If he could hear the bone whistle, others could hear it too…

If he rashly went out to meet them upon hearing the whistle sound, it would be inappropriate and could easily give others leverage against him.

The whistle sounded several times from different directions before finally disappearing into Nanrong’s night.

Early the next morning, before dawn, Lu Ping and his group were resting in their tent. Lu Ping, who had been sleeping while embracing his sword, twitched his ears and suddenly woke with a start.

The Bai family guard army traveling with Lu Ping also suddenly opened their eyes, leaping up and placing their hands on their ever-present sabers, ready to draw their blades in full alert.

Lu Ping waved his hand, signaling everyone to lie down.

The approaching footsteps were uneven—they were likely Nanrong troops.

Lu Ping’s group pretended to sleep and lie down.

Soon, Nanrong soldiers burst into the tent. The guard among Lu Ping’s group who could speak the Rong Di language acted as if he had been startled awake and shouted: “Who are you people! How dare you break into someone else’s tent!”

“Take them all away!”

Lu Ping’s group didn’t resist and were disarmed of their sabers and swords before being taken away.

This group was imprisoned in a large tent specifically used for detaining and interrogating suspicious persons. They went a full day without food or water until the sun set in the west, when the person wearing a ghost mask and armor finally came to the tent with his guards.

Lu Ping and the others, bound hand and foot and confined in cages, sat cross-legged on straw piles. Seeing someone arrive, the guard who spoke Rong Di language rushed to the barrier and called out loudly: “General, we only wanted to trade as little grain as possible for some high-quality furs! We didn’t cheat the Rong Di people! If you think we gave the Rong Di people too little grain, we can add more! There’s no need to lock us up like this! What we’re doing is… trading what you urgently need for what you don’t need, isn’t it!”

Lu Ping stared intently at the Nanrong general wearing the ghost mask and holding a saber. He watched as the general removed his sword and handed it to a nearby guard, then sat down in a chair brought by the guard, his posture carrying some of the Rong Di people’s spirited bearing.

“Last night… did any of you blow a whistle?” The Ghost-Faced General’s extremely hoarse and unpleasant voice rang out.

The Bai family guard who spoke Rong Di language quickly turned and said: “This general is asking if any of us blew a whistle last night!”

Lu Ping clenched his fist and stood up: “What, can’t a man whistle when he’s taking a piss?”

The Bai family guard who spoke Rong Di language quickly explained to the Ghost-Faced General: “This is our master! Our master has had trouble with the local conditions ever since coming to the Rong Di territory. Urinating is very difficult for him, taking a long time each time. It was an old Rong Di man who taught us this method—he gave our master a bone whistle. Blowing the whistle while urinating helps relieve the problem somewhat.”

The Ghost-Faced General questioned them about various other matters, and the Bai family guard who spoke Rong Di language answered everything quite reasonably.

The Ghost-Faced General narrowed his eyes and pointed at Lu Ping: “Bring him out and have him demonstrate how he whistles while urinating…”

Upon hearing this, the Nanrong soldiers all burst into laughter.

The Bai family guard who spoke Rong Di language looked very troubled as he said to Lu Ping: “Master, they want you to demonstrate how you whistle while urinating.”

Lu Ping’s expression changed, his face turning ugly: “A gentleman may be killed but not humiliated!”

Seeing that Lu Ping was unwilling, the Nanrong soldiers all drew their sabers.

The Bai family guard who spoke Rong Di language acted utterly cowardly, crawling on his knees to Lu Ping’s side: “Master, please just comply! Otherwise, we’ll all die here! This humble one has an elderly mother above and young children below. I only came to Nanrong hoping to make some money with you—I don’t want to die here!”

“Master, please give us a way to live!”

“Master, rest assured, we absolutely won’t speak of this matter when we return!”

The Bai family guards knew this was the best opportunity for Lu Ping to send a message. Each one acted like spineless cowards, kneeling and begging Lu Ping.

Lu Ping acted as if he had no choice, reluctantly coming out of the cage. With his back to everyone, facing the tent’s edge, he bit the bone whistle and blew… but couldn’t urinate for a long time. His pale face was covered in sweat, yet his ears burned bright red.

“Miss reports: Elder sister… awaits your safe return home!”

The Ghost-Faced General’s palm tightened slightly, his expression hidden beneath that mask, while overwhelming emotions of grief and longing surged in his heart.

After much struggle, Lu Ping finally managed to urinate, and it came out in spurts. The Rong Di soldiers laughed heartily, and the Ghost-Faced General also laughed as he approached, walking around to Lu Ping’s front. Letting out hoarse, unpleasant laughter, he used his fist to push against Lu Ping’s chest, causing Lu Ping, who hadn’t even finished pulling up his pants, to fall backward onto the ground. Only then did he order someone to watch them trade their grain for furs before leaving quickly.

After emerging from the large tent, Bai Qingyu gripped the sword at his waist tightly. He hadn’t expected that sister had sent Lu Ping, hadn’t expected that sister was truly… waiting for him to return home safely.

But he couldn’t return now. He had finally gradually gained control of Nanrong, creating the current standoff with Great Yan. If he abandoned everything and left now, Great Yan would completely occupy the Rong Di territories, forming a pincer movement against Jin in the future.

His information network was now quite extensive, and he knew that elder sister had already begun training troops and suppressing bandits in Shuoyang. Elder sister needed usable soldiers in her hands. With uncle in Dengzhou… connected in a line with Nanrong, plus the Bai family army in Nan Jiang, he believed overthrowing the Lin imperial power was not an impossible task.

He was a descendant of the Bai clan and had never forgotten his ancestors’ aspirations.

He, Bai Qingyu, would rebel against the Lin family! He would pacify this realm!

Since the Lin imperial family only coveted immediate wealth and had no ambition to rule the world with kingly virtue, he no longer needed to bow and submit to the Lin clan, offering his loyal courage to these wolf-hearted, dog-lunged people.

Bai Qingyu returned to his large tent, waved for everyone else to leave, removed his mask, and knelt before the low table for a long time without moving.

After a while, he opened his bloodshot eyes and rose to enter the imperial city… wanting to use today’s incident to speak with the Nanrong King about establishing trade relations with Jin, so that the Rong Di people could settle down and wouldn’t need to openly rob Jin. Better relations with Jin would also help them contend with Beirong and Great Yan.

This way, he could also clearly explain to the Nanrong King his release of the Jin merchants.

Lu Ping had the sheepskin that Bai Qingyu had stuffed into his clothes tucked in his pants. Under the supervision of Nanrong soldiers, he traded all their grain for furs, then left quickly with the Bai family guards on horseback.

Lu Ping didn’t dare take out the sheepskin map from his pants the entire journey. Only after they had escaped from the heart of Nanrong territory did he finally pull the sheepskin from his pants and unfold it.

His eyes widened—it was a detailed map of Nanrong territory, with annotations showing how to safely navigate mountain paths.

It was true!

That Ghost-Faced General was truly their Bai family’s young master!

Lu Ping, a strapping seven-foot man, immediately had tears streaming down his face. He wiped away his tears with his sleeve, unable to distinguish whose handwriting it was among the Bai family young masters. He hesitated about whether to turn back and rescue the young master.

But on second thought, the young master now held an important position in Nanrong and commanded high respect among the Nanrong soldiers. Perhaps… the young master still had important business to handle in Nanrong. His priority should be to deliver the sheepskin map to the eldest miss!