Behind him, both Feng Xin and Mu Qing were in shock, and they cried, "Your Highness!" And immediately rushed out too to guard next to him.
However, all the citizens in the entire Martial Deity Avenue had already seen the young man in white who appeared right in the centre of the main street. The demonstrating protesters were broken up but soon reorganized themselves, and crowds of thousands soon surrounded Xie Lian. The first person spoke, unsure, "My lord... my lord is His Highness?"
The second one was doubtful, "Didn't His Highness the Crown Prince ascend? He's no longer mortal so why would he appear here?"
The third one yelled, "IT'S HIM! THREE YEARS AGO AT THE HEAVENLY CEREMONIAL PROCESSION I SAW HIM WITH MY OWN EYES, IT'S HIS HIGHNESS THE CROWN PRINCE!"
More and more started to recognize the face of that martial god they worshipped day and night, and Xie Lian spoke up slowly, "It is I. I have returned."
The people went wild.
"A GOD HAS DESCENDED! A GOD HAS REALLY DESCENDED!"
"A DIVINE BEING HAS RETURNED TO THE MORTAL REALM!"
"-Your Highness must have returned because you could no longer tolerate seeing us suffer the abuse of those thieves!"
Immediately there were those who pressed on, full of hope, "Your Highness, will my lord lead us to defeat those Yong'an refugees? It's for certain, right? It must be so!"
After some pause, Xie Lian answered peacefully, "I returned for the sake of protecting the Kingdom of Xianle, to protect my people."
Feng Xin and Mu Qing who were next to him listened intently, but they couldn't be sure what exactly those words meant, yet the citizens whose heads were rushed by hot blood were all taking it in and understanding what they will. As for Xie Lian, he had his own considerations; his heart was beating faster and faster, and he gritted his teeth, "...Believe in me!"
He clenched his fists, and cried, "YOUR BELIEFS WILL GRANT ME GREATER POWER. WITH THIS POWER I PROMISE I WILL SHIELD XIANLE, PROTECT THE COMMON PEOPLE. PLEASE BELIEVE IN ME!"
The people had been waiting for that very moment; all they wanted was his pledge, and immediately they erupted in fervent cheers, then circle by circle they kneeled to prostrate, "WE'LL FOLLOW MY LORD TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH! WE'LL FOLLOW YOUR HIGHNESS!"
"PROTECT XIAN LE"
When all the residents of the royal capital heard a god had descended upon them, they all poured out into the streets, if only just to witness this miracle that might not come even in a thousand years. Even the informed royal guards who came in a hurry didn't dare to be impudent, and joined the prostrating crowd. The three of them were stuck in the middle of the main street, unable to move, and Feng Xin and Mu Qing had to keep maintaining order, shouting, "DON'T PUSH! STOP PUSHING!"
However, they weren't very effective. Everyone wanted to push and get closer to His Highness the Crown Prince, and touch even just a sleeve corner of this divine god from heaven, so some of his holiness would rub off on them. Several generals and fully armoured soldiers were dispatched before the wild crowd was broken up.
When all the people were gone, all that was left behind was a dust-filled air and messy footprints littering the ground. Xie Lian noticed something and he walked up and bent down to pick it up.
It was a single flower. After having been trampled by many, it was almost the colour of dirt. Only a few ripped petals remain that still had its original tint of purity peeking through.
That faint fragrance didn't last, and it soon dispersed.
After coming to an understanding of some things, this time when Xie Lian returned to the palace, his temper was much softer towards the king. Thus, the king also became more agreeable towards him. Having both taken that one step back, the father and son established a tentative peace between them. As for the Guoshi, he seemed to have already expected that Xie Lian would descend, so he didn't say much on the subject.
In the past, Xie Lian always believed that a nation possessed one heart, and before a grave matter, everyone would undoubtedly follow the direction of the king. Only when he finally sat down to participate did he fully understand just how vexing the position of a king really was. Within parliament, the officials were actually split into small parties, and each party had their own plans. In regards to forming an agreement on any one matter could take up to a week of endless debate. Every one, every party proclaimed theywere working for the people, but in reality, that might not truthfully be the case.
As for dealing with the revolting Yong'an refugees camping outside the city fortress, the officials were sluggishly slow at coming to an agreement. Some advocated for a direct extermination, and if there weren't enough reasons to do so, then just make some up. Some disagreed with that idea.
The Revolt of Yong'an began with a natural disaster but the situation was deteriorated through human action. That family of three who fell to their deaths at the city gates was the worst catalyst imaginable; if that army official who cut the rope didn't get his neck snapped by Lang Ying, he would've been severely punished upon his return. In other words, no matter how convoluted the circumstances, no matter the reasons, on the surface everything only looked like the common people rightfully rebelling against an oppressive authority.
With things developed to this point, a complete pandemonium, making up more crimes to sentence would only further provoke repulsion, and whatever reason they could come up with would not be able to deceive the people. If they were to deploy an army to exterminate, it'd be without cause and difficult to appease. Preventing the people from talking was just as important as preventing floods; once a reputation of insensible cruelty was established, not only would they no longer be able to rule over the people, nearby kingdoms could very well use the chance and invade under the banner of eradicating evil.
If they were to think about it from a different angle however, whať's there to be afraid of? Those Yong'an refugees were stuck in wild forests without food and arms, so how long could the revolt last? Thus, the most favoured proposal at the end was this: If the Yong'an refugees dare attack, they shall be repelled and killed each time; if they didn't, then they shall be left to their own devices to survive or die, and Xianle wouldn't need to waste a single resource. There was no way Yong'an could keep up the fighting.
As a martial god, Xie Lian's descent naturally meant he needed to be effective on the battlefield. Thus, the army had boisterously campaigned: The side with His Highness the Crown Prince was the side of Justice; the army with His Highness the Crown Prince was the army of god!
It didn't take long before a large number of young men in the kingdom excitedly enlisted. It caused such a stir that even news of it seemed to reach the Yong'an camp. Initially they were still rather active in their sieges, but suddenly everything stopped, as if they were afraid and were instead silently building strength. This made the soldiers in Xianle nervous, and they unceasingly described to Xie Lian just how terrifying that Lang Ying who always charged at the forefront was. Hearing that name and recalling the dead body of that infant of that day always made Xie Lian feel complicated.
Two months later, after waiting with bated breath for such a long time, the Yong'an refugees finally attacked again.
In this battle, Xie Lian only brought a light sword and didn't even wear any armours. It didn't take two hours before the battle ended.
Blood covered from the ground to the sky, and in that stench-filled air, the remaining Yong'an warriors abandoned their gears and frantically ran away. Before the Xianle soldiers could react, they were already surrounded by countless slain bodies, and not a single enemy left standing. As for their Highness the Crown Prince, he was slowly sheathing his sword, not a stain on his sleeve.
It was a moment before they realized their overwhelming victory and jumped, raising their swords to the sky, screaming in joy.
That night, the Xianle soldiers held a victory feast atop the towers.
It had been a long time since the soldiers felt this relieved; the cheers were endless as they raised their cups to praise His Highness the Crown Prince. However, Xie Lian rejected all the wine, and left the party to go to the edge of a tower corner by himself to feel the breeze and sober up.
Even though he didn't drink a single cup of wine, he could still feel his heart burning, his face hot and flushing, and his fingertips slightly trembling.
This was the first time in Xie Lian's life that he had killed. The first time, and he had killed thousands.
Mere ants.
Those two words appeared in his mind. Before his might mortals were nothing, and there wasn't anyone who could withstand his light taps. It was so easy to rob another's life, just like how that palace attendant had stomped on those ants, that in between swinging his sword, he almost lost the heart of reverence.
Xie Lian leaned against the parapet and inhaled deeply, shaking his head to shake off the noise, watching absentmindedly at the flicker of sparks in the mountains afar. Soon after, sounds of two footfalls approached.
Even without turning his head he knew who they were. Xie Lian asked, "Aren't you two going to go drink and celebrate a little?"
Mu Qing humphed, "What's there to celebrate? It's not an optimistic situation."
Hearing this, Xie Lian turned around, "You guys noticed too?"
It really wasn't an optimistic situation. Although they won this round, but in reality, this attack was stronger than any previous Yong'an attacks.
Not only did their numbers increase, their formation, weapons, management, had all significantly improved. In fact, there were many who were geared up in armours. Although still simple and pathetic, they already had the form of a formal army. It would be hard to believe they were actually outcasted nobodies.
Mu Qing crossed his arms and frowned, "Extreme environments would certainly force one improve rapidly, but no matter how difficult the situation, you can't create something out of nothing. Something's not right."
Feng Xin was even more blunt, and said plainly, "They must have gained reinforcements."
Xie Lian nodded. Mu Qing added, "I don't believe none of those soldiers noticed either. But they're still celebrating only because they have you on their side and they believe they will win for sure."
Xie Lian didn't think much of that and said, "It's the first battle with me in it and we won. It's fine to let them rejoice a bit. Just think of it as encouragement."
Feng Xin hesitated but still asked, "Your Highness, you don't look so good. Are you, still creating rain over at Yong'an?"
"Yes." Xie Lian replied.
Disapproval expectedly appeared on Mu Qing's face. "Excuse my bluntness, but it's pointless to create rain now. That's the real bottomless hole. Your Highness, even if the drought in Yong'an can be thoroughly relieved, that crowd outside the city walls probably still won't back off."
"I know." Xie Lian said, "But my creating rain wasn't intended to make those people back off. It's for those who remained in Yong'an not to die of thirst. This was my original goal, and it won't change for anything."
Feng Xin was still woried, "Are you alright holding on?"
Xie Lian patted his shoulders, "Don't worry. I have eight thousand temples! There are enough devotees so of course l'm fine. But,"
His other hand circled around Mu Qing's shoulders and Xie Lian sighed, "Thank goodness you two helped today. Thank you for staying by my side."
Today on the battlefield, his two attendants suffered much more than he did, their persons covered in blood and grime from all the killing.
"There's no need to say those things." Feng Xin said. Mu Qing vaguely squeezed out an "Oh" sound.
Xie Lian squeezed, pulling the other two close, and said earnestly, "Not just for today, but for always, thank you so much. I hope, the sight of the three of us standing together fighting will become a tale of the ages."
"..."
"..."
A moment later, Feng Xin burst out laughing, and Mu Qing said incredulously, "I found that you always manage to say such.... with such shameless confidence. You're really..." He shook his head, "Nevermind."
Xie Lian's lips finally curled up. But the smile didn't last long when he suddenly froze, "WHO'S THERE?!"
SCHWING, and Xie Lian's sword was unsheathed. He flicked his sword and pulled out a shadow from the corner of the parapet.
That person had been hiding in the corner for a long time, holding his breath, and hadn't been noticed. Initially, Xie Lian had only wanted to hang him off the tip of his sword to scare him, but he had been killing too aggressively on the battlefield that day, his arms were still shaking, and his hands lost control. The simple flick was overly powerful, and he threw that person directly over the wall.
Under the moonlight, in midair, all three of them were able to see clearly that the uniform and gear of that person belonged in their army, and looked to be a boy of fifteen, sixteen years. A breath later he fell downwards, his form disappearing below. Seeing that person was about to fall down the wall, Xie Lian cried "oh no!" mentally, and leapt out.
His foot hooked onto the edge of the parapet, his body leaning downwards, and swiftly he extended an arm to pullI, and managed to grab onto the arm of the other. That young soldier's body hung in midair and swayed a few times before he looked up. Borrowing that faint moonlight, Xie Lian saw his face, and his eyes slightly widened.