Inside an opulent palace somewhere in the Western Regions, Zhao Changhe lay motionless on a luxurious bed, wrapped tightly from head to toe like a mummy. Every part of him, including his face, was thoroughly bandaged, leaving only his eyes visible as they darted around restlessly.
Standing by the bedside, Ying Five observed him quietly with his hands clasped behind his back, saying nothing for a long while.
He had fully expected to die on his quest for vengeance. Yet from beginning to end, he had not sustained one single injury. He didn’t even have the minor bruises and scratches that were the inevitable result of a heated battle. Apart from a considerable depletion of his energy, he was completely unscathed.
Instead, the “helper” he had invited was now lying battered, having been nearly blasted to death. From severe frostbite to deep, open wounds, there was not a single unharmed patch of skin left on Zhao Changhe’s body.
Even more ironically, the helper had ended up taking the lead throughout the entire battle, while the main character of this plotline had been reduced to a mere spectator invited for moral support.
At this point, Ying Five did not feel much satisfaction from his revenge. Instead, he felt strangely amused.
He finally spoke up, breaking the prolonged silence. “You do realize that if I harbored any ill will, you’d already be dead, and your freshly rising Great Han would crumble overnight?”
Zhao Changhe responded to the best of his abilities, by rolling his eyes.
Ying Five sighed deeply. “Fine, fine. Originally, I had no intention of meddling in the matters of normal people... But from today onward, I’ll unify the Western Regions for you. Whenever you need assistance attacking Guanlong from both sides, just give me a word.”
Zhao Changhe mumbled through his bandages, “And who was it who told me he was just a humble mounted brigand, at most capable of disrupting trade routes and unable to siege or conquer cities?”
“Well, that was not a lie. But if I wanted to give up banditry and become a regional lord, the entire Western Regions would be mine within a month.”
“Then go right ahead.”
Ying Five asked, “I’m not entirely clear about your grand plan for the Great Han... What do you envision here exactly?”
“How about incorporating this region into our territories and appointing you as some official—say, governor or regional inspector?”
“If that’s what you want, consider it done.”
“... You’re agreeing just like that?”
“In addition, all intelligence assets the Mounted Brigand Brotherhood maintains across the divine land will be directly integrated into your Demon Suppression Bureau. I mean... I don’t need them anymore. Also, make no mistake: It’s far more than just gambling houses and the likes. There’s plenty there that could significantly strengthen your intelligence network.”
“You don’t need to be so generous.”
“I’m not all that generous. As I just said, I simply don’t need them anymore. I originally organized that intelligence network for the sole purpose of exploring secret realms. The rest was nothing but side jobs. Now that my objective is complete, what am I to do with them? Make money? I am rich enough, thank you.”
“Wait, at least help me investigate the secret realms Ye Jiuyou and Piaomiao occupy... Oh, and if you have the resources, track down the ancient White Tiger. Coordinate the details with Lady Three.”
“You just rest here and recover; I’ll start searching right away.” Ying Five glanced Zhao Changhe up and down, then thoughtfully added, “Should I find a few virgins for you to dual cultivate with? I can’t promise anyone with top-tier cultivation, but I should at least be able to provide you with some at the higher layers of the Profound Gate. Relax, I won’t be getting them through anything improper, by the way. I have enough money to attract people, not to mention some might volunteer to do it for free.”
Zhao Changhe sighed and said, “Money truly lets one do as they please.”
“Want them or not?”
“My injuries are external and include frostbite everywhere. Even if you brought them here, I can’t move at all, so how can I possibly dual cultivate with them? If you’re that rich, how about donating to our treasury or directly funding the establishment of several commanderies in the Western Regions?”
“As long as the frost didn’t ruin your equipment, I’m worried Lady Three might become a grass widow.”
“Not only will Lady Three never be a grass widow, but I fully intend to take excellent care of Vermillion Bird as well.”
“You little...” Ying Five rolled his eyes, torn between amusement and exasperation. He flicked his sleeve and turned around to leave, muttering, “No wonder Tang Buqi calls you a hateful bastard. People can’t feel grateful to you for more than five minutes before your stupid mouth ruins it.”
Zhao Changhe retorted weakly, “And now my affection toward my dear nephew just vanished as well.”
Ying Five had already left, unwilling to banter any further. Soon after, Zhao Changhe heard his orders booming outside, “All personnel, guard this place closely. If even a single fly disturbs our honored guest, I’ll hold you personally accountable!”
“A-all personnel? We can’t even fit so many...”
“If you can’t fit them inside, then have them sit on the rooftops! Surround him tightly. Any other place is irrelevant compared to this room. Now hurry up and do what I tell you!”
Zhao Changhe would’ve liked to grin in satisfaction, but the tight bandages did not allow such extravagant movements.
In truth, even without bandages, he might have found it difficult to smile. The frostbite damage to his body was extensive. If not for his inhuman physical cultivation, his blood and internal organs would have long since frozen solid. Zhao Changhe had never faced injuries of this severity before, nor experienced temperatures this extreme. He silently thanked his past two years of brutal body conditioning. If he had not gone through such arduous cultivation, he would not be alive now.
Thankfully, he had ended the fight swiftly enough. His wounds were mostly superficial, only really affecting his skin and flesh. Treatment was thus not complicated, although it was far from pleasant. The best method was to remove all the frostbitten flesh, and then rely on his Eternal Blood Demon Body to regenerate new tissue. It was terrifying in concept, but in practice, it would not even be all that painful; most of his nerves were numb or simply dead at the moment, anyway.
After resting silently for a while and regaining some strength, Zhao Changhe sent out a reluctant mental message through gritted teeth. “I need someone to carve away the dead flesh. Which one of you will do it?”
Both sword and saber responded with awkward silence. Even Dragon Bird, who usually cursed Zhao Changhe freely, remained silent.
Complaining was one thing, but asking it to personally flay Zhao Changhe’s flesh piece by piece? That was another matter entirely.
Zhao Changhe chuckled weakly and transmitted, “Quit hesitating. Back when I had almost no cultivation at all, I had the guts to carve out my own flesh to heal. Today, it’s really nothing special.”
Dragon Bird grumbled sourly, “You should have that smiling fatty do it, let him see your mutilated body and cry his eyes out.”
“What’s the point of moving him to tears? It’s not like I’m into men, and besides, he’s not even fat,” Zhao Changhe retorted irritably. “Since when were you so sentimental? You’re a saber spirit. When did you start worrying about human pain? Should I avoid bashing you against other weapons in the future? Will that hurt your feelings?”
Dragon Bird remained silent. Logically, Zhao Changhe was right. A saber spirit should not empathize with human suffering. Yet, strangely enough, the thought of carving into its master felt unbearably wrong, leaving Dragon Bird unsettled.
After a prolonged silence, it was River of Stars who quietly spoke up, “Let me do it.”
Dragon Bird was stunned. “He favors you so much already, and yet you still—”
“But he needs treatment,” River of Stars interrupted calmly. “Just like when we’re reforged in the furnace. It’s something that must be done.”
Zhao Changhe sighed weakly. “Good metaphor. Just don’t ever use it again.... Also, for the record, I don’t play favorites.”
Without further words, River of Stars emerged smoothly from Zhao Changhe’s ring. In one precise motion, the sword cleanly sliced away a patch of frostbitten flesh from Zhao Changhe’s right arm. Zhao Changhe groaned softly in suppressed agony, fresh blood instantly soaking through the bedding beneath him.
No matter how numb he claimed to be, pain was still relative.
Before long, Zhao Changhe’s entire body was a bloody mess, turning the once spotless white bed a ghastly red. Jaw clenched tight, Zhao Changhe did not even notice the cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
He had deliberately waited until Ying Five left, in order to spare him from witnessing this disturbing sight. What Zhao Changhe did not know was that at this very moment, four women were watching intently.
Within Piaomiao’s consciousness, Cui Yuanyang sobbed quietly, and for once, Piaomiao did not comfort or acknowledge her. Instead, she merely gazed solemnly at the scene, utterly silent.
Ye Jiuyou lounged gracefully on her side, chin resting casually in her palm. Her lips curled in an intrigued smile, as though she were enjoying a particularly interesting artistic performance.
Ye Wuming stood motionless at the heart of the Abyss of the Frost Chi, eyes closed as usual.
A long while passed before Ye Jiuyou finally sighed softly, “What a magnificent sight... Ying Five had better pray Zhao Changhe’s women never find out about this, or he’ll suffer the same fate.” Sёarᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Piaomiao silently mourned for Ying Five as well. Since Cui Yuanyang now knew, it was only a matter of time before Zhao Changhe’s other women found out as well. None among them was someone to trifle with...
In fact, those very women were already preparing to set out, as the long-delayed examination was finally scheduled for tomorrow. They had completed practicing the Four Idols Formation. After the imperial examinations concluded, they would inevitably march to search for the ancient White Tiger, this time accompanied by the empress herself. Only Tang Wanzhuang would remain in the capital to oversee matters.
Whether or not they could actually find the ancient White Tiger was another issue entirely. Ye Jiuyou also doubted that Ying Five could easily locate her realm through the Abyss of the Frost Chi; their domains were simply not adjacent.
“A month.... His wounds alone will take at least half that time to heal. I really have no idea how he’ll get here in time.”