bookbashuk Page 218
Page 218
He took out a copper coin shaped like an ant's nose and examined it intently.
This coin is made of a copper-tin alloy, with a significantly higher proportion of copper.
The coin has a peculiar and bizarre shape, resembling an oval human head that has been vertically split in half by a sharp blade, leaving only half of it incomplete.
On its raised side, numerous mysterious patterns are engraved and imprinted.
Some patterns resemble ants crawling and wriggling on the bridge of the nose, while others look like a terrifying ghost face sketched with just a few strokes.
It exudes a chilling and eerie aura.
"The coins of the Chu Kingdom are truly peculiar."
After looking through it repeatedly, Han Feng put it away, feeling deeply moved.
"The Chu Kingdom, which is rich in witchcraft and ghost culture, even has such eerie and creepy designs for its coins."
"Compared to these, these gold leaves look much better."
"That purple-haired girl whose name I never asked was so generous; she really is a kind-hearted person."
Once the Chu border was in sight,
Han Feng deliberately adjusted his facial expression and eyes to make him appear gloomy and indifferent. He gripped the reins tightly with his left hand and rested his right hand on the hilt of the Crimson Flame Sword.
He placed the broad, long sword, its blade gleaming with a fierce crimson light, horizontally in front of the horse's back.
Simultaneously,
He quietly activated the Crimson Flame Sword, causing its blade to release a sharp and fierce aura.
The horse beneath him, feeling the pressure, couldn't help but sneeze repeatedly.
"These soldiers are used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong."
"As long as I demonstrate enough deterrence, they will be wary and dare not provoke me easily. After all, a swordsman's sword often doesn't reason with them, it just cuts off their heads."
Han Feng, still riding a tall horse, was some distance away.
It was clear that the caravans shuttling between Chu and Baiyue were offering up benefits under the exploitation of the border soldiers.
Even ordinary travelers would be squeezed for some profit if they passed through this place.
However, for those swordsmen who carry swords...
The border soldiers only collected a token toll and then stopped, clearly fearing that they might encounter a formidable swordsman and lose their lives at his hands.
250. The victor is king, the loser is villain; no one is exempt.
"Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is human nature."
A sinister smile curled at the corner of Han Feng's lips.
The Crimson Flame Sword in his hand shimmered with a crystalline, blood-red light, appearing, under the sunlight, as if deeply stained by endless blood, impossible to wash away.
A lingering, pungent smell of blood still clung to the sword.
On the wide dirt road,
The caravan and travelers paid their dues one by one to pass through the long checkpoints and enter the territory of the Chu Kingdom.
In the blink of an eye, Han Feng rode closer.
We haven't even gotten close to the checkpoint yet.
The blood-red sword was already emanating a faint aura of blood, and its fierce killing intent sent chills down the spines of the border soldiers.
Like a satiated beast slowly approaching.
Under the terrifying aura of the Crimson Flame Sword, the soldiers' greed quickly subsided, and they unconsciously gripped their weapons tightly.
The fact that Han Feng was dressed in the attire of a swordsman from Chu also deterred them from making any rash moves.
"Snapped!"
A coin with an ant-nose shape flew diagonally from the back of the white horse and landed precisely in front of the soldier.
Han Feng attempted to adopt an arrogant attitude, casually tossing out the toll without even glancing at it.
And so, riding a fine steed, they leisurely entered the border pass.
Following the footsteps of the caravan ahead, they gradually entered the heart of the Chu Kingdom.
He didn't look back even once throughout the entire journey.
Until the cold-faced, menacing Chu swordsman was far away,
The border soldiers finally breathed a sigh of relief. One of them bent down and picked up the ant-nose coin that the swordsman had just thrown down.
What appeared to be a simple act of placing money into the collection box actually involved him subtly slipping two gold leaves from inside the box using his index and middle fingers.
He then quickly concealed the gold leaf in a hidden compartment inside his left sleeve.
The entire movement was so fluid that no one else could detect it.
The soldier remained unfazed, returned to his original position, and continued collecting tolls from passersby.
The flames of war raged, billowing black smoke.
The once bright daylight was now shrouded in darkness and oppression. Shouts of battle, cries of pleas, angry roars, the clashing and breaking of weapons... all these sounds intertwined, creating a symphony of war rife with intrigue.
Despair, fear, sadness, anger,
The sentiment filled the hearts of every Baiyue person, yet their resistance seemed so powerless in the face of an enemy of overwhelming strength.
The stench of blood in the air was so strong it was nauseating.
For a long time.
Bai Yifei, the commander of the Korean army who led the campaign against the Baiyue rebellion, was now in a bloodthirsty frenzy.
His once snow-white robes, trousers, and boots had long been stained crimson with the blood of the Baiyue royal family members during the frenzied slaughter.
The black and white swords he gripped tightly in his left and right hands were no longer recognizable.
All that could be seen was a patchwork of blood red.
Corpses littered the ground, blood flowed like rivers, and large amounts of blood gathered and flowed through the streets and alleys of Baiyue Royal City, flooding Bai Yifei's ankles like a torrent.
Until the very last moment,
The entire Baiyue royal city fell into a deathly silence.
Whether they were members of the royal family, nobles, or ordinary people, almost all of them were slaughtered.
Unfortunately, this does not represent the entire Baiyue region.
Standing atop the ruins, Bai Yifei, clad in blood-stained clothes, held his sword in both hands and looked back.
The vast Baiyue capital he once destroyed with his twin swords is now a relic of history. The mountains of corpses will also disappear along with the capital into the long river of time.
Ultimately, it transforms into fertile soil that nourishes this land, allowing the wild grasses to grow even more lush and verdant.
"The victor is king, the loser is villain; no one is exempt."
251. Bai Yifei's Doubts
With a crisp clang, Bai Yifei sheathed his two swords and leaped down from the shattered city wall.
His elite white-armored soldiers had begun clearing the battlefield and collecting the spoils. He casually picked up an ancient bamboo scroll, gently unsealed it, and what came into view were three powerful Yue characters—"Frost Frost Mantra."
He studied it carefully, and new ideas gradually emerged in his mind.
"I wonder if this Baiyue secret technique can be integrated with the divine skill passed down from my mother, and thus evolve into an even more powerful witchcraft internal energy cultivation method?" He unconsciously tightened his grip on the bamboo slip in his hand.
Those blood-red eyes remained calm and indifferent, as if nothing could shake his composure.
He looked down at Tianze, the deposed crown prince of Baiyue, who was being secretly escorted away by elite soldiers in white armor. A subtle smile played on his lips.
However, whenever he recalls the white-armored army that suddenly and mysteriously died not long ago and instantly turned into thousand-year-old mummies, the shadow in his heart is hard to erase.
His handsome and extraordinary face remained completely expressionless at this moment.
A fierce wind howled, blood-stained robes fluttered in the wind; the sun blazed overhead, and corpses littered the ground.
On the border of the Chu Kingdom, beside a wide river beach hidden among the mountains.
A young man dressed in the attire of a swordsman from the State of Chu, carrying a bamboo basket on his shoulder, holding a sword in one hand and leading his horse in the other, slowly walked towards the riverbank to rest.
"The food I prepared for Yunji is going to spoil again. Why is the weather so hot?" Han Feng looked up at the clear sky.
The sky was a clear, bright blue, and the sun blazed fiercely. Invisible waves of heat rolled and steamed in the air, making the surrounding scenery appear hazy and indistinct.
"It's not even the hottest time of the year yet, how can it already be so unbearably hot?"
"Fortunately, the surrounding area is lush with trees, so there are still places to cool off."
Han Feng shook his head helplessly and tied the horse to a place with abundant water and grass, allowing it to rest, drink, and recover its strength.
Looking around at the dense forest, a plan to find food for his sister quickly flashed through his mind.
Spring has arrived, a time when all kinds of living things reproduce.
"hey-hey."