Chapter 373 (2/2)

Early the next morning, when Ji Bo was still asleep, Nan Jihan had already gathered his troops and marched out. The shadowguard barged into Ji Bo's tent and woke him up.

Ji Bo rubbed at his throbbing forehead and said angrily, “What is it?”

“Nan Jihan marched out,” responded the shadowguard.

Ji Bo was surprised by Nan Jihan's eagerness, but then he realized why Nan Jihan would be in such a rush. Ji Bo scoffed, silently mocking the young emperor for his overconfidence and hopeless dream.

The shadowguard could tell what Ji Bo was thinking. Without making any comments, he asked Ji Bo if he'd like to go rally the troops. It was the Southern Mu's army. It'd be remiss of him not to show them some decorum.

Ji Bo agreed. He put on some clothes and hurried outside. Nan Jihan had antic.i.p.ated Ji Bo's arrival. He put on a good act and cupped his hands at Ji Bo. “Why didn't you rest for longer?”

Ji Bo smiled. “I hear you've deployed your troops. It's only right for me to check on you.”

Nan Jihan's eyes flashed. Without a word, he took Ji Bo to the camp. Nan Jihan had put a lot of focus on their military after he took the throne, and he'd cultivated quite a few excellent generals. To gain Ji Bo's trust, he'd taken with him many talented men. Ji Bo was pleased, a.s.suming that Nan Jihan was trying to get on his good side.

Ji Bo leisurely watched them march out, waiting to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Nan Jihan scoffed inwardly. The man would one day suffer a terrible fall.

Nan Jihan and Nan Xun had discussed what they were going to do. Nan Jihan ordered his officers to restrain themselves and treated the battles as drills.

Nan Jihan and Nan Xun fought with seemingly great ferocity. Ji Bo had believed that he'd be the last to laugh after they destroyed each other, and only supervised the battle the first few times. Later, he let Nan Jihan took the reign, unwilling to give him even a soldier. Nan Jihan laughed sharply. Ji Bo certainly dreamed big. He began to plan how he was going to take Ji Bo down.

Ji Bo had let his guard down. He lost himself in alcohol and women. Nan Jihan gained control over the situation without him noticing. When he finally realized it, he'd lost contact with Eastern Wu, and he hadn't seen his shadowguard for a long time.

He pushed the dancer in his arms away and rubbed at his temples. At the corner of his eye, he spotted a pack of medicine falling off from the dancer's sleeve. His eyes widened. Now he knew why he'd lost track of reality.

In a fit of rage, he put his hands around the dancer's delicate neck and said through gritted teeth, “Talk! Who sent you?!”

The dancer struggled, her face flushed. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Ji Bo tightened his grip and finally killed the dancer.

He pushed the dancer away and stumbled outside. He felt weak and almost fell. Finally, he was able to push open the door. He found himself on top of the city wall. The sun was blindingly bright.

He s.h.i.+elded his eyes reflexively. When his pupils finally adjusted to the brightness, he saw a sea of enemy soldiers swarming the city wall. His heart seized up. He went weak in the knees and fell to the floor, his face pale. When he looked up, he was met with a smiling Nan Jihan.

Nan Jihan looked calmly at him. After a pause, he said, “You've finally woken up from your sweet dream. We've been waiting.”

Ji Bo's expression darkened. He saw Nan Xun and Jun Huang walking his way. He tightened his fists. “No, you can't be here. Even if Nan Jihan is a traitor, you can't just break into the city.”

Muttering, he turned to Nan Jihan and grabbed him like a lifeline. He'd forgotten how he'd called Nan Jihan a traitor only a second ago. He struggled to grab onto Nan Jihan's arm with a look of disbelief. “Don't you want the imperial seal? If you drive them away, I'll give you the seal immediately.”

Nan Jihan's eyes were cold. He didn't even waver, and instead knocked Ji Bo's hand away. “I'll find the seal myself. Eastern Wu must be destroyed.”

Ji Bo widened his eyes. He'd thought Nan Jihan was an incompetent man who cared only about his little patch of land. He staggered back, stricken by the young emperor's declaration.

Nan Xun walked up to him and grabbed his collar. “Where is Jun Hao? If you tell us now, we'll give you a quick death.”

Ji Bo laughed and pulled away from Nan Xun, staring at Jun Huang. “I'll never tell you,” he bit out viciously. “You'll never find him!”

His maniac laughter rang in the air.