Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“What are you sniffing at?” Ren Baqian couldn’t help but ask as he looked at the rarely awake Lin Qiaole who was sniffing at his body.
In fact, he had realized that over the last few days, Lin Qiaole was exceptionally fond of snuggling beside him while she slept. She would also sniff around his body everyday whenever she woke up.
If it were someone else and not Lin Qiaole, Ren Baqian would have suspected that his charisma had surmounted the horizon.
“Oh, it smell very nice! Very fragrant!” Lin Qiaole appeared to be a little bewitched.
Ren Baqian suspiciously took a whiff of his own body. He had already given the perfume to the empress, and what remained on his body was simply a diluted and mild odor. However, he had also realized that the winged cavalry had been distancing themselves from him intentionally over the last few days. To his surprise, Lin Qiaole actually said that he was fragrant?
Could it be that Lin Qiaole actually liked the smell of stinky tofu?
A peculiar indulgence indeed…
He wasn’t sure if she liked the smell of stinky socks and feet that hadn’t been washed for a month. If she liked it, he might actually be able to satisfy her.
Everyone rested for about an hour before continuing on their journey. After half a day, they had finally arrived at the Golden Ring Residence. Their main gate could already be seen from afar.
…
In the Golden Ring Residence, a group of people was currently busy packing things. They weren’t even able to deal with some bits and pieces that had dropped to the floor. The entire scene was rushed and muddled as if they were running for their lives.
Zhan Changkong looked around at everything in the residence and felt a little reluctant to part with this place.
However, it was very clear to him that they couldn’t stay in the northern area of Tianjing Basin any longer. The army of the Protectorate of the South was already marching south and making their way over. It would only be a matter of days before the army reached them, and they wouldn’t be able to defend this place by then. Zhan Changkong and his people would only be able to stand a chance against the army after assembling all the various sects, recruiting more soldiers, and relying on the undulating terrain further south.
Still, he didn’t have high expectations about withstanding the winged cavalry.
“Like I said, we might as well cross Mount Wangduan and go to the Chen Nation before making a detour to the Yun Nation,” the Painting Fairy said from the side.
“I can walk, you can walk, but they can’t walk anymore,” Zhan Changkong replied in a deep voice.
Even though the Earth Wheel experts had the ability to make it, they could each only bring along one person.
At most, only a handful of them had the possibility of escaping. What about the rest of their people?
Some of those in the residence were disciples of the Golden Ring Residence, fathers and grandfathers who had served the residence for many generations.
How could he possibly leave those people behind and depart on his own?
“Father, are we really going to leave?” Zhan Caixian walked over from the courtyard, hugging her beloved flower vase. She was feeling a little reluctant to leave.
“We will come back.” It was not that Zhan Changkong was willing to leave or that he was willing to give up his sect’s heritage, but not only did the Golden Ring Residence have no ability to resist the aboriginal army, they had no advantageous terrain either.
It wasn’t possible for them to defend their land.
“Master, bad news! Master!”
“What has caused you to be so alarmed?” Zhan Changkong asked.
“The aboriginals are here! They are already near the main gate!”
“So fast? Hurry! Take Caixian and leave! I will lead our men and face the enemies!” Zhan Changkong was shocked. The aboriginals had actually arrived earlier than he had expected. He had only been back for two days, yet the aboriginals had actually caught up.
Now wasn’t the time to hesitate. He briefed the Painting Fairy, strode forward a few steps before stopping, and said, “If I die, take Caixian and leave. The further the better. Go to the Yun Nation or Great Xia. Don’t think about taking revenge!”
“Father?” Zhan Caixian cried out in alarm.
The Painting Fairy had a miserable look on her face. However, since she had once roamed around in society, she decided that she shouldn’t be effeminate about it. She held onto Zhan Caixian and wanted to leave through the mountains.
During the founding era of the Golden Ring Residence, they had considered the possibility of an enemy invasion. As a result, they built arrow towers in the residence as well as hidden alleys for people to hide in. Despite not knowing how effective these were, Zhan Changkong still arranged his men accordingly while leading a few attendants to the main gate.
All he could see in the horizon, was a group of cavalry heading in his direction. Even though their movements weren’t hasty, everyone still felt a little tensed up.
Regardless of which sect it was, anyone would be frightened when they were faced with the approaching aboriginal cavalry. What they were afraid of wasn’t the group of cavalry, but the intentions that these riders came with.
“Master, it’s the winged cavalry…” One of the attendants turned pale after looking around for some time.
After hearing what he said, everyone was terrified.
“Have the sect’s younger disciples leave… Attendant Chu, you leave as well,” Zhan Changkong said. Since the enemy sent the winged cavalry, those younger disciples would not be of much help anymore. Even those who stood beside him were no match for the winged cavalry. This being the case, he might as well allow the younger disciples to leave. At the very least, they could still continue the sect’s legacy.
Even though Attendant Chu’s skills weren’t the greatest, he was a jack of all trades and was capable enough to pass down the residence’s martial arts to the subsequent generations.
“As for the rest…” Zhan Changkong turned around and looked at the people behind him. His gaze was slightly apologetic. There had to be people who stayed behind to stall and buy time for the rest.
“Advance or retreat, we’ll stay with master!” one of the attendants shouted.
“After spending a few decades in the residence, I’m old now and can’t walk. I don’t want to leave either!” Another attendant smiled.
“After staying here for decades, let’s thrash them up for the last time! Damn them!” said another pale and scholarly attendant in a hoarse voice. This attendant was originally a bandit from the mountains. He tried to rob the Golden Ring Residence, but ended up having his own stronghold destroyed before finally managing to escape death with great difficulty.
Eventually, he decided to pick himself up from where he fell and actually joined the Golden Ring Residence. His stay lasted several decades, and he even became an attendant.
As Zhan Changkong looked at everyone, his eyes welled up with tears. He pursed his lips and said, “I’m not alone in this life! Not alone!”
One by one, everyone began to laugh. Even the powerful enemy wasn’t that frightening anymore. The worst that could happen was merely death.
Zhan Changkong wasn’t alone in this life and would even have companions on his journey to hell.
As the cavalry drew closer, Zhan Changkong could already see the people at the front, and managed to spot Ren Baqian among the crowd at a glance.
“We were tricked by him!” Zhan Changkong wasn’t resigned to fate. If it wasn’t for Ren Baqian, they probably wouldn’t have landed in this state and the elder he respected the most wouldn’t have died in battle. It was that girl beside Ren Baqian who had bitten the great elder to death. Zhan Changkong’s heart filled with remorse every time he thought about this.
He had never expected Ren Baqian to actually be the one who would eliminate the Golden Ring Residence. The thought of almost handing over his daughter to Ren Baqian simply made Zhan Changkong feel like laughing. This laughter was filled with sorrow and unwillingness.
When they were about 100 meters away from the main gate, Ren Baqian instructed the troops to come to a halt.
Presently, there were over 30 people standing outside the main gate. Other than the eight people in front, who were Spirit Wheel experts, the others behind them were all at the Man Wheel level.
Using such a force to obstruct the winged cavalry was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Ren Baqian applied some pressure to the abdomen of his fork-horned cow, and it began to move forward slowly before coming to a halt in front of the troops.
“You still have the cheek to stand here! I was indeed blind back then!” Zhan Changkong scolded.
“I intentionally rushed here to propose a path of escape for you. Otherwise, why would my presence even be required for the Golden Ring Residence to surrender?” Ren Baqian shook his head and continued, “Just surrender! You guys simply wanted to walk out of here. In fact, that’s what I want as well. It’s really wasteful to have so many people in Tianjing Basin without being able to utilize them. My purpose for coming this time was to allow the people of Tianjing Basin to gradually walk out of here and coexist with the aboriginals. Isn’t that the future you guys wanted to see as well?”
“Enough of your flowery speech! I’d rather die than surrender. If you have what it takes, come and take my head!” a pale-faced attendant cursed in rage.
Ren Baqian had some impression of this man. He was one of the internal attendants of the Golden Ring Residence.
He had the looks of a pretty boy, but his character was in fact very boorish.
However, it was indeed quite admirable to have the face of a pretty boy at the age of about 60.
“A monk does not tell lies. I’m the Principal of the Black Bamboo Academy and a Secondary class Rank 4 official. Why would I lie to uncultivated people in society like you guys? Besides, I believe that the Golden Ring Residence would be trampled in a matter of minutes. Under such circumstances, why would I waste time and try to cheat you guys? This is your only way to survive! I suppose you’ve already arranged for your people to leave via the mountains, haven’t you?” Ren Baqian asked faintly. Since the other party was already expecting them at the gate, the other party definitely would not have left people in the residence to wait for death.
“Send 100 men to the mountains, capture their people, and bring them back here,” Ren Baqian turned around and said. “Keep them alive. If they retaliate, break their limbs, but keep them alive!”
“You’ll die a tragic death, you traitor!” someone from the crowd immediately cursed. Those from the residence had only left a short while ago. How were they going to escape the pursuit of 100 Earth Wheel experts?
Ren Baqian tilted his head and realized that he had become a monster that everyone detested.
It was said that his purpose was to bring warmth to the community.
These people were really… He had instead been bitten for his good intentions…
“Do all of you surrender? If yes, as long as all of you know your place and do not oppose the imperial court, everybody will naturally be safe and sound. Everyone can walk out of Tianjing Basin as well. As long as you apply for a temporary identity card and a residential permit, anybody can go to Lan City and live below the empress.
If you don’t surrender, I will also be kind hearted and allow your entire family to be complete. Even if they escape to Great Xia, I will still find and let them reunite with everyone else.
Why do I say this? A complete family is the most important!
It would be too cruel if a few of them were missing!”
Dear benefactors, there is a shore when you turn back from the boundless bitter ocean, and you can be absolved of your crimes if you repent!
Now, do all of you surrender? Or are all of you going to wait until we display your people’s heads here before feeling regret?” Ren Baqian spoke softly at the beginning, but he became so stern by the time he said the last two sentences that even his eyebrows were knitted.
“Do you surrender?!”
“Do you surrender?!”
“Do you surrender?!” 100 winged cavalry warriors shouted loudly behind Ren Baqian with thunderous voices.
With the support of 100 winged cavalry warriors, Ren Baqian seemed like a devil king.
Everyone at the main gate had already had the mindset that their deaths were inevitable and felt that there was nothing to fear. However, they were all so emotionally moved by this influence and pressure that they subconsciously took a step back.
“Surrender! We surrender!”
