In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

Chapter 818 The Art of War

"How wonderful, a fine steed..." Xiang An squatted on a wooden post with an envious look, watching Xiang Yu brush the black horse's mane.

Not only Xiang An, but Xiang Jing and Zi Juan also squatted down beside him, the three siblings holding their faces and making faces.

Xiang Yu felt uneasy under their gazes and turned to look at the three men with disgust: "Can you guys get lost? Do you have to squat here and watch?"

Actually, brushing a horse's coat is a job that servants should do, but Wuzhui was extremely fierce, and no one except Xiang Yu, whom he had already acknowledged, was allowed to touch it. Besides, it was a thoroughbred, not an ordinary horse, so Xiang Yu personally brushed Wuzhui's coat.

The black horse snorted and flicked its neck, its glossy black mane fluttering, showing how confident it was in its appearance.

"This is wonderful..." The three siblings were completely captivated by the Black Steed.

"..." Xiang Yu was speechless, so he simply turned his head and continued to focus on brushing his fur, ignoring the three people behind him.

"Young man! So this is where you are!" A loud voice came from the side. The four of them looked over and saw Xiang Lu standing outside the stable with a smile, greeting them.

"Fourth Uncle." Xiang Yu, Xiang An, and Zi Juan greeted him happily.

"Father, you're here!" Xiang Jing ran up to Xiang Lu's side.

"Well, I heard a while ago that Third Brother bought a fine horse. I've been wanting to come and see it, but I've been too busy with other things to come. I only got to see it today, but I didn't expect you to get such a good deal." Xiang Lu chuckled and pointed at Xiang Yu.

"First come, first served. If you, Fourth Uncle, had tamed it first, I would be the one envying you now," Xiang Yu replied with a smile, without any modesty.

Xiang Lu was the most approachable among the elders of the Xiang family. If it weren't for his genuinely old appearance, his manner of speaking and demeanor would have made him seem like he was from the same generation as Xiang Yu and Xiang An.

"Alright, you guys can play here. I have some things to take care of, so I just came to check on you." Xiang Lu sighed and scratched his head. "Now that my second and third brothers are both sick, all the family matters have fallen on my shoulders for the time being..."

"Good luck!" Xiang An wasn't paying any attention to Xiang Lu at all; he was too busy looking at Wu Zhui.

Xiang Lu rolled his eyes, turned around and left.

......

The weather is getting colder and colder. According to the Xiang family’s old custom, they would have a hunt at the turn of autumn and winter. However, this year, the pillars of the Xiang family were injured, so the hunt was canceled.

"Where do you usually go hunting?" Xiang An put down the spear in his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"I heard it's going to the Huai River area." Xiang Yu also stopped what he was doing and exhaled a breath of stale air. "Don't you really think your spear is too long?"

The large spear that Xiang An chose was a full three zhang long (one zhang in the Qin Dynasty was 2.31m), and it was easy for Xiang An to wield with such force and wide swings.

"Really? I didn't notice." Xiang An tossed the large halberd into the air, caught it with his foot, spun it twice, and kicked it onto the weapon rack next to him.

"...It's good that you don't think there's a problem." Xiang Yu's lips twitched, but he still didn't say anything.

His usual weapon was a halberd that was ten feet long, which was quite long, but compared to Xiang An's large spear, it was nothing.

Xiang An was skilled with many weapons, but he just happened to have a particular fondness for this one, which is quite remarkable.

"Are Xiaojuan and Baixing in class again?" Xiang Yu put his halberd back on the weapon rack and rubbed his wrist.

“Yeah, after we finished learning, Wu Ju and Mr. Zishu went to torment Xiao Juan and Bai Xing.” Xiang An said with a disgusted look, “At least we don’t have to learn anything anymore.”

"Yes, it's so painful. I hope Xiaojuan and Baixingren are alright," Xiang Yu said with a sigh.

"At least Xiao Juan and Bai Xing won't drive the two teachers half to their deaths." Xiang Liang's voice came from under the corridor in the back hall, accompanied by a snort.

"Uncle," Xiang Yu and Xiang An greeted him.

"Cough cough—after you stopped studying, you two just idle around all day, not doing anything productive. You're really infuriating!" Xiang Liang scolded the two brothers with a look of exasperation. "All you do is fight around in this training ground, or go to the stables to do the menial work. Can't you do something productive?"

"But, Uncle, what can we do?" Xiang An said with a wronged expression.

Xiang Liang coughed twice more: "You all should also learn some military strategy."

"art of war?"

The two brothers became interested at the same time.

“Yes, it is military strategy.” Xiang Liang nodded in satisfaction when he saw that he had aroused the interest of the two brothers. “The methods used on the battlefield, such as troop deployment, strategy and deception, can mostly be called ‘military strategy’.”

"My Xiang family has been generals for generations, so we are naturally well-versed in military strategy. As descendants of my Xiang family, are you willing to learn this art of war?"

Xiang Yu and Xiang An exchanged a glance.

"willing!"

......

Learning is always painful and slow.

Xiang Yu and Xiang An thought they were free, but little did they know that what awaited them was an even deeper terror.

However, this time, it was Xiang Liang himself who had high blood pressure.

......

Winter has passed and spring has arrived; it's already late May, and the weather is getting hot.

"Uncle, there's a place we'd like to visit." Xiang Yu stood in front of Xiang Liang, a hint of pleading in his eyes.

“Uncle, me too.” Xiang An stood beside Xiang Yu, looking at Xiang Liang with a serious expression.

Xiang Liang put down his teacup and looked up at the two brothers.

"Pangshan Village?"

“Yes.” Xiang An nodded.

"...Why would you want to go to Pangshan Village?" Xiang Liang sighed, gently stroking his teacup.

The original Pangxia Three Villages had been reduced to ruins, but the survivors did not lose the will to live. They rebuilt a new village in a place where the mountain king could see, and named it "Pangshan Village". The village head was Yang Yi, the only survivor among the original three village heads.

"...I just wanted to go and take a look," Xiang An replied after a moment of silence.

"Please grant my request, Uncle." Xiang Yu looked at Xiang Liang earnestly.

"Alright, go ahead." Xiang Liang waved his hand. "I know what you two are thinking."

"Thank you, Uncle!" Xiang An said excitedly, grabbing Xiang Yu's hand. "Let's go, brother!"

The two brothers rushed out in a hurry, leaving Xiang Liang alone sitting in his seat drinking tea.

After a long while, Xiang Liang finally spoke.

"Aren't you really going back with them to take a look, Xiaojuan?" Xiang Liang asked softly, his index finger sliding along the rim of the teacup.

“...No need, Father.” Zijuan squatted down behind the corner, her head buried in her arms, her expression unreadable.

"Xiaojuan, know what is most precious to you right now."

"..." Xiang Liang paused slightly as he rubbed the teacup.

“...You don’t have to be so strong, Xiaojuan.”

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Chapter 819 The Beauty Who Fell into the Sea

Langya County, by the sea.

Legend has it that there are three fairy mountains in this overseas land: Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou, where immortals live.

Immortals are naturally mysterious.

For various reasons, the First Emperor sought to find the remaining mysteries in the world. He then dispatched Xu Fu, a disciple of Guiguzi and a sorcerer, to lead more than 3,000 young boys and girls to Yingzhou in 219 BC, hoping to find the mysterious remnants and the elixir of immortality for the First Emperor.

Unfortunately, Xu Fu did not find the elixir of immortality and returned dejectedly after exhausting the resources he had accumulated at sea.

The First Emperor did not punish Xu Fu, but instead sent him back to his hometown of Langya County to await the Emperor's next order.

At that moment, a melancholy Xu Fu was pacing along the beach.

Although he was depressed, it was not because he had failed to complete his mission.

Rather... I was simply in a bad mood and wanted to clear my head, so I came to this deserted beach.

Taking off his shoes and tossing them aside, Xu Fu walked barefoot along the beach, watching the foam stirred up by the waves and the blue and white horizon. He sighed with a touch of melancholy, then stretched out his slender fingers and gently rubbed a small strand of his hair.

"Everyone says that alchemists are powerful and live a carefree life... but what carefree life is there to speak of..." With a soft sigh, Xu Fu stopped, put his hands behind his back, smelled the salty sea breeze, and exuded exhaustion.

"Hmm?" While gazing at the azure sea, Xu Fu noticed something that seemed to have appeared on the surface of the water.

"It looks like something is drifting over..." Xu Fu muttered softly, squinting his eyes.

The Fairy Tree Romance

As the drifting object drew closer, Xu Fu's boy suddenly shrank back.

"Is it a person?"

With a slight furrow in his delicate brows, Xu Fu used his methods to abruptly pull the object floating on the sea, resembling a corpse, towards the shore—

A human-shaped object was pulled from the sea and slammed heavily onto the beach.

“It really is a person.” Xu Fu blinked. “And a woman at that.”

"There's no decomposition, did she just drown...? Hmm?" Xu Fu bent down to examine the "female corpse," but found...

This woman seems to still be alive?

After pondering for a moment, stroking his chin, Xu Fu sighed, placed his hand on the woman's chest, and murmured softly, "Such a beautiful woman, why would she want to commit suicide? If I hadn't happened to be by the sea, she would probably be dead..."

The magic vibrated in the woman's lungs, shaking out the excess water inside.

"Pfft—" To everyone's surprise, the woman suddenly opened her eyes as soon as she came into contact with the magic, and spat out a mouthful of seawater, which landed right on Xu Fu's face.

Xu Fu: ......

"Ka-ha-ha-ha-" The woman's lungs were no longer filled with water, and she sat up, breathing heavily. Xu Fu, who had just saved her, was stunned with a wonderful expression.

Xu Fu turned to look at the woman who had "survived a great calamity," opened his mouth as if to say something, but his mouth opened and closed but he couldn't say anything. Finally, he stood up, snorted softly, and his already bad mood worsened.

"Huh? Where have I drifted to?" the woman said blankly, pulling Xu Fu back from leaving.

"Huh? This is Langya territory." Xu Fu was taken aback by the question and answered subconsciously.

"A person!?" The woman then noticed Xu Fu's presence and was startled.

Xu Fu: ......?

......

Xiang Yu and Xiang An rode their horses and once again arrived at the territory of Pangshan.