An unexpected encounter with the sleeping Little Dragon Girl leads to the annihilation of the Quanzh

Time passed by, second by second.

The sun rose in the east and slowly moved to its zenith.

The scorching sun baked the earth, and the soldiers, clad in heavy armor, were already drenched in sweat, but not one dared to move.

The civil and military officials stood there, their legs almost numb, but they all forced themselves to stay alert and dared not slack off in the slightest.

The welcoming team gradually went from being nervous and expectant to becoming somewhat anxious and impatient.

"Why aren't they here yet?"

"Could they be playing a trick on us?"

"Keep your voice down! Are you crazy?!"

Whispers began to rise among the officials.

Inside the imperial carriage, Emperor Zhao Yun felt extremely uncomfortable. He had already drunk three pots of cold tea, yet he still felt parched.

The longer he waited, the stronger his fear became.

What exactly does this divine marshal mean? Has he forgotten, or is he deliberately trying to intimidate me?

Just when everyone was about to lose patience.

Suddenly, someone exclaimed.

"Look! What's that!"

Everyone looked towards the end of the official road without prior arrangement.

Two small figures appeared on the distant horizon.

One was dressed in black, and the other in white.

They walked side by side, their pace leisurely and unhurried, like an ordinary young couple out for a spring outing.

There were no thousands of troops, no auspicious clouds surrounding them, and not even a single horse was being ridden.

But the moment they appeared, everyone present, whether the emperor, the officials, or the soldiers, felt an indescribable pressure.

It felt as if the entire sky had pressed down, the air had become heavy, and it was hard to breathe.

That wasn't murderous intent, nor was it oppressive power; it was an absolute crushing on a life level.

It's like an ant seeing a dragon.

Everyone's heart skipped a beat for that instant.

coming!

he came!

Zhao Yun abruptly stood up from the imperial carriage, his crown tilting slightly from the tension. He hurriedly straightened himself, took a deep breath, and, with the help of eunuchs, stepped down from the carriage.

The ministers behind him quickly straightened their clothes, each with a solemn expression, not daring to utter a sound.

Lin Ye and Xiaolongnu, who was holding his arm, walked closer and closer.

Everyone could see their faces clearly.

The man was handsome and otherworldly, with a serene demeanor; the woman was stunningly beautiful, like a fairy untouched by worldly concerns.

They looked so young, so harmless.

But the more this happened, the deeper the fear in everyone's hearts became.

Because they knew that this seemingly harmless young man had single-handedly caused the downfall of the Mongol Empire and created the unparalleled achievements of the Song Dynasty.

Zhao Yun felt her legs trembling, and her throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

He had prepared a whole host of effusive praises, such as "his achievements surpass those of the Three Sovereigns and his virtue matches that of the Five Emperors," but at this moment he couldn't recall a single word.

He could only force himself to walk forward with stiff steps.

"I...I, Emperor Zhao Yun of the Great Song Dynasty...respectfully...welcome the Grand Marshal..."

He stammered, his voice barely audible.

However, the young man in black seemed not to see him or hear him at all.

Lin Ye's gaze passed over the emperor and the civil and military officials, landing on a peddler by the roadside who was carrying a load on a shoulder pole and was shivering.

The vendor's carrying pole was covered with various small animals shaped from sugar syrup, including dragons, phoenixes, puppies, and kittens, all crystal clear and lifelike.

"Long'er, look." Lin Ye stopped and pointed at the sugar figurines, a smile appearing on his face. "That looks fun, let's go buy one."

"Yes!" Little Dragon Girl's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously with joy.

Then, to everyone's astonishment...

Lin Ye held Xiaolongnu's hand and walked straight past Emperor Zhao Yun of the Song Dynasty.

He walked away so naturally, so casually.

It was as if the emperor in front of me, dressed in a dragon robe and representing the highest power in the world, was no different from a pebble on the roadside.

Zhao Yun stretched out his hand, bowed his body, and stood frozen in place.

His expression shifted from nervousness to astonishment, and then to complete blankness.

The civil and military officials behind him all gaped, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

The entire scene fell into an eerily silent stillness.

The emperor of the Song Dynasty personally led his officials thirty miles outside the city, setting up the most grand procession in history.

As a result, they completely ignored you and went to buy sugar figurines.

This is more than just a slap in the face.

This is like pressing your face directly to the ground and rubbing it back and forth.

humiliation!

An unprecedented humiliation!

Zhao Yun felt his cheeks burning. He had lived for over fifty years and been emperor for so many years, but he had never been so humiliated as he was today.

He wished there was a crack in the ground so he could crawl into it.

The whole world seemed to have been put on pause.

The honor guard of tens of thousands of people was completely silent.

All eyes were on the young man in black who was squatting in front of the sugar figurine vendor, carefully selecting a style.

Their nominal monarch, the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, was now standing awkwardly in the middle of the road, like a wooden stake that no one paid any attention to.

The Imperial Guards soldiers, wielding long halberds, were dumbfounded. They didn't know whether they should step forward to protect the Emperor or pretend they hadn't seen anything.

The candy vendor was almost scared to death.

He was just an ordinary citizen who wandered the streets and alleys trying to make a living; he had never seen anything like this before.

The emperor and all the officials were in front of him, while a deity even greater than the emperor was squatting in front of him, asking how much the sugar figurine cost.

"Old...uncle...this...this..."

Lin Ye pointed to the most exquisitely made dragon-shaped sugar figurine and asked with a smile.

"No...no money! Immortal Grandpa, you...you can take whichever you like! They're all...they're all yours!" the vendor stammered, his teeth chattering.

"That won't do. How can you do business without money?"

Lin Ye took out a silver ingot from his pocket, which weighed about ten taels, and casually threw it into the vendor's money basket.

"I want this one, and that phoenix one too."

After saying that, he picked up the two sugar figurines and handed the dragon-shaped one to Little Dragon Girl.

Little Dragon Girl happily took it, stuck out her little tongue and licked it, her eyes immediately narrowing into slits of happiness.

"sweet!"

Lin Ye smiled, then slowly stood up, turned around, and looked at Zhao Yun, who was still frozen in place.

He looked the middle-aged man in the dragon robe up and down, and asked calmly:

"Are you the emperor here?"

Zhao Yun snapped out of his daze, recovering from extreme shame and embarrassment. He felt Lin Ye's gaze was like two knives, seeing right through him.

He swallowed hard, forcing out a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Yes...yes, I...am the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, Zhao Yun."

"oh."

Lin Ye responded with a sound of agreement, and then said nothing more.

That casual "oh" made Zhao Yun feel more uncomfortable than any humiliating words.

It's like saying: Oh, so you're the emperor, I see.

This attitude is no different from someone on the street saying, "Oh, so you're Wang Ermazi from the east end of the village."

Zhao Yun felt as if her heart was bleeding.

"Oh, right," Lin Ye added, as if remembering something, "I've taken care of things on the Mongolian side for you. That Kublai Khan is their new Great Khan now, and he'll send someone to discuss the specifics of the surrender with you. As for the paperwork and stuff after that, you'll have to handle it yourself; it's quite troublesome."

boom!

Lin Ye's words were like a thunderclap, ringing in the ears of all the officials.

Although they already knew the outcome from the surrender document, hearing Lin Ye say it in such a casual, weather-like tone still left their minds blank.

"I've taken care of it for you"...

"You handle it yourself"...

"It's quite troublesome"...

Listen to this, is this even human language?

This was a life-or-death crisis that had plagued the Song Dynasty for nearly a century, leaving several generations of emperors and ministers helpless!

In his mouth, it became a trivial matter that he helped to get rid of, which he described as "quite troublesome."

Zhao Yun opened his mouth, wanting to say something, such as "Thank you, Marshal, for restoring peace to our Great Song Dynasty" or similar polite words.

But when the words came to his lips, he felt they were incredibly pale and laughable.

Discussing human achievements with a god?

Do they even care?

Just then, Lin Ye spoke again, and what he said next made everyone's jaws drop.

"Also, I need a place to stay."

Lin Ye looked around and finally his gaze fell in the direction of Lin'an City.

"Your palace looks quite large. It should have a kitchen, right? A quiet one, with good kitchenware."

Zhao Yun was completely dumbfounded.

He had imagined countless demands that Lin Ye might make.

Want to be made a king? Sure.

Do you want the soil to be split? We can discuss it.

Even if he wanted the dragon throne... he could... abdicate it.

But he never dreamed that after all the effort and the many earth-shattering events they went through, what they ultimately wanted was... a place to live with a kitchen.

"Yes...yes!"

Zhao Yun answered almost subconsciously; he felt his brain was already overwhelmed.

"Your Majesty... the Imperial Kitchen in the palace is the best kitchen in the entire land! The kitchenware... the kitchenware is all the finest! Marshal, if you need it, I... I can give you the entire Imperial Kitchen!"

"Okay, that's fine then." Lin Ye nodded in satisfaction.

He felt that this emperor was somewhat reasonable.

He took Xiaolongnu's hand and continued walking forward, saying as he went, "Then what are you waiting for? Lead the way."

Zhao Yun then realized what was happening and quickly jogged to catch up, personally leading the way. His demeanor was nothing like that of an emperor; he was more like a bowing and scraping innkeeper guiding his most distinguished guest.

"Marshal, please... this way please..."

The massive honor guard, in such an extremely bizarre manner, restarted and headed towards the gates of Lin'an.

The young man in black and the girl in white walked in the middle, licking sugar figurines and chatting and laughing.

The emperor of the Song Dynasty, on the other hand, followed him around cautiously, like a servant.

The civil and military officials followed behind, each with their heads bowed, their expressions complex, unsure whether to cry or laugh.

This scene is destined to be recorded in history.

I wonder how future historians will describe all this absurdity and bizarreness in their writings.

Just as this strangely atmosphere-filled procession was about to enter the city gate, a thin figure suddenly squeezed out from the crowd and stumbled towards the center of the procession.

"Marshal Lin... Marshal Lin!"

The boy's clear, slightly trembling voice broke the eerie silence.

"How dare you! Stop him!"

The Imperial Guard Commander beside him changed his expression drastically and was about to order the arrest of the young man who dared to offend the Emperor.

However, before they could move, they felt an invisible force envelop their entire bodies, rendering them instantly immobile and unable to lift even a finger.

Everyone stopped in their tracks.

Lin Ye turned his head and looked at the boy who had rushed out.

It was Zhang Junbao who had come all the way here, carrying Master Yideng's letter.

At this moment, he was surrounded by dozens of fierce-looking Imperial Guard soldiers, his face pale with fright, but he still held the letter tightly in his hand and looked at Lin Ye stubbornly.

Lin Ye's gaze swept over the boy.

He could sense that within this young man was a faint but extremely pure yang internal force, the very same aura of the Nine Yang Manual that he had once felt from the monk Jueyuan.

"You were looking for me?" Lin Ye asked calmly.

When Lin Ye looked at Zhang Junbao, he felt as if all his thoughts had been seen through. He mustered all his courage and raised the letter in his hand high.

"I, Zhang Junbao, have been entrusted by Master Yideng of Tianlong Temple to deliver a letter to you!"

Master Yideng?

Lin Ye thought for a moment and remembered that it seemed to be the Southern Emperor from the Mount Hua Sword Tournament back then. A rather pedantic old monk.

The surrounding officials stirred with excitement upon hearing the name "Master Yideng." He was one of the Five Great Masters, on par with Hong Qigong of the Beggars' Sect and Huang Yaoshi of the Eastern Heretic; they hadn't expected him to send someone as well.

Lin Ye didn't take the letter, but looked at Zhang Junbao and asked, "He sent you here to persuade me not to go to Mongolia, to avoid causing bloodshed, right?"

Zhang Junbao's eyes widened suddenly, his face filled with disbelief.

"How...how did you know?"

He hasn't even read the letter, how could he know its contents?

"Because it's the only thing someone like him would think of," Lin Ye said with a hint of disdain. "A very stupid idea."

He looked at the boy before him and continued, "Since you knew it was a foolish idea, why did you still come? The journey must have been arduous!"

Zhang Junbao was taken aback by the question.

Yes, why come again?

He himself couldn't explain it clearly.

He simply felt that he couldn't disobey his master's orders.

He just felt that he should do something.

His mind was in turmoil. He thought of his master's instructions, his brothers' expectations, and his own uncertainty about the future. Finally, all these thoughts converged into a single sentence that slipped out of his mouth.

"I...I don't know!"

"I just want to...become stronger!"

The boy shouted with all his might, his eyes filled with a hint of confusion, but even more so with longing.

"I want to become as strong as you! That way...that way I can protect the people I want to protect! I won't have to eat moldy buns anymore! I won't have to be bullied anymore! I won't have to be a burden to my brothers anymore!"

After shouting these words, he seemed to have used up all his strength, lowered his head, and gasped for breath.

The entire scene was completely silent.

Everyone stared at the young Taoist boy who had suddenly gone mad, wondering what he was saying.

Lin Ye smiled.

He reached out and, from a distance, drew the letter from Zhang Junbao's hand.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, the letter that embodied Master Yideng's lifelong wisdom and compassion, along with its envelope, spontaneously combusted in Lin Ye's hand, instantly turning into a handful of ashes.

"The principle of Yideng is nonsense."

Lin Ye looked at Zhang Junbao and said calmly.

"Your reasoning is better than his."

"Wanting to become stronger is a good thing."

Having said that, he stopped looking at Zhang Junbao and turned to Emperor Zhao Yun, who was completely petrified beside him, and said:

"This kid is with me from now on."

"Ah? Oh! Okay! Okay!" Zhao Yun nodded repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice; how could he dare to say no?

Lin Ye stopped talking and led Xiaolongnu towards the palace.

The Imperial Guards who had been immobilized also regained their ability to move.

Zhang Junbao was left alone, standing there blankly, his mind a complete blank.

Is that... all there is to it?

The letter he risked his life to deliver was burned on the spot.

Then, inexplicably, I became this divine marshal's man?

Before he could react, two eunuchs approached from either side, their faces plastered with fawning smiles.

"Young fairy, please come with us into the palace."

Zhang Junbao, in a daze, was half-pushed and half-coerced into joining the massive procession, heading towards the magnificent, golden palace that resembled the maw of a giant beast.

He glanced back at the Lin'an city gate, which was getting farther and farther away and smaller and smaller.

He felt that from the moment he stepped into this city, his life had completely gone off track and was rushing wildly in a direction he could never have predicted.

The imperial palace was the most majestic, mysterious, and luxurious place of this era.

However, Lin Ye had absolutely no interest in anything here.

He ignored Emperor Zhao Yun's solicitous suggestion that "Marshal, please go to Qingxin Hall to rest first. I have prepared a welcome banquet for you."

They also ignored the ornately decorated palaces and the magnificent royal gardens.

Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, he made only one request.

"Take me straight to the kitchen."

Thus, the grand procession passed through layers of palace gates, bypassed the main hall for deliberation, and finally stopped deep within the palace grounds, in front of a vast courtyard.

A plaque made of Phoebe zhennan wood hangs at the entrance of the courtyard, with three large characters written on it in a flamboyant style: "Imperial Kitchen".

This is the highest hall of culinary arts in the entire Song Dynasty.

In charge here is Li Fu, one of the most powerful eunuchs in the palace, who is also the chief eunuch. He has hundreds of top chefs who have been carefully selected from all over the country under his command.

At this moment, Li Fu, along with all his imperial chefs and eunuchs, knelt at the entrance of the imperial kitchen to respectfully welcome the emperor and the legendary divine marshal.

When he saw the emperor cautiously accompanying a young man in black like a little follower, he lowered his head even further.

"Marshal Lin... this is the Imperial Kitchen." Zhao Yun wiped the sweat from his forehead and pointed to the courtyard as he introduced it.

Lin Ye nodded and walked straight in.

The scale of the imperial kitchen far exceeded his expectations.

The division of labor was clear: there was a chopping board room for cutting vegetables, a fire-starting room for tending the fire, a pastry-making room for making noodles, and a special ice cellar and warehouse for storing top-quality ingredients.

At this moment, hundreds of cooks and helpers knelt tremblingly in the courtyard, not daring to even lift their heads.

Lin Ye walked slowly through it, but his brows gradually furrowed.

He first went into the chopping room, picked up a heavy meat cleaver, and weighed it in his fingers.

"The knife is too dull, and the grit of the whetstone is wrong. Meat cut with this kind of knife will have its texture destroyed, affecting the taste."

He then went to the kitchen and looked at the stoves that were burning brightly.

"The heat control is too rough, relying entirely on intuition. With the heat fluctuating so much, how can you guarantee consistent quality in the dishes?"

Finally, he went into the warehouse and looked at the mountains of various delicacies piled up inside.

"These abalones, were they delivered three days ago? They're not fresh anymore."

"This piece of venison wasn't drained of its blood properly; it has a very strong, unpleasant smell."

"And these greens, the leaves are all turning yellow, what are you keeping them for? To feed the pigs?"

With each word he spoke, the faces of the imperial chefs kneeling on the ground grew paler.

They were all leading figures in the culinary world of the Song Dynasty, each a master chef revered by thousands.

But today, in front of this young man, their life's pride and skills are rendered worthless.

They wanted to refute, but couldn't utter a single word.

Because everything Lin Ye said was correct. And these were all details that they usually overlooked due to negligence or because they thought they were insignificant.

Lin Ye finally walked back to the center of the courtyard, shook his head, and his face was full of disappointment.

"It's too noisy, and there are too many people."

"From now on, I'm in charge of this kitchen."

He glanced around at everyone kneeling on the ground and announced calmly.

"You can all get out."

Everyone was stunned.

He wants to get rid of everyone in the imperial kitchen?

The head eunuch, Li Fu, mustered his courage, raised his head, and said with a fawning smile, "Marshal, you jest. Your status is too esteemed; how could you possibly cook for yourself? Whatever you wish to eat, just give the order, and we servants will ensure it's prepared perfectly for you..."

Lin Ye didn't say anything, but just glanced at him.

Li Fu's remaining words caught in his throat.

He felt as if he were being stared at by a prehistoric beast, a chill emanating from his very soul that made his blood almost freeze.

I said, get out.

Lin Ye's voice remained calm, but this time, everyone could hear the undeniable command in it.

"Yes...yes! We servants will get out of here! We'll get out of here!"

Li Fu was so frightened that he ran away as fast as he could, scrambling and crawling.

The other imperial chefs and eunuchs, as if they had received a general amnesty, rushed out like madmen, fearing that if they were too slow, they would lose their lives.

In the blink of an eye, the once crowded imperial kitchen became completely empty.

Oh no, there are three more people.

Little Dragon Girl looked around curiously.

Zhang Junbao stood there blankly, unsure whether he should leave or stay.

There was another one, a young apprentice kneeling in a corner, trembling with fear, who had forgotten to run away.

Lin Ye's gaze fell on the young apprentice.

"You, stay."

The young apprentice was so startled he almost fainted.

"From now on, you'll be in charge of washing vegetables and dishes."

Then, he pointed to Zhang Junbao next to him.

"You're in charge of peeling potatoes and garlic."

After saying that, Lin Ye rolled up his sleeves and walked to the largest and cleanest cutting board in the center.