Within Prince Qi’s mansion, Fang Zhiyi remained at ease. A pigeon descended from the sky and landed beside him. He removed the bamboo tube tied to its leg, then casually scattered a handful of millet on the ground. The pigeon immediately began to peck at it.
Reading the words on the note, Fang Zhiyi smiled.
“Like this, I have already won.”
A dust-covered trade caravan arrived at the frontier. The leader exchanged a knowing glance with Li Zizai, who had been waiting there early. Without a word, they began unloading the carts.
A soldier who had come with Li Zizai to help unload happened to glimpse a crate that wasn’t fully closed. He was stunned, his jaw dropping in disbelief.
When had they ever seen so much money?
Over the next few days, more caravans from the Trade Transport Bureau kept arriving. Some brought silver, some brought grain, and others even brought privately forged weapons.
The border troops, who had long endured unpaid wages, suddenly found themselves flush with wealth.
Deputy Commander Li Wenlong grinned so hard his eyes nearly disappeared into slits—until he saw the messenger pull out an imperial decree.
He immediately wiped the smile off his face and knelt down.
“You have labored hard all these years.”
Such a simple, plain statement hit Li Wenlong like a mallet to his chest. He had been reassigned to the border forces over a decade ago, dreaming of serving his country. Yet what he had encountered were rations and pay stripped bare by layers of embezzlement, and obsolete weapons discarded by the capital’s garrisons. For years, just to keep the men fed, he had been forced to let soldiers put down their swords and take up hoes to grow their own food.
He had once gone to question the Commander about it, only to be brushed off. The second time, they gave him some silver to quiet him. The third time, he was given twenty strokes of the staff.
Those twenty strokes had chilled his heart.
Li Wenlong had resigned himself to watching Great Zhou rot from within—until he met Li Zizai, this man of the same surname, who had brought him money. He had ordered his men to keep the silver but throw Li Zizai out.
But Li Zizai only laughed, saying over and over, “Our Prince hasn’t misjudged you.”
Li Wenlong was curious about this so-called Prince. What use was a prince who only hoarded wealth?
Li Zizai’s reply was simple: “My Prince said that to wage war—to win wars—you need only three things. First: money. Second: money. Third: still money! And lucky for us, my Prince has plenty of it!”
Li Wenlong had thought the man was bluffing. Surely Prince Qi, no matter how ruthlessly he squeezed the people, could never support an entire border army. But now, he believed.
Li Wenlong’s mind was in turmoil—so much so that even after the decree was read and the messenger stared straight at him, he hesitated before reaching out to accept it.
“Commander Li, His Majesty instructed me to tell you that the defense of Great Zhou’s borders rests on your shoulders.”
Li Wenlong’s eyes widened. Commander? Me?
Was this some kind of joke? The current Commander was one of Grand Preceptor Wang’s men. Even out of touch with the court, Li Wenlong knew the Emperor could not touch the Ningxi faction.
The messenger smiled faintly, straightening his usually hunched back slightly.
“Report!” A scout stumbled in, gasping. “Something terrible! The Commander… the Commander…”
“What happened?”
“The Commander drank too much at a brothel and drowned in a lotus pond!”
“What?” Li Wenlong was shocked.
Li Zizai, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke: “Commander Li, if not now, when? Are you planning to defy the imperial decree?”
Li Wenlong froze for a moment, then rose abruptly. “Assemble the troops! Follow me!”
By then, not only the Commander and the Deputy Commander, but several of their trusted officers had also met with accidents. Panic spread among the border troops. But luckily, Li Wenlong moved swiftly. With the imperial decree in one hand, he charged through every garrison.
He finally burst into the Commander’s headquarters, where he confronted the Deputy Commander, who was already mustering troops for a deployment.
“Li Wenlong! What do you think you’re doing?” Seeing him arrive, the Deputy Commander’s face darkened. He, too, had just heard of the Commander’s drowning and was preparing to lead his men to arrest those responsible for the murder.
The Deputy Commander looked at Li Wenlong with disgust.
Li Wenlong stared straight into his eyes. “Deputy Commander Li Wenlong, by imperial decree, I am to assume the post of Commander!” He held up the decree high.
The Deputy Commander was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter. “Li Wenlong, have you been drinking today?”
“No.”
“Then how else could you be talking such drunken nonsense?” The Deputy Commander’s face turned grim. “Get out of my way! Don’t interfere!”
Li Wenlong unfurled the decree. “Are you trying to defy the Emperor’s order?”
The Deputy Commander sneered. “Defy what order? Li Wenlong, Li Wenlong, you think you can take command with a fake imperial decree? Still dreaming? Even if it were real, don’t you know the saying: ‘When the general is in the field, he may disregard the monarch’s command’?”
He glanced contemptuously at Li Wenlong’s worn-out armor. “You’re a nobody with no backing, always daydreaming. Go get yourself fifty—no, eighty strokes of the staff!”
With that, he turned to leave.
But suddenly, Li Wenlong’s eyes blazed. “Men! Disarm him!”
The soldiers behind him stepped forward. The Deputy Commander paused, fury rising. “Who dares?! Are you plotting a rebellion?”
“Rebellion? We are all soldiers of Great Zhou! Our loyalty is to the Emperor! You see an imperial decree and still refuse to obey—you’re the one plotting rebellion!” Li Wenlong bellowed. He felt the cold, stagnant weight that had pressed on his chest for so long slowly dissolving.
“Neglecting your duties, forming cliques, embezzling military wages, forcing our brothers to farm their own food just to survive—and you, you lot, warm by the stoves in winter, while the common soldiers can’t even afford a proper padded coat!”
“You… have you lost your mind? Arrest him!” The Deputy Commander hadn’t expected this usually quiet, odd Li Wenlong to suddenly grow a spine.
“Anyone who steps forward will be killed on the spot!”
“Li Wenlong, think carefully! I have Grand Preceptor Wang backing me!”
The standoff drew other officers rushing in, their faces bewildered.
“Grand Preceptor Wang? He is but a minister. Are you saying a Grand Preceptor is greater than the Son of Heaven?”
“Li Wenlong! I’ll say it one last time! Order your men to lay down their weapons!” The Deputy Commander, growing more confident as the crowd swelled, calmed down a little.
“And I’ll say it one last time: I, Li, am assuming command by imperial decree. Any who refuse to comply will face military discipline.”
“So you’re determined to oppose me?” The Deputy Commander narrowed his eyes. “I see. You probably murdered the Commander too, didn’t you? You traitor! Men, arrest him!”
Several officers moved forward, but after a few steps, they realized their own soldiers hadn’t budged.
“What are you waiting for? Seize Li Wenlong!” one officer hissed under his breath.
But the company commander behind him shook his head. “We cannot. We are the Emperor’s soldiers, not Grand Preceptor Wang’s.”
“Are you rebelling?”
Several officers noticed that their own company commanders had blocked their men.
The Deputy Commander, sensing the anomaly, frowned. “So, Li Wenlong, you’ve managed to recruit so many to die with you?”
Li Wenlong honestly shook his head. “If I said I knew nothing about it, would you believe me?”
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
nce】【Lighthearted Comedy】【Ultimate Gentleman's Novel】【Viewer Discretion Advised for Under 16】 The mightiest human hero, Sharen Morian, is resurrected after a thousand years by his wife—the Demon King. This is not your typical hero-vs-demon-king tale.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
