Chapter 1397 - 342: Demon King

Chapter 1397: Chapter 342: Demon King

The missing person has returned,

which is something to be happy about;

even though, as one skilled in the art of craftsmanship among the demon lords, he perfectly missed the siege battle,

but,

it’s fine as long as he’s still alive.

Along with Xue Three, there’s also a woman, who’s wearing a big braid, quite plump, but because of her size, she looks well-proportioned to some extent.

Her face is smeared with thick rouge, and the red on her lips almost rivals A Ming’s after just having a drink of blood.

Most noticeably, it’s her hips, which are pretty wide but not cumbersome, kind of like an Eastern version of Kardashian.

"Subordinate pays respect to my lord!"

Xue Three kneels on one knee and salutes Zheng Fan.

Having been in Chu for so long, finally being able to return and see everyone, San’er truly missed them all. Although life outside was quite exciting, well, when you spend too much time alone, you tend to feel lonely.

It’s like a wolf being away from the pack for too long; even if it can hunt and feed itself, it still constantly longs for the days with the pack.

"Hello, my lord! Have you eaten?"

The woman also kneels and bows to Zheng Fan.

"Come in. Someone, prepare the meal."

Xue Three led the woman inside. The two of them together gave a feeling of Beauty and the Beast in reverse. If San’er donned a child’s outfit, they might truly look like a mother and son out shopping.

As the woman entered, the Sword Saint opened his eyes, glanced at her, and then closed them again, only occasionally rubbing the scabbard in his hand with his fingertips.

Lord Zheng pointed at the woman and said:

"Introduce her."

"My lord, she’s called Hu Bamei. You can just call her Eighth Sister. Back in Liang State, she saved me once. At that time, I was circling around with the Chu people and accidentally got trapped like a dumpling. I barely escaped but ended up heavily wounded and fell off a cliff..."

At this point,

Xue Three shrugged and smiled, saying;

"What follows is quite a clichéd plot."

Zheng Fan nodded and asked:

"Did you two sleep together?"

"Cough, cough..."

Xue Three coughed repeatedly.

Hu Bamei wrapped her arm around Xue Three’s shoulder, and Xue Three appeared like a small boat enveloped by tidal waves,

the woman said:

"He wouldn’t agree!"

Her tone carried a significant amount of resentment.

Soon, the meal was served.

Xue Three didn’t bother eating but continued chatting with Lord Zheng about his affairs in Liang State. As for the battle here, he’d already heard a rough idea when encountering the Snow Sea army scouts previously.

As for Hu Bamei, she seemed to be starving and ate like a whirlwind, making it seem like the dishes weren’t enough just for her.

Mid-conversation, Lord Zheng instructed the guards at the door to add more dishes.

Xue Three told Eighth Sister, "Slow down, slow down, don’t choke. Remember last time by Wang River when you nearly got choked on a steamed bun?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Bamei nodded but didn’t slow down her eating pace. Instead, she mumbled while eating:

"The food here is delicious, so fragrant!"

This woman seemed a bit silly and foolish.

It’s like she would match Fanli well, but maybe that’s why being like this, she likes the opposite; for example, Xue Three brought back this one, while Fanli likes taking the sword maid for walks.

"My lord, you have injuries, let’s go inside and let me take a look at you."

"Okay."

Lord Zheng got up and went into the inner room.

Xue Three stood up and followed.

The Sword Saint still sat there, eyes half-closed.

Eighth Sister continued to gorge herself.

Lord Zheng exited through the side door of the inner room, followed by Xue Three, and they both simply walked into the courtyard, quite far from the previous reception hall.

Lord Zheng stretched and said:

"Feeling uneasy?"

It was clear who the unease referred to.

The simple-minded woman saved Xue Three and clamored about committing herself to him, following him from Liang State to eastern Jin.

A quite beautiful yet clichéd story, but just way too clichéd, making it feel somewhat unreal.

Xue Three nodded and then shook his head.

"What do you mean?"

"I really haven’t figured out her true intent, but she really saved me."

"Have you checked?"

"Back in Liang State, I specifically had the Prime Minister send someone to check on her background. It’s too clean, so clean it almost makes me suspicious.

They say her family suffered a disaster when she was young, parents were killed by bandits, she went a bit mad, and later, she was taken in as a child bride by another family.

The original family had three sons, but before the marriage was even done, those three sons died of illness, one after the other, before even coming of age. The villagers called her a jinx and wanted to burn her, but she escaped to the mountains and survived on her own.

She’s a bit silly but strong, even built a thatched hut for herself in the mountains to live in."

Lord Zheng’s mouth twitched, "Such a person shouldn’t be taken lightly because she inherently carries something unusual about her. In future strange tales, she’d definitely be a character."

"That’s for sure."

"Yet, you still brought her back."

"Because she saved me."

"There are many ways to express gratitude for saving one’s life, like giving her a large sum of silver."

Xue Three remained silent.

"Are you interested in her?"

Xue Three gritted his teeth and said, "My lord, I don’t know if it’s interest, but I clearly understand in my heart that her background may be complicated, yet this very sense of complexity makes being with her extremely thrilling.

That feeling of possibly being stabbed to death by the person beside you at any night, no, using a knife lacks aesthetic, she might use other methods, showing off her other skills.

In short, that thrill, that anticipation makes every day on the road so fulfilling for me.

My lord, you can understand this feeling, right?"

Lord Zheng sighed and said:

"I can."

"Long live understanding."

Xue Three put on an "innocent" face.

"But you can provoke; I don’t want to provoke along with you, and I guess others don’t either. You know how fiercely the Silver Armored Guard of Qian State handles wives."

"One thing I can confirm is that she isn’t from the Silver Armored Guard."

"Perhaps old Tian once confirmed like that too."

"I think it’s unlikely that Dujuan’s identity could be concealed from Prince Jingnan."

"Alright, what about her, this what Eighth Sister?"

"Hu Bamei."

"How do you plan to settle her? Send her back to Snow Sea Pass?"

"I have this idea, but it depends on you, my lord..."

"I won’t agree."

"Then, keep her in the army?"

"Not possible either."

"I’ll send someone to Ying Capital City to buy a house and settle her there. Is that okay?"

Xue Three nodded, saying, "Alright, my lord."

It was apparent that Xue Three had a reluctant expression, still wanting more.

But he also understood that he could play with his safety for thrills, but it was unreasonable to drag the lord and other demon kings along for the experience.

"Oh, right, my lord, they’re working on the river at Wang River."

"I know."

"But I think the purpose might not be that simple."

"What have you found out?"

"With her around, I didn’t dare focus much on investigating."

"Luckily, you haven’t become a fool for love."

"That’s a must, my lord, but one thing I can probably confirm: the river work at Wang River is likely preparation for the campaign against the Chu people."

"Alright, I’d rather directly ask Tian Wujing in a few days."

"Yes, my lord."

"Alright, go back."

When he returned to the reception hall, Hu Bamei was already sitting at the dining table, burping, with all the dishes on the table finished.

"Delicious, fragrant, really fragrant."

Eighth Sister looked at the returning Xue Three, her face beaming with a happy smile.

Xue Three walked over, took a handkerchief from his sleeve, and gently wiped the oil stains from her lips, his affection evident.

The Sword Saint remained seated, unmoving.

"Hehehe, I want to eat this every day, every day." Hu Bamei pointed at the plates on the table.

"Alright, alright, from now on, someone will make it for you every day." Xue Three coaxed.

Hu Bamei, like performing a magic trick, took an oily chicken leg from her clothes and offered it to Xue Three,

whispering:

"Eat, saved it especially for you, fragrant."

Xue Three took a bite of the chicken leg.

"Is it good?"

"Yes, very good."

Lord Zheng watched this scene and said, "Are you acting out a rural love story?"

Xue Three scratched his head shyly, still chewing on the chicken leg.

Then, Lord Zheng looked at the Sword Saint, turned his back to Hu Bamei, and pointed at her.

The Sword Saint understood, stood up, and walked to the partition.

Seeing this, Lord Zheng had to follow along.

The Sword Saint walked from the side door of the partition into the courtyard.

Lord Zheng had to follow him there as well.

"Who is this woman?" the Sword Saint asked.

"A wild lass from the mountains," Lord Zheng replied, "But I don’t quite believe it."

At this moment, Xue Three also came over, smiled at the Sword Saint, and said, "Did you notice anything?"

The Sword Saint shook his head and said, "No, just that the girl seems very clean."

"Of course, I personally groomed her. She was filthy in the mountains."

"Not that kind of clean, it’s more like..."

The Sword Saint gestured with his fingers and said:

"Transcendent."

Then,

The Sword Saint added, "Those accomplished people of the faith often give off this feeling. It’s a pity Tian Wujing came by once and left. If he were here now, maybe he could see more things than me."

At this time,

a tall figure walked into the reception hall from outside, with a white cloth tied to his head, black gauze on his shoulders, and mourning clothes on his body.

It was Fanli.

"My lord, do you find this outfit of mine looking good? If it looks good, I’ll wear it often for you and bow to you."

Fanli walked into the reception hall; inside, only Hu Bamei was now reclining on a chair, already snoring after eating and drinking her fill.

Seeing such a large woman lying there snoring, Fanli was somewhat puzzled.

At this moment,

Hu Bamei, as if talking in her sleep, mumbled:

"Grandma... stone tablet... stone tablet... grandma..."

Fanli scratched his head, looked around, and prepared to bow to the lord.

"Stone tablet... demon king... descending... devil... seven... seven of them..."

Fanli’s eyes widened suddenly, he quickly turned around, staring at the still sleeping Hu Bamei.

"Oh my, it seems something’s up."

Then,

Fanli untied the giant axe strapped to his back and held it in his hand. The sleep-talking of this unfamiliar woman gave Fanli an uncomfortable feeling.

And Fanli’s way of dealing with this feeling was often very simple;

"Should I just chop her up?"