Part 4
The other side was probably pleasantly surprised. After all, they had gone crazy looking for the Marshal these past few months. They had lost hope, and the higher-ups were even planning to announce the news of the Marshal’s accident.
They couldn’t stop it and could only watch helplessly as the overwhelming warning began to spread on the Star Network.
[Code 151: Marshal, is it really you? That’s great! Where are you now? Everyone is going crazy looking for you. We thought, thought…]
[Bai Xiao Miao: Do not check or contact this identity. I will contact you if needed. Do not tell anyone about the information of this account for now. Someone in the high command might want to harm me. The last battle a year ago might not have been an accident…]
Zong Hao hadn’t suspected it at first; he hadn’t even thought someone wanted to harm him.
He was heavily injured after that battle, and his spiritual rampage couldn’t be suppressed. Feared that he might lose control and expose the secret of being a half-beast, he rarely showed his face on the grounds of recuperating.
He didn’t care much about news from the outside world, and matters regarding Ning Zhanfeng wouldn’t usually be reported to him due to rank, so he was unaware of the Ning family’s affairs from start to finish.
Until later, when the spiritual rampage became increasingly severe, he left the base, and then met Ning Yunyi and was saved by him.
Only after returning and meeting Ning Zhanfeng did he learn everything about the Ning family.
Ning Zhanfeng being wanted and even missing before the last battle coincided exactly with when he was heavily injured.
Things couldn’t be that coincidental. He wasn’t so naive now; at least on Ning Zhanfeng’s side, it was definitely not that simple.
So before finding out the truth, he couldn’t expose his current whereabouts.
But he couldn’t let the news of his accident become fact. Once confirmed, all the real power in his hands would be immediately cannibalized and divided.
So he needed to retrieve the items proving his identity ID before that, and stop Zong Ling from succeeding as the family head.
Zong Hao used a special method to tell the other party where he had buried his wristband and other personal items, asking them to find a way to retrieve and hide them as quickly as possible, waiting for his next contact.
After Zong Hao finished all this, he deleted his usage traces on the wristband.
Only then did he walk out of the room back to his nest, burying his big head in his paws. Re-contacting his subordinates with his own identity, thinking of everything in front of Ning Yunyi these days… although he had accepted it calmly before, a strange sense of shame reached its peak at this moment.
When Ning Yunyi brought the bouncing little meow cub downstairs, he saw this scene. He looked at the Big Cat with curiosity.
Ning Yunyi shushed the little meow cub, then tiptoed toward the Big Cat.
The little guy following behind him mimicked his movements.
In the past, the Big Cat would have noticed as soon as Ning Yunyi approached, but this time, perhaps because it was sleeping soundly, it didn’t notice even when they were a step away.
Ning Yunyi looked back at the little meow cub, exchanged a glance, and the big and small pounced on the Big Cat together.
Zong Hao reacted instinctively, smelling the familiar scent, and helplessly opened his beast eyes.
Sure enough, Ning Yunyi’s face was close at hand, his demonic claws reaching precisely for his big head—first a skilled ruffle, then the two ears.
The small one pounced over, wrapped his small body around the tail, and finally flopped onto the Big Cat, fluffing up its fur.
“Father, look at my new clothes.” Ning Xiao Miao showed off, his body covered by the Big Cat’s large tail turning him into a fuzzy black ball, his small arms hugging the Big Cat’s neck.
Ning Yunyi clicked his tongue. “Big Cat’s shedding is really interesting; it starts from the tail.”
At first, it was just half the tail; now it looked entirely black.
He rubbed his chin. Is this ‘he who touches pitch shall be defiled’?
The little meow cub at home is black, so the Big Cat changes its fur to match the little guy?
Zong Hao heard all this but pretended not to. However, the next moment his expression froze. He saw the person who was messing with his ears looking thoughtfully above his tail: “Let me see if the belly has started changing. If it really changes too, won’t there be two identical ones in the future?”
Zong Hao started to bristle all over. He quickly flung the little meow cub onto his back with his tail and bolted upstairs like lightning.
The little guy thought the Big Cat was playing with him, his joyful laughter filling the entire castle.
Ning Yunyi couldn’t help laughing too. “Big Cat, why are you running? You belong entirely to my Ning family; what’s wrong with me looking?”
Zong Hao, who had already run upstairs, slipped and almost fell flat: This person is really…
Ning Yunyi finally joined the chase and play. It wasn’t until Big Brother Ning returned that the two humans and one cat instantly settled down.
After dinner, Big Brother Ning found Ning Yunyi and told him the news he had gathered throughout the day.
Since learning that Mu Jiayi instructed Ji Hao to take his little brother away and almost harmed him.
Big Brother Ning didn’t plan to let Mu Jiayi off, and naturally, that included Mu Jiayi’s nominal fiancé, Zong Ling.
“I found out some news. The Zong family plans to announce Zong Ling as the next family head in front of the clansmen in three days. Because it’s been too short a time since Marshal Zong’s accident was exposed, this announcement is temporarily only within the Zong clan. Several military high-ups have been invited as notaries. At that time, the Zong clansmen will formally hand over the power of the family to Zong Ling.”
Speaking of this, Big Brother Ning’s face wasn’t good, especially since he didn’t hear about any plans for the Zong and Mu families to break off the engagement. He heard his little brother say after lunch that he had already told Zong Ling about Mu Jiayi harming Ning Yunyi.
Zong Ling made no move, which meant the marriage would continue.
This made Big Brother Ning very unhappy. Finally, he narrowed his eyes. “If it comes to it, I’ll find someone to sabotage the Zong family so they can’t hold this succession ceremony.”
Ning Yunyi shook his head. “Even if it fails that day, as long as the Zong family favors Zong Ling, they will hold it again later. It’s not a permanent solution, not advisable.”
Big Brother Ning sighed. “If only Marshal Zong were fine.”
The only person in the Zong family he respected was Marshal Zong. His character was impeccable, but the rest of the Zong family… were hard to describe.
Ning Yunyi thought for a moment and asked, “Who are the notaries this time? The Zong family agrees, but what if the notaries don’t?”
After all, most of the Zong family head’s industries involved the military. The position of family head didn’t necessarily have to fall on Zong Ling.
Big Brother Ning thought and said, “There will be six in total. But they’ve probably been spoken to in advance. Generally, they won’t disrespect the Zong family’s internal decisions. I could only find out about five: the Third Prince, the Mu Family Head, Elder Xun, Elder Tang, and Duke Clay. Among them, the Mu Family Head is Mu Jiayi’s father and will definitely stand by Zong Ling. The Third Prince is likely involved with the Mu family and supports Zong Ling. Elder Tang is one of the other two major families besides the Zong family. Elder Xun hasn’t been involved in military affairs for a long time and probably won’t interfere much. As for Duke Clay, I don’t know if he’s coming for Marshal Zong’s sake; he’s usually very low-key and rarely appears, so I don’t know much about him. As for the sixth person, I couldn’t find out who it is, but their status probably isn’t low.”
Ning Yunyi thought for a moment and said directly, “Elder Xun shouldn’t be a problem. I saved Xun Xun; he owes me a favor.”
Although surprised, Big Brother Ning didn’t ask much. “If we can win over three people, half refusing Zong Ling’s succession, there should be room for maneuver.”
Ning Yunyi remembered Luke mentioning cumin seeds not long ago. This Elder Tang should be the one Director Gu knew, a foodie. That shouldn’t be hard to crack.
Big Brother Ning nodded after listening. “Then among these people, we only need to gain the support of one more.”
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