Chapter 145 Holy Object

"That sounds great. Aren't we heading to Jin next? If we're assigned to a city near Jin's northern border as city guards, close to the Celestial Mountains, this thing might come in handy."

Everything seemed too lucky, like a dream.

But soon, Zheng Fan realized something was wrong.

"Wait, Blind, don't rush to seal it yet."

Zheng Fan saw the scene in the light change again. The original worship scene turned into wildlings and demonic beasts going crazy. They seemed to be experiencing a war, and it didn't seem to be an external war.

Because Zheng Fan's perspective was now consistent with the Jade Token's perspective in the memory. If it were an external war, the Jade Token holder should be charging towards the enemy with the wildlings and demonic beasts, but now, the wildlings and demonic beasts were charging towards the Jade Token together.

Wildlings fell one by one, and demonic beasts exploded, blood mist filled the air, and mournful cries shook the heavens.

The memory images became chaotic at this point, like an old VCD player stuttering due to disc wear.

Suddenly, the scene changed again.

Around, there were still wildlings and demonic beasts, but the number of wildlings seemed much smaller, and they were all injured. The demonic beasts were also very listless, with terrible wounds all over their bodies.

They seemed to be praying again, but this time, there was no piety in their voices, only a kind of relief.

Then,

The black iron gate was lowered,

The Jade Token's vision plunged into darkness.

"My Lord?"

"Okay, seal it."

"Understood."

Blind stimulated the remaining formation on the Jade Token with his mental power, and the formation began to operate again, forcibly restraining the consciousness of the spirit within the Jade Token.

The next moment,

Zheng Fan fell to the ground, returning to reality.

However, this time, somewhat unexpectedly, it seemed because he hadn't experienced any fighting that his body's exhaustion was almost negligible, leaving him only with a slight soreness, and nothing else.

Moreover, his mind was not only not tired, but extraordinarily alert.

It seemed the Jade Token's influence on people was more spiritual, and this had been blocked by the Demon Pill's power. So this time, it was probably the least painful experience Zheng Fan had had with the Demon Pill taking over.

Blind held the Jade Token in his hand. The reason this jade pendant was called the Jade Token was probably related to the woman carved within it, but it was hard to tell how beautiful this woman was from just a jade pendant.

After all, it was a jade pendant, and it wasn't as large as a sculpture. Even the most skilled sculptor would find it difficult to carve out breathtaking beauty on such a small surface.

In addition, Zheng Fan and the others came from an era flooded with beauty cameras, so when ancient people saw a painting or carving, their minds would add to it, automatically imagining its vividness and charm;

While Zheng Fan and the others would subtract from it, first removing the face slimming, then the filter, then the skin smoothing...

However, the woman on the Jade Token seemed to have a chubby face, which was quite cute.

"Blind, we might have made a mistake this time. Luckily, I didn't rush out and watched for a little longer, or we wouldn't have known how we died."

"What do you mean, my lord?"

"This Jade Token used to be a holy object of the wildlings and demonic beasts in the Celestial Mountains, but later, something might have happened to the person holding it, causing it to be attacked by the wildlings and demonic beasts, and finally the Jade Token was sealed.

As for why it later appeared in Tianhu Mountain, it was probably because the people of Jin attacked the wildlings many years ago, looted their temples, and dug this thing out again."

Blind frowned slightly, obviously disappointed, but also somewhat relieved.

Otherwise, if they had foolishly taken this thing to the Celestial Mountains to make friends,

Hiss,

Just imagine the outcome.

"What do you want to do with this thing?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Let's seal it for now. My current strength might be too risky to control it."

The intelligence of a wise person lies in their self-awareness.

Zheng Fan nodded and said,

"Then put it in Shatuo Qieshi's coffin?"

"My lord is wise, that's a very appropriate arrangement."

The safest place in Green Willow Fort was Shatuo Qieshi's coffin. Putting this thing in there was like letting Shatuo Qieshi help guard it, so there was really no need to worry about thieves.

"I've been busy all night, and it feels like a waste of energy," Zheng Fan lamented.

"My lord, even if this thing can't be used to command wildlings and demonic beasts, when your strength improves further, and when my strength recovers another layer, it can have a greater effect in my hands. At the very least, my mental power can be significantly amplified with this thing."

"Alright, just consider it a treasure I found for you."

The group went to meet with the cavalry on the periphery and claimed that the thing had run away. At the same time, they sent people to pass the message to the Silver Wave Prefecture Secret Intelligence Division, and after leaving some people to guard the bodies, the others returned directly to Green Willow Fort.

Zuo Jiqian had just tied up his horse when he saw Blind walking towards him.

"Sir Bei."

"Colonel Zuo, let's chat?"

"I'm no longer a colonel, Sir Bei."

"You will be soon enough."

"Thank you, Sir Bei!"

"I have some wine and dishes at my place, let's talk there."

"I wouldn't dare disobey!"

In fact, Zheng Fan didn't really like people with such sharp minds, because they were very fickle. In addition, Zuo Jiqian's appearance was very similar to Lu Bu in the old Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which made people even more uneasy.

But there was no choice, this was the time to employ people. While the loyalty of the barbarian soldiers was certainly higher, their own limitations were also great, and they really needed someone like Zuo Jiqian to help with tasks.

Fortunately, Blind was in charge of giving both sweet dates and big sticks, so Zheng Fan didn't have to bother with it himself.

A group of demon kings, all with deep schemes, wouldn't be schemed against in turn, that would be too embarrassing.

After instructing Si Niang to prepare bathwater, Zheng Fan took the Jade Token, wine, and dishes alone to the room where Shatuo Qieshi was.

He opened the door and then closed it.

The temperature in the room was noticeably several degrees colder than outside, and Zheng Fan couldn't help but shiver.

Coffins and corpses could often stir up the fear in people's hearts, but when it was someone you knew lying here, you probably wouldn't feel so afraid.

After setting out a few dishes and filling two cups with wine, Zheng Fan began chatting with Shatuo Qieshi.

He talked about his experiences fighting in Qian, about how the Yan army broke through Nanmen Pass and annihilated hundreds of thousands of Jin soldiers in one fell swoop, about how the Consort of the Prince of Fu was indeed very attractive…

Shatuo Qieshi naturally couldn't reply, but he would listen very quietly.

People all have their own desire to confide, but they rarely find a suitable person to confide in. Some things were not even suitable to say to Si Niang, let alone the other demon kings.

As they chatted,

Zheng Fan got up,

And said:

"In a while, when the imperial decree comes down, we will be going to Jin. I'll bring you along then. Actually, I feel pretty relieved leaving you at home, but to be honest, I still hope you can wake up. If you stay, I'll definitely welcome it. If you leave, you're welcome to come back and visit often in the future. There will be plenty of good wine and meat, I'm just afraid that after you become a zombie, you won't like eating vegetables anymore, haha."

After saying that, Zheng Fan reached out and pushed open the coffin lid, then placed the Jade Token inside.

Then,

Zheng Fan pushed the coffin lid back on.

After cleaning up the wine, dishes, and cups, Zheng Fan left the room.

The next day, people from the Secret Intelligence Division came and asked some questions, which were dealt with by Blind. It seemed there was no follow-up development to this matter, or rather, even if there was, it had nothing to do with Green Willow Fort.

Although Zheng Defender was only a Defender now, those in the know were clear that Zheng Fan's promotion was only a matter of time, and they would at least give him some face.

Peaceful days passed for about ten days.

During the day, Zheng Fan practiced martial arts himself, sometimes with A Ming, sometimes with Xue San, and sometimes with Liang Cheng, like selecting concubines at a club, with all kinds of sparring partners.

But his realm still hadn't improved at all. He always felt like he was just a step away, but the demon kings didn't dare to urge him, fearing that putting pressure on Zheng Fan would backfire.

Finally,

On this day,

A messenger came from South View City, bringing documents from the Ministry of War. It wasn't sent in the form of an imperial decree, after all, Zheng Fan's level wasn't high enough to warrant the Yan Emperor issuing a special decree, like when a General-in-chief was being enfeoffed.

When Zheng Fan opened the documents, all the demon kings sat around him. In the center was a map of Jin. This map was certainly not comparable to modern electronic maps, but in this era, it was already considered quite good.

"My Lord, where is it?" Xue San asked impatiently.

"Shengle," Zheng Fan replied.

Everyone immediately began looking for Shengle City on the map.

"Damn it, it's here!"

Xue San pointed to a spot on the map with wide eyes.

Shengle City was indeed on the map, but the location was a bit remote.

It was on the northernmost line of Jin, and further north would lead into the Celestial Mountains. It was also located on the easternmost side of the Helian family's former territory, which meant it was close to the Situ family.

And the Jinnan Marquis's Litian City was the old nest of the Wenren family, which meant that Zheng Fan was very far away from the Jinnan Marquis's Jinnan Army base camp.

A Ming smiled and said, "Even if the sky is high for birds to fly and the sea is wide for fish to leap, isn't this too remote?"

The Situ family had not surrendered, and there were even rumors that they were sharpening their knives, planning to make some moves. If a war really broke out, Shengle City would be the first to bear the brunt.

Liang Cheng said, "This place is good, perfect for training soldiers and catching slaves."

Si Niang covered her mouth and smiled, "I heard there are many hot springs in the Celestial Mountains."

Zheng Fan was relatively calm. This place wasn't exactly great, but in any case, they finally had a real home, unlike this Green Willow Fort, which was too cramped and only suitable for garrisoning troops.

"Oh, right." Zheng Fan tapped his head and said,

"I almost forgot, Little Sixth sent a letter saying that Emperor Yu Ciming of Jin's pilgrimage team will be returning through Silver Wave Prefecture the day after tomorrow, and we can just catch up and act as escorts."

Blind asked upon hearing this, "Did the Sixth Prince really manage to get this done?"

Zheng Fan nodded and said, "Yes."

"The Sixth Prince really has it tough."

The Sixth Prince and the Yan Emperor could be said to be naturally incompatible. The Yan Emperor might be indifferent to the other princes, for example, when Zheng Fan deposed the Third Prince, the Yan Emperor didn't seem angry at all. But the Yan Emperor was especially wary of Little Sixth.

"Yes, his merchant houses and businesses were taken over by the Ministry of Revenue with an imperial decree."

As he spoke, Zheng Fan himself laughed,

And said:

"He even asked if I could send him a few thousand taels of silver, otherwise he wouldn't be able to support the concubines and servants in his royal residence."

"Then should I arrange for someone to send silver to the capital tomorrow?"

"Send silver for what? Can silver be eaten? Send him a few carts of cornmeal, it's filling."