Chapter 104: Not a Reckless Brute

Fan Li was overjoyed. He summoned all the commanders of the Imperial Guards.

"Duke of Jin, what are your orders? If we must join the battle, we are ready to fight to the last man!" one commander declared passionately, kneeling on one knee. The others followed suit immediately.

They were indeed loyalists raised by the Fan family, each possessing unwavering devotion. Fan Li, however, spat out a scoff.

"Are you all out of your minds? When gods fight, what business is it of yours? Are you rushing to your deaths?"

The commanders were stunned. As the guards, how could they stand idly by while bandits attempted to plunder the delegation’s wealth?

"Then... what instructions do you have for us, Duke?" one commander asked, looking as curious as a child.

Fan Li grinned. "Have you ever witnessed the techniques of a third-tier Great Vehicle realm expert?"

The commanders shook their heads.

"And have you ever seen a military formation engage an expert of the Great Vehicle realm?"

They shook their heads again.

Fan Li gestured toward the front. "What a precious opportunity to observe and learn! Watch closely, study carefully, and do not miss a single detail!"

"Oh!" The commanders suddenly understood. "Understood, my Lord!"

The "Reckless General" lived up to his reputation as the pinnacle of martial prowess from the Three Kingdoms of a past life. Leading two thousand Black Armored cavalry, he actually went toe-to-toe with the third-tier Great Vehicle expert, Hanyue.

The Black Armored cavalry were well-trained, constantly shifting their formations. They alternated between offense and defense, always managing to distract and disrupt Hanyue while their commander engaged her in fierce combat.

Fan Li held a fruit platter, nonchalantly providing commentary: "In the art of war, when the enemy is strong, use wisdom; when the enemy is weak, use force. If you are to lead troops against super-experts like this Saintess, you must not rely on mere individual bravado. Unity is strength—as the saying goes, water gathers into an abyss, and sand gathers into a tower. As long as you can flexibly mobilize the power of the collective, even you, a group of Golden Core cultivators, can hold your own against a Great Vehicle expert..."

Just as Fan Li reached the peak of his smugness, he noticed the commanders wearing strange expressions.

"What? Is what I said incorrect?" Fan Li felt a slight blush. As a loyal viewer of the "Hundred Schools of Thought" lecture series, he believed his military talent was second to none. Talking tactics on paper was child's play to him.

"Ahem, we will keep your teachings in mind, Duke," one commander replied. "It is just... since Saintess Hanyue is fighting a group of enemies, we assumed the hypothetical enemy was supposed to be the two thousand Black Armored cavalry."

"Hehehehe!" From the carriage, a melodious yet seductive laugh escaped Princess Changle.

Fan Li’s face reddened. These guards were die-hard loyalists of the Fan clan. Since he hadn’t been clear before, he decided to be blunt now.

"Listen well. From a military perspective, any target can become a hypothetical enemy. Furthermore, the Saintess and I have always been enemies, never friends."

Upon hearing this, the guards’ gazes toward Saintess Hanyue shifted instantly to cold, murderous intent.

In the midst of the fray, Saintess Hanyue, having just gained a slight advantage, suddenly felt a bone-chilling sensation on her back—a surge of killing intent. *Could it be Fan Li? Does he dare to ambush me?* she wondered with alarm.

She let out a sharp cry, her right hand wielding a spirit sword as cold as frost and snow, pushing back the opposing halberd. Even the Ghost-Faced Black Armored General began to bleed from the gaps in his armor.

*BOOM!*

A thunderous sound echoed like a muffled winter storm. Both combatants retreated a hundred paces. The earth was scarred with countless cracks, and dozens of broken, mangled corpses of the Black Armored cavalry littered the ground.

"Damn you, Fan Li!"

Saintess Hanyue escaped unscathed, unlike the blood-soaked Ghost-Faced General. However, she knew deep down that she had expended a great deal of spiritual energy. To end the battle quickly, she had overexerted herself, leaving behind faint internal injuries.

"Retreat!"

The Ghost-Faced General, defeated and seeing three thousand fresh guards waiting in the wings, lost all appetite for robbery. He turned his horse around and, without pretense, fled directly toward Chang'an. His subordinates, seeing their leader retreat, let out strange cries and scattered like birds and beasts.

After the battle, Fan Li and the Imperial Guards remained completely unharmed.

"How was that?" Fan Li winked at Princess Changle, looking quite smug.

"The Duke is wise and brilliant," Changle praised perfunctorily, but then her tone shifted sharply. "Saintess Hanyue appears uninjured, but she has suffered significant depletion. If you had launched the entire army into a life-or-death struggle, you would have had a fifty percent chance of seeing her fall right here."

After a brief pause, she added, "With me included, the odds would rise to sixty percent!"

Fan Li rolled his eyes. "Very good. But if we lost, wouldn't we all be ghosts under Hanyue’s sword?"

Princess Changle smiled like a flower. "Not all of us. I have many protective methods, and I am particularly skilled at escaping."

*Damn it!* Fan Li felt a sudden urge to fight the woman before him, but given the massive gap in their cultivation realms, he knew he couldn't win.

"I choose to call a truce."

Fan Li glared at the Princess and lazily lay down in the carriage, disregarding courtly etiquette. A flicker of regret crossed Changle’s eyes, but she soon smiled in relief.

"Rationality is indeed your greatest virtue," she said softly. She reached into the fruit platter, plucked a grape, and placed it in Fan Li's mouth. Her porcelain-white fingers brushed against his lips. Whether intentional or not, it left Fan Li feeling parched and restless.

Fan Li was no gambler. Courage was a precious quality, but unless driven to a dead end, he would never imitate the Hegemon-King of Chu and burn his bridges behind him. As for Saintess Hanyue? Fan Li only accepted total victory, never a pyrrhic one.

"Order the army to move out! Continue to Chang'an!" Fan Li commanded.

...

A hundred miles outside the city of Chang'an.

Saintess Hanyue looked cold and aloof. She was a woman of immense beauty, but a childhood of hardship and being a prodigy of the sword had taught her the fickleness of human hearts, causing her to build a wall of icy arrogance.

After the fierce battle, she had sustained hidden injuries. She had expected Fan Li to ambush her. She was certain that with Princess Changle’s observational skills, her injuries could not have been hidden. Yet, Fan Li never made a move.

Why? Was it because of some moral code, a disdain for taking advantage of others? Or was it cowardice, a lack of courage to seize the opportunity?

*Hmph,* she thought to herself. *I never owe favors. When the day comes to kill you, I will at least give you a fair chance to fight with all your might, and I certainly won't ambush you.*

As she pondered this, she noticed the delegation had come to a halt. Just as she was about to investigate, a voice drifted from outside the carriage.

"Liu Bei, General of the Left of the Han, Marquis of Yicheng, Shepherd of Yuzhou, and Imperial Uncle, has come by imperial decree to welcome the envoys of the Great Chu."

Saintess Hanyue frowned. "That man’s title is so long and tedious. Who could possibly remember that?"

In another carriage, Fan Li finally let out a sigh of relief. With Liu Bei coming a hundred miles out to meet them, he was finally safe.

"General Liu, you’ve had a long journey," Fan Li said, stepping out of the carriage and shaking hands firmly with Liu Bei, like an old friend he hadn't seen in years.

"Duke of Jin, you have come a long way. It must have been difficult." Liu Bei paused, then dropped a bombshell: "In ten days, during the celebration, His Majesty has decided to move against Dong Zhuo..."