Chapter 53 Camellia Carved from White Jade

Outside the palace, the general's residence.

At dawn, the general in black secretly climbed over the wall and returned to his residence. This was a gift from the emperor on the day he was conferred the title. It was once the residence of an important official of the court.

However, when I opened the door, I saw a familiar figure sitting on a chair.

"Going to Qiwu Palace again?"

The masked man chuckled. His eyes swept across the red marks on Ah Fei's clothes and asked in a foreign language,

"How does it feel to play with your former master?"

Such examples are not uncommon. There are many nobles among the foreign races who like to abuse and play with their slaves. Therefore, under extremely harsh living conditions and pressure, some slaves will bite their masters.

To put it simply, some servants will suddenly rise up and kill their masters at a certain moment, but in rare cases, if the servants gain power and turn the tables, they will humiliate their masters a thousand times.

Apparently, he thought Ah Fei was one of them.

The alien boy closed the door with a cold expression.

If it were the same as before, he would have torn the man who had spoken rudely to Zhou Huaiyan into pieces. But after experiencing this series of major changes recently, Ah Fei finally calmed down.

He is no longer the pet that did not have to think at all and only needed to follow his master's orders. The more the foreigners think that he hates Zhou Huaiyan, the safer the latter will be.

After all, what threat could a useless prince who had fallen to the point of being toyed with by his servants pose?

Ah Fei began to realize that after staying with Zhou Huaiyan for so long, his way of thinking had gradually become closer to that of the young man. His status as a servant was no longer enough to protect him, and the so-called strongest body was no longer enough to protect him.

Ah Fei finally understood how important the rights that the boy had spoken to him were.

He maneuvered between the emperor and the foreign king, like a parasitic plant rooted in two towering trees, madly absorbing their nutrients and growing wantonly.

He wanted to become a new towering ancient tree, with enough power and branches, and to flourish to an extreme, so that he could shade and protect the young man he loved so much.

Ah Fei expressionlessly pulled up her collar to cover the marks on her collarbone and asked,

"Wu Hengjin, have you found Jian Kong's whereabouts?"

“Yes.”

The masked man took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and placed it on the table. The reason why he found the man's location so quickly was because the other party took the initiative to seek cooperation.

But compared to a notorious evil monk who is wanted by the whole country, it is better to use it as a stepping stone for Heluobei. Compared with the two, the latter will naturally gain more benefits.

"Take credit for it. The higher you stand, the smoother our subsequent actions will be, right?"

Ah Fei twisted the note, then unfolded it, glanced at it hastily, and dropped it on the candle nearby, where it burned to ashes.

Jian Kong, the person who put the snake on Zhou Huaiyan.

The image of the boy struggling in pain appeared in her mind. Ah Fei unconsciously clenched her fists, and her knuckles turned white due to excessive force.

"Before the sun sets today, the Emperor will see his head."

The candlelight flickered clearly in those pale blue pupils, pulsating with a mysterious color, becoming increasingly illusory and beautiful.

He suddenly spoke.

"Help me find something."

Seeing Helubei was so obedient, Wu Hengjin was in a good mood. He thought that as long as it was not too much of a prohibited item, it would not be a problem to agree to it.

"What do you want?"

"Underworld Blood Grass."

Hearing this, the man frowned.

"What do you want it for?"

Ah Fei did not answer, but just asked him calmly,

"Can I get it?"

"......"

Wu Hengjin looked at him deeply, but he couldn't guess his purpose no matter what. However, the Dark Blood Grass was not a forbidden thing, but just a kind of poisonous grass that was famous in the snowfields of the alien race.

If a person eats too much by mistake, the blood will double, and over time, the body will become swollen. The general treatment is bloodletting, but the body will be weak for a while afterwards. It is not considered a highly toxic substance, but it is often used as a means of interrogation and torture.

After thinking it over, the man realized that this thing was not particularly threatening, so he nodded.

"good."

After saying this, Wu Hengjin sat up straighter, his expression becoming serious.

"Now the Emperor and the Duke of Wei have completely turned against each other. The King has assembled an army of 200,000 half a month ago and is preparing to march south immediately."

Hearing this, Ah Fei's face was shocked for a moment, and then became extremely solemn.

——This day has finally come.

When war breaks out, the human-snakes lurking inside the Great Zhou will rise up, transform into a sharp blade, and ruthlessly stab the lifeblood of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

But at the same time, the 200,000-strong army of the foreign king was not just a feint. The Great Zhou was now in internal strife, and military power was divided. Duke Wei was old, and Qi Shoubang wanted to seize power and proclaim himself king. The emperor could not tolerate 300,000 iron cavalrymen waiting by his side.

The Zhou Dynasty was in such a fragmented and chaotic situation that even if there was no man-eating plan, when a war really broke out, it would be natural to benefit from taking advantage of the mutual suspicion and hostility among the three parties.

"Helubei, the emperor will certainly send the Duke of Wei to fight, and then let you go with him. The king means that you should first obey the emperor and pretend to be loyal to him, and then use the power of the emperor to split and divide the military power in the north."

Thinking of the grand plan that was about to begin, Wu Hengjin's tone trembled with excitement.

"We have already negotiated with the North. Qi Shoubang will be our temporary ally. We will kill Duke Wei first to make the Emperor of Zhou happy. Then we can promote you to the throne."

Hearing this, Ah Fei's eyes were filled with murderous intent for a moment, but he quickly lowered his eyes to conceal all his emotions.

"Qi Shoubang's parents were killed by foreigners. With national hatred and family feuds in front of him, how could he cooperate with us?"

Wu Hengjin sneered,

"Oh, we killed his parents, it's true, but the one who sent those two people's heads to our sword was that evil general. Do you think that Jiang Yi's military power is clean?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if recalling the past events many, many years ago.

"Back then, Qi Shoubang's father, Qi Guolie, was as good as Jiang Yi in both strategy and martial arts. The only difference was his background."

Wu Hengjin laughed sarcastically.

"Back then, Jiang Yi was only a general, and Qi Guolie was slightly lower in rank than him. During the battle at Ghost Cliff, their superiors gave them a wrong order, and they were caught in a tough battle. In the end, they needed to leave someone behind to cover the rear, and the one who stayed behind was naturally Qi Guolie."

"After all, how can a mere commoner be compared with the son of a noble family?"

At this point, Wu Hengjin glanced at Ah Fei.

"Why do you think Jiang Yi wanted to adopt Qi Shoubang as his adopted son? He just felt guilty. He felt guilty that he used other people's lives to pave his own future. If not, who would have the title of evil general and the title of Duke Weiguo?"

"......"

Ah Fei couldn't understand why a traitor and greedy person like Qi Shoubang could be the adopted son of the Duke.

It turns out that this is the reason...

The most important orders and information had been delivered, and Wu Hengjin stood up.

"According to the plan, the news of the war in the north will not reach the capital for another month, and you will follow Duke Wei to the war after that. Before that, you must do your best to gain the emperor's trust. If there is anything you need, I will do my best to cooperate with you."

"——Jian Kong is not enough."

As they passed by, Ah Fei suddenly spoke,

"If you want to completely gain the emperor's trust, Jian Kong alone is not enough."

The Zhou Emperor was suspicious by nature. Even though he appeared to have given him numerous commands, in reality he was just doing it for show. For example, even though he gave him the title of a general, he had never actually given him the military power that corresponded to his official position.

"......"

Wu Hengjin narrowed his eyes, and it was obvious that he also understood this point.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I want the list."

Ah Fei turned to look at him, her cyan eyes filled with an icy coldness.

"——The list of the Human-Snake Project."

"no!!!"

Wu Hengjin refused without a second thought, and even waved his sleeves in anger as he was about to leave.

"You don't need a complete list. You just need to be 70% true and 30% false to gain the emperor's trust."

However, Ah Fei grabbed his wrist, and the terrible force made his wrist bone emit a slight sad sound. His eyes were gloomy.

"Otherwise, how do you want to gain the emperor's trust so that he can let me take control of the northern border military power and replace the Duke of Wei as you wish?"

With her brain working rapidly, Ah Fei tried hard to learn to think like her master.

"No one expected the credit for saving the emperor this time. My name was naturally not included in the emperor's plan to seize military power. If he still cares about me after a month and only regards me as a dispensable superficial tool to divide the military power in the North, then your plan will be useless."

“Duke Wei is indeed guilty, but Qi Shoubang is the son of a general who can die for his country. He has guarded the border for ten years. He will never betray his country. After his family feud is avenged, he will immediately point his sword at you.

Perhaps Qi Shoubang will not be able to replicate the glory of the evil ghost generals in the past, but it will never allow the iron hooves of foreign races to step into the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty. "

"......"

At this moment, Wu Hengjin's expression was extremely ugly. He was silent for a long time before he slowly spoke.

"This matter is too big...I need to report it to the king."

Ah Fei loosened her grip and her expression returned to calm.

"You only have half a month."

Wu Hengjin spoke fiercely.

"But it's impossible to send the news back to the king in half a month!!!"

——Not to mention getting a reply.

Ah Fei glanced at him, her cold blue eyes seemed to have seen through all the conspiracy.

"The most important part of your plan is to split the military power in the north. As long as the 300,000 iron cavalry are in the hands of one person, no matter if it is the Duke of Wei, the State of Qi, or the Emperor, you will never be able to set foot on the territory of the Zhou Dynasty."

"......"

Wu Hengjin stumbled back a step, clenching his teeth, but it was obvious that he was already starting to waver.

"I have to go back and think about it."

Ah Fei ignored him and walked into the room.

"Remember, you only have half a moon."

"......"

Hearing the footsteps disappearing outside, Ah Fei walked into the bathroom. The emperor gave him many slaves, but he was not used to being served, so he drove them all to the outer courtyard. Therefore, the huge inner courtyard was always empty and deserted. Taking off his clothes, Ah Fei looked at the exquisite bronze mirror in front of him, his eyes carefully scanning the image inside, he reached out and touched the back of his neck, where there was a circle of teeth marks, tracing the outline above.

Such behavior reminded Ah Fei of the snow leopards she had seen in the snowfield. Some male animals would always bite the disobedient female animals to death in order to better reproduce. Of course, the boy couldn't mean it that way. It was just that the moment Ah Fei felt the pain, such a picture unconsciously appeared in her mind.

He touched the wound and could feel the other party's terrible hatred, and he almost bit off the piece of flesh.

Zhou Huaiyan hated him, hated his deception, and hated him even more for repeatedly ruining his process of quitting.

Ah Fei was clearly aware of this.

He poured cold water over his body and washed it carefully, just as he had done before. He washed it thoroughly, inside and out.

The rushing water stained the ground with a faint blood color.

Ah Fei actually had such an idea.

There was a time when Zhou Huaiyan could never get rid of that "addiction" for the rest of his life. In that case, the beloved boy would never be able to leave him for the rest of his life.

But that thought only stayed in his mind for a moment before it was ruthlessly strangled.

If he really did that, he would be no different from the emperor who harmed Zhou Huaiyan and Jian Kong who tricked Zhou Huaiyan.

When Ah Fei was little, she met some noble children from other races. They were all pampered and had whatever they wanted.

Once, a young master of a noble family bought a very beautiful bird. It was very beautiful, but the bird always looked listless and seemed to be dying.

Then one day, the young master forgot to close the cage and let the bird fly away. He was so angry that he mobilized hundreds of slaves to catch the bird back.

The young master broke its wings and then kept it in a cage and raised it carefully.

But in less than three days, the beautiful little bird died.

Ah Fei was reluctant to let the beautiful little bird go, but also reluctant to break his wings. He wanted a solution that had the best of both worlds, but he hadn't figured it out yet.

——But I’ll always think of it later.

The rushing water gradually became clear and transparent. Ah Fei squatted down and reached out to take the things inside. Although the process was a little difficult, fortunately she managed to take it out in the end.

——It is a camellia carved from a piece of white jade.

He rinsed off the slightly sticky liquid, and then stroked the pattern carefully carved by the blade. With such familiar workmanship, Ah Fei could recognize at a glance that it was carved by the boy with the forbidden dagger.

Last night, after the pain subsided, he was immediately met with the extremely angry revenge of his master.

What disappointed Ah Fei was that Zhou Huaiyan did not scold him with the evil words of the alien race that he had taught him, but only inflicted some methods that could barely be called torture, causing him to return so bruised and battered.

But the boy didn't know that what he thought was humiliation and abuse was nothing to Ah Fei, who had received interrogation stress resistance training. In fact, when the boy wasn't paying attention, Ah Fei secretly hid and brought out the white jade that Zhou Huaiyan had sent in in anger.

【Well, he still hasn't gotten over that habit. 】

The alien boy casually put on a piece of clothing, walked out of the bathroom, and then wiped the beautiful camellia with a clean handkerchief and added it to his new collection.

After quietly watching and caressing for a long time, Ah Fei walked to the window, watered the camellia, and took good care of it.

——It was the pot that Zhou Huaiyan took away and threw away.

In two or three months, the flowers will bloom again. Ah Fei felt a little sorry because he would not be able to see them by then. He thought carefully and decided to find someone to take good care of them. After all, he didn't know when he would be back. It would be bad if they died.

After doing all this, Ah Fei walked to the desk, took out a box from under the desk, and opened it. Inside was all kinds of strange-looking herbs and poisonous insects.

He took out a dagger and cut the skin on the inside of his wrist, letting the blood flow into the jade bowl. Then he took out the herbs according to his memory, ground them, put them into the bowl, and began to test the ratio.

Since there is poison in the world, there must be an antidote.

The same is true for snake poison.

Since the stuff in his blood is effective, it's natural to find something that can replace it, and then reverse engineer an antidote.

It's just that this has never been done before, and Ah Fei is only 20% sure of it now. So I can't tell him yet. But there will always be improvements in the future, no matter what, it's better than enduring the pain of eight years of bone-eroding pain.

Ah Fei knew that Zhou Huaiyan loved sweets. He would insist on eating lots of sweet cakes and candied fruits after drinking a bowl of tonic. He even gave names to the sweets served to the palace maids around him.

He cut his wrist again, but he didn't feel any pain. He just thought,

How could a boy who loves sweets so much endure such hardship?

The author has something to say:

The expedition will begin in the next chapter, and after the war is over, Ah Fei will be crowned king, completing the process of a cat evolving into a tiger.

Then comes the plot of the small dark room!

Mr. Fa also wants to get there quickly, but the story still needs to be told in full, so little angels don’t be impatient.