Chapter 148: Do You Also Want to Dance?

Chapter 148: Do You Also Wish to Dance? (Please Subscribe)

On the battlefield, Shan Wanjing was barely holding on, struggling to keep her balance on both sides.

Hearing Zheng Jian’s roar, she quickly leapt out from the encirclement, trying to move toward him.

With his finishing axe in hand, Zheng Jian seemed possessed by a killing spirit, swinging wildly and felling enemies by the dozen.

At this moment, Zheng Jian was truly grateful to have the finishing axe, a divine weapon for crowd combat. Especially when surrounded by hundreds of enemies, it greatly increased his efficiency in slaying foes.

He swiftly reached Shan Wanjing’s side, standing back to back with her to face the enemy.

“Wanjing, just stick close to me!” Zheng Jian shouted.

Behind him, Shan Wanjing, greatly exhausted, barely managed to respond.

With full force activating the Undying Seal Technique, Zheng Jian’s internal energy surged endlessly. Together with Shan Wanjing, they charged toward the lead Sui general, meeting no resistance.

The Sui general had been quite confident but, seeing Zheng Jian about to sweep through his troops like a storm, suddenly panicked. He no longer cared for Shan Wanjing’s beauty, hurriedly shouting, “Release the arrows! Release the arrows!”

Around him, dozens of elite Sui soldiers quickly formed ranks, bowstrings taut and arrows nocked in two rows front and back.

“Fire!”

A sharp command, and the sky darkened with a hail of arrows, forming a rain of death aimed at Zheng Jian and Shan Wanjing.

“Brother Zheng, watch out!” Shan Wanjing cried.

Zheng Jian glanced at the sky filled with arrows and sneered. The Tear-Streaked Sword erupted with a brilliant sword light, intercepting every arrow. Without pausing for the second volley, he surged forward to the Sui general.

“Scum! You want to dance too?” Zheng Jian spat, his sword aura slicing through dozens of Sui soldiers, killing or wounding the majority instantly.

The Sui general’s face drained of color as he tumbled from his horse, collapsing in the dust and begging loudly for mercy. Only now did he realize he had encountered a true master!

“When those innocent villagers begged for mercy on their knees, did you spare them?” Zheng Jian said coldly, then without waiting for a reply, severed the Sui general’s head with a single stroke.

With the general dead, fewer than a hundred remaining defeated soldiers either dropped their weapons and begged for mercy or scattered in flight.

Zheng Jian turned to Shan Wanjing. “Shall we continue?”

Thinking of the village’s horrors, Shan Wanjing answered immediately, “Of course!”

“Good. You round up these soldiers begging for mercy and watch them. I’ll chase down the fleeing ones,” Zheng Jian ordered, already moving like the wind.

Wherever he caught one, Zheng Jian killed with no hesitation, stabbing them through with his sword. In less than the time it takes to brew tea, nearly all fleeing soldiers were slaughtered.

Returning to Shan Wanjing’s side, six surrendered soldiers were corralled. Behind her stood a dozen or so villagers forcibly taken—mostly women, with a few strong men used for labor.

Zheng Jian looked coldly at the trembling soldiers. “Do you want to avenge your dead wives, children, and parents?”

“Yes!” came the fierce response.

Whether women or men, each glared at the soldiers, eager to tear them apart!

“Good!” Zheng Jian’s words ignited the villagers’ fury. One by one, with bloodshot eyes, they surged forward wildly—some grabbing knives to slash, others biting fiercely.

Screams filled the air, and moments later, the six surrendered soldiers were brutally killed by the enraged villagers.

When the villagers finally came to their senses and looked around, Zheng Jian and Shan Wanjing had already quietly slipped away...

...

“Prosperity brings suffering to the people; collapse also brings suffering...” Zheng Jian walked slowly, sighing.

“Brother Zheng, why is this foolish emperor so cruel? He’s caused so much misery for the people...” The innocent little princess, having never experienced such things, was still furious.

“This emperor, from a broad perspective, isn’t entirely bad. He inherited the throne, dug the Grand Canal, established the imperial examination system, and moved the capital to Luoyang—all beneficial for the future. The chaos in the world cannot be blamed solely on the Sui emperor,” Zheng Jian said with a sigh.

“Ah? Why can’t it all be blamed on him? My mother says he’s a great fool!” Shan Wanjing asked, puzzled.

“Heh. Since Emperor Wen unified the realm, ending the division of the Northern and Southern Dynasties and bringing some peace for a few years, the aristocratic clans remained. They are the true culprits, holding most of the land and dominating the court. It’s not so much the Sui Dynasty’s world as it is the world of these powerful families. When Yang Guang ascended the throne, he aimed to weaken these clans by opening the imperial exams, connecting north and south with the canal, and moving the capital to reduce the influence of the Guanlong aristocracy.”

Shan Wanjing was lost in the explanation...

Zheng Jian paid no mind and continued, “But the clans’ influence, built over centuries, wasn’t so easily diminished. They resisted Yang Guang’s efforts by all means. Later, when Yang Guang launched three campaigns against Goguryeo, it was also an attempt to divert domestic conflicts into war and establish his authority. Unfortunately, all three campaigns failed, consuming almost all the resources his father, Emperor Wen, had accumulated. The people were exhausted, leading to uprisings and the current turmoil.”

...

“But that’s the big picture. From a smaller perspective, the suffering of the people isn’t something that can be lightly dismissed in a few words. Better to be a dog in peace than a man in chaos. What we’ve seen today is the truest reflection of war’s devastation...” Zheng Jian’s voice grew heavy with sorrow, knowing one thing but living another.

He was well aware that chaos breeds misery, but facing it firsthand, the bloodshed stirred within him his fiercest killing intent ever, driving him to wipe out those hundreds of defeated soldiers completely.

He could not change the world, only seize the moment to help where he could.

“In the end, unity is best...” Zheng Jian sighed. In the original story, Kou Zhong also yielded the realm to end endless strife.

“Who wears the crown is not important. What matters is that the people live well...”

Whether Kou Zhong could govern well, Zheng Jian did not know, nor did he intend to intervene in this timeline. If Kou Zhong eventually made the same choice as in the original tale, that was understandable.

Shan Wanjing nodded in agreement. Indeed, unity was best.

The two walked slowly until they reached a town untouched by war for the moment, their spirits finally lifting somewhat.

They found an inn to rest. After the day’s tremendous physical and emotional trauma, Shan Wanjing went to bed early.

As for Zheng Jian, after washing up and changing clothes, he sat cross-legged in his room to meditate and cultivate the Heaven-Altering Earth-Shattering Mental Technique.

“Sigh, today’s a day with no resentment points earned...” he muttered.

He wasn’t in the mood...

...

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(End of chapter)