Chapter 1023: Demon King... Game

Zheng Fan rose. The other Demon Kings rose with him. Everyone stood. No one spoke. Master's gaze moved slowly from one Demon King to the next. Siniang, his wife. In his heart, she would forever be alluring. The change in how he saw her—from an enticing older-sister figure, to an equal companion, and finally to his beloved wife—was the sort of experience an ordinary man truly might never have the opportunity to know. Time seemed to have frozen on her long ago. The Blind Man still looked the same. When it came to pursuing the little refinements of an exquisite life, he had always kept perfect step with Zheng Fan. Perhaps the most visible change across all these years was that the nail of his left hand had acquired a faint dark-yellow stain from year after year of peeling oranges. Fan Li was still just as simple and honest. San'er's thing down below was still just as long. A'Ming still possessed that aristocratic laziness, while Liang Cheng remained forever cold and silent. Even the red stone in Zheng Fan's arms had done little more than change color compared with when everything began.

In truth, given the length and depth of the Demon Kings' "lives," less than twenty years was nowhere near enough to change their understanding of the world, their personal habits, or their sense of beauty. Each of them had once experienced truly magnificent storms in the life that belonged to "themselves." From the moment they woke in this world until now, it had amounted to little more than taking a nap. And after an ordinary person woke from a nap, expecting him to suddenly attain complete enlightenment or cleanse his heart and reinvent himself was hardly realistic either. He could not change them, nor could he change the world they had once known. But at the very least... he had changed what they were to him. He still remembered waking inside that guest room at the inn in Tiger Head City, cautiously looking upon a brand-new world while looking upon them with even greater caution. What sort of attitude they had held toward him back then... he had always understood perfectly well. Otherwise, how could he have remained so calm when his son revealed such arrogance and unruliness as a child? No matter how one put it, Zheng Fan had already lived through the same thing once himself.

Siniang was like a cup of wine. The wine itself had never changed. That did not mean its flavor never changed, because the state of mind of the man tasting it had changed. At first there had been fear and curiosity. He had lust in his heart but no courage in his guts, trembling as she reached out and led him by the hand. Then came the harmony of qin and se between husband and wife. And later, after they had a son, he saw the occasional helplessness and embarrassment she revealed when dealing with that boy and found every bit of it unbearably adorable. As for the Blind Man, at first he would arrange everything in advance, at most walking Zheng Fan through a token procedure afterward so Master could glance over it. Later, he began taking the initiative to discuss matters with Zheng Fan. Later still, once he knew Master's bottom lines, likes, and dislikes, anything that should not be asked or done was simply omitted without a word. Fan Li's shoulder had grown accustomed to carrying a woman. San'er's restless telescopic baton had finally found a sheath willing to hold it. A'Ming had become more and more talkative and was forever looking for someone with whom to drink and taste wine.

Even Liang Cheng occasionally forced himself to smile. The smiles were stiff, but for a great zombie to deliberately use a "smile" to express emotion was already astonishing enough. Even this "biological" son resting in Zheng Fan's arms, after personally helping look after children twice, had much of his old viciousness worn away. From time to time, he even revealed the mature bearing of an elder brother—or elder sister. A thousand words felt redundant before these people. But some things still had to be said. Life needed ritual. Without it, too many moments became hollow.

"I, Zheng Fan, thank all of you. Without your companionship and protection, I could never have seen so many sights in this world. In fact, I probably could not have survived until today. I've always said that this life was something I came out ahead on. You were the ones who earned it for me."

The Blind Man smiled.

"Master, saying that makes us sound like strangers. While Master was admiring the scenery, none of us were idle either, were we? Besides, Master himself has always been the grandest sight in our eyes."

After living together year after year, they knew one another too well. Even the art of setting up and taking each other's conversational ladders had long since reached perfection. Zheng Fan reached out and patted the scabbard at his waist.

"Back then, in that inn at Tiger Head City, when I had just woken up, all of you sat around a table and asked me a question. You asked whether, in this life, I wanted to become a wealthy man, marry, have children, and live peacefully, or whether I wanted to stir up some trouble in this strange world. I chose the latter. Mm. It was definitely not because I was afraid that if I chose the former, you might be unhappy and then... chop me up."

"Hahahahaha!"

"Hahahahaha!"

The Demon Kings all laughed. Fan Li laughed too. But midway through laughing, Fan Li suddenly discovered that everyone, including Master, had turned to look at him.

"..." Fan Li.

"Step by step across all these years, the things we've possessed have only grown more numerous. By rights, the ties weighing on us should have grown heavier as well. People say that once a man reaches middle age, he no longer has control over himself. It seems he stops living for himself. I asked my own heart whether I could still do it. I think I can. Then I naturally tried putting myself in your places... and realized I was wrong. Heh. If even I can do it, how could any of you fail? I'm obviously the biggest pain in the ass here—the most melodramatic, the most troublesome, and the one who drags everyone back the most. So I brought you with me. And all of you followed me here. Blind Man, your wife..."

The Blind Man said, "We have always treated one another with the respect due honored guests."

"San'er, your wife..."

"We've always been inseparable as glue and lacquer."

"Ah Cheng."

"The great battles are finished anyway."

"A'Ming."

"I gave Kashir the key to the wine cellar."

Zheng Fan lowered his head and looked at the Demon Child in his arms.

"Jie... jie... They've... all... grown up..."

Then Zheng Fan looked at Siniang standing beside him.

"Wife."

"Master, you've been calling me wife for so many years. Is there really anything left that needs saying?"

The Blind Man said, "Master, whatever we needed to put down, we have either put down already or saw clearly from the very beginning. Master never needs to worry about us. Never worry that we will fail to keep pace with you."

Zheng Fan nodded very seriously. These days, even when commanding armies, he rarely bothered going before the ranks to give speeches or stir morale. Yet today's speech... could not be omitted. He had to say it properly. Explain it properly. Set everything properly at ease. Not because the enemies ahead, who had set an "invite the gentleman into the urn" trap, were so powerful. They were indeed powerful. Third Grade experts, usually difficult to encounter even once, were merely the lowest threshold for entry among that crowd ahead. But that was secondary. No. They were not even qualified to be placed on the table for discussion, much less be looked at seriously. Demon Kings... would always be Demon Kings. Only their Master... had "matured" one step at a time.

Zheng Fan placed one hand on Wuya's hilt and slowly said:

"In this life, the thing I, Zheng Fan, value most is my family. My family is my bottom line. And my daughter... is my reverse scale! What is a reverse scale? It means that if you dare touch it, I'll throw everything away and fuck you to death! Royal power and wealth? Splendid rivers and mountains? Even now, when our family really does have a throne waiting to be inherited, I still don't give a damn. There's no need for long-term planning anymore. No need to proceed gradually. Fine. Since they laid out the arena... since they gave me... gave us this opportunity... then let them open their eyes wide. Let them take a good look... at just how worthless that Heaven towering high above their heads truly is in our eyes! They think themselves the foremost men beneath Heaven. Even in their dreams they want to hold the rivers and mountains, the myriad people, and all the winds and clouds beneath Heaven within one hand. Then today, we'll show them... who... the true ants really are!"

Hum! Wuya left its sheath. Zheng Fan held the saber angled upward and began walking forward. The Demon Kings followed close behind. Threads wound around Siniang's hands. Xue San toyed with a dagger. The Blind Man rolled an orange in his palm. A'Ming rubbed his fingernails. Liang Cheng ground his teeth. Fan Li raised his twin axes. Walking at the very rear... he bellowed:

"Ura!"

What part of this looked like the bearing of Great Yan's Regent Prince and the noble, mysterious gentlemen of his Residence? If some outsider stood here, he probably would not believe even under torture that these people could mobilize an army of a million with a single command. They looked far more like town hooligans heading for a group brawl, or wandering blades of the jianghu selling their lives for silver. On the ridge... the two women still stood.

"They're coming."

"Yes. They're here."

"It still feels a little unreal. I thought they must have some other card hidden away. I never imagined they'd really come over this recklessly."

"What other card could they possibly have? Besides you, eight Great Qi Refiners have been watching them the entire time."

"Send the message. Prepare to receive the guests."

...

"Oh, they're finally coming?"

Huang Lang rubbed his hands together, visibly nervous and excited.

"Yes, Master. They're coming. Quite imposing too."

Huang Lang scratched his head.

"Who is the first group behind the valley?"

"Xu Gang, Xu Huai, and Xu Hai, the three sworn brothers. By rights, because they are Yan men and all three follow the Martial Artist path, they themselves asked to stand on the first line and meet this Regent Prince of Great Yan."

Huang Lang asked with some concern, "Could something go wrong?"

"Master is worried that because they are Yan men, they might show mercy?"

"Yes."

"Master, please be at ease. Anyone who chose to enter the Gate abandoned his worldly identity long ago. Those three brothers all share the surname Xu, but they are not blood relatives. They became sworn brothers later and simply chose a surname they liked, so all three took Xu. The eldest, Xu Gang, was even once hunted as a criminal by the State of Yan. Besides, now that matters have reached this point, we know perfectly well what we want."

Huang Lang looked at the Wine Elder and lowered his head slightly.

"If I remember correctly, Wine Elder, you are a Chu man?"

"I am." The Wine Elder smiled. "That is why this subordinate has always been quite courteous toward the Emperor beside Master. But that is all."

Huang Lang said, "That's because Great Chu is weak now, so Wine Elder does not think much of our Emperor. But Great Yan?"

"Impossible," the Wine Elder said with certainty. "Xu Gang has a grudge against the Ji house of Yan."

The Emperor of Chu suddenly said, "No matter how great the grudge, after sleeping for a hundred years, what does it amount to?"

The Wine Elder's expression shifted slightly. The Emperor of Chu then looked toward Huang Lang.

"Aside from every one of them being individually powerful, once this group is put together they truly are a rabble... No. Worse than a rabble."

The man approaching was Great Yan's Regent Prince. That Prince had, in effect, personally conquered more than half of All Xia and created Great Yan's present momentum toward unification. Yet these people had placed three black-robed Martial Artists born in Yan on the first defensive line. It was like two armies facing one another and choosing surrendered collaborationist troops as the vanguard.

Huang Lang said awkwardly, "Your Majesty should not say that to me. They show me a little respect and call me Master, but I have never dared truly regard myself as their master. And Your Majesty has somewhat wronged the Wine Elder. Every one of these people is proud beyond measure. If not for that prophecy and that future, they could never have gathered in one place at all. At present, an enormous shared interest has simply forced them into one nest. If you truly wanted one of them to command the others... who could command whom? Some are stronger and some weaker, yes. But every one of them treasures his life and remaining lifespan. Even the strong ones would never spend too much of themselves merely to suppress the others. That would be a losing bargain. They say that for a woman, one fair complexion can hide a hundred flaws. These people... No. These great immortals... are fortunate every one of them is powerful. Ah. Strength is about the only virtue they have left."

The Wine Elder looked somewhat embarrassed after hearing that, though he did not become angry.

Still, he said, "Master, please be at ease. We are watching the situation over there continuously. This subordinate refuses to believe those three brothers would choose this moment to turn on us. If they meant to turn, they would have done so long ago. This subordinate will call another group over to..."

"No need," the Emperor of Chu interrupted. "Since that brother-in-law of mine has already come, he will not turn around and leave."

The old woman floating beside the raised platform continued maintaining the image projected before her. She laughed.

"Why fuss blindly over all of this? The three Xu brothers are three peak Third Grade Martial Artists. Add the suppression of the Four Directions Grand Formation, and dealing with one lousy Go-playing, dubious Third Grade Prince plus six or seven Fourth Grade attendants should be effortless. The only question is whether everyone else will get itchy hands."

"Why would their hands itch?" the Wine Elder replied. "Ever since waking, every extra breath feels like a sin to people like us."

"True. That's probably why the Xu brothers managed to seize the first turn. They won't lose out either. Perhaps once the cosmos settles again, merit will be distributed according to contribution. If their luck is good, maybe Heaven itself will show those three a little more leniency."

"Granny Qian, if you'd said that earlier, I fear the others would already be unable to sit still."

"I only said it casually. Oh. Look, look. They're here. They're here. Hahahaha. They're walking straight toward us. That swagger, that presence... where does any of it look like some decisive Prince soaked in slaughter? What a pity. Such a fine daughter-doting Prince. How many women must dream of such a good man inside their boudoirs?"

"Granny Qian, has your spring heart stirred?" the Wine Elder teased.

The old woman let out a long string of "hehehe" laughter. Then her gaze sharpened.

She cursed:

"Those three brothers really are making trouble!"

...

At the center of the valley... Xu Gang stood waiting. Behind him lay the formation. The boundary was perfectly clear. Barely a line behind Xu Gang, two towering figures could be seen standing within the shadows. Xu Gang wore the simple, traditional clothing of a Yan man. His hair was tied in an uncomplicated style, and he wore the black long robe Yan people favored for keeping out desert sand.

"Regent Prince?"

Zheng Fan stopped as well. He looked at the man blocking his way, then glanced toward the formation behind him.

"You're a Yan man," Zheng Fan said.

There was no need even to look at Xu Gang's clothes. That Yan accent alone was enough to explain his identity. Not merely a Yan man. Judging by the accent, he should have come from the western side, near Beifeng Commandery. If one insisted on tracing origins, he could almost count as half a fellow townsman of Great Yan's Regent Prince.

"Xu Gang stands here to ask Your Highness one final question. Has Your Highness truly let go of All Under Heaven?"

From Xu Gang's point of view... from the point of view of someone inside the Gate... waiting one step outside the formation at a moment like this, then speaking those words first, was already an extraordinary concession. If the Prince before him chose not to enter the formation, he still had a chance to escape the Great Marsh. The only cost was risking the loss of one daughter... Put crudely, she was only a girl. Not even the legitimate son. Even if it were the legitimate son, couldn't he simply have another? Would the mighty Regent Prince of Great Yan ever lack women? The Emperor of Chu had been right. Even if Xu Gang had once held grievances against the Ji house and the Yan court, after lying asleep for a hundred years... what did even a great hatred truly amount to? There was one other sentence the Emperor of Chu had not spoken. If Great Chu today possessed the momentum to dominate All Under Heaven, then Wine Elder's attitude toward him, the Emperor of Chu, would undoubtedly be different. The situations could not truly be compared. But the answer was easy enough to imagine. Xu Gang had made his choice. Yet his "great sacrifice," his "great sentiment"... received none of the response he had expected as a matter of course. The Regent Prince of Great Yan before him not only failed to appreciate the gesture.

He tilted his chin slightly and said:

"This Prince is Great Yan's Regent Prince. If you are able-bodied men of Yan, then all of you are subject to this Prince's command. Those two behind you are Yan men too, aren't they? Kneel off to the side. This Prince will spare you and allow you to redeem your crimes through merit."

Xu Gang stood stunned for quite a while. Once he confirmed that the Yan Prince truly was not joking... Xu Gang burst into laughter.

"Hahahahahaha..."

Zheng Fan did not laugh.

"My Prince, I truly am beginning to admire you. Since that's the case, there's no need for us to keep pretending at courtesy. I once served in the Yan army as well. I do not know whether the present Yan army still keeps the custom of martial contests between soldiers. My two brothers can remain inside for now. I will stand out here and give Your Highness the opportunity to fight me one-on-one."

At that moment, the two black-robed women who had been standing atop the valley ridge—the same two who had once fought Hero Chen and Sword Maid—quietly descended from the mountain. They stopped far behind Zheng Fan's group, cutting off the road of retreat. Inside the formation, several immensely powerful auras also swept outward. Clearly, those within had already learned that the three brothers were bending the rules somewhat. But because everything remained under control, no one forcibly rebuked them. The Gate was not a sect. Sects had rules. Inside the Gate... there had never been any rules to begin with. Zheng Fan sighed.

"Do we really have to come one at a time? Do we really have to play this ridiculous routine where people line up one after another to feed kills? I used to think this sort of thing was stupid. Now I realize I was wrong. Idiots will always be the majority."

"Your Highness seems impatient. But truthfully, whether everyone swarms you at once or I duel Your Highness alone... what difference is there?"

Zheng Fan nodded.

"There really is no difference."

The Blind Man spoke.

"Master, since they want to help us double the fun, why refuse?"

Then the Blind Man turned and called toward the rear:

"You two standing back there, do us a favor. We thought this would be quick, but who knew they'd insist on playing it slow? There are sunflower seeds and candied fruit in our saddlebags. Please fetch them. We'll share some with you too."

...

"Are they bluffing?" Granny Qian muttered to herself.

The Wine Elder said, "He is a master of warfare after all. That bearing truly can fool a man. Truth within falsehood, falsehood within truth. Have the Great Qi Refiners probe again. Confirm one more time whether there are reinforcements or hidden experts outside."

Granny Qian became somewhat irritated.

"There are absolutely none."

Even so, she splashed water and sent the message, ordering another round of investigation. Huang Lang sat there staring at the image before him. He pursed his lips. The Emperor of Chu, his hair half white, wore a smile. For some reason, his spirits had suddenly risen.

He said softly:

"No need to block the road anymore. He will not turn back."

...

Xu Gang stepped forward. He folded both hands before his chest.

"To die at the hands of a Yan man can also be called a kind of homecoming."

Zheng Fan shook his head very seriously.

"No. It's a tragedy. If men like you served beneath this Prince, how much merit could you have earned?"

"Your Highness jests. If we hadn't entered the Gate, we'd have become dry bones long ago. We would never have lived long enough to hear Your Highness's summons. Your Highness. Please!"

"You are not worthy of fighting this Prince."

"Oh?"

Zheng Fan asked:

"Since they insist on playing it this way, we'll play along. Who goes first?"

"I'll go!"

Fan Li stepped forward. He planted his axes in the ground, then knelt on one knee before Zheng Fan. Xu Gang laughed.

"Your Highness yourself is a Third Grade expert. You claim Xu is beneath your notice, and then... send out a Fourth Grade subordinate? Your Highness, aren't you looking down on me a little too much?"

Zheng Fan raised Wuya. He rested the blade upon Fan Li's shoulder. In an instant... an immensely powerful aura erupted from Fan Li's body. Xu Gang froze. This iron-tower of a man had actually broken through at this very moment... and entered Third Grade! Was... was it really that perfectly timed? Zheng Fan lifted Wuya away.

He said calmly:

"There. Now he's qualified."

[End of Chapter 1023]