The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

As dawn broke, Shen Yiyang, Bai Yunchi, Yu Yao, and a few others returned from outside and regrouped in the courtyard.

After a short rest yesterday, the three of them went their separate ways to investigate the information provided by their informant.

After working all night, the three of them completed their tasks and returned to the courtyard.

Bai Yunchi entered the room, picked up the tea that had been sitting on the table all night, and gulped it down. He was both hungry and thirsty after working all night.

After drinking a whole pot of tea, Bai Yunchi felt like he had come back to life.

Yu Yao went straight into the room to brew tea. Shen Yiyang would not drink cold tea unless the conditions allowed.

Shen Yiyang smiled as he watched Bai Yunchi drink his water with gusto and pushed the tea and snacks on the table in front of him.

"Have something to eat first to tide you over. Breakfast will probably be delivered a while later."

"okay."

Bai Yunchi didn't stand on ceremony and started eating heartily.

After spending a long time by Shen Yiyang's side, Bai Yunchi's fear of Shen Yiyang gradually disappeared, replaced by even greater respect.

As the eldest son of the Marquis of Zhenbei and a decisive general on the northern frontier battlefield, Shen Yiyang had no airs at all. He was approachable, just like a friendly older brother next door.

He ate and drank with the soldiers, eating whatever they ate, never being picky or seeking special treatment.

When danger was imminent, as the general, he always took the lead and was the first to rush out.

Bai Yunchi often laments that if it weren't for the Empress and his father setting a trap for him to enter the palace and learn martial arts with Qiu Tong, he would have been in trouble.

He was given a chance to turn over a new leaf and become a better person. He might still be that despised playboy in the capital.

Where else would I have the opportunity to be by Shen Yiyang's side?

After Yu Yao brewed the tea and served it to Shen Yiyang, the three of them sat together and began to share the information they had gathered.

Shen Yiyang was the first to speak. According to the information sent by their informant last night, they knew that a mysterious person had appeared in Wanchun Tower.

That person was very likely the master behind Wan Chun Lou, so Shen Yiyang went to follow him.

“I followed that person to a secluded house not far from the city gate. The person and his men went into the house and never came out again.”

"I now suspect that the house is just a cover-up, a way to mislead people."

"The house looked dilapidated from the outside, so you can imagine what it must be like inside."

"Given that person's status, there's no way he could live in a place like that."

"So I guess there must be a secret passage in that house, and the exit of the secret passage must lead to somewhere."

"Originally, I wanted to go in and investigate, but I was afraid there might be an ambush inside, and it would be bad to alert them, so I didn't dare to go in rashly."

"Yuyao, please inform our people to find an opportunity to investigate that house and find out what's going on inside."

"Remember, be extremely careful not to disturb the people inside, and don't leave any traces."

The place they were in was completely unfamiliar to them. Their understanding of this place came only from the descriptions of their informants, records in books, and hearsay.

Under these circumstances, Shen Yiyang had to be even more cautious. He had to complete the mission, but he couldn't risk the lives of his men.

"Yes, I understand. I'll go and talk to them in a bit."

Yu Yao also held a teacup and sipped the hot tea slowly.

The climate in Nan Chu is truly unbearable. Yu Yao survived the wind, frost, rain, and snow of the northern frontier, but he couldn't endure the dry heat here.

He works so hard every day that his throat is constantly parched, and he wishes he could carry a teapot with him so he could always keep his water supply up.

"My trip to the palace last night didn't go very smoothly, but it was alright though. I did manage to find out some things."

"The emperor of Southern Chu is now seriously ill. He is old and in poor health, yet he refuses to abdicate in favor of the crown prince, which has already aroused the crown prince's dissatisfaction."

"Not only the crown prince, but also his other sons are currently looking for an opportunity to make their move."

"I think that in the near future, there will inevitably be a palace coup in Southern Chu."

"This could provide us with favorable conditions, giving us an opportunity to deploy our plans."

Last night, Yu Yao went to the palace of the Southern Chu Kingdom. Although the palace of the Southern Chu Kingdom was not as large as the palace of their Yunli Kingdom, its defenses were extremely tight.

Not only were there palace guards, but also some martial arts masters from the martial arts world.

Although Yu Yao already knew about these circumstances when she went there, and had made thorough preparations beforehand, she still didn't expect that an accident would almost happen.

He had just sneaked into the palace when he was discovered by a martial arts master, and the two immediately began to fight.

To prevent the fighting from attracting more people, Yu Yao used the bewitching needles Bai Yunchi had given him to launch a full-body attack on the person.

Although the methods were not exactly honorable, the products were very useful.

After being hit by the psychic needle, the man quickly collapsed, feeling weak all over.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yu Yao subdued the man, hid him in a secluded spot, and then stripped him of his clothes and put them on. Only then was he able to successfully capture a little eunuch who served the emperor of Southern Chu.

They obtained the information they wanted from that little eunuch.

Yu Yao did not kill the little eunuch, but released him. However, before releasing him, Yu Yao drugged him.

Although the medicine wouldn't kill him, if he didn't take the antidote in time, the pain in his internal organs would be unbearable.

That feeling of wanting to die but being unable to is worse than giving that little eunuch a quick death.

Yu Yao did this because he might need the little eunuch's help later.

They drugged him to make it easier to control him and make him obedient.

Originally, Yu Yao would never have bothered with poisoning, but as the saying goes, "one is influenced by one's company," and he ended up spending too much time with Bai Yunchi, a shameless and unscrupulous man.

Yu Yao had been brainwashed and poisoned by him, and felt that it was necessary to do some special things under special circumstances to ensure that the mission could be completed.

If it weren't for Bai Yunchi's twisted logic, Yu Yao would never have done such a thing in his life.

After all, his master was Shen Yiyang, an upright and virtuous young man.

What he despised most was this kind of crooked and unorthodox thing. In Shen Yiyang's mind, whether it was fighting a war or doing anything else, it was unacceptable.

We must win fair and square; using any means is not wrong.

Shen Yiyang's thoughts are not anyone else's fault but can only be blamed on the fact that the Marquis of Zhenbei raised him too well and made him too upright.

Compared to his two younger brothers, Shen Yiyang is just a naive and innocent person.

Shen Yiyang must not know what Yu Yao did today, otherwise she will definitely be scolded.

Of course, Yu Yao knew what kind of situation his master was, and he didn't intend to tell Shen Yiyang about what happened last night.

Finally, it was Bai Yunchi's turn. His task last night was to investigate Wanchun Tower and find out about its environment and geographical location.

After all, they are now being watched by others, and in order to be on the safe side, they must make preparations in advance and have a plan to make a safe retreat.

"My situation is much simpler. Wanchun Tower is quite large, about the size of two Zhenbei Marquis mansions."

Bai Yunchi compared Wanchunlou to the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion to help Shen Yiyang better understand just how big Wanchunlou really was.

However, what is unknown is that Shen Yiyang has absolutely no idea how big his home is.

Because the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion is indeed large enough that there are many places that Shen Yiyang has never been to, and as the future heir of the Zhenbei Marquis's mansion.

He devoted all his energy to studying military books with his father and learning how to conduct combat drills.

They simply don't have time to care about how big their house is on a regular basis.

"Half of Wanchun Tower is in front of us. When we came here yesterday, we entered the front building."

"What we see is only the front building, a very small part. There are many smaller buildings behind the front building."

"Some of them are places for eating and drinking, some are places for listening to music and playing, and some are places for meeting guests and discussing confidential matters."

"In short, there's nothing this place can't do, only things you can't imagine."

"And the area where we live now has about fifty or sixty courtyards of all sizes."

"More than thirty large courtyards and more than thirty small courtyards."

"Wanchun Tower has four exits in total, in the east, west, south, and north. Unfortunately, the small courtyard we are staying in is the best located, right in the center of all the courtyards."

"In other words, once we are in real danger, it will be very difficult for us to escape."

Bai Yunchi felt depressed when he talked about this. The small courtyard they were living in was empty all around them and no one lived there at all.

In other words, the people from Wanchunlou had indeed set their sights on them, and those vacant courtyards had conveniently surrounded the small courtyard where they were staying.

In the event of danger, those empty yards will become their enemies, attacking the conveniences surrounding them.

At that time, they will probably have no chance of escaping from Wanchun Tower.

Shen Yiyang nodded. He had already thought of what Bai Yunchi was talking about.

Since they've already cast their net and are waiting for them to come in, why would they let them go so easily?

"I also stopped by those inhabited courtyards to check on the situation."

"Wanchunlou is truly remarkable; it has all sorts of people here."

"There are royal relatives and nobles from the nine provinces and six kingdoms, powerful ministers, wealthy merchants, all sorts of people."

"But guess who I unexpectedly discovered here?"

Bai Yunchi kept Shen Yiyang in suspense, asking him to guess who he had met.

However, Shen Yiyang was not in the mood to fool around with him.

"Alright, stop being so mysterious, just tell me, who did you see?"

After Shen Yiyang said that, Bai Yunchi stopped being mysterious and immediately became serious.

"I actually saw someone here, He Chen, the illegitimate son of the He family."

"When the He family was raided, this kid had already disappeared. I didn't expect him to have run off to Southern Chu."

"Judging from the situation, that kid is doing quite well here. He can actually afford to stay in a place that costs five hundred taels of silver a day, not to mention he has a beautiful woman by his side. He's living a carefree life, like an immortal."

Bai Yunchi and He Chen were old acquaintances. Before the He family was raided, they were a very prestigious family in the capital.

Although He Chen was just an illegitimate son of the He family, he had his father protecting him and an older sister who was a concubine in the palace supporting him.

So they lived a very successful life, not at all inferior to those young masters who went to the capital.

However, because the He family plotted to kidnap and assassinate the crown prince, their property was confiscated and they were exiled.

He Chen was no longer in the capital. So he escaped a calamity, but unexpectedly, he is now in Southern Chu.

Bai Yunchi's words immediately caught Shen Yiyang's attention.

It is highly unusual that a child whose family was raided and who was an illegitimate child could thrive in Nan Chu.

There must be some unspeakable secret hidden behind He Chen, and perhaps this secret is related to the purpose of their trip.

This idea made Shen Yiyang feel a little excited.

Regardless of the circumstances, they need to thoroughly investigate He Chen.

"Achi, are you very familiar with this He Chen?"

Shen Yiyang looked at Bai Yunchi, and already had a plan in mind.

"Very familiar, very familiar."

“When I hadn’t reformed and was still a playboy, the two of us often hung out together eating and drinking.”

Bai Yunchi has never hidden his less-than-honorable past; he speaks his mind freely.

Anyway, he has already reformed and is not afraid of what others say about him behind his back. Besides, he still has the Empress and Shen Yiyang as his backers, so he is not afraid of anything.

If He Chen is acquainted with Bai Yunchi, things will be much easier, and Shen Yiyang's plan will be even more feasible.

"Alright, everyone go and get some sleep now, and replenish your energy."

"I will wake you up in an hour; we have a big plan to carry out."

Shen Yiyang's mind suddenly brightened because of He Chen's sudden appearance.

What was originally a completely unsolvable problem now seems to have found a solution, and the weight that had been pressing on Shen Yiyang's heart for many days has finally been lifted.

That way he can finally relax and get a good night's sleep.