Chapter 366: The God General Who Kills
That man was very handsome, though his face was covered in the dust of travel, clearly having rushed here without rest.
The armor he wore was also thick with grime, yet still shone brightly, just like the man himself. Standing in the green sorghum field, he was like a sun.
A man like this, no matter how you looked at him, did not seem like an assassin.
In fact, this man truly was not an assassin, even though he had come to kill Su Li.
This man radiated neither goodwill nor hostility, but he also did not hide his killing intent—a very pure killing intent.
Looking at this radiant man in the morning light, Chen Changsheng felt a stinging in his eyes, just like when he had first seen Su Li on the snowy plains.
Light from afar scattered around this man, never truly falling. What reflected the light was not his armor or his face, but an invisible barrier, which was why he was so bright.
That invisible barrier, this radiance, all indicated that the opponent was a true expert of the Star Gathering Realm.
With just one glance, Chen Changsheng confirmed that this man was not the assassin from the birch forest a few days ago—this man was too bright, unable to hide his presence, and it seemed he had never even considered doing so. He simply stood there in the morning light, openly and honorably waiting for Chen Changsheng and Su Li to arrive.
Chen Changsheng got off the carriage, untied the ropes around the necks of the woolly deer, and gently patted their fleshy rumps. By now, these two woolly deer could communicate with him through intent, understanding his meaning. They trotted off on their own to the sorghum field hundreds of feet away, then turned back to look at the scene, waiting for the young master to summon them back later.
Chen Changsheng turned back to look inside the carriage.
Su Li lay in the carriage, eyes closed, wrapped in a fur coat, with fur stuffed in his ears, as if he were going back to sleep.
"Senior," Chen Changsheng said.
The fur in Su Li's ears clearly did not have the same soundproofing effect as the fur in Mo Yu's ears, and he replied, "Hmm?"
As he said "hmm," he still kept his eyes closed.
"Ahead... there's a man," Chen Changsheng said, pointing at the man in the sorghum field behind him.
"And then?" Su Li still showed no sign of opening his eyes.
Chen Changsheng said, "That man... is very strong. I can't beat him."
Su Li said with his eyes still closed, "I've taught you for so many days. If you still can't handle a killer, why don't you just go die?"
Chen Changsheng said, "But Senior, you said just yesterday that was rhetoric, an exaggeration. When facing an opponent far too strong, the only options are to kneel or run. I'm asking, should we run or kneel now?"
After a moment of silence, Su Li finally opened his eyes, got up, and looked ahead at the green sorghum field. "Star Gathering Realm... it's not like you can't fight."
Chen Changsheng quickly weighed the options in his mind again and shook his head, saying, "This... I really can't fight."
Only then did Su Li clearly see the handsome man in full armor, radiating light. He squinted his eyes and said, "Ah... it's this guy. Then you really can't fight him."
Chen Changsheng said, "Then we should run quickly."
Su Li said irritably, "Not to mention that I, Su Li, have never run in my life, but even if I wanted to run... can we get away?"
Chen Changsheng was about to say that if he really ran, there were few people on the continent who could catch him, when he suddenly saw a fiery red warhorse in the distant green wilderness.
It looked familiar.
He suddenly had a very bad feeling.
Because he finally recognized that the fiery red warhorse in the distant wilderness was actually a... Red Cloud Qilin.
Su Li said, "Xue Xingchuan's younger brother, the Twenty-Eighth God General, Xue He. Hmm, his mount and Xue Xingchuan's mount are also brothers."
Chen Changsheng abandoned the idea of running.
There were no white cranes here, and he wasn't Jin Yulu. There was no way he could be faster than a flying Red Cloud Qilin.
He hadn't expected that the first real assassin they encountered on their journey south would be such a powerful figure.
On second thought, it made sense. To kill Su Li, even if he was severely injured, sending more ordinary experts would be pointless. Naturally, the one who came should be someone of Xue He's caliber.
"I pay my respects to Mr. Su. Forgive me, but I am in full armor and cannot bow properly."
Standing in the knee-high green wilderness, Xue He was radiant and majestic like a divine statue, but his tone when addressing Su Li was extremely polite.
Su Li looked at him expressionlessly and said, "Based on my understanding of you, you should admire me quite a bit."
Any words of narcissism that would make others sick, when spoken by this youngest junior master of Li Mountain, somehow seemed sincere and credible.
Xue He walked over slowly, the morning light reflecting off him in shifting patterns, his armor clanking as he moved. He remained silent, indicating agreement.
Su Li asked, "Whose idea was it for you to appear here?"
Xue He's elder brother, Xue Xingchuan, was the Second God General of the continent. After Han Qing, the God General guarding the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, he was the most powerful god general in the world, second only to the Five Saints and the Eight Winds and Rains. Most importantly, everyone knew that Xue Xingchuan was the most loyal follower of Her Holiness the Empress. Logically, Xue He's appearance here naturally revealed a cruel and terrifying fact: the one who wanted to kill Su Li was Her Holiness the Empress.
But Su Li wouldn't jump to that conclusion so easily, so he asked.
Xue He said expressionlessly, "It's not anyone's idea. It's my own."
Su Li was silent, understanding his meaning.
But Chen Changsheng didn't understand. If it wasn't Her Holiness the Empress's decree, nor the command of the National Church, and this god general admired Su Li, why would he come to kill him, and especially take advantage of his weakened state? He asked, "Why?"
Xue He ignored him, looking calmly at Su Li and saying, "Only by uniting north and south can our Great Zhou unify the world and truly defeat the demon race. But because of your existence, sir, this has always been difficult to advance. Whether in the court or the National Church, many people hope you will change your stance. But I know you won't change, sir. So... you must die."
Su Li said seriously, "I... will change."
This was a joke, not funny, and no one believed it.
But Su Li acted very convinced, saying earnestly, "As long as you let us leave, I will absolutely change my stance on the unification of north and south."
Xue He was silent for a moment before saying, "I regard you, sir, as my idol. I know you won't change."
Su Li said with slight embarrassment, "Why are you so stubborn? I said I'll change, so I'll definitely change."
"Changing one's will due to external pressure would not be you, sir," Xue He said calmly, looking at him. "If you, sir, are no longer yourself, then what psychological obstacle would I have in killing you?"
Su Li was silent for a moment, then looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "Did I not say it well?"
Chen Changsheng nodded.
Su Li said, "Then you should say something."
Chen Changsheng said, "Senior, I'm really not good at talking."
Seeing Su Li and Chen Changsheng talking, a strange look flashed in Xue He's eyes, but he quickly composed himself and said solemnly, "Sir, you are severely injured and heading south. This news is still known to very few. Dying under my blade is better than dying at the hands of those petty villains or being killed by assassins with underhanded tricks."
Su Li shook his head and said, "No way of dying is good. Only living is good."
Xue He said no more. He reached his right hand behind him and grasped the hilt of a blade.
Since Zhou Dufu, few experts on the continent had used blades, because the precedent was too brilliant. Many of the continent's thirty-eight god generals were accustomed to using swords, and because of Emperor Taizong's Frost Remnant Divine Spear, many also used spears. Using a blade, and using it so well, was something only Xue He could do among the god generals.
With this movement, the other six thin blades on Xue He's back did not leave their sheaths, but six blade intents rose into the air, enveloping the green wilderness—this was the Blade Domain.
Su Li's expression gradually hardened. He hadn't expected that the first person to come kill him would be such a troublesome figure.
Chen Changsheng's voice was slightly hoarse as he asked, "Senior, what do we do?"
Su Li said expressionlessly, "You can see it too. This guy is like the meat you roasted—can't even be cold-mixed. What else can we do?"
Chen Changsheng turned back to look at him, puzzled, and asked, "Meat?"
"He's impervious to reason."
Su Li said irritably, struggling to get out of the carriage. Looking at the green wilderness, he suddenly squinted his eyes again.
The sorghum was still short, but there was actually another person hidden in the wilderness.
Probably the one from the birch forest.
...
...
(See you tomorrow.)