Longzang

Chapter 90 Drinking Together Another Day (Bonus Chapter 1)

The war continues, but Wei Yuan's great test is over.

Just as they returned to Shayang Village, a flying boat soared through the air and slowly landed in front of Wei Yuan and his group.

Several Taoist priests emerged from the hatch. The leader, with a face as red as a jujube and an imposing presence, caused the surrounding area to swell with pure energy and dissipate yellow energy upon his appearance, clearly indicating that he was a high-ranking cultivator among the Dharma Aspects. His gaze swept across the surroundings like lightning. When he saw Zhang Sheng and Bao Yun, his expression softened, and he nodded in acknowledgment. When he saw Wei Yuan, his gaze immediately turned gentle, and a smile appeared on his face.

The official's gaze did indeed sweep over Li Zhi, but he treated him as if he were invisible. Clearly, the son of a duke was not of a level that would warrant the official's attention.

The True Man said, "I am Hu Xing Zhenren. The Immortal Lord has ordered that Wei Yuan and Zhang Sheng return to Taichu Palace immediately without fail."

“But there’s still the matter of my brother’s funeral…” Wei Yuan hesitated.

Master Huxing's expression softened further as he said, "I already know what happened here. How about this, you can stay for another hour. I can still handle the secrets of heaven for an hour."

Although Master Hu Xing did not elaborate on the reasons, Wei Yuan knew that the matter was of great importance, and even with Master Hu Xing's abilities, he could only suppress the heavenly secrets for an hour. At this moment, Zhang Sheng seemed to be thinking and said, "Since the Immortal Lord has summoned us, we should set off on time."

Wei Yuan nodded and headed towards Shayang Village. At that moment, Sun Chaoen was leading several hundred men, carrying corpses out of the village one by one, some also holding severed heads. Many people vomited violently upon seeing the scene in the village, but then continued working.

Wei Yuan held Fang Hetong's head and said slowly, "Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission. I have retrieved Brother Fang's head and killed all our enemies."

Sun Chaoen nodded somewhat blankly and led Wei Yuan to the village entrance. There was a coffin at the village entrance, and Fang Hetong's body was lying quietly inside. Wei Yuan put his head in, carefully straightened it, and then used his Dao power to seal the broken end.

"How will Brother Fang's funeral arrangements be handled?" Wei Yuan asked.

Looking at Fang Hetong in the coffin, Sun Chaoen said, "I plan to send my junior brother's body back to the academy. He spent most of his life there, and originally planned to teach there for the rest of his life. Let him stay in the place he loves most. Burying him in the academy will also let the children in the academy know how to read books and what a true scholar should be like. As for my junior brother's family, the academy will take care of them, so there is no need to worry."

Sun Chaoen made thorough arrangements, which put Wei Yuan at ease.

Sun Chaoen stroked the coffin and suddenly said, "Allow me to presume to call you my virtuous brother. In the future, I may commit many evil deeds. If you cannot bear to see it, my virtuous brother, please do not rush to kill me. Allow me to do what I want to do, and I will give you an explanation."

"Why do you say that?"

Sun Chaoen pointed upwards and said, "This is how the world is, and this is how the government is. So I thought I'd go up there and see why those people are doing this."

As for what to do after going up there, Sun Chaoen didn't say, nor did he need to.

“There’s still some time. Brother, if you have anything to say to your junior brother, say it here. I’ll excuse myself for a moment.” With that, Sun Chaoen dragged his heavy body away step by step.

Looking at Fang Hetong in the coffin, Wei Yuan remained silent for a long time. Fang said, "Brother Fang, my Dao foundation may not be what you wanted to see. I will do many things in the future. If you knew, you would probably point your finger at me and curse me. But even if you curse me, I will still do those things. I'm sorry. You should rest well. After I have slaughtered all the alien races in the four directions until they can sing and dance, and the world is at peace, I will come to drink with you again!" After saying that, Wei Yuan used both hands to forcefully close the coffin lid.

The flying boat slowly rose into the air and flew towards the Taichu Palace.

On the return journey, they did not travel on the giant ship they had come in, but on the same light boat that Wei Yuan had taken at the end of the unified examination. With the blessing of the Tiger-Walking Immortal, the journey there took seven days, but the return trip only took one day.

Forging the foundation of one's Dao is a complete transformation, and with the vibrant life force provided by the fruit Bao Yun fed him, Wei Yuan's injuries were now fully healed. Zhang Sheng, on the other hand, had to retreat into seclusion to heal, locking himself in his quiet room as soon as he boarded the ship. The physical body is easy to repair, but the primordial spirit is difficult to restore. Zhang Sheng had lost a wisp of his primordial spirit, and it would take at least several months to recover.

Not long after the boat had sailed, a middle-aged Taoist priest came to Wei Yuan and spread out a piece of jade paper in front of him, saying, "I have come here to settle the merits of Junior Brother Wei and calculate his performance in the major examination."

"Isn't the big exam still going on?"

The Taoist stroked his beard and said, “Vice Palace Master Pei specifically summoned you back to the palace for an audience. You no longer need to participate in the subsequent examinations. After you killed Kanbida, the young master of Northern Liao, the Agula tribe was in chaos. When Kanbida was alive, he was the only candidate for the throne, so his many brothers were very well-behaved. Now that he is dead, several of his brothers have developed ambitions to compete for the throne, and they have gathered their own forces, having no intention of marching south. It won’t be long before the crisis in the two prefectures of Ganzhou is resolved. Of course, this great achievement should also be attributed to you, Junior Brother. Even if the war continues, with your current merits, you will certainly be among the top three in the final examination, if not the top scorer.”

"Besides, Kanbida was also the most beloved son of Hulehachi, the Snow Eagle of the Azure Sky. You killed him and withstood several blows from that old bird, which must be furious and capable of anything. If you stay here, a True Person will have to keep an eye on you at all times. Furthermore, you provoked the Liaoyu Heaven and Earth, and now the heavens are unleashing their killing intent, which an ordinary True Person cannot withstand. Therefore, the Immortal Lord made the decision to immediately summon you back to the palace. That old bird can only rage in vain and may do something foolish. At that time, Junior Brother, you will gain another merit."

That makes perfect sense. If that snow eagle had disregarded its status and dignity and secretly infiltrated the human realm to launch a sneak attack, Wei Yuan, caught completely off guard, would have been hard-pressed to escape unscathed. Although a sneak attack in the human realm would undoubtedly have severely injured Hulehachi in the counterattack of a human cultivator, Wei Yuan would have been dead by then. The Taichu Palace would not allow such a thing to happen, so it simply recalled Wei Yuan.

The Taoist pointed a finger, and densely packed merits appeared on the jade paper. The Taoist checked them one by one with Wei Yuan, very seriously.

"One hundred and twenty-six ordinary cavalrymen were killed, and one hundred and twenty-six merits were recorded."

He killed four captains, earning a total of eighty merits.

Killing a centurion earns him two hundred merits;
Ninety ordinary Snow Eagle Riders were killed, earning a total of 1,800 merit points.

He killed nine of the ten captains of Xueying, earning a total of 2,700 merits.

He killed Kanbida, and his meritorious service amounted to 3,200.

He wounded Hulehachi, the Snow Eagle of the Azure Sky, and was awarded a thousand merits.

This triggered internal strife within the Agula tribe, for which he was awarded two thousand merits.

The long string of numbers made Wei Yuan dizzy. At the time, whether advancing north or returning south, Wei Yuan's mind was basically blank; he hadn't even bothered to count how many he had killed. On the way south, Wei Yuan encountered several waves of interception, but he simply charged through them. The Liao tribe's young lord's warhorse was already a divine steed, and with the blessing of the Heavenly Madman, it was even faster than the wind and lightning, not much slower than the Snow Eagle Dharma Form. Furthermore, every time Wei Yuan received an attack from Hulehachi, he would use the force to create some distance, thus allowing him to travel thousands of miles and successfully return south.

Wei Yuan himself hadn't expected to kill so many people and achieve so much. Adding to his previous gains, Wei Yuan's total merit points now exceeded twelve thousand, which was worth over ten thousand taels of silver!
(End of this chapter)