Chapter 456: One Man, One Army

Although he had already expected it in his heart, when Zheng Fan truly saw this scene with his own eyes, he still could not stop his blood from surging.

Tian Wujing simply sat there atop his Pixiu.

Zheng Fan knew very clearly behind the two of them, there was not a single Yan soldier.

The Marquis of Jingnan had only said they should go out for a walk.

Casual and ordinary, like taking a stroll after dinner.

And in truth, that was exactly what it had been.

A stroll after dinner.

And while they were at it they forced the Chu army opposite them to go home.

One man.

One army retreating before him.

This was the Marquis of Jingnan.

This was Tian Wujing.

A man’s name cast a shadow like a tree.

The moment he appeared here, the Chu troops opposite did not even dare probe him.

They simply chose to withdraw.

Count Zheng licked his lips.

Slowly, he closed his eyes.

His hand tightened around the longbow.

The heroic grandeur of *Man Jiang Hong* had been plagiarized.

The Great Chu Princess following him had been tricked into it.

If he could choose then Zheng Fan too hoped that one day he could stand where the Marquis of Jingnan stood now.

Do nothing.

Say nothing.

Simply arrive.

I am here.

And because I am here everything will be settled.

Tonight was too quiet.

Even though the Chu withdrawal ahead was not quiet at all, the torches spreading across the mountains and fields as their army retreated looked like a sky full of stars fallen upon the earth.

Yet Zheng Fan still felt the night was silent.

So silent that he did not want to say one extra word.

Did not want to make one extra movement.

He only wanted to remain here quietly and watch the scene before him.

Perhaps because he and the Marquis of Jingnan were too familiar.

Perhaps because the relationship between them had become too close.

Zheng Fan did not produce any thought like:

*I could replace him.*

What he felt was much simpler.

Longing.

Aspiration.

Tian Wujing turned his mount around.

The Pixiu took two steps and stopped beside Zheng Fan.

“Let’s go back,” Tian Wujing said.

Now that the Chu army had abandoned its camp, there was no possibility they would return to it.

Even if the enemy commander later discovered that the main Yan army had never moved, he still could not order the troops back.

Changing orders back and forth in the middle of the night was one of the fastest ways to destroy morale.

So the Chu troops were definitely gone.

Zheng Fan drew in a deep breath.

Then said:

“Marquis.

“Let’s stay a little longer.”

He wanted to enjoy this feeling for a while longer.

Floating among the immortals.

That was truly what it felt like.

The Marquis of Jingnan said nothing.

He merely turned his Pixiu back around and continued sitting there beside Zheng Fan, watching the Chu army retreat.

The night wind drifted over them.

Cold.

Sharp.

Yet Zheng Fan felt as though a warm spring breeze were brushing across his face.

He did not ask the Marquis of Jingnan:

*How can I become like this?*

There was no need to ask.

Because Tian Wujing had already given him the answer long ago.

He had already shown Zheng Fan the road he should walk.

He was helping him walk it.

One might even say he was supporting him by the arm as he went.

Zheng Fan simply needed time.

The Demon Kings, in truth, did not possess that strange relationship with the Marquis of Jingnan that had already transcended ordinary superior and subordinate.

In their eyes, Tian Wujing was more like a great stone hanging above everyone’s heads.

If Great Yan was a black sky then Tian Wujing was the towering mountain beneath it.

You could move however you pleased beneath the heavens.

But that mountain could send a boulder rolling down at any moment and crush you flat.

The Blind Man had sighed more than once:

So long as the Marquis of Jingnan remained alive for one more day they would have to continue being loyal and righteous servants of Great Yan for one more day.

That was reality.

An undeniable reality.

Terrifying personal strength.

Godlike command of troops.

A horrifying ability to bind the hearts of soldiers together.

A figure like that did not merely make his enemies despair.

Even the people beneath him could feel hopeless.

At last, most of the Chu army ahead had withdrawn.

Count Zheng seemed to awaken from a dream.

He had not drunk any wine at dinner, yet somehow he already felt faintly intoxicated.

“Marquis.

“Let’s head back.”

Only then did the two finally begin returning.

The Marquis of Jingnan rode ahead on his Pixiu.

Count Zheng followed on horseback behind.

Tian Wujing’s back remained as vast and imposing as ever.

Meanwhile, Count Zheng, riding behind him, had begun swaying slightly from side to side.

He looked drunk on the whole experience.

The Pixiu stopped.

Zheng Fan did not even need to pull the reins.

His horse instinctively stopped with it.

“Tired?” the Marquis asked.

Zheng Fan shook his head.

“Drunk.”

Tian Wujing reached down and rubbed the mane of the Pixiu beneath him.

Then said:

“Pathetic.”

Zheng Fan burst out laughing.

“Hahahaha.

“I only have this much ambition.”

“Come down.

“Let’s sit for a while.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

The Marquis of Jingnan dismounted.

Then sat directly on the ground.

Zheng Fan swung down as well and sat beside him.

After looking around—

Count Zheng said regretfully:

“If only we had some wine and a couple handfuls of dried fruit.”

Tian Wujing said:

“Someone will bring them.”

And someone truly did.

The newcomer wore green armor.

Under the moonlight, its surface reflected a strange sheen.

He was middle-aged.

In his left hand, he carried an enormous bundle.

In his right two jars of wine.

While still far away, he stopped once.

Then trotted forward again.

At first, Zheng Fan remained somewhat vigilant.

But gradually he relaxed.

The man had come alone.

And Zheng Fan was sitting beside the Marquis of Jingnan.

To put it plainly he genuinely did not believe there were many people beneath Heaven capable of killing him right in front of Tian Wujing.

One glance was enough to tell the newcomer was a Chu general.

When he reached a point several yards before Tian Wujing and Zheng Fan, he bent slightly at the waist and smiled apologetically.

“Drink a little?

“Eat a little?”

The Marquis of Jingnan did not speak.

Zheng Fan, however, beckoned him over.

“Coming, coming.”

The Chu general walked over and sat directly on the ground too.

He first opened the bundle.

Inside were two roast chickens and various dried fruits and snacks all mixed together.

The fragrance immediately spread through the night.

Then, he slapped the clay seals from the wine jars.

The smell of wine bloomed at once.

After that, he picked up each item one by one, stuffed it into his own mouth, swallowed, and then drank from both jars.

Only after personally tasting everything did he place one jar before the Marquis of Jingnan.

He set the other between himself and Zheng Fan.

Then he said apologetically to Zheng Fan:

“My apologies.

“My men reported that the Prince of Jingnan had only brought some standard-bearer beside him.

“So I brought just two jars.

“If Brother does not mind, how about you and I share one?”

A faint sadness entered Zheng Fan’s heart.

Earlier, Tian Wujing had forced an army to retreat alone.

That was a scene worthy of being remembered.

And Zheng Fan had somehow become the background extra carrying soy sauce through the shot.

Though admittedly he truly had been nothing more than an extra.

“No matter.”

Zheng Fan gathered his emotions.

Then lifted the wine jar with great boldness.

From the corner of his eye, he glanced toward the Marquis of Jingnan sitting beside him.

Seeing that Tian Wujing did not intend to stop him, he finally drank without restraint.

“Refreshing!”

He lowered the jar.

Then wiped the wine from his chin with one sleeve.

“Bold!”

The Chu general lifted the same jar Zheng Fan had just put down and drank a large mouthful himself.

“Alas.”

The Chu general glanced behind Tian Wujing.

Then said:

“Your army’s main force really didn’t come.”

There was melancholy in his voice.

And a faint trace of self-mockery.

If Tian Wujing had truly appeared alone, then although he was a peak Third Grade Martial Artist, even he could not literally frighten thousands upon thousands of troops into flight through personal strength alone.

If the Chu army had known from the start they might genuinely have sent two thousand armored soldiers forward and buried this Southern Marquis of Yan beneath human lives.

But they had not dared gamble.

They had believed the Marquis of Jingnan’s personal appearance represented an attitude.

Because this Southern Marquis of Yan was famous for charging at the very front.

Whenever Tian Wujing rode his Pixiu into battle the Yan cavalry behind him instantly became men who no longer feared death.

So the Chu army had admitted defeat.

They abandoned the camp.

And withdrew.

Especially since their advance and expansion during the day had already been struck repeatedly by Yan forces.

They drank.

They ate meat.

Only then did the Chu general seem to remember that he had not yet introduced himself.

He cupped his hands toward the Marquis of Jingnan.

Then smiled and nodded toward Zheng Fan.

“Greetings, Prince of Jingnan of Great Yan.

“This humble one is **Jing Renli**, General of the Household in Great Chu’s Imperial Clan Guards.”

The Marquis of Jingnan remained unmoved.

The **Jing Clan** was one of Great Chu’s foremost aristocratic houses.

Its status and influence were not inferior to the Qu Clan in the slightest.

Jing Yang, the envoy who had once traveled to Yan for negotiations, was also a member of the Jing Clan.

For a scion of such a great house to dare come here alone carrying food and wine it was obvious he had already put life and death aside.

“Truthfully, our Grand Commander Nian originally wanted to come as well.

“But he was afraid of dying.

“So he asked the generals around him who dared come out and see what was really happening.

“I volunteered.

“Heh.

“You can’t really blame our Grand Commander Nian for being timid.

“He heard that outside Snow Sea Pass, Savage general Gelimu was killed during negotiations.

“So he lost his nerve.

“It was all because that Count Pingye broke the rules first.

“After he pulled a move like that, who beneath Heaven will ever dare negotiate in front of two armies again?

“No one!”

“...”

Zheng Fan.

Gelimu’s death had not merely affected the battle for Snow Sea Pass.

It had also changed one form of warfare for later generations.

The whole thing had begun because Zheng Fan had shamelessly made the Sword Saint disguise himself as a lowly standard-bearer.

It had been sinister to the extreme.

Of course, even if others wanted to imitate the trick, very few actually could.

The Marquis of Jingnan, however, could.

After all, Tian Wujing defeating the Sword Saint was already widely known throughout both the jianghu and the courts of the realm.

So the Marquis of Jingnan was destined to become rather lonely.

The sort of meeting where commanders from opposing armies left their camps to speak face-to-face probably would never happen around Tian Wujing again all because Zheng Fan had opened that door.

An opponent like Tian Wujing was even more tormenting.

There was no point sending assassins after him.

A man capable of assassinating the Marquis of Jingnan why would he choose a career as an assassin?

Wouldn’t becoming some grand jianghu alliance leader be more enjoyable?

Even pre-battle single combat seemed to have become nothing more than a method of boosting the enemy’s morale while crushing your own.

The Marquis of Jingnan drank once.

He still did not speak.

Seeing Tian Wujing ignore him, Jing Renli did not feel awkward.

Instead, he turned toward Zheng Fan.

“May I ask who Brother is?”

Jing Renli naturally understood that someone able to sit on the ground drinking beside the Marquis of Jingnan could not possibly be ordinary.

Zheng Fan answered directly:

“Zheng Fan.”

Count Zheng possessed no famous clan background.

Mm.

He himself was already the beginning of a famous clan.

Who would have expected that the instant he heard the name “Zheng Fan,” Jing Renli would first freeze then—

“Puhahahahahahahaha!!!!”

Jing Renli slapped his thigh repeatedly as he laughed.

Then suddenly stopped.

He stared at Zheng Fan.

“You truly are Count Pingye?”

Zheng Fan nodded.

“I am.”

“Hahahahahahahaha!!!!”

Jing Renli immediately burst into laughter again.

Seeing Zheng Fan himself was not laughing he hurriedly pointed toward the heavens and repeated:

“That fellow surnamed Qu.

“Qu Peiluo.

“Qu Peiluo!

“Qu Peiluo!

“Hahahahahaha!”

Count Zheng nodded.

Then followed Jing Renli’s rhythm and began laughing too.

“Oh.

“Ah.

“Hahahahahahahaha!”

“That dog Qu Peiluo has always relied on his pretty face to look down on everyone else.

“He acts like he is some pristine white lotus while the rest of us are filth beneath his feet.

“I’ve disliked him for years.

“Count Pingye— what you did this time was proper.

“Beautiful!

“Refreshing!

“Delightful!”

Clearly, the Jing Clan and Qu Clan did not have a good relationship.

Jing Renli and Qu Peiluo belonged to the same generation.

And personally they disliked each other even more.

This had nothing to do with national dignity.

Jing Renli had not come tonight over affairs of state in the first place.

He had merely come to satisfy his curiosity.

Had national affairs truly been involved the Marquis of Jingnan should have slapped him to death the moment he arrived.

Tonight in this place there was only wine, meat, and two strangers meeting by chance.

Zheng Fan hurriedly raised a hand.

“We shouldn’t laugh at Brother Qu.

“That would be unkind.

“Not the conduct of a gentleman.”

“Oh?”

Jing Renli looked somewhat surprised.

Zheng Fan reached over and patted Jing Renli’s thigh.

Then said:

“After all—

Brother Qu is the best person Zheng has ever met in this entire life!”

Jing Renli first nodded.

Then his mouth slowly opened again.

“Hahahahahaha!

“Yes!

“Qu Peiluo is a good man!

“A tremendously good man!

“Come, Count Pingye.

“To that great good man— drink!”

Zheng Fan lifted the wine jar.

He raised it toward the air.

“To Brother Qu.

“Bottoms up!”

He drank.

Jing Renli accepted the jar.

He too raised it ceremonially.

“To the Qu Clan’s ancient spirit of benevolence!

“Drink!”

Then, he took a deep mouthful.

“To Brother Qu’s broad heart!

“Drink!”

“To Qu Peiluo’s generosity!

“Drink!”

“To Brother Qu’s magnanimity!

“Drink!”

“To Qu Peiluo’s noble willingness to help others fulfill their love!

“Drink!”

“To Brother Qu’s lofty character!

“Drink!”

The Marquis of Jingnan simply sat there.

Watching Zheng Fan and Jing Renli toss enormous mouthfuls back and forth like a man watching two idiots.

One jar of wine was emptied very quickly.

Jing Renli shook his head.

Slightly drunk, he said:

“Damn it.

“This is the first time in my life I’ve realized Qu Peiluo is the finest drinking snack beneath Heaven.”

Zheng Fan nodded.

“With Brother Qu accompanying the wine, every mouthful tastes better than the last.”

“Exactly.

“Exactly.”

Jing Renli nodded repeatedly.

“Drink like this for three days and three nights and it still wouldn’t be too much.”

With that Jing Renli turned toward the Marquis of Jingnan.

He slowly rose.

Then knelt respectfully.

“Prince.

“Our Grand Commander Nian asked this general to bring you his regards.

“What our Grand Commander means is— we have all fought enough.

“Perhaps it is time to rest?

“If your army withdraws fifty li, our Chu troops will also pull back to the Zhennan Pass line.

“That is Grand Commander Nian’s proposal.

“I wonder what the Prince thinks?”

The Jingnan Army had never truly intended to storm the pass.

Nian Yao could see that.

The senior Chu commanders could see it too.

But even if the Jingnan Army had no intention of assaulting Zhennan Pass, Tian Wujing kept compressing its defensive space, forcing both sides to deploy and confront each other again and again.

It had exhausted everyone.

The Yan troops had things somewhat easier.

Relying on their superiority in field warfare and cavalry, they could advance and withdraw freely.

But because Tian Wujing stood opposite them, the Chu army had to meet every movement with twelve parts vigilance.

Truthfully it would have been easier if Yan had simply attacked the pass.

Instead, they kept producing thunder without rain.

The constant tension had nearly frightened the Chu army numb.

Tian Wujing pointed toward Zheng Fan.

Then said:

“Since he has returned— we stop fighting.”

[End of Chapter 456]