Chapter 926: A Lifetime in a Dream

Spring passed.

Summer arrived.

Not long ago, Prince Pingxi Residence had issued several appointments in quick succession. At first glance, they seemed somewhat unexpected. But after a little thought, aside from being unusually concentrated and rushed, they all made sense.

First, Qu Peiluo, who had originally been responsible for Fengxin City’s internal defenses, was transferred to the Zhennan Pass line to begin organizing the Chu Battalion.

Along with the appointment came authorization for a considerable number of Standard Households.

The former young lord of the Qu Clan had finally been given another chance to spread his wings and pursue great ambitions.

Next, Jin Shuke was promoted to Guard General under Prince Pingxi Residence, formally confirming his position as the second-ranking military figure in the Residence’s army, beneath only Grand General Liang.

He would be responsible for organizing and training new forces.

Attached to the same series of orders was another appointment.

After sweeping streets for half a year, Keyan Dongge was finally sent out again, together with the men who had been sweeping alongside him.

He was assigned to Yupan City as its Chief Commander.

Yupan City naturally could not compare with the Snow Sea Pass of his old days in either military or political importance.

Still... it was finally a new beginning.

Sun Liang, formerly Prefect of Yupan City, was transferred back to Fengxin City to serve as Construction Commissioner.

Naturally, he remained only the figure standing openly in front.

In reality, between the Sun brothers, Sun Ying had always been the one taking the lead.

In addition, the two Left and Right Yamens under Prince Pingxi Residence were placed publicly in the hands of Chen Daole and He Chunlai.

Those two Yamens each supervised numerous subordinate offices responsible for every aspect of administration.

Control those two institutions, and one could say you controlled the economy and livelihoods of all eastern Jin.

Add “Sun Liang” to that arrangement, and among the local commoners, the three men became known as the Residence’s three-horse team.

All three were Jin men.

To a certain extent, whether one considered quality, distance, or ease of absorption, the fact that Prince Pingxi Residence’s base lay in eastern Jin meant recruiting talented people from Jin itself was unquestionably the fastest and most convenient choice.

Elsewhere in Jin territory, Yan and Jin officials continued to be paired together, usually with the Yan official in the leading role and the Jin official assisting.

Eastern Jin, by contrast, had become the premier destination for talented Jin men hoping to leap through the dragon gate.

Taken as a whole, this series of personnel changes did not shock outsiders very much.

Even ordinary local people had heard that the people who truly held power beneath the Prince, or rather within Prince Pingxi Residence itself, were several gentlemen seated beneath him.

Every one of those gentlemen possessed astonishing talent.

They had followed the Prince from the earliest days of his rise to the present.

And those gentlemen seemed to care little for empty fame.

Most held no formal offices or noble titles outside the Residence at all.

That was true.

Nor was it any secret among the senior circles of Prince Pingxi Residence.

No matter how high your official rank.

No matter how much military power you held.

When you met one of the gentlemen... you still bowed and greeted him respectfully.

So however much the banners outside changed... the Residence itself remained the same Residence.

And yet... this time... things truly were different.

...

“Madam.”

“Madam.”

Chen Daole and He Chunlai stood inside the Residence’s Signing Office.

Yuexin still sat at the side.

But the person occupying the principal seat was no longer Siniang.

It was Xiong Liqing.

Xiong Liqing looked at the mountain of memorials piled before her.

She drew in a deep breath.

Then gave Chen Daole and He Chunlai a somewhat helpless smile.

“I’ll have to trouble the two of you to drink another couple cups of tea and delay your departure a little longer.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

The two men immediately sat down.

They had come to hand over the documents from the past half month for review.

This had been the established practice while Mr. Feng was present.

But although Xiong Liqing had taken over this work, all she could really do was keep the system from jamming when matters reached her desk.

As for offering guidance or new policy judgments... she knew perfectly well she did not possess that level of ability.

Nor did she dare improvise recklessly.

Whenever she remembered that last year, while pregnant, Elder Sister had still been handling extremely complicated matters like Treasure Notes, bonds, and coinage... and had kept all of it running in perfect order...

Xiong Liqing felt almost suffocated.

Elder Sister truly was Elder Sister.

As expected of the woman who had once personally captured her and dragged her into this household.

Chen Daole and He Chunlai genuinely sat there and began drinking tea.

According to their old habits, every work report required a period of “discussion.”

This was unquestionably a waste of time.

But right now... it was a waste they needed.

Everyone had to do their best to maintain the appearance that nothing had changed.

They could not allow outsiders to learn that the gentlemen were not in the Residence.

Not in Fengxin City.

Perhaps not even in eastern Jin.

And it was not only the gentlemen.

The Prince was gone too.

Whenever the people in the Signing Office thought about the past two months of walking on thin ice, living in constant anxiety... they felt exhausted in both body and mind.

Yet they still had to grit their teeth and keep going.

Keep holding the situation together until the Prince and the gentlemen returned.

Fortunately... there was no war at present.

And the development plan, from minute details to broad direction, had been settled long ago.

All they needed to do was keep filling in the established framework and follow the existing process.

Prince Pingxi Residence had long since built a complete system that could operate well on its own.

That had lightened their burden considerably.

Once the tea was finished...

Chen Daole and He Chunlai took their leave.

On the way out... they happened to see Sun Liang pushing Sun Ying, who sat in a wheelchair.

Everyone looked at one another.

Then smiled.

Mr. Feng was absent.

Mr. Bei was naturally absent as well.

So everyone had come together... to waste time.

...

Inside the Signing Office...

Xiong Liqing rubbed her aching wrist.

She gave Yuexin, seated at the assistant’s desk beside her, a bitter smile.

“I’m exhausted.”

Yuexin laughed.

This Madam complained about being tired several times every day.

“I want to go home and raise my child. I don’t want to come out and manage the household anymore. Back when I lived in the palace, I used to envy those Empress Dowagers in Xiong Clan history who acted as Regents. Now that I’m actually doing some of this work myself, I finally understand it isn’t what I imagined at all.”

Yuexin replied:

“Madam, if one could enjoy leisure, who would willingly toil outside?”

“Exactly. In the past I used to resent it. Why must women stay home supporting husbands and raising children? Why couldn’t women go out and build careers of their own? Now I finally understand that men actually like staying home too. Dealing with matters outside is exhausting and troublesome. Staying at home is much more comfortable. The only difference is that there’s another layer of responsibility weighing on the heart.”

As she spoke... the Princess herself began laughing.

“So our Prince was the one who saw through all of this from the very beginning.”

“Hehehe.”

Yuexin laughed along with her.

To outsiders, Prince Pingxi ought to be laboring over ten thousand affairs every day.

Otherwise... how could eastern Jin possibly possess this thriving momentum?

In reality...

Prince Pingxi loved nothing more than staying home and playing with his children.

Every time he had to leave and change into formal clothing, his face became visibly impatient.

“I just don’t know how long the Prince and Elder Sister plan to keep playing outside,” Xiong Liqing sighed. “Who does this sort of thing? Such a huge foundation, and they simply toss it aside and leave?”

“There must be something important,” Yuexin said.

“Of course I know that.”

Xiong Liqing lifted her cup and drank some ginseng tea.

“Fortunately, the people below are all disciplined. Those managing affairs are steady and capable. Most importantly, General Liang is still here. And as for General Jin, the Prince said General Jin is one of our own and can be trusted.”

Other matters could be handed temporarily to others without too much danger.

Military authority could not leave one’s hand for even an instant.

So Liang Cheng had been deeply unfortunate this time.

He had become the only Demon King left behind to guard eastern Jin.

Together with the loyal Jin Shuke, the two men controlled eastern Jin’s current military power.

With them present... nothing in eastern Jin could truly stir up trouble.

“Let’s keep reading. There probably aren’t any real problems. The people below would have reviewed everything more than once before daring to submit it. But if I don’t go through it myself, I always feel like I’m doing a terrible job temporarily managing this household.”

“Madam is correct. It should be done this way.”

...

In the rear residence...

Tian Tian, having finished the day’s lessons, was practicing saber techniques.

The man teaching him was Xu Chuang.

The school of Wenming Mountain had always emphasized dual cultivation of saber and sword.

It had rarely produced any truly famous wandering heroes.

But that did not mean its saber or sword arts were poor.

Quite the opposite.

Both inheritances were excellent.

That was precisely why disciples often found themselves unable to choose between them.

After dividing their energy between saber and sword, their cultivation inevitably lagged behind disciples of other great jianghu schools who focused on only one path.

Training alongside Tian Tian were Chen Xianba, Zheng Man, and Liu Dahu.

The Sword Saint stood not far away.

He had long since become numb to the sight of his eldest son standing there learning saber techniques.

Fortunately... the Sword Saint still had other hopes.

Behind him stood an enormous crib.

But Big Girl and Zheng Lin inside it did not seem especially interested in watching their elder brothers practice saber techniques.

Big Girl hugged Longyuan.

Zheng Lin reached for it.

Big Girl refused to give it to him.

So Zheng Lin grabbed hold and pulled.

The two children began tugging at the sword.

Neither cried.

Neither became angry.

They simply followed instinct and struggled over the object before them.

The Sword Saint reached out.

He pulled Longyuan from Zheng Lin’s hands... and gave it back to Big Girl.

Yes.

In this matter... the Sword Saint bullied the younger child despite being the adult.

Whatever else might be said, Big Girl was his Yu Huaping’s disciple.

She was the proper heir who would completely inherit his mantle.

He was not some official who needed to worry about the greater situation.

He simply spoiled her.

Big Girl hugged Longyuan again and smiled at the Sword Saint.

The Sword Saint smiled too.

Zheng Lin, meanwhile, sat there expressionlessly.

He stared at the Sword Saint.

He had been playing perfectly happily with his elder sister.

Then someone who could not stand losing decided to interfere.

If Zheng Lin could speak right now... he would probably curse directly:

Shameless bastard.

And in truth, he really was angry.

This Heir Prince of Prince Pingxi Residence had possessed a bad temper from the day he was born.

The red mole between his brows now seemed to pulse faintly.

The Sword Saint understood that this child was unusual.

Facing Zheng Lin’s “aura,” he deliberately released the faintest trace of his own.

Zheng Lin blinked.

A moment later... he turned his head away.

The highest form of intelligence was knowing how to seek advantage and avoid harm.

He could sense perfectly clearly just how terrifying the man in white before him truly was.

At that moment... the Sword Saint released a strand of sword qi from his fingertip.

Zheng Lin immediately turned back.

His eyes widened slightly.

The Sword Saint gently swept that thread of sword qi across an iron ornament hanging at the front of the crib.

The ornament was sliced smoothly in two.

Zheng Lin watched even more intently.

Then the sword qi abruptly reversed direction and flew toward him.

Zheng Lin instinctively threw both hands over his head.

But the sword qi vanished in an instant.

“Giggle, giggle...”

Big Girl laughed again.

Zheng Lin lowered his hands in confusion.

He looked around.

Then licked his lips.

The Sword Saint had merely been teasing the child.

But now... he noticed the longing in Zheng Lin’s eyes.

The child seemed to crave power.

Even though he had been born destined to become one of the handful of most powerful people beneath Heaven... he still possessed an instinctive hunger for personal strength.

In that respect... he truly resembled his biological father very little.

The Sword Saint swept his gaze around from the corner of his eye.

He knew there were no outsiders here.

This time, Zheng Fan had left with only those gentlemen.

For once, he had not even asked Yu Huaping to accompany him.

But even with the child’s parents both absent... the moment you began entertaining thoughts of abducting their son... you still felt somewhat guilty.

The Sword Saint snapped his fingers.

Another strand of pure white sword qi spiraled out from his fingertip.

He looked at Zheng Lin.

Then asked:

“Want it?”

...

“Hiss...”

Inside the courtyard of a small stockade, Siniang was treating the wound across Zheng Fan’s chest.

The cut was deep.

She had just finished stitching it.

Now she was applying medicine.

In truth, the medicine often hurt more than the stitching.

It had to be packed deep into the wound.

The repeated waves of pain were harder to endure than the sutures themselves.

Once the medicine was applied, Siniang helped Zheng Fan pull his clothes back on.

Not far away...

Fan Li was stacking corpses.

Xue San hung from a flagpole, staring northward.

The Blind Man was interrogating a living prisoner beneath a crude shelter.

Zheng Fan was not the only one injured.

Every Demon King looked battered.

Fan Li, being the largest, had accumulated the most unhealed wounds.

They covered his body densely.

The sight was terrifying.

This region lay along the border between Fan City’s influence and the forces of Chu.

Both sides had tacitly accepted it as a buffer zone.

It also bordered the Qishan Mountains.

The three-state war of the previous year had forced many groups seeking to avoid disaster into this region.

Unlike Zhennan Pass, which openly absorbed huge numbers of Chu refugees, Fan City possessed a much more purely military character.

As a result, countless large and small armed groups had entrenched themselves here.

The area had practically become a “Valley of Villains.”

One group called its leader a Great King.

Another called theirs a Heavenly King.

Compared with them, the ones who merely styled themselves some sort of “General” seemed positively modest, sensible, and restrained.

For the past two months...

Zheng Fan had been bringing the Demon Kings through this region to temper themselves.

There was no choice.

Looking in every direction... this was the only suitable place.

Today they might “execute a Great King,” who in reality commanded only a few dozen men.

Tomorrow they might “destroy a Heavenly King,” who turned out to be nothing more than a nest of bandits.

Naturally... they also encountered hard targets.

Zheng Fan’s group had twice run into “bandits” who clearly carried the shadow of Chu regular troops.

On another occasion, they encountered probing from Phoenix Nest inner guards.

All three incidents had been extremely dangerous.

The Sword Saint was absent.

The Brocade-Clad personal guards were absent.

Everything depended upon themselves.

For a time... it felt almost as though they had returned to those days in Hutou City.

The results, however, had been remarkable.

Xue San, Fan Li, and the Blind Man had each advanced one step during the fighting.

That followed the lesson learned during earlier recoveries.

Roughly speaking... throw yourself in front of danger to protect Master, make Master genuinely moved, and the effect would appear.

That was why Zheng Fan had no choice but to grit his teeth and attack the hardest targets directly.

He could not rely on ambushes.

If possible, he needed to confront them openly.

He was deliberately pursuing danger.

The fact that Xue San, Fan Li, and the Blind Man had all advanced already counted as an enormous gain.

With Zheng Fan’s present status, finding a natural opportunity to personally face lethal danger had become extraordinarily difficult.

Even when he was surrounded in Qian last year, eight thousand cavalry had willingly died to open a road for him.

Zheng Fan himself had never truly fallen into close slaughter.

But this was still not the result he wanted most.

Even though the Blind Man and the other two had advanced, they were merely making up lessons missed from earlier rounds.

They had not yet discovered the true path for this current recovery.

“Master, I think we should stop for a little while,” Siniang said.

“Missing your son?” Zheng Fan asked.

“Truthfully... no.”

“Mm. Let’s keep looking for a bit. The main thing is figuring out the path for this round.”

Zheng Fan lowered his head and looked at the wound on his chest.

After entering Fourth Grade, this stretch of genuine field tempering had allowed him to stabilize his cultivation very quickly.

Whenever they became involved in group fights, images of Sha Tuo Queshi and Old Tian from years ago would occasionally surface in his mind.

After all... a Fourth Grade Martial Artist was already a genuinely famous expert in jianghu.

At that moment...

Xue San slid down from the flagpole.

He reported:

“Master, people are coming from the north.”

“Whose people?”

“Looks like ours.”

“How many?”

“Several hundred cavalry. Should we avoid them?”

This was not the first time they had encountered Fan City scouts or armed groups supported by Fan City.

Until now, they had always deliberately avoided contact.

After all, the entire reason for abandoning household and foundation to come out here was to pursue the purest possible form of danger.

If they dragged several units of troops along as protection... the entire exercise would lose its meaning.

But this time...

“Forget it. The first-stage objective is already complete. Every one of us needs time to recover and adjust. If we keep playing like this, we might actually get ourselves killed. Go meet them.”

“Yes, Master.”

Roughly six hundred Savage cavalry soon surrounded the little stockade.

Third Master leapt down to meet them.

Not long afterward... the Savage cavalry appeared to receive an order and began withdrawing.

Then one relatively short figure rode out from among them alone.

When he reached the stockade gate, he swung down from the saddle and ran forward in obvious excitement.

Who else could it be but the Savage King, Gou Moli?

“Master! Master! It really is you!”

Gou Moli dropped to his knees before Zheng Fan and kowtowed in greeting.

The buffer zone looked ungoverned by either side.

In reality, both sides struggled fiercely beneath the surface.

For a mysterious group of jianghu experts to suddenly appear and spend two months slaughtering people here could hardly avoid Fan City’s attention.

First, the mysterious experts only attacked forces close to Chu.

Second, they deliberately avoided contact with Fan City’s side.

Third... there were the peculiar wounds on some of the corpses Fan City’s men brought back.

Most importantly... the letters traveling between Fengxin City and Fan City seemed to have changed tone.

The imitation was excellent.

But Gou Moli still noticed they probably were not personally written by the Blind Man.

Add all those clues together... and if Gou Moli still failed to develop a suspicion, he would hardly deserve the title Savage King.

“Heh-heh.”

Zheng Fan had only just finished having his wound treated.

Seeing Gou Moli arrive, he merely shifted his body slightly and smiled.

“What? You didn’t simply bring your troops over and charge us? One rush and everything would be finished forever.”

The forces stationed at Fan City were composed primarily of Savage troops.

With Gou Moli’s ability, he naturally possessed enormous control over them.

And across all the garrisons beneath Prince Pingxi Residence...

Fan City probably had the weakest direct control and weakest natural cohesion toward the Residence itself.

Hearing the Prince say this...

Gou Moli did not become frightened.

Nor did he immediately kneel again to confess guilt and swear loyalty.

Instead, he laughed.

“Master, Little Dog was afraid Master had already decided to open the inn and retire into jianghu without bringing Little Dog along. Little Dog has truly been panicking. These past two years in Fan City, I’ve slept in the stable more often than in the main room. The men below think I’m restraining myself for public duty and setting an example. The truth is, I’m practicing how to feed horses ahead of time. I’m terrified Master will abandon me when the day finally comes.”

“Heh.”

Zheng Fan waved one hand.

“Enough. Have your men come back. Escort us to Fan City first.”

“Little Dog obeys!”

...

Night fell.

Because of the distance, and because Zheng Fan was injured, they did not force a night march all the way back.

Instead, they established a temporary camp beside a small river.

Gou Moli had already sent men to inform nearby Fan City patrol cavalry.

So there was no need to worry about some organized enemy force suddenly attacking them by accident.

For once, Zheng Fan slept peacefully.

Even so... he woke during the latter half of the night.

After waking, he sat outside the tent, leaning against a stake and looking up at the stars.

Before long...

Gou Moli came over carrying a huge bowl of noodles and several small side dishes.

On campaign, Prince Pingxi Residence traditionally had its troops carry roasted-flour rations, cooked flour mixed with salt, oil, sugar, and other ingredients.

For Gou Moli to produce a huge bowl of beef noodles out here in the wilderness proved he had identified Zheng Fan’s group much earlier... yet had restrained himself from immediately coming over.

After all... if Master and the others were deliberately hiding their identities, there had to be a reason.

That tiny detail was enough to show just how meticulous the Savage King truly was.

Fortunately... he had lost.

Fortunately...

Zheng Fan had also managed to tame him.

As for the business Gou Moli had mentioned during the day about feeding horses at an inn...

Zheng Fan did not think it was merely flattery.

People... after surviving enough storms, after watching sunrises from mountaintops and freezing inside valleys... once they no longer lacked food or clothing... eventually had to find some purely spiritual form of comfort.

Perhaps that was what the inn had become for Gou Moli.

Ever since leaving Hutou City, Zheng Fan had mentioned that inn again and again.

It seemed like something that might one day appear in some forgotten corner of jianghu.

But in truth... it had always existed.

It existed inside the heart.

Perhaps it would never appear in reality.

Perhaps Zheng Fan would never truly open it.

But somewhere in the deepest part of the heart... there would always be a place for it.

And the lantern outside the inn door... would always remain lit.

“Master, I saw you were awake. Have some midnight food. Madam is treating A’Li’s wounds right now.”

Gou Moli placed the food before Zheng Fan and sat down beside him.

Zheng Fan did not immediately pick up the chopsticks.

Instead, he said:

“I just had a dream. It was like a revolving lantern. I saw a great many things from the past. Some I witnessed with my own eyes. Some I only heard about. But in the dream... I ‘saw’ them all again.”

Gou Moli reached over and began peeling garlic for the Prince.

He understood.

The Prince wanted someone to talk to.

He had happened to be here.

That was his honor.

“In the dream... one moment I was standing in the Tian residence, watching that night of blood and fire. Then I was standing in the rear courtyard of the Marquis Residence in Litian City, watching Old Tian sit on the threshold and turn white-haired overnight. Then I was standing beside the Wang River, asking Li Fusheng, ‘Why are these Chu slaves still alive?’ I stood on the walls of Yanjing’s imperial city. The late Emperor stood in front of me. Below us, a group of old Yan men shouted that they would save grain for the army’s war to found the empire, then laughed as they jumped into the fire pits. I stood inside the imperial study and watched the late Emperor, rust covering his entire body, force that pill down anyway. I saw the flames of Yingdu. I heard the Fire Phoenix scream. I watched white hair walk out from the inferno. I stood in the Lu residence and watched a young imperial Prince drive a saber into his own father’s chest. Father and son laughed like madmen. Beneath the frozen Wang River... tens of thousands of dead souls shouted, ‘By the Marquis’s command!’ They charged up from the riverbed and stirred the heavens until rain began to fall. I saw eight thousand cavalry shout that they would open the road for their Prince... and calmly ride to their deaths. Ah. That dream showed me so much. Fortunately, I feel fine now. Normally, after a dream that complicated, I’d probably wake with my head heavy and assume I’d caught a cold. But right now... I actually feel refreshed. When I turn around and look back... without realizing it, I’ve already lived through so much these past years. Even I was a little startled. Dog. You’re a clever one. Guess... why did I have that dream?”

Gou Moli smiled and guessed:

“Master, have you grown tired of the old life and started wanting to retire?”

“We’re nowhere near that point. It’s still early. There are things left to do. Promises left to fulfill. Scenery I’ve always wanted to see but still haven’t reached. Retire? Heh. If the heart isn’t quiet, retiring to the ends of the earth is worth fuck-all.”

“Hehehe.” Gou Moli smiled. “Then Master, you mean...”

Zheng Fan reached out and pressed down on the hand Gou Moli was using to peel garlic.

He said:

“Maybe... tonight I suddenly just don’t feel like adding garlic cloves to my noodles. Oh, right. Do you have any dry-fried soybeans?”

[End of Chapter 926]