Book 4 Chapter 17 (1/2)

B4C17: The return of Qin Yu

Qin Yu and Xiao Hei feel a surge of relief in their hearts. They no longer run desperately as they were doing just now either. The 2 brothers, one man and one eagle, then fly through the clouds, heading directly for the princely mansion in Yan City. However, at the moment, the town of Xiyang is visited by 2 terrifying personages.

With his black robe fluttering, Xiang Yang stands in midair and looks down at the entire town of Xiyang. His eyes seem as if they are piercing through space. Wu De, his blue robe fluttering in the wind, is on one side of Xiang Yang.

Xiang Yang basically does not hide his real power. A huge aura expands from him then enfolds the entire town. The pressure it gives off is felt by almost all of the people in the town.

At Qin De’s residence in the town of Xiyang,

Creak ~~

Qin De pushes open the door of his room and walks into the courtyard directly from the room. He raises his head looking into the sky. There is unexpectedly a faint calm smile on the corners of his mouth at the moment.

“Oh? Xiang Yang has finally arrived,” murmurs Qin De. At the same time, Xu Yuan also walks out from his room, having also felt that terrifying pressure. He looks up and immediately sees the 2 people who are standing in midair.

“Your Highness, they are …” Xu Yuan is shocked.

Qin De turns his head and looks at Xu Yuan, saying: “Xu Yuan, do you still remember the brocade purse that I gave you at that time? Wait for a while then return and open it. Later you’ll have to follow the steps that I mapped out in that brocade purse.”

“Qin clan brat, quickly come to meet me!”

A voice that sounds like thunder shakes the entire town of Xiyang. The terrifying force contained in that voice causes all the soldiers in the town to go pale. Weak people even pass out directly because of it.

“Remember, go back and open that brocade purse!” Qin De says to Xu Yuan seriously. Because the latter is also a very intelligent man, seeing Qin De’s expression, he can somewhat guess what is going to happen. But he still says with a nod: “Don’t worry, Your Highness. Xu Yuan definitely won’t let you down!”

Qin De gives a faint smile. A flying sword then appears under his feet.

Standing on the flying sword, Qin De soars into the sky.

Flying on his sword, Qin De meets Xiang Yang in midair in a just short while. Xiang Yang’s black hair is flowing naturally and his black robe is fluttering, but the most frightening thing about him is his ice-cold eyes, which seem as if they can see through other people’s hearts.

“Xiang Yang deserves to be called the most outstanding member of the Xiang clan.”

Qin De even has some admiration for this Xiang Yang. In the past, the West Chu Conqueror was extremely overbearing so when contending for the control of the lands he offended very many influential people. After his death, the Xiang clan became everyone’s target. Luckily, young Xiang Yang made an impressive entrance, befriending distant states while attacking the nearby ones. Eventually he and the other 2 great powers divided all the lands into 3.

Afterwards, Xiang Yang managed the Chu kingdom for several decades and even turned it into the strongest of the 3 kingdoms. Not only did Xiang Yang excel at governing the country, according to legend, he was even at least not inferior to his father Xiang Yu when it comes to martial arts. Despite having to pay attention to the running of the country, he was finally still able to reach the Jindan stage.

Xiang Yu was ruthless and totally overbearing but was not benevolent enough. However Xiang Yang seemed to be perfect. Depending on the situation, he could be either benevolent, or ruthless, or fair, or deceitful. He could use all kinds of tricks proficiently and was absolutely a born emperor.

“Hello, Senior Xiang Yang.” Qin De slightly folds his hands and says with a smile, showing neither humbleness nor arrogance.

Xiang Yang takes a look at Qin De. Judging by the fact that his opponent is not nervous at all after seeing him, he knows that there is a huge difference between his descendant Xiang Guang and Qin De. However, no matter what happens, Xiang Yang is a member of the Xiang clan. A faint smile appears on the corners of his mouth.

“Qin De!” Xiang Yang looks carefully at Qin De then says laughingly: “You’re really something. No wonder you have been able to take half of the Chu kingdom’s territory in only a short time. I admire you a lot … but I’m a Xiang clan’s man. You’re smart so you should be able to guess why I’ve come here, right?”

Qin De takes a glance at Xiang Yang and Wu De. As soon as he sees Wu De, his eyes flash with fierceness.

“Wu De,” he immediately remembers how his son Qin Yu perished together with Wu Xing. Wu De looks at Qin De, his eyes flashing with killing intent as well. He has never forgotten how his martial younger brother died.

Xiang Yang’s voice becomes serious: “Qin De, didn’t you hear my question?”

Qin De looks at Xiang Yang, saying: “Senior Xiang Yang, I really don’t know why you’ve come here in such a grandiose manner. What have you actually come here for?” Qin De pretends not to know anything.

Xiang Yang slightly frowns. The cold light in his eyes immediately intensifies: “Oh, a smart person like you can’t figure it out? Then I’ll tell you. I want the Qin clan’s army to retreat now. In this way, the 3 Eastern region counties will still be yours and the Qin clan will still be a vassal of my Xiang clan. The Xiang clan won’t even meddle in the 3 Eastern region counties’ affairs so they’ll be like a country within a country. What do you think?”

“Retreat? A country within a country?” Qin De suddenly laughs out loud.

His laughter is filled with sarcasm. Despite hearing Qin De’s laughter, Xiang Yang is still collected. He calmly waits for Qin De’s answer. Qin De’s face suddenly hardens. He says to Xiang Yang: “Senior Xiang Yang, I respect you for being a sage emperor of the Chu dynasty, but you’re dreaming. By now, when my Qin clan has occupied 10 out of the 12 counties of the Chu kingdom, do you think I’ll withdraw? How will that be possible?”

The cold air around Xiang Yang intensifies greatly: “Qin De, could it be you don’t understand your situation?”

“Situation, what situation?” Qin De looks at Xiang Yang in an unyielding manner. The 2 of them look each other in the eyes. Qin De however is not afraid at all. “Plus, you’re only one Xiuzhenist. Do you think you can compare with 2,000,000 troops?”

Qin De’s aura even rises.

Xiang Yang suddenly bursts out laughing then says: “Good, you’re quite something, Qin De. I only want to tell you that I’ve already reached the Yuanying stage. Though it’s only the early phase, I believe you should know what this means. Think it over, will you?”

“Think about what?” Qin De says without hesitation.

Xiang Yang’s face slightly changes color. Despite his great self-possession, he has become angry. This Qin De is playing the fool with him.

“You’ve reached the early phase of the Jindan stage, but I can kill you in one hit. As for the fella called Fengyuzi or something like that, I can kill him with ease too. I can even kill all of the Qin clan’s marshals and generals. Now do you understand what I mean?” Xiang Yang says continuously.

However, there is still a faint calm smile on Qin De’s face.

“Senior Xiang Yang, both Fengyuzi and I are Jindan stage Xiuzhenists. You can easily find us using your holy sense, but do you know the other generals of the Qin clan? Even if they were in front of you, you wouldn’t be able to know if they are the Qin clan’s generals.” Qin De says while staring at Xiang Yang.

When a Xiuzhenist searches for someone, at least he must know that person’s aura. Otherwise, he will not be able to be sure.

“In the army, marshals’ and generals’ tents are no different from soldiers’. You basically won’t find out who the generals are, so how will you kill them?” Qin De says emphatically while staring at Xiang Yang.

“Moreover, 600,000 troops have stormed Zhen Yang County from the 2 Northern region counties. Among the 200,000 troops of the Xiang clan in the county, 100,000 have already surrendered. The other 100,000 are merely on their last legs. The Black Water troops and the Mu clan troops, 600,000 in total, have almost occupied the entire Shang Que County as well.” Qin De reveals the information he received just now.

Xiang Yang’s face changes color.

He knew early on that Zhen Yang County’s 200,000 troops would definitely be unable to stop 600,000 enemy soldiers. But he never thought that 100,000 of them would unexpectedly surrender. However, there is nothing unusual about this. Anyone who is not a fool can see that the Xiang clan is nearing its end, so it is not difficult to tempt those soldiers into surrendering by offering them some money or rights.

“My Qin clan has 600,000 troops in Shang Que County in the south and Zhen Yang County in the north each. There are even some Xiang clan troops who have surrendered in these counties. In addition, there are almost 400,000 troops in Lei Xue County. They are ready to attack from 3 sides while your Xiang clan only has Ba Chu County left. If the Qin clan disregards everything to give an order, they will definitely be able to storm Ba Chu County within one day.” Qin De says very confidently.