Chapter 161 Is That Xue Hai Pass Ahead?

"Ahead, is that Xue Hai Pass?"

Xiong Liqing lifted the carriage curtain and looked ahead. There, a majestic pass connected mountains and rose up.

It was no exaggeration to say that Xue Hai Pass was much more majestic and towering than Zhennan Pass. After all, this pass was built by the Jin people to defend against the Savages, and the Savages were the main target of the Jin Marquis's order from the Great Xia Emperor to enter the Three Jin lands.

The towering majestic pass represented not only defense, but also a totem symbol of the Jin people's expulsion of the Savages and their reclamation of the Three Jin lands.

Of course, no matter how grand and ancient the history, it could not escape the fate of being weathered by wind and rain. This majestic pass was first broken by the Savages, and now the walls were covered with the black dragon flags of Great Yan.

"Yes, Xue Hai Pass," Si Niang replied, leaning against the carriage wall.

After reuniting with Marquis Jingnan, Zheng Boye had stayed in Fengxin City with Marquis Jingnan for a while, because at that time, a scout had sent a message saying that an army entering Chu had returned from a branch of the Wangjiang River's lower reaches.

What arrived were indeed Si Niang and A Ming.

Si Niang and A Ming were both wounded. Si Niang was better, only suffering from hidden injuries that needed time to heal. A Ming had already fallen asleep in a coffin. Zheng Boye had seen him; apart from his lips being a little rosy, the rest of his body was as white as if it had been covered with twenty layers of pearl powder.

Because during the escape, a Qu Clan worshiper who was good at tracking had caught up. A Ming chose to stay behind alone, and was eventually besieged by several more worshipers who followed. After buying enough time for the main force, A Ming chose to jump off a cliff to break through.

A way of breaking through… that no one but A Ming could imitate.

This was why A Ming was now in this state. In Si Niang's words, only a thin layer of skin remained.

He needed a long period of rest to recover, and every three days, he had to be watered with blood like a succulent plant.

As for the others, at least in the unit where Si Niang and A Ming were, the casualties were not very high. To be precise, apart from dozens of knights who voluntarily sacrificed themselves to intercept the pursuers, the few remaining casualties were from accidentally falling off cliffs while traversing the mountains.

And people like Chen Daxia, Eunuch Zhao, He Chunlai, and Chen Daole were all on this route.

There were two reasons why this army was able to preserve itself to such a great extent:

First, Su Mingzhe, the gentleman Zheng Boye had impersonated, had overcome the illness caused by acclimatization in a border town of Chu. Knowing that he could not make it to the princess's wedding, he simply stopped rushing. In any case, Yao Zizhan's letter had already been delivered by Chen Daxia.

So, this genuine Mr. Su Mingzhe began to show off his talents in that town. Because Yao Shi's name was so famous, not only in Qian, but in all three Eastern kingdoms, there were admirers of Yao Shi's poems. As for those nobles or gentry who were not well-versed in literature, they were even more enthusiastic about it.

Mr. Su carried forward Yao Zizhan's dashing and romantic spirit from his youth. It was said that when Yao Zizhan was young, he had indulged himself in the Rouge Alley of Jiangnan for three months without spending a single coin, and when he finally came out, he was carrying a box of gold, silver, and jade artifacts, which was passed down as a beautiful story.

Mr. Su, on the other hand, first made a name for himself with poetry in the city called Dazhou, and then took two concubines from noble families.

Although those two noble families were nothing compared to the Qu Clan, the fact that he could get two noble families to offer their daughters as concubines at the same time showed how successful Mr. Su was.

So, while Zheng Boye was making a scene at the princess's wedding under the identity of Su Mingzhe, this Mr. Su Mingzhe was not to be outdone in Dazhou.

Later, an army came chasing after him, and was directly attracted by this real Mr. Su Mingzhe. This was the first army to pursue them, and they naturally could not contact those behind them in time. So, after learning that there were signs of a "Mr. Su" being active in Dazhou, they went straight to Dazhou. The fact that this first pursuing army was drawn away relieved the greatest pressure on Si Niang's group as they made their way back through Meng Mountain.

Another reason was San'er.

San'er led several hundred cavalrymen and followed the planned route through Mount Qi. The Mount Qi range was very long. The northern section of Mount Qi bordered Liang and Zhao, while the southern section bordered Qian.

Xue San wanted to return to Jin through Mount Qi, so he naturally took the northern route.

Coincidentally, a palace coup had occurred in Liang more than a month ago. Under the pretext that the ruler was immoral and insulted the late ruler's concubine, the Liang prime minister organized the ruler's younger brother to participate, and led a group of armored soldiers into the palace to abduct the ruler and force him to abdicate. The original ruler's younger brother then succeeded to the throne as the new ruler of Liang.

That was the reason given for launching the coup, but whether it was really because of that, or whether the original ruler had really done such an unethical thing, was not yet clear, because the original ruler had hanged himself on the third day after his abdication.

However, the original ruler's birth mother was a Wengzhu of Chu. Although she was not a genuine princess of Chu, she was still a member of the royal family. In other words, the original ruler had the blood of the Chu royal family in him.

In fact, the border area where Qian, Chu, and Jin met was filled with small countries. The three major countries regarded this area as a strategic buffer zone, and at most would support, infiltrate, and secretly control it, without actually sending large armies to conquer it, because that could very likely lead to a direct conflict between the three major countries.

These small countries, internally, would attack and annex each other, and externally, would sway like reeds in the wind between the major powers.

When Marquis Jingnan's Zhenbei Army and Jingnan Army cavalry borrowed a road from Qian to attack Jin, they had actually borrowed a road through the territory of two small countries. Of course, this had been arranged in advance, so there was the later development of the Jin Emperor opening Tianmen Pass to lead the Yan army into Jin.

Liang, on the other hand, was close to Chu. The Chu royal blood in the original ruler could show the country's fundamental inclination, but there was no way around it. The coup had already happened, and the original ruler was dead. The new ruler was the original ruler's younger brother, but they did not have the same mother. So, after happily sitting on the throne, he panicked.

He immediately sent an envoy to Chu with the prime minister to explain:

First, our coup was because the original ruler was too absurd and immoral. He even dared to insult the concubine left behind by his father, which was simply worse than a beast!

Second, our country of Liang is still a vassal of Chu, and will follow Chu's lead;

Third, could Chu marry another member of the royal family over? I also want to be the son-in-law of Chu.

Of course, the new ruler and the prime minister were not just foolishly waiting. What if Chu was angered by this and did not forgive them, and wanted to send troops to attack?

So, after sending out the messengers, they began to gather all the troops of Liang. The original total number of troops in Liang, that is, the regular army, was only fifteen thousand. Not to mention comparing them with Chu, even a Qu Clan under Chu could easily send out the Azure Phoenix Army to crush it.

Then,

they continued to wait very anxiously.

Coincidentally, Xue San arrived with hundreds of cavalrymen leading the Chu army. Xue San went straight into Mount Qi, and the Chu army naturally could not let them go, so they followed.

The new ruler of Liang and the prime minister were already in a state of panic, like birds startled by the twang of a bow. As soon as they received news from the front that Chu troops had appeared in the Mount Qi range, they immediately assumed that Chu was coming to attack Liang.

It had to be said that although Liang was a small country, these two were indeed men of action, and they were also radical. They did not choose to defend passively, but instead chose to take the initiative.

The new ruler personally led the expedition, and the prime minister was responsible for managing the rear. The original ten thousand or so regular troops, plus the Liang auxiliary soldiers and militia conscripted temporarily, barely made up a force of thirty thousand. This was all of Liang's assets.

The thousands of Chu troops who were pursuing Xue San never expected that there would be an ambush here. They fell straight into the trap set by Liang, and under the sudden attack, the Chu army was defeated. The new ruler had won the first victory in the war to defend the country!

Not to mention the Chu people, even Xue San was stunned. Xue San's first reaction was: Holy crap, is the Fan family so awesome that they can even control the government of another country?

So, Xue San, thinking that they were his own people, sent people to contact the Liang troops on the opposite side. Then, he soon met the new ruler of Liang.

Then,

the new ruler, who had just been immersed in the great victory, was completely frozen when he learned the truth.

What,

what had he done!

Originally, he could have chosen to help the Chu army block Xue San and his party, which would have been a great achievement. At that time, Chu might have recognized his "ascension."

But now…

Now, it was meaningless to capture Xue San and the others, because they had already taken the initiative to start a war.

However,

men of action were still men of action.

The new ruler immediately expressed to Xue San his willingness to "abandon darkness and seek the light," and to follow Great Yan.

At the same time,

the prime minister in the rear, after learning about this, was also not ambiguous, and immediately sent an envoy to Nanmen Pass in Jin to contact the Yan army there.

So, things unfolded in this extremely strange and unexpected way. The Chu army began to gather troops on one side of the Mount Qi range. In their view, Liang had rebelled, and the princess might have entered Liang.

Moreover, Liang was a small country, but it was still a country, with tens of thousands of armored soldiers. Therefore, the Chu troops who came to pursue them had to change their plans and began to gather here. The various troops on the Chu border were also transferred over, and the Qu Clan, whose fiefdom was close to this section of the border, also sent a main force of the Azure Phoenix Army to join the battle to pacify Liang.

This undoubtedly greatly relieved the pressure on Si Niang and the others, so Si Niang and her unit were able to preserve themselves to such a great extent, and return under the reception of Ruan San.

As for Xue San,

the military intelligence report from Nanmen Pass said that Xue San had been appointed as the Supreme General by the new ruler, and was helping Liang resist Chu.

Yan did not have the saying of "must be executed despite victory." When it came to war, there was no fear. It was one thing to not want to fight, but they were never afraid of war.

In addition, Zheng Boye's entry into Chu was forced by Marquis Jingnan. No matter what happened, Tian Wujing would not blame him, and would take responsibility.

So, with Marquis Jingnan's military order, the Yan troops stationed in Quhe City and Litian City quickly dispatched a portion to gather at Nanmen Pass, while the original Nanmen Pass garrison dispatched several thousand cavalry to Liang to assist in the battle.

Zheng Boye did not know when San'er would be able to return. In any case, after receiving Si Niang and his party, he immediately set off to return to Xue Hai Pass.

On this day,

amidst the princess's admiration,

Xue Hai Pass,

had arrived!

Earlier, when Zheng Boye had just entered Marquis Jingnan's military camp with the princess, he had already ordered someone to send a message back. So, at this time, the soldiers and civilians of Xue Hai Pass already knew that their Lord had personally gone to Chu and abducted a genuine princess back.

It should be known that the people of Yan were going crazy with joy after learning this news, as if it were a festival, not to mention the soldiers and civilians of Xue Hai Pass.

At the foot of the city gate, the people were vying to come and welcome their Lord. It was a sea of people.

Zheng Boye did not sit in a carriage, but rode his horse at the forefront.

When they saw their Marquis,

the people on both sides of the official road, regardless of gender or age, all knelt down and shouted in unison:

"Long live the Lord, the Lord is mighty!"

"Long live the Lord, the Lord is mighty!"

Inside the carriage, Xiong Liqing was a little shocked, and said with emotion, "He seems to be very loved."

Si Niang, who was sitting next to her, said:

"Because he has given life-saving grace to the people here."

The eyes of the masses were discerning. They knew clearly who they were relying on to survive, who they were relying on to avoid being bullied, and who they were relying on to get through this difficult winter.

Winter had passed, but in this winter, inside and outside Xue Hai Pass, there were those who died of illness, and those who fell into icy holes after drinking too much, but not a single one starved or froze to death.

This was something that was difficult to achieve even in times of peace and prosperity, but here, in Xue Hai Pass, which a year ago was still a poor and barren land devastated by war, it had been achieved.

Zheng Boye drew his saber and raised it high.

The people of Xue Hai Pass knew very well how to cooperate with their Lord, and their Lord also liked to cooperate with them.

So, after this action, the people's shouts became even more enthusiastic!

Zheng Boye raised his saber,

and let out a long breath.

Since entering Chu,

he had always felt very insecure.

Someone else's territory, someone else's troops,

but now,

he was home.

Here,

he was safe!

He did not have to worry about attacks from outside, because under him, there were the Xue Hai Iron Cavalry and a group of people willing to risk their lives for him.

He also did not have to worry about strange experts coming to assassinate him, because Shatuo Queshi was lying beneath his house. Although he had not yet awakened, and the Sword Saint lived next door, although he had not yet recovered, it was enough to put Zheng Boye at ease.

Here,

was the home he had carefully built up,

no,

it belonged to him,

a nest!

…

After entering the city, this group of people, those who should go to the military camp went to the military camp, and those who should go home went home.

The remaining people took the carriage directly into the Earl's Mansion.

The carriage stopped in the courtyard of the Earl's Mansion.

Eunuch Zhao, who had not forgotten his original job, immediately got off the horse next to the carriage and came to the carriage, ready to help the Princess down from the carriage.

Regardless of whether Zheng Boye said that he could grow back what he had lost down there, Eunuch Zhao knew that he was still the Princess's man.

Also,

he did not know if it was because he had gotten used to being castrated for so long,

or after witnessing Qu Peiluo's tragic experience up close,

Eunuch Zhao suddenly felt that

being a man did not seem to be that interesting.

Besides, with everything down there being clean and tidy, life seemed to be quite comfortable, and he had fewer troubles and worries.

Xiong Liqing lifted the curtain of the carriage,

but did not take Eunuch Zhao's hand. Instead, she turned around and took the initiative to help Si Niang get out of the carriage.

"Sister, be careful. This step is a bit high. You dead slave, why aren't you kneeling down!"

Zhao Cheng understood and immediately prostrated himself on the ground, allowing the Princess to help Si Niang step on his back to get out of the carriage.

"Sister must be tired. Let me help you go and rest first."

Since meeting Si Niang, the Princess had instantly lowered her posture. She was very smart, and smart people had one thing in common: they knew themselves well.

Si Niang reached out and patted the back of Xiong Liqing's hand, shook her head slightly, and said, "No hurry."

Indeed, there was no hurry.

Because Liang Cheng, the Blind Man, and Fan Li were standing in front.

The three of them walked towards Zheng Fan and bowed together, saying:

"Congratulations to the Lord on his triumphant return!"

"Congratulations to the Lord on his triumphant return!"

Zheng Fan nodded, stretched, and said, "Finally back. It's still good to be at home. Next time, no matter who calls me, I won't go out."

Every time he came back from a long trip, he would feel that home was so fragrant, and felt that he would never want to go out again in his life.

The Princess leaned slightly against Si Niang and whispered in Si Niang's ear:

"Sister, I want to see the Pixiu."

Pixiu,

the totem of Great Yan!

Moreover, a living totem!

The Beast Control Office of the Chu royal family was also good at raising demon beasts, and Fire Phoenix blood essence was extremely attractive to demon beasts. But after all, the Fire Phoenix had long been extinct.

But Yan had been successfully continuing the bloodline of the Pixiu for generations.

Although, 99% of them were Pixiu beasts, and Pixiu were rare.

There were only four known Pixiu in the world. One was with the Marquis of Zhenbei, one was with the Marquis of Jingnan, one was with the First Prince, and the other was with Zheng Fan.

It was said that Zheng Fan's had been requested by Marquis Jingnan directly from the imperial court for Zheng Fan. At that time, in order to get Marquis Jingnan to agree to lead the Eastern Expedition, even two eunuchs who delivered the imperial decree had already killed themselves. After Marquis Jingnan made this request, the imperial court immediately approved it.

Si Niang smiled slightly when she heard this and said, "Lord, the princess wants to see the Pixiu."

Si Niang was quite beautiful now. This princess was very smart and sensible. She was a diamond in the rough, worth training well.

If she was really a fool, even if she was a princess, Si Niang probably wouldn't be interested in bothering with her. There was no sense of accomplishment and no feedback, was there?

However, Si Niang was injured now. It was not too late to train her after she had recovered from her injuries.

Zheng Fan heard this and asked, "Where's that guy?"

As if he had heard Zheng Fan's call, the Pixiu immediately ran out from the backyard. When it first arrived in Zheng Fan's hands, it was not yet an adult. After not seeing it for a few months, it had grown stronger again.

It also missed Zheng Fan. It was just that it was a little older now and not as ignorant as it was at the beginning. At first, it regarded Zheng Fan as a "poor human and beast" who was also sinking under the claws of the Demon King.

Now, it had been able to adjust its position somewhat.

"Wow."

The princess could not help but go up to it after seeing the Pixiu.

The Pixiu was not a pet. It had a temper, but it was not stupid. It could see that this woman had a relationship with Zheng Fan. So, although it did not cater to her, it did not refuse her from coming over and stroking its mane.

Hmm?

After being touched a few times,

the Pixiu suddenly lowered its head in confusion. It smelled a scent on this girl that it found very disgusting, but it also wanted to get close to it.

The disgust came from the Pixiu's bloodline's deep-seated rejection of the Fire Phoenix.

The desire to get close was because they were actually the same kind.

At this time,

Jiang Hu and Gongsun Ling also entered the mansion with the Azure Serpent. When they entered the city, they and the Azure Serpent were behind.

Fortunately, the people of Xue Hai Pass were just curious, because the Tianduan Mountains of Jin produced many demon beasts, and the people were somewhat immune to these demon beasts.

In addition, their Lord often rode the Pixiu in and out, so the Azure Serpent's entry into the city did not cause panic.

Since the princess was going to live in the Earl's Mansion, this Azure Serpent would definitely live in it as well. Zheng Boye did not mind having another guard in his home.

However,

some debts

had to be settled.

Zheng Boye had never been a magnanimous person. On the contrary, he was actually very petty.

He remembered the Azure Serpent's aloof attitude, which had expressed disdain for him every time they met since the first time they met.

Jiang Hu showed a look of longing on his face when he saw the Pixiu. As a member of the Beast Control Office, he naturally had an instinctive狂热 for this top species in the world, just like a swordsman seeing an unparalleled sword manual.

And after the Azure Serpent saw the Pixiu, it immediately prostrated its head. It had directly chosen to submit to the Pixiu, and did not dare to fight it.

Of course, if the Princess forced it to, it would still fight the Pixiu, but it had not reached that point yet.

Zheng Boye looked at Liang Cheng,

and snitched in a very rude and direct way:

"This thing looked down on me all the way here."

Liang Cheng understood

and walked towards the Azure Serpent.

Although he, this great zombie, would feel a bit embarrassed to appear for such a thing,

but since it was the Lord's request, then he would fulfill it.

Fan Li also walked over with him.

Soon,

Liang Cheng and Fan Li stood in front of the Azure Serpent.

The Azure Serpent looked at these two people somewhat suspiciously, because they had blocked the Pixiu's view. So, in the Azure Serpent's snake eyes, a look of aloofness and contempt reappeared.

Then,

Liang Cheng's eyes began to emit green light and his fangs were revealed. The blood aura of an ancient zombie flowed out!

Fan Li also struck his chest with both fists and let out a low roar. The aura of a savage flowed out!

On the side,

the Pixiu, which was being stroked by the princess,

revealed a look of schadenfreude in its eyes.

This was a terrifying scene it had experienced before. Now, it was your turn!

"…………" The Azure Serpent.

The Azure Serpent's body was straightened in fright, and its skin even peeled off. It was so scared that it was about to shed its skin!

The princess turned her head and looked at her Azure Serpent being scared like this. She hesitated for a moment, but did not say anything. Her man wanted to vent his anger, so she naturally had to side with her man rather than an animal.

And at this time,

Liang Cheng and Fan Li also returned to their original state, turned around, and walked back, as if nothing had happened.

Zheng Boye then walked to the front of the Azure Serpent.

At this time, in the Azure Serpent's snake eyes, there was nothing but fear, and this fear exceeded the fear it had felt when it saw the Pixiu several times!

No,

there was no comparison at all!

"You're arrogant?"

"Bang!"

Zheng Boye went up and kicked the Azure Serpent.

"You're smug?"

"Bang!" Another kick.

"You're great?"

"Bang!"

He did not kick it very hard, just to vent his anger.

"Tsk, it's shedding its skin at this time, which is really disgusting. By the way, I heard that snake skin seems to be a Chinese medicine, right? Let the people from the pharmacy come and pick it up later."

"Yes, Lord." The Blind Man noted it down.

Si Niang said to the princess, "Sister, let me take you around the mansion. There are some places and some people in this mansion that you have to see."

"Okay, Sister. I'll trouble you."

Every time he looked at Xiong Liqing and Si Niang being "respectful as guests,"

Zheng Boye always felt that he seemed to be the one who was superfluous.

However, men seemed to be less repulsed by their other half being a lesbian, after all, they could dream of killing two birds with one stone.

Zheng Boye,

well,

was also open-minded.

"Alright, go and do your work. I'm going to take a bath first. Blind Man, let's have a meeting after dinner."

"Yes, Lord."

Zheng Boye left the others and went to the backyard. Here, he still felt incredibly safe.

Because he knew that his Lord would be returning today, the hot spring in the backyard bedroom had been filled with water early in the morning, and the water temperature was just right.

Zheng Boye took off his clothes,

walked into the pool,

and originally thought of throwing the Demon Pill in with him to have a parent-child bath with his son,

but as soon as the Demon Pill was thrown out, it flew out with a "swoosh," obviously going to find Tian Tian.

Only then did Zheng Boye remember that he did not seem to have gone to see his godson after returning. He would see him later. He would take a nap first.

While soaking,

Zheng Boye heard footsteps coming,

It was a woman.

It was not Si Niang. Si Niang's footsteps were not like this, and Si Niang had a unique fragrance on her body.

It was not the Princess either. The Princess should be by Si Niang's side now. She could not possibly come to tease him alone now, and she would not dare to.

Was it Ke Shi then?

The woman came behind Zheng Boye, picked up a towel from the side, and began to scrub Zheng Boye's back.

As she scrubbed,

Zheng Boye realized that something was wrong.

Ke Shi had scrubbed his back before, but the woman scrubbing his back now was obviously very unfamiliar, and her hand was still trembling, as if she was extremely shy.

Zheng Boye opened his eyes in confusion,

and looked back.

Their eyes met,

but he found that it was actually Liu Ruqing from the Fan Mansion!

In fact, after the princess was first captured into the Fan Mansion, Zheng Boye had not seen Liu Ruqing again, because Fan Zhengwen had directly ordered someone to send Liu Ruqing through Meng Mountain and into Jin. After entering Jin, the people who had contacted the Sixth Prince sent her safely to Xue Hai Pass.

Because Liu Ruqing left early, the subsequent pursuit caused by the princess's snatching had no impact on her. And after Zheng Boye snatched the princess, he slowly left Chu from Zhennan Pass with a hidden identity, and then delayed for a while in Fengxin City waiting for Si Niang. So, in fact, Liu Ruqing had been living in the Earl's Mansion for quite some time.

It could only be said that Fan Zhengwen was really particular about doing things.

When the Demon Kings who stayed behind heard that it was someone sent by the Fan family, that is, the Sixth Prince,

the Blind Man first checked her and confirmed that the woman did not know martial arts and was not a Silver Armored Guard or anything like that. That was the first hurdle.

Then, after learning that her husband had died early,

the Demon Kings instantly understood.

A threshold to enter, a threshold to enter,

They directly let Liu Ruqing live in the mansion.

It was not until Liu Ruqing entered the Earl's Mansion that she learned Zheng Fan's true identity. She was also shocked for many days.

As for why she was sent to the Earl's Mansion, and what she had to do after being sent to the Earl's Mansion,

she was not a silly girl who did not know anything about human affairs. She naturally understood.

So,

after learning that Zheng Boye had returned,

she was afraid and did not dare to come out to welcome him. But when Zheng Boye entered the backyard and started taking a bath, she also knew that there were some things that she had to face.

So,

she came.

But even after preparing herself ideologically for many days and nights,

when she was at the edge of the hot spring,

and her eyes met with the naked Zheng Boye,

Liu Ruqing's face was immediately flushed red, as if it was dyed with the colorful clouds of dusk, and even more like a ripe peach.

And Liu Ruqing was finally unable to resist Zheng Boye's continued gaze,

and could not help but shout with a slightly coquettish voice:

"Uncle~~~~"

——————

Thank you to Blood Sea Boundless for becoming the 126th Alliance Master of "The Descent of Magic"!

I'm asking for monthly tickets again. It's almost the end of the month. Whatever our ranking is at the end of this month, we will strive to be at least one place higher next month. That can be considered a goal to strive for.

Hugging everyone tight!