466: Chapter 466 No Way Out

Li Sixun listened with a speechless expression. "What do you mean 'nursing a baby'? Are those words a dignified commander of the Red Flame Iron Cavalry should be saying?"

"It's not like I wanted to be the commander myself. Wasn't I dragged into this by you?"

Zhou Guangfu rolled his eyes and said, "I just wanted to be a cook, but you insisted I command battles. Did you ask my wife if she agreed?"

"Why on earth would I ask your wife about military matters!?"

"I'm henpecked!"

"You have the nerve to say that!?"

Li Sixun was about to lose his temper when he realized something was wrong. How did they get so off-track?!

"Wait, I summoned you here because I wanted to ask your opinion on this secret letter."

Zhou Guangfu scratched his neck. "I'm not familiar with Yang Gengzhong. That man is a thousand-year-old fox; how would I know what he's thinking?"

"However... he likely didn't know about the events back then. Since he has the information now, your brother must have told him before he died."

"Rumors are flying outside that the Prince of Zhenbei bribed Yang Gengzhong to kill the Emperor, using it as a way to throw the Li Gan Imperial Family into chaos."

"But if Yang Gengzhong truly knows the inside story of your identity swap back then, it proves the Emperor trusted him until the moment he died."

"In that case, the rumor that the Prince of Zhenbei killed the Emperor collapses on its own."

Li Sixun narrowed his eyes. "Although the identity swap was a secret, we can't be entirely certain that Yang Gengzhong didn't know about it."

Zhou Guangfu raised an eyebrow. "What, do you also think the Prince of Zhenbei killed him?"

Li Sixun gave a bitter smile. "Does it matter whether he did or didn't? So many experts died in the Capital Region, and all five Great Eunuchs went to the Northern Border. You and I both know what that signifies."

"Having him 'die of illness' in the Northern Border is better than having him die on the Dragon Throne."

Zhou Guangfu snorted. "He thinks everyone is like General Mu, foolishly loyal and waiting to die. In the three hundred years of Great Gan, how many Mu Tiexins have there been?"

At the mention of that name, a flicker of guilt flashed in Li Sixun's eyes.

Seeing the mood turn somber, Zhou Guangfu sighed. "Your Highness, if you plan to enter the capital, I'll go assemble the Red Flame Iron Cavalry right now."

"No rush, let's wait and see," Li Sixun said calmly.

Zhou Guangfu thought for a moment and nodded. "True. Since Yang Gengzhong only sent a secret letter, we'll just pretend we don't know and let Crown Prince Li Chenghao make a mess for now."

"What I'm worried about now isn't the palace, but whether Lin Xiao can repel the Khitan. I have a feeling that this time, the Khitan people are unusual and have come prepared."

"If the north falls and the myth of the Zhenbei Army's invincibility is shattered, then those two insidious villains, Prince Wu and the Prince of East Sea, will have work to do."

Li Sixun spoke with a face full of worry.

"Surely it won't come to that? He even pacified the Northern Barbarians; what kind of waves can the Khitan stir up?" Zhou Guangfu felt he was overthinking it.

"Everyone thinks the Khitan are seeking their own destruction, but would the Khitan people... insist on seeking death themselves?" Li Sixun countered with a smile.

Zhou Guangfu fell silent, forced to admit the logic.

"Right now, the whole world believes the Prince of Zhenbei and his army are invincible. Therefore, those who hate and envy Lin Xiao can only endure and remain dormant."

"But once this golden body of invincibility is broken, people will no longer be afraid. Because once there is one failure, there will be countless more."

"Actually, the logic is simple. No matter how powerful a general is, it's impossible for one person to guard an entire frontier."

"Lin Xiao rose too quickly. Within a year, people like Prince Bai, the Northern Barbarians, and the Western Qiang were crushed before they could even react."

"Many people aren't incompetent; they just didn't have time to properly study how to counter him before their opportunity was gone."

"So this time, the Khitan must have planned meticulously. You can see it in how the Yan Region has fallen into a bitter struggle."

Li Sixun stood up, hands behind his back, gazing toward the north.

"In this battle... the Zhenbei Army has no way out. One step back is a bottomless abyss!"

...

Two days later.

Within Khitan territory, the wilderness terrain rolled and dipped, and the setting sun in the distance was like blood.

[Kills +37, Comprehension Ability +37, Bloodlust...]

On a high slope, Lin Xiao nonchalantly swung out dozens of sword qi, killing a squad of Khitan cavalry from hundreds of meters away.

Behind him, Gu Zhiyao had gone from her initial shock to being somewhat numb and accustomed to it.

In the two days she had been out with Lin Xiao, they had already dealt with at least two thousand Khitan soldiers along the way.

Of those, at least half hadn't even had time to launch a charge before being killed by Lin Xiao.

Gu Zhiyao was certain that if this man wanted to, he could exterminate the entire Khitan race.

"Your Highness, what is with your sword qi? I've seen the sword qi of a Sword Saint, and even they can't strike from this far."

Gu Zhiyao had never seen anyone able to release sword qi at such a distance without its power diminishing!

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you."

Lin Xiao didn't bother to explain that he had a passive skill called 'Qi Scripture,' which enhanced all his Qi-based techniques.

This included flying through the air with Gu Zhiyao using Qi; it was faster and easier than before.

"Hmph, stingy."

Gu Zhiyao gave him a sidelong glance, then used her light-body technique to move toward the corpses of the dead Khitan soldiers.

She peeled back their eyelids, pried open their mouths, and even used a knife to cut open some flesh and blood vessels for an examination.

Lin Xiao watched from the side. He had to admit, seeing such a great beauty perform the work of a coroner so skillfully had a unique charm to it.

"Indeed, they all consumed Corpse Refining Water. But judging by the level of toxicity in the liver, it's lighter than those on the front lines."

Gu Zhiyao frowned. "Strange. We've killed so many Khitan soldiers along the way, yet we haven't found a single bottle of Corpse Refining Water?"

She wanted to find the source of the Corpse Refining Water, but without a single bottle, she had no way to investigate.

"Naturally, someone is hiding the source."

Lin Xiao said, "Haven't you noticed? We've come this deep and haven't seen a Khitan unit larger than fifty men."

"They've scattered like this, taking various circuitous routes toward the Yan Region border, precisely to avoid a direct confrontation with me and preserve their main fighting force."

"It would take at least ten days to half a month to completely annihilate them all."

"This shows... the enemy knows I've arrived. Sending these people out is just a stalling tactic."

Gu Zhiyao knit her brows. "But for so many people to consume Corpse Refining Water, it can't all be transported from the far rear, can it?"

She looked out at the vast wilderness. Although Khitan's land area wasn't as large as that of the Northern Barbarians or Western Qiang, it certainly wasn't small.

Coupled with the complex terrain, trying to find the source of the Corpse Refining Water without any clues was truly like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"If we can't find the object, we'll find the people. It's time to go."

Lin Xiao didn't hesitate; he didn't want to waste time.

Seeing the man about to move, Gu Zhiyao suddenly said in a soft voice, "Your Highness, can you carry me on your back?"

Lin Xiao doubted his own ears. He turned back and asked, "Dr. Gu, what did you just say?"