One hour after Zhong Hu released the news according to Chu Wansong's instructions, a high-ranking official from the Southern Region Army of the Military Department personally came to Chu Wansong's hotel to understand the details of the night's events.
Subsequently, the high-ranking official, surnamed Hong and named Yi, personally led his men and set sail for the coordinates of the incident in international waters to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
At eight o'clock the next morning, Hong Yi personally arrived at the office of Lin Mingyuan, the commander of the Southern Region Army, to report to him.
"Commander, this is the specific sequence of events."
Hong Yi presented the results of his investigation to Lin Mingyuan, including the identities of Sato No and others, and reconstructed the scene at the time.
"Did Chu Wansong tell you who helped him?" Lin Mingyuan asked after hearing the report.
"No."
Hong Yi shook his head and said, "Chu Wansong said that the other party had warned him not to reveal his identity, and he could not break his promise."
"Break his promise? Chu Wansong deliberately maintaining a low profile will make his deterrence in the underworld even stronger!"
Lin Mingyuan's eyes gleamed as he revealed the key point.
"Commander, shall I go and ask Chu Wansong again?" Hong Yi requested.
"No need. In this matter, Chu Wansong is the victim, and our Southern Region Army has serious derelictions of duty. If Chu Wansong had not successfully rescued his daughter, we would be held responsible! Since Chu Wansong is unwilling to reveal the name of the Three-Star God of War behind him, there's no need for us to ask."
Lin Mingyuan gently shook his head, rejecting Hong Yi's suggestion, and then said, "You may leave now. I will consider how to report this matter to the Marshal."
"Yes, Commander!"
Hong Yi respectfully accepted the order and withdrew from Lin Mingyuan's office.
Lin Mingyuan leaned back in his chair and rested his eyes for ten minutes. After preparing all his talking points, he dialed the phone of Marshal Qi Wufu of the Military Department.
"Hello, Marshal. This is Lin Mingyuan."
When the call was connected, Lin Mingyuan spoke first, his tone extremely respectful, with a hint of nervousness.
"Lin Mingyuan, is this call too late?" Qi Wufu questioned coldly.
"Swish!"
Lin Mingyuan's expression changed, and the anxiety he had tried to hide surfaced on his face. He quickly explained, "Marshal, last night, after we learned of the incident where Japanese martial artists colluded with Huang Xiong to kidnap a Dragon Country citizen, Hong Yi immediately led his men to Chu Wansong to understand the situation and went to the scene of the incident for investigation and evidence collection.
By four in the morning, we had grasped the specific details.
At that time, I considered that I didn't want to disturb your rest, so I didn't report it to you."
"Is my rest more important than the safety of Dragon Country citizens?!"
Qi Wufu rebuked angrily.
"I apologize, Marshal. This is my dereliction of duty!"
Lin Mingyuan immediately admitted his mistake, his words carrying a double meaning. Dereliction of duty referred not only to his failure to report to Qi Wufu in a timely manner but also to the Southern Region Army's failure to promptly discover the infiltration of Japanese martial artists into Dragon Country and their open kidnapping of Dragon Country citizens!
"Tomorrow morning at eight, you will bring your men to headquarters for a handover!" Qi Wufu said coldly.
"Yes, Marshal!"
Lin Mingyuan's heart sank.
The so-called handover was actually a critique and reflection at the Military Department headquarters. If the handover was not satisfactory, he could very well be punished!
"Lin Mingyuan, I also heard that when your son, Lin Xiao, represented the Military Department to supervise the battle between the Qing Society's and Hong Society's Double Flower Red Sticks, he said things that were inconsistent with his status and even engaged in favoritism!"
Qi Wufu changed the subject and brought up another matter.
"Marshal, I will immediately ask Lin Xiao to come over now and verify this matter with him in person. If Lin Xiao has indeed committed the actions you mentioned, I will deal with him strictly according to the regulations of the Military Department!"
Lin Mingyuan's face suddenly changed, and he responded with trepidation.
This time, Qi Wufu did not say anything further and hung up the phone.
"Whoosh..."
Lin Mingyuan let out a long sigh of relief and then, with a grim expression, picked up his phone and dialed his son Lin Xiao's number.
"Dad..."
"Get to my office immediately!"
When the call was connected, Lin Xiao was about to say something but was interrupted by Lin Mingyuan's angry shout, and then the call was hung up directly.
"Uh..."
Lin Xiao was completely bewildered, not understanding why his father, Lin Mingyuan, was so furious with him.
Filled with confusion, Lin Xiao arrived at the Southern Region Army base half an hour later and entered Lin Mingyuan's office, only to see Lin Mingyuan with a dark expression.
This discovery made Lin Xiao feel a bit nervous, but he still took the initiative to ask, "Dad, what happened?"
"Slap!"
Lin Xiao's response was a loud slap.
He was knocked to the ground by Lin Mingyuan, his face swollen, his lips cracked, and blood oozing out.
"Dad, what's wrong??"
Lin Xiao looked at Lin Mingyuan in shock, completely bewildered.
Up until this point, he had always been his father's pride—among the descendants of the five regional commanders of the Dragon Country Military Department, he was the strongest and held the highest position!
"How dare you ask me what's wrong? What you said and did when you were supervising the battle between the Qing Society's and Hong Society's Double Flower Red Sticks, do I need to tell you?" Lin Mingyuan roared.
"I... I strictly supervised that match according to the regulations of the Military Department..."
Lin Xiao subconsciously replied, but his confidence wavered with each word. He remembered everything that had happened that day.
"What right do you have to publicly reprimand and humiliate Jiang Wuming? Don't you know what his father, Jiang Zhan, means to the Military Department, and even to the entire Dragon Country martial arts world?"
Lin Mingyuan, having already understood the situation clearly, interrupted Lin Xiao in anger,
"Besides that, you also favored that Tiger, secretly helping Tiger to turn that match into a fight to the death! Is this what you call acting according to the Military Department's regulations? The Military Department's regulations are about fairness, justice, and openness, not for you to put on airs and engage in favoritism!"
"I'm sorry, Dad. I was wrong." Lin Xiao knelt on the ground, lowering his head in apology.
"Is 'I'm sorry' useful? You say sorry to me, but who do I say sorry to?"
Lin Mingyuan gritted his teeth, recalling Qi Wufu's words, "The Marshal of the Military Department is very angry about this matter, so I must revoke your position!"
"Dad..."
Lin Xiao panicked. He had finally become the head of the Southern State Office of the Military Department. If he were dismissed, all his previous efforts would be in vain.
"No more discussion! Tomorrow, you pack your bags and head to the ancient city of Loulan to prepare for battle. Even if you can't redeem yourself, it will show your attitude of admitting your mistake! After you've been there for a year, you can think about your future development!"
Lin Mingyuan interrupted Lin Xiao again, his tone unquestionable.
There was no response.
Lin Xiao seemed to have instantly lost all his strength, slumping onto the ground, his eyes filled with regret!
...
The location of the Dragon Gate Sect.
Gu Tianlong, as the strongest successor of the Dragon Gate, learned from the decadent young master from Yan Jing, who was responsible for intelligence, about the collusion between Huang Xiong and Sato No to kidnap Chu Weiyang, and their subsequent deaths.
"Damn it, is Huang Xiong an idiot? Didn't he investigate whether Chu Wansong had any powerful individuals around him before taking action?"
Gu Tianlong cursed in exasperation.
Yesterday, Huang Xiong had confidently assured him that Jiang Wuming would be dead within three days. As a result, Jiang Wuming was still alive and kicking, while Huang Xiong was already in his seventh day in the afterlife...
This was equivalent to declaring that Gu Tianlong's plan to collude with Huang Xiong to kill Jiang Wuming had completely failed!
"—"
On the other end of the phone, the decadent young master from Yan Jing dared not speak.
Although he knew that the responsibility for this matter did not lie with him but entirely with Huang Xiong, he could also feel Gu Tianlong's anger. He could only act as a scapegoat, bearing Gu Tianlong's wrath in place of Huang Xiong.
Afterward, just as Gu Tianlong was about to continue his tirade, his phone vibrated. A new call was coming in, from his father, Gu Lü!
"I reminded you before not to pay attention to secular affairs, not to bother with that Jiang Wuming, and to focus on closed-door cultivation to improve your strength."
When the call was connected, before Gu Tianlong could speak, Gu Lü reprimanded him coldly, "As a result, you went ahead and directly used your connections to interfere in the underworld conflict—who authorized you to do this?
Do you know that by doing this, you will leave a stain on the Gu family and become a target for some people to attack?
Furthermore, this matter also involves martial artists and the Military Department. Your actions will definitely displease the Military Department, which will be very detrimental to you taking over the Military Department in the future!"
"Dad, I was wrong."
Gu Tianlong admitted his mistake with a wronged expression.
This was because it was the first time in his life that Gu Lü had ever scolded him!
And it was also because he was powerless to refute Gu Lü's words!
This was also the reason why he had lashed out at that decadent young master from Yan Jing earlier.
Picking up a rock only to drop it on his own feet.
This became Gu Tianlong's true portrayal!
...