The Demon Lords

Chapter 947 - 211: Autumn Outing

The sky is wide, the fields vast, and the wind blows the grass low, revealing cattle and sheep.

Lord Zheng sits in front of the barbecue grill, with lamb roasting on it, and many bottles and jars of seasoning beside him.

Barbecue is best when you do it yourself; only then can you truly savor the taste. Although Lord Zheng cannot be considered a barbecue master, he actually values the quality of life, so he’s quite handy.

Moreover, with all sorts of spices here, even if you roasted a boot, it wouldn’t taste bad.

"With so much seasoning, the original taste of the lamb is completely overshadowed."

Beside him, the Sword Saint speaks while holding a cup of tea.

On the other side, with shackles still on his feet, the Wild Man King rubs his hands excitedly, and hearing the Sword Saint’s words, he retorts directly:

"Spices are precious things! Look at you dismissing them, tsk tsk."

The Sword Saint takes a sip of tea, glances disdainfully at the Wild Man King, and says, "I experienced hardship in my childhood too."

"You said childhood. Now, how old are you?

People’s mouths and stomachs are actually the most damnable things. Give them good food for half a year; it’ll be hard to return to plain meals afterward."

"That’s not necessarily true."

"Are you trying to say you live in poverty now? That’s because you have money. Don’t claim you have none; even if you wanted a small mountain of gold, our Lord Zheng would find a way to bring it to you.

Being rich and living simply is a matter of taste, like not letting the girls undress in a red tent, but just wanting to watch them dance.

No money—that’s not simplicity; that’s true poverty."

The Sword Saint is too lazy to argue further and just says, "Why are you talking so much today?"

The Wild Man King laughs, "Lord Zheng freed me from the cage and brought me out for this barbecue picnic. The scenery is excellent here, so I should chat to relieve his boredom, unlike you, sitting there like a temple statue.

Alright, since you’re the gentleman, responsible for being lofty, then I’ll be the lively one to keep things interesting."

Kongyuan Monk, sitting across, hears this,

brings his hands together:

"Amitabha."

Beside him, the little monk Liaofan, who is staring at the barbecue grill drooling, quickly wipes the drool from the corner of his mouth and brings his hands together:

"Ami... the lamb is getting charred!"

"Thunk!"

Immediately, he received a flick on the head from his master.

"It’s ready to eat."

"Oh, thank you, Lord Zheng."

The Wild Man King doesn’t hold back and grabs two skewers to start devouring.

His speed in eating meat is incredibly fast, seemingly unafraid of the heat, as he sucks the meat directly into his mouth in one go.

The Sword Saint reaches for a skewer, eating slowly.

His body is still in the recovery phase and isn’t suitable for such indulgence.

In the past life, Zheng Fan’s impression of martial artists and heroes was that they should be drinking and eating prodigiously, carrying wine jugs, gallantly sweeping away nearby demons.

But in this life, after practicing martial arts himself and encountering people like the Sword Saint and Lord Jingnan, he found that they are actually very disciplined. This self-discipline surpasses even the athletes of later generations.

This is a paradox; on one hand, their physique already exceeds ordinary people’s standards, meaning even a slightly decadent lifestyle wouldn’t affect them as much.

Yet, it is precisely their strong self-discipline that allows them to achieve the heights unattainable by ordinary martial artists.

Just like Shatuo Queshi, who was once disheveled, looking like a vagrant, unbothered by raw or cold food. That was because he had given up everything, intending to demand an explanation from the Earl of North Border.

However,

this kind of self-control is something Lord Zheng finds truly difficult to achieve.

He can practice sword play normally, and training in martial arts is fine, but giving up the pleasures of food or living like a monk to pursue power and advancement—Lord Zheng lacks that conviction.

Why not live comfortably? The past life was too harsh, with a rare disease diagnosed at a young age. If this life is again spent in bitter cultivation, what’s the point?

With these thoughts,

after eating a skewer of meat,

Lord Zheng habitually takes out a Chinese iron box and pulls out a cigarette.

Lord Jingnan once told Zheng Fan face-to-face about the harm tobacco does to the body,

but in this world, which pleasant experience doesn’t come with some harm?

The little monk Liaofan also reaches out to grab the barbecue but receives another flick from his master.

Afterward,

the little monk Liaofan rubs his head and looks pitifully at Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan, holding the cigarette in his left hand, says:

"Eat up."

Kongyuan Monk brings his hands together:

"Amitabha, since Lord Zheng insists under the threat of cruel torture, we shall eat. The Buddha will forgive us."

Immediately,

the two monks, one big and one small, start cleaning the battlefield.

The previously grilled meat is indeed insufficient, far from enough to share.

Kongyuan Monk deftly places more meat on the grill, continuing to barbecue while skillfully applying seasoning.

Not far away, a thousand Snow Sea cavalry are patrolling.

Behind Zheng Fan sits A Ming, though A Ming doesn’t eat meat.

Lord Zheng is accustomed to exercising caution, even when coming to the grasslands for a barbecue before the autumn is fully here, he ensures proper security precautions.

Lord Zheng has never denied his fear of death; he is always honest about it.

Indeed,

he may not hold an exceedingly high position nor be truly one beneath the top and above all others, but for sure, he can be considered a self-made emperor.

In future generations, it would be like the mayor of a directly governed city concurrently serving as the commander of a local military district.

Living the good life, one naturally has to find ways to secure their existence and prolong happiness.

Moreover,

After receiving news from Yanjing and a personal letter from Chengjue,

Lord Zheng instantly felt that his prior caution truly demonstrated great foresight.

Look at Chengjue’s grievance in the letter,

just the phrase "that crazy woman" is mentioned seven or eight times, enough to show Chengjue’s inner fury.

This is likely the sense of upheaval and defeat an old fox skilled in deceit on the gaming table experiences when the table is overturned; at that moment, Chengjue probably felt less like a prince and more like a weak chicken.

Lord Zheng can truly empathize with that feeling, as he also once felt like a weak chicken.

Precisely because the taste is unpleasant, Lord Zheng is compelled to gather all the experts he can find around him,

whether living or dead, damaged or wasted,

to bind them to his side.

For Lord Zheng believes, though now it may not be very urgent, in a few years, as his authority and significance rise, his head will be worth enemy sides dispatching their most prized experts to claim.

Indeed, there might even be experts akin to the Sword Saint from the street voluntarily coming to take the head off the Yan bastard, Zheng Fan.

It’s not an exaggeration; consider how the old master of the Situ Family died.

Stretching, Zheng Fan lay down sideways, propping his right arm on the grass and posing comfortably, saying:

"The Earl of North Border’s princess will soon come to our place to enjoy the snow."

At the news, the Wild People’s King immediately brightened,

you could even sense his nostrils have become incredibly heavy,

but soon,

as he picked up a skewer and swept the meat into his mouth, his demeanor and manner instantly returned to calm,

and after chewing down the meat,

he spoke:

"Lord, I think the princess is not only coming to admire the snow."

"Oh, then what do you think it’s for?"

Zheng Fan looked at the Wild People’s King with interest.

"Lord, since the princess is coming, does it mean her marriage to the crown prince is not happening?"

The Wild People’s King, usually caged, only experiences exploitation by the blind man, rarely receiving external information, even if he does, it’s limited to some changes in the Snow Sea.

"The empress passed away."

Upon hearing this reason, the Wild People’s King nodded and said:

"So, our princess is indeed ill-fated, every grand wedding turns out problematic?"

Including one incident involving Gou Moli.

"Let’s discuss serious matters," Zheng Fan reminded.

"Lord, this is also serious. As the saying goes, once is an accident, twice is a pattern, not thrice. Continuing like this, the princess and the crown prince’s wedding will likely be postponed for a long time, food left out gets cold, gets spoiled, and their marriage is even less substantial than food.

I believe the princess this time, seeing the snow is a guise, but she aims to gauge reality and, simultaneously, meddle in some affairs; that, is the true reason.

Bear in mind, in Jin land, there are still the two Zhenbei military garrisons."

Hearing this,

Zheng Fan couldn’t help but laugh,

said:

"Is it likely?"

Li Bao’s garrison, due to Li Bao’s demise, though the new commander is originally the deputy commander of the Zhenbei army, actually his control over that garrison’s troops has inevitably decreased, coupled with the prosperity of Quhe City, maybe that Zhenbei army has long had other intentions; it’s no longer the pure force it was back in Beifeng Prefecture.

As for Li Fusheng’s garrison, it was placed beside Lord Jingnan, stationed in Fengxin City there, southeast threatening the Chu people, southwest maintaining influence over Ying Capital City.

If Lord Jingnan Li Liangting came personally, naturally it wouldn’t be an issue; those two Zhenbei garrisons are likely to still obey Li Liangting’s command.

But the princess...

The difference is too vast.

"Don’t doubt, Lord, the princess is, first of all, very beautiful."

The Sword Saint frowned slightly,

Liaofan raised his little eyebrows, evidently curious about how beautiful the princess is.

Following this,

The Wild People’s King continued:

"Second, the princess is very headstrong, she often doesn’t consider much before doing things, we used to not care as we had nothing to lose, while the princess, her family has plenty of shoes.

Regardless of success, I believe the princess might try.

Indeed, I also think the princess might even try to recruit you, Lord."

"Ha."

Zheng Fan found the Wild People’s King’s words increasingly outrageous,

"Do I need other foundations?"

"She can do anything," the Wild People’s King smiled and said: "So, Lord, please make some preparations first."

Zheng Fan laughed and said:

"Prepare for what?"

"Prepare that when facing recruitment by the princess then, you cannot laugh as you do now."

......

Went out during the day, came back a bit late, coupled with the schedule still being adjusted, couldn’t stay up late, this is as much for today; strive for more tomorrow.