"I am willing to follow the commander's orders."
Ye Lanshan looked at the soldiers kneeling in submission, and a sense of pride welled up in her heart. See, these were the people she had won over. With just one command from her, they would fight for her, shedding blood without hesitation, even unto death.
No wonder those people in the modern era struggled so desperately to climb the ranks—having power was truly such a joyful thing.
In truth, Ye Lanshan had been the youngest sect leader in the modern era as well, but she had been so engrossed in pursuing immortality that she had never bothered to manage such matters.
"All of you, rise." Ye Lanshan gestured with her hand toward the ten soldiers she had sparred with. "From today onward, you are the first elite squad, codenamed Falcon. I will train you personally."
A soldier asked in confusion, "What is an elite squad?"
Ye Lanshan replied, "An elite squad means you receive double the待遇 of ordinary soldiers, and you are not subject to orders from other officers—you answer directly to me."
"But don't be disappointed. Membership in this elite squad rotates, meaning every one of you has a chance to become a member of Falcon."
At the Ye residence, Ye Luotian paced anxiously in the room. Why hasn't Lanshan returned yet? I wonder if she managed to win them over. No, I have to go see for myself.
"Help! Help!" A woman in tattered clothes collapsed at Ye Lanshan's feet, clutching her stomach as if protecting something.
Beside her, a man in black was about to swing his blade and kill her.
"I advise you not to meddle, or don't blame me for being rude."
Ye Lanshan stared expressionlessly at the murderous man in black. "I didn't want to interfere either, but your attire is just too similar to my enemy's."
The man tightened his grip on his blade. "Since that's the case, don't blame me for being merciless."
Swish—a flash of cold light.
A dagger was embedded in his chest. With his last ounce of strength, he gasped, "How... is this... possible?" before crashing to the ground.
Ye Lanshan extended her hand. "What's your name?"
Yue Yinuo grabbed her hand and slowly stood up. "My name is Yue Yinuo. Miss, do you know how to get to the Ye residence?"
"The Ye residence? What business do you have there?" Ye Lanshan asked.
This person saved me, so she probably isn't bad. Telling her shouldn't hurt. Yue Yinuo stroked the child in her belly, her face full of tenderness. "I'm carrying the child of the Ye family."
The child of the Ye family? Which Ye scion got himself into this romantic mess? Ye Lanshan muttered to herself.
"I'm from the Ye residence. I'll take you there."
Yue Yinuo quickly thanked her. "Thank you."
Ye Luotian saw Ye Lanshan helping a ragged woman slowly approach from afar. He hurried over. "Lanshan, you're back. Who is this?"
Ye Lanshan explained, "Oh, this is a woman I rescued on the road. She says she's carrying a child of a Ye family member."
Yue Yinuo's expression grew agitated. "It's not just any Ye family member's child—it's Ye Suzhe's."
Ye Luotian and Ye Lanshan were stunned. After a moment, Ye Luotian asked calmly, "You say this child is Ye Suzhe's? Then you must be the Nuo'er Suzhe spoke of."
Ye Lanshan frowned and let go of Yue Yinuo. "Who was chasing you? What's your purpose in coming to the Ye residence?"
Yue Yinuo gave a bitter smile. "What purpose could I have? I just want to protect Suzhe's child. As for who was trying to kill me—it was my father, Prince An."
Ye Luotian was startled. "You are Yue Jie'ao's daughter?"
A sharp pain cut off Yue Yinuo's words, forcing her to crouch down, clutching her stomach with both hands.
"Yue Yinuo, are you alright?" Ye Lanshan asked without any emotion. "Should I find you a midwife?"
After a moment of recovery, Yue Yinuo wore a helpless expression. "I'm only three months along—I don't need a midwife."
Ye Lanshan glanced at her and asked coldly, "Can you stand?"
"I can." But before she could rise, she fainted.
"Sigh!" Ye Lanshan looked at Yue Yinuo with a headache. "Grandfather, what do we do now?"
"Let's go back to the Ye residence first." Ye Luotian picked up the unconscious Yue Yinuo and headed toward the Ye residence.
Ye Lanshan replied, "Mm," and followed him back.
"No, don't hurt my child." Yue Yinuo murmured in bed, clearly trapped in a nightmare.
Ye family alchemist Ye Jinlin said, "It seems she's fine now after taking my first-grade An Yu Dan."
Ye Luotian waved his hand. "Mm, I understand. You may go."
As soon as Ye Jinlin left, Yue Yinuo jolted upright, shouting, "No!"
Ye Lanshan walked over to her. "Since you're awake, you should leave."
Yue Yinuo said, "I can't leave. If I do, no one will know about Prince An's rebellion."
Ye Luotian sneered. "Hmph, that traitor dares to rebel?"
Ye Lanshan felt she needed to know about this, so she asked, "Can you tell me about his rebellion plan?"
Yue Yinuo sank into memory. "Back then, my father ordered me to seduce Suzhe, to have him steal the three-army token for us, so we could attack the capital and seize the throne."
"But Suzhe failed. So my father thought that even if he couldn't take the throne, destroying the Ye family would do. After all, if not for the Ye family, he wouldn't have failed in his earlier rebellion and been exiled to the desolate Yao City. But by then, I had fallen in love with Suzhe, so I urged him not to listen to my father."
"But how could my father let me ruin his plans? So I was locked up. Three months ago, I convinced my father to let me out to spend two days with Suzhe. But by then, they had everything ready. No matter how I tried to persuade him, Suzhe thought I was just worried he'd fail. He'd comfort me a bit and then leave."
"When Suzhe was captured, I rushed back to Yao City as fast as I could. I thought my father, no matter how ruthless, wouldn't bear to see his own grandchild lose its father. But I never expected this."
"What?" Ye Luotian was furious. "Does Yue Jie'ao really think the Ye family is stupid?"
Compared to the enraged Ye Luotian, Ye Lanshan remained calm. "Get to the point. What does he want now?"
Yue Yinuo said, "I remember before I escaped, I heard something like, 'Ye Feng, don't disappoint me.'"
Ye Lanshan fell into deep thought upon hearing this. After a long pause, she asked Ye Luotian, "When you went into seclusion back then, did you have any shadow guards protecting you?"
Ye Luotian replied, "I went to the forbidden area to find your father. How could I have brought shadow guards? But why are you asking?"
Ye Lanshan said coldly, "Nothing."
That night, Ye Lanshan sat on her bed and muttered, "Ye Feng, it better not be you. Otherwise, don't blame me."
Asleep, Ye Feng suddenly felt a chill down his spine, making him shiver. But unaware that his identity had been discovered, he just turned over and continued sleeping.