Chapter 1100: Chapter 265: One Man, One Army
Although he had long expected this in his heart,
when he actually saw this scene,
inside Lord Zheng’s heart,
he still couldn’t help but be stirred.
He just sat astride the Pixiu, stopped there,
and Lord Zheng knew very well
that behind the two of them
there simply was no Yan Army at all.
Lord Jingnan had only said to him: I’m going out for a walk;
so simple and ordinary, like taking a stroll after dinner, and in fact it really was a post-meal stroll.
Take a short stroll,
and on the way, force the Chu army opposite to go home.
One man, driving back one army!
This is Lord Jingnan, this is Tian Wujing, a man’s fame like a tree’s shadow—once he appeared here, the Chu army opposite didn’t even dare to test him, and directly chose to retreat.
Lord Zheng licked his lips, slowly closed his eyes, and in his hand, he clenched his longbow tight.
The heroic "Man Jiang Hong" was something he’d copied; the Chu princess’s following him was something he’d tricked her into;
if he could choose,
he would also hope that he could be like the Lord Jingnan of this moment,
needing to do nothing,
needing to say nothing,
I’m here,
and once I’m here,
everything is fine.
Tonight’s atmosphere was far too tranquil; even though the noise of the Chu people’s retreat up ahead wasn’t small, those torches blazing across the mountains as they withdrew were like a field of stars falling down to earth.
Yet Lord Zheng still felt that tonight was very quiet.
So quiet that he didn’t want to say another word, didn’t want to make another move,
only wanted to go on sitting here in silence,
looking at the scene before his eyes.
Perhaps because he was too familiar, and his relationship with Lord Jingnan was too close, Lord Zheng never gave rise in his heart to any thought of "I can take his place"; what he had was only the purest yearning and longing.
Tian Wujing turned his mount, the Pixiu under his crotch took two steps and stopped at Zheng Fan’s side.
"Let’s go back," Tian Wujing said.
Since the Chu army had already pulled out of their camp, there was no way they’d go back again. Even if their main general later discovered that the bulk of the Yan Army hadn’t moved out, he still couldn’t possibly order them back; issuing orders and counterorders in the middle of the night was what hurt morale most.
So, the Chu army’s retreat was settled.
Zheng Fan took a deep breath,
and said:
"Lord, let’s stay a while longer."
Lord Zheng still wanted to savor this feeling a little longer, like floating on air, truly like floating on air.
Lord Jingnan said nothing, only silently turned his Pixiu, and together with Zheng Fan, continued watching the spectacle of the Chu army’s retreat ahead.
The night wind came slowly,
blowing over the two of them,
and though it was clearly a biting cold wind, it made Lord Zheng feel as warm as spring.
Lord Zheng didn’t ask Lord Jingnan how he himself could reach this level.
Because there was no need to ask this question;
because the answer, Lord Jingnan had long since told him.
He had already told him how he should walk, and was helping him walk, even, supporting him as he walked.
He,
still needed time.
The demon kings, in truth, did not have that streak between their own lord and Lord Jingnan that surpassed the bond of superior and subordinate.
In the eyes of the demon kings, Lord Jingnan was more like a boulder, pressing on everyone’s head.
If Yan was a stretch of black sky, then Lord Jingnan was that towering peak piercing it.
You could run wild as you pleased beneath the vault of heaven, but the mountains could easily send a rock rolling down to crush you to death.
The Blind Man had sighed more than once: so long as Lord Jingnan was still here for one more day, then he and the others would have to be Yan’s loyal ministers for one more day!
This was fact, an irrefutable fact.
A terrifying personal strength, a godlike ability with troops, a frightening power to bind soldiers’ hearts—such an existence not only chilled the enemy’s guts, it drove even his own men to despair.
At last, the Chu people up ahead had retreated until they were mostly gone.
Lord Zheng snapped out of it as if from a dream; he hadn’t drunk any wine at supper, yet right now he felt a little tipsy.
"Lord, let’s go back."
The two of them finally started back.
It was still Lord Jingnan riding the Pixiu in front, with Lord Zheng on horseback following behind.
The back of Lord Jingnan was still tall and imposing,
while Lord Zheng, following behind, had begun to sway slightly left and right, looking as if he were drunk on it all.
The Pixiu halted,
and without Lord Zheng needing to pull the reins, his warhorse beneath him instinctively came to a stop as well.
"Tired?" Lord Jingnan asked.
Lord Zheng shook his head and said:
"Drunk."
Lord Jingnan reached down and rubbed the mane of the Pixiu under him,
and said:
"Promising."
Zheng Fan laughed, "hahaha,"
and said:
"That’s all the promise I’ve got."
"Come down and sit a bit."
"All right, Lord."
Lord Jingnan dismounted and sat down on the ground.
Lord Zheng swung down from his horse as well, and sat at Lord Jingnan’s side.
Looking around in all directions,
Lord Zheng said a bit regretfully:
"If only we had a jug of wine and a couple handfuls of dried fruit, that’d be perfect."
Lord Jingnan said, "Someone will bring it."
And indeed, someone did bring it,
a man in blue armor, its surface reflecting a strange luster under the moonlight, middle-aged.
In his left hand he carried a very large bundle; in his right, two jars of wine.
From a good distance away he first stopped, then jogged over.
Lord Zheng was a little wary at first, but gradually relaxed.
The other man had come alone,
while he himself was sitting at Lord Jingnan’s side,
to put it bluntly,
he really didn’t believe there were many people in this world who could kill him right before Lord Jingnan’s eyes.
The newcomer was clearly a Chu general; he stopped several zhang in front of Lord Jingnan and Zheng Fan, bent at the waist with a fawning smile, and said:
"Drink a bit? Eat a bit?"
Lord Jingnan did not speak.
Lord Zheng, however, took the initiative to wave him over.
"All right then, coming."
The Chu general came over and also sat down on the ground. He first opened the bundle: inside were two roast chickens and some other dried fruits and such, all mixed together, but the aroma was mouthwatering.
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