Chapter 100: Divine Abilities |
Therefore, the refugee army press-ganged people everywhere, anxious to conquer Fenggu City.
But the defending general of Fenggu City, Liao Shouyi, was simply a madman.
Intrepid and unafraid of death, he personally led his guards out of the city to counterattack multiple times, disrupting the rhythm of the siege.
Coincidentally, this person had extremely good luck. Several times, cold arrows just brushed past his head, only shooting off a few strands of hair.
Even when besieged, blades would inexplicably break, unable to even cut through his armor.
Rumors had already spread within the refugee army, saying that this person was blessed by immortal gods and was a divine general of destiny, impossible to defeat by force.
In the refugee army, those truly from a military background accounted for forty percent, and the other sixty percent were from farming backgrounds.
They inherently had a natural awe of ghosts and gods, and now seeing the Jing Kingdom's defending general so incredibly brave with their own eyes.
Once the rumor spread, it was like a prairie fire, out of control.
In contrast, the defending troops of Fenggu City were originally elite soldiers and strong generals who had fought against the barbarians.
As one fell, the other rose, making them appear even more formidable.
"This Liao Shouyi, I heard he wants to have himself painted on the New Year pictures. Damn it, if we really kill him, we'll let him have his wish!"
"If we don't kill him, Fenggu City can absolutely not be conquered!"
A few refugee army generals walked over cursing. Just as they were about to ask Huang Qi what to do, they suddenly froze.
Then they all drew their sabers and shouted loudly, "Who are you!"
Before Huang Qi turned around, a voice came from behind his ears, "I have some words to say to Huang Qi, you all go out first."
Huang Qi turned around and saw the young man he had met a few months ago, appearing behind him at some unknown time.
He couldn't help but clench his fingers, cold sweat breaking out on his back.
So silent and traceless, if he had malicious intent, he would probably already be dead just now.
Seeing Chu Xun's calm expression, Huang Qi took a deep breath and said to everyone in the room, "You all go out first."
Everyone looked at each other in dismay, but still obeyed his order and left the room.
When the door closed, Huang Qi looked at the young man in front of him and said in a deep voice, "When did you hide in here?"
"Never hid, just arrived." Chu Xun walked to the sand table, took a look, and said, "Too small."
Huang Qi said, "This sand table is for temporary needs, naturally it won't be too big."
"I'm talking about the ambition of the refugee army."
Chu Xun waved his hand casually, and everything on the sand table flowed like fine sand. From mountains, rivers, and streams to villages and cities, it became incomparably flat, with no trace of the previous appearance visible.
Huang Qi's pupils shrank slightly, subconsciously thinking, "What formidable martial arts!"
When he saw Chu Xun before, he only thought the other party was a young man with a lot of "style".
Just too old-fashioned, especially his evaluation of him, which made him feel very unhappy.
But now, Huang Qi felt he was wrong.
This was not just a young man with "style", but also a considerably formidable martial artist!
"What rank martial artist are you? Rank 2?" Huang Qi asked.
To be Rank 2 at such a young age was already a heaven-defying talent.
Chu Xun didn't answer this question, only saying, "The radish I gave you last time, did you eat it?"
"No." Huang Qi had no intention of hiding it, "Rewarded it to someone else."
Chu Xun wasn't too disappointed. He pulled out another radish from somewhere and handed it over, "Giving you another one, try it."
Compared to the last time, the skin of this radish was pitted and bumpy, with black spots in some places.
It looked extremely ugly.
Huang Qi seemed to understand his meaning and didn't take it, but said, "Once Fenggu City is conquered, everything will get better."
Chu Xun placed the radish on the sand table and shook his head, saying, "You haven't even reached Mingxiu Prefecture yet, and you've already started forcibly conscripting civilians. Do you think after Fenggu City, the Jing Kingdom will no longer resist?"
"Only those who win the hearts of the people can win the world. You are about to lose."
Huang Qi clenched his fists. Of course he knew that if this continued, failing to conquer for a long time was a sign of defeat.
But he was unwilling.
With all his talent and learning, he clearly could have become a pillar of the Jing Kingdom.
It was that Education Intendant who forced him to become a salt worker.
It was this rotten country that forced him to raise an army in rebellion.
Having already conquered half of the Jing Kingdom's territory, he could change history and become the person recorded in the history books.
Why should he stop!
"If you really win, what do you want to do?" Chu Xun asked.
Huang Qi said in a deep voice, "Overthrow the Jing Kingdom and establish a better country! Equalize land, equalize wealth!"
"That is not the best country." Chu Xun shook his head again, "The best country should also have human rights. No hereditary rulers, only leaders elected by the people themselves."
"If they do well, they continue; if they don't do well, they step down at any time. This is the manifestation of human rights."
"If you really overthrow the Jing Kingdom, can you achieve equal rights with the people of the world?"
Huang Qi's heart trembled. In his cognition, imperial power was perfectly justified.
For the first time in his life, he heard of equal rights with the people of the world.
But he still gritted his teeth and said, "I..."
"Even taking ten thousand steps back and saying you can do it, can the people under you do it?" Chu Xun asked.
Huang Qi closed his mouth and didn't speak.
The answer was certain.
Cannot be done.
He knew very well that many generals only wanted to become founding meritorious subjects, to be people above others like princes, nobles, generals, and ministers.
To be precise, they wanted their children and grandchildren to be such people above others.
Chu Xun said, "It seems you already have the answer in your heart, so stop. I can guarantee that you can spend your later years in peace. Even if you want to be a carefree wealthy old man, it's not impossible."
Huang Qi stared at him and said, "Are you a lobbyist for the Jing Kingdom?"
"No." Chu Xun looked at him calmly and said, "I am your lobbyist."
"Huang Qi has already finished what he should do, it's time for Ah Qiao to come back."
Huang Qi's body trembled slightly. The name Ah Qiao entered his ears once again.
In a daze, he seemed to see many people and hear many voices.
In his mind, the words an old man had said to him back then surfaced.
"You probably won't be able to test into the Capital City, fighting your way in might be easier."
"If you're going to fight, fight harder."
"If you fight hard, they will know pain."
"When it hurts, they will know to change!"
Thirty thousand taels of silver were delivered to his hands; this was the foundation for raising an army in rebellion.
Has the Jing Kingdom been beaten until it hurts now?
Not yet!
The high officials and nobles in the Capital City must be cheering and jumping for joy at this moment.
They haven't felt the pain yet!
At this moment, Huang Qi's state of mind changed.
Even if he couldn't be Emperor, he would beat the nobles of the Jing Kingdom until they jumped up in pain!
He looked at Chu Xun, the anger in his eyes gone, gradually calming down.
"They all say the Emperor is the destiny of heaven, but I don't believe in fate."
"If you want to kill me, you can do it now."
Seeing his persistent appearance, Chu Xun sighed slightly.
"Fine, since that's the case, look out for yourself. But forcibly conscripting civilian laborers and strong men is not advisable. Don't force me to kill you all."
While speaking, someone outside the room spoke, "Commander, the people who went to the villages and towns to conscript soldiers have returned, saying they encountered an unknown expert who beat them out!"
Huang Qi turned his head to glance outside the room, just about to say something.
He seemed to sense something in his heart, and when he turned back, there was no one in the room.
Amidst his surprise, his gaze slowly moved and looked at the ugly radish on the sand table.
Pitted and bumpy, spotted, and still stained with dirt and sand.
He reached out, picked up the radish, and forcefully broke it in half.
A faint fragrance assailed his nostrils.
The inside of this ugly radish was actually as crystal clear as jade, making one unable to resist wanting to take a bite and taste it.
Huang Qi didn't care about the pits and dirt on the radish's skin, brought it to his mouth, and bit down hard.
The outer skin was slightly spicy, but before he could fully taste this bit of spiciness, it was followed by extreme sweetness.
He chewed slowly, eating the half radish clean bite by bite.
He only felt his whole body relaxed, as if he had inexhaustible strength.
His gaze became brighter. He found paper to wrap the remaining half radish and stuffed it into his chest.
Then he walked out of the room. Outside, many generals were discussing how to fight next.
The military official who came to report the setback in press-ganging stepped forward and said, "Commander, should we send people to those two villages to kill one as a warning to a hundred?"
Clatter—
A few tiles on the eaves suddenly fell down, smashing straight onto the military official's head.
The military official cried out "Ouch" from being smashed, his head broken and bleeding as he fell to the ground.
When the others stepped forward to look, they couldn't help but exclaim, "He's not breathing!"
Everyone looked at the tiles on the ground. Just these few tiles could smash a person to death?
Huang Qi scanned the surroundings but didn't see anything.
He waved his hand to have someone take away the military official who was smashed to death, and then said to the other military generals, "Pass down my military order, abandon the attack on Fenggu City, and head to the Capital City to converge with Qi Songren's troops!"
The military generals looked at each other in dismay upon hearing this. Having attacked the city for so long, now you say we're not attacking and we just stop?
Huang Qi glanced at them and said, "The Jing Kingdom's reinforcements are about to arrive, Fenggu City cannot be taken down."
"Since that's the case, we will join forces and fight our way into the Capital City!"
"Let the old Emperor and the high officials and nobles know that whether it's farmers, salt transporters, or merchants and peddlers."
"If provoked, they can all fight their way right in front of them!"
A few days later.
The refugee army retreated from Fenggu City. Under circumstances no one expected, they quickly left Zhangnan County and headed towards the Capital City.
To confuse Liao Shouyi, Huang Qi specifically left behind a rearguard army, about a thousand people.
By the time Liao Shouyi realized something was wrong and led his troops out of the city to pursue, the main force of the refugee army had long gone far away.
"Commander Hong is in danger! Quickly reorganize the armaments and head to Hulao Pass!"
Pinecone Village.
Chu Xun stood in front of the anvil, the clinking sounds continuous.
Gathering metal essence and integrating it into the meteoric iron for tempering was already one of the things he had to do every day.
Coupled with repairing the deformed hammer, the Metallurgy spell soared all the way.
This speed was much faster than the improvement of the Water Element and Earth Element spells back then.
Even the Fire Starting Spell was the same.
The charcoal in the furnace was no longer added as much as before.
Most of the flames were actually supported by Chu Xun's spiritual energy.
Fire Control Spell 3829/30000, Can emit a considerable flame, has a certain control ability over the flame's temperature.
The flame bred by spiritual energy was not the slightest bit inferior to the temperature of a charcoal fire.
And it could be large or small, making it very convenient to regulate.
Li Guangmao had been somewhat puzzled recently. Why did this kid Chu Chen keep the furnace fire burning every day, yet use less and less charcoal.
Making it so he had nowhere to go drink.
The large hammer in his hand was raised high, but before it fell, Chu Xun's movements paused slightly.
[Divine Office 2/30000, Unconferred loose god, obtained divine abilities, Golden Millet Dream, Hide Form and Conceal Shadow, Observe Qi and Know Opportunities (The pseudo-orthodox god position can cast divine abilities once a year), remaining hours that can be hidden per year, 1089 (After conferment, can obtain orthodox god divine abilities, can lodge soul to substitute death)]
Chu Xun put down the hammer and carefully looked at the information before his eyes.
As expected, after Huang Qi retreated and left Zhangnan County, he obtained a massive amount of incense points all at once.
Making it so that although he had not been conferred, he possessed the divine position of a pseudo-orthodox god, as well as the corresponding divine abilities.
It was just that the word "pseudo" meant it was ultimately inferior to a true orthodox god.
The divine abilities could only be cast once a year.
Golden Millet Dream, as the name suggests, was a divine ability similar to entering dreams or sending dreams.
"The Tale of the Pillow" recorded that Lu Sheng met the Daoist Priest Old Man Lü at an inn in Handan and lamented his poverty.
Old Man Lü took a celadon pillow and let Lu Sheng sleep. At this time, the innkeeper was cooking millet rice.
Lu Sheng enjoyed all the glory, splendor, wealth, and rank in his dream. When he woke up, the innkeeper's millet rice wasn't even cooked yet.
Hide Form and Conceal Shadow was simpler, just an invisibility spell.
Observe Qi and Know Opportunities was a method to observe people's qi and know their fortune and misfortune.
All three divine abilities had nothing to do with the Five Elements.
Chu Xun guessed that the paths of immortal cultivators and incense gods should be mutually distinct.
That was why when the Martial Judge was killed, he exclaimed "You are not an ordinary evil cult wild god, you also have physical cultivation".
This was an anomaly that had never appeared before.
Incense gods had no physical bodies and relied on incense offerings to survive.
Completely different from immortal cultivators.
With a thought, Chu Xun's figure disappeared without a trace in the courtyard.
A few weasels ran over, looking around, squeaking anxiously.
Even the crows flew down, but couldn't find anything.
Watching the poultry and livestock searching everywhere, Chu Xun smiled faintly.
This divine ability was quite useful, convenient for doing many things.
As for Golden Millet Dream and Observe Qi and Know Opportunities...
Just as he was thinking, the sound of horse hooves came from outside.
Then someone flew off their horse and directly pushed open the courtyard door.
It was a general wearing armor, travel-worn.
With a majestic face and full of battlefield murderous aura.
There were only crows and weasels in the courtyard, and a few field mice hopping around in the vegetable patch.
Not seeing the person he wanted to see, the general couldn't help but shout loudly, "Brother Xun!"
Chu Xun saw clearly. Although this person's face had changed slightly, wasn't it Shitou who had been away from home for many years.
With no response, Liao Shouyi was somewhat disappointed.
The military generals and soldiers following beside him looked at the crows in the courtyard and were all greatly shocked.
"Such big crows, how were they fed?"
"Heaven knows how Brother Xun fed them. That person, he can just do things that others cannot," Liao Shouyi said.
He shook his head in disappointment, turned, and left.
Only after they left did Chu Xun reveal his figure.
Shitou had been away from home for many years. Being able to return safe and sound was naturally a good thing.
The ribbon thought in his mind that had turned from white to blue slowly turned into a phantom at this moment and disappeared.
Presumably, this meant that this vision had been realized.
Chu Xun smiled, then remembered the divine abilities he had just obtained.
So he cast it and looked towards Liao Shouyi.
With this look, he was instantly stunned.
He saw that around Liao Shouyi's body, three streams of qi were distinctly separated, entwining like three-colored smoke clouds.
His shoulders steamed with a murderous aura interwoven with red and black; this was the military prestige forged from fighting among thousands of troops and horses.
Beneath the murderous aura hid a layer of official qi, pale yellow like brocade, covering the top of his head like an auspicious cloud, warm and continuous.
But above his head and at his chest, a death qi as gray-black as ink was entwined, mixed with a few streaks of scarlet blood light, like a sharp blade piercing the heart, revealing the omen of a violent death.
[End of Chapter]