Ming Dynasty: Gain one supernatural power every day

The soldiers who remained behind were completely speechless.

"Are we still dreaming... tiger, lion... elephant?" The soldier who was the most timid rubbed his eyes hard and pinched himself hard, wincing in pain, before confirming that he wasn't dreaming.

His companion stared blankly ahead, his lips moving for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out, "I'm starting to wonder if we're dreaming... Why don't you pinch me and see?"

Before he could finish speaking, he received a hard blow to the arm, which made him howl in pain, finally confirming that what he was seeing was real.

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from below the valley.

Qiu Fu rode over on a chestnut horse, looking dusty from his journey.

Behind him followed several lieutenant generals and personal guards, all looking flustered and confused, clearly having been thoroughly harassed by the messengers.

When those soldiers ran to the central command tent, Qiu Fu was studying the sand table.

The leading soldier rushed into the tent, breathless, barely able to kneel properly: "General! A golden gate appeared out of nowhere! His Highness Prince Han and His Highness Prince Rui came out of the gate! They said... they said His Majesty is personally leading the army, and the main force will arrive soon!"

Churchill's first reaction was that the soldier was having a hysterical fit.

From Yingtianfu to Annam, it would take at least several dozen days for a large army to set out. How could it possibly appear out of nowhere? A golden gate that just appeared out of thin air? Isn't that nonsense?

His face darkened, and he said sternly, "Do you know what the crime of disrupting the morale of the army is?"

The soldier was so anxious he was almost in tears: "General! If I have uttered even the slightest lie, I am willing to accept military punishment!"

"Go out and see for yourself!"

Another soldier chimed in, "It's true, General! The door's still there!"

Qiu Fu then mounted his horse with some skepticism and led a few of his personal guards toward the valley plateau.

Along the way, he kept thinking that these soldiers were probably blinded by the miasma, and he would have to ask the army doctor to prescribe some medicine for them later.

But when he rode his horse around the last gentle slope and saw the scene before him, the whip in his hand almost flew out of his grasp.

On the valley terrace, a magnificent golden gate stands out in the sunlight, incongruous with the surrounding weeds and yellow earth, like the southern gate of heaven that has fallen down.

What shocked him even more was that the platform outside the gate was filled with a massive army: vanguard riding rhinoceroses, cavalry on warhorses, war elephants carrying supplies, and people were still passing through the gate...

Standing at the very front of the army was a figure riding a fierce tiger king, dressed in black military uniform.

Qiu Fu stared at that face again and again, and for a long time he didn't dare to recognize it. It was Zhu Di, no doubt. His temperament, his expression, his eyes were clearly those of the emperor he had served for half his life.

How come she looks so much younger than the last time I saw her? The wrinkles on her face are fewer, her hair is darker, and she looks like she has gone back twenty years.

If he hadn't followed Zhu Di for many years and been so familiar with those stern, imposing eyes, someone else probably wouldn't have recognized him.

Zhu Di was flanked by generals such as Zhang Fu, Zheng Heng, and Xue Lu, who were riding lions.

These old buddies used to ride tall, magnificent horses, so why have they all changed their mounts today?

Qiu Fu’s gaze swept from the tiger to the lion, then from the lion to the rhinoceros and the war elephant. Only one thought remained in his mind: I’ve been stationed in Annam for a few months. What exactly happened outside?

The emperor is riding a tiger, Zhang Fu and the others are riding lions, and rhinoceroses and elephants have become livestock for transporting grain. How has the world changed so fast? So fast that he can't keep up at all.

Beside him were two young men. One had a full beard and wore a black iron chainmail, which was none other than Zhu Gaochi, the Prince of Han, whom he knew, only now he looked younger. The other was wearing a black python robe, and he couldn't recognize him after a closer look.

Qiu Fu dismounted and rushed to Zhu Di, kneeling on one knee and bowing with clasped hands: "Your Majesty, it really is you! Your subject Qiu Fu greets Your Majesty! Your Majesty has personally led the expedition, and I have failed to greet you from afar; I deserve to die!"

Zhu Di dismounted from the Tiger King and reached out to help him up, saying, "Get up. My arrival was sudden, and you were unaware of it. What crime have you committed?"

Qiu Fu stood up and bowed to Zhu Gaoxu with clasped hands, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness, Prince of Han."

Zhu Gaoxu grinned and patted Qiu Fu on the shoulder, making Qiu Fu's shoulder slump. "Old Qiu, long time no see. You don't look too good. Did you catch some miasma?"

Qiu Fu shook his head with a wry smile, then looked at Zhu Gaoxi and hesitated for a moment.

He recognized the four-clawed python robe as the standard attire for a prince, but the youngest prince in his memory was Prince Zhao, Zhu Gaosui. This young man looked much younger than Prince Zhao. He tentatively asked, "And this prince is...?"

Zhu Gaoxu eagerly introduced, "Old Qiu, this is my fourth brother, His Highness Prince Rui, Zhu Gaoxi."

Qiu Fu was taken aback, a look of confusion flashing across his face.

Of course he knew Zhu Gaoxi, the emperor's fourth son, but how old was that child this year? In his memory, he was still a little baby. How could he have grown into this extraordinary young man in front of him in the blink of an eye?

Zhu Gaoxu smiled even more smugly at his expression.

He put his hands on his hips, puffed out his chest, and gave a "I've been waiting for you to ask this" look, loudly explaining, "Old Qiu, are you dumbfounded? Let me tell you, my fourth brother is extraordinary now! He received the Dao Ancestor's inheritance and is a deity! Don't let his size fool you, he's only eight years old. This is all thanks to the Dao Ancestor's divine power! The reason His Majesty and I have become younger is also thanks to my fourth brother..."

"See this portal? It was opened by my fourth brother using his supernatural powers. The army marched from Chizhou Prefecture to here in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

"Eight years old? This person is so big, and you're telling me he's eight years old?" Qiu Fu was full of questions.

Zhang Fu also smiled and said, "Old Qiu, what His Highness the King of Han said is true..."

"Father, what His Highness the Prince of Han said is true. Thanks to His Majesty's grace, I have been serving in the Prince of Rui's residence these past few days, and I have personally witnessed His Highness's various supernatural abilities. It is by no means an exaggeration." Qiu Sheng, who was standing to the side, also stepped forward.

Following closely behind, the officials from both prefectures also stepped forward to greet Qiu Fu, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

Qiu Fu was overwhelmed by this barrage of information, and his brows furrowed even more deeply.

The lineage of the Dao Ancestor? Immortals? Teleportation portal? He recognized each of these terms individually, but put them together, they were completely incomprehensible to this veteran who had fought half his life.

He spent several months on the front lines in Annam, and it was true that he was completely cut off from news. Apart from military intelligence documents, he had almost lost contact with the capital. The news that His Highness Prince Rui had received the Daoist ancestor's inheritance and manifested his divine power in Yingtian Prefecture did not reach the front lines at all.

Zhu Di watched as his worldview was being reassembled: "Alright, we'll discuss the details later. First, report the military situation in Annam to me, then clear out the central command tent; we'll be holding a military meeting tonight."

Qiu Fu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the myriad questions surging in his mind, and said solemnly, "This subordinate obeys the order!"

He turned and ordered his personal guards to rearrange the layout of the central command tent, his gaze involuntarily sweeping back and forth between the teleportation portal and Zhu Gaoxi several times.

He glanced at the ever-flowing reinforcements pouring out of the portal, and at the vanguard unit, fully equipped and ready to go, riding on the backs of rhinoceroses.

Only one thought kept running through my mind—if all of this is true, then this battle will not be fought the same way as before.

Zhu Gaoxu patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Let's go, Lao Qiu, let's talk in the tent. This isn't the place to talk. I'll tell you all about what's happened these past few months. I guarantee you won't be able to close your jaw after you hear it."

Zhang Fu and the others chimed in, "Yes, yes, let's talk in the tent. It's windy here, not a good place to chat."

As the generals were about to head towards the central command tent, Zhu Gaoxi suddenly raised his hand and said, "Wait a moment."

A gourd appeared out of thin air in his hand—the very same spatial gourd that held people. He infused it with his magic power, pointed the gourd's mouth at a clump of grass in the distance, and a flash of white light appeared. Two figures were pulled out of the grass by an invisible suction force, tracing two arcs in the air before being sucked into the gourd with a whoosh.

It turned out that the two Annamese spies had been completely stunned ever since they saw the teleportation portal appear out of thin air.

They had hoped to see what new moves the Ming army had made, but what they saw was a scene they would never forget for the rest of their lives: a golden gate appeared out of thin air on the platform, and then came out of the gate an emperor riding a tiger, a general riding a lion, and an army riding rhinoceroses and elephants.

The two men lay prone in the grass, their legs weak, their only thought being to run. They had to get the news back to the camp: the Ming army had arrived!

But their bodies were as if nailed to the ground, completely unresponsive.

At first, I was so scared that I couldn't move. When I finally calmed down and tried to run away, I found that I really couldn't move. My body felt like it was locked in place by some invisible force, and I couldn't even lift my fingers.

Then a powerful suction force came from behind them. Before they could even cry out, everything went black, and they fell into an endless dark space.

The whole change happened in the blink of an eye.

Zhu Di spoke first, his gaze lingering on the gourd for a moment: "Fourth Prince, what's going on?"

Zhu Gaoxu also came closer, his eyes fixed on the gourd: "Fourth brother, you have a gourd that can hold people?"

Qiu Fu stood aside and witnessed Prince Rui casually take out a gourd, and with a flick of his wrist, suck in two spies who were hiding somewhere, completely crushing his last bit of suspicion.

Zhu Gaoxi twirled the gourd in his hand: "It's nothing, just two Annamese spies who have been hiding in the bushes on the opposite mountain for a long time."

He tilted the gourd mouth to the ground, and two white lights flashed. The two scouts fell to the ground in a sorry state, their bodies limp, their faces ashen, and they didn't even have the strength to struggle.

Zhu Gaoxi put away the gourd and said to Qiu Fu, "You can interrogate these two spies; you should be able to get some useful information out of them."

Zhang Fu and the others exchanged glances, looking at Prince Rui's magical treasure with the same envy and longing in their eyes.

Zhu Gaoxu was too embarrassed to ask for the magic weapon, since he had already asked for enough. He just said enviously, "Fourth brother, your gourd is amazing."