Chapter 196: Chaos in Xiaocheng (Thirty-Six) [Two-in-One]
This turn of events was unexpected by none of the four people present.
Shen Tang was so frightened that she dared not breathe, pitifully stretching out her right index finger. This finger was being bitten by the little green dragon, which had the tenacity of "never letting go of a green mountain," stubbornly refusing to budge! Then, it was suddenly slapped down by the claw of the violent golden dragon, rendering it unable to move.
The golden dragon exhaled its breath, and every breath was filled with auspicious light.
Compared to the smaller azure dragon with its impure scales, this golden dragon was not only several sizes larger, but its scales were also crystal clear and dazzling, resembling a masterpiece of nature, a work of art favored by the Creator. There were also mysterious dark patterns visible to the naked eye on its scales.
The dragon's body slithered, its head approaching the small azure dragon beneath its claws. Though this scene was silent, it brought an invisible pressure to the three present. The golden dragon's threat and malice towards the small azure dragon seemed to rush towards them along with the surging energy of heaven and earth.
Looking at the golden dragon wrapped around her arm, Shen Tang inexplicably felt that these two strange creatures were having some kind of communication that only they could understand. Her mind also vividly conjured up images of a large, chibi-style golden dragon and a small, chibi-style azure dragon, their chat boxes locked in a verbal battle.
[Large Q-version Golden Dragon]: Let go of your mouth!
[Cute version of Azure Dragon]: No way! Who do you think you are, talking to me like that? Just because you're a size bigger doesn't mean you're any better!
[Q version of a large golden dragon]: You're asking for it! (╰_╯)#!
[Q version miniature Azure Dragon]: I won't let go, I just won't let go!
The negotiations between the two dragons failed, and the golden dragon roared in anger, preparing to slap the ignorant little green dragon to death. The little green dragon, not to be outdone, retorted, "We're both dragons! Why should I obey the golden dragon's commands? This green dragon will fight you, golden dragon, for three hundred rounds!"
So the two dragons got entangled and fought.
You breathe fire, I spew water.
When you're windy, I'm raining.
Finally, while they were fighting, they flew into the sky.
The two dragons reverted to their original forms, their bodies larger than the entire city of Xiaocheng. The rebels outside the city, seeing the two dragons fighting, all looked up to watch the spectacle, momentarily forgetting their duties. Wars can be fought anytime, but a battle between two dragons is a rare sight indeed.
Biubiubiu——
Boom boom boom boom—
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
In the blink of an eye, Shen Tang's mind was wandering, imagining several versions of two dragons fighting. This gave her a continuous stream of inspiration for painting, and she couldn't wait to get rid of the little green dragon that was biting her finger and pick up her paintbrush to paint this earth-shattering scene!
If published, it will surely be the best-selling picture book on the market!
But the truth is—
A fierce glint flashed in the golden dragon's eyes, and it slapped the little green dragon away impatiently. Its tail coiled and coiled, wrapping around Chen Tang's five fingers, its claws gripping her index finger, and its head resting on it. These few actions perfectly embodied the meaning of "possessiveness."
The little green dragon was swatted away, rolling several times on the table. Startled, it darted behind the national seal. After a while, seeing that the golden dragon wasn't chasing it, it cautiously poked its head out. Seeing the golden dragon's actions, even its slightly upturned whiskers drooped.
Chu Yao: "..."
Qi Shan: "..."
Gong Shuwu: "..."
Why do they see the words "grievance" and "accusation" on the spirit of the national seal, as if they were real dragons?
After a long while, no one spoke.
"Someone say something? What's going on here?" Shen Tang patted the empty Danfu area and complained, "After so many years since the thief star descended upon the world, haven't any of the previous rulers compiled a 'Manual of the Imperial Seal' to benefit future generations?"
She urgently needs a copy and is willing to pay a high price to buy it!
Qi Shan then seemed to snap out of his daze. To cover his embarrassment, he coughed twice and said, "No need, the objective has been achieved..."
They still exceeded their targets, which even caused trouble.
Originally, the plan was simply to "awaken" the Xin Kingdom's national seal. If the beast-shaped knob on the seal, the small azure dragon, "woke up" and moved, the dragon vein master of this land would receive the message. But to everyone's surprise, Shen Tang's national seal also "awakened"!
Now that things have come to this, there's no use in regretting it.
What puzzled him even more was another matter—the competitive relationship between the national seals, which involved mutual devouring. The whole process was very long, and it was possible that even after the victorious country was destroyed, the national seals were not completely integrated and were then separated by the various feudal forces.
Young Master Shen's national seal was not friendly to the national seal of Xin, but it did not intend to devour or merge with it, which was inconsistent with what he knew.
"It's already healed? That's great."
Shen Tang breathed a sigh of relief.
At the same time, he looked at the golden dragon in his hand with a complicated expression. Based on the little green dragon's condition, he knew that the golden dragon was the so-called "Spirit of the Imperial Seal." And the golden dragon originated from that "Motherly Sword"—in other words—this sword is the Imperial Seal?
Or perhaps, the imperial seal is hidden within the sword?
No wonder I couldn't find the Imperial Seal no matter how hard I looked.
Qi Shan said, "You can take it back now."
These words were not only spoken to Shen Tang, but also to Gong Shuwu—the Imperial Seal is too hot to handle; it's best not to reveal it lightly before you have a certain foundation.
Gong Shuwu nodded, and with a wave of martial energy from his palm, he enveloped the Imperial Seal once more. The little Azure Dragon reluctantly flew onto the seal, resuming its coiled posture that everyone had seen before, its dragon eyes slowly closing. Once the Imperial Seal and the martial energy merged, it transformed back into the Martial Tiger Talisman.
"oh!"
Shen Tang also tried to retract her literary style.
As if sensing something, the golden dragon slowly swam back to the hilt of the sword, merging with the dragon engraved on it. As the two dragons departed, the dense, suffocating energy in the room gradually thinned and slowly dissipated, as if the "farce" just now was everyone's illusion.
Qi Shan bowed to Gong Shuwu.
Gong Shuwu pursed his slightly thick lips and gave a displeased snort, but his brows relaxed and his expression showed no anger, clearly indicating that he had received Qi Shan's apology. As for why he apologized—
Hehehe.
If it were merely to alarm Zheng Qiao, Shen Tang could have done so with the Imperial Seal in his possession; there was no need to ask Gong Shuwu for help. But Qi Shan still did it this way, for one of three reasons.
Firstly, to test whether Gong Shuwu truly possessed the Imperial Seal, Qi Shan's speculation was ultimately less convincing than seeing it with his own eyes.
Secondly, it was a way to shift the risk. If things went wrong, Gong Shuwu would be the first to suffer, not Shen Tang, ensuring Shen Tang's safety. However, Qi Shan never expected that both national seals would be exposed in one go.
Thirdly, to test Gong Shuwu's bottom line.
Today he is willing to lend the Xin Kingdom's seal for the sake of the people of Xiaocheng; perhaps in the future he will offer the seal for similar reasons. This is because Gongshu Wu has no ambition to seize the seal and establish his own power! Therefore, it is only natural that he will choose a ruler to assist him in the future.
Qi Shan was testing the waters to see how likely this was.
Gong Shuwu may not have thought that far ahead, but his intuition told him that scholars and strategists understood "no one gets up early for nothing" even better than unscrupulous merchants. Their every move and word concealed a huge pitfall that was hard to guard against! In any case, it's always better to be vigilant.
Shen Tang looked at her right hand over and over.
He asked, "Zheng Qiao should have received the news by now, right?"
Chu Yao smiled and said, "More or less."
As for when to send troops...
These are completely beyond their control.
Chu Yao was unaware that far more than just this was beyond their control. The instant the golden dragon appeared, a colossal dragon phantom, formed from the condensed energy of heaven and earth, materialized above Xiaocheng. The dragon's shadow lingered and wandered among the clouds, stirring the surrounding energy.
Scholars and warriors within a radius of hundreds of miles were startled. Some looked up at the sky, some came out of their houses, and some opened their windows. No matter how far or near they were, they could clearly see the dragon's shadow, which seemed to be a thousand feet long. Its scales were golden, and its eyes were scarlet.
Meeting the dragon's gaze, an inexplicable chill and ferocity surged into their hearts, deeply imprinted on their bodies, leaving them unable to recover for a long time.
When I came to my senses and looked again, the sky was completely gone.
Strangely, ordinary people can't see it.
At this moment, the rebel army's main tent was brightly lit with candles.
Every now and then, the candles would crackle and pop.
The old general's face was grim, his large, piercing eyes occasionally sweeping over the advisor who was concentrating with his eyes closed. This advisor was a confidant of the King of Pigs, and even the general, who had fought in many battles over the north and south, would retreat a step away from him, not daring to confront him directly.
At this moment, the advisor's face turned deathly pale.
A streak of crimson blood clung to the corner of his mouth, his clothes were soaked with blood, and his breath was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, as if he would die and go out at any moment. This scene had to start from just now—thinking of the aura of that golden dragon, even the old general couldn't help but tremble.
The moment the dragon's shadow appeared, the two realized that this was not the national seal of Xin Kingdom, but an unknown and unfamiliar national seal!
Add to that the national seal of Xin Kingdom, and there are two in total!
This realization made their hearts pound like drums, leaving them unable to remain calm!
The advisor then launched the "Way of the Scholar" to investigate, but he was caught off guard and suffered a backlash, vomiting blood and visibly deteriorating in health. The old general paced anxiously, not wanting his advisor to die on his territory.
If he could acquire both imperial seals, the King of Pigs would naturally not pursue the matter. But if he failed to acquire even one, given the King of Pigs' temper, he would definitely exterminate his entire clan to vent his anger! Fortunately, it seemed that Heaven had heard his thoughts, and the advisor weakly opened his eyes.
Although he looked weak and listless, his eyes were brighter than before, gleaming with a sharp light, and a soft laugh rose from his throat. Outside the tent, the young man who was about to report the news frowned. He turned to leave, but his adoptive father's call came from inside the tent.
"A-Nian, come in!"
"Godfather!"
The young man greeted the old general and then paid his respects to the staff and messengers.
The advisor immediately asked how the search was going.
The young man's face turned slightly pale: "We're still looking. The people around here have all fled or run away since they heard about the war. We can't gather them together anytime soon."
The advisor said, "This matter needs to be handled as soon as possible!"
The young man looked at the envoy with confusion: "The siege of Xiaocheng is not something that can be accomplished in just a few days. Our army has ample supplies and can certainly afford to wait... A delay of three to five days is not too much trouble. Please grant me some more time, envoy, and I will urge my men to search for the people as soon as possible..."
The advisor said, "We can't delay, we need to hurry."
The presence of the dragon shadow made him realize that something was wrong.
They worried that Zheng Qiao would send troops, and they also worried that other warlord forces who saw Long Ying would interfere. The national seal was the foundation of a nation; without it, the established power would lack a solid foundation and could be annexed by other countries at any time.
He knew the young man was deliberately being disobedient and stalling for time, so he wanted to give him a warning and put some pressure on him. The young man was extremely resentful, but outwardly he could only obey. He was seething with anger and prepared to take a few hundred soldiers out for some fresh air.
I was greeted by my sworn brother, who looked very pleased with himself.
My sworn brother: "Where are you planning to take your troops so late at night?"
The young man said, "I'm looking for someone for the messenger."
The sworn brother suddenly smiled smugly: "Such a small matter, you didn't need to make a special trip for me? To apologize to you, I've already found someone to do it for you. It's just that my men aren't very discerning, and I don't even know how many of them will survive... But anyway, they won't live long, so whether they're dead or alive, they're still useful..."
Before he could finish speaking, the young man's expression changed drastically, and he tightened the reins, turning his horse around. Ignored by the young man's behavior, the young man's sworn brother watched the horse's rear end disappear into the distance, then suddenly burst into laughter, slapping his thigh as he laughed.
He said to his subordinates, "Did you see that barbarian's expression? Hahaha! He's done plenty of dirty and filthy things, he deserves to be skinned alive and sent to hell, but he's pretending to be a saint here! Bah!"
The young man ignored the arrogant laughter carried on the wind.
He cycled all the way to his camp.
Even before getting close, you could smell the strong stench of blood carried on the wind.
The young man dismounted.
More than two hundred people, young and old, men and women, were huddled on the open ground like livestock, their necks bound and hands tied with a rope. Blood pooled into a scarlet "stream," spreading and crawling like small snakes to his feet.
You don't need to see with your eyes, you only need to sense with your breath.
Half of these two hundred-plus people have stopped breathing.
Some have missing limbs, while others are covered in whip marks.
The older ones have silver-white hair, while the younger ones are still in swaddling clothes.
The campfire glowed with an orange-red light, and the scene before me seemed to gradually overlap with a scene from my memory. The once empty place now had the phantom image of a pottery urn, beneath which glowing red charcoal burned, the soup boiling, and all I could hear were cries and painful groans.
The young man clutched his head in anguish.
He took a step back, bumping into a concerned subordinate, and suddenly came to his senses. The phantom image of the pottery jar with the blazing fire on it also disappeared.
His subordinate asked him in a low voice, "Young General, what should we do with these people?"
The young man steadied himself, tightened the muscles on his face, and said coldly, "Lock up the living in one place, and take the dead to hand over."
The subordinate officials clasped their hands in obeisance and accepted the order.
Despite feeling sympathy for these people, all that could be done was sigh.
It's unknown what kind of torture these people suffered when they were captured; almost none of them fared well, with heavy casualties. Judging from their attire, they were likely refugees from Xiaocheng or nearby villages. They left their homes to seek a living, but who knew they still couldn't escape death.
Knowing the young general's temper, the subordinates specifically instructed the soldiers to "go easy" and not to provoke him at this time.
The bodies were cleared away one by one, with blood dripping down the way.
Soon, it was the turn of a stocky, obese male corpse.
The soldier in charge of the cleanup muttered, "How strange."
In today's world, most people are thin, and it's not uncommon for them to be skin and bones. It's rare to find someone as sturdy and robust as that man. One person couldn't move it, so they called for another.
One raised its head, the other its foot, ready to exert force together.
result--
A powerful force came from beside me.
The soldier cried out as he was pushed to the ground.
The body fell to the ground.
"Don't touch him!" A desperate cry, like that of a small animal, came from the boy's mouth. He lay on the corpse, holding it in one arm and waving the other to scare away the soldiers, shouting, "Get out—all of you get out of here!"
_(:3」∠)_
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I updated just in time today. I was supposed to post it earlier, but my mom kept me up for ages, so I'm late again. The chapter should have ended with the two soldiers carrying the corpse, but I missed a paragraph when copying it, and when I added it back, my hand slipped and I pressed the button a couple more times (the red axis is very sensitive, and with a lagging computer, it was a painful experience. Luckily, it was the last paragraph; if it had been repeated three times throughout the text, I would have had to stay up all night editing it...). So the last paragraph was repeated, and I had to add the same number of words back (ruining my chapter break, damn it!).
PS: The one who died was the butcher, and the boy was the chubby Tu Rong.
(End of this chapter)
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