Important note: For the purpose of this translation:

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 If it wasn't for the commander's grave injury, it would have been a perfect victory to be written in history books.

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      Jiangbei.

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      Before the wooden bird could fly into the commander's tent, it was caught by a guard. He held the little thing in his hands, turning it over and over several times, but was not able to figure it out. Just as he had seen it as a threat and wanted to take it to the army's Ling Shu, someone said in a low voice: "Give it to me."

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      The guard looked up and saw Shen Yi coming in from the outside. He quickly handed over the wooden bird.

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      Shen Yi received it and touched the wooden bird's smooth head. He felt as if he had just heard General Shen sighing.

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      The wooden bird was attracted by the magnet left by General Zhong Chan. Shen Yi held it lightly and walked into the tent. Inside, the light was dim. Several military doctors came in and out quietly. The smell of medicine was suffocating, combined with the scent of fresh blood that was unable to wash off.

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      Yao Zhen was standing on one side, turning his head to Shen Yi, his expression grim.

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      In the naval battle that day, in order to delay time, Gu Yun's main ship was hit by the enemy. The ship disintegrated on the spot, the gold box exploded on the water surface. Fortunately, although Gu Yun was deaf and blind, his reaction was still quick. Feeling that something was not right, he ordered people to abandon the ship and jumped into the sea.

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      Because he jumped in time, when an Eagle fished him out of the water, for better or worse, he was not yet completely baked.

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      The supply line of the Western army was cut off, and the upper reaches of the Neijiang River was controlled by Gu Yun's increased troops in the southwest. With two of their supply lines all cut off, they had to retreat from the Dongying Sea.

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      If it wasn't for the commander's grave injury, it would have been a perfect victory to be written in history books.

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      Gu Yun prepared the war report, home letters, and other props properly in advance, keeping his injuries hidden from outsiders and the insiders altogether. Even within the Liangjiang camp, the news was also blocked; except for several high ranking generals, private guards, military doctors, and several Eagles who brought him back, no one was aware of it.

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      One could imagine how much pressure Shen Yi and Yao Zhen bear this time.

      Shen Yi: "How is it?"

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      "You came just in time. He's awake," Yao Zhen whispered. "Marshal Gu had made a great prediction bringing you here. Brother Ji Ping, if you weren't here, I think the sky would collapse."

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      Shen Yi said with a wry smile: "It's nothing, we will get used to it… You go rest first, I'll have a word with him."

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      Yao Zhen nodded, taking leave with the doctors. Shen Yi walked over lightly, holding Gu Yun's hands hanging limply over the bed.

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      As soon as the bed's curtain was down, Gu Yun could not feel people going in and out of the tent at all. Until now, only when he could sense the callous caused by handling the Wind Slasher did he realize it was Shen Yi who came.

 Gu Yun's body did not have many places unscathed. He was covered with steel plates. The whole body was fixed in place, he could not even turn his head. Sometimes unconscious and sometimes awake from pain, as soon as he opened his eyes, cold sweat on his forehead began to flow down. Even if he opened them, they could not find focus. The military doctor said that people could easily hurt their ears and eyes in a huge explosion. Now, he could only feel a hint of light when opening his eyes, not to mention liuli glass, even the Qian Li Yan would not be of use.

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      "Don't know if it could still get better." Gu Yun thought in silence, "Will I truly be blind in the future?"

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      As soon as Shen Yi saw his blank eyes, his nose stung. On Gu Yun's palm, he wrote, "There is a letter from Lin Yuan Pavilion."

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      Gu Yun blinked.

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      Shen Yi took apart the wooden bird and prepared to write to him. However, when he glanced at the contents of the note, his face first tightened.

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      Gu Yun waited for a long time, but he didn't say a word. His fingers questioningly tapped on the back of Shen Yi's hand.

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      Shen Yi was a good-natured person. In addition to shouting half-truthfully and half-falsely when fighting with Gu Yun, he seldom got angry. At this time, he sat on the edge of the bed, holding the wooden bird's hand and suddenly trembled. His chest fluctuated violently several times, then there was a crack —— the wooden bird's head was broken off by him.

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      "What is this?" He thought to himself, "What is this! For whom do we die, and for whom do we devote ourselves? Does any of it mean any goddamn thing?"

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      Gu Yun was tense; fearing that there would be new problems arising, he stopped worry about his blind eyes, trying to open his mouth and said: "What...cough... "

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      There was a wound on his throat caused by a bullet shell, it overlapped with an old scar, almost injuring the artery. Although he did not become another Liao Ran, it was very difficult to speak, sounding like a broken pipe.

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      "The court is still insisting on a truce?" the broken pipe asked.

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      Shen Yi's eyes were full of bloodshot. In Gu Yun's hand, he wrote: "Lin Yuan Pavilion sent a special person to monitor the Foreign Affairs Mission, and found that some of them were secretly communicating with Western envoys. A group of people with unknown identities were mixing in with the Foreign Affairs Mission."

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      Gu Yun breathed a sigh of relief and moved his fixed neck. "I thought it was something important...Isn't the list of the Foreign Affairs Mission already delivered? There's no reason to add more people suddenly. If it is true, stop them outside the camp. It doesn't matter."

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      Shen Yi: "Because of this battle, there was no reason for the Foreign Affairs Mission to come to the front line anymore. They were on standby in Pengcheng and awaited the imperial court for advice. Li Feng said that it was fine for them to go back without success, so he ordered them to have a rest in Pengcheng for a while. When the imperial court allocated the reward materials, they would be sent to the front line of Liangjiang together to—"

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      Gu Yun slightly raises one long eyebrow, Shen Yi pauses with difficulty, then wrote on his palm: "Reward the army."

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      These two words were too sensitive for all the old subordinates of Black Iron Camp. Gu Yun obviously twitched, but his body was forcibly bound back to its original position by the steel plates, cold sweat flowed down his temples.

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