A horse-drawn carriage moved slowly along the main road. Flanking it were eight bodyguards with stone cold face. The carriage driver was a middle-aged man with thin peppered hair. Holding a whip in his hand, he looked straight ahead with an emotionless expression. As he cracked the whip, the horses neighed and pulled the carriage forward, leaving a smoke of dust in its wake.
Inside the carriage, an old man frowned and appeared deep in thought.
This old man was praised as the top divine physician in the world – Du Shi Qing. He was travelling from the Great Zhao Nation into the Iron Cloud Nation!
"Senior Du, there is only one mission for you on this journey to the Iron Cloud Nation. It is to use your highly-skilled techniques to prolong the life of Iron Cloud Nation's emperor a little longer. You must not let him die too soon!"
This was a formal request made by Prime Minister Diwu Qing Rou himself.
Du Shi Qing knew understood fully why he had to prolong the life of the emperor of Iron Cloud Nation. Iron Cloud Nation was currently managed by the prince. However, the prince was not the emperor. There were many things which he was unable to enforce officially.
As long as the emperor's life could be prolonged, Iron Cloud Nation would never be threatened! Even if Tie Bu Tian was blessed with unparalleled talent, he would not dare to kill his father and usurp the throne of Iron Cloud Nation. Therefore, he would not do much to change the current state of the nation.
Every month that the emperor lived for will be an additional month for the Great Zhao Nation to prepare! Hopefully, the emperor could hold his dying breath until everything had stabilised! If war were to break out at this time, the prince of Iron Cloud Nation, with his limited power, would be left completely vulnerable.
However, this was a challenging task!
Only Du Shi Qing understood the difficulty of the task.
Du Shi Qing smiled sadly and sighed deeply. When Tie Shi Cheng was still a young man many years ago, he had personally fought in the battlefield against the Great Zhao Nation. At that time, Diwu Qing Rou was merely a cabinet member responsible for the army, yet he had the courage to spend gold to hire the best archer to kill Tie Shi Cheng.
In the chaotic battlefield, Tie Shi Cheng was suddenly shot by an arrow! To make matters worse, the arrow was coated with extremely strong poison!
Although one of Tie Shi Cheng's guards blocked the arrow with his body, the arrow still managed to pierce through the guard's chest and enter Tie Shi Cheng's body. Despite the fact that the poison was weakened, it nearly took Tie Shi Cheng's life.
Once again, it was Diwu Qing Rou who was spending gold to buy a service for the nation. This service was hiring the best physician to heal Tie Shi Cheng's wound. Du Shi Qing was finally going to commit his first unethical act in his whole career. While healing Tie Shi Cheng's wound, he would also poison him secretly with a toxin that had no antidote.
As the poison gradually enervated Tie Shi Cheng's body, the Great Zhao Nation had also gradually weakened the Iron Cloud Nation over these years.
"Make him sick, but don't let him die."
Although Diwu Qing Rou could have easily taken over the Iron Cloud Nation, he did not do it! In the past few years, Diwu Qing Rou had taken advantage of the conflict with the Iron Cloud to repeatedly secure benefits for himself. His reputation had grown steadily. His power had multiplied day by day. Even in the military, Diwu Qing Rou's achievements appeared the brightest. He was currently poised to rule over the country.
Diwu Qing Rou had always gained merits during wars with the Iron Cloud Nation but he deliberately provided Iron Cloud with just enough fighting power to defend itself! Diwu Qing Rou had transformed the Iron Cloud Nation into a gold mine. It was until recently that he had finally decided to take over the Iron Cloud Nation for good. This was because he was at the peak of his power! With his current clout, even the emperor of the Great Zhao Nation had no control over him.
Diwu Qing Rou was one of the few who was exceptionally adept at using tactics and plots to their advantage.
Tie Shi Cheng's body had already atrophied so badly that it was beyond rescue. The only option now was to prolong his life slightly longer. If not for the extremely talented prince, Iron Cloud Nation would easily have been annexed by the Great Zhao Nation!
"Since I am the one who started all this, I am the only person who can put it to an end!"
Du Shi Qing sighed miserably!
The journey ahead was long…
Chu Yang stood alone on the peak of the mountain. Hiding under the cover of the thick forest, he watched the guards and the carriage quietly from a distance.
He rubbed his palms gently. Wedged between his fingers was a piece of paper which read, "Iron Cloud Nation hired the world's top divine physician, Du Shi Qing, to the Iron Cloud Citadel. In nine days' time, they will pass by Evil Tiger Ridge!"
The next moment, the paper disintegrated into thin air!
Without hesitation, Chu Yang flew through the trees and glided down the mountain.
This was a strategy Du Shi Qing had planned long ago! Du Shi Qing had played a pivotal role in it.
Chu Yang had no means to simply change the fate of the Iron Cloud Nation. In order to do so, he must gain the trust and respect of the people after reaching the nation. With this trust, control would come naturally!
"How can I achieve all of this in a short period of time? I will have to accomplish what a normal person achieve in their life within a duration of two years!"
Chu Yang's mission was far from simple! But he knew he must not turn back!
Du Shi Qing was Chu Yang's first target!
"Whoa, whoa…"
The horses screeched and came to an abrupt stop. A young man dressed in black had appeared in front of the convoy. His handsome facial features showed calmness and a hint of excitement. His gaze remained fixed on the carriage.
"Who are you?" The eight guards stopped their horses at the same time and drew their swords instantly.
"Is the person in the carriage the top physician in the world, the one known as Compassionate Saint Du Shi Qing, Senior Du?"
The young man's eyes gleamed with excitement and reverence as he tried to peer into the carriage. He seemed completely indifferent to the polished swords and sabres pointed at him!
"Who are you?" The leader of the guards asked again as he glared at the young man with a gaze as sharp as a hawk's eyes! At the same time, the other guards swung their weapons in the direction of the man as they spread evenly around the carriage to shield it in all four directions.
"Is it him?" The young man took a step forward, raising the tension in the stand-off!
"That is none of your business. Retreat now or we shall show no mercy!" The leader said coldly. He did not expect the young man to have any malicious intentions. However, this trip was extremely crucial so he could not afford to take any risk.
"If it is Senior Du, please reveal yourself and face me!" The young man showed no signs of conceding.
"Fool!" The next moment, blades were swung down on the young man.
The young man appeared momentarily stunned and before revealing signs of anger. His body dodged side to side quickly to evade the sabres. The sabres were slashing at every possible space where the young man could move but he continued to outmanoeuvre them. Then, in the blink of an eye, his hands formed the shape of claws and struck forward at blinding speed.
One of the sabres dropped to the ground. The leader felt his wrist going numb and could barely hold on to his sabre. He withdrew slightly in shocked before dismounting and shouting a command, "Get into formation against the enemy!"
The other seven guards dismounted at once and went into a battle formation, brandishing their weapons as they prepared for combat.
"Hold on!" Du Shi Qing called from inside the carriage just before the fight broke out. In a calm and polite manner, he said, "Young master, I am Du Shi Qing. Why do you wish to meet me?"
As Du Shi Qing spoke, he lifted the carriage curtain and revealed himself.
"Senior Du, be careful! This person has unknown origins and unclear intentions." Two guards raised their swords to shield the front of the carriage. They were ready for combat.
"Sure enough, it is the divine physician Du!" The young man flushed with excitement. Ignoring the swords and sabres around him, he walked forward slowly without lifting his gaze from Du Shi Qing.
After two steps, the youth was standing right before the leader's sabre. However, the leader had no intention of dropping his weapon and continued to press his sabre forward.
Feeling the tingling sensation of the blade on his skin, the young man looked down. He smiled in embarrassment and suddenly bowed to Du Shi Qing.
His unexpected behaviour surprised everyone.
"Senior Du, do you remember passing this road eight years ago? There was an ensuing war between the two countries and everywhere was in chaos. Back then, you saved the lives of a couple on the mountain. Do you still remember?"
"Ah…" Du Shi Qing frowned as he tried to recall the incident from eight years ago. Having saved so many people in his life, how could he possibly remember all of them? However, he remembered distinctly that he truly came by this path eight years ago.