However, the scene before their eyes left the two of them utterly astonished. General stood quietly in the middle of the tea stall, his sword resting on Young Man's shoulder, neither of them moving. Yet, one sharp-eyed bodyguard had already noticed that although General's outstretched sword appeared to be at the other’s neck, beneath General's elbow, there was an extra hand gently gripping his pulse point. Even more alarming, at some unknown moment, a sliver of blade had appeared beneath General's beard.

A seemingly ordinary kitchen knife was calmly placed beside General's neck, and the hand holding the knife was not under General's control. General's other hand was raised high behind him, making a gesture to stay calm.

Even though General made such a gesture, everyone still broke out in a cold sweat. Who could be so bold as to dare to hold General hostage?

Amid everyone’s confusion, General, with a blade at his body, suddenly made an expression that even the bodyguards who had followed him for years had almost never seen.

Once a hero of the northern frontier, personally granted the title of Protector of the Nation by the Emperor, commanding half the armies of the realm, General—who, aside from kneeling before the Emperor, did not need to show respect to any other royal or noble, whose face was always stern and awe-inspiring—actually revealed a faint smile on his severe face. And his smile was directed at the Master of the tea stall.

No one could remember how long it had been since they’d seen General smile, especially a genuine smile like this. The two bodyguards had no idea who the Young Man across from them was, but for someone to make General smile like that, he must be an extraordinary person.

Young Man looked completely ordinary, not at all like someone trained in martial arts, yet he stood before General with the same smile on his face. The two seemed very familiar with each other, and those outside finally breathed a sigh of relief—it turned out they were acquaintances, no wonder General would smile like that. Judging by how General treated Young Man, it was as if they were friends who had faced life and death together. That must be it; otherwise, how could General show such an expression?

“General, such an imposing official!” Young Man said with a smile, joking, “It’s not easy for my tea stall to have two customers, but your men scared them all away before they even paid. So, what do you say we do about that?” As Young Man laughed, the kitchen knife’s blade left General's neck, and General's elbow was released.

Chapter One: The Ominous Land (Part Two)

“Qin Tou!” The smile on General's face grew even wider, not arguing at all about what had happened in the tea stall. “All these years, your skills haven’t diminished one bit!” He slowly sheathed his sword.

“Why aren’t you doing your job as General and leading your troops? What are you doing in this remote backwater?” The soldiers outside only heard this sentence, and then could hear nothing more from inside. Oddly, the tea stall was drafty on all sides, and these soldiers had all trained in military martial arts for years to be selected for General's guard, but no matter how they strained their ears, they couldn’t catch a single word from inside.

After a long while, General finally emerged from the tea stall with a satisfied smile. From beginning to end, the soldiers outside saw the two talking the whole time, but not a single word was heard.

The two bodyguards hurried up to greet him. “General…” Before they could finish, General waved them off. “Let’s go, back to the capital!”

Not only the two bodyguards, but the whole entourage was baffled. Yet, this was when the discipline of the unit became clear: faced with an incomprehensible order, not a single person disobeyed. Even if they had questions, now was not the time to ask.

General seemed to be in high spirits, his smile never leaving his face. The two bodyguards had followed General for a long time, but had never seen him like this, and couldn’t help but exchange glances. Had General suddenly gone mad? Why would he abruptly end the mission before it was completed? This was not the unyielding style of General, and from what was known of General's character and past actions, this shouldn’t have happened.

What’s more, this time General was on an imperial mission. They had just entered the area, hadn’t done anything yet, and after a few words with that Young Man, he was already heading back to the capital? Wasn’t General afraid of the Emperor’s reproach? Although the Emperor might let it slide because of his friendship with General, if word got out, it would still be a blow to General's reputation.

“General…” The bodyguard on the left had barely started to speak when General signaled him to be quiet. The bodyguard had known General for a long time, but the kick he’d just received still ached, so it was best to keep quiet—General did not like talkative people.

The group moved forward in silence, retracing their steps until, dozens of miles away, they saw the county town where they had rested the night before.

“What were you about to say just now?” General seemed to have had his eyes closed and a smile on his face the whole way, lost in thought. Now he finally spoke, and the attendant let out a long sigh of relief—if General was talking, he wasn’t angry.

“Who was that kid just now? How dare he be so disrespectful to General?” The attendant beside him immediately complained. After following General for so long, even in the capital, which prince or noble would dare glare at someone who was General's personal attendant like that?