Chapter 89

The war continued, but Little Wei Yuan's great examination had already ended.

Just as they returned to Shayang Village, a flying ship broke through the air and arrived, slowly descending in front of Little Wei Yuan and his party.

Several Daoists walked out from the cabin door. The leader had a face like a red date and was imposing without being angry. After appearing, he caused the pure energy within a hundred zhang to rise and the yellow aura to dissipate, clearly a high-level cultivator even among Dharma Forms. His gaze was like lightning, sweeping across the surroundings. When he saw Zhang Sheng and Behind Bao Yun, his expression softened, and he nodded in acknowledgment. When he saw Little Wei Yuan, his gaze immediately turned gentle, and there was a hint of a smile on his face.

The True Person's gaze actually swept over Li Zhi as well, but he treated him like air. Clearly, the son of a Duke had not yet reached the level where he could be seen by a True Person.

The True Person said: "This poor Daoist is True Person Huxing. The Tinghai Xianjun has ordered that Little Wei Yuan and Zhang Sheng return to the Primordial Palace immediately, without delay."

"But there is still my brother's funeral..." Little Wei Yuan hesitated.

True Person Huxing's expression became even softer, and he said: "I already know what happened here. How about this: you can stay for one more hour. This old Daoist can still suppress the heavenly secrets for one hour."

Although True Person Huxing did not explain the reason in detail, Little Wei Yuan knew that the matter was of great importance, and even with True Person Huxing's ability, he could only suppress the heavenly secrets for one hour. At this moment, Zhang Sheng was lost in thought and also said: "Since the Tinghai Xianjun has summoned us, it is better for us to set off on time."

Little Wei Yuan nodded and walked toward Shayang Village. At this moment, Sun Chaoen was leading hundreds of people to carry the corpses out of the village one by one, and some were holding heads. Many people were lying on the ground vomiting wildly after seeing the scene in the village, and after vomiting, they continued to work.

Little Wei Yuan held Fang Hetong's head and said slowly: "I have not failed the mission; Brother Fang's head has been snatched back, and the enemies have all been killed."

Sun Chaoen nodded somewhat blankly and led Little Wei Yuan to the village entrance. A coffin was placed at the entrance, and Fang Hetong's corpse was lying quietly in the coffin. Little Wei Yuan placed the head inside, carefully straightened it, and then sealed the cut with Dao power.

"How will Brother Fang's funeral be handled?" Little Wei Yuan asked.

Sun Chaoen looked at Fang Hetong in the coffin and said: "I plan to send my junior brother's corpse back to the academy. He spent most of his life there and originally intended to spend the rest of his life teaching there as well; it is better to let him stay in the place he liked most. Burying him at the academy will also let the children in the academy know how books should be read and what a true scholar should look like. As for my junior brother's family, the academy will naturally take care of them, so there is no need to worry."

Sun Chaoen had made thorough arrangements, so Little Wei Yuan felt relieved.

Sun Chaoen stroked the coffin and suddenly said: "Allow me to be presumptuous and call you 'worthy brother'. In the future, I may commit many evil deeds. If you find them intolerable, do not be in a hurry to kill me; allow me to finish what I want to do, and I will naturally give you an account."

"Why would you say that?"

Sun Chaoen pointed upward and said: "This world is like this, and this imperial court is also like this. So I want to go up and take a look, to see why those people want to do things this way."

As for what he would do after going up, Sun Chaoen didn't say, and there was no need to say.

"There is still some time now; if you have anything to say to your junior brother, say it here. I will avoid you for a moment." After saying this, Sun Chaoen dragged his heavy body and moved step by step into the distance.

Looking at Fang Hetong in the coffin, Little Wei Yuan was silent for a long time before saying: "Brother Fang, this Dao foundation of mine is perhaps not what you wanted to see. In the future, I will do many things, and if you knew, you would likely point at my nose and scold me. But even if you scold me, I must do those things; I am sorry. You rest well; when I have killed all the foreign tribes in the four directions until they can sing and dance, and the world is at peace, I will come to find you for a drink!" After saying this, Little Wei Yuan used both hands to slowly close the coffin lid.

The flying ship slowly rose into the air and flew toward the Primordial Palace.

The return trip was not on the giant ship they had arrived on, but on a light boat like the one Little Wei Yuan had taken when the general examination ended. With True Person Huxing's blessing, the seven-day journey there took only one day to return.

Forging a Dao foundation is a rebirth, and coupled with the vibrant vitality provided by the fruit Behind Bao Yun fed him, all of Little Wei Yuan's injuries had healed. Conversely, Zhang Sheng had to go into seclusion to heal his injuries, locking himself in a quiet room as soon as he boarded the ship. The physical body is easy to mend, but the Primordial Spirit is hard to heal. With a wisp of his Primordial Spirit annihilated, it would take at least several months for Zhang Sheng to recover.

Not long after the boat set sail, a middle-aged Daoist came to Little Wei Yuan, spread a piece of jade paper in front of him, and said: "This poor Daoist has come to settle the merit for Junior Brother Wei and calculate the results of the great examination."

"Hasn't the great examination ended yet?"

The Daoist stroked his beard and said: "This time, Vice Palace Master Pei specifically gave orders to summon you back to the palace for an audience, so you no longer need to participate in the subsequent examinations. After you killed the Northern Liao young master Kanbida, the Agula tribe fell into chaos. When Kanbida was alive, he was the undisputed choice for the throne, so his numerous brothers were all very well-behaved. Now that he is dead, several brothers have developed ambitions to contend for the throne, each gathering troops, and they have no heart to head south. Before long, the danger to the two commanderies of Ganzhou will surely be resolved. Of course, this great merit will also be counted toward your account, Junior Brother. Even if the war continues, with your current merit, Junior Brother, the great examination will surely be in the top three, if not the top."

"Besides, Kanbida was also the son most cherished by the Vault of Heaven Snow Eagle, Hulehachi. You killed him and withstood several hits from that old bird without dying; that old bird must be furious, and there is nothing he wouldn't do. If you stay here, we would have to assign a True Person to watch you at all times. Also, you provoked the heaven and earth of the Liao territory; at this moment, heaven is unleashing murderous intent, and an ordinary True Person cannot withstand it. Therefore, the Tinghai Xianjun decided to summon you back to the palace immediately. That old bird can only rage in vain, and who knows what stupid things he might do; by then, you will have gained another merit, Junior Brother."

The reasoning was indeed correct. If that snow eagle disregarded his status and dignity and secretly sneaked into the human territory to launch a sneak attack, Little Wei Yuan would find it hard to escape unscathed without any preparation. Although a human True Person's counterattack would certainly severely injure Hulehachi for launching a sneak attack in human territory, Little Wei Yuan would have died by then. The Primordial Palace would naturally not let such a thing happen, so they simply summoned Little Wei Yuan back.

The Daoist pointed his finger, and dense rows of merit appeared on the jade paper. The Daoist checked them one by one with Little Wei Yuan, very earnestly.

"Killing one hundred and twenty-six ordinary cavalry, counting for one hundred and twenty-six merit.

!.

Killing four captains, counting for eighty merit.

Killing one centurion, counting for two hundred merit;

Killing ninety ordinary snow eagle riders, counting for one thousand eight hundred merit.

Killing nine snow eagle decurions, counting for two thousand seven hundred merit.

Killing Kanbida, counting for three thousand two hundred merit.

Injuring the Vault of Heaven Snow Eagle Hulehachi, counting for one thousand merit.

Triggering internal strife in the Agula tribe, counting for two thousand merit."

The long string of numbers made Little Wei Yuan feel a bit dizzy. At the time, whether heading north or returning south, Little Wei Yuan's mind had been basically blank, and he hadn't calculated how many he had killed at all. On the way back south, Little Wei Yuan had encountered several waves of interception, all of which he had killed his way through. The Liao young master's warhorse was a divine steed to begin with, and after being blessed by the Heaven and Earth Madman, it was as fast as wind and lightning, no slower than the snow eagle Dharma Form. Moreover, every time Little Wei Yuan took a hit from Hulehachi, he would borrow the force to gain some distance, which was how he managed to fight across a thousand miles and successfully return south.

Little Wei Yuan himself hadn't expected that he had actually killed so many people and achieved so many results. Adding in what he had gained from previous battles, Little Wei Yuan's total merit now exceeded twelve thousand; this was over a hundred thousand taels of immortal silver!

(End of chapter)