Yu Tang also twitched his lips, crossed his arms and stood in Xiao Lin's palm, sighed and said, "It seems that the effect of blood-sucking can only last for a while and cannot last long. For me, the most effortless state is still this size."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lin immediately bit his finger and handed it over.
Seeing his pale face, Yu Tang pushed his fingers away.
"No need, I'm fine as I am," he said. "Give me your blood after you've recovered."
“Zhao Lin…” He looked up and said to Zhao Lin, who was still in shock and excitement, “As you can see, I have now become a Jade Spirit Little Man, and I have survived in this form.”
"It's just a pity for my brothers who were with me; they all sacrificed themselves in the enemy camp."
He said solemnly, "I've written down all their names. I'll make a list for you in a bit. You can tell Li Wen to build cenotaphs for the brothers in the Northern Territory, to give them and their families some closure."
Upon hearing his words, Zhao Lin's tiger-like eyes instantly welled up with tears.
Only then did he finally feel the reality that Yu Tang had returned.
With a thud, the tall man knelt on the ground and solemnly replied to Yu Tang.
"Yes, General!"
Yu Tang helped him up and continued, "Also, we shouldn't stay in the northern border for long. After giving the list to Li Wen, we'll go with His Highness..."
At this point, he looked at Xiao Lin, smiled, and changed his words.
"We will return to the capital with His Majesty and assist him in ascending the throne!"
He had previously concealed from Xiao Lin his decision to go to the enemy camp to die, and pushed all the responsibility for creating a prosperous era onto Xiao Lin.
Regardless of how much pressure this responsibility would put on Xiao Lin.
Now, he has returned, reborn in this time.
They must join hands with Xiao Lin to achieve the peaceful and prosperous era they desire.
This time...
He would never let Xiao Lin be alone again.
Chapter 7
The villain is resurrected for the fourth time (07)
When Yu Tang saw Li Wen, he couldn't help but feel heartbroken upon seeing the man's missing legs.
Every soul in this small world has its own cause and effect.
From the moment a person is born, they are destined to connect with the people around them—their relatives, friends, lovers, and strangers they meet by chance.
Even if it's just a fleeting meeting, it's a destiny or fate.
The worlds Wei Yuan created, whether they featured good or bad people, all had some connection to the two people from before.
Before ascending to the God Realm, Yu Tang also experienced a lot of suffering. (As an aside: Does anyone want to read about the ruthless path Yu Tang took before his ascension? Back then, Yu Tang was quite pitiful. However, he didn't seem to care. If you'd like to read about it, I'll include it after the main story ends.)
It's just that he lived for too long, and after becoming a god, he became indifferent to those things.
It wasn't until he met Wei Yuan that everything changed dramatically.
Therefore, he thought that Li Wen and Zhao Lin, as well as the people of Beicheng, were probably the kind and innocent souls that he and Wei Yuan had encountered in the long river of their lives.
After bidding farewell to Li Wen and Chen Mei, and instructing Xiao Si to help the old steward manage the General's Mansion, Yu Tang set off for the capital with Xiao Lin and Zhao Lin.
On the return journey, they rode a fast horse again. Xiao Lin put on his hat, and underneath he wore the fox fur that Chen Mei had prepared for him, with a thick cloak on top. Yu Tang crawled out of his arms, grabbing the fox fur and climbing up. It took a lot of effort for him to finally peek out from the collar of the cloak, his head pressed against Xiao Lin's neck, making him itch.
Xiao Lin laughed and said, "Why did you climb up here, General? Did you find my arms too stuffy?"
Unlike his hasty arrival, Xiao Lin now wrapped himself up like a rice dumpling to keep Yu Tang from getting cold.
Moreover, he felt much more relaxed, and his usually cold and aloof face became more lively and energetic.
“No…” Xiao Lin’s Adam’s apple would bob up and down a few times whether he was speaking or laughing. Yu Tang adjusted his posture to avoid the other’s Adam’s apple and said, “I just want to talk to His Majesty.”
Upon hearing this answer, Xiao Lin's lips curled up.
"What does the general want to say?" he said deliberately. "If you want it to get bigger, I can bite my lip right now and let you suck it."
Yu Tang inexplicably felt that these words sounded incredibly suggestive.
But it seems there's really nothing wrong with it.
Shaking his head, he replied, "No, I just wanted to ask Your Majesty about the current situation in the capital, what potential dangers exist, and if there's anything I can do for you."
"Oh, it's business." Xiao Lin's tone immediately dropped.
He squinted slightly as he recalled the past.
He said, "My good brothers are busy rushing over from their own territories to impeach me."
The war in the North only gave Xiao Lin military merit and some boosted public support.
With the support of Liu An and others, he was able to successfully enter the capital and ascend the throne.
Being able to sit down is one thing, but sitting still is another.
First, there are still some pedantic civil officials who claim that Xiao Lin murdered his father and seized power.
In addition, Xiao Lin's two older brothers, the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince, formed an alliance, won over these officials, and drafted an imperial edict from Emperor Xiao Sheng, claiming that Emperor Xiao Sheng had previously appointed the Third Prince as the Crown Prince.
Therefore, the third prince is the rightful heir to the throne.
As the sixth prince, Xiao Lin would be best off knowing the bigger picture and relinquishing the throne, settling down to be a proper prince, and supporting the third prince, now Prince Li, as the new emperor.
"What utter nonsense!" Yu Tang gritted his teeth after hearing Xiao Lin's story. "Not a single one came when the Northern Border was in trouble, but now that the enemy has retreated, they're thinking of vying for power!"
"General, don't be angry." Xiao Lin lowered his eyes and could see Yu Tang clenching his fists in anger. He was small and quite cute.
"This situation was entirely within my expectations."
"They won't be able to cause trouble for long."
The three of them took five days to reach the outskirts of the capital.
But they didn't rush inside.
Instead, they hid in the woods outside the city gate to observe the situation.
"Your Majesty, Lord Liu has sent word that Prince Li and Prince Ye led their troops into the city yesterday."
They are still outside the palace, locked in a standoff with the Northern army, and are determined to see you.
Lord Liu and Qiao Yu tried their best to stop them from entering.
But those two are, after all, high-ranking princes; I'm afraid they can't hold us off for long.
"Qiao Yu?" Yu Tang asked, tugging at Xiao Lin's cloak, "Xiao Yu is here too?"
Yu Tang remembered that Qiao Yu was adopted by General Yu and was not particularly cheerful.
But she loved following him around like a little shadow, and as she grew up, she became less close to him.
He even specifically applied to be the garrison general of Beijiu City, which is far away from Beiyi City.
It was a rare opportunity for the two of them to meet.
Unexpectedly, after the war in the northern border, Qiao Yu also followed Xiao Lin to the capital.
Xiao Lin could hear the warmth in his tone.
I did think of Qiao Yu.
My impression of Qiao Yu is that although he is from the Northern Border, he is not as straightforward as Zhao Lin, Li Wen and others.
He was more like a strategist than a general defending a city.
After arriving in the capital, he assisted Xiao Lin for a period of time. Once Xiao Lin had secured his position, he proposed to return to the northern border to guard the city.
Like him, he never married until his death.
For some reason, Xiao Lin vaguely sensed that Qiao Yu's feelings for Yu Tang were not simple.
"Hmm..." Zhao Lin replied to Yu Tang, "During the recent battle in the Northern Border, he risked his life to reinforce Beiyi City, killing many enemy soldiers who blocked his way. But by the time he arrived at Beiyi City, the enemy had already retreated. General, you also..."
Seemingly unsure how to describe it, Zhao Lin skipped over the part: "At the time, that kid seemed to have lost his soul and was depressed for a long time. When he heard that His Majesty was going to attack the capital, he asked to come here with us."
"I understand..." Yu Tang nodded and said, "He's quite smart and can definitely be of help."
Xiao Lin's brows furrowed instantly.
He thought to himself: It seems he needs to keep a close eye on this Qiao Yu.
Despite his thoughts, Xiao Lin was still able to distinguish between what was important and what was urgent.
“Zhao Lin…” he instructed, “Report back to Liu An and tell them to respectfully invite my two imperial brothers into the palace and have them wait for me in the Mingzheng Hall.”
Zhao Lin nodded, and Xiao Lin said, "Let's flag down another carriage, and then we'll disguise ourselves before going in."
"Mingzheng Hall?" Yu Tang frowned and asked, "Why not let them wait in the Imperial Study?"
"Mingzheng Hall is where Emperor Xiao Sheng held court. It contains a dragon throne, which represents supreme power."
Xiao Lin chuckled: "For my imperial brother, that position is the greatest temptation."
They're still patiently waiting for me outside the palace because they want to set a trap for me and slowly maneuver around me.
My idea was to force them to rebel, to expose their true colors as quickly as possible.
"So, this move is called 'luring the enemy into a trap.'" Xiao Lin tapped Yu Tang's head with his finger, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"Then we'll use the trick of trapping a turtle in a jar."
"Let's cut the Gordian knot and resolve this today."
Chapter 8
The villain is resurrected for the fourth time (08)
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Xiao Lin fell into deep thought as he looked at the clothes and carriage that Zhao Lin had brought.
A light pink dress and a coachman's coarse linen clothes. "Your Majesty, there was only a merchant's daughter in that carriage. I gave them a gold ingot before they gave me the carriage and the clothes."
Xiao Lin's face darkened upon hearing Zhao Lin's words.
Yu Tang suppressed a laugh.