Chapter 1418: Seizing the Bridge, Blowing Up the Waterway (Part 9) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
“I thought everything was ready except for the east wind, but now it seems that not only is the east wind missing, but I am also missing.” Shen Tang felt that she should give Kang Jishou a separate award. “...If there is some kind of ‘World's Civil and Martial Arts Ranking’ in the future, it would be a disservice to all the persecution he has caused me over the years if Jishou is not ranked first on the martial arts list…”
With the mind of a scholar, he became the number one warrior in the world.
Even Gong Xichou couldn't beat Shen Tang so badly, yet Kang Shi did it effortlessly from a thousand miles away. Who wouldn't praise him for being amazing? When Ji Moqiu heard her complain, the latter wrapped her hands into clubs, tucked the two "clubs" into her bosom, and stared intently at the roasting sweet potatoes in the fire.
Ji Moqiu nearly stared in disbelief: "Your Highness, your hand?"
His Highness looked down at his hands and said in a calm tone, almost as if he had seen through the world, "Oh, I got bitten by ants."
Ji Moqiu: "..."
"...These aren't ordinary ants; they're poisonous ants affected by the special environment of the mountains!" Shen Tang's expression twisted into a grimace as she said this. "How poisonous are these ants? They just crawled on my arm a couple of times, and my skin reacted allergically. Would I let ants afflict me? I immediately slapped one to death, but who knew their blood was even more poisonous, causing both itching and pain."
Fang Yan, who had barely settled in his seat, was called back.
Shen Tang's hands were swollen to the size of two of their original lengths.
After applying the herbal medicine, the itching and pain turned into a burning, itchy, and painful sensation, making one want to scratch off their own skin and flesh. Fang Yan wrapped her arm tightly and ordered the soldiers to thoroughly disinfect the main tent, ensuring that not even a mosquito could fly in.
Shen Tang discovered that warming herself by the fire relieved the itching, so she squatted down not far from the campfire, carefully warming her hands and tossing in a few pieces of sweet potato. She had come to terms with it; what tribulation wasn't unpleasant?
These hardships may torment her body, but they cannot break her will! God has the power to kill her directly, but if He can't, it means that no matter how much Kang Shi tries to harm her, it's just a minor setback.
However, despite her stubbornness, Shen Tang still understood the meaning of "if you don't court death, you won't die." Kang Shi had been recklessly squandering her luck, and now, let alone being a key player on the battlefield, Shen Tang was being tormented by bad luck even while stationed in the rear.
This is equivalent to the Kang Kingdom losing a combat force.
Ji Moqiu squatted down: "May I take a look?"
"Go ahead and look, why all the formalities?" Shen Tang generously extended her right hand, while her left hand was not idle either. She threaded a wooden stick through the gap in the bandage on her left arm to secure it, and then clumsily raised her hand to use the thin stick to scoop out roasted sweet potatoes from the campfire.
Beneath the bandages, the skin was a gruesome red and purple, with patches of pus showing signs of festering at the edges. Shen Tang calmly said, "The toxins have been drained, but it will take at least half a day for it to fully recover. I bandaged it up because I was worried I wouldn't be able to resist picking at it..."
It just looks rather scary.
In matters of unorthodox methods, Ji Moqiu was more experienced than Fang Yan. Using both Gu worms and incantations, Shen Tang's right arm returned to normal at a visible speed, though the skin tone remained reddish. Ji Moqiu then followed suit, and Shen Tang's left hand also returned to normal.
Shen Tang looked at her hands over and over.
"...The High Priest is the one who has the best ideas."
"We haven't received any news of soldiers being attacked by poisonous ants these past few days. How did Your Highness fall victim to it?" Since Your Highness personally led the expedition, her main tent was naturally the most heavily guarded core area. Not to mention poisonous ants, it would be difficult for even a mosquito to slip in. If poisonous ants were to wreak havoc, they would first harm the ordinary soldiers in the army. Only when the ant population was large enough to spread throughout the army would Your Highness be unlucky enough to fall victim to it.
Shen Tang's expression was indescribable: "Isn't it just bad luck?"
As she spoke, Shen Tang suddenly remembered that Ji Moqiu was unaware of the drawbacks of the Kangshi scholar's way, and considered ending the conversation. But then she changed her mind. Perhaps Ji Moqiu could help her solve her immediate problem—so be it if she was affected by the Kangshi, could the side effects be delayed a little? At least she shouldn't be a hindrance when she needed to fight. Shen Tang didn't want to watch others fight bloody battles while she had to outwit and outmaneuver a series of unexpected and deadly events…
Ji Moqiu said, "...Your Highness's luck has indeed been exceptionally bad lately."
He didn't look like this before he left the camp.
Shen Tang carefully chose her words and briefly explained the causes and consequences of her bad luck, summarizing it in one sentence: Kang Shi harmed her!
"...Does the High Priest have a way to postpone this?"
She stared at Ji Moqiu with hopeful eyes.
Ji Moqiu did not disappoint her.
The good news is that he actually has such a method, but the bad news is that this method is not free; it will charge a handling fee.
"Handling fee?"
"Fortune is constant, and things rise and fall. Minister Kang needs to leverage his influence to turn the tide, so Your Highness will naturally have to overspend an equal amount." Erasing the debt is impossible, but the repayment deadline can be postponed, and the outstanding interest can be paid in addition.
The handling fee is the interest for those few days of delay.
"Is this even possible? Then we'll have to trouble the High Priest."
Shen Tang seemed to see the light at the end of the tunnel and breathed a long sigh of relief.
Her intuition told her that the interest incurred from delaying for a few days wouldn't be low, but it was better than watching helplessly as the battlefield fell into place.
Ji Moqiu shook his head: "I can't."
These words seemed somewhat ambiguous, so Shen Tang explained in more detail under his astonished gaze: "Because Heaven does not like me, it would be counterproductive for me to try to communicate with it, but Your Highness can open an altar and present a memorial."
"You can't do it, but I, an amateur, can?"
Ji Moqiu said firmly, "Yes, only Your Highness can."
Shen Tang looked up at the dark night sky, and after some thought, decided to believe Ji Moqiu's words. The sacrificial ceremony to Heaven was a major event, normally requiring the Ministry of Rites to prepare ten to fifteen days in advance, stocking up on chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep, and various fruits and vegetables. However, the battlefield conditions were rudimentary, so a simpler approach was necessary. Qi Shan, upon hearing this news, rushed over, worried that such a rudimentary ceremony would be disrespectful to Heaven, and that failing to communicate might instead bring misfortune upon them.
Shen Tang also said, "Isn't this too simple?"
Ji Moqiu then had a wooden table prepared, on which sat a sweet potato roasted to a crisp, a wine cup, and a stick of incense.
The high priest practically patted his chest and assured him, "No."
Other mortals offer sacrifices to Heaven, but Your Highness's sacrifice is merely giving Heaven some face. She's even willing to give "Heaven" a sweet potato she roasted herself. Heaven should know when to stop and not be ungrateful.
For the first time, Shen Tang felt that Ji Moqiu wasn't so reliable.
In the end, there wasn't even a single roasted sweet potato to make do.
Qi Shan and the others managed to scrape together some more money.
Ji Moqiu was in charge of the ceremony, which was supposedly to set up a temporary passage so that Shen Tang could communicate with "Heaven." Shen Tang only needed to tell "Heaven" what he wanted to say. If Ji Moqiu hadn't accumulated a lot of good karma over the years, he might have become a villain today.
He looks like a charlatan spouting nonsense.
The offerings were simple, the ceremony was rudimentary, it looked like a child's game.
Shen Tang lit three incense sticks, but for some reason only one could be lit; the other two wouldn't light no matter what she tried. Qi Shan vaguely sensed something was wrong, but Shen Tang, as the person involved, was used to it, simply sticking the lit incense stick in with one hand and casually tossing away the other two.
Gazing at the wisps of smoke, Chen Tang felt a sense of disorientation.
I could almost hear a voice that was neither male nor female.
She didn't hear clearly what the other person said, but she had a gut feeling that she understood! Her mouth involuntarily responded. Qi Shan and the others clearly saw Shen Tang's mouth moving but couldn't hear her voice. Shen Tang could hear her own voice, a deep, unfamiliar, and extremely difficult language. Not only could she hear it, she understood it, and her attitude was rude!
It doesn't sound like praying to heaven; it's clearly cursing heaven.
There were no profanities, but the insults were very harsh.
Shen Tang could picture himself holding a stick of incense in one hand, pointing it at the other person's nose and cursing. He looked like an enemy.
After several exchanges, the incense finally burned out.
Shen Tang blinked, her eyes regaining their bright light. Recalling the conversation during that mysterious state, she kicked over the wooden table: "Fuck your grandpa! Nine out, thirteen back, why didn't you just rob me? I'd skin you alive—"
Her reaction was too intense and too unexpected.
Qi Shan and the others were caught off guard.
Shen Tang was still furious: "You dare to lend money at exorbitant interest rates on my head? You won't know how powerful your old lady is until you've been skinned alive!"
She did indeed haggle with Him just now.
The other party readily agreed to the extension request, but imposed a very harsh condition: nine outs and thirteen returns. The debt related to fortune-telling could be postponed, but remember to pay exorbitant interest. If she agreed, the deal was done; if not, she'd continue to suffer.
"Why didn't we have compound interest before?"
Shen Tang couldn't understand why Kangshi hadn't charged interest on installments in the past.
This was just a matter of delaying the payment by a few days, yet the other party proposed such harsh conditions, which really annoyed her.
Looking at the shattered offering table, Ji Moqiu understood what had happened—He felt guilty towards His Highness, so He would readily agree to some trivial conditions, but the "He" His Highness contacted today was different, and it was perfectly normal for Him to demand high interest.
At that moment, he heard His Highness's voice through gritted teeth: "...Yuanliang, I'm worried I'll forget, please help me remember—this year, the lower realms will send tribute, nothing else but fox pelts, especially those deformed foxes with multiple tails!"
Make the wild foxes in Kangguo disappear completely!
Qi Shan: "..."
What does this have to do with foxes?
Although the communication was unpleasant, the outcome was still to Chen Tang's liking, and the bad luck was temporarily relieved, estimated to last for about seven days. Qi Shan asked worriedly, "Why only seven days?"
“…It can be fourteen days or longer, as long as I can afford the interest. Actually, I only planned to postpone it for three days first.” However, the “He” she was communicating with did not agree, insisting on a minimum of seven days.
Shen Tang suspected that the other party was only after the interest.
"Let's leave it at that for now. We'll discuss it again if we don't have enough time."
Qi Shan: "..."
With the crisis temporarily averted, Shen Tang no longer needed to be on high alert for unexpected events. Too many unexpected things had happened today, leaving her exhausted. All she wanted now was a good night's rest to recharge before facing off against the other side of the bridge.
only--
"Does the High Priest know who this 'He' is today?"
"Yes, I know. We've met a few times."
"Do we have some kind of grudge?"
How could a usurer like that, who made nine loans and thirteen returns, even dare to ask for such high interest rates?
Ji Moqiu: "I'm not too sure about that, but His Highness once said that 'a black-hearted capitalist can't get along with anyone.'"
Shen Tang: "..."
No wonder she felt the conversation was neither like that of enemies nor friends; it turned out to be a relationship between a creditor and a debtor.
"What does He need so much fortune for?"
"That's good karma, not just luck."
Another form of national destiny can be called merit.
"...Merit?"
"Your Highness has brought peace and stability to the world, which is a sign of prosperity for the Kang Kingdom and a perfect achievement for you personally." After saying this, Ji Moqiu glanced at the sky with concern and, finding no warning, vaguely understood something.
The one currently in charge isn't "Tiandao," so naturally they won't issue endless warnings based on a few idle remarks from Jimo Qiu...
As long as enough merit is given, He can turn a blind eye.
However, this is not a good thing either.
Although the original "Heavenly Way" was very harsh on itself and never gave it a kind look, it was very lenient with His Highness. At least it gave Kang Shi's fortune installment for five years interest-free. The current one is different. The other party will probably secretly increase the interest rate.
Just as Ji Moqiu was about to offer a reminder, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat.
It couldn't make a sound at all.
He opened his mouth, raised his hand to touch his neck, and had a strange expression.
"High Priest, what's wrong?"
Ji Moqiu shook his head, his face pale: "It's nothing."
After a good night's sleep, Chen Tang was full of energy.
Qin Li observed the celestial phenomena that night and found there had been no natural fog recently. The army couldn't simply wait for the heavens to provide shelter; they had to accelerate the process with human intervention. Since they couldn't achieve this directly through incantations, it took longer than expected. The conflict between the two sides intensified, with the opposing side even sending two unfamiliar faces to challenge and insult each other from across the river.
Shen Tang ignored them.
Until everything was ready and the east wind had arrived.
A cold wind blew in gusts, and a thick fog began to rise.
Thick mountain mists gradually drifted through the valleys, almost completely obscuring the long bridge. Looking across to the opposite bank, even the outline of the stone fortress was no longer visible. Shen Tang said, "Order the Mohists to relocate all the iron chains to these locations—"
Under normal circumstances, it would be safer for martial artists like Shen Tang to take action directly and throw the iron chain into the cliff face on the opposite bank.
However, there are special mineral veins below the mountain valleys that have an impact.
No matter how much force you throw, even if the iron chain doesn't bounce back with the same force, it won't penetrate very deep into the opposite cliff face, so there's no guarantee of safety. It's better to be safe and let the Mohists handle it.
The Mohists did not rely entirely on the Qi of Heaven and Earth.
On the contrary, the energy of heaven and earth is only an auxiliary factor.
The Mohists rely more on tangible external objects, making them more likely to succeed in building iron chain bridges. However, this approach carries significant risks; the central army must draw all enemy fire to buy the Mohists sufficient time and a stable working environment.
Led by Bei Qiu, the Mohists have been working overtime these past few days and have finally produced several specially made ballistae: "One hour is enough!"
The crowd parted, and Shen Tang rode his motorcycle forward.
"Who's going to die first on the other side?"
Shen Tang focused her energy in her dantian and sent her voice across the river.
The commotion caused a disturbance at the stone fort.
"Hmph, finally I'm not a coward anymore!"
The long bridge's iron chains swayed slightly in the mountain breeze. Shen Tang vaguely heard someone rushing along the chains, and a pair of grappling hooks burst out of the thick fog.
_(:3」∠)_
Ugh, the package has been taken by someone again, I have to check the security footage tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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