Chapter 954 My Son!

In reality, people really are different.

Fortunately, the father was on the opposite bank, able only to sit on the royal carriage and watch the situation from afar, unable to see clearly.

He didn't see that it was the first time Tian Tian was possessed by the Demonic Orb, yet the Orb did not seize control of Tian Tian's body.

Of course, this could be understood as the Regent, back then, simply lacking combat skills and being weak, having to seize control of his son's body to maximize their existing strength when faced with danger, not wanting both of them to die.

But the problem was, every time the Demonic Orb possessed him, it liked to stretch its mouth into an exaggerated arc:

“Jie jie… jie jie… jie jie…”

The Regent's torn corners of the mouth bleeding after each possession didn't appear on Tian Tian.

One could only say that the same event, with different moods, could present vastly different details.

Xiong Tingshan's gaze narrowed slightly. He had thought that this overly young Marquis of Jingnan's heir would take the initiative to attack him after using some secret method to stimulate his potential.

In fact, the words he spoke and the aura he locked onto should also be paving the way for this.

But then,

this heir actually turned around, stabbed to death a Chu soldier who had just fallen off his horse from behind, then turned around and leaned towards his own formation, quickly merging into a corner of the formation and filling in the gap.

"Heh."

Xiong Tingshan smiled, waving his horse lance to deflect an arrow shot towards him, then throwing the lance at the shield in front of him.

"Pfft!"

The shield was pierced, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard behind it was impaled.

Xiong Tingshan seized the opportunity to charge in, picking up a Yan sword and slashing directly forward.

With one strike, another Embroidered Uniform Guard was hit squarely in the face.

But in the next moment, the shield on his side pressed over, and two spears thrust at him head-on.

Xiong Tingshan had to retreat, and as he retreated, two axe-wielders rolled towards him, slashing horizontally in a posture of willing to take a blow themselves to inflict damage.

"Buzz!"

Xiong Tingshan's qi and blood spread, but the qi and blood of these two Embroidered Uniform Guards also burst out. Although the axes didn't break through his protective qi when they struck, the two Embroidered Uniform Guards then used their hands to tightly hug Xiong Tingshan's legs, like plasters, impossible to shake off.

A Chu soldier beside Xiong Tingshan stepped forward and stabbed one of the guards in the back, but the guard still held onto Xiong Tingshan's leg with all his might.

At this moment,

two spears thrust at Xiong Tingshan's face again, and Xiong Tingshan waved his sword to block them.

But then, three more axe-wielders jumped out, taking the opportunity to get close again.

Xiong Tingshan let out a low roar, wielding his sword to unleash a terrifying sword aura, sweeping the three Embroidered Uniform Guards away. However, as they were swept away, the three Embroidered Uniform Guards ignored their injuries and the blood they were spitting, and habitually tore open the cuffs of their Embroidered Uniforms—three hidden crossbows, firing!

"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"

The hidden crossbow bolts were silver, obviously poisoned.

Xiong Tingshan didn't dare to be careless, and with a flip of his body, he kicked away the two on his feet, barely dodging the crossbow bolts. But as soon as he fell to the ground, before he could stand up, an Embroidered Uniform Guard had silently approached from behind and stabbed at Xiong Tingshan with a dagger.

Xiong Tingshan still had qi and blood protecting him, but when the dagger touched the qi, the tip cracked open, revealing small iron caltrops inside that scattered when impacted by the qi and blood.

Some flew backwards, hitting the Embroidered Uniform Guard. To move quickly, he wasn't wearing armor under his Embroidered Uniform, and blood seeped out of his chest and arms.

The other part shot back into Xiong Tingshan, essentially being pressed in by Xiong Tingshan's own qi and blood. However, Xiong Tingshan was wearing armor, and most of them bounced off his armor, but several pierced his left hand.

Immediately afterwards, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, shot by the small iron caltrops, unhesitatingly waved his knife and slit his own throat, decisively ending his life.

Xiong Tingshan's heart was filled with alarm, and he unhesitatingly raised his knife and chopped off his left hand.

"Pfft!"

His left hand was directly severed.

But at the cut, the blood was already light blue.

Forced to, Xiong Tingshan chopped down again, cutting off another section. Then, ignoring the pain and not checking the wound again, he forcibly stopped the bleeding with qi and blood, and quickly pushed off the ground with his legs.

With "swish, swish, swish," he dodged the pursuing knives of two Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Logically speaking, a Rank Three martial artist shouldn't be so disheveled. Back then, Sha Tuoqueshi was able to charge back and forth multiple times within the Northern Garrison Army's iron cavalry. Although Xiong Tingshan couldn't compare to Sha Tuoqueshi at his peak, he shouldn't be in such a state.

Blame it,

blame the Regent of Yan, who had lacked a sense of security for a long time.

When he had thousands of troops around him, he began to worry about being assassinated by the world's experts, especially since he had indeed been assassinated many times.

Therefore, with the joint contributions of Xue San, Fan Li, and A Ming, the three Demon Kings, they created a set of detailed methods specifically for dealing with top experts.

A Ming was often used as a "master" for experimentation.

The entire process, combined with the sufficiently excellent Embroidered Uniform Guards, clever tactics, and the equipment personally crafted by Xue San, often made it easy for experts tasting it for the first time to stumble badly in the face of the Embroidered Uniform Guards' cooperative methods.

For example, the extremely ruthless method of embedding poisoned iron caltrops in the interlayer of the dagger was prepared specifically for martial artists who believed their bodies were invincible. It was designed to use their own qi and blood to complete a "rebellion," breaking through their most prized possession!

Xiong Tingshan

fell for it.

It wasn't that Xiong Tingshan was weak, nor that Rank Three martial artists were weak,

it was purely that the Demon Kings' knowledge, experience, and methods, combined… were truly too insidious!

"Save the Prince!"

"Save the Prince!"

Xiong Tingshan had just struggled to his feet when he was shocked to find that he had been enveloped inside the formation without knowing when.

Soon,

Xiong Tingshan understood what had happened. That silver-armored young general was at the core of the formation, and under his leadership, this Yan army was shifting its formation in an incredible way.

In fact, when their own cavalry failed to break the Yan army's formation in the first wave, the role of the cavalry had already diminished infinitely. Cavalry that had lost its momentum while sitting on horseback would more easily become targets high in the air, and it would be difficult for the comrades behind them to provide support.

Xiong Tingshan gritted his teeth.

His gaze could accurately capture the silver-armored young general, but the silver-armored young general didn't deliberately look at him, and continued to steadily chop and lead the formation.

He had clearly used a secret method to stimulate his potential, and even his strength should have increased a lot at this time based on the surge of his aura.

But he restrained himself, without any intention of fighting him one-on-one, and instead took advantage of the unexpected moment to return to the formation.

Some people don't show the courage of an ordinary man because they don't have the courage of an ordinary man.

Some people have the courage of an ordinary man, but know how to make a better choice.

He was the eldest son of the Marquis of Jingnan of Yan, inheriting the title of heir of the Marquis of Jingnan.

He was also the adopted son of the Regent of Yan. Everyone knew that he had been loved by the Regent since he was a child. At the ceremony of conferring him the title, the Prince didn't hold the Crown Prince, but held him instead.

Now,

he had grown up…

So young, yet possessing such a mind;

A huge fear directly enveloped Xiong Tingshan.

The Yan Kingdom had already laid the foundation by relying on the pattern of one Emperor and two Princes in the previous generation. Both Qian and Chu suffered慘敗 (慘敗, transliterated as "cǎnbài," means disastrous defeats).

The current Emperor of Yan, as if kicked in the head by a donkey, unconditionally trusted the Regent surnamed Zheng, and that surname Zheng even single-handedly supported the new pattern of the Yan army after the end of the last era. The Three Kingdoms War, the breaking of the Upper Capital, directly shattered the counterattack ambitions of the Qian and Chu Kingdoms.

And now,

he… he had also grown up.

"Imperial Brother, even if you can truly have longevity and prosperity as you wish…

But he,

is a hero of three generations!"

"Save the Prince! Save the Prince!"

The Chu cavalry began to desperately break through the gap, one after another being knocked off their warhorses by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and then beheaded, yet they were still reckless.

Finally, after paying many non-combat casualties, a team of cavalry finally charged in.

Xiong Tingshan wielded his sword with one arm, repelling the pursuers, and then jumped back on his horse. Under the desperate protection of the guards around him, he charged out.

"Withdraw!!!"

There was no choice. After rescuing the Prince, the remaining Chu army could only choose to retreat.

Because dust had appeared in the upper and lower reaches, obviously, the Yan cavalry that had landed there were quickly rushing towards this battlefield.

At the same time, the second batch of reinforcements that had landed were already ashore and were rushing here behind this Embroidered Uniform Army.

There was only one chance, only one chance for a strike;

If they delayed any longer, they would be surrounded.

Tian Tian saw that Xiong Tingshan was injured, and that he was seriously injured, but since the man had already broken through the opening and left, he didn't signal a pursuit.

Instead, he raised his sword

and shouted:

"Form ranks!"

"Yes sir!"

The Embroidered Uniform Guards began to reform their ranks.

At this time,

there were still many Chu soldiers on the ground who hadn't died and were wailing, but no one went up to finish them off.

There were also many injured and fallen Embroidered Uniform Guards, but no one went up to rescue them.

Everyone carefully formed ranks, picked up the scattered shields, and took up the blood-soaked bows and crossbows on the ground.

Time continued to pass.

Finally,

the retreating Chu army didn't pull back to create distance and then reorganize to launch a counterattack, but continued to retreat south without looking back.

At the same time, the reinforcements that had landed behind them had also arrived here.

Tian Tian, covered in blood, glanced at the Vice General surnamed Sun he recognized and ordered:

"You and your men, form ranks in front!"

"Yes sir!"

Vice General Sun, who had arrived as reinforcement, immediately led his men to form ranks in front.

After they had set up properly,

Tian Tian looked around

and ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guards:

"Treat the wounded comrades."

"Yes sir!"

After giving this order, Tian Tian knelt down on one knee on the ground. After the power of the Demonic Orb was withdrawn, his body suddenly became extremely empty, and the degree of overdraft was very great.

But Tian Tian still relied on his willpower to desperately hold on and not let himself fall into a coma.

Around him, the guards began to treat the wounded. Faced with the frontal charge of the Chu elite cavalry, many of the guards were killed in battle, and many were injured and disabled, and a large part of these injuries would result in real disabilities.

However, at this moment, Tian Tian didn't have the energy to think about whether this battle was worth it or not.

In fact, from his father Zheng Fan's point of view, it was worth it.

After all, this was the opening battle of this round of the Yan-Chu war. Who won and who lost would have a great impact on face and morale.

And if Zheng Fan knew that he had almost crippled the Chu's Prince Dingqin, he would probably think that this deal was a huge profit.

Elites must be taken out and used. Always keeping them locked away and being stingy is putting the cart before the horse.

Tian Tian leaned on his sword, knelt on the ground on one knee, and gasped for breath.

Two guards stepped forward, indicating that they wanted to help Tian Tian check his injuries, but Tian Tian shook his head and refused:

"I'm fine. Go collect the bodies of our comrades."

"Yes sir."

Tian Tian silently reached out and felt inside his armor again, taking out a piece of Sachima (a type of Chinese pastry) that had been flattened in the already cracked armor interlayer.

Yes, Tian Tian had loved this snack since he was a child. It really had nothing to do with Blind Man's "verbal instruction and personal example." Most of the time, it didn't have any special meaning. Although Tian Tian understood what the meaning was, he really just loved to eat it.

When he was a child, after finishing his homework and training, he would hold a piece of Sachima, sit on the steps, and nibble on it, feeling that the afternoon sunshine was sweet.

Flattened Sachima was still Sachima. Although his hand was covered in blood and stained it, Tian Tian still took another bite.

Blood wrapped in sweetness, entering his mouth, wasn't unpalatable, it just wasn't as delicious as it should be.

Tian Tian frowned slightly.

He remembered his father saying that there was an Uncle named Li Fusheng who liked to sit on the battlefield and eat blood-stained beans after a battle.

Tian Tian also tried it this time.

Actually,

it wasn't so difficult to accept.

But when he thought of the look of rejection on his father's face every time he said this,

Tian Tian still threw the half-flattened Sachima on the ground with some regret. He couldn't make his father unhappy.

Next, Tian Tian sat here for a long time, and when he saw Chen Xianba leading his troops across the river towards him, he rested his head on the sword hilt and fell asleep.

…

"Report! The enemy's formation has not dispersed!"

"Report! The Prince is engaged in a fierce battle!"

"Report! The Prince is injured!"

"Report! The Prince has withdrawn his troops!"

Xie Yu'an spread out his hands, a bit resentful and a bit helpless, and said:

"Sigh, what a worry."

At this time, an old man wearing a black robe and barefoot appeared behind Xie Yu'an. The old man's attire was very common in Chu and was the attire of a shaman.

Ancient shamanic culture was a branch of the Xia culture. The first Marquis of Chu was one of its representatives. Later, the Marquis of Chu expanded the borders, and shamanic culture was brought into the current Chu territory. At the same time, it also absorbed many of the primitive cultures of the mountain tribes, evolving and developing into what it is today.

"Actually, there is one thing that I don't know whether I should say or not."

"Master Wu, please speak."

There were twelve shamanic leaders in Chu. This one was one of them, surnamed Wu, named Qing.

He inherited the art of divination, and his disciples were now the core of Chu's Imperial Observatory.

This time, he followed here to perform a divination for this new round of the Yan-Chu war that was about to begin.

Although… the result of the divination would inevitably be the victory of Chu.

Because of his high status, even Xie Yu'an, the Xie family's young master and a high-ranking official of the court, had to use an honorific to address him.

Wu Qing smiled and said, "When I first met you, I said that I smelled a… special scent on you."

Xie Yu'an was a little puzzled and said, "What's wrong?"

Xie Yu'an himself didn't really believe in shamans. The shamans of Chu were essentially no different from the Qi refiners of Qian. The subtle differences were that Chu shamans generally treated illnesses and acted as doctors.

But whether it was the higher-ups of the shamans or the higher-ups of the Qi refiners, they were pursuing the kind of great Dao that seemed to be mumbo jumbo in Xie Yu'an's view.

When Wu Qing saw him in Yingdu, he had indeed said this, but in Xie Yu'an's view, it was like mutual flattery.

As long as you don't say in front of His Majesty that Xie Yu'an has dragon qi, you can say whatever you want.

Wu Qing pointed south,

and said;

"Just now, I smelled a scent in the south that was somewhat similar to the one on you."

"Oh?" Xie Yu'an cooperated in a way that pretended to be very curious but was essentially perfunctory. "Could it be the heir of the Marquis of Jingnan?"

"Indeed."

"Oh, it's a pity that we couldn't kill him this time."

Xie Yu'an continued to beat around the bush.

At this time, if the Regent of Great Yan was standing here and heard Wu Qing's previous words, he would probably immediately fall into deep thought.

Xie Yu'an and Tian Tian have similar scents… Is it strange? It's not strange, not strange at all, because originally, they should have been the same kind of people.

What's clear is that Wu Qing clearly knew that he wasn't "praising" or pretending to be a ghost, because he really… smelled it.

Therefore,

he opened his mouth and said, "My lord, please allow me to perform a divination here, while the scent is still lingering before my nose."

Xie Yu'an respectfully saluted:

"Please do."

Wu Qing didn't delay and directly sat cross-legged, placing three skulls in front of him, each with a hole in it.

He ran his fingernail across his fingertip and dripped two drops of blood into each hole.

Then,

he formed hand seals,

and in the next moment,

blue flames burned out from the pupils of the three skulls.

Wu Qing closed his eyes and began to chant a spell.

He was really interested in why two people with completely different identities and status had similar scents.

At this moment,

the battlefield situation,

the national trends,

had all drifted away from him, boring and tasteless,

only peeking at the arrangements of the heavens

could allow him to find true longing.

In fact, Wu Qing could smell Xie Yu'an's scent because Xie Yu'an had been divined by him in front of him, touched, tested, and had had real contact and perception.

And the reason why he could smell the scent on Tian Tian was

simply because,

just like when Zheng Fan was assassinated on the Wangjiang River, the Demonic Orb itself… was actually more like a great Qi refiner shedding his mortal body.

When the Demonic Orb possessed someone, it was equivalent to this aura being blessed, and in the eyes of outsiders, it was like lighting a torch in the night.

It's just that Tian Tian didn't use any sorcery like Zheng Fan did when he summoned Yin soldiers at the bottom of the river, so naturally he couldn't be invited to the mountains as a guest like his father.

However, in this world, to have that white lotus as a guide and to be able to "invite guests" to the door at the cost of one's own profound Qi refining cultivation, was one in a million.

Just like being hit by a trebuchet in the rainy night, it was something that could only be encountered with luck upon luck.

The smile on Wu Qing's lips was gradually emerging. He was about to find the answer.

Soon,

soon,

soon…

However,

just at this moment,

a gust of invisible wind blew past, and the depths of the eyes of the three skulls in front of Wu Qing actually oozed out black blood. Along with this, Wu Qing's own seven orifices also began to overflow with blood, and he began to convulse wildly like a madman, looking extremely miserable!

From the side of his ear,

a majestic voice that only he could hear rang out:

"Peeking at my son's fate?

You,

are you worthy?"