General’s Gown Chapter 10

Chapter 10 Yaocheng’s crazy nightmare part 4 

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Yan Changqing gritted his teeth. He struggled to get himself up off the ground. He gasped: “What a coincidence, it’s you!” 

“An eminent person has short memories. You don’t remember me, but this leg of mine recognizes you.” Da Yan patted his wooden calf with a mocking smile: “I’ve been here reserving my strength and biding my time, thinking about how to seek out revenge. But I didn’t expect that you would come to me by yourself. How is it? For you, I deliberately ground up the Huacan gu, a rare once in a hundred years gu, into a fine powder and added it to the incense. No one can even notice it. How does it taste, General Yan?!” 

Gu technique again!

Yan Changqing was shocked, struggling to pick up the sword, but his limbs seemed to be restrained by an invisible hot iron wire. Every movement was agony. He fell heavily to the ground, and suddenly remembered the battle from three years ago. 

Three years ago, in the fierce battle with the Nanyao people, there was a Nanyao warrior. Although his military rank was not high, he was extremely fierce. It took Yan Changqing quite a few twists and turns to capture him alive. Yan Changqing thought that he was loyal and brave on the battlefield, so considered him a strong courageous person. He wanted to keep him alive. But he didn’t know that on the way, the warrior secretly released dozens of Nan Yao prisoners while the change of guards was happening. The fight between trapped beasts was life or death. Thinking that they would die, these prisoners killed more than 20 Yan Kingdom guards in a row and escaped. However, less than twenty miles away, they were overtaken by the cavalry led by Yan Changqing. 

In that tragic fight, Yan Changqing cut off half of the warrior’s leg with a single swing of his sword but did not kill the man. Thinking that this man would not survive long after being seriously injured, he let him go. 

Now it turns out that this person was not dead, and is out for revenge!

It was just a few short years, but Da Yan’s appearance had changed so much. He looked more fierce and sinister, unlike that of the past. If it hadn’t been for the injured leg, Yan Changqing wouldn’t have recognized him right away. 

But why did this person sneak into Yaocheng on the border of the Yan Kingdom? How did he recognize him in disguise? 

Yan Changqing’s mind flashed to the tearful girl A Li, who was dressed in a red wedding gown last night. 

Da Yan looked at Yan Changqing’s pale face, knowing that he had guessed the reason why he fell into this trap. He felt very happy. He laughed a few times and said: 

“Do you think that you are an omnipotent, living Buddha who can save the ones suffering? What a joke! I ask you, do you think that you saved that woman? Do you think that if she wasn’t sold off by her parents this time, she would remain safe and secure? Do you think she could marry the man she wants? Let me tell you, even if she was not sold this time, there will be another time! So, tell me, do you think she would run home empty-handed and wait for the next time she is sold, or will she take the gold and silver I gave her and run away?” 

Not everyone accepts the kindness of others the same way. Once there are options, kindness can also be used as a bargaining chip. Although there was a reason for the way things played out, there was still a chill in Yan Changqing’s heart.

“You high-ranking officials are born with an advantage over others. You have never understood the suffering of the poor, common people! You all going through life thinking that a little gift from yourself is a great privilege bestowed on others. I ask you, why didn’t you kill me? Why did you settle for cutting off my leg!” 

Why? 

At the time, his soldiers also did not understand why Yan Changqing did what he did. According to military law, once an escaped prisoner was caught, they were to be executed on the spot. But Yan Changqing was only 16 years old. He was a young man who admired soldiers who would rather die than surrender. Sweeping through the battlefield, he mostly saw captured prisoners tucking their tails and begging for mercy, a bunch of opportunists. However, a soldier like that Nanyao fighter who would risk his life to stand and fight was rare.

A second delay, a minute hesitation on his part and  Yan Changqing’s sharp blade travelled a few inches lower than the warrior’s waist. However, his sword was very sharp after all and this action was difficult to take back. His weapon cut off half of the warrior’s leg in one fell swoop. 

He let the Nan Yao warrior walk away with his life intact but didn’t think that this person would never let his revenge go. He was now in Yaocheng, cruelly torturing the people of Yan Kingdom! 

Yan Changqing fought against the unbearable pain in his limbs. He gritted his teeth and said: “Maybe I should have killed you when I had the chance.” 

Hearing this sentence, Da Yan turned livid. Blue veins popped up on his forehead making his face even more hideous. He stepped forward and ruthlessly picked up Yan Changqing by his collar. He snarled: “Then why didn’t you? Why didn’t you kill me? No one forced you to let me go! Did you think that I would be eternally grateful to you for it? Like a loyal dog wagging its tail? Let me tell you, you were only doing yourself a favour!”

Yan Changqing gasped for air, trying to say something but couldn’t. Starting from his limbs, he felt a scorching iron-like heat beginning to spread over his body like a tide. He couldn’t breathe properly. The overwhelming heat kept hitting him, evoking desires and throbbing deep in his heart that he had never cared about before! 

This Gu in him was not simple! 

Da Yan, ignoring Yan Changqing’s strangeness, said to himself: “You were born a general, a Wangye. We are people from humble backgrounds. Even if we die on the battlefield, we are nothing more than a soldier, a bunch of your chess pieces. I have been fighting for so long and finally managed to get some results, but I never thought I would meet your Black Armoured Troops!” 

“I know that you are the legendary Silver Masked King of H*ll. How could we commoners who have been forcibly enlisted, fight against you? How could we beat your Black Armoured Troops? Back then it didn’t matter if we couldn’t beat you. On the battlefield, I didn’t think about getting out alive. I just wanted to fight to my last breath, living and dying on the battlefield. This way my commander-in-chief can see, that although I was born a peasant, I was also a courageous and good man! Such a sacrifice would surely be able to earn compassion towards my mother…”

When reminiscing about his mother, Da Yan’s eyes flashed a gentle, nostalgic emotion, but this emotion was replaced by resentment in a flash. 

“Why didn’t you just cut me down with your sword? Instead, you cut off my leg! You thought it was to let me go live freely, but have you ever thought about my fate? I wanted to be a hero who died in battle. It was you who turned me into anonymous trash! Do you know what my woman’s face was like when she saw my mangled leg when I returned to my hometown?” 

Da Yan laughed self-deprecatingly: “Her expression was of a motionless old cow who can’t till the ground anymore. Or of a toothless watchdog. Oh, the women in this world are all sl*tty b*stards, d*mn it! She said she wouldn’t despise me, but after a few days, I saw her lying in bed with another man. I wanted to kill them, but at that time, no one helped me. I couldn’t even move. I could only be beaten by them and thrown away. In the wilderness, I had to fend for myself.” 

“What kind of world is this? Huh? What did I do wrong to end up like this? If it weren’t for my fate to be saved from that life, I’m afraid my bones would have been jackal food long ago. My saviour healed my leg, but do you know how I cured it?”

As Da Yan’s voice fell, Yan Changqing felt the heat permeating his limbs grow hotter. It scorched him like a raging fire. In an instant, he understood why Da Yan could walk like an ordinary person. But the pain was so immense, that he couldn’t utter a word. 

“I swallowed a thousand live gu worms. I used the power pulled from these gu worms to stand up. Do you know how painful that was? But I was not afraid at all. I am grateful for the taste of these Gu. This pain serves as fuel for my revenge. Don’t forget to find that woman and settle your debts, you fake Silver Masked King of H*ll!” 

It got windy. The sudden gust of wind blew scarlet curtains up and down, the surroundings extremely quiet. Yan Changqing knew that Da Yan was waiting for his answer – a righteous defence. After he would hear what he wanted he’d kill Yan Changqing with a single sword to avenge his sufferings.

But Yan Changqing couldn’t say anything.

What could he say? He had always thought that he was saving people by releasing prisoners of war. He never thought that this kind of compassion would backfire? 

Was he right to do what he did or not? 

Yan Changqing had no time to think. The turbulent enthusiasm from his four limbs swept over him once again. This time, it was even more fierce. He curled up trembling uncontrollably all over. His body felt weird all over. He couldn’t bear it anymore. He pulled open the tightly done neckline and gasped for air. 

Suddenly, he desperately wanted to hug someone or be hugged by someone. Hugged very tight. Bare skin on skin. Hot or cold. 

Then. 

Then… 

Yan Changqing’s mind suddenly showed him the scene he had witnessed last night when he got teased by Helian Rongchuan last night. The scene that he despised at that time was now like a poisonous snake spitting out a bright red letter. It winded around his body, pulling him, tempting him… 

No, no, no! Yan Changqing shook his head violently, trying to get rid of this dirty thought, but the more he resisted, the stronger this desire clung to him. 

So hot, so thirsty!

Yan Changqing’s complexion glowed a faint rose-ish glow. He gritted his teeth and gasped and heard the fine groans coming from his throat. 

This low groan, soft and magnetic, was full of pure desire and ambiguity. As soon as it came out, Yan Changqing was shocked. He had never thought that he could make such a sound. 

How indecent! 

Yan Changqing struggled to raise a hand to slap himself. 

Da Yan sneered, squatted down, and looked at Yan Changqing’s unwillingness to give in: “It seems that the Huacan Gu has already begun to take its effect. Can General Yan tell me about how it feels to be in heat in front of the enemy?”

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