Lin Chu spoke first.
"My disciple is right. When you were wounded, we lost most of the battle in the sky. Thus, I repeated the signal to retreat—however, if Ru Yujin didn't do it first, our losses would've been much higher. Right now, reports show that we lost a fifth of our soldiers as wounded or dead. Without him, it could've been a quarter or even a third."
"Please, let me speak too, Great General," Fen Kuang rasped.
"You! Yes, speak, Lin Tan's disciple. You were with the coward—tell me, what were his actions really about?!"
I looked at Fen Kuang. It was nice that Lin Chu supported me, but Lin Deng clearly cared little about his opinion. Will he care more about someone speaking with a part of Lin Tan's authority?
If so, I should start moving toward the window. Fen Kuang hated my guts.
"Great General, I will admit… When I saw Ru Yujin telling a sergeant to sound a retreat, I thought he went mad with fear. However… Now I know I was mistaken! This was a show of initiative that saved this day, and our lives!"
My eyes widened. I could barely believe it! Did I misjudge him? Was he less of a Lin puppet than I thought?
Lin Deng shouted, "What?!"
"I swear this on my right hand! Ru Yujin is one of the bravest people I've met. He knew dead soldiers were of little use to the Lin clan. For the greater good of the Lin clan, he dared to go against even your word, Great General!"
Yes, I misjudged. Good thing that Fen Kuang didn't know my selfish motives. If I had a cookie, I'd give Fen Kuang one.
"And more than that, after this… When we were met by a surprise charge led by Golden Phoenix… Ru Yujin was brave and strong enough to stand against her until help arrived! She brought me down with two blows, but Ru Yujin survived with only minor burns!"
Lin Chu nodded thoughtfully.
"Indeed. It's a truly inauspicious day for the Tao clan when its genius princess Tao Song fails at anything. However, that was exactly what happened yesterday."
One of the officers found bravery to speak up, too.
"I was there when Tao Song attacked, and I've seen it with my own eyes, Great General. Master Fen Kuang speaks the truth."
"You dare to talk out of turn?! If you were there, you are a coward, too, and there's only one punishment for this!"
Suddenly, Lin Deng raised his hand, and threw an Ice Cutter at the foolish officer. It was badly aimed, and hit not only the officer, but one near him, slashing deeply through their chests and splattering the floors with blood.
Others stared in silence as two corpses fell to the ground.
Lin Deng went limp on the bed. Even a simple technique exerted him greatly.
"Enough of this farce. Disobedience to the direct order of one's superior is still punishable by the rules of the Lin clan and the Purple Dragon Sect. And I order that Ru Yujin be punished. Punished with—"
"Great General," Lin Chu interrupted him, bowing slightly. "Ru Yujin is my personal disciple. By the rules of the Purple Dragon Sect, it's my and only MY right to punish him."
Lin Deng sneered, but his voice was weak, and his energy was lacking.
"So be it. But it must be a punishment that fits the crime. Otherwise, cousin, you will be guilty of condoning your student's lack of obedience. A strict hierarchy is the core of any society. Without it, we'd be bare-footed barbarians. Isn't that what you like to say, cousin? If you can't even teach your disciple a lesson, then I will need to teach YOU a lesson."
I glanced at Lin Chu, trying to judge his reaction, but the man was inscrutable.
"If this is your decree, Great General."
"It is. And if you fail, my father, Elder Xiao, will hear about it. When he finds out about everything you did to bring us yesterday's loss, he might even kick you out of the clan. You will be homeless. Your children will become Lin Tan's disciples! Your wife… she's meek and pretty, just as I like them. I might let her stay in the clan if she agrees to be my concubine, ha-ha-ha…"
While Lin Deng chuckled like a madman, Lin Chu narrowed his eyes. The tension between the two cousins was at its limit, and I could almost smell the blood threatening to spill.
"Great General, I think your wounds cloud your mind. You should rest instead of talking. I will come up with an appropriate punishment to my disciple and report to you later."
Lin Deng waved his arm in something that could be an agreement. Under his breath, he kept muttering increasingly incoherent words, while his personal doctor hurried to measure his pulse and body temperature.
"Cousin, cousin… Father said that your mother was no sister of his… He knows, he knows you are bad blood, just like she was…"
"Doctor, ensure that the Great General has his rest, no matter how much time it takes," Lin Chu said. "Everyone else should return to your duties right now. We will gather to discuss the present situation in the city later. Ru Yujin, in my office."
I shivered, but obediently followed him out of the room. Despite his icy face, Lin Chu was walking faster than usual.
"I feel like Lin Deng wouldn't have spoken about you and your family like that if he wasn't so badly wounded, Master," I muttered as I followed Lin Chu down the hallways. "They do say that pain and woe make people speak what's on their heart."
Lin Chu snorted.
"Lin Deng writes everything he thinks on his forehead. His heart is not a secret."
We entered Lin Chu's office—smaller than the command room, but with seats for visitors. Lin Chu ordered me to take one and sat at the work desk himself.
For a while, no one spoke. The suspense was killing me.
"So… What do you think about all this, Master?"
His face grew even colder than before, if it was possible.
"Disciple Ru, this was your first battle. During it, you took part in the cavalry charge, went against the Great General's orders to spread a false retreat signal, led the retreat that saved many of our soldiers, and fought the Golden Phoenix Tao Song. A prodigy, who is praised to high heavens by the Tao clan for the wisdom and strength that she possesses despite her youth. She killed many cultivators more powerful than you… and yet you still sit here."
I shifted uncomfortably. Lin Chu was praising me so much, I was waiting for him to pull an executioner's blade from his sleeve.
"It was pure luck, Master. Tao Song must've underestimated me, and it let me stall for time until you arrived and saved me!"
"Luck is something we make for ourselves. And, taking all this into account, Disciple Ru, I have come up with your punishment."