Chapter 372: That Really Hurts

Early the next morning, A’Ming arrived outside Zheng Fan’s command tent.

Siniang was already awake and making hand-pulled noodles.

Seeing A’Ming, she asked, “Want some?”

“I’ll eat if you add some blood curd.”

“Fine. I can add it.”

“You’d really add it?”

“Of course.”

“Wouldn’t that be a little inappropriate? Master’s going to eat this too, isn’t he?”

“Obviously.”

“Then forget it.”

If she added blood curd and Master ate it, then forget being last in the ranking this time—A’Ming might genuinely be held back a grade.

Extraordinary times called for a strict ban on fooling around.

A short while later, Zheng Fan walked out.

Count Zheng emerged from the tent with trembling knees and one hand braced against his lower back.

A’Ming saw him, shifted his gaze away, sat down, and then looked toward Siniang.

Siniang gave a faint shake of her head.

A’Ming sighed helplessly.

Everything that needed saying had already been said without words.

Count Zheng sat down beside them as well. Though he was now a Sixth Grade Martial Artist, at this moment he genuinely felt as though the lower half of his back no longer belonged to him.

“Huu...”

He accepted a bowl of noodles from Siniang and began eating.

A’Ming said, “Master, yesterday he went to see the child.”

Zheng Fan nodded. He did not appear especially surprised.

“He also fought Sha Tuo Queshi. Like the Sword Saint, he can force open Second Grade.”

Hearing that, Zheng Fan helplessly lowered the bowl of noodles in front of him.

Suddenly, the noodles no longer smelled quite so good.

Still what could he say?

He was beginning to get used to being struck by this kind of blow.

Of course, he had made some progress in this life.

Compared with the completely untouchable figures from his previous life—“Papa Ma,” “Husband Sicong,” and the like—he had at least learned how to feel jealous now.

Because with people in this world, the distance between them could at least be measured.

No matter how enormous that distance was, it still gave him some concept of scale.

“Sha Tuo Queshi is all right?” Zheng Fan asked.

“No real problem. He didn’t use a killing hand.”

“Haaah. Somehow that sounds even sadder.”

It was the same emotion the Blind Man had felt last night.

Until the Sword Saint recovered, Sha Tuo Queshi counted as the strongest individual combat power on their side.

“All right. Pack up. I’ll go say farewell to Tian Wujing.”

“Yes, Master.”

After Zheng Fan left, A’Ming took out his waterskin and drank a mouthful of blood.

“This time, it looks difficult.”

Siniang nodded.

“The Demon Child didn’t react either.”

“Mm.”

Normally, the easiest Demon Kings to advance were Siniang and the Demon Child.

One shared his bed.

The other was practically his own son.

If even the two of them were now at a loss, the remaining Demon Kings could only stand to one side and watch for the moment. No matter how anxious they became, they had nowhere to apply their strength.

Siniang finished putting away the pots and bowls, then washed her hands clean.

“Once we return to Snow Sea Pass, the few of us should gather together and hold a meeting.”

Master had advanced.

But this time, the Demon Kings’ own advancement clearly was no longer as simple as deciding who would flatter him first and who would flatter him later.

“Funny. The Blind Man said the same thing.”

...

Zheng Fan arrived outside the command tent. After the guards announced him, he entered.

Tian Wujing was sitting beside his couch. He seemed to have only just risen and was still dressing.

“Your Highness, this general is returning to Snow Sea Pass. This time, many thanks for Your Highness’s cultivation.”

Zheng Fan understood perfectly well why Tian Wujing had deliberately summoned him here.

The main purpose had been to let him see this particular round of “scenery.”

As for helping him advance that had merely been something done along the way.

It was almost like a master holding a graduation ceremony for his disciple, using the blood and corpses of forty thousand men as the decorations.

At the same time, making Zheng Fan personally pass down the order to slaughter the prisoners had certainly guaranteed him a permanent place on every Chu blacklist.

But it had also amounted to Tian Wujing lifting Zheng Fan’s hand before the entire Jingnan Army and publicly declaring:

**Zheng Fan can speak in place of the Prince of Jingnan.**

Having lived two lives, Zheng Fan’s family in his previous life had not exactly been harmonious.

But in this life, there were two people from whom he had genuinely experienced the feeling of being protected by an elder brother.

The first was Sha Tuo Queshi.

Their relationship had begun because Zheng Fan had been greedy for food on the march and, following the philosophy that kowtowing cost nothing, had dropped to his knees first and stolen the initiative.

While Old Sha was alive, Zheng Fan had actually spent very little time with him.

Who would have thought that after the man died, he would instead become a constant companion?

The second was Tian Wujing.

Tian Wujing had been extraordinarily tolerant toward Zheng Fan.

There were things Zheng Fan had never bothered hiding, yet Tian Wujing simply treated them as though he had not seen them.

A tacit understanding existed between them.

And both sides seemed comfortable with it.

Truthfully, during that peculiar period of post-coital clarity, the mind had a tendency to drift.

Experts like the Sword Saint and Tian Wujing, both supreme Third Grade Martial Artists, could forcibly open Second Grade for a short time and obtain terrifying strength.

Count Zheng could too.

For example, last night.

He had entered the “Sage Realm” several times in succession.

Then he lit one of the cigarettes the Blind Man had replenished for him and let his thoughts drift.

For some reason, he suddenly felt that perhaps one day Liang Cheng could keep working on Sha Tuo Queshi until the man became almost as normal as he had been while alive.

Then Tian Wujing could bring along Zheng Fan’s godson.

Everyone could go together and retire somewhere with green mountains and clear water.

That did not sound bad at all.

But when Zheng Fan woke in the morning aside from the violent soreness in his lower back the instant his hand touched his armor, he suddenly remembered:

Dreams were dreams.

Reality remained reality.

Naturally, Tian Wujing had no idea Zheng Fan’s thoughts had already floated off into some strange paradise.

He simply instructed him:

“Once you return to Snow Sea Pass, you will finally be opening a territory of your own in both name and fact. When dealing with your subordinates, you must devote more effort to managing them.

“Do not delegate everything.

“And do not refuse to delegate anything.”

This was a warning.

Strictly speaking, Count Zheng needed this warning less than almost anyone in history.

Few ambitious men had ever possessed a team as absurdly good as his.

Every one of them was frighteningly capable.

And none of them would rebel against him.

Once one set aside the Seven Demon Kings’ hobby of causing trouble for the sheer enjoyment of it, none of them seemed genuinely interested in sitting on the dragon throne.

But when an elder said these things to you, it was because he cared.

You could not complain that the elder was nagging.

“Your Highness’s teachings—this general will engrave them in his heart.”

Tian Wujing nodded.

Then continued:

“Although I do not intend to campaign against the snowfields again in the next few years, you must not relax your attention toward them.

“Divide them.

“Draw some close.

“Form alliances.

“Weaken others.

“You will judge the balance yourself.

“At the same time, Snow Sea Pass must permanently maintain ten thousand cavalry capable of answering a summons south toward Zhennan Pass at any moment.

“My judgment that Chu does not dare fight is one thing.

“But if the Chu truly decide to fight a major war...”

A calm smile appeared at the corner of Tian Wujing’s mouth.

“Then perhaps they can help you trade that Countship for a Marquisate.”

“Your Highness, truthfully, this general does not care much for empty titles like those. Just as with Your Highness—perhaps the court’s decree of punishment will arrive soon, but whether you are Prince or Marquis, what difference does it make to the Jingnan Army? To the Eastern Expedition Army? To the whole of Great Yan?”

Last night, Old Tian had already exchanged blows with Sha Tuo Queshi.

So he should now know some of Zheng Fan’s little secrets.

That meant Zheng Fan could afford to loosen his tongue just a little.

Faced with Zheng Fan’s inch-turning-into-a-foot boldness, Tian Wujing did not become angry.

Instead, he asked:

“Zheng Fan.”

“This general is here.”

“Do your work properly.

“Do what you should do.”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Zheng Fan had the vague feeling Tian Wujing had originally intended to say something else at the end, only to swallow it back.

But if the man did not want to speak, then forget it.

Count Zheng had not yet developed the confidence required to corner the Prince of Jingnan and dig relentlessly for an answer.

Not long after leaving the command tent, he found Chen Yang waiting for him.

Zheng Fan was moving his entire foundation. The road from the Wang River to Snow Sea Pass was still long, and Chen Yang was the commander Tian Wujing had assigned to escort the migration column.

“Brother Zheng, can we set out now?”

“Sorry to keep Elder Brother waiting. Let’s move.”

The column set out once more.

With the additional five thousand Jingnan cavalry led by Chen Yang, both the order and the marching speed of the migration improved dramatically.

If the migrating civilians were a flock of sheep, then the cavalry constantly riding back and forth among them were the sheepdogs.

Then again, a powerful regional official was himself described as one who “shepherded the people” on behalf of the Son of Heaven.

That single word *shepherd* had explained the relationship long ago.

Naturally, Zheng Fan did not need to concern himself with the endless details of moving the population.

On the second day of the march, Chen Yang invited him out hunting.

Each brought one hundred cavalrymen and rode toward a nearby stretch of woodland.

Even if they delayed for half a day, catching the migration column again would be easy with light cavalry and fast horses.

So they could properly steal a little leisure from their work.

Because the savage raids had caused the local population to collapse, wildlife in the surrounding forests had become far more active.

Sometimes wild animals could even be seen wandering through abandoned villages whose residents had fled or died.

The devastation war inflicted upon ordinary people truly defied calculation.

Still, Count Zheng did not indulge in too much grief over it.

At the end of the day, he belonged to the group that had profited from war.

Eating from the bowl while cursing the cook after putting it down that would have been too shameless even for him.

Chen Yang shot a deer.

Count Zheng shot a little white rabbit.

Afterward, both men released their personal guards to hunt freely.

The two commanders sat beside a campfire while several armored soldiers carried the game to a nearby stream to clean and dress it.

“Brother Zheng, our Prince truly treats you well.

“I’ve followed His Highness for more than ten years. I count as one of the old men of the Jingnan Army.

“So I’ll tell you something from the heart.

“Your elder brother here is damn jealous of you.”

Naturally, an opening needed a little flattery and groundwork first.

Everyone had to settle into the conversation before the real subject appeared.

“His Highness’s kindness toward me is indeed as heavy as a mountain.”

“Truthfully, His Highness lives bitterly.

“Outsiders don’t know.

“But we do.

“And I believe Brother Zheng definitely understands as well.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

By habit, he took the little iron **Zhonghua** case from inside his clothes.

Then he pulled out a cigarette and offered it to Chen Yang.

During conversation, if you wanted to seize the initiative—or interrupt the other man before he seized it—you needed to know how to briefly divert the subject.

Truthfully, Zheng Fan already knew what Chen Yang was trying to say.

By now, the remaining Zhenbei Army Chief Commanders had become much more restrained.

Their Marquis of Zhenbei no.

Their Prince of Zhenbei had already lowered his stance completely.

The Jingnan Army was different.

To speak bluntly, during Great Yan’s campaigns over these past few years, the Jingnan Army had fought roughly half of the Campaign to Open Jin.

Afterward, whether attacking the Jin capital region, entering the snowfields, or driving out the savages, those campaigns had essentially all been conducted under Tian Wujing’s command with the Jingnan Army serving as the principal force.

What were arrogant soldiers and fierce generals?

This.

This was exactly what the phrase meant.

Put these men in the atmosphere of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms or imagine that Tian Wujing’s personal prestige had been even slightly insufficient to suppress his officers and these Jingnan commanders might long ago have shoved a yellow robe over their own lord’s shoulders and forced him to become emperor.

Chen Yang held the cigarette beneath his nose and smelled it.

“This thing damages the lungs.”

Men who practiced martial arts and served in the army naturally understood certain properties of herbs and medicines.

Tobacco had reached the State of Yan first after coming from the West.

Unfortunately—

Yan people were genuinely “boring.”

They did not eat Five-Mineral Powder.

They did not smoke tobacco.

They were not especially fond of male beauty.

Nor did they obsess over golden lotuses or slender waists.

Of course, if human nature were left completely unchecked, enjoyment and decadence tended to grow by themselves.

But when the ruler above did not display some personal obsession for everyone below to imitate, that kind of fashion was much less likely to spread.

Zheng Fan silently lit his own cigarette with a fire striker.

“It’s just something to ease boredom.”

Chen Yang did not smoke his.

But he tucked the finely made cigarette into his clothes and returned to the earlier subject.

“Truthfully, on the day Madam Dujuan died, the few of us knelt inside the Marquis Residence.

“Before you arrived— we were urging His Highness to raise troops.

“His Highness has never failed Great Yan in the slightest.

“But Great Yan— from the court above to the common people below has failed our Prince far too much!”

Status truly changed the way people spoke.

Back when Zheng Fan had merely been a Garrison Commander or City Defender, whether Zhenbei Army officers or Jingnan Army officers came trying to draw him closer, they always stopped at hints.

Now—

Zheng Fan had acquired the qualifications to speak almost as an equal.

He might not yet be sitting at the gambling table himself.

But if he stood beside it and watched, no one would come chase him away.

So the words could finally become direct.

“Elder Brother, I understand what you mean.

“I understand what everyone means.

“So let’s speak plainly.

“If His Highness said he wanted to become Emperor— if he said he wanted this realm—

I would be the first man to stand and support him.

“My seniority may not compare with yours.

“I haven’t followed His Highness nearly as long as you have either.

“But if His Highness became Emperor, I would probably benefit more than any of you.

“Wouldn’t you agree?”

Chen Yang nodded.

That was impossible to refute.

Because even they knew certain things about the Young Prince.

“But the problem is that our Prince does not want to rebel.

“That is exactly why his life is so bitter.”

Zheng Fan sighed.

“Yes.

“His Highness does not want to rebel.

“And he never will.”

“Then let us keep waiting,” Zheng Fan said, abruptly turning the subject and seizing the rhythm of the conversation. “Why rush so much?

“This younger brother is going to garrison Snow Sea Pass now.

“Give me a few years and the place should develop into something substantial.

“Elder Brother, you and Brother Ren Juan and the others all have your own garrisons too.

“The Three Jin have certainly been smashed apart by years of war.

“But if we truly allow them several years to recover— this is still the land that once bred the cavalry of the Three Jin.

“A few years from now, the Jingnan Army will have stronger soldiers and fatter horses.

“Then— whatever we want to do we can do with much greater ease.”

Count Zheng had always preferred farming and development.

The nine-character maxim attributed to the founding Emperor of Ming—

**Build high walls. Accumulate grain broadly. Delay declaring yourself king.**

—had always suited him perfectly.

If you could stay low, stay low.

A man who knew how to hide and endure usually did not have terrible luck.

Chen Yang sighed.

“I’m only afraid that when that day comes, His Highness’s heart still will not have changed.”

And then, for reasons even Zheng Fan himself could not explain a sentence suddenly slipped from his mouth.

Chen Yang’s eyes widened at once.

Truthfully, Zheng Fan did not know why he had said it.

Perhaps it had merely been a flash of inspiration.

Perhaps even he could not tell whether the words truly represented his own heart.

Maybe his tongue had simply moved before he could stop it.

The sentence was:

“We still have the Young Prince, don’t we?”

...

In other places, spring was already deep enough to be stepping toward summer.

But Snow Sea Pass bordered the snowfields, so only now had the faintest taste of spring finally begun appearing.

The Sword Saint’s bed had been moved into the courtyard so he could bask in the sun.

Madam Ke, the woman Zheng Fan had previously taken in, had been instructed before Zheng Fan’s departure to temporarily help care for him.

At the moment, Xue San sat on the eaves with three legs hanging below him, swinging idly back and forth.

The Sword Saint reclined against his bed.

After receiving a letter from that woman, his desire to recover had become enormously stronger.

Even if he could never recover his old strength even if he could never practice martial arts again at the very least, he had to stand upright.

He could hardly allow the future neighbors to joke that she had found herself a cripple.

Just now, supported by Madam Ke, the Sword Saint had struggled through several laps around the courtyard.

Sweat covered his face.

He had been forced to sit and rest.

Opposite him sat the Savage King.

Both the Savage King’s hands and feet were locked in shackles.

The restraints had been personally designed by Xue San.

The Sword Saint picked up a dried persimmon and slowly ate it.

Then he gestured toward the Savage King.

“Want one?”

“Gladly.”

The Savage King showed no courtesy.

He grabbed one with both hands.

Because the shackles were heavy, he simply stuck his backside up and knelt on the ground while eating.

“Look at you.”

The Sword Saint mocked him.

“Haaah. Sweet. Delicious.”

The Savage King seemed to habitually present himself this way.

Nobody here would be deceived by the performance anymore.

But some personal habits were difficult to shed quickly.

Once repeated long enough they nearly became instinct.

The Sword Saint of Jin and the Savage King sitting this close together inside the same courtyard it sounded almost impossible.

Yet it had genuinely happened.

The Sword Saint himself had asked to see the Savage King.

And if the Sword Saint asked for something, Xue San naturally did everything possible to satisfy him.

Even if the man was now crippled.

The State of Jin was gone.

The Savage King’s grand ambitions were gone too.

Countless Jin people had died during the savage catastrophe.

Most of the savages who entered the passes had been killed as well.

The small number who survived now labored outside Snow Sea Pass, having their sweat and blood squeezed dry.

After finishing the dried persimmon, the Savage King sat on the ground and licked the remnants from the corner of his mouth.

“I never expected you would actually want to see me.”

“What is wrong with seeing you?”

“Haaah. I merely thought that a mighty Sword Saint such as yourself would never do something like this.”

“A Sword Saint is still a man. It is merely a title granted by people of the jianghu.

“Besides— where in this world is there any true saint?”

“That is also true.”

Letting go of hatred.

Smiling and dissolving old grievances.

Naturally, impossible.

The more people died, the less likely this feud could ever be untied.

Xue San occasionally looked toward the sky.

Then down toward the two men below.

Then yawned.

He had no particular interest in their conversation.

The Savage King watched the Sword Saint as though admiring a famous blade.

Even though the Sword Saint was now crippled, Gou Moli knew perfectly well that a major reason for his own defeat was the man before him killing Gelimu with a single sword stroke outside Snow Sea Pass.

If Gelimu had still been alive whether the Shengle Army could have held Snow Sea Pass was genuinely uncertain.

Unfortunately, the most tormenting word in the world was *if*.

If things had gone well who would need *if*?

“Say something, will you?” the Savage King asked.

“You dragged me out of the dungeon just so we could sit here staring at each other?”

The Sword Saint seemed tired.

“I cannot kill you.

“So I do not know what would be appropriate to say.”

“You can kill me.”

The Savage King lifted his head and looked toward Xue San on the roof.

Then continued:

“They value you greatly.

“If you yielded one more step and offered them more conditions in exchange for killing me— they probably would not hesitate much.”

“Heh.”

The Sword Saint laughed.

“You don’t believe me?” Gou Moli asked.

The Sword Saint closed his eyes.

Then slowly shook his head.

“I believe you.”

That Yan Count named Zheng Fan seemed to possess even more confidence in the Sword Saint’s recovery than the Sword Saint himself.

“We are not men who piss into the same pot.

“The moment either of us opens his mouth, the smell of mountains of corpses and seas of blood comes out.

“Too thick.

“Chokes the lungs.”

“Indeed,” the Sword Saint agreed.

“But look.

“The weather is beautiful today.

“And I should thank you for giving me an excuse to come out and see the sun.

“So— you really have nothing you want to say?”

“I am thinking.”

“Thinking about what?”

“Thinking about what I should say to you.

“It needs to feel satisfying.

“But it cannot be too obvious.

“Otherwise I lower myself and let you see through me.”

He had summoned the Savage King because he wanted to mock him a little.

Play with him a little.

But doing it too simply would make the whole thing boring.

“Tsk.

“I genuinely never imagined you would think like this.

“That really does not resemble the Sword Saint from the legends.”

“What should a Sword Saint look like?”

“A sword.

“The moment the edge comes out, heads fall.

“At minimum, you ought to carry some immortal air and remain untouched by mortal dust.”

“That was the old me.”

“So— you changed?”

“I changed.

“People all change.”

“A sword would rather break than bend.”

“But a sword is always wielded by a person.

“Without the person, the sword is nothing.”

The Savage King nodded thoughtfully.

“I have been taught.

“Just as once I lost the troops truly loyal to me—

I became nothing.”

The Sword Saint suddenly braced one hand against the bed and forced himself upright.

“Miss Ke.

“Bring over the clothes that fellow Zheng prepared for me.”

Madam Ke obeyed and brought several neatly folded sets of clothing.

The Sword Saint pointed toward them.

“Back in Shengle City, I had a woman I was close with.

“She has a son of her own.

“And an old mother-in-law above her.

“When she heard I was paralyzed, she didn’t despise me.

“She said she would take care of me for the rest of my life.

“By my estimate— she’ll arrive in another two or three days.

“You’re not exactly an outsider.

“So help me judge.

“Choose a set of clothes for me to wear when I meet her.

“Pick something that makes me look spirited.”

The Savage King’s mouth opened.

He started laughing.

Then stopped.

Then laughed again.

Back and forth until finally he released a long sigh.

His shackled hands tapped against his own chest.

Slowly, he said:

“As expected of the Sword Saint.

“That sword... really hurts.”

————

That’s all for tonight. Good night, everyone. Sweet dreams.

[End of Chapter 372]