Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 520 Returning to Beijing
The bad news that Commander Chen had been imprisoned by the emperor for treason quickly spread throughout the camp. The soldiers of the White Robe Army were furious and rushed to the central tent, roaring that they would raise an army to fight back to Jiankang and rescue Commander Chen!

Inside the central command tent, Hu Longya, who was still lively and energetic, shouted even more extreme: "Let's just storm the Golden Palace, kill the dog emperor, and let Commander Chen take over. He'll definitely be a better one than Monk Xiao!"

"Say less and listen to what A Yuan has to say first." Although Ma Fonian advised Hu Longya to say less, back in Luoyang, he had secretly encouraged Chen Qingzhi to establish himself, so his thoughts were obvious.

“Yes, Third Brother, whatever you say, we’ll do!” Chen Baxian said in a muffled voice.

Ren Yuan stood with his hands behind his back in front of the screen and said slowly, "We definitely need to save Marshal Chen; there's no need to discuss that."

"Of course! If we don't save Chen Shuai, are we even human?" everyone said in unison.

“But how to save them is debatable.” Ren Yuan paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice, “My opinion is that we should not make a big fuss.”

"What do you mean?" everyone asked.

"Leave this matter to us brothers; the White Robe Army should not get involved," Ren Yuan said.

"How can that be?!" Hu Longya exploded in anger. "Marshal Chen isn't just yours, he's everyone's! Why are we being excluded?!"

“Indeed,” Ma Fonian echoed. “Although our individual strength is lacking, the White Robe Army as a whole is invincible.”

"The White-Robed Army is the army of the Great Liang. What kind of behavior is it to attack Jiankang?" Ren Yuan asked.

"Rebel," Hu Longya said.

"What charges did they bring against Chen Shuai?" Ren Yuan asked again.

“Treason,” Hu Longya said again.

"Doesn't this confirm that they framed Commander Chen?" Ren Yuan said earnestly, "Commander Chen asked Lingzhi to tell everyone not to rescue him. We have to listen to Commander Chen, right?"

"Then why don't you listen?" Hu Longya said indignantly.

"Because I have become a god." Ren Yuan's words left Hu Longya speechless.

"..." Hu Longya pouted, wanting to say 'What's so great about God?', but he couldn't bring himself to say it, because God is indeed great.

Ren Yuan patted his shoulder, pointed to his comrades waiting for news outside the tent, and said with a heavy heart, "Of our seven thousand White Robe soldiers who went on the northern expedition, only three thousand returned. This southern expedition has resulted in the loss of nearly a thousand more. The White Robe Army is down to just these two thousand. Can you bear to squander them all?"

“Yes,” Yang Zhong also advised, “It’s obvious that Xiao Yan attacked Commander Chen on Wu Yang’s orders. So this rescue will most likely lead to a confrontation with the Buddhist Sect. We can’t let our brothers repeat the mistakes of those 20,000 Imperial Guards!”

"Sigh..." Hu Longya was finally persuaded. In fact, he knew that attacking Jiankang with two thousand white-robed soldiers was like throwing an egg against a rock.

In the heat of anger, there's no point in reasoning.
"How confident are you?" Ma Fonian asked Ren Yuan.

"Who knows?" Ren Yuan smiled bitterly. No matter how arrogant he was, he wouldn't dare say that he could defeat Wu Yang, especially since Wu Yang had a witch by his side.

"But we're going to rescue people, not to cause a ruckus in the imperial palace, and we certainly won't storm Mount Zijin." He then pointed to his head and said, "We'll try to outsmart them rather than fight them with force, quietly rescue Commander Chen, and escape without anyone noticing."

"That's alright." Ma Fonian and Hu Longya nodded.

"Then I'll leave it to you to appease the brothers." Ren Yuan said, then waved his hand and disappeared into the central command tent with Chen Baxian and the others.

Ma and Hu remained silent for a while. Ma Founian looked at Hu Longya and said, "Old Hu, go and tell the brothers to take a break." "I'm not going," Hu Longya said with a sneer. "I'm not going to do anything that would involve the brothers fucking my mother."

"Then let me do it?" Ma Funian pointed to his nose.

“You are the leading general of the White Robe Army, if you don’t do it, who will?” Hu Longya said, baring his teeth.

“I won’t do it either…” Ma Fonian shook his head and said, “I also have an old mother and ancestors.”

"..." Ma and Hu fell silent again.

After a while, Hu Longya muttered, "Forget about the brothers, I'm also eager to go."

“Who isn’t?” Ma Fonian gave a wry smile, then lowered his voice and said, “Didn’t A Yuan order us to rest and regroup? How about we give everyone a break, then split up and go to the capital in plainclothes?”

"Great idea!" Hu Longya's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands, saying, "If A Yuan forbids the White Robe Army from entering the capital, then we can go back as individuals. Wouldn't that satisfy both loyalty and filial piety?"

"What 'loyalty and filial piety at the same time'? That's just nonsense." Ma Funian rolled his eyes at him and said, "If A Yuan and the others manage to rescue him successfully after we get to the capital, we'll just consider it a trip back to the capital to visit relatives. If it doesn't go well, we'll see how things go."

"Great! Let's do it this way!" Hu Longya was overjoyed.

~~
Ren Yuan's Chaos Wings were not for nothing; with a single flap of his wings, he could fly a hundred miles. In the time it takes to eat a meal, he led everyone back to the long-lost Jiankang City, landing directly in the mansion in Ping'an Lane in the west of the city.

Inside the house, Lü Kutao, dressed in a plain dress, was facing a memorial tablet, weeping bitterly, when she suddenly heard voices coming from the courtyard behind her.

She turned around and saw Yang Zhong rushing in.

Lu Kutao sighed softly, wiping away her tears, and said, "Indeed, when longing is too intense, hallucinations occur."

"Bitter Peach, it really is Yang Zhong!" Yang Zhong stopped and looked at his wife, who had lost so much weight. His heart ached, and tears streamed down his face.

"Ah Zhong, you missed me too, so you came up to see me?" Lü Kutao rubbed her eyes hard, and when she realized it wasn't a hallucination, she nestled into her husband's arms like a swallow returning to its nest, tightly hugging his waist: "Now that you're here, don't leave. It doesn't matter if you're a human or a ghost, just don't leave me alone."

"How did I become a ghost?" Yang Zhong was completely confused. He stared blankly at the memorial tablet, which read 'The Spirit Tablet of My Late Husband, Mr. Yang Zhong'.

He was stunned for a moment. That Lord Yang was himself. He couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, saying, "Bitter Peach, don't rush to mourn. I'm still alive."

"..." Lü Kutao also heard his strong heartbeat and felt his familiar body temperature. She thought even a ghost shouldn't have these two things. She looked up, staring intently at Yang Zhong, and asked, "Really?"

"Is this even real?" Yang Zhong nodded, exhaling at her, "Look, I'm still breathing."

"Little Zhongzhong, you're really not dead?!" Lu Kutao burst into tears of joy, crying and laughing in his arms, and then... twisted his ears into a pretzel.

"You heartless bastard! You've been gone for two years without coming home, and you didn't even bother to let us know you were safe!" Lü Kutao cursed. "If you don't come back, I'll remarry, you believe me?!"

"Believe it, believe it, believe it," Yang Zhong said cautiously. "I was captured, I had no choice. I came back as soon as I regained my freedom, didn't I?"

"Oh, did they torture you? Are you hurt anywhere?" Lü Kutao asked anxiously as she checked on you.

(End of this chapter)