Chapter 213 - Reward
Bai Lingmiao nodded. “The General had an identification plate on her. Initially, Puppy thought that it was made of gold, but it was actually bronze. There’s not much value to it.”
“An identification plate? Show it to me,” asked Li Huowang.
Soon, the identification plate was placed in front of him. It was indeed a bronze plate with Peng Longteng’s name and position etched onto it.
“There’s an emblem of a tiger at the top of the plate. This must be the identification plate of the soldiers.” Li Huowang traced his finger at the top of the tiger’s head before asking Bai Lingmiao to store it. He decided to keep it; after all, they might be able to make use of it in the future.
Even if they didn’t use it, it was just a single plate and didn’t weigh that much. On the other hand, Dan Yangzi’s sacred text was much heavier than that plate, and its usage was very limited as well. Even so, they were still carrying it with them.
“Oh, Peng Longteng had a book with her as well. Since none of us could read it, Gao Zhijian took it,” said Bai Lingmiao.
“Book?” Li Huowang was just beginning to relax when he became alert once more. “Bring the book over.”
Hearing this, Bai Lingmiao headed outside only to return empty handed after a while.
“Zhijian said that the book is just a manual containing different techniques for soldiers to cultivate in. It’s not very interesting,” said Bai Lingmiao.
“He didn’t want to give it to you? Call him over and I will talk to him directly.” Li Huowang became even more suspicious.
Why does he not want to give it to me if it's just a normal training manual?
Soon, Gao Zhijian soon arrived near the ox-cart. At this moment, his body was covered in bandages while his face was still pale from his injuries.
Then, Li Huowang asked seriously, “I know that Peng Longteng was incredibly strong and that she had quite some tricks up her sleeves. I know that you also want to learn them and become stronger, but these training methods have their own risks. If you aren’t careful with them, then you can die. Do you understand me?”
Li Huowang was suspicious that the book contained Peng Longeteng’s training methods and that Gao Zhijian was secretly trying to learn from it.
After going through so much, Li Huowang had understood that in this crazy world, it was impossible to obtain any power without paying a price.
To obtain something, one must sacrifice something.
Thus, any cultivation or training methods had to have their own inherent risks. Li Huowang did not want Gao Zhijian to turn into another Peng Longteng.
“This... this... this is just... a training manual...” said Gao Zhijian sheepishly.
“Since it’s just a training manual, then why are you hiding it? Show it to me!” demanded Li Huowang.
Gao Zhijian hesitated for a while, before finally passing him the book.
The book was called Jiang Yuan. Li Huowang turned over the coarse paper with his charred fingers and saw the words written on it.
“Those who use this manual are bound to the Emperor and have to gather soldiers for the military. One must not camp on terrains that are difficult to move on. One must convene with allies at strategic locations. One must not stop at dangerous environments. One must come up with tactics at chokepoints. One must fight to their death in an environment with no place to retreat. Some paths cannot be taken, some enemies must not be attacked, some cities must not be taken, and some lands must not be contested. Those who do not adhere to the above nine rules will lose their lives even if they are an Emperor... Wait... Is this really a manual?” Li Huowang was surprised as he looked at Gao Zhijian before turning back to the manual once again.
Even though the content was difficult to understand, and Li Huowang struggled to comprehend the latter part of the manual, there was nothing wrong or supernatural about it. It was just a normal manual.
Pak!
Li Huowang closed the book and stared at Gao Zhijian in confusion. “It’s really just a normal manual. But why are you so obsessed with it?”
“It’s... it’s nice to read,” replied Gao Zhijian as he extended his large hands and took back the book.
When Li Huowang saw Gao Zhijian’s bandages starting to get bloody once more, he dismissed him. “Go back and rest first. Once your injuries get better, you can continue reading it.”
Hearing this, Gao Zhijian smiled and nodded before taking the book back with him away.
Once he was gone, Bai Lingmiao quickly grabbed a thin blanket and covered Li Huowang’s body. “Senior Li, your injuries are very serious. There’s no need for you to worry about things like them right now. You need to rest.”
Li Huowang wanted to sleep, but the pain from having the Profound Records embedded within his back was keeping him awake. He stared at the roof of the ox-cart, his mind wandering around. He had nothing to do. After some time, he got too bored and called out, “Miaomiao, please prop me up. I want to see the outside world.”
Bai Lingmiao was quite reluctant, but still did as she was told after some persuasion.
When the curtains of the ox-cart were pulled open, all Li Huowang saw was a large field of green grass. They were traveling through the grass plains.
As he took in the beautiful scenery around him, Li Huowang felt his spirit getting uplifted. It was the same feeling that one would get if they got to drink a large cup of iced water during summer. He could see the grass swaying rhythmically amidst the gentle breeze.
“Is this Qing Qiu? It is so much more beautiful than Hou Shu,” commented Li Huowang.
Bai Lingmiao nodded and agreed, “I’ve heard my father tell me that Qing Qiu is located to the west of the Liang Kingdom. He told me that the horses and goats of Qing Qiu were of excellent quality.”
Li Huowang nodded. “‘Qing Qiu’ means green hills. I can see the ‘green’, but where are the hills?”
Bai Lingmiao had never traveled far from her village, and so she didn’t know how to answer his question.
“Who among us is from Qing Qiu?” Li Huowang asked after a moment.
“Sun Baolu is from Qing Qiu. Besides him, there was another disciple and two of the assistants. However, all of them except Sun Baolu are dead,” replied Bai Lingmiao.
Hearing this, Li Huowang sighed. “Find out where they used to live. We will send their bodies back.”
Too many had died during their travels.
“Mmhmm. But I’ve heard that the people of Qing Qiu do not bury their dead. Let me ask Sun Baolu,” replied Bai Lingmiao.
Bai Lingmiao continued talking for a while, but didn’t get a reply.Puzzled, she turned around and saw Li Huowang frozen on the spot with his single eye opened wide from shock. It was as if he had seen something; however, there was nothing but grass outside.
“Senior Li, what are you—” Just as Bai Lingmiao was speaking, her words were cut short when she saw the wounded Li Huowang suddenly grab his sword, leap out of the window, and crash onto the floor.
The impact instantly caused his charred left leg to snap like a twig. At the same time, cracks started appearing all over his body.
But Li Huowang ignored all of it. Instead, he pointed his sword toward his left arm, making it so that he could cut off his left arm at a moment’s notice.
Seeing this, Puppy, who was the closest to him, ran over to Li Huowang and hugged his right arm to prevent him from cutting his left arm off.
“Quick! Bring the chains! Senior Li’s illness is back!” Puppy shouted at his companions.
Li Huowang froze and asked Puppy, “You can’t see them?”
“Ah?” Puppy didn’t know what he was referring to. “See what?”
Hearing his words, Li Huowang's body collapsed listlessly onto the soft grass below as he stared at the sky above with his one remaining eye. He was the only one who could see the headless Peng Longteng standing there like a statue, her shadow covering his entire body.
Peng Longteng’s armor was still glowing red with blood seeping out from the cracks of her armor. She looked the same as how she looked during her fight with Li Huowang.
Why did she become an illusion and follow me? Why?
Li Huowang didn’t know how it happened.
At that moment, he suddenly saw something moving behind Peng Longteng’s illusion.
It was Jin Shanzhao, or to be exact, only his upper torso. His organs were rotting as they trailed behind him.
He too had become an illusion!
As Li Huowang was being tied up with a chain by his companions and carried into the ox-cart, he saw Jin Shanzhao opening his mouth, as if he wanted to say something.
“What do you want to say?” asked Li Huowang.
Jin Shanzhao’s mouth opened and closed, but in the end, no voice came out.
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