Wei Zhenyuan, truly living up to his title as a general, displayed astonishing resilience. He only lost consciousness briefly and soon woke up again, lying on the window-side couch. "Hmm… Wei Ling? Where's Yong Ge?"
Yong Ge replied, "…"
If he hadn't really coughed up blood, they would've suspected he was using a ruse to trick them into opening the door!
However, even under these circumstances, Yong Ge didn't approach. Instead, he pulled his family's Cheng Duo back a few steps, clearly on guard.
Wei Zhenyuan turned his head and followed Wei Ling's gaze to see Yong Ge, his eyes pleading. "Yong Ge, I have something to tell you."
Yong Ge remained unmoved, standing at a distance. "What do you want to say?"
Wei Zhenyuan signaled the leader of the black-clad men to leave with the others. The leader hesitated, glancing at Cheng Duo, but Wei Zhenyuan shook his head. Thus, the leader led the group out, and when it was Meng Ji's turn, he took a glance at Wei Ling remaining in the room and obediently went out as well.
Struggling, Wei Zhenyuan sat up with Wei Ling's support. His abdomen was soaked with blood, forming a spreading pool of blood on the couch, staining his outer robe.
Wei Zhenyuan once again motioned for Yong Ge to come closer. "Yong Ge, I have something that your father left behind. I want to give it to you in person."
Yong Ge's gaze was complex, but he still didn't move.
Wei Zhenyuan had no choice but to say, "Your father left something behind at that time. I want to personally hand it to you. If you want to blame someone, blame our main branch."
Cheng Duo spoke up, "… So he's Yong Ge's older brother!"
Yong Ge impatiently opened the envelope, only to find that it wasn't the letter he had expected. Instead, there was a square, intricately patterned map.
"Cheng Duo, take a look." Yong Ge stared at it for a while, feeling more and more familiar with the map. He handed it to Cheng Duo to examine it together.
Cheng Duo said, "This is a treasure map."
Wei Zhenyuan's gaze also shifted to Cheng Duo, wanting to see his reaction.
Cheng Duo continued, "Legend has it that in the former dynasty, there was a wealthy lord named Hu Gong, who was as rich as a nation. When he passed away, he took a great fortune, as well as his wives and concubines, with him underground."
"Rumors of Hu Gong's treasure map have been passed down through the ages. Later, one of these treasure maps ended up in the borderlands and was stolen by an unknown thief. He escaped to Tule City with the map but was later trapped inside by several different ethnic groups, all eager to find the treasure. The relentless pursuit led to the extermination of many small tribes in Tule City, including your father's Wuhu tribe."
"What happened to my father?"
"Because of his beauty, the barbarians spared his life, using your swaddled form as a hostage to threaten him into serving the then-chief of the Yu Hun tribe. However, your father wasn't one to be trifled with. He drugged the chief's drink and dealt him a fatal blow, then stole the treasure map that had just fallen into the chief's hands."
Wei Zhenyuan recalled the cunning and crafty outsider of those years, his expression somewhat proud yet tinged with loss. "Whether you believe it or not, at that time, I wanted to marry your father. But when I returned to the West Ridge Camp, many things happened, and I had to leave…"
At that time, he was just a green youth, venturing outside the borders for the first time, and encountered Jin Ti, who played him around in circles. He wanted nothing more than to catch Jin Ti and teach him a lesson, retrieving the money he was deceived of. But as time went on, he found it difficult to act against him.
Later, by chance, he ended up in a certain place. Although he regretted it, the joy of being intimate with his beloved was indescribable. He still remembered the excitement and happiness he felt at that time.
"What could be more important than my father? You just didn't want to take responsibility!" According to him, he was born during the massacre of the city. What could delay him for a whole year?
Wei Ling had the most say in this matter, and he said with some shame, "It's not like that, Yong Ge. Actually, it was my father… your eldest uncle. He deliberately procrastinated. At that time, there were fierce conflicts within the West Ridge Camp. Marrying an outsider like your father would be harmful and not beneficial to the Wei family. Moreover, he had some misunderstandings about your father… you know, the Wuhu tribe's reputation outside wasn't good."
"Later, a major war broke out. Second Uncle, Third Uncle, and Fourth Uncle died in succession, and my father was also seriously injured. He could only ask the youngest uncle to take the spirit back to the capital. But before he left, he repeatedly urged and instructed him to pick you up and even sent a letter to the border… Unfortunately, my father didn't follow through. When you father came looking for him after the incident, he didn't even see him once and just had someone drive him away."
That person was from the Wei family, who knew the truth and was afraid he would come back to cause trouble, so he directly told him that his younger brother had already gone to the capital to get married.
"Yong Ge, don't blame the youngest uncle. After he learned the truth, he had a big argument with my father, and the brothers almost broke off relations. It wasn't until shortly before he died that the youngest uncle said 'let it go.'"
The scene at that time was both amusing and sad. His father couldn't bring himself to apologize, but he refused to close his eyes while looking at his youngest uncle. As for his youngest uncle, he couldn't let go of his beloved, who was nowhere to be found, but on the other hand, he was his own elder brother…
In fact, his father had regretted it long ago and secretly asked him to find his youngest sister-in-law and apologize. He really didn't know that his youngest sister-in-law had given birth to his son, and the person who returned with the news didn't mention it because his youngest sister-in-law went alone.
Later, his youngest uncle asked many people in Tule City and gradually pieced together the truth from back then. He dug up the treasure map under the tree in the yard where they lived, but because of the treasure map, his youngest sister-in-law didn't dare to show herself, and his youngest uncle naturally couldn't find her.
Cheng Duo and Yong Ge: "…"
"Unfortunately, this treasure map has two copies. The one left by Jin Ti is an internal map of Di Ling. Even after going through all the ancient books, I still haven't figured out which mountain it points to." Wei Zhenyuan spoke with some regret. Jin Ti left this copy for him, probably wanting him to find their son with it, but he couldn't do it. He had held it in his hands for eighteen years, and it was nothing more than a useless piece of paper.
Cheng Duo and Yong Ge: "…"
The two looked at each other with complicated expressions.
Wei Zhenyuan didn't notice their strange looks and continued, "Yong Ge, after I go, I intend to hand over the Wei family's army to you and your eldest brother. You're still young, and you might not be able to control people, but Cheng Duo can do it on your behalf. In the army, strength speaks, and I hope you won't blame your father."
At this point, Yong Ge had no reason to hold a grudge against his father anymore and could only stammer in refusal, "I… I don't want the Wei family's army…"
As he spoke, he looked up at Cheng Duo, seeing his approval, which made him happy.
Wei Zhenyuan sighed, "Yong Ge, it's very likely that General He Kuntai has already joined the barbarians. If he turns a blind eye to the barbarians' incursion and plunder, the West Capital will soon fall into chaos."
Wei Ling looked shocked, "What? General He as well… Isn't it just Yuan Kui?"
Wei Zhenyuan shook his head, "Yuan Kui doesn't have that kind of ability to place spies within our Wei family's army." If it weren't for the inside traitor, how could they have been defeated so quickly…
"So you didn't let me return to the camp to report the news. Instead, you hid the remaining troops, making people think that our Wei family's army was completely annihilated?"
Wei Zhenyuan nodded. In fact, ever since Meng Ji brought back the list of traitors and collaborators, He Kuntai had been acting very strangely. He repeatedly tried to stop him from investigating further. At that time, he should have realized why He Kuntai was so insistent on seeing the account book. It was just an excuse to delay!
After explaining everything, Wei Zhenyuan seemed to have exhausted all his strength, weakly leaning back on the bed. "Yong Ge, tell me honestly, is your father… already…"
Yong Ge nodded silently. "Yes, he fell seriously ill and passed away when I was three years old."
Wei Zhenyuan had already guessed this, but he couldn't help but redden his eyes. "We… have been separated by life and death for sixteen years?"
He hoped that Jin Ti would slow down and wait for him.
"Yong Ge, have you forgiven me?" Wei Zhenyuan's eyes turned dim. "Father really wanted to be buried together with your father. I want to go and explain to him personally…"
His poor father spit up blood again, and Yong Ge was about to cry. He was about to nod, but Cheng Duo stopped him, "Wait a moment. If I heal you and help you kill that General He, do you have the confidence to control the West Capital Camp?"
"Can you cure my uncle? Wait, you say you can cure him without even looking? Are you joking?!" Wei Ling didn't know whether to be happy or angry, but as long as there was a glimmer of hope, he didn't want to give up. So after reprimanding Cheng Duo, he looked at him hopefully.
Yong Ge was the same. His own father seemed quite pitiful, and he didn't want him to die either…
Cheng Duo patted his head. "Let's try everything we can. I can't guarantee anything."
Wei Ling: "…"
Although Cheng Duo said that, he turned around and went back to the room, taking out many good things from his space. He was about to tell Wei Ling to have someone boil some hot water, but when he looked at Yong Ge, he changed his mind. "Yong Ge, you go to the kitchen and boil some more hot water."
Yong Ge didn't doubt him and immediately nodded, "Okay."
After speaking, he hurriedly ran out.
Cheng Duo brought out the IV drip and hung it on Wei Zhenyuan first. With so much blood loss, he definitely needed fluids, but unfortunately, he couldn't perform a blood transfusion… Once again, it was a matter of trying everything they could.
Wei Ling watched helplessly as Cheng Duo inserted the needle into his younger uncle and handed him a strange bottle, asking him to hold it up high.
"What, what is this?" It was the first time he saw someone injecting fluid into another person's body. Was this really life-saving or was Cheng Duo trying to kill his younger uncle prematurely?
Cheng Duo glanced at him. "Don't worry, Yong Ge and I want to live peacefully for a while." Then he looked at Wei Zhenyuan. "If you want to make it up to Yong Ge, the best way is not to die. Otherwise, how will you tell his father that you haven't taken care of Yong Ge for a day?"
"!!!" Can this son-in-law be any more demanding?
However, Cheng Duo was right. If he died, he would leave Yong Ge with a mess. Yong Ge was the only bloodline he and Jin Ti had, he couldn't die!
Cheng Duo was satisfied. "Very well, no matter what I do next, you can't pass out."
He took out a specially designed trauma surgery knife and disinfected it. This was from Cheng Zhao's small medical kit. In their post-apocalyptic world, such items for treating injuries were very common, and when necessary, they even had to cut off their own flesh.
Cheng Duo was afraid of infection, so he meticulously soaked the knife in white wine. Smelling the strong alcoholic scent in the air, Wei Zhenyuan suddenly became spirited. "What wine are you using? Give me a sip too!"
Cheng Duo thought about it and fed him some wine. Since he didn't have anesthesia, it was better to numb the pain with alcohol rather than cutting the flesh and causing unbearable pain.
"Good wine, let me have another sip!" Wei Zhenyuan felt it was worth it. He could still drink such good wine before he died.
Then Cheng Duo saw him use a clean cloth dipped in white wine to disinfect, and he secretly thought it was a pity. If only he hadn't been injured, Cheng Duo was so generous that at another time, he would have been willing to serve his father-in-law with good wine!
Wei Ling: "…" Uncle, please be more reserved. Cheng Duo is really not that kind-hearted; he's about to cut open your belly!