Chapter 103 The Desperate Little Jiang The Desperate Little Jiang

In the deep, sunless dense forest, there was only one small path covered by shadows. The road surface was winding, rugged, and full of potholes. Many carriages were stuck in the muddy pits caused by frequent mountain rains. The post-rain water vapor permeated the jungle, unable to evaporate. The humid and stuffy air made breathing difficult. Moreover, mosquitoes bred incessantly by the ponds, buzzing like swarms of bees. The Dian army sneaked through, greatly disturbed by these conditions, unaware that hidden in the waist-high grass around their small path were pairs of invisible eyes, staring at them intently.

Jiang Si rode on horseback at the front, surveying the hidden forest around her. A hint of unease flickered in her deep eyes.

Suddenly, the vanguard soldiers in front vanished into a hole that appeared on the ground. Inside were sharpened bamboo spikes that pierced through the vanguard’s chest, leaving their faces contorted in death.

The sudden incident startled Jiang Si’s mount, and the horse’s neigh tore through the forest.

“It’s an ambush!” Jiang Si’s deep gaze instantly became sharp and piercing. The Dian soldiers around her immediately moved forward to surround and protect her.

Before they could react, poisoned darts shot out rapidly from the dark, deep forest, piercing the Dian army like a fierce wind and heavy rain. The darts were laced with Miao region’s potent poison. Even a small scratch on the skin would cause instant rotting, blackening of the face, and foaming at the mouth before death. In just a moment, many Dian soldiers had lost their lives.

“Use the shields, quick!” Jiang Si commanded. Just as the Dian army formed a wall of shields to block the continuous assault of poisoned darts and prepared to slowly advance towards the direction of the attack, the enemy gradually ceased fire.

“They’re retreating, chase them!” The commander under Jiang Si shouted.

At the order, two hundred thousand troops were about to storm into the forest.

“Don’t chase!” Jiang Si yelled: “They’ve gone to great lengths to lure us into the mountain forest. The terrain here is narrow and long. No matter how many of us there are, we won’t gain any advantage. They’re hoping we’ll follow. Don’t chase!”

“Dian Wang, we’ve encountered an ambush before even reaching Cloud Under City’s territory. Who do you think is behind this?” The commander picked up a fallen poisoned dart with a cloth: “Such a potent poison can only come from plants within Dian’s borders, especially the Miao region, which is most skilled in using poisons.”

“Impossible.” Jiang Si stared at the dart, even though she had a vague guess, she mostly didn’t believe it.

The Miao region had submitted to her for many years, and in recent years had been obediently pushed to the area near Baiyue, with their power continuously diminishing.

Before, they could be arrogant for a time because she had married Lan Yu as her king-consort, and Jiang Si was the world daughter. But now Lan Yu was putty in her hands, Jiang Si was dead, and the current chief of the Miao region was a foolish woman. Being able to preserve the Miao region was already fortunate enough, how could they have the courage to carry out an ambush?

“Although such poison is indeed a specialty of the Miao region, have you forgotten about the White Rod Army? They’ve fought with us plenty in recent years, and it wouldn’t be the first time they’ve used such underhanded tactics.”

The commander nodded slightly: “The Dian Wang is right, I was overthinking.”

“Go and count how many soldiers we’ve lost this time,” Jiang Si said with a calm demeanor.

Shortly after, the commander returned: “Reporting to Dian Wang, a total of three thousand people.”

Jiang Si chuckled: “Such a big operation and only this many casualties? Indeed, this is something the White Rod Army would do.”

“No need to chase after those people, continue advancing,” Jiang Si said confidently.

On the other side, A Li, who had retreated with the Miao people, saw Qiu Shuzhi waiting for a long time and slapped her shoulder hard: “You’re good, Qiu Shuzhi, you really predicted it right. Jiang Si actually didn’t chase after us.”

Qiu Shuzhi, dressed in deep blue Miao clothing, leaned against a bamboo branch and smiled faintly: “Of course, the terrain here is narrow. It’s better that the Dian Wang didn’t chase. If she dared to chase, we could have properly dampened her spirits.”

A Li asked: “So what do we do next?”

Qiu Shuzhi looked at the sky: “Wait.”

The Dian army continued to advance through the dense forest. As the sky gradually darkened, the Dian army was forced to set up camp.

The mountains were dark, with the moon only showing a tiny sliver through the gaps in the tree shadows. Even with torches lit, the path ahead was unclear.

The sentries on duty patrolled back and forth around the camp, and as they entered the latter half of the night, everyone was immersed in sleep.

The moon had been completely obscured by dark clouds, not a trace of skylight could be seen.

The cold night air attacked, and white mist spread continuously from all around like light smoke, seeming to envelop the entire Dian army camp. The thin white mist was like gossamer, like moonlight, gentle without a hint of aggression. The sentries unknowingly inhaled the white mist, and their consciousness began to become drowsy.

The beasts that had been lurking in the darkness began to emerge.

A Li led the vanguard, a Miao curved knife slitting a sentry’s throat. The tribespeople behind her were no less ruthless, killing to their heart’s content in the face of enemies who had no power to resist.

But this effect didn’t last long. Soon, soldiers began to wake up. Jiang Si was also roused from her deep sleep. Covering her nose and mouth, she looked at the scene before her, identical to what she had seen when she first arrived in the Miao region more than twenty years ago.

Jiang Si was greatly shocked. No matter how she had imagined it, she never thought it would really be the Miao region taking action.

The Miao people advanced rapidly, blood splattered everywhere. No matter how numerous the Dian army was, they couldn’t withstand this unexpected attack. Moreover, many people were affected by the miasma and lost their lives while still in their dreams. Fortunately, some soldiers who were less affected by the poison woke up and began to resist.

Suddenly, a silver light flashed from the darkness. Jiang Si keenly perceived it and dodged.

“Jiang Si, I’m going to kill you.” Jiang Si’s eyes were full of hatred.

Jiang Si looked at the beautiful young man before her and frowned: “Who are you?”

“Who am I?” Jiang Si laughed hysterically, tears in his eyes: “Jiang Si, you can’t even recognize your own beloved daughter?”

Jiang Si hesitated: “You’re Gu’er? You… you’re actually male?”

Jiang Si sneered: “What, are you disappointed that I’m not female?”

Jiang Si was speechless. If she had known earlier that Jiang Si was male, she wouldn’t have sent him to be a hostage daughter back then. She would have properly raised him as the ‘world daughter’. As a man, he would only have the fate of abdicating in the future. Why would she have needed to be so wary of the Miao region?

“Gu’er, it’s good that you’re still alive. Come, return to your mother’s side. Your father and I have missed you so much.” Jiang Si surveyed the surrounding situation, which was extremely unfavorable to her, but as long as she could control Jiang Si, she would still have the ability to control the overall situation.

“Miss me? Miss me!” Jiang Si’s resentment grew stronger and stronger.

“Did you ever truly treat me as your own flesh and blood? You didn’t, and neither did Lan Yu. From beginning to end, you only used me, without a shred of affection. Even the lowliest servants in the royal mansion would love their own children, yet you were so cruel to me! The greatest tragedy of my life was being born from Lan Yu’s womb, becoming your son, Jiang Si!” Jiang Si shouted in breakdown, venting all the resentment he had harbored towards his parents over the years.

Twenty years of disguising as a woman, ten years as a hostage daughter, living in fear day and night, even becoming a pawn at the very end. Jiang Si screamed out all the suffering he had endured over the years.

“Gu’er, your mother had her reasons.” Jiang Si explained: “First, tell them to stop.”

“Stop?” Jiang Si wiped away his tears with a cold laugh: “Impossible to stop. I came here today to kill all the Dian army and take your life.”

“…Alright.” Jiang Si sighed helplessly, putting down her long sword: “Gu’er, I’ve indeed wronged you these years. I’m standing right here, if you want to kill me, then do it.”

“You…” Jiang Si gripped the sword in his hand tightly, the blade grazing her neck, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

After all, that was his mother. No matter what, he couldn’t commit matricide.

Just as Jiang Si hesitated, Jiang Si flipped around, taking Jiang Si hostage, with the long sword at his throat and a fierce look in her eyes: “Tell them to retreat.”

“You— you’re really so heartless.” Jiang Si stared in disbelief, tears flowing uncontrollably.

Even though he knew in his heart, he was still devastated by Jiang Si’s coldness.

Suddenly, there was a bang, and Jiang Si was hit by a bullet, releasing her grip.

Qiu Shuzhi seized the opportunity to pull Jiang Si into her arms. She looked at Jiang Si with a faint smile: “Dian Wang, to be able to harm your own son, it’s truly eye-opening to witness.”

Jiang Si looked at Qiu Shuzhi, covering the wound on her arm that was continuously seeping blood, but her expression remained calm and composed: “How can one who aspires to great things be swayed by petty emotions? Besides, I have plenty of children, and countless men who wish to bear children for me. Why should I care about just one?”

“Take me away, take me away.” Jiang Si huddled tightly in Qiu Shuzhi’s embrace, his fragile body trembling. Every word from Jiang Si felt like a knife viciously carving into his heart.

The miasma around had gradually dispersed. Although the Dian army had been caught off guard, they were numerous and quickly regained their composure, even showing signs of a counterattack. The Miao tribespeople around were retreating continuously. Qiu Shuzhi, seeing the opportunity, also prepared to withdraw. Their night raid had been successful, severely wounding the Dian army. The objective had been achieved, and it was time to leave.

“The Dian Wang is indeed heartless, but I’m afraid your grand ambitions might not succeed after all.” Qiu Shuzhi left these words and retreated with Jiang Si.

On the way back, the faces of the Miao tribespeople were all filled with smiles. After all, they had achieved a great victory, defeating a much larger force and killing countless Dian soldiers. Only Jiang Si’s entire demeanor was completely shattered.

“Wife-master, wife-master, you love me, don’t you? Everyone else doesn’t love me, but you love me, right? You won’t treat me like she did, will you? Wife-master, kiss me, hug me, please hug me?” Jiang Si refused to let go of her hand, tightly embracing her waist, without the slightest gap, even their breaths tightly pressed together.

He wanted to be a stimulated young beast, clinging tightly to her, his body constantly trembling. He had fallen into boundless fear and extreme despair. Qiu Shuzhi had become his last faith, the only light that could bring him salvation in the endless abyss. He couldn’t lose her too.