NOVPUBTens of miles away, Liu Ye had met up with Yu Jin and was now standing atop a hillock, marveling at the sight of the fire tornado, hundreds of meters high, that had formed on the battlefield due to the fierce winds converging from every direction.
"Sometimes, studying ’Investigation of Things’ with Zichuan can indeed be useful. This fire is burning fiercely, but it’s a pity. If this were in a forest, the flames would surely be even more intense." Liu Ye cast a longing look at the towering inferno, "The fire poison will definitely kill the majority of the enemies. Let’s go and prepare to enter the pass; we’ll leave the rest to Fengxiao and his men."
Gao Shun, leading more than five hundred Vanguard Camp soldiers carrying the body of their fallen comrade, along with the barely surviving Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry—and as for the infantry, they had all perished in the blaze, especially during the last fire tornado, where nearly all the soldiers who failed to escape died."
Gao Shun led the Vanguard towards Puyang, and as they marched, a Vanguard soldier suddenly collapsed with a thud and never stood up again.
Gao Shun’s eyes showed sorrow before he recovered his composure. He ordered the fallen soldier to be carried and continued the march towards Puyang. It was the most severe defeat Gao Shun had ever faced.
Elsewhere, Juo Yi led less than a thousand Vanguard soldiers in the exact situation as Gao Shun; with every fallen soldier, his expression turned more ferocious. It was the greatest defeat Juo Yi had experienced; the Vanguard had been utterly defeated by the Vanguard Camp.
"Zhengli, stop that," said Yann Liang, his face charred from the fire, attempting to console.
"I’m sorry, earlier your men fought to buy time for my Vanguard at great risk to themselves, and we barely escaped danger," Juo Yi rarely apologized to someone.
"..." Yann Liang was startled, then laughed, "The Vanguard is the pride of Hebei! How could we let it be destroyed here?" His laughter held a touch of desolation; those had been his old soldiers, who had fought to the death to protect the Vanguard from the Vanguard Camp.
"The pride of Hebei?" Juo Yi murmured to himself, for the first time sincerely understanding his importance within the Hebei Army—the Vanguard was like a flag.
"I will make it happen. I won’t fail next time," Juo Yi said earnestly, looking up at Yann Liang who was mounted on his horse.
Meanwhile, Lyu Bu, leading three thousand Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, had already overrun the Hebei Camp defended by Zhang He. This level of combat was no longer a matter of tactics, but pure combat power—and the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry under Lyu Bu were among the most ferocious!
At Mount Tai, Fenggao, and Lub Su cast a glance at Chen Xi, who seemed somewhat restless, "Zichuan, what’s the matter with you? You seem very agitated lately."
"I feel like there’s something more on me," Chen Xi said, standing up and pacing around restlessly.
"There’s nothing more. Are you thinking of skipping out again?" Lub Su looked him up and down with suspicion.
"I’m not that kind of person," Chen Xi said dissatisfied.
"You turn into that kind of person," Li Youu joined in the conversation, saying, "Stop pretending and get back to work."
"You’ve driven me crazy," Chen Xi said angrily, slapping the table, "I quit!"
After speaking, Chen Xi ran out, leaving Lub Su, Zhuge Liang, and the others stunned. What was happening? Why had it suddenly come to this?
"You guys handle the administration; I’ll see what’s going on," Jia Xu stood up and said, curious about what was happening with Chen Xi.
After Jia Xu chased after him, Chen Xi stood in the courtyard, looking lost and confused. He himself felt it was strange—since when had he become so irascible, snapping at others without reason?
"Zichuan, are you alright?" Jia Xu walked over and asked.
"I’m sorry for before," Chen Xi tried to calm himself and apologized to Jia Xu, but the frustration in his brow was clear for anyone to see.
"Can you tell me what’s going on with you?" Jia Xu asked with a wry smile, realizing Chen Xi wasn’t joking about dodging his duties but was genuinely distressed. As he spoke, Jia Xu activated his Spiritual Talent to see if he could analyze the situation.
"I don’t know, but a few days ago, I started feeling like I’ve gained something extra, and that sense of dissonance is really irritating me," Chen Xi admitted frantically, having no clue what was wrong with himself.
"How about you take some time off to rest?" Jia Xu suggested, still with a wry smile.
"These past couple of nights, I’ve been having nightmares. I used to dream sporadically that I turned into a jade bi disc. Recently, I dream there’s a smaller jade bi disc beside me, this Great Jade Bi, and I keep wanting to reach out and grab it back, but I always get blocked. It’s so annoying!" Chen Xi spoke in exasperation.
"That kind of dream seems like a good dream, though," Jia Xu remarked, pulling a face. It didn’t seem to fit the rhythm of a nightmare, either from the perspective of dream interpretation or the content of the dream itself.
"The problem is I keep having this dream these days!" Chen Xi retorted, still frantic.
"I can’t help you with that," Jia Xu said irritably, then, as if possessed, asked, "Why do you want to grab that jade bi disc?"
"I feel like it ought to be mine, and I feel as if once I touch it, it will become a part of me, no no no, my feeling is that it’s a part of me that has split off. And if I can get it back, I will become a bit bigger," Chen Xi rambled anxiously.
Jia Xu didn’t know what to say anymore; Chen Xi’s situation seemed a bit eerie.
"I feel like it’s a part of me, too. In my dreams, I just want to scoop it up. And I feel like my essence is the same as its essence, it wants to stick to me as well. I probably won’t exist without it, but I fish and fish for it every night and fail to get it!" Chen Xi insisted frantically, grabbing Jia Xu’s shoulders.
Jia Xu silently wiped his sweat, guessing that Chen Xi’s dream must reflect some aspect of reality. "Why did you split it off, are you branching out from something?"
"How would I know? Maybe I’m confused in my sleep. To be honest, I don’t even know how to split. I asked Zuo Yuanfang, and he said the jade bi represents my Spiritual Talent. Now a smaller version of my Spiritual Talent has appeared beside it, and it’s also mine!" Chen Xi continued frantically. "I didn’t even know my Spiritual Talent could split."
"Stop..." Jia Xu touched the spot between his eyebrows.
"What’s the matter?" Chen Xi asked, puzzled.
"Are you sure that thing split off from you?" Jia Xu asked.
"It’s identical to me, and the essence is the same as mine. How could it not be something that split off from me?" Chen Xi responded.
"It might not be you, actually. Has your Spiritual Talent weakened?" Jia Xu said quietly.
"No, it’s the same as before. The jade bi and the layer of Clear Radiance around it are just like they used to be. However, that small jade bi seems a bit frail. But these past couple of days, the Clear Radiance has already started showing up..." Chen Xi said, remembering his vivid dreams.
"Huh?" Chen Xi suddenly looked in the direction of Zhuge Liang, a spark of realization flashing in his eyes. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to vote for it with a recommendation or monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)
