Qin Empire, the palace.
Zhang Jiangxi and the surviving soldiers arrived at the palace in the morning dew and cool morning air. The sound of the soldiers' horses' hooves made the residents' livestock, such as chickens and cows, more aggressive than usual.
Some of them were severely injured, with blood continuously dripping, creating a line of droplets along the road to the palace.
"Hurry! We need to help the wounded and report this incident to the Emperor!" Zhang Jiangxi tightened his jaw and sharpened his eyebrows.
I must report immediately and find General Gu Huang's whereabouts!
Inside the palace, Emperor Qin Loong was massaging his aching temples in a warm bath, the steam rising high to the palace ceiling.
"Hah... Can't they just let the Empire stand?" Emperor Qin Loong exhaled heavily while lying in the warm bath in the morning. "If not for my ancestors' leadership back then, perhaps they wouldn't be causing trouble and would continue cooperating to expand the Empire's territory."
Someone entered hastily and saluted the Emperor from behind the curtain made of silk and gold embroidery depicting a dragon and phoenix.
"Emperor, the dispatched troops have returned, but... their condition is very concerning!" reported one of the Emperor's personal attendants.
Emperor Qin Loong rose from his warm bath, quickly put on his clothes, walked out past the curtain, patted his attendant's shoulder twice, and spoke in a voice full of resignation, "Please prepare a list of the soldiers who did not survive, then give their families compensation for this mission, and carve their names on the heroes' tombstone."
"Y-yes, Your Majesty!" The attendant immediately carried out the Emperor's orders by listing and recording all the names of the survivors and marking those who had perished.
"W-wait a moment! General Gu Huang?!" The attendant was shocked and threw the note made of bamboo fiber, along with the brush and ink, to the floor. The attendant immediately ran as fast as possible to report to the Emperor.
Zhang Jiangxi met directly in the main hall of the palace with the Emperor's throne, which still radiated the aura of an absolute leader and monarchy. Emperor Qin Loong walked majestically toward his throne and began the conversation.
Zhang Jiangxi bowed his head, clenched his right hand, and covered it with his left hand, giving a respectful salute with a face full of wounds. His thick armor had several scratches and tears quite large, ten to fifteen centimeters in size.
"Your servant requests permission to report, Your Majesty. Forgive your servant for meeting Your Majesty informally," Zhang Jiangxi returned to an upright position before the large throne. Several times his pupils looked down and blinked.
"How severe is the situation?" Emperor Qin Loong asked directly, as if he knew that Zhang Jiangxi could not bear to tell the details, considering the battle and the sight of most of the troops wounded or killed.
"General Gu Huang fought the enemy alone. We do not know his current condition. I hope the General is still breathing in there," Zhang Jiangxi could not look directly into the Emperor's eyes; he felt empty.
"I hope the Emperor will send several expert troops of the 'Inner Peace' level and one General of the Concept path or an advanced spirit controller for this second expedition," Zhang Jiangxi continued.
"Is that necessary?" Emperor Qin Loong asked, feeling it was excessive, but after seeing the emptiness in Zhang Jiangxi's eyes, he knew it would be worth it.
Emperor Qin Loong lowered his head and exhaled heavily. "Very well..."
The attendant tasked with recording the names of the fallen soldiers ran quickly, causing the room to hear the sound of his footsteps hitting the floor.
"Emperor!" The attendant saluted, sweat dripping profusely, soaking part of his clothes.
"General Gu Huang! His condition is unknown! According to the surviving soldiers, at the battle site, there was an immortal monster fighting General Gu Huang. The light and impact of their battle could be heard up to five kilometers away as they came here!" The attendant explained in a hurried tone, even losing his voice several times because he was out of breath.
Emperor Qin Loong sharpened his eyebrows and stared at his attendant, who was reporting hastily without reading the situation. He didn't mind him; it was just that the news the attendant delivered was very serious.
No wonder Zhang Jiangxi looked like that! This is beyond what I predicted. I thought this expedition would go smoothly without outside interference.
"Attendant, immediately prepare special troops with the cultivation level of Inner Peace, and order General Wang Yue to lead this journey!" The Emperor's pupils constricted, and he clenched his jaw tightly.
The attendant saluted and immediately ran to prepare the troops as commanded by the Emperor.
I hope Wang Yue can help, even though his Conceptual power is two levels weaker than General Gu Huang's.
Emperor Qin Loong walked over to Zhang Jiangxi, patted his shoulder several times, and whispered in his ear, "You have done your best. Let the other troops handle the rest."
Emperor Qin Loong walked away, leaving Zhang Jiangxi alone in the magnificent main hall of the palace.
Zhang Jiangxi sat down, his face facing the palace floor, reflecting his own shadowy image. Empty, failed, and mistaken, it lingered in his mind.
"Because of my proposal, they can never meet their families again?" His voice was silent, his lips trembled, his throat felt hot as if being pierced by hot iron all the way to the back of his neck.
His reflected face spun, transforming into the images of his fallen comrades being killed. The silent room made him feel increasingly choked and unable to breathe properly.
Zhang Jiangxi walked with heavy steps out of the main hall toward the residential area, approaching one by one the homes of the fallen soldiers' families.
The Emperor had seen him leave the main hall and ordered the attending servants and guards to ignore him.
"Responsibility is indeed heavy, like a curse that knows no right or wrong," the Emperor said, watching from the upper balcony of the palace, exhaling heavily.
Zhang Jiangxi arrived at the first house with an open heart, ready to accept whatever treatment came from the victim's family.
"I accept all your mistakes or grudges against me. I will accept everything..."
Zhang Jiangxi received blows and curses from the first house. The blows even made him fall and sit in the street.
This continued to the other victims' family homes. Not all of them cursed or hit him; some cried and gave Zhang Jiangxi deep hugs, who looked like a mannequin doll.
"Is all of this enough?" Zhang Jiangxi looked at the twilight sky, his face and body swollen from blows and blood.
Zhang Jiangxi walked to the port, stood on the Yue Ming Bridge, and stared at the red circle slowly disappearing into the darkness of the night.
Physician Tong Yang, who was out walking and buying tanghulu with Xiao Mei, saw Zhang Jiangxi battered and bruised. The two of them approached him.
"Hey, young man, what's wrong with you? To be injured this badly," Physician Tong Yang took out bandages and medicine pills from his storage bag and began to treat his wounds. Zhang Jiangxi only turned slightly and ignored him.
Xiao Mei, who had been holding two tanghulu in her hands, extended one to Zhang Jiangxi with an innocent look and nudged Zhang Jiangxi's elbow. "Take this, you battered brother. I actually bought these two tanghulu for myself, but I want to give this one to you."
Zhang Jiangxi turned, took it, and said softly, "Thank you."
Xiao Mei only smiled faintly hearing Zhang Jiangxi's thanks, while Physician Tong Yang was still busy bandaging Zhang Jiangxi's wounds.
"You know, big brother, this place below used to be where I lived with my brother. We lived below the extreme poverty line. My brother had to scavenge leftover food from the big restaurants in the city just to keep me full," Xiao Mei paused for a moment, unconsciously shedding tears. "But now he mysteriously disappeared on my fifth birthday."
"I was very devastated at first when I lost my brother. I even fell ill. Fortunately, I was saved by this grandfather physician. I have accepted the reality that my brother probably wouldn't rest easy if I kept thinking about him and getting sick. I always believe he is still out there alive, and I always pray for him," Xiao Mei continued.
Zhang Jiangxi fell silent, feeling that he had never been grateful and always trapped in the past. He never imagined that he would be awakened by children.
"Alright, it's done. Take these pills, young man," Physician Tong Yang handed him two pills, placing them into Zhang Jiangxi's hand, which was feeling mixed emotional turmoil.
"Xiao Mei, let's go home. It's already dark," called Physician Tong Yang. Xiao Mei immediately answered, "Okay."
"If you feel that you are nothing but a failure, always look around you. They strive to eat to survive, they once had dreams, and they were once heroes to their parents."
Physician Tong Yang and Xiao Mei left Zhang Jiangxi. Xiao Mei waved her hand as a goodbye.
After the two of them left, Zhang Jiangxi immediately swallowed the two medicine pills he was given and went straight to the palace to join the second expedition.
"Stay behind, and you will remain behind."