Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

Hearing these words, the crowd finally relaxed a little.

Although their elders had lived as commoners for forty years, their potential in the Martial Dao remained. They had also worked hard to cultivate a wide network of allies.

’Now that we are the only ones left, perhaps the great kingdoms will let us go?’

And since Uncle Fan had said as much, he must be well-established in the Tiger Flame Kingdom. Perhaps he could help all of them.

”But that’s all on the condition that we leave the Great Wu Empire, right?”

Luo Wendeng was more level-headed. ”Lu Hanyan will do everything in her power to hunt us down,” he said.

An instant later, the crowd fell silent.

Then, one by one, they all turned to Lu Chao. Unconsciously, they had begun to see him as their leader, their gazes asking what he planned to do next.

Lu Chao’s expression turned solemn as he slowly began to speak.

”Knowing Lu Hanyan’s temperament, she’s bound to pull a small portion of the troops garrisoned in the various kingdoms to block our escape.”

”Once those troops are redeployed, the great Flame Countries will naturally assume you’ve succeeded in assassinating Lu Hanyan.”

”Then, the resurgent Hundred Countries’ Armies will immediately invade Great Wu territory, and the entire region will descend into the chaos of war.”

The crowd nodded rapidly as they followed Lu Chao’s analysis.

But Uncle Leng immediately pointed out, ”We’ll likely be eliminated long before the chaos of war even begins.”

Zhengyang Mountain was just a small range. If every path was blocked, they would be trapped.

Seeing the worried and bewildered looks on everyone’s faces...

Lu Chao declared gravely, ”Everyone, rest for tonight. Tomorrow, we do the unexpected. We will counter-attack Yangzhou City and, while we’re at it, retrieve the bodies of your fathers and elders.”

At his words, everyone’s eyes went wide. They were all dumbstruck.

Fan Jinhua stammered, ”Coun-counter-attack Yangzhou City?”

A faint smile on his lips, Lu Chao’s calm voice resounded in their ears.

”That’s right. We fight our way back to Yangzhou City.”

”Lu Hanyan is arrogant and impatient. She can’t stand the slightest hint of failure. As long as we lure her into Zhengyang Mountain tomorrow, we can slip away and launch a counter-assault on Yangzhou City.”

”After we take Yangzhou City, we’ll fight our way to Yinzhou City. From there, we’ll have a clear path to the Tiger Flame Kingdom.”

”Now, get some rest!”

With that, Lu Chao took Cheng Yunsu’s hand and led her back toward the river.

He left everyone standing there, utterly dumbfounded.

Fan Jinhua muttered to himself, ”That young man, Lu Chao... he dares to imagine what no one else would.”

Just then, Tan An stood up.

He clenched his fists. ”I’m in. We’ve all been given a second chance at life, so what’s there to be afraid of? Besides, this is an opportunity to get our fathers’ bodies back and end their desecration.”

The others clenched their fists as well. The chance to reclaim the bodies of their loved ones was their greatest motivation.

Meanwhile, Uncle Leng looked at Wu Caicai, speechless. ”Miss, aren’t we getting in too deep?”

His young miss was an Orange Order holder from the Hundred Flames Trading Company. She had nothing to do with this war, so how did she get dragged into it?

The journey so far had been harrowing enough. And now they were supposed to continue?

But Wu Caicai’s face held a strange excitement as she replied, ”It’s not like we can get out of this now, can we?”

Even if they ran out and told Lu Hanyan they were from the Hundred Flames Trading Company, they would still be killed for sure.

Near the two of them, Cheng Chuming’s face was pale.

Fan Jinhua struggled to his feet and walked over carefully. ”Brother Cheng,” he asked, ”why do you think your son-in-law is getting involved in this? He really should have done as I first suggested and gone straight to the Tiger Flame Kingdom.”

After Lu Chao had neutralized the Water Chant Palm Force for him, any debt of gratitude between them had been settled.

Cheng Chuming looked up blankly. ”I... I don’t know.”

He couldn’t understand it either. Why did Lu Chao insist on getting involved, and so deeply at that?

Their opponent now was Lu Hanyan, someone they never would have dared to oppose before. She was Lu Dingtian’s daughter, after all.

The whole ordeal had left Cheng Chuming practically paralyzed with fear.

Down by the river...

Lu Chao sat on a large rock with Cheng Yunsu in his arms. ”Xiao Su’er,” he said softly, ”I’ve made you suffer. I let my personal vendetta cloud my judgment. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten involved with Master Fan and his people.”

’Why had he gotten so deeply involved? Aside from his respect for Fan Jinhua’s character, it was, of course, because of his own personal vendetta.’

’It was because his opponent this time was Lu Hanyan...’

”What I didn’t expect...”

”...is that Master Fan is a descendant of the Azure Flame Sect. I’m afraid that once we reach the Tiger Flame Kingdom, we’ll be entangled with them.”

’If Fan Jinhua were just an ordinary Tiger Flame Tutor...’

’...then even if Cheng Yunsu couldn’t get into Tiger Flame Academy, they could still have settled down peacefully in the Tiger Flame Kingdom.’

’But now, I’m afraid this will lead to endless trouble.’

In response, Cheng Yunsu just shook her head and smiled. ”The boy who was willing to give me his life-saving steamed bun could never stand by and watch Master Fan—a man who keeps his word and has helped us—go to his death.”

”The Emperor Star could never stand by when his enemy is right in front of him and not strike back.”

”And the man who bears the Life-taking Bone could never settle for a peaceful, quiet life anyway.”

”Even if the descendants of the Azure Flame Sect weren’t involved, someone would always be trying to expel, or even murder, the bearer of the so-called Life-taking Bone, no matter how innocent he is.”

”So you might as well not settle down. You might as well carve out your own bloody path...”

”...and show those people that the ’disaster’ brought by the Life-taking Bone is merely a product of their own prejudice. And show those who never looked down on it... that the one who bears it is worthy of their trust.”

Cheng Yunsu spoke while staring directly into Lu Chao’s eyes.

Every word she uttered was crystal clear. ”And his wife has never once thought of holding him back. She will always support him.”

In truth, there was one more thing Cheng Yunsu didn’t say.

’The descendants of the Azure Flame Sect would become the first sharp blade in Lu Chao’s hand after his return from the dead.’

’Even if it weren’t the descendants of the Azure Flame Sect, there would surely be others once he reached the Tiger Flame Kingdom.’

’Because he was a peerless general of the battlefield.’

Lu Chao stared blankly at the woman before him, a warm current surging through his heart. Unconsciously, he lowered his head, moving slowly toward her lips. Her resolve suddenly wavered, and a blush crept across her cheeks.

Slowly, she closed her eyes.

The bright moon hung high in the sky, and in the river below, their two reflections gently melted into one.

...

「By dawn’s light」 The two thousand battered soldiers, having rested for a night, were now full of vigor.

Everyone understood that they would now be fighting for their lives. Having been granted a second chance, they had nothing left to lose.

They were, of course, aware that Lu Chao possessed the Life-taking Bone, but the man with that very bone had saved their lives.

Their conviction was now singular: they could not allow the bodies of their elders to remain hanging from the walls of Yangzhou City.

Soon, Lu Chao began to issue his orders.

He had Fan Jinhua take a group to draw the attention of Lu Hanyan’s main force, luring them deep into Zhengyang Mountain. At the same time, they were to create the illusion that the main group was attempting to escape the mountains via a different route.

Once everything was in place, Lu Chao led the two thousand remaining soldiers, bypassed Lu Hanyan’s army, and slipped back toward Yangzhou City.

A day and a night later, they were looking at Yangzhou City from a distance.

”With Lu Hanyan nearby, Wu Wei’s defenses will be lax. He must be feeling completely at ease right now.”

”We don’t need any special preparations. We’ll attack the city directly and fight our way into Yangzhou.”

At Lu Chao’s command, the two thousand soldiers used the cover of the darkest hour before dawn to charge into Yangzhou City.