"My head hurts so much!"
Feng Xixi opened her eyes to see the faint morning sunlight.
Her expression changed instantly, and she waved her hand, wanting to cast mana for protection.
But the hollow feeling within her body turned Feng Xixi’s small face grim.
At this moment, she was not too far from burning the candle at both ends.
Had that darkness inexplicably stopped its erosion, she would have died long ago.
Later... it seemed her strength gave out, and she passed out directly? Why would she appear here?
"Captain, you’re awake?"
Zhong Shenxiu approached Feng Xixi with bandages wrapped around his chest, still oozing blood, leaning on a wooden staff.
"Su Daoshi, is that you?! You’re actually still alive?"
Feng Xixi, seeing one of her own, felt slightly relieved, checked her body, and relaxed even more: "What exactly happened afterward?"
Zhong Shenxiu replied with a wry smile, "I was stabbed with a sword and thought I wouldn’t survive, but when I came to, I found that the wound had missed my vitals by a bit, and that’s how I was lucky enough to survive... Later, when I heard a massive noise coming from the altar, I bandaged my wound and hurried here, only to find... Captain..."
"The altar, the ritual?"
Feng Xixi’s expression became agitated, and she looked towards the altar, only to see a field of rubble, which puzzled her even more: "That head, extremely powerful, was probably the original Earl... With just a glance, it could have wiped out all of us, impossible to withstand. Could it be that the ritual was successful, and then they retreated? But if so, why did they spare the lives of me and Su Daoshi? Could it be... the ritual failed? And there was total annihilation due to backfire?"
She vaguely felt that the latter possibility was substantial, otherwise, there was no explaining this situation.
Unfortunately, the land here was polluted with the aura of ancient gods, an unfathomable territory, recklessly using magical techniques to investigate was simply courting death.
"Who would have thought, in this battle, the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry would have sacrificed themselves for the country, all except for you."
Feng Xixi sighed, addressing Su Daoshi, "You saved my life, which is a great merit. I’ll temporarily promote you to be the acting squad leader of my Xuanjia Iron Cavalry. Once we return, I will clear your name as a criminal, and you’ll be formally instated."
"Thank you, Captain. But the Captain has the fortune of heaven’s protection; I dare not take credit!"
Zhong Shenxiu’s face showed overwhelming joy, bowing repeatedly.
He also knew that Feng Xixi’s promise was largely to console, after all, the lady’s strength was at a low ebb, and if he were to harbor any ulterior motives, this weak woman really couldn’t resist.
In fact, with his current strength, even a Feng Xixi at her peak would be controlled in all sorts of ways.
This great merit, along with the promise of a cleared criminal record, would have made even the previous young Su Daoshi obediently serve.
As for a promotion? At this point, who else was there in the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry except for him?
’Oh, the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry are cavalrymen, so the squad leader has a proper official position. That’s why she mentioned acting, waiting to be officially instated after washing away the criminal status. Indeed, the lady from a noble family, even at this juncture, is clear and distinct...’
Zhong Shenxiu’s mind was full of sarcastic thoughts but he refrained from voicing them, and instead found some water bottles to give water to Feng Xixi to drink; they also ate a few pieces of hardtack.
As the sun began to rise, they heard a commotion from down the mountain.
A group of several dozen people rushed towards them, led by Xu Wenling. Seeing the bodies from the previous blockade ahead, they felt a chill in their hearts.
After suppressing the camp’s dismay, Wenling realized that Feng Xixi hadn’t returned all night and feared the worst. He quickly led people for support, hoping against hope that Feng Xixi had not met with disaster.
Otherwise, with the two serious crimes upon him, he feared he would be thoroughly purged.
Although the soldiers in the camp were almost depleted of energy and unable to move, he had his own personal troops who, like the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry, had been well-fed with the best treatment and would remain utterly loyal in times of great chaos.
He had gathered these people and hurried to provide support, yet it was ultimately far too late.
If Zhong Shenxiu had merely had a notion, that Little Feng’er would have been as good as dead.
Zhong Shenxiu called out loudly.
Before long, Xu Wenling arrived with his men, and upon seeing the two of them, he too was stunned.
Xu Wenling immediately knelt on one knee: "Squad leader’s rescue has arrived late, please forgive me, my Lord."
"Enough, at least you are of some use."
Feng Xixi waved her hand, adopting an authoritative pose.
Having meditated to adjust her breathing during this time, her mana had recovered a bit, but she still didn’t exude much confidence, thus her demeanor towards Xu Wenling was much more genial: "Although my cavalry has suffered heavy losses this time, we managed to thwart the enemy’s conspiracy..."
Does this imply that there’s credit to be shared?
Xu Wenling’s eyes lit up as he promptly exclaimed aloud, "My Lord, what are your orders? Your squad leader will not hesistate to die a thousand deaths!"
Black Mountain Castle.
The atmosphere suddenly took on a somber seriousness, with traces of blood still lingering on the ground.
The rally cry from the previous night was a complete mess, and when counted afterwards, aside from the missing men and horses, there were twenty-seven corpses, dozens severely injured, with nearly every soldier bearing some light wound.
When Zhong Shenxiu walked into the barracks, he immediately sensed the difference.
Even in the void, in dark corners, it seemed that some lingering ghosts persisted, detected by him, the "Pastor."
Somewhat to his relief, among these lingering ghosts, he did not find those two dogs.
Upon returning to the main camp, Feng Xixi was naturally invited to the main tent and received the best care.
Consequently, Zhong Shenxiu benefitted from this as well and received treatment from an army doctor.
When the doctor saw the wound, he was visibly astounded, remarking on Zhong Shenxiu’s incredible luck.
Though impaled by a sword straight through the chest, it had fortuitously missed vital organs, a rarity among the hundreds and thousands on the battlefield.
Of course, Zhong Shenxiu just chuckled his way through it and dismissed the doctor, then casually grabbed a soldier, giving him a few black copper coins and telling him to summon Huang Xie and Er Ha.
These black copper coins were known as "Black Emperor Coins," the common currency of the Second Yan Han Empire.
Above the Black Emperor Coin was the White Emperor Coin, cast in silver, and its value was a hundred times that of the Black Emperor Coin.
Above the White Emperor Coin was the Red Emperor Coin!
Red denotes gold, and no gold is completely pure, only Immortal Masters who practice alchemy can refine true red gold used for coinage, mostly bestowed by the Emperor as rewards.
These three types were the currency of the mortal world.
Rumors said that above the Red Emperor Coin was an even higher denomination called the Yellow Emperor Coin; yellow denotes talismans, and the so-called Yellow Emperor Coin was talisman money, used as currency by cultivators.
As for the final Green Emperor Coin, Su Daoshi had never heard of it, and naturally, Zhong Shenxiu didn’t know about it either.
In this era, a Black Emperor Coin was of no small value, ample enough to reward someone for running errands.
The soldier, whom Zhong Shenxiu didn’t recognize, left beaming and soon returned with the two dogs.
"Huang Xie, Shi Qi..."
Zhong Shenxiu greeted them with a smile, and got straight to the point: "I’ve accomplished a great feat, and it’s likely that my next step will be to follow Captain Feng to Fufeng City for my post. Would you be willing to join me?"