AUBTN -Chapter 40 The Four Reunite

The night was as dark as ink, and the gate of the courtyard residence stood right before them.

This was an extremely inconspicuous house on the outskirts of the capital.

“We’re here.”

Shen Jue’s voice carried no emotion as he pushed open the wooden door first.

The figure inside the courtyard abruptly stopped walking upon hearing the sound and turned around.

Moonlight poured down, illuminating Lu Yan’s stern, cold face.

The moment he clearly saw the three bedraggled figures standing at the entrance, Lu Yan froze!

“Lu Yan—!”

Before anyone could react, Yu Qing rushed forward.

She completely forgot that she was in ancient times right now. At this moment, there was only one thought in her head—this living golden thigh was still alive!

“Waaah! You scared me to death! I thought I’d never see you again!”

Her voice trembling with tears, Yu Qing crashed straight into Lu Yan’s arms without caring about anything else. Her hands tightly wrapped around his neck as she clung to him like an octopus.

“Thank goodness you didn’t die, waaah…”

The powerful impact made Lu Yan stagger back half a step.

His entire body stiffened, both hands hovering awkwardly in midair—neither able to push her away nor return the embrace.

He had lived for more than twenty years. He had charged through flashing blades and swords, rolled through mountains of corpses and seas of blood—but he had never encountered a situation like this.

The girl in his arms was crying with tears and snot all over her face.

【Thank goodness he didn’t die. Otherwise where would I find another golden thigh like this!】

Lu Yan’s temple throbbed when he heard it!

“Yu Qing! Let go!”

His Adam’s apple bobbed with difficulty. His voice was hoarse, and his face had flushed red all the way to his ears.

“No! I won’t! I was scared to death!” Yu Qing shook her head vigorously.

“Stop crying… It’s alright now.”

He clumsily tried to push her away, but the moment he moved, Yu Qing hugged him even tighter. She even rubbed the tears and snot on his chest while crying, yet couldn’t help laughing through it—looking completely unhinged.

【This is what security feels like, folks! As expected of the Commander of the Jinyiwei—those chest muscles aren’t just for show. This firmness, this elasticity… the soul that got scared out of me earlier has finally come back!】

Listening to the noisy and blunt inner monologue echoing in his mind, Lu Yan’s lips twitched uncontrollably. Yet the heart that had been hanging in suspense somehow finally settled.

As long as she was still this lively, it meant she was truly fine.

Standing at the doorway, Shen Jue watched the scene coldly, a trace of disdain flashing through his eyes.

Then he walked straight past the pair who looked like they were acting in some tragic romance drama and entered the house.

Su Hewan stood behind them, looking at the two tangled together, then at Lu Yan who looked like he was about to be strangled to death. Helplessly, she rubbed her forehead.

“Ahem.”

Su Hewan stepped forward, patting Yu Qing lightly on the back as she said faintly, “Qingqing, that’s enough. If you keep hugging him like this, Lord Lu won’t die at Prince Ning’s hands—he’ll die from being strangled by you instead.”

“Huh?”

Yu Qing suddenly snapped back to her senses.

She sniffed and lifted her head, meeting Lu Yan’s completely at-a-loss eyes.

The air suddenly went silent for two seconds.

“Uh…”

Yu Qing blinked and looked down at herself hanging off him like a koala.

Then she glanced at Lu Yan’s handsome face, red enough to drip blood.

Embarrassment hit like a tornado.

“Heh… hehe…”

She let out two dry laughs and immediately let go as if electrocuted, jumping back a big step.

At the same time, she quickly smoothed the wrinkled collar she had grabbed earlier, pretending nothing had happened.

“Well… um… Lord Lu is wise and mighty. Of course you wouldn’t get strangled to death, right? I was just… too excited. The joy of comrades reuniting after battle! Yes, joy!”

Looking at the suddenly empty space in his arms, Lu Yan felt an inexplicable trace of disappointment flash through his heart.

But the feeling was quickly suppressed by reason.

He took a deep breath, adjusted his expression, and his gaze moved past Yu Qing toward Shen Jue, who was sitting at the table pouring himself tea as if nothing else mattered.

With just a single glance, Lu Yan’s brows furrowed deeply.

The candlelight in the room flickered.

Although Shen Jue’s expression looked calm at the moment, the hand holding the teapot was steady, yet his face carried the pale pallor of someone who had lost too much blood.

“You’re injured?”

Lu Yan strode over, his tone heavy, tinged with disbelief.

In his understanding, there were only a handful of people in the world capable of injuring Shen Jue—especially considering the unpredictable and terrifying power of the Eastern Depot that he controlled.

Unhurriedly, Shen Jue brought the teacup to his lips and took a small sip of the tea that had long since gone cold, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.

“Just a flesh wound. Won’t kill me.”

He said it lightly, as though the blade wound on his back—deep enough to expose bone—did not exist at all.

“We ran into some tails on the way here. Those dead soldiers were useless, but there were plenty of them. Cleaning them up took a bit of effort.”

Shen Jue set down the teacup, turned his head slightly, and cast Lu Yan a half-smiling glance.

“What’s this? Lord Lu is feeling sorry for me? I’m truly flattered.”

Lu Yan nearly choked on the sarcastic remark.

“Who’s feeling sorry for you, you eun—who’s feeling sorry for you!”

Lu Yan gritted his teeth, forcibly swallowing the word eunuch dog.

No matter what, this man had saved him.

Turning his head, Lu Yan looked at Yu Qing, his gaze filled with concern and curiosity.

“Did Prince Ning give you any trouble?”

Yu Qing had already returned to her usual carefree demeanor. She waved her hand dismissively.

She grabbed a piece of pastry from the table and stuffed it into her mouth to calm her nerves.

“No… mm, no.”

After swallowing the pastry, she said vaguely,

“Overseer Shen arrived just in time and took me straight back to the Eastern Depot. That old fox Prince Ning didn’t even get to touch the hem of our clothes.”

At this point, Yu Qing even gave Shen Jue a thumbs-up.

“To be fair, Overseer Shen’s performance today deserves full marks—five-star review!”

Lu Yan looked at Shen Jue with a complicated expression.

As an upright official, he had always despised these eunuchs who played political games, seeing Shen Jue as nothing more than a malignant tumor within the court.

But now…

This debt was hard to calculate.

After a moment of silence, Lu Yan finally clasped his hands toward Shen Jue and gave him a deep bow.

“My thanks, Overseer Shen.”

Shen Jue lightly rubbed the rim of his teacup with his fingers and let out a faint scoff.

“Thanks?”

He slowly lifted his eyelids.

“Lord Lu, you don’t seriously think a casual ‘thank you’ is enough to settle this matter, do you?”

Shen Jue stood and slowly stepped closer to Lu Yan.

Although he was injured, the oppressive aura of someone long accustomed to standing at the pinnacle of power had not diminished in the slightest.

“To save you tonight, I exposed all my trump cards to Prince Ning.”

“Now Prince Ning has his eyes locked on the Eastern Depot. I’ve become a thorn in his side, a nail in his flesh. In this deal, I’ve taken quite a loss.”

“Lu Yan, tell me—how do you plan to compensate me?”

Lu Yan’s gaze burned with intensity.

“Prince Ning is secretly forging weapons and plotting rebellion—there’s solid evidence!”

“Right now we must find a way to enter the palace and have an audience with His Majesty! As long as we meet the Emperor and present the evidence, no matter how capable Prince Ning is, he won’t escape the death penalty! When that happens, Overseer Shen’s predicament will naturally be resolved!”

Lu Yan spoke with righteous conviction, justice shining in his eyes.

But the response he received was Shen Jue’s merciless ridicule.

“Heh…”