Chapter 144

Yang Hongyue's face was full of embarrassment; although she could also fly down from the city wall, she absolutely did not have Ru Yan's ease and naturalness — a grandmaster is just good.

Shen Tianxing felt both amused and exasperated; he rose, stepped forward, squatted down, pried open Lin Feiyun's mouth, and fed him a Small Return Pill.

"Tianxing, how could you give him such a precious pill? He seems to be the Lin Feiyun of Great Wu, the marshal leading the troops this time; his death wouldn't be a good thing for us, would it?"

Yang Hongyue, upon recognizing Lin Feiyun's identity, couldn't help but voice her doubt; before Shen Tianxing could answer, Ru Yan already laughed and explained.

"Husband surely wants to win over Lin Feiyun; look at his miserable state, he must have been betrayed by This One, possibly instigated by someone in the Imperial Court, or even possibly a covert move by the Great Wu Emperor."

"Husband saved him, which means he owes Husband a life-saving debt; in the future he will surely repay Husband. Husband can thus make use of his knowledge of Great Wu to strike at the heart when invading Great Wu."

"Furthermore, Lin Feiyun is a talent for command; taking him into one's service is quite normal, so younger sister need not have too many doubts; just trust Husband's every choice and decision."

"Yang Hongyue suddenly felt somewhat ashamed and embarrassed; compared to Ru Yan, she really knows nothing about Shen Tianxing at all."

""What the sister said is true; I was immature, and I won't be like that again.""

"Shen Tianxing tried not to laugh; Yang Hongyue, who had been such a fierce woman before, was now completely subdued by Ru Yan the Great Emperor, not daring to even breathe, likely to remain that way from now on, but Shen Tianxing didn't want to see Yang Hongyue like that."

""Trust is certainly important, but offering opinions isn't a problem either; one can't say that because of trust we shouldn't ask anything at all? Of course, even if you don't ask, I'll still tell you why, so don't worry too much.""

"Yang Hongyue felt warm inside; Shen Tianxing was clearly on her side."

"Ru Yan the Great Emperor wasn't angry either; she merely gave Shen Tianxing a glance, the tenderness and charm in her eyes almost making Shen Tianxing want to directly bring them both back."

""This pill takes effect immediately after ingestion; stop pretending to be dead. You're lucky to have made it here—who did this to you?""

"Shen Tianxing suddenly spoke up; Lin Feiyun, who had been lying on the ground, realized he could no longer keep up the act, could only force a laugh, open his eyes, and rise from the ground."

""Thank you for your life-saving grace, Your Excellency; your great kindness and virtue I will keep in mind, but I will not betray Great Wu. If you wish to kill me now, just act—I will offer no resistance.""

"Lin Feiyun closed his eyes after speaking, preparing to accept death. In truth, he was extremely unwilling; having been schemed into this situation, he had almost lost his life—how could he bear to die? Yet he still remembered the two words loyalty and righteousness."

""At this point, Marshal Lin still shows such loyalty and devotion—truly rare and commendable. Rest assured, I don't want your life; you may leave if you wish, for returning would mean death anyway.""

""Not to mention those who betrayed you will bring a large force to block your return and seek your life; even if you really broke through and returned, do you think they would spare you?""

""Leaving that aside, just consider that you've been here this long—who would believe you didn't collude with the enemy and betray the nation? Simply attaching that charge would make your death inevitable, and moreover, you'd be infamous for all time.""

""But on the other hand, if you help me seize all of Great Wu in the future, the people will naturally forget the so-called collusion and treason; as long as they can live better, they will instead feel grateful toward you.""

"Lin Feiyun had no reply to this reasoning he understood, but he did not want to become a discarded pawn for no clear reason, nor did he want his lifelong efforts to go to waste."

""Great kindness and virtue, I will keep them in mind; Your Excellency need say no more—I take my leave.""

"As soon as Lin Feiyun's words fell, he was about to jump down from the city wall, but in the distance flames shot up into the sky, accompanied by shouts."

""Lin Feiyun, you collude with the enemy and betray the nation; your crime deserves death. Don't think hiding in Humen Pass will save your life—wait for the Imperial Court to summon a grandmaster, who will surely break through Humen Pass and reduce you to countless fragments.""

""Break through Humen Pass and reduce Lin Feiyun to countless fragments.""

"Only Ding Chunlong the fool would do such a thing; this is to completely drive Lin Feiyun to a dead end, saddle him with a legitimate charge, after which Lin Feiyun will be a traitor who colluded with the enemy and betrayed the nation, and everyone in Great Wu will be able to punish him."

""It seems Marshal Lin this time has been driven to a dead end; this fool, if this charge sticks, Marshal Lin will truly have no choice but to surrender to my Great Zhou.""

"The sound of breaking through Humen Pass outside continued without cease; Shen Tianxing merely smiled and said a line, while Lin Feiyun's face was full of bitterness."

"Ding Chunlong is a fool, that's true, but this completely cuts off Lin Feiyun's retreat, which is tantamount to establishing a great enemy for Great Wu."

""Your Excellency must be the Governor of Leizhou, Shen Tianxing—in less than half a year you've gone from a rural commoner to a provincial governor; I still learned this news from Ding Chunlong's mouth, which should be helpful to Your Excellency, right?""

"Lin Feiyun suddenly calmed down, as if truly resigning himself to fate; what he said was indeed somewhat useful to Shen Tianxing."

""Somewhat useful, but not much; still the same saying: if Marshal Lin can join my ranks, I won't guarantee him promotion and wealth, but I can guarantee that when the realm is unified, all the people will live well.""

""Governor, you're somewhat interesting; ordinary people win hearts with high office and generous stipends, but you instead win me over with the promise of prosperity for all the people.""

""For now I won't agree; once I go to Leizhou and see clearly whether the Leizhou people truly live as well as the Governor claims, if that is true, I will certainly follow the Governor's lead, sacrificing my liver and brains, dying thereafter.""

""If not, I hope the Governor will let me leave; I can also guarantee that in this life I will not be an enemy of the Governor, only building a secluded life in the deep mountains and old forests, passing some idle days.""

"Shen Tianxing nodded there; if it weren't for the mission, he really wouldn't bother with this guy, for he knows that anyone he casually pulls out from under his command is no weaker than Lin Feiyun, if not stronger."

""No problem, just as Marshal Lin said, let's first go to Leizhou; what does Marshal Lin plan to do with the people there? Kill them, would that be alright?""

"Shen Tianxing was asking, but in fact Ru Yan the Great Emperor had already stomped her foot and leapt into the air, her form moving with ghostly extreme speed. Arriving among the group of loudly shouting Great Wu soldiers, she raised her hand and struck out with a palm, immediately eliciting a series of miserable screams."

""Another grandmaster, Governor, you have quite the means—two grandmasters have already appeared before, and now there's one more who seems to be your lady, the Governor?""

""With so many grandmasters, Governor, what need is there for my help in unifying the realm? I must have overestimated my own importance—how laughable.""

"Seeing that Ru Yan, who struck out, was also a grandmaster, Lin Feiyun immediately felt ridiculous; three grandmasters are already enough to overturn a nation, so whether he's there or not makes little difference."

"Shen Tianxing's mouth curled up; he raised his hand and patted Lin Feiyun's shoulder, speaking in a solemn and earnest tone:"

""Marshal Lin is joking; you also know they're all grandmasters—could it be that we should leave everything to the grandmasters? Moreover, this one is my wife.""

""A grandmaster's intervention is only needed when facing difficulties; in daily siege defense, marching and fighting, aren't they all supposed to be carried out by those who command troops?""