Chapter 44: Please Adjudicate

Chapter 44: Please Reduce My Fief

[Nine of Four]

[Nine of Five]

[Nine of Eight]

Bang!

This time, Ning Xuan did not repeat his previous trick. He simply pressed the snow-white bear demon against the old tree and unleashed a rapid succession of punches with an expressionless face.

His gaze was focused and indifferent. Due to the sheer force, the muscles on his fists had become dense, transforming into fine scales.

With every impact, the scales on his fists collided with the scales on the bear demon's cheeks.

The bear demon was not to be outdone, constantly swinging its two claws to attack Ning Xuan's ribs. However, every time they made contact, they were blocked by the scales generated from Ning Xuan's abdomen, failing completely to break through that solid defense.

The stalemate did not last long.

Because the balance had been broken.

An increasing amount of black Qi from the bear demon's body surged toward Ning Xuan, and the scales on its face could no longer coalesce.

Bang!

As the blow landed once more, the scales on the bear demon's face failed to appear in time, while the scales on Ning Xuan's fist had already fully covered it.

The snow-white bear demon's head was instantly split open. Following that, thick brain matter, blood, fur, and bone fragments began to pour out. Its claws hung limp and powerless, abandoning the attack, yet it continued to mutter: "If only my weapon were here... if only my weapon were still here..."

Ning Xuan did not listen to its nonsense.

He wound up another punch.

For this punch, his entire arm was covered in scales.

The fist was like a fully drawn bow, released from the string.

Boom!

The trunk of the old tree shuddered violently, leaves fell in profusion, and with a dull "crack," it snapped at the waist.

The snow-white bear demon's head had also become a complete crater; it lay motionless.

The world fell silent in that instant.

Ning Xuan casually tossed aside the mangled corpse.

The last surge of dense black Qi from the corpse seeped into his body, and the entire world of the Black Moon and White Sun began to collapse.

Standing amidst the collapsing world, Ning Xuan looked up and scanned his status panel.

[Ning Xuan]

[Life (Constitution): 3.5]

[Nature (Spirit): 1]

[Heavenly Demon Register]

[Zen Master Baiyue]

[Heavenly Demon Life Attribute: Bear Kind, Ordinary Class, White Mountain Species (Constitution): 10] (Upon summoning, provides an additional 8.25 Life attribute)

[Innate Demon Art: None]

"General Ning is right. Thirty years east, thirty years west. Life is not yet old, and the path of clouds is long; there is no need to belittle oneself now and needlessly damage one's spirit."

Yaozhen Immortal's voice drifted into Ning Xuan's ears.

He listened to the voice as if it were from another lifetime.

Yaozhen Immortal suddenly noticed the silence of the general beside her and asked in confusion, "Has the General discovered something?"

Ning Xuan said, "Push the boundary here back another fifty miles. Also, tell the reinforcements coming to investigate to be careful. This place... is very wrong."

Yaozhen Immortal raised an eyebrow. "General... could it be that you are afraid?"

Ning Xuan did not answer. He gazed toward the iceberg that radiated a chilling, sinister aura under the moonlight.

The noisy chirping of insects had already begun to ring in his ears, and the wind through the trees had grown warm, yet the iceberg remained entirely unaffected.

Even in his nightmares, he had not been able to set foot on that iceberg.

Zen Master Baiyue was clearly a bear.

A White Mountain Bear.

This kind of bear didn't even possess an innate demon art, yet it could cultivate such formidable strength and even bear the title of "Zen Master." Connecting this to the "Fragrance-Stealing Rat" with its ten-丈 Bodhisattva golden body, Ning Xuan quickly connected the dots.

Wangyue Prefecture had been stable for a long time—so stable that his father and eldest brother could suppress all matters, making the common people unaware of the existence of demons. This indicated that for a long period, the power of demons had been below "3." Even a "3.5" like Mount Manfeng had been classified as a forbidden zone, a place of contention for Dragon Qi.

But this spring, it was as if an "acceleration button" had been pressed.

Setting aside everything else, look at what he had encountered.

The Crashing Mountain Bear Demon, with a constitution of 3.2, was relatively normal.

But immediately following that was the Fragrance-Stealing Rat, with a spirit of 5.0, appearing alone. Shortly after its appearance, the "Frozen Hell" appeared north of Ping'an Prefecture.

And with the appearance of the "Frozen Hell," "Black Smoke Heads" and "Frozen Corpses containing Dragon Qi" appeared, followed by this "Zen Master Baiyue" with a constitution reaching a full 10.

If you find one cockroach in your house, it means there are actually many more.

Ning Xuan knew this principle deeply.

What he had seen was merely the tip of the iceberg.

More similar occurrences were happening all across the land.

On another note...

In the nightmare, Zen Master Baiyue had been muttering about its weapon.

That weapon must be extremely important to it.

Ning Xuan actually had a guess.

The reason Zen Master Baiyue could not find its weapon was that what had been pulled into the Black Moon White Sun nightmare world was merely the "Root of Life" of Zen Master Baiyue, not its true body; it could not bring anything with it.

In other words, the weapon Zen Master Baiyue kept mentioning was actually still in its true body's hands.

With that weapon, Zen Master Baiyue's power would reach an even higher level.

Ning Xuan did not really want to fight this demon.

Since the Imperial Dynasty's foundation was so deep, and the history of demon confrontation known to him alone spanned no less than a hundred years, then let the Dynasty handle it...

He was merely an unknown nobody.

If anyone wants to wade through such deep waters, let them.

If anyone wants to be one of the Twelve Divine Generals, let them.

His home was Wangyue Prefecture. He was born in Wangyue Prefecture, grew up in Wangyue Prefecture, and the Ning family was also in Wangyue Prefecture. Therefore, he only needed to defend Wangyue Prefecture.

Subsequently, he hurriedly pushed the boundary back much further and proposed setting up double boundaries at key points. This would ensure that if the front boundary was attacked, those at the rear boundary could immediately notice, thereby avoiding silent infiltration by demons.

Having finished this, he rushed toward Wangyue Prefecture without pause.

As soon as he returned to the manor that had already been fitted with the plaque "General Ning's Manor," he didn't even change his clothes and immediately sat at his desk to draft a memorial.

Regarding memorials, his father had already taught him the proper format the moment he was titled Anyuan General. As for the content... he was a playboy, not an idiot.

Playboys have teachers for both civil and military arts, and those teachers are all competent.

Thus, Ning Xuan's handwriting and content were both up to standard.

Furthermore, because of Yaozhen Immortal, as soon as he finished writing, she could transmit the image of the memorial to the Imperial Capital, which was extremely convenient.

Yaozhen Immortal leaned in curiously. She truly did not understand why this decisive and ruthless general would write a letter immediately upon his return, nor what kind of letter it would be.

The ink on the memorial formed words.

*Your servant, Anyuan General Ning Xuan, respectfully submits:*

*Due to my meager talents and heavy responsibilities, making it difficult to shoulder great tasks, I earnestly request the Imperial Grace to reduce my fief, so as to ensure the peace of the military and the people.*

*I am a mediocre talent, blessed by Your Majesty's heavenly grace with the position of Anyuan and the lands of two prefectures. I should have exerted all my strength on the borders to repay the Emperor's kindness and soothe the common people.*

*However, my talents and strength are insufficient to govern such vast lands. After much deliberation, if my fief were reduced to Ping'an, allowing me to focus solely on governing Wangyue, I might be able to better contribute my meager efforts to organize the border defenses and stabilize the populace. This would not only avoid the criticism of being a mere figurehead but also align with the Imperial system of appointing those with actual capability.*

*I do not dare to be pretentious or evasive; it is truly because I know my own limitations. If Your Majesty grants my request to reduce my fief to a single prefecture, I shall work tirelessly day and night, diligently cultivating military preparedness to repay the Great Lord's immense grace.*

*I humbly pray that Your Majesty observes my sincerity and grants my request. Your servant is overwhelmed with trepidation and awaits orders!*

*Respectfully submitted.*

*Anyuan General Ning Xuan bows his head.*

Yaozhen Immortal froze for a long while. Her cold cheeks turned from white to red, and then she said, "The General has already done very well."

Ning Xuan said shamefully, "No! That Frozen Hell is right before my eyes, yet I dare not even step upon it. I am afraid; I am not worthy of governing Ping'an Prefecture."

Having said that, he dropped the memorial, let out a long sigh, found Xiao Jie to bathe and change, and then ran toward the Fragrant Incense Pavilion in the building opposite.

Yaozhen Immortal held the memorial and stood there for a long time.

She suddenly recalled that earlier, in front of the Frozen Hell, she had seemingly asked in a slightly provocative tone, "General... could it be that you are afraid?"

She fell silent.

The Anyuan General had long been tormented by his pride, hating himself for why he could not resolve the Frozen Hell and why he needed outside help. Yet, she had chosen that exact moment to twist the knife.

It was she who had wounded the Anyuan General, which led to him writing this peculiar "Memorial to Reduce Fief."

Everyone else hopes for their fiefs to grow larger; who would hope for their fief to become smaller?

Yaozhen Immortal pondered for a long time and took a deep breath.

She had to apologize.

***

Fragrant Incense Pavilion.

Scented Grass Hut.

This was an independent small courtyard, designed entirely like a hermit's mountain dwelling, a top-tier experience offered by the Fragrant Incense Pavilion.

The overall design concept was based on the Taoist dual-cultivation methods recorded in ancient texts.

The walls of the grass hut were adorned with flowing, cursive calligraphy that read: *As man and woman complement each other, so heaven and earth generate one another. When heaven and earth find the way of convergence, there is no end; when humans lose the way of connection, there is the tendency toward premature death. To avoid the matter of gradual injury and obtain the art of Yin and Yang is the way to immortality.*

Simply put: it was about controlling many women to preserve the Primordial Yang.

The design of the grass hut was very elegant, and its location was not within the main Fragrant Incense Pavilion, but in a separately enclosed area nearby...

From the outside, it looked like the garden of a wealthy household.

Ning Xuan was lying there comfortably.

Every inch of his muscles could still feel the pain of the bear demon's gnawing, and his internal organs could still feel the agony of the flying knives' self-mutilation.

He needed fine wine and beautiful women to forget all this pain.

On his left leg was a charming beauty, and on his right leg was a dignified lady.

To his side, one wore a red veil, partially obscuring her face like a lady holding a lute.

In front of him, another held a long sword, dancing gracefully, like Hou Yi shooting down the nine suns, as agile as an emperor's steed soaring with a dragon.

Ning Xuan closed his eyes, enjoying himself.

This money would originally have become compensation funds, but... he had saved it through sheer skill. Using a tiny fraction of it now shouldn't be considered excessive, right?

As he was enjoying himself, a golden light suddenly surged before him.

Yaozhen Immortal appeared before him and said earnestly, "General, I was wrong."

Ning Xuan said, "Leave."

Yaozhen Immortal gave an "Oh," and then vanished into the ground.

(End of Chapter)