“A large group of demonic beasts has been discovered outside of Luoyang City.”

“His Highness has decreed that all officials from the three departments and six ministries, nine courts and five directorates, 16 guards of southern magistrates and 10 armies of northern magistrates must report to duty within an hour. No excuse for delay is permitted.”

Due to Lin Shan’s shouting earlier, the place was already deathly quiet. Thus, the words of the red-armored man rang loud and clear in the ears of the esteemed guests and the onlookers, including the nearby Ye Yunhai.

It was a rude shock for everyone to learn about the appearance of a large group of demonic beasts and during daytime at that. They rose to their feet in unison and felt cold sweat forming on their back. All of them prayed hard that their respective departments wouldn’t slip up. If something happened, it would be a crime punishable with the execution of one’s entire clan.

After taking a glance at the people around him, the Assistant Minister of Ministry of Rites explained to Ye Yunhai, “Esteemed Nephew Ye, I won’t be attending your banquet since duty is at hand. Please apologize to the Old General on my behalf. I’ll pay a visit again when the matter is over.” Then, he made a beeline for the door with frantic steps.

The crowd had thronged into and then out of General’s Manor as if the whole thing had been rehearsed. They showed no hesitation in leaving.

Now that demonic beasts had already arrived outside of their door and displayed atrocious behavior, no one dared to stay here to enjoy the banquet. There was no way they would feel at ease doing so.

Ye Yunhai stood at the frontal part of the banquet with a gloomy expression. His chest heaved uncertainly and flames were nearly flaring from the depths of his pupils. To think that something like this would happen on the day of his grand wedding.

Half of his guests were gone before the kneeling ritual even commenced.

Ye Yunhai was sure that in less than two hours, he would become the laughing stock of the entire Luoyang City.

“Yunhai, will you be lending me the troops? Give me your agreement. I need only 1,000 troops and horses. I need it now.” Even though Lin Shan could tell that now wasn’t the time to say such things, he had no other choice. Lives were at stake here.

“Lend you troops?” Ye Yunhai stared fixedly at Lin Shan. “Did those demonic beasts appear near the Extinctive Sword Manor House?”

Ye Yunhai wasn’t a fool. Judging from the message earlier, coupled with Lin Shan’s abnormal behavior, it was highly likely that those demonic beasts had appeared outside his Manor’s door. Otherwise, considering Lin Shan’s character, he would never make such a strange request on today of all days. This was completely unreasonable.

It was completely illogical!

Lin Shan lowered his head and remained deep in thought for a long time. Finally, he sighed. “Correct. I received a thousand-mile message from a Senior Brother of Mount Shu saying that Extinctive Sword Manor House is currently besieged by demonic beasts and that the casualties are heavy. He wants me to return and help as soon as possible. However, my return alone is akin to pouring a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood. It’ll essentially be pointless. I can only ask to borrow troops from you. We’re both now in-laws; naturally, we must help one another.”

“How many demonic beasts are there?” Ye Yunhai asked.

“I’m not sure,” Lin Shan replied.

“You sure 1,000 troops are enough to help you out of the situation?”

“I’m not certain but it’s better than not having any.”

“Ridiculous! If you can’t get out of the predicament, then lending you my 1,000 troops and horses is as good as sending them to their graves!” Ye Yunhai said coldly, “You said it yourself. The demonic beasts have besieged the mountain. Those are fearsome creatures that kill without even blinking. I can’t put my brothers’ lives on the line for your benefit.”

After pondering for a moment, he continued, “I’m very curious as to why those demonic beasts are besieging your Extinctive Sword Manor House during the day. Does your place have anything that they’re interested in? Demons are like humans; they won’t wake up early if there’s not something in it for them. Those creatures won’t besiege you for no good reason.”

Ye Yunhai was nevertheless the youngest military officer of the glorious Tang Empire and the Young Master of the General’s Manor. He was able to pinpoint the crux of the matter after a quick contemplation.

He even suspected that Extinctive Sword Manor House was hiding a priceless treasure.

Lin Shan, a Jianghu veteran, was naturally able to catch the connotations of Ye Yunhai’s words. “Yunhai, don’t overthink this. This time, I’m being framed.”

Then, he looked around him and swiftly found Ye Que and Qian Shuxiao at the corner of the courtyard. He pointed to them. “It’s him. I can guarantee that he used certain trickeries to draw those demonic beasts to attack my Extinctive Sword Manor House. Or perhaps he himself is a spy for the Demon Race.”

“A spy for the Demon Race?”

A stunned Ye Yunhai followed the direction in which Lin Shan was pointing to and saw Ye Que who stood there with his hands clasped behind his back.

Like always, he was as tranquil as water with an expressionless face. He remained the same as he looked when he first came to Luoyang several months ago and first came to the General’s Manor.

“Ye Que?” Even he was surprised that the spy for the Demon Race that Lin Shan was referring to was Ye Que.

Lin Shan raised an eyebrow and asked confusedly, “You know him?”

“Do I know him? Why would I know him? Since you’re so sure that he’s a spy for the Demon Race.” Ye Yunhai’s expression changed and he waved his large hand.

“Men!”

“Capture him!”

With Ye Yunhai’s bellow, several imperial bodyguards in golden thread-like armor swiftly appeared and rushed over to Ye Que.

The guards still left at the General’s Manor felt as if they had seen specular things today, one after another. First, it was an elder angering his son-in-law. Then, it was the daughter-in-law berating her father. Afterward, half of the guests left. Now, it was a spy for the Demon Race.

This wasn’t a wedding; obviously, it was a show! It was even more entertaining than an opera.

Seeing was believing. It had been an eye-opening day for them.

Qian Shuxiao, who stood behind Ye Que, asked quietly, “Brother Ye, what should we do?”

“We’ll deal with it as it comes. Don’t worry about me. The General’s Manor isn’t enough to lock me up. Since their attention is all on me, you can just escape during the chaos. Our aim today has been achieved. I think the wedding is as good as over.” Though Ye Que’s lips weren’t moving, Qian Shuxiao was able to hear the former’s voice next to his ears.

No sooner said than done, something happened.

Just as the imperial bodyguards of the manor was about to approach Ye Que, a majestic voice emerged from the rear courtyard.

“Halt!”

The voice wasn’t loud and even sounded aged and haggard. However, the grandeur and dominance in that voice were able to strike fear into everyone’s hearts.

“Clang, clang, clang…”

Suddenly, the sound of a steel staff striking the ground resounded again and again. Soon, an old man with a head full of white hair slowly walked out with the help of a noble lady. It was evident that the old man’s legs weren’t working as well as they used to. He needed the support that the dragon-head steel in his hand provided in order to move forward slowly. Behind the pair was another old man. Judging from his attire, he seemed to be the steward of the General’s Manor.

“Old General Ye!”

“Second Madam!”

The guests at the table closest to the trio that was still occupied immediately rose to their feet and cried out in surprise. In the past half a year, few people had seen Ye Zhengru in Luoyang City. He also stopped showing up to the monthly imperial court session. It was rumored that he was ill beyond cure.

It seemed that he truly had one foot in the grave!

One of the wittier guests immediately walked up to him and warmly showed concern for him. “Old General Ye, please take it slow. It’s windy out here. Why don’t you sit down and rest?”

Ye Zhengru glanced at the person but said nothing. He continued slowly walking forward. Beside him, Xiao Huating carried herself in a dignified and impressive manner. She showed no arrogance in the least.

They walked over to where Ye Yunhai was, the frontal part of the wedding location. Only then did Ye Zhengru turned around and stopped. He slowly looked around at everyone present.

“I heard that demonic beasts have been discovered outside Luoyang City?” Ye Zhengru asked solemnly.

“Yes, Esteemed Father,” Ye Yunhai whispered with his head lowered.

“Then what are you all doing here?”

“It’s my wedding today. The ceremony is about to begin very soon.”

“Wedding?”

Ye Zhengru’s voice rose ever so slightly. Then, he knocked the ground with the dragon-head staff twice with great force.

“What wedding! The fire is about to burn right up to our eyebrows! You’re a mounted military officer of the Ye family army, responsible for guarding the safety of Luoyang City! Is this how you guard the city?”

“What is more important, love affairs or the nation? Don’t you know how to prioritize?” Ye Zhengru shot Ye Yunhai a vicious glare.

One look from his father was enough to make Ye Yunhai break out in cold sweat all over.

After berating Ye Yunhai, Ye Zhengru turned to look at Ye Que, the one that Lin Shan accused to be a spy for the Demon Race.

It was a similarly fleeting glance, yet Ye Que felt a complex mix of emotions. “Is this person my father?”