The End

The chaos in the imperial palace hall, the Taotie corpses, and everything else were naturally left for the surviving soldiers and civilians to clean up. Xiao Hen had no need to concern himself with such matters. He lifted his foot and walked toward the tower nearby.

The tower doors burst open.

Lin Mei, William, and the lightly injured Advisor Wang slowly emerged.

The three of them stared blankly at the countless Taotie corpses scattered across the ground, disbelief written across their faces. The Taotie, the greatest source of disaster in the Central Plains, had been wiped out just like that?

For two thousand years, the Central Plains had expended endless manpower and resources to build The Great Wall, all to defend against the Taotie army. Yet now, the person before them had slain the Taotie Beast King. It was simply unbelievable.

Advisor Wang spoke with barely contained excitement. "Captain Xiao, you have rendered a great service. I will certainly petition His Majesty to reward you!"

William also looked at Xiao Hen with flickering eyes. "You are very strong!"

Xiao Hen understood English. The English proficiency imparted by the Shuttle had nearly reached the level of a linguist. "Thank you!"

Xiao Hen's fluent English stunned William. He had not expected that, aside from Lin Mei, Xiao Hen could speak English as well. William nodded and said no more. He had never been a man of many words.

"Why did you only take out such a terrifying weapon now?" Lin Mei demanded. "If you had brought out such a powerful weapon earlier, Marshal Shao might not have died. We could have stopped the Taotie outside The Great Wall. If you had acted sooner and killed the Taotie Beast King sooner, the people of Bianliang would not have died..."

"Shut up!" Xiao Hen's expression turned cold. "I had my reasons for not taking out that weapon earlier. Since you want to know, I'll tell you!"

"Why did I put away that weapon after killing over a thousand Taotie? Because it could no longer be used. Just as a bow needs arrows, the 'arrows' fired by that weapon were consumed even faster. I had no more of those 'arrows.'"

"And why did I not act in advance to kill the Taotie? Beyond The Great Wall lies Gouwu Mountain, close to the Taotie nest. If I had rashly acted and allowed the Beast King to flee into Gouwu Mountain, their lair, killing it there would have been even more difficult. I did not know whether I would even live to see the next sixty years, or the sixty years after that. So I had to lure it out and kill it."

There were truths and lies mixed into Xiao Hen's words, and the blend of fact and fiction gradually calmed Lin Mei and Advisor Wang.

Advisor Wang was indeed a clever man. His expression shifted as he said, "You knew the Taotie would dig a tunnel and attack Bianliang?"

"Yes."

Xiao Hen nodded.

"What? You! Why didn't you tell me something so important?" Lin Mei was shocked, and her dissatisfaction with Xiao Hen deepened. Did this man even regard her as the marshal? He had known the Taotie would attack Bianliang, yet had not informed her?

Advisor Wang said instead, "So you played along with their scheme, allowed the Taotie to dig a passage into Bianliang, and then killed the Beast King there?"

"Correct." Xiao Hen nodded calmly, admitting to this "fact."

Xiao Hen calmly looked at Lin Mei's stunningly beautiful face. The faint fondness he had felt for her was gradually fading. That breathtaking glimpse of her beauty had once been deeply imprinted in his heart, but now it had grown much fainter.

The surviving soldiers in the city gathered under Lin Mei's command and began clearing away the Taotie corpses. The other officials also started organizing the surviving people of Bianliang to rebuild the city after the battle.

It would be a long-term task, mainly entrusted to Bianliang's city guards. Lin Mei and the others still had The Great Wall as their primary responsibility. Though the Taotie were dead, the nomadic tribes beyond the frontier still lived, and the northern threat remained. Having narrowly escaped with his life, the young emperor immediately ordered Lin Mei to lead her troops back to garrison The Great Wall. Rewards for Xiao Hen and the others were also issued.

Just as Xiao Hen had expected, the emperor's reward was a promotion of two ranks and an official appointment as a general. Within the Shadowless Imperial Army, he ranked only below Lin Mei and stood on the same level as General Wu, General Chen, and the others.

Atop The Great Wall, Lin Mei stood at the very front, with Xiao Hen and General Wu behind her. General Chen, however, had fallen in the battle of Bianliang.

On the plains beyond The Great Wall, William and Thorva sat atop tall horses and waved toward the wall. Then they tugged their reins. Hooves thundered as the two gradually rode away.

"You should all return and arrange the defenses. We cannot let our guard down just because the Taotie have been eliminated. There are many powerful tribes beyond the frontier, so we must remain vigilant." Lin Mei turned to General Wu.

"Yes!" General Wu cupped his fist and departed. Before leaving, he seemed to glance at Xiao Hen.

Xiao Hen looked at Lin Mei curiously. She had deliberately kept him behind, and he did not know what she was planning.

"What are your plans from here on?" Lin Mei's crisp, pleasant voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.

"You know?" Xiao Hen raised a brow.

"Yes. Recently, I have looked into the tasks you assigned your soldiers. Of course I could tell that you have already prepared to leave." As the marshal overseeing the entire Shadowless Imperial Army, Lin Mei naturally had the authority to manage the affairs of the subordinate legions.

"Yes. Since the Taotie disaster has been eliminated, it is time for me to leave." Xiao Hen nodded. The Plot of this film had truly ended here. The two missions that had brought him into this world had also been completed. The Main Quest had long been finished, while the side quest, helping the Shadowless Imperial Army defeat the Taotie, had been completed when he killed the King of Taotie. It could be said that everything he had come to this world to do was over. It was time for him to leave.

"Who exactly are you?" Lin Mei looked at him with a complicated expression. She had had enough time to investigate Xiao Hen's background. According to the information she had uncovered, he was not some frontier resident who had migrated to the Central Plains at all. Most importantly, there was the terrifying power he possessed, especially that incomparably frightening weapon, which had shocked Lin Mei the most.

"There is no need for me to tell you who I am. In any case, I will not harm you or the Great Song." Xiao Hen smiled, then asked, "What about you?"

"Me?"

Lin Mei's expression remained unchanged as she said softly, "I grew up here. I have always lived here, and I am used to it."

"I will remain here forever, guarding the northern gate of the Great Song and keeping the enemies beyond the frontier at bay."

Xiao Hen stood quietly for a moment. Then, with a meaningful look in his eyes, he turned to Lin Mei and said, "Then it is time for me to go as well!"

"Until we meet again. Perhaps we will see each other someday."

When Lin Mei turned her head, all she saw was Xiao Hen's departing back. He had already leaped down from The Great Wall, drifting lightly toward the land beyond it. After taking a few steps, his figure vanished from her sight.

"Until we meet again? Perhaps."

I don't even have anywhere to eat dinner. Everyone, please give me some recommendation votes. I'm planning to use them to pay for dinner at a restaurant tonight. What do you think of that idea???