The world is like a prison, my body is holy

White clouds drift lazily by, the magnificent landscape changes in an instant, only the long wind keeps us company...

"Wuhu!"

Wang Wen pulled out his hairpin, which transformed into a ten-foot-long spear. He then twirled the spear and cheered loudly.

"Wuhu!"

Black Ox shook its head and wagged its tail, cheering along with him.

"Hahaha……"

Wang Wen laughed loudly, squeezed his legs together around the Qilin's belly, and raised his gun forward: "Er Niu, charge!"

Black Ox lowered its head and sprinted even harder, its speed like rolling thunder: "Charge!"

Xu Wu was not the only one overwhelmed by the daily grind...

In just over half an hour, Wang Wen saw a surging river, like a yellow dragon winding and crawling across the boundless land.

He knew in his heart that this great river was the Yellow River. He immediately opened his divine eye and stared intently. He saw countless strands of demonic and ghostly energy in gray and black, like a curtain of rain, intertwining and swirling above the great river, condensing and not dissipating, like the thick smoke of a wildfire that blotted out the sun, which was extremely terrifying.

What a weather thing!

Wang Wenxin exclaimed in surprise. He remembered that when he came to the Yellow River to cultivate the "Nine Tribulations Return to Origin Body" at this time last year, the demons and monsters in the Yellow River were far from being so rampant. In just over a year, the demons and monsters in the Yellow River had multiplied to this extent.

At this thought, he suddenly remembered that Ao Qing had mentioned that the aquatic creatures within the two great dragon veins of China, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, were particularly fiercely competing. It was because it could not withstand the competition between the two great dragon veins that it fled to Hongze Lake and became the king of the lake.

That fellow seemed to have mentioned that these two great dragon veins of the land each possessed divine will and could obtain the authority of the water lords, just like the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors. As long as one could unify these two great dragon veins, one could gather the authority of countless water lords into one and prove the position of the water lord. The Yellow River water lord was called Hebo, and the Yangtze River water lord was called the water god.

Oh right, that guy also seemed to have said that when the Hongze Lake Water Palace was vigorously implementing his Demon-Slaying General's policy of registering mountain spirits and monsters, the Yellow River God had a lot of opinions about the Hongze Lake Water Palace and even said that he would soon send troops south to attack the Hongze Lake Water Palace, but later for some reason, it came to nothing.

Although this "Yellow River God" is definitely not the real Yellow River God.

But since he dares to call himself "Yellow River God," he must be a powerful demon king with some skills... at least he's better than Ao Qing, that weak demon king who couldn't withstand the oppression of the Yellow River aquatic tribes and fled to Hongze Lake to become a mountain king.

That means at least a low-ranking Earthly Ranking, but it could also turn into a Heavenly Ranking Demon.

It took Wang Wen a long time to recall that the timeframe seemed to be right after he had brutally beaten up Zhi Baiqing in western Hunan.

'Could it be that Zhi Baiqing has connections with monsters on this side of the Yellow River?'

He pondered for a while, then thought it was unlikely. He had known Zhi Baiqing for quite some time and knew him fairly well. That guy was a complete 24K otaku, the kind who could sleep underwater for two or three months and then lie in a daze for another two or three months after waking up. Even after working under him for so long, he had never once come to Yangzhou to report to him.

Expecting it to make friends is like expecting friendship to break into your home and rob you.

Since it's unlikely that it was Zhi Baiqing who secretly informed the Yellow River God, then it can only be the mastermind behind the scheme against the Celestial Master's Mansion at Longhu Mountain who secretly informed the Yellow River God.

'Since we're already here, we might as well stop by and visit that Yellow River God on our way back...'

Wang Wen withdrew his gaze, muttering to himself with a touch of despair: 'No rush, things will be done one by one...'

After crossing the Yellow River, small groups of defeated soldiers began to appear scattered across the land, fleeing southwards.

It seems the news from the Xuzhou Inspectorate was delivered in a timely manner. The Battle of Baihe has not yet ended, and the defeated Imperial Guards have not yet been able to withdraw all of them south of the Yellow River.

Wang Wen followed the fleeing soldiers northward and soon came to see a large camp with a banner bearing the character "Qin" fluttering in the wind.

In the middle of the camp, Wang Wen found a general's flag with the character "Zhao" on it, and guessed that this camp was a detachment commanded by a general surnamed Zhao under King Chai Kun of Qin.

He reined in the black unicorn, flipped over and jumped straight down from the sky. After a sharp whistling sound, he crashed with a "bang" in front of the commander's tent with the "Zhao" character flag fluttering, creating a crater the size of a house in the ground.

"Enough!"

He shook off the dust with a hearty laugh and slowly walked out of the bottom of the pit, dragging his spear.

"who!"

"There are assassins!"

"Protect the general..."

The earth shook violently, attracting a large number of heavily armored guards. In the blink of an eye, Wang Wen was surrounded by gleaming swords and spears.

Wang Wen, holding up his gun, tried to state his purpose: "I am Wang Wen, the Demon-Slaying General of Huainan. I have important business to discuss with your General Zhao. I mean no harm..."

Unexpectedly, his kind and gentle attitude sent the wrong message to the guards. The guards surrounding him immediately stepped forward, each of them pointing their swords and spears at him with an imposing aura, shouting fiercely and menacingly.

"Put the gun down!"

"Capture without mercy!"

"I'll fucking make you lie down..."

"Thorn."

Frustrated, Wang Wen stomped his foot, causing a burst of lightning to erupt beneath him, instantly spreading and enveloping all his guards.

"Jingle, clang, clang."

One by one, gleaming swords and spears fell to the ground, and the guards, their faces blackened and puffs of smoke from their mouths, collapsed into bed and fell asleep.

The world is finally at peace...

Just then, a middle-aged general with a short beard, a rugged face, and wearing a red military uniform lifted the curtain and came out of the command tent. He saw the guards in front of him falling in rows, and then he met Wang Wenlai's gaze as he stood on the edge of the pit.

Wang Wen smiled innocently: "Would you believe me if I said they started it?"

The middle-aged general's lips twitched silently: "Do you think I believe you or not?"

Wang Wen didn't care whether he believed him or not, and introduced himself: "I am Wang Wen, the Demon-Slaying General of Huainan. We are practically colleagues. I'm here on some serious business to have a chat with your Prince Qin. But with the world so vast and the country in such chaos, how would I know where your Prince Qin is hiding? I just happened to see your camp, so I came down to ask you to show me the way and introduce me to your Prince Qin."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged general's lips twitched even more violently. He lamented inwardly, wondering which deity he had offended and how he had ended up encountering this plague god.
Of course he knew who Wang Wen was. Wasn't he the Huainan Demon-Slaying General who killed the false emperor who murdered his father, seized the throne, and plotted to usurp the throne? How dare he bring such a scourge to see the prince?

Does he think he has too much life, or does he think the prince has too much life?

He hesitated, wavering in his heart, and cautiously probed, "If I... if I said that I don't know where Your Highness is, would you believe me?"

"Then you'll have to ask it."

Wang Wen thrust the silver spear in front of him with his backhand: "Let's see if it believes you."

By then, a large number of soldiers had heard the commotion and rushed over. However, surrounded by hundreds or thousands of fully armed soldiers, the middle-aged general felt no sense of security. Instead, he felt a deep sense of despair, like when he was a child, when it was snowing heavily outside and the snow was so thick that it covered the door, and he was huddled in a drafty wooden house with no firewood to start a fire.

Back in Liaodong, when he led three hundred comrades in a counterattack against eight thousand Yellow-Headed Slaves, he had never felt such despair.

"Go back!"

He shouted loudly to stop his comrades from coming forward and making the situation worse. He desperately thought of a solution, but every solution that came to mind was quickly rejected by him.

There is no solution, absolutely no solution!
Facing such an unparalleled powerhouse who is an enemy of everyone at close range, even the most brilliant strategist would probably have to admit defeat.

Beads of sweat, the size of soybeans, were visibly forming on the forehead of the middle-aged general...

Wang Wen waited patiently until he felt the time was right before he slowly said, "Don't overthink it. I really have something important to discuss with your Prince Qin. I'm not here to kill him on purpose. I have no grudge against him, so why would I want to kill him? Besides, even if you refuse to lead the way for me, someone else will. Finding you was just a coincidence. Of course, you can consider it bad luck, but I will do my best to protect you. At least I won't let you lose your life because of leading the way for me."

The middle-aged general raised a trembling hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and then spoke, his voice trembling with sobs: "General Wang, Brother Wang, Uncle Wang, I beg you, can you please find another unfortunate soldier to fill the pit? I've guarded the border for twenty years, shedding so much blood and sweat to get to where I am today! Can you please have mercy and let me go?"

If he were to die on the way to fight the enemy, he was confident that he would not even flinch, because that was the fate of soldiers, and he had long been mentally prepared for it; he accepted his fate.

After going through countless hardships and narrowly escaping death to reach his current position, how could he accept dying in such a ridiculous and inexplicable situation? How could he not feel wronged?

Even in death, I can't close my eyes!
Upon hearing him mention his twenty years of guarding the border, Wang Wen dropped his playful expression, solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "I respect you for protecting our country for twenty years; you are a true hero!"

"If we met at the border, I should call you elder brother or sir, and you should sit in the seat of honor when we drink."

He lowered his hands and continued, “But this is not the border, and you are no longer heroes who defend the country. You are innocent, but aren’t those Imperial Guards who died at your hands innocent too? They were once your comrades-in-arms!”

"Of course, I know this is not your fault. It's all a power struggle among those in power. You were just caught up in the tide, and you had no choice."

"I have come to quell this conflict, to restore the world to its original state, and to allow all people to once again enjoy a peaceful and comfortable life."

"Although I admit I'm meddling, I think I'm reasonably capable of handling this matter..."

He paused again, then emphasized, "And you, you should also think carefully about whether it's worth wasting your life on this trivial matter of two brothers fighting over inheritance!"

As the ancients said, "Death is inevitable for everyone; it may be as weighty as Mount Tai or as light as a feather..."

"If you die on the frontier, your death will be heavier than Mount Tai. Regardless of whether the people of this world know you or remember you, you will have a share of all the blood offerings used to commemorate heroes in the future!"

"But if you die in this kind of bullshit, then no matter who wins or loses between the two brothers, you are destined to be unknown. No one will thank you for your fighting, and even your twenty years of meritorious service on the frontier will be wiped out!"

The middle-aged general's face, covered in sweat, shifted between light and shadow.

He had to admit that, besides his unparalleled personal fighting skills, this guy's sharp tongue was also devilish!
A few words from him made him want to slap himself repeatedly, questioning why he was even there...

After struggling for a long time, he finally asked in a dry voice, "Can you really quell this war?"

Wang Wen laughed and said without hesitation, "Of course I can! Whoever can't, I'll just kill them, and then I'll naturally become capable!"

"Alright! I, Zhao Dadan, will trust you this once!"

The middle-aged general resigned himself to his fate. Not going meant certain death, and a humiliating and inexplicable one at that. In the words of this General Wang, it would be as light as a feather!

Going there doesn't necessarily mean death; you might even gain a reputation for 'great righteousness.' Even if you die, it might be a death heavier than Mount Tai...

What's there to hesitate about in a gamble like this?

It's all because I didn't check the almanac before setting up camp...

"The Prince of Qin's military order came from the Jizhou camp, so he should still be at the Jizhou camp at the moment!"

Zhao Dadan said decisively.

Wang Wen nodded, took a step forward, and instantly appeared in front of Zhao Dadan. Then he grabbed Zhao Dadan's arm and leaped into the air.

Zhao Dadan cried out urgently, "Gun, gun, gun, your silver gun..."

Before he could finish speaking, the silver spear wagged its tail and followed him automatically, like a little dog hurrying along.

Damn it, he actually saw a fawning attitude in a gun...

Wang Wen pulled him back onto the black unicorn and tugged on the reins: "Continue north."

Zhao Dadan's eyes bulged out of their sockets: "Qilin! Qilin! Qilin!"

Hei Erniu grinned widely, turning his head to glance at him disdainfully: "Where did this country bumpkin come from? Never seen a Qilin before?"

Zhao Dadan: "Mother, your eldest son has really made something of himself! He's even riding a qilin!"

Guided by Zhao Dadan, the black Qilin carried the two of them northward. The land gradually opened up, and an ancient, desolate, and profound aura resonated between heaven and earth.

Wang Wen and Hei Erniu, who had never been to the North before, felt this powerful aura and were deeply moved and benefited greatly.

Before long, a small, square town nestled at the foot of the mountain came into Wang Wen's view. Beyond that town was a large military camp consisting of endless military tents.

Guided by Zhao Dadan, Wang Wen quickly found the central command tent with a large yellow banner with the character "Qin" on a red border.

Wang Wen patted Black Ox's big head, signaling it to carry Zhao Dadan and wait for him in the sky. Then he flipped over and jumped off the Qilin, landing straight towards the central command tent. (End of Chapter)