Zhu Yuanzhang: My second son is invincible!

At Juyong Pass, night was deepening.

After Zhu Li finished carving the wooden plaque, he blew away the wood shavings and looked at it with satisfaction. He had carved a crooked little rabbit on it, which was ugly but lifelike.

He tucked the wooden plaque into his pocket, lay down, and prepared to sleep.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the tent. Zhang Han called out in a low voice, "Who's there?"

"I am Chen Nian. Is Your Highness asleep?"

Zhu Hui sat up: "No, come in."

Chen Nian lifted the curtain and entered, his expression somewhat strange. He said, "Your Highness, a group of demon envoys has arrived from beyond the pass. They say they are on Xiang Liu's orders to... to see you."

Zhu Hui blinked: "Why do you want to see me?"

"They said they wanted to ask you a question."

……

Half an incense stick later, the gate of Juyongguan opened a crack.

Three demons in human form were brought in blindfolded and escorted to the front of the central military tent.

Xu Da, Fu Youde, Li Wenzhong and other generals were all present. Zhu Hui stood beside Xu Da, curiously observing the three demons.

The leader was a fox demon who had cultivated into human form. He looked like a middle-aged scholar dressed in a white robe, but he still had a fluffy tail trailing behind him.

The fox demon removed her blindfold and bowed to Xu Da, saying, "Marshal of the Human Race, we have come on the orders of King Xiangliu, not to provoke you, but to inquire about something from His Highness the King of Wu."

Xu Da said coldly, "Ask."

The fox demon turned to Zhu Hui and carefully examined the young human prince. Her gaze swept over his left arm, where there was a very faint tattoo mark that ordinary people could not see at all.

"Your Highness King Wu... I wish to ask, is the axe and shield you wield from the ancient war god Xing Tian?" the fox demon asked, her voice high-pitched.

The atmosphere inside the tent suddenly became tense.

The generals placed their hands on their weapons, while the personal guards outside the tent had already drawn their swords half an inch from their sheaths.

Zhu Li scratched his head and honestly said, "Right? It's been with me since I was a child."

The fox demon's pupils contracted: "Are you aware of the ancient grudges between Xing Tian and my demon race?"

"I don't know, I'm just a hunter, I don't know anything about these things."

Zhu Li shook his head.

The fox demon remained silent for a long time, then suddenly bowed and said, "My king has another question. If my clan withdraws its troops now, can Your Highness promise not to set foot in the Northern Underworld for a hundred years?"

This question stunned everyone.

A glint flashed in Xu Da's eyes; Xiang Liu was... afraid...

Zhu Hui frowned: "Where is Beiming? Is it far?"

"The far north, a bitterly cold land, is 30,000 li away from here."

"Then why would I go there? It's cold and there's nothing good to eat." Zhu Li looked completely bewildered.

Fox Demon: "..."

Xu Da spoke up at the opportune moment: "Withdrawal is possible, but you must swear a blood oath that you will not set foot south for a hundred years."

The fox demon gritted her teeth and said, "This matter... must be reported to my king."

"I'll give you one hour. Take him away." Xu Da waved his hand.

After the demon envoy was taken away, chaos erupted inside the tent.

Li Wenzhong exclaimed excitedly, "General Xu, Xiang Liu is scared; it dares not fight!"

Fu Youde frowned: "Not necessarily, it could be a delaying tactic."

Mu Ying looked at Zhu Hui: "Your Highness, that axe and shield of yours... is it truly a legacy of Xing Tian?"

Zhu Li took out a piece of dried meat from his pocket, chewed it, and said, "Probably, anyway, it works pretty well."

The generals remained silent.

Xu Da pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Regardless of whether Xiang Liu's retreat is genuine or feigned, we shall prepare for battle tomorrow according to the original plan, Your Highness."

"Why."

"If Xiang Liu appears tomorrow, use your first axe blow without holding back."

Zhu Hui swallowed the dried meat and nodded, saying, "Okay, I'll chop it as hard as I can."

He spoke so casually, as if tomorrow was not a battle against an ancient beast, but rather the time to chop wood.

……

An hour later, the demon envoy returned to the border.

In the Hundred-Mile Swamp, on the altar, Xiang Liu's nine heads remained silent after hearing the fox demon's report.

After a long silence, the leader said hoarsely, "He admitted it himself?"

"Yes, and... it seems they don't care about Xing Tian's legacy, treating it merely as a useful tool," the fox demon said, prostrating himself on the ground.

A head sneered, "Ignorant child, you possess a priceless treasure without even realizing it."

The other head said, "It is precisely because of ignorance that it is even more terrifying. He has no fear in his heart, so his axe moves without hesitation."

The third head asked, "Are you really going to retreat?"

The chieftain's eighteen eyes were fixed on the direction of Juyong Pass. It could sense a soaring battle intent within the pass, pure and domineering, and utterly unreasonable.

That was the will of Xing Tian.

Even if it's just an inheritance, even if the host is a simpleton, it's still Xing Tian.

"Withdraw... Issue orders to all units to begin their northward withdrawal in batches starting at midnight tonight," the leader finally spoke.

"But..." Several heads remained, unwilling to accept defeat.

The leader said coldly, "I have inherited memories, but you do not, so you do not know... Back then, even after Xing Tian was beheaded, he could still wield his axe to fight the Heavenly Emperor."

Such beings, even if it's just a wisp of their inheritance, are not to be trifled with.

It paused, then added, "Unless... the Demon Emperor awakens."

The leaders remained silent.

"Withdraw! Tell our sons that we will return a hundred years from now," the leader said, closing his eyes.

……

On the top of Juyong Pass, Zhu Hui lay on the battlements, watching the campfires of the demon clan camp in the distance gradually die out.

Zhang Han stood behind him: "Your Highness, it seems they really are going to retreat."

"Oh! Zhang Han, are there bears in Beiming?" Zhu Hui responded, then suddenly asked.

"There should be...?"

"Is that bear paw big?"

"..."

As night fell, faint commotions began to rise from beyond the pass—the sound of a million demons breaking camp.

Zhu Hui watched for a while, then, finding it uninteresting, turned and descended the city wall.

He muttered to himself as he walked, "All that preparation for nothing. I was even wondering how it sleeps with nine heads..."

The sound drifted away on the wind.

Beneath the city wall, Xu Da looked up at the pass beyond, and a smile finally appeared on his lips.

This battle may not need to be fought.

Meanwhile, in Yingtian, thousands of miles away, after receiving the message delivered by the flying eagle, Zhu Biao picked up his vermilion pen and gently crossed out three more names on the "Demon-Communicating" list.

Those three were Xun Gui, who had secretly sabotaged the northern border's supplies this morning.

"Since my second brother is unharmed, I will spare you this time," Zhu Biao said softly to himself, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

But in the imperial prison, the heads of those three families had already died suddenly from a severe illness half an hour earlier.

The candlelight flickered, illuminating the Crown Prince's gentle profile.

He put away the list, picked up his teacup, and gently blew on the steam.

Outside the window, the moon shines brightly.