Joyful Motherhood in a Rural Family

Chapter 714: Chapter 714: Playing with Fire and Getting Burned
 

Over here, things seemed peaceful and harmonious, but at Di Yelei’s side, there was a murderous atmosphere.

“You see, all these were discovered when we initially cleaned up the battlefield. But after bringing them back, we didn’t sort them out, so we didn’t notice anything unusual,” Di Yelei said, handing several items from his hand to Nan Tianzong.

“These strange-looking items have noticeable differences in color, apparently used by a certain organization to indicate their status. I’ve never seen them before, so I’ll have to investigate carefully. Have you ever seen them before?” Nan Tianzong said after taking a while to examine them.

“I’ve seen the identifier for the Li Sect, but I’ve never seen this one.” Di Yelei’s eyebrows furrowed as he stared at it for quite a while without figuring anything out.

Nan Tianzong thought for a moment, “How about this? I’ll take the identifier back and show it to them; maybe they’ll recognize it.”

As he spoke, he picked up the identifier and casually put it into his arms.

“Why don’t you leave a couple with me, and I’ll ask around as well?” Di Yelei suddenly thought of someone.

“Who can you ask?” Nan Tianzong raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

Di Yelei smiled mysteriously, “I’ll ask him!”

The person Di Yelei referred to was actually Old Tang, the custodian of the armory. Ever since Di Yelei was promoted, the management of the armory had been handed over to Old Tang.

Nowadays, Old Tang ate and slept well and was in a good mood with hardly any worries.

At the moment, he was sitting with his legs crossed, shaking them nonstop. Catching a glimpse of Di Yelei’s figure, he thought he was dreaming.

Unable to help himself, he pointed at his nose and scolded, “You call yourself my disciple. After learning all my skills, you ran off without a word and left me all alone here.”

Back when Di Yelei first came to the armory, he knew nothing about it. It was Old Tang who taught him how to use the weapons in the armory and the so-called body-strengthening martial arts he once mentioned.

But ever since Di Yelei left the armory, it was true that he had never come back even once.

No wonder Old Tang would speak like that.

“Ah! I rarely get to enjoy a light drink, and you’re here to disturb me! You only show up when I’m asleep; how come I never see you during the day?”

A series of accusations made Di Yelei’s face turn red!

He hurriedly bowed to the ground, “Old Tang, it’s me, Di, coming to visit you!”

“Di… young lad?”

Old Tang finally opened his bleary, drunken eyes, stared at Di Yelei for a while, then suddenly came to his senses with a start.

“Captain Di, you… why are you here? You…”

“Old Tang, you’re my honorable teacher. To have a teacher for a day is to have a father for a lifetime. Your words make me feel ashamed, truly ashamed!” Di Yelei hung his head in embarrassment.

Old Tang stood for a while, then finally relaxed and laughed, “Di lad, it really is you?”

Hearing the term “Di lad,” Di Yelei was pleased and immediately revealed his trademark honest smile, “Yes, Old Tang, it’s Ye Lei here to visit you.”

“Silly boy, get up. Come on, I’ve been so bored lately, and I’ve had some bad wine. That’s why I talked so much. You mustn’t mind it…” Old Tang himself felt somewhat apologetic.

“Old Tang, don’t be like that. Today, I specifically came over and bought a jar of your favorite Erguotou Rice Wine. We, master and disciple, will not return until we’re drunk!” Di Yelei happily slapped the wine jar he had brought.

“You good lad!” As soon as Old Tang saw the wine jar, he immediately became happy, “I said I won’t take any disciple; just calling me Old Tang is enough. Let me sit for a while, and I’ll go get two large bowls for pouring wine!”

With a turn, Old Tang happily fetched two large bowls and placed them on the table.

He slapped the table, and directly broke the seal on the wine jar. A rich aroma overflowed from the jar, making Old Tang lick his lips.

“This wine has a strong and fragrant smell; it must be at least 30 years old Erguotou. It’s a powerful drink, very good!” As he spoke, he filled the bowls for both of them.

“Old Tang, you’re truly a wine connoisseur. That’s what the shopkeeper said, too!”

Di Yelei also smiled, “Today, the two of us shall not return without getting drunk! Whoever hasn’t gotten drunk cannot cross this door!”

“Well said! We won’t return without being drunk!”

The two were delighted, and soon a large jar of wine was emptied. They didn’t stop there; Old Tang pulled out his collection from under the bed, and the two drank until their faces were flushed. They had a good time and finally collapsed on the floor.

Di Yelei looked up, feeling extremely dizzy. However, he still remembered his purpose for coming here. He rolled to Old Tang’s side with great difficulty using both his hands and feet, took the strange-looking identifier from his arms, and handed it to Old Tang.

“Old Tang, can you help me see what… what this thing is?”

Old Tang’s eyes were barely open, swaying as he picked up the identifier and examined it carefully for quite a while.

Suddenly, his drunkenness disappeared, and he abruptly sat up with wide eyes, disbelievingly rubbing them before looking at the identifier again.

“Tell me! Where did you get this thing?” A serious look appeared on Old Tang’s face.

“I got it from a dead man. Since I didn’t know what it was, I brought it to you. What’s the matter, Old Tang? Has anything happened?”

Although Di Yelei appeared bewildered on the surface, deep down he clearly understood that this item must be significant.

“Dead man? How did that person die? What does it have to do with you?” Old Tang asked relentlessly.

Di Yelei’s head felt heavy, and he supported his forehead as he thought for a while before smiling, “Actually, it’s not a big deal. It was just a corpse my subordinates found inadvertently. The corpse was of unknown origin and appeared out of nowhere. Apart from this item, there were no other clues.”

After hearing Di Yelei’s account, Old Tang visibly relaxed and then shook his head.

“That makes sense. If I’m not mistaken, this should be hers…yes! I’m sure of it! It’s hers!”

“His or hers?”

“This is the Empress’s…no, she should be addressed as Empress Dowager now. It’s one of the identifiers used by her subordinates. If you ever encounter someone holding this identifier again, remember to stay as far away as possible to avoid getting burned, understand?”

One of Empress Dowager’s subordinates?

Di Yelei was shocked and almost couldn’t maintain his balance; in fact, he couldn’t.

In his daze, he seemed to see Old Tang’s face swaying before his eyes, but couldn’t resist the onslaught of drowsiness as he rolled under the table and fell fast asleep.