With the Blade

But unfortunately, he was a bit late in drawing his sword.

When he began looking for people, he discovered that the rebels had long since fled. The place was empty, not even a scrap of paper left behind for him—clearly, these rebels had no intention of making a last stand, fleeing at will, leaving the vast Dengzhou City entirely ignored.

"So what do we do now?"

Shan Bing was dumbfounded. As someone who hailed from the War Soldiers, he genuinely didn’t know how to handle such a situation.

The rebels had fled, leaving only a city. Were they supposed to take over from the rebels and continue to run Dengzhou?

How on earth could they have such capabilities?

"Forget it, let’s just leave too."

Hearing the news brought back by Shan Bing, Jiang Wenyuan was stunned for a long time before finally making a decision.

With just the two of them, they really couldn’t occupy such a vast Dengzhou City. If they did want to establish a new bureaucracy, not to mention whether they had the authority, just the act itself would undoubtedly turn the entire Dengzhou City into chaos—unless they wanted to utterly ruin the place, then they could do whatever they wished. But in the end, they were commanders dispatched by the court, they were official troops.

If they caused any trouble, Dengzhou might rebel even if it hadn’t intended to.

"After all, affairs here have nothing to do with our duties. We’ve already done enough, and besides, with my injuries..."

"Then let’s go."

With matters spoken to this point, Shan Bing felt no inclination to stay—the truth is, the two of them were just salaried men, doing what was required of them was enough. As for the extra parts, even if they did them well, it wouldn’t count as an achievement, and if they failed, it would become their fault.

But to leave like this felt somewhat frustrating.

Along this journey, they had been devoted and diligent, risking their lives, yet it resulted in no change. Their efforts had not brought any difference—Jiang Wenyuan and Shan Bing were no longer youths and understood that hard work was not always effective. Yet no matter how much they tried to comfort themselves, that subtle frustration couldn’t be erased.

They could even predict what would happen after they left. The escaped rebels would return, Dengzhou would revert to its previous state, and nothing would change, with nothing left behind by them.

"Unless we kill all the people of Dengzhou."

Shan Bing’s eyes began to redden. As a War Soldier, the first solution that came to mind was this direct and brute approach.

However, casting a glance at Jiang Wenyuan, he ultimately dismissed the thought.

Moreover, he couldn’t bring himself to do it—facing unarmed civilians, just to prevent them from being used by rebels, slaughtering them all would be an unreasonable act.

He wanted to take actions, wanted to do much, but whenever he thought about it deeply, he found himself unable to do anything.

"Don’t overthink it, just consider it a state-paid trip."

Jiang Wenyuan was optimistic beside him, though he could only be optimistic. After all, in this mission, he was the most severely injured. Although his wounds weren’t insurmountable, the torn shoulder and crushed calf would require the treatment of an Evil Qi doctor upon returning to Jiankang City.

Indeed, while Evil Qi had caused numerous deaths, as more people encountered it, other applications emerged, such as Evil Qi doctors within the commands. They might not bring the dead back to life, but they did perform wonders. As long as one wasn’t utterly dead, the ghost doctor could revive someone back to life.

Thinking of this, Jiang Wenyuan grew even more reflective—in the past, everyone had considered Evil Qi dangerous and tried to suppress it. But now it seemed it might not be entirely bad. With its increasing use, new things appeared, like his injury which in the past might have been crippling, could now fully recover through Evil Qi.

"Maybe for the great Chen realm, this is actually an opportunity?"

Jiang Wenyuan inexplicably thought of this.

Indeed, if prejudices were set aside, and Evil Qi was seen as a special power, with Chen’s resources, it could certainly be harnessed. At the very least, if everyone in Chen understood how to use Evil Qi, neither secret rebels nor northern grasslanders would dare to cause trouble.

"But... alas."

At this thought, Jiang Wenyuan sighed.

He was merely a common commander, even his status might not compare to the former Chief Constable—in his Constable days, he truly had the local influence, but now, though promoted to a state-assigned commander, he was still running errands for the old eunuch.

From a manager to a doer, his words carried little weight, and who would heed his ideas?

Not to mention, with such severe injuries, he couldn’t even perform his duties.

Even making it back alive was uncertain.

"Maybe I should just stay here awhile."

Approaching Songzhou, Jiang Wenyuan stopped Shan Bing.

"I currently have no combat strength, even with one crippled leg. Taking me with you to Songzhou..."

"That’s impossible. If I meant to leave you, I would have done so back in Dengzhou City. Since we’re here together, there’s no reason for me to go alone now."

Shan Bing was indifferent, after all, he had grown stronger. Previously, Songzhou was like a den of dragons and devils, but now with new tactics, he dared to confront it.

"If worst comes to worst, we’ll run again. No big deal."

Saying so, Shan Bing carried Jiang Wenyuan on his back, raising his large shield, fully equipped, stepped into Songzhou.

The initial journey was quiet, with not a soul on the official road. Yet the overly calm atmosphere made Shan Bing grip his sword tighter—evidently, this excessive calm meant a potential trap ahead, perhaps the people of Songzhou were awaiting to encircle and sunder him.

Just like this.

When Shan Bing found a big tree to rest, four tattooed muscular men suddenly appeared before him, bursting with energy, their aggressive charge resembling starving tigers pouncing!

"Ha! I’ve been waiting for you!"

Shan Bing immediately raised his short sword.

"Eat my Sun Piercing Strike... Hm?"

The anticipated attack didn’t occur, the tattooed men merely dashed past him.

Their demeanor wasn’t that of fighting, rather, evading something.

But soon, Shan Bing understood what these men were avoiding.

"Divine Sword Sunfall!"

With a shouted command, an ancient longsword descended from above.

The tattooed men were left sliced into pieces on the ground.

"So it was that master!"

Shan Bing instantly felt relieved, recalling that although the man named "Emperor of Heaven" was unconventional, the guidance provided was indeed useful.

If it was an acquaintance, there would be no issue, he initially thought...

"Wait?"

Shan Bing suddenly slapped his forehead.

Then, turning to Jiang Wenyuan peeking out from his back.

"He, too, is a master."