Chapter 99

Seeing Cheng Duo approaching from a distance, the black-clothed men knew that Du Boyan's plan had failed. Fortunately, they never trusted him much, so they had a backup plan!

"Quick, set up the tripwire!" the leader of the black-clothed men ordered.

"Yes!" Two groups of black-clothed men swiftly responded, and thick hemp ropes were raised. At such a close distance and with horses charging at high speed, they wouldn't be able to stop in time, leading to a spectacular scene of chaos and falling people.

Cheng Duo chuckled when he saw the situation. He stretched out his hand to Yong Ge and said, "Yong Ge, lend me your bow."

Yong Ge rode his horse closer and handed his bow and arrows to Cheng Duo without a word. Over the years, he had changed his bow multiple times. The one he had now was the standard military issue, heavier and with a highly flexible bowstring.

Cheng Duo notched an arrow and shot it. The arrow whizzed like a supersonic missile, "pu," piercing through one man's chest. Its momentum didn't weaken, hitting the second and then the third man behind him…

The leader of the black-clothed men's face changed, but before he could say anything, the other end of the tripwire made more black-clothed men fall to the ground.

By this time, Cheng Duo's horse had arrived nearby. He returned the bow and arrows to Yong Ge and drew his saber from his back. With a swift move, he dismounted and charged towards the closest black-clothed men.

Although there were twice as many black-clothed men, Cheng Duo's display undoubtedly boosted the soldiers' confidence. As he moved among the black-clothed men, he took down one after another with almost every thrust, blood spraying, and an imposing aura, causing the black-clothed men to scatter in disarray.

The soldiers who followed Cheng Duo were inspired and filled with excitement. Someone roared towards the sky, and others followed suit, creating an earth-shattering cry of battle.

Yong Ge's hands holding the bow trembled slightly, not out of fear, but excitement. Every time he saw his Cheng Ge take action, he felt a surge of blood boiling within him. No wonder everyone in the Wei Family Army liked following his Cheng Duo – he liked it too!

Yong Ge didn't dismount either. He shot arrows at the black-clothed men attacking Cheng Duo. Finding that Cheng Duo didn't need his support, he turned to help the Wei Family Army soldiers on the scene.

The leader of the black-clothed men looked at the scene with a grim expression. He had wanted to capture Yong Ge himself, but he didn't expect that there were so many people protecting him. Before they could deal with the surrounding soldiers, Cheng Duo had already returned…

A cold glint flashed, and the leader of the black-clothed men's wide-open eyes suddenly froze. He tightly held his bleeding neck, severed by a blade that belonged to one of his own men. The hilt of the blade even had a few severed fingers, showing how tightly its owner had gripped it before losing it.

The leader's last thought before dying was that Cheng Duo from the northwest was indeed no ordinary figure. With such a fierce and brave general, no wonder their master was wary to this extent…

The leader was dead, but his black-clothed men remained fierce and unafraid of death. The soldiers who followed Cheng Duo fought for what seemed like half an hour or maybe a full hour. Bodies lay scattered on the ground, belonging to both the black-clothed men and their own comrades.

Finally, when Tan Shoubei arrived with his men, the bloody battle came to an end. Seeing the remaining black-clothed men scattering, Tan Shoubei didn't chase after them. Instead, he looked at the limbs and body parts strewn all over the ground and anxiously asked Cheng Duo, "General Cheng, where's my son?"

Cheng Duo hadn't answered yet when a response came from not far behind him, "We're here!"

Tan Shoubei turned to look and saw Wei Ling supporting Tan Yulou, both of them limping out. They had originally hidden in a cellar, but they were soon found by the black-clothed men who followed the blood trail. The two of them fought their way out, desperately fleeing.

Fortunately, Cheng Duo arrived in time, drawing the black-clothed men away and sharing most of the pressure with them.

However, both of them were injured, especially Tan Yulou, who was now covered in blood, looking like a bloodied figure.

"Yulou!" Tan Shoubei breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly went up to meet him.

But he soon realized that he had relaxed too early. As soon as Tan Yulou saw him, he fainted, and Wei Ling quickly caught him. As Wei Ling was about to carry him, Tan Shoubei snatched his son away from him.

"I'll do it!"

Tan Shoubei found a clean room and ordered his subordinates to fetch a military doctor. Wei Ling hesitated whether to stop him, thinking about the peculiarities on Tan Yulou's body. He wondered if he should conceal it.

He carefully examined the center of Tan Yulou's eyebrows, which was clean and normal. Perhaps he was overthinking it…

However, when he saw the military doctor start to undo Tan Yulou's clothes, and the neckline was just pulled down, revealing the delicate skin that was completely different from his face and neck, Wei Ling tensed up again.

As a young general who had experienced the battlefield, life and death were of little concern to him, so why should he care if his body was seen at such a time? However, when he looked at Tan Shoubei, he felt that he should be kept in the dark. What if something really happened to Tan Yulou? Would Tan Shoubei become furious? Would the people who helped conceal it also be implicated?

Especially when he saw how casually Tan Shoubei treated his other illegitimate children, Wei Ling felt uncomfortable at the thought of Tan Yulou also being handed over to someone.

However, he was too tense right now and had no time to worry about these matters. As he watched the military doctor unbuttoning Tan Yulou's shirt, exposing almost half of his shoulder, Wei Ling's hand involuntarily rose… But Tan Yulou woke up at that moment.

Wei Ling breathed a sigh of relief, and Cheng Duo glanced at his strange behavior, then looked at his raised and lowered hand.

Others didn't notice, but he saw everything. Just now, his eldest cousin had become tense all over, his handsome face devoid of his usual free and easy demeanor. It seemed that something had happened between these two during the black-clothed men's attack.

"Father?" Tan Yulou had just woken up and sensed something amiss. He quickly pressed his shoulder and, ignoring the military doctor's dissuasion, pulled his clothes back.

Tan Shoubei, who was standing beside him, hurriedly said, "Yulou, don't move. Let the military doctor treat your injuries."

As soon as Tan Yulou heard that, he struggled to sit up. "It's just minor injuries. I can handle it myself…"

"What do you mean, you'll handle it yourself? Look at how injured you are!" Tan Shoubei's eyes narrowed, and his voice involuntarily raised, "Lie down quickly!"

Tan Yulou, of course, wouldn't listen, and the consequence was Tan Shoubei pressing him down forcefully. He then called out to the military doctor, "What are you staring at? Treat my son's injuries now!"

The military doctor was taken aback but quickly nodded, "Yes."

"Dad!"

Wei Ling had already suspected something, and seeing Tan Yulou's abnormal behavior after waking up, his suspicions reached their peak.

Regardless of whether it was during the life-and-death struggle with him or earlier in the cellar… Wei Ling remembered how Tan Yulou obediently let him unbutton his clothes, and his ears couldn't help but turn red.

He quickly stepped forward and said, "Tan Shoubei, in fact, Cheng Duo has a better way to stop the bleeding. He saved my uncle, Wei Zhenyuan, using that method when he was severely injured."

Cheng Duo raised an eyebrow and saw Wei Ling looking at him with a pleading expression, as if there was something difficult to say.

Cheng Duo glanced at his son, Tan Yulou, and said, "I do have a way to help Tan Yulou stop the bleeding, but there are too many people in this room, which is not conducive to disinfecting the wound. Tan Shoubei, why don't you go out first?"

"Really?" Tan Shoubei naturally was overjoyed. He had also heard about Cheng Duo healing Wei Zhenyuan: "Great, great! We'll go out first, and we'll leave the military doctor here. He can assist you."

"No need, let Wei Ling stay."

Tan Shoubei thought that Wei Ling had helped before and knew what to do, so he didn't object. With the military doctor and his confidants, he then left the room.

Once they were all gone, Cheng Duo looked at Wei Ling and asked, "What's the silent communication between you?"

Before Wei Ling could answer, the pale-faced Tan Yulou lying on the bed interrupted, "There's no silent communication. I just… I just didn't want to worry my dad."

After saying that, he fell silent.

Wei Ling stepped forward to mediate, "Let's treat the injury first."

Cheng Duo didn't confirm or deny anything, but when he approached, a new problem arose: Tan Yulou still refused to cooperate and wouldn't say the reason.

"You'll die if you keep bleeding like this!" Wei Ling was anxious, but then he realized that he had become too agitated. He wiped his face and softened his tone, persuading, "Just let Cheng Duo take a look. We won't say anything random. We were just fine in the cellar, and at a life-and-death moment like that, those things are not important."

When he mentioned the cellar, Tan Yulou's pale face suddenly blushed, "You're mistaken…"

He wanted to say, "At that time, it was a last resort," but saying so would expose his identity… Although Wei Ling had already hinted at it in his words, as long as he denied it, Wei Ling couldn't do anything to him.

Observing the situation, Yong Ge, looked at this and then that, "Most of Young Master Tan's injuries are on his back. Why don't I help him expose the wounds, and then Cheng Duo can stitch them up?"

Tan Yulou's eyes suddenly looked at him, his gaze flickering, but he didn't say anything. He just curled up, clearly not opposing this proposal.

He was already weak, and though doing this might raise suspicion, he absolutely couldn't admit it. Otherwise, his mother might go crazy, and his father… Tan Yulou couldn't predict how his father would react, but given his father's ruthlessness towards his step-siblings, he definitely wouldn't let him off easily.

Wei Ling rubbed his nose and said, "Then let's do as Yong Ge said."

What to do? He unbuttoned someone's clothes and even touched, touched the person's waist…

Yong Ge couldn't help but find it amusing to see his eldest cousin in such an awkward situation. According to his previous words, he must have taken advantage of the situation in the cellar.

Yong Ge had always felt that Tan Yulou looked too delicate, and now he was almost certain. When he flipped open Tan Yulou's clothes and touched the skin that was different from a man's, he quickly confirmed it: Tan Yulou was indeed a ger!

Yong Ge was different from Wei Ling; he had himself as a reference and frequently touched Cheng Duo, making it easy for him to notice the difference.

The gruesome wound on Tan Yulou's back was still bleeding, and following Cheng Duo's instructions, Yong Ge quickly cleaned the edges of the wound and then took out cotton cloth soaked in high-proof liquor. "It might hurt a little later; bear with it."

…Throughout the entire process, Tan Yulou remained silent. Yong Ge couldn't help but admire him. Ger's bodies were actually more sensitive and more prone to pain than males. Sometimes, when Cheng Duo got a bit rough, he couldn't help but cry out in pain. Not to mention such a large wound like this?

The stitching process was swift; Cheng Duo's movements were quick, precise, and ruthless, as if he was dealing with lifeless objects rather than human flesh.

Yong Ge grimaced at the sight and couldn't help saying, "Cheng Duo, take it slower. If there are too many scars, it won't look good."

Cheng Duo glanced at him and replied, "How about letting your eldest cousin do it? He has been watching for so long, he should know how to do it, right?"

Cheng Duo felt uncomfortable even thinking about touching another ger, especially since he hadn't been mistaken; there were other wounds on Tan Yulou's arms and chest.

With a cloth in his mouth, Tan Yulou, who was almost passing out, managed to say, "…"

Wei Ling felt even more uneasy on his face, but upon hearing Cheng Duo's suggestion, he didn't back down and stepped forward, saying, "Alright, I'll do it."

(T/N: Our leads creating opportunities for the side couple… ԅ(ˆ‿ˆԅ) )