A chance encounter in a narrow passage.

A light cavalry unit of thirty-odd riders reined in their steeds, snow clinging to their bows and blades, radiating an air of seasoned expertise.

Approximately half of the riders held aloft torches, illuminating the scene. At the forefront, a few riders, unburdened by formal armor, escorted a young man with a jade-like countenance. The swirling snow obscured his eyes as he, draped in a snow-white fox fur coat, narrowed his gaze at the three riders fifty paces away. His thin, scarlet lips were pursed, betraying his noble bearing.

Beside him, three bodyguards halted their mounts. To his left, a burly warrior gripped a long spear, its tip gleaming like frost under the torchlight behind him.

Next to him was a gaunt, monkey-like man with his arms crossed. He bore no bow, blade, or sword, but several frozen heads, their faces stained with blood, hung from his saddle.

On the right was a man in his forties with a listless look, carrying a long sword sheathed in pine-patterned wood. The sword’s hilt was crafted in the shape of a lingzhi mushroom. The man frequently covered his mouth to cough.

The young man seemed to favor the middle-aged swordsman on his right. He sat high on his horse, but his body leaned slightly towards him.

After coughing, the middle-aged swordsman glanced at the three riders fifty paces away and whispered, “Your Highness, as I said before, it is indeed two humans and a ghost. The female ghost, clad in fox fur, is most likely a fox-skin beauty talisman crafted by the Xu family of Qingfeng City.”

The middle-aged swordsman extended a hand as if to catch snowflakes, but instead, a diminutive sprite, no larger than a finger, appeared in his palm. It was pure white, with a pair of wings, and blended seamlessly with the snow. Even at such close range, it was difficult to detect. This must be what they call a Xianjia (immortal family) scout, its function similar to the divine ability to view mountains and rivers, except one relies on spells, and the other on a living creature.

“Thank you for your trouble.” The man smiled at the little creature in his palm, retrieved a delicate celadon porcelain vial from his sleeve, and the sprite flitted inside. The man slowly put the vial back into his sleeve.

The young man, addressed as “Your Highness” by the swordsman, raised an eyebrow, his eyes burning with interest. He leaned further towards the man and chuckled, “Master Zeng, I have heard of the Xu family of Qingfeng City, but my imperial mother is reluctant to let me leave the capital to take my fief. After eight years of delay and out of caution, and to save the Censorate some ink and paper, I’ve had little opportunity to interact with the immortals on the mountains. What exactly is this fox-skin beauty talisman, and where does its magic lie? Master Zeng, with your vast knowledge and travels across half the continent, tell me about it.”

As the young man spoke, the middle-aged swordsman, perhaps affected by the wind and snow, seemed to feel it in his bones. He produced a porcelain bottle, poured out two emerald-green pills the size of soybeans, and gently swallowed them. Only then did his complexion improve. After taking the medicine, a smile appeared on the middle-aged man’s face, and he said, “The Xu family owns a millennium fox hill haunted by old foxes. In alliance with the Xu family, a few fox pelts ranging from one hundred to three hundred years of age are offered each year to create talismans, sold to every region of the Treasure Bottle Continent, popular throughout most of the continent. Most of the blessed immortal residences with no worry of immortal money, own a few fox skin beauties as maids, these talisman beauties, when grounded, are no different than a living person. The talisman can also contain Yin spirits, the female ghost in front should be like this. If the relationship with the immortal mountain family of Qingfeng City is good, before buying the fox fur talisman, you can also send a portrait of the desired woman, and the Xu family will have someone to make the skin according to the map. The old offerings are all skillful painters who are familiar with this way and have never disappointed buyers.”

The young man understood, looking at the “woman” stopped far away, his eyes becoming more covetous.

Although he has not followed the ancestral system to leave Beijing for so many years, he did not stay in Beijing in vain. His biggest hobby is to leave the cage that was once a “potential dragon residence” twice in history, disguised as a frustrated scholar who failed the imperial examination, or a ranger from outside Beijing, and has long tasted the tastes of various women. Especially the wives and daughters of the censorate admonishing old men, as well as women and girls with a little beauty, are deceived by him. Therefore, he can even browse through those impeachment memorials that fly into the Yu study desk like snowflakes. There is no way, the seemingly strict and terrifying emperor’s family will also spoil the young son. Besides, his mother’s methods are not simple. The father is obedient. When the family of three reunites in private, the king of a country will not be ashamed if he teases him in front of the mother and even calls him a docile donkey, but laughs instead. So he really doesn’t care about those memorials used to pass the boring time, and feels that if he doesn’t let those old bastards scold him a few words, he will feel ashamed and have no place to show himself.

But after living such a comfortable life for a long time, I always feel like something is missing.

He is going to be the emperor, so he can’t be a god from the Five Realms, can’t endure the hardship of tempering his body, and can’t be a true Jianghu grandmaster. As for leading troops to fight, killing and killing, he is even less in the mood.

So he couldn’t help but feel a little resentment towards his mother. He is not the crown prince, and now not even a virtuous prince. Is his mother really spoiling him? Or is she deliberately raising him as a waste and keeping him by her side? Those two older brothers are both the bastards of the former queen. Looking at his miserable situation now, his mother found an excuse and treated him like a stray dog who can’t go home and can only wander around outside the capital. He is already tired of those rural women who are earthy to the core. No matter how beautiful these women are, they don’t know how to serve people as well as the beautiful women from wealthy families. That’s all. When he quietly left Beijing, his mother also gave a death order, asking him to personally lead people to kill Da Li’s scouts. Isn’t this forcing him to his death? He actually doesn’t favor the empty Zhu Ying Dynasty. Deep down, he wants to rely on the powerful Da Li barbarians. If he were the one sitting on the dragon chair now, he would have opened the gates of Beijing long ago, and personally led Su Gaoshan into Beijing, pulling the horse for him. What’s so fun about fighting? He wants to see the battle scenes of thousands of Qi refiners, that is the real fight between immortals, the fighting on horseback, is it a fight between two nests of ants?

However, this outing to relax was not bad, and he encountered a fox skin beauty ghost who was no different from a living person.

The young prince was overjoyed.

The three riders on the other side had also stopped for a long time, confronting the elite cavalry.

The Stone Millet Prince named Han Jingxin, the most infamous member of the royal family, his smile grew even wider.

Impressive courage, they hadn’t yielded the road.
Worthy indeed of being a mountain cultivator who possesses a fox-spirit beauty. Either he’s one of those lawless wild cultivators from Reed-Writing Lake, or a pedigree immortal master from within the Stone-Hair Kingdom. Young and full of vigor, understandable.

Pity that in this desolate wilderness, status means nothing.

Killing on a snowy night feels particularly satisfying to Han Jingxin. The pursuit from not long ago was too trivial. He merely slaughtered an official from the Censorate, who had retired in the autumn and was traveling south from the capital at a snail’s pace. Blame his family for failing to produce a decent daughter or marry a woman who was even slightly pleasing to the eye. Thus, there was no sentiment to be had. The old man cursed him so vehemently, dragging in even his imperial father and mother. He even earned himself a reputation as an upright official among the literati. But that wasn’t the end of it; even after retiring, the old man continued to grumble, constantly criticizing current affairs with a bunch of failed scholars.

So Han Jingxin, with nothing better to do, decided to play the filial son. He caught up with the caravan and personally ripped open the old man’s belly. After listening to so much grumbling for so many years, his ears had grown calluses, and he simply wanted to see with his own eyes the fellow’s belly full of complaints. However, he felt he was still benevolent. Seeing the old man clutching his stomach in the snow, looking so pitiful, he mercifully chopped off the old man’s head. Now, that head hung from the martial arts grandmaster’s saddle. Throughout the snowy journey back, the head remained silent, leaving Han Jingxin feeling somewhat unaccustomed.

Han Jingxin toyed with a piece of jade, merely a clever mountain trinket, not a true immortal treasure. It simply felt warm in winter and cool in summer when held in the palm. It was said to be a product of Cloud-Glow Mountain, a passable spiritual artifact. Han Jingxin raised his free hand and waved, signaling the three riders to make way.

The three riders indeed slowly turned their horses, clearing a path.

Han Jingxin chuckled. Are there truly such naive cultivators in the world?

Over there.

Ma Duyi softly reminded, “Mr. Chen, that group doesn’t seem like righteous officials.”

Chen Pingan nodded and said something that made Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye uncomfortable, something that perfectly matched the biting wind and snow of the night.

“I know they won’t give up. We’ll retreat a step, play along, so they’ll be bolder when they strike.”

Zeng Ye’s face was stiff, unsure whether from the freezing snow or being startled by those words.

Chen Pingan didn’t look at the cowering, tall youth. He slowly said, “If our skills are lacking, we’ll be the ones who die. Ma Duyi will suffer the most, wishing she were dead. If you can’t understand that, just cultivate diligently on the mountain in the future. Don’t venture into the pugilistic world.”

Han Jingxin raised his hand again, gesturing. The riders behind him expertly maneuvered their horses, forming a small, fan-shaped formation, not charging immediately.

Clearly.

The earlier gesture for the three riders to yield was just a cat-and-mouse game, an optional appetizer. The real main course wasn’t in a rush to be served.

Chen Pingan suddenly asked, “Zeng Ye, if Ma Duyi and I weren’t here tonight, and it was just you and Su Xinzhai on two horses, facing this cavalry, what would you do?”

Zeng Ye barely considered it before sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

Chen Pingan said nothing more.

Some truths are just so unlikable. No matter how much others say, the listener, having never experienced similar situations, can hardly empathize, unless suffering comes knocking.

But those who can’t heed certain truths are, in fact, fortunate people.

Because those who have experienced misfortune, upon encountering similar situations, understand immediately without needing others to lecture them.

But none of that mattered. What truly made Chen Pingan increasingly uneasy was the realization that those filled with malice toward the world seemed to remember suffering far more keenly than kind-hearted people. Even suffering a small loss at the hands of someone smarter, or failing to enjoy some blessings that didn’t belong to them, they would begin to contemplate the ways of the world, diligently seeking ways to overcome adversity, how to borrow power, abuse authority, achieve great things with minimal effort, benefit themselves at the expense of others, and whether one person’s ascension could lead to the elevation of their entire household, all depending on the mood and interests of the enlightened one…

Chen Pingan hoped his view was wrong, the more wrong the better.

Why should good people have to be smarter than bad people to live a good life?

Chen Pingan exhaled a breath of turbid air and pointed out the young man among the cavalry to Ma Duyi and Zeng Ye. “You might not have noticed, or didn’t have the chance to see, but I’ve seen this person’s face in the reports from Willow Floss Island of your Reed-Writing Lake, twice. So I know his name is Han Jingxin, the half-brother of Prince Han Jingling. He’s quite famous in the Stone-Hair Kingdom’s capital, and the most beloved son of the Stone-Hair Kingdom’s Empress.”

Chen Pingan rubbed his palms. “I’ve also dealt with princes roughly equivalent to Han Jingling and Han Jingxin in status, as brothers. It was in a place called the Great Spring Dynasty in Tongye Continent. But compared to this pair of brothers, those two in Tongye Continent seemed to be a bit sharper. Whether doing good or bad, they would at least scheme against others. This youngest son of the Stone-Hair Kingdom’s Emperor seems to prefer head-on collisions.”

Ma Duyi’s expression changed slightly.

Chen Pingan smiled. “Don’t worry, no one knows your true identity. It won’t implicate your family.”

Ma Duyi retorted angrily, “Did I need you to tell me that? I’m worried about you being reckless and leaving your life here for nothing, and then… I’ll be implicated and kidnapped by that lecherous prince!”

Of course, Chen Pingan knew that Ma Duyi was sincerely concerned for his safety. As for the latter half of her sentence, it was probably just a woman’s innate shyness, deliberately saying unkind words to disguise her true feelings.

Chen Pingan turned to her and smiled. “From beginning to end, I haven’t told you to turn around and run, have I?”

At that moment, Zeng Ye’s mind was filled with thoughts of that Miss Su, thinking about how he should respond if Mr. Chen’s situation arose. His mind was a complete mess, and he didn’t understand the deeper meaning of Mr. Chen’s words.
Ma Duyi was a woman of exceptional intelligence, or else she wouldn’t have reached the fifth realm, the Cave Dwelling Realm, at such a young age. If she hadn’t met with such a tragic fate when facing that Flood Dragon – whether it was madness or something else, she stubbornly refused to retreat – she would have had the potential to steadily ascend through the ranks in Shujian Lake, eventually reaching the Dragon Gate Realm. At that point, by cultivating relationships with her sect’s founder and the cultivators from the larger islands, she could have claimed an island and established her own “sect” in Shujian Lake.

Although Ma Duyi understood Chen Pingan’s meaning, she was still worried, and asked, “Does Mr. Chen truly intend to fight that Prince to the bitter end?”

Ma Duyi hurriedly explained, “Of course, I’m not trying to defend those cavalrymen, but Shujian Lake has always discouraged conflicts of passion. Either you don’t act, or you eliminate the threat completely. If we start a conflict with this Han Jingxin, and we still have to travel deep into the Stone Millet Kingdom and pass through many northern prefectures, won’t it be troublesome? Will it delay Mr. Chen’s important matters?”

Chen Pingan nodded. “Killing is never the objective. But this Han Jingxin seems to enjoy killing for pleasure ever since he left the capital. His escorts even have several heads hanging from their saddles. They don’t look like Great Li scouts, which means they’re not being used as proof of military merit, but rather as a way to vent his anger.”

Chen Pingan casually drew a line in the air.

This left not only Zeng Ye confused, but even Ma Duyi, who had snow accumulating on her shoulders, was baffled.

Chen Pingan smacked his forehead and said to Ma Duyi, “I forgot I could put you in my sleeve.”

Ma Duyi covered her mouth and giggled.

On Han Jingxin’s side, he was captivated by the beauty and allure of the female ghost, his heart ablaze. He felt that enduring this blizzard tonight was worth it.

He asked with a smile, “Will killing a few cultivators of unknown origins cause trouble for Mr. Zeng?”

The middle-aged swordsman shook his head. “Killing cultivators is not a problem. This heavy snow is a great help; we can dispose of the bodies carefully and without a trace. The problem is the caravan dozens of miles away. Your Highness deliberately didn’t bury the bodies on the spot, which makes it easy for someone to follow the clues and suspect Your Highness. Considering both factors, if those three riders truly are registered immortals on a journey from a major sect, or rogue cultivators from a large island in Shujian Lake, the trouble will only be for Your Highness. So Your Highness has three paths to take.”

“First, since we’ve already made such a display, we can follow their example and take a step back. Have someone approach that young cultivator who seems to be seriously injured and not fully recovered. Your Highness can openly reveal your identity and say that you want to make a deal, offering money to buy that alluring ghost. Use your power to intimidate, and your money to purchase, that’s the safest approach. Second, the two parties pass each other by as if nothing happened. At most, Your Highness would have missed a chance at a fleeting pleasure. Third, Your Highness orders us to attack directly, but remember to clean up the bodies in that caravan afterward, to avoid leaving any clues that could lead to suspicion. Mountain cultivators, once they become suspicious, generally don’t bother with reason.”

Han Jingxin nodded. He understood these things clearly, but he couldn’t just have bodyguards who were good at fighting and killing. He also needed a strategist who would reduce the need for the master to speak. This Mr. Zeng was his mother’s confidant, and she had arranged for him to accompany him on this trip from the capital, which had indeed saved him a lot of trouble. Han Jingxin sincerely said, “It’s a pity that Mr. Zeng isn’t a strategist. If I ever have the chance to become emperor, I will definitely invite you to be my state preceptor. That useless Protector of the Nation that my mother spent a fortune to hire is just a deceptive charlatan. Father may not be good at handling state affairs, but he’s not blind, he just doesn’t bother to expose him. He just treats him like a court jester, only turning silver into immortal money. Father secretly told me that it’s only a few Lesser Heat coins a year, and praised my mother for being so thrifty, unlike the state preceptors of the other vassal states who would rebel if they didn’t drain the treasury of several Grain Rain coins a year.”

The skinny man had been impatiently waiting and laughed loudly, “Just kill the ghost handler, and leave the valuable and rare fox-skin ghost to Your Highness to train! It’s that simple. Anyway, we took more than a dozen sets of armor from the Great Li barbarian scouts earlier. Your Highness is benevolent and was willing to keep the two most valuable sets, instead of selling them all to that cowardly General Zhan Jin. You rewarded one set to me and one to our talented poet, and we’ve been keeping them in our armor bags. Later, after we kill those two men, Your Highness can take them to the capital to claim credit. His Majesty will surely be delighted. Those are specially made armors for the Great Li barbarian army cultivators. I reckon even if you dropped them at the feet of those old scholar officials in the capital, none of them could lift them. I heard that those old skeletons who barely have any meat left are actually showing off their martial prowess in bed!”

The young man shook his head. “Don’t say these things in the capital.”

After a slight pause, Han Jingxin said with a self-deprecating tone, “But now I guess it doesn’t matter whether it’s troublesome or not. Even if you grabbed them by the ears and yelled at them, they wouldn’t have the energy to impeach me, would they? They’re all busy finding a way out. Whether the Stone Millet Kingdom is still named Han or not doesn’t matter to them. As long as they can continue to be officials, they’ll still be working for the welfare of the people.”

He glanced south, “It’s my virtuous brother who’s lucky. He originally wanted to hide and be a coward, but who would have thought that he would end up almost becoming a new emperor. Even if he only sits on that newly made dragon throne for a few days, he’s still been an emperor, how can I not envy him?”

The skinny man had already stood up on his horse, “Your Highness, you and Mr. Zeng can talk about your things, just give me a definite answer, will we kill those two men or not? Rest assured, I’ll make sure that female ghost remains unharmed!”

Han Jingxin laughed, “Go, go. And that specially made armor of the Great Li Military Secretary, I won’t let you take it out for nothing. I’ll count both merits together later.”

The skinny man wiped his mouth and said with a smile, “It’s good to follow Your Highness, there’s meat to eat.”
The lean, monkey-like warrior, a Seventh-Realm martial artist renowned for his close-quarters combat prowess and a signature technique that confounded even those of his own level, had found no worthy opponent in the Stone Millet Kingdom’s martial world. This was why he’d joined the army, initially having some connection to the crown prince. However, that bookish prince wasn’t one to recognize talent, offering him only a nominal position with no real benefits. So, he’d defected to Han Jingxin’s faction, intending to fish in troubled waters and become a grand general. The idea of being a one-man army capable of routing ten thousand on the battlefield, as Master Zeng had put it, resonated deeply with him.

In the martial world, even wiping out an entire family couldn’t amount to that many kills.

On the battlefield, thousands or even tens of thousands clashed, and in the heat of battle, even allies could fall victim.

As the compact, agile martial arts grandmaster flicked his toes, he floated away.

Han Jingxin said to the man wielding a long spear, “Please, General Xu, help Hu Han hold the line, lest he be caught off guard. After all, he is a cultivator from the mountains, so we must be cautious.”

The imposing general, unburdened by armor, nodded slightly, nudged his horse forward, and began a slow advance.

Since leaving the capital, this young, strong general from the frontier had not worn iron armor, carrying only his ancestral horse spear.

He didn’t care for Prince Han Jingxin’s actions, but neither did he find them repulsive. Although Han Jingxin was eccentric, obsessed with pleasure, and prone to slaughter, he was far from stupid. The crown prince, with his scholarly air, was a good man, and would be a blessing to the people of Stone Millet Kingdom as an emperor during peaceful times. But in times of chaos, he would amount to little. Now, however, was a time of upheaval, not just within a few countries, but throughout the entire Treasure Bottle Continent. At such a time, he naturally had to choose a wise tree to roost on, even if that tree was already warped.

With both Hu Han and General Xu, his trusted retainers, having departed, Han Jingxin paid little attention to the battle over there, continuing his idle chat with Master Zeng.

They discussed the chaotic situation in the central Treasure Bottle Continent.

Han Jingxin spoke in a rambling, incoherent manner.

But Master Zeng showed no hint of disrespect.

The lean, monkey-like man leaped from his horse, not immediately pouncing, but landing lightly on the snow, strolling casually towards the three riders.

Ma Duyi couldn’t help but feel nervous, whispering, “He’s coming.”

After all, this was a powerful retainer of a prince, and one who seemed to specialize in close combat. A Qi cultivator below the Earth Immortal realm, once they were engaged at close range, would surely be bitten by a mad-dog-like martial artist. This was a common understanding between mountain cultivators and the martial world. No matter how much Ma Duyi trusted Mr. Chen, she was still uneasy. Zeng Ye was almost afraid to breathe. All the deeds and exploits of Mr. Chen in the Book Brief Lake region were just rumors to him; he’d never witnessed them firsthand. The tall young man who had been brushing snow off himself earlier was now drenched in sweat, oblivious to the cold wind and snow.

Chen Pingan dismounted, brushed off some snowflakes from his shoulders, and rolled up his sleeves.

He walked towards the martial arts grandmaster who had no rival in Stone Millet Kingdom, both moving at a leisurely pace.

There was no tension in the air, but rather the feeling of two long-lost friends reuniting.

Ma Duyi only hated that her soul was unstable; the fox pelt talisman was both her refuge and her constraint. At least she was a Cave Realm cultivator in life…

But the thought that her Cave Realm cultivation seemed of little help to Mr. Chen tonight made Ma Duyi disheartened.

A woman’s thoughts were truly like a winding river.

Zeng Ye timidly asked, “Miss Ma, Mr. Chen will be alright, right?”

Ma Duyi turned to look at the simple, tall young man, and retorted, “Do you want something to happen? So you can turn the tide?”

Zeng Ye was speechless, choked by her words.

The swordsman in his forties seemed to be struck by a sudden inspiration, and while surveying the situation ahead, he said slowly, “The Great Li barbarians have stretched their battle lines too thin. If the Vermilion Flame Dynasty can grit their teeth and hold out for another year, stopping the enemy outside their borders and successfully blocking the two cavalry armies under Su Gaoshan and Cao Ping, preventing them from breaking into the heartland in one go, then there’s a fight to be had. The Great Li iron cavalry has had it too easy for too long. From here on out, the situation could change in the blink of an eye. Whether the Vermilion Flame Dynasty can win this war doesn’t depend on itself, but on how long its vassal states can hold out. As long as Su Gaoshan and Cao Ping’s armies lose all their momentum, the Great Li will only be able to plunder the vassal states around the Vermilion Flame Dynasty before retreating north.”

Han Jingxin joked, “If I didn’t know Master Zeng’s background, I would suspect you were a lobbyist for the Vermilion Flame Dynasty.”

The middle-aged swordsman smiled wryly, “I’m just a swordsman who knows some rudimentary sword-wielding techniques, a commoner. I’ve always been the kind of pure martial artist looked down upon by those mountain sword cultivators. When I traveled to the Vermilion Flame Dynasty for the first time, I didn’t even dare to carry my sword in public. Looking back, I should have wished for the Vermilion Flame Dynasty to be trampled to pieces by the Great Li’s hooves. I shouldn’t have encouraged Your Highness to bide your time in the Vermilion Flame capital for a few years, waiting for the situation to clear up before returning to the Stone Millet Kingdom to reclaim our land. If the Empress Dowager hadn’t trusted me, I wouldn’t know where I’d be begging for food now.”

Han Jingxin suddenly said something completely off-topic, “They say the Great Li’s national preceptor is infallible, but several of the Vermilion Flame’s vassal states, including our Stone Millet Kingdom, are putting up a desperate resistance. It seems the Great Li’s spies have failed to infiltrate our vassal states effectively. In our Stone Millet Kingdom, there’s only the Huang family of the border army, and even…”