Online Game: Me, with Unparalleled Comprehension

Wu Feng stood at the gate of the courtyard and glanced inside.

The courtyard was small, paved with blue bricks, and directly opposite was a row of three tiled houses, with the door of the middle house half open.

He went inside, stopped at the doorway, and knocked twice on the doorframe.

"Come in."

Helian Tieshu's rough, hoarse voice came from inside.

Wu Feng pushed open the door and went in.

The room wasn't very bright; the light filtering through the window paper cast a grayish-white glow on the blue brick floor.

Helian Tieshu sat behind a large desk, holding a document in his hand. When he saw him come in, he put the document on the desk.

"You've arrived." Helian Tieshu looked at him, a slight smile even appearing on his ashen face. "Sit."

Wu Feng did not sit down, but instead clasped his hands in a salute: "General."

Helian Tieshu leaned back in his chair, looked Wu Feng up and down a few times, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. "Your martial arts are not bad."

Wu Feng stood in front of the desk, but did not reply.

Helian Tieshu continued, "Being a centurion is a waste of his talents." He picked up a token from the table and tossed it over casually.

Wu Feng raised his hand and caught it. The token was made of black iron and felt heavy in his hand. The front was engraved with the two large characters "Deputy General" and the back was the wolf head emblem of Yipintang.

"From today onwards, you are my deputy general." Wu Feng glanced down at the token in his hand, somewhat surprised.

Deputy General. This position is much higher than centurion or chiliarch; in the entire First Rank Hall, it's only slightly lower than Helian Tieshu.

He put the token into his pocket, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Thank you for your promotion, General."

Helian Tieshu waved his hand: "No need to thank me."

He leaned back and tapped his fingers on the table: "Her Majesty the Empress has high hopes for your martial arts skills."

Wu Feng's brows twitched slightly.

Seeing his reaction, Helian Tieshu continued, "From today onwards, you will be in charge of patrolling the palace."

Wu Feng was stunned. A palace inspection? Had they infiltrated the core of the First-Class Hall?

He remained expressionless and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Yes, General."

He couldn't help but mutter to himself. He'd been targeted by Li Qiushui? This wasn't a good thing.

She's confident in her martial arts skills and has transferred herself to the palace? What are her plans?

Wu Feng's mind raced, but his expression remained impassive.

Helian Tieshu didn't say anything more, just waved his hand: "Alright, go to the palace. There are guards there who will arrange shifts for you."

Wu Feng nodded: "Yes, General."

He turned and walked out. As he reached the door, Helian Tieshu's voice came from behind him. "Do a good job."

Wu Feng didn't stop walking; he pushed open the door and went out.

After leaving Helian Tieshu's courtyard, passing through the training ground, and walking out of the vermilion gate.

The hustle and bustle of the street hit me.

He stood at the doorway and glanced up at the sky. The sun had already risen, and the sunlight was somewhat dazzling on his face.

He lowered the brim of his straw hat and walked towards the palace. The Western Xia palace was not far from Yipintang.

After crossing the two main streets, the majestic palace comes into view.

High walls and deep courtyards, imposing arrow towers, and two rows of armored soldiers holding halberds standing in front of the vermilion gate, their armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Wu Feng walked to the door and took out the deputy general's token from his pocket.

The guards at the gate looked down and their expressions immediately changed. The two men simultaneously bowed and saluted, their attitude becoming far more respectful than before.

"My lord, please come with me."

A guard stepped aside to lead the way, guiding Wu Feng across the threshold and inside.

After passing through several palace gates and winding through several corridors, we stopped in front of a side hall.

The guard pointed inside: "General Zhang is inside, sir, please."

Wu Feng nodded and stepped inside.

The side hall was small and dimly lit. A burly general with a full beard sat behind a table, looking down at something.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up. "You're Wu Feiyu?"

Wu Feng clasped his hands in a fist and said, "That's right."

General Zhang put down what he was holding, stood up, walked over to him, looked him up and down, and nodded. "General Helian sent someone to say hello."

He turned around and walked back to the table, picked up a scroll of bamboo slips, and handed it to Wu Feng.

Wu Feng took the bamboo slip and glanced at it.

Night patrol, from midnight to dawn? He looked up at General Zhang.

Wu Feng took the bamboo slip and glanced at it.

Night patrol, from midnight to dawn? He looked up at General Zhang.

"Nighttime? From midnight to dawn, I understand," Wu Feng replied calmly.

General Zhang nodded, his face, covered in a thick beard, revealing no emotion. "Yes, at night. Starting tonight, from midnight to dawn, the third squad within the inner city of the palace will be under your command."

Wu Feng's brow twitched slightly. "Start tonight?"

He looked at General Zhang, "This is my first day here. I'm not familiar with the route, I don't know the rules, and I don't even know what the people in the third team look like. Shouldn't we have a handover? Or should I follow the veterans for a few nights to familiarize myself with the area?"

General Zhang leaned back in his chair, looked at him, and twitched the corner of his mouth. "If I could just hand over the work, I wouldn't have bothered you."

Wu Feng remained silent, waiting for him to continue.

General Zhang glanced out the window, then looked back, lowering his voice: "Do you know why this spot became empty?"

Wu Feng shook his head.

"The patrol officer before was named Zhou Heng. He was promoted from centurion and served for about half a year without any incidents." General Zhang paused. "You know about the thief who broke into Her Majesty the Empress's palace a few nights ago, right?"

Wu Feng looked at him, his expression unchanged.

A thought flashed through his mind: he'd been robbed, and the thief was none other than himself.

General Zhang continued, "Zhou Heng happened to be on duty that night. The thieves entered the palace right under his nose, and he knew nothing about it. When the Empress returned, she found that the palace had been robbed, the secret chamber had been emptied, and her personal maid had been killed."

He picked up his teacup and took a sip. "The Empress was furious and questioned him on the spot. Zhou Heng knelt below, unable to speak coherently. The Empress asked him: What are you patrolling for? Are your men all useless? He couldn't answer."

General Zhang put down his teacup. "The Empress didn't ask a second question. She smashed his skull with a single blow. So, Brother Wu, you'd better be careful when you're on patrol. Don't follow in his footsteps."

Wu Feng looked at General Zhang, his face expressionless, but inwardly he felt a little helpless. No wonder he was in such a hurry to put him in charge; it turned out the position was vacant.

General Zhang looked at him. "So this position is vacant, and someone has to fill it. Zhou Heng's men are still here, but they're all panicking right now. Nobody knows if they'll be next. If you want to come along for a few nights to get familiar with the job, that's fine, but you have to be on duty tonight. Night patrols can't stop; that's a hard and fast rule."

Wu Feng nodded, rolled up the bamboo slips, and put them into his bosom.

"I see."

General Zhang glanced at him, seemingly trying to discern something from his face, but he couldn't see anything.

"Alright, go ahead. Tonight at midnight, the shift change point for the third team is in the guardhouse on the west side inside the gate. Zhou Heng's deputy is Zhao Yong; he'll hand over the team's situation to you." He waved his hand. "Do a good job, and don't follow in Zhou Heng's footsteps."

Wu Feng clasped his hands in a salute, then turned and walked out.

Stepping out of the side hall, the sunlight shone down from above, somewhat dazzling.

He passed through several palace gates and around the corridors, and walked out through the vermilion gate. Two rows of armored soldiers with halberds were still standing at the entrance, their eyes fixed straight ahead.

He stood outside the palace gate and glanced back at the majestic palace city.

High walls and deep courtyards, imposing arrow towers, the midday sun reflecting off the glazed tiles.

No wonder Helian Tieshu laughed so heartily.

The credit for killing Murong Fu was exchanged for a nominal position as deputy general, and then he was conveniently assigned to the night patrol, a position where he could lose his head at any moment.

He killed two birds with one stone. He claimed the credit, took the reward, and sent the head to the Empress to curry favor.

As for his promotion, entering the palace, and patrolling at night.

With higher positions come greater responsibilities and greater risks.

Wu Feng stood outside the palace gate and twitched the corner of his mouth.

Damn it, no wonder he got promoted so quickly, turns out a sucker came along.

You have to clean up the mess you made.

Helian Tieshu didn't know that the thief was him, but putting him in this position was tantamount to making him clean up the mess left by the previous garrison commander.

Wu Feng lowered the brim of his straw hat and turned to walk towards the other end of the street.