The Demon Lords

"Ahead, is that the Snow Sea Pass?"

Xiong Liqing lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked forward; there, a majestic pass rose alongside the mountains.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the Snow Sea Pass is far more towering than the Town South Pass. After all, this pass was originally built by the Jin people for defending against the wild people, who were the main target for Lord Jin holding the Xia emperor’s decree to enter the Three Jin land.

The majestic pass represents not just a defensive role but also serves as a totemic symbol for the Jin people’s effort in driving out the wild people and expanding into the Three Jin land.

Of course, no matter how grand and ancient the history, it inevitably fades with time. This majestic pass was first breached by the wild people, and now, the walls are filled with the Black Dragon banners of Yan.

"Yes, it’s the Snow Sea Pass," Siniang replied, leaning against the carriage wall.

After regrouping with Lord Jingnan, Lord Zheng also stayed in Fengxin City with Lord Jingnan for a while, as scouts had reported that a troop that had entered Chu State had returned from a branch downstream of the Wang River.

Who arrived were indeed Siniang and A Ming.

Both Siniang and A Ming were wounded. Siniang’s injuries were internal and required time to heal, whereas A Ming had fallen into a deep sleep in a coffin. When Lord Zheng went to see him, besides his lips still being a bit rosy, the rest of his body was as pale as if it was covered with twenty layers of pearl powder.

During their escape, a Qu Clan Censorate Officer adept at tracking had caught up with them. A Ming chose to stay behind, eventually being besieged by several Censorate Officers who had followed. After delaying enough time for the main force, A Ming chose to break through by jumping off a cliff.

A kind of... method of escape that no one but A Ming could replicate.

This left A Ming in his current state, as Siniang put it, just a thin layer of bloody skin.

This required a long period of recuperation, and every three days, like watering succulents, A Ming had to be nourished with blood.

As for the others, at least those in the unit with Siniang and A Ming did not suffer significant casualties. To be precise, besides a few dozen knights who sacrificed themselves to intercept the pursuers, the rest of the minor casualties were due to accidentally falling off cliffs while taking mountain paths.

And Mr. Chen, Eunuch Zhao, He Chunlai, Chen Daole, and others were also in this group.

The reasons allowing this troop to preserve itself greatly were two:

Firstly, when Lord Zheng impersonated Su Mingzhe in the Chu State’s border town, he overcame illness due to acclimatization issues, knew he wouldn’t make it to the princess’s wedding, and so he didn’t hurry. Anyway, Yao Zizhan’s message had already been delivered to Mr. Chen.

Thus, the real Su Mingzhe began to show his talents in that town because Master Yao was extremely renowned. Not only in Qian State, but among the three Eastern countries, Master Yao was admired for his poetry. Even nobles and wealthy folks, who knew little about literature, were enthusiastic about it.

Mr. Su exhibited the same charismatic flair as Yao Zizhan in his youth. Allegedly, when Yao Zizhan was young, he spent three indulgent months in the alley of rouge in Jiangnan without spending a penny, and when he left, he held a box of gold, silver, and jade, which became a celebrated tale among people.

In contrast, Mr. Su gained fame with his poetry in a town called Dazhou and then took in two noble-born concubines.

Though these two noble families couldn’t compare with the Qu Clan, having two noble families simultaneously give daughters as concubines to Mr. Su was quite triumphant.

Thus, while Lord Zheng impersonated Su Mingzhe and caused a scene at the princess’s wedding, the real Su Mingzhe was not to be outdone in Dazhou.

Later, a troop pursuing them was directly drawn away by the real Su Mingzhe. This was the first wave of pursuing troops, and naturally, they couldn’t communicate with those behind them in time, so upon hearing of Su Mingzhe’s activities in Dazhou, they went straight there. This early diversion of troops relieved the greatest pressure for Siniang’s group returning via Mong Mountain.

There was another reason, and that was San’er.

San’er led several hundred cavalry according to a predetermined plan along Qi Mountain. The Qi Mountain range is long, with the northern part bordering Liang State and Zhao State, and the southern part bordering Qian State.

Xue Three intended to return to Jin land via the north part of Qi Mountain.

Coincidentally, over a month ago, a palace coup took place in Liang State. Under the pretext of the ruler insulting the concubine of the late king and thus having no virtue, the Chancellor of Liang State organized a coup with the king’s younger brother. Leading a group of armored soldiers, they stormed into the palace, held the king hostage, and forced him to abdicate, allowing the younger brother to ascend as the new ruler of Liang State.

That was the stated reason for the coup, but whether it was the true motive or whether the king had indeed committed such a scandalous act, nobody knew, as he hanged himself on the third day after abdicating.

The king’s biological mother was a lady from Chu State; although not a legitimate princess, she was royal offspring, meaning the abdicated king had Chu royal blood.

In reality, where Qian, Chu, and Jin states converge, small kingdoms abound, serving as a strategic buffer zone where the three great nations only engage in support, infiltration, and covert manipulation, never fully deploying troops for conquest due to the risk of inciting direct confrontation among the three.

And these small kingdoms, internally warring and annexing each other, swayed like reeds in the wind between the great powers.