The Glory After Rebirth

Translator: DragonRider

Ling Zhang was thrilled by these words of his. “How do you plan to have them pay the price?”

“No matter what kind of support they offer Wang Xiangxin, it will no doubt have something to do with money, material resources or manpower. Now that we’ve seized the initiative already, we’re the hunters, and they’re our prey. Given how much effort we’ve put into this, it’ll only be fair if we entice them to pour large amounts of money and material resources into it,” replied Yuwen Tong.

Ling Zhang’s eyes brightened further. Shan Congyi and Mu Rongfeng were indeed quite hateful. Were it not for all the trouble the two of them had stirred up, the issue of Jiangzhou wouldn’t have become so urgent. The two bastards really believed they were invincible when they worked hand in glove with each other.

The very thought of this made Ling Zhang’s temper fray. “You’re right. I’ve been angry and worried all day, so it’s only fair to beat them out of all they’ve got in their pockets.”

Yuwen Tong gave it some thought and then bobbed his head, feeling that Ling Zhang had a point. Actually it struck him that Ling Zhang had made an excellent point. That was indeed the case.

As he thought of this, a variety of mischievous plans began to present themselves one by one in his imperial mind. With great efficiency, he churned out a myriad of methods for hurting the Wan Kingdom’s and the Luohai Kingdom’s wallets really bad.

Thinking about this, he exchanged a smile with Ling Zhang and with that, finding a hint of cunningness in each other’s smile, the two of them smiled more broadly.

Yuwen Tong crooked his finger at Ling Zhang. “Come forward,” he said.

Ling Zhang confusedly walked over and was abruptly drawn into Yuwen Tong’s embrace and given a hard kiss on the cheek, which immediately started aching. Ling Zhang twisted his head aside to look emptily at him, then incredulously massaged his cheek and huffed, “Why did you kiss me so hard?! Is my cheek red?!”

Affecting an air of concern, Yuwen Tong said, “Let me take a look at it.”

With a serious look on his face, he considered Ling Zhang’s cheek for a while and then planted another kiss on it.

Consumed with anger, Ling Zhang hammered Yuwen Tong’s chest. “Stop kissing me!” he flared.

If it went red, everybody would be able to see the hickey on his cheek after he walked outside. He would be too ashamed to show his face again if that happened!

Yuwen Tong burst into laughter, and it seemed as if he wouldn’t be able to stop any time soon. The corners of Ling Zhang’s mouth twitched and with that he pushed Yuwen Tong a few steps backwards, feeling that Yuwen Tong had probably lost his mind.

Hearing the married couple having a romantic moment inside, Yao Yi and the others who were on guard duty outside exchanged glances, feeling that life was so fucking lonely. The two masters of theirs were clinging together like glue and lacquer, and they, a bunch of unloved bachelors, were silently suffering the agony caused by their masters’ display of affection. It felt as though their hearts had been cut in half, and they were torn between the need to comforting themselves and the urge to inwardly curse their two heartless masters in there.

“I’ve been doing some careful thinking lately, and I think maybe it’s really about time I got myself a wife,” said Miao Shiba, gazing up into the sky.

Yao Yi looked at him. “You’re still young, Shiba. There’s no hurry.”

“In my hometown, everybody that’s my age has kids the same height as my waist, and you’re telling me there’s no hurry?” Miao Shiba gave him a dirty look.

Yao Yi said, “Well, maybe you should think about my situation. Even I haven’t got a wife yet. Why are you in such a hurry?”

“No, we’re different, bro. You know, in terms of appearance, I kind of have an advantage,” said Miao Shiba tactfully.

Yao Yi, “…”

With a cold look on his face, Yao Yi gave Miao Shiba a kick on the butt to vent his anger.

That kick almost sent Miao Shiba flying off the stairs. Having regained his balance just in time, he patted his chest and asked, “Why are you so mad, bro? Wasn’t I just telling the truth?”

Yao Yi actually felt an urge to kill him at these words. “Get the fuck out of my sight,” he huffed.

Miao Shiba glanced over his shoulder into the hall. Did Yao Yi seriously think he was willing to stay here enduring the love scene going on inside? He would never have come here were his name not on this day’s duty roster!

…

A solution to the issue of Jiangzhou found, Yuwen Tong, after informing Qi San of Wang Xiangxin’s and his subordinates’ weaknesses, started making arrangements to entice the Wan Kingdom and the Luohai Kingdom to take the bait and pour money, manpower and material resources into Jiangzhou which was like a bottomless hole.

Qi San, who had been given information about the chink in the enemy’s armor, was somewhat bewildered, wondering how his master, who had been fretting about this issue only a short while before, had so soon come to know about the background and vulnerable points of the killers working for Wang Xiangxin as well as the Achilles heel of Wang Xiangxin himself, and even how much money Zhu You kept in his house?!

The more Qi San thought about it, the more droplets of sweat welled up on his back. Was his master capable of being in multiple places at once, by any chance? Had he managed a round trip from this city to Jiangzhou within merely half a day? Or was his master not a human being, which he’d never found out until this day?

Qi San maintained a poker face, but questions had exploded in his head. A myriad of speculations were whirling in his mind, making him feel dizzy.

“What’s the matter, Lao San?” asked Yao Yi. He saw Qi San walk out of the hall with a face as expressionless as usual, but the latter didn’t seem to notice the column ahead of him and was about to walk right into it. Yao Yi broke out in a cold sweat and hastily grabbed Qi San’s arm to stop him.

Qi San jerked out of his trance. Face still impassive, he said dreamily, “Nothing.”

After that, he walked off without another word. He left in such a determined way as though he feared that Yao Yi would refuse to let him go if he didn’t hurry. He didn’t even turn his head to give Yao Yi a backward glance.

Yao Yi, “…”

It struck him that there was something wrong with Qi San, but after giving it some thought, he felt that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Was he imagining things?

…

A big problem solved, Ling Zhang felt quite at ease. He went to the kitchen and made a bowl of noodle for Yuwen Tong. After that, he had a cook prepare some dishes and thus his and Yuwen Tong’s dinner was ready.

At night, Yuwen Tong returned from the consultation hall and the two of them had dinner together. Watching Ling Zhang slurping noisily from his bowl, Yuwen Tong suddenly said, “You may go there if you want. I’ll have Yao Yi and some others go with you.”

Ling Zhang was engaged in drinking his noodle soup when Yuwen Tong’s remarks hit him like a thunderbolt. He nearly choked on the soup.

Yuwen Tong hastened to pat his back. “You’re an adult now. How come you could still choke on noodle soup?”

Ling Zhang glared at him. So this was his own fault? Were it not for the sudden good news from Yuwen Tong, this would never have happened.

“You’re really letting me go there? Don’t you go back on your word!”

“How am I supposed to reply to you when you’re asking me a question and giving me an order at the same time?”

Ling Zhang looked at him. Yuwen Tong gave it some thought and then inclined his head neatly. “Yeah, you can go, and I won’t break my word,” he added.

Ling Zhang’s eyes instantly narrowed. He was so happy he almost rose to his feet to do a twirl. However, he still promised, “I’ll stay in your men’s sight and keep my cool at all times, and protecting myself will always be my first priority!”

Yuwen Tong lifted his eyebrows, feeling that Ling Zhang had really grown up, given that he’d made a promise on his own account. Thinking that Ling Zhang deserved a reward for this, he planted a kiss on Ling Zhang’s forehead. “You may set out in two days.”

Ling Zhang, whose brow was stained by the oily kiss, was just about to dress him down when he heard Yuwen Tong tell him to depart in two days. “So–So soon?”

“Yeah. The matter of Jiangzhou is urgent.”

Ling Zhang’s excitement ebbed somewhat. He was only too anxious to go to Jiangzhou, but surprisingly, after Yuwen Tong willingly gave his consent and even fixed up for him to depart, he felt a faint sense of loss. It struck him that there was probably something wrong with himself.

“Incidentally, remember to see Yuwen Jin off tomorrow. He’s going to the Shadow Battalion with Qi San,” Yuwen Tong added.

Ling Zhang’s attention was distracted. If Yuwen Jin went to the Shadow Battalion, he would have to go through hell before he could get out of it. “Okay.”

When they had finished dinner, the two of them went for an after-dinner walk as usual. Yuwen Tong still had some state affairs to attend to at night. Ling Zhang had a talk with Qi San who filled him in on the situation in Jiangzhou. At a late hour, the two of them burrowed beneath the quilt, did what they usually did in bed several times, and then slept until daybreak.

Early the next morning, Ling Zhang went out of the palace. Only a limited few knew about Yuwen Jin’s upcoming journey to the Shadow Battalion, and the couple of close friends of his were among them.

His friends paid their respects to Ling Zhang with due formality at the sight of him. “It’s an honor to kneel before you, Your Highness.”

Ling Zhang didn’t like it when people addressed him as “the empress”. Whoever dared call him that would have to face his anger, and all his friends knew about this.

Ling Zhang gave a slight cough and said, “You may rise.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” the group of them chorused, stood up and then suddenly burst into laughter all at once, clustering around him. “Hey, how does it feel? It makes you feel pretty good, right?”

Ling Zhang sneered, “Would it kill you to pretend for a little while longer? Look at the stupid smile on your faces.”

“Haha… We can’t let you have that, and you know it,” laughed Yuwen Jin, scampering over to Ling Zhang. “Eek, why do I get the feeling you’re a little taller than the last time I’ve seen you, Brother Zhang?” he asked.

Ling Zhang’s eyes instantly lit up. “Taller?”

The others peered closely at him and then all nodded. “You do seem to have grown a bit.”

“What have you been eating lately?”

“I’ve been using every conceivable method to grow taller but nothing seems to work on me. How come you grew so much within merely a couple of days?”

His friends admiringly watched Ling Zhang’s newly gained height, green with envy.

“Does being the empress help you grow, by any chance?” Yuwen Jin took a wild guess.

All the others lapsed into silence. If that was the case, there would be nothing they could do, however jealous they were.