When Ling Xiao walked out of the Chun Man Lou, the few women at the entrance all wore looks of surprise.
Not only did this young master have unique tastes, it seemed... his physical condition wasn't great either.
He had been inside for less than half an incense stick's time, and yet... he was already out?
A silver spear that's actually a wax head!
Being handsome is indeed pleasing to the eye, but once the candle is blown out...
Heh.
Ling Xiao walked on the street, the divine mist on his face dissipating.
Behind him, in the brothel, a scream suddenly erupted!
"Ah!!!! Dead person! There's a dead person!! Sister Hua was done to death!!!"
Jiang Yu Inn, an ordinary inn in the northern part of Yunfang City.
Calling it an inn was generous; it was essentially a thatched hut with a few worn-out wooden tables.
The owner was an old man in his fifties, without a trace of cultivation, so his face was already full of the marks of time.
Ling Xiao sat in the farthest corner of the hut, ordered a plate of beef and a pot of hot wine, drinking alone.
He was waiting for someone, or rather, he was waiting for Ning Tiance, the son-in-law of the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty's legitimate eldest princess.
Also... the War God in the hearts of all Great Zhou's soldiers!
It was said that Ning Tiance was originally Great Zhou's number one war general. For ten years of campaigning, he never suffered a defeat, stationed at the most chaotic northern border of Great Zhou.
There were even folk rumors that when three dynasties invaded the northern border back then, Ning Tiance, alone on his steed, penetrated deep into the enemy camp, took the heads of the three dynasties' great generals, routed their three armies, and became a legend in a single battle.
In that battle, he suffered one hundred and thirty-seven wounds. The generals and people at the northern border pass wept together.
The Peerless War God, Great Zhou's vital instrument.
For a time, the name Ning Tiance was like a deity in the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty!
Some said he had accidentally obtained an immortal technique, a celestial method of warfare.
Others said the Ning family had a unique skill that could turn stones into soldiers!
But no matter what, the name Ning Tiance, the War God, had indeed penetrated deeply into people's hearts.
But!!
No one expected that just when his fame was at its peak, when he was revered as a god holding the northern border, an imperial decree came down from the court, recalling him to the imperial capital.
Although it promised a good marriage, it severed his military career.
Tragic, lamentable, but perhaps... also a kind of destination .
However, what Ling Xiao found difficult to understand was that Ning Tiance, at that time, already commanded a million troops, enough to resist the court.
His achievements overshadowed the lord, so his path was destined to decline.
But why, knowing it was a scheme, did Ning Tiance willingly lay down his majestic authority and accept confinement?
Ling Xiao didn't believe a general who had roamed freely the battlefield, killing like mad, couldn't see through the Great Zhou Emperor's open stratagem.
But he still returned.
Where there is oddity , there must be a secret.
Although Ling Xiao didn't know if, when this War God Ning laid down his armor and returned to the court, there was a dramatic scene of the "War God's Return" and a strong face-slapping performance.
But clearly, this was a man with a story, and also a man... possessing great fortune.
He could come and go freely amidst hundreds of thousands of soldiers from three dynasties. If it were any ordinary extra, they would have been shot dead by random arrows long ago.
Only when footsteps came from outside the thatched hut did a smile finally lift the corner of Ling Xiao's mouth.
"Boss, another pot of hot wine for me!"
"Alright, young master, please wait a moment. Huh? The gentleman is here. The usual?" From outside the hut, a heroic figure suddenly walked in. He wore white clothes, had black hair, and a tall, slender build.
His face was pale and handsome, without any of the imposing roughness expected of an imperial dynasty's fierce general. Instead, he had a somewhat scholarly, elegant temperament .
Behind him followed two guards dressed in plain clothes.
The auras around them were terrifying; they were actually two Divine Marquis experts!
They were more like... watchers than guards.
From their eyes, Ling Xiao could sense a deep wariness and caution.
But the white-clad middle-aged man was calm and indifferent, not caring in the slightest. He sat in another corner, sipping his wine lightly.
He had also ordered a plate of beef and a pot of hot wine, eating with relish. But the touch of desolation between his brows couldn't escape Ling Xiao's eyes.
"Interesting... Divine Emperor third grade, Dao Principle of War Formations, 4000 Luck Points!" The smile on Ling Xiao's face suddenly intensified.
The most mysterious thing was that Ning Tiance actually possessed a Heavenly Formation Dao Heart!
This was even more terrifying than the Dao Principle power on him.
The so-called "having formations in one's heart, all formations can be broken; with a single thought, form a formation to trap ten thousand enemies" was this very principle.
Such aptitude was no different from those with divine bodies. Truly worthy of the bearing of a War God.
Moreover, judging by Ning Tiance's age, he was at most around forty, yet he had already stepped into the Emperor Realm.
Sons of Fate were indeed terrifying to this extent.
The entire thatched hut fell into complete silence.
The two men, each with their own thoughts, simply drank, ate meat, and enjoyed the rare quiet.
Ling Xiao didn't speak a single word to Ning Tiance, even when the latter put down his silver and stood up to leave the hut.
This was a war blade that could help him slaughter ten thousand enemies.
So, he couldn't be too hasty.
From Ning Tiance's appearance, Ling Xiao could also tell he was definitely Ning'er's biological father.
But why... did he so heartlessly abandon his own daughter?
This seemed somewhat inconsistent with the standard template setting of a Son of Fate?
After all, being favored by destiny!
They must be sentimental and righteous, upright and kind, peerless in benevolence and righteousness.
So, the problem must lie with that Great Zhou legitimate eldest princess?
Earlier, he had searched the soul of Ning'er's grandmother and discovered that old woman was the wet nurse of the Great Zhou legitimate eldest princess, Zhou Minruo.
This relationship was comparable to that of closest family.
In other words, that old woman was the eldest princess's confidante.
Moreover, back then, this eldest princess had actually given the old woman a large sum of wealth, telling her to take Ning'er and find a place to live anywhere, but never to enter Great Zhou again.
But who would have thought the old woman's luck was truly not good? She was robbed by bandits halfway, which led to their impoverished and destitute situation.
If not for the Luck Points on Ning'er, the grandmother and granddaughter would most likely have perished soon after leaving.
The old woman wasn't without the thought of asking the eldest princess for more money, but she knew the latter's schemes. Letting Ning'er live was already an act of mercy.
If she exposed their whereabouts again, she and Ning'er would probably both die.
The bonds of closest blood relation were utterly worthless in the face of imperial statecraft.
Actually, that old woman was still thinking too simply.
The reason Ning'er didn't die wasn't the eldest princess's mercy at all, but merely the escape route she left for herself.
If her evil deeds were ever exposed one day, she could always use this to threaten Ning Tiance and keep him under control.
Just like... now!
A smile lifted the corner of Ling Xiao's mouth as he stepped out of the thatched hut.
To make Ning Tiance submit, simply exposing this eldest princess's conspiracy wasn't enough.
After all, with Ning Tiance's mind, how could he not know what Zhou Minruo was scheming?
Relieving him of his military power, recalling him to the capital, bestowing him with glory and wealth—wasn't it all for the sake of that rumored celestial method of warfare on him?
But...
Judging by today's observation, what immortal technique did he have? What he comprehended was the Dao of War Formations itself; commanding mighty troops could strengthen his power.
And that Heavenly Formation Dao Heart was even more intangible; it wasn't about strength but about strategy and scheming.
So even Divine Emperor experts would find it hard to detect.
As for how Ling Xiao could see it...
Dammit!
I think you're looking down on my System!
"Great Zhou, legitimate eldest princess, Zhou Minruo, I, Ling Mouren, have always despised cunning, scheming people like you the most in my life. So... I judge you guilty. You deserve death."
Ling Xiao walked out of the thatched hut, his face veiled in immortal mist. Though his features were unclear, there was a certain... abundant immortal air about him.