Feng Xin and Mu Qing behind him were both startled and shouted, "Your Highness!" They immediately rushed out and protected him on both sides.
However, the people along Shenwu Avenue had already spotted the young man in white appearing in the center of the street. The procession, after a moment of disarray, reorganized. Thousands of people surrounded Xie Lian in layers. The first person asked uncertainly, "Are you...are you the Crown Prince?"
The second person hesitated: "Didn't they say that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascended to heaven and is no longer a mortal? Why is he here?"
The third person shouted, "It was him! I saw him with my own eyes during the Lantern Festival three years ago. It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
More and more people recognized the Martial God they worshipped day and night. Xie Lian slowly said, "It's me. I'm back."
So, people went crazy.
"The gods have descended! This is a living god descending!"
"A celestial being has descended to earth!"
"Your Highness must have come down because he couldn't bear to see us being bullied by these thieves again!"
Someone immediately asked hopefully, "Your Highness, will you lead us to defeat the Yong'an people? You will definitely do that, right? This must be the case!"
After a pause, Xie Lian said calmly, "I came back to protect Xianle Country and my people."
Feng Xin and Mu Qing, standing beside him, took in these words, unsure of their true meaning. However, the passionate citizens, in their frenzy, took them at face value. Xie Lian, however, had his own thoughts. His heartbeat grew increasingly rapid. He gritted his teeth and said, "...Trust me!"
He clenched his fists and said, "Your faith will give me even greater strength. With this power, I will swear to protect Xianle and all living things until my death. Please believe me!"
The people had been waiting for this moment, wanting this assurance from him. They cheered enthusiastically, and circled around, bowing to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the center, saying, "We will follow you to the death! We will follow Your Highness!"
"Defend Xianle!"
The people of the Imperial City, having heard of the "God descending from heaven," poured out from the streets and alleys to witness this once-in-a-millennium miracle. Even the Imperial Guards, who had rushed over after hearing the news, dared not act recklessly and joined in the adoration. The three of them were stuck in the middle of the street, unable to move. Feng Xin and Mu Qing had to struggle to maintain order, shouting, "Don't push! Don't push!"
However, this didn't have much effect. Everyone wanted to squeeze in closest to the Crown Prince, so they could touch the hem of this divine being from heaven, which seemed to bless them. Finally, the emperor in the palace was alerted, and he sent out several generals with fully armed soldiers to disperse the frenzied crowd.
After everyone had dispersed, Xie Lian spotted something on the ground, which was littered with footprints and flying dust. He walked over and bent down to pick it up.
It was a flower. Trampled by so many people, it had practically turned to the color of mud. Only a few remaining petals revealed a hint of its original whiteness.
The faint fragrance did not remain the same and dissipated after a while.
After figuring things out, Xie Lian returned to the palace this time with a much softer attitude towards the King. Consequently, the King's attitude towards him softened considerably, and the father and son each made concessions, achieving a temporary peace. The Imperial Master, seemingly anticipating Xie Lian's arrival, remained silent.
Xie Lian had previously assumed that, with a nation united in purpose, everyone would obey the ruler in times of great difficulty. However, when he truly sat down to participate, he experienced firsthand the fraught position of ruler. The officials of a single dynasty were surprisingly divided into numerous factions, each with its own agenda. Arguments could rage for seven days over the precise decision on a single major issue. Everyone and every faction claimed to be working for the nation and its people, but in reality, they didn't necessarily believe so.
Regarding the Yongan people stationed outside the city, who were formally planning to challenge the emperor, they were still divided. Some advocated sending in troops to wipe them out directly, and if there was insufficient evidence, they could fabricate more charges, while others disagreed.
The Yong'an Rebellion began with a natural disaster and erupted in a man-made catastrophe. The family of three who fell to their deaths at the gates of the imperial city was the worst possible catalyst. If the general who cut the rope hadn't had his neck broken by Lang Ying's bare hands, he would have been severely punished upon his return. To put it bluntly, no matter how complex the situation, no matter how many reasons there were, on the surface, this incident looked like a case of officials forcing the people to revolt. Now that things have gotten to this point, with so much uproar, forcing charges will only inflame resentment, and no matter what excuses are made, it will be impossible to conceal the truth. Sending troops to suppress them would clearly show that they are unjust, not just a righteous leader. It's harder to keep the people from talking than to keep the rivers from flowing. Once a reputation for brutality is established, not only will it fail to win over the people, but it will also cause other nearby countries to seize the opportunity and stir up trouble under the banner of justice. On the other hand, what do these Yong'an people have to fear? They're holed up in the mountains and forests, without food or weapons. How long can they continue to cause trouble?
Therefore, the latter idea prevailed in the end: if the people of Yong'an dared to attack, they would be killed every time they came; if they did not attack, they would be left to fend for themselves. There was no need to waste any soldiers or troops, as they would be exhausted in the process of fighting.
As a martial god, Xie Lian's descent to the mortal world naturally meant he had to play a role on the battlefield. Consequently, the army had to vigorously promote the message: "Where His Royal Highness is, there is justice; where His Royal Highness is, there is the army of God!"
Suddenly, a vast number of young men from across the nation eagerly enlisted. Within a few months, the number of Xianle's troops doubled. With such a commotion, it seemed as if news had reached Yong'an. Their activities, previously frequent and scattered, had suddenly quieted down, as if they were fearful and secretly gathering strength. This made the Xianle soldiers extremely nervous, and they spared no effort to describe to Xie Lian the terrifying nature of "Lang Ying, who always rushed to the front." Hearing this name, and remembering the child's corpse he had seen that day, Xie Lian felt a mixture of emotions.
Two months later, the Yong'an people, who had been calm for a while, finally launched another attack.
This time, Xie Lian only brought a light sword into battle, not even wearing armor. In less than half an hour, the battle was over.
Amidst the overwhelming bloody atmosphere, the remaining Yong'an warriors abandoned their armor and weapons and fled frantically. Before the Xianle soldiers could react, they saw fallen figures everywhere, not a single enemy left standing. And yet, their Crown Prince slowly sheathed his sword, not even staining his clothes.
After a while, they confirmed their overwhelming victory, jumped up, raised their swords to the sky, and shouted with all their might.
That night, the Xianle soldiers held a celebration banquet on the city wall.
The soldiers, having not felt so proud in a long time, cheered and raised their glasses to praise His Royal Highness. However, Xie Lian declined all the drinks and went to a corner of the tower to sober up in the night breeze.
He clearly didn't drink a single glass of wine, but he could feel his face burning, flushed, and his fingertips were still trembling slightly.
This was the first time Xie Lian had ever killed anyone. That first time, he killed over a thousand people.
ants.
Those two words kept repeating in his mind. Mortals were vulnerable to his power; no one could even withstand a gentle grip. Taking lives was so easy, like the palace maids crushing ants to death. He practically lost his awe as he swung his sword.
Xie Lian leaned against the parapet, took a few deep breaths, shook his head to clear away the noise, and stared intently at the tiny flames in the distant valley. Soon, two footsteps approached.
He didn't need to turn around to know who was coming. Xie Lian asked, "Aren't you going to have some drinks to celebrate?"
Mu Qing snorted, "What's good to drink? The situation is not optimistic."
Hearing this, Xie Lian turned around and said, "Did you guys see that too?"
It's really not optimistic. Although this battle was won, in fact, this attack was more powerful than any previous attack by the Yongan people.
Not only were their numbers increased, but their formations, weapons, and deployments had all undergone a qualitative leap. Many were even equipped with armor. While crude and shabby, it was already the size of a regular army. It was hard to imagine that they were actually a group of grassroots peasants.
Mu Qing crossed his arms and frowned, "Extremely harsh environments can indeed make people grow rapidly. But no matter how difficult and arduous the situation is, resources will not appear out of thin air. Something is wrong."
Feng Xin was more direct and concise, saying, "They must have external aid."
Xie Lian nodded. Mu Qing said, "I don't believe these soldiers noticed. But they celebrated anyway. It's simply because you're here, and they feel victory is a sure thing."
Xie Lian didn't think much of this and said, "I won my first battle here, so it's good for them to be happy. It'll just be a morale boost."
Feng Xin hesitated for a moment, then said, "Your Highness, you don't look well. Are you still causing rain in Yong'an?"
Xie Lian said, “Yeah.”
Mu Qing disagreed, not surprisingly, and said, "Excuse me for being blunt, but rain is useless now. It's a bottomless pit. Your Highness, even if the drought in Yong'an could be completely alleviated, I'm afraid those people outside the city wouldn't retreat."
Xie Lian said, “I know. But I went to bring rain not to force this group to retreat, but simply to prevent those who remained in Yong’an from dying of thirst. And this is my original purpose, and nothing will change it.”
Feng Xin was still a little worried and asked, "Can you hold on?"
Xie Lian patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I have eight thousand temples and more than enough believers, so of course there's no problem. However..."
He put his other hand around Mu Qing's shoulders and sighed, "I'm glad I had you two to help me today. Thank you for accompanying me."
On the battlefield today, his two attendants suffered much more than he did, their bodies covered in blood. Feng Xin said, "There's no need to say that." Mu Qing mumbled a vague "hmm."
Xie Lian exerted a slight pressure, drawing the three of them closer together. He spoke sincerely, "Thank you both so much, not just today, but always. I hope the memory of the three of us fighting side by side will live on forever."
“…”
“…”
After a while, Feng Xin burst into laughter. Mu Qing said incredulously, "I've noticed you always manage to speak with such confidence...it's really..." He shook his head and said, "That's all."
Xie Lian managed to raise the corners of his mouth with great difficulty. But the smile didn't last long before his expression suddenly turned stern and he asked, "Who?!"
With a clang, Xie Lian unsheathed his sword. With a gentle flick, he plucked a dark figure from the corner of the parapet.
The man had been hiding in this corner for a long time, holding his breath and concentrating, surprisingly not being noticed. Xie Lian had originally intended to suspend him with the tip of his sword to scare him, but he had killed so many people on the battlefield today that his arms were shaking slightly, and he lost some of his balance. He didn't lift the man steadily, used too much force, and directly threw him off the wall.
In the moonlight, mid-air, the three of them could clearly see the man, dressed in the uniform of one of their own soldiers, looking like a teenager of fifteen or sixteen. In an instant, he fell, vanishing without a trace. Seeing someone about to fall to the tower, Xie Lian, alarmed, leaped out.
He hooked his toes around the edge of the parapet, his body hanging backward. With incredibly swift movement, he reached out and yanked, barely managing to grab the other man's arm. The young soldier, his entire body suspended in mid-air, swayed back and forth a few times before looking up. In the faint moonlight, Xie Lian caught sight of his face, and his eyes widened slightly.
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