Chapter 1077: Civil and Military Affairs Reversed (Part 6) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
Kang Shi said loudly, "Your Majesty, I also request to fight."
While it may sound a bit unethical to say this, it must be said that the opportunity for scholars to fight generals is a once-in-a-century event. In the past, when scholars went to war, it was either when the horns of victory were about to sound, and they would charge into battle with the army, picking up a few heads to enjoy the thrill; or it was when the country was on the verge of collapse, and the situation was so dire that even the most esteemed scholars would have to take up their swords.
Of course, the Lord's situation is a special case.
He never imagined in his life that he would become a martial artist.
Since Kang Shi dared to step forward, others also wanted to join in the fun.
They knew that since Chu Yao and the others had already spoken, the chances of them being allowed to volunteer for battle were extremely slim, yet they still wanted to experience the "fun" of being military commanders. Seeing the ministers' eagerness for war, Xun Zhen glanced at his colleagues and silently withdrew the foot he had already taken half a step forward.
Ji Moqiu waited a while and then quietly added to the list.
At this moment, Shen Tang's attention was focused on Chu Yao and the others: "Wu Hui, Tu Nan, I know your intentions, but the second battle is crucial. I believe that Wu Zhaode's troops are only of this caliber, but I don't believe that the former officials of the Wu Kingdom would be this good."
A duel usually consists of three rounds. If both sides are evenly matched and neither is confident of victory, they might agree to fight five rounds to create an opportunity to widen the gap in morale. Wu Zhaode and Shen Tang both tacitly avoided the latter, opting for a three-round contest to determine the winner.
The first round is often a trial by both sides.
Yu Zi caused a chaotic scene, but unexpectedly won the case.
The pressure wasn't just on Wu Xian's side, but also on the old scholar Deng. Regardless, the latter wouldn't stand idly by and watch this match end in defeat: "...If it's someone sent by Wu Zhaode, I'm not worried, but what if it's that elder from the Eternal Life Sect?"
Upon hearing this, Chu Yao and his companions knew that the plan was doomed.
They racked their brains but couldn't think of anyone they could be sure of winning. Surely their lord couldn't personally go in, could he? Judging from the arrow she just shot, her fighting prowess was severely limited. A scholar with a literary mind isn't as resilient as a warrior with martial prowess.
"Whom does the lord wish to send?"
Shen Tang didn't speak, but instead looked towards the corner.
Everyone followed her gaze.
Having never been surrounded by so many people at once, Ji Moqiu felt somewhat embarrassed and at a loss for words. The boy, still somewhat childish, blushed involuntarily on his fair face, but was overjoyed. He stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, I will certainly not disappoint you."
Gong Xichou visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
As the younger brother, he always understood his elder brother's dilemma—his elder brother was the high priest, yet Mama didn't need the high priest to do anything. This was simply because Mama had far too many loyal, capable, and hardworking subjects under her command. What the high priest could do, the subjects could do too; and what the high priest couldn't do, the subjects could find ways to do as well.
Mama doesn't need a high priest at all.
Moreover, he was quite polite to his elder brother on a daily basis.
It was this politeness that caused the elder brother anxiety and pain.
Only outsiders need to be polite; one's own people don't need to be. In theory, the high priest should be even closer to one's own people.
A monarch grants his subjects salaries and high positions in exchange for their loyalty; the two are in a superior-subordinate relationship. The high priest is her vassal. By allowing him to follow and look up to her, she can command him to do everything a subject can do, without paying any additional price.
Gong Xichou didn't quite understand this.
Perhaps this is why he was unable to become the High Priest?
He doesn't like working for free.
In his view, things given away for free are never appreciated, and the same applies to people. His older brother working for free wouldn't get Mama to pay him much attention—Chu Yao, Qi Shan, and Gu Chi, which one of them wasn't a little tough? Take himself as an example: how many fights had he had with Mama? Several of the injuries she sustained were self-inflicted.
If everyone present were a dish, I would be like a stewed pig's trotter, fragrant with meat and firm with bones. Chu Yao and the others would be like a plate of crunchy cartilage, easy to eat. And my eldest brother? He would be like a pot of melted meat broth, boneless, you just have to suck on him to get rid of him.
Mama doesn't seem to understand this very well.
As the eldest brother of the high priest, he was naturally also in pain.
Now that he finally has a use, it's truly something to celebrate for the high priest, whose life's pursuit has been dedication and wholehearted service to the gods. Gong Xichou looked at his older brother, who appeared calm and shy on the surface but whose heart was actually pounding at two hundred, and while happy for him, he couldn't help but purse his lips and mutter, "It's like he's been living in the cold palace for a long time, and suddenly he's been called upon by the higher-ups."
From this perspective, it's understandable.
Those who are showered with favor will not appreciate the rarity of such an opportunity.
Shen Tang chose Ji Moqiu to play the second match.
Gong Xichou called out, "Brother, I'll hold it for you."
The "it" he was referring to was that wooden staff. Every high priest had a wooden staff, and the origins of these staffs varied. Some were formed from the high priest's own divine power, while others were made from roots bestowed by the gods. It was unclear which category his elder brother's staff belonged to.
The old priest also treasured his wooden staff.
Gongxi Chou was only allowed close contact with the staff when the old priest captured him to beat him; otherwise, he wasn't even allowed to touch it. Unexpectedly, his elder brother shared this quirk, rarely allowing others to touch the staff. Gongxi Chou had wanted to touch it for a long time but hadn't found an opportunity to ask. Now that he had a ready reason, his elder brother couldn't refuse, could he?
Ji Moqiu did not refuse.
However, he did not forget to remind Gong Xichou to be careful of that flower.
Gong Xiqiu received the wooden staff with both hands, and its weight immediately surprised him. The staff, seemingly light, was unexpectedly heavy. The texture wasn't rough like ordinary wood; instead, it felt like holding jade. The instant he grasped it, the world Gong Xiqiu saw changed drastically. Countless points of light of various colors filled the sky and earth, and everyone wore different colors—some a single color, others a mixed hue…
The colors of Chu Yao and his group were exceptionally dazzling.
A line extends from its body, heading in the same direction.
Gong Xiqiu subconsciously looked towards Shen Tang's position.
She was clean and pure, without any color.
Gong Xichou blinked, his pupils trembling as his gaze shifted downwards to Shen Tang's feet. Where human feet should have been, countless intertwined, illusory wooden branches now clung to them. Looking further upwards, Shen Tang was enveloped by an extremely familiar phantom.
The ethereal figure wore a veil, and through the thin veil, a face tinged with both compassion and aloofness could be vaguely seen. A delicate, small mark adorned its forehead, and its hands hung at its sides. Gongxi Chou suddenly remembered where he had seen it before—wasn't this the tribal deity statue?
The ancestral deity's statue has its hands in a mudra and its eyes slightly lowered.
The phantom in front of them, however, had its eyes open.
It seemed to realize that it was being watched. Its eyes flickered, and its emotionless gaze followed. Gong Xiqiu abruptly lowered its head to avoid its eyes. Gong Xiqiu's heart pounded like a drum, and the hand gripping the wooden staff tightened unconsciously.
After a long while, Gong Xiqiu cautiously raised his head.
It just so happened that it came into view.
Gong Xichou: "..."
The illusory figure did nothing to him, merely nodding slightly in response before shifting its gaze away. Gong Xichou wanted to ask his elder brother if he knew about these things, but having already fought his way out of the formation, he could only swallow his question. Even without asking, Gong Xichou roughly knew the answer. The change in his vision began when he grasped the wooden staff; as the staff's owner, how could his elder brother not know?
"...That's really amazing."
Could it be that what we see before us is the true nature of the world?
However, Gong Xiqiu wasn't interested in these philosophical questions; he simply studied the wooden staff on his own. He discovered that holding the staff not only allowed him to see different things, but also gave him a strange, subtle feeling. The little red flower on the staff was quite peculiar.
Gong Xichou couldn't resist poking it.
The petals were only slightly larger than his thumbnail, a striking crimson red, a very common roadside wildflower, and it was a mystery why it was growing on the high priest's staff used to communicate with the gods. Gong Xiqiu hadn't controlled his strength well, and the flower bent over dramatically.
Gong Xichou was startled.
I was afraid that if I accidentally broke a flower, my brother would tear it apart.
Just as he was about to pull his hand back, he saw a halo of light emanate from Little Red Flower, forming a "mouth" full of white fangs. In the blink of an eye, that mouth bit Gong Xichou's finger.
Despite it being an intangible halo, Gong Xichou nearly jumped up in pain – after all, the ten fingers are connected to the heart! Just as he was about to lose his aloof persona, the phantom that resembled a god raised its hand and pointed. Little Red Flower seemed to have spotted a terrifying natural enemy, snapping its blooming petals shut with a snap, playing dead.
Gong Xichou: "..."
He looked at his perfectly intact fingers.
The pain I just felt seemed to be an illusion.
"What happened?"
Gong Xichou sized up the little red flower, and once again couldn't resist touching it.
"Aww—"
I got bitten again.
Gong Xichou didn't even have time to retract his hand.
The phantom looked over again and stopped them.
Gong Xichou bared his teeth and flicked his fingers, his eyes filled with a desire to uproot the little red flower. This time, he stretched out his index finger and thumb, preparing to strangle it.
As expected, two fingers were bitten again. Gong Xi Chou, relying on the illusory figure's favor, showed no fear. After this happened seven or eight times, Little Red Flower completely shut down and ignored Gong Xi Chou.
"Huh? You're already angry?"
The flower my older brother grows has quite a temper. Gong Xichou was thinking of secretly getting some fertilizer for it, so that it could grow stronger. The little red flower seemed to know what he was thinking, and its halo stretched into a thin whip, lashing his hand hard.
Why did you hit someone again?
"You're not happy about watering it with fertilizer?"
Gong Xichou was so badly whipped that he almost lost his grip on the wooden staff, and could only flail it back and forth between his hands. To an outsider, it looked like he had suddenly gone mad and was acting out on the spot. Shen Tang noticed this and asked, "Gong Xichou, are you... performing a shamanistic ritual?"
Gongxi Chou was also affected by the reversal of civil and military affairs.
As a member of the Gongxi tribe, perhaps he didn't become a scholar or a literary figure, but instead became a temporary high priest? To take over his brother's shamanistic rituals?
When Shen Tang spoke, Xiao Honghua became as docile as if she had seen a ghost.
At first glance, she looks like an innocent white lotus flower.
Gong Xichou grinned: "No."
After he finished speaking, he saw a slight smile appear on the cold and indifferent face of the phantom, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to be his imagination.
Shen Tang looked up at the sky in confusion.
He couldn't understand why Gong Xichou was staring at the top of his head.
Could it be that Kang Jishou used his powers?
Shen Tang's expression froze as she recalled those dark experiences of "being on the verge of excrement" in those years, and she wished she could find someone to hold an umbrella for her right now.
Ji Moqiu was unaware that Gongxi had made several moves against him. He simply rode his crimson warhorse like a streak of fire out of the formation, brandishing his weapon. He was not good at cursing, so he didn't know how to provoke or insult anyone. He simply said, "Ji Moqiu, please enlighten me."
Wu Xian, who had just finalized the personnel arrangements, was speechless.
Having witnessed the alliance in Xiaocheng and the Dragon-Slaying Squad, he was deeply impressed by this face: "Is that Gong Xichou? No, he's not that young..."
Gong Xi Chou possessed an extremely aggressive and wild demeanor, as if he wanted to flaunt the words "Heaven is the boss, I am second only to Heaven" written all over his face, showing no regard for anyone except Shen Tang. This young military general seemed much gentler, at least not as arrogant as him.
Wu Xian has already finalized his roster for the battle.
Just as Shen Tang had expected, this person was brought by the Imperial Advisor.
only--
"Let me handle this man!"
Before everyone's eyes, a black bone hand suddenly emerged from the ground and grabbed the general who was about to go into battle. This scene startled the general so much that his heart skipped a beat. When he saw what was under his feet, he knelt down on one knee without hesitation and shouted, "Greetings, Master!"
Wu Xian was greatly alarmed!
Cult Leader?
Currently, the only people who can use this title are...
Wu Xian's heart sank deeper and deeper.
Prior to this, he had no trace of the leader of the Eternal Life Cult, let alone the fact that the other party had been hiding underground! As this aged voice rang out, Black Bone burst from the ground, and everyone saw its full form. This skeleton was extremely large; even with its back hunched and not yet upright, it was as tall as an ordinary martial artist's shoulder. Once it fully stretched out, it would stand out from the crowd.
The skeletal figure strode to the Grand Preceptor's side as if no one else was there, and called out to the latter, "Uncle, let me do it."
The two were actually uncle and nephew.
The Imperial Advisor asked, "Why are you awake now?"
Black Bone said, "Heh, I have to see my old nemesis."
The Imperial Advisor glanced at the crimson figure at the front of the battle.
He said, "He's not one of those people from back then. He should be the new High Priest of the Gongxi clan. I'd heard news of him before, but I didn't expect to run into him so soon. You're not fully awake yet. Are you sure it won't affect your health if you force yourself to come out?"
The flames in the black bone's eye sockets flickered a few times.
It seems to be even more vigorous than before.
"That little bit of impact is nothing."
Upon hearing the other party identify himself as "Jimo," he felt his own empty soul tremble—a vivid experience he hadn't had in over a century. Seeing that Heigu couldn't persuade him, the Imperial Advisor didn't stop him.
"If that's the case, then you—go and tear him to pieces!"
Black Bone raised his palm and lightly patted the Imperial Preceptor.
He strode over the heads of the soldiers and headed straight for Ji Moqiu. The closer he got, the louder, clearer, and more piercingly loud the laughter echoing in the air. Suddenly, a cold wind arose from the ground, and both armies heard the wind as if it carried the mournful howls of countless lonely ghosts.
People with poor self-control will bend over and vomit on the spot.
As the wind grew stronger, countless black mists converged on the black bone, layer upon layer adhering to the surface of each bone. With each step it took, its flesh and bones thickened. After nine steps, it transformed into a tall and imposing ghost general, clad in black armor, as if it had crawled out of the eighteenth realm of hell. It stared at Ji Moqiu and asked, "Ji Moqiu, a member of the Gongxi clan?"
Its sound is strange.
It seemed as if a hundred or so male and female voices spoke at once.
"yes."
Ji Moqiu answered calmly.
For a moment, I didn't know which face to look at.
Behind him, Gong Xichou subconsciously tightened his grip on his wooden staff.
He saw that the Black Bone Armor was not actually armor, but rather a dense mass of human faces, men and women, young and old, all staring at his elder brother with venomous eyes.
I was suddenly reminded that there's another monthly pass post. There should be two posts in the book review section where you can participate at the same time (the monthly pass posts for March 10-20 and March 15-25; the first one has less than fifty spots left, but the second one has more).
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