The Sea Rat King clutched the purple gem tightly in its paw, emitting a series of "he he he, he he" laughs. Ling Yan and Mu Yuan's expressions remained calm, seemingly accustomed to its peculiar, sarcastic laughter.
"Minions!"
The Sea Rat King called out, and four black-furred sea rats swished their tails and swam over.
The Sea Rat King's pure black eyes didn't look at Ling Yan and Mu Yuan again, merely waving its plump front paw. The four sea rats seemed to understand, squeaking towards Mu Yuan in unison.
"Go on, they'll take you to Snowgate Island."
A special kind of seaweed was fastened onto the sea rats' bodies, not only thick and easy to grip but also very sturdy. The two men placed their feet on the sea rats' backs, holding tightly to the seaweed, moving much faster than they had come.
As they reached the familiar Snowgate Island, they heard the horns from the southern gate.
Mu Yuan's lips curled into a smile, thinking, *The sea rats have attacked again. Those kids must be terrified.*
Li Qiu and Chu Heng indeed looked pale.
The General's whereabouts were unknown, and black waves were surging on the sea. Things were getting increasingly troublesome!
But with the General gone, the two deputy generals bore the responsibility and the hopes of the entire army. At this critical moment, they couldn't falter.
The horns blared, not only alerting all the soldiers on the island to the sea rat attack but also stirring up the morale to resist the alien beasts.
"Deputy General Li! A total of four sea rats have come, but..."
Seeing the patrolling sentry hesitate, Li Qiu urged, "What is it? Speak!"
Having been far away just now, the sentry hadn't dared to confirm, but in the short time it took to speak, he had seen clearly enough. His tone was certain and filled with joy.
"There are people on the sea rats! It looks like the General!"
In an instant, the soldiers gathered on the ramparts on both sides of the southern gate. Sure enough!
On the backs of every two sea rats was a person! Someone could actually ride sea rats?!
When the two men got closer and reached the shore, Li Qiu finally, slowly, exhaled the breath he had been holding in his chest.
"General!"
With a cry, Li Qiu's eyes reddened.
Mu Yuan and Ling Yan stepped onto the land from the sea rats, turning back to express their gratitude to the sea rats before going ashore.
Climbing the steps of the gate and returning the salutes of the soldiers repairing the gate, the two reached the interior of Snowgate Island to find many people had already gathered.
"General! Where did you and Mu Ling go these past two days? We were worried sick!"
Li Qiu and the brothers of the Mu family army surrounded Mu Yuan, pushing Ling Yan out. He nonchalantly touched his nose.
Even Deputy General Chu Heng of the Wang army came over.
"It's alright, didn't we return safely? Everyone, disperse and get back to your duties. Li Qiu, come with me to see Old Qin."
"Yes!"
Mu Yuan and Li Qiu took two steps, then Mu Yuan turned his head to look at Ling Yan and called out, "Ling, what are you spacing out for? Come on too."
Ling Yan said "Oh" and followed behind the two men to Qin Wei's medical officer quarters.
Qin Wei saw Mu Yuan from afar through the window. He quickly put down the medicinal herbs in his hand, pushed open the door, and welcomed them.
"General! Young Ling! You're back! Good! Good!"
Saying "good" twice, the old military doctor's voice was already choked with emotion.
"General! Brother Ling!"
A voice as thin as a chicken's neck diluted the sadness and joy of reunion. Hou San, with his long arms and legs, had already sprinted over from the east in the blink of an eye.
"I knew with Brother Ling accompanying you, General, you would definitely return safely!"
Hou San, speaking without thinking, received the gazes of Qin Wei, Li Qiu, and Mu Yuan, and only then realized that what he said was a bit problematic. He quickly changed his words:
"I meant, General would definitely bring Brother Ling back! The strong joining forces, there won't be any problems!"
Joining forces?
This time, even Ling Yan, who usually had no expression, couldn't help but glance at him.
Li Qiu couldn't bear to watch any longer and reminded them, "General, please go inside. You've just returned from the sea, your clothes must be..."
Li Qiu's words trailed off as his eyes widened.
He had clearly seen the two men arrive from the sea riding sea rats. In the initial excitement, he hadn't paid attention, but now, looking again, how were both of their hair and clothes dry?
"Hou San, you run fast. Go tell the brothers the news of my return. Add two dishes for the brothers tonight. Deputy General Li, you guard outside the building and don't let anyone approach."
"Yes!"
"Understood, General!"
Li Qiu understood Mu Yuan's meaning, knowing that the General's disappearance this time must have involved something special that wasn't convenient for him and Hou San to hear.
So he quickly grabbed Hou San, who was still chattering endlessly at Ling Yan, pushed him away, and then stood guard outside the medical officer quarters.
"Elder Qin, let's go inside and talk."
Ling Yan followed behind Mu Yuan and Elder Qin into the medical officer quarters.
As soon as he entered the medical room, he sensed that there was someone in the inner room of Elder Qin's clinic. He looked inside.
"It's alright, young Ling, not an outsider. Consider him my novice apprentice who hasn't officially entered the profession yet."
Ling Yan hummed in acknowledgment.
Mu Yuan took off the half of the Purple Gold Gourd hanging from his waist and roughly recounted their experience in the purple vortex and their encounter with the Sea Rat King to Qin Wei.
Qin Wei's expression changed unpredictably. By the end of the story, the hand stroking his beard had begun to tremble slightly.
"General and young Ling's experience this time was a narrow escape from death! But it can also be considered a stroke of luck that the General obtained the Purple Gold Gourd."
Qin Wei cautiously approached the half-gourd, very carefully not touching it. His white eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head, clicking his tongue.
"This treasure is truly peculiar. You certainly can't tell what it is from its appearance."
"Elder Qin, this gourd has another half. I think perhaps only when the two halves are joined together will it return to its original form."
"Hmm, young Ling is right."
"Elder Qin, how much do you know about the seven treasures of the Xingling Kingdom and the Ultimate Flesh Compendium in the royal palace? The sea rat told us to ask someone from the Purple Gold Continent, and you were the first person we thought of. If that doesn't work, we'll have to ask Wang Quan locked up in the cellar."
Qin Wei shook his head, stroking his beard as he glanced at Ling Yan sitting beside Mu Yuan.
After experiencing such an ordeal with Mu Yuan, even Qin Wei believed that perhaps this seemingly carefree but actually deeply hidden young man was the "lifeline for Mu Yuan" mentioned by the old master before his death.
Qin Wei finally let go of his reservations and accepted Ling Yan, speaking to both of them about the seven treasures.
"Wang Quan, he actually knows nothing."
The National Preceptor Wang Quan was just a figurehead in the Xingling Kingdom, with no real ability. He just had a glib tongue, good at flattering and changing his tune with the wind. Every time he saw King Qi Lin, he could make him exceptionally happy.
Qi Lin was happy to see him and liked to take him wherever he went to play, but he wouldn't let him near the core of the state's affairs.
The National Preceptor, to put it bluntly, was the King's playmate.
As Qin Wei said this, Ling Yan suddenly thought of the turning point in the *To The Realm Of Flesh * plot, the person who stirred up the relationship between the King and Mu Yuan when the original author gave up on the ending.
Even in a rushed ending, there must be a so-called villain who could jump out at a critical moment to frame Mu Yuan without being too abrupt.
It was just a pity that the original author hadn't said who this person was.
So Ling Yan asked, "Elder Qin, has the General offended anyone in this royal city? Or does the Mu family have any enemies?"