Chapter 392: Chapter 322: Changshan King Ying Su
If time could turn back, Ru Luo Jing and Wei Weixi would absolutely never come to the Demon Gathering Land again in this lifetime.
The Skeleton Document Square has now become the temporary base of the Baibao Guards. The demons around the square have been completely wiped out. Even the Seven Demon Fiends team with full Fourth-Turn combat power would be instantly dissolved when facing the two hundred-strong Baibao Guards. This is the most terrifying aspect of the Baibao Guards; with the right terrain and tactics, their explosive damage can even exceed Fourth-Turn.
Of course, the prerequisite is dealing with enemies like demons that neither flee nor defend, or those whose movement range can be restricted; otherwise, Murong Hui and Ying Rushi are the best examples—any accomplishment in mobility can allow one to easily escape the deadly trap of the Baibao Guards.
A Commander of Baibao is sitting on the bench in the square, slightly hunched, with his hands resting on his thighs. Although he still appears somewhat stiff, compared to the tombstone-like presence of the Baibao around him, he is undoubtedly the most ’human-like’.
Before him lies a long spear, impaled with the corpse of Chu Yaksha, Chu Lin. Blood flows along the spear, like bleeding a pig.
After the Baibao Guards took over this area, Ru Luo Jing, Wei Weixi, and Chu Lin came forward to pay their respects.
Some might wonder why they dared to approach the bloodthirsty Baibao Guards, like a chicken visiting a weasel for New Year celebrations. But aside from the cruel ’kill anyone you meet’ directive, most of the time if you don’t block the Baibao Guards’ path, they won’t be bothered to act against you.
Ying Le often tasks Baibao Guard squads with missions; if someone obstructs them midway, it goes without saying—unless your family has a Foundation Establishment elder stationed, you should prepare to warmly welcome Ying Le herself. Once, a military town burned a squad of Baibao Guards, reporting it as an accidental fire. Ying Le then burned the town, killing tens of thousands over seven days and nights until it became a barren land. Conversely, if someone assists the Baibao Guards, Ying Le generously rewards them. For instance, a farmer once saved a wounded Baibao Guard, and Ying Le promptly elevated the farmer to Third-Turn Messenger.
Whether Ying Le is the most tyrannical emperor of Qi Kingdom is inconclusive, but she is certainly the most generous. In a way, she seems to be working for her ministers, as she doesn’t need the resources supplied by Qi Kingdom, instead often rewarding them with Foundation Establishment resources.
Thus, Qi Kingdom’s messengers have very complex feelings towards Ying Le, mixing reverence with cautious flattery. Among the Three Central Plains Kingdoms, Ying Le is the easiest to approach as a Foundation Establishment Zhenren; no other Foundation Establishment would involve themselves in mortal affairs like her. The resources she casually rewards can easily allow a mortal to break through their lifetime’s limits.
Following Ying Le is a very dangerous option, yet it is the only existing option. If you were born in Zhou Kingdom or Liang Kingdom, you wouldn’t even have this opportunity.
Ru Luo Jing and the others harbored similar thoughts, which is why they proactively came to assist in the Baibao Guards’ actions, but never expected the Commander Baibao to kill Chu Lin upon their first meeting.
As seasoned Third-Turn Messengers, Ru Luo Jing and Wei Weixi are local emperors in their respective military towns. But at this moment, they were so terrified, thinking the Baibao Guards were about to slaughter indiscriminately. The irony is that they voluntarily stepped into the Baibao Guards’ circle; they couldn’t even muster the courage to resist, let alone flee, as their hands and feet grew cold and numb, staying put, resigned to their fate.
After an indeterminate time, the Commander Baibao finally moved.
He unbuckled his mask and slowly took off his helmet, revealing waterfall-like black hair and a beautiful face that was difficult to distinguish between male or female, with eyes as deep as black gemstones, showing no trace of joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness.
If earlier was shock, now Ru Luo Jing and Wei Weixi were faced with despair. They had seen this face, the supreme authority that had broken the back of Qi Kingdom’s messengers, was the heavenly body delivering grace and judgment!
How could this be possible? How could she possibly enter the Demon Gathering Land? Does it mean the rumor that the Demon Gathering Land restricts Foundation Establishment Messengers is false? But why, if she acted personally, did she let the Prince of Lanling escape just now?
Ru Luo Jing suddenly recalled a rumor and cautiously asked, "Changshan King?"
"So there are still people who remember this title." The Commander Baibao’s words showed no emotion: "But I am no longer Changshan King; simply address me as Ying Su."
"Greetings, Prince Su!" Ru Luo Jing promptly knelt down to respectfully greet, and Wei Weixi swiftly followed suit.
"You need not panic. I killed Chu Lin for a reason," Ying Su slowly explained: "Chu Lin once behaved disrespectfully towards Your Majesty, although Your Majesty forgave him with great magnanimity. However, when the lord is humiliated, the subject must die. As subjects, it is only right to uphold Your Majesty’s dignity; do you all agree?"
"It is only right!" Ru Luo Jing and Wei Weixi said in unison.
"Tell me the information you know."
Ru Luo Jing and Wei Weixi exchanged glances, pondered for a moment, then pointed to the Skeleton Document behind them, briefly introducing matters like the bandaged man and Foundation Establishment Pill, and then said: "If we weren’t mistaken, it was Murong Hui, Patriarch of Murong Family, and the bandaged man appearing in the Skeleton Document who just rescued the Prince of Lanling. Although we don’t know how the bandaged man managed to appear on the Skeleton Document, if we could capture him, perhaps we might find the means to earn Foundation Establishment Pill from the Demon Gathering Land!"
Saying this, Ru Luo Jing’s voice trembled uncontrollably.
The thought of a stable method to obtain Foundation Establishment Pill was enough to make one’s blood boil. But one would quickly realize what a terrifying vortex this was—let alone taking part, even just knowing it was enough to warrant their silencing.
This is also why they chose to visit proactively; under Ying Le’s reign, cautious self-preservation has become second nature to Qi Kingdom’s messengers. Anyone harboring wishful thinking in the past decade had long been annihilated along with their families and clans.
Ru Luo Jing had been secretly observing Ying Su. Even though the matter involved the Foundation Establishment Pill, Ying Su’s face showed no emotion whatsoever—no greed, no excitement. It seemed like he had taken off his mask, yet as if he had always been wearing one.
Ying Su raised two fingers: "I offer you two choices. First, take everyone and leave the Demon Gathering Land. If it’s not yet time to leave, honestly hide in the houses near the entrance. If you come out, you will bear the consequences of life and death."
"I choose the second one!" Ru Luo Jing immediately said. Wei Weixi hesitated for a moment but did not refute.
"Good," Ying Su said, "Leave behind a rough map and mark the areas where the three of the Prince of Lanling might stay. You can also gather people to look for them, but the Prince of Lanling, the Patriarch of the Murong Family, and the Mummified Person must all be captured alive. The Baibao Guards will show no mercy if they encounter you, but I will truthfully report your achievements to Your Majesty. Any objections?"
"None!"
Ru Luo Jing and Wei Weixi withdrew and left. When they had departed from the military formation of the Baibao Guards and returned to their own base, they couldn’t help but grab each other, their legs going weak as they nearly fell to their knees. They weren’t familiar before, and even had some conflicts due to family business, but first, they saw Chu Lin being assassinated before them, and then they took on the task concerning the Foundation Establishment Pill together, where any slight misstep would lead to immediate death. It was inevitable that they felt a bit of relief at escaping with their lives, which naturally drew them closer.
"Have you really thought it through?" Wei Weixi asked, "The Prince of Lanling and the Mummified Person don’t matter, but Murong Hui has the Purple Tribulation Zhenren backing her up. Even if we capture her, she’ll certainly return home unscathed, and if she holds a grudge against us then..."
"We’re just helping to track their whereabouts, not capturing them ourselves—besides, we don’t have that capability," Ru Luo Jing said calmly. "I know Murong Hui’s character. Even if she holds a grudge against us, at most she’d just kill us. Compared to the rewards from Your Majesty, this risk is negligible. As long as we hide in Nocturnal Heaven City, Your Majesty will protect us."
Wei Weixi recalled the intel on Murong Hui and nodded lightly: "That’s right, she’s a good person."
Ru Luo Jing was able to so decisively choose to help the Baibao Guards primarily because Murong Hui was a good person. Compared to the cruel and ruthless Ying Le, the cost of offending Murong Hui was very low, but the gains from dealing with Murong Hui were immensely high. If they truly helped Ying Le obtain a stable supply of the Foundation Establishment Pill, it would not be surprising if Ying Le rewarded them with the Foundation Establishment Pill.
This was not about being cowardly before good but fearful before evil. Murong Hui was not naively benevolent enough not to retaliate for killing. As the granddaughter of a Foundation Establishment True Man, no matter how good her temper was, it couldn’t be too good. It’s just that when compared to Ying Le, Murong Hui’s moral standard stands out.
"Who is Changshan King Ying Su?" Wei Weixi asked curiously. "Why have I never heard of this royal member?"
"It’s normal you haven’t heard of him. If my family didn’t have ties to the palace, I wouldn’t know either," Ru Luo Jing replied thoughtfully. "Ying Su is the Emperor’s own younger brother."
"What!?"
"Ying Su is nine years younger than the Emperor. When the Emperor started to gain fame, he hadn’t even transferred his position yet, remaining in deep seclusion within the palace."
"Why would such a royal member disappear from sight, and even stay within the Baibao Guards?" Wei Weixi found it hard to believe. "Doesn’t the Emperor care about family bonds at all?"
The Northern Noble Clan was familiar with the Baibao Guards. Although the Baibao Guards were famous across the Three Kingdoms, as a price, their minds and bodies were entirely under Ying Le’s control. At her command, they would completely lose themselves. They were less like humans and more like weapons that occasionally had self-awareness.
Unless there was no other option, noboby would choose to become a Baibao Guard. If they lost their sense of self, how was that different from being dead? What kind of sister would strip her brother of everything?
"Oh, damn, don’t splash me with blood," Ru Luo Jing hurriedly looked around, pulling Wei Weixi into a corner and lowering his voice. "I’ve only heard this: if you don’t want your whole family to be implicated, you can tell... When the former Emperor passed away, he actually wanted Changshan King to succeed."
Wei Weixi was puzzled, "So what? Back then, the Emperor was a Foundation Establishment seed. What was the problem with that decision?"
Indeed, the throne was important, but not as much as the path to Foundation Establishment. If passing the throne to Ying Le hindered Ying Le’s cultivation due to state affairs, wouldn’t that be putting the cart before the horse?
"Don’t rush, this was merely the last event," Ru Luo Jing started narrating as though he had long wanted to share this court secret. "Before that, two other things happened. First, Changshan King never married or took a concubine, frequently opposing the former Emperor over this. Second, many young talents sought to marry the Princess; even I fantasized about it back then, given what the Emperor was like then... However, Changshan King was vehemently opposed, even once driving suitors away from Nocturnal Heaven with fire oil. By the way, Chu Lin was one of those suitors back then."
Wei Weixi was stunned: "You’re saying—"
"I didn’t say anything." Ru Luo Jing quickly shook his head. "Quickly gather everyone to draw the map; Changshan King is waiting."
At the Skeleton Document Square, Ying Su sat on a bench, pulling out a golden key from his neck. He clenched the key against his chest, his mouth twitching slightly as if a millennia-old stone statue was trying to break free from a seal.
"If I can reach Foundation Establishment, could I then feel your pain?"
"Sister..."
