The Return of the King: A Generation of Prodigies

Yan Yu and his group traveled non-stop and finally arrived in Suzhou three days later.

Only after entering Suzhou City did Qin Gang finally breathe a sigh of relief. His heart had been hanging in the air all the way. He would not dare to relax for a moment until he had safely sent this ancestor to his destination.

Because they were in a hurry, everyone in the group looked unhappy and in bad spirits. The worst off was Ping An, who couldn't ride a horse to begin with and only managed to survive the whole journey by being strong.

The next person was the little mustache. Yan Yu had already beaten him half to death, and they'd been constantly feeding him drugs to keep him awake. So, let alone food, the little mustache hadn't even had water. He'd managed to stay alive until now thanks to his immense inner strength and tenacity.

"Captain Qin, let's find an inn to rest and have something to eat." In his previous life, rushing all night without food or water was a very common thing for Yan Yu, but his current body was too weak. What he was used to doing in his previous life was now difficult for him to endure.

"Okay." Qin Gang's soul had already left his body at this time. In fact, he was the one who had the hardest time along the way. He had to worry about this and that, and was also responsible for vigilance.

It was easy to find an inn in Suzhou City. The group of people, who were already extremely tired, fell asleep in the assigned room without even having time to change their clothes.

Yan Mingde and his army arrived in Suzhou in time and camped on the banks of the Chuling River, ready to meet the enemy. However, the situation was not good. Soldiers began to fall ill one after another, suffering from abdominal pain, dizziness, nausea, and general weakness. Although they were not life-threatening illnesses, the cause could not be found and the problem could not be solved, which directly affected the morale of the army and the combat effectiveness of the soldiers.

Yan Mingde was so worried about this that he lost his appetite and couldn't sleep. In just a few days, he lost a lot of weight.

"General, the scouts reported that the enemy's advance troops are about to arrive. What should we do?" The deputy general looked at Yan Mingde nervously and asked.

Yan Mingde frowned and thought for a moment, then asked, "How many troops are there in Suzhou?"

"There are approximately 50,000 troops stationed in Suzhou, but they are too dispersed. The Suzhou city closest to us only has less than 2,000 people."

The deputy general's words made Yan Mingde frown even deeper. Although there were more than 2,000 people, these 2,000 people were not formally trained. They were only serving as the defense of Suzhou, and their adaptability and combat effectiveness were far from enough.

But it's better to have it than nothing. He has already sent out the message for help. As long as he can hold on for two days, he can temporarily stabilize the situation.

"How many of our men are still healthy and fit enough to fight?" Yan Mingde asked with considerable trepidation. In just a few days, he had witnessed and heard reports of scores of soldiers falling ill. His biggest worry now was not being able to pinpoint the root of the problem.

The deputy general looked up at Yan Mingde and said in a low voice, "Less than 10,000 people."

Yan Mingde's eyes went dark and he felt the blood rushing to his head. He had fought for so many years, but this was the first time he encountered such a difficult situation.

After a moment, Yan Mingde calmed down and began to deploy his troops calmly. Nothing was more important than repelling the enemy at the moment.

Yan Yu, who was still sleeping, was awakened by a very tiny sound of footsteps. He opened his eyes and became alert. Although the footsteps were small, he could tell that these people had deep internal strength and were highly skilled in martial arts.

Thinking of the mustache man he had caught, Yan Yu broke out in a cold sweat. He got up from the bed, took his dagger, and opened the window with light steps. Yan Yu followed the eaves close to the wall, leaned slightly towards the window next door, and held his breath to eavesdrop on the conversation in the room.

But after waiting for a long time, he didn't hear any talking from inside. Yan Yu was puzzled, so he grabbed the corner of the window with one hand and gently opened the window next door with a dagger in the other hand, then squinted his eyes and peeked over.

It was difficult to tell how many people were in the room, but Yan Yu saw that they seemed to be preparing some medicinal powder. Just as Yan Yu looked away and wanted to leave, he heard the conversation between the people in the room.

"If you ask me, why not just pour poison into the water source and kill them all? Why go through all this trouble, preparing this powder that will only give them diarrhea and weakness?"

"What do you know? Don't talk nonsense. The master doesn't want them dead, he wants to recruit them for his own use. Especially that Yan Mingde, he is a fierce general. The general lost his life at his hands. The master has been trying to subdue him for years. After waiting for so long, he finally got this good opportunity. How can he let it go so easily?"

"I heard that Yan Mingde is now the General of the Imperial Guards, a close minister to Emperor Yunli. He holds a high position of power. How could such a man surrender so easily?"

"So, we need a strategy. Of the 50,000 men they brought, more than half have been poisoned and are unable to fight. The advance troops will arrive today. Once the battle begins, Yan Mingde will undoubtedly lose. As long as we capture him and tell the world that he has surrendered and rebelled, the Emperor of Yunli will be furious and will order the execution of his family and relatives. Who would still be afraid that he would not surrender then?"

Yan Yu's heart tightened when he heard this. He originally thought that these people were coming for him, but he didn't expect that they were actually coming for his cheap father.

It's a counter-espionage plan, and no one knows who is behind it. This trick is really vicious. It's to wipe out the Yan family in one fell swoop, leaving no one alive.

Moreover, many of the people brought by his cheap father were poisoned. How could they fight if they were poisoned and had no fighting power?

Yan Yu slipped back to his room and thought quickly in his mind. The situation was critical and he had to control the people in the next room as soon as possible, find out the truth from their mouths, and save his father and those soldiers.

Having made up his mind, Yan Yu immediately got up and went to find Qin Gang. He needed someone to help him complete this task.

Qin Gang, who was sleeping soundly, was woken up by Yan Yu. He was about to get angry, but when he opened his eyes and saw that the person in front of him was Yan Yu, he suppressed his temper.

"Mr. Yan, is there something wrong?" Qin Gang yawned and closed his eyes again. He was so sleepy that he didn't want to do anything but just wanted to have a good sleep.

"Brother Qin, I need your and your brothers' help with something. This matter is of great importance and concerns the safety of my father and the 50,000 troops." Yan Yu went straight to the point and said what he had just heard.

Qin Gang, who was still confused, suddenly woke up after hearing Yan Yu's words. "What's wrong? What's going on? Did General Yan send anyone? Is the situation critical now?"

Yan Yu nodded and said, "The situation is very critical now, but my father didn't send anyone to tell me this. There's no time to explain. Bring your people and follow me quickly."

If we delay for a moment longer, the danger will increase.

Qin Gang did not dare to hesitate any longer and immediately stood up and called all his men over.

Seeing that everyone had gathered, Yan Yu said, "Someone in the room next to me is preparing poison powder, preparing to poison the army coming to quell the rebellion again. I don't know how many people there are, but they are all very skilled in martial arts. Everyone should be careful in what they do."

"Poisoning again?" Qin Gang looked at Yan Yu in confusion and asked, "So they've already poisoned the army?"

"Yes, now many soldiers are unable to go to the battlefield due to poisoning, and the enemy's advance troops should arrive tonight." Yan Yu was a little anxious at this time. He didn't know if it was too late to stop it.

"Damn it, these bastards! I'm going to tear them apart alive." Qin Gang, with his hot temper, couldn't stand hearing this. As a fellow soldier, how could he tolerate the enemy treating his compatriots like this?

Yan Yu glanced at Qin Gang and said, "We can't act rashly now. You two," Yan Yu pointed to the two guards standing beside him, "go outside and keep watch. If you spot anyone suspicious, arrest them immediately to prevent them from exposing our plan."

"You two will be responsible for blocking the doors and windows to ensure that no one in the house can escape."

"And you two will be responsible for guarding outside and waiting for support at any time."

Yan Yu looked at Qin Gang and said, "Brother Qin, how about you come with me to meet the people inside?"

"Listen to Master Yan." Qin Gang was not angry because Yan Yu assigned him and his people to do things without permission. Instead, he agreed with Yan Yu's arrangement.

Everyone went to carry out their own tasks. Qin Gang followed Yan Yu to the next room and without waiting for Yan Yu's instructions, he kicked the door open simply and roughly.

The two people in the room who had not had time to react were confused by the two people who suddenly broke in. Before they could make any response, Yan Yu and Qin Gang attacked at the same time.

A fight was inevitable. The two people in the room were quite strong, but Yan Yu and Qin Gang were even stronger and even stronger than them.

So after the fight lasted for some time, it ended with Yan Yu and Qin Gang winning without any suspense.

After watching Qin Gang tie up the two men, Yan Yu picked up the undestroyed medicine bottle on the table and sniffed it. It contained cartilage powder and laxatives.

In his previous life, when Yan Yu was leading troops to war, he was once poisoned by the enemy. Since then, he began to study, develop and research various poisons and antidotes, becoming a master of his generation.

Yan Yu put down the medicine bottle in his hand, clapped his hands, and found a stool to sit down. "Tell me, do you want to confess honestly and quickly, or do you want to test the power of the Bone-Eroding Powder before confessing?"

The two people who were tied up tightly looked up at Yan Yu with a little panic in their eyes, but more of it was disdain and arrogance.

Seeing this, Yan Yu didn't want to waste any more time and words, so he stood up and walked to the two of them, pried open their mouths, stuffed the pills he had in his hand into their mouths, then lifted their chins and forced them to swallow them.

Yan Yu never shows mercy to his enemies.

Yan Yu's actions stunned Qin Gang who was standing by. He originally thought that it would take more time to torture him, but who would have thought that Master Yan actually had such a skill? It really opened his eyes.

"Ordinary Bone-Erosion Powder takes effect after an incense stick of time, but the Bone-Erosion Powder I gave you is a strengthened version I specially developed. It will take effect in just half a cup of tea, and the pain will definitely kill you."

"But don't worry, I will never let you die. I will only give you the antidote when you are in excruciating pain, and then feed you the bone-eroding powder. When you are in excruciating pain again, I will feed you the antidote again. I will repeat this over and over again. I just don't know what it will feel like."

Yan Yu said this calmly, but everyone who heard it changed their expressions. Who could have imagined that this seemingly gentle, androgynous young man would say such cruel words?

Qin Gang once again refreshed his understanding of Yan Yu. This young master of the Yan family was definitely not an ordinary person.

"Well, have you made up your mind?" Yan Yu looked at the two people in front of him without changing his expression. "Should I confess now and suffer less, or do I have to make things difficult for myself and suffer more, and then I still have to confess in the end?"

Seeing that the two were still hesitating, Yan Yu continued, "As long as you cooperate and tell me what I want to know, I can promise not to take your lives and will protect you."

The conditions offered by Yan Yu were so tempting that the two tied-up men were tempted. To put it bluntly, they were just insignificant and unknown people in the eyes of their master. They had to do whatever their master told them to do. If they did well, it would be their due, but if they did not, their lives would be in danger.

Anyway, we will be controlled by others and have to do things according to their wishes, so why make things difficult for ourselves? As long as we can stay alive, that's enough.

"How about it, have you thought it through? Half a cup of tea will be up soon." Yan Yu asked calmly, playing with the dagger in his hand nonchalantly.

"Can you really promise not to kill us?" one of the two men asked.

"Of course I can. I swear in the name of my father Yan Mingde that I, Yan Yu, will never kill you." Yan Yu raised his hand and swore solemnly.

"Are you Yan Mingde's son?" The two tied-up people were suddenly upset. They never thought that the noble young man in front of them would be Yan Mingde's son. They were making poison here to harm Yan Mingde, but they ended up dancing in front of the real owner's son and were caught red-handed. There was no point in resisting here. They had better confess quickly.

"Yes, I am Yan Mingde's real son, Yan Yu."