Atonement 05

Fang Zhiyi was very busy now. In the past, he was busy bullying the common people and throwing his weight around with his subordinates. Now, he was busy training them and leading them out of the city on suppression campaigns. Although these campaigns yielded no real results, the men under his command had undergone significant changes.

The guerrilla forces of the Han State also noticed the anomaly. This army of lapdogs somehow managed to bite onto their trail every time, but after surrounding them, they took no action at all, acting almost as if they were seeking death. After this happened a few times, the captain of the Han guerrilla force decided to make a bold attempt: withdrawing completely without leaving any rear guard. Sure enough, the enemy showed no desire to pursue. They merely watched them leave, then silently packed up their gear and retreated.

This anomaly gave the guerrilla captain an idea.

And this idea required someone to execute it, someone prepared to die.

Lin Xiaoyao passed the inspection at the city gate and successfully infiltrated the city. She first went to Fang Zhiyi's home. Seeing her arrive, Old Fang nervously closed the door. When she learned that Fang Zhiyi had never returned home, a chill ran down Lin Xiaoyao's spine.

She really had misjudged him back then.

But for the sake of the Han State, she had to see Fang Zhiyi. To this end, Lin Xiaoyao begged Old Fang for help. As a father looking for his son, it wouldn't attract attention. Gritting his teeth, Old Fang agreed.

"But Xiao Lin, you must be mentally prepared. This bastard only has those Yue State mongrels in his eyes now. He doesn't even recognize me anymore!"

It was Old Fang's first time setting foot in Fang Zhiyi's camp. As soon as he entered, he sensed something was wrong. Although he had never been here before, he had heard others say that this place was full of good-for-nothings, with people drinking and playing cards in broad daylight everywhere. But now... the entire camp was dead silent, with hardly a human voice to be heard. Everyone was either staring blankly into space or silently running with rifles on their shoulders.

However, all of this was thrown to the back of his mind the moment he saw Fang Zhiyi.

"Unfilial son, come home with me! If you still acknowledge me as your father!"

Fang Zhiyi didn't even look up. "Didn't you despise me? Why are you asking me to come home?"

"Hmph!" Old Fang wanted to leave. Seeing Fang Zhiyi wearing the Yue military uniform made his blood boil, but remembering Lin Xiaoyao's plea, he forced himself to stop. "Someone wants to see you! Let me tell you, this is your chance!"

Fang Zhiyi finally looked up. Looking at Old Fang's expression, he guessed something.

These days, Little Hei had consumed a lot of energy maintaining the nightmares of these men, so he hadn't asked Little Hei to help keep an eye out for anything else.

"I'll go home tonight and bring you some meat while I'm at it."

"Who cares about your meat? It's sour and rotten, bah!" Old Fang cursed, turned around, and left.

"You despise me, but aren't you also just dragging out an ignoble existence?" Fang Zhiyi suddenly said.

Old Fang paused and turned back with an angry face. "At least I'm not a traitor to my country!"

"Right, right, right. I'm a traitor, and you're a conquered slave."

"You!" Old Fang flicked his sleeves and stormed off angrily.

Fang Zhiyi watched his retreating back without any expression.

That night at the Fang residence, Fang Zhiyi returned home with a few subordinates. After having them stand guard at the door, he strode inside. Seeing him arrive, Old Fang showed obvious disgust, merely turning his head and coughing once before Lin Xiaoyao slipped out from the inner room.

"Brother... Fang." Lin Xiaoyao looked at Fang Zhiyi in his military uniform, a hint of disdain in her eyes.

"Oh, it's you. No wonder the old man wanted me back."

Old Fang stood up directly and went back to his room, clearly unwilling to stay in the same room as Fang Zhiyi.

"Brother Fang, I'll be straight with you. I've joined the Han State guerrilla forces."

She looked at Fang Zhiyi, but there was not the slightest surprise on his face.

"These past few times you surrounded us, you were the one commanding, weren't you?"

Fang Zhiyi nodded.

"I can tell that you don't want to open fire on us. Do you... have some hidden difficulties?" Lin Xiaoyao's eyes were full of hope.

Fang Zhiyi shook his head. "Not at all. I was just saving ammunition."

"How long are you going to keep lying to yourself? You clearly know what is right and what is wrong!" Lin Xiaoyao became somewhat agitated.

"So you took the risk of sneaking into the city just to... verify? To verify if I still have a conscience?" Fang Zhiyi said, shaking his head. "Then you are quite naive. Is your guerrilla force playing house?"

Lin Xiaoyao glared at Fang Zhiyi, trying to find a trace of panic or guilt on his face.

"Now we are giving you a chance. Are you willing to cooperate with us to take out the Yue army's armory?"

"And then what?"

"And then, then you can join us!" Lin Xiaoyao said. "You need to make up for your past mistakes!"

Fang Zhiyi laughed. "My mistakes cannot be made up for, and this is just how I am. Besides, so what if we take out the armory? Can you and my ragtag troops fight against the Yue State army? Nonsense... Won't the people in the city be the ones who suffer in the end?"

"You, how could you be like this!!" Lin Xiaoyao was getting anxious.

Fang Zhiyi sighed. "You misjudged me. Everyone has misjudged me." He clapped his hands, and the two guards at the door barged right in, grabbing Lin Xiaoyao from the left and right.

"Since you delivered yourself to my door, then I won't hold back. I can use you to exchange for the guerrillas."

"Fang Zhiyi! You animal!" Old Fang suddenly rushed out wielding a carrying pole, but someone immediately pressed a gun against him.

"Stop struggling. Everyone has what they must do, and right now I am doing what I should do."

Looking at Lin Xiaoyao's disappointed face, Fang Zhiyi smiled and waved his hand. "Take her away for interrogation!"

A moment later, a man in black arrived at Tian Yue's office.

"General, that suspicious person indeed came looking for Fang Zhiyi, but Brigade Commander Fang directly ordered his men to arrest her and take her back for interrogation. To avoid exposure, I didn't follow them inside. Should we send someone to bring her over so we can interrogate her directly?"

Tian Yue pondered for a moment, a smile appearing on his face. "There's no need. Fang Zhiyi has suffered consecutive defeats and must hate these rats to the bone. I heard morale in their camp is low recently, so this is a perfect chance for him to blow off some steam. If we interfere, it wouldn't sound good if word gets out."

"The General is right. Using Han people to deal with Han people is the best way!"

"Hahahaha, go keep an eye on things. If there's any unusual movement, tell me immediately."

"Yes!"

Lin Xiaoyao was locked up. She originally thought she would be subjected to torture, and she had completely given up on Fang Zhiyi, but strangely, no one came to bother her. Fang Zhiyi went to Tian Yue's office, and the two conspired about something unknown, but Tian Yue was very satisfied.

Why hadn't he noticed before that Fang Zhiyi actually had a brain? Even though they were underhanded methods, it was still worthy of praise.

"General, if this succeeds, I won't take a single bit of the credit. It will all belong to the General!"