Chapter 153 Heading Home?

Yu Dingyuan returned to Sha County once more, though this time he entered as a guest—and was carried in.

He was still bound with ropes.

Yu Dingyuan was hauled all the way from the city gates to the county yamen like a slaughtered pig. The local townsfolk crowded along the streets, craning their necks to gawk at the former lord of Sha County. The military barracks and the magistrate's residence within the county town had been thoroughly burned to the ground, leaving only the county yamen intact, perhaps deliberately spared to humiliate Yu Dingyuan.

"General Yu, trust you have been well since we last met?" Xu Wenshan asked leisurely, sitting in Yu Dingyuan's former seat inside the yamen. After a moment, as if suddenly remembering, he feigned surprise and said, "I told my men to invite General Yu in, not to tie him up and drag him here! How dare they show such disrespect to the general!"

Down below, Lei Laohu aggrievedly protested, "Chief, didn't you say..."

Before he could finish, Xu Wenshan interrupted him, "Very well, very well. A fierce tiger must be bound tightly."

Yu Dingyuan was untied. He laboriously massaged his aching, rope-bitten muscles and spoke in a low voice, "The emissary of the Duke of Cai is already outside the city. As his vanguard envoy, I have come specifically to negotiate terms with... Hero Zhu."

Xu Wenshan waved a hand and said, "My apologies. Let me state my demands then: my household is short of a few farmhands and servants, so you must give me as many slaves as you captured during your campaign against Sha County as possible."

Yu Dingyuan was momentarily stunned. Slaves were hardly a major issue; he could easily hand them over. As long as Xu Wenshan did not demand a slice of territory, giving away some slaves as a mere bonus was entirely acceptable. Yet, because the man's very first demand was for slaves, Yu Dingyuan suspected a heavier blow was yet to come.

"Well... and then, I would like a peerage title," Xu Wenshan continued.

*As expected, he still wants a fief,* Yu Dingyuan thought to himself. Putting on a troubled expression, he said, "Hero Zhu is not a citizen of Cai; granting you a fief would probably... well... we have no tradition of granting domestic fiefs to foreigners."

Xu Wenshan replied, "A fief? I don't want a fief. Just grant me a nominal, honorary title."

"An honorary title?" Yu Dingyuan almost laughed out loud. What earthly use could this fellow have for an empty title? To brag back home?

Still, with terms this favorable, why not agree immediately? Striving to keep his composure, Yu Dingyuan asked, "Are there any other conditions?"

"None. Just those two."

"And the county town?"

"I return it to you with both hands."

"The military pay?"

"Returned."

"Then you..."

"Once I become a noble of Cai, I will naturally abide by the laws of Cai and henceforth contribute my utmost strength to the Duke of Cai."

Yu Dingyuan felt a wave of dizziness. Could this really be so easy to dismiss? What on earth had he been struggling and tangling with this fellow for all this time?

However, agreeing too readily would violate the basic rules of negotiation. Pouting with reluctance, Yu Dingyuan said, "Then... I shall return first to consult with the envoy."

After Yu Dingyuan left, Lei Laohu asked with concern, "If we just ask them for a peerage title, won't it infuriate the Duke of Cai?"

"Infuriate him? He'll be laughing too hard to be angry."

***

The emissary of Cai proved much easier to deal with than anticipated. During the formal negotiations, he readily agreed to all of Xu Wenshan's demands, not only promising to gather a contingent of over three thousand slaves for him, but also pledging to dispatch men to escort the slaves back. As for the peerage title? That was a trivial matter; they could confer the title of a county baron and hold the investiture ceremony within minutes.

Xu Wenshan did not mince matters either, though he kept his guard up: the city could be returned, but only after the investiture ceremony; the military funds could be refunded, but split into thirty-six installments. Through the emissary's persistent bargaining, Xu Wenshan finally relented to reducing the repayment to eighteen installments, to be settled within half a year.

The negotiations concluded smoothly. Both Xu Wenshan and the envoy of the Duke of Cai spoke highly of the talks, hailing them as peaceful and mutually satisfactory. The emissary praised Xu Wenshan's competence and his fiercely loyal patriotism, while Xu Wenshan declared that these negotiations had demonstrated the sincerity of Cai and laid a solid foundation for future friendship between the two sides.

The emissary drafted a report of the agreement and petitioned the Duke of Cai, who cheerfully approved it. At the second round of negotiations, the two parties happily scheduled the investiture ceremony for three days later.

That evening, Xu Wenshan carefully reviewed his second excursion to Sha County, finding it all somewhat absurd and ironic.

He had originally intended merely to snatch a batch of laborers to take back home. Never did he expect that, through a series of twists and turns, he would end up poking a massive hole in the front lines of Cai and gaining a glimpse into its domestic affairs.

Yet, he had been dancing on the edge of a blade, and his luck had held out brilliantly. Otherwise, the best-case scenario would have been the loss of his long-trained Deer-Crane Guard, and the worst-case scenario, the exposure of his true identity as a demonic cultivator.

Once this batch of slaves was received, Xu Wenshan resolved that, barring absolute necessity, he would never leave the mountains again. He would hole up and develop his territory for twenty years, ensuring that Deer-Crane Ravine would transform into Deer-Crane City. Once his band of spirits matured and grew strong, their survival would be guaranteed.

Xu Wenshan drifted into a deep sleep. It had been a very long time since he had slept so soundly.

***

On the third morning, an unnamed floral fragrance drifted through the air. Whenever this scent lingered, it signaled that more than half of summer had already passed.

Xu Wenshan dressed neatly and stepped out his door. Children ran and played back and forth through the alleys, while morning vendors pushed their carts along the blue-stone paved roads, calling out their wares.

Li Dazhuang had been waiting outside for quite some time. Seeing Xu Wenshan emerge, he bowed and said, "It's about to begin."

Xu Wenshan nodded and stepped forward. Suddenly, a child darted out from the side, grinning broadly. Clutching a Shura mask in his hands, the child playfully thrust it into Xu Wenshan's grasp and said, "A gift for you!" With that, he scampered away with the sound of rapid, pattering footsteps.

Li Dazhuang chuckled, "We've only stayed in the city a few days, but the locals really seem to like us."

With good military discipline, the people naturally grew fond of them. Just as Xu Wenshan was about to hand the mask to Li Dazhuang, a thought suddenly struck him: he had previously visited Sha County under the alias of "Xu Cong," and someone might still remember his face. During the investiture ceremony shortly, many townsfolk would likely come to watch, and being recognized could spell trouble.

Xu Wenshan put on the mask and said, "Alright, let's go."

Li Dazhuang looked puzzled, "This is..."

Xu Wenshan replied, "It adds a bit of mystery."

The two walked to the plaza designated for the investiture ceremony. This had originally been an open plot of land in Sha County, but a platform had now been erected. Surrounded by a guard composed half of Cai soldiers and half of Deer-Crane soldiers, various officials and generals were seated there. Sure enough, local residents had gathered around to watch the ceremony, confirming to Xu Wenshan that wearing the mask was a sensible precaution.

"Hero Zhu, please take the stage," the Cai emissary presiding over the ceremony said with a beaming smile.

Xu Wenshan pulled the mask down over his face and mounted the platform. The emissary asked with mild surprise, "This mask is...?"

Xu Wenshan replied simply, "I prefer not to be too conspicuous."

The emissary nodded and began reading the proclamation of investiture.

Just as the emissary reached his impassioned crescendo, two uninvited guests arrived.

A man and a woman dressed in Daoist robes drifted down gracefully. Upon catching sight of the pair, the surrounding townsfolk instinctively knelt in reverence. Realizing something was amiss, the officials prepared to bark reprimands, but upon seeing the figures, they too dropped to their knees and chorored, "Immortals."

The male Daoist smiled faintly and said, "No need for formalities. We've merely come to watch the commotion." The female Daoist, by contrast, merely let out a yawn, seemingly entirely devoid of interest.

Cold sweat instantly broke out over Xu Wenshan—there were actual Daoist practitioners inside Sha County, and he hadn't even known it!

Moreover, judging by their aura, these two Daoists were at least at the Golden Core stage or higher.

When Xu Wenshan looked toward the male Daoist, the man's gaze happened to meet his. As their eyes locked, Xu Wenshan felt a sharp *thump*, as if a chord in his mind had been plucked, sending his vital energy surging turbulently.

He could actually feel it—he was about to break through!

When he first arrived in Sha County, he had already harbored a faint sensation of impending breakthrough, which he had suppressed ever since. He never imagined that a mere exchange of glances with this Daoist would trigger his cultivation realm to shake loose!

Had he been discovered? It seemed not, judging by their reactions.

Xu Wenshan's mind was in turmoil. He could not remember anything that happened during the remainder of the investiture ceremony, sleepwalking through the procedures. At that moment, he could only hear the sound of his own breathing, while the voices of everyone around him seemed separated by a thick barrier, leaving him incapable of processing the significance of the events unfolding outside.

Li Dazhuang walked over and said, "Chief, they say there's a celebratory banquet starting soon, and they request your presence."

How could Xu Wenshan possibly have the leisure to attend a banquet right then? He prepared to refuse, but was told that refusal was impossible, as he was the guest of honor.

And right at that moment, Xu Wenshan was standing on the very brink of a breakthrough.

He had no idea what would happen if he broke through right there on the spot, especially with those two Daoists still close at hand, staring directly at him.