Chapter 292: Saving Su Hanshan!
After reading the letter in his hand, Li Bing heaved a long sigh of relief, and his tense expression finally loosened.
"Chong gongzi, my father wants me to relay a question to you. If we were to allow you to take him away today, will you promise not to leak the slightest news about what the happenings today?" Holding onto the letter, Li Bing stared at Wang Chong intently.
"The letter is indeed from Duke of Liu!" Wang Chong was taken aback. But giving it some thoughts, given the effort the Duke of Liu Residence had put into capturing Su Hanshan, there was no way Duke of Liu was not keeping tabs on the operation.
"Don't worry, I know what I should do. You can tell the Duke of Liu that he can regard it as though nothing had happened today. There won't be the slightest rumor detrimental to the Duke of Liu Residence coming from our Wang Clan." Wang Chong replied earnestly. His goal was only to save Su Hanshan. Everything aside from that was not within his consideration.
"Alright, you can take that lad away then. Chong gongzi, I hope that you can remember the promise you just made… Retreat!" Li Bing nodded before waving his hand, beckoning his group to leave.
His departure was so decisive and abrupt that even Wang Chong was stunned for an instant.
The group of twenty or so men disappeared without a trace very quickly, and even the corpses on the ground were hauled away.
"This Duke of Liu sure is decisive! Brother Su... Brother Su? Brother Su! Old Eagle, come over and support him!"
As soon as Wang Chong turned around, he saw Su Hanshan's tense body slackening, and his body fell to the ground.
As soon as Li Bing left and the danger was averted, the taut string that was holding onto Su Hanshan consciousness finally snapped.
Wang Chong hurriedly fed Su Hanshan the recovery pill before having Old Eagle carry him back to the Wang Clan.
Su Hanshan's external injuries were already terrifying enough, but Wang Chong knew that his internal injuries were even more severe.
As soon as the tension left his body, blood immediately started flowing profusely from his multiple wounds.
Under normal circumstances, one would be doomed if one were to sustain such grievous wounds. It was only by feeding him three Resuscitation Pills from the royal court that were bought from Six-fingered Zhang for fifty thousand gold taels each that Wang Chong managed to preserve his life.
As Su Hanshan's wounds finally stabilized, an extremely powerful aura of vitality suddenly gushed forth from the depths of Su Hanshan's body, hastening his recuperation.
---
About three days later, with a low groan, Su Hanshan finally roused from his coma.
"You're awake!"
A smile emerged on Wang Chong's face as he looked at Su Hanshan. This fellow had finally awoken. If he really died like this, Wang Chong would be put in a spot.
After all, he was destined to be a great general in the future, a valuable asset of the empire!
Talents like him were extremely limited in the Central Plains. It would be a huge loss to Great Tang were he to die just like that.
His vitality sure is ridiculous!, Wang Chong thought as he looked at Su Hanshan.
He had found a physician to take a look at Su Hanshan, and all in all, the latter had suffered around thirty deep cuts, seventeen of which left gaping holes through his body. One was even right beside his heart.
And of the seventeen, there was eleven which were fatal.
His wounds were so horrific that few could maintain a straight face before them. Surviving such injuries would take a miracle, and yet Su Hanshan actually managed to make a substantial recovery within just three days.
His wounds had already healed sufficiently to be considered as non-lethal, and he was still recovering at an astonishing pace.
Even in his previous life, Wang Chong had never seen a person with such overwhelming vitality.
It seemed like it was no coincidence that he managed to become one of the brightest stars that emerged from Kunwu Training Camp.
Wang Chong could tell that he was still hiding a lot of secrets.
"Where is this?" Su Hanshan asked as he slowly propped himself up on the bed. His expression was as calm as usual, unlike the typical anxiety and panic one would feel when waking up in a foreign place.
The first thing Su Hanshan did after waking up was to assess his surroundings carefully before speaking.
"You are at my home, this is a room reserved for guests," Wang Chong smiled.
"Thank you," Su Hanshan nodded. That was just an ordinary expression of gratitude, but based on Wang Chong's understanding of Su Hanshan, that was probably the very limit he could go.
Considering Su Hanshan's cold and haughty personality, it was no easy feat for him to utter words of gratitude to another.
In fact, Wang Chong was probably the only one who had ever heard these words from him in the two timelines.
After saying those words, Su Hanshan crossed his legs, closed his eyes, and began to cultivate. While his condition had stabilized, his face was still pale, and his body was still weak. He was still a far distance away from making a full recovery.
"You should rest first. If you have any needs, feel free to inform me," Aware that this was simply Su Hanshan's personality, Wang Chong shook his head inwardly and walked out.
------
But just a mere two hours after Wang Chong left the guest room, a maid rushed into his study and exclaimed,"Gongzi, gongzi! Bad news!... Su gongzi has barged out of the residence!"
"How long has it been?" Wang Chong asked.
"Around half a tea's time. We tried to stop him, but he still managed to get past us."
(~7.5min)
The young maid's eyes were reddened, and she was so anxious that she was on the verge of tears. While speaking, she even raised her finger to point at the direction of the main door in agitation.
"I see..."
A deep frown appeared on Wang Chong's forehead. He knew that he couldn't keep Su Hanshan here, but even so, he didn't expect the other party to leave so quickly.
Even though Su Hanshan's life was already out of danger, he was still a far stretch away from being able to move freely. On top of that, he was still carrying grievous wounds. If the Duke of Liu Residence were to set their eyes on him once more, he would be in deep trouble.
Nevertheless, Wang Chong had expected this from the very start. After all, this was simply Su Hanshan's character.
If he was a person capable of compromise, he wouldn't have suffered such a tragic fate in his previous life.
Considering that the other party had been gone for half a tea's time and the huge crowds that filled the streets of the capital every day, it was probably difficult to find him now.
This sure does sound like him, unwilling to owe a favor to anyone, Wang Chong thought as he shook his head.
"It's fine, let him be. You don't need to worry about it," Wang Chong waved his hands.
Since the Duke of Liu allowed Su Hanshan to leave yesterday, Su Hanshan should still be safe for now.
"Right, gongzi. Su gongzi left behind a note before his departure." That maid suddenly recalled something and hurriedly retrieved a note from her sleeves. Looking at her clumsy appearance, Wang Chong couldn't help but chuckle.
"You are Little Plum, right?" Wang Chong suddenly asked.
"Y-yes! Gongzi, you remember my name?" The maid was astounded. She had only entered the residence for five months, and she was still fearful that the young master might blame her for her previous mistake. She didn't think that the young master would actually remember and recognize her.
It would be weird if I didn't remember you!, Wang Chong chuckled inside. In his previous life, Little Plum had brought him much joy after the downfall of the Wang Clan, but it was a pity that she eventually ended up...
"Little Plum, you will follow me from now on," Wang Chong replied.
"G-gongzi... Won't that be bad?" Little Plum's face immediately flushed red, and she began fidgeting awkwardly.
You lass, what are you thinking of? Knowing what she was thinking, Wang Chong chuckled. She was still as clumsy as always, just like the Little Plum he remembered.
"What I am saying is that you will serve me personally from now on. You'll bring me tea and fold my bedsheets," Wang Chong replied.
"Ah, so that's what you mean!" Realizing that she had misunderstood, the tip of Little Plum's ears turned red. But she quickly put all of these to the back of her mind and replied cheerfully, "Gongzi, I'm willing to serve you..."
Seeing the joyful look on the innocent lady, Wang Chong felt the burden weighing his mind down lightening.
After sending the young lady away, Wang Chong opened up the note that Su Hanshan left behind.
"I owe you one."
These cold words were written with powerful and decisive brush strokes. Wang Chong could immediately tell that it was Su Hanshan's handwriting.
"Heh, as expected!" Wang Chong chuckled as he crushed the paper into a ball.
Su Hanshan had a solitary and cold personality, which made it extremely difficult to get close to him. Nevertheless, he was still extremely thankful for Wang Chong's help, just that he wasn't good at expressing himself.
Thus, he left this note behind.
In the other world that Wang Chong came from, there was a professional term to describe such a person—social communication disorder.
Su Hanshan clearly belonged to this class of people.
"Since I'm already at it, I might as well help you resolve this entire issue."
Glancing at the direction of the main gate, Wang Chong walked out of his study with a smile on his face.
There was a saying, “eyes are the windows to the soul”. In the room, Su Hanshan's gaze had already betrayed his intention to request help from Wang Chong, just that his solitary and haughty personality held him back.
Walking through the hallways, Wang Chong instructed someone to summon Old Eagle over.
---
Now in the main hall, Wang Chong was seated on a fine wooden chair. He lifted the cup of tea placed beside his table and sipped on it before asking, "Have you found anything?"
Three days ago, when Wang Chong saved Su Hanshan from the Duke of Liu Residence, he instructed Old Eagle to get to the bottom of this matter. Considering how Su Hanshan was willing to risk his life to scout out the Duke of Liu Residence in the middle of the night, it couldn't possibly be something trivial.
Not to mention, Duke of Liu was even willing to risk offending the Wang Clan and King Song, and insist on killing Su Hanshan. There was no doubt that this was no simple matter.
Su Hanshan would never reveal anything to him, so Wang Chong could only seek answers alone.
Perhaps, if he were to get to the bottom of the mystery, he might be able to free the shackles binding Su Hanshan, allowing him to soar to even greater heights this life.
Perhaps, he might become the most capable great general in the Central Plains!
"Gongzi, I have been looking into this matter the past few days, and even though the Duke of Liu has maintained top secrecy regarding the matter, I was still able to obtain some clues from the servants working in the Duke of Liu Residence. It seems that there is a young lady living in the Duke of Liu Residence who is very tightly guarded. Her daily necessities are provided only by the most loyal of servants, and outsiders aren't allowed to approach her living quarters at all.
"Around three to four months ago, the young lady was suddenly moved to another room for no particular reason. After the incident a few days ago, the servants are speculating that the reason why Su Hanshan was scouting the Duke of Liu Residence might be due to the young lady," Old Eagle said deeply.
"Three to four months ago? Isn't that the day when Kunwu Training Camp opened, and Su Hanshan arrived at the White Tiger Peak?" Wang Chong frowned.
"But gongzi, I have a feeling that things aren't as simple as they seem," Old Eagle said contemplatively.
"What do you mean?"
"My gut instincts tell me that the Duke of Liu Residence intentionally allowed this piece of news to leak out. We didn't need to go through too much trouble to obtain it. However, the crucial parts such as the appearance of the young lady, her background, and her relationship with Su Hanshan were completely lacking. Going by the rules of the industry, this can be considered as a 'tunnel'."
"What do you mean?" Wang Chong asked, bewildered.
"Since the Duke of Liu was willing to hand the news freely to us, it means that he also hopes to resolve this matter once and for all. However, he is still lacking a suitable mediator to allow both parties to sit down and negotiate," Old Eagle said.
Wang Chong instantly understood Old Eagle's meaning. Even though he had saved Su Hanshan that night, it was clear that this matter wouldn't end at this.
Thus, the Duke of Liu decided to release some information in hopes that Wang Chong would pick them up. But at the same time, he couldn't possibly just approach any spy loitering around the residence suspiciously, so the only choice was to make it public.
And since the news was going to be made public, he couldn't possibly reveal too much. After all, this was likely to be a scandal involving the Duke of Liu.
As for why Duke of Liu didn't approach Wang Chong directly, it was because it was beneath him. Wang Chong would have to send a high-standing middleman to talk with the Duke of Liu, and have the message transmitted back to him through the middleman's mouth.
Even though everything sounded complicated, this was simply the daily workings of their social circle. Born into a prestigious clan, Wang Chong also understood it.
In the end, Duke of Liu is still fearful of grandfather and King Song's authority!, Wang Chong thought.
Regarding the middleman to scout out the secret, Wang Chong had a candidate in mind.