Chapter 693: Trapped Bird Leaving the Cage

Chapter 693: The Trapped Bird Escapes the Cage

Xia Chichi and Huangfu Qing naturally wanted to deal with the Three Jins. Xia Chichi was more steady, while Huangfu Qing was more impatient. She had originally intended to have her younger brother lead the troops straight north, but was dissuaded by him and returned to the capital with a belly full of resentment.

Her father was at Yanmen, and now he faced a situation of being attacked from both sides, lacking supplies and clothing, with no reinforcements able to reach him—almost like being isolated and cut off.

But her brother shared the same father, and he helplessly said the troops truly could not fight anymore. If that was the case, then they really couldn’t. She couldn’t force it either, so she could only return in a huff.

In truth, the situation in central Jin hadn’t been this bad before. At least Huangfu Yongxian’s position hadn’t been one where he had to worry about enemies at his back.

If the whole world had rebelled against Xia Longyuan, and Zhao Changhe could barely maintain some face, then the Three Jins were the opposite. They might have been more loyal to Xia Longyuan and resistant to Zhao Changhe.

Before the Great Xia collapsed, the Jin merchants would never have stabbed Yanmen Pass in the back—it was meaningless. They only sought profit, caring nothing for state or foreign tribes. Who would go against money? The more decadent Xia Longyuan became, the happier they were.

But once the Great Xia fell and Zhao Changhe took charge, the merchants’ sensitivity made it clear how he viewed them after his last trip to the northern frontier. There would be no good outcome for them. To protect themselves, they had first moved to besiege the capital. After failing, they found the motivation to welcome the barbarians through the pass. In other words, Huangfu Yongxian’s precarious situation could be blamed on Zhao Changhe’s burden—it hadn’t been so difficult before.

Of course, no one would blame Zhao Changhe for this; they weren’t so ungrateful. Huangfu Qing only said, “Don’t we want to deal with them? But Shao Zong said we can’t fight. First, the capital troops won’t move, only waiting for rewards to celebrate the New Year. Second, even if we forced them, our forces are insufficient, and plunging into the vast central Jin would be like sinking into a swamp. In this snowy, freezing weather, with morale low, it’s no different from suicide. This isn’t how we should use our troops. Though I worry about my father, I know he’s right. But what can we do?”

Zhao Changhe said, “I thought about this on the way... Adapt to local conditions. The situation in central Jin is different from Langya. Perhaps a Jianghu approach would work better. I think... you should handle it the same way you dealt with the Luo Family Village back then.”

Huangfu Qing was stunned for a moment, then a sharp gleam suddenly flashed in her eyes.

Those four words were often just a figure of speech, not so exaggerated, but at this moment, Huangfu Qing’s eyes literally blazed with cold light, illuminating the dim room like lightning, making the nearby palace maids tremble in fear.

Even Xia Chichi felt a pang in her heart; she could sense the Venerable’s emotions.

The joy of being able to personally help her father was beyond doubt, and it stirred a sigh that the Venerable had suppressed without showing. A female demon feared and talked about throughout the Jianghu, who had originally resigned herself to being trapped in the palace—that was not the life she wanted, but circumstances forced her to accept it. Now, with Zhao Changhe’s single remark, she realized she could still be the Vermilion Bird, roaming the world, doing what she loved most.

Like a trapped bird escaping its cage.

“I... if I’m away for a long time, the palace’s safety...” Huangfu Qing tentatively asked.

“When I returned, I triggered the formation. I think it’s quite powerful. We can study it and see if we can combine it with Old Xia’s underground dome to make the defenses more complete, concentrated, and potent. As long as it’s not easily breached for a while, you won’t need to be trapped here forever... Chichi isn’t a pushover either. You have to trust your own disciple.”

Huangfu Qing glanced at Xia Chichi, who was leisurely eating a pancake and smiled: “You taught me martial arts, not to protect me for life, Mother Empress. If you can truly settle the realm soon, then come protect me.”

“Pfft.” Settle the realm and protect you where? In bed?

But with Xia Chichi saying this, Huangfu Qing’s worries eased considerably. She said enthusiastically, “Following Jianghu methods to deal with these Jin merchants, I have plenty of ideas. Shao Zong can go play in the mud; who needs him? So-called merchant alliances are never of one mind. There’s plenty of room for manipulation. I’ll pick the most arrogant one and take its head first. That will strike fear into their hearts, and there will always be waverers. Then I’ll issue the Four Symbols Order and see their attitude...”

Seeing her already analyzing the outcome step by step, Zhao Changhe and Xia Chichi couldn’t help but laugh.

“What are you laughing at? When I was shaking the Jianghu, you two were still wetting your pants in the Luo Family Village.” Huangfu Qing slapped the table: “I’ll take charge of this matter!”

Zhao Changhe laughed and asked, “Do you have enough people from the Four Symbols Sect?”

“If Shao Zong comes back to handle the city defenses, it should be fine... The main problem is that useless Tang Wanzhuang, who told me the capital is now in a state of panic, with many secretly disloyal. The Demon Suppression Division’s agents are out in force, and she’s short-handed, so she asked to borrow people from me.” Huangfu Qing was speechless. “The Demon Suppression Division borrowing from the demon cult—how could she even ask? We’re already stretched thin handling patrols, and now we have to do internal security too. Where would we get that many people...”

You call yourself the demon cult while claiming to be internal security—how can you even say that? Zhao Changhe was amused: “Don’t worry, I’ve found you a team of helpers.”

Huangfu Qing asked curiously, “Who?”

“Who did you bring when you attacked the Luo Family Village? That’s who.”

Huangfu Qing finally couldn’t help but laugh: “You really are...”

“I like the Vermilion Bird,” Zhao Changhe interrupted.

Huangfu Qing gazed at him tenderly, no longer drinking her porridge, wanting something else.

Xia Chichi nearly vomited, poking the table with her chopsticks: “I was there for that incident too. Don’t act like it’s just your shared memory. And I didn’t find it the least bit impressive.”

Huangfu Qing shot her a sidelong glance, thinking of finding a book for her to copy. You know you were shining like a lantern back then, right? What’s there to brag about? How clueless.

Xia Chichi had already stood up and swept away, unwilling to watch this adulterous pair exchange flirtatious glances: “Anyway, if you’re leaving, you have to finish setting up that formation we talked about first! Alright, I’m off to court. You two take your time!”

Zhao Changhe and Huangfu Qing exchanged a look, then hand in hand, they slipped away to the underground dome.

This place, as the greatest legacy left by Xia Longyuan, was still heavily guarded. Many things inside were beyond Zhao Changhe’s ability to use, like the trick of manifesting wherever one pointed—that was far too convenient. Zhao Changhe always felt that the entire place could potentially be refined into a portable globe, which would be the ultimate form... but that was obviously far off, impossible in the short term.

For now, the small-world nature of this underground dome could be expanded to cover the entire palace. If the palace could become a relatively independent, enclosed environment, only needing strict defense at the entrance, it would be much more comfortable and secure than having the Vermilion Bird sit at the core.

“What do you plan to do?” Huangfu Qing asked Zhao Changhe curiously. “You’ve never been strong with formations. Can you improve ours?”

Zhao Changhe shook his head: “I’m still not too interested in formations, but I’ve mastered something else this time...”

“I saw those two moves you used against me last night. They were interesting. Is it qi?”

“As expected of you. Yes, it’s qi.” Zhao Changhe reached out and touched the dome: “Essentially, your invisible formation is like an atmospheric layer covering the palace. I don’t need to understand the formation; I just need to connect the qi here with your formation to form a complete qi layer, which will be a closed small world. As for how to adjust the formation, you do it.”

As he spoke, invisible waves of qi surged from underground, spreading into the dome and merging with the formation the Four Symbols Sect had set up above. The Vermilion Bird could see with her own eyes an arc-shaped qi layer enveloping the palace, mysteriously not blocking wind, rain, or sunlight, yet repelling all invasive forces.

How to make the formation counterattack intruders was indeed her task, and for her, it was simple.

Huangfu Qing stared at Zhao Changhe with burning eyes and said softly, “Have you noticed something...”

Zhao Changhe was puzzled: “What?”

“The various attributes of cultivation you’ve mastered all lie outside the Four Symbols and Five Elements, only aligned because of us... Even your relatively main practice, the Return to Spring Art, seems wood-attributed, but it’s only for recovery, not for combat.”

Zhao Changhe paused, realizing it was true. His Five Elements techniques were all auxiliary—Return to Spring Art, his fist techniques—none truly controlled wood or water. It was as if he subconsciously avoided the foundations of the Four Symbols Sect, perhaps unconsciously.

“I don’t know if you’re deliberately avoiding these, and I won’t judge...” Huangfu Qing continued, “But since you’re avoiding such mainstream cultivation and unwilling to follow Lie’s old path to prove bloodshed, in the end, won’t your path to the Imperial Realm become chaotic and confused, lacking a clear goal?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what’s been troubling me lately. I should be planning to break through to the Imperial Realm now; my cultivation feels close, but I can’t find a clear direction. Qing’er... Venerable, can you enlighten me?”