Zhang Han, who had been sitting on the bed with his eyes closed, always known for his calmness and composure like a still ancient well, was now filled with extreme anger. Those hooligans dared to insult Her Majesty the Empress Dowager! If they had succeeded, where would that leave His Royal Highness? Where would it leave the Shadow Secret Guards and the Luo Wang? Did they really think he, the commander, was a soft touch?
Zhang Han stood up abruptly, his true qi surging and his blood boiling. The force directly shattered the dilapidated hut they were temporarily staying in, and the heavy snow within a radius of more than ten meters melted away under the impact of this terrifying true qi and blood energy!
This directly alarmed the Shadow Secret Guards and Luo Wang members living nearby, leaving them all shocked.
They had long heard that Zhang Han, the leader of the Shadow Secret Guards, possessed unfathomable strength. Just with this majestic true qi and the blood energy powerful enough to melt ice and snow, he could probably rival Lord Zhao Gao, the Director of the Imperial Carriage Office and the master of the Luo Wang!
"Clang!"
The sound of a sword being unsheathed echoed. Since arriving in this world to follow Ying Ji, this was the first time Zhang Han had drawn his personal sword—Chun Jun!
Chun Jun, which had once followed Zhang Han to achieve countless merits, was entirely black, with a straight blade emitting a dark luster. It was listed among the famous swords in Feng Huzi's Sword Manual, with its exact ranking unknown, but it was speculated to be among the top ten in the manual.
"Commander, should we send Shadow Secret Guard members to secretly dispose of them?"
The Shadow Secret Guard voiced his true thoughts. A minister dies when his lord is humiliated. If they, the subordinates, did nothing when their lord was insulted, how could they have the face to exist in the world, or the qualification to stand firm in this era of great contention?
Moreover, what kind of people were the Shadow Secret Guards and the Luo Wang? They were the sharp swords of the Ying clan royal family in the Qin Shi Ming Yue world. Now, the future Lord of Great Qin, the designated heir of the Ying clan, and the future King Zhaoxiang of Qin was about to suffer such humiliation—these men deserved death a thousand times over.
"No, do not tell His Royal Highness about this for now. Stand by and send ten Luo Wang members and ten Shadow Secret Guard members to secretly protect His Royal Highness."
"Once His Royal Highness gives the order, immediately arrest these men and await his punishment. His Royal Highness has not yet shed blood!"
The Shadow Secret Guard was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood— the commander was trying to cultivate His Royal Highness!
That's right. The reason Zhang Han did not send the Shadow Secret Guards or Luo Wang members to secretly eliminate these men who tried to insult Her Majesty was that he wanted to wait until Ying Ji personally gave the order to act.
His purpose was to arouse the anger in Ying Ji's heart, preferably to make him kill these men with his own hands. Only when Ying Ji had shed blood would the future Supreme Lord of the World grow faster.
"Yes, Commander!"
The Shadow Secret Guard replied, then gathered nine other Shadow Secret Guards and ten Luo Wang assassins, secretly hiding around the room where Ying Ji lived, waiting for Ying Ji's order to arrest these men in the blink of an eye.
...
As time passed, Ying Ji sat on the bed with his legs crossed and eyes closed, making Mi Yue feel a little curious. Of course, Mi Yue did not think her son was crazy; she just did not understand why he kept this strange posture.
Naturally, Mi Yue did not know that Ying Ji was circulating the Eternal Emperor Scripture to cultivate the Acupoint-Refining Human Immortal martial arts. Although there was no change on the surface,
the blood energy in Ying Ji's body was flowing all over his body under excessive circulation, flushing away the impurities blocking his meridians. With the circulation of the Eternal Emperor Scripture, Ying Ji's physical strength was gradually increasing at a slow pace.
Although there was no obvious change now, quantitative change would lead to qualitative change. Ying Ji believed that when his blood energy was fully abundant in the future, breaking through to the next realm would be a matter of course!
"Knock knock knock!"
At this moment, a hasty knock on the door suddenly came from outside the room. Mi Yue's face changed. With her woman's intuition, she could feel that the people outside were definitely not General Zhang Han, the Shadow Secret Guards, or the Luo Wang members.
Because if it were them, they would never knock so hastily and chaotically. It must be those hooligans who had taken her and her son's money and come back again.
In the past, Mi Yue and Ying Ji would have panicked if they knew these hooligans were back, but now they were extremely calm.
What a joke! Fifty Shadow Secret Guards led by General Zhang Han and twenty-five Luo Wang members left by Zhao Gao were hiding nearby. Any movement would be detected immediately. These once great troubles for Mi Yue and her son were now nothing more than trivial annoyances, easily eliminated with a wave of a hand!
"Mother, go open the door. I want to see what trouble these hooligans can stir up!"
Ying Ji said to Mi Yue with a smile. Mi Yue replied with a smile too. Times had changed. From now on, Mi Yue and Ying Ji would no longer fear anyone or any danger.
Mi Yue walked to the door calmly and gracefully, exuding an air of confidence and poise—completely different from her previous delicate temperament, as if she were a born ruler. It was hard to imagine such an aura coming from a woman.
Even Ying Ji was a little dumbfounded. Truly worthy of being Empress Dowager Xuan—fortunately, she was his mother.
In fact, Ying Ji did not know that Mi Yue had indeed been a gentle and delicate figure in the past, compromising everywhere in the Qin palace. But after a series of experiences in Qin,
what did she get in the end? Betrayed by her own elder sister Mi Shu, she couldn't even protect her son who had been appointed crown prince, and was exiled with her son to the poor and cold Yan as hostages.
From that moment on, Mi Yue had an epiphany. When constant tolerance could not bring the deserved outcome, and when she was oppressed everywhere, she had to force herself to become an unparalleled person, someone who held power.
Only by riding the wind and waves in adversity, cutting through thorns and brambles, could she fight for a voice for herself and her son, and occupy a place in this era of great contention where all those with blood had the desire to compete!
"Squeak!"
The dilapidated wooden door was opened, making a harsh sound. In front of Mi Yue appeared Zhang Hu's disgusting smile, along with the several hooligans who always followed him. All of them had evil smiles on their faces, making Mi Yue feel an ominous premonition.
But then Mi Yue shook her head. What was there to fear? She and Ji were no longer alone. Even if these men had any ill intentions towards her and her son, they could just be arrested immediately.
"I wonder what brings you here, Lord Zhang?"
Mi Yue slightly bent down and saluted gracefully, fully displaying the noble aura of a Chu royal princess!
Zhang Hu's eyes lit up. Truly worthy of being the King of Qin's woman—leaving aside her fairy-like appearance and curvy figure, even her noble aura could make an ordinary person obsessed and crazy.
But such a woman would be his tonight. Even if Qin pursued the matter later and the King of Yan beheaded them all, he didn't care now. It had to be said that lust had clouded his judgment.
"Hahaha, Princess, you're going to be mine tonight!"
Without another word, Zhang Hu stretched out his hands and tried to hug Mi Yue, but Mi Yue dodged slightly.
Zhang Hu felt embarrassed and said coldly, "Hmph, Princess, don't refuse a kind offer. You know your sickly son is inside. If my brothers can't control themselves later, you'll really be alone!"
"Oh? I wonder what Lord Zhang intends to do? Could it be that you want to bully my mother, a weak woman, and me, a young man just coming of age?"
Before Mi Yue could say anything in response to Zhang Hu's threat, Ying Ji walked out from inside, making Zhang Hu stunned.
Because the person appearing in front of Zhang Hu was not the sickly young man he remembered. Instead, he had a handsome and masculine face, wearing a black silk robe, the attire of a Qin prince—like a noble young master in a chaotic world. The aura of a superior exuding from his whole body was completely different from before.
"Hmph, ants dare to covet a swan—truly ignorant of their own limits! Shadow Secret Guards, appear and arrest them for me!"
Ying Ji waved his sleeve, speaking with great dominance. An imperial aura, similar to that of his descendant Emperor Ying Zheng, faintly emanated from him—an aura that made people surrender involuntarily with just a single glance.
It made people feel an irresistible desire to submit from the bottom of their hearts. Even Mi Yue was shaken, because the aura her son had just exuded was even stronger than that of her husband, King Huiwen of Qin, Ying Si. But how was this possible? Her child was only a seventeen-year-old boy!
Before anyone could react, Zhang Hu was about to laugh at Ying Ji's overconfidence when he suddenly saw several black shadows flash beside them. His intuition told him something was wrong, and he quickly stepped back, but it was useless in front of the long-hidden Shadow Secret Guards.
Five Shadow Secret Guards jumped into the air, took out an iron chain from their waists with their left hands, and attacked Zhang Hu and the other four hooligans. However, since His Royal Highness's order was to arrest them, the Shadow Secret Guard members did not kill them, but only tied the five men up with the iron chains.
"Thud!"
The Shadow Secret Guards directly pressed them to their knees in front of Ying Ji. Zhang Hu was filled with fear at this moment, trembling as he pointed at the Shadow Secret Guards and said, "Y-you... who are you? This is Yan! You men are committing treason! The King of Yan will not spare you!"
None of the Shadow Secret Guard members replied. From the day they were trained, they had decided to be the most loyal lackeys by their lord's side. Coupled with their identity as warriors, they naturally disdained to talk to such local hooligans.