Chapter Twelve: The Forgotten Hero

  Ye Xuan knew that there were still a group of captives who hadn't been dealt with, so he thought for a moment and ordered: "Go bring me that Di Yu! I want to interrogate him personally!"

  Before long, Sun Yu brought Di Yu over with a face full of bruises. Ye Xuan looked at Sun Yu's injured face and asked curiously: "I say, second brother, what happened to your face? It was fine just now, how did it become black and blue?"

  As soon as Sun Yu heard this, he couldn't help but feel extremely depressed. His originally handsome face was now twisted in distress. He pushed the person behind him to the front and said with hatred: "It's all because of this bastard that I've lost so much face. This kid protected Di Yu, that son of a bitch, and single-handedly injured five of our brothers. It wasn't until I stepped in that we were barely able to subdue him."

  Ye Xuan's interest was piqued, his wise eyes gleaming as he gazed at the person before him, whose face was like purple jade and eyes shone like bright stars. He thought to himself that this person's martial arts skills were not bad, but wondered about their character; if they were decent, then why not recruit them for his own use...

  Ye Xuan was still thinking about how to make a living, but before he could think of anything, the begging voice in front of him interrupted him. "Good man, spare my life! You can't kill me! We have no grudges or grievances, and your attack on me goes against the code of the Jianghu!" At this time, Di Yu had lost his usual arrogance and was trembling with fear, his arms tied behind his back, his head knocking against the ground like a garlic press, repeatedly begging for mercy.

  Ye Xuan sneered and said disdainfully, "Martial ethics? Haha, you still have the nerve to talk about martial ethics with me! Is this what martial ethics is all about, causing trouble for the local people here? Get out of my sight, you beast! You're really good at bullying those who can't fight back. You don't dare to mess with the nobles from the Zhongjin Kingdom or the wealthy landlords, but you only dare to harm some poor commoners. Is this your idea of martial ethics? Why should I spare your life?"

  Listening to Di Yu's constant begging for mercy, the man who had just beaten Sun Yu and others until they were bruised and battered, knelt down beside him and said: "Di Yu, you coward, stop humiliating yourself! A real man should die with dignity after defeat, what's there to be afraid of?"

  Di Yu heard this and furiously scolded the man in front of him, "Su Zhong you bastard, if it weren't for me you would have starved to death on the side of the road, you ungrateful bastard! You treat your benefactor like this!"

  Ye Xuan Yue listened and couldn't listen anymore. From these words, combined with Zhao Jie's explanation, Ye Xuan roughly understood the kind of person Su Zhong was in front of him. Originally, Su Zhong's parents were hunters, and Su Zhong had followed his father to learn archery since childhood, and had already practiced to be accurate without exception. In the previous battle, he only drew his bow once and shot three people from Ye's army into serious injury. If it weren't for the weakness of their own side, Ye's army wouldn't have been so easily defeated in this place. His character was also beyond reproach, with a strong sense of justice and righteousness. This was because when Su Zhong was most helpless, Di Yu gave him a meal to eat, and from then on he was loyal and devoted to Di Yu without any second thoughts. If it weren't for Su Zhong being in charge here, Di Yu wouldn't have been able to act tyrannically in Hengshan Slope.

  Unfortunately, as Su Zhong's performance became more and more outstanding, Di Yu became increasingly displeased with him. The reason was simple: Su Zhong's abilities surpassed his own. For a hot-tempered commander like Di Yu who couldn't tolerate others, he couldn't bear to have someone by his side who might replace him. So he refused to hand over the soldiers to Han Zhong, and even with Han Zhong at Huzishan Slope, they were still a disorganized mob.

  ……

  At this time, Ye Xuan glanced at Su Zhong and then stared coldly at Di Yu. Di Yu was frightened and avoided Ye Xuan's gaze, shouting: "You can't kill me! You can't kill me! I want to see your Chen Zhangpan!"

  Ye Xuan sneered and looked at Di Yu with a foolish expression, saying: "Chen Fei is my younger brother, so now I have the final say in the Ye family army! Don't you understand why Chen Fei's surname is Chen, but the troops he formed are called the Ye family army?"

  Upon hearing this, Di Yu felt a chill run down his spine and stammered: "Could it be that you are a descendant of the Ye family?"

  Actually, Ye Xuan had already figured out the other's character and way of doing things, and never thought of sparing him. The reason he personally interrogated him was just to satisfy his own evil taste of being able to look down on his captive and make him beg for mercy after winning.

  Di Yu suddenly cried out: "Good man, spare my life! You can't kill me! I am a subordinate of Pi Li Huo Ma Teng, if you kill me, my boss will definitely not let you off!"

  In order to save his life, Di Yu actually moved all of Mount Hou out to threaten Ye Xuan.

  Ye Xuan sneered, "Anyway, Hebei will eventually be a treasure in our Ye family army's pocket. I and Ma Teng that old rascal will have a battle sooner or later, so I don't care, but you must die!"

  Ye Xuan couldn't help but go on, and except for Su Zhong, the rest of Di Yu's trusted followers from Heishanpo were all put to death.

  Di Yu knew he was definitely going to die, and with a venomous gaze at Ye Xuan, he sneered: "Heh heh, you Ye Xuan shouldn't be too smug. It won't take long before your stronghold is destroyed in an instant. You'll only live a few more days than me, haha... General Ma will avenge me..."

  Ye Xuan felt a slight unease in his heart, but he didn't pay much attention to Di Yu's words. He waved his hand and had Di Yu and the others beheaded.

  ……

  Ye Xuan looked at Su Zhong and then sighed. He walked forward and personally untied the ropes, putting his own coat on Su Zhong's body. Su Zhong had been waiting for death, but unexpectedly found himself in this situation, and asked in surprise: "General Ye, why are you doing this? Are you trying to humiliate me?" Ye Xuan clasped his hands together and said helplessly: "Su Zhong, you're a true hero. I wanted to let you make achievements for me and help me restore the glory of the Ye family army, but I was afraid you would scold me, so go ahead and leave."

  Su Zhong stood up, took a few steps back, hesitated in his heart, then turned around and knelt down in front of Ye Xuan, clasped his hands together and said: "General, I know you are the grandson of the God of War, the son of the Iron-Blooded General. Now only you can save the Xi Ning Empire. I am not a disloyal person, but I had no choice but to become a bandit in order to repay the debt of gratitude for saving my life. Since you are willing to accept me, I am willing to serve under you and revive the glory of the Ye family!"

  Ye Xuan excitedly helped Su Zhong up from his knees and said: "Good brother, I've been waiting for these words from you. From now on, we're all close brothers, one family. No need to kneel down anymore. With Brother Su, the divine shooter, our ideals are one step closer."

  Su Zhong was deeply moved, and he thought that in this world, only the person in front of him appreciated him. From now on, he must strive to kill enemies bravely and repay the kindness of this person!