Chapter 535
Chapter 535
Shen Lang spent about half a month finding all two thousand three hundred people. He then spent another ten days helping them recover their health and teaching them formations. After that, he requisitioned two hundred large, open-topped carriages to transport these two thousand-plus individuals out of the capital and toward the Northern Plains Hunting Ground. As the blank-blooded people left the capital, they were once again surrounded by onlookers. At least a hundred thousand people came to watch, hoping Shen Lang would provide some entertainment.
Faced with the crowd, the blank-blooded people felt a deep sense of inferiority and anxiety, shrinking back like snakes. They kept their eyes fixed on the ground, not daring to look at the citizens, their faces filled with fear.
“Hahaha, is that the army Shen Lang recruited?! I recognize one of them. He’s the fool who lives next door to me.”
“That’s right. I know that one over there, too. He’s a famous simpleton. Spends all day talking to his dog and staring at the sky. Completely lost his mind.”
“My goodness! Shen Lang has swept up every fool in the capital. Isn’t this the world’s number one army of idiots?”
“Nonsense! Who but an idiot would join Shen Lang and Ying Zheng’s army? They’re bound to be sacrificed in battle! What sane person would sign up to die?”
“The parents of these fools are truly cruel, sending their sons to their deaths for money. I hear they were paid a handsome sum.”
“One hundred and eighty silver taels per person, they say.”
“What? That much? Are those simpletons worth one hundred and eighty silver taels each? You couldn’t get two taels of silver if you sold them for meat. Their parents must have hit the jackpot.”
“That’s also nonsense. Haven’t you noticed how many families have been holding weddings lately? They sold off their foolish sons to pay for wives for their other sons.”
“Shen Lang is a truly damned scoundrel. Do those fools even know they’re going to die in a hundred days?”
“They’re fools. How would they know?”
The conversations of the crowd reached the ears of the blank-blooded people. But they felt no fear, nor did they care about dying. If Young Master Shen asked them to die, they would do so gladly. After all, they had finally experienced the joys of being human in the past few days. Amidst countless jeers, Shen Lang led his two thousand-plus men out of the capital.
Shen Lang pointed at the noisy crowd and said.
“Your Highness Ying Zheng, I can’t help but pity you. Once you reclaim your position as heir and ascend the throne, you’ll have to deal with fools like these every day, won’t you?”
Ying Zheng replied, “Don’t mock them. They are pitiful people, too.”
“The greatest tragedy is not knowing you’re crippled.”
Ying Zheng shook his head helplessly. He certainly wasn’t going to argue with Shen Lang. In a way, Shen Lang wasn’t wrong, but Ying Zheng was not one to be so arrogant.
***
After entering the Northern Plains Hunting Ground, Shen Lang began the process of modifying the bloodlines of his two thousand-plus men. He had already conducted numerous experiments and discovered that those with blank bloodlines were the only ones who could successfully undergo the modification. Using the power of the lowest-grade golden bloodline could trigger a transformation within their bodies. How formidable would their combat strength be after the modification? What kind of change would they undergo? Shen Lang was filled with anticipation. This large-scale bloodline modification had to be done in a secret, remote location, and not a single whisper of it could be allowed to leak out.
The Northern Plains Hunting Ground had long been deserted, with only about a hundred old soldiers stationed there to receive Shen Lang. But the moment Shen Lang’s army arrived, someone blocked their path. A troop of soldiers had stationed themselves at the hunting ground several hours earlier, driving out the old guards and forcibly occupying it, intending to seize it from Shen Lang. Go Il-jin stepped forward to negotiate.
“I am Go Il-jin, a Chiliarch from the Marquis of Changping's Estate. By order of His Highness, I have come to station and train new recruits at the Northern Plains Hunting Ground. Please stand aside and leave this place!”
There were a full three hundred cavalrymen blocking the entrance to the Northern Plains Hunting Ground, every one of them an elite. Their leader was Zhong Miao, the adopted daughter of the Zhong Clan. Zhong Miao sneered.
“When did His Highness bestow the Northern Plains Hunting Ground upon you? Why haven’t I heard of it? All I know is that with two thousand of my Zhong Clan’s elite soldiers stationed here, this hunting ground is ours. It doesn’t matter who comes. Now, get lost!”
Then, Zhong Miao shouted an order.
“This is a restricted military area. No one is to approach. Violators will be killed without mercy!”
The three hundred Zhong Clan cavalrymen roared in unison and drew their swords in perfect order. Their killing intent pierced the sky. Zhong Miao continued.
“Shen Lang, our young lady is inside the hunting ground. You should get lost immediately. Aren't you just the prince’s plaything? Why don’t you go cry to His Highness and have him take your side?”
At that moment, Zhong Sasa appeared, followed by two thousand of the Zhong Clan’s elite soldiers. It had been over a month since Shen Lang had brutally beaten her and ruined her face, and she had now recovered her stunning beauty. The bridge of her nose, which had been broken, was fixed, revealing her still-sharp and beautiful features. She wore new armor, not the soft armor from before, but it was still a fiery red. Her figure was as sizzling as ever, every curve capable of igniting a man’s soul. This woman was insufferably arrogant, but she was indeed a peerless beauty. She glared at Shen Lang with eyes full of hatred.
Zhong Sasa spoke coldly, “Shen Lang, I’ve been waiting here for you for a long time. Why did you take so long to show up? I’ll give you a choice now. Either get lost in disgrace, or be annihilated by my army! Army of the Zhong Clan, listen up! If anyone from Shen Lang’s side crosses this white line by even a single step, engage immediately and kill without mercy!”
“Yes!”
Zhong Sasa’s two thousand elite soldiers roared in unison. She had long been waiting there, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to Shen Lang. Shen Lang glanced at them; Zhong Sasa had over two thousand soldiers and had even set up a defensive line. On his side, he had at most three hundred soldiers. The remaining two thousand blank-blooded men were currently so weak they couldn't even wring a chicken's neck. But each one of them was incredibly precious. Once their bloodlines were modified, they would transform into the finest warriors. They were the seeds of an invincible army, and he couldn't afford to lose a single one.
Zhong Sasa said coldly, “Shen Lang, I’ll count down from five. You either get lost or step forward and die! Five, four, three, two…”
Just then, Shen Lang burst into laughter and spoke.
“Zhong Sasa, you’ve fallen into my trap. I’ll count down from five. If you all don’t leave by then, I will annihilate your army. As for you, I'll personally X you, and then kill you!”
Shen Lang also began to count down.
“Five, four, three, two, one!”
After hearing Shen Lang’s words, Zhong Sasa remained silent, but Zhong Miao burst out laughing.
“Shen Lang, stop putting on a show and making empty threats. We’ve fallen into your trap? How have we fallen into your trap?”
“Zhong Sasa, you originally intended to use Consort Zhong to have me killed, but she has now closed her palace doors and refuses to see anyone. Moreover, she no longer cares about the conflict between us, so you had no choice but to wait for me at the Northern Plains Hunting Ground. You secretly moved a portion of your troops here three days ago, and the main force arrived last night. You yourself arrived six hours ago.”
“So what?”
“Since I anticipated you would be waiting for me here at the Northern Plains Hunting Ground, wouldn’t I have taken steps to harm you first?”
Zhong Miao laughed. “Shen Lang, do you think we didn’t consider that? You’d poison the food, poison the water, or perhaps put smallpox virus in the wells, right? Countering such tactics is simple. First, we brought our own provisions and didn’t touch any of the food stored in the hunting ground. Second, boiling the water kills most pathogens. Even if you used a poison like arsenic, our Zhong Clan can detect it, and a simple silver needle can reveal its presence. Using other poisons is even more impossible. How much poison could you possibly have? Poison three wells to simultaneously affect our two thousand men? Are you joking?”
Her words made sense. Guarding against an enemy poisoning food or water was a crucial task for an elite army. Besides, poisoning on a large scale was inherently difficult.
Shen Lang smiled. “All true. But Zhong Sasa, you are aware that Shanshan used Gu poison from parasitic worms on her adoptive mother, the Sword King’s wife, are you not?”
At these words, the expressions of Zhong Sasa and Zhong Miao changed drastically. Shanshan and Zhong Sasa were very close, so they knew of the incident and had heard rumors of the Sword King’s wife’s gruesome state.
“Other potent poisons, when greatly diluted, lose their effectiveness. Even the venom of the most formidable snake becomes inert when boiled and ingested. But there is one incredibly potent poison that cannot be killed by boiling water: the Gu poison from the parasitic worms of Mount Fudao. What’s even more terrifying is that these parasites endlessly divide and reproduce within the body. A mere few hundred worms can become tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even more in just a few days.”
“I dropped three taels of the Sword King’s wife’s blood into the wells of the Northern Plains Hunting Ground. There could be billions of parasitic worms in it. It’s useless even if you boiled the water. I wonder how many parasites each of you has inside you now. Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? And the stronger your bloodline power, the faster the Gu poison spreads. Some of you must have already started showing symptoms. The characteristics of this parasite’s outbreak are that the skin all over the body turns toad-like, you become afraid of light, your voice grows hoarse, and you gradually lose your sanity.”
Hearing this, a chill ran down Zhong Sasa’s spine. She knew exactly what a wretched state the Sword King’s wife was in. She was living in a form that was neither human nor ghost; death seemed a far better fate.
Shen Lang smiled. “If I’m not mistaken, the symptoms would have started in the groin area first, because that’s where the lymph nodes are most concentrated.”
“Ah!”
Suddenly, the Zhong Clan’s adopted daughter, Zhong Miao, let out a startled cry. Just a moment ago, when she had relieved herself, she had felt something strange below her abdomen. But since it didn’t hurt or itch, she had paid it no mind.