Chapter 354

Chapter 354

"The ebb and flow of the world's tides - unity after prolonged division, and division after prolonged unity."

Amidst the gentle spring breeze, on a broad road, Qin Ran spoke thoughtfully to Li Shiwen as they rode on horseback, "The Land of Immortal Legacy has been divided for far too long. The time for unification has arrived.

"Xuanqin's unification of the Land of Immortal Legacy is the inevitable trend of the times."

Li Shiwen, riding beside him, gave him a sidelong glance. "So, is this your justification for making North Chu submit to Xuanqin?"

Qin Ran did not answer but countered with a question of his own: "Would you like to hear the story of King Goujian's bitter perseverance?"

"Tell me," said Li Shiwen.

Qin Ran then narrated the tale of King Goujian of Yue and King Fuchai of Wu. At the end, he concluded with "The diligent shall prevail under Heaven's grace; three thousand Yue soldiers can swallow Wu whole," encouraging Li Shiwen that North Chu too might have a chance in the future.Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.com for the best novel reading experience

"You and your grand philosophies..." Li Shiwen scoffed in disbelief. "Just like those impoverished scholars - better at talking than doing."

"Those impoverished scholars could not have made a million Xuanqin troops retreat," Qin Ran retorted.

Xuanqin's elite troops numbered over two hundred thousand, with nearly six hundred thousand logistics personnel serving them. Adding the soldiers stationed in the occupied cities of North Chu, the total force likely exceeded a million - a conservative estimate.

They were on their way back to Danyang.

After the Black-Robed Man's ghastly assault, Xuanqin's retreat had only accelerated. It did not take long for their troops to withdraw from Wuyi City in North Chu all the way back to Anlu City in Xuanqin territory.

Li Zhan needed to restore order in the war-torn Wuyi City, so he arranged for a small detachment to trail behind the Xuanqin army and observe while dispatching Li Shiwen's team to return to Danyang and report back.

Sending Li Shiwen back to the capital served two purposes: to update the North Chu Emperor on the current war situation and to persuade him to accept the terms proposed by Qin Ran's clone and Xuanqin.

Additionally, since Li Shiyin had been injured and had not fully recovered, she had been whining and begging to return home to see her mother. Thus, Qin Ran brought her along on the journey back to Danyang.

He and Li Shiwen rode at the front, while Li Shiyin and Yu Chi Zhen rode in a carriage in the middle.

"So, how do you plan to convince your North Chu Emperor to become Xuanqin's son?" Qin Ran asked casually as they chatted along the way.

"As a fellow North Chu native, could you watch your words?" Li Shiwen shot Qin Ran a glance before replying, "His Majesty is no foolish or stubborn ruler. He can read the situation and needs no persuasion from me.

"In fact, from what I know, amid our successive defeats, His Majesty has already sought peace with Xuanqin multiple times, but Xuanqin ignored him. With such lenient terms this time, His Majesty will likely be too stunned to close his mouth for half a year."

"Fair enough, if you're confident," Qin Ran said indifferently.

"However, I don't quite understand why I have to be the 'villain' again," Li Shiwen recalled, feeling resentful. "After the Hengduan Mountains incident, I've already been slandered enough. This time, I don't know what new insults I'll face."

"What do you care about such things when you've already endured so much?" Qin Ran asked. "Or did you expect me to go in person?"

Li Shiwen nodded. "It would be better if you went. With your cunning and shrewdness, you'd make the perfect Prime Minister for North Chu."

"The word 'shrewdness' is not quite accurate..." Qin Ran pondered, recalling that his clone had joined Xuanqin and was likely serving as their Prime Minister. The thought irritated him. "A more tactful term would be better."

"At least you have some self-awareness..." Li Shiwen was about to continue when he suddenly noticed a bright light streaking towards them from the distant sky. Squinting, he saw it was a cultivator riding a sword, flying straight towards them.

Then, suddenly raising her voice to a whiny pitch, she said sweetly, "Master... Can you come over and let me ride with you?"

"???"

Qin Ran was addressed, and the pitiful tone of his disciple's voice sent shivers down his spine. He glanced at Li Shiwen, who was also rubbing his arms, clearly just as disgusted by Li Shiyin's cloying act.

He had no intention of indulging his foolish disciple, but seeing Cheng Nan... a desire to show off welled up within him.

"Master?" Cheng Nan looked bewildered. "Your master is here? Where?"

Then he saw beneath his eyelids that Qin Ran turned his horse around and went towards Li Shiyin's carriage.

"You... you are Master Shiyin?!" He couldn't believe it.

This guy who looked like General Li Shiwen, but didn't have an ounce of cultivation aura, was actually Master Shiyin?!

Qin Ran ignored him and went straight to the carriage. He glared at Li Shiyin and asked, "Weren't you in so much pain that you couldn't even lift a finger?"

"Hehehe!" Li Shiyin giggled foolishly. She was just pretending so her master would feed her.

She crawled out of the curtain, nimble and graceful, diving into Qin Ran's embrace and straddling the horse, not looking injured at all.

She even said, "Master, I'll teach you how to ride a horse."

The silly disciple might be silly, but she often had mischievous ideas.

"Hmph!" With this increasingly mischievous silly disciple, Qin Ran didn't want to play along. Holding her in his arms, he tugged on the reins and headed back to the front of the group.

At the front, Li Shiwen was already used to this. He knew Li Shiyin's nature too well. This girl had never been an obedient child. Now that she had a cunning master, she was becoming more and more like him - utterly naughty.

But Cheng Nan was so shocked that his mouth hung open, wide enough to fit a fist. Pointing at the master and disciple pair exuding a pungent odor, he stuttered, "You... you... Mas... Master, you... like... your master???"

He finally remembered that the reason Li Shiyin had rejected his marriage proposal years ago was because she had someone else in her heart. He had thought it was some senior brother... but he never expected...

"Yes, my master, Qin Ran!" She introduced Qin Ran to Cheng Nan, hugging Qin Ran's arm over his shoulder.

This was hardly an introduction to her master!

Cheng Nan saw everything clearly and didn't want to say anything more. Li Shiyin had broken his heart once again. Watching the affectionate pair, he took out his sword and flew toward Wuyi City.

Qin Ran pinched Li Shiyin's cheek and whispered in her ear, "The disciples of the Dao Sword Sect were right about their evaluation of you."

"What evaluation?" Li Shiyin widened her innocent eyes and turned to look at Qin Ran.

"They said you're a demon, and someone gave you a nickname - the Sword Demon." Qin Ran leaned in and nibbled her ear. "You're just a little witch!"

The silly disciple was clearly doing this on purpose for Cheng Nan to see, aiming to completely dispel Cheng Nan's thoughts... or perhaps, to also show off a bit.

She loved her master so much, of course she wanted everyone in the world to know!

"No, I'm not!" Li Shiyin's ear tickled, and she quickly moved away from Qin Ran's mouth, showing him only the back of her head as she giggled, "Shiyin is the cutest, Shiyin is just master's silly disciple!"