After handing over the supervisory army to his deputy, Cheng Yaojin boarded the aircraft with Fang Er.
Flying was much better than enduring the bumpy horse ride, which had almost worn his backside smooth.
After a night's rest in transit, the aircraft successfully arrived over Suyeb City the following noon.
Guan Yin held Jieriying Bangbang with his left hand and his cheap son with his right, babbling incoherently.
"Niuzi, what kind of wife do you want to marry?" Guan Yin asked Ababa with a smile.
The string of words was too awkward. Niuzi was the nickname he gave to Ababa.
"I want to marry a woman from Guanzhong!"
*Slap!*
Guan Yin backhanded him. "Dream on! Women from the Central Plains don't marry foreigners!"
Ababa pouted aggrievedly.
"I don't want to say it, but you keep asking. You ask, then hit me. You're too dictatorial!"
"City Lord, something is flying over from the east!"
Just then, a messenger galloped over from a distance.
"Oh, my dear Nethers! Gaia! Labrador! Did you eat too much?" Guan Yin looked at him unhappily. The fellow was too unobservant, daring to interrupt his conversation with his cheap son.
"No, City Lord, look over there quickly!" Nethers pointed to the eastern sky with a look of horror.
Guan Yin followed his finger and looked up. He saw seven helicopters rapidly approaching.
"The Duke is here!"
"Pass down the order, prepare good wine and food! Open the city gates, and let this City Lord welcome the Duke!"
"Also, tell Ardachir IV, the envoy from Khwarazm, and the envoy from Khurasan to wait in the City Lord's mansion!"
"Hahaha~~ Niuzi, come, Father will take you to meet the most remarkable man under heaven!" Saying this, he pulled Ababa and Jieriying Bangbang towards the city gate.
Suyeb City was too small; the open spaces and roads within couldn't accommodate seven helicopters landing simultaneously.
Shortly after he arrived at the city gate, the seven helicopters began to descend.
After the engines were shut down and the rotors stopped spinning, Fang Er, Cheng Yaojin, and Ge Ziwoyang emerged from the cabins.
"Greetings, Duke, from the Second Division of the Skyfire Army, Deputy Commander, and City Lord of Suyeb, Guan Yin!" Guan Yin snapped to attention and shouted at Fang Er with a grin.
His cheap son and wife beside him quickly followed suit and saluted.
"Guan Niuzi, greetings, Duke!"
"Jieriying Bangbang, greetings, Duke!"
Fang Er, who was about to reach Guan Yin, had a cheerful expression, but upon hearing Jieriying Bangbang's greeting, he stumbled, nearly falling.
"Good heavens, what a preposterous name!"
"Hahahaha~~ What a great name, I like it!" Cheng Yaojin, however, was amused. Savoring the phrase, he couldn't resist patting Fang Er on the backside!
"Damn it~~ Cheng Zhijie!" Fang Er was furious. Not only was the phrase easily misunderstood, but this fellow had the audacity to pat his backside! After glaring at Cheng Yaojin, he turned to Jieriying Bangbang and said, "Keep this name for home, don't say it to others easily. If you go to the Central Plains later, you might be misunderstood."
Jieriying Bangbang looked at Guan Yin in confusion; she didn't understand why Fang Er had said that. Guan Yin didn't explain but said to Fang Er, "Duke, the Division Commander has taken the men to Julan City. Should I notify them to return?"
Fang Er nodded slightly, "Tell him to bring everyone back. We might have a tough fight on our hands this time."
With that, he led Cheng Yaojin and Ge Ziwoyang into the city. This was his first time in the Western Regions, and the environment and architecture were all novel to him. However, upon entering the city, he couldn't help but frown. While the outside looked exotic, the interior was a mess of dirt and disarray.
Guan Yin conveyed the order to Nethers and then followed to lead the way. Jill and Ababa followed silently at the rear of the procession.
Upon arriving at the City Lord's mansion, in the main hall, three men with distinct appearances were pacing back and forth like ants on a hot pan. Seeing Guan Yin, they rushed forward.
"City Lord Guan, has our request for help been fulfilled?" They didn't recognize Fang Er and the others and anxiously asked Guan Yin.
"Duke, these three are Prince Ardachir IV of the Sasanian Dynasty, the envoy of Khwarazm, and the envoy of Khurasan, as mentioned in the telegram." Guan Yin ignored the three and first introduced them to Fang Er and Cheng Yaojin. He then turned to the three and said, "This is Duke Lu of the Great Tang, Great Supervisor Cheng of the Protectorate of Kucha!"
"And this is Duke Shenyang, whom this City Lord mentioned to you earlier."
Upon hearing this, the three quickly saluted.
"Mei Ma Gu Er~"
"Mo De Ji Er~ Hao Liang Liang~ Chi Ge Tao Tao~"
"Greetings, Duke Lu, Duke Fang!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, indeed, they lack cultivation. What names they have! How much heart did their parents put into it!" Cheng Yaojin shook his head and found a chair to sit down, muttering his complaints. Fang Er didn't find anything outrageous; in this era, in this place, it was good enough that these people had names.
The Sasanian prince, to highlight his uniqueness, deliberately spoke last.
"This humble prince, Ai Chi Si Da Shu~ Ardachir, greets Duke Lu and Duke Fang."
"By the way, to show respect for the Great Tang, this humble prince has taken a Tang name, Ni Baba. I hope the Duke from the superior nation can help Ni Baba reclaim his throne. Ni Baba is willing to pay any price."
Cheng Yaojin stared at him in astonishment. "Little Mud, who gave you that name? You're too talented!"
Fang Er's forehead was covered in black lines as he looked speechlessly at Cheng Yaojin. "What little mud! 'Baba' is what they call their fathers in Yangzhou and Southern Yue!"
Hearing this, Cheng Yaojin almost spat out a mouthful of blood. He looked at Guan Yin. "Kid, is that true?" Guan Yin claimed ignorance, but there were merchants from that region in Suyeb City, so he sent for one. After confirmation, Cheng Yaojin braced himself on the chair and kicked Ardachir IV more than two meters away.
"Ni Baba? Your father! You son of a bitch, you dare to take advantage of me! From today onwards, your name is Little Mud!"
Ardachir somersaulted and nimbly got up from the ground, smiling fawningly at Cheng Yaojin. "Little Mud thanks Duke for the bestowed name. It's a small token of my appreciation, please accept it for tea~" Saying this, he took out a handful of gold coins from his embrace and respectfully placed them beside Cheng Yaojin.
As the saying goes, you don't strike a smiling face. Since the gift was already offered, what more could Cheng Yaojin say? Curiously, he picked up the Sasanian gold coins and played with them, then gave Fang Er a look. Receiving his glance, Fang Er found a chair and sat down, looking at the three men. "Tell me about your situations."
Little Mud first recounted his encounter with Guan Yu and the others, then said, "They also wrote a letter, asking this humble prince to deliver it to the capital of the Great Tang and personally hand it to the Emperor. "
Fang Er frowned and extended his hand. "Bring the letter here for me to see." Little Mud obediently took out a roll of sheepskin from his embrace. Guan Yin took it and handed it to Fang Er. As soon as Fang Er got the sheepskin, he disdainfully threw it onto the table beside him and unrolled it with the knife on his waist.
"It stinks so much! How can these fellows, who might not bathe more than three times in their lives, not be suffocated to death!" On the sheepskin scroll, in neat small cursive script, were the identities of several people. After reading the content, Fang Er was completely stunned.
Xiang Yu, Guan Gong, Zhang Fei, Meng Ben, Lu Zhishen, Gao Chong – a total of six mighty generals. Not only that, but the letter stated there were also seven female generals! The letter mentioned a small card that Gao Chong had. Every time that person tore up a card, a light door would open, and someone would be summoned from within. This was undoubtedly the system's doing. "How many good deeds did this other host accumulate in his past life to gather all these heroes under his command?" Fang Er thought. "Regardless of whether that guy's goal is the Great Tang or not, just because of these heroic spirits, I must confront him! I will absolutely not tolerate these people being bossed around by a foreigner!"
After reading, Fang Er pushed the sheepskin scroll to Cheng Yaojin, asking him to look at it as well. After all, he would be facing Guan Gong and the others in the future, so it was also to give him some psychological preparation. Cheng Yaojin didn't even glance at it. "I recognize the words on it, but I don't fully recognize all of them. Brother, just tell me what it says."