Click, click.
Two metallic snapping sounds rang out.
The restraints that had been holding Yun Ce's collarbone away disappeared.
His body lost its support and slid off the rack.
Yun Da grabbed his shoulder with one hand and lifted him up in his arms. Yun Ce was already unconscious after this ordeal, and even his breathing was faint and barely audible. With a glance from him, the dungeon door opened automatically, and Liu Guan stood not far outside.
Liu Guan stepped forward, forcing a smile, and subtly blocked Yun Da's path: "Lord Yun Che, Yun Yuanmou is still a prisoner. Without the Lord's permission, he cannot be released."
Yun Da glanced at Liu Guan with disdain in his eyes.
Despite such threats, Liu Guan did not back down.
He firmly said, "Please, Lord Che, do not make things difficult for me."
"What kind of face do you have? Why should I care whether you're in a difficult position or not?" Yun Da's response was anything but polite. "In the Northern Desert region, I don't even care about those above you, let alone you. No matter how much Yun Ce disappoints me, he is still my disciple. When did it become your place to overstep your bounds and presume to clean up the sect? Get out!"
Yun Da has objections to Yun Ce being given a heavy sentence.
Liu Guan's smile froze.
Although Yun Da did not reveal any murderous intent, the indifference in his eyes made her have no doubt that if she dared to obstruct him any further, she would be torn to pieces! Liu Guan lowered his head and took a step back to the side to make way: "Lord Che, please proceed."
Just as Yun Da was about to leave, Liu Guan noticed a movement on Yun Ce's brow and suddenly spoke up to stop him: "Lord Che, please wait."
"What is it?"
Yunda's expression subtly revealed a hint of impatience.
Liu Guan didn't dare to delay and said directly, "Your Majesty has a question for Marquis Che: Is King Shen Youli of Kang Kingdom truly dead?"
It is true that Shen Tang was struck through the heart by Yun Da in battle.
But this world is full of mysterious and unpredictable methods, and ways to save one's life are varied and diverse. It's hard to guarantee that Shen Youli doesn't possess the ability to slip away unnoticed or deceive everyone. Is Shen Tang alive or dead now? This question concerns the next military move of the Northern Desert.
The main force of the Northern Desert is currently at Shexing Pass, having broken through the first line of defense of Kang Kingdom, but at the same time, they have put themselves in a precarious position.
Because the problem of food and fodder supply is difficult to solve.
The granaries inside Shexing Pass were burned to the ground by Xianyu Jian.
The current supplies consumed are all brought by the main force itself; without a stable external supply, the main force cannot maintain its hold on Shexing Pass for long. The choice facing the Northern Desert now is like rowing against the current—if they don't advance, they fall behind.
Liu Guan was an absolute advocate of war.
She acted boldly, proposing to seize this opportunity to attack the entire territory of Kunzhou—to obtain supplies from the enemy, and to become stronger by defeating them! To sustain war through war!
It should be known that in order to deal with the Northern Desert and shorten the food supply and consumption, Shen Youli has been cultivating wasteland and stockpiling grain and fodder in Kunzhou for many years since the founding of the country. She has been frugal and has accumulated a considerable amount of savings.
These granaries are a boon to the Northern Desert. If they simply overwhelm them with a large force, their food supply problem will be solved, and they can further expand their gains—killing two birds with one stone.
She just didn't expect Kang Guo to react even faster.
Almost within hours of the fall of Shexing Pass, all the counties and prefectures within Kunzhou launched a scorched-earth campaign, transferring all personnel to the rear of the military defenses. If the Northern Desert was planning to sustain the war through war, its isolated army deep in Kunzhou, without a stable supply line, would most likely run out of ammunition and food, and be attacked from both sides by Shen Tang's troops.
Even with the assistance of fierce generals like Yun Da and Gong Cheng, it would be difficult to procure enough provisions and supplies to supply tens of thousands of people within a few days. Even assuming they were fast enough, could they be faster than burning provisions themselves?
This can be seen from Xianyu Jian's choice.
Shen Youli was a ruthless madwoman, and the morale of her civil and military officials was also touching. Even before Shexing Pass had completely fallen, Xianyu Jian burned all that grain without hesitation. He left himself no way out, perfectly embodying the phrase "too much grain burns the hand"—even a spendthrift wouldn't be this extravagant. Even though Liu Guan rushed to the Shexing Pass granary immediately, he only arrived to find ruins.
Although it's a difficult situation, as long as that guy surnamed Shen is dead...
The Kang Kingdom's army will sooner or later fall apart.
The predicament faced by the northern desert can also be easily resolved.
At worst, we can abandon Shexing Pass, wait for Kangguo to fall into internal strife, and then Beimo can take the opportunity to stab us in the back. The vast Northwest will be within our grasp.
Judging from the intelligence gathered, Shen Youli occasionally appears in public, and there is no sign of grief from top to bottom in the Kangguo camp. It's unclear whether Shen Youli is dead but her death is being kept secret, or whether she has miraculously escaped. This answer will determine the next move of the Northern Desert.
"If a person can live without a heart, then perhaps they are still alive." Yun Da didn't care about Shen Tang's life or death. Unless her strength and realm completely surpassed his, if he could pierce her heart once, he would do it a second, a third, and a fourth time!
How many times can she use all her life-saving tricks? Even with the High Priest of the Gongxi Clan present, he only found it slightly troublesome.
Yunda's answer was ambiguous.
This is clearly not what Liu Guan and the Northern Desert leadership wanted.
What they need is a definite, affirmative answer.
Liu Guan said, "Marquis Yun Che..."
Yunda interrupted her: "If you don't even have this much patience, why don't you send someone to spy on the Kang Kingdom's camp at night and find out whether the man surnamed Shen is dead or alive? Just because I condescended to help the Northern Desert doesn't mean that you people can order me around."
He was merely using the Northern Desert to achieve his personal goals.
It's at most a cooperative relationship.
Ruler and subject?
up and down?
Hmph, what unrealistic dreams are you having?
After speaking, Yun Da ignored Liu Guan's expression and vanished with Yun Ce. Liu Guan took two steps forward, staring down at the spot where Yun Da had disappeared, her eyes dark and unfathomable. Her face was expressionless, but judging from the way her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides, she was clearly not in a good mood.
Yun Ce thought he wouldn't make it through.
Once my consciousness returned, I saw a familiar face.
It was a face that couldn't hide its haggardness, with dark circles under its eyes and a stubble of green onions; at first glance, one might almost not recognize who it was.
It's no wonder Yun Ce didn't react in time.
"A man without a beard is unreliable." In this world, a beard is one of the signs of adulthood for men, and they usually start growing beards after coming of age or passing the age of twenty. However, this trend is not prevalent in Kangguo. Perhaps because female rulers are in charge, very few men under Shen Tang's command grow beards. Xianyu Jian grew a beard for a while, but seeing that everyone else was bald, he followed suit and shaved it off.
I gradually developed the habit of shaving and cleaning my face.
Having grown accustomed to his junior brother's handsome, youthful appearance, it was quite a surprise to see him with a stubble beard and a weary look.
"Zigu came down too?"
Yun Ce's voice was weak.
This is not a dark and foul-smelling dungeon.
Xianyu Jian said with delight, "Senior brother has finally woken up."
Yun Ce was stunned: "Brother, you're not dead?"
With his martial arts prowess sealed, he endured severe torture for several days while heavily injured, and then his master stripped him of all his cultivation, reducing him to an ordinary person—no, his current situation is even worse than an ordinary person's. How could he possibly survive?
After speaking, Yun Ce turned his head to observe the surrounding environment.
A terrible suspicion suddenly arose in my mind.
"Zigu, could it be—could it be—"
He couldn't get the rest of his words out.
He valued principles more than his life and cultivation; he would rather die than surrender, and he could uphold his principles. But he couldn't expect his junior brother to make the same choice. Zigu was still young, with a bright future ahead. Even if he didn't become a general, Zigu could still be a rustic farmer or a wandering knight, living a carefree life. Yun Ce could understand this rationally, but emotionally, he felt somewhat disappointed…
This doesn't seem like the junior apprentice he's known for years.
Has the master changed, and has the junior brother changed too?
Xianyu Jian could tell from his reaction that he had misunderstood.
She plopped down on the edge of the bed: "No, don't overthink it."
Yun Ce was stunned for a moment: "How could those jackals and tigers of the Northern Desert easily let our brothers out? Or is it the lord..."
Has the Lord agreed to the Northern Desert's exorbitant demands?
The thought of his lord sent a dull ache through Yun Ce's head.
He vaguely remembered that after his foundation was destroyed, he heard his master talking to someone, and that the master mentioned the lord. The lord seemed to have been severely injured by his master, her heart pierced through... As this thought became clear in his mind, Yun Ce tried to sit up anxiously, but his injuries were severe, and his whole body was weak and powerless. Even the slightest movement would aggravate his wounds, causing the veins on his forehead to bulge with pain: "Zigu, is there any funeral being held at the camp?"
Xianyu Jian said, "The information is unclear."
Both of them were prisoners of war; how could they have any means of communication?
The only news they could hear was deliberately sent from the Northern Desert.
These messages are a mix of truth and falsehood; they shouldn't be taken at face value.
Xianyu Jian also listened to Liu Guan's persuasive words to Yun Ce, but like Yun Ce, he didn't believe his lord was that kind of person—if his lord were an ordinary feudal lord, he would likely have believed it, but his lord was unique, unlike the leaders of other forces. Liu Guan's divisive tactics not only underestimated his lord but also belittled him.
The trust between the ruler and his ministers could not be shaken by mere schemes.
Yun Ce asked in confusion, "Then how were you able to get out?"
Xianyu Jian: "It is my master."
Yun Ce fell silent upon hearing this.
Xianyu Jian looked at Yun Ce, whose body was covered in wounds, and felt a surge of hatred. If it weren't for martial energy accelerating the recovery, his senior brother's hands, which were capable of wielding exquisite spear techniques, would probably be completely crippled. But, now it was no different from being crippled. He sighed, "I thought Master would still care about the bond between master and disciple, but I didn't expect..."
Xianyu Jian was the first to be brought out.
Seeing Yun Ce's martial energy dissipate and his dantian destroyed, Xianyu Jian initially assumed it was Bei Mo's doing, but he never expected his master to admit it himself. Xianyu Jian was on the verge of collapse, his eyes bloodshot as he demanded, "Master, if you wanted to cleanse the sect, you could have simply killed us two brothers. Why cripple my senior brother? Can't we even get a quick death in return for over thirty years of master-disciple bond?"
Why torture someone when you can just kill them?
Yunda only left with one sentence: "You fellow disciples are different."
Yun Ce was like his younger, impetuous self. He could spare his disciple's life, but he couldn't easily forgive "himself." Therefore, he let Xianyu Jian go, but severely punished Yun Ce.
Xianyu Jian descended the mountain ahead of schedule, having not seen his master for over ten years; everything felt unfamiliar: "My disciple cannot understand."
Yun Dadao: [There's no need for the weak to understand.]
After saying that, he turned and left.
The tent was heavily guarded by elite troops from the Northern Desert. The seal on Xianyu Jiandan's residence had been broken, but breaking out would be virtually impossible.
Not to mention, there was also a senior brother who was unable to move and needed to be taken care of.
Yun Ce looked up at the sky and smiled bitterly: "Let's just consider this a draw."
Not to mention that his master protected five generations of ancestors, just considering his own generation, if his master hadn't brought him back to the mountain gate, he would have turned into a skeleton long ago. How could he have lived to this age and witnessed so many people and things? To have him is a blessing, to lose him is fate.
Yun Ce has a good attitude.
Even after falling from the high platform and losing his great strength overnight, he did not give up on himself. He took his medicine and recuperated as needed.
As long as I can live to see the future of Kangguo.
I don't care whether I'm a brave warrior or a commoner.
The next day, Liu Guan came.
Xianyu Jian was on high alert: "What are you doing here?"
Liu Guan, in high spirits, told them some news.
"The Kang Kingdom camp is willing to return the prisoners from the Northern Desert, two prisoners in exchange for one guard of Shexing Pass. It's just a pity that neither of you generals are among them. Why don't you two guess why?" Her eyes were full of laughter as she looked at Yun Ce, who was lying motionless, and said regretfully, "Alas, what a pity. If you had surrendered yesterday, you wouldn't have ended up like this, with your master and disciple turning against each other and your cultivation being destroyed."
She clicked her tongue twice more.
"What a pity, what a pity."
"It's a real pity that loyalty was misplaced."
Xianyu Jian drew a blade and held it to Liu Guan's neck, gritting his teeth: "Shut up, or I'll cut off your head with this one stroke!"
Liu Guan smiled brightly, his fingers resting on the blade.
With a gentle push, he deflected Xianyu Jian's threat.
Instead of retreating, they pressed closer.
The two were so close that they could sense each other's breath and movements: "General Xianyu, are you so eager to silence him because you are angry and ashamed? Or have you realized that your hard work and perseverance over the past few days has become a joke? General Yun is beyond redemption. General Xianyu, you might as well make some other plans."
The veins on Xianyu Jian's hand, which was gripping the knife, bulged.
He desperately wanted to behead Liu Guan, but the rationality he had cultivated over years in a high position told him that no matter how much Liu Guan provoked him, he couldn't act. If he did, the Northern Desert would turn its back and refuse to release the prisoner, and it would also cost his senior brother his life.
"Get out!"
"Don't blame me for being impolite if you don't get out!"
Xianyu Jian used immense self-control to suppress his impulse.
Liu Guan sneered, and before leaving, he looked at Xianyu Jian with a pitying and pathetic gaze, leaving behind the words: "If General Xianyu doesn't believe it, he might as well see for himself. See if it's a lie."
Xianyu Jian hesitated for only a moment before following.
Yun Ce's attempts to stop him were futile.
He was extremely anxious, but unfortunately, he was unable to move around easily.
My junior brother returned in less than fifteen minutes.
He looked even more haggard: "The prisoner exchange is true."
It's true that they weren't there.
Yun Ce lay on his back, gazing upwards and murmuring, "If the lord is unharmed, he would not fall for such a divisive tactic, unless..."
Xianyu Jian: "Unless the lord has already met with misfortune."
With no leader and no successor, Qi Zhongshu and his men were unable to quell the chaos. To stabilize the situation, they had no choice but to comply with Bei Mo's divisive tactics, pinning the defeat at Shexing Pass on them to maintain morale. This devastating news instantly drained Yun Ce of his spirit; his face visibly paled, and he coughed up blood. They preferred to believe that something had happened to their lord rather than that he had fallen for their trap.
The core of the divide-and-conquer strategy is to make the enemy suspicious of each other.
It won't work if there's enough trust between them.
The trust between them and their subjects could withstand these tests.
The two brothers looked at each other in silence.
After a long while, Yun Ce said wearily, "I'm tired, brother."
He didn't sleep well.
Half-asleep, half-awake, plagued by nightmares.
The injury, which was already recovering slowly, is showing signs of worsening.
There were no reliable army doctors in the Northern Desert, let alone physicians. All Xianyu Jian could do was stay by his bedside day and night, holding his hand and channeling his martial energy into him. He tried to stabilize his injuries with martial energy, but the effect was minimal.
She developed a high fever in the middle of the night.
The temperature was so high that it could cook Yun Ce.
Xianyu Jian tried every possible way to reduce the fever, but with little success. As Yun Ce's breath grew weaker and weaker, he was so frightened that he dared not even close his eyes. He finally managed to endure until dawn.
Yun Ce seemed to regain some clarity, as if experiencing a final burst of energy before death.
He asked weakly, "What time is it?"
Xianyu Jian was about to answer when his pupils suddenly contracted.
He could clearly see the gravel on the ground trembling!
There was still a noticeable tremor underfoot.
Is this an earth dragon turning over?
Without the slightest hesitation, he carried Yun Ce out of the room. The tremors beneath his feet grew stronger, and he could hear faint thumping sounds. The earth-shaking commotion alerted the Northern Desert guards, throwing them into chaos. An earth-shaking event was no joke; if the commotion was too great and caused a breach in the city's defenses, it was hard to guarantee that Shen Tang's forces wouldn't seize the opportunity to launch an attack.
Security has been raised to its highest level everywhere.
But news soon came from the outpost.
It's not an earth dragon turning over!
The tremors beneath his feet grew stronger, and dust continued to fall from the roof beams. Liu Guan asked, "If it's not an earth dragon turning over, then what is it?"
The soldier was speechless, unsure how to describe it.
Liu Guan was so anxious that he pushed him away.
He went to the outpost himself to investigate.
At the horizon, the smoke and dust from the explosions merged into a line, forming a "wave," but the "wave" was not heading towards Shexing Pass. Liu Guan was tense; the Northern Desert army was ready to attack at any moment, but apart from the continuous explosions, half an hour had passed and he still hadn't seen Shen Tang's troops arrive.
Liu Guan asked, puzzled, "What are you doing?"
Intercepting the grain supply line in the northern desert?
But there are no baggage trains or troops today.
()
The divine cannon has arrived.
This chapter has been updated with additional words (it's now complete).
P.S.: The Exploitation of the Works of Nature really has everything! The volume on firearms is particularly interesting.
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