Bei An blocked another attack from Huo Zhang and his hands began to tremble. Huo Zhang's strength was far stronger than the last they fought in the previous war. He was already better than him in swordsfight and now he had strengths that overwhelmed him as well.
Huo Zhang glanced in a direction before backing away and delivering a straight kick to Bei An's abdomen. Bei An barely blocked it and was pushed back 2 meters away. Huo Zhang encircled him to his right before resuming his attack.
Bei An dodged and blocked with much difficulty when an arrow suddenly pierced through his right leg followed by another arrow to his left.
"Ghh!?"
He lost his balance from the attack, and Huo Zhang took the chance to land a clean strike with his blade. He aimed Bei An's abdomen and slashed through his right shoulder. The blade was deep enough for fatal bleeding, but shallow enough to miss Bei An's vitals. Once Bei An fell to his knees, Huo Zhang bashed his temple with the end of his sword, and the Northern War God fell to the ground with a dull thud.
Bai Liang lowered the bow in his hands and strode towards Huo Zhang. Seeing the blood on Huo Zhang's robe, his heart tightened and picked up his pace. He checked every inch of Huo Zhang's body and mobilized his spirit to see if Huo Zhang had any internal injury. "General, are you injured?"
The coldness in Huo Zhang's eyes dissipated and melted into tenderness facing Bai Liang's worry. He pulled him into his arm and rested his chin on his shoulder.
"Now you understand why I didn't want you to come?"
"…"
Bai Liang gloomily hummed.
Seeing Bai Liang's small pout, Huo Zhang felt a little funny and kissed the puckered lips until he coaxed it back into its lovely smile. Bai Liang knelt next to Bei An to check his vitals and stabbed his acupoints to stop the bleeding. Taking out a small bottle from his sleeves, he sprinkled the medicine onto the large gaping wound and it soon dried.
Huo Zhang's horse that Bai Liang left behind soon reached them and he grabbed the rope from the equipment bag to tie Bei An himself, not letting Bai Liang touch him more than he already did.
***
Tian Qing-Shan was found the next day hiding inside a small cave with Yu Shen-Jia who broke his ankle. Although they were injured, all of them were flesh wounds and nothing critical. Bai Liang knew Bei An didn't really mean to kill the prince and only attacked him to lure Huo Zhang to him, so he was never worried.
Aside from Lan Gao-Ye and his people, those who knew who Bei An was were only him, Huo Zhang, his subordinates, and Tian Qing-Shan. Since they didn't want this matter to cause unnecessary conflict, Huo Zhang ordered his subordinates to stay silent and took care of anyone who knew Bei An's identity.
They waited for a day until Bei An regained consciousness and interrogated him in the same tent where they kept the crystal-horned tiger's carcass. He was wrapped by thick chains which were firmly restrained to the ground at four points.
Although they had been enemies at war once, the matter was already solved. Moreover, even if he wanted the Heavenly Star Bow, Huo Zhang believed that the Northern War God wasn't a reckless person who could be blinded by power and greed. From their fight, it seemed as if Bei An had a personal grudge against him that he wasn't aware of.
When he asked, Bei An answered in almost a snarl, "You killed my son."
"I did not."
"The mercenary I captured confessed he was employed by you. Your seal is in his contract."
Huo Zhang frowned. It was unlikely there was a spy in his household. Among them were his private shadows who monitored every activity in his house 24/7. His seal was kept in a safe box in his private study which was hidden in a place only he knew.
Then, it could only be forged. Almost all military documents used his seal to give them his approval. He should teach his personnel a lesson after this.
"General Bei, although General Huo is merciless towards his enemies, he is not a person who kills innocent people even if he is the flesh and blood of his enemies." Bai Liang stepped forward. "He also does not have any motive to kill your son. Do you not think it is strange?"
"I do not care such things. He kills my son and that is the truth of the matter."
"But what if I know the one who truly sent that mercenary?"
"What?" Bei An jerked up only to be held back by his chains. "Tell me!"
"Motives in actions are important, General Bei. Who do you think will benefit the greatest from General Huo's death? And think about the timing of the events."
Bei An fell silent, and his eyes soon changed. "There is no proof."
"The fact he is aware of your son's death is enough proof. Even we only knew of his passing right now. At first, we thought that you came for the Heavenly Star Bow."
"…"
"But no matter. We do not wish for any conflict before the Sacred Dragon Rite." Bai Liang backed away.
"Return to your country and pretend this never happens," Huo Zhang sternly said. "If you do, we will assist you in investigating your son's murder."
"General Huo is showing mercy to his enemy?" Bei An glanced at Huo Zhang in apprehension.
"We are both being played with. I will not let myself be a puppet." Huo Zhang's eyes chilled. "For now, my enemy is not you. And you should decide whether to be a mindless weapon or think for yourself."
Bei An became thoughtful.
Huo Zhang saw Bei An had returned to his senses and broke off one end of the chains with his bare hand. Bai Liang also broke off another end with his qi, surprising Bei An into a daze.
"Leave." Huo Zhang gathered Bai Liang into his arms and walked out.
"Wait." Bei An freed himself from the chains and stood up. "How did you become so strong? Your wife as well…"
Huo Zhang glanced at him over his shoulder. A hint of smugness could be seen under his mask of indifference. "Because my wife is unrivalled."
Bei An, "…"
He was seriously asking only to be slapped with dog food. Now he missed his own wife…
Bai Liang smiled in amusement and left the tent with Huo Zhang. Wang Ke informed them that Tian Qing-Shan was awake, and they were ready to return anytime. Huo Zhang decided that they would leave after lunch.
They visited Tian Qing-Shan to make sure everything was fine, and he agreed to leave after lunch. Yu Shen-Jia faithfully nursed him by his side ever since their return despite his own injury. Their affection was improved once again.
Bai Liang was eating lunch with Huo Zhang in their tent when Xue Liang informed Bai Liang that Bei An safely 'ran away' and showed him the scene. Although he stopped his bleeding, average mortals wouldn't be able to talk and walk normally with that degree of injury. He didn't block his pain receptors or gave him any painkillers, but the Northern War God could still run and ride a horse better than average soldiers. It would be a lie if he said it wasn't the slightest bit impressive. For a mortal that was.
"General Bei is indeed powerful."
Crack!
Bai Liang returned from his thoughts to see the chopsticks in Huo Zhang's hand had shattered into splinters. He blinked and looked up at the overcast Huo Zhang.
"You…" Huo Zhang's eyebrows twitched. "Who are you having thoughts on with your husband in front of you?"
Bai Liang knew he screwed up.
An hour later, Jiang Si-Nian went to find the general since everyone was ready to depart. He didn't find him in the main tent, so he headed to his private tent only to be stopped by Wang Ke. He saluted. "Captain, we are ready to depart."
Wang Ke's face was a little red, and he cleared his throat. "The general is busy right now. Tell His Highness to wait–"
Crash!
Startled, Wang Ke and Jiang Si-Nian turned to Huo Zhang's tent and stood still for a long while, not knowing whether they should check or not. It was then Huo Zhang came out, carrying his wife who was sleeping in his arms. They could see the faint tear marks around his eyes.
"Depart," he curtly said.
As he passed by them, they shuddered from the oppressive force of an unsatiated beast and followed with red faces. It seems like the general was also merciless in bed…