Chapter 45: Breaking the Deadlock

Chapter 45: Breaking the Deadlock

"General."

"General..."

"General!!!"

The high, continuous voices had echoed for who knows how many times.

In Ning Xuan's arms, soft jade and warm fragrance changed one after another—singers, sword dancers, tap dancers, soft-spoken seductresses, and bold temptresses. He accepted them all, one round after another, as if he were punching through a nightmare again and again, exerting his full strength with every strike, leaving nothing in reserve.

It wasn't until there was not a single woman left in the Fragrant Grass Hut capable of fighting, nor any woman daring to approach, that he finally stretched his body into the most comfortable posture—limp, shapeless, and leisurely slumped in that large, hedonistic wooden chair.

Even without invoking the Heavenly Demon Talisman, his constitution had already reached 3.5, far exceeding the limits of a mortal. Thus, even in his pursuit of pleasure, he far surpassed ordinary men.

The creaking of the chair ceased. He tilted his head back, staring vacantly at the blue sky and white clouds, his mind completely empty.

Around him, the women cautiously avoided him, leaning against the walls.

At first, they had been overjoyed to know they would be serving the General today.

General Anyuan was handsome, wealthy, powerful, and influential—the dream lover of almost every unmarried woman in Wangyue Prefecture, let alone women of the brothels. If they could be chosen by General Anyuan and taken away, it would mean a complete transformation of their lives.

Therefore, before coming, they were all brimming with energy and had even fought for a long time for the chance to be here.

Even during the service just now, each had displayed her unique talents.

But now, all their strength had been exhausted, leaving behind nothing but horror.

They stole glances at the young General in the distance; he seemed like a monster that had carefully donned human skin.

His violent methods had nearly driven each of them to the brink of fainting; they had only endured by gritting their teeth and clenching their fists. Now, every one of them was covered in bruises, either red or blue. However, they could also see that the young General had actually been quite restrained; otherwise... several colleagues would have died on the spot today.

Ning Xuan lay on his back, lazily opening his eyes, and happened to meet the gaze of a courtesan in red.

The courtesan in red shrank back in terror.

Ning Xuan beckoned her.

Steeling herself, the courtesan in red lowered her head and cautiously shuffled toward Ning Xuan. She then asked timidly, "General, do you... do you have any orders?"

Ning Xuan said, "Bring wine."

The courtesan nodded hurriedly.

Ning Xuan added, "And chip a bucket of ice from the cellar."

Having said that, he lazily closed his eyes again.

The courtesan hurried to do as she was told.

Ning Xuan did not touch the women again; he merely drank wine leisurely. Soon, the alcohol surged through him, and he let out a yawn, feeling sleepy.

He lay on the large, hedonistic chair.

The courtesans still possessed professional etiquette; after their strength had slightly recovered, a musician began to play soft, decadent melodies nearby.

Ning Xuan finally fell into a comfortable sleep.

He slept straight through until noon the next day.

He woke up to eat and drink vorously, sought pleasure after eating, and then went back to sleep.

That day, the Chenxiang Pavilion closed its doors.

When people came to ask, the old matron simply said it had been booked for the General.

A profligate disciple asked viciously, "Which General?"

The matron replied, "General Anyuan."

Instantly, silence fell.

Perhaps only a very small number of people in the entire Wangyue Prefecture knew the true meaning of Ning Xuan's title, "General Anyuan," but that didn't stop those few from telling their juniors: "Do not provoke General Anyuan. Whatever you do, do not provoke him. Even if he rides on your head and defecates, you must shout, 'Thank you, General, for granting me such wealth and honor!'"

The entire Chenxiang Pavilion began to revolve around Ning Xuan.

Celestial Master Yaozhen, who had been in her manor reflecting on whether she had offended the General, suddenly discovered that the brothel across the street had closed for the day. Upon further investigation, she found it had been booked by her own partner.

Yaozhen's ethereal, otherworldly face was once again tinged with indignation.

She had not yet sent out the "Request for Imperial Decree," so she used a ground-traveling technique to arrive directly at the Fragrant Grass Hut where Ning Xuan was staying.

"Ah!"

Celestial Master Yaozhen saw something she shouldn't have, and hurriedly fled.

After a long while...

She returned, let out another "Ah!" scream, and ran away again.

It wasn't until much later, upon her third return, that she finally saw the young man sitting by the pond, tossing bait to feed the fish while drinking wine.

The young General wore a wide black robe, his hair was loose, and his eyes held a deep, quiet stillness. He actually possessed a certain elegance of a refined gentleman, but the decadent atmosphere surrounding him made Yaozhen snap her whisk violently and declare, "This humble Taoist believes the General need not give up on himself just because of a small matter!!"

Ning Xuan looked at her in surprise.

Give up on himself?

He had recovered very quickly over the past two days.

He was now feeling refreshed and invigorated.

The pain of being gnawed by demons and the agony of self-mutilation and killing had faded.

His heart, which had almost become twisted, had regained its light by sensing the beauty of the mortal world.

He smiled faintly, a very composed smile, and then grabbed another piece of fish bait to toss into the deep green weeds of the pond.

Immediately, koi fish leaped out to compete for the bait, making the water surface splash loudly. Water droplets sprayed everywhere, rolling across the lily pads like crystal beads, playful and lovely.

"Has it been sent out?" Ning Xuan asked.

Yaozhen felt a bit dejected and whispered, "Is there no need to request an imperial decree?"

Ning Xuan said, "Send it out."

Yaozhen hurriedly said, "General Ning, you are already a very promising General. I... although I am a Second-Rank Celestial Master, you must know that a Second-Rank Celestial Master is actually not as precious as a First-Rank Martial Artist. But you are only sixteen, right? You are a year younger than me! A sixteen-year-old First-Rank Martial Artist is already incredibly impressive. I... I will prepare to request the Demon-Revealing Mirror for you and prepare resources to refine the demon cores using Dragon Fire."

Ning Xuan said, "Send it out, then refine the pills."

He had considered using the method of "strengthening the foundation to drive subsequent strength" to train his constitution, but he could find no way to improve his spirit. Since the Empire had a relatively complete cultivation system of "General Pill Consumption," he might as well use "pill consumption" to improve his spirit.

Hearing him proactively mention "refining pills," Yaozhen realized he still wanted to progress and had not given up, which allowed her to breathe a secret sigh of relief.

As for the matter of "requesting a decree," if she hadn't witnessed Ning Xuan's decisive and ruthless martial prowess, or his boldness in sealing off a border, she would have truly believed her partner was choosing to give up a whole prefecture simply because he was afraid of the "Frozen Hell."

Suddenly, she seemed to think of something, her eyes lighting up. "General Ning, this humble Taoist forgot to tell you one thing."

Ning Xuan asked, "What?"

Yaozhen said, "The General's Tiger Tally is commissioned by the Emperor to govern two prefectures. This is not merely a nominal empty phrase; it has practical significance."

Ning Xuan asked, "What significance?"

Yaozhen said, "The Tiger Tally can gather resources from both prefectures to nurture important assets. The more territory you govern, the more resources you can nurture, and the more precious they become. These resources will directly relate to pill refining."

Having said that, she added seriously, "These words are absolutely true."

Ning Xuan fell silent for a moment, then said, "Send it out."

Firstly, "pill consumption" was merely one method he was preparing for, not his primary method.

Secondly, if important resources were needed, he could obtain them through trade; why bother cultivating them himself? While self-cultivation was indeed good, if it meant risking his life to protect lands that didn't even belong to the Ning family, he would rather pass.

Seeing his persistence, the urge to argue rose within Yaozhen again, but after thinking it over, she refrained. She simply said angrily, "Before I came, I scouted the surroundings. The Qin family's envoy is already very close to the prefectural city. General, you should think about how to deal with this."

Ning Xuan lay down leisurely and beckoned to a young girl nearby.

The girl was from a different shift and approached timidly.

Ning Xuan pulled her into his arms.

Yaozhen turned her face away, her expression cold.

Ning Xuan said calmly, "If the envoy arrives, tell them I am here."

Yaozhen was stunned for a moment, then she became delighted.

She was sent by the Emperor to coordinate with the generals below to execute the "Divine General Plan." Naturally, she hoped her partner would grow close to the Emperor and become a Divine General. Now, Ning Xuan's words were actually a roundabout way of rejecting Generalissimo Qin. This made her heart bloom with joy. She decided to report this matter as well; in this way, the Emperor should also understand General Ning's painstaking intentions.

So, the reason General Ning was at the Chenxiang Pavilion was not to indulge in debauchery, but because he was stationed here to fulfill his duties!

It made sense; General Ning was a young prodigy, how could he enjoy lingering in the pleasure quarters?

Yaozhen's gaze toward Ning Xuan suddenly filled with apology and joy. She lowered her head and muttered, "This humble Taoist understands the General's profound meaning. I shall depart immediately."

With a wave of her hand, she vanished in a flash of golden light.

Ning Xuan: "..."

He didn't understand what that crazy woman was thinking at all.

His meaning was...

He had declined the Emperor's gift and requested a decree for a single prefecture, so he also had to block the marriage alliance from the Generalissimo Qin's manor once. Otherwise, how could the Emperor tolerate him?

Conversely, by blocking the marriage alliance and declining the Emperor's grace, he was also making Generalissimo Qin understand his stance.

At the same time, by losing Ping'an Prefecture, he would no longer be directly adjacent to the "Frozen Hell," and he wouldn't have to deal with matters there, thereby pulling himself and the Ning family out of danger.

He had no interest in being the vanguard for the mess involving the Emperor and the old-guard generals.

As for the Divine General Plan, he had no interest in risking his life for it.

The world was full of heroes as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river; why would they lack one more profligate wastrel like him?