Golden Armored Young General Enters a Dead End

Lan Yuan had inherited his mother's complexion. His face was as fair as polished jade, his features refined, and his richly noble attire bore not the slightest resemblance to anything fierce or vicious. Yet his domineering retort had left the ruler and ministers of Linyi Kingdom rooted to the spot.

"Impudence! You are not permitted to run wild here! This is the King of Linyi Kingdom—who exactly are you?" the captain of Qu Jin's guards barked.

Lan Yuan cast them a contemptuous glance. Qu Jin wore a heavenly crown and a beaded ceremonial sash, standing as far apart from his plainly dressed soldiers as heaven from earth. From this alone, it was clear that after the Cham People broke away from Great Han, their lives might actually have become worse than before.

"Your lord is a monkey crowned in a cap, while his people languish in poverty. What have you gained from breaking away from the Han Dynasty for decades? The Qu Clan's nobles treat the common people like grass and chaff. I have received Heaven's mandate to punish the guilty—why do you not dismount and submit to your bonds?" Lan Yuan swept his halberd forward. His words rang like iron, his heroic spirit surging fiercely.

The Cham guards tightened their reins and clustered protectively around Qu Jin, yet they showed no reaction whatsoever to Lan Yuan's words.

"Young General, you are quite skilled at stirring people up. Unfortunately, my subjects do not understand Han speech, so you are merely playing the petty man for nothing. Judging by your attire, you do not seem to be a nobody. Could you be some young member of the Shi Clan? Does a general of the Celestial Empire not dare declare his name?" The fat, large-eared Qu Jin jeered.

Lan Yuan thundered in