Chapter 75: I Will Go in Jianlang’s Place to Find Him

Wei Jianlang opened his mouth, wanting to say that although Shen Shilang had never served in the military, his martial arts skills were not weak at all, and he definitely wouldn’t hold them back. However, after thinking for a moment, he wasn’t sure if he should say this, so he held his tongue.

“Shen Shilang, don’t think you can take this opportunity to harm General Wei. Otherwise, don’t blame me for acting first and reporting later!” Sheng Jinchao shouted angrily.

Shen Shilang: “……”

It was the first time he realized the phrase “act first, report later” could be used in such a way.

Quan Guanran gave Wei Jianlang a deep look and said, “Very well, go join your troops quickly!”

“Yes sir!” Wei Jianlang brightened up and hurriedly stood, casting a quick glance at Shen Shilang as he left. If anything happened to him on this mission, the Wei family… would be in Shen Shilang’s hands.

Shen Shilang’s expression darkened as he looked at Quan Guanran. This man was either an agent of Emperor Jiacheng, wanting to use this chance to eliminate the Wei family, or he sought to elevate his own position by removing the Wei family, potentially even taking their place.

Over the years, while Shen Shilang had been preoccupied with the imperial examination, he had quietly gathered intelligence on the court officials. Although he had not entered officialdom, he had a thorough understanding of both the civil and military personnel.

In that brief moment, Shen Shilang concluded it was the latter.

Shen Shilang left the tent to find Wei Jianlang, who also had many things he wanted to say. He said in a low voice, “I have a lot to tell you. Wait until I return.”

But Shen Shilang didn’t give him the chance. He delivered a swift chop to Wei Jianlang’s neck, knocking him unconscious.

Wei Jianlang’s deputy, Zhou Cheng, felt a jolt and instinctively drew his sword to stab at Shen Shilang. Because Wei Jianlang and Shen Shilang’s relationship was as close as brothers, neither Wei Jianlang nor Zhou Cheng had ever been on guard against Shen Shilang.

Zhou Cheng never imagined that Shen Shilang would knock out Wei Jianlang right under his nose! What was Shen Shilang trying to do?

Zhou Cheng’s eyes bulged in rage. Shen Shilang had no weapon, so he raised his leg to kick away Zhou Cheng’s incoming sword. He hurriedly said to Zhou Cheng, “Give me a set of the Young General Wei’s armor!”

Zhou Cheng was about to attack when he froze at these words. “Young Master Shen, what exactly are you trying to do?” he asked through gritted teeth, his face still wary.

“General Wei’s life is uncertain right now. If something happens to him, Jianlang will be the Wei family’s only hope,” Shen Shilang explained.

Zhou Cheng was taken aback. “Young Master Shen, you mean to…”

“I’ll go in Jianlang’s place to find the rescue team. With the armor on, they won’t be able to tell the difference right away,” Shen Shilang said. “Hurry up! Do you want to wait for others to find out?”

“Yes.” Zhou Cheng quickly carried Wei Jianglang back to his tent, then brought a set of armor to help Shen Shilang put on.

With the helmet on and by deliberately keeping his head down, it wasn’t easy to recognize him at a glance.

Besides, at a time like this, no one would likely have the mind to carefully distinguish whether he was Wei Jianglang or not.

“Young Master Shen, if you encounter danger and the young general wakes up…” Zhou Cheng couldn’t bear to finish the thought – Wei Jianlang might kill him.

Shen Shilang said in a low voice, “While I’m gone, be vigilant. When Jianlang wakes up, tell him not to trust Quan Guanran.”

Zhou Cheng was puzzled. “General Quan… could he be an agent of the court?”

“Not necessarily, but he does intend to take General Wei’s place,” Shen Shilang said. “To achieve that, he wouldn’t mind following Emperor Jiacheng’s orders, perhaps even using General Wei as a pawn to gain favor.He’d achieve multiple goals at once.”

Zhou Cheng took a deep breath and said, “Yes, I understand.”

“In the scout team that Sheng Jinchao just dispatched, are there any Northwestern Army soldiers?” Shen Shilang asked.

“Yes,” Zhou Cheng immediately replied. “After all, the Northwestern Army is more familiar with the terrain here. They wouldn’t dare not to bring Northwestern Army soldiers. However, this scout team is half their people and half Northwestern Army.”

“It’s good to have our own people,” Shen Shilang said, moving Zhou Cheng. Shen Shilang still considered them as his own people.

As Shen Shilang turned to leave the tent, Zhou Cheng suddenly knelt behind him. ” Young Master Shen!”

Shen Shilang stopped and turned to look at him. Zhou Cheng bowed to Shen Shilang. “Young Master Shen, I am deeply grateful!”

“No need for this,” Shen Shilang said as he left the tent, keeping his head down as he joined the scout team. They thought Shen Shilang was Wei Jianlang. Though he was a bit late in arriving, they didn’t reproach him.

The group mounted their horses and galloped off. Su Jinshi was glad she hadn’t used up her communication box today. She was holding off on using it now, waiting until they went deeper so she could help Shen Shilang check the situation and communicate with him in time.

“Jinshi, are you there?” Shen Shilang asked softly from horseback.

Su Jinshi tapped Shen Shilang’s hand twice to indicate she was present.

Shen Shilang said, “Help me look for cross-shaped markings along the road.”

Su Jinshi tapped Shen Shilang’s hand twice again to show she understood. Along the way, Su Jinshi constantly rotated her view to search for markings.

“Shen Shilang!” Su Jinshi hurriedly bought a communication box to call her. “There’s a cross-shaped marking made of stones in the grass pile to your left front.”

Shen Shilang’s heart leapt. He rode forward and raised his hand. “Stop!”

Shen Shilang signaled the team behind him to halt, dismounted, and rummaged through the grass. A scout from the Northwestern Army exclaimed joyfully, “It’s General Wei’s marking!”

“Let’s go!” Shen Shilang led the team in the direction indicated by the marking. With Su Jinshi’s help, Shen Shilang found the markings much faster than expected.

“Stop!” Shen Shilang halted the team again because Su Jinshi said there was an ambush up ahead.

Shen Shilang pointed to one man. “You, go carefully and scout ahead. There may be an ambush.”

“Yes sir!” This scout was from the Northwestern Army. Hearing Shen Shilang’s voice sounding slightly odd, but attributing it to distortion from the helmet and armor, no one suspected anything yet.

The soldier Shen Shilang dispatched left his horse and went to carefully investigate. “General!” The man returned from scouting and reported, “There’s a small Turkic squad of about twenty men in ambush ahead. I also saw people transporting coal oil and fire weapons further up the road.”

Shen Shilang thought for a moment and asked, “Is there any passage that looks like it could be an escape route?”

The man carefully recalled and said, “There is one. They indeed seem to have deliberately left a small gap.”

Shen Shilang said, “General Wei must be trapped inside. If I don’t return within half an hour of going in, you all go back to camp on your own and report to General Quan. Have him send troops to capture them.”

“Yes sir!”

“General, are you going alone? Let us come with you! It’s too dangerous for you to go by yourself. You might not be able to save General Wei and could end up in trouble yourself!” a Northwestern Army soldier said.

“I need to go make sure General Wei is safe,” Shen Shilang said. “If General Wei has fallen, I’ll definitely return within half an hour. If they’re still there, you can go back for reinforcements.”

…