A Wealth of Talent

These words warmed Kang De's heart.

With the elves attacking and the city gates closed, the mayor has made up his mind that Hong San will inevitably be selected as a militia member to defend the city for Goth. War is a matter of life and death, and the situation is extremely dangerous. Under these circumstances, Hong San is actually thinking of him and trying to find a way to get him out of the city. Although this man is lazy and servile, he is not a bad person.

Even so, Kang De still shook his head.

"No, that won't work."

He said, "But people have to believe it first."

Hong San said, "There are the princess's letters and tokens as proof, and I can also testify..."

Kang De still shook his head. "It's unlikely. Your proof is useless. Who knows if you and I were in cahoots? Tina has letters, but she didn't draw my likeness. Nobody knows what I look like..."

At this point, a thought struck him.

Because he had taken a photo with Tina, which was on his phone. As for other things that could prove his identity, there were some, including his experiences in Glittering Sand Town and things that Tina and the Knight usually told him, which proved that he had a relatively close relationship with Tina.

But ultimately, he didn't want to do it.

Go before a complete stranger, a native official from another world, adopt a humble posture, patiently explain your situation, and answer his questions in exchange for his mercy and permission to leave the city.

Are you kidding me?

When has Kang Aotian, the Terrifying Upright Ape from Earth, ever suffered such injustice?

He said calmly, "I'm not going."

Just because you close the city gates doesn't mean you can't leave the city. I have plenty of ways to get out on my own.

So what if we don't go out?

So what if I go back to Earth and stay for ten days or half a month? Then I'll come back and outlive you.

Hong San was adept at reading people's expressions. A glance at Kang De's face told him what the old man was thinking. He sighed and continued to persuade him, "My lord, my Master Kang, I know you are a man of unyielding integrity, a recluse who disdains to beg from others, and I also know you have extraordinary abilities and plenty of ways to simply leave."

"But think about it, you are Goth's son-in-law, and this is your country. If you were to break out of the city, or even fight with the mayor's men, turning the city upside down, weakening its defenses, and even allowing the elves to easily breach the city, wouldn't that cause pain to your loved ones and joy to your enemies?"

Kang De fell silent.

"Besides, it's not like you're begging. You're the prince consort. Even though you can't control them, they'll still have to treat you politely... right?"

"Even if we take a step back and assume they displease you, if you then lash out, use your supernatural powers, and find a way to leave, even if a fight breaks out, you'll have a righteous cause, and you'll have something to say when you see the princess in the future."

Hong San persuaded him from all sides, and Kang De was somewhat swayed.

But I still have some concerns.

Because the Crown Prince of the Empire probably really wanted him, and so did the elves. After all, Tina had made quite a splash in the north, and the Crown Prince had some reservations and hadn't been able to make a move. In this way, Kang De, the "Goth's son-in-law," became a possible breakthrough.

If he were to meet the mayor, and the mayor not only refused to release him but also had other plans, such as capturing him and offering him to the Crown Prince in exchange for the Empire's future... that wouldn't be impossible.

Kang De was extremely suspicious of people from other worlds.

This applies not only to the Imperials but also to the Goth People, because the knight told him before his death not to harbor excessive hatred towards the Empire because of the Good Family's behavior, nor to place excessive trust in the Goth because of them.

We're all human, after all.

Hong San was so anxious he was scratching his head. After thinking for a moment, Kang De said, "How about this? You said the mayor wants to call you to a meeting later? I'll go with you, but I won't reveal my identity. I want to see what kind of person this mayor is."

He asked, "Is there a problem? Can you take me with you?"

Hong San nodded and said, "It should be possible. The mayor values my force quite a bit. After all, we've built up a reputation over the years. Sigh, we know our own situation best. We're not that good at fighting. We just stumbled upon this by chance, and with our superior numbers and the spread of rumors, the bandits started avoiding us. After all, they only robbed people to make a living and didn't want to take on such a tough nut to crack..."

He shook his head repeatedly when he mentioned this part.

Clearly, they weren't very optimistic about their old buddies' idea of taking a gamble.

"They... sigh, most of them have never seen real warfare. It's fortunate they're only defending a city. In open field battles, the Elven archery is unparalleled. If both sides spread out their formations, our small force only needs a few volleys from a cavalry unit to launch a flanking attack and crush us..."

Kang De's expression shifted, and he smiled, "You know quite a lot."

Hong San showed no smugness, his expression somewhat complicated. He sighed, "Looking back now, I have to thank my master for what he taught me. I never imagined I'd ever need this knowledge in my lifetime."

He steered the conversation away from the topic, seemingly unwilling to discuss his past, and asked, "But we still need an identity. If you intend to conceal your name, then in what capacity will you accompany me to meet the mayor?"

Kang De thought for a moment, then revealed a confident smile, "It's just a temporary identity. I'm not interested in your rabble, and I can't be bothered to greet your old buddies. In that case, let's get a more detached identity... strategist, what do you say?"

"Military... strategist..."

Hong San revealed a subtle expression.

Kang De asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

--I have never heard of a valiant man who personally took up an axe, chopped down an entire viscountry, burned their castle and hundreds of people to ashes, and then piled up a mound of corpses to serve as a strategist.

But the tyranny of Master Kang was already deeply ingrained in Hong San's mind. Even if he called himself the Heavenly King or the Emperor of Cathay, Hong San could only nod in agreement.

Hong San continued, "We can handle the city lord's side. Anyway, those Goth People see us Cathayan the same way we see them—they all look the same, indistinguishable from one another. It's just that we need to explain things to the brothers inside the sect, since you suddenly appeared and became the strategist..."

He frowned in thought, then his eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands, saying, "I have an idea! I'll say you're from my sect, but we were separated in the past. Recently, you heard the rumors and came to find me, deciding to lend me a hand. Hmm, that would explain everything. You look a bit younger than me, so you must be my..."

Hong San originally intended to say "junior brother," but seeing Kang De's smiling face, he felt a chill and quickly changed his words, saying, "He is my... junior uncle."

Kang De said, "That doesn't sound good. Become my grand-uncle instead."

Upon hearing this, the usually timid Hong San suddenly refused, muttering under his breath, "Master, this isn't good. If my master finds out I arranged a senior uncle for him, he'll beat me to death. Being my master's junior brother would be fine..."

Kang De had only made a casual remark, and seeing his reaction, he didn't insist any further. "Alright, alright, it's a matter of expediency, so let you take this advantage."

"..."

Yes, yes, whatever you say.

Having settled on his identity and plans, he should logically have come up with an alias. Kang De, who had difficulty coming up with names, replied to Hong San's suggestion, "Just say I'm your martial uncle, and let them call me strategist, a reclusive master. They don't need to worry about my real name. If anyone asks, just say my name is Long Aotian."

This person is too...

Even Hong San could sense a profound awkwardness and... subtlety in this name.

He said, "Sir, not to be nosy, but this name... is too loud, too grand, not quite right, not subtle enough. How about it has the same surname as my master? His surname is Dong..."

Kang De was initially displeased, thinking, "Who gave you the right to insist on my alias?" But then he thought, "Dong Xiansen isn't bad either; it's an alias anyway." He then said, "Alright, whatever."

The two had made their plan, and Hong San began to clean up the broken altar, which was no longer needed.

Kang De fiddled with the Crimson Scroll; it wouldn't glow unless directly touched, meaning it could be kept in a pocket or bag.

The scroll's mystical properties certainly need to be studied, but not now.

There are more important things to do now.

Of course, this isn't a matter for the mayor or the city's defense.

Now that all four gates are closed and security is tight, if the mayor refuses to release the person, then I'll have to send Iron Son to find me... Just now, he thought of a way to contact the Autobots.

It might work, but you'll see if you try.

He used this method for almost a year in an attempt to make contact with the "outside world".

It was later proven that this was a futile effort, because the White Mist World was not Earth at all.

This method involves radio.

We need to go back to the White Mist World to retrieve it, and after obtaining it, we need to report our location to the Autobots. This requires at least a fairly accurate map, and we also need to observe the sun and stars to determine the direction with the help of celestial phenomena... It's troublesome, but we can manage to do it eventually.

One person can't carry a tree alone; if there are Autobots to support them, then there are many more options.

Just then, Old Du's voice came from downstairs. "Mountain Lord, the leaders have all arrived!"

Hong San looked at Kang De, and Kang De looked at him as well.

"Sir, shall we go?"

Kang De said, "Let's change the way we address each other. We're tired of hearing 'Grandpa' all the time."

Hong San nodded and said, "Yes, Uncle-Master."

"..." Kang De said with a subtle expression, "You can call me strategist if you like."

He at least harbored dreams of becoming a wise and capable military advisor, serving as a minister to kings and nobles.

"What nonsense! The title of 'strategist' is just a facade. Others might call me that, but I don't have the audacity to ask you to be my strategist."

Hong San said, "Let's call him 'Uncle-Master' instead. We're fellow disciples; it's more appropriate that way."

"Whatever you want."

The two went downstairs, with Kang De in front and Hong San behind. Several Cathayan were already standing there, some tall and some short, some fat and some thin. When they saw Kang De, they looked surprised.

"Brothers, this is my senior from the sect, my junior uncle, surnamed Dong. He was traveling in Goth when he heard of my name and came to find me. Hearing about what we have done recently, he praised us highly and decided to lend us a hand. After thinking about it, I asked him to take on the role of strategist and help me with my plans."

Hong San got straight to the point, settling the matter without giving the other party a chance to ask questions. He then turned to Kang De and enthusiastically introduced them one by one, "Uncle-Master, these are my sworn brothers. This is Leader Song, this is Leader Chen, this is Leader Huang..."

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: Second update, 3000 words. Time for bed. Goodnight.