Chapter 1 The Fire

Fire,
A great fire,
Fueled by a capital city and its people as kindling!

Zheng Fan, astride his horse, stared with wide eyes.

If not for that dream,
Perhaps Zheng Fan would have thought this was the Prince of Jingnan, having decisively broken the Chu capital, burning the city in one fell swoop!

Who knows,
Zheng Fan might be riding his horse, leisurely enjoying this extravagant "bonfire" spectacle;

If the mood struck,
Wanting to play melancholic:

He could sigh, "The Yan people burned it all, leaving only scorched earth."

Wanting to play with sentiment:

He could take a jug of wine, facing the towering flames, sipping slowly while listening to the miserable cries from within the city;

Wanting to play passionately,

He could give a speech to the soldiers, igniting their enthusiasm!

But now,
Zheng Fan had no leisure to do any of this.

When he saw the fire,
He only felt a hollowness in his heart.

Having lived two lives, to put it realistically, because of his family, Zheng Fan's relationship with his father in his previous life had always been very distant. His father didn't act much like a father. After his own relationship broke down, he often drank heavily, and many times, he probably forgot he even had a son.

There were no warm memories between father and son.

Later, he died in a car accident. It was quite sudden, but firstly, he was still young at the time, and secondly... well, it was sudden.

At his father's funeral, there was reluctance and sadness, but more than that, there was a sense of bewilderment at becoming an "actual" orphan from a "near" orphan.

Parental affection is often praised and glorified with all sorts of grand metaphors;

But in reality, whether it's father-son, mother-son, or sibling affection, all emotions need to be maintained.

Ordinary people aren't *pixiu* (mythical creatures that only consume but never expel wealth), it's impossible for them to feel a response from the other's bloodline just by facing each other.

If emotions aren't maintained or cultivated, to put it realistically, there are countless fathers, sons, mothers, and siblings who live like strangers.

But Lao Tian was genuinely good to him,
An inexplicably good,

Sometimes,
Zheng Fan himself found it hard to explain why.

The Blind Man, as an observer, might be able to analyze Lao Tian's psychology, but the Blind Man wouldn't be foolish enough to discuss and dissect it with his own lord.

Relationships between people cannot be calculated; those that aren't calculated are true relationships, otherwise, it's just mutual exploitation.

A muddled account is often quite beautiful.

"Perhaps, Tian Wujing is alright," the Sword Saint said. "After all, a martial artist's skin is thick."

The Sword Saint's concern was no longer about some threshold; it was that when things happened, when the dream's premonition and reality coincided, he was genuinely worried about Zheng Fan.

As for Tian Wujing,
The Sword Saint felt no sense of camaraderie.

He had once lamented that the Southern Marquis's life was the most bitter.

But that was all it was, just a lament.

After all, Tian Wujing wouldn't come to his courtyard for free meals every few days, nor would Tian Wujing bring sweets for his stepson, nor would he familiarly call his wife "sister-in-law."

How could people not distinguish between closeness and distance?

He was the Sword Saint, not a Confucian Sage;

And even a Confucian Sage wouldn't be concerned about Tian Wujing alone at this moment but should be concerned about the people within this Yingdu city.

Zheng Fan remained silent,
Urging his horse forward.

However, the speed was slower.

What must be faced, ultimately must be faced.

His previous self dared to end his own life prematurely.

There was no reason to regress in this life,

Nor to betray Lao Tian's repeated forced "getting on the shelf."

But he didn't want to pick up the pace.

It was better to be slow, better to be even slower.

Si Niang, beside him, didn't speak; she knew that her lord didn't need anyone to share his burden now.

"Hah..."

Zheng Bo, took a long breath.

His eyes were a little red, and the closer he got to Yingdu, the more irritating the smoke in the air became.

But with his own people here, Zheng Bo, wasn't interested in finding a reason to blame the smoke.

If he still had to hide his emotions and cover up his distress at this point, then life would be too meaningless.

"Actually, I had this premonition a long, long time ago."

Four years ago,
At the Tian residence,

The Jingnan Marquis ordered the personal guards who were eating:

"Leave no one alive!"

If one hadn't seen the Jingnan Marquis interacting with the Tian family during the day, outsiders might think that the Great Yan's Southern Marquis wasn't close to his family.

But Zheng Fan could see that the Tian family might have their flaws, but the Tian family members were genuinely good to Tian Wujing, and the Jingnan Marquis really liked and enjoyed this family atmosphere.

Things that you don't care about,
Are destroyed when they're destroyed;

In this world, the greatest torment is nothing more than making you destroy the beauty you care about with your own hands.

That phrase:

"Wujing invites Grand Uncle to ascend to heaven."

Was like taking a knife and personally cutting out his own heart, strip by strip, while being particular about neatness and symmetry.

Then, after that,
Was the death of Du Juan.

Triumphant return to Shengle City,
During the celebration,

He received the news of his wife's death,
The Marquis's hair turned white overnight.

That time,
The Marquis said the words "Jingnan" for the first time.

But he couldn't rebel, he couldn't really rebel, some things, he couldn't even investigate, he didn't dare to investigate.

For the sake of Great Yan,
For the sake of the great cause,
For the sake of his ideal,

He had already exterminated his entire clan himself.

If he were to go back on his word now,

What would be the meaning of the deaths of the relatives he had personally ordered to be slaughtered?

This was a road of no return destined to have no way back; once you embarked on it, you couldn't get off.

The Blind Man had said that that night, the Marquis went to see Tiantian.

Father and son met, perhaps only that once.

The Blind Man said that Tian Wujing didn't see his son, apart from all the various speculated reasons, the biggest reason was probably that, as a father, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to control himself.

"Swear, this black dragon banner must always be in your hands."

There were too many, too many obvious foreshadowings;

The flags, had been planted many times.

Sometimes, Zheng Fan could only pretend not to understand.

You couldn't even persuade him, nor was there any reason to comfort him;

Putting yourself in his shoes, thinking from his perspective,

If you were in that position,

Perhaps the thing you would want to do most was to die quickly and find release.

But Zheng Fan sincerely didn't want Lao Tian to die.

He had become accustomed to that figure appearing before him.

There was a saying that Zheng Fan had never told anyone.

He didn't like saluting, didn't like kneeling; kneeling to others was so he wouldn't have to kneel in the future;

But every time he saluted Lao Tian, in his heart, there was really no resistance at all.

At this time,
Two groups of riders flanked them; they were the Jingnan Army's outer sentries.

However, no misunderstanding occurred. First, the armor worn by Zheng Fan's personal guards was clearly of Yan military style. Second, a captain at the front recognized the Earl of Pingye directly.

"Greetings, Earl of Pingye!"

"Greetings, my lord!"

"Greetings, my lord!"

Zheng Fan took a deep breath and asked:

"Where is the Prince?"

The captain's face showed a hint of anxiety,
He said:

"Reporting to the Earl, the Prince led the army into Yingdu earlier. When this humble one changed teams to come out, the Prince... the Prince hadn't come out yet. Now, now the Prince should have left the city."

Zheng Fan didn't say anything else and urged his horse forward.

The great fire in Yingdu wouldn't be extinguished in a short time; it would be normal for it to burn for several days. The closer he got to the city walls, the more anxiety Zheng Fan could feel from the soldiers saluting him.

This was an anxiety that permeated the entire army, which meant one thing: the Prince hadn't come out of the city yet.

If it was just a fire within the city, the troops wouldn't believe that this kind of fire could pose any threat to their Prince. But the problem was that most of the Jingnan Army knights who had entered the city with the Prince had already come out.

They had come out early, and apart from the casualties from the previous battles, the fire hadn't caused them much damage.

After dismounting, Zheng Bo, immediately summoned a lieutenant general who had previously entered the city with the Prince of Jingnan.

While walking towards the north gate, Zheng Fan listened to the lieutenant general's account.

The entire course of events, from the time the Prince of Jingnan entered the city to the appearance of the Fire Phoenix, was finally learned by Zheng Fan.

The Sword Saint, who had been accompanying Zheng Fan all along, said:

"So, Tian Wujing guessed that there would be a fire in the city, which is why he didn't let the main force enter?"

Facing the enemy's capital, yet not letting the main army enter, this was really unreasonable.

After all, the Prince of Jingnan wouldn't do something like bestowing favor on the Chu people and then using Chu land to establish himself as king; he had no need to be gentle with the Chu people.

When a country is defeated, unless it surrenders honorably, its capital will inevitably be devastated.

The peaceful lives that several generations had enjoyed by relying on living under the Emperor's feet would often be repaid with interest when the dynasty collapsed.

Si Niang, on the other hand, replied to the Sword Saint:

"Since the Chu regent isn't in the capital and the Chu royal guard's main force isn't here either, it inevitably means that there's something strange in the city. Not letting the main army enter at this time is the right thing to do."

Once the main force entered the city, how many Yan soldiers would be burned or suffocated to death under the great fire?

If they died in battle, that would be fine; after all, Great Yan's iron cavalry would have to shed a layer of skin before anyone could bite them.

But being burned to death like this would be a huge loss.

The lieutenant general immediately said:

"After that Fire Phoenix appeared, the Prince ordered us to withdraw from the city. If we had been any later, or waited until the fire had fully ignited, it would have been lucky if half of these brothers had been able to rush out alive."

"What about the Prince? He never left?"

"Reporting to the Earl, no. Some brothers have already gone in to find the Prince, but none of them have come out."

Under these circumstances, the initial exit from the city was because the Jingnan Army was accustomed to obeying their Prince's orders, and when the great fire suddenly rose, the soldiers would inevitably be concerned about their Prince and couldn't help but send people in to check.

The Sword Saint said, "If this fire was caused by the Fire Phoenix spirit, then the imperial city, as the core of the formation, must be the place where the fire is most intense.

Moreover, Tian Wujing won't leave; his purpose in coming here is, first, to trample on the Chu people's dignity and pride, and second, to destroy this capital city.

Both of these things he needs require him to stay."

"Then is there still hope for the Prince of Jingnan?" Si Niang, asked on behalf of Zheng Fan.

The Sword Saint shook his head and said, "This is a great formation, this is a blood sacrifice. Under a blood sacrifice of this scale, only heaven knows how strong that Fire Phoenix will become in a short time."

Si Niang, gave a look.

The Sword Saint shook his head and said:

"Let's leave it to fate."

The implication was that if Tian Wujing wanted to escape, he would definitely be able to escape in advance.

A Fire Phoenix,
Sounded very rare,

But it was, after all, not a true Fire Phoenix, just a spirit.

Moreover,
Even if it were a true Fire Phoenix, so what?

If those so-called "divine beasts" were truly invincible in the world back then, how could they have been recorded in historical materials as mounts of the Yan and Chu lords?

Since they had become mounts, they had been tamed, which meant that they were not as invincible as the legends made them out to be.

But if Tian Wujing didn't want to leave, and instead actively forced the Fire Phoenix spirit, the core of the formation, to activate this great formation and gamble on a mutual destruction...

The Sword Saint wasn't a martial artist,
It was difficult for him to think from the perspective of a third-rank peak martial artist about the survival rate under those circumstances.

Well,
He was probably... definitely going to die.

Because a swordsman's physical body couldn't compare to a martial artist's.

Zheng Bo, didn't speak, but he had taken the Sword Saint's words to heart.

Raising his head,
Even through the city walls, he could still see the bright red of the sky above.

"Make way!"

After hesitating, the Yan soldiers in front retreated; they were occupying the city gate.

The cruel side of the battlefield was revealed at this moment, because after the great fire started in the city, a large number of people wanted to escape the city.

Previously, the sudden arrival of the Yan army had made the city the safest place in everyone's hearts by default, but when the great fire suddenly erupted in an unbelievable way, everyone began to panic and wanted to get out.

But the Yan army was guarding here, using arrows and military formations to block the city gate.

This naturally couldn't prevent everyone from getting out, because Yingdu was very large, and some strong or wealthy people could use the experts they had raised to help them climb over the city walls, and then escape the patrolling Yan knights on the outskirts.

However, they couldn't bring many people; compared to the population density of large households or families, they could only send out a few core members. If there were too many people, they would inevitably be discovered.

Zheng Bo, took the initiative to walk into the city gate. This area of the city gate, or rather, the inside of the city, was burning very fiercely, but that was also because of the rapid spread of the fire. The city walls, on the other hand, were relatively open areas.

Even though that Star Observation Tower was burning like a torch, most of the area under the city walls was still relatively safe; it was just that there was more smoke and dust, but it wasn't unbearable.

Therefore, when Zheng Fan came in, he saw that the corners of the walls were densely packed with Chu people, dragging their families and carrying their children.

They couldn't get out of the city, so they could only huddle here.

With the country broken and the family destroyed, the people of Yingdu deeply felt it today.

Among this dark mass of people, there were definitely Chu soldiers and great nobles hidden.

Because the imperial city was the place where the fire was burning most fiercely, and the fire was spreading from the center to the surroundings, and that was often where the residences of high-ranking officials and nobles were located.

Zheng Bo, had already seen many people with black faces but actually wearing brocade clothes huddled in the crowd, shivering.

There were also many children crying, and women holding children.

Normally,
Zheng Bo, would probably make an exception for these children; he had tried to take in Jin refugees as much as possible when he was stationed at Snow Sea Pass.

But now,
Zheng Bo, didn't have that interest or that mood.

The children were infected by the adults' emotions, and the cries rose and fell, making Zheng Bo, feel extremely manic at this moment, even wishing he could draw his barbarian saber and start a massacre first!

The Sword Saint sighed and said:

"Forget it, I'll go up to that Star Observation Tower and take a look."

The Star Observation Tower was the highest point in Yingdu. Although it was still burning, it was too tall and too large, so it really took a while to burn. The Sword Saint planned to risk going up there now, hoping to see the situation inside from a high vantage point.

The Sword Saint disappeared.

Zheng Bo, continued to walk numbly for a while.

The fire had already spread to the houses on both sides of the avenue here. In front of him, a group of people escaped, wearing Chu-style armor.

There were many private soldiers in Chu, and there were many styles of armor.

Presumably, they had gone in to rescue the people they needed to protect, and they were now staggering a bit.

As they passed by Zheng Bo,,
Zheng Bo, drew his barbarian saber,
And directly slashed at the Chu guards in front of him.

These guards had long been dizzy from the fire and smoke, and their bodies were exhausted. How could they be a match for Zheng Bo,? They were quickly killed on the ground by Zheng Bo,.

The slightly chubby Chu noble, who was still covering his mouth with a wet handkerchief, immediately knelt down in front of Zheng Bo,:

"Don't kill me, don't kill me, I am..."

"Pfft!"

Zheng Bo,'s barbarian saber directly pierced through the back of his neck.

The Great Yan's Earl of Pingye, was no longer interested in catching any big fish now.

Too lazy to pull out the knife,
Zheng Bo, kicked over the noble's body,
Then directly sat on his corpse.

Supporting his forehead with his right hand,
Zheng Bo, laughed and said:

"It's boring, Si Niang,, it's really boring. Actually, I should have thought of this day a long time ago. The Blind Man has told me more than once in a joking tone that it would be difficult for us to unleash our full potential if Lao Tian didn't die.

But I never thought he would leave so suddenly.

I thought I was prepared. I would raise Tiantian well. I would let Lao Tian leave in peace, right? Wasn't Lao Tian just valuing my honesty?

We've paid so much for milk powder, right?

But damn it, why?"

"Lord, please accept our condolences."

"It's not about accepting condolences or not. If he died, he brought it on himself. He didn't want to live anymore. He went to find release!"

Zheng Fan suddenly roared:

"This is a happy funeral, a happy funeral. He can finally stop suffering. He doesn't have to endure inner torment anymore. He has finally achieved his exile, dying on the battlefield.

Look,
You see,

An Yingdu,
Is his burial ground,

Most of the people in the imperial city are buried with him.

Where in this world can you find a tomb more suitable for him?

What treasured feng shui,
Lao Tian doesn't care about it and doesn't look up to it.

This is where he belongs.

Maybe,
He had already planned it,

When I sailed south from Wangjiang,

No,

It should be earlier,

He probably had already calculated it when he first started attacking Chu.

He wanted to die,
But he had to continue living, supporting all of this to help Great Yan expand its territory and eliminate strong enemies.

Now,
He feels he can take off the burden.

You see,
The Chu imperial city has been burned. In a few days, this place will become a blank slate!

How this war ends depends on Great Yan's own wishes. If we don't want to fight anymore, we can just withdraw.

So,
He felt it was okay,

The Yan aristocratic families have been pacified by him,

The Jin state has been destroyed by him,

The wild men have been driven away by him,

The Chu state has been badly damaged by him,

The Qian state, is a piece of mud that can't be plastered on the wall.

He felt he had done what he could, and he could finally let go and leave."

Zheng Fan laughed as he spoke,
"Should I hire a troupe of acrobats to set up shop here for a few days to celebrate?"

Si Niang, didn't speak, just silently watching her lord.

"He's finally free, yes, finally free."

Zheng Bo, rubbed his face hard with both hands,
Choking with sobs;

"But I still can't bear it, I really can't bear it, I still can't bear it!"

He lived a hard life,
He deserved to be free;

But emotionally, Zheng Fan still couldn't accept the reality that Tian Wujing had left this world.

"Lord, we can look forward."

Seeing that her lord had vented his emotions enough, Si Niang, finally spoke:

"What the Yan state owes the Prince, we will get back for him on behalf of Tiantian; the Prince can't avenge himself, we will help him avenge him; in the history books, whoever dares to write nonsense will have to see if those historians have the guts.

There are many things we can do."

Simple comfort is useless; you have to remind him of what he can still do.

If you have things to do, you don't have much energy to think wildly.

Zheng Bo, wiped away his tears,
Took a deep breath,
Then,
He shouted loudly at the fire in front of him:

"Tian Wujing, you good-for-nothing, you useless thing!
Damn it,
Go to hell,
It's good to die,
It's clean when you die,
The world is clean when you die, go to hell!!!!!!!!!!"

After shouting,
He felt much better,
The only regret was,
That he didn't use many signature swear words.

Sometimes, cursing with those swear words is more convenient for venting emotions, but Zheng Bo, deliberately restrained himself, not because he didn't dare, but because he didn't want to.

Zheng Fan grabbed his hair hard with both hands and said:

"Si Niang,."

"Yes, Lord, please speak."

"Lao Tian is dead."

"Yes, Lord."

"Lao Tian is really dead."

"Yes, Lord."

"Lao Tian, he's dead."

"Yes."

Zheng Fan turned his face and looked at Si Niang,. Under the light of the fire, Si Niang,'s face had a reddish glow, while Zheng Fan's face showed a morbid disharmony.

Si Niang, knew that this was the aftereffect of intense emotional fluctuations.

"Very good, it's really good, no one can control us anymore, we can farm openly, we can openly preserve our strength, we can openly recruit people.

We don't have to worry that if we do something outrageous, someone will ride a *pixiu* (mythical creature) over and chop off my head.

What the hell is Great Yan,
What the hell is the big picture,

In the future,
No one will ever want me to sell my life for him!

Because,
The only person who could make me willingly sell my life for him is dead, he's gone!

In the future, I will only live for myself, live for my own happiness."

Everyone thought that it was the Prince of Jingnan who had been promoting the Earl of Pingye;

But in reality, in this world, only the Prince of Jingnan could make the Earl of Pingye do things sincerely.

Without calculating personal gains or losses, without calculating family gains or losses, and even making Zheng Bo,, who had always cherished his life like gold, take risks again and again.

Zheng Fan stood up,
His back to the burning houses,
Looking at Si Niang,,
Behind him, the fire was bright,
But his face was extremely gloomy,
Zheng Bo, stretched out his hand,
Pointing to the sky,
Word by word, he said:

"In the future, no one will be able to control me anymore, believe me, today's events will soon spread, and many people will be happy, happy that Tian Wujing is dead.

But I will make them understand,
Understand how much more kind and benevolent he, Tian Wujing,

Is compared to us!

He, Tian Wujing, is a waste, afraid of this and afraid of that, hesitating about this and hesitating about that, letting down his family, letting down his wife, letting down his son;

I won't,
In the future,
I will never be like that waste, Tian Wujing,
Clearly having so much ability, but turning himself into the most miserable idiot in the world."

"Oh, is that so?"