At that moment, Huai Qing felt her mind reel, experiencing a sense of panic as if her deepest secret had been mercilessly exposed. This led to a slight feeling of unease.
He, he knows I’m Number One? He’s known my identity all along?!
These past few days, he’s been constantly sending me private messages, trying to arrange meetings several times, which I firmly refused. What must he have been thinking then? He must have been laughing to himself, no, perhaps even laughing out loud…
Not only does he know my identity, but he’s also revealed it in front of Li Miaozhen’s face…
The beautiful and ethereal face of the Imperial Eldest Daughter froze, her eyes widening slightly. For someone of her cunning and depth, this was an extremely poor performance.
Li Miaozhen’s eyes immediately bulged, her small mouth opening wide enough to fit an egg. She truly hadn’t expected to hear such explosive news.
Number One is Huai Qing, a princess of the royal family, the Imperial Eldest Daughter of Emperor Yuanjing?!
After the initial shock, Li Miaozhen recalled her own catchphrases within the Tiandihui’s internal circles: “I want to assassinate Emperor Yuanjing!”, “Is Emperor Yuanjing dead yet?”, “When will Emperor Yuanjing die?!”
The Tianzong Holy Maiden felt her scalp tingle, goosebumps rising on her neck, and had the urge to rush out of the room and jump into a well.
The embarrassment nearly made her want to disappear into thin air.
Huai Qing’s eyes flickered for a moment before she regained her cool composure. She said calmly, “When did you find out, Yunlu Academy student, Young Master Xu?”
…Huai Qing is truly a master of passive-aggressiveness! Xu Qi’an’s expression also stiffened slightly. He coughed once and said nonchalantly:
“It’s a recent discovery. For instance, Your Highness is incredibly intelligent, instructing Lin’an to borrow books from the Wenyuan Pavilion.”
As he spoke, Xu Qi’an glanced at Li Miaozhen beside him, thinking to himself how nice it was that they were all experiencing social death together.
Huai Qing nodded, her expression calm: “Young Master Xu is indeed perceptive, truly worthy of being a scholar well-versed in the classics, no less than your elder brother who single-handedly held off eight thousand rebel troops in Yunzhou.”
Xu Qi’an slowly nodded: “You flatter me. Your Highness is truly the most intelligent person in the Tiandihui, using the pretext of borrowing the autumn hunt map to pique Lin’an’s interest in hunting, concealing yourself extremely well.”
Huai Qing said expressionlessly: “Young Master Xu is so impressive, do the others know?”
“Please… stop talking…” Li Miaozhen silently covered her face.
Xu Qi’an and Huai Qing fell silent simultaneously, maintaining straight faces without speaking.
As long as we’re not embarrassed, the embarrassment falls on others.
Xu Qi’an glanced at the Imperial Eldest Daughter, whose face remained calm and unperturbed, and thought to himself:
If I hadn’t seen you completely stunned earlier, I would have thought you had no sense of shame and a clear conscience…
Li Miaozhen cleared her throat, looked at both of them and suggested: “Shall we keep today’s matters known only to the three of us?”
“I have no objections,” Xu Qi’an nodded “steadily”.
Good assist, Miaozhen!
Huai Qing inclined her head, giving him a fleeting glance, and asked: “Who else knows your identity?”
Xu Qi’an answered: “No one else, just the two of you.”
He automatically ignored Li Na.
After another moment of silence, Huai Qing brought the topic back on track: “So the case has been solved?”
Xu Qi’an gave an affirmative “Mm,” then said, “Before that, I have a question for both of you. Your Highness, did you obtain the Earth Book fragment six years ago?”
Huai Qing was taken aback for a moment but didn’t deny it.
Xu Qi’an then asked: “Miaozhen, the Earth Book fragment you have was given to you by Daoist Jinlian when he visited Tianzong, right?”
Li Miaozhen couldn’t hide her surprise: “How do you know that?”
My deductions were correct, and everything lined up… Xu Qi’an let out a breath and said, “I have indeed solved the case. First, I need to tell you something: Daoist Jinlian is the Daozhong Sect Leader.”
Huai Qing and Li Miaozhen’s expressions instantly froze.
Huai Qing’s face became solemn, and she said gravely, word by word: “What exactly is going on?”
“The Daozhong Sect Leader has fallen into demonic cultivation but hasn’t completely succumbed. His benevolent thoughts split off and became Daoist Jinlian. Miaozhen, you should remember that when guarding the lotus seed, Daoist Jinlian single-handedly held off the Black Lotus and entangled with that strand of demonic thoughts,” Xu Qi’an looked towards the Tianzong Holy Maiden.
Li Miaozhen frowned: “I was indeed puzzled at the time. Even if it was just a strand of demonic thoughts, it was still from a Tier 2 Transcendent cultivator. How could Daoist Jinlian, who wasn’t even Tier 3, contend with it? It’s just…”
It’s just that you were too lazy to think it through! Xu Qi’an complained inwardly.
If Huai Qing had been present at the time, she probably would have deduced more from it. Unfortunately, Huai Qing was weak and had no cultivation.
Xu Qi’an continued without pause, recounting his and Luo Yuheng’s deductions to the two of them in detail. In this recounting, Luo Yuheng’s contributions remained hidden, with no mention of her involvement.
He didn’t feel comfortable revealing his private interactions with the Imperial Mentor unless she permitted it.
During the process, Huai Qing’s expression changed dramatically, from shock to anger to gloom… until finally settling into a deep, silent pensiveness, as if she had lost the ability to speak.
Li Miaozhen’s expression had frozen into a wide-eyed, open-mouthed stare, like a fixed figurine.
The Daozhong Sect Leader appeared normal years ago, but in fact, he was already showing signs of falling into demonic cultivation. When Prince Huai and Emperor Yuanjing met him in the Southern Garden, they were contaminated, turning into seemingly normal but psychologically twisted madmen.
That’s why Prince Huai massacred a city to refine pills for his selfish desires.
That’s why Emperor Yuanjing, knowing full well that the accumulation of fortune couldn’t grant longevity, stubbornly refused to believe it.
Normal people wouldn’t do such things, but what about half-mad individuals with distorted mentalities?
“So, the root of all this evil is Daoist Jinlian…” Li Miaozhen murmured in a sighing tone.
“So, the reason you wanted to meet me privately that day, instead of using the Earth Book to communicate, was because you were afraid Daoist Jinlian would see. You don’t trust Daoist Jinlian,” Huai Qing said in a low voice.
“Yes, I couldn’t be sure if Daoist Jinlian knew about these things. I… I’ve started to distrust him,” Xu Qi’an sighed.
Huai Qing nodded. Anyone would react the same way, realizing that someone they thought was a trustworthy senior turned out to be the root of all evil.
“Could the anomaly beneath the dragon vein be another incarnation of Daoist Jinlian?” Li Miaozhen asked.
Damn it, I didn’t deduce the truth of the case at all. I’m so far behind Xu Qi’an, all because he didn’t share the clues with me… The Tianzong Holy Maiden tried to save face for herself.
“I don’t know. In half a month, I’ll explore the dragon vein again. This time, there will be results,” Xu Qi’an didn’t explain why this time would yield results.
Li Miaozhen and Huai Qing didn’t press further.
“So, the soul pills were needed by the entity in the dragon vein underground, and the pills Father has been refining all these years are the same?” Huai Qing pondered.
“That should be the case,” Xu Qi’an said.
After a moment of hesitation, she asked: “Can Father still… can the contamination still be removed?”
Xu Qi’an said: “First, we need to understand the nature of the contamination. If a person’s innate nature has changed, it’s very difficult to recover. If they’re being controlled, then Daoist Jinlian might have a way.”
The former means the person has become inherently evil, and their entire nature has been corrupted, making recovery very difficult. The latter only requires breaking the control to recover.
Upon hearing this, Li Miaozhen interjected: “No, even if one’s nature has been corrupted, if a high-ranking Buddhist monk could help, they could make Emperor Yuanjing see his true nature and recover his original self.”
Huai Qing’s eyes brightened slightly.
“By the way, should we tell Li Na about these things?” the Flying Swallow Heroine asked.
“Why tell her?” Xu Qi’an questioned.
Huai Qing didn’t speak, but her gaze towards Li Miaozhen expressed the same sentiment.
“We can call on her when it’s time to fight. There’s no need to involve her in matters that require thinking. Let’s not put her in a difficult position,” Xu Qi’an said.
That makes sense! Li Miaozhen nodded slowly.
After agreeing to wait for developments in half a month, Xu Qi’an escorted Huai Qing out of the mansion.
Before leaving, Huai Qing lowered her voice and said: “If the truth is revealed in half a month, you won’t have to leave the capital.”
The ministers and the Supervisor will certainly do everything in their power to resolve Father’s “half-mad” condition.
You’ll miss me… Xu Qi’an smiled but didn’t respond.
After a pause, Huai Qing added: “During this period, I’ll review all the clues again. If I find anything, I’ll let you know.”
With that, she boarded her carriage and departed.
…
On the broken city walls, inside the barbican.
The high-ranking generals of Great Shang were gathered, and engaged in a heated argument.
Wei Yuan ignored them, standing before a topographical map, lost in thought.
It had been ten days since the capture of Dingguan City. Under Wei Yuan’s leadership, the army had been storming cities and fortresses, like a sharp knife piercing into the heart of the Yan Nation.
They had already taken seven cities and advanced hundreds of li. The city they currently occupied was called Xu City, the last stronghold before the Yan Nation’s capital.
Just one more step, and they could strike at the Yan Nation’s capital. In ten days, Wei Yuan had only needed ten days to bring this nation, boasting of its numerous impregnable passes, to its knees.
Regarding the Yan Nation’s capital, to attack or not to attack, there was a serious divide among the army’s commanders.
Because the Great Shang army had fallen into an extremely dire situation—they were short on provisions!
“Why haven’t the supplies arrived yet? According to our previous arrangements, the first batch of provisions should have arrived three days ago. We can’t continue fighting. The battle line has been stretched too long, and our supply lines have been cut off. Without provisions, without artillery, without crossbow bolts, how can we fight?”
A young commander stood up, his face grim, and said: “From Dingguan City to Xu City, we’ve lost over half of our soldiers. The Yan Nation’s capital is surrounded by mountains on two sides. With our current forces alone, we simply can’t take it. Undoubtedly, there must be a Tier 3 shaman stationed in the Yan Nation’s capital.”
This young commander was named Zhao Ying, from the Imperial Guard, a Tier 4 expert, and one of the outstanding figures among Great Shang’s young and vigorous faction.
He advocated for retreat and was the leader of the conservative faction.
The aggressive faction, led by Nangong Qianrou, advocated for pressing on and capturing the Yan Nation in one fell swoop.
“Sixty li further northeast is the Yan Nation’s capital. After taking Xu City, our provisions and ammunition will be replenished, and we can certainly hold out for another campaign,” Nangong Qianrou said calmly:
“We’ve been able to fight our way here relying on the principle of ‘speed is of the essence in warfare’. If we retreat now, we’ll be giving the Yan Nation a chance to catch their breath. But if we capture the capital, we can replenish our military supplies and provisions.”
This great victory was all thanks to her adoptive father’s almost desperate strategy of swift decisive battles, which had crushed the morale of the Yan army. Now, the Shang army’s morale was at its peak, and it was the perfect time to press on.
Once they retreated, this invincible momentum would dissipate. Facing the formidable capital of the Yan Nation and the reinforcements from the Kang Nation, victory would become difficult.
Zhao Ying glared fiercely at Nangong Qianrou and said in a deep voice:
“‘Speed is of the essence’ doesn’t apply to the Yan capital. The Yan capital is surrounded by mountains on two sides, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The Flying Beast army is stationed in the mountains, far unlike any other city. Moreover, we’ve sacked seven cities along the way. Whether civilians, jianghu experts, or defeated Yan soldiers, they’ve all been fleeing to the capital.”
“If the city falls, everyone will die—this is their consensus. Now, the Yan capital must be united in purpose, defending the city to the death. Our forces can’t break through. And if we suffer heavy losses in the siege, that will be the moment for their counterattack, with the risk of total annihilation.”
“It’s better to retreat for now, rest and recuperate, replenish our provisions and military supplies, and then come back again.”
The Yan capital was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Most of the commanders present lacked confidence, so the conservative faction outnumbered the pro-war faction.
The reason they were still arguing was that they still held hope for Wei Yuan.
“Rest for one night, we’ll set out tomorrow and lay siege to the city,” Wei Yuan pointed at the Yan Nation’s capital on the map.
The arguments subsided.
…
Sixty li away, the Yan Nation’s capital was built in a vast mountain valley. A majestic city wall, three hundred zhang high, connected two mountain peaks.
The steep and treacherous mountain peaks, coupled with the towering city walls, along with artillery, ballistic, rolling stones, and other defensive weaponry, made it an impregnable fortress. Any military strategist who saw this mighty city would be in awe.
Throughout history, since the founding of the Yan Nation’s capital over 1,400 years ago, this city has only fallen once. That was during the Great Zhou Dynasty’s peak, when a royal prince of the Zhou Imperial family, a Tier 2 Martial Artist who had merged with the Dao, led an army to capture the Yan capital.
According to Yan Nation’s historical records, that battle was extremely brutal. The Shaman Religion lost one Rain Master (Tier 2) and one Spirit Wisdom (Tier 3). In the end, the Shaman God personally intervened, slaying that peak Tier 2 prince.
This wasn’t due to the Yan capital’s poor defenses, but rather because the enemy’s combat power had reached the pinnacle of the Nine Provinces.
In the capital’s palace.
Although the Yan Nation’s ruler, Nurhaci, already had graying hair, his physique remained imposing. This ruler had extremely strong innate talents. In his youth, he followed the Martial Artist path, reaching the peak of Tier 4, but couldn’t advance further.
He then switched to the Shaman system, but after reaching Tier 4, he hit another bottleneck.
Dual-system practitioners were extremely rare, not because different systems were incompatible, but because cultivation was difficult. Focusing on a single system allowed one to progress higher and further.
Now over fifty, Nurhaci had no chance of reaching Tier 3 in either the Martial Artist or Shaman system.
He didn’t feel regretful about it though. Tier 3 experts were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; failing to reach that level was the norm. And with his dual system, his combat power surpassed any single-system Tier 4 cultivator.
Nurhaci sat on the throne, listening to his ministers’ heated discussions.
The Yan Nation’s upper echelons weren’t dejected or angry about Wei Yuan’s strong offensive; they had long been prepared for a major defeat.
“Wei Yuan has already taken Xu City. He’ll be at our gates tomorrow.”
“How did he manage to capture seven cities in just ten days?”
“Can we defend the capital?”
The atmosphere in the great hall was somber. The Yan Nation’s ministers wore grave expressions as if facing a formidable enemy.
At this moment, some of the elder ministers seemed to be transported back to the Shanhai Pass battle, recalling the fear and humiliation of being dominated by Wei Yuan.
“According to the reports from our dog-leading scouts, the Shang army has at most 50,000 troops left. No matter how brilliant Wei Yuan’s tactics are, it would be extremely difficult for him to capture the capital with just 50,000 soldiers.”
“Now everyone in the city is united. We have sufficient defenders, military equipment, and provisions. We’ll fight to the death against Wei the Eunuch if we must.”
“…”
Nurhaci couldn’t help but turn to the elder beside him, who was wrapped in a fur robe, wearing a hood, and holding a jewel-encrusted golden staff. He asked respectfully, “Imperial Mentor Yilbu, what’s your opinion?”
In the three northeastern nations, each had a Tier 3 Spirit Wisdom serving as the Imperial Mentor. They usually didn’t participate in political affairs, but their status was higher than the national rulers because they represented the headquarters and the Shaman Religion.
Yilbu, who had narrowly escaped death in Chu Province, gripped his golden staff and said in a deep voice: “The 50,000 troops from the Kang Nation have already entered Yan territory. In at most five days, they’ll be able to form a pincer attack with us.”
Nurhaci nodded thoughtfully: “The Yan capital has stood for over a thousand years, weathering numerous wars, and has only fallen once. Wei Yuan won’t be able to breach the city in the short term. But for the current Shang army, time is of the essence. They’re running low on provisions.”
The ministers in the hall slowly nodded:
“We only need the Kang army to cut off their supply lines. If we hold the city, we can force Wei Yuan to retreat within three days.”
“This battle depends on how Wei Yuan will fight.”
Yilbu’s gaze pierced through the hall doors, looking at the azure sky outside.
Massacring seven cities, diminishing our Shaman Religion’s fortune, pointing his sword at the Shaman God… Wei Yuan, you think your strategies are unparalleled, and that all your arrangements from last year were flawless. Heh, little do you know that we’ve been waiting for you.
Do you think you can reach our headquarters with less than 100,000 troops? What a fool’s dream.
…
On the broken city walls, Wei Yuan, wearing a deep green cloak, overlooked the scene below. Great Shang soldiers were pushing flatbed carts, throwing corpses into deep pits and onto bonfires.
Thick smoke rose, mixed with the stench of burning flesh and blood.
The bodies being burned included both Yan Nation soldiers and civilians, as well as Great Shang’s troops.
In just ten days, the Great Shang army had lost over 40,000 commanders and soldiers.
The soldiers worked in silence. The recent days of war, baptism by blood and fire, had made them taciturn. Their valor was hidden within this silence.
Nangong Qianrou approached Wei Yuan from behind and said in a low voice: “Adoptive Father, after this campaign, you’ll be inevitably vilified in the history books.”
Massacring seven cities, bloodying hundreds of li of land—in Nangong Qianrou’s view, killing surrendered soldiers was understandable. The Great Shang army was an isolated force deep in enemy territory; not killing surrendered soldiers would only bring trouble.
They would have to worry about the surrendered soldiers rebelling, and it would mean more mouths to feed, consuming precious provisions.
But slaughtering civilians was a major taboo in warfare, let alone massacring seven cities. Even if they returned in triumph, those moralists would condemn them vehemently.
Since the expedition began, no provisions had arrived from Great Shang. They had been pillaging and plundering all along the way, sustaining the war effort with what they seized, gathering provisions and military supplies from the Yan Nation.
This wasn’t a good sign.
Those new-generation commanders only saw it as Adoptive Father’s unique way of leading troops and were excited after tasting success repeatedly. But now, they were gradually realizing something was amiss.
So the new-generation commanders chose to retreat.
If even the new-generation commanders felt this way, what about veterans like Nangong Qianrou who had followed Wei Yuan for ten or twenty years?
“There won’t be any more provisions coming,” Wei Yuan said.
His smile was as gentle as ever, his tone as calm as before: “We only have as many provisions as we brought. Great Shang won’t send even a single grain more.”
“Who dares to cut off our supplies?” Nangong Qianrou exuded killing intent.
“Who else in all of Great Shang could it be?” Wei Yuan smiled and asked rhetorically.
Nangong Qianrou’s pupils contracted violently.
“I know you want to capture the Yan capital in one fell swoop, then occupy it to deal with the Kang Nation’s reinforcements, and join forces with the reinforcements from Jing, Xiang, and Yu provinces to encircle the Kang army. But alas, the Yan capital is a tough nut to crack, and we can’t do it anymore. I’ve reassigned all the troops from the three provinces elsewhere.”
Wei Yuan’s expression remained unchanged as he gazed at the roaring flames licking the pile of corpses. He said calmly: “Tomorrow, the army will advance fifty li and face off against the Yan capital for three days. After three days, you’ll take 10,000 heavy cavalry and leave. Don’t worry about the others; they have to stay here.”
As he spoke, he took out two silk pouches from his bosom, one purple and one red.
“After three days, open the purple pouch. It will tell you where to go. When you reach your destination, open the red pouch. It will tell you what to do next.”
…
In the glow of the setting sun, Xu Xinnian directed soldiers to burn corpses and dissect war horses. They had just won a small-scale battle.
Annihilating 800 enemy troops while losing 1,000 of their own was already a gratifying victory.
Several days had passed since that night’s ambush, which had scattered the allied forces of the Demon Barbarians and Great Shang.
The Jing Nation’s army had made a quick decision to split their forces and pursue!
Over these few days, Xu Xinnian had gained a deeper understanding of the cruelty of war. He had witnessed the valor of the Fire Armor troops and seen the eerie terror of shamans awakening corpses on the battlefield to become undead soldiers.
With heavy cavalry and shamans who could control corpses, the Great Shang army was using lives to fill the gaps, eking out victories at a tremendous cost.
When the allied forces were scattered, Xu Xinnian and Chu Yuanzhen had only 600 Great Shang soldiers with them. Over these many days, they had gathered scattered troops along the way, expanding their numbers to 1,700 men.
Now they were down to just 700 again.
After burning the corpses, Xu Xinnian arranged for scouts to patrol, then had the soldiers set up pots to cook horse meat.
The soldiers skillfully cut up the horse meat, and then several of them worked together, wielding the swords they had just used to kill people, chopping the horse meat into a pulp before putting it into the pot to stew.
This was a method Xu Xinnian had devised. Horse meat was tough and coarse, with a poor texture and difficult to digest. Eating it occasionally was fine, but eating horse meat for several days straight was hard on the soldiers’ digestive systems.
They couldn’t even defecate properly.
So Xu Xinnian proposed chopping the meat into a pulp and then stewing it to improve the texture and aid digestion.
“If it weren’t for Brother Chu, we would have had to lose a few hundred more men to take down this wave of enemies,” Xu Xinnian said as he walked over to Chu Yuanzhen, taking off his water skin and handing it over.
Chu Yuanzhen gulped down half the bag and smiled somewhat dejectedly:
“In my youth, I read a few military treatises and thought myself a genius at leading troops and fighting battles. Now that I’m on the battlefield, I realize I’m not cut out for it. You, on the other hand, have grown quickly. Which of these soldiers doesn’t respect you now?”
Xu Xinnian smiled: “Everyone has their strengths. If I didn’t have this talent, my teacher wouldn’t have required me to focus on military strategy. But I’ve come to understand that on the battlefield, there are few opportunities to use clever tactics. Most of the time, it still comes down to brute force. The power of Martial Artists and military equipment plays a crucial role. It’s a pity we only brought three cannons and six ballistas.”
If this were the Xu Erlang from before going to war, he would probably be holding his chin high, looking proud but hypocritically saying some humble words… Chu Yuanzhen sighed again.
As they were talking, a scout came galloping, shouting: “Inspector Xu, we’ve spotted a group of stragglers, thirty men.”
There was no blowing of horns, indicating it was a Great Shang force, their people.
Xu Xinnian and Chu Yuanzhen stood up. The former pondered for a moment and said: “Let them come over.”
He then turned to Chu Yuanzhen with a wry smile: “It’s not too bad, the number isn’t large, we can spare the rations.”
Shortly after, the scout led a group of thirty stragglers over. This group of remnants had even brought a cannon and more than ten cannonballs with them.
Their faces were covered in fatigue, they were travel-worn, their armor was damaged and covered in sword marks, and each of them had wounds.
It seemed they had just been through a battle not long ago.
Looking at the steaming iron pots and smelling the aroma of meat soup, the two hundred infantry swallowed hard.
Xu Xinnian went forward to meet them and said: “Whoever has the highest rank, step forward and speak.”
A man with a full beard stepped forward, appearing to be nearly forty years old. He cupped his fists and said: “This humble one is Zhao Panyi, Company Commander of the Xiyi County Hundred Household Office in Yong Province.”
Xu Xinnian nodded and said: “I am Xu Xinnian, Inspector of the Surveillance Office of Ding Province and Hanlin Academy Bachelor.”
After hearing this, Zhao Panyi’s expression changed. He glared fiercely at Xu Xinnian, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.
Xu Xinnian was stunned for a moment, a look of confusion flashing across his face. He frowned and said: “Commander Zhao, please wait. Do we know each other?”
“We don’t!” Zhao Panyi said gruffly.
We don’t know each other? I thought I might have stolen your wife without knowing it… Xu Xinnian grumbled inwardly, his brows furrowing even more:
“If we don’t know each other, why is Commander Zhao acting like this?”
“You do talk like a bookworm, truly befitting a scholar. To think that bastard Xu Pingzhi could sire a scholarly seed. I had heard that Xu Yinluo’s cousin was also in the army, didn’t expect to run into you today.” Zhao Panyi sneered and said:
“I might not know you, but I know your father. During the Shanhai Pass battle, we were brothers.”
Is this how you treat a brother? Xu Erlang was shocked.
“Does Commander Zhao have an old grudge against my father?”
“No old grudge, I just can’t stand his ungrateful behavior,” Zhao Panyi spat and continued:
“During the Shanhai Pass battle, your father Xu Pingzhi and I were in the same unit. There was another man called Zhou Biao. The three of us were very close, brothers who could trust each other with our lives.”
“Towards the end of the Shanhai Pass battle, we were sent to intercept the Shaman Religion’s undead army. In the fierce fight, Zhou Biao took a sword for your father and died on the battlefield. Xu Pingzhi swore at that time that he would bring Zhou Biao’s elderly mother to the capital to care for her, and raise his two children to adulthood.”
“Damn it, I only found out later that this ungrateful wretch never went to Zhou Biao’s hometown to fetch his family. I might be a son of a bitch, but how could his son be any better? You’re all bad seeds. I, Zhao Panyi, would rather starve to death or die on the battlefield than eat a mouthful of your food or drink a sip of your soup. Ptui!”