Chapter 83: Dinner in the Demon Den

Xiao Yibo was directing his men as they boiled water.

More than five hundred people needed baths.

The amount of water required was terrifying.

Everyone was so busy their feet barely touched the ground.

Fortunately, a few days earlier, while bored at Mei Clan Fort, Xue San had put his dwarven racial talent to use and built a large-scale bathing-water system.

In reality, it was simply a large wooden pipe running down from an enormous water vat, with fifty holes cut into the pipe.

In other words, fifty showerheads.

Xiao Yibo carried two buckets of hot water up the ladder.

After pouring them into the large vat, he descended again with the empty buckets.

Ahead, a broad circle of oilcloth had been erected.

It looked rather like the temporary awnings northern families put up when holding weddings or funerals and entertaining relatives and friends.

Even so, bathing here was freezing, even with hot water.

But the men inside were barbarians.

Whatever else one could say about them, their ability to endure cold was genuine.

Fifty men entered at a time.

As they bathed, they continued howling into the freezing wind, singing songs so unpleasant they were almost offensive.

Yes.

Xiao Yibo was irritated.

He understood perfectly well that he was absolutely not one of the true trusted members of this group.

He was merely an errand runner.

At best, a minor leader among the errand runners.

Otherwise, there was no way he would have known absolutely nothing about the recruitment of more than five hundred barbarians.

Earlier, when he watched cart after cart of weapons and grain being delivered into Mei Clan Fort, and warhorse after warhorse being led into the stables, he had dreamed that someday he too might wear that fine armor, mount one of those tall northern horses, and follow those terrifying people out to win glory and achievement.

But it seemed they had never intended to take him along.

Xiao Yibo did not think it was because they distrusted him.

Yes, he had once personally killed his own father in order to survive.

But Xiao Yibo felt those people genuinely did not care about that.

They did not exclude him because they were wary of him.

They simply... looked down on him.

Still opportunities were something you fought for yourself.

Having made up his mind, Xiao Yibo handed the two empty buckets to one of his subordinates.

He wiped both hands on his clothes, left the inner residence, and walked toward the gatehouse.

On the open ground between the residence and the gatehouse, Feng Siniang was leading the women in preparing food.

Seven or eight earthen stoves had been built the day before.

Now enormous pots sat over them, and the fragrance of great mixed stews gradually spread through the air.

Two other iron pots held steamers.

Inside were steamed buns.

Because of Zheng Fan’s tastes, unless there was truly no choice, the Demon Kings generally avoided using naan as their staple food.

Freshly baked naan was fragrant, crisp, and genuinely delicious.

But eating habits were extremely difficult to change.

On the road, Xiao Yibo spotted Xue San carrying a large basket on his back.

Tiny body.

Enormous basket.

The proportions looked absurd.

“Third Master, let me carry it.”

“Sure.

“You carry it.”

Xue San handed the basket over.

The instant Xiao Yibo took it, he smelled a fragrance.

There was no cloth covering the basket.

Inside, it was packed full of neat white blocks.

“This is...”

Soap!

Even ordinary prosperous households could afford soap nowadays, but buying it still hurt.

And this basket contained...

“Move.”

Xue San urged him from ahead.

“Yes.

“Coming.”

Carrying the basket, Xiao Yibo followed Xue San back toward the oilcloth bathing area.

“Do you know the barbarian language?” Xue San asked.

“A little.

“Yes.”

The wagon guild had always transported goods around Tiger Head City.

Naturally, it frequently dealt with barbarian merchant caravans.

So Xiao Yibo genuinely knew some barbarian speech.

“Good.”

As he spoke, Xue San grabbed two handfuls of soap and tossed them directly into the bath enclosure.

“Tell them one bar for every five men.

“They can pick them up and share.”

Xiao Yibo nodded.

Following Xue San’s instructions, he shouted the explanation several times in barbarian speech.

Then the two of them continued tossing soap inside.

With every handful, Xiao Yibo’s heart bled.

Such expensive soap.

And they were just throwing it around like this...

“All right.

“Leave the rest here.

“The next batches can take their own.”

Xue San clapped his hands.

Done.

The Master’s soldiers did not need to smell like perfumed Temple Knights, but at the very least they ought to be clean and presentable.

Otherwise, if the Master later went down among them to shake hands, greet the troops, and put on a display of closeness with the common soldiers, he might get knocked unconscious by their body odor.

“Th-Third Master...”

Xue San stopped.

He turned curiously.

“What?”

“You...

“Are all of you leaving?”

“Wouldn’t us leaving be good for you?”

Once they left, the wagon guild would truly belong to Xiao Yibo.

At those words, Xiao Yibo immediately dropped to his knees before Xue San.

In a deep voice, he said, “Third Master, I want to go with you.

“I want to follow all of you out and make my way in the world!”

“Oh?

“What’s this?

“You’re clinging to us now?”

“Third Master, I can work like an ox or horse for you.

“I can treat you as my own father and mother—”

“No, no, no!

“Absolutely not!”

Xue San immediately waved both hands.

Fuck.

Being this bastard’s father was far too dangerous.

Third Master Xue might have guts, but he was not about to casually curse himself for no reason.

“How about this?

“If you want to come, fine.

“Hong Bazi and his people will probably come along too.

“Choose twenty or thirty men from your subordinates— people you trust, people with decent skills.

“They can follow us.

“But remember one thing.

“Once you come with us, then from that day onward life and death are decided by fate, wealth and rank by Heaven.”

“This lowly one understands!”

...

Outside, one batch of barbarians had already finished bathing.

They had changed into the clothing prepared for them and were waiting.

Every single one stared at the giant pots, sniffing the aroma while drooling.

Zheng Fan sat atop the wall and looked down at the scene below.

The Blind Man Bei stood beside him and asked, “Master.

“Excited?”

“A little.”

Zheng Fan answered honestly.

He had never particularly enjoyed online games.

But he often played single-player titles, especially strategy games.

*Mount & Blade.*

*Red Alert.*

*Age of Empires.*

The *Total War* series.

But those were ultimately virtual.

Fake.

The huge barbarian men standing below him now those men were his soldiers.

Zheng Fan’s soldiers.

That tangible sense of reality was genuinely difficult to describe in words.

“Master, leave training the troops to Liang Cheng.

“He is good at that sort of thing.

“Ding Hao has commanded troops before too, but for now he can only serve as an assistant.”

“Mm.

“All right.”

Zheng Fan did not know how to train soldiers.

If Zheng Fan genuinely tried to train them himself, there was a high chance that the next morning he would be holding a riding crop, leading these barbarians into the sunrise, and making them goose-step.

Zheng Fan had no idea whether such a method would even be useful.

It was simply the only method he knew.

Besides, his own fighting style was still stuck at: flash with some light, then rely entirely on shouting for damage output.

“By Yan tradition, when a general transfers to a new post, he is expected to bring his personal troops and retainers with him.

“Master’s authorized troop quota is three hundred.

“But first, the Sixth Prince has already put in a word.

“Second, Xu Wenzu will smooth the path.

“So taking five or six hundred men to assume office should not be a problem.

“After that, it depends on how these fellows gradually expand the force.”

As he spoke, the Blind Man Bei began revealing the traits of a professional charlatan.

He spread both arms wide and, in an extremely provocative tone, painted a vision for Zheng Fan:

“Master, imagine it.

“At this moment, the men before you are not five hundred barbarians.

“They are one hundred thousand iron cavalry in elite armor!

“All of them kneel before you in perfect formation and roar ‘Long live Your Majesty!’

“What kind of intoxicating feeling would that be?”

Zheng Fan closed his eyes and imagined it.

His legs nearly went weak.

No.

Absolutely not.

He could not spend too much time with this master bullshitter.

Otherwise, one day the bastard really would talk him into becoming crippled with ambition.

The armor and warhorses would not be issued until the next day.

So as batch after batch of freshly washed barbarians came out, more than five hundred men gradually filled the open ground.

The earth beneath them was becoming wet.

From drool.

“When do we feed them?” Zheng Fan asked.

These men were obviously starving, and the food had clearly been finished for quite some time.

“Wait a little longer,” the Blind Man said.

“Wait for what?”

“Their first lesson.”

At last, someone could no longer endure it.

Two barbarians exchanged glances inside the formation.

Carefully, they edged toward the steamer holding the buns.

One of them reached out.

BUZZ!

A streak of silver flashed.

The barbarian watched helplessly as the steamed bun dropped to the ground.

Along with it fell the left hand that had reached for the bun.

Before he could scream, a blade stabbed directly into his chest and withdrew immediately.

The other barbarian had already picked up a bun.

He froze.

Then, in the next instant, a hand seized him by the neck and hurled him outward.

Liang Cheng stepped from the barbarian ranks.

In one hand, he held a blade still dripping blood.

“What is Liang Cheng saying?” Zheng Fan asked the Blind Man beside him.

During his trip into the desert, Liang Cheng had learned the barbarian language.

Now he was addressing the barbarians in their own tongue.

“Master has probably already guessed.

“He is killing a chicken to frighten the monkeys.

“Establishing rules.”

Zheng Fan did not know whether to laugh or cry.

After everything he had experienced, the bloody scene itself did not frighten him.

He simply felt that the Blind Man and Liang Cheng’s method of entrapment was slightly... awkward.

But Zheng Fan understood perfectly well it was correct.

The Sixth Prince had once said:

“Barbarians are beasts.

“They fear power and never remember kindness.”

If Zheng Fan wanted them to obey him, the most direct method was to make them fear him.

Fear him down to their bones.

Otherwise, given barbarian nature, what if he took them south and they reverted to their old habits, plundering and abusing the local population?

Zheng Fan would be the one forced to answer for them.

Why give himself that trouble?

Liang Cheng continued speaking below.

Then suddenly he turned his head.

He raised one hand and pointed toward Zheng Fan atop the wall.

SWISH!

Every barbarian raised his head together and looked at Zheng Fan.

The collective gaze left Zheng Fan slightly dazed.

He could roughly guess Liang Cheng was telling them that Zheng Fan was their true master.

Drawing a deep breath, Zheng Fan forcibly calmed himself and clasped both hands behind his back.

Then, Liang Cheng pointed his blade toward the barbarian he had thrown out earlier.

At that moment, the Blind Man beside Zheng Fan slowly closed those eyes that looked essentially identical whether open or shut.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”

The barbarian clutched his head with both hands.

He released an incomparably miserable scream.

Blood began pouring from all seven orifices.

The barbarians below stared in horror.

Slowly as the man continued being tortured by mental force one barbarian after another began kneeling toward Zheng Fan.

They raised both hands, then lowered them to the ground.

Their foreheads struck the earth.

They began shouting something.

At last, the tortured barbarian died in an extraordinarily miserable fashion.

The Blind Man Bei reopened those eyes that looked essentially identical whether open or shut.

He breathed out softly.

“What are they shouting?” Zheng Fan asked.

A smile appeared at the corner of the Blind Man’s mouth.

Slowly, he spoke two words.

“Demon King.”

A surge of qi and blood rushed toward Zheng Fan’s head.

The sensation was like smoking for the first time.

Or perhaps like experiencing an air-raid drill for the first time.

In any case his head swam violently.

Suppressing the tremor in his voice, Zheng Fan gave a slight nod.

Then said, “I like that title.”

The Blind Man took one step backward.

“So do we.”

At that exact moment—

Xue San arrived.

In his hand, he was dragging a barbarian whose body had already been stabbed full of holes.

The barbarian still had one breath left.

As he was dragged forward, he left a long trail of blood across the ground.

“Zombie!

“Translate for me.

“This bastard actually tried to take advantage of the chaos and violate one of the women in our household.

“Heh heh.

“I caught him.”

Hearing this, Zheng Fan turned toward the Blind Man.

“Was this arranged too?”

The Blind Man shook his head.

“That scene was not in the script.”

“So it’s real?”

“Most likely.”

This time, there was not even that tiny trace of guilt caused by entrapment.

Zheng Fan said without hesitation, “Kill him.”

Starting today you eat my food.

Wear my clothes.

Use my things.

And you still want to touch the women in my household?

Dream on.

Liang Cheng began explaining to the more than five hundred barbarians exactly what crime the man in Xue San’s hands had committed.

The barbarians all looked at their “brother” with deep sympathy.

The previous man’s death had already been far too horrifying and incomprehensible.

The shock had been enormous.

What followed next was not suitable for children.

Xue San thoroughly demonstrated what proper self-cultivation looked like for a true demon.

Right before all those barbarians, step by step fast, yet terrifyingly clear he processed the man.

And completed a work of art.

Zheng Fan remained above and watched the entire thing from beginning to end.

He had originally planned on eating a midnight snack later.

Now he almost could not stop himself from vomiting up the dinner he had eaten earlier.

Fortunately, Demon King Zheng endured.

Image.

Image.

Image...

As for the barbarians below many were frightened into crying.

Others vomited.

They did not fear killing.

They did not even particularly fear being killed.

But this method of killing terrified them to the marrow.

Originally after Liang Cheng and A’Ming persuaded them they had believed they were coming to paradise.

They thought they had found hope.

But now they suddenly discovered that they had actually fallen into a demon den.

The little wolf cub walked out from among the barbarians.

He knelt respectfully toward Zheng Fan.

The barbarians behind him knelt again in unison.

They began repeating the word that meant “Demon King” in barbarian speech.

This time they were perfectly synchronized.

This time their submission was absolute.

Amid the repeated cries of “Demon King,”

Xue San knelt.

Feng Siniang knelt.

Liang Cheng, A’Ming, and Fan Li knelt as well.

The Blind Man Bei beside Zheng Fan also stepped back two paces and dropped to one knee.

Across the entire field only Zheng Fan remained standing.

Zheng Fan slowly closed his eyes.

He allowed himself to savor the feeling.

Some things truthfully were addictive.

Once you experienced them even once, you could never truly go back.

Never.

In the end he had stepped onto the road the Demon Kings beneath him wanted him to walk.

But at the same time was this not also the road he himself wanted to walk?

Life and death held in his hands.

Demons descending upon the world!

At that moment, the Blind Man quietly spoke.

“Master.

“This scene really ought to have a line of narration.”

Zheng Fan gave a soft, “Hmm?”

“Something like:

‘The army that would one day make Qian, Jin, Chu, and Yan tremble in fear was formally established tonight.’”

“What army?”

“This subordinate has not thought of the name yet,” the Blind Man answered honestly.

“But if this were a television drama, novel, or comic, it feels like narration like that should appear here.”

“I personally dislike authors who spoil future events because they think they’re being clever.”

“Master is wise.”

“These fellows were all selected from the penal tribes?”

“They can be considered the elite among elite barbarian recruits,” the Blind Man answered.

“I’m genuinely curious.

“When the people of Qian, who have always looked down on Yan, face this group of barbarians who were already defeated by Yan what kind of reaction will they have?”

The Blind Man revealed the smile unique to a crafty old bastard.

“Master.

“We are all very much looking forward to it.”

...

Because the night’s events had been far too stomach-turning and unsuitable for children, Zheng Fan had no interest in spending the night with Siniang.

He went to bed early.

The next morning—

Zheng Fan was washing up while hearing the sounds of drilling outside.

Clearly, Liang Cheng had already begun training the barbarians.

At that moment, the Blind Man Bei walked over carrying a letter.

“Master.

“This is a letter from Xu Wenzu.”

“Read it.”

Zheng Fan accepted a hot towel from Siniang and began wiping his face.

“‘My younger brother Zheng Fan, though we have been apart only several days, it feels as though three autumns have passed—’”

“Skip to the important part.”

The Blind Man nodded.

“The important part is at the end.

“Master’s transfer order has already arrived in Tiger Head City.”

“Oh?

“Where am I going?”

“Commander of Green Willow Fortress, Yinlang Commandery.”

(End of Chapter)