Chapter 73, the Seventy-Third Face of Master and Disciple

Every time he went to war, Zhu Huantang couldn't remember anything. His daily routine consisted nothing more than killing, killing, and leading his troops to kill.

He seemed to be caught in a vicious cycle: he loathed Zuo Qinghou, imitated Zuo Qinghou, became Zuo Qinghou, and then loathed himself.

The damp, sticky heat beneath him, the burning body pressed against him, disgusted Zhu Huantang. He grabbed the woman's neck and pressed her firmly onto the bed, venting his unspeakable desires.

The sounds inside the tent finally ceased. Zhu Huantang got out of bed and dressed without any hesitation. The woman behind him reached out to help him dress, but the man, who had just been lost in passion, said coldly, "Do you want to live or become my woman?"

After the Regent's death in battle, Zhu Huantang effectively seized military power and was granted the title of King. Women, of course, wanted to be Zhu Huantang's women, so she didn't pay any attention to the implications of his words and readily nodded in agreement. Before she could even utter a few sweet words in her delicate voice, the sound of bones breaking rang out, followed by the thud of a heavy object falling to the ground.

Servants rushed in, changed the bedding, carried away the woman's body, and placed it in the bath tub before leaving.

Zhu Huantang stepped into the bathtub, letting the slightly hot water submerge him, and slowly closed his eyes in enjoyment. If Qin Sihai hadn't told him, he would have truly believed that Zuo Qinghou was dead.

If she hadn't died, given her personality, she should have appeared in person, manipulated them all, and then left gracefully, instead of creating a puppet.

The scalding water reminded Zhu Huantang of their first time. He couldn't have tolerated the temperature, but Zuo Qinghou was always cold-natured; even in the heat of passion, her hands and feet were usually cool. Like a cold, slick python coiling around its prey, they experienced ultimate pleasure amidst the danger of suffocation.

Ever since Zhu Huantang beheaded Qin Sihai, he has been constantly thinking about the past, mostly about Zuo Qinghou, Fan Qi, and his family members who were not really close to him.

There was none with Qin Sihai.

He knew he was running away from Qin Sihai's death, but what was even more tragic was that he knew his senior brother, who regarded Zhu Yan as his mortal enemy, had completely lost his faith, and he too had become a martyr on the path that Zuo Qinghou was about to take.

His hatred for her had faded, replaced by bewilderment. If she wanted to walk a path where no one could stand in her way, then she should walk it herself; why drag them into it? With her abilities, even if they were enemies, it would be difficult for them to truly gain any advantage over her.

This is the fastest, most effortless, and most efficient route.

This one point alone is enough for Zuo Qinghou to do everything she has done.

On the day they reached Yingdu, Zhu Huantang was somewhat dazed. When he was seventeen or eighteen, having survived countless brushes with death to earn his military merits and rewards, he wasn't even qualified to enter Yingdu; when he risked two lives to obtain the secrets of the snuff bottle, he wasn't even qualified to hold a prominent position. But now he was back, having done nothing good for the country or his family, instead killing a whole bunch of people.

This place no longer held the allure he once had, nor was it as glorious as it once was.

It's more like the "white moonlight" in a play, something you can't have in your youth, which is why you can't forget it. Once you get it, it's just a bowl of tasteless porridge.

Yingdu was Zhu Huantang's unrequited love. He went to great lengths to conquer it, but it was not only because he loved it but also because it brought him official promotions.

Although Fan Qi had been fed with Zuo Qinghou's blood for many years, he was getting old and his health was deteriorating day by day.

Zhu Huantang didn't feel much about capturing his master alive. His master had indeed treated him well, but not to the point that he couldn't bring himself to do it.

The battle had been going on for three years, and the signs of victory or defeat were already evident. Fan Qi didn't feel too much resentment, and simply said, "I was knocked off my horse by Zuo Qinghou decades ago, and now I'm being knocked off my own apprentice. I guess it's a fair ending."

This is hardly a case of finishing what you started. Upon seeing the signal flare, Zhu Huantang knew that the palace was probably under control, so he focused on his own business.

Zhu Huantang pushed the Crimson Earth Sword forward an inch. The Crimson Earth Sword flashed with a cold light and grazed Fan Qi's neck. He said, "Master, where is she?"

"I'll take you to see her."

"You tell me the location, I'll go myself." Zhu Huantang remained cautious, lest his master cause some kind of suicidal trouble.

Since he was probably going to die either way, Fan Qi wasn't afraid. He stretched out his long arm and offered his neck forward: "Kill me, and you'll never know where she is."

After a moment's thought, Zhu Huantang fed Fan Qi the poison that Fu Qianji had given him and said, "Let's go."

Along the way, they stepped on corpses, waded through blood, and looked at the various scenes of life around them, but they felt no joy of victory on either side.

Suddenly, Fan Qi chuckled and said, "What do you think she'll think when she sees the situation today?"

What was she thinking? This was exactly what Zuo Qinghou had always dreamed of. She was selfish; she couldn't let her own country be destroyed, but other countries could be. Yet she was also righteous; the day Wu was destroyed would be the day Zhu Yan perished.

"I'm sure you'll be very happy," Zhu Huantang replied, his tone carrying a barely perceptible tenderness.

The two didn't go to any remote places, but went straight to the palace. Like the palace of the Sui Kingdom, the Wu Kingdom also had an underground palace. The underground palace was very large, and compared to the small place where Zhu Huantang had stayed, the underground palace was far too magnificent.

Dozens of dragon-shaped pillars supported the vast underground palace, and hundreds of luminous pearls shone brightly, illuminating the palace as if it were daytime. But upon closer inspection, one could see that next to each dragon pillar was a tree, but these trees were rooted in skeletons.

The lush greenery above and the piles of white bones below create an eerie atmosphere, almost like a human sacrifice to ward off evil spirits.

During the years Zhu Huantang followed Zuo Qinghou, he also learned some medical skills. He said to Fan Qi in a deep voice, "The ancestors of Wu were truly amazing in protecting the home, securing the country, and safeguarding the dragon vein."

Fan Qi was about to press a mechanism when Zhu Huantang immediately went on alert and blocked Fan Qi's hand.

Fan Qi glanced at him indifferently and said, "You know this is related to the dragon vein, how could there be any traps? Are you afraid it won't collapse fast enough?"

When the mechanism was pressed, a large hole appeared in the center of the ground, from which several iron chains rose up. At the end of the chains was Zuo Qinghou, who was bound.

Because she was bound by chains, she knelt upright on the ground, her head bowed, obscuring her face, but it was clear from her appearance that she had suffered greatly.

Zhu Huantang did not entirely believe Fan Qi's claim that there were no traps. He remained vigilant and then had Fan Qi remove the chains.

Fan Qi gave Zhu Huantang a deep look and said, "Are you sure you want me to go?"

Zhu Huantang frowned, but to be on the safe side, he still let Fan Qi untie it, while he followed behind Fan Qi.

Fan Qi pulled out a key from his person and skillfully unlocked the chains. Freed from his restraints, and with such a commotion, Zuo Qinghou didn't react at all; he knelt on the ground with his hands hanging down.

Zhu Huantang still sensed something was wrong and immediately pressed Fan Qi's acupoint, freezing him in place. He didn't rush forward but asked sternly, "What did you feed her? Why isn't she making any noise?"

Fan Qi's expression was inscrutable. Suddenly, she curled her lips into a malicious and provocative tone, trying to evoke Zhu Huantang's memories: "Huantang, didn't you kill her with a single sword strike?"

"Are you so sure she's not dead because you were soft-hearted and didn't kill her?"