Chapter 190: To Praise or Not To Praise
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Otherwise?”
Nan Mern narrowed his eyes. “Otherwise, only one of us will survive!”
Xiao Jin gave a scornful sneer, and the short dagger in his hand shot out again.
Nan Mern didn’t dare to be distracted and focused on dealing with Xiao Jin. He was no match for Xiao Jin in a one-on-one fight. His weapon of choice was the bow and arrow.
Nan Mern turned around and ran. He quickly climbed up a tree as nimbly as a monkey. After locating the best vantage point, he quickly pulled out the arrow on his back, loaded it and shot at Xiao Jin.
Thwack! The arrow hit something.
However, before he could rejoice, he focused his eyes and saw that the arrow had not hit Xiao Jin, but a tree!
Before Nan Mern could recover himself, a piercing chill suddenly ran down his spine. He turned around and saw that the short dagger in Xiao Jin’s hand was already pressed against his neck.
“You! Urgh!”
Before Nan Mern could finish his sentence, his throat was slit by Xiao Jin. His eyes glaring at Xiao Jin seemed to imply that he did not die in peace.
Perhaps he was not expecting Xiao Jin to take his life so swiftly.
The corpse fell from the tree, and Xiao Jin jumped down as well. He wiped the blood on the dagger off on the dead body and then returned to the Tiger Base to instruct his men to deal with the corpse.
The reason Nan Mern came was probably because there was no news from the two people they had killed earlier. Now that Nan Mern was dead, even if the Nan State knew that there might be something odd going on in the northern wilderness, they would not send people over so rashly. After all, to many people in these states, the northern wilderness was full of strangeness and the unknown. Everyone was afraid of the unknown.
“Master, Second Master Qiao and Area Chief Meng have also returned from selling charcoal, but Area Chief Meng is seriously injured.” Number Five told Xiao Jin about what happened earlier.
Xiao Jin’s sharp eyebrows furrowed. “Keep a close watch. 1’11 go take a look.”
“Yes, Sir.”
When Xiao Jin arrived at the Tiger Base, the sky had already turned bright. Tiger Might had already woken up and was on his way out when he saw Xiao Jin walking in.
“Brother Xiao, why are you here so early?”
“I heard that the Area Chief of the North District is injured. I came to take a look.”
“His injuries have been treated. There’s no big problem. I’ll take you there.” Tiger Might brought Xiao Jin to Meng Zi’s room. After confirming that Meng Zi had woken up, he pushed the door open and walked in.
In reality, Meng Zi had not slept a wink, mainly because his wound hurt too much and he could not sleep at all.
“Brother Xiao, why are you here?” Due to the injury and the lack of rest, Meng Zi’s complexion looked terrible.
Xiao Jin looked at the broken arrow that was taken out and his eyes darkened. “Is it an arrow injury?”
“Yes. The strength of the enemy’s arrow was too powerful. It was not that easy to block.”
Xiao Jin looked at Meng Zi with a slightly profound gaze. “Even if an ordinary expert is prepared, it’s impossible for them to escape his arrow alive. Uncle Meng, your martial arts skills are not weak.”
Tiger Might was astounded. “Who exactly is this person?”
“The number one archer of the Nan State. But he has already reported to the King of Hell.”
“What?”
Tiger Might and Meng Zi were both shocked.
Xiao Jin said with an indifferent expression, “He wanted to barge into the array formation just now, but I’ve already gone out and killed him.”
The two of them were silent. They thought that person was an invincible expert, but the real invincible expert was right in front of them. Should they praise him or not?
“If there are any abnormal changes to the wound, send someone to look for Su Ying.” After Xiao Jin said this, he turned around and left.
Meng Zi looked at Xiao Jin’s back profile and shook his head. “He’s indeed a famous god of massacre. He certainly lives up to his reputation.”
Tiger Might agreed wholeheartedly.
Just as Xiao Jin said, none of the experts sent by the Nan State returned. This made them feel wary. They even felt that this was very likely a trap set by the Chu State to kill their experts.
Therefore, the officials who were prepared to negotiate peace with the Chu State simply sent a missive to Xiao Jue, saying that they no longer wish to negotiate peace. As for whether they wanted to continue fighting, they didn’t say at all.
When the news reached Xiao Jue, he was in the midst of sending people to find out who had attacked the Nan State’s border. However, his men couldn’t find the existence of that team despite searching everywhere.
“A bunch of useless trash. What am I paying you guys for?” Even now, his wound was still hurting so much that he couldn’t sleep. However, not only had they failed to locate Su Ying’s whereabouts, but there had also been a slip-up in the peace negotiations. How was he going to explain this to the Emperor?
“Your Highness, bad news. Just now, the Nan State sent a missive saying that they have decided not to negotiate peace with our Chu State.”
“What did you say?” Xiao Jue stood up from the bed abruptly and aggravated the wound on his body. It hurt so much that he cried out in anguish.
“I have already explained to them regarding that earlier incident. It’s obvious that someone wants to sow discord between the two states. Those fools from the Nan State actually don’t believe my words! Follow up with a reply to the Nan State. Tell them that I came with sincerity.”
“Your Highness, the missive from the Nan State says that if we are truly sincere, we will hand over Xiao Jin’s head. If we can’t, then we cannot blame them for not extending us any courtesy.”
Xiao Jue wanted Xiao Jin’s head more than anyone else!
“Not extending any courtesy? What can a defeated state like theirs possibly do?”
“Your Highness, I think that this is no small matter. It’s too dangerous for us to stay here. Why don’t we return to the capital and report the situation to the Emperor first? At that juncture, it will be more legitimate to capture Xiao Jin, won’t it?”
Liang Kuan didn’t think that the Emperor would send someone to look for Xiao Jin, but he knew that if Xiao Jue stayed here and didn’t go back, should the Nan State really attack in a fit of idiocy, then Xiao Jue would be labeled as incompetent. After all, the Emperor had sent him to negotiate peace, but the peace talks had led to war instead. If this didn’t prove that Xiao Jue was useless, then what did it prove?
Xiao Jue didn’t want to retreat so quickly lest it gave people the impression that he was really afraid.
Liang Kuan could read Xiao Jue’s mind, and he could only try to persuade him patiently. “Your Highness, if the Nan State really attacks, the food rations for this place won’t be able to arrive so quickly. At that point…” Most likely Xiao Jue would have to think of a way, but why would he do such a thankless thing?
The soldiers guarding the border comprised farmers and soldiers in equal measure. Ever since the Imperial Court started to conserve food rations, these troops had taken turns guarding the border. Only when they were guarding the border would the Imperial Court provide them with supplies. When a war really broke out, they would all be summoned back. This way, they could save a lot of food rations.
If t everyone was summoned back because of a war, then the food rations that had been stocked up would definitely not be enough.
Xiao Jue thought about this again and again. Although he was unwilling, he could only grit his teeth and go back.
“Set off for the capital tomorrow morning. Continue to send people here to search for Su Ying and Xiao Jin’s whereabouts. Report to me immediately if they have any news.”
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. The people here will not be negligent in the slightest bit.”
The next morning, Xiao Jue and his retinue hurried back.
When the Nan State got the news of Xiao Jue’s departure, they were even more certain of their speculation. They felt that the Chu State was trying to trick them and was waiting for them to fall into the trap before wiping their guys out in one fell swoop. What a sinister plan. They immediately ordered people to close the border gates. Everyone was only allowed to enter and not leave. No one could think of infiltrating the Nan State..