Nine Rivers City, Daishan Prefecture.

Once hailed as the fourth prefecture of the Zhuang Kingdom, Nine Rivers City became merely Nine Rivers City after the emergence of the true fourth prefecture, Yongchang Prefecture.

It is Nine Rivers City under the jurisdiction of the Daishan Prefecture Governor.

The reason for this shift is simply that Duan Li, the commander of the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army and once a hopeful for Divine Ascension, was crippled in the battle of Zhuang-Yong.

Though the Zhuang court bestowed upon him immense favor and endless rewards, even refusing his resignation and forcibly keeping him in command of the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army, everyone knew this was merely the last vestiges of glory.

The twilight’s afterglow, however beautiful, was about to fade.

Duan Li was no longer capable of handling the specific matters of the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army…

The reason for maintaining this state was twofold: first, Duan Li was loyal and courageous to the nation, and his crippling was due to serving the country. Replacing him abruptly would chill the hearts of others. Second, after the battle of Zhuang-Yong, the Zhuang Kingdom truly couldn’t find someone capable of replacing Duan Li for the time being.

The Zhuang Kingdom needed time to digest the territory it had bitten off from the Yong Kingdom. The new generation of strong cultivators within the country needed time to grow. As for strong cultivators who had pledged allegiance, they could only be fully utilized after their loyalty was ascertained.

Thus, matters were delayed…

In fact, the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army is now divided, with the five副generals, including Du Yehou, each managing a portion.

And the Daishan Prefecture Governor occasionally comes to Nine Rivers City for “inspections,” their intention to grasp control of this powerful army being an open secret.

Speaking of which, Du Yehou, who was the first to ascend and lock the Dragon Pass, indeed possesses prestige second only to Duan Li within the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army.

The ancient military cultivation path saw thousands fall for every one who survived. Even those who lived were mostly crippled, losing all prospects for the future.

This is why this method is rarely attempted in the present age.

But in the era before the advent of the Meridian Opening Pill, countless people with ordinary aptitude, unable to naturally open their meridians, charged the Dao meridians with suicidal courage…

Only when these extraordinary cultivators, forged through countless lives, grew strong, did they have the power to support the ancient human race.

In this day and age, with more options available, taking the path of Qi and Blood Meridian Shock undoubtedly requires even greater courage.

Du Yehou walked that path and succeeded, naturally earning even greater admiration.

Military cultivators value slaughter.

He had experienced an extremely intense national war, fighting in the most brutal areas of the conflict.

He also successfully cleared the fog of ignorance and knocked open his inner mansion.

In terms of strength, he is paramount in the current Nine Rivers Black Armored Army. Duan Li is crippled, and the other few副generals are only in the Inner Mansion realm.

However, controlling a powerful army like the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army with Inner Mansion realm strength is definitely insufficient. Therefore, despite Duan Li’s support, the other副generals are not convinced.

In short, this is the general state of the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army now.

They occasionally sortie together when sweeping through ferocious beasts within the borders, but in fact, they have split into five divisions, each acting independently. They can only be reintegrated when a new commander is officially appointed from above.

Du Yehou is not good at managing these things, much less interested in them.

He only wants to drink and fight, and cares about nothing else.

Now there’s only one more thing – visiting Duan Li and drinking with him.

Although the physicians all said that in Duan Li’s current state, he shouldn’t drink excessively. Even the Grand Chancellor strictly forbade Duan Li from drinking when he visited – but who cares!

In Duan Li’s words, “I’m already crippled, there’s no enjoyment in life. If I can’t even drink, what the hell is the point of living! Might as well die sooner and reincarnate!”

And Du Yehou never tried to persuade him, only accompanying him in drinking.

“You bastard!”

At the table, Duan Li suddenly raised his hand and slapped Du Yehou’s bird’s nest-like messy hair. “I told you to drink with me, not just drink my wine! You finished a pound and a half of two pounds, what am I supposed to drink?”

Although he had lost his cultivation, he still had quite a bit of strength when hitting.

Du Yehou glanced at him, rubbed his hair indifferently, and gulped down another bowl.

This bastard named Duan used to repeatedly tell him to mind his demeanor, his appearance, to be a scholarly general, and constantly talked about “the bearing of a famous general.” Now that he was crippled, it became interesting. He revealed his true nature, cursing all day long.

How interesting!

Lord Du is broad-minded and doesn’t bother to fuss. And this wine is indeed quite good. So he let him be.

[Collection of free good books, follow v.x book friends’ base camp, recommend your favorite novels, and receive cash red envelopes!]

Seeing his unwavering reaction, Duan Li felt extremely agitated. He cursed, “This little bit of compensation I have, you’ll squander it sooner or later.”

“What nonsense are you talking about!” Du Yehou finally reacted. “You’re not dead yet, what compensation? That’s a reward!”

“Reward his mother! I traded my life for it!” Duan Li suddenly erupted.

His face was flushed red, and his eyes seemed red as well. “And that’s all I got!”

His outburst was somewhat inexplicable, but not entirely sudden.

He was someone who truly had the potential to break through the limits of mortal lifespan and achieve Divine Ascension.

He also truly devoted himself to the nation, willing to spill his blood and sacrifice his life.

But it shouldn’t have been, being tricked into it…

“Alright, alright.” Du Yehou, coaxing him like a child, patted his back, casually placated him a few times, and said, “Wine and meat pass through the intestines, troubles follow. Come, drink, drink!”

“All you know is drinking! You drunkard!” Duan Li cursed at him fiercely, lifted his bowl, and poured the wine into his stomach.

He continued to curse, “My Nine Rivers Black Armored Army will be ruined by you turtles!”

Du Yehou wiped the spit off his face, poured him another bowl of wine, and continued to placate him, “Yes, yes, it’s truly hateful.”

Raising his own wine bowl, “Come, Old Duan, let’s have another bowl.”

Duan Li’s face was crimson, and he stared at him fiercely for a long time.

After watching Du Yehou drink a third bowl by himself, he cursed, “I really don’t know how I was so blind back then, wanting to hand over the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army to you!”

He even suddenly had a hint of a哭腔: “You used to call me Lord Duan, now you call me Old Duan!”

Du Yehou was truly helpless. “You told me the day before yesterday when we were drinking that we should address each other as brothers from now on, and you wanted me to call you Brother Duan. I said that wasn’t good, and you said to just call you Old Duan. Did you forget so quickly?”

Duan Li swung his arm, stood up abruptly, and started acting drunk. “Can words spoken at the drinking table count?”

“Okay, okay, they don’t count, Lord, Lord Duan, Tiger is wrong!”

Du Yehou quickly pulled him back to his seat. “I apologize to you. Come, I’ll drink first as a sign of respect.”

He tilted his head back and drank a bowl cleanly.

After gulping it down and wiping his mouth, he said, “I’ll drink three bowls in a row to show my apology!”

Then he started pouring wine again.

“Stop right there!” Duan Li slammed the table, making the wine and dishes on it jump. “Do you think I’m drunk? Want to take advantage and plunder my possessions? Are you f**king insane with freeloading drinks?”

Du Yehou looked at the wine jar regretfully, feeling that he had probably accompanied him enough for today and should go back to sleep… Isn’t life just about drinking, sleeping, and killing?

So he said, “Look at what you’re saying. Let’s stop here for today, I’ll come back to accompany you next time!”

With that, he stood up and was about to leave, truly coming and going with ease.

He came empty-handed and left with a full stomach.

“You stop right there!” Duan Li shouted after him.

Du Yehou turned around helplessly. “What is it now?”

After the Zhuang-Yong war ended, Duan Li was always like this, throwing drunk tantrums and acting like a spoiled child at the drop of a hat.

In his early years, he focused on the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army and didn’t marry or have children. Now that he was crippled, his temperament changed drastically, and he had no close relatives to care for him.

No one cared about a crippled general, so Du Yehou had to reluctantly come and visit often.

But when it comes to taking care of people, he is indeed not good at it. He just accompanies him in drinking and also satisfies his own alcohol craving – after all, he is now an official副general of an army, with a bunch of brothers under him. All his salary is distributed among them. He can afford to drink on his own, but drinking such good wine is a bit difficult.

Duan Li stood swaying, pointed at him with his finger and said, “Words I say when I’m drinking, I can deny. But you can’t. You have to stand by whatever you say, no matter when you say it!”

Du Yehou scratched his head and said perfunctorily, “Yes, yes, I’ll admit it.”

He walked forward a few steps. “Come, Lord Duan, I’ll help you to bed to rest.”

“You stand still! Don’t come over!” Duan Li reeked of alcohol. “I haven’t said what I want you to admit yet!”

Du Yehou had to stop. “I’ll admit anything, okay? Lord Duan, you’ve been drinking all day, it’s already dark, you should go to sleep.”

“Pah! You’re the one who should sleep!” Duan Li spat at him. “I’m perfectly clear-headed!”

If it were anyone else, regardless of their identity, Old Man Du would have slapped them long ago. Lord Du never indulged anyone. Only Duan Li…

Since he entered the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army, Duan Li had taken great care of him.

His heavy drinking, getting into fights and causing trouble, sleeping day and night, repeatedly disobeying military orders due to surging killing intent on the battlefield…

One by one, it was Duan Li who helped him suppress them, and he was even exceptionally promoted to副general of the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army.

To say his kindness was like a mountain is not an exaggeration.

Du Yehou sighed. “Yes, I said the wrong thing. Please calm down. How about I punish myself with another bowl of wine?”

His reply was a military boot. “Get out of here!”

Du Yehou tilted his head to dodge and walked out laughing.

Getting out now was exactly what he wanted.

“You stop right there!” Duan Li shouted again.

Du Yehou stopped reluctantly. “What is it, my Lord Duan!”

“You say!” Duan Li suddenly pouted, his face full of drunkenness and a sense of grievance. “No matter what I ask you to do, you must agree!”

The once majestic and promising commander of the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army had become like this. Drowning his sorrows in alcohol every day, throwing tantrums and rolling around.

It’s impossible for Du Yehou not to feel sad watching this.

But there are too many sad things in this world, what can one do!

Powerless, always powerless.

Only drinking, sleeping, and killing.

Only letting the strong liquor pass through the intestines, hoping it can take away the troubles!

“I promise you,” Du Yehou said in a muffled voice.

“Swear it!” Duan Li stared at him menacingly.

Du Yehou sighed. “I swear it.”

Duan Li added, “Take a poisonous oath!”

“Alright.” Du Yehou was utterly helpless. “I’ll take a poisonous oath.”

“You say it!” Duan Li seemed to be pushing it. “If you don’t do as I say, your whole family will die!”

“Just say it, I’ll do anything.” Du Yehou treated it as a drunken tantrum and coaxed, “If I don’t do as you say, my whole family will die.”

Anyway, his whole family was already dead…

Duan Li paused for a while, seemed to think, and then said, “Add another condition. If you don’t do as I say, you’ll have no wine to drink for the rest of your life!”

Du Yehou’s eyes widened. “Old Duan! You’re too cruel!”

“Hahahaha.” Duan Li laughed with his hands on his hips, and after laughing, repeated, “Swear it!”

Duan Li today had an unusual stubbornness.

Perhaps he had drunk too much, or perhaps he was too wronged in his heart. He could only torment people like this.

Du Yehou said helplessly, “If I don’t do as you say, I’ll have no wine to drink for the rest of my life. Is that enough? Go to sleep now!”

“No!” Duan Li waved his hand. “You agreed too readily, there’s no sincerity! I want to change the oath!”

He stretched out his finger and circled it in the air for a long time. Finally, as if suddenly thinking of something, he pointed at Du Yehou and said, “You swear that if you don’t do as I say, your dead brothers will not be able to reincarnate!”

Du Yehou’s face darkened for the first time.

“You’ve gone too far!”

The atmosphere in the room became very heavy.

But Duan Li, though drunk, stared at him stubbornly, as if determined to make him agree.

“Whatever you want me to do, I will do it with all my might for you. Anything is fine, I owe you! But saying these things is unnecessary.” Du Yehou turned to leave. “I hope you are just drunk today!”

“What life do I want you to risk?” Duan Li suddenly roared behind him. “What is your life worth, someone who doesn’t care about his own life! Do I care about it?”

“Then what do you want me to do?” Du Yehou turned back like an enraged lion, walked a few steps to Duan Li, and grabbed his collar. “Are you wronged? Are you angry? Being tricked onto the battlefield to fight desperately, fighting to be watched, and finally becoming a cripple, yet you dare not say anything. Do you want me to help you get revenge!?”

He released Duan Li, drew the military knife from his waist, and walked out murderously. “I’ll go to Xin’an now!”

“Go to your mother!” Duan Li grabbed his arm from behind, but instead of holding on, he was dragged down to the ground.

There was a crash and bang.

The chair broke, the table collapsed, the wine jar shattered…

The remaining wine and dishes poured over him, making him look so dishevelled.

This was once the top figure in the Zhuang Kingdom’s military, Duan Li, the main general of the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army, second only to Huangfu Duanming!

Du Yehou had already stormed to the door with great momentum, but at this moment, he had to stop.

All the killing intent was gone.

He sheathed his knife, turned back, brushed the wine and dishes off Duan Li’s head and face, and helped him up.

“I promise you,” Du Yehou said in a deep voice. “No matter what you want me to do, I promise you. I’ll take a poisonous oath, the most poisonous oath.”

He paused, then said, “Anyway, in this world, there’s nothing I care about anymore.”

Duan Li looked at him, his eyes no longer containing drunkenness at this moment, nor the drunken look, staring straight at him and saying, “Yehou, I have no son, I regard you as my son. I’ve become like this today, hated by both humans and ghosts, and only you are willing to indulge me, coax me, and listen to me!”

This general, who once used his last bit of Dao energy and Qi and blood on the Zhuang-Yong battlefield to pursue the enemy, shook his head and said with unusual solemnity, “I don’t want you to risk your life for me, I want you to risk your life for yourself!”

He growled, “Promise me!”

Perhaps it was because he had drunk too much, Du Yehou felt his throat was dry. He realized that Duan Li might not have been drunk at all. Tonight’s conversation might change everything…

But how could he refuse?

His father was a butcher and died very early. This frail man in front of him had indeed played the role of the missing “father” for a long time, always protecting him.

“I promise you,” Du Yehou said. “Using the peace of my brothers who died in Maple Forest City as my oath, I promise you.”

But the first sentence Duan Li spoke almost made him lose his footing.

“Not all your brothers in Maple Forest City died!”

“What did you say?” Du Yehou grabbed Duan Li’s arms and stared at him with an incredibly serious look. “What did you say?”

Facing such eyes, Duan Li knew that if he was joking today, the friendship between him and Du Yehou would end here.

“Sit down and talk.” Duan Li tried to calm him down.

Du Yehou released his hands.

For a moment just now, his arms were almost crushed. Duan Li shook his arms, not bothering with formalities, found a spot where he could sit, and sat on the ground.

Du Yehou followed suit and sat on the ground, his eyes still fixed on him.

Duan Li sighed and said, “Someone came to me today and told me a piece of news. Don’t ask me who that person is, I promised to keep it a secret.”

He also paid attention to Du Yehou’s expression and slowly said, “This time at the Yellow River Gathering, the participant from the Eastern Region’s Qi Kingdom in the Inner Mansion realm is named… Jiang Wang!”

Du Yehou closed his eyes deeply.

It took a long time before he opened them.

“Impossible,” he shook his head. “If Third Brother wasn’t dead, he wouldn’t fail to contact me.”

Although he was denying it, his lips were trembling slightly.

Duan Li looked at him with some heartache, looking at this rough-looking but actually very simple and straightforward young man. “If you can think about why I had to force you to take that poisonous oath first before telling you the news, you should know that this is true.”

Du Yehou didn’t speak for a moment.

The fall of the Maple Forest City domain was inherently unclear. The sudden death of the old City Lord Liu Yi’an was also one of the suspicious points.

But besides Dong A, there were no other living people in the entire Maple Forest City domain, no evidence.

So, whatever Dong A said, it was.

Then, if Jiang Wang was still alive, why didn’t he come looking for him?

Why did he run all the way to the Eastern Region’s Qi Kingdom?

The answer to this question is actually not difficult to guess.

Duan Li continued, “During the national war last year, Dong A was assassinated on the streets of Xin’an. The person who killed him left behind a jade. It was the jade that Dong A used to carry with him. Others don’t know whose jade it was, but I think you should know.”

Yes. Du Yehou certainly knew.

In the letters Jiang Wang sent him later, he had bragged more than once about how highly the headmaster regarded him, how extraordinary his talent was, and how he would cover for his brothers in the future and so on.

Although he didn’t have time to see with his own eyes what the jade pendant that kid showed off looked like. But something that could be associated with Dong A probably wouldn’t be anything else.

All the wine in Du Yehou’s blood woke up.

But in his heart, there was a fire burning.

All that wine was poured onto those fires.

Burning, painful… angry.

“So, so the destruction of Maple Forest City was a conspiracy. A conspiracy related to Dong A, and also to the Emperor. So my Third Brother ran all the way to the Eastern Region’s Qi Kingdom alone to seek revenge. So he refused to contact me, afraid that I would do something rash?”

Du Yehou said, grinding his teeth as he spoke, and as he spoke, he tried to get up.

Duan Li pressed him down fiercely, his voice stern and forceful. “Did you forget the oath you swore???”

Du Yehou was stunned.

Third Brother is alive… Third Brother is alive and wants to avenge himself alone.

But First Brother and Fifth Brother are gone…

He had just sworn a poisonous oath on their peace after death.

He sat there stunned, lowering his head.

His full beard probably hid his emotions well.

His large, calloused hands covered his face.

The veins on the back of his hands bulged, his body trembled, but he didn’t make a sound.

Duan Li also remained silent for a long time, then patted his shoulder and said, “Dong A once entrusted me with a matter. He said that if one day the secret of Maple Forest City is revealed, I should kill you. Now, Jiang Wang’s appearance at the Yellow River Gathering indicates that this secret can no longer be hidden. At least from you, it can’t be hidden. With Du Ruohui’s ability, he must have obliterated all clues. The whole world might not believe Jiang Wang, but I think you will definitely believe him.”

Du Yehou slowly, slowly calmed down.

But he still didn’t look up.

His voice, full of hatred, came out from between his fingers. “What exactly happened… those hundreds of thousands of people, my brothers… what exactly happened to Maple Forest City?”

“The White Bone Path wanted to use the hundreds of thousands of people in the Maple Forest City domain to refine the White Bone True Pill. The court had already known the clues for a long time. Zhuang Gaoxian had been hiding in the deep palace recovering from his injuries. The Zhuang Kingdom had been dormant and shown weakness for years. He needed this White Bone True Pill to recover from his injuries and break through to the Cave Realm. So, including Du Ruohui, Huangfu Duanming, and Dong A, they acquiesced to the tragedy. That’s what happened,” Duan Li said.

Du Yehou moved his hands away and looked up.

Duan Li saw that his eyes were filled with bloodshot, appearing completely red.

“I will kill them,” Du Yehou said through gritted teeth. “Old Duan, I must kill them. I will carve them up, every single one of them, every single one who was involved… I will skin them alive, piece by piece!”

“But you can’t kill them. You can’t kill anyone,” Duan Li said calmly and cruelly.

Du Yehou was trembling all over, a sign of extreme hatred. “Even if I die, I will bite off their flesh…”

“Even if you die, you won’t be able to harm a single hair on their heads,” Duan Li interrupted him.

“You have to live, Tiger, you promised me, you have to live,” Duan Li said.

This once mighty commander of the Nine Rivers Black Armored Army, now a cripple, sighed and said, “The person who sent me the message probably hoped that you could escape from here. But you can’t escape anymore.”

He said, “You can’t escape, Du Yehou.”

“One Jiang Wang escaped, one Zhu Weiwu escaped. Zhuang Gaoxian, that kind of ungrateful person, will not let you escape again. It’s too far from here to the Qi Kingdom, you can’t escape.”

“There’s only one way.”

He slowly lowered his head and embraced Du Yehou, like a father embracing his son.

Their heads were touching.

“There’s only one way…” Duan Li said slowly.

This room, which had been filled with crying and shouting today, where only the two of them drank after all the attendants were sent away.

This burning, agonizing room, a room ignited by a certain emotion.

It seemed to have finally become quiet at this moment.

After a long time…

“What kind of damn way!” Du Yehou’s sudden, painful voice echoed.

But it was immediately suppressed by Duan Li’s even sterner voice. “Think about the oath you swore!”