Chapter 1 Going Through the Night

Walking on a night road,
Encountering a woman hanging from a tree, calling for help;
Zheng Boye had seen this kind of opening many times. If the Demon Kings were by his side, Zheng Boye wouldn't mind rescuing her, purely as a way to find some fun in his spare time;
But now, he was too lazy to bother.

The princess was equally disinclined to bother.
Zheng Boye didn't believe the princess's crossbow bolt had gone astray, but he sincerely thought the princess's action of shooting the woman dead without saying a word was truly beautiful.

Since your family has been killed by bandits, and you yourself seem to have been violated by them,
This world is no longer worth it for you, and surviving would probably mean continuing to endure endless pain and nightmares,
Then we'll send you down to reunite with your family.
Amitabha.

However, the development of things always seemed to forcibly drag you in. Even though you sensed it was a pit, you planned to go around it, only to discover halfway that this pit was even bigger than you imagined.
The woman now gave the feeling of being a vengeful ghost.

This world has "spirits." Leaving aside the imported product, the Demon Marrow, Zheng Boye had recently seen the Regent King using "spirits" to enter his body, and even earlier, Zheng Boye had obtained a jade figurine token.
If we were to investigate further, Sha Tuo Queshi's transformation into a zombie after death was also a specific manifestation of this phenomenon.
But everything else, no matter what, was very rare. It just so happened that the one Zheng Boye encountered now seemed a little too cheap.

A long time ago, Zheng Boye had confirmed one thing: he was not some chosen one. Otherwise, there was no way to explain why every time a chosen one charged into battle, they would encounter hidden arrows and accidents;
Therefore, Zheng Boye didn't think that walking a night road with a princess on his back would allow him to win a prize and stumble upon some great treasure.

When the princess saw the female ghost pounce on her, she instinctively grabbed Zheng Boye's shoulder.
At this time, the princess naturally felt that Zheng Boye was the most reliable person for her.
When the princess grabbed his shoulder,

Zheng Boye instinctively shouted:
"Son!"

At this time, Zheng Boye naturally felt that his own son was the most reliable person for him.
"Bang!"
The Demon Marrow shot out from the princess's sleeve and directly collided with the female ghost.
The female ghost fell to the ground like a kite with a broken string.
But after landing, it suddenly turned into a cloud of green mist and dissipated.
The Demon Marrow floated in the air,

Its form began to manifest,
Taking the image of an infant.
"Spirit?" the princess exclaimed.
She knew that her imperial brother had a spirit by his side, but she didn't expect her husband to have one as well.
Just how many secrets was he hiding?

However,
What did he just call out?
The green mist began to spread out, as if merging into the surrounding environment.

The Demon Marrow was somewhat puzzled, its gaze scanning the surroundings, not as if it were searching for the female ghost, but as if it were looking for something else.
"Buzz!"
Just then,
The sound of an arrow piercing the air came.
"Squeak!!!!!"
Immediately afterward, there was a high-pitched scream, not the sound of a human, but like some kind of animal.

Suddenly,
Zheng Boye only felt a blur in his vision, but it quickly returned to normal.
The Demon Marrow flew directly back.

In Zheng Boye's field of vision, there was a tree in front of him, and there was a rope on the tree, but the rope was not tied to a woman, but to a weasel, also known as a yellow skin.
Under the tree, there was a circle of stones piled up, but the fire inside had long been extinguished, and it looked like it had been extinguished for a long time.

The weasel had a hole in its body, and there was still a crossbow bolt stuck in the tree, obviously the one the princess had shot earlier.
So, it wasn't a female ghost at all, but an illusion created by this weasel.
No wonder the Demon Marrow hesitated and searched there as soon as it came out. Obviously, the Demon Marrow had noticed something was wrong.

But it seemed that before the Demon Marrow could take the next step, someone nearby shot another arrow to help break the situation.
Zheng Boye knew that weasels seemed to be able to interfere with and affect people's minds by releasing some kind of hallucinogenic gas, while the Demon Marrow's ability lay in duels against soul bodies, and in entering Zheng Fan's body to provide a kind of blessing to Zheng Fan's strength.

And this hallucinogenic gas, in theory, still belonged to the category of "physical reality."
After all, you couldn't expect the Demon Marrow to come out and start researching some kind of antidote to help detoxify like Xue San. That wasn't its specialty.
"Were we, bewitched?" the princess murmured to herself.

Chu is full of demons. Of course, compared to the number of people, demons are truly rare. But things like mountain spirits and wild monsters teasing or even harming people are not uncommon.
"Are you all right?"

At this moment, a middle-aged man walked out from the front. The man's hair was half white, and he was holding a bow in his hand. He looked like he was almost fifty years old.
"Thank you, brave warrior, for saving us," Zheng Boye thanked him.

Although with the Demon Marrow's ability, it would only take a little more time to find the target and break the current situation, the man had helped you after all.
The man stopped cautiously ahead and asked:
"Who are you people?"

The princess opened her mouth and said, "We are fugitives. My father wouldn't allow me to marry a commoner, so I had him take me away from home."
This matched the image of the two and was the most fitting lie.

The man narrowed his eyes, scanned Zheng Fan and the princess, and said, "My name is Jiang Hu. I'm a hunter in these mountains. You were bewitched by a yellow dog spirit earlier. It's just a pity that although my arrow hit that yellow dog spirit, it didn't hit a vital spot, and it still managed to escape."
Saying that,
Jiang Hu looked at Zheng Fan,
Said:

"A commoner marrying a noble lady, haha, you have the courage and spirit. Are you fleeing? Why not come to my place and rest for a night?"
"In that case, we'll trouble you, Brother Hu," the princess replied.

And so, Jiang Hu led the way, and Zheng Fan followed behind with the princess on his back.
In fact, Zheng Fan had always wanted to ask why the green snake named "Xiao Qing" had not given a warning in advance?

The Demon Marrow belonged to the soul body and was more sensitive to souls, but that green snake was a monster. Whether the weasel was called a yellow skin or a yellow dog, since it could bewitch people's hearts, it obviously belonged to the kind that had become a spirit.
Logically speaking, that green snake should have given an early warning.

But as a result, not only did it not give a warning, but the green snake did not react to the hunter appearing here.
This was very unusual.
However, this was not the time to talk. Generally speaking, hunters had extremely good hearing.

Jiang Hu led Zheng Fan and his wife to a wooden house, pushed open the door, and a woman's voice came from inside.
"Are you back?"
"The yellow dog spirit is making trouble."
"Is that so? The mountains haven't been peaceful these past two years. Oh, you brought someone back?"
"They said they were fugitives, and I brought them back to rest for a night."
"Okay, I'll prepare some food."

Zheng Fan and the princess entered the house and saw a woman busy adding firewood to the stove in the center of the wooden house, and then set up a pot and began adding water to it.
"This is my wife," Jiang Hu introduced.
Zheng Fan bowed and said, "Greetings, Sister-in-law."
The princess also bowed and said, "Greetings, Sister-in-law Jiang."

"Oh, why are you being so polite? It's making me feel embarrassed. You sit down first, and I'll cook some soup for you to eat."
Jiang Hu gestured for Zheng Fan and the princess to sit around the stove to warm themselves, and then asked:
"Where are you fleeing to?"

Before Zheng Boye could speak, the princess said directly, "I'm not sure yet. I was thinking of first going into the mountains to hide, but now that I think about it, I might have to cross the mountains and go to Jin."
"Go to Jin?" the hunter asked with some surprise. "There's a war going on there."
The princess nodded, somewhat aggrieved, and said, "But there's no place for us in Chu anymore."

Hearing this, Jiang Hu smacked his lips and said, "It seems, haha, it seems that Younger Sister's background is not simple."
Being able to say that Chu could not tolerate them proved that the woman's family was really high-ranking. Ordinary Chu nobles really couldn't achieve that kind of influence.
"Come on, move aside."

The woman came over, first put some sliced cured meat into the pot, then added wide vermicelli, and finally put on the lid.
"Thank you, Sister-in-law," Zheng Fan said with a smile.
"It's fate that we met. We live in these mountains, and we rarely have anyone else to sit here and eat with us. We don't have any guests."

Jiang Hu nodded with a smile, and then he opened his mouth and said, "To enter Jin from here, you have to walk a long way. The mountain roads are difficult to walk, not to mention you have to cross some secret streams."
The best way to go was of course Zhennan Pass, but Zhennan Pass was full of Chu troops and scouts, and Zheng Boye naturally couldn't go that way.

However, Zheng Fan did not answer, but waited for the princess to speak, because from the beginning when the princess introduced herself, Zheng Boye felt something was wrong.
The scandal of the Qu clan's wedding had already spread throughout Chu, because there were too many nobles present, and the impact of the matter was too great to cover up.

In fact, when Zheng Boye was marching in the name of escorting food and grass to Zhennan Pass, the grain merchants who were traveling with him were talking about this topic the most every day.
Some people beat their chests and stamped their feet, feeling that Great Chu had lost face this time;
Some people gloated, finding it very interesting to see the Qu clan unlucky and deflated;
Some people lamented that if the Earl of Pingye from Yan hadn't been left in Chu this time, if he had safely taken the princess back, then the combination of prestige would be unimaginable.

Zheng Boye would squat on the side every time, listening to them chat. They chatted with great enthusiasm, and Zheng Boye listened with great enthusiasm.
Maybe it was only spreading in the Chu area now, but in another ten days or half a month, this matter should spread to the Yan and Qian territories. This was destined to be the biggest "thing the people would love to see" at the beginning of this year.

Therefore, although Jiang Hu was a hunter who lived in the mountains, who could guarantee that he hadn't gone down the mountain in the middle and hadn't heard about this?
If he had heard about this, then according to the princess's self-introduction, the implication was very obvious.

However, Zheng Boye didn't think that the princess didn't know this. She wasn't a naive person, and she naturally had her reasons for speaking like this.
Moreover, Zheng Boye wasn't worried that the princess would betray him. If she wanted to betray him, she could have done so at the royal villa. There was no need to embarrass the Qu clan and the royal family and then betray him at this time.
"Yes, so I want to ask Brother Hu to be our guide."

Hearing this, the woman was stunned, as if she didn't expect this girl to make this request.
Zheng Fan noticed the hairpin on the woman's bun;

Although whether in his previous life or this life, Zheng Boye had no interest or concept of these precious jewelry, gold, silver, and jade, he couldn't help but have better living conditions after he became rich, so that some precious jewelry and accessories had become very common things in his home.
It was like Puyi going to an antique shop: I haven't studied it systematically, but these are very common in my home.

This hairpin was not cheap, and the materials used were not ordinary gold and silver.
In addition to the "heroism" when adding vermicelli, Zheng Boye still had two pieces of vermicelli lying there, and the woman didn't pick them up and throw them in again.
Jiang Hu shook his head and said, "I'm sorry."
This was a direct rejection.

Zheng Boye silently picked up the bowl of water in front of him and took a sip. He didn't say the stupid thing of paying silver. Obviously, this family didn't lack silver, or rather, they didn't care much about silver.
The princess pursed her lips and said, "Is General Gongsun still doing well?"

Jiang Hu's eyes immediately froze, and the woman was so frightened that she kept backing away and bumped into the table.
Zheng Boye continued to drink water, with a natural expression, as if everything was under his control, but in fact, he didn't even know who General Gongsun was.
Jiang Hu licked his lips and asked, "Girl, who exactly are you?"

The princess didn't rush to reveal her identity, but smiled and said, "Back then, although the Gongsun clan wasn't a large and famous family, and couldn't compare with the Qu clan, they relied on their skill in taming beasts and held the position of director of the Imperial Beast Bureau for several generations. Many large clans and dignitaries were polite to them in order to obtain a famous beast, and they could be called refined and noble.
I didn't expect that they would fall to this point now, which is really sad."

Jiang Hu didn't reach for his knife and bow, but clapped his hands and said, "That's interesting. I didn't expect that I could be found by the people of Phoenix Nest even if I hid here."
"You're overthinking it. I'm not from the Phoenix Nest, and my man isn't either. We're just fugitives."
"You think I'll believe that?"

The princess silently untied her clothes and revealed her left arm. There was still solidified wax on her left arm, but the fire phoenix mark inside could be seen completely through the wax.
The woman exclaimed directly:

"Royalty!"
Jiang Hu looked at his wife hesitantly.
The woman nodded affirmatively to Jiang Hu and said, "It's the Fire Phoenix Mark."
A look of thought appeared in Jiang Hu's eyes, and then he suddenly reached out and pulled out his hunting knife, not pointing it at the princess, but at Zheng Boye.
Zheng Boye was still sitting there, his expression unchanged.

Remaining calm in the face of Mount Tai's collapse in front of him was professionally practiced.
However, the woman seemed to have more knowledge than this man.

"I went down the mountain the day before yesterday and heard that a major event had happened in my Great Chu a few days ago. It was said that an Earl of Yan had abducted the Fourth Princess in front of everyone on the day of the Qu clan and the princess's wedding.
I really didn't expect that,
I, who live deep in the mountains, would actually meet the Earl of Pingye of Great Yan."
Zheng Boye put down the bowl, opened the pot, looked at it, and said:

"I wonder if the vermicelli is cooked."
He didn't plan to interrupt and let the princess speak.
Zheng Boye was also a professional in how to be a hands-off shopkeeper.
"Princess... Your Highness Princess."

The woman first knelt down to the princess.
Seeing this, a look of hesitation appeared in Jiang Hu's eyes.
The princess ignored Jiang Hu, turned around, and took the initiative to reach out and help the woman up, saying, "May I ask, Sister-in-law, what is your surname?"
"This sinful woman's surname is Gongsun, and my name is Ling."

"So Sister-in-law comes from the Gongsun clan."
"Yes, my husband was once a personal guard under my father's command. On the night of the Yingdu Incident, my husband protected me from leaving the capital and hid in these deep mountains."
"You've worked hard, Sister-in-law."

The Gongsun clan, which had been in charge of the Imperial Beast Bureau for generations, suddenly disappeared one day nearly a year ago.
The reason for their disappearance was that the Gongsun clan followed the First Prince. After the late emperor died, the First Prince took the lead in launching an incident, wanting to take the lead in the capital, Yingdu, to control the government.
The Gongsun clan even mobilized their clan's soldiers and many monsters from the Imperial Beast Bureau to join in. However, the Fourth Prince had already gained the loyalty of the Imperial Guard. Several routes of the Imperial Guard went straight into Yingdu, and the wizards also stood behind the Fourth Prince. The First Prince's rebellion in Yingdu was mercilessly suppressed.
The First Prince was deliberately released from Yingdu, hoping to continue to attract supporters so that they could be dealt with together, and the Gongsun clan was exterminated that night.

The woman's name was Gongsun Ling, and her father should be the head of the Gongsun clan. In other words, the princess's own brother was the woman's family's enemy.
Jiang Hu looked at Zheng Fan, slowly put down the knife, and sat down again.
Zheng Fan picked up a spoon, and seeing that the women were not free, he started to stir the pot himself to prevent the vermicelli from sticking to the bottom.

Although the woman was a member of the Gongsun clan, it was likely Jiang Hu who had real skills.
This could explain why the green snake took the initiative to avoid him, because after the princess used her own Fire Phoenix essence blood to attract the green snake, according to royal tradition, the green snake would be handed over to the Imperial Beast Bureau for taming.
The green snake should have sensed the aura on Jiang Hu's body, so it took the initiative to avoid him.

So, animals are still animals after all, and they can't be relied on at critical moments.
Zheng Boye thought that after returning, the green snake would have to be properly tamed by the Demon Kings and instilled with some "loyalty" consciousness.
Then,
Now that he thought about it,

That yellow dog spirit should also have been Jiang Hu's own arrangement, which was equivalent to putting a sentry post in the canyon, so that he could come out to respond when he heard the movement.
He was a talented person.
Jiang Hu opened his mouth and said, "A Ling, she is your enemy. With one word from you, I will kill her and avenge your whole family."

Zheng Boye shook his head and sighed:
A simp.
But this simp should have succeeded in his simping, because the woman had already lost her family, and she simply couldn't survive without being with a simp.

Clearly he was also a sinner in Chu, and had to hide and seek. After seeing the Earl of Pingye of Great Yan, he actually said that he wanted to help his wife take revenge.
This man should have no ambition.
A man with ambition would not care what his wife thought at this time, but would want to find a way out for himself.
As for what this woman would think,

Zheng Boye guessed,
Zheng Boye believed that the princess should also have guessed.

Living a life of hiding and seeking in the deep mountains, yet not forgetting to wear jewelry, and not paying attention to saving money when cooking, not knowing how much risk her man had to take when going down the mountain to purchase supplies;
In short, this Miss Gongsun was not someone who could live a hard life in a down-to-earth manner.
"No, I won't take revenge, I won't take revenge." The woman waved her hands busily, "Let's end it all, let's end it all."

She didn't want to pursue the hatred of her family's extermination.
The princess then said, "That's what my imperial brother did, what does it have to do with me? Besides, weren't we all serving our own masters at that time? The winner is king, the loser is the villain.
Moreover, this palace has already broken off the engagement first, and has already broken with my imperial brother. No matter how you calculate that debt, it can't be counted on this palace."

"Yes, yes, I don't blame the princess, I don't blame the princess." The woman said quickly.
Jiang Hu let out a sigh and said, "Does the princess want to go to Jin with the Earl of Pingye?"
Zheng Fan stirred the bottom of the pot while smiling, "Otherwise?"

"I can pretend I didn't see you, that's because I have a feud with the Regent; but I won't send you into the mountains, because I'm a Chu person."
"Everyone is actually a Xia person, and we were all one family eight hundred years ago."
"Heh."

Jiang Hu was very disdainful.
Zheng Boye then began to fish out the vermicelli.
The princess held Gongsun Ling's hand and said to Zheng Fan, "Husband, don't just focus on eating, say something."
Jiang Hu then said:

"It's useless to say anything."
Zheng Boye nodded in agreement while slurping on the vermicelli in his heart: Yes, it's useless to say anything to you, anyway, your family is not up to you.
Zheng Boye ate half a bowl of vermicelli and two slices of cured meat, and put down his chopsticks,

Said:
"First, after following this earl and others into Yan, although the life won't be comparable to when the Gongsun clan was in Yingdu, this earl can guarantee fine clothes and jade food, twenty maids, twenty servants, and the cook will be counted separately."

This hodgepodge was really not delicious.
"Second, this earl can swear to the heavens to protect your safety. In my Yan territory, the people of Phoenix Nest cannot be presumptuous."
The first two were about life.
The third one,
Was the main point.

"Third, my Great Yan Emperor will build a new Imperial Beast Bureau for the Gongsun clan, and set up the position of director, which will be held by Brother Jiang Hu as the first director. The second director will be your children. This position will be hereditary, and the glory of the Gongsun clan will be restored."
Jiang Hu glared angrily and scolded, "Don't even think about it!"

Gongsun Ling, who was next to the princess, directly shouted to her husband:
"Okay, I agree!"
"..." Jiang Hu.

Zheng Boye continued to scoop up the second bowl of vermicelli. It wasn't delicious, but he was really hungry.
Jiang Hu looked at his wife and persuaded, "A Ling, we are Chu people, how can we defect to the Yan dogs, we..."
"If you don't agree, I'll die right now!"

"The Gongsun clan is a Chu noble, how can they do this kind of..."
"Are you trying to force me to die now!"

"Private grudges are private grudges, national hatred is national hatred, the Yan people slaughtered in Yupan City..."
Gongsun Ling took off the hairpin from her hair,
And put it against her neck,
Looking at Jiang Hu;
The calm and virtuous woman from before was gone, replaced by a woman who had endless longing for a better life.

The princess then added fuel to the fire at this time:
"Even this palace is going to enter Yan, what's so bad about the Gongsun clan entering Yan?"
"Yes, the princess is right, the princess is right." Gongsun Ling seemed to be encouraged, the hairpin pierced into her neck, and beads of blood were already flowing out, and she roared:
"Jiang Hu, do you agree or not!"

Jiang Hu gritted his teeth,
Zheng Boye lowered his head and continued to eat the vermicelli,
Jiang Hu got up,

Took two steps back,
And cupped his hands to Zheng Fan:
"Greetings, Earl of Pingye!"