A Thousand-Year Journey Through the God of War

The next day, while the three of them were having breakfast on the street, they suddenly saw a large group of people returning from outside the city. Many soldiers were leading the way, and the people all ran away to avoid them.

The God of War looked closely and saw a man sitting under an extremely luxurious canopy. He had narrow eyes, a long beard, wore armor, and had a red robe draped over his back. He was surrounded by people in front and behind him, looking very imposing.

The convoy was loaded with a lot of wild game and delicacies, stretching as far as the eye could see, and was escorted by many generals and soldiers as it passed through the streets in a grand procession.

Chen Ping inquired with the diners nearby and learned that it was Prime Minister Cao Cao who had returned from hunting. It was said that Cao Cao was going to hold a grand banquet for his guests today, and that the talented Cai Wenji would be playing the zither to entertain them.

Upon hearing this, Chen Ping flew into a rage, gripping his unicorn dagger and about to rise, but the God of War quickly stopped him: "To act now would be like a moth drawn to a flame; we need to devise a perfect plan later."

The three had no choice but to wait patiently. Another hour passed, and a carriage slowly drove by. A commoner said, "This is the carriage of the great talented woman Cai Wenji. Let's hurry to the Prime Minister's residence to hear this once-in-a-century musical performance."

The three warriors quickly got up and mingled with the crowd to go to the Prime Minister's residence. They found that the area outside the Prime Minister's residence was packed with people who had come to listen to Cai Wenji play the zither.

The three warriors, relying on their extraordinary agility, hid on a rooftop of the Prime Minister's residence. The entire courtyard of the Prime Minister's residence was packed with civil and military officials who had come to attend the banquet.

After several rounds of drinks, Cao Cao rose and said, "Today, to thank everyone for attending this banquet at my residence, I have specially invited Cai Wenji, the daughter of my former mentor and friend, Cai Zhonglang, to play the zither for you all!"

The officials, both civil and military, began to discuss among themselves: "Isn't Cai Wenji far away among the Xiongnu?"

"You don't know, do you? The Prime Minister's campaign in the north has been a series of victories, invincible in every battle. The Xiongnu had no choice but to obediently send Cai Wenji back!"

"The Prime Minister's civil and military achievements are unparalleled, and will likely remain so for generations to come!"

Listening to the crowd's discussions and praises, Cao Cao felt that the time was ripe, so he signaled everyone to be quiet and clapped his hands to signal his men to invite Cai Wenji up.

Amidst the anticipation of numerous civil and military officials, Cai Wenji, with her hair disheveled, dressed in simple clothes, and barefoot, ran up, leaving everyone dumbfounded. Even Cao Cao was momentarily stunned.

Fighting God, Murong Xue, and Chen Ping were furious. It was the dead of winter, was this how Cao Cao was mistreating Cai Wenji?

Cai Wenji ran to Cao Cao, knelt down, covered her face and cried, "I beg the Prime Minister to show mercy and spare my husband's life!"

All the civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment, but none of them dared to plead for Cao Cao. The three warriors were furious and almost came down to kill Cao Cao, but reason made them hold back.

After a long pause, Cao Cao said, "Wenji, you've put me in a difficult position! Dong Si has committed a capital offense. Even if he is spared the death penalty, he will still face punishment! Here's what we'll do: all the civil and military officials are here today. Go inside and play a piece on the zither for everyone. If you play well, I might consider sparing Dong Si's life."

"Thank you for your great kindness, Prime Minister!" Cai Wenji said, wiping away her tears, and went inside to prepare to play the zither for Cao Cao and his civil and military officials.

Inside, Cao Pi and Zhen Mi had already prepared a variety of musical instruments for Cai Wenji. Zhen Mi smiled and said, "Sister Wenji, if you were to play all these instruments, would your body be able to handle it?"

Cai Wenji, her face showing displeasure, said, "The Prime Minister only asked me to play the zither; you can do the rest yourself if you wish!"

Cao Pi said coldly, "So you're not going to save your husband?"

Upon hearing this, Cai Wenji's eyes welled up with tears, and she bit her lip tightly, unsure how to refute him.

"Look how frightened Sister Wenji is! Let's stop joking with her. After all, it'll be hard to handle if we anger the Prime Minister."

Upon hearing this, Cao Pi and Zhen Mi sat down to watch Cai Wenji play the zither.

After a brief moment of calm, Cai Wenji sat down at her zither, her hands gently caressing the strings. A moving melody flowed from her fingertips, the beautiful notes flowing slowly across the strings, sometimes melodious and low, sometimes clear and bright, sometimes soaring and sometimes swaying, flowing endlessly, as if sketching a scene of fairyland. When the piece ended, the lingering sound echoed, making people linger, feeling refreshed and unable to recover for a long time.

After a long while, Cao Cao clapped his hands and laughed loudly, "Well done! This is simply heavenly music. No wonder she is Cai Yong's daughter."

The civil and military officials echoed their agreement and cheered loudly.

Cao Cao then entered the room and said to Cai Wenji with a smile, "Excellent, very much to my liking! Wenji, how about this, today, for the sake of all the civil and military officials, I, Cao Cao, will spare Dong Si's life, but while he may be spared the death penalty, he will not escape punishment."

"Prime Minister!" Cai Wenji knelt down again, weeping, and said, "Wenji is deeply grateful for the Prime Minister's great kindness in redeeming me from the Xiongnu. However, Wenji is already a woman who has been married three times. If anything happens to Dong Si in prison, I will not be able to live on alone. I beg the Prime Minister to consider my father's sake and release my husband. Wenji is willing to serve you like a cow or a horse for the rest of her life, at the Prime Minister's behest. I beg the Prime Minister to grant my request!"

"Well..."

"Prime Minister, I've heard that Sister Wenji has been exceptionally intelligent since childhood, possessing a photographic memory. Perhaps we could have her memorize the precious artifacts that were destroyed in the war, thus making amends for her past mistakes," Zhen Mi suggested.

"But that's several thousand books! Isn't that too difficult?" Cao Cao felt it was putting too much pressure on Cai Wenji, so he asked, "Wenji, what do you think?"

"Thank you, Prime Minister, for your kindness; thank you, Sister Zhen Mi, for pleading on my behalf. I will write it now!"

"Alright, but remember not to push yourself too hard. You can only write about three hundred books. After all, you're already over thirty, and your memory is probably not what it used to be."

As Cao Cao spoke, he instructed Cao Pi, "You shall arrange this matter. Send someone to release Dong Si and remind him to be grateful to his wife Wenji for saving him today."

"Yes, Father, I will go immediately." Cao Pi accepted the order and went to make the arrangements. Watching Cao Pi's departing figure, Cai Wenji looked at Cao Cao gratefully and said, "Thank you, Prime Minister, for forgiving my husband. I will now recite the books for you!"

Cao Cao was overjoyed upon hearing this and said, "Very well, Wenji, then I will not disturb you any longer. Everything I have done today is for your own good. I have heard that Dong Si has not been as good to you as you thought since your marriage. After today's events, he will surely be grateful to you."

After saying this, Cao Cao turned and left, leaving only Zhen Mi and Cai Wenji behind.

"Sister Wenji, I have no choice but to do these things. Being by Cao Pi's side, I have to do some annoying things," Zhen Mi said to Cai Wenji.

"I understand. Thank you so much, sister, for pleading for my husband before the Prime Minister today!" Cai Wenji said gratefully, tears streaming down her face.

On the rooftop, the three warriors waited until nightfall before they saw Cai Wenji emerge from the house.

The three of them quietly followed Cai Wenji's carriage to her residence, and spoke nothing along the way.

Sitting in the carriage, Cai Wenji recalled Zhen Mi's words before she left and couldn't help but think: I still need to find a way to inform the people of the Temple of War.

While they were pondering, the carriage had already returned to the mansion. The three of them, with lightning speed, slipped under the carriage and followed it into Cai Wenji's mansion.

When Cai Wenji returned to her residence, she was wondering how to inform the people of the War God Temple when she saw the God of War, Murong Xue, and Chen Ping emerge from under the carriage.

Slightly surprised, Cai Wenji quickly led the three into the inner hall and had two personal maids stand guard outside the door.

Because she had seen the God of War that day, although she didn't recognize the other two, she guessed that they must also be from the Temple of the God of War.