Chapter 14: Chapter Thirteen: The Collision and Union of Guan and Yu, Guan Yu

“Father?!”

The Qingsong Daoist acolyte had told Guan Huchen to handle Sha Man himself and bear full responsibility, and he was still pondering how to settle Sha Man Yu—when a voice cried out, “Father!” right in his face.

He stiffened, startled and bewildered.

Xiao Yu, who had blurted out “Father!” just now, now blushed slightly.

—It’s all because of the “Great Annihilation Dad” technique; it’s turned me, a good person, into someone with no morals at all—whenever I see a strong one, I want to call them Dad.

Though she thought this, Xiao Yu quickly said aloud: “Just now, Old Man Shasheng told us that the General, in his great mercy, has bestowed upon us the great fortune of becoming servants.”

I am truly overjoyed; the General’s kindness is something I could never repay in a lifetime.

I’ve heard that in the superior realm, household servants call their masters ‘Yéniáng,’ so...”

She saw Guan Huchen’s expression soften.

But the “Great Annihilation Dad” technique did not activate.

This meant Guan Huchen hadn’t just refused verbally—he didn’t even want to take advantage in his heart... probably in his mind, a noble lord of a great family being called “Father” by a barbarian was being taken advantage of, not the other way around.

“Even if you are to become a servant, you are not my personal slave. I serve the Great Qin; how I deal with you will be decided after I report to the Yangyang Marquis.” Guan Huchen said coolly.

The Qingsong Daoist had told him to take “Sha Man Yu” back and decide her fate himself.

“Handle it yourself”—such words were easy for Qingsong to say, but Qingsong was merely one among his superiors.

In truth, Qingsong Daoist did not directly command him; they had merely been temporarily paired together.

Before the Yangyang Marquis crossed the Liusha River, he answered to the Shu King and the Commandery Prince of Qinghe.

The Shu King was the sovereign, no need to explain; the Commandery Prince of Qinghe was the Shu Kingdom’s Grand Commander of the Army, his true superior; when the Great Qin’s Yangyang Marquis arrived, even the Shu King and the Commandery Prince of Qinghe had to bow and obey—this Captain of the Cavalry was directly incorporated into the Yangyang Marquis’s “Fire Crow Army.”

With so many powerful figures above him, how could he dare to act on his own?

Of course, Guan Huchen didn’t think a mere Sha Man Yu was worth the Yangyang Marquis’s serious attention.

But the Shu King and the Commandery Prince of Qinghe... if they learned of Qingsong Daoist’s assessment of Sha Man Yu—“innate wisdom,” “cultivated a barbarian dragon vein,” “the Western Barbarian Empire will destroy Shu in thirty years”—they wouldn’t remain calm.

So why stir up trouble for no reason?

Take her back, and the rest is none of his concern.

His focus was to perform well, hoping to be chosen by the Yangyang Marquis as a Personal Guard Commander, returning with the army to the Great Qin as a formally commissioned Qin general, aspiring to draw near the core power circles of the Central Civilization.

In the Central Civilization, to achieve merit, if there was even the slightest chance of immortality, he must strive for it; if the path to immortality was dim and fortune scarce, he must earn the Emperor’s personal enfeoffment, so that after death his spirit would become a god—preferably one who remained in the Central Civilization as a “name inscribed in the Heavenly Register,” receiving incense from countless households, surviving even dynastic changes.

That was the true great future!

Sha Man Yu, the Western Barbarians—merely a small part of his merit ledger.

Xiao Yu didn’t know Guan Huchen’s “great future”; after hearing his words, her mind was ignited like fireworks—vast bursts of light, countless flashes exploding.

In an instant, those sparks coalesced into an unbelievable “fantasy.”

“General Guan, you’re going to hand me over to the Yangyang Marquis? The Yangyang Marquis is a heavenly general who must return to our Great Qin territory—will I not be treated as a barbarian chieftain, paraded in the Xianyang Imperial Capital’s surrender ceremony, and eventually become a servant in the Great Qin’s imperial palace? That makes sense... after all, I am a princess of Shaqiu... shouldn’t a barbarian princess be presented as a captive to the Qin Emperor?”

Her voice trembled.

—If being captured could bring such a blessing, I wouldn’t have run away! This rotten Shaqiu, I wouldn’t stay a single day.

“How dare you even imagine such a thing! A barbarian, and you keep saying ‘our Great Qin’...”

General Guan glared at her, his expression dark, his tone slightly angry.

As if Xiao Yu becoming a servant in Xianyang had stolen his “great future.”

“Please forgive me, General. I truly revere the Great Qin; the thought of serving the Qin Emperor in Xianyang—even with only a one-in-ten-thousand chance—fills me with uncontrollable excitement.” Xiao Yu said.

Guan Huchen stared at her face, seeing only deep sincerity and longing.

“Huh!”

His expression changed; he involuntarily stepped forward several paces, squatted down, gripped Xiao Yu’s chin, turned her face this way and that, scrutinizing her closely—each glance deeper in astonishment, his heart thudding faster.

“So similar... incredibly similar...”

Then he pried open her mouth, carefully examining her teeth; after, he nodded slightly: her teeth were not only complete and healthy, but porcelain-white like jade, spotless, her breath fresh and faintly sweet.

Then he pressed down her head, parted her wet hair, and inspected closely.

Her hair wasn’t long, barely covering her ears, yet its quality surpassed his imagination—dense, jet-black and glossy, not a single louse to be found.

He was forty-three, long married, with a daughter at home, roughly Xiao Yu’s age—but she, a noble lady of a great family, had once been infested with lice, her hair speckled with dense white dots—all louse eggs.

Finally, he gripped her chin again, scrutinizing every feature of her face.

Xiao Yu felt like a cow or horse in a pen.

Guan Huchen’s expression and gaze were exactly those of a buyer inspecting livestock for health.

But after finishing, she noticed his gaze toward her suddenly softened.

Not a lecherous softness—more like... “a rare treasure found in dung,” “a valuable commodity.”

She felt uneasy, wanted to ask but dared not.

And after “inspecting the livestock,” Guan Huchen fell into thought, silent, occasionally glancing at Xiao Yu.

After roughly a quarter-hour of silence, he cleared his throat softly and said: “I can see you are a very clever child.”

This time, he didn’t even refer to himself as “this general.”

Xiao Yu had no idea what he was thinking, and lowered her voice, speaking softly: “To serve our Great Qin Emperor, a servant’s wit is better than dullness.”

She quickly added: “Besides a little cleverness, I am more devoted and sincere toward our Great Qin. Yes, I am clever, but also exceptionally honest—I never play petty tricks.”

This kind of conversation shouldn’t have occurred between her and Guan Huchen.

It was too much for her.

Pretending to be foolish and humble, staying as low-profile as possible—this was the top priority for survival.

But could pretending to be foolish and humble truly ensure survival?

Especially when facing this “unpredictable” General Guan.

General Guan nodded slightly, his face showing satisfaction; his voice grew even softer: “Qingsong Daoist told me to bring you back to Great Shu and handle you as I see fit.

I see you as someone worth cultivating; I feel a pang of pity for your talent. Would you be willing to enter my household as my adopted daughter?”

Xiao Yu’s eyes widened in shock.

She had never imagined Guan Huchen would make such a request.

In fact, she could say that in her entire life, having bowed to over thirty “fathers,” not one had ever voluntarily offered to be her adoptive father.

“What, you don’t want to?” Seeing her stunned, General Guan frowned.

“Your servant...” Xiao Yu’s eyes instantly filled with teardrops, her voice choked with emotion—her face showed gratitude, wonder, and fear.

Though in “dramatic mode,” her excitement was at least six or seven parts genuine.

“Plop!” She knelt in the clamshell, bowing three loud kowtows: “I’ve drifted half my life, grieving I never met you sooner. Since you do not reject me, I vow to serve you for life, to care for you in your old age!”

After speaking these words with feeling, she bowed three more times, wiped her tears, and smiled: “Father, from now on, your daughter is ‘Guan Yu’!”

She couldn’t help smiling—before the third kowtow was even finished, the “Great Annihilation Dad” had activated; the 3D hologram of her adoptive father had already entered her mind’s “Purple Mansion.”

The elimination strategy against the “Immortal’s Eye” immediately began to unfold.

“Guan Yu...”

Guan Huchen’s thick eyebrows furrowed slightly; the name felt more imposing than even his own “Huchen,” radiating an indescribable sharpness and aura of dominance.

Strange...

“When we return to Great Shu, I’ll have a scholar pick you a new name. If you ever have the fortune to enter the Xianyang Palace, a gentle, elegant name will be fitting.”

—Still going to Xianyang Palace? Isn’t becoming your adopted daughter supposed to mean I go to the Guan household?

Xiao Yu was puzzled but didn’t ask further.

Whether entering Xianyang or becoming a “nurtured daughter” in the Shu Guan household, for a barbarian captive with no control over her fate, this was the best possible outcome.

Moreover, she was already “Guan Yu”—and now she’d enter Xianyang? That was double the benefit!

“Yu’er, since you’ve now taken me as your father, your old father cannot neglect the rites of adoption.”

For no apparent reason, after willingly accepting this convenient daughter, Guan Huchen felt a sudden urge to give her gifts, to let her feel his paternal affection.

His left hand had already touched the “Snake Flame Whip” coiled around his right wrist; his eyes had glanced at the nearby Red Smoke Steed.

“Damn it, what am I thinking! Taking ‘Guan Yu’ as my adopted daughter is for the sake of my great future in the Central Civilization. Without magic treasures and divine steeds, how will I ever achieve my great future?”

He gave himself a few mental slaps, yet still couldn’t resist; he unfastened the beast-mouth clasp on his shoulder, removed the dark crimson cloak from his back, and draped it over Xiao Yu: “It’s still early spring chill; how can you stay soaked? This cloak is yours—put it on.”

It had been less than a stick of incense since the giant clam was pulled from the canal bottom.

Xiao Yu, soaked in water, was drenched through.

Especially since she wore the thick tiger-pelt robe—furry, dripping wet, still dripping water!

“Father...” Xiao Yu’s eyes welled with tears, her face filled with gratitude and adoration.

The black-armored knights around her were unsettled: “General, that’s a Fire Rat Cloak from the Volcano Kingdom!”

They felt their general had caught “brain fever” from Sha Man Yu.

Ever since he’d voluntarily offered to adopt her, they’d been gaping in shock and confusion.

Adopting an adopted daughter was his own affair; Qingsong Daoist had clearly told him to handle Sha Man Yu as he wished.

Whether military commanders or noble magnates, adopting adopted sons or daughters to serve as personal retainers or enforcers was common.

Among these black-armored knights, many were adopted sons themselves, or had adopted sons of their own.

But giving away a Fire Rat Cloak was too extravagant.

The Fire Rat Cloak wasn’t as powerful as the “Snake Flame Whip,” but it was impervious to water and fire, resistant to blades and swords—a rare treasure.

“How can a child take his father’s cloak and leave him to freeze in the cold night?” Before Guan Huchen could hesitate or speak, Xiao Yu voluntarily unfastened the “Fire Rat Cloak” and returned it to him: “Father, I have my tiger-pelt skirt; once dried in the sun, it will be enough to keep me warm.”

For Guan Huchen giving her a treasure, Xiao Yu was both surprised and calm.

Calm because every time she formally bowed to an adoptive father, the “father” always gave her gifts.

She wasn’t sure if this was a custom binding the “adopting fathers,” or if the “Great Annihilation Dad” influenced them.

He was surprised because Guan Huchen’s gift was too valuable.

They had just met; he was not the kind of “foster father” who had lived with her for years in the same tribe.

He had taken her as his foster daughter upon first meeting, leaving her utterly bewildered.

From how he had previously gripped her head and examined her like livestock, she was certain he had ulterior motives and intended to use her to achieve some grand goal.

If he was only using her and felt no genuine affection, why would he voluntarily give her such a priceless treasure...?

Could it truly be “Great Annihilation Dad” influencing the “foster father”?

“Alright...” Guan Huchen swiftly took the Fire Rat Robe; his earlier reluctance and discomfort vanished instantly, and he was thoroughly pleased with his daughter’s obedience.

After putting his great cloak back on, he still gave her another gift: the “Dragon Kiss Sword” pinned at his waist.

The sword was short, its blade and hilt combined measuring only one and a half chi.

Even before drawing it, the eight glowing green gemstones, each the size of a fingernail, on the scabbard made it clear the sword was immensely valuable.

The black-armored knight still wore an expression of shock and doubt, but this time no one spoke to dissuade him.

“General Guan, this humble Daoist has locked onto the target—please come over for a word!”

At that moment, the Qingsong Daoist acolyte emerged from the distant forest, waving from afar.