On the Qi army's command platform, only Chongxuan Chuliang and his nephew Chongxuan Sheng remained — one seated, one standing.
The other generals were still out in the slaughter, with only a squad of personal guards stationed at the base of the platform, keeping others at a distance.
It was well known that heads counted as merit in the army. Though Chongxuan Chuliang had issued the kill order for his own reasons, he also wanted the soldiers who had fought hard for so long to claim a few more merits.
"How is Fourteen?"
With no outsiders present, Chongxuan Chuliang asked directly.
Earlier, he had seen the killing intent radiating from Chongxuan Sheng. He knew Fourteen was a family death warrior who had grown up alongside Chongxuan Sheng, and that Chongxuan Sheng's trust in him was extraordinary. He had also seen Fourteen wounded, his fate unknown, which was why he had made that comment.
Fortunately, Chongxuan Sheng had responded properly. Otherwise, his current attitude would not have been so casual.
"The Negative Mountain Armor is shattered! He's not dead, but he'll be bedridden for some time," Chongxuan Sheng replied.
Hearing that the Negative Mountain Armor was shattered, Chongxuan Chuliang paused noticeably before asking, "What about the others under your command?"
"The rest of the soldiers went out to pursue and kill. Only Jiang Chen returned to Qingyang Town."
Saying this, fearing Chongxuan Chuliang might have reservations, Chongxuan Sheng quickly added, "He neither enjoys slaughter nor cares about gaining a few more heads' worth of merit."
Yang Jiande was dead. The great army of the State of Yang had been completely annihilated in today's battle. Red Tail Commandery went without saying, and the rest of the territory could be taken by proclamation alone. So staying in the army no longer held much meaning.
Chongxuan Chuliang suddenly sighed. "The Yang people are resilient. The soldiers who witnessed Yang Jiande's battle today will never forget his valor. I want to break their courage, to slaughter away their bravery — that is why I ordered this massacre."
For Chongxuan Chuliang, this was already an unusual amount of explanation.
Chongxuan Sheng ventured boldly, "You seem to have had a deep relationship with Yang Jiande — more than just having served together?"
Before this battle, he had been like most of the Autumn Kill Army's generals — dismissive of Yang Jiande. But after this battle, no one could deny Yang Jiande's strength.
"Many years ago, he had a name: Gu Han."
Chongxuan Sheng found it familiar. He thought for a moment, then suddenly realized with a start, "The Famous Blade Breaking Formation painting hanging in your study — the inscription was Gu Han!"
"Of the heroes under heaven, there are few I look up to. Yang Jiande is one of them," Chongxuan Chuliang said. "I knew he would never sit and wait for death. Over these years, he must have been planning something. I just never imagined he would go this far for the Yang clan's ancestral temple."
"The entire State of Yang. Those who weren't clear-headed saw the nation thriving under the State of Qi's protection and were content with that. Those who were clear-headed had no way to save their country — they either gave up on themselves or died nobly. Perhaps only Yang Jiande was still struggling, trying to break the chains with personal martial strength. He didn't even hesitate to practice the demonic cultivation arts that everyone despised, despite his dignity as a ruler."
"He failed, but he was not incompetent."
"As early as thirty years ago at Crescent Moon Valley, he risked planting his flag to stop me — not because he wanted to preserve the merit of holding Crescent Moon Valley. He and I both saw that glimmer of victory, and neither wanted the State of Qi to defeat the State of Xia so quickly."
"And I..." Chongxuan Chuliang said, "After I withdrew from the Xia battlefield, the very first thing I did was request the destruction of the State of Yang! If I couldn't destroy Yang, I had to at least find a pretext to kill Yang Jiande. It wasn't because I had any grudge against him — quite the opposite. I respected him, feared him, and so I had to kill him. For the fate of the State of Qi, and for the fate of the Chongxuan clan."
"There were two ways to destroy Yang: by war or by peace. The Emperor approved my judgment but adopted former Chancellor Yan Ping's strategy, attempting a peaceful takeover. After so many years of gradual influence, it should have naturally become part of Qi's territory by now. The reason it failed was all because of Yang Jiande himself."
"With peaceful methods, we neither forced Yang Jiande to death nor prevented him from inheriting the throne. That failure was already evident. Which is why we had today's battle."
The great Chancellor Yan Ping had stepped down from his position over a decade ago, and his political influence had long since waned. This was one of the reasons Chongxuan Chuliang had been able to push for the military campaign against Yang this time.
Only now did Chongxuan Sheng realize that beneath the years of calm between the States of Qi and Yang, such violent storms had been hidden! It could not be described in mere words. And Yang Jiande, with a weak nation and few people, had held firm for the Yang clan's ancestral temple until now — one had to admire his talent!
He was even certain that with the contempt both Qi's leadership and its people held for Yang, if not for his uncle Chongxuan Chuliang personally leading the campaign, Yang Jiande would very likely have turned the tide.
Every servant in the household knew that the painting inscribed by Gu Han, hanging in the uncle's study, was the most treasured possession. Someone carefully dusted it every day, never daring to let insects damage it.
This spoke to the depth of their relationship.
Yet in all of the State of Qi, the one who respected Yang Jiande the most was Chongxuan Chuliang — and the one who was most against Yang Jiande was also Chongxuan Chuliang!
Chongxuan Sheng fell silent for a moment. Smart as he was, he understood the unspoken meaning behind Chongxuan Chuliang's words.
But Chongxuan Chuliang pressed the point directly: "I'm telling you all this to let you know — at our position, some things cannot be decided by personal preference. If one day Jiang Chen disagrees with you, I hope you can also make the correct choice!"
He knew that the two people Chongxuan Sheng trusted most right now were Fourteen and Jiang Chen.
He hadn't mentioned Fourteen, because he knew Fourteen would always stand with Chongxuan Sheng. But Jiang Chen had already demonstrated his principles and convictions many times.
Chongxuan Sheng was silent for a long time before saying, "Uncle, if a person can only make the so-called 'correct' choice, then you shouldn't have supported me — you should have supported Chongxuan Zun!"
After saying this, he bowed deeply to his uncle, then strode down from the command platform.
A few heads' worth of merit — he might not care about that himself, but he needed to hurry and fight for his soldiers.
On the command platform, Chongxuan Chuliang fell into silence!
As Chongxuan Sheng had said, given Chongxuan Zun's talent and strength, from every perspective, if one were simply making the correct choice, he should have supported Chongxuan Zun.
But then why had Chongxuan Chuliang ultimately chosen Chongxuan Sheng?
Was it because of Chongxuan Sheng's own excellence, displaying a potential that he valued more? Or was it because he was unwilling to mention... the dying wish of his late brother?
...
...
Beyond the battlefield, Jiang Chen departed alone with his sword.
The slaughter continued behind him, but he never once looked back.
This battle was a complete victory for the Qi army. Not only had they achieved a great military triumph and effectively occupied the State of Yang — even on the front of public opinion, no other state could find fault!
Why had the State of Qi sent its army?
To maintain order in the eastern territories and contain the worsening plague.
Why had the plague worsened?
Because the Yang court was corrupt, governance was chaotic, and the bureaucracy pursued only self-interest. All of this had caused the plague to spiral out of control. And of course, the Four Seas Trade Alliance bore responsibility for their moral failure and profiteering from the disaster.
So why had the plague first appeared?
All because of the heretical Bone Path's conspiracy!
And Yang Jiande, failing to see matters clearly and knowing he had sinned against his people, had rashly sent troops and provoked conflict. Chongxuan Chuliang had no choice but to break him! In the heat of battle, blades showed no favor — and Yang Jiande died an unnatural death.
The demonic cultivation arts that Yang Jiande had practiced only served as the fullest proof of his tyrannical rule!
Yet all of this meant nothing to Jiang Chen, aside from helping Chongxuan Sheng advance a step further. In a foreign land as a stranger, victory and defeat, honor and disgrace — none of it seemed to matter.
Killing the Pig-Mask, killing the Snake-Mask, killing the Monkey-Mask, killing the Dragon-Mask, hunting down the gravely wounded Holy Sovereign of Bone — these were the attacks that truly came from his heart.
He flew through the air, the entirety of Red Tail Commandery and the State of Yang in chaos behind him, the battlefield's cries of slaughter fading into the distance.
Yet he still felt lonely.
As he flew past a cliff, his gaze swept casually across it — and met the eyes of a young man with an ordinary face standing on the ledge.
Jiang Chen recognized him: it was that Tianxia Tower assassin, A Ce, who had been eager to "take clients."
The man was nothing like his earlier flamboyance. His gaze was cold, and from the look of him, he had been standing here for quite some time — likely watching the battlefield ahead.
Here, he would easily be spotted by the Qi army clearing the field.
Jiang Chen thought for a moment, then still warned him: "If you're waiting for the result... the Yang army has already lost."
A Ce looked at him quietly for a while, then said simply: "Understood. Thank you."
Jiang Chen thought nothing of it and flew on.
He was not flying fast. Before long, a fluttering sound — a cloud crane descended from high above.
The battle was over, and the kingdom-locking array had been released. That was why this cloud crane, which had been circling for so long, could finally come.
Jiang Chen reached out and caught it. The cloud crane unfolded into a letter in his hand.
The sky had darkened. The killing sounds from the battlefield had grown so distant they were barely audible.
Starlight flowed down in silence, as if soothing the heart that had just struggled free from slaughter.
He only needed to see the two words at the beginning: "Brother."
And Jiang Chen couldn't help but smile.
Under the starlight and moonlight, that smile was so young.
...
...
[End of Volume Two]