Volume 4: Invincible Stidi Chapter 9: Professional Son

  Hearing someone speaking, Yun Qinwang turned his head and saw that it was me. He was first taken aback, then smiled and said: "Sword God, we meet again. But what are you doing here?"

  Old Mother said: "Cloud dear king guess who chopped down this mountain?"

  Yun Qingwang's eyes rolled and he said: "Sword God?"

  "Exactly," said his mother with a smile.

  "Ah!" Yun Qinwang exclaimed with a clap of her hands: "Elder sister should be delighted now, she was worried that the gentleman wouldn't return after all."

  My face turned red, wasn't it with this intention that I set out in the first place?

  Yun Qiniang said, "No way, I have to hurry and send this news six hundred miles urgently to tell my imperial sister." She thought for a moment and then said, "That won't do either. It's better if the general himself reports it in person, so no one can say I'm eager to take credit."

  Mom said: "As for merits, I think this time's first merit is still Xiao Jing. If it weren't for her, Xiaolong wouldn't have come back either."

  Su Jing smiled and said: "Auntie is being too serious, I really didn't do anything."

  Yun Qinwang looked at her mother in surprise and said, "The two sword gods are indispensable, and it's still the first to remember." She probably said this because she was afraid I wouldn't be happy. After all, Su Jing is a person from our country, so there's no need to be polite. The top priority now is to coax me into being happy.

  My mother gave me a glance and said with her hands behind her back: "Don't be polite to him, Yunqin." To her, I was truly one of our own.

  Yun Qinwang smiled awkwardly and said: "That's also true, Mr. what kind of person are you, why would you care about this trivial title?"

  I saw her speaking quite awkwardly, and she hugged my mother's shoulder and smiled: "Yunqin Wang really doesn't need to be polite, who are we kidding each other?" I think it's already at this point, so there's no need to hide it anymore.

  Yun Qin Wang was slightly startled and said: "How... you address her as..."

  "This is my mom."

  Yun Qianwang said in confusion: "What kind of theory is this?"

  The old lady sighed and said: "You just consider me to have recognized a godson, the details are very complicated, let me explain it to the king and the emperor later."

  Yun Qinwang was both shocked and delighted, and couldn't help but sigh: "On the mainland, two sword gods, one is the general's adopted daughter, and the other is his adopted son, this is truly enviable!"

  "I said with a sullen face: 'He is obviously our own son.'"

  My mother secretly pinched me and shook her head slightly, I don't know what unspeakable secret she had. All I could say was: "Although we are not related by blood, but closer than a biological son." This was actually the truth.

  Yun Qingwang said: "When did Mr. Sword God return to the mainland?"

  I hesitated and said: "It's a long story, I was mistaken for someone's son as soon as I arrived, and it happened in the Honglie Empire. All I remember is that my new name is Sidi Zai."

  Yun Qinwang smiled and said, "It's indeed true that good things come with difficulties. This family doesn't know what kind of blessings they accumulated in their past life to have the Sword God as their son." After saying this, she turned to her mother and said, "Speaking of which, my meeting with Generalissimo this time is actually related to the Honglie Empire."

  The old mother said solemnly: "Is there something planned by His Majesty?"

  Yun Qinwang nodded and said, "The Black Geese army is about to make a move in the spring, and the Eighteen Kingdoms Alliance has few soldiers and is not reliable. What my sister means is whether we can reach a mutual rescue agreement with Hong Lie and unite to resist the invasion of the Black Geese?"

  The old mother sank into thought for a moment and said, "This is also an old story. The emperor's intention is clear, but the Honglie Empire has always been arrogant and disdainful of others, not putting our country in their eyes. Several times we sent envoys to discuss alliances, all ended in nothing. I'm afraid that going again will only make them more contemptuous of us."

  Yun Qinwang also said: "Yes, the Honglie Empire's mercenary army has a strong military power of one million, and in that big war a few years ago, it almost withstood half of Hei Jisi's forces. It should be friendly to my daughter's country, but since then, they have not been in contact with each other. Probably because they have a condescending attitude towards us."

  "My mother hummed and said, 'I think they look down on us women. Our envoys are often ridiculed and mocked by them, and they also sneer at various customs of our country.'"

  "I couldn't help but say: 'If so, why bother with them at all?'"

  "Mom said: 'The Federal Continent has only two superpowers, us and the Honglie Empire. The last time Heigis invaded the mainland, they made a strategic mistake by having too long of a battle line and fighting on two fronts. As a result, we and the Eighteen-Nation Alliance fought to the death to push them back west of Black Forest. This time, it seems that Heigis has learned from their mistakes. They've caused such a big commotion on the border with the Eighteen Nations, but the northern line hasn't moved at all. It's as if they're trying to test the Honglie Empire's attitude. In the end, the Honglie Empire chose to stand by and watch. If it weren't for the Battle of Lütuoshan, Heigis might have made the southern line their main attack route. That would be a real headache.'"

  I said: "Hei Qi is now out of energy, the next step can only be to go and stir up trouble for the Honglie Empire. This time it's our turn to sit back and watch the battle."

  "Old mother glared at me and said: 'What do you know? I just told the seventeen countries about the principle of lips being destroyed and teeth being cold, but now you want to be short-sighted? The Honglie Empire is strong, but it can't withstand the full force of Heijis' attack. At that time, on the Federal Continent, there will only be one daughter country that cannot make a sound with one hand, and in the end, it will still be destroyed by others.'"

  I said to Na Dao: "As long as I and Su Jing are here, I don't believe that Hei Jisi won't weigh his options carefully?" Actually, what mom said, I wasn't ignorant of it. Before I came to the 18th country, I even said the same thing to my father-in-law from the Shi family. But people are like this, they take things easy when they're going well, and worry about danger only when they're safe. Plus, I don't have a good impression of the Honglie Empire anyway. Let them fight, what's it to me? To be honest, even if it were the Women's Country, if mom weren't working here, I wouldn't bother with it either. A person lives for 20,000 days at most, why live so tiredly? In short, when America fought Iraq, didn't countries around the world just watch the excitement?

  Yun Qinwang said: "Now that we have the prestige of our new victory, won't it be easier for us to go and tell the Honglie Empire about this matter?"

  "Old mother said with a serious expression: 'The Honglie Empire is not like the Eighteen Kingdoms Alliance, if we do this, it's likely to make them think we're coercing them. The Emperor of the Honglie Empire, Zhu Xiao Feng, is also a stubborn master, and if things go wrong, it won't be good.'"

  "What's going on here? We're being kind and sincere, but people are treating us like a donkey's liver and lungs."

  Yun Qin Wang suddenly asked me at this time: "You said that when you were in the Honglie Empire, what did they call you?"

  I said: "Stidi loaded." I was also depressed about this matter, with the same name as the rotten eared opossum...

  "Is it Shi?" Yun Qinwang asked: "So you're saying that you were mistaken about the family with the surname Shi?"

  I burst out laughing and said: "You don't look like an idiot either, how can you ask such a stupid question?"

  Yun Qinwang didn't get angry either, and patted his head with force: "Shidi Zai, Shidi Zai... I've heard of this name before!"

  "I exclaimed in surprise: 'Is this kid a celebrity?' Judging from her interests, what chance would a nobody like me have to interact with her?"

  Yun Qinwang thought for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands and said, "Of course he's a celebrity! Everyone in the Shi family is a celebrity!" She asked me excitedly, "Is this Shi Di Zai the fifth child in his family?"

  "Is that so? You really know?"

  Yun Qinwang no longer paid attention to me, turned his head and said to my mother: "General, now you should know who he is talking about?"

  The old lady also looked surprised: "Shi Cundao's grandson?"

  Yun Qinwang clapped his hands and said: "That's it!"

  "What are you guys talking about?"

  At this moment, Su Jing also said: "Are you talking about Shi Cundao, the Grand Marshal of the Honglie Empire?"

  Yun Qinwang smiled and said: "In the Federal Continent, there is only one Su Jing, of course, there is also only one Shi Cundao."

  "What a coincidence, it's actually him?"

  I collapsed: "Who is it?"

  Yun Qinwang said to me: "I'm afraid that throughout the entire continent, only you don't know about Shi Cundao. He is the Grand Marshal of the Honglie Empire, a veteran official who has served three dynasties. His father and grandfather were also high-ranking officials of the Honglie Empire, known as 'one family with three dukes'. Shi Cundao has three sons: his eldest son, General Shi Chi, is the vanguard of the three armies and the one he loves the most; his second son, Shi Fei, is in charge of the capital's garrison; and his third son, Shi Dong, serves as the Minister of War. The four members of the Shi family almost hold all the important positions in the Honglie Empire's government. Their honor and prestige are rarely seen in history, and they are jokingly referred to as the most powerful family on the Federation continent. To put it this way, even if Zhu Xiaofeng wants to use force, without the consent of these four, it would be useless."

  I exclaimed in surprise: "So awesome?"

  Yun Qinwang smiled and said: "In that case, Sword God going to their house as a son wouldn't be considered humiliating you."

  I rolled my eyes and said, "I'm actually quite talented at being a tyrannical empress."

  Yun Qinwang continued, "However, when it comes to the third generation of the Shi family, there doesn't seem to be anyone outstanding. Shi Chi had three sons, Shi Fei had two, and Shi Dong only had a daughter who just turned one year old. According to the ranking by generation name, they are Yang, Wei, Qi, Zhou, Zai, and Jia. Shi Di Zai is Shi Chi's third son, but overall he ranks fifth."

  "I muttered: 'So this is how Lao Wu came about.'"

  Yun Qin Wang said, "Apart from Shi Di Jia, the four grandsons of Shi Cun Dao are just relying on their ancestors' reputation to hold positions in the military, and their fame is far inferior to that of their parents. That's why I didn't think of it for a moment." Yun Qin Wang asked me, "How did they mistake you for Shi Di Zai?"

  I said: "How do I know? Judging from the look of it, that Wu Fei Chai can't cultivate his sword energy and wants to die. It just so happens that I look similar to him."

  Yun Qinwang sighed, "The Honglie Empire values martial prowess over literary talent. The greatest hope for young people is to become prominent in the military. If one can't even cultivate sword energy, they're considered half a cripple, not to mention their official career being ruined. And Shi Di was born into a family of historians, no wonder he had no way out. Even the lowest-ranking officers in the Honglie Empire have to be swordsmen?"

  Old Mother said: "Shi Cundao's personal cultivation is very high, and he has already reached the late stage of a Sword Master. Among the commanders on the mainland, he can be considered the number one person."

  I curiously asked them: "How did you know these?"

  Yun Qinwang said: "The Honglie Empire is a superpower on the Federal Continent, and we must know these basic materials they command. Just like our great general's background, I'm afraid they are also familiar with it." She rolled her eyes and said, "Great General, about forming an alliance with the Honglie Empire, I suddenly had an idea, but I don't know if I should say it or not."

  The old mother said: "Prince, you have something to say, and there's no outsider here."

  Yun Qinwang looked at me with a sly expression and said, "I was thinking, is it really such a coincidence in the world? Or is it an opportunity given by heaven for our two families to join hands?"

  The old lady seemed to have guessed too and hesitated: "What does the king mean..."

  Yun Qin Wang said, "Since they mistakenly took Sword God as Sidie Zai, why don't we just go along with the mistake and let Sword God bear the name of Shi Jia Lao Wu to facilitate our daughter Guo's alliance with the Honglie Empire?"

  "Mother rubbed her forehead and said: "Is this... suitable? Not to mention exposing the truth, even if it really works, wouldn't it be a great loss of face?"

  Yun Qinwang said: "We don't have any malicious intentions, even if we're exposed, sir just needs to reveal his identity as the reincarnation of the Sword God, who would dare to do anything to him?"

  I couldn't help but laugh and cry: "What kind of idea is this? I've told you all that Lao Wu is a useless piece of trash, I replaced him to go back, and even I became a useless piece of trash. What can I do to help you guys?"

  Yun Qinwang chuckled and said, "You say I'm foolish, but it seems to me that you're the one who's not very bright. He may be a useless piece of trash, but aren't you the Sword God? Can't you just pretend to have encountered some kind of situation when you return, release a bit of sword energy and scare them all to death? The tradition of the Honglie Empire has always been to speak with strength, so once you've risen to a high position, proposing an alliance with the Daughter Nation will naturally become a done deal."

  "You're going to play hide and seek?"

  Yun Qinwang asked his mother: "What do you think, General?"

  The old lady hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't make up her mind. Cloud King said: "Originally, if Little Dragon didn't have this relationship with you, I wouldn't even let him go to another country as an internal response, let alone become the marshal of the Honglie Empire. Plus, there are only two sword gods on the entire continent, and we can't afford to take risks with such a treasure. But since Little Dragon only recognizes you as his old mother, we might as well use this sword god identity to our advantage. I'm speaking in a petty way, but we're doing a noble deed." Cloud King said this, then turned to me and said: "I think after you return, it would be best if you reveal your true sword god identity after some time has passed, so that the Honglie Empire thinks the reincarnated sword god is from their country. At that point, I'm afraid most of the military power will fall into your hands. We're not asking you to seek private benefits for our daughter's country, but rather to resist Black Geese together - this shouldn't be too difficult, should it?"

  The old mother thought for a long time and said: "This method of the king is good for the country and the people, but we still need to ask Xiao Long's opinion."

  "You're trying to get me to go be someone else's son, aren't you?"

  Mom also couldn't help but laugh and say: "I think this move is still a bit despicable?"

  Yun Qinwang said: "It's still the same old thing, we didn't have any malicious intentions. At worst, after the battle is over, you can just sacrifice me and say that all the bad things were done by me alone."

  "Raising you has been a waste of time, and now I've lost my son."

  Yun Qinwang grasped his mother's arm and said, "How about it, how about it, have you agreed?"

  Mom looked at me and said with a worried expression: "Yangyang, this matter is somewhat difficult, but..."

  I sighed and said: "Understood, you're sacrificing a small family for the greater good, but I have a question."

  "You said."

  I said, "To be honest, do we have to do this? You've also seen that the 100,000-strong army of Hei Qi couldn't withstand a single palm from me. If they're not afraid of death, let them come and I'll take full responsibility for taking them down for you. Why bother with all this fuss?"

  Everyone in the house burst out laughing, and Mother smiled for a while before sighing and saying: "You think war is too simple. One person's strength will eventually be exhausted. I ask you, if the Black Geese army wasn't on Mount Dui, could your one palm really wipe them out? Won't your sword energy ever run dry? If the 50 million-strong Black Geese army surrounds the city of our country, how many can you take down even if you fight to the death?"

  Sweat dripped from my forehead, and I muttered, "This..." I had a deep understanding of chopping at ants with a kitchen knife. As Mother said, if the Blacksmiths' horses weren't in a special situation like being on Camel Mountain, I really didn't have confidence that I could subdue them.

  "Yangyang, I've said it before, in the face of war, one person's power can't change much, otherwise Xiao Jing wouldn't have had to find you. But with you, our advantage has expanded. However, compared to Hei Jisi, this advantage is still not enough to win. What we need to do is use You'ai to turn the disadvantage into an advantage until the war ends."

  "Alright, for your sake I'll go and be someone's son again. Anyway, I've been being a son to people lately."

  Mom hugged my shoulder and whispered in my ear: "I don't want to either."

  Yun Qinwang asked Su Jing in confusion: "When did the great general and the little dragon get to know each other? Why does their relationship seem even deeper than that of a mother and son?"

  Su Jing smiled and said: "I'm not clear about this either, let's wait for General Su to explain it later."

  After a moment of warmth, my mother suddenly patted my face and solemnly said: "You must remember that the mission this time is to form an alliance between the Honglie Empire and us. Apart from this, you cannot do anything that harms heaven and reason. You must be able to do it with a clear conscience and without any guilt."

  I shook my head and said: "What can I do that's so unscrupulous? Wu Fei Chai has a younger sister who is quite pretty, but I don't like that type."

  Mom:......

  It was settled like this, Yun Qin Wang combined the things I wanted to do with the Shi family's background and summarized these few sentences for me: "You can't be too revealing from the start, nor can you be too weak. You have to reasonably turn around your current position in the Shi family. In order not to let them see through the cracks, you can't get too close to them or be too distant. You need to unite with people who are helpful to your development and suppress some people who bother you for no reason..."

  I clapped and said: "You've summarized the characteristics of a waste wood writer too well, it's professional!"

  Mom worried: "Xiao Long's sword energy is now on and off, what if he really encounters danger?"

  Su Jingdao: "I'll go with him!"

  Mom comforted: "Then I can rest assured."

  Su Jingdao said: "I'll go prepare."

  Yun Qinwang said, "In that case, I won't disturb you anymore. Leave some time for the mother and son to reunite." She walked to the entrance of the tent and looked up, just in time to see Beidou Mountain after I had split it open. When she saw the current state of Beifeng, she was taken aback and covered her mouth with a smile, "This is... Hehe, never mind, I won't say anything."

  After they left, I asked Mom: "Mom, why didn't you let me make things clear with Yunqin Wang?"

  "Are you referring to the relationship between us?" The old mother said calmly, "The queen's trust in me is increasing, and I'm afraid it has a lot to do with my lack of children. With military power in hand, suddenly having an additional son, how would you feel if you were the emperor?"

  I exclaimed in surprise: "It's that complicated?"

  "Of course, it's also possible that I'm just being paranoid and using a small-minded person's perspective to measure a gentleman's intentions. However, at this critical juncture, I still don't want to stir up trouble. Besides, this matter can't be explained clearly for the time being, so let's wait until after the war is over and then slowly clarify things. At that time, I'll resign from my position as General-in-Chief and live out my remaining years in peace."

  I said: "That old historian of the Honglie Empire has three sons and five grandsons, can't they just serve as marshals?"

  "My mother said, 'This is hard to say for sure, but I've heard that Shi Cundao is a loyal and dedicated person, extremely faithful to the emperor. Zhu Xiaofeng is in his prime, ambitious and vigorous, this person is not simple at all. Shi Cundao probably understood his temperament, who knows? In short, anyone who can become an emperor must be clever, so if you happen to meet him in the future, you should also be more careful.'"

  I nodded and said, "Okay."

  "It seems this war will last at least three to five years, have you thought about how you'll explain it to your dad when you get back?"

  I didn't dare mention the unexpected thing about Old Wu, and randomly interrupted: "I'll try to make it end within a year."

  Mom looked at me with a smile that was not quite a smile and said: "Tell mom the truth, apart from missing me, is there any other reason why you returned to Nüwa Kingdom?"

  "What does it mean?" I was baffled.

  Do you like Su Jing?

  I was startled and immediately called out in protest: "This is unfair! How can you think this way about your own son?"

  Mom smiled and said: "What are you nervous about? At your age, you should be dating a girlfriend. Didn't your dad arrange one for you?"

  "Hasn't he just come out? Besides, from what you know of him, would he worry about such things?"

  "Mom said: "Hmph, he's worried about me, but I'm still worried about him. With his vision, what good things can he find?"

  I chuckled and said, "Look at what you're saying, how did he end up finding you then?"

  My old mother scolded me and said, holding her chin: "As for Su Jing, this girl's martial arts skills are not to be mentioned, but her character is top-notch, it's just that her family background is a bit of a problem."

  "What's wrong?"

  "That Su Zhongwei is just a nouveau riche, I'm even surprised how she could raise such a daughter."

  "What's wrong with being a nouveau riche? Am I not also the son of a nouveau riche?"

  "Does this mean you still like Su Jing?"

  It wasn't until now that I realized I had been deceived by my mother and led into a trap.

  "Say it clearly, what exactly is your feeling towards her?"

  "I said carefully: 'Anyway, it's not unpleasant...'"

  "Alright then, for two people to live together, they must first start by not disliking each other." Ah, she thought of something and furrowed her brow, "I almost forgot a very important thing. According to the customs of our country, when a man and woman get married, the man is supposed to be taken back home. Can you bear this humiliation?" Before I could respond, she continued, "And also, in the future, if we have children, they will have to take my surname...".

  I'm completely speechless, and she's already gotten to the eighth stroke of her character, what is she even thinking?! At this moment, I no longer see a great general in my eyes, but only an old lady with a gossiping soul burning fiercely!

  The horse is so cool, I love it the most.