A Misunderstanding?

"That won't do."

"Luo Zhe is a prime suspect in the attempted murder of a martial artist and must be held in strict custody!" Wang Ji objected on the spot. "Our martial arts hall's Wan Dong was nearly hacked to death by him! This is a fact plain for all to see! Old Yan, you cannot show favoritism toward Zhuge. In my opinion, we should just execute him by firing squad!"

"Wang Ji!"

Zhuge Tao pointed a finger at Wang Ji's head, furious. "I didn't ask you, and I don't have time to bicker with you here. If you truly push me too far, I'll have my brother go sit at the front gate of your Thunder Martial Arts Hall later!"

Wang Ji's expression shifted, his mouth hanging slightly open as he wilted.

Within Jiangnan Base City, the influence of the Thunder Martial Arts Hall had always been a notch below the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, primarily due to a clear disparity in the number of God of War-level martial artists.

This was the main reason Wang Ji was jumping around so energetically regarding this matter. He had no personal grudge against Luo Zhe, but he never missed an opportunity to strike at the reputation of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall.

However, facing the enraged Zhuge Tao and his blatant threat, Wang Ji dared not gamble. Zhuge Tao's older brother, Zhuge Shan, was a genuine madman. Wang Ji dared to provoke Zhuge Tao a little, but when it came to Zhuge Shan, he chose to yield.

Seeing Wang Ji fall silent, Zhuge Tao turned to look at Yan He. "Old Yan, what is your take on this?"

Seeing the outcome of the confrontation between the two, a trace of a smile flashed in Yan He's eyes. Meeting Zhuge Tao's gaze, he said calmly, "I have already reviewed the surveillance footage from earlier."

"In my view, the matter isn't as serious as you both claim. It was merely two juniors who failed to distinguish whether the person opposite them was a monster or a human, leading to a scuffle. There is absolutely no need to blow this out of proportion." As he spoke, Yan He turned to look at Wang Ji. "Especially you, Old Wang, how could you casually conclude that it was that Luo kid's fault?"

Yan He's expression turned serious. "Not to mention that Luo Zhe is the most promising newcomer among this batch of prospective martial artists, your behavior of demanding an execution before even clarifying the rights and wrongs is a grave disregard for a martial artist's life!"

Now it was Wang Ji's turn to look unsightly, but in the end, he remained silent.

Zhuge Tao was a bit confused. The officer from the Northern Military Region had previously acted as if he were ready to kill, leading Zhuge Tao to mistakenly believe that Luo Zhe had been provoked by Wan Dong and had used excessive force, nearly killing him.

Now, it seemed that wasn't the case at all.

Zhuge Tao hurriedly asked, "Old Yan, what exactly is going on? Explain it clearly."

Yan He reached out and pressed his hand down, signaling Zhuge Tao to stay calm.

"Actually, it's nothing much. It's just that your martial arts hall's Luo Zhe was escorting General Wang's son to a safe location when they encountered Wan Dong of the Thunder Martial Arts Hall on the way. Wan Dong was in a hurry, and with the night being dark and the road slippery, he couldn't brake in time. Luo Zhe mistakenly thought the other party was going to attack them, so he struck first and hacked Wan Dong to the ground."

"Our comrades on duty at the perimeter didn't know the full story; seeing them fighting, they went to make arrests, thinking they were disregarding our regulations. So, they cuffed them and brought them back, intending to clarify the situation before proceeding."

As he spoke, Yan He revealed a faint smile. "That is why I said it was just a few youngsters having a scuffle. No one died, so it's not a big deal. Besides, you and Zhuge have to fight with real blades and guns every year; can this even be considered an issue?"

"Old Yan, you just said General Wang's son? Which General Wang?" Wang Ji stroked his chin and suddenly asked.

After learning the truth, Wang Ji knew this matter would be brushed aside. Although Yan He didn't explicitly favor the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, his attitude was self-evident from the way he characterized it as just youngsters being ignorant and fighting.

However, hearing the name "General Wang" from Yan He's mouth, Wang Ji became interested and asked with curiosity. In his memory, there was no general surnamed Wang in the Northern Military Region.

Yan He glanced at Wang Ji, having no intention of hiding it, as it wasn't a secret anyway.

"Three were brought back in total. One of them is Wang Meng, the son of General Wang Luohan, the Deputy Commander of the Southeast Military Region. He happened to be with Luo Zhe at the time."

The moment the name was spoken, Wang Ji's expression changed. How did this big shot's son get involved? Wang Ji, who had originally harbored other ulterior motives, completely gave up. He couldn't afford to offend this man's son.

Zhuge Tao also frowned and asked, "Old Yan, how did General Wang's son end up in your Northern Military Region, and why was he with our martial arts hall's Luo Zhe?"

Yan He spread his hands helplessly. He was just as puzzled by this. Wang Meng had always operated within the jurisdiction of the Southeast Military Region and was always accompanied by a butler; no one expected him to sneak into the group of prospective martial artists for the actual combat assessment.

And he even got injured!

Fortunately, although he was injured, they were only superficial wounds, not serious, and he would recover in a couple of days.

It was lucky that nothing major happened; otherwise, Yan He could already imagine General Wang appearing aggressively before their commander, huffing and puffing with rage.

"In short, let's end this here. After all, Wan Dong was also at fault. If he had accidentally hurt Wang Meng, Old Wang, you would be in big trouble. Most importantly, Wang Meng was injured somehow, and it was Luo Zhe who kept protecting him." As he spoke, Yan He winked at Zhuge Tao.

Zhuge Tao smiled knowingly, but suddenly reacted and slapped the table. "You old fox, Yan! So you've been watching us put on a show this whole time! Since you figured it out, why didn't you say so earlier?"

Wang Ji also reacted and glared at Yan He. "Old Yan, that wasn't very honorable of you! If you don't contribute those jars of twenty-year-old osmanthus wine today, we aren't finished!"

"Who told you two to come in here huffing and puffing? There was no room for me to get a word in." Yan He put on an innocent victim act and spread his hands. "Fine, fine, let's say it's my fault. I'll host the late-night snack tonight, alright?"

"And the osmanthus wine!" Wang Ji reminded him.

"Alright, alright! The osmanthus wine, I'll arrange it. Are you satisfied now?"

Yan He felt the pain as if his flesh were being carved away. Those jars of osmanthus wine were found in a cellar in the Wilderness Zone years ago. Their commander had been pestering him for a jar for years, and he hadn't given it up, only to be cornered by Zhuge Tao and Wang Ji today.

What a massive loss!

"By the way," Yan He remembered that Luo Zhe and Wan Dong were still locked in the small dark room, so he turned to ask the two supervisors for their thoughts.

"Keep him locked up for now. I'll send someone to pick him up after the assessment ends tomorrow morning. This blockhead is too naive; if he doesn't suffer a little, who knows when he'll be backstabbed by someone in the future." Zhuge Tao glanced at Wang Ji as he spoke, clearly implying that the "someone" was him.

Wang Ji, standing to the side, acted as if he hadn't seen it and said cheerfully, "Keep Wan Dong locked up too. Let him suffer a bit as well, so he stops causing me trouble every single day."