"Forget it!"
Before Qin Sang could answer, Princess Dongyang shook her head and said coldly, "Do you have any idea what you've done? Your reckless actions have caused an uproar at court. The heir apparent flew into a towering rage in the commandery seat, issuing three secret decrees in a single day, vowing to execute Zhou Mingguang and ordering General Commander Mu to bear brambles and beg for forgiveness at Xuanji Temple in person, as well as return all the seized goods."
The commandery seat meant the seat of Yingshui Commandery.
After Prince Dongyang raised his rebellion, he had established a provisional court in Chun City. The prince personally took the field in armor, while the heir apparent held the center. Once Yingshui Commandery was captured, the provisions and baggage for both armies had to pass through it, so the heir apparent had moved to the commandery seat of Yingshui to oversee matters.
Yet before the heir apparent even arrived in Yingshui Commandery, the princess had already smoothed over the various factions, essentially handing him an easy victory.
It had been barely two days since Qin Sang had led troops to loot Xuanji Temple. Not only had the heir apparent thrown his weight behind the temple from far away in Yingshui Commandery, but the princess had also rushed over from Jiang Prefecture overnight.
Qin Sang bowed his head in admission of guilt. "Your Highness has keen insight. The prince's decree was forged by this subordinate. Both the general commander and General Zhou were deceived by me. If anyone is to be executed, it should be me."
"Is your head any harder than Zhou Mingguang's? If you hadn't saved my life, I would execute you right now!"
Princess Dongyang snapped in fury. "Elder Yue has already gone to see Daoist Master Black Crane to voluntarily surrender control over the Hall of Arms. Give me a list of your men. As for your future—whether to command armies or enter the court as a minister—which path do you want to take?"
Qin Sang answered without hesitation, "Leading troops into battle is faster for winning merit."
Princess Dongyang gave him a deep look. "Very well. Pack your bags at once and go to the Xuanwei Battalion in Hu Prefecture. I will report to my father. With the merits you've earned, an appointment as an assistant general is more than warranted."
Qin Sang's face fell. "Could your subordinate perhaps go to the Xiaoyong Battalion?"
The post of assistant general was hardly low—in the Xuanwei Battalion, it was second only to the left and right general commanders and the vice generals. But the current general commander of the Xuanwei Battalion was that fellow Wang Liu. Qin Sang had just thoroughly offended him in Hening County, and now he was being sent to serve right under him.
Wasn't this just delivering himself to the butcher's block?
"No!"
Princess Dongyang glared at him fiercely, brooking no discussion.
"Zhou Mingguang, follow me up the mountain to ask the abbot's forgiveness."
Qin Sang hurriedly caught up. "I'm the one who stirred up this hornet's nest! If anyone should bear brambles and beg for punishment, it ought to be me! How could Your Highness's noble self bow your head to those bald donkeys? General Zhou, Brother Bai, quickly fetch a squad of soldiers and bring along this silver..."
Before he could finish, Princess Dongyang scolded, "What silver? The Buddhist orders lead lives of pure austerity, and Xuanji Temple is full of monks of great virtue. How could they covet worldly pleasures or commit the shameful deed of amassing wealth? Stop your slander!"
Qin Sang chuckled knowingly.
With a look of faint exasperation, Princess Dongyang flicked her sleeves and turned to leave. Then, as if recalling something, she hesitated and turned back. "What did you use to forge my father's seal?"
"A radish."
***
Qin Sang never learned how the princess mollified the monks of Xuanji Temple. That very day, he took Water Monkey and the others, each manning a horse, and rode off toward Hu Prefecture.
Once Qin Sang assumed his post as assistant general, his Eighth Battalion was originally tasked with mopping up and clearing battlefields. But Wang Liu petitioned the senior general commander, citing Qin Sang's experience deep behind enemy lines and his command of the Military Altar, to have Qin Sang—a dignified battalion assistant general—serve as the chief scout.
Little did Wang Liu know that this suited Qin Sang perfectly. From then on, Qin Sang led his men out in the field and rarely interacted with Wang Liu. With the Left Vice General, General Feng, mediating between them, Wang Liu, being only the Right General Commander, had to endure Qin Sang no matter how much he disliked him.
The battle at Duling County had completely broken the spine of Pingshan Commandery's imperial forces. Hu Prefecture and Beiping Prefecture collapsed into total rout with virtually no resistance.
In less than half a year, the Xuanwei Battalion and Xiaoyong Battalion had thoroughly seized Pingshan Commandery, moving even faster than Prince Dongyang.
After conquering Zhaoyang Commandery, Prince Dongyang did not rush to take the three commanderies of the Imperial Capital. Instead, he swung west toward Xitai Commandery, leaving Qin Sang and the others to chew on the hardest bone of all: the three commanderies surrounding the capital.
No one had expected Prince Dongyang to achieve such glorious victories within only two years of raising his banners. The false emperor could only cower within the three commanderies of the Imperial Capital, Jiuwei, and Guize. Anyone with eyes could see where the future lay.
***
It was early spring once again.
The bleak chill of winter had not yet dispersed, and the spring rain had brought no vitality to the land.
Tightening his coir raincoat and bamboo hat, Qin Sang trudged unevenly through the mountain forest.
Without realizing it, three and a half years had passed since he arrived in this world. By Qin Sanwa's age, he was now fully nineteen.
As the rain grew heavier, Qin Sang found shelter and looked out through the hazy curtain of water at the distant mountains, lost in thought.
Over the past year, he had concentrated fully on cultivating and refining his abilities, treating military affairs as mere routine chores. His seat as an assistant general had remained unchanged the entire year.
Through slow, cautious experimentation, he had completely mended the holes in the Yanluo Banner. Yanwang's strength had returned to its former peak, yet it remained obedient to his every command.
This made Qin Sang realize that the jade Buddha that had accompanied him across worlds possessed an unfathomable, terrifying power.
Yet no matter whether he probed it with spiritual power or spiritual sense, the jade Buddha remained motionless.
The same went for the ebony sword, the sheepskin, and the seven-colored brocade pouch; Qin Sang could do nothing with them.
Speaking of spiritual sense, Qin Sang had grown proficient in using it after much practice. When he released it, he could clearly perceive anything approaching within a few inches without needing his eyes or ears, a sensation that never ceased to amaze him.
Though it spanned only a few inches, the range had been even shorter before he broke through to the third layer of the Nether Scripture.
Qin Sang guessed that as his cultivation and realm advanced, the reach of his spiritual sense would expand, until nothing in his surroundings could escape his notice.
He would have to wait until he broke through to the fourth layer of the Nether Scripture to verify this.
His cultivation was already nearing the peak of the third layer, but he dreaded encountering another bottleneck like last time. That feeling of being utterly stuck without a clue was maddening, and it could stall him for a very long time.
His urgency to break through was not just to gain stronger spiritual sense, but also because of the Purple Soul Bell.
By now, Qin Sang could wield the Purple Soul Bell as naturally as an extension of his own arm. Its power was truly terrifying; in the few tests he had conducted, the targets had been utterly defenseless, doomed to have their souls shattered and scattered.
However, each use of the Purple Soul Bell nearly drained the spiritual power within him, forcing him to recover before he could use it again.
Qin Sang did not know whether other cultivators possessed methods to rapidly replenish spiritual power. He could only circulate his cultivation art to restore it bit by bit, a terribly slow process. Against a powerful opponent or in a volatile situation, such a delay was impossible.
Furthermore, the Purple Soul Bell could only focus on one enemy at a time. If he tried to target two people at once, a splitting headache would overcome him, making it impossible to sustain.
This left him eager to break through to a higher realm.
Judging by the sky, the rain would not stop anytime soon. Just as Qin Sang was about to sit down to cultivate, he noticed the treetops at the foot of the mountain swaying. A figure was darting through the woods at full speed.
It was Water Monkey, rushing as if carrying urgent news.
Chapter 40