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"Oh, Lord Chen, you're up early."
As Wang Ye stepped out of the courtyard, he spotted Chen Qing enthusiastically engaging in his morning exercise. Observing the still-dark sky, he praised with a smile.
"A lamp lit at the third watch, a rooster crowing at the fifth..." Chen Qing wiped his sweat and responded with a smile, "This humble official has not yet taken office, and old habits from reading days haven't changed, making a fool of myself before you, sir."
"Not at all, it's the same for all of us." Wang Ye replied warmly, obviously recalling his own diligent study years.
"The movements of Lord Chen's morning exercise seemed quite interesting; is there a name to it?"
"The ninth set of radio calisthenics. An itinerant priest in the village once taught me, claiming it could strengthen the body."
"Oh? The ninth set? Looks quite intriguing..." Wang Ye stroked his chin, mentally noting the movements he had observed, then added, "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Let's have something to eat together..."
"Then I shall accept your kind offer..." Chen Qing, feeling hungry after exercising, didn't refuse. When they went to the front courtyard to eat, and Chen Qing only saw Wang Ye again, he instantly grew suspicious: "Isn't the Commander at home?"
He remembered the other party mentioning that this morning they were supposed to commence their journey back to the Capital City, escorted by Commander Weichi Peng.
Eating his breakfast as if nothing was amiss, Wang Ye said, "The Commander is fond of raw meat, eating together might disturb our appetites."
"Ah?" Chen Qing was taken aback and suddenly stunned: "Does... does the Commander really have such a habit?"
Wang Ye raised his head to glance at him. Judging by his expression, this guy seemed to be genuinely unaware. Was he just overthinking it?
"Hurry up and eat; we'll be setting off soon."
Upon hearing this, Chen Qing cautiously nodded and began eating the meat porridge in his bowl more quickly.
His expression was utterly natural, so much so that even Wang Ye couldn't find the slightest fault. This was indeed due to Chen Qing's adept natural acting, honed from pretending to be a child since he was young!
However, his heart was rather gloomy. Most people with bloodline traits retain some primitive bestial nature from their lineage, and those who enjoy eating raw meat generally have more ferocious bloodlines, risking the loss of their humanity and degradation into demons if not careful.
He was not fond of such people for protection.
After finishing breakfast and drinking some tea, it only took a quarter of an hour before a tall figure emerged from the inner hall; it was Weichi Peng.
Chen Qing quickly rose to greet him, carefully sizing him up. Last night in the study, he hadn't seen him clearly, but now he could see that Weichi Peng was at least two meters tall with an incredibly sturdy build, yet his complexion was that of a fair young scholar, creating an odd juxtaposition that made it seem like two different people had been merged into one.
"There's no need for such formalities, Lord Chen." Weichi Peng responded with a scholar's greeting, his voice so gentle it didn't seem to belong to a warrior. This caused Chen Qing to startle once more.
This strange combination reminded him of Nezha from the hundred thousand cold jokes...
Wait, Nezha?
A thought struck Chen Qing, but just as he did, he saw that Weichi Peng was already leading the way to the gate: "The carriage is ready; if Lord Wang has no further instructions, shall we depart?"
After observing the sky, Wang Ye nodded, "Very well."
Once in the carriage, just as when they arrived, Chen Qing and Wang Ye sat facing each other, but this time the Royal Guard who had been driving was replaced by the armored Commander.
"What's wrong, Lord Chen?" Wang Ye asked with surprise, noticing that after boarding Chen Qing's complexion was noticeably poor, as if the porridge earlier had upset his stomach.
"Lord Wang... What about the guards you brought from the Capital City?" Chen Qing calmed his expression and inquired.
"Has Lord Chen forgotten?" Wang Ye replied with a chuckle, "To allow you to stay and assist me, they've all been dispatched to protect your family on their way to their respective posts."
"So that means the Emperor gave Lord Wang just those two guards?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Ye rolled his eyes: "Those are Royal Guards; how many do you want?"
"It seems Lord Wang is quite capable, the Emperor trusts you so much that a fragile scholar like you came to investigate such a dangerous case with just two or three guards."
"Are you trying to probe me, Lord Chen?" Wang Ye replied with a smile, "What do you wish to know?"
Chen Qing took a deep breath, looking earnestly at him: "I want to know just how formidable Lord Wang is!"
Seeing his serious demeanor, Wang Ye paused, then said, "Are you afraid, Lord Chen? You needn't worry; Commander Weichi Peng is very reliable."
Noticing that the color still hadn't returned to Chen Qing's face, Wang Ye explained with a smile, "You really needn't worry. You're not aware of what's going on here. Commander Weichi Peng comes from the renowned Celestial Roc Weichi Clan. Every generation, the young Family Head of the Weichi Clan is named Peng. When a person inherits this name, it signifies they are the strongest of the Weichi Clan. Despite Commander Weichi's youth, there are few in this world who could be his match!"
Chen Qing took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
Of course, he knew about the Weichi Clan, one of the eight hundred bloodline clans, with the Weichi Clan's Celestial Roc Bloodline being among the top clans. Each generation's Family Head would become one of the Pillar Country Generals of Tiandu.
But still...
"So Lord Wang, your reliance is on Commander Weichi Peng?"
"Isn't that enough?" Wang Ye asked jokingly.
Chen Qing heaved a sigh inside, slowly took Wang Ye's hand, and with his other hand, wrote what he wanted to say in the palm of Wang Ye's hand.
At first, Wang Ye was puzzled, but his expression changed dramatically the next second!
For he could feel the words being written by Chen Qing, and the content was terrifying!
"Weichi Peng... is an impostor!!!"
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"Have they set off yet?"
In Master Huang's study, an even taller figure than Weichi Peng stood opposite the desk, clad in heavy armor with an Evil Ghost-like bronze mask. His presence was chilling as if he had walked straight out of the Underworld.
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