"My simple Six Harmonies Wonder Formation shouldn't have been discovered this quickly, should it? When did the Imperial Court cultivate such a figure?" Hearing the urgent alarm, Zhuge Yishi's brow furrowed deeply...

"Sir, the General has returned..." At that moment, a messenger boy rushed over, his voice filled with excitement, saying...

At the sound of those words, everyone's spirits lifted, and they instinctively rushed toward the direction of the sound. Even Lin Xiaoyi, who had been diligently cultivating nearby, immediately dropped the saber in his hand and bolted in that direction...

Not only that, but the entire drill ground erupted in excitement. Especially the three thousand plus soldiers who had survived the catastrophe; each regarded Ye Jingyu as their greatest benefactor. They had been deeply worried these past few days without any news of him. Now, hearing this, they paid no mind to military discipline or site construction. They dropped whatever they were doing and rushed toward the woods with Zhuge Yishi and the others...

Even Chi Yixiu and Hu Yanqi, who were recuperating from injuries indoors, struggled to sit up and chased after them. They were equally extremely worried about Ye Jingyu's safety. Even the usually cold Hu Yanmeng showed a flicker of surprise in her eyes...

And because of this, when Ye Jingyu finally emerged from the Tiangang Mountain Range, battered and bruised by trials, he was met by a large crowd surging toward him...

Soldiers training were carrying sabers; soldiers chopping wood carried axes; soldiers treating comrades' wounds held surgical knives; soldiers cutting vegetables held kitchen knives; and cooks stirring food held ladles—the whole throng charged at him in a single wave...

Seeing such a sight, Ye Jingyu nearly fled in terror...

Had it not been for seeing Zhuge Yishi and the others at the forefront, he would have turned tail and run long ago...

"General, you're not dead after all! You worried us sick..." Ying Xiaoxiao threw herself onto Ye Jingyu, burying her tear-stained face into his already tattered clothes and crying out emotionally...

"Young Master, you're actually alive! I missed you to death..." Lin Xiaoyi also lunged at Ye Jingyu, carelessly smearing the dark blood from his saber practice onto Ye Jingyu's face...

"A'Yu, you really came back..." Chi Yixiu was even less restrained, grabbing Ye Jingyu in a fierce hug that nearly choked him with his terrifying arm strength...

Ye Longyi, Chen Qi, and the soldiers who had resisted the Ao Shi Battle Regiment alongside Ye Jingyu surged toward him, utterly disregarding hierarchy or rank. Vegetable oil, mud, snot, and saliva were all liberally flung onto Ye Jingyu...

When Ye Jingyu finally managed to push his way out of the passionate crowd, he was in absolute tatters. Aside from a piece of ragged cloth covering his essentials around the waist, every other part of him was ripped to shreds. His face was smeared with blood, grease, and grime; he looked more wretched than a beggar who hadn't bathed in years...

"Am I going to die because of all of you?" Ye Jingyu let out a heavy sigh and grumbled in annoyance. What was that talk about "not dead yet" and "actually alive"? Did they really think this young master was so easy to kill?

But then again, he supposed it was understandable. Anyone else whose heart had been pierced would surely have perished. Not only had he survived, but he was back, hale and hearty, in such a short time—how could that not cause astonishment...

"General, please forgive us. Everyone was just too worried about you..." Seeing Ye Jingyu’s pitiful state, Zhuge Yishi offered an apology, yet his face was split by a suppressed smile, showing no genuine remorse at all...

However, a hint of astonishment flickered in his eyes; he clearly noticed a change in Ye Jingyu compared to before...

"Hmph..." Ye Jingyu snorted coldly but said nothing more. Yet, his heart swelled with emotion. Whether it was Lin Xiaoyi, Ying Xiaoxiao, or the common soldiers, he saw genuine feeling in their eyes...

It was the sincerity reserved for brothers. At this moment, he was no longer the tyrant they feared but simply the person closest to them...

"Oh? General Ye, where did you pick up such a beautiful little girl? Well, it seems the General likes this type..." However, Ying Xiaoxiao failed to notice the change in Ye Jingyu or wonder why he was alive after being stabbed through the heart. Instead, she spotted Hei Ming Shixuan standing behind him...

"Get lost!" Ye Jingyu promptly kicked Ying Xiaoxiao flying, then turned to introduce, "This is Hei Ming Shixuan, an adopted sister I met on the road. You lot watch yourselves around her..."

"Hehe, we understand, General. How would we dare to have any designs on the General's woman..." Ying Xiaoxiao, having been kicked across the ground, wasn't angry. She scrambled up, then roared with laughter, her face taking on the ambiguous look all men understood...

Hearing Ying Xiaoxiao’s words, everyone nearby nodded instinctively...

Their expressions conveyed deep understanding...

Only Zhuge Yishi’s gaze toward Hei Ming Shixuan sharpened with a newfound gravity...

Seeing their collective expression, Ye Jingyu decided it was pointless to explain further. As long as these men didn't provoke Little Shixuan, he’d be fine...

Of course, he wasn't worried about Little Shixuan being bullied; he was worried that she might accidentally slay the elite force he had painstakingly preserved...

Ye Jingyu naturally had much to say upon his return, but holding a public assembly while clad in mere rags and looking so wretched was impossible. Fortunately, Hu Yanmeng and the eight surviving Hu Yan clan maidens had already prepared a bath and fresh clothes for him...

On the battlefield, they were the sharpest archers; in private, they were Ye Jingyu’s most devoted attendants...

Lying comfortably in the wooden bathtub, the tension that had coiled in his nerves finally relaxed. This close brush with death had profoundly taught him the malice lurking in human hearts, and what he experienced afterward showed him there were many impossibly powerful beings in this world...

The mysterious Hei Ming sisters, that supremely powerful, diminutive senior—what realms had they reached, and what were their true identities? Ye Jingyu didn't know, but he vaguely felt that sooner or later, he would understand, just as he would understand why he had come to this world...

The water was hot, washing away the fatigue of many days...

The sights and sounds encountered on the journey slowly faded as Ye Jingyu began to quietly savor this rare moment of serenity...