The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 163 A Young Heart
The long night finally came to an end, and the golden summer sun melted away the remaining gloom in Haozhou City...

Wang Wen, sitting in the main hall of the Demon Suppression Division in Haozhou, put down the documents in his hand, gently stretched his stiff neck, and his gaze inadvertently swept over the dappled sunlight under the railing window. Suddenly, he couldn't remember the last time he slept until dawn.

Recalling those wonderful days in Yangzhou, when we stayed up all night in a frenzy and didn't go home to sleep until dawn, now seems as distant as if separated by several mountains.

He smiled casually, and slowly untied the fish-shaped pouch, jade pendant, and other ornaments from his waist, then stood up, stretched his arms, and slowly walked out of the hall.

As he stepped out of the lobby, he suddenly heard several familiar footsteps coming from all directions.

He turned his head and saw several familiar yet unfamiliar figures in full armor, twisting their necks and swinging their wrists, striding out from the passageways on both sides of the hall with an air of nonchalance. They stood in a neat row in front of him, grinning and snarling at him in a strange manner.

Wang Wen glanced around: Xu Wu, Yu Shi, Hu Zhong, Zhang Meng...

"Don't make trouble!"

He laughed and said, "I'm not going to chop people up, you wouldn't be of any help anyway."

Xu Wu replied with a smile, "No way, brother! Take us to see what's there!"

A group of burly men chimed in, "Yeah, just take us with you! We promise we won't cause you any trouble!"

"We've dealt with plenty of fake fox spirits, but we've never seen a real one before..."

Wang Wen suppressed a laugh and said with a straight face, "I appreciate your kindness, but your skills are really lacking, so don't go and cause trouble."

Judging from his words, it was as if this group of idiots had planned it in advance. Without saying a word, they all took off their waist knives and helmets, held them in their hands, and handed them back to Wang Wen.

This scene made Wang Wen laugh in anger: "Do you understand what you're doing?"

A bunch of clueless guys were looking at the sky and the ground, none of them willing to look him in the eye.

Wang Wenzhen was a little angry. He frowned and said in a deep voice, "Xu Wu, they're making a scene. Don't you have any self-awareness?"

Xu Wu looked up at the sky in a panic, not intending to say a word.

Wang Wen shouted impatiently, "Are you mute? Speak!"

Xu Wu had no choice but to lower his head, muster his courage to look directly at his increasingly stern face, and said seriously, "I know what I'm doing... Brother, this isn't how you do things."

Wang Wen was bewildered and furious: "What did I do wrong? What have I done to offend you bunch of bastards?"

Xu Wu mustered his courage and said, "Tell me yourself, since San Dao was gone, what have you done to lead us brothers?"

Wang Wen paused for two seconds, then fell silent.

Xu Wu: "We all know you're doing this for our own good, but can you protect us forever?"

Wang Wen: "I'm protecting you guys, and you think I'm wrong to be protecting you?"

Xu Wu: "Of course you're not wrong, but did you ask us if we were willing?"

Wang Wen looked at the others; the bunch of simpletons who were looking at the sky continued to look at the sky, and those who were looking at the ground continued to look at the ground.

Wang Wen frowned: "What do you mean?"

Xu Wu looked left and right, trying to find a shield, but after looking around, no one looked him in the eye.

'You're so disloyal...'

He groaned inwardly, then honestly said, "We don't want to be useless!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the group of idiots stopped looking at the sky and the ground and all looked at Wang Wen.

Wang Wen was so angry he laughed again: "If you don't want to be a piece of trash, then hone your skills properly. What are you doing here causing trouble? With your few hundred pounds, you'd be useless even if you were used as food for a monster!"

"So what if I die!"

Finally, some idiot picked up on his line, sticking his neck out and shouting, "If you're afraid of dying, what are you doing out here?!"

"Damn it, where's my knife...?"

Wang Wen was furious, rolled up his sleeves, and searched everywhere for something to use.

That stubborn fellow, however, still held his neck high and said defiantly, "That's exactly the point. If you're afraid of dying, why not stay home and be a dutiful son, taking care of your parents? Why come out here and try to make a living!"

"I'm sorry..."

Wang Wen was so furious that he ripped off his belt and rushed forward to slap him repeatedly, yelling, "You're a soldier now, a soldier, a soldier! What kind of man are you, what kind of man are you, what kind of man are you..."

The brute was forced to stagger backward by his slaps, but his stubborn neck refused to bow even an inch: "What's wrong with government soldiers? Even gang members have to be fearless of death. Are government soldiers even worse than gang lackeys?"

Seeing that he still dared to talk back, Wang Wen swung his belt so fast it almost left afterimages: "Still arguing, huh? Still arguing, huh? Don't you know what it means to obey orders? You've wasted your recruit training on dogs!"

That stubborn fellow still refused to bow his head, and the other stubborn fellows, seeing this, hurriedly swarmed forward and grabbed Wang Wen with all their might.

"Brother, calm down, calm down. The brothers aren't trying to upset you, but we just think you can't keep going like this. You've been carrying everything on your own, what's the point of having so many soldiers?"

"But then again, Mengzi is right. When you're out here, who's afraid of dying? If you're afraid of dying, don't take this job!"

"Brother, you yourself said that we are soldiers. Have you ever seen a general abandon his army and charge into the enemy lines all by himself?"

A bunch of idiots surrounded Wang Wen, chattering away and making his head ache.

But he also realized what he meant...

He expressionlessly fastened his belt, then sternly surveyed the group of idiots, asking, "Have you all thought this through? Guaranteed you won't regret it? If we really get to the monster's lair, I won't be able to spare a hand to help you!"

The group of simpletons looked at each other, then suddenly burst into laughter.

Xu Wu: "Brother, isn't it a bit too late for you to ask this now?"

Yu Shitou: "When you led us to the streets to chop people up before, why didn't you ever ask us if we had thought it through?"

Wang Wen instinctively wanted to say, "How can these be the same?"

But before he could say it, he suddenly realized that there was actually no difference.

Even if you lose a fight, someone will still die...

He couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Alright, if you've thought it through, let's set off!"

He felt he needed to reflect on himself.

He always went out of his own hands to do things, and it was indeed out of a desire to protect his men.

But he forgot to ask whether his men were willing to be treated like pigs...

Who isn't a hot-blooded young man?

Upon hearing his permission, the group of idiots whistled excitedly, as if they weren't going to risk their lives to slay demons, but rather to visit a brothel.

A group of people took the oxen and horses and walked out of the yamen in a lively manner.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the two Haozhou Demon Guards guarding the gate opened it, Wang Wen saw a dark mass of Demon Guards from the General's Mansion lined up along the long street outside the gate.

With just one glance, Wang Wen was so frightened that he withdrew his right foot, which was about to step out the door. His face stiffened as he waved to the Demon-Suppressing Guards of the General's Mansion outside the gate, saying, "This general and the Commander-in-Chief have some important matters to discuss. Please wait for me a moment..."

After saying that, he grabbed a door with one hand and slammed it shut with a "bang." Then, the Demon-Suppressing Guards of the General's Mansion, who were lined up outside the door, heard a series of "bang bang bang" sounds coming from inside the door, interspersed with a few low cries of pain and pleas for mercy.

They tried hard to keep their composure, but couldn't help letting out a low, snickering laugh.

A moment later, the door opened again.

All the Demon-Suppressing Guards of the General's Mansion turned their gazes to Xu Wu, who was covering his face with his hands behind Wang Wen.

Feeling extremely uncomfortable under so many eyes, Xu Wu decided to give up, lowered his hand, revealing a pair of black eyes, and shouted loudly with a flushed face, "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen someone get beaten up before!"

"Pfft!"

Among the crowd, one of the most clueless people couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

In an instant, the two thousand Demon-Suppressing Guards of the General's Mansion burst into laughter.

Loud laughter echoed throughout Haozhou City, injecting a powerful dose of energy into this oppressive morning.

Countless Haozhou residents, who had been shivering behind doors and windows all night, secretly opened them and peered curiously in the direction from which the laughter was coming...

Xu Wu, initially somewhat embarrassed and angry, glared with his panda eyes, looking left and right as if trying to remember every bastard who "mocked" him.

But after looking around, he couldn't help himself and, with his hands on his hips, head tilted back, and teeth bared, he chuckled.

This dramatic scene originated from Xie Zhixuan's question last night: "Is the general still in the Demon Suppression Division's main hall?"

He added, "With such a huge commotion, how could he possibly sleep? I bet you, he'll be heading straight for those vixens at daybreak!"

At that moment, Xie Zhixuan let out a soft sigh.

He also let out a long sigh.

And then, this scene unfolded in the early morning.

We should share the good times together, and of course, we should all share the hardships together!

Wang Wen was unaware of the inside story of what was happening before him, but since things had come to this point, there was nothing more to say!
He pulled the Dawnbreaker Spear from his hair, transforming it into a ten-foot-long spear in his hand. With his other hand, he grabbed the reins of Black Ox, flipped over, and straddled its back. His voice shook the surrounding area: "Let's go! Exterminate the demon!"

"Leave!"

"Let's go!"

"Let's set off..."

Two thousand demon-suppressing guards from the General's Mansion cheered excitedly, turned around in neat rows, and followed Wang Wen and his eighteen-foot silver spear with shining eyes as they rushed towards the west gate, as if heading to a grand event.

Countless Haozhou residents secretly peeked at their young and spirited figures through cracks in their doors and windows.

They don't quite understand.

But they were deeply shocked!
Shen Ze, the Junior Supervisor of the Demon Suppression Division of Haozhou, also stood outside the gate of his own yamen, watching the large entourage of the General's Mansion speed away.

In a daze, the black dragon of people transformed into a raging torrent in his eyes...

He understands.

But he was still deeply shocked!

He suddenly felt that he might not be worthy of being the Junior Supervisor of the Demon Suppression Division!
……

Tushan is the only mountain range in the west of Haozhou, and it is only a few miles away from Haozhou City. You can see it as soon as you look up in Haozhou City.

After the general's army left the city, they took the horse path and headed straight for Tushan.

In order to conserve their strength for the upcoming battle, the large army advanced slowly and steadily toward Tushan at a normal marching speed of ten miles per hour.

The distance was less than twenty li, but it took the two thousand soldiers from the general's mansion more than an hour to travel...

Wang Wen kept his divine sense fully activated throughout the journey, carefully guarding against the fox spirits causing trouble, but to his surprise, nothing happened along the way.

When the large group arrived at the foot of Tushan Mountain, it was nearly noon, the time when the sun was at its strongest. It was also the height of summer, and normally, no matter how deep the mountains or forests were, there shouldn't still be fog lingering at this hour.

However, the Tushan Mountain they saw was still shrouded in billowing white mist, which resembled the thick fog in the mountains after rain. It rolled up from the foot of the mountain to the top, covering the entire mountain. From the foot of the mountain, it was impossible to see anything in the mountains. Only when the fog occasionally broke up did some lush vegetation appear...

Contrary to the preconceived notion that mountains and rivers are everywhere in the minds of later generations, in feudal society where firewood was the main fuel, most mountains were actually barren, just like the small hills on the grassland in late autumn.

The closer the mountains are to the city, the more desolate they become.

In prefecture-level cities like Yangzhou and Hangzhou, where the permanent population exceeds 100,000, professional firewood sellers often have to travel dozens of miles to fetch a load of firewood.

Therefore, when Wang Wen looked at the lush vegetation on Tushan Mountain, he was both surprised and delighted.

"Archers, fire the fire arrows!"

He reined in Hei Erniu, raised one hand, and shouted loudly.

After a brief change of formation, five squads of level 50 archers emerged, standing in neat rows, each holding a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other, helping each other to light the oil-soaked rags wrapped around the arrows.

"Target: Forest ahead, one hundred paces. Draw your arrow!"

Wang Wen shouted again.

The archers in the front row drew their bows, raised them, and aimed at the sky.

Wang Wen: "Release!"

He responded and used his thunder magic to summon a bolt of lightning that struck the foot of Mount Tu in front of him.

"Boom."

Then a loud roar was heard, and the cloud-shrouded mountain was split open by white lightning.

The next second, with a creaking sound of a bowstring vibrating, fifty rockets flew in a smooth arc above Wang Wen's head and landed among the vegetation that was no longer shrouded in mist.

But just as the flames began to ignite, the vegetation was obscured by the thick, surging fog.

Seeing this, Wang Wen pulled on the reins, urging the black oxen to carry him slowly forward to the edge of the mist. Then, he raised his left hand again and shouted, "Archers, prepare! Two volleys!"

Two rows of thousands of archers stood in a single line, drawing their bows and ready to fire.

Wang Wen slowly raised the Dawnbreaker Spear.

"put!"

With a loud shout, he brought down his Dawnbreaker Spear with all his might, sweeping across the battlefield in one strike. A fiery red arc of energy swept out, swirling up the thick fog and revealing vast expanses of lush forest.

"Rustling, rustling..."

With a sharp whistling sound, hundreds of rockets landed in the forest in front of Wang Wen.

Wang Wen fired another shot, and the accumulated Bing Fire Qi within his body surged forth like a mighty river, fueling the flickering flames to leap up rapidly, transforming into towering flames in the blink of an eye.

(End of this chapter)