Chapter 398: Calling Off a Good Start

The Great King yelled and screamed while fleeing for his life; although the bee venom had little effect on him, being bitten by a small insect still gave a sharp 'zap' of pain.

Today, the unlucky personal guards who had followed rushed forward to cover the Great King's escape, but in just a couple of moves they ended up with bumps all over their heads, and the Great King anxiously told them to run first.

"You guys run quick, don't worry about me! They won't bite me!"

The personal guards couldn't possibly agree; anyone with a bit of common sense knows a swarm of this size can be deadly, let alone the Great King, such a delicate child. Ling Yin pulled the Great King away to run, and the guards chopped off leafy tree branches and waved them to cover the retreat.

The group fled in disarray for a long distance, only stopping when the buzzing finally faded behind them.

After a while, the bumps on the guards' faces had risen, making them look quite a mess.

The Great King wiped nonexistent sweat and snorted, "Back I'll let Wei Ni starve a meal—such trouble‑maker!" The Great King expertly shifted the blame.

Personal guard: "…You didn't stop it either, and you're happily waiting to eat the honey!"

After cursing the silly bear, he cocked his ear to listen; the woods were dead silent. "The bear couldn't have gotten lost, could it? Could the bees have carried it off?" The Great King started worrying again.

"It's fine—the bear's skin is thick and covered with dense fur, so bee stingers can't pierce it, and no matter how many bees there are, they pose no threat to the bear's life." Ling Yin calmly reassured.

The Great King again led the team on a different route, sneaking back to look for the bear; after circling nearly back to the start, they crouched on the hillside and saw the Great King's beloved bear lying flat on the ground, stiff as a corpse.

Weini, realizing it couldn't outrun the bees, immediately dropped to its knees, buried its head in the grass to protect its delicate snout, and as for its body, let the bees bite wherever they wanted.

Who would have thought the bees swarmed around it, buzzed for a while, then chased after the Great King? It lay there half‑asleep; once it confirmed the sound was truly gone, it furtively lifted its head, saw no bees nearby, nimbly sprang up and dashed straight for the beehive on the ground, happily scooping up the leftovers……

Watching from the hillside, the Great King seethed, "That thing survived the ordeal and didn't even come looking for me first?"

The Great King charged down the slope and at once seized the beehive, shouting, "Mine! I lured away ninety percent of the bees!"

The bear followed pitifully behind, occasionally licking its nose to ease its hunger……

Knocking down a beehive is hard and not without risk; the Great King went to great lengths, dragging the bear through the hills to protect his NPC, while Zhou Ke spent considerable effort tracking him down, finally finding him only by following Lord Cover‑Heaven.

The Great King had nothing to do at his mansion, but after being away for a day, two urgent reports arrived.

"With Zhu Ti out of contact, I can't get any news," the Great King muttered while opening one of the letters.

This one came from Luo River Pass, saying a massive unprecedented wave of refugees had surged into Luo River Pass, and the refugees all had to pass through Luo River Pass heading north to You Prefecture to seek a livelihood there.

Seeing the rough estimate, the Great King furrowed his brow.

"With so many people, something's off……"

Scanning further down, he saw—sure enough—a southern downpour had caused flooding.

Refugees on the way found every large city they passed unable to cope, its gates shut tight; according to interrogations by the Luo River Pass garrison, they split into two groups: one headed west toward the vicinity of Chang'an seeking a way to survive, while those who had heard that the Northern Border King sheltered refugees headed north.

"We need people; if there's no place to arrange it, having Inspector Tang take them to Liang Prefecture to grow cotton isn't bad either."

He then opened another urgent memorial, which was even more vexing.

"The Grand Tutor had just praised that whatever‑nameless bandit, Prince Lu, as still having a plan, yet he turned out useless."

Zhou Ke: ……

This memo said Prince Lu suddenly rose in rebellion, led troops north, and besieged Model Yang.

Model Yang is certainly no obscure commandery; it houses the Second Grand Academy of the Great Jin and a century‑old prestigious Lu clan. The Lu clan of Model Yang is a top‑tier northern aristocracy, and folk say the southern Xie and northern Lu clans together hold ninety percent of the realm's literary essence.

"What does it mean that this bandit bypassed Benefit Health and went straight to besiege Model Yang? In terms of size, Benefit Health isn't larger—it's actually more rewarding and could better satisfy his dream of expanding his army."

Too bad there's no one left to discuss this with him except the dull‑tongued Zhou Ke.

"Moreover, the Governor of Model Yang is quite interesting—he actually turned to me, the Rebel King, for aid? Turning his head, will Bai Li Jin let him off?"

This time Zhou Ke finally spoke up: "Reporting to Your Highness, when we set out we met Lord Harmony Light, who ordered me to relay to you a piece of news just received: the court's proclamation of failure in suppressing the rebellion at Han Shou, and Chang'an has recalled the General Who Pacifies Rebellion, Fang Bi."

Long Peace has already lost all face; it surely wouldn't dare to openly confront the Rebel King of Peng Cheng again.

The Great King recalled the letter previously sent by Marquis Wei Ting: "Bai Li Jin……he'll probably immediately take another swing at the Southwest Army."

Given the eldest's temperament, he likely wouldn't dare to move the great army guarding Long Peace, and it's hard to say which commander the southern garrisons truly obey now.

Long Peace and the Northern Border are separated by a river; he certainly wouldn't dare to move the great army in his grip that guards his throne and royal seat. That… the Southwest Army, which lies within his territory but is not loyal to him, is surely a good pawn—if it could crush a rebel king, all the better.

Even if it resulted in heavy losses or total annihilation, Long Peace would be glad to see it.

As the Great King continued reading, the bear that had been sent out to hunt game came trotting back, plopped down and hugged his leg. The bear said nothing, just stared at the beehive on the guards' backs, drooling.

Just looking at it, it's obvious they weren't doing any work at all!

The Great King was about to scold it, but a glance changed his mind.

Today, after all this delay, there's been nothing to show for it—sure loss. The Great King certainly wouldn't be pleased, so the beast had a brain‑wave and overturned the table.

"Emergency assembly, return to the mansion at once!"

With so many major events happening, what's the point of hunting? I'm not playing anymore~