I manage female characters in all the heavens.

That's obvious.

Luo Che gave a bitter smile: "It's more than just hatred. I was his deputy general, and he took a fancy to my wife... My whole family died at his hands."

A flash of deep-seated hatred crossed his eyes: "I raised this rebel army for no other reason than to take his dog's life!"

Nie Yan fell silent. We usually call people like you who do arson, murder, and looting "rebel troops" or "bandits."

Luo Che looked at him and said solemnly, "Brother Qin, I won't ask what your purpose is in going north. I'm sure you have your reasons."

"But I see quite a few women in your group, including an extremely beautiful young lady. That must be your daughter, right?"

"Xiahou Tan is a lecherous fiend. Once he sets his sights on you, the consequences will be unimaginable. Take my advice: if you can take a detour, do so."

Nie Yan nodded: "Thank you for the reminder, General Luo. I understand now."

Luo Che waved his hand, turned around gracefully, stepped across the river on the planks thrown out by his men, and led the team back.

Nie Xiaoqian sat in the carriage, looking thoughtfully at Luo Che's desolate figure through the curtain.

This rebel leader is a capable man, and quite talented.

If one could use him as a base to refine a living corpse, and let it devour thousands of people, perhaps it could create a giant corpse that is invulnerable to swords and spears, with immense strength, and even the martial saint Zuo Qianhu would have difficulty dealing with it.

If she could devour that giant corpse, she might be able to further enhance her physical limits.

Okay, I'll bookmark this for later, so I can come back and check it out if I need to in the future.

Of course, the brilliant and talented Xiahou Tan should also go and see him.

It's simply unimaginable what a person who embodies so many negative idioms would be like. Even when she acted like that in "The Legendary Twins," she never received such extreme praise.

If this wasn't Luo Che's subjective slander, but rather an objective fact, then Xiahou Tan was truly an exceptional individual.

If he could be used as material to refine a giant corpse, it would surely be a great medicine for the human world!

On the way, Nie Yan asked "Nie Xiaoqian" where the black flag came from, and she casually replied that she had picked it up to dismiss her father.

She wasn't lying; she really found it.

Nie Yan only sighed that his daughter was very fortunate, and then said nothing more.

Continuing north, the group soon entered the territory controlled by the imperial army.

The situation here is somewhat more "orderly" than on the side of the chaotic army, but the improvement is still limited; they're pretty much in the same boat.

After some observation, Nie Yan couldn't find any loopholes to exploit.

He felt somewhat heavy-hearted.

Luo Che's words were like a thorn stuck in his heart.

Although he rationally told himself that Luo Che, as the leader of the rebel army, would definitely smear the generals of the imperial army.

But those words... sounded so sincere, they didn't seem fake.

But he was unwilling to take a detour because of this.

He couldn't afford to waste five or six days on the journey.

"Master, there's a checkpoint set up by the imperial army ahead," a servant rode back to report. "They seem to be checking very strictly. What should we do?"

After pondering for a moment, Nie Yan finally made his decision: "Reveal your identity. I refuse to believe that Xiahou Tan, a mere third-rank guerrilla general, would dare to do anything to me, a high-ranking official of the third rank, while I, the Vice Minister of Rites, am a dignified third-rank official!"

At worst, we can unleash our potential and break through the encirclement!

He straightened his clothes and, accompanied by his steward Old Xu and several attendants, headed towards the sentry post.

When the officer at the outpost heard that the visitor claimed to be Nie Yan, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, he did not know whether it was true or not, but he did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly sent someone to report.

About half an hour later, a troop of cavalry galloped in from a distance.

The leader was a man in his forties, with a burly build, a square face, and wearing a bright silver armor with a sword hanging at his waist. He looked quite imposing.

He reined in his horse, his gaze sweeping over Nie Yan. He immediately recognized him and quickly dismounted to greet him, a warm smile on his face: "Is this Lord Nie Yan in person?"

Nie Yan cupped his hands and said, "Indeed, may I ask who the general is?"

"Young general Xiahou Tan!"

Xiahou Tan strode up to Nie Yan, grasped his hand, and said with tears in his eyes, "Lord Nie, you've finally arrived! I've heard long ago that you're going to the capital to take up your post, and I've been looking forward to meeting you!"

He was extremely enthusiastic, and as he spoke, he led everyone toward the military camp, where they soon entered.

Xiahou Tan pulled Nie Yan toward the main tent: "Come, come, Lord Nie, I've already had wine and food prepared. We must treat you to a good meal today!"

Nie Yan was pulled along by him, feeling somewhat at a loss, but since the other party was so enthusiastic, he couldn't refuse and could only follow him inside.

Nie Xiaoqian jumped down from the carriage and quickly followed, saying, "How could I be left out of this feast?"

Hearing the voice, Xiahou Tan turned around and his gaze fell on "Nie Xiaoqian," a look of amazement flashing in his eyes.

But he quickly concealed that slight unease and asked with a smile, "Lord Nie, who is this?"

"My daughter is Yaoguang," Nie Yan introduced. "Yaoguang, why don't you quickly greet General Xiahou?"

Nie Xiaoqian smiled brightly and exclaimed, "General Xiahou, your armor is so cool!"

Alas, it seems Luo Che exaggerated. Xiahou Tan's fate was just as expected, and the great elixir for humanity fell through.

"Uh... Hahaha, very good, very good, thank you for the compliment, Miss Yaoguang!" Xiahou Tan nodded repeatedly, exclaiming, "Lord Nie is so fortunate! Your daughter is a beauty of unparalleled grace, truly a peerless beauty!"

Nie Yan smiled and said politely, "Not at all, not at all. You are nothing special, just a pretty face. If you don't have the talent to fill it, you are just all show and no substance."

Xiahou Tan smiled but remained silent; his daughter was clearly exceptionally talented.

Nie Xiaoqian wore a polite smile on her face, but secretly sneered in her heart.

She had clearly seen the fleeting wicked thought in Xiahou Tan's eyes just now.

It seems that what Luo Che said was not a lie.

As soon as everyone entered the tent, a sumptuous feast had been laid out.

Xiahou Tan warmly invited everyone to take their seats, then changed into casual clothes and returned to personally pour wine for Nie Yan: "Lord Nie, come, come, let me toast you!"

Nie Yan took the wine cup, put it down, and said that he never drank alcohol, but it would be inappropriate to refuse General Xiahou's toast, so he asked the steward to drink it for him.

He gestured to the butler, Old Xu, with his eyes, and Old Xu nodded slightly and drank it all in one gulp.

During the meal, Xiahou Tan chatted and laughed, talking about the local customs and traditions of various places, and inquiring about the situation in Jinhua Prefecture. He seemed very talkative.

Nie Yan was initially wary, but seeing that the steward hadn't had any problems after a few drinks and that Xiahou Tan hadn't shown any malice, he gradually relaxed.

Perhaps Luo Che was really just smearing him?

"Nie Xiaoqian" sat next to Nie Yan and ate the dishes in front of her without any restraint.

She had inspected the food and drinks and found them to be safe to eat. Although they tasted a little off because they weren't poisoned, the quality of the ingredients made up for it, and they were enough to comfort her mouth, which had been munching on dry rations for several days.

Xiahou Tan is cunning and treacherous. Even if he had a plan, he wouldn't be so blatant as to poison the food and wine. A person like him would definitely make thorough preparations before taking action.

Nie Xiaoqian was tearing a chicken leg with one hand and holding a piece of braised pork with the other, eating with her mouth full of oil, completely unlike a lady from a respectable family.

Xiahou Tan watched her eat like this, his lips twitching slightly, but the wicked thoughts in his eyes grew even stronger.

Even with such unrestrained and boisterous eating and drinking, she remained beautiful and charming; "Nie Xiaoqian" was truly the most captivating woman he had ever seen in his life.

"Miss Yaoguang has a really good appetite," he said with a smile.

"Mmm, it tastes pretty good."

With her mouth full of food, Nie Xiaoqian mumbled a reply, then tore off a chicken leg and stuffed it into Qingluo's mouth behind her. "Qingluo, you eat too!"

Qingluo was stunned when a large chicken leg was stuffed into her mouth.

Xiahou Tan: "..."

There was only one chicken. You two took the best chicken leg, so Lord Nie and I didn't deserve a chicken leg.

He coughed lightly and changed the subject: "Lord Nie, it's getting late. Why don't you rest in the military camp tonight, and I'll send someone to escort you to the capital early tomorrow morning?"

“I see that your team is really lacking in martial arts. The journey to the capital is not going to be peaceful. Without a hundred knives, it will be difficult to guarantee safety.”

Nie Yan hesitated for a moment, but seeing that it was indeed late, and not wanting to disappoint the other party's kindness, he finally nodded and said, "Then I will trouble you, General."

After the meal, Nie Yan found that the food and wine seemed to be fine, and the butler and his men had all eaten and drunk without any problems.

This reassured him considerably, making him think that Luo Che was indeed smearing the court's generals.

Xiahou Tan arranged tents for everyone, which were set up on an open space on the east side of the military camp.

"Lord Nie, rest assured. Tomorrow morning, I will send a hundred elite cavalrymen to escort you to the capital," Xiahou Tan assured him, patting his chest.

Nie Yan thanked them repeatedly and led everyone to rest.

Chapter 173 On the Heart of a Beast in a Human Face: You're Only Average Compared to Me

As night deepened, the military camp gradually quieted down.

Nie Xiaoqian and Qingluo shared a tent and had already lay down to rest.

Qingluo was sleeping soundly, but she kept her eyes open, peering through the gaps in the tent at the lights of the patrolling soldiers outside, a faint smile playing on her lips.

She saw through Xiahou Tan's thoughts perfectly.

She was all too familiar with that look in her eyes.

A greedy, burning gaze, as if it wanted to devour her alive.

However, she believed that given Nie Yantang's status as the Vice Minister of Rites, even if Xiahou Tan had wicked intentions, he might not dare to do anything openly tonight.

At most, they would secretly trip them up, or send people to ambush them on the way and make it look like bandits.

Nie Yan's position as Vice Minister of Rites still carried a certain degree of influence within the imperial court system.

But as it turned out, she underestimated Xiahou Tan's eagerness and courage.

Just after midnight, a commotion suddenly came from outside the tent.

"Something terrible has happened! A thief has broken in! The general's confidential information has been stolen!"

"Quickly! Seal off the camp gates! No one is allowed to move!"

"Search every tent! Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we must find the intelligence!"

Footsteps, shouts, and the clash of weapons mingled together, and the entire military camp instantly erupted in a frenzy.