Peaceful Farm Life

Chapter 1411: Chapter 1412: Leaving the Camp Privately, Depending on Twenty Men

They simply ate some dry rations and, seeing the sky was completely bright, Gong Juechen and Ye Zhi decided to descend the mountain.

”Zhizhi, you better protect me. Aside from my medical skills, I’m completely useless at anything else.”

As they descended the mountain, Gong Juechen hid behind Ye Zhi like a total coward.

Ye Zhi didn’t even bother to question whether Gong Juechen counted as a man anymore, given that he was hiding behind a woman.

She was already used to Gong Juechen being this cowardly.

”Aren’t you also good at catching snakes?” Ye Zhi said as Gong Juechen continued to stay behind her while she walked downhill. ”Wait, I heard my boss say that not only are your medical skills excellent, but you’re skilled at using poison too.”

”Healing people and poisoning people, to me, are just different aspects of the same discipline. But I seldom use poison. I’m afraid of accidentally poisoning myself instead of others.” As he said this, Gong Juechen’s sharp eyes suddenly noticed something, and he abruptly shouted, ”Zhizhi!”

Ye Zhi thought something had happened and immediately turned around, asking urgently, ”What’s wrong?”

In the instant Ye Zhi turned her head, Gong Juechen, from an angle where she couldn’t detect him, flicked a silver needle from his hand.

The silver needle shot toward the poisonous spider above and behind Ye Zhi’s head.

The poisonous spider was entirely red and extraordinarily venomous. If it bit someone—or even just touched them—they would develop festering sores on their skin and die from decay.

The moment the silver needle pierced the poisonous spider, it carried the spider a short distance before dropping into the grass.

If one looked closely where it fell, they would see the once-red spider had turned completely black. Clearly, the silver needle was poisoned.

And it wasn’t just poison—it was highly toxic.

Seeing Gong Juechen grinning at her without saying a word, Ye Zhi glared at him and snapped, ”What happened exactly?”

”Nothing, just calling out to you~” Gong Juechen replied with a cheeky grin.

Ye Zhi immediately raised a foot to kick Gong Juechen, but he dodged, and she ultimately didn’t pursue it. She simply turned back around and continued heading down the mountain.

On the way down, Gong Juechen kept startling Ye Zhi by suddenly calling out her name several more times. Though Ye Zhi felt certain he was just doing it to mess with her, she was still worried that he might actually encounter something serious. So each time Gong Juechen startled her, she turned around to check.

Only to find he was just fooling around again. Frustrated, she’d raise her foot to kick him, but unfortunately, she never managed to land a kick on him.

Once they reached the base of the mountain, Ye Zhi and Gong Juechen didn’t immediately leave. Instead, they waited until the patrol from Jingye City had finished inspecting the border and moved on to another area. Only then did they hurry out and head back to Xilin City.

The guards at the city gate recognized Ye Zhi and Gong Juechen and promptly let them through, granting them entry into Xilin City.

But as soon as they entered the city, soldiers promptly took Gong Juechen into custody.

Gong Juechen stayed calm, his grin undiminished, acting as if the two soldiers leading him away weren’t even there.

Ye Zhi grew anxious on the spot. ”Hey, what are you doing?” she demanded.

Before the soldiers could respond, Xiao Changyi approached calmly, his expression mild as he said flatly, ”Ignoring military orders and leaving the camp without permission—twenty strokes of the military rod. Take him away and administer the punishment.”

”Yes, Great General!”

The soldiers prepared to escort Gong Juechen to receive his twenty strokes, but Ye Zhi blocked their path.

”Brother-in-law—no, Great General—Gong Juechen was leaving camp to look for this General. If someone must be punished, punish this General instead.” Ye Zhi understood the strictness of military orders and that punishment for violations was necessary to maintain discipline. She didn’t want to make things difficult for Xiao Changyi and instead offered herself in Gong Juechen’s place.

Upon hearing this, Gong Juechen immediately panicked, worried Xiao Changyi might actually agree. Hastily, he blurted out, ”Zhizhi, I have thick skin and can handle it. It’s just twenty strokes of the rod—no big deal. But if they punish you, I’ll be heartbroken! Be good, step aside, and let them punish me.”