at Qi Xiuyuan and shouted, “Big Brother!”

After a long silence, Qi Xiuyuan said, “This is different. You have comrades on the battlefield and thousands of soldiers by your side. Even if you lose the war, you can still escape with your ability. There are wins and losses in war, but I believe that you’ll be able to escape. However, once you enter the Central Capital, you’ll be like a sheep among a pack of wolves. All the powerful figures in Great Jin have gathered in the city, all of which have overt schemes or secret plots. Even if you’re highly skilled in martial arts, they’ll still have thousands of ways to capture you. Haoran, I don’t want to see you on the other side’s city wall tomorrow morning.”

Basically, what he meant was, ‘Little Brother, I don’t have faith in your intelligence!’

Qi Haoran looked at him silently. Qi Xiuyuan turned his back to him.

Qi Haoran went back angrily and asked Mu Yangling, “Am I stupid?”

Mu Yangling hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. “No you’re not.”

However, Qi Haoran had already caught her hesitation at that moment. He questioned angrily, “How am I stupid?”

Mu Yangling looked back at him silently and said, “Haoran, you have to learn from the children and be brave enough to face your shortcomings…”

Qi Haoran was so angry that he fell backward. He climbed onto the bed, lifted the blanket, and turned his back to her.

Mu Yangling put away the joking expression on her face and her expression turned a little serious. She knew that she could not stop Qi Haoran. If she stopped him now, he would feel responsible for the huge price they had to pay to attack the city.

After thinking for the entire night, Mu Yangling still went to look for Qi Xiuyuan. “Big Brother, has Zhou Ju replied?”

Qi Xiuyuan thought for a moment and showed her the news that he had received this morning. “The Jin Kingdom’s Left Minister thinks that we’re not sincere enough and refuses to talk. I’m planning to send someone over.”

Qi Xiuyuan looked at Mu Yangling and said, “General Yuan and General Mu are both among the candidates.”

Only by sending a commander-in-chief would they appear sincere.

“But I’m afraid the Jin Kingdom’s Left Minister won’t be satisfied.” Mu Yangling said, “General Yuan and my father are both people who can be abandoned. No one can compare to Haoran. His identity is the most beneficial to the Jin Kingdom and Great Qi.”

Qi Xiuyuan looked at her in shock. “You’re willing to let him go?”

Mu Yangling smiled bitterly. “Big Brother, do you think we can stop him? His martial arts skills are the best in the three armies. If he wants to leave the camp, no one can stop him unless we drug him and make sure he stays asleep. But you have to guarantee that he won’t regret it in the future.”

Qi Xiuyuan was silent.

“Let him go.” Mu Yangling said in a low voice, “If there’s anyone in this world who doesn’t want anything to happen to him, it’s me.”

“Then you…”

Mu Yangling smiled bitterly and said, “I’m not going. If I go, I’ll just be a burden to him. If the Jin people want to take him as a hostage, he has a 70% chance of escaping if he’s alone. If he brings me along, his chances will decrease by 20%.”

If it were in the forest, Mu Yangling would definitely go because that was a place where she thrived. However, in the Great Jin Imperial City, Mu Yangling’s lousy qinggong would only drag Qi Haoran down when escaping.

By the time Qi Haoran ran out of sight, she would probably have just jumped onto the roof.

However, Qi Xiuyuan’s expression was very ugly. He said, “He’ll only have scruples if you go. Otherwise, with his disregard for everything, I’m afraid…”

Mu Yangling smiled and said confidently, “Don’t worry, Big Brother. Leave this to me.”

Mu Yangling asked Fan Zijin to draw a portrait of a bachelor below the age of 40 who was a lieutenant in the army or ranked higher. She said, “Make it look better.”

Fan Zijin asked curiously, “What use do you have for it?”

“To agitate someone.”

Fan Zijin’s mouth fell open. He knew that Qi Haoran was making a fuss about entering the Central Capital. Fan Zijin had always been smart and sensitive. Although he couldn’t get on the same frequency as Mu Yangling, he immediately understood what she was up to. He immediately rolled up his sleeves and said excitedly, “What’s so good about those rough men in the army? I’ll draw the portraits of all the talents who are still single in the imperial court for you. Doesn’t matter even if they’re not single. Overwhelmed by anger, Haoran definitely won’t notice such details. I’ll draw all the handsome ones for you.”

Mu Yangling looked at the excited Fan Zijin and was stunned for a moment. She hurriedly said, “Zijin, I’m just scaring him. Actually, I have no intention of remarrying.”

“I know. I’m just helping you, aren’t I? Alright, hurry up and leave. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be able to give you the portraits tonight. If it’s not enough, I can get someone else to help…”

Fan Zijin pushed Mu Yangling out and returned excitedly to draw. He was so happy that his face was full of smiles.

Qi Haoran was depressed for the entire day. In the afternoon, he couldn’t help but go out for a run. He stood on the hill and looked at the Central Capital affectionately before returning to the tent in low spirits.

As soon as he entered the tent, he saw Mu Yangling looking at a painting on the table. He glanced at it and frowned. “Isn’t this Lord Zhang from the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs? What are you doing with these portraits?”

Mu Yangling said happily, “Not only is there Lord Zhang, but there’s also General Liu, Magistrate Fang, Lord Zhou, and Lord Li. There are many generals and ministers, and they’re all quite handsome.”

Qi Haoran immediately said unhappily, “Can they be as handsome as me? Where did you get their portraits? Why are you looking at this? Our Baozhu is still young. There’s no need to find a father-in-law for her. Moreover, even if they’re handsome, it doesn’t mean that their son is handsome, too.”

“… What are you thinking? These men are all single. What sons are you talking about?”

Qi Haoran became alert and asked, “Then why are you looking at their portraits?”

Mu Yangling said nonchalantly, “Zijin sent it over and told me to have a good look at these. It might be useful in the future.”

Mu Yangling thought about it and felt that she was being too unfair to Fan Zijin, so she decided to implicate Qi Xiuyuan as well. “Didn’t you make a fuss about going to the Central Capital? Big Brother has already agreed. He came to me today to apologize and even told me not to worry. He said that if anything happened to you, he would definitely take responsibility for me. Look, after Big Brother came to look for me this morning, Zijin sent these portraits over in the afternoon. He even drew them himself.”

Qi Haoran widened his eyes in shock. His fingers trembled as he pointed at Mu Yangling, unable to speak. After a while, he suddenly rushed forward like a madman and ripped up the paintings on the table. Then, he rushed out with red eyes.

Mu Yangling followed closely behind. Seeing that he was heading for Fan Zijin’s tent, she was instantly relieved. She snorted in her heart. If he wanted to drive a wedge between her and Haoran, he ought to ask her for permission first.

At this moment, Mu Yangling chose to forget that she was the one who asked Fan Zijin to draw the portraits.

After a while, Fan Zijin’s miserable screams and Qi Haoran’s angry roar came from the tent. Stunned, the patrolling soldiers ran over to check on the situation.