Chapter 14: The Collision and Combination of Guan and Yu, Guan Yu

"Daddy?!"

The Daoist boy Qingsong let Guan Huchen deal with the Sha Barbarians himself and also bear all the responsibility; he was still thinking about how to settle the Sha Barbarian Xiang Xiaoyu, when a "Daddy" came head-on.

His tiger body shook, both surprised and bewildered.

Xiang Xiaoyu, who blurted out "Daddy," was also a bit blushing at this moment.

—It's all the fault of the "Great Father-Destroying" technique, which made me, a good person, lose all my integrity, wanting to call anyone strong "Daddy" when I see them.

Thinking this in her heart, Xiang Xiaoyu said quickly: "Just now, Old Man Sha Rope told me that the General has great mercy and bestowed upon us the great blessing of being slaves and maids."

"My heart is truly joyful; the kindness of General Guan is something I can never repay in a lifetime."

"I heard that in the superior land, servants call their masters 'Father and Mother,' so..."

She saw Guan Huchen's expression soften.

But the "Great Father-Destroying" was not activated.

This meant that Guan Huchen not only didn't agree in his mouth, but he also didn't want to take advantage in his heart... probably in his heart, for a dignified noble lord to be called "Daddy" by a barbarian was being taken advantage of, rather than him taking advantage.

"Even if you are to be slaves and maids, you are not the servants of this General. This General serves Great Qin; how to deal with you will be seen after this General reports to the Marquis of Lieyang," Guan Huchen said indifferently.

The Daoist boy Qingsong told him to bring the "Sha Barbarian Xiang Xiaoyu" back and deal with her as he saw fit.

"Deal with it yourself" was something the Daoist boy Qingsong could say easily, but Qingsong was only one of his immediate superiors.

In fact, the Daoist boy Qingsong didn't directly command him; the two sides were just temporarily thrown together.

Before the Marquis of Lieyang crossed the Flowing Sand River, he was responsible to the King of Shu and the Prince of Qinghe.

The King of Shu was the monarch, that goes without saying; the Prince of Qinghe was the Grand Marshal of the Shu Kingdom's army, his true immediate superior; when the Marquis of Lieyang of Great Qin arrived, even the King of Shu and the Prince of Qinghe had to bow their heads and listen to orders, and he, this Cavalry Commandant, was directly incorporated into the "Fire Crow Army" of the Marquis of Lieyang.

With so many big shots above, how could he dare to act arbitrarily?

Of course, Guan Huchen didn't think a mere Sha Barbarian Xiang Xiaoyu was worth the Marquis of Lieyang's excessive attention.

It was the King of Shu and the Prince of Qinghe... if they knew the Daoist boy Qingsong's evaluation of the Sha Barbarian Xiang Xiaoyu as "born with innate wisdom," "raising a barbarian Dragon Vein," and "Western Barbarian Empire destroying Shu in thirty years," they probably wouldn't be calm.

So, why should he cause trouble for no reason?

Bring the person back, and the rest of the matter would have nothing to do with him.

His work focus was to strive to perform, and finally be selected by the Marquis of Lieyang as a "personal guard general," return to Great Qin with the army, and become an official Great Qin general, hoping to get close to the core power circle of the superior land of China.

To establish merit in the superior land of China, if there is even a tiny bit of immortal fate, naturally one must strive to become an immortal; if the path to immortality is bleak and the opportunity is insufficient, one must also receive the personal conferment of the Human Emperor, become a god as a heroic spirit after death, and it would be best to remain in China as a "proper god entered into the heavenly register," enjoying the incense of ten thousand families, and remaining even when dynasties change.

This is the true great future!

The Sha Barbarian Xiang Xiaoyu and the Western Sha Barbarians were only a small part of his merit book.

Xiang Xiaoyu didn't know Guan Huchen's "great future," and the thoughts in her brain were like fireworks being lit, with large patches of firelight and countless flashes exploding.

In an instant, those spiritual lights combined into an unbelievable "delusion."

"General Guan, you are going to hand this servant over to the Marquis of Lieyang? The Marquis of Lieyang is a general of the Heavenly Dynasty and will inevitably return to the territory of Great Qin. Will this servant be treated as an enemy chieftain, appear in the captive-offering ceremony of the Imperial Capital of Xianyang, and finally enter the Imperial Palace of Great Qin to be a slave and maid? That's right, how can I, as a barbarian princess, not be offered as a captive to the Qin Huang?"

Her voice was trembling a little.

—If there was such a good thing as being captured, I wouldn't have hidden! I don't want to stay in this rotten sand dune without even Wu Gong for a single day.

"You dare to think of such a beautiful thing! A Sha Barbarian, and you keep saying 'my Great Qin'..."

General Guan glared at her, his expression unkind, and his tone was also slightly angry.

As if Xiang Xiaoyu going to the Imperial Capital of Xianyang to be a slave and maid was snatching his "great future."

"Please forgive me, General Guan; this servant truly admires Great Qin and thought of the opportunity to serve His Majesty the Qin Huang... even if there is only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, I am so excited that I cannot control myself," Xiang Xiaoyu said.

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

"Eh!"

His expression changed, and he couldn't help but take a few steps, squatted down, pinched Xiang Xiaoyu's chin, turned her face back and forth, looked at it carefully, and as he looked, he became more surprised, and his heart beat faster and faster.

"So like, too like..."

Afterwards, he pried open Xiang Xiaoyu's mouth and checked her teeth carefully; after checking, he nodded lightly: the teeth were not only complete and healthy, but also porcelain white like jade, clean and free of dirt, and her breath was fresh and sweet.

Then, he pressed down on her head and pushed aside her wet hair to check carefully.

The hair was not long, not even completely covering her ears, but the hair quality was excellent beyond his imagination, not only dense but also black and shiny, and he didn't even find a single louse.

He was forty-three this year and had long been married, and even had a daughter about the same age as Xiang Xiaoyu, but his dignified noble daughter had also had lice, and her hair had grown dense white spots—all louse eggs.

Finally, he pinched Xiang Xiaoyu's chin a second time and looked at her facial features carefully.

Xiang Xiaoyu felt like she had become cattle or horses in a livestock pen.

Guan Huchen also had the expression and gaze of a customer carefully checking whether cattle or horses were healthy.

However, after looking, she found that his gaze toward her suddenly softened.

It wasn't a lecherous softness, but a kind of... probably meaning "hoarding goods for a high price" or "finding treasure in a pile of dung."

Her heart felt itchy, and she wanted to ask but didn't dare.

And Guan Huchen, after "finishing the cattle and horses," also fell into deep thought, not speaking, only occasionally turning his head to look at Xiang Xiaoyu.

After about a quarter of an hour of silence, he coughed lightly and said softly: "I can tell that you are a very smart child."

This time he didn't even call himself "this General."

Xiang Xiaoyu couldn't guess what he was thinking, and also lowered her voice, saying very lightly: "To serve His Majesty the Great Qin, it is better for this servant to be a little clever than dull."

Immediately after, she added quickly: "Apart from a little cleverness, this servant has more loyalty and honesty toward Great Qin. Um, this servant is both clever and very honest, and never plays little tricks."

This kind of dialogue shouldn't have appeared between her and Guan Huchen.

It was too much for her.

Pretending to be stupid and honest, and keeping a low profile to save her life was the first priority.

But the problem is, can pretending to be stupid and honest really save her life?

Especially when facing this "unconventional" General Guan.

General Guan nodded lightly, looking satisfied, his voice even lighter, "The Daoist Qingsong told Guan to bring you back to Great Shu, and then deal with you yourself."

"Guan sees that you are a talent that can be cultivated, and has a feeling of pity for talent; would you be willing to enter Guan's sect and be Guan's foster daughter?"

Xiang Xiaoyu's eyes widened, full of shock.

She had never thought that Guan Huchen would make such a request.

It could even be said that in all her life, she had worshipped more than thirty "Daddies," and never had anyone take the initiative to be her foster father.

"Why, are you unwilling?" Seeing her dazed, General Guan frowned.

"This servant..." Xiang Xiaoyu's eyes instantly gathered bean-sized tears, her voice choked, and her face was moved, dreamy, and terrified.

Although she was in "Drama Queen Mode," the excitement was at least six or seven parts real.

"Plop!" She knelt in the clam shell and knocked her head three times, "Yu has drifted for half a life, only regretting not meeting the benefactor earlier; since you do not abandon me, Yu is willing to serve you for life and provide for your old age!"

After saying these moving words, she knocked her head three more times, wiped away her tears, bloomed a smile, and said: "Father, from now on, your daughter is 'Guan... Yu'!"

She couldn't help but smile; before the three knocks were finished, "Great Father-Destroying" had already been activated, and the 3D virtual image of Foster Father Guan had already entered her "Purple Mansion" in her mind.

The deduction of the plan to destroy the "Immortal's Pupil" began immediately.

"Guan Yu..."

Guan Huchen's thick eyebrows frowned slightly, feeling that this name seemed even more ferocious than his "Tiger Minister," and also had an indescribable sharpness and dominance.

How strange...

"After returning to Great Shu, I will find a scholar to help you choose a name again. If you are lucky enough to enter the Xianyanggong in the future, a gentle and soft good name will be indispensable."

—Still want to enter Xianyanggong? Didn't I just worship you as a foster father, shouldn't I be returning to the "Guan Mansion"?

Xiang Xiaoyu felt strange in her heart but didn't ask more.

Whether it was entering Xianyang or going to the Guan Mansion in Great Shu to be a "foster daughter," for a barbarian captive whose life and death were not her own, it was the best result.

Furthermore, she was already "Guan Yu," and still had to enter Xianyang; wasn't that double the benefits?

"Yu'er, since you have worshipped Guan as your father, the old father cannot be without a gift for meeting his relative."

For some inexplicable reason, after taking the initiative to recognize this foster daughter, Guan Huchen felt an urge to send a few gifts to her, letting her feel his fatherly love well.

His left hand touched the "Snake Flame Whip" wrapped around his right wrist, and his eyes also glanced at the Red Smoke Steed on the side.

"Damn it, what am I thinking! Recognizing 'Guan Yu' as a foster relative is for the great future after entering China. Without magic treasures and divine beast mounts, how can I earn a great future?"

Giving himself a few slaps in his heart, Guan Huchen still couldn't help it; he unscrewed the beast-mouth buckle on his shoulder, took off the dark red cloak behind him, covered Xiang Xiaoyu with it, and said: "It's still early spring, how can you be soaking wet? This cloak is given to you, put it on."

At this moment, it had been less than a quarter of an hour since the giant clam was fished out from the bottom of the water ditch.

Soaking in the water, Xiang Xiaoyu was naturally soaked through.

Especially since she was wearing a thick tiger-skin robe, furry, soaking wet, and still dripping water!

"Father..." Xiang Xiaoyu was teary-eyed, full of emotion and longing.

The black-armored knights on the side were not calm, "General, this is a Fire Rat Robe from the Volcano Kingdom!"

They only felt that their general had been infected with the "Brain-Clamping Wind" from the Sha Barbarian Xiang Xiaoyu.

From the moment he took the initiative to accept her as a foster daughter, they had opened their mouths wide, falling into shock and incomprehension.

Adopting a foster daughter was his own business, and the Daoist boy Qingsong also clearly said to let him handle the Sha Barbarian Xiang Xiaoyu himself.

Whether it was military generals or noble families, adopting foster sons and daughters to serve as personal guards and thugs was common.

In this group of black-armored knights, there were quite a few who had become others' foster sons, or had adopted foster sons themselves.

But giving away a Fire Rat Robe directly was too exaggerated.

The Fire Rat Robe was not as powerful as the "Snake Flame Whip," but it was water and fire resistant, and sword and blade proof; it was a very rare treasure.

"How can the child want the father's cloak and let the father suffer in the cold night?" Before Guan Huchen could hesitate to speak, Xiang Xiaoyu took the initiative to untie the "Fire Rat Robe," handed it back, and said: "Father, the child has a tiger-skin skirt; after it dries in the sun, it will be enough to keep out the cold."

Xiang Xiaoyu was both surprised and calm about Guan Huchen sending her treasures.

Calm because every time she formally worshipped a foster father in the past, the "foster father" would take the initiative to send her gifts.

She wasn't sure if it was the custom's binding on "foster fathers," or if "Great Father-Destroying" had influenced them.

Surprised because the things Guan Huchen sent were too precious.

The two had just met; they were not the "old acquaintances" foster fathers she had lived with for many years in a tribe in the past.

Accepting her as a foster daughter just after meeting made her feel confused.

From the way he pinched her head and looked at her back and forth like cattle or goods, she could be sure he had other purposes and wanted to use her to achieve a big goal.

Since it was just using her, without true feelings, why take the initiative to send treasures...

Could it really be "Great Father-Destroying" influencing the "foster father"?

"Alright..." Guan Huchen took the Fire Rat Robe smoothly; his heart, which had been reluctant and uncomfortable just a moment ago, immediately became refreshed, and he was even more satisfied with his daughter's obedience.

After putting on the cloak again, he still sent out a gift: the "Dragon Kiss Sword" tucked at his waist.

The sword was very short, and even the hilt was only a foot and a half long.

Without even drawing the sword, just looking at the eight glowing green gemstones the size of small fingernails on the scabbard, one knew it must be worth a fortune.

The black-armored knights still showed shock and suspicion, but this time no one opened their mouths to dissuade him.

"General Guan, I have locked onto the target, please come over for a chat!"

Just at this moment, the Daoist boy Qingsong walked out from the woods in the distance, waving from afar. ===== CHAPTER 15 =====