Chapter 49: The Desire to Return Home Reaches Its Peak

In an unnamed forest in the far north, Yin Hai and the other four who were meditating opened their eyes in unison and simultaneously looked towards their prince.

Mysteriously, they heard a faint, prolonged flute melody from their prince’s direction. Their fatigue instantly eased considerably.

They even gained new insights into matters they previously couldn’t understand or figure out. The five were shocked to discover that their mental states seemed to have improved.

Under the focus of moonlight, Shen Yian’s body emitted a soft white halo, yet his surroundings seemed to distort as if burned by high temperatures. Behind him, a golden sun wheel gradually appeared, with scorching golden flames intertwining with strands of white flame on the wheel, emanating supreme divine might.

Two completely different forces, yin and yang, enveloped Shen Yian in a harmonious state.

The prince now seemed like a celestial being!

The same thought emerged simultaneously in the minds of all five.

“Eastern Emperor Scripture…”

Xuanwu swallowed, immediately recognizing this as the Shen Family’s supreme martial art.

Years ago, when following His Majesty, he had the fortune to witness His Majesty use it at full power once.

On His Majesty’s sun wheel, four golden crows could be clearly seen flying in a circle, tail to beak. The purple-gold flames seemed capable of burning the heavens and boiling the seas.

He clearly remembered how the enemy, after dozens of exchanges with His Majesty, ultimately embraced the scorched earth intimately, meeting a fate where not even bones remained.

What kind of prodigy was His Highness? Could he be a celestial being reincarnated?

At such a young age, his martial arts attainment had already reached perfection, and his sword path was even more transcendent.

Xuanwu felt old for the first time. The new wave pushes the old, he sighed.

The extraordinary phenomena around Shen Yian dissipated. His ink-black eyes opened. There was no mistake; that flute melody conveyed the silly girl’s longing and concern for him.

He didn’t quite understand this power for a moment, how he could hear the silly girl’s flute from thousands of miles away.

Looking at the flower petal that had fallen into his palm, Shen Yian was stunned. Could this be the power of love?

Thinking carefully, in this world, perhaps nothing was impossible. Things couldn’t always be explained by science.

After all, a certain science-preaching cult leader next door died because of “love”.

“Let’s continue,” Shen Yian said, sensing the state of the five.

At this moment, the desire to return home reached its peak.

——————

Great Qing – Suzhou – Yangtze River Bank

The wind whistled as the mighty Yangtze flowed eastward.

“A dark, windy night perfect for killing.” Ghost Face sat with legs dangling over the cliff edge, looking down at the three brightly lit water fortresses below with a sinister smile.

At the largest central fortress, people could be seen bustling at the docks, unloading cargo from several large ships.

“Armor and weapons.”

Wolf Head frowned slightly. With his excellent hearing, he couldn’t mistake the clanging of metal as the large wooden crates hit the ground.

“Yes, Mr. Wolf Head. These armors and weapons are purchased by the Zhao family from the East and smuggled into Great Qing to be sold to various factions. This place is known as the Three Rivers Fortress in the martial arts world, with over a thousand men across the three fortresses, but it’s actually the Zhao family’s private army camp.”

“Built here, the Three Rivers Fortress controls the passage rights of other ships in and out of Suzhou. The passage fees alone provide enormous wealth for the Zhao family annually,” Snake explained. This great river never lacked for passing ships.

“Don’t the authorities intervene?” Ghost Face asked, then smiled. “Forget I asked such a stupid question.”

Suzhou’s richest family, imperial relatives.

With these two titles, money, and status, even a fool wouldn’t believe the Suzhou governor and officials weren’t connected to the Zhao family.

“They’re here.”

Wolf Head turned his head to see three large ships with big sails unfurled, sailing towards them in the night.

The lead ship was clearly well-prepared, with iron plates nailed to its bow and a long, thick black iron ram glinting coldly in the lamplight.

“Hey! Stop right now!” The water bandits on the watchtower shouted, waving flag signals as they saw the three ships charging towards them.

“Dong dong dong!!!” Seeing the situation, alarm bells rang out loudly. The previously peaceful fortress suddenly fell into chaos.

The obstacles in the river meant to stop ships shattered instantly under the brutal impact of the black iron ram.

The lead ship took advantage to turn its bow, clearing the waterway while ramming hard into the fortress’s main building.

From a distance, the towering fortress shook violently, seemingly about to collapse.

“Kill!”

“Charge!”

Loud battle cries rang out from the ships. Before the water bandits could understand what was happening, a large number of Eastern ronin jumped from the ships, frantically swinging their katanas at them.

In their eyes, these water bandits weren’t people, but money! The promise of good days ahead!

Kill one person, get one tael of silver. Kill ten, get a hundred taels. Kill a hundred, get a thousand taels!

They already lived life on the edge of a blade. Such rewards were like a windfall from heaven to them!

Amidst the deafening battle cries, the other two large ships sailed side by side along the waterway, ramming towards the main fortress of the Three Rivers.

“Boom!”

As they approached the main fortress, the two ships suddenly stopped. Huge splashes rose from the bow upon impact, and a few unfortunate souls standing at the edge lost their footing and fell into the river.

“What’s going on?”

The leader of the ronin on the ship exclaimed in shock and anger. This was wasting his time to make money!

“Lord Kazama! There are two iron chains stretched across the river blocking the ship!”

“Bakayaro! Then hurry up and deal with it!”

As Kazama Taro roared, his eyes narrowed. He saw a dense rain of fire arrows flying from the main fortress towards them.

Kazama family saber technique ultimate move – Heavenly Flow Dance!

As the blade moved, wind arose. The blade wind coiled around hundreds of air currents, transforming into a fierce gale that slashed out.

The sky full of fire arrows turned to powder, scattering over the river’s surface.

At the highest stage of the main fortress.

“Pak!”

A teacup was slammed down on the desk. A long-bearded man holding a sword said in a deep voice, 

“Elder brother, the enemy has an expert.”

“Damn it, have these Japanese gone mad? Daring to make a move in Zhao family territory, and targeting us no less!”

Zhao Qi, the main fortress chief of Sanjiang Fortress and a collateral branch of the Zhao family, had veins bulging like centipedes on his forehead as he spoke with a ferocious expression.

“Elder brother, let me handle this.”

The long-bearded man didn’t respond to the previous comment, but stood up with his sword and spoke.

“Second brother, leave two of them alive. I want to see who’s behind this, pulling their strings!” Zhao Qi’s gaze was sinister.

“Yes, elder brother.”

At the edge of the cliff, Wolf Head watched Kazama Taro’s slash and uttered two words: “Interesting.”

“Hey, hey, hey, old wolf, don’t get too excited!” 

Ghost Face hurriedly turned his head and spoke upon hearing this.

He was truly afraid Wolf Head couldn’t resist the itch to rush down and have a bout with that ronin leader.

“Ghost Face, keep him alive,” Wolf Head spoke again.

“I got it! Don’t worry! I guarantee he’ll live!” 

Ghost Face said with a bit of a headache.

Apart from being aloof, Wolf Head’s only flaw was that he couldn’t walk away when he saw a skilled swordsman. Whether they agreed or not, he had to have a match with them.

“Clap, clap!” Ghost Face clapped his hands.

Behind the three of them came the sound of earth breaking. A red wooden coffin covered in talismans emerged vertically from the ground.

Snake’s pretty face turned slightly pale, affected by the murderous aura emanating from the coffin. What a fierce evil object!

With a “Bang”, the coffin lid fell to the ground. A Blade Corpse wielding an S-shaped blade and wearing red Japanese armor shuffled out.

“The nurturing time was a bit short, but with plenty of materials, it’ll suffice,” Ghost Face chuckled, very satisfied with his creation.

Wolf Head glanced at it: “Boring.”

Ghost Face thought of something else and asked, “By the way, we’ve been given the toughest nuts to crack. Will the King of Song’s people have any problems?”