Chapter 141: Head Ding, Truly a Fine Young Man

Ding Suian landed a blow and leaped back over a zhang, widening the distance.

Dui Gu took a blow from the scabbard under his armpit but was not injured, as he had his Protective Aura to protect his body.

But he subconsciously turned his head and took a quick look behind him.

Sure enough, Prince Rui, who had been leaning back in his grand armchair, had sat up straight, his eyes looking over with a gloomy and displeased expression.

The point of a brutal execution is in the torture, not the killing.

It must be forceful, it must be a crushing victory; after killing the person, one must also crush their spirit.

If it were just exchanging blows for dozens of rounds, even if one killed the person in the end, it wouldn’t be satisfying.

Clearly, Dui Gu’s performance just now could not satisfy Prince Rui.

The Wu Army forced laborers behind them, although they didn’t understand what was going on, could tell that this young Vermilion Bird Army Dutou was indeed capable of fighting Dui Gu.

“Dutou!”

“Head Ding!”

Trapped in an enemy country, although they dared not use words like “Victory” or “Mighty,” they used successive shouts to cheer for Ding Suian.

*Crack!*

“Quiet!”

But these sporadic cheers immediately earned them a lashing from the stone quarry guards.

Dui Gu took the opportunity to stabilize the chaotic Protective Aura in his body and thrust forward with his saber. Although his frame was large, he remained swift, covering the distance of a zhang in an instant.

Ding Suian, however, was faster than him. Without displaying any particularly exquisite footwork, he was always able to dodge and weave with the smallest movements at the most critical moments, narrowly avoiding danger.

Dui Gu repeated his old trick, secretly condensing his Protective Aura into his left fist. While Ding Suian was fully occupied with the blade, he struck directly at his ribs from an unexpected and tricky angle.

But, the moment his left bicep bulged, Ding Suian had already sensed his intention.

Ding Suian stuck his butt out with an exaggerated motion, allowing the sneak-attack left fist to graze past his side, then immediately sprang back with his powerful waist.

That butt looked powerful! That waist looked resilient!

During Yi Yiyi’s brief moment of distraction, the scabbard had followed the momentum and pressed down, striking the side of Dui Gu’s knee, forcing him to drop to one knee.

The Wu Army forced laborers let out a low laugh.

*Crack!*

“No laughing!”

“…”

The sound of the stone quarry guards’ whips striking the forced laborers did not make Prince Rui’s increasingly gloomy face look any better.

In the originally planned cat-and-mouse execution, who was the cat and who was the mouse now?

Dui Gu scrambled to his feet, not daring to look back at Prince Rui again. He had failed two active attacks and had been humiliated in return, while the opponent hadn’t even drawn his saber.

Shame turned to annoyance, and annoyance turned to rage.

He roared, threw away his steel saber, and circulated his Qi throughout his body. His cultivation at the Astral Consummation Realm erupted with full force, and his Protective Aura surged.

He abandoned all defense and rained blows down on Ding Suian like a storm. Each strike contained the immense power to split monuments and crack stones, causing the Protective Aura to churn and sending dust flying into the air.

“Too slow!”

The sheathed Kunwu slanted upwards, precisely striking the pressure point on Dui Gu’s elbow, instantly making his arm go limp.

“Too obvious!”

As Dui Gu brought down a powerful chopping palm, Ding Suian advanced instead of retreating, stepping into the center. The scabbard shot out like a poisonous dragon emerging from its den, striking first despite moving second, aiming directly at Dui Gu’s undefended lower abdomen, forcing him to defend in a panic.

No wonder ‘Old Man’ likes to lecture people so much; it feels really good.

Dui Gu also experienced the frustration of ‘can’t beat them in a fight, can’t beat them in an argument.’ Provoked repeatedly by words, he poured all his Protective Aura into his arms in a fit of rage and lunged forward.

The Protective Aura churned, and dust flew.

“Heh, conjuring up such a massive wind with your Protective Aura—what, are you trying to vent your anger by blowing down flowers and grass?”

Seeing that Ding Suian still had enough energy to chatter on, Yi Yiyi was certain that he was not in immediate danger. She couldn’t help but turn to look at the stone quarry gate; she was still anxiously hoping that Li Qiushi or her Esteemed Teacher would arrive sooner.

She was conflicted; she neither wanted her own country’s Martial Artist to be beaten into having no power to fight back in front of the many Wu Army forced laborers.

Nor did she want to see Ding Suian get hurt.

If her Esteemed Teacher appeared in time to let both sides stop with dignity, that would naturally be the best outcome.

But right at this moment, she heard countless people all around gasp in unison.

She quickly turned her head back.

She had unintentionally missed several exciting moments in the arena.

Regardless, when she looked over, Ding Suian’s Kunwu had been drawn from its sheath at some point, and the front half of the blade was now embedded in the crotch area of Dui Gu’s military padded jacket.

She saw him twist the hilt and pull the blade out cleanly.

The tip of the blade was stained with blood.

Dui Gu froze for a second, then suddenly reacted, subconsciously covering his crotch with both hands and curling up like a shrimp.

Immediately after, his baggy cotton trousers were quickly soaked through with bright red blood from the inside out.

“Ah~”

Only then did Dui Gu let out a scream that was eight hundred years too late.

Ding Suian turned to look at Prince Rui, his left arm bent at ninety degrees, his right hand placing the Kunwu into the crook of his elbow and slowly pulling it to wipe the blood off the blade. “Prince Rui, aren’t you short on eunuchs? I’ve processed one for you on the spot; take it, no need to thank me.”

“Hoo~ Hahaha.”

“Hahaha~”

*Crack!*

*Crack!*

“No laughing!”

“Hahaha~”

The hearty laughter that erupted from the thousand or so forced laborers in the back, though lacking a bit of vigor, could not be silenced by the whips this time.

Amidst the laughter, Prince Rui’s face was as gloomy as water; he slowly raised his right hand and gave a slight wave of his index finger.

The dozens of guards behind him seemed to have received the order; they simultaneously stepped forward, drew their sabers, and swarmed to surround Ding Suian.

“Prince Rui, you cannot! He is a member of the diplomatic mission!”

Amidst Yi Yiyi’s exclamation, Ding Suian looked around.

He never believed that there would be so many coincidences in the world.

Encountering ‘Old Man’, who brought Ding Suian all the way to Yunzhou and taught him Martial Skills, naturally meant he was plotting something.

The Old Man had gone to such great lengths; before seeing any return, he was Ding Suian’s biggest supporter.

“Teacher! Why have you come!”

Xue Fang, the Minister of the Honglu Temple of Southern Zhao, who had ridden over with Li Qiushi, quickly dismounted and stepped forward to greet the State Preceptor when he saw him a mile away from the stone quarry.

The State Preceptor’s expression was serious. He glanced at Li Qiushi following behind him and, without much explanation, only said, “Let’s go over first.”

“Yes.”

Xue Fang acknowledged, while the State Preceptor had already lightly tapped his toes and leaped up gracefully. His green robes and wide sleeves fluttered in the wind, like falling autumn leaves or a feather landing on the ground, and in an instant, he landed dozens of zhang away.

It was indescribably light and elegant.

“With poetry and books in one’s belly, one’s spirit naturally shines; with one’s feet treading upon mountains and rivers, one’s body naturally becomes light. The State Preceptor’s ‘Righteous Wind-Riding Steps’ are truly elegant and extraordinary!”

Behind him, Li Qiushi exclaimed in admiration.

Xue Fang did not seem surprised that he could recognize the Confucian Sect’s Wind-Riding Steps at a glance, but he was surprised that his teacher was in such a hurry.

The State Preceptor was always low-key and would not easily use the Divine Ability of the Confucian Sect in broad daylight, so as not to alarm the common people and cause a disturbance.

But this time… it seemed a bit different.

“Lord Li, hurry up!”

Xue Fang naturally did not have the State Preceptor’s ability and could only mount his horse and gallop.

And Li Qiushi, following behind, seemed to have caught a glimpse of something from the State Preceptor’s haste, and instead relaxed his reins. “What’s the rush? With the State Preceptor stepping in, who would dare to act recklessly?”

That was true; the teacher would certainly arrive before them. Once the teacher arrived, even if it were the Emperor of Great Zhao in the stone quarry, he would have to consider the Old Man’s attitude.

Xue Fang couldn’t help but stop whipping his horse’s rump.

“Junior Brother Xue.”

“Lord Li, although my Esteemed Teacher and Supervisor Yuan are fellow disciples, please address me by my title, Lord Li.”

“Tsk, we’re all family, why be so distant?”

“Don’t! You and I serve different masters, it’s better to address me by my title.”

“Fine, Title-holder Xue.”

“…”

“Title-holder Xue, tell me, Mr. Zhou is a Wu man after all. Helping your country crush his motherland this time, I wonder what he is thinking.”

“…”

This topic was too sensitive, and Xue Fang did not answer.

But Li Qiushi was not wrong. The reason Great Zhao won such a great victory this time was, first, because the teacher knew in advance that Qin Shou had secretly defected to the Great Wu State Religion and made corresponding deployments; second, it was the thick fog the teacher summoned to cover the battlefield.

A mere title of State Preceptor was not enough to highlight his achievements.

*Ding~ Ding~ Ding~*

“Stop banging, damn it! If you bang again, I’ll whip you to death!”

*Crack! Crack!*

*Ding~ Ding~ Ding~*

The sound of over a thousand forced laborers striking mountain stones with chisels simultaneously echoed throughout the stone quarry.

Despite the stone quarry guards slapping them wildly and whipping them indiscriminately, not a single person stopped.

This was their protest against Prince Rui of Southern Zhao, who had failed to keep his word and, after losing the contest, wanted to surround and kill Head Ding.

It was also an expression of their support for Ding Suian.

Yi Yiyi, standing not far away, desperately signaled to Ding Suian and even took two steps closer.

The general idea was for Ding Suian to take her hostage and escape first.

Prince Rui hesitated for a moment.

He was worried that killing Ding Suian by force in public would cause a riot among the prisoners of war.

The forced laborers in this stone quarry were mostly Wu Army officers; killing three or five of them for fun was fine, but if it caused large-scale casualties, it would undoubtedly lose the most important bargaining chip in the peace talks between the two countries.

The political impact was huge, and he had to consider it.

Just at this moment, a thunderous sound was heard from the sky: “Do not move!”

It momentarily drowned out the sound of the thousand people banging in the stone quarry.

Before the voice had even finished reverberating in the air, an Old Man in green robes with white hair—who had been a hundred paces away a moment ago—lightly tapped his toes and leaped, landing gracefully in the circle of guards.

Yi Yiyi was suddenly relieved, her legs went weak, and she almost fell to the ground, but she did not call out “Esteemed Teacher” in public.

The State Preceptor’s entrance was too shocking; not only did the entire stone quarry fall silent, but even Prince Rui instantly put away his frivolous and gloomy expression, hurriedly straightened his robes, and stepped forward, respectfully saying, “State Preceptor, why have you come to such a foul place?”

“Hehe~”

The State Preceptor scanned the surroundings and said kindly, “If Prince Rui doesn’t find this place foul, why would I?”

“…”

If you can come, why can’t I?

It was a soft nail (a polite rebuff); Prince Rui was displeased, but his attitude became even more respectful. “Is there something you need, State Preceptor? I am willing to do it for you.”

In the distance, several corpses of forced laborers had been dragged to one spot and piled up haphazardly.

The State Preceptor’s gaze swept over them, then he looked at Prince Rui, exceptionally kindly, “Prince Rui is willing to help me?”

“I would be more than happy to!”

The State Preceptor’s prestige was currently at its peak, and Prince Rui was naturally willing to do him a favor.

But then he heard the State Preceptor say, “Then please, Prince Rui, leave quickly and do not cause trouble here!”

The voice was still as gentle as a spring breeze.

Prince Rui’s face instantly flushed deep red.

That night.

In the simple work shed at the stone quarry north of the city.

The winter night was cold, but the atmosphere, which was usually dead and oppressive, was very different today.

“A-Zu, the way I see it, this time we really have hope of going home.”

“Mm, this time is different from the rumors before. Since Head Ding has appeared and come to visit today, there must really be hope.”

“A-Zu, you are a person from Central Heaven. Today I was lucky enough to speak with Head Ding, and he said he was also from Central Heaven. Did you know each other before?”

“I don’t know them. The brothers Deng Bao and Deng Gao are also from Central Heaven.”

As soon as A-Zu finished speaking, Deng Bao on the next bunk said, “How could I have the fortune to know such a young hero! If I had known him earlier, I would have long since found a way to serve under him.”

“Haha, Deng Bao, you are a Dutou, and he is also a Dutou; how could you serve under him?”

“Hehe, Old Zhou, didn’t you see him risking his life to protect us, a group of defeated soldiers who get no respect? Serving under a superior like that, I’d be willing to be a mere foot soldier.”

“Sigh, that’s true. If we can return to our country, I’d also be willing to follow him.”

Chen Hantai, sleeping in the innermost spot, with his arms behind his head, looked at the bowlful of starlight leaking through a hole in the roof. Listening to his comrades’ low discussions, he couldn’t help but think of that polite yet mischievous little boy when he was staying at Brother Lie’s house in Chilao Alley.

In the blink of an eye, he had grown so big and was so capable.

“Hey! By the way, today I heard that Head Ding call Commander Chen ‘Uncle Tai’. Commander Chen, do you happen to know each other?”

Not far away, a comrade suddenly asked. The rest of the discussions in the work shed stopped immediately, as if they were waiting for Chen Hantai to personally confirm this matter.

“Hehe!”

Chen Hantai quietly wiped the corner of his moistened eye and sat up. “Of course, that kid is my nephew!”

There was a rustling sound in the work shed, and everyone slowly gathered around, sitting cross-legged around Chen Hantai. “Commander Chen, tell us about Head Ding; he is our benefactor.”

In the dim starlight, faces that were either weathered or covered in scars now had a bit more hope and vitality compared to a few days ago.

Chen Hantai looked around, feeling something.

There were over a thousand people in the stone quarry, almost all of whom were mid-to-lower-level officers of the Imperial Guard. If everyone could return, the prestige of Ding Suians courtesy name in the army would likely surpass that of many veteran generals!

“Hehe, him? He was very mischievous when he was a kid, and I even beat him up. But he is righteous, kind, filial, and polite—he was the best kid in Chilao Alley.”

“Commander Chen, the way I see it, Head Ding is the best young man in our Great Wu!”

“Right!”

“Old Zhou is right.”