It would be better to fight to the death. Even if he died at Xiang Yu's hands, he could still live up to his reputation for loyalty and bravery.
"Shen Tu Jia, kill this man for me, and I will grant you the rank of general," Xiang Yu said calmly.
"Your subordinate obeys!" Shen Tu Jia gritted his teeth, picked up his bow and arrow, aimed at Chai Wu, and fired three arrows in quick succession.
Upon hearing Xiang Yu's words, Chai Wu hurriedly turned around to guard against Shen Tu Jia. Just now, Xiang Yu had specifically ordered Shen Tu Jia to inspect the heads, and now he was giving Shen Tu Jia another order. Could it be that Shen Tu Jia was a spy sent by Xiang Yu?
However.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
puff!
Blood splattered as Chai Wu dodged two arrows, but was struck in the ribs by the third.
“Shentu Jia, you traitor…” Chai Wu said through gritted teeth.
Shen Tu Jia put away his bow and arrows, picked up his spear, and charged forward on horseback. He had no choice. Not only did Chai Wu think he was a spy, but Zhang Liang and the other generals probably thought so too.
However, it would be excellent if we could actually follow Xiang Yu!
puff!
"ah!"
Chai Wu, who was seriously injured, was no match for Shen Tu Jia and was stabbed to death by Shen Tu Jia in a single exchange.
Chai Wu fell off his horse with his eyes wide open, dying with his eyes still open!
"Those who surrender will not be killed!" Xiang Yu stood on his horse, halberd in hand, looking down upon the world with disdain!
"We are willing to surrender!" Zhang Liang said, leading the way.
"We surrender!"
Chapter 130 An Unexpected Joy
Mount Kuaiji.
After accepting Zhang Liang and Shen Tu Jia as his retainers and giving them instructions, Xiang Yu arrived here without stopping.
As for whether Zhang Liang and Shen Tu Jia would change their minds, Xiang Yu and Hao Jiu were not worried at all. They would come back to check on them after dealing with the other planes, and kill or reward those who deserved it.
With the heads of Liu Ji and Lü Ze in hand, unifying the world wouldn't be too difficult for Zhang Liang. His only major enemy was probably Han Xin of Qi.
However, Xiang Yu also informed Zhang Liang about Xiang Sheng's situation in Lu. In addition, with Ji Bu and Zhongli Mei breaking out from Gaixia, the Chu army's strength on paper was not bad.
Moreover, after news of Liu Ji's death spread, many people would surely defect to Xiang Yu and Zhang Liang, and there would be no shortage of soldiers and generals.
Only after Xiang Yu left this plane of existence was there a lack of a Hegemon-King of Western Chu.
Xiang Yu hasn't decided yet who should manage this branch plane; it depends on his mother's attitude.
The secluded courtyard remained unchanged, but Yu Ji was nowhere to be found in this world, and An Qisheng had also left Kuaiji Mountain not long ago.
Inside the wooden house, the old lady wiped away her tears. She was naturally overjoyed to see Xiang Yu again, but the main reason she cried was because she learned that Yu Ji had committed suicide at Gaixia.
"Mother, I have more important things to do, so even if I conquer this world, I will not have time to govern it. Long'er is still young. I can make him the crown prince, or even the king, but I need Mother to rule from behind the curtain until Long'er comes of age. I wonder what Mother thinks?"
The old lady hesitated, "This... Yu'er, when the State of Chu fell, many members of the Xiang clan were forced to surrender to the enemy. Among them were many talented people who could govern a country, such as Xiang Ta. By the way, is your uncle Xiang Bo still alive? If he could assist Long'er..."
Xiang Yu's face turned cold. "If Mother hadn't mentioned Xiang Bo, I would have forgotten about him. My previous setbacks in the war were because Xiang Bo secretly aided Liu Ji. He has been a spy for many years, and even the defeat at Gaixia and Yu Ji's suicide were related to him. If I were to encounter him again, I would tear him to pieces!"
Bang!
The door was suddenly pushed open, and the little tyrant Xiang Long stormed in, his eyes red and his face contorted with rage. "Father! I will kill Xiang Bo with my own hands to avenge Mother!"
“Good. It’s good to have the courage to take revenge, but I’m about to leave Chu for a very far place. Where will you go to kill Xiang Bo, and how will you kill him?” Xiang Yu had already discovered that Xiang Long was eavesdropping outside.
Hao Jiu's lips twitched violently. As expected, like father, like son. This little kid is talking about killing someone for revenge. If he is properly disciplined, he will surely be a good person in the future.
Xiang Long tilted his head and thought for a moment, "Father, before you leave, you can appoint me as the crown prince, and I will be able to mobilize the Chu army to capture Xiang Bo."
"Yes, that's one way. However, killing Xiang Bo is easy, but governing the world is difficult. Being the crown prince is not an easy job, nor can one simply decide to step down. One must shoulder enormous responsibilities to ensure that the people of the world live a good life."
"From now on, Long'er will probably have no time to play anymore; there's so much to learn. As the successor of Xiang Yu, you must be proficient in both literature and martial arts. Have you thought it through?" Xiang Yu said solemnly.
Xiang Long hesitated for a moment, then said weakly, "If Grandma helps me, can I play for a little while now and then? Just for a short while."
Xiang Yu glared at him, about to explode. This kid was too useless! He hadn't avenged his great grudge and was still thinking about playing!
Hao Jiu quickly reminded him, "Xiang Wang, please calm down. Long'er is still a child after all. It's already quite remarkable that he has such awareness. Letting him play a little to relax will also help him grow up healthily."
Besides, even Xiang Yu wasn't this strict with the dragon prince in the main plane, and this dragon prince has just lost his beloved Yu Ji; he's so pitiful. Why don't we wait until the interdimensional portal is built and then have Yu Ji come and visit them?
"Didn't the god of wine say that it might be dangerous for mortals to travel through time? How could Yu Ji have come?" Xiang Yu asked in his heart.
“Yes, that’s possible. Before Yu Ji arrives, we can try someone else first; there’s always a way. As for whether you tell them or not, that’s up to you.” Hao Jiu felt it was best for him to stay out of Xiang Yu’s family affairs.
Xiang Yu frowned. "Then let's not tell them for now, and wait until we've confirmed it."
"Xiang Yu would better answer Long'er quickly, that one look from you almost made him cry," Hao Jiu reminded him.
Xiang Yu suppressed his anger. "Fine. But what if Grandmother disagrees?"
"Then I won't play anymore," Xiang Long said, looking pitifully at the old lady.
The old lady shook her head helplessly, "Very well, then I will give it a try."
...
Several days later, news spread like wildfire that Xiang Yu had summoned celestial phenomena at Wujiang Pavilion to kill five generals in succession, and that he had single-handedly killed Guan Ying and saved the Jiujiang army in one day, as well as that he had entered Guyang and killed Liu Ji and Lü Ze. The news became more and more fantastical, and Xiang Yu was regarded as a true invincible war god who could fight against a million soldiers!
Xiang Yu re-established his capital at Jiangcheng, and his entire family moved into a temporary palace at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain.
Several loyal retainers were also promoted to be responsible for the security of the palace, while Ji Xin remained to guard Jiangdong, assisted by Zhang Ning and Zhao Yu.
There is still no news about Xiang Ta, Xiang Sheng, Ji Bu, and Zhongli Mei, but it is believed that they should be able to arrive in Jiangcheng soon to join them.
The head of the Wujiang Pavilion was also invited by Xiang Yu to serve as an official in Jiangcheng. He could learn to be more capable, but his loyalty was extremely rare and he could be cultivated as a trusted minister.
During this period, Xiang Yu also sent people to build a Taoist temple at the same location on Zhongshan Mountain, named Fangxian Temple, and dug an underground secret chamber inside the temple. He claimed that Xiang Yu wanted to go into seclusion there to cultivate himself and resolve the heavy karma he had accumulated from killing.
With everything prepared, Xiang Yu, accompanied by the old lady, arrived at Fangxian Temple. It was time to complete one-sixth of the mission to save the plane and leave this plane.
However, when they arrived at the entrance of Fangxian Temple, they unexpectedly encountered two people.
"King Xiang, we have come uninvited, please forgive us."
"Master An, Mr. Kuai, how have you been?" Xiang Yu said, bowing.
Hao Jiu was overjoyed. This was truly an unexpected delight, especially since it was buy one get one free. After all, Kuai Che was quite a talent.
Because Han Xin had been blindly loyal to the advice to divide the world into three kingdoms, Kuai Che pretended to be insane and escaped from Han Xin's side.
A few days ago, An Qisheng and Kuai Che, who were traveling together in Donghai County, heard the news that Xiang Yu's heroic deeds had been revered as the God of War, so they came to Jiangcheng to find out the truth, which led to their meeting today.
Inside Fangxian Temple, Xiang Yu and An Qisheng had a long talk. Xiang Yu not only convinced An Qisheng to stay at Fangxian Temple with his rhetoric about saving the common people, but also gained a capable person like Kuai Che. It was indeed a buy-one-get-one-free deal.
Of course, Xiang Yu and Hao Jiu also paid the price of a healing medicine and a small blue pill.
However, Hao Jiu didn't lie to An Qisheng. He made Xiang Yu tell the truth that he didn't know the effects of the little blue pill either, and advised him to use it with caution.
As for whether An Qisheng will use it cautiously, that remains to be seen; there might even be some unexpected surprises.
Chapter 131 Dimensional Collapse
With the help of An Qisheng and Kuai Che, Xiang Yu felt much more at ease leaving the first split plane.
He and Hao Jiu originally planned to kill Liu Ji in this plane and then immediately head to the next plane, but they ended up staying in this plane for a full ten days.
Moreover, it's uncertain how long it will take to complete the mission in the next dimension, so they're really worried about the main dimension. Who knows what kind of trouble might have happened there while they were away?
Therefore, after dealing with An Qisheng, Xiang Yu was to proceed with his original plan to enter the underground secret chamber and travel through it.
The entrance to the underground secret chamber of Fangxian Taoist Temple.
Xiang Yu bowed deeply to the old lady, "Mother, I am about to go into seclusion. I wonder if you have remembered all the key points I gave you before?"
"Yu'er single-handedly killed Liu Ji and Lü Ze, among other generals, and also won over Zhang Liang and so many soldiers. This is enough to intimidate all the states."
Even if the other states know that Yu'er is in seclusion here, they probably won't dare to attack Chu in the short term, so there shouldn't be any crisis.
Moreover, with the assistance of Immortal Master An and Mr. Kuai, Great Chu is as stable as Mount Tai. My son, go forth with peace of mind.” The old lady tried her best to maintain a smile.
Hao Jiu's lips twitched violently; something about those words sounded rather strange.
Actually, Xiang Yu had told the old lady a few days ago that he was going to another world, which almost scared her to death. She thought that Xiang Yu didn't want to live anymore.
Xiang Yu went to great lengths to fabricate some benevolent lies about becoming a god and saving the world, and promised to return after accomplishing the great task, and that Yu Ji and the others would be resurrected, and so on, in order to fool them.
Before leaving, he gave the old lady some special instructions, telling her that after he traveled through time, there would be a portal in the basement, and he should never step into it. If he encountered a major crisis such as the destruction of a country, he could send a bodyguard with a letter to enter the portal and find Xiang Yu.
The reason for sending the old lady with assassins was twofold: firstly, she feared that her loved ones would be immediately merged with her original body once they arrived in the main plane; secondly, she feared that mortals would be unable to pass through the connecting passage or that it would be dangerous.
After all, neither Xiang Yu nor Hao Jiu had ever used it before, so who knows what would happen after stepping into the time portal?
My God, the props he gave Hao Jiu have already been unreliable twice before, which really makes me uneasy.
Of course, Xiang Yu also told the old lady that in a truly urgent situation, they could enter directly, but that would be a gamble.
Although the theories about Xiang Yu becoming a god have become increasingly exaggerated, if this god never shows himself, it's inevitable that some people will speculate that Xiang Yu is dead. After all, too many Qi cultivators from previous dynasties have died while cultivating immortality.
Xiang Yu bowed deeply to the old lady, then cupped his hands to An Qisheng and said, "Immortal An, this Taoist temple and secret chamber are entrusted to your management. You may freely command the guards outside. If you need to leave, simply inform the guards to strengthen the defenses. For the time being, only I, the King, may pass through the passage inside the secret chamber. Immortal An, you must not step into it, or you will surely die."
Xiang Yu emphasized the words "certain death" because An Qisheng's true form was on the other side of the passage, and either of them would immediately merge into one.
On the contrary, the others, because they did not directly meet the main body, have a better chance of escaping unscathed.
This time-space passage is different from a teleportation device. Xiang Yu directly teleported to the top of his clone Xiang Yu's head, which is why they immediately merged into one.
However, Hao Jiu later analyzed that if it were this kind of spacetime gate, one should enter from here and exit from the Taoist temple in the main plane. If the main body and the clone are far enough apart, or are completely unaware of each other's existence, then there is still some hope that the main body and the clone will not merge.
This is also why Hao Jiu ultimately didn't let Xiang Yu tell him that there was an old lady in the other world, and that many of the dead were still alive.
We can wait until we find two lab rats to test the rules thoroughly and make sure everything is foolproof before making any further decisions.
"Great God, King Xiang, please rest assured." An Qisheng dared not be negligent. Since Xiang Yu had described the consequences as so serious, he also gave up the idea of finding out more.
Xiang Yu nodded, glanced at the old lady again, and then resolutely turned and entered the secret room.