Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 512: Human King Kills God
It was Yang Zhong who boarded the ship.

Yang Zhong was also surprised to see Ren Yuan. The brothers were overjoyed to be reunited, and could only express their excitement by hugging each other tightly.

After a long period of excitement, Yang Zhongcai happily asked Ren Yuan how he had escaped danger.

Ren Yuan then recounted his experience to him again. After listening, Yang Zhong sighed and said, "So, we brothers have both died once. It's truly a blessing from heaven that we can meet again."

"It really is. What's going on with Second Brother?" Ren Yuan nodded and asked.

"Mr. Gongsun and I led a hundred brothers to cover the rear and held out for half a day. In the end, everyone fell. I was just lucky. I was rescued by Brother Heba and his men, who also vouched for me, which saved my life."

“After recovering from my injuries, I temporarily joined the Northern Army to repay my brothers,” Yang Zhong continued. “After that, Brother Heba and I followed Erzhu Tianguang to quell the rebellion in Guanzhong. But I always thought of you all. Just last month, Erzhu Rong died, and Erzhu Tianguang ran back to Luoyang to seize power. Now Brother Heba is in charge of Chang'an, so I used the excuse of bringing Ku Tao back to the Northern Dynasty to come and find you.”

"What? Erzhu Rong is dead?" Ren Yuan exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes. You'll never guess who killed him." Yang Zhong nodded, keeping everyone in suspense.

"Who?"

“Yuan Ziyou,” Yang Zhong said.

"Huh?" Ren Yuan exclaimed in surprise, "How could a mere mortal kill a god?"

“That’s what Erzhu Rong thought too, which is why he lost his life.” Yang Zhong sighed and said, “After killing Yuan Hao and recovering Luoyang, he became even more arrogant, thinking that no one in the Northern Dynasty could hurt him. So every time he entered the palace, he only brought a few attendants and didn’t even bother to bring guards. Little did he know that Yuan Ziyou had already found a way to kill him.”

“Last month, Erzhu Rong entered the palace to pay homage. Yuan Ziyou invited him to drink and got him drunk. Then, the assassins who had been lying in ambush rushed in from the east gate of the palace with knives. Although Erzhu Rong’s strength was greatly reduced after being seriously injured by you and Commander Chen, he was still a god. He was immediately startled, raised his hand and killed the assassins, and then went straight to the throne to try to take the emperor hostage.”

"Who knew that this was the moment Yuan Ziyou had been waiting for. Suddenly, a red dragon flew out from his body and pounced on Erzhu Rong. Erzhu Rong was unable to dodge in time, and after being possessed by the red dragon, he died instantly."

"Where did this powerful red dragon come from?" Ren Yuan asked incredulously.

"I heard that it was the dragon vein that Erzhu Rong destroyed during the Heyin Incident," Yang Zhong replied. "But Erzhu Rong didn't notice at the time that another strand of the dragon vein had attached itself to Yuan Ziyou."

"Can a dragon vein kill a god?" Ren Yuan asked in surprise. He cultivated using a dragon vein, so could this thing be poisonous?

“Dragon veins cannot kill gods, but they can when combined with human emperors.” At this moment, Zu Chongzhi said, “Of course, the emperor must be willing to contribute his imperial aura to combine with the dragon veins, which will form the most terrifying curse against the gods.”

"The Curse of the Ancestral Dragon?" Ren Yuan asked.

“Yes.” Zu Chongzhi nodded and said, “Once a god is cursed, he will be engulfed in flames and suffer a fate worse than death. If he has a good foundation, he can last for two years before he perishes, but Erzhu Rong was already weakened by you and Junior Brother Chen, so he died as a result.”

“I see…” Ren Yuan couldn’t help but sigh, “That Yuan Ziyou was quite a man of fierce character.” “Yes, it’s a pity that he could kill Erzhu Rong, but not the rest of the Erzhu family, so he was doomed.” Yang Zhong sighed, “The Northern Dynasty is about to descend into chaos again.”

“That’s where heroes can truly shine.” Ren Yuan earnestly advised, “I see that apart from Erzhu Rong, the rest of the Erzhu family are useless. In the future, the regime will definitely fall into the hands of military men from the Six Garrisons. Your situation will be a hundred times better than it is in the Southern Dynasty.”

"Black Otter said the same thing before I left," Yang Zhong said in surprise. "You two really do think alike."

"So after you pick up your sister-in-law, Second Brother, you should go back," Ren Yuan advised. "What's the point of a man coming to this world if he doesn't accomplish something?"

He chuckled and said, "Besides, if you don't go back, Black Otter and the others will be so disappointed."

“Indeed.” Yang Zhong nodded. “I could sense their worry that I wouldn’t come back, but they couldn’t very well stop me…”

“Let’s go back. This Southern Dynasty is no longer worth staying in. Although Commander Chen has been promoted and ennobled, he has been sidelined by Monk Xiao. It’s already good enough that Monk Xiao isn’t persecuting him; he certainly won’t use him again. The White Robe Army brothers that we painstakingly brought back have also been thrown into Jiaozhou by the old emperor to quell a rebellion.” Ren Yuan sighed and said, “It’s truly not worth living in this world.”

“Jiaozhou? The miasma in that godforsaken place is terrifying, and there are even rumors that Gu poison is rampant.” Yang Zhong’s expression tightened. “Let’s hurry and go support them! As for whether to go back or stay, we can decide that later.”

"Alright." Ren Yuan nodded. He was indeed worried about Chen Baxian and his comrades who had gone through thick and thin with him.

~~
Jiaozhou was the Jiaozhi Inspectorate during the Western Han Dynasty. However, for most of the time, due to its remote location, harsh climate, and dense forests, the Han Dynasty adopted an indirect rule over Jiaozhou, which consisted of both appointed officials and a system of partial control.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Jiaozhi Inspectorate was renamed Jiaozhou, which governed Guangdong and Guangxi provinces as well as central and northern Vietnam, with its capital in Panyu. The imperial court finally began to strengthen its control over this area.

After the Jin dynasty moved south, the Han dynasty lost the Central Plains and was forced to expand southward, developing the Jiaozhou area in Lingnan. In particular, the imperial families of the Song, Qi, and Liang dynasties were extremely enthusiastic about developing Jiaozhou.

The reason is simple... all the good land was occupied by established aristocratic families. If the newly rich wanted to acquire land and build manors, they could only expand southward. Moreover, because they were far from the center of power, the royal family members were quite unscrupulous in their land grabbing and plundering, leading to sharp conflicts with the local powerful families and common people.

This dynasty is no exception. In the two or three decades since its founding, there have been five or six major rebellions in Jiaozhou, with minor rebellions occurring every year. The imperial court has quelled these rebellions several times, but each time the army has been completely wiped out. This time, the White-Robed Army has been sent south. If they succeed in suppressing the rebellion, the estates of the imperial princes will be lost; if they are defeated and annihilated, it will relieve the imperial court of a major worry, saving it from the constant fear that these arrogant and unruly generals will rebel...

The White-Robed Army arrived in Jiaozhou under these circumstances, and as expected, they found themselves in a very difficult situation.

In reality, the rebels in Jiaozhou were utterly ineffective. However, they were extremely cunning and, knowing that the White-Robed Army was invincible, hid in the deep mountains and forests to avoid their attack.

Ma Fonian, who was in charge, organized several expeditions into the mountains to suppress bandits, but all of them failed and the soldiers were infected with severe malaria.

For the next two months, Jiaozhou was unbearably hot, and the spread of disease was rampant. Even with the Taoist priests accompanying the army constantly using talismans and water to expel the plague, most of the soldiers still fell ill. Even those with extraordinary abilities, like Ma Fo Nian and Hu Long Ya, could not escape it.

The senior officers were all so thin they were skin and bones and couldn't get out of bed, so they had to hand over command to the still energetic and vigorous vanguard officer, Chen Baxian.

(End of this chapter)