16: Chapter 16 "Two-Legged Sheep"

Seeing the little Prime Minister so nervous, Su Chen couldn't help but chuckle dryly from within the mirror.

He really wasn't some guy from a "porridge bar."

It was simply a coincidence that he caught a glimpse, and then his eyes seemed to be glued to the spot, unable to look away.

"Mister..."

Su Chen noticed that Zhuge Jinyu had already covered her face with the vermilion bird feather fan and walked over to him.

He thought she was going to call him a pervert, but to his surprise, she simply picked up a handkerchief and gently wiped his mirror surface.

"Mister has already seen Jinyu's various forms; Jinyu also wants to see Mister's appearance."

Su Chen was stunned.

There really was no way around this.

Ten years meant ten years; without ten years passing, Zhuge Jinyu would never be able to see his face.

However, she had indeed never slacked off.

Since meeting him, no matter how busy she was with government affairs or warfare, she almost always made time every day to wipe his mirror surface.

Seeing his appearance seemed to have become an obsession for the Female Prime Minister.

"Mister's appearance might not actually be as handsome as you imagine."

Su Chen teased.

"If you actually saw it, you might be very disappointed."

"Instead of that, if you really want to help Mister, you should work hard to become stronger, unify the Three Kingdoms, and cultivate to the Mahayana Realm. Perhaps then you could even reshape a physical body for Mister..."

Zhuge Jinyu's eyes lit up, and she nodded.

Yes!

If Mister had a real body, she could gallop on horseback and fight side-by-side with him!

When that time came, the two of them could ride a single Horned Red Horse together, with Mister in front and her behind, her arms wrapped around his waist...

As she thought about it, she quickly raised the vermilion bird feather fan again to hide her expression, fearing that Su Chen would discover her little schemes.

Just as planned!

Su Chen shook his head.

This was exactly how to stimulate her fighting spirit!

That's what Galgames say.

If he, her teacher, could then "die" in front of her or something...

It was hard to imagine what kind of immense power this seemingly fragile Female Prime Minister would unleash.

This was all Su Chen's investment performance!

While Su Chen was happily imagining his life back in the real world after the investment succeeded...

...the sound of a horn suddenly pierced the silent night sky.

"An enemy attack?"

Zhuge Jinyu, who had already been lying in bed, suddenly sprang up.

"No."

"Listen to the direction the horn is coming from."

"It's from the walls of Jianging City."

"Mister, you mean..."

"They couldn't hold out any longer and have surrendered."

"Then we...?"

"Enter the city!"

...

At dusk.

"Mister, something's wrong!"

Zhuge Jinyu rushed into the main tent.

"The scouts I sent to investigate... they all came back acting very strange!"

"Originally, everyone thought that after taking Jianging City, there would be food, drink, and a place to bathe, so they were all quite motivated..."

"But after the investigation..."

"Two of them seem to have been scared out of their wits and can't speak; they've been sent to the military doctor."

"Another one was fine when he returned, but the moment he saw the meat cooking in our camp, he started vomiting uncontrollably, even throwing up bile..."

"Don't be afraid, Mister is here."

Su Chen frowned deeply.

What on earth was in the city that could terrify these soldiers—who, despite their short service, had seen plenty of death—to such an extent?

"Xiao Yu, flip a coin."

"Heads for no danger, tails for danger."

It came up heads.

"Come, Xiao Yu, bring a few trusted aides. We'll go into the city ourselves for a look!"

The setting sun was like blood, staining the collapsed city walls an ominous dark red.

The city gates had been wide open for several hours.

In Jianging City, with its population of hundreds of thousands, not a single person had come out to surrender.

...

"Mister... this..."

Zhuge Jinyu rode on her white horse.

She looked around at the deserted streets of the city.

The entire city was terrifyingly silent, like a massive tomb.

Only the sound of the troops marching and the occasional dry heaving from the vanguard—who knew what they had seen—broke the suffocating silence.

Although she had experienced the tragedy of White Emperor City...

...this dead city before her, which had been thoroughly "cleared" with a sense of cold cruelty, made her blood run cold.

Compared to direct, in-your-face bloodiness, this silence—where a hidden arrow could fly from anywhere—was even more terrifying.

Su Chen's divine sense had already swept across the city; he remained silent for a moment.

"Within a five-mile radius of us, there are no living people left."

A five-mile radius around them covered almost the entire city, except for a small corner in the north.

"scorched earth policy?"

Zhuge Jinyu recalled a concept Su Chen had mentioned, and he nodded.

"Pass down the order: all units are to clear out remaining enemies according to their designated areas, focusing on searching the granaries and armories."

"If any surviving civilians are found, settle them properly."

Zhuge Jinyu suppressed her discomfort and gave the orders calmly.

However, the reports soon confirmed Su Chen's worst fears.

The granaries had been completely burned down, leaving only charred frames and a small amount of inedible ash.

The armories were empty; not even a decent arrow remained.

Most of the wells had been filled in or had animal carcasses thrown into them, making the water completely undrinkable.

"This..."

Zhuge Jinyu covered her mouth with her fan, staring at the well water that had turned a dark purple.

"There must be someone very capable among these rebels..."

Su Chen shook his head, hundreds of possibilities flashing through his mind in an instant.

"Gaaah—!"

A sharp scream tore through the sky, drawing everyone's attention.

It came from the direction of the Jianging City Governor's Office.

In front of the ruined office.

A crazed male cultivator wearing the uniform of a Great Qian soldier.

He was letting out distorted, eerie laughter while performing a strange dance.

Zhuge Jinyu hurried over on her horse, only to find that the male cultivator was actually a Golden Core Realm cultivator surnamed Sun from her own ranks.

He seemed to have gone completely insane.

"Hehehe, Prime Minister, you've come..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he kicked open the gates of the Governor's Office.

"Come in and take a look, hehehe..."

Inside the Governor's Office, there were no corpses.

...If incomplete fragments of people didn't count as corpses.

On the floor of the office, bleached white bones that had been gnawed on and were unrecognizable lay scattered.

The walls were splattered with thick, dried blood that had turned black.

Several large earthenware jars lay overturned on the ground, containing a congealed paste mixed with hair and bone fragments.

On the governor's desk, dozens of... were neatly arranged.

...severed female genitalia.

They had been meticulously processed with some sharp blade, and a few were even covered in teeth marks.

As if they were someone's leftovers.

Beside them, several large, crooked characters were written in blood.

"This is the scorched earth policy, a feast for the three armies."

"The two-legged sheep, its flavor is quite pungent."

"To take this city, first eat this meat!"

Beneath the blood-written words, another character was sketched in black.

It was a twisted, traditional character.

"Yi."