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

boom--!

!

During the march, the platform that Xiang An had been using was smashed to pieces by Xiang An's palm. Xiang An glared angrily at the trembling messenger kneeling there.

Inside the entire command tent, apart from Xiang An's heavy breathing, it was almost impossible to hear a pin drop. His immense aura pressed down on the poor messenger, causing him to feel dizzy and nauseous.

Xiang An stepped over the broken platform and strode toward the messenger, startling Zi Juan who was standing to the side.

"Second brother! Calm down! Sigh—"

Zijuan grabbed Xiang An's arm, but was pulled forward by Xiang An's immense strength and almost fell.

Xiang An grabbed Zijuan's shoulder before she fell and helped her straighten up, but his eyes still held a menacing glint that sent chills down Zijuan's spine.

Xiang Anfang took a few deep breaths, forced himself to calm down, bent down, looked at the messenger's violently trembling toddler, and asked, word by word.

“Say what you just said to me again.”

"His...His...His Majesty, he conquered...Dingtao City, and then...all 80,000 people inside and outside the city...were wiped out..."

"...Alright!" Xiang An interrupted the messenger angrily and irritably before he could finish speaking, and stood up abruptly.

The atmosphere inside the commander's tent was deathly still.

"You can go out now." After a long silence, Zijuan said to the messenger.

The messenger was overjoyed and ran out in a panic, not daring to stay in the commander's tent for even a moment longer.

Only Xiang An, Xiang Lu, Zi Juan, and Liao Ye remained in the command tent. None of them spoke. The three of them simply stood on the three sides, watching Xiang An, who was standing in the center and taking deep breaths, with trembling fear.

This was the second time Zijuan had seen Xiang An like this since she could remember.

The last time was after Xiang Yu divided the land among himself.

"Son of a bitch......"

These three words were squeezed out from between Xiang An's teeth.

Xiang An stared intently ahead, his teeth grinding together as if they were about to shatter at any moment.

Extremely angry, extremely angry.

Anger, incomprehensible anger. Xiang An clenched his fists, his nails piercing through tough flesh, thick blood dripping from between his fingers onto the ground. Xiang An's emotions were on the verge of spiraling out of control.

"Xiang An!" Xiang Lu suddenly shouted, abruptly waking Xiang An from his reverie.

Xiang An turned his head, his bloodshot eyes filled with lingering anger, and looked at Xiang Lu.

"...Fourth Uncle".

Xiang Lu said nothing, his lips trembled slightly, and he simply shook his head slightly.

Xiang An suddenly lowered his head, as if deflated.

"...Second Brother, we—" Zijuan saw that the atmosphere had eased a little and wanted to say something.

"Xiao Si!" Xiang An's voice was very loud, interrupting Zi Juan's words.

He strode over to the broken platform, picked up his helmet from the shelf, and said as he put it on.

"Reorganize the entire army..."

He turned around, looking angrily to the west, towards the direction of another army of Western Chu, his tone carrying the calm before a volcanic eruption.

"Let's go back."

"I'm going to open that bastard's brain—"

"Let's see what's inside."

......

Linzi, military camp.

Inside the command tent, Peng Yue and Tian Bing were discussing something.

The State of Qi dares not relax its vigilance in the slightest.

Jiaodong and Jibei are gone. The peninsula and large tracts of land within it once again belong to the state called Qi. The only remaining leaders are Peng Yue and Tian Bing. Tian Shi was attacked by Peng Yue under the pretext of stabilizing the rear because he parted ways with Peng Yue. As for Tian An, Xiang An personally beheaded him on the city wall of Boyang.

However, even though Peng Yue and Tian Bing had integrated all the remaining forces of the three Qi states, they still could not withstand Xiang An's fierce attack from the west. The Qi state's defenses had been withdrawn again and again, and now they had retreated to Linzi. Their connection with the western states of Han and Changshan had been completely severed, leaving them isolated and helpless.

Xiang An, on the other hand, was stationed eighty miles away from Linzi, watching with predatory eyes, like a fierce tiger ready to pounce and devour the State of Qi alive at any moment.

but......

"You mean, Xiang An has withdrawn?" Peng Yue frowned, looking at the messenger with a suspicious expression.

"This... are you sure Xiang An has withdrawn?" Tian Bing and Peng Yue exchanged a glance, both somewhat incredulous.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, it is absolutely true. I was hiding three miles north of Xiang An's camp and saw with my own eyes from the high slope that Xiang An's army, after regrouping, retreated westward this morning," the messenger said, kneeling on the ground.

"...Could it be that bastard is playing a trick? To lure us out of the city to meet the enemy?" Tian Bing hesitated for a few seconds before saying uncertainly.

Peng Yue remained silent for a while before giving the order again: "I'll give you a fast horse. Go west now and find out for me whether Xiang An has retreated or not, and why he retreated. Find out everything!"

"Yes!"

......

"Second brother, now that eldest brother is no longer in Dingtao, we...we can just follow the Wen River, turn west from Boyang, and go to Dongjun City." Zijuan rode on Zaoji's back, her tone somewhat cautious. Looking at Xiang An's broad back, she sighed after speaking.

Xiang An didn't answer, but just felt the swaying on the horse's back, walking at the front with a blank look in his eyes, not knowing where he was looking.

He was angry, confused, and bewildered, but most of all, he felt helpless.

His broad back looked somewhat desolate.

"Little Four," Xiang An's voice was slightly hoarse, his head lowered slightly, "what exactly does Big Brother want to do?"

Zijuan pursed her lips.

She knew that Xiang An wasn't asking her, so she didn't answer.

Xiang An didn't wait for Zijuan's reply and continued.

“I know he’s the eldest brother. Ever since he was born underground in the Qin Palace, he’s been my eldest brother.”

“I always wanted to believe him, I always believed him.”

Xiang An's hand gripping the reins of the galloping train trembled slightly.

“Back then, when Xue County was in charge, he said that Tian Jia had arrangements in Qi and could bring peace to the world, and I believed him.”

“Then, at Julu, he said that if Zhang Han didn’t die, he could help him stabilize the world. Although I had already killed Zhang Han, I believed him.”

"Later in Xianyang, he wanted to kill Ziying, fearing that Ziying might still have some mysterious remnants in his possession. Even though I stopped him, I still felt that what he said made sense."

"Later, he divided the world among himself, which enraged me. I argued with him, and he said that the world belonged to people themselves, not to a savior machine like us. Even though I had great doubts, I still believed him after I came back."

"But this time."

Tears welled up in Xiang An's eyes, large drops falling from his eyes and shattering on his flowing hair.

"I... I really can't trust anyone anymore."

------------

Chapter 969 You and I, Our Bonds Are Severed

As Xiang An said, he and Xiang Yu were twin brothers. Even though they were born with knowledge and responsibilities, they were still inseparable brothers. From the moment they were born, the two brothers were like two sides of the same person, one radical and the other calm. Even though their roles sometimes switched, they always maintained such a beautiful and delicate balance.

When exactly was this balance broken?

Xiang An remembered it clearly: it was in Xue County that the two brothers first disagreed when Tian Jia, the usurper, fled to the Western Chu army.

Xiang Yu believed Tian Jia should be kept alive, but Xiang An believed Tian Jia should be killed for future arrangements in Qi. He argued that such a despicable person deserved to be executed by everyone.

Perhaps it's not a huge contradiction, but some things are like a boulder rolling down a mountain. Once it starts, it carries an unstoppable, unstoppable force, and can never be reversed.

Just like... now.

Dongjun, February 20th.

It was the Spring Equinox, and the earth had just experienced the spring thunder. Fine spring rain fell to the ground, and the gloomy sky made people feel restless and anxious.

The front lines of Western Chu were stationed here, with the yellow waters of the Paoxiao River not far away.

"General, the King has his reasons—ah—"

A commotion arose outside the command tent. Xiang An pushed Chen Ping, who was trying to dissuade him, with a little force, sending him flying and crashing into the weapon rack. Xiang An, filled with indescribable anger, walked into the command tent in the center of the military camp.

"You bastard, get out here!"

The angry voices were like thunder, deafening, but Xiang An did not see the figure he wanted to see in the tent.

"...Third brother, where is that bastard?" Xiang An's terrifying eyes swept over Xiang Jing, causing Xiang Jing to involuntarily lower his head, a bead of cold sweat appearing on his forehead.

"...Brother, he said he's waiting for you by the river." After a slight hesitation, Xiang Jing replied in a low voice.

Xiang An turned around, his dark red wide cloak billowing, and said nothing more, but his face became even more gloomy.

Almost all the generals of Western Chu who were stationed in Dongjun City gathered outside the command tent, their expressions varied—some were surprised, some were afraid, some were uneasy... But no one dared to come up and persuade Xiang An again. Chen Ping was still lying on the broken weapon rack, unable to get up for a long time.

Xiang An walked out of the command tent, and the generals outside immediately made way for him. Xiang An ignored them, walked to the outside of the camp, mounted his horse, and galloped towards the river.

Everyone could clearly see that murderous aura.

After Xiang An rode away alone on the turbulent waves, the generals of Western Chu, who had been silent as cicadas in winter, finally began to whisper among themselves.

Zijuan was extremely anxious and rushed into Xiang Yu's command tent, grabbing the distraught Xiang Jing and pulling him up.

"Third Brother, what are you doing! We need to hurry and find Eldest Brother and Second Brother. We can't, we can't let them..." Zijuan's voice was trembling with anxiety as she tugged at Xiang Jing.

Xiang Jing, on the other hand, seemed to have lost his soul, like a walking corpse, being pulled along by Zijuan.

"Third brother, fourth brother."

As Zijuan and Xiang Jing walked outside, another voice came from behind the tent.

“…Sister-in-law?” Zijuan turned her head and looked at Yu Meiren who came out.

“…I’ll go with you.” Yu Meiren quickly walked to Zijuan’s side, took Zijuan’s hand, and walked outside.

......