Your Majesty, Please Stop!

Chapter 159: Lord Simonitor and the Nali County Prince's Mansion

The relay station has collapsed, and out of the nineteen horses, eleven have died.

Eleven people at the relay station were knocked unconscious, leaving only the station clerk Liu Zhi and two relay soldiers still awake, their faces covered in dust, sitting dazed amidst the ruins.

Master Li is also sitting amidst the ruins, his door panel and large sword discarded to the side. He has a folded gun stabbed into his chest, with blood staining half of his body. The ground beneath him is also stained red, while frost and thunder continue to crackle.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

He coughs violently, his life nearing its end. He looks at Xin Zhuo with a face devoid of humiliation and resentment, only calmness remaining. His voice is hoarse and weak: "Old man... has two questions..."

Xin Zhuo squats down and asks, "Please answer my question first. What was that paper talisman you used earlier? Why did it have such great power? Why didn't you use it just now?"

If it weren't for fearing the paper talisman, he would never have chased after them all the way, waiting until Master Li's injuries worsened before making a move.

"That... was Little Venerable's Heaven and Earth Grand Occurrence Talisman, used for self-preservation... I only had one..."

"I see, your method of using it was inadequate, and the timing was not clever enough. What's your question?"

"First... why did your meridians reassemble... and your realm advance so quickly..." Master Li coughs again, more blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

Xin Zhuo replies, "Because I am a genius, I quickly reassembled them."

Master Li falls silent, staring at him intently, as if trying to discern something from his face. Then he gives up and asks his second question, "What... is your True Qi?"

Xin Zhuo replies again, "It is True Qi."

This answer is flawless, indeed it is True Qi.

Master Li has already breathed his last breath, his face filled with humiliation and anger, unable to close his eyes. It is not because he was humiliated by being killed by a former bandit who could have easily crushed him, but because... even at the moment of his death, you still refuse to tell me the truth.

Xin Zhuo looks at his right hand, where he is holding an uncrushed talisman. Perhaps Master Li had planned to take advantage of his dying moments to trap him, but he died suddenly from the rush of fire attacking his heart, forgetting to crush it, or perhaps he had no strength left?

He picks up the talisman, searches Master Li again, confirming that there is only this one, and puts it away. "No one is honest, you can't blame me!"

Then he carries the three corpses on his back and walks towards the distance, quickly disappearing into the mountains and rivers.

It is not until he has gone far away that Liu Zhi and the others rise in confusion, staring blankly at the ruins around them.

"These two are fifth-rank experts, right?" one of the relay soldiers asks.

Liu Zhi can't tell, but still nods heavily, "Yes!"

The relay soldier asks again, "Why is that young man so terrifying at such a young age?"

Liu Zhi says, "He just said he's a genius, didn't you hear?"

...

In the capital city of Da Zhou, Anda!

Autumn Wind Academy.

A precious brown wooden pavilion, where two golden carp in the lotus pond leap to the surface, frolicking and touching the lotus leaves, creating ripples.

At the end of the pavilion path by the pond, two people are engaged in a conversation.

One is wearing a black silk hat and a tight purple robe, tall and sturdy, with three strands of long beard. His square face shows no emotions as he slowly makes a move and says, "Mr. Dongfang has returned for several months. Have you adapted?"

The person opposite him has white hair, but his face shows no signs of aging. He wears a plain white scholar's robe, with only his outstretched left hand covered in age spots. He also makes a move and says, "As a villager from the mountains and fields, I have grown accustomed to hard days. After the late emperor's passing, I had no choice but to drag my weary body and come to serve the new ruler for a few years."

The person opposite him still shows no expression on his face and asks, "Left Minister asks, where does the Sixth Bureau wish to go?"

Mr. Dongfang ponders for a moment, but before he can speak, a man in a brown official robe, carrying a waist knife, hurries over and bows, presenting a blood-stained cloth.

The old man in the purple robe takes it, glances at it, and hands it to Mr. Dongfang.

Without even looking at it, Mr. Dongfang seems to already know the contents of the cloth. A hint of surprise appears in his eyes, like a well that has been there for ten thousand years. After a moment of silence, he says, "I still need to borrow the help of Lord Simonitor."

The old man in the purple robe stroked his beard and pondered for a moment: "Order Wudang, Shaolin, Gu Cang, Ling Jian, and He Shan, the five sects, to have the Half Step Little Great Masters and Little Great Masters take action!"

The man next to him bowed and asked: "Capture or kill?"

The old man in the purple robe looked at Mr. Dongfang, who remained silent and made a move.

The man next to him looked at the chessboard and understood. He bowed and quickly left.

...

The Southern Li Kingdom is adjacent to the Great Zhou Kingdom, with strong national power and a million armored soldiers. The Mysterious Witch sects are widespread, and the Martial Dao is extremely strong.

Surprisingly, within the territory of the Great Zhou Kingdom adjacent to Southern Li, there is also a province called Southern Li. Although it is connected to Southern Li by a river and shares the same roots, it has been occupied by the Great Zhou Kingdom fifty years ago. Now, there are three hundred thousand troops facing each other.

The three hundred thousand Zhou army is under the command of the Southern Li County Prince.

The Southern Li County Prince, whose name is not mentioned, is enough to make the people of Southern Li grit their teeth, but they dare not cross the "Heavenly Gate" Half Step.

Three thousand Southern Li Red Plume soldiers can kill one hundred thousand armored soldiers without getting a drop of blood on themselves!

In the early spring, the fragrance of peach and plum blossoms has already withered, but in the Southern Li County Prince's mansion, flowers are still blooming. Looking around, there are all kinds of famous flowers.

It is said that the County Prince, who is full of murderous aura, dispatched his elite soldiers to transplant seventy-two warhorses from various places just to please his recently returned daughter.

At this moment, a maid named Dong Ling, who came from a small place, carried a plate of fresh lychees and passed through the heavily guarded pavilions and towers, entering the backyard.

"Hello, Sister Xiang'er!"

"Good day, Aunt Su!"

"Good day, Steward Sun!"

After paying their respects along the way, they finally arrived at an elegant courtyard with a strong fragrance of flowers and lush green bamboo. They saw twelve maids standing straight, being reprimanded by a stern-looking housekeeper.

Dong Ling couldn't help but stick out her tongue, lowered her head, and was about to pass by, but the housekeeper scolded her: "Lychees are cold, don't eat too many. If the County Princess feels unwell, she will take your life! Also, in the future, address her as County Princess, not Miss, Miss. Show some respect."

"I understand!"

Dong Ling's face turned pale, and she hurriedly entered a luxuriously decorated women's chamber. From here, she could already see the distant city walls and mountains, with a wide field of vision.

She glanced at the figure sitting upright by the white jade table near the window. She was wearing a white dress, with long hair reaching her waist, and a graceful figure. She put down the lychees and pouted, saying, "Miss, this County Prince's mansion is so boring, with too many rules. I don't feel comfortable at all!"

"You haven't been to the Jiang family, where there are even more rules!"

Su Miaojin lightly applied some makeup, and two strands of green hair hung by her cheeks. She had a lazy appearance, but she was extraordinarily beautiful.

Dong Ling was stunned as she watched, but she saw Miss Su painting. Curiously, she approached and found that she was painting a young man in coarse linen clothes. She couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah! Miss, you're painting Xin Zhuo again?"

Su Miaojin stopped her final stroke, picked up the painting and handed it to her. "You have seen Xin Zhuo before. Does it look like him?"

Dong Ling examined it for a while, tapping her chin with her finger. "It looks very similar. Miss, you are unparalleled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. But Xin Zhuo, that little thief, only knows how to fight and rob!"

Su Miaojin shook her head and smiled lightly, as if talking to herself. "I always feel that Xin Zhuo... is the one from the Jiang family. He looks similar to the portrait of the Western Qin County Prince, and they are about the same age. It's just that everything about him seems so familiar..."

In fact, this doubt had been buried deep in her heart since she went to the Jiang family. It was inexplicable, as if it was a kind of divine intuition!

Before Dong Ling could ask her puzzled question, she had already called out softly, "Hong Yi?"

The housekeeper who was reprimanding the maids hurriedly came over, respectfully and flawlessly saluting. "I'm here, my lady."

Su Miaojin rolled up the painting and handed it to her. "Urgent delivery, eight hundred miles. Send it to the Jiang family!"

Hong Yi was momentarily stunned. "The engagement between the County Princess and the Jiang family has been canceled. Why..."

Su Miaojin remained expressionless.

Hong Yi immediately took the letter. "Yes, my lady!"

(End of this chapter)