From the fake emperor to the concubine

Ding dong!

A short knife was also thrown on the ground by the man: "This is for you."

The young man silently picked up the rabbit, holding the dagger, and while enduring the severe pain in his body, he went to the nearby stream, skillfully cut open the rabbit, took out the internal organs, peeled off the rabbit's skin, and then rinsed it clean with stream water.

The boy, who was concentrating on dealing with the rabbit, did not notice that the middle-aged man who brought him here was staring at him without blinking.

The middle-aged man noticed that the boy did not even throw away the internal organs, but simply washed them and put them aside.

After cleaning the rabbits, he skewered the two rabbits and their internal organs with branches, then returned to the middle-aged man.

At this time, the middle-aged man was lying on a piece of animal skin, with a fire starter and some seasonings at his feet.

The boy used branches to hold the rabbit up and spent another half an hour getting some dry firewood nearby.

If he had not been seriously injured, his movements would not have been so slow. Even so, the boy never cried out in pain.

Soon, the aroma of barbecue wafted into the air.

"My benefactor, the rabbit is ready." The young man's hoarse voice sounded, and he couldn't help coughing a few times as soon as he finished speaking. He quickly turned his head and covered his mouth with his hands.

A lot of blood seeped out from the cracks in the palms.

The middle-aged man seemed to turn a blind eye and directly picked up the rabbit, tore off a piece of meat and started chewing it.

To be honest, the roasted rabbit doesn't taste very good.

After all, we are in the wild here, and the campfire is not particularly strong.

In order to ensure it was cooked thoroughly, the rabbit meat was roasted for too long and became dry and tough.

For a middle-aged man, this is nothing.

After all, meat was much more delicious than the porridge made from rice that was about to fall apart that he had eaten before.

After eating most of the rabbit, the middle-aged man discovered that there were two more rabbit legs next to it.

Looking at the boy again, he had already wolfed down the rabbit, eating it all up, and was now feasting on the internal organs.

The rabbit meat doesn’t taste good, let alone the offal.

However, to the young boy, these things seemed like some kind of delicious food.

After being stunned for a while, the middle-aged man smiled at himself.

For a teenager who was competing with dogs for food not long ago, as long as he can eat his fill, nothing else matters.

As if noticing the middle-aged man's gaze, the boy turned his head in confusion.

But what he saw was the middle-aged man's look of keeping strangers away.

"Go to bed early." After eating the roasted rabbit, the middle-aged man left these words coldly, and slowly closed his eyes while resting his head on the animal skin.

The young boy did not have such good treatment. He just pulled a piece of straw and used the remaining firewood as a pillow and lay on the ground.

She didn't dare to sleep for a moment. She stared at the middle-aged man with wide eyes without blinking, as if she was afraid that he would disappear again.

But after all, he was seriously injured and had walked for such a long time that his physical strength had already reached its limit.

Even if he managed to hold on, his eyelids would start to droop after just a few dozen breaths, and he would soon fall into a deep sleep.

The middle-aged man moved his ears and listened to the boy's long breathing before he was sure that he was really asleep.

He stood up and walked to the boy, put his palm on his back, and slowly injected spiritual energy into the boy's body.

With the nourishment of spiritual energy, the boy's injuries gradually improved, and the brows that were frowned in his sleep also gradually relaxed.

The heavy footsteps startled the sleeping boy.

I opened my eyes and looked in the direction of the footsteps. I didn't know when the middle-aged man had walked away.

Seeing this, the young man hurriedly turned over and got up, catching up with the middle-aged man who was going away.

But the boy himself probably didn't realize that his injuries had almost healed.

In this way, two people, one walked in front and the other followed behind, and neither of them spoke.

In the first few days, neither of them spoke to each other.

The boy was a little curious about where this man was taking him.

But the other party showed no intention of speaking, so he didn't ask any more questions.

Years of wandering taught him one thing: it is best not to know many things.

"How old are you?" the middle-aged man suddenly asked a few days later.

“I don’t know.” The boy shook his head. “My parents were beaten to death by the Zhao family a long time ago. I don’t even know how old I am.”

After a while of silence.

"Do you hate them?"

The boy shook his head again: "I don't know whether I hate them or not, I just think they are a bit annoying."

The two walked along the way, chatting intermittently.

"If you were as powerful as them, would you kill them?"

This time the boy answered very slowly and thought for a long time.

"That shouldn't be the case, right? After all, there are only a few people who bully me. If I were that powerful, I would make a lot of money so that people who don't have enough to eat like me can also have enough to eat."

His answer left the middle-aged man dumbfounded. He never expected that this little kid at such a young age would have such ambitions.

And judging from the boy's expression when he spoke, he didn't seem to be lying.

"What if the Zhao family gave you a lot of money and asked you to help them bully people like you?"

A rare look of anger appeared on the boy's face.

"I don't want their dirty money!"

The boy still didn't ask the middle-aged man where they were going, and the middle-aged man didn't tell the boy their destination.

At first, the two people only walked on remote mountain roads, but later they entered villages or towns more and more frequently.

I don't know when, the middle-aged man has started teaching the young man martial arts.

It was not until this point that the middle-aged man finally understood what his teacher meant by the word genius.

In half a month, he went from being an ordinary person with almost no basics to reaching the peak of Qi training.

It looks like in half a month at most I’ll be able to break through and become as good as him.

"Master!" The young man who had gone out to buy supplies that day suddenly ran back panting, his expression a little panicked: "I killed someone. It was someone from the Zhao family. I saw them committing a crime on the street just now, and I acted on impulse."

The middle-aged man was shocked.

It's not that he blames the boy for killing the Zhao family, but if he remembers correctly, the boy has just reached the peak of his Qi training.

Even if they were the most useless trash, they could reach the foundation-building stage with endless resources. It was a whole realm away, and when the Zhao family traveled, they would definitely bring with them powerful guards and expert eunuchs who served them personally.

Under such circumstances, how did this guy kill the Zhao family?

Seeing the master's face turn pale, the boy blamed himself even more: "Master, I'm right..."

But before he could finish his words, the middle-aged man burst into laughter, his smile was filled with endless sadness and bitterness, and even a bit of pleasure: "You did a good job, but I'm afraid our life as master and disciple won't be too good now."

He didn't know if it was his illusion, but the boy felt that his master seemed to be much more friendly to him than before.

"Let's go, let's leave here first." The middle-aged man packed up his things and left with the young man.

Western states.

Qingshan Army Base.

Marshal He Chengpi was drinking and chatting with a group of people.

Although these people drank and ate large amounts of meat, they looked very generous.

But looking at the way they were eating and drinking desperately, there was not a trace of generosity in them, but instead a look of determination, as if this was their last meal.

In addition to these leaders, the same was true for the rebel soldiers. Food was supplied freely and they could eat as much as they wanted.

At the gate of the camp, they are still recruiting volunteers.

"Fellow villagers, our Qingshan Army is recruiting now. There are no restrictions. As long as you are willing to join our Qingshan Army, you can press your fingerprint here to receive a set of military uniforms, and then you can go to the kitchen to eat." A man who looked like a commander shouted.

"As long as you join our Qingshan Army, you will have three meals a day, and you can eat as much as you want!"

Just this one condition made those who came to join the rebel army excited.

"General, I want to join our Qingshan Army."

"Chief, please accept me. Although I'm old, I have no problem fighting." An old man who looked to be in his sixties said with difficulty, raising his hand.

At this old man's age, he should have retired at home long ago. If someone like him joins the army, he will not only not be a combat force, but will be a burden.

"Old man, you..." The leader was about to refuse, but the old man said, "I was a member of the Weihe Army fifteen years ago."

When the leader heard that the old man was a veteran, he immediately changed his mind.

After all, their Qingshan Army had only recently revolted and lacked experience in all aspects.

With such an old senior around, we can learn some experience, even if this old man was just a soldier before.

But he who survived the uprising fifteen years ago must be much more experienced than them.

The leader directly handed over the task of recruiting people to other people, and took the old man straight to the room where He Chengpi and others were having a banquet.

Without waiting for the guard to report, he pushed the door open and walked in: "Brother, good news."

He Chengpi put down his wine glass and said unhappily: "I've told you so many times, you have to call me General now. We are different now than before, we have to follow the rules, do you understand?"

The leader who was scolded didn't care, he smiled and said: "I know, big brother, look who I brought with me."

He Chengpi and several leaders looked at the old man at the same time.

When they saw this old man with gray hair and a thin and dry body, they all sighed in disappointment.

He Chengpi frowned and looked disdainful: "Third brother, this old man has almost one leg in the coffin, why did you bring him here?"

"We are the righteous army, we are determined to fight to the death with the damn court. Although we don't mind having one more mouth to feed, if a real war breaks out, no one will have time to take care of the old man."

"Take him to the kitchen to have something good to eat, give him some money, and let the old man go back."

Upon hearing this, the old man snorted in disdain: "I thought Marshal He of the Qingshan Army was a true hero, so I came here to join him. Now it seems that he is just a superficial person. In this case, I will take my leave now."

After saying this, he clasped his fists towards He Chengpi and the others, then turned around and left without any hesitation.

However, his words angered the others at the table.

One of the sturdy men slammed the table, making the pots and bowls on it clink and clatter. "Stop right there, you old man! You dare to say something bad about my eldest brother? Do you still want to leave today?"

As he spoke, he bent down and pulled out a large axe that was more than two meters long from the side. The axe blade was as big as a millstone.

Seeing the strong man holding an axe and walking towards the old man with murderous intent, the leader who brought the old man over suddenly became anxious.

He quickly stood between the two of them and said, "Fifth brother, calm down. Don't be impulsive."

"Brother, don't look at this old man's age, but he is a senior who has participated in the Weihe Army. He will definitely be helpful to us."

"So what?" The fifth brother holding the axe was not convinced by this reason and still looked murderous.

He Chengpi said in a deep voice: "Old Five, put down the axe."

Then he poured a glass of wine and personally brought it to the old man: "Senior, I was too arrogant just now. Please don't bother with a rough guy like me."

The old man had been observing He Chengpi since he entered the room.

To be honest, this guy's appearance is not very good. He is not tall and a little fat, with a face full of flesh and stubble. He is a typical bandit.

Although this guy looks stupid, he is actually a very smart person with some principles.

This can be seen from what he just did.

Although he felt that this old man was useless, he did not drive him away impatiently. Instead, he allowed him to eat and gave him some money before leaving.

In the face of his sarcasm, no matter what she thought in her heart, at least on the surface she looked calm and unconcerned, which showed that she was quite shrewd.

Finally, they discovered that he was from the Weihe Army and might be useful to them.

This He Chengpi was even more humble and even poured himself a glass of wine to apologize.

He had met a rebel leader before. Although he was quite famous, his demeanor was completely different.

Faced with such a person, the old man naturally did not show up, but left secretly.

Less than three days after he left, the rebel army was wiped out by the Zhao family's master.

The terrifying power of the Zhao family priest who massacred the rebels also left the old man with a very profound lesson.

“Senior, you don’t forgive me, do you?” Seeing that the old man had no reaction at all, He Chengpi lifted up the hem of his robe and knelt down in front of him.

The old man quickly supported He Chengpi and said, "General, there is no need to do this."

He Chengpi naturally had no intention of kneeling down, and he immediately stood up after being helped by the other party.

Instead of getting angry, the old man admired He Chengpi even more.

This person's actions are quite similar to the true teachings of a technique called Thick Black that he had learned from his teacher.

Although the respectful attitude just now was just a performance, for someone in He Chengpi's position, a gesture is often enough.

For many people, being able to put aside their pride and make this gesture is actually very important.

"You guys eat first, I have something to discuss with my senior. Third brother, help me guard the door, no one is allowed to come in without my order."

The two entered the study, and He Chengpi looked at the old man with a half-smile: "My dear brother, there are only two of us here now, so just say whatever you want to say." (End of this chapter)