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墨書 Inktalez
Ye Xiaohan made a suggestion, which was immediately supported by Shen Ru.
"This idea is great and very persuasive!" The frown on Shen Ru's face disappeared in an instant, as if the person who had just sighed was not him, but rather Ye Xiaohan's illusion.
Watching Shen Ru rush off with enthusiasm, Ye Xiaohan shrugged her shoulders. If Gu Bei could be swayed so easily, she would have succeeded long ago instead of waiting until now.
However, to Ye Xiaohan's surprise, Gu Bei agreed after a moment of contemplation.
"Huh? Why are you suddenly so obedient?" Ye Xiaohan reached out to touch Gu Bei's forehead. "You’re not feeling unwell, are you? Weren't you adamant about pushing through before?"
Gu Bei allowed Ye Xiaohan's hand to rest on his forehead and answered her question: "I've thought it over carefully. You’re right; the Soldiers indeed need to rest. This is not the time for haste."
"You finally see it my way. I was worried that if you kept this up, you'd really wear yourself out," Ye Xiaohan sighed in relief, glad to see this stubborn man soften a bit.
If she had known that this approach would be effective, she would have done it much earlier.
Yet Gu Bei's expression remained serious, showing no signs of relaxation.
"During this period of rest, we still have one crucial task to accomplish," Gu Bei said, his eyes dark and stormy like clouds before a tempest.
Ye Xiaohan thought for a moment and began to speculate, asking, "Are you planning to use this time to find the Traitor?"
"Exactly!" Gu Bei's gaze darkened slightly. "As long as the Traitor remains, our intelligence could be leaked at any moment! Last time our plan was so meticulous yet ended in failure; we cannot afford to repeat that mistake this time!"
Now it made sense. Ye Xiaohan understood that Gu Bei had learned from previous lessons and did not want their failures to stem from the Traitor again.
As long as the Traitor existed, success would be impossible. The Traitor could reveal their attack plans to the Bandits at any moment, just like during the previous ambush.
Or, just like every previous assault on the Bandit Hideout.
"I agree!" Ye Xiaohan said. "We need to come up with a way to force that Traitor to reveal himself!"
Gu Bei looked puzzled. "Force him to reveal himself? That's easier said than done."
The Traitor had managed to infiltrate their ranks for so long; how could he possibly give up his disguise so easily? Even with threats or temptations, it might not yield results. Getting him, or them, to voluntarily expose themselves would be incredibly difficult.
Ye Xiaohan winked at Gu Bei. "I can do it, I definitely can. But I need someone to cooperate!"
So, in the following moments, Gu Bei suddenly 'worsened' his injuries.
Ye Xiaohan shook his head and emerged from Gu Bei's tent, with Shen Ru quickly following behind and blocking the Military Doctor's path.
"You need to take a closer look at the general! How could his condition suddenly worsen? He was fine just yesterday!" Shen Ru exclaimed anxiously, disregarding his image as he shouted at the Military Doctor.
In his desperation, he couldn't control his volume and shouted loudly at the entrance of the tent.
Ye Xiaohan wore a sorrowful expression. "I don't want to believe it either, but facts are facts. Gu Bei is really in critical condition! Don't stop me; I need to go prepare medicine for him—I've no time for you!"
With that, Ye Xiaohan shoved Shen Ru aside and hurried past him.
The tents in the camp were closely packed together; anyone could see what was happening. The argument between Shen Ru and Ye Xiaohan quickly spread, and everyone was filled with dread as they worried about Gu Bei's health.
"The general's condition has worsened? How is that possible? The general is so strong; how could this happen?"
The soldiers huddled together, whispering among themselves, their conversation centered around Gu Bei's condition.
"The general is just flesh and blood; how could he be free from injuries and pain? We've all seen the extent of his wounds. If it were anyone else, they would have been dead by now. Only the general could endure for so long!"
"Hey, could it be that the general really isn't going to make it?"
"Pah! You speak nonsense!"
The soldier who had spoken was slapped on the back, realizing he had misspoken and quickly fell silent.
Yet deep down, they all hoped that Gu Bei would truly be fine.
Soon, news of Gu Bei being bedridden spread throughout the military camp.
Inside the tent, Gu Bei lay half-reclined on his bed, sipping the yam and duck soup that Ye Xiaohan had prepared. Ye Xiaohan was busy rolling up the old bandages to dispose of them.
"What's the situation outside?" To maintain an air of authenticity, Gu Bei had refused all visitors since yesterday. Only Ye Xiaohan and a few trusted aides were allowed in.
Ye Xiaohan tossed the neatly rolled bandages into a basin filled with water, sprinkling in some red dye, making it look like a basin full of fresh blood.
"The news has already been released; now we just have to see how things unfold with Shen Strategist," Ye Xiaohan said, staring at Gu Bei. "Don't worry about this; your most important task right now is to rest and recover. We can't have everything ready only to find you collapsed in bed when we need you!"
Gu Bei's gaze softened as he listened to Ye Xiaohan's concerned yet sharp words, finishing off the last drop of the rich duck soup.
"Today, your appetite seems good; let's keep it up," Ye Xiaohan said, watching Gu Bei finish his meal with satisfaction. For the past couple of days, Gu Bei had been unwell and burdened with worries, hardly eating anything at all.
For a patient, not eating is a serious issue. Without sufficient nutrition, recovery will be significantly delayed.
In Ye Xiaohan's plan, Gu Bei only needed to lie in bed, eat and drink, focusing solely on regaining his health. In fact, it was proving to be quite effective.
Gu Bei had always been in excellent physical condition, and without external factors to distract him, he was healing quickly by concentrating on his recovery.
Ye Xiaohan's plan was not complicated. They first spread the news that Gu Bei's injuries had worsened and that he was bedridden. This would lead the Traitor to believe that Gu Bei's injuries were a result of what happened at the Bandit Hideout.
Since Gu Bei had indeed sustained serious injuries at that time, it would be hard for anyone to doubt it.
Then Shen Ru would make an appearance, acting extremely irrationally, claiming he wanted revenge for the general and insisting on leading troops to attack the Bandit Hideout.
This created two possible scenarios.
First, the Traitor might not believe it, thinking they were pretending. To verify this, he or they would likely report to the Bandit Hideout to confirm Gu Bei's specific condition.
Second, the Traitor might believe it and see it as a perfect opportunity. With Gu Bei gravely ill and Shen Ru overwhelmed with grief and losing his sanity, leading troops to attack the bandits would be akin to delivering himself into danger.
Such a rare opportunity would certainly not be missed by the Traitor.
Earlier on, Gu Bei had discovered that a member of their team had infiltrated them as a Traitor, but he had been unable to pinpoint who it was. In hindsight, when the Traitor went to relay information, he likely took shortcuts that allowed him to come and go unnoticed.
At that time, Gu Bei's focus had only been on other normal routes, which naturally became blind spots for him.
This time, Gu Bei had arranged for someone to wait early at the exit of the shortcut, ready to capture the Traitor as soon as he appeared. At that point, they would have both the person and the evidence, leaving him no way to hide!
Sure enough, two hours later, after Shen Ru had a heated argument with other Soldiers and gathered a portion of them to spread the news about a second night raid on the Bandit Hideout, someone began to exhibit unusual behavior.
In the dead of night, most soldiers were fast asleep, except for those on night watch. A shadow slipped out from one of the tents and headed straight for the foot of the mountain.
After the shadow disappeared, another shadow flickered in an inconspicuous corner and entered Gu Bei's tent.
"General, we have movement!"
The newcomer reported, and in the light, it was clear that he was a young man whose presence was utterly unremarkable, so much so that his age was indeterminate. It seemed that no matter what age he was, he appeared somewhat reliable.
Dressed in ordinary soldier attire, after delivering his report, he moved like a ghost, almost vanishing into thin air, becoming a wisp of shadow swaying in the flickering light.
He was one of Gu Bei's Shadow Guards.
Ye Xiaohan felt a surge of astonishment within her; it was truly remarkable. Was this something humans could actually do?
As a doctor, she understood the limits of the human body and knew that sometimes it could perform seemingly impossible feats.
But those were all within reasonable bounds; what she had just witnessed defied gravity entirely—it was like a magic trick.
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