The Great Tang always had its own rules for conducting affairs. Every noble was both independent and part of a whole. Personal crises had to be overcome by oneself. Only when the group was threatened would everyone rise up together to eliminate it.

Yun Ye had known this rule for a long time. Although out of worry he wanted to send his wife and children away, he absolutely could not hide. Grandmother understood this, and Xinyue understood it too. But the selfishness of love made her deliberately forget this rule, wanting to take her man and hide far away.

When Yun Ye was carried back by the academy’s laborers, Xinyue nearly fainted. She was very worried they were carrying back a corpse. Heaven be praised—she saw her husband lying on the stretcher smiling at her. Her tear-filled face immediately broke into a smile. As long as he returned safely, suffering some injuries was already the best outcome.

Four stretchers in total were carried through the family gate. Seeing Ding Yanping’s extremely miserable state on the stretcher, Dan Ying rubbed his eyes twice and still couldn’t believe that this person—with one foot reduced to white bones, one foot twisted and contorted, both hands covered in wounds, disheveled hair and covered in dust—was his master who had always been so high and mighty.

Qiu Ran Ke clamored to return to Li Jing’s home. He didn’t want to stay at the Yun residence for even a moment. But Yun Ye still kept him there. Sun Simiao needed to treat their wounds. Those iron nails and iron caltrops had long since rusted. Yun Ye didn’t want them to ultimately die of tetanus—that way there would truly be no way to answer to Li Jing.

“Beast, come here. Must this old man beg you?” Ding Yanping said in a deep voice to Dan Ying.

Dan Ying habitually walked to Ding Yanping’s side, only to see tears in Ding Yanping’s eyes. Trembling, he said to Dan Ying, “I don’t ask anything else of you. I only ask that you quickly go to Zhoushan Island and tell your master’s wife to take the child and flee far away. That place cannot be stayed in anymore. Have her raise my child to adulthood, and even in the underworld, I will be grateful for her great kindness.”

Hearing a legendary hero speak in such soft entreaty, Dan Ying nodded dully. Suddenly thinking of another serious problem, he quickly asked, “Should I tell little junior brother about your ordeal, so he can avenge you in the future?”

When delivering messages for others, one must deliver the complete message. Dan Ying didn’t care who his master’s enemy was—what needed to be said still needed to be said. He wouldn’t hide anything just because his master’s enemy was Yun Ye.

“Forget about revenge. That child won’t be Yun Ye’s match. Remember, Yun Ye is the most vicious person in this world. I only hope my child can marry and have children without worry. As for revenge, forget it. This old man is eighty-five this year. No matter how I die, it won’t be premature. Let it be.”

Dan Ying glanced at Yun Ye sitting in a soft sling chatting with Wu She. He couldn’t figure out how Yun Ye had reduced his master to this state, and moreover, made his master not even dare mention revenge. What exactly had he encountered?

He lifted his master from the stretcher and placed him in his own guest room. Taking up a knife, he said to his master, “Your foot is already useless. This disciple needs to chop off the bone, then ask Mr. Sun to look at your other leg to see if it can still be saved.”

Ding Yanping nodded. The blade flashed, and his right foot that had become white bones fell to the ground. Dan Ying wrapped the foot bones in hemp cloth and placed them beside Ding Yanping’s pillow, then took the teapot and fed him water little by little.

Next door came Qiu Ran Ke’s miserable screams again—that was Sun Simiao prying open his wounds to remove the rust. After finishing the cleaning, Qiu Ran Ke smiled bitterly as he accepted a gourd of wine and drank it all in one breath, preparing to just get drunk. Having lost such great face, he was somewhat embarrassed to see the Li Jing couple.

He Tianshang, leaning on a crutch, kept circling around Yun Ye. They were all people with mobility issues—there was no way to avoid him.

“Marquis Yun, this official carefully investigated the temples and Taoist monasteries that were first attacked. The result was that this official discovered they were all done by the same group. Their weapons are very strange—all curved odd blades, very different from our Central Plains swords. On the day of the incidents, only you and several other young nobles were closest to the scenes. Please, Marquis Yun, think carefully about what exactly happened that night.”

Hearing He Tianshang’s words, Yun Ye nearly sat up from his soft sling. This was too shocking. Since it was a frame-up, why use strange weapons? Recalling the scene of birds flying at night that evening, he couldn’t help but secretly suspect. Although the Buddhist sect and Taoists were at odds, openly brawling and attacking each other was not a wise move. He had always felt the monks and Taoists were too foolish—could there be hidden circumstances in this matter?

Thinking of this, he sent someone to fetch Liu Jinbao. Seeing Liu Jinbao’s sickly appearance, he hated Ding Yanping even more. The family could now be considered full of wounded—all thanks to that old bastard.

“That night, he personally witnessed the attacks between them. Whatever the constable asks, you ask him. Liu Jinbao, whatever Constable He asks you, just say it. Don’t hide anything.”

Having said this, he had the servants carry him back to the rear courtyard. He didn’t want to get involved in this matter now. No matter who the mastermind behind it was, it had nothing to do with him.

Yun Ye’s knees had only been injured by the flying locust stones—badly bruised over a large area. After two days of rest, they had recovered to their original state. But Yun Ye had no intention of standing up. Sitting in a wheelchair in the rear courtyard enjoying his wives’ attentive care, he was even too lazy to feed himself.

Na Rimu loved caring for heroes. Her husband was the greatest hero. Three powerful villains had all had their legs crippled by her husband. Now they were all groaning in the front courtyard. Only her husband was the strongest—he hadn’t cried out once even in his sleep. At night, he even got handsy. This was what a hero should be like.

“Na Rimu, didn’t I tell you? I really dislike eating persimmons. If you like them, eat more. When my legs are better, I’ll dry more persimmon cakes for you. After spring arrives, take them to the grasslands to eat.”

Yun Ye shook his head to avoid the persimmon Na Rimu was trying to feed him. One or two of these things were fine, but eating too many would cause constipation. Unless they were frost-touched persimmons—those were good stuff.

Hearing Yun Ye mention the grasslands, Na Rimu was both happy and sad. She dreamed of returning to the vast grasslands, but this place was also her home. She loved the grasslands and also loved Yushan. One made her happy, one made her reluctant to leave. She really didn’t know how to choose.

Yun Ye smiled ruefully and drew Na Rimu into his embrace, stroking her satin-smooth hair and saying, “You are the most beautiful flower of the grasslands. You’ve already stayed here for three years. I know you very much hope to return to the grasslands. How many times have you cried in your dreams? I feel that keeping you here is a form of torment for you. This isn’t fair. Go then. In a couple of days, I’ll vaccinate Baobao and our daughter. When they get through this winter, when the snow melts in spring, you and Huan Niang take our daughter back to the grasslands. Yun Qi will become your new steward. Live well. When you tire of the grasslands, come back. Besides, I’ll also go to the grasslands to see you.”

Feeling Na Rimu’s tears soaking his clothes, Yun Ye always felt sentimental. But this sentimentality didn’t last too long. Xinyue arrived, deliberately twisting her body at the moon gate, walking back and forth twice, as if catching adultery.

“If you want to look, come in and look. Don’t be sneaky—it makes people want to get angry just watching.”

“You two being all lovey-dovey behind my back, and you won’t let me look? Come, let me see. Oh my, you dead girl! Husband just put on those clothes and you’ve soaked a large patch with your drool. You don’t care about the hard work people put into making clothes.”

Yun Ye raised his hand and slapped Xinyue’s bottom. Her eyes were clearly red from crying, yet she insisted on saying it was drool. She most couldn’t stand Yun Ye doting on Na Rimu, always feeling all this should belong to her alone.

Xinyue took the opportunity to fall into her husband’s arms acting coy, pushing Na Rimu far away. Fortunately, the wheeled chair Yun Ye had made was large enough—squeezing in two people was still easy. Na Rimu stopped crying now and climbed onto Yun Ye’s back like a monkey. Yun Ye laboriously turned the wheels. After only two circuits around the courtyard, he was already panting…

Good days always passed quickly. When not a single wild goose could be seen in the sky anymore, Liu Jinbao delivered He Tianshang’s investigation report. After reading it, Yun Ye covered his mouth and laughed. There were no fools in the world. Li’er thought he was Bian Zhuang sitting on the mountain watching tigers fight. But who could have thought he wasn’t the only one watching the two tigers fight? Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism both wanted to stick their oar in, hoping Buddhism and Taoism would quickly collapse so they could replace them. In recent years, with the exchange of Eastern and Western cultures, those fellows shouting “the True God is great” had driven the religions of Central Asia and Western Asia all to the Great Tang. Among them, Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism were foremost.

This time the great army attacked the Xueyantuo and Gaochang, bringing back countless treasures. But they also brought back some bad things. The Manichaeism worshipped by the nine Zhaowu surnames took the opportunity to enter Chang’an. When they made contact with the Zoroastrians who had entered earlier, they discovered that the Great Tang was truly a heaven for missionary work. The Buddhist sect and Taoist school were incompatible like fire and water. This once-in-a-millennium opportunity was really rare, so they decisively struck.

Laughing endlessly, Yun Ye had Shishi go fetch her father. Last time he’d only been slashed on the back. Now even his legs were crippled. As he walked, blood stains seeped from his trouser legs.

Laughing heartily, Yun Ye handed the investigation report to Jue Yuan, preparing to properly observe this great monk’s reaction. Having been played like a stupid donkey by others, he wondered if he would get angry.

Jue Yuan believed Yun Ye wouldn’t deceive him. He only felt irritated in his heart. These days he’d been fighting fiercely without rest, his body unable to recuperate. A mouthful of black blood spurted out.

Shishi was frightened into tears. But Yun Ye looked down at the blood clots Jue Yuan had vomited out and said with a smile to Shishi, “Silly girl, what are you crying for? Your father spitting out this mouthful of blood is actually a good thing. If he hadn’t spit it out, the trouble would be big. There now, good child. Master will take you to the kitchen. Today we’ll fry meatballs to eat. Don’t disturb your father’s recuperation.”

Yun Ye paid no attention to Jue Yuan leaning against the wall with a waxen complexion and took Shishi away. At this time, Monk Jue Yuan needed peace and quiet, not any comfort.