Chapter 86: Chapter 78: Sparrowhawk
When Sparrowhawk regained consciousness, he found himself already imprisoned.
The sparrow younger brother he once had high hopes for hadn’t gone far, but now that person was wearing his clothes. Sparrowhawk could see that the sparrow younger brother was speaking with the jailer and even received a bag of copper coins from him.
In such a situation, no matter how slow Sparrowhawk was, he already realized he’d been betrayed.
"Cunning! Cunning southerners!"
Sparrowhawk clenched his fists tightly and cursed viciously.
"Damn it! Southerners truly are damnable!"
Such hatred, such hatred. At this moment, Sparrowhawk’s heart was filled with resentment.
It was because he couldn’t stand the two-faced nature of the southerners that he, a southerner himself, longed for the prairie—where there was no such scheming, no deceptions, and where the cold winds of the northern deserts honed true men. That brave, fearless appearance was true strength.
Thus, the strong conquering the weak was only natural.
Weak southerners, cunning southerners, these foolish wastes, he felt ashamed to be associated with them—rather than painting his face like those useless southern men and dressing like actors, he would rather go north, to the prairie, even if it meant being a humble herdsman.
Even if he was just a humble herdsman, at least he’d still be a man, someone who could wield a knife, swing a whip, and the sturdy whip would lash those southerners, punishing them like the harsh northern wind, making them pay for their stupidity.
That’s why he came to Yanzhou, to this most dangerous frontline, willing to be the hunting dog under the great khan who soared like a roc.
But now, the proud hawk that should have been soaring in the sky was betrayed by a mere sparrow.
"Such hate... such hate!"
Sparrowhawk gnashed his teeth.
Hatred would make him lose his senses, disrupt his judgment, which for an espionage agent, was a great taboo.
But Sparrowhawk knew very well that this was exactly what he needed now.
Intense hatred was the strongest emotion, and under this unwavering hatred, he could accomplish many things.
"Southerners must all die... southerners must all die!"
His nails dug into his forearm, and Sparrowhawk forcibly extracted a blade about an inch long from beneath the skin of his forearm!
Though only an inch in length, the blade was overflowing with a menacing Evil Qi!
"Southerners must die!"
Watching as the sparrow who betrayed him, along with the jailer in the distance, disappeared around the corner of the cell, Sparrowhawk slit his own throat in the silent prison.
First spurting out was a torrent of fresh blood, staining the walls crimson, followed by bone and shredded flesh, while Sparrowhawk’s form rapidly shrank—this was a painfully torturous process, the Evil Qi on the blade coursing through his body, twisting his muscles and tearing his flesh.
Yet he felt inexplicably elated.
Indeed, it was these hateful southerners that brought him to this point, it was because of these detestable southerners that he had to act this way—now, he finally had the power, the strength, to seek revenge on these southerners, to make them all perish!
But relying on himself alone would never be enough.
Thus, under this resolute intent to kill, the sparrowhawk with a human face, now merely a foot long, slipped through the bars of the prison.
No one would notice this cautious bird; after all, it wasn’t even as tall as a chicken when standing—yet even now, the sparrowhawk with a human face restrained its movements, although it yearned to slaughter everything in sight.
But relying on himself alone would never be enough.
So, after avoiding the gaze of others, the sparrowhawk with a human face in the courtyard took flight.
Spreading its wings, the sparrowhawk with a human face soared over the prison, over the administrative offices, over vast residential districts, and even over towering city walls—he could see the bustling southerners, see those petty thieves and conniving scoundrels, and in this moment, he could laugh at the foolish southerners who were still scurrying about for a mere meal, their mediocrity amusing him greatly.
But now, even his mouth had changed into a bird’s beak, unable to even produce laughter.
There was little time left; he had to hurry.
Flying in the air, the sparrowhawk with a human face crossed the outer residential areas, passed hills and forests, until the late morning when everything in front of him transformed into rugged wilderness—signifying that he had finally left Yanzhou’s territory and arrived at the borderland of Jizhou.
But to fly across Jizhou entirely and reach the prairie, there was still a distance to go.
"Can my will truly hold until then?"
Gazing toward the northern prairie, Sparrowhawk’s eyes grew increasingly bloodshot.
"Is my will truly enough? Can my consciousness truly endure?"
He must; he had to.
He was the khan’s hunting dog, the sparrow under the roc’s command, and no matter how far south he flew, he would inevitably return to the far northern deserts.
Return to the land that haunted his dreams.
Once more, Sparrowhawk flapped its wings and took flight.
Compared to Yanzhou, Jizhou was desolate, with ruined Jizhen and demolished Yangjia Fortress... scattered weapons and rotting limbs everywhere, testifying to the brutal level of the battle that once occurred in Jizhou.
Yet the most notable sight was near a mountainside, where there was the towering ruins of gigantic corpses, several meters high.
It was unimaginable what kind of monster could have left behind such a terrifying skeleton: twisted bones, sprawling muscles, and those giant, bone-made curved blades stabbed into the ground... the horrific scene was enough to terrify anyone with just a glance, even driving them mad on the spot.
But beside this mountain-like skeleton, there stood a figure.
The figure did not seem dressed like a prairie man; the wide robes and long sleeves suggested a southern Chen man—in stark contrast to their pretended elegance, this man’s gentle and jade-like demeanor was evidently more superior.
Even in the face of mountain-like terrifying skeletons, the man remained calm and unchanging.
He even lightly shook his head.
"What a pity, such a good talent... went astray."
Saying this, the man raised his left hand.
The sparrowhawk with a human face landed on his left hand, chirping noisily.
"Oh? Exposed...? No matter, the time has come anyway."
Patting the head of the sparrowhawk with a human face, the man smiled.
"You don’t need to return to the royal court, the army has already begun moving... just follow me for now, I’m heading south anyway to visit some old friends and pick up some things."
"Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee—"
The sparrowhawk with a human face couldn’t help but laugh, its voice rasping like a night owl.
"State Preceptor almighty! State Preceptor grand! State Preceptor will definitely slaughter all those southerners..."
"Shut your mouth."
The sparrowhawk with a human face hadn’t managed to say much before the man slapped it.
"Learning nothing good, only the bad."
After reprimanding the sparrowhawk with a human face, the man pondered for a moment and then decided to remove the hairpin from his head.
Facing that mountain-like skeleton and those gigantic bone-made curved blades, the man lightly waved the hairpin in his hand.
In an instant, those terrifying colossal objects were shredded into pieces, scattering everywhere.
"Let’s go."
With a slight bow to the scattered remnants of the skeleton, the man set off with the sparrowhawk with a human face, heading south.
That was the direction towards Yanzhou.
