Fate can be broken, but the price is as high as a mountain.
Lu Xiyun was stunned for a moment.
He never believed in fate, destiny, or those vague "destinies" and "natural laws", and he was even more unwilling to entrust people's lives to a piece of divination paper.
But Qin Huaizhang's eyes were too serious and too solemn.
He barely hesitated and responded in a low voice, "What do you want me to do, Uncle Wang?"
Qin Huaizhang's throat seemed to be choked by blood. He said one word and coughed: "Kill him... Ren Xuan... Can you kill him..."
Ren Xuan frowned, his expression grim. "King Di is not easy to kill. There's something wrong with him. Logically speaking, His Royal Highness Prince Xiang has already killed him once."
Lu Xiyun stood to one side and added, "Uncle Wang said it was the art of dividing energy. He has multiple backups. Unless we kill all of them, we can't kill him."
Ren Xuan frowned, "The art of splitting Qi... this kind of weird stuff, not many people in the world can use it."
He was silent for several breaths before finally speaking again, "The most feared aspect of the Qi-dividing technique is 'severance'. The essence of a backup body is 'transfer'. The practitioner's true consciousness will transfer into the backup body they have buried at the moment of death. However, this 'transfer' also requires a continuous flow of Qi."
He narrowed his eyes, his expression growing even colder. "The natural enemy of the Qi-dividing technique is carelessness. People with backup bodies usually don't care about death. At the moment of death, if you kill them and their backup bodies at the same time, interrupting the transfer process, then no matter how many backup bodies they have, they will be useless."
Lu Xiyun raised an eyebrow: "How do we know which incarnation he transferred to?"
Ren Xuan nodded. "That's the problem. The fighting on this battlefield hasn't stopped yet. If he were to move, he would definitely choose this battlefield. If we had fewer people, we could kill them all at once. The problem is—there are thousands of aliens present right now."
With a thousand-man army formation and the technique of dividing the energy, it is harder than climbing to the sky to "break it together".
Just as the atmosphere was sinking, Qin Huaizhang spoke again: "...Go kill him."
His face was as pale as paper, but his eyes revealed an unusually clear and calm demeanor: "I'll take care of this."
Lu Xiyun was shocked: "Uncle Wang, your body——"
Qin Huaizhang interrupted him: "As long as he divides his energy and I can see his energy line, I will bet half my life on his energy."
Ren Xuan made a prompt decision: "Minister Lu, please find a formation master. We need to set up a communication formation to synchronize our vision."
Lu Jie frowned: "It takes time."
His tone was steady, yet he couldn't hide his exhaustion. "Just now, when the formation was activated, the formation masters' vitality was severely depleted. General, this formation requires at least three people to be able to communicate with each other at a distance of a thousand meters. If we want to activate the formation, a conservative estimate is that it will take an incense stick."
Ren Xuan frowned: "We can't hold on that long."
Lu Shian took a step forward: "Let me do it."
A faint golden light appeared in the young man's eyes, which was a sign of excessive consumption of energy.
Ren Xuan's eyes darkened. He took a deep breath and whispered, "Let's try to reduce unnecessary communication."
He looked at Lu Xiyun again: "Prince, you deal with the open ones. I will kill the hidden ones."
Lu Xiyun nodded slowly, his expression as calm as frost and snow: "Okay."
···
The army is like the sea, and the flags are all over the sky.
King Di rode his horse and stood in the army formation, looking at the Dagan army in front of him who refused to retreat and counterattacked, actively rushing towards him to "fight to the last", and for a while he had no reaction.
Dusk was approaching, and the setting sun stretched his figure extremely long, casting a long slanted silhouette on the ground.
Duan Jing lazily raised his hand, signaling the guards around him not to rush into action. "Perhaps he realized the situation was hopeless and came to join me."
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "For most people, life is always more important than loyalty."
After all, trying to kill him like this would be meaningless except for putting oneself in danger of death.
A cold figure came breaking through the wind.
Duan Jingzheng smiled to himself: "Are you still going to try again a second time?"
Lu Xiyun did not respond. The young man rode his horse forward, and the sword in his hand pointed at Duan Jing.
King Di just calmly ordered the army to change its formation.
He didn't even draw his sword, just treating this attack as a repetition of the same old routine.
But he didn't see that Qin Huaizhang slowly opened his eyes in the distance.
Those eyes seemed to reflect the residual light of heaven and earth——
Countless silver threads intertwined on the battlefield, like a giant net. But one thread stood out. It extended from Duan Jing's body, passing through the clamor of the battlefield, and connected to—
Qin Huaizhang coughed violently and choked out a mouthful of blood.
The image in Qin Huaizhang’s eyes was simultaneously printed out in the communication array.
Lu Shian's voice came softly: "Ren Xuan, northwest."
Before he finished speaking, Ren Xuan had already moved.
No one could see how he moved.
In a flash, I saw a foreign cavalryman wearing light armor and with alert eyes looking back to check for unusual movements somewhere on one side of the battlefield.
The next moment, the man's eyes froze. A cold light flashed, blood splattered, and both the man and the horse fell.
In just a few breaths, chaos suddenly broke out in the alien army.
The faces of the soldiers in the army changed color one after another, and shouts, sounds of fleeing, and neighing of war horses rose one after another.
The alien army formation collapsed like a war beast with its main bones pulled out.
The deputy general of the alien army gritted his teeth and shouted, "Don't panic, follow me and join the main army!"
There was fear on his face, but he forced himself to remain calm. Strangely, he did not order his soldiers to fight back, nor did he organize even the most basic defense. He simply commanded everyone to retreat.
Looking at the alien cavalry withdrawing from the battlefield like a tide, Ren Xuan was confused.
Even if the main general was lost, given the huge gap in numbers, as the deputy, he should at least organize a counterattack.
At the same time, communications that had been interrupted for a long time were restored.
Military intelligence came like a tide.
Ren Xuan only noticed one thing - in the direction of the imperial city, two alien tribes were already at the gates of the city. Qin Huaijin transferred all the guards stationed near Shengde Temple back to the east and north lines of the imperial city.
He frowned. Didn't they say not to use the inquiry talisman to send military reports? How could such a report be sent out?!
Immediately, Ren Xuan discovered that this military report was actually sent by Qin Huaijin himself from Shengde Temple. It was like a clear message to the foreign tribes: reinforcements from the imperial city are coming soon, and I am in Shengde Temple.
Lu Shian's voice came again from the communication array, with an urgent tone: "Prince, Ren Xuan, Prince Jin is not in a good condition!"
Lu Shi'an supported Qin Huaizhang and was shocked to find that his hair was turning white at a speed visible to the naked eye. The originally scattered silver threads had now become one, and more than half of them had turned snow-white.
Those who glimpse into destiny will turn gray overnight.
When Ren Xuan and Lu Xiyun hurried back, Qin Huaizhang's hair was already completely gray.
Even more astonishing was that, along with these changes, the wounds on Qin Huaizhang's body actually began to heal on their own. The blood color gradually faded, and a faint golden light flowed across the wounds.
Qin Huaizhang has always been an idle prince, but now with the three thousand green snow-stained clothes, he has inexplicably gained a more immortal aura.
Lu Xiyun was shocked when he saw this and quickly stepped forward: "Uncle Wang, what's wrong with you?!"
Qin Huaizhang just shook his head and patted the young man's shoulder gently: "It's okay. It's okay."
His voice was steady, yet his fatigue was evident: "Ren Xuan, let's make a deal. You're in danger at Husi Pass."
Ren Xuan was shocked when he heard this: "You let me go?"
Qin Huaizhang nodded, his eyes flashing with an indescribable complexity: "I don't know why you can influence so many people, why you can change the fate of the world..."
Ren Xuan's throat was dry. "Your Highness, destiny and numerology are always mysterious. Don't you dislike these things? Why... why did you make yourself like this?"
"I don't want it to be like this..." Qin Huaizhang smiled bitterly, "But this is the only variable I can calculate. I have to come here, and you must kill him."
He paused for a moment: "I came here secretly without telling Xingchuan... He must be angry again..."
Qin Huaizhang's eyes showed no sadness or joy, as if he had seen through the world and was indifferent: "I've let him go too."
Yet, he sincerely pleaded with the worldly affairs: "Ren Xuan, I will help you break your calamity. Don't let Xingchuan become like that."
Before he finished speaking, he put his hand on Ren Xuan's shoulder.
Ren Xuan's body shook, and his consciousness was suddenly pulled away. He was clearly still standing there, still talking, still blinking, but the vision was looking down at him from a high altitude - like a piece in the chess game was suddenly taken out of the board.
Qin Huaizhang's body began to fade away bit by bit. He reached out and grabbed Ren Xuan's sleeve with such force that his fingers almost dug into the fabric. "Save him, please."
The moment he finished speaking, his figure disappeared inch by inch like dust in the wind.
“Uncle Wang!!”
Lu Xiyun's voice was hoarse. He stretched out his hand to grab something, but only touched nothingness.
Fate can be broken, but the price is as high as a mountain.
Fuxi peeped into the sky, and the peeper fell into trap.
That piece of paper that could peek into the sky finally demanded its price after burning out its last bit of energy.
····
The capital and its surrounding areas were engulfed in flames of war.
More than a hundred battlefields radiating from the imperial city stretched for thousands of miles, like a broken chessboard, with the sound of killing deafening everywhere.
The intelligence lag caused by the previous destruction of the inquiry talisman is spreading and fermenting on all fronts at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The dispatch was slow, the reinforcements were lost, and many originally defensible positions were forced to retreat.
The generals will be in chaos and the army will be unstable.
The entire capital area was groaning under the attack of foreign troops and was in danger.
In this unprecedented chaos, the situation suddenly changed.
Many foreign troops that were clearly still in an advantageous position suddenly withdrew from the battle on their own initiative and in an orderly manner.
A large vacuum appeared on the originally tense multi-point battlefield.
This unusual withdrawal action made most of the Dagan army unable to react for a while.
The chaos is not over yet and suspicions are everywhere.
Soon someone discovered something was wrong - the aliens were gathering their forces and heading towards Shengde Temple.
The messenger rode his horse at full speed, and the message was delivered like the wind.
The chaotic battlefield could not disturb the melodious Buddhist chants in Shengde Temple.
There was smoke and fire outside, but it was peaceful inside.
The emperor remained unmoved when the commander of the imperial guards repeatedly urged him to move: "Wherever Xingshuang is, I will be there."
The commander of the imperial guards stood before the couch, his eyes filled with anxiety. "Your Highness the Prince of Han has urgent news: three thousand foreigners are heading towards Shengde Temple. Your Majesty, please follow me. The Empress will not want to see you like this!"
Qin Huaijin just shook his head and ordered: "Take your men and go, tell Qin Xuan that there is no need to rescue the emperor, and return to the imperial city to provide assistance."
The commander of the imperial guards was stunned: "Your Majesty..."
Qin Huaijin slowly raised his head, his eyes gentle but resolute: "I won't persuade you, and you shouldn't persuade me either. Please do me one last favor and take these people out of the temple. You don't want to see me become a tyrant, do you?"
Qin Huaijin just laughed: "Xingshuang says every day that I don't look like an emperor. I have such a good opportunity to go down in history, I must seize it well."
"His Majesty……"
"Go ahead."
The commander of the imperial guards wanted to say something else, but he met the emperor's weathered eyes.
He finally bowed his head and said, "...Your Majesty, I obey your command."
Before Qin Huaijin returned to the incense table, he picked up a stick of incense, and the flame reflected a little red mark in his eyes.
Qin Huaijin looked at the gloom in Lu Xingshuang's eyes and said soothingly, "Xingshuang, don't think about it. Everyone has their own ambitions and their own destiny."
Lu Xingshuang closed his eyes slightly, still unable to let go.
She sighed, "This child has been pampered by his second brother since he was young. When has he ever begged anyone like this?"
But that morning, the child even knelt down and begged her to be a guarantor for Qin Shu.
Lu Xiyun did not recognize the so-called destiny, even though the result of this fate was so unbearable.
Lu Xingshuang closed her eyes slightly. She looked at her child who had grown up. How could this be the ending?
She felt extremely compassionate, yet also extremely unwilling to accept it: "Just to protect Qin Shu, Xiyun was even willing to trade his life. My Xiyun treated him with all his heart, yet Qin Shu wanted to let him down like this. How can I let it go?"
Lu Xingshuang couldn't let go...but she didn't have time.
Qin Huaijin paused and said, "Xiyun looks a lot like you."
Lu Xingshuang shook his head: "This is different. The person I met is you."
Xiyun looks like her, but there is not a trace of Huaijin in Qin Shu.
Qin Huaijin laughed: "Is the Queen praising me?"
Lu Xingshuang glanced at him and said unhappily: "I'm not praising the emperor."
——I was just praising Qin Huaijin.
As a husband, Qin Huaijin was impeccable. As an emperor, Qin Huaijin was useless.
Qin Huaijin naturally understood what the other party meant. He slowly inserted the incense into the incense burner and said calmly: "Xingshuang, if there is an afterlife, I will not be the emperor."
He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and chuckled, "But if you still call me useless, then I... can't do anything about it."
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