Chapter 40: Nineteen Years Old
"Enough!"
Without waiting for Qin Sang's response, the Dongyang Lady shook her head and said coldly, "Do you know? Because of your reckless actions, the court is in an uproar. The eldest prince flew into a rage in the commandery seat, issuing three secret decrees in one day, swearing to execute Zhou Mingguang, and ordered Military Commander Mu to personally go to Xuanji Temple to apologize with his life and return the looted treasures."
The commandery seat referred to the seat of Yingshui Commandery.
After the Dongyang King raised his army, he established a small court in Chun City, personally donning armor and leading the charge, while the eldest prince remained in the central command. Once Yingshui Commandery was captured, the supply lines for both major armies ran through Yingshui Commandery, and the eldest prince also took command in Yingshui Commandery Seat.
However, before the eldest prince arrived in Yingshui Commandery, the Dongyang Lady had already clarified the situation among the various factions, leaving him with an easy task.
Two days ago, Qin Sang led his troops to Xuanji Temple to steal treasures. Although it had only been two days, the eldest prince, who was far away in Yingshui Commandery, had already taken a stand for Xuanji Temple, and the Dongyang Lady had rushed over from Jiangzhou City overnight.
Qin Sang lowered his head in repentance. "Lady, I confess. The decree was forged by me. The military commander and General Zhou were both deceived by me. If anyone should be executed, it should be me."
"How much harder is your head compared to Zhou Mingguang's? If it weren't for the fact that you once saved my life, I would have beheaded you right here!"
The Dongyang Lady shouted in anger, "Elder Yue has already gone to meet with Black Crane Sage and voluntarily handed over control of the military hall. He also gave me a list of your men. In the future, whether you want to become a general or a minister, which path do you choose?"
Qin Sang replied without hesitation, "Leading troops into battle and earning merits is faster."
The Dongyang Lady gave Qin Sang a deep look. "Very well, pack your things immediately and head to the Might Regiment in Huzhou. I will report to my father, and based on your previous achievements, a position as staff general is more than sufficient."
Qin Sang's face turned bitter. "Could I go to the Brave Regiment instead?"
The position of staff general was not low; in the Might Regiment, it was second only to the left and right military commanders and their deputies. But now, the commander of Might Regiment was Wang Liu, the very person Qin Sang had offended in Hening County. Now he was expected to work under him.
Wasn't this just delivering himself on a silver platter?
"No way!"
The Dongyang Lady gave him a fierce look, leaving no room for negotiation.
"Zhou Mingguang, come with me up the mountain to apologize to the abbot."
Qin Sang quickly followed. "I was the one who caused the trouble, so it should be me who goes to apologize, not you, Lady, who should bow your noble head to those bald donkeys! General Zhou, Brother Bai, quickly bring a troop and gather these silver..."
Before he could finish, the Dongyang Lady interrupted sternly, "What silver? The Buddhist monks live a frugal life, and the monks of Xuanji Temple are all virtuous. How could they indulge in greed and commit such disgraceful acts? Don't slander them!"
Qin Sang chuckled.
The Dongyang Lady, with a trace of anger on her face, flicked her sleeves and left. After a moment of hesitation, she turned back and asked, "What did you use to forge my father's royal seal?"
"A radish."
…
Qin Sang didn't know how the Dongyang Lady managed to appease the monks at Xuanji Temple, but that very day, he took his men, including Water Monkey, and rode to Huzhou.
After Qin Sang assumed the position of staff general, his original task was to clean up and scout the battlefield, but Wang Liu requested the military commander to appoint Qin Sang, under the pretext that he had once led the Military Branch, to be the leader of the night patrol.
Little did anyone know, this was exactly what Qin Sang wanted. From then on, Qin Sang led his troops in the field, rarely interacting with Wang Liu. With General Feng, the left deputy commander, mediating between them, Wang Liu, who was only a right military commander, had no choice but to endure his dislike of Qin Sang.
In the Battle of Duling County, the government troops of Pingshan Commandery were thoroughly crushed, and Huzhou and Beipingzhou collapsed without much resistance.
In less than half a year, the Might Regiment and Brave Regiment completely took over Pingshan Commandery, even faster than Dongyang King's forces.
After the Dongyang King captured Zhaoyang Commandery, he did not rush to conquer the three commanderies of the capital but instead turned west to Xitai Commandery. However, Qin Sang and his forces had to tackle the hardest part: the three commanderies of the capital.
No one expected that in just two years since the Dongyang King raised his army, he would achieve such brilliant results, forcing the fake emperor to retreat and hold up in the imperial capital and the three commanderies, making it clear to everyone where the future lay.
…
Another early spring had arrived.
The bleakness of winter had yet to fade, and the spring rain had failed to bring life back to the land.
Qin Sang tightened the raincoat around his body as he trudged through the mountain forest, each step sinking deep into the mud.
Unknowingly, he had been in this world for three and a half years, and by Qin Sanwa's age, he was now exactly nineteen.
The rain was becoming heavier, so Qin Sang found a place to take shelter. As he gazed at the distant mountains, shrouded in mist, his thoughts drifted.
For the past year, he had been wholly focused on cultivating and refining his abilities, merely going through the motions with military affairs. He had held the position of staff general for a year without making any progress.
Bit by bit, he had slowly experimented, and the holes in the Yan Luo Banner were now fully repaired. King Yan's power had been restored to its former peak, yet he still obeyed Qin Sang without question.
This made Qin Sang realize that the Jade Buddha that had accompanied him seemed to possess an unfathomable, immense power.
However, no matter how much spiritual power or spiritual consciousness he used to probe it, the Jade Buddha remained unmoved.
The same was true for the ebony sword, the sheepskin, and the multicolored pouch. Qin Sang had no way to make use of them.
Speaking of spiritual consciousness, after some exploration, Qin Sang had become adept at using it. By extending his spiritual consciousness, he could detect anything approaching within a few inches around him, without needing to see or hear it. This amazed him.
Although the range was only a few cun[1], before he broke through the third stage of the Netherworld Scripture, it had been even shorter.
Qin Sang speculated that as his cultivation and realm advanced, the range of his spiritual consciousness would expand, making it impossible for anything around him to escape his notice.
He would need to wait until he broke through to the fourth stage of the Netherworld Scripture to confirm this.
His cultivation was nearing the peak of the third stage, but Qin Sang was afraid of encountering another bottleneck during the breakthrough, like last time. That feeling of being stuck, with no progress and no direction, was maddening, and it could take a long time to overcome.
He was eager to break through, not just to gain stronger spiritual consciousness but also because of the Purple Soul Bell.
Qin Sang had now mastered the Purple Soul Bell, and its power was indeed terrifying. He had tested it several times, and his targets had no ability to resist, inevitably facing the fate of having their souls scattered.
However, every time he used the Purple Soul Bell, his spiritual power was almost completely drained, and he had to restore it before he could use it again.
Qin Sang didn't know if other immortal cultivators had a way to quickly restore their spiritual power. He could only recover slowly by circulating his cultivation technique, which was a slow process. In a complex situation with a powerful opponent, there was no way he could afford to take his time.
Moreover, the Purple Soul Bell could only focus on one enemy at a time. If he tried to target two people simultaneously, it caused him unbearable headaches, and he couldn't keep it up.
This made him all the more eager to break through to a higher realm.
Looks like the rain will continue for a while. Just as Qin Sang was about to sit down and cultivate, he suddenly noticed the treetops at the foot of the mountain swaying. A figure was swiftly moving through the forest—it was Water Monkey, clearly in a hurry.
1. A cun, often glossed as the Chinese inch, is a traditional Chinese unit of length. Its traditional measure is the width of a person's thumb at the knuckle, whereas the width of the two forefingers denotes 1.5 cun and the width of four fingers side-by-side is 3 cuns. ☜
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