Chapter Nineteen

"Forget it!"

Before Qin Sang could respond, Princess Dongyang shook her head and said coldly, "Do you know? Because of your reckless actions, there's been a lot of talk in court. The Heir Apparent flew into a rage in the prefectural city, issuing three secret decrees in one day, vowing to execute Zhou Mingguang and forcing Commander Mu to personally go to Xuanji Temple with thorns and apologize, returning all the plundered wealth."

The prefectural city refers to the county seat of Yingshui Prefecture.

After King Dongyang raised his army, he established a small court in Chun City. The Prince personally took to the battlefield, while the Heir Apparent remained in the central command. After conquering Yingshui Prefecture, the supply trains for both armies had to pass through Yingshui Prefecture, so the Heir Apparent went to the prefectural city of Yingshui Prefecture to take charge.

However, before the Heir Apparent arrived in Yingshui Prefecture, all the various forces had already been sorted out by the Princess, so he reaped considerable benefits.

Qin Sang led his troops to Xuanji Temple to steal treasures the day before yesterday. It had only been two days at most, yet not only was the Heir Apparent, who was far away in Yingshui Prefecture, supporting Xuanji Temple, but the Princess had also rushed over from Jiang Prefecture City overnight.

Qin Sang lowered his head and confessed, "Your Highness, the King's order was forged by this subordinate. Commander and General Zhou were both deceived by me. If anyone is to be executed, it should be me."

"How is your head any harder than Zhou Mingguang's? If you hadn't saved my life, I would have had you executed right now!"

Princess Dongyang roared, her anger evident. "Elder Yue has already gone to see True Man Black Crane and voluntarily handed over control of the military department. Give me a list of your men. In the future, whether you want to become a general or a minister, which path do you want to take?"

Qin Sang replied without hesitation, "Leading troops into battle and earning merits is faster."

Princess Dongyang gave Qin Sang a deep look. "Very well, pack your bags immediately and head to the Xuanwei Camp in Hu Prefecture. I will report to my father, and with your previous merits, you will be more than qualified to be a Brigadier General."

Qin Sang's expression turned bitter. "Can I go to the Xiaoyong Camp?"

The position of Assistant General was not low. In Xuanwei Camp, it was second only to the Left and Right Commanders and Left and Right Deputy Generals. But the current Commander of Xuanwei Camp was that brat Wang Liu. Qin Sang had just thoroughly offended him in Hening County, and now he was going to work under him.

Wasn't this like delivering himself to his doorstep?

"No!"

Princess Dongyang glared at him fiercely with her phoenix eyes, leaving no room for negotiation.

"Zhou Mingguang, follow me up the mountain to apologize to the abbot."

Qin Sang quickly followed. "The mess was made by this subordinate. I should be the one to go with thorns and apologize. How can I let Your Highness, with your precious body, bow down to those bald donkeys! General Zhou, Brother Bai, quickly bring a troop of soldiers and these silver coins..."

Before he could finish speaking, he heard Princess Dongyang exclaim, "What silver coins? Buddhist monasteries are places of austerity. Xuanji Temple is filled with virtuous monks. How could they be greedy for pleasure and engage in the ugly act of accumulating wealth? You mustn't slander them!"

Qin Sang chuckled.

Princess Dongyang, with a hint of anger on her face, flicked her sleeve and left. As if remembering something, she hesitated, then turned and asked, "What did you use to forge my father's imperial seal?"

"Radish."

Qin Sang didn't know how the Princess appeased the monks of Xuanji Temple. That same day, he, along with Water Monkey and others, set off for Hu Prefecture, one person and one horse.

After Qin Sang took up his post as a field commander, his Eighth Battalion, which was originally responsible for mopping up and clearing the battlefield, was ordered by Wang Liu to the Commander. Using Qin Sang's past experience of going deep behind enemy lines and commanding the military as justification, Qin Sang, a dignified battalion field commander, was made the leader of the scouts.

Little did they know, this move suited Qin Sang perfectly. From then on, Qin Sang led his troops outside, rarely interacting with Wang Liu. With the mediation of Deputy General Feng, the Left Deputy General, Wang Liu was only the Right Commander. No matter how much he disliked Qin Sang, he could only endure it.

The battle in Duling County completely broke the backbone of the official army in Pingshan Prefecture. Hu Prefecture and North Ping Prefecture collapsed with little resistance.

Within half a year, Xuanwei Camp and Xiaoyong Camp had completely taken Pingshan Prefecture, even faster than King Dongyang's actions.

After King Dongyang conquered Zhaoyang Prefecture, he did not rush to pursue the three prefectures of the Imperial Capital. Instead, he turned west towards Xitai Prefecture. However, Qin Sang and his men had to tackle the hardest part, the three prefectures of the Imperial Capital.

No one expected that in just two years since King Dongyang raised his army, he would achieve such brilliant results. The False Emperor could only huddle in the Imperial Capital, Jiǔ Wèi, and Guize three prefectures. Any discerning person could see where the future trend lay.

It was early spring again.

The bleakness of winter had not yet dissipated, and the spring rain had not brought life to this land.

Qin Sang tightened his straw cape and trudged through the mountain forest.

Unknowingly, he had been in this world for three and a half years. Calculating by Qin Sanwa's age, he was now nineteen years old.

The rain grew heavier. Qin Sang found a place to shelter from the rain, gazing at the misty distant mountains through the curtain of rain, his thoughts drifting.

For the past year, he had been fully focused on cultivating and refining his spiritual power, only perfunctorily dealing with military affairs. He had remained in his position as a Brigade General for a year without any movement.

He had been trying bit by bit. The holes in the Yanluo Banner had all been repaired, and Yanwang's strength had recovered to its former peak, yet he still obeyed Qin Sang's every command.

This made Qin Sang realize that the Jade Buddha that had followed him seemed to possess unimaginably powerful abilities, unfathomable.

However, no matter how he probed with his spiritual power or spiritual sense, the Jade Buddha remained unmoved.

The ebony sword, the sheepskin, the seven-colored brocade pouch, and other items were also the same. Qin Sang could do nothing with them.

Speaking of spiritual sense, after some exploration, Qin Sang could use it proficiently. By releasing his spiritual sense, if anything approached within a few inches, he would know clearly without seeing or hearing, which made Qin Sang marvel.

Although the range was only a few inches, it was even shorter before he broke through the third level of the Netherworld Scripture.

Qin Sang guessed that as his cultivation and realm improved, the range of his spiritual sense would gradually increase, and he would be able to perceive everything happening around him.

He would have to wait until he broke through to the fourth level of the Netherworld Scripture to verify this.

His cultivation was already close to the peak of the third level, but Qin Sang greatly feared encountering a bottleneck when breaking through, like last time. That feeling of making no progress and having no clue made him want to go mad, and it was likely to delay him for a long time.

He was eager to break through, not only to gain a more powerful spiritual sense but also because of the Purple Soul Bell.

Now, Qin Sang could control the Purple Soul Bell as if it were an extension of his arm. The power of the Purple Soul Bell was indeed terrifying. Qin Sang had tried it a few times, and the targets had no resistance, meeting a tragic end of their souls scattering.

However, each time he used the Purple Soul Bell, Qin Sang's spiritual power would be almost depleted. He had to recover his spiritual power before he could use it again.

Qin Sang didn't know if other cultivators had ways to quickly recover their spiritual power. He could only circulate his cultivation technique to recover it little by little, which was very slow. If the opponent was powerful and the situation was complex, he wouldn't have the luxury to do this.

Furthermore, the Purple Soul Bell could only focus on one enemy at a time. If he tried to deal with two enemies simultaneously, Qin Sang would suffer from splitting headaches and could not persist.

This made him impatient to break through to a higher realm.

It seemed this rain would continue for a long time. Just as Qin Sang was about to sit down and cultivate, he suddenly saw the treetops at the foot of the mountain swaying. A figure was speeding through the forest. It was Water Monkey, and he seemed to be in a hurry.