Seeing Zuo Zixiong frown and ponder, Xu Qing laughed, "General Zuo need not be too troubled. This is simply the deviation of man and beasts from the norm, just as flowers bloom out of season and water flows to high places. Indeed, fate is unpredictable, and not something the logic of principles can foresee."
"..."
Zuo Zixiong was speechless.
The other party said all this just to counter his one sentence!
The logic of principles...
Zuo Zixiong showed a confused expression for the first time.
The deeds of the current Holy Emperor are known even by the common folk on the streets. As a leader within the Divine Strategy Camp, who often interacts with the imperial family, how could he really not have heard?
After a while, Zuo Zixiong said, "Brother Xu's words remind me of an old matter. In early years, my elder brother held a post in the Capital Camp.
My brother's abilities far surpassed mine, yet he died young, leaving only my sister-in-law at home as a widow."
"My sister-in-law was noble, remained loyal for twenty years without a single rumor, but suddenly at fifty, she engaged secretly with someone and eventually died in childbirth."
"This deviation from the norm is no different from beasts."
Upon hearing Zuo Zixiong's change in tone, Xu Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief. He lamented, "It's good that General Zuo understands. Since that's the case, you should leave the Ancient Yin River earlier, find a decent lady, and leave descendants for the Zuo family. It's better than being manipulated in the court where man and beast defy the norms."
However, just when Xu Qing thought the situation had turned for the better, Zuo Zixiong's gaze grew even more resolute than before:
"Brother Xu speaks rightly, and I understand! But the grievances within the Imperial Court aren't something a mere Martial Artist like me can intervene in. They are usually indiscriminate, the truth unclear, and I'm only acting under orders."
"And this is the duty of a general!"
"..."
Xu Qing's tightly clenched fists loosened and clenched again; he had never wanted to punch someone as much as he did today.
Even Zhao Zhonghe, who took away his dream staff, hadn't made him this angry.
He talked for so long, only for it to fall on deaf ears!
Xu Qing held back again and again, but upon recalling the enticing body of the Eight Banner Marshals, he finally couldn't hold back.
"I don't care about this or that!"
Your life was saved by me, why should I listen to your reason?
Xu Qing grinned, stood up, and walked over to Zuo Zixiong. He reached out and patted the other's shoulder, saying:
"General Zuo has been running back and forth by the river these past few days, surely you must be tired?"
"Fighting for Dayong, how could I speak of weariness? I endure it willingly!"
"No! I say you're tired, you are tired!"
Xu Qing applied force to his palm. Before Zuo Zixiong could notice anything amiss, he uttered his final sentence—
"General, have a good sleep. When you wake up, perhaps you won't need to toil for Dayong anymore."
Zuo Zixiong only felt his shoulder sink, a cold and deadly aura flowing through his meridians, rushing straight to his head!
The next moment, Zuo Zixiong blacked out completely, unconscious.
"Indeed, compared to reasoning, I am more suited to violence."
Xu Qing sighed deeply, then turned to retrieve a coffin engraved with longevity patterns from the Mountain and River Map.
This is the non-aging coffin he obtained after exorcising Hu Baosong.
This coffin allows living people to retain their appearance, and when the coffin is opened, the person inside will look as they did in life, their longevity unchanged.
Xu Qing placed Zuo Zixiong in the non-aging coffin, wearing a mischievous look on his face.
In the Incense Hall, the Golden Simurgh watched as Xu Qing, who was chatting and laughing moments before, put someone into a coffin, his concept of following Xu Qing unwaveringly confirmed.
"You silly bird, what are you doing?"
After placing the non-aging coffin upright into the paper carriage, Xu Qing began to pray for the souls of the Divine Strategy Camp soldiers. Yet, as he busied himself, a cold wind suddenly blew from the side.
He turned his head to see the Golden Simurgh rhythmically flapping one wing, fanning away the heat.
Xu Qing's brow twitched.
The Ancient Yin River Dao is shrouded in darkness for years, cold as winter all year round. What need is there for this silly bird to show its attentiveness?
The Golden Simurgh sulkingly returned to the paper carriage, snuggled against the non-aging coffin containing Zuo Zixiong, and began pecking at the rice in a cloth bag.
In the Incense Hall, the candle shadows flickered, and as time passed, the scenes of love and hate among the corpses played like a revolving lantern in the small temple.
On the altar, the Demon Exorcism True Monarch's ferocious face glared menacingly.
At a certain moment, the Golden Simurgh resting beside the paper carriage suddenly raised its head in alert. It saw the Demon Exorcism True Monarch's head had somehow turned towards Xu Qing, a dark blue light flashing through the fierce eyes.
The Golden Chicken, versed in discerning right from wrong, immediately flapped its wings, and a cloud-piercing, stone-splitting chicken cry resounded through the temple.
At the Bleak Bone Station, all wandering ghosts outside seemed to have heard something terrifying. Suddenly, ghostly figures fled the ghost market, and soon enough, not a single ghost remained on the street.
Meanwhile, inside the bone temple.
The image of the Demon Exorcism True Monarch had returned to normal, though the statue's eyes retained a fierce glow, the previous anomaly was gone.
As all strange occurrences faded, the Golden Simurgh returned to the paper carriage to nap, as if nothing had happened.
In the empty space of the temple, Xu Qing looked at the Golden Simurgh who crowed for no reason, then raised his head to glance at the statue of the True Monarch that had returned to its original state.
"The Demon Exorcism True Monarch, huh..."
Dark light flickered in Xu Qing's eyes as well.
He sensed the strange nature of this bone temple, but aside from that moment of being watched, he didn't sense any obvious hostility.
After finishing the rites for all the corpses, Xu Qing inventoried his gains, which included some human-grade rewards as well as a lower-earth-grade cultivation technique named Grand Non-Phase Skill and a claw technique called Red Cloud Hand.
Initially, Xu Qing thought the Grand Non-Phase Skill required good innate conditions, like having a large stomach, but upon truly learning it, he discovered it's a superior martial arts technique, akin to borrowing force to counter force, reminiscent of methods like intercept and redirect.
Moreover, many martial arts mysteries within it had countless connections to the Tai Chi Eight Trigrams philosophies Xu Qing remembered.
Before he performed rites for Wang Faping, Xu Qing already felt this cultivation technique was somewhat linked to Taoism, and after seeing the revolving lantern, he became more convinced of his suspicion.
The Western Region monk who created this Grand Non-Phase Skill had been invited by the royal family to preach. Later, he spent several years in the Celestial Master's Mansion for further cultivation.
The teachings and techniques of the Celestial Master's Mansion, seen as insignificant by them, were regarded as treasures by the monk.
Not long after returning to the Western Regions, he created this Grand Non-Phase Skill using Tai Chi Eight Trigrams philosophy and classified it as a superior cultivation technique in the Western Regions.
Xu Qing pondered that this technique could be passed to Iron Pillar.
Zombies inherently possess Steel and Iron Bones, especially those possessing the Undying Bone.
The lower-earth-grade Grand Non-Phase Skill was of little use to him, but the equally graded Red Cloud Hand was more to his liking.
The most primitive weapon for zombies is their corpse claws, and until now, Xu Qing hadn't found an appropriate claw technique for cultivation. The Red Cloud Hand just happens to fill this gap.
The Red Cloud Hand focuses on gripping, tearing, hooking, and ripping, emphasizing a one-strike kill, while also allowing restraint of the enemy's weapon.
Overall, it's an extremely insidious claw technique, and the words "Red Cloud" are far from being as elegant as they seem.
So-called Red Cloud refers to the place where claws pass, tearing flesh from bone, and those scattered bits resemble a red cloud, truly ruthless and deadly!
.....
Not long after returning to the Western Regions, the monk created this Grand Non-Phase Skill using Tai Chi Eight Trigrams philosophy and classified it as a superior cultivation technique in the Western Regions.
Xu Qing pondered that this technique could be passed to Iron Pillar.
Zombies inherently possess Steel and Iron Bones, especially those possessing the Undying Bone.
The lower-earth-grade Grand Non-Phase Skill was of little use to him, but the equally graded Red Cloud Hand was more to his liking.
The most primitive weapon for zombies is their corpse claws, and until now, Xu Qing hadn't found an appropriate claw technique for cultivation. The Red Cloud Hand just happens to fill this gap.
The Red Cloud Hand focuses on gripping, tearing, hooking, and ripping, emphasizing a one-strike kill, while also allowing restraint of the enemy's weapon.
Overall, it's an extremely insidious claw technique, and the words "Red Cloud" are far from being as elegant as they seem.
So-called Red Cloud refers to the place where claws pass, tearing flesh from bone, and those scattered bits resemble a red cloud, truly ruthless and deadly!