Chapter 451: The Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell

Back when Yupan City had not yet been ravaged by war, it had possessed a famous local snack called fried little fish.

The fish came from a species unique to the Wang River.

They had to be passed through hot oil to remove their muddy smell, but they could not stay in too long.

Otherwise their freshness vanished with it.

So when local vendors made the dish, they usually worked with long chopsticks and extremely quick hands, dropping the fish into oil and whisking them back out almost immediately.

What Count Zheng was doing now was exactly the same thing.

After all the people before him were the great nobles and dignitaries of Great Chu.

Those who ate meat might be shortsighted.

But those who ate meat were never fools.

Every arrangement he had prepared needed to be thrown onto the table in a very short time and take effect immediately.

Otherwise, these people were inevitably going to recover their wits.

And once that happened today’s performance would turn into a turtle trapped inside a jar.

No negotiations.

No delays.

What he needed was to seize the initiative in the shortest possible time.

Of course, when the blade entered “A’Ming’s” chest, Count Zheng could not help feeling a trace of regret.

If the person being held hostage before him right now had truly been the Regent how wonderful would that have been?

Then whether Count Zheng traveled the jianghu, served in the army, or stood in the halls of government in the future, perhaps people would rarely call him “Count Pingye” anymore.

Instead they might call him:

**the Regicide.**

Truthfully the title might be unlucky.

But in terms of sheer style it was impeccable.

At this exact moment the gazes of Count Zheng, A’Ming, and Siniang met for one brief instant.

Without speaking, they exchanged information.

Perhaps it was because their mutual understanding had grown so deep.

Perhaps it was because when the Blind Man was around, he often connected them through Mental Link.

Either way they could genuinely read what one another meant through a glance.

A’Ming:

*Master, why did you stab me straight in the chest?*

Zheng Fan:

*What, was I supposed to crouch down and deliberately stab you in the leg?*

A’Ming:

*A wound here consumes much more blood to repair.*

Zheng Fan:

*If I stabbed your leg, I was afraid you’d have trouble running later.*

Siniang:

*Why hasn’t San arrived yet?*

At that moment, a piercing whistle suddenly came from the distance.

Then, a man came flying across the tops of the crowd.

Yes.

Exactly the kind of entrance that appeared constantly in martial-arts films using the shoulders of the crowd as stepping stones and running straight over their heads.

**Whoosh!**

At last, the man landed.

He wore a long ink-black robe.

Between his brows lingered a dense, baleful gloom.

This was an expert.

That much was obvious.

The moment he appeared, the other great clans’ retainers and experts either lowered their heads in greeting or subtly retreated half a step.

In a situation like this an individual possessing overwhelming personal strength was genuinely troublesome.

This was not two armies clashing.

It was a small-scale localized conflict.

And on Zheng Fan’s side they were actually outnumbered.

That was also why Zheng Fan had released such a long breath of relief when he learned the Regent would be exhausted and unable to attend the wedding.

Even setting the Swordsmith aside, there were certainly several genuine experts around the Regent.

Against armies numbering tens of thousands, such people might not appear especially significant.

But in a scene like this they could often decide everything.

“Heh-heh.

“Qu Mingxuan of the Qu Clan greets Count Pingye of Great Yan.”

The man cupped his fists.

At the same time he took another step forward.

Count Zheng’s eyes immediately narrowed.

He understood at once.

This old dog wanted to close the distance and test whether the Regent was real.

So Count Zheng directly yanked the dagger from the Regent’s chest.

Then without the slightest hesitation drove it into the Regent’s shoulder.

**Pfft!**

“...”

A’Ming.

Qu Mingxuan’s foot stopped.

He was not a retainer hired by the Qu Clan.

He was a genuine member of the family.

Originally born from a collateral branch, he had displayed extraordinary martial talent from childhood and was therefore raised by the clan almost like a legitimate-line son.

Now he was a Fourth Grade Martial Artist.

Among the Qu Clan, he counted as a highly respected elder.

Even Qu Peiluo’s father, Qu Tiannan, had once received martial instruction from him.

Ordinarily, he also oversaw the training of younger Qu Clan descendants.

Precisely because he was truly part of the Qu Clan he hesitated.

He was confident that, if he paid a certain price and refused to become entangled in prolonged fighting, he could break through the Yan soldiers blocking the way and reach the traveling pavilion.

He was even confident he could seize Count Pingye himself.

Even in the worst possible outcome he dared pound his chest and guarantee that at minimum, he could trade his own life for Count Pingye’s.

That calculation did not include anyone else’s help.

It was based entirely upon himself.

That was the pride of a peak Martial Artist.

And it was not unreasonable.

Back then, Sha Tuo Queshi had repeatedly charged through more than a thousand Zhenbei cavalry before finally dying from exhaustion.

True peak Martial Artists possessed bodies terrifying enough to leave ordinary people in awe.

But there was still that old truth: the fierce fear the reckless.

Count Zheng’s utter decisiveness had made even this powerful Martial Artist hesitate.

Zheng Fan looked directly at him.

Then shouted:

“I rose from the dust!

“I was born among the common grass and black-haired masses!

“By fortune, His Majesty of Great Yan recognized me, raised me into high office, and granted me the title of Count!

“Today—

I came only for the woman I love!

“But if you truly force me to the end of the road— then I will simply commit regicide here and die together with the woman I love!

“Below—

I will not betray the Princess’s deep affection for me!

“Above—

I will not betray the imperial grace His Majesty of Great Yan bestowed upon me!

“You— may continue walking forward.

“The one who commits regicide will be me.

“But the one who forces his sovereign and father to his death— will be your Qu Clan!”

“Come!

“Do not hesitate!

“Kill him!

“Kill them!

“Kill every one of them!

“We will not blame you!

“We will not blame you!”

A’Ming roared furiously.

Then, perhaps because A’Ming had entered the role too deeply he even improvised one additional line:

“Great Chu has no Emperor who allows himself to be captured!

“After Our death, carry out Our decree!

“Invite Fifth Brother Xiong Tingshan into Ying Capital to preside over the affairs of state!”

Perhaps Count Zheng’s previous threat and terrifying decisiveness had already taken effect.

Or perhaps A’Ming’s improvisation hit exactly the right point.

Either way—

Qu Mingxuan stopped advancing.

Then began stepping backward instead.

Because no matter how fast his movement technique was it could not be faster than the blade already pressed against the hostage.

The other nobles did not dare speak either.

One bad decision today could mean the Regent died and Great Chu plunged into internal chaos again.

At the same time, the Regent’s declaration that state affairs should pass to Fifth Prince Xiong Tingshan made many nobles present feel their hearts tighten.

That sentence once again reinforced the “fact” that this truly was the Regent.

Because only the Regent could issue such a decree under these circumstances.

Yet Fifth Prince was based in Wutong Commandery.

The interests attached to him belonged to Wutong’s native powers and the Shanyue tribes.

In other words, Fifth Prince’s political foundation did not align with the ancient Chu aristocratic houses standing here today.

Naturally, none of them wished to hand Fifth Prince an opportunity.

Count Zheng shouted:

“Let us leave!

“And I will return the Regent of Great Chu to you!”

Nobody answered.

Count Zheng immediately ordered:

“Jin Shuke!

“Bring the horses!

“Whoever dares obstruct us— the Regent dies because of that person!”

There were plenty of horses here.

If nothing else the one hundred and eight white-horse retainers Qu Peiluo had brought with the bridal escort had each ridden an excellent mount.

Under Jin Shuke’s command, the Snow Sea Pass armored soldiers openly walked over and began leading horses back.

They completely ignored the Chu blades surrounding them.

Once the mounts were brought over, Count Zheng mounted first.

Then he reached down from the traveling pavilion, took the Princess, and seated her in front of him.

Siniang held the Regent hostage and climbed onto another horse.

Everyone prepared to move.

Around them the Chu nobles stood like statues.

From beginning to end nobody stopped them.

Nobody dared.

Not far away, dust billowed.

A little more than two thousand genuine Azure Luan troops had already arrived and formed battle lines ahead.

But they had not charged.

Zheng Fan wrapped one arm around the Princess.

His other hand held the reins.

The Princess could feel it clearly.

Count Zheng looked calm.

But in truth his body was extremely stiff.

He was nervous.

Genuinely nervous.

Because life and death could turn in a single instant.

This was different from charging an enemy formation with troops at his back.

In battle, no matter how uncertain the future was, there was still always a chance to fight, to carve out survival, to seize victory.

Here one mistake meant complete collapse.

Walking this tightrope was exhilarating.

But Count Zheng felt that after crossing it this time he should probably spend a while living much more cautiously.

Life needed a proper balance between labor and rest.

“Jin Shuke!

“Put down the General of Tiger Might!

“The General of Tiger Might has treated people with sincerity.

“He is a good man!

“Good men— deserve good endings!”

“Yes, Count!”

Jin Shuke threw Qu Peiluo off the back of his horse.

Qu Peiluo rolled twice across the ground.

Then fainted completely.

“Everyone!

“Mountains do not turn, but rivers do!

“If we meet on a battlefield someday, announce your name!

“This Count Pingye will spare your lives— to repay the favor of your attendance at this Count’s wedding today!

“Move!”

“Hyah!”

“Hyah!”

The Yan riders galloped away.

The more than two thousand genuine Azure Luan soldiers who had already arrived possessed no direct military order from the Qu Clan leadership.

They hesitated for one instant.

Then chose not to obstruct them.

Qu Mingxuan remained standing where he was.

Both fists clenched.

Today the Qu Clan’s face had been swept across the ground.

But right now, nobody could afford to focus merely on the Qu Clan’s humiliation.

Because the Regent was still in Yan hands.

...

The Azure Luan Army did eventually mobilize.

The Azure Luan troops stationed around the outer perimeter of the imperial villa departed first.

Several cavalry forces numbering more than a thousand each raced ahead to pursue and block the fugitives.

At the same time orders were transmitted throughout the region.

Checkpoints were to be established.

Roads were to be sealed.

At last, Great Chu’s nobles had recovered enough to formulate a response.

Earlier inside the imperial villa, everyone had been stunned by Zheng Fan’s immediate decision to drive a blade into the Regent.

Once Zheng Fan left the various military formations began moving almost at once.

The initial pursuit, however would inevitably be somewhat restrained.

No one wished to smash the rat for fear of breaking the vessel.

Later, once those nobles learned the real Regent had never been taken at all the strength of the pursuit would increase explosively.

All of Chu’s boundless fury would come pouring out.

This was Chu.

This was Chu territory!

But between the first wave of orders and the second there would inevitably be a gap in time.

Count Zheng wanted fame.

But he definitely did not want posthumous fame.

So now the swagger had been displayed.

His identity had been revealed.

The only thing that mattered next was returning alive.

After Zheng Fan’s group galloped out of the imperial villa, they headed directly for Zhou County.

Suddenly fire erupted at Zhou County’s north gate.

Someone inside seized the gate.

A force of more than two hundred cavalry burst out.

The two groups crossed paths.

Then, one force headed west.

The other northwest.

The escape split into two directions.

The large bodies of Chu cavalry pursuing from behind immediately divided as well.

Two pursuit columns continued racing after them.

...

Late that night the window of a second-floor guest room in an inn inside Zhou County was pushed open from within.

Count Zheng raised his head.

Looked at the moon.

Then stretched lazily.

By now, Count Zheng had already removed his armor and changed into the clothes of a merchant.

On the bed behind him sat Xiong Liqing.

She held a candle stand.

Hot wax dripped downward.

Yes.

Count Zheng and the Princess were still inside Zhou County.

Siniang and A’Ming had taken one route.

Xue San led the other.

One was already fleeing toward Qishan.

The other toward Mengshan.

Both forces were preparing for “escape.”

But in truth both were bait.

Count Zheng was with neither.

Because a road of escape was destined to be dangerous.

Destined to produce far too many unforeseen accidents.

Full of danger at every turn.

Countless films devoted their entire length to nothing more than an escape and all the disasters encountered along the road.

So Count Zheng chose the opposite.

The most dangerous place was the safest place.

He chose to remain behind temporarily.

Let Chu’s attention be dragged away by those two groups.

Let the pursuers block roads, seal mountain passes, deploy troops, and exhaust themselves however they pleased.

At this moment, looking at the moon—

Count Zheng genuinely felt as though he had leaped beyond the Three Realms and escaped the Five Elements.

“Hiss...”

A soft sound of pain came from the Princess.

Count Zheng turned.

The Princess was dripping wax onto herself.

Scalding wax ran over the smooth skin of her arm.

Fortunately, Count Zheng was not stupid.

He did not imagine that beneath the Princess’s dignified and virtuous exterior lurked tastes this heavy.

He could see the mark beneath the wax.

That should be the legendary Fire Phoenix mark possessed only by the core members of Chu’s imperial clan.

She was temporarily sealing it.

Count Zheng stood there and watched the entire process.

He watched until the Princess finished every step.

Once done the Princess leaned back against the bed.

Sweat covered her skin.

Her hair had loosened.

Her lips were red.

Her clothes had fallen into disarray.

Count Zheng smiled.

The Princess looked at him.

Then asked:

“Does it look like someone used force on me?”

Count Zheng nodded.

The Princess smiled too.

Then said:

“I just eloped with you— and this is how you treat me?”

Count Zheng shrugged.

The Princess bit her lip and said resentfully:

“My arm hurts so badly from the wax.

“Tell me more about that final edict again.

“Make me feel better.”

“Hehehe.”

Count Zheng released a long breath.

“Who keeps feeding bait to a fish once it has already bitten the hook?”

“So men are all like this?

“Once you obtain something, you stop cherishing it?”

Count Zheng walked over to the bed.

Sat down.

Then shook his head.

“Not quite.”

The Princess sighed.

She looked at the hardened wax across her arm.

“I never imagined that one day—

I would voluntarily conceal this mark.”

That Fire Phoenix mark was the symbol of the imperial house.

It was also a source of pride for Great Chu’s imperial clan.

“Will this method be reliable enough?” Zheng Fan asked.

The Princess answered:

“It should seal it temporarily.

“Unless a Shaman Rector happens to be nearby and deliberately searches.”

“Then it isn’t completely reliable.”

As he spoke—

Zheng Fan drew a red stone from his clothes.

And tossed it to the Princess.

“Keep this on you.

“It can completely conceal the aura of your Fire Phoenix mark.

“Even if a Shaman Rector walks directly past you— he won’t detect it.”

“...”

The Princess.

A long time passed.

Holding the red stone, the Princess tilted her head and stared at Zheng Fan.

Then asked:

“So while I was dripping wax on myself just now— why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Because the faintly painful expression on your face while the wax fell— was beautiful.

“I wanted to admire it a little longer.”

“Count Pingye!”

“Yes?”

“Chief Commander Zheng!”

“Present.”

“Zheng Fan!”

“Here.”

“Stinking man!

“Bastard!”

“Heh.”

“Are you determined to make me regret this on the very first night I follow you?”

Truthfully the Princess had wronged Count Zheng.

The reason he had not dared throw the Demon Child directly to her at first was that he feared the Demon Child might lose control, suddenly fly out, and smash the Princess’s skull apart.

Count Zheng had always known the Demon Child possessed killing intent toward him.

He understood even more clearly that the Demon Child’s killing intent toward women intimate with him was even stronger.

**Whoever wants to become my mother, I kill!**

So he had hesitated and weighed the risks.

Only after the Princess herself admitted she could not guarantee complete concealment of the Fire Phoenix aura did Zheng Fan finally decide to hand over the Demon Child.

Because if he reasoned backward through Murphy’s Law the chance that a Shaman Rector happened to come very close to them was clearly lower than the chance of the Demon Child suddenly erupting and trying to murder his new stepmother.

So better to choose the Demon Child.

Call it reverse-jinxing himself.

Besides, Count Zheng could not help inwardly complaining: the Yan imperial clan had spent generations breeding and raising Pi Beasts.

The Chu imperial clan, meanwhile, had apparently been busy installing navigation trackers onto the bodies of its core descendants.

“Those two groups— you really just sold them like that?” the Princess asked after putting away the red stone.

“Don’t make it sound so ugly.”

“But they truly are risking themselves for you.

“Many of them may even die for you.”

“Maintain troops for a thousand days.

“Use them for one.”

“You don’t feel guilty?”

“If I fail to return alive to Yan— that would be the greatest betrayal of everything they are sacrificing.”

Besides—

Count Zheng believed both escape groups had decent chances of making it back.

First, the Fan Clan had prepared routes and support.

Second, barbarian troops had already been positioned ahead to receive them.

Third each group was led by a Demon King.

Some people might die.

But the groups themselves should make it home.

The reason Zheng Fan was not traveling with either group was because he wanted the greatest possible margin of safety.

Admittedly the biggest reason remained:

Count Zheng was afraid of dying.

“Your skin is astonishingly thick.”

Count Zheng answered:

“When I held you in my arms inside your sleeping hall, you should already have known that.

“Besides— the two of us have basically gone through a marriage interview.

“Among commoners, when a man visits the woman’s household for matchmaking, they may only meet once.

“The girl peeks at him from behind a window.

“Then once the parents negotiate dowry and bride-price— the match is settled.

“You and I have met many times.

“We know far more about each other.

“Don’t we?”

“But what about our parents’ command?”

“Once I bring you home, I’ll write a letter to His Highness the Regent.

“Great Chu’s official state letter will definitely condemn me.

“But privately—

His Highness the Regent will probably send me a handwritten letter calling me his worthy brother-in-law.

“Your brother is an Emperor.

“Emperors— are the most practical people of all.”

“I am now a sinner against all of Great Chu.”

“Believe me.

“Someday, when I lead an army into Great Chu— the nobles who stood there today will prostrate themselves at your feet.

“They’ll treat you as their greatest hope.

“Their greatest chance to survive.”

The Princess bit her lip and stared at Zheng Fan.

Truthfully the expression was rather adorable.

Count Zheng lay back on the bed.

He pillowed his head on one arm and said:

“We’ll remain here another two days.

“Then we set out for home.”

The Princess said nothing.

A little while later she climbed off the bed.

Count Zheng raised himself slightly and looked at her.

“Where are you going?”

“To fetch hot water.

“I’ll wash your feet.”

“Oh?”

“Doesn’t that make me feel like a virtuous wife and loving mother?” the Princess asked.

“If you add the words ‘this Princess’ to the sentence— it would feel even better.”

“Peh.”

[End of Chapter 451]