Chapter 14

1

After the old military doctor left the room, I asked Nofice to stay in the tent to take care of Shi Xueqi's injuries, while I left the tent alone.

The tent was built under a block of rocks, which formed a natural cave entrance. Bushes surrounded it on both sides, and in front of it was a flat ground with a rippling lake, where even a herd of deer could be found. It seemed that the old soldiers really had found a picturesque place to camp, as if they were on a vacation.

"Doctor, I forgot to ask you your last name earlier."

"Did you see those deer? I share the same last name as them."

"Dr. Lu, are you really not going to tell me what happened last night? I'm really curious."

"If your friend here doesn't tell you herself, then it's not meaningful."

"I also want to hear, but it will take time."

The skilled hands of the old military doctor took out a roasted chicken from the fire, carefully removing the leg.

"Kid, you also haven't told me who you guys are. Your clothes indicate that you are a student from the Chishin Academy in the Imperial Capital."

I patted the dust off my school badge and said, "I'm a second-year student from the high school division of Chishin Academy. I came here to help my fiancée and find out the truth about the 'Judgment Day' incident."

"Then you must be Qin Yang! The one responsible for the 'Judgment Day' incident is a girl named Qin Ying, who is the next Duchess. And she only has one fiancé, but his fiancée is not only her."

"Yeah, all of my key information is from the news."

"So this is not a love triangle, but a geometric figure." The old military doctor pulled out another chicken leg and handed it to me.

"Thanks. Did the Cloud Ladder Road yesterday have a missing section?" I looked up and found a broken section in the tangled network of Cloud Ladder Roads in the sky.

The old military doctor saw the Cloud Ladder Roads in the sky, located halfway up the mountain and beneath the clouds. Due to its high altitude, the road was protected by a set of Magic barriers called the "Mia Guardrail".

"If even the 'Mia' is broken, then it must have been a rare battle. Although I have fought in wars and seen powerful Magic battles, they are hard to come by." The old military doctor shook his head.

Was he regretting not seeing the scene of the battle?

"Dr. Lu, what do you think made our Emperor Chengdu their target?"

"You're asking me? There must be a reason behind it, but I don't even know who they are."

"Yiles, Dongzhiji, Nuochiwei, Lanheng, and Lefranko, five island countries."

After hearing the names of the five countries, the old military doctor said, "Them? The reason why they were involved during the 'Border City War' twenty years ago, especially in terms of the sea area, was primarily due to historical issues."

"History books always have some rhetoric to offer."

"However grand the history might sound, both the land and sea borders require force and bloodshed. The war twenty years ago was the best proof of that." Although the old military doctor was eating a greasy chicken leg, his chewing action was filled with anger.

"We encountered them twice in Jincheng. I believe there will be more clues here."

"You're asking if I have seen them, right? Honestly, no. This primitive forest covers nearly 100,000 hectares, and it's not easy to encounter these people. Although tourists can enter on their own, there aren't many actual visitors."

"I see."

"They're back. Let's ask these old gentlemen if they encountered the people you mentioned while they were hunting."

The old military doctor pointed to three elderly men walking towards the tent with his firebrand from the fire.

"Are they in the same unit as Dr. Lu?"

"Of course not, but we were assigned to the same squad for a mission. I am the squad medic. It was because of the sacrifice of our captain and vice-captain that we were able to survive and leave the jungle."

"War is never without casualties. It's lucky that two people exchanged their lives for four to survive."

"It wasn't just two people. A hundred of us went in, divided into ten groups. Except for the four of us, everyone else stayed inside."

"Which jungle was it?"

"To the northwest, the Withered Wood Jungle."

The Withered Wood Jungle is indeed a dangerous area. Besides being a gathering place for evil spirits in the central zone, there are also countless monsters of various kinds, and the environment is harsh.

"You guys look at this youngster, still in good spirits. Dr. Lu, you were pushing back on treating him."

"What do you know? If it weren't for his divine protection, I would have been too afraid to treat him."

"Without your beautiful nurse assistant, you wouldn't even know how to hold a scalpel."

"Get lost."

Dr. Lu pulled out three roasted chickens from the fire and said, "These two actually fell from the Cloud Ladder Road with multiple wounds from scraping against hard objects."

"Can you see any of those wounds?" I looked at myself and could only see some tattered clothes.

"Your divine protection has already healed those wounds, but it's different for your girlfriend."

So that's how Shi Xueqi got those bandages. I thought she was injured by a wolf pack.

Dr. Lu asked my questions to his old comrades. After a few minutes of serious contemplation, judging from their expressions, it seemed that my fall from such a high place wasn't in vain.

"I think I've seen someone suspicious. While hunting, I encountered a few people who claimed to be tourists. Although their attire and accents seemed fine, their expressions felt strange to me. My military intuition told me that they might be the ones you're looking for," said another tall old man.

This old man was the scout in this small team, so he should have encountered the most people and situations.

"How many of them were there and what kind of people were they?"

"There were five of them, two slender men, one with a long ponytail, and a burly man with a hunchback. There was also a girl with a ponytail, and the most suspicious one was an elderly man in blue clothes. He was probably not much older than us."

"Blue clothes! Ponytail! Burly hunchback! It matches the description. Did they wear masks?"

"No, they didn't. People who wear masks during a crime wouldn't wear them in ordinary times."

"True. I have one more question. Can I read your memories?"

"Do you understand mind-reading Magic that violates privacy? Are you some kind of omnipotent kid?"

"Dr. Lu, I believe in democracy. I won't use mind-reading Magic if the other party doesn't agree. But this time, I hope to know more and I hope you can cooperate."

The old men looked at each other, nodded, and agreed.

2

About twenty minutes later, Shi Xueqi came out of the tent and reminded me that it was time to leave. Qin Ying had already rendezvoused with the Emperor, and it wouldn't be long before the "Le" organization's people would take action.

I expressed my heartfelt gratitude to the old men. Dr. Lu was a doctor who had a special affinity for herbs, and before leaving, he repeatedly instructed Shi Xueqi to change her bandages.

"Actually, you don't need bandages. I can help you." I said, gesturing to my right hand which was supposed to be able to heal.

"I'd rather use herbs."

"Why bother~~"

"What did you just ask?"

"Some troublesome matters."