Reserved in advance

"Killing one of Void Returning be so easy," Ju Beichen said with a smile, shaking his head. "But by risking my old life, I managed to severely injure him and leave a palm print inside his body. He won't recover for at least three to five years."

Three to five years is enough time to change many things. Moreover, Li State and the Barbarian Race, Chidahu cannot expect to find peace and quiet to heal his wounds. For example, if Ju Beichen attacks Barbarian Race Grandmaster, should he save him or not?

If we don't help, we'll watch Gan Jiang die and the war be lost; if we do help, his injuries might worsen, requiring more time to heal.

The two sides are already maintaining a delicate balance, and even the slightest factor could tip the scales.

After briefly recounting the course of the battle, Ju Beichen immediately asked Song Jingping why he hadn't intervened, and Song Jingping repeated his previous explanation.

As the Grand Tutor of the Li State, Ju Beichen had witnessed countless conspiracies and schemes throughout his life. Unlike Si Ming, he was not slow to realize the truth and did not immediately suspect Song Jingping's true identity. However, he did not say anything, but instead comforted the other party in a kind tone, as if he completely believed the other party's words.

After seeing Song Jingping off, Ju Beichen turned to Si Ming and pleaded, "Until it is proven to be genuine, this sword is a fake. I hope you will forgive me."

These words sounded like nonsense, but Si Ming understood the hidden meaning behind them. After all, the other party had to consider the bigger picture, and sometimes the truth wasn't important. So he replied, "Don't worry, I know what's important."

Chapter 891 Internal Order

After the sword-stealing incident at Gourd Valley, Si Ming declined the Li State group's offer to stay and headed north into the territory of Great Qian.

"We just beat up their big boss, and now we're just walking around on their territory like this? Isn't that a bit too conspicuous?"

Inside the restaurant, Ying Zhou yawned and casually tossed his chopsticks, which, in a flash, pierced through the door of a nearby private room.

First came a scream, followed by a series of thuds as tables and chairs collapsed, and it seemed as if many people were frantically jumping out of windows to escape. Then, all was quiet.

"I don't even know how many waves this is. Let's go all out and kill a few of them. That should stop them from sending more." Ying Zhou. Si Ming stared at the Juntian Divine Sword in his hand, not even looking up, and said, "The Barbarian King isn't some benevolent ruler who loves his people. Why would he care about the lives of a few lackeys?"

Ying Zhou considered the reputation of the Barbarian Hu and said helplessly, "You spend all day studying this sword, but have you come up with Xilai? Is this sword genuine or a fake?"

"It's hard to say. The sword itself Higher Vehicle -quality materials, but the best weapons never rely on sharpness, but on their supernatural Divine Ability. No matter how I try to communicate with the sword spirit, I don't get any feedback. So it's hard to tell whether it's because the sword spirit doesn't exist and it's not a top-tier weapon, or because I don't have royal blood, which is why I can't get the sword spirit's approval."

Ying Zhou chuckled wickedly, "So, you're saying there's nothing you can do about it?"

Si Ming put down his sword and pondered, "Not exactly. There are two ways: one is to find the true royal bloodline, and the other is to try to destroy the sword and force its spirit to manifest."

Ying Zhou nitpicked, "Neither of these sounds reliable. The former is like finding a needle in a haystack, and the latter—what if this sword spirit is stubborn and would rather die than submit?"

Murong Qing nodded in agreement, saying, "This sword spirit has served the Li State's royal family for two hundred years because of a promise, which shows it is no ordinary person who would hesitate to sacrifice itself. Such a loyal and righteous person would not succumb to threats."

"That's what I thought too, so I just said it casually," Si Ming put down his sword, then asked Murong Qing, "I heard that it was your father who rescued the royal orphan back then, but he didn't leave any clues to prove his identity?"

Murong Qing her head and said, "At the time, I was only thinking about saving my life and cutting off all clues for the enemy to investigate. Why would I have left anything behind? Besides, the Juntian Divine Sword is the best evidence to verify my identity. There's no need for anything else."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Moreover, I always thought Song Jingping was my real cousin, and never considered the possibility that he might be someone else in disguise."

Liu Qingqing said, "Indeed, he looks very much like you."

"What's so difficult about finding one or two people in the world who resemble you? Not to mention that some Cultivation Method can directly control facial bones, thereby changing one's appearance."

Ying Zhou spoke nonchalantly, grabbing the Juntian Divine Sword and casually swinging it a few times. Then, as if struck by a thought, he grinned mischievously at Xia Guanxue and said, "As the saying goes, 'You can search high and low without finding it, but then it comes to you effortlessly.' Perhaps the royal descendant of the Li State that we're looking for is right beside us. Why don't we all give it a try and test our bloodline?"

Xia Guanxue snorted, "Childish, boring."

The others were naturally uninterested; what was the point of finding someone a father for no reason?

After a short while, the group finished resting and were about to continue their journey when they suddenly sensed an approaching presence. Exchanging bewildered glances, Ying Zhou couldn't help but chuckle strangely, "Oh, so there really are people rushing to their deaths."

A moment later, a short, weasel-faced, and fierce-looking Barbarian Hu entered. His eyes darted around like a thief's, and from a distance of three zhang, he caught sight of Ying Zhou raising his arm. His expression changed drastically, and he immediately knelt down, hurriedly crying out, "Don't kill me! In times of war, envoys are not to be killed!"

Ying Zhou paused for a moment, then chuckled and lowered his half-raised hand. It wasn't to abide by the rule of "not killing envoys," but because the other party was such a coward that killing him would only dirty his hands.

Seeing this, Si Ming thought the other side had chosen an excellent messenger. If they had chosen someone with integrity as the envoy, someone on their side might have stepped forward to uphold the other's loyalty. But with someone as worthless as cow dung, no one wanted to dirty their shoes. So he stepped forward and said, "What did the Barbarian King send you here for? Do you perhaps want to ask for this sword?"

The man replied, "I wouldn't dare. Mad Ink obtained the sword through his own abilities; we naturally have no right to comment."

Si Ming asked, "Then what are you doing here?"

The Barbarian Hu envoy hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Ying Zhou, Murong Qing, and the others, his meaning clear.

Si Ming feigned impatience and said, "If you want to talk, then talk here; if you don't, then get lost."

The Barbarian Hu envoy gritted his teeth and said, "His Majesty wishes to make a deal with you."

"I don't think the Barbarian King can offer me a reward that will tempt me." Upon hearing this, Si Ming couldn't help but chuckle. Did Chidahu really think he was a mercenary, believing that he could get a mission just by paying money? But judging from his appearance, he didn't seem like such a naive person.

The Barbarian Hu envoy raised his head, his timidity vanished, and looked directly at him, saying, "His Majesty said that as long as you agree, he will reveal the secret of 'Fushi Qingcang'."

"... make a deal."

The Hall of Mental Cultivation.

After the imperial physician took Chidahu's pulse and carefully examined the palm print on his chest, he hesitated and said, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty, this injury cannot be healed by medicine or other external means, and this servant is powerless to help."

The crown prince immediately raised his eyebrows and angrily rebuked, "What use are you if you can't even heal injuries! Guards—"

Chidahu shouted, "Enough! This is an injury that Li State Tutor Li risked his life to inflict on me. If anyone can heal it, then Void Returning Great Grandmaster is worthless." He then waved his hand, dismissing the flustered imperial physician who was kowtowing and begging for forgiveness.

The Crown Prince remained unconvinced. "They always boast about their unparalleled medical skills, claiming they can save anyone with a breath left. They're even treated with the utmost respect by the emperor of the Southern Court. But when it really comes down to them demonstrating their abilities, all they do is kowtow and beg for forgiveness. What's the point of keeping them around!"

Chidahu didn't seem to care much. He calmly straightened his robes and said, "That's because it's an injury they can't treat. The patient has already passed away and doesn't need their treatment at all. I suppose this is the first time they've treated a Void Returning Warrior."

Anyone else who had taken Ju Beichen's heavy blow would have been dead long ago; they wouldn't have survived until the doctor treated them. "Father, what should we do next?"

"What else can we do? Our advantage as Barbarian Hu is our ability to advance and retreat swiftly. We invade when the enemy is weak and retreat when the enemy is strong. The Huaxia value land, but we don't. Let's give Yan Province to the Southern Court. Give the order for all the warriors stationed in Yan Province to return and consolidate our defenses. However, the people and wealth of Yan Province cannot be left to the Southern Court; they must all be moved back."

Forced relocation, leaving their homes and villages, would certainly be something the people of Yan Province would resist, but Chidahu believed that they would obediently leave in the face of swords. When the Barbarian Hu attacked the old Li State, seized land and houses, and forced the people of the old capital into slavery, they were also unwilling, but in the end they still yielded, because without homes and land, they would starve to death if they did not become slaves. "Starving to death is a small matter, but losing one's integrity is a great matter"—that was what was said to the scholar-officials. Ordinary people only sought to survive on food and clothing.