Chapter 53.2 War

Everyone knew that Ye Bing Shang was the daughter of General Ye, but the only legitimate daughter of his was the Third Lady, so wouldn’t the young girl behind him be…… Great General Ye’s beloved daughter ¹ 掌上明珠 (zhǎngshàng-míngzhū) – lit. a pearl in the palm (idiom); fig. beloved person (esp. daughter) !

Su Su responded, “Eldest Sister.”

The two looked at each other, then Ye Bing Shang suddenly scolded Kang Ting and said, “You must’ve done something to Third Sister and angered her. With Third Sister’s status, is she someone you can humiliate? Hurry and apologize!”

“T-this subordinate apologizes to the Third Lady!” Kang Ting unwillingly knelt down.

At the mention of her identity, the people of the Cangzhou Residence began to look at Su Su with strange eyes.

Su Su understood. The whole world knew that she was not only Ye Xiao’s daughter, but also the wife of the Zhou Kingdom’s Emperor from when he was still a hostage.

If one were to ask the people of Great Xia who they hated and feared the most right now, they would undoubtedly give the same answer——that terrifying and ruthless Emperor of Zhou Kingdom.

Under the surface, the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

The Zhou Kingdom and Xia Empire were still at war. The crazed Emperor Tantai’s army was just outside the city walls, so how could his woman come to Cangzhou?

Su Su looked at Ye Bing Shang and pulled a bright smile, “Eldest Sister is too courteous. Naturally, I won’t go against your people. He’s loyal and devoted ² 忠心耿耿 (zhōngxīn-gěnggěng) – an idiom; faithful and true , and kept speaking about Your Highness, I can’t be more happy for Eldest Sister.”

Ye Bing Shang remained calm, “Third Sister is joking. The soldiers of the prefecture are all faithful patriots ³ 忠君爱国 (zhōngjūn-àiguó) – loyal to the sovereign and devoted to the country (idiom); patriotic; loyal; dedicated , naturally, they are loyal to His Highness.”

Sometimes, in the malice between girls, knives ⁴ 锋芒 (fēngmáng) – tip (of pencil, spear etc); sharp point; cutting edge; spearhead; vanguard will be hidden within every few words ⁵ 三言两语 (sānyán-liǎngyǔ) – an idiom; in one or two words; expressed succinctly .

Su Su had no intention of competing ⁶ 高下 (gāoxià) – relative superiority or inferiority (better or worse, stronger or weaker, above or below etc) with her right now, so she casually nodded. The aura of Ye Bing Shang once she’d started using the Heart Protecting Scale had subtly changed. She still looked as gentle as water, meek and mild, but inevitably, some things would be different.

Su Su didn’t know how to describe it, but she started to be vigilant against her harmless, eldest sister.

Right then, Kang Ting said, “Please forgive me, Your Highness. This subordinate had no intention of offending the Third Miss, but this subordinate returned home and saw her beating my mother. My mother is old and sickly. She saved Third Miss, but I didn’t expect her to be treated like this by Third Miss, this subordinate was briefly angered……”

Ye Bing Shang sighed and shook her head while looking at Su Su, as if she was helpless to her domineering and insensible ways. But she didn’t scold Su Su either and simply said to Kang Ting, “I’ll send someone to diagnose and treat your mother. If there’s really anything, Cangzhou Residence will take all the responsibility.”

Su Su: “……”

What a big pot ⁷ The pot here means taking blame for something that one didn’t do. Usually, it will be said as 背黑锅 (bēihēiguō) – lit. carrying the black pot; be made a scapegoat . The more Ye Bing Shang didn’t blame her, the more insensible she seemed.

“Is Eldest Sister my sister, or this commander’s sister?” Su Su frowned in confusion, “How can you hastily declare me guilty and firmly believe that I’ve made a mistake without listening to what I have to say?”

Seeing Ye Bing Shang about to open her mouth again, Su Su felt extremely bored.

What are Ye Bing Shang and I fighting over here for? The war is at a critical juncture, and the Devil God’s evil bone hasn’t been removed yet.

Su Su wanly said, “Eldest Sister, you can think however you want. During this adventure ⁸ 历练 (lìliàn) – learning through experience , I’ve learned many things, maybe I can help kill the demon soldiers. I’m a person of Great Xia, my body is flowing with the blood of my general father, and I also wanted to serve Great Xia.”

Ye Bing Shang didn’t reply ⁹ 不置可否 (bùzhì-kěfǒu) – an idiom; decline to comment; not express an opinion; be noncommittal; hedge , and asked Su Su to go rest first.

*****

The return of Third Miss Ye was no secret in the Cangzhou Residence. Word spread very fast, including the matter about Third Miss insulting Kang Ting, everyone soon knew about it.

Xiao Lin heard all about this when he returned from the city tower.

After washing his hands, for some reason, he remembered the very wronged little Sang Jiu in the Fleeting Life Wisdom. He softly sighed, “Have someone go around Kang Ting’s house and ask what exactly is going on.”

His men were all efficient, and after a short while, they returned to report back and tell the whole story.

“Kang Ting’s mother’s shamelessness is well known in the neighborhood. She took the Third Lady’s jewelry, then still wanted to force her to be her daughter-in-law.”

Xiao Lin’s eyes turned cold, “Punish Kang Ting according to military law.”

His subordinate complied.

Soon, the news of Kang Ting being punished spread throughout the Changzhou Residence. If one were to say that Ye Bing Shang was supported by the people of Cangzhou, then Xiao Lin was definitely a legend of Great Xia.

No one dared to question his decisions, Kang Ting must have made a mistake.

When Ye Bing Shang learned about this, she lay on her side in bed and tightly gripped the sheets.

Xiao Lin was extremely busy. Logically, he should go and ask Su Su about the situation in the Zhou Kingdom, but after thinking it over for a long time, he didn’t go.

He admitted that the Fleeting Life Wisdom had affected him, and the Clam Princess’s tears had burned a hole in his heart. The feelings he had developed weren’t upright, so in order to hold on to reality, he could only forget about the Fleeting Life Wisdom and treat Bing Shang wholeheartedly.

He was a magnanimous person, that had never changed.

If Pian Ran was still alive and looked into his heart once again, she would know that he was still protecting Ye Bing Shang.

Su Su didn’t look for Xiao Lin either. She knew about propriety better than Xiao Lin.

After all, as an immortal cultivator who didn’t love anyone, it was fine before she knew about the twists and turns of the mortal world, but now that she understood, she would try to be more proper than anyone else.

She wrote a letter, listing all the ways she currently knew about how to deal with the demons, intending to send it to all the generals, and preferably it would be sent over to Ye Xiao’s hands too——

Ye Xiao had recovered from his injuries and was also recently on his way to the border.

The demons that Tantai Jin could order about were all minor demons, and all of the truly great demons were suppressed in the Abyss of Desolation. And to this day, the cultivators hadn’t opened the Immortal Gate.

Su Su knew why.

Most cultivators were cold and indifferent. In their eyes, before the great demons appeared, dynasty changes were normal, and the world was dominated by those who were capable.

If there were small demons causing trouble, like the Scarlet Flame Wasps, blood crows, and tiger demons, there would naturally be demon slayers and Daoist priests in the mortal world that could deal with them.

No one except Su Su and Curved Jade knew that the Devil God was about to descend.

The cultivators pursued supremacy and longevity, so the prosperity of the mortal realm was just as transient as a fleeting cloud ¹⁰ 过眼云烟 (guòyǎn-yúnyān) – ephemeral (idiom); impermanent to them. Until Tantai Jin awakened, they would never care, including her own sect leader father, who had also been a cold immortal cultivator five hundred years ago.

But when the Devil God awakened, they wanted to take care of it, but regretfully it was already too late.

Su Su had only just released the carrier pigeons when she heard the distant sound of war drums.

In the darkness of the night, someone shouted, “The Zhou Kingdom tyrant’s tiger demon has come over to eat people again!”

These words struck fear in everyone’s hearts.

Since the war had started, Tantai Jin’s tiger demon would come and try to kill people every so often.

The tiger was also despicable. Carrying a Daoist priest sent by Tantai Jin on his back, it ate as much as it could and ran away once it was done.

If it ate a general, great. If not, eating a small soldier wasn’t bad either.

Its presence was sapping Cangzhou’s morale little by little.

Su Su ran out, and sure enough, torches were lighting up the city gate tower.

A tiger demon taller than Cangzhou’s city gate tower was roaring at the soldiers. Xiao Lin had put on his war robe and calmly shot arrows at it.

The tiger demon knew to be wary of him, so it opened its big mouth and ran off with a few people dangling from it ¹¹ 叼 (diāo) – to hold with one’s mouth (as a smoker with a cigarette or a dog with a bone) .

Xiao Lin’s sword flew over, and the sharp and cold looking demon slayer beside him charged at the tiger too. The Daoist priest on the tiger’s back hurriedly fought back.

Soon, the tiger ran away with its tail between its legs ¹² 夹着尾巴 (jiā zhe wěiba); if it’s 夹着尾巴做人 (jiā zhe wěiba zuòrén) – behave oneself; pull one’s head in; keep a low profile ——

This time, it ran away with ten people.

It was the most minor loss in recent times. What still upset the people was that opposite them, there was still a group of armored corpse demons by Tantai Jin’s side that were ready to attack.

Xiao Lin’s mentality was very stable, “Have someone check if anything happened in the city.”

After a long while, the soldier came back to report.

“Nothing happened in the city. It’s just that……” the soldier paused for a moment, “Kang Ting and his mother are both dead.”

Their heads were crushed to pieces, the state of their remains was gruesome, and a flock of blood crows was pecking at their corpses.

Edited by: Gaze