The Demon Lords

Chapter 981 - 225: One Sword

Fanli was pulling the cart,

and sitting on it were Chen Daole’s old mother and the sword maid.

Chen Daole led the young servant and walked beside them.

Beside them, there was also someone selling sugar-coated haws, carrying a pole with rice straw.

The sword maid loved sugar-coated haws, but buying too many at once made them lose their flavor;

so Fanli had tied up a middle-aged man who specialized in selling sugar-coated haws to accompany them on their journey, and whenever the sword maid wanted some, she would take out a coin and buy a skewer from him.

Chen Daole’s young servant also occasionally went over to spend money and buy a skewer to satisfy his craving.

Fanli’s cart moved very steadily, and Chen Daole’s old mother, Mrs. Sun, slept soundly on the bedding.

The sword maid, feeling a bit bored, held a skewer of sugar-coated haws in one hand while stroking the sword beside her, which Zhang Yiqing had given to Chen Daole and the sword maid now claimed as her own,

and asked:

"Why do you choose not to become an official and instead follow us to Snow Sea Pass, what are you after?"

Chen Daole was not reserved; indeed, he and the middle-aged man selling sugar-coated haws were both prisoners, but he answered with a smile:

"Staying in Ying Capital City, I can only be a clerk, doing some copying and writing of tedious tasks, so I feel that traveling with you may hold greater prospects for me.

Moreover, you are people of Lord Pingye. Following you back, there’s no doubt I’m getting the better deal."

"Ha, interesting." The sword maid spat out the fruit pit, licked her lips, and said: "You are really ordinary."

"In what way am I ordinary?"

"I can’t quite say, but you just seem ordinary."

"Is it because I am a Jin person?"

"Sort of."

"After all, people need to eat, and once you decide to sit at the table, naturally you go where the best dishes are served."

"The meal with that Zheng surname isn’t that good."

"Eating has always been about eating with skill."

The sword maid rolled her eyes; she kindly tried to remind this scholar who had somewhat saved her, but since he insisted on his way, she didn’t care anymore.

After all, the sword maid had a talent; though young, she was sly enough to almost see through what someone had in mind by observation.

Chen Daole’s concealment might seem good to him, fitting his image, and he provided reasonable explanations.

But whether he truly was a pure scholar, whether his inner sharpness had been worn down by reality, and whether his previous visit to Ying Capital City or now accompanying them to Snow Sea Pass was merely for survival, the sword maid could discern hints of truth.

However, even the King of Hell can’t save the reckless ghost. If you wish to go, then go, but you really think Snow Sea Pass is easy to blend into? When that blind man sorts through casually, do you truly think they can’t see what quality you are? Despite his blindness.

The group traveled during the day and camped at night, not deliberately seeking nearby villages or fort inns for lodging.

They set up two tents, one large and one small. Chen Daole’s mother slept in the large one, the sword maid in the small one.

The other four men slept on the ground.

Tonight’s meal was flatbread with vegetable soup. The vegetables were wild; the flatbread was bought long ago, as hard as a stick.

The sword maid ate sugar-coated haws beside them. Chen Daole’s mother ate some flatbread and drank a bowl of soup before returning to the tent to sleep. The elderly were frail, even though she sat on the board of the cart along the way, she still felt tired.

"Tomorrow when we pass the forest, I’ll pick some fruits, boil some syrup in the evening, and stock up again."

The middle-aged man’s surname was He, named He Chunlai. He used to be a laborer in Jade Plate City, but when the wild and Chu people invaded, he fled with the refugees to Ying Capital City and switched to the sugar-coated haws business.

"It’s winter, where can we still find fresh fruits?" the sword maid asked.

He Chunlai shook his head and said: "Frozen lumps of fruit are delicious too."

"Oh." The sword maid nodded.

Chen Daole was holding flatbread, taking bites while speaking: "Heading east, the population becomes sparser."

The sword maid replied: "It’ll be lively when we reach Snow Sea Pass."

Chen Daole nodded and said: "Indeed, that’s why I admire Lord Pingye so much. A thousand-mile raid ensured Snow Sea, closed the gates to defeat the enemy, buried tens of thousands of wild beasts. It’s truly the act of a great man!"

"Don’t think too much; otherwise, you might be disappointed when you see him in person," the sword maid said.

"No, no, no, I’m not buttering up. To see a man is not to hear what he says or what he appears to be, it’s to focus on what he has done."

Fanli chuckled.

Chen Daole continued: "The current world situation is daunting. The Yan people are strong, and Qian and Chu can only unite to resist the Yan Army from heading south. But the biggest problem lies in the fact that Qian and Chu are major countries. After the Yan people annexed the land of the Three Jin, they are unable to digest it in a short period.

Expanding too much often leads to a single misstep and total loss."

The sword maid yawned, uninterested in listening to the scholar flaunt his vision of the big picture. Better to go back to sleep.

Fanli quietly continued eating flatbread, contrasting the previous night when forcibly commanding Chen Daole to rescue the sword maid, he now spoke very little during these days leaving Ying Capital City on their journey.

Tonight’s wind was a bit strong, but stronger still was the sound of footsteps.

Fanli, after finishing the last bit of flatbread, silently picked up the axe nearby. The axe, usually wrapped in cloth, was rarely unveiled.

Chen Daole saw this and paused, hastily ending his mental wandering, subconsciously wanting to find some tools but realized the sword previously gifted by Zhang Yiqing was in the sword maid’s tent.