Chapter 374
Chapter 374
Marquis Su Nan was a man who placed great importance on health, preferring to eat small meals multiple times a day rather than three large ones. His dinner was even lighter than his other meals, consisting of porridge accompanied by a variety of delicious and exquisite dishes. He didn't give Shen Lang in Zhenyuan City a second thought. Shen Lang was probably dead, along with his two hundred-odd men. In Zhenyuan City, Shen Lang was nothing more than a clown, destined for a brief, frantic dance before vanishing. Less than an hour ago, he had received a report from Su Lin that Shen Lang had entered the prefectural residence, which meant the three-thousand-strong army would have begun its assault on the city lord's manor. The outcome was already decided. Su Nan planned to have a drinking cup made from Shen Lang's skull once his head arrived.
Su Nan's mind was entirely consumed with thoughts of his grand undertaking. The great army of Chu had finally made its move, an action that would surely shock the world. An army of over a hundred thousand would approach the border of the State of Yue to confront Zhong Yao's forces, and the Baiye Commandery would be sealed tight. Then, once the civil unrest in the State of Jiang was completely quelled, Aru'tai could lead tens of thousands of troops into Yue territory. When their forces joined with the Su Clan's army, they would command a force of over sixty thousand, making it easy to seize the Baiye Commandery.
Su Nan was also aware of the contents of the royal edict.
'The king has ordered Zhang Chong and Shen Lang to pin down the Su Clan's rebel army within the Baiye Commandery? What utter nonsense. Our army has already begun its rebellion; we'll have the southern part of Tianxi Province in our hands within a month. By then, Zhang Chong and Shen Lang will have failed their mission, and they'll be dead men walking, no need for Ning Yuanxian to even lift a finger.'
Just as he finished his porridge, a servant's voice came from outside.
"My lord, someone has arrived from Zhenyuan City."
Su Nan frowned and asked.
"What on earth was Su Lin doing that it took this long? Has someone come to deliver Shen Lang's head? Send them in!"
A warrior from the Su Clan entered, trembling, holding a box in his hands. He was so terrified he could barely speak, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.
'Shen Lang, that wretched bastard is finally dead!'
Su Nan casually asked the trembling warrior.
"I'm not going to eat you. Why are you so frightened?"
Paying little mind to the warrior's demeanor, Su Nan gave an order.
"Go and fetch the finest artisan. I want Shen Lang's skull made into a drinking cup..."
Su Nan trailed off, his expression suddenly turning blank and stunned. Inside the box was not Shen Lang's head, but the head and nameplate of his nephew, Su Lin. Only then did the warrior burst into tears before Su Nan, wailing.
"My lord, Zhenyuan City has fallen! All our people were killed by Shen Lang, and the entire garrison defending the city has been annihilated!"
In an instant, Su Nan was struck as if by lightning, utterly shocked. He couldn't believe it.
'Could it be that the Sword King Li Qianqiu's blind love for his wife was a lie? No matter how close he is to Shen Lang, it couldn't possibly surpass his affection for his wife, could it? And what about the three-thousand-strong garrison in Zhenyuan City? They may not be the Su Clan's private, elite soldiers, but their numbers were still ten times greater than Shen Lang's force. We even deployed various heavy weapons. How could Shen Lang possibly win? To be defeated under such overwhelmingly favorable conditions... did I misjudge Su Lin? For Shen Lang to shake my very foundation in Zhenyuan City, a place mere dozens of miles from my own marquisate, with only a few hundred men... What a profound humiliation.'
Su Nan closed his eyes. Just then, his older brother, Su Quan, rushed in. Seeing Su Lin's severed head in the box, he burst into tears.
"My lord, I will go and kill Shen Lang myself. I will kill that bastard!"
After a long moment, Marquis Su Nan regained his composure and questioned the warrior who had brought the box.
"What happened in the city?"
"The woman we captured was never the Sword King Li Qianqiu's wife. Shen Lang had anticipated this and switched her out."
Su Nan's eyes narrowed. He hadn't entirely dismissed this possibility, but the Sword King's wife was afflicted with a potent poison from Mount Fudao, something that couldn't be easily replicated. Su Nan could never have guessed that to save the Sword King's wife, Shen Lang had drawn her blood more than ten times to extract the potent poison, and in the process, had discovered numerous Gu-worms in her bloodstream.
The Gu-worms found in the Sword King's wife constantly secreted a strange toxin that caused her to lose her sanity, made her skin turn toad-like, and bent her bones. The strange thing was, simply injecting another person with her blood, which contained the venomous worms, did not produce these bizarre symptoms. To replicate the same effects, one would have to isolate the Gu-worms from the blood and then extract the toxic fluid they secreted—an incredibly delicate and difficult task.
How could Su Nan have known that Shen Lang had been studying the Gu-worms of Mount Fudao all this time to save the Sword King's wife? Moreover, who could have possibly guessed that Shen Lang's ultimate goal was to use the Gu-worms to alter a person's blood meridians, instantly elevating their martial arts potential to its peak?
"There were three thousand garrison soldiers in Zhenyuan City. What happened to them?"
The warrior replied to Su Nan's question.
"They are all dead."
Su Yong asked in shock.
"How could they all be dead? Shen Lang only has about two hundred men under his command, doesn't he? How could he possibly wipe out a garrison of three thousand?"
"After Shen Lang entered the prefectural residence, Lord Su Lin ordered a city-wide collection. The various lords went door-to-door to all the commoners' homes in Zhenyuan City, not just the ones who looted their shops yesterday, to collect dues and make an example of them. But then Shen Lang appeared, very much alive, and hung Lord Su Lin from a high flagpole, inciting the commoners..."
Marquis Su Nan raised a hand to stop him. There was no need to hear any more. A single spark can burn down a prairie. Su Lin had ignited the flames of fury throughout Zhenyuan City, and Shen Lang had fanned them. Until now, many had not understood Su Nan's strategy. Why elevate the status of the Westerners while suppressing the majority of Yue's people? The reason was quite simple. Su Nan intended to betray the State of Yue, to abandon it and establish a new nation. To do so, he had to build a new pyramid of power within his sphere of influence, one that excluded the people of Yue.
It was a structure with the Su Clan at the very top, the people of Jiang in the second tier, Westerners in the third, and the most populous group, the people of Yue, at the very bottom. The Later Jin was once part of the Ming Dynasty, but after rebelling and establishing their independence, they followed a similar path. The Qing Dynasty, too, created a pyramid of power after establishing its rule: the Manchus were first, the Mongols second, and the Han Chinese were at the bottom. Oppressing the people of Yue was a necessary policy for the Su Clan's ambition to found a new nation.
"Shen Lang, you truly are a vicious one!"
Su Nan couldn't help but admire him.
'He's only been in Zhenyuan City for two days, and he's already killed thousands of my people. Vicious, precise, and brilliant!'
Just then, a report came from outside.
"My lord, Grand Master Kunan has arrived."
Su Nan frowned.
'Ascetic Kunan could have come to the marquisate earlier to report the situation. Did he delay in the hope that our Su Clan would find itself in an even more difficult predicament?'
Su Nan's expression was grim for a second, but he quickly broke into a loud laugh and went to greet him.
"Su Nan pays his respects to the Master."
The moment he stepped through the door, Marquis Su Nan bowed deeply in greeting. The union of the Su Clan and the State of Jiang, the alliance with the Western Regions, and winning over the Great Calamity Temple—these were the three core policies of the Su Clan. Ascetic Kunan accepted Su Nan's greeting and entered the house.
"Please, sit!"
At Su Nan's invitation, Ascetic Kunan sat in the seat of honor with a somber expression and began to speak slowly.
"Kindness and enmity are cyclical. The Great Calamity Temple always repays its debts. Benefactor Shen Lang lacks understanding of our temple and continuously provokes the dignity of the Buddha. It is truly astonishing."
"Indeed, he should not. The divine Buddha of a place as supreme as the Great Calamity Temple is solemn and should not be violated."
Ascetic Kunan continued.
"To uphold the solemn decree of the Great Calamity Temple's Buddhist law, I must return and mobilize our forces. It is my duty to bring Shen Lang to the Great Calamity Temple to face divine punishment."
"How many troops do you intend to gather, Master?"
"Five thousand warrior monks!"
Su Nan was overjoyed by Ascetic Kunan's answer.
"The world of Buddhism is as vast and boundless as the sea, and the Great Calamity Temple possesses supreme dignity. I hope that you, Master, will allow the Buddhist law to flourish throughout our Su Clan's territories."
"When the Su Clan takes Tianxi Province, the influence of our Great Calamity Temple will enter Tianxi."
"That is only natural. As a disciple of the Great Calamity Temple, I will do everything in my power to build a divine temple to enshrine the dharmakāya of the Great Calamity Temple."
Ascetic Kunan shook his head at Su Nan's reply and spoke in an even firmer tone.
"We have our Snow Mountain Divine Temple in the State of Jiang, but that is not enough. We will build the Great Calamity Palace."
The Great Calamity Palace. It was an incredibly grand and magnificent palace that once stood on the Great Snow Mountain, on the border between the Su Clan's territory and the State of Jiang. It was more than two or three times the size of the Snow Mountain Divine Temple in Jiang. At its peak, the Great Calamity Palace housed as many as five thousand monks and was the largest base for the Great Calamity Temple in the State of Yue. However, after being attacked first by Lord Jiang Li and later by the emperor of the Great Yan Empire, the Great Calamity Temple could no longer hold its ground and was forced to withdraw completely from Yue. The Great Calamity Palace itself was utterly destroyed in a great war. And now, Ascetic Kunan was proposing to rebuild the fallen palace. How much money would that cost? No, the cost was secondary. What kind of controversy and turmoil would the news of rebuilding the Great Calamity Palace stir up across the land?
Once their kingdom merged with the State of Jiang, the Su Clan planned to rule their territory for several years, or perhaps a decade, before seeking proper recognition from the Great Yan Dynasty and returning to its fold, even if they didn't receive the Yan Emperor's investiture for the time being. By then, the State of Jiang would cease to exist, leaving only the kingdom of the Su Clan. But if they were to rebuild the Great Calamity Palace, what would the Yan Emperor think?
No. There was no need to rush. He just had to agree for now. The matter of building the Great Calamity Palace could even be used as a bargaining chip in future negotiations with the Great Yan Empire.
"Very well, I agree!"
"There is no time to waste. I will mobilize the warrior monks of the Great Calamity Temple at once and return within half a month!"
"I will await your good news, Master."
* * *
Ascetic Kunan departed.
"I will take five thousand soldiers and retake Zhenyuan City."
Su Nan shook his head at Su Quan's words.
"Su Yong, you are to go immediately with the Chu envoy to Demon Rock Mountain in Chu territory and ask Grand Master Banya to descend from the mountain."
Just as the State of Yue had six Grand Masters, the State of Chu also had six. The quota for Grand Masters in each state was allocated by the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. The State of Wu, being weaker, had a quota of only five.
"Yes!"
Su Nan went into an inner room, brought out a box, and handed it to Su Yong.
"If she refuses to come down, give this box to her. She will agree then."
"Yes!"
Su Nan continued.
"Brother Su Quan, take five thousand troops and surround Zhenyuan City, but do not attack under any circumstances. Before long, a rebellion will break out within the city. When that happens, there will be no need to fight; the people inside will tear Shen Lang to pieces themselves."
Su Nan sighed and said.
"I can only hope Shen Lang becomes attached to Zhenyuan City and decides to stay there."