Title: Infinite Power Over The World
Original title: 权倾天下[重生]
Author: 叶默凉(Ye Moliang)
Translated by: ~PurpleLy~
WARNING: Descriptions of blood and gore ahead. Proceed at your own risk.
Once Murong Heng realised that he had been tricked, the first thought that flashed through his mind was not worrying about how he would escape unscathed in the face of the encircling hordes of enemy forces that had approached. Instead, he rejoiced in the fact that the one who was captured wasn’t his Ah Ci.
He leapt onto his horse, turned to look at the so-called “Shen Ci”, and noticed that he slowly peeled off the exquisite mask from his face to reveal a visage that was completely different from Shen Ci’s. This person’s complexion was as white as a sheet of paper, and he had a sinister look. At that moment, Murong Heng felt that he was truly blind. How could he have mistaken this kind of person for his Ah Ci?
He was downright unqualified to be mentioned in the same breath with Ah Ci at all!
But now wasn’t the time to let his imagination run wild. After leaping onto his horse, Murong Heng glanced around and quickly racked his brain for a way to escape. He noticed Fan Hu rushing towards him with his troops, and he withstood the pain in his abdomen. With a light shout, he lifted his sword and thrust it at the enemy soldier next to him.
Although he was injured, he was fortunate that he’d sealed his crucial acupoints in time, so he didn’t bleed much. However, he was still burning with impatience and wanted to hasten back to the barracks as soon as possible to personally ensure that Shen Ci was safe and sound.
It wasn’t long before Fan Hu and his men dispersed the enemy’s encirclement. Murong Heng seized the advantage. Many soldiers screamed and fell in the wake of his sword’s cutting edge.
“Your Highness, this subordinate will come and lend you a hand!” Fan Hu noticed that Murong Heng was surrounded by enemy troops, and regardless of his own safety, he spurred his horse and charged over, slashing and killing the soldiers around him. He became frenzied with all the killing. Blood flew in all directions, spattering onto his face.
The general who had fought against Murong Heng earlier roared furiously when he saw that they appeared to be capable of breaking through the encirclement. “Don’t let them leave!” he shouted angrily, regardless of their own injuries. As soon as he’d spoken, several soldiers surrounded Fan Hu and Murong Heng again. Blood and corpses covered the battleground.
Swish, Swish, Swish! Just as Murong Heng was killing vigorously, his ears caught the sound of things piercing through the wind. He instinctively inclined his head to avoid the arrows that were fired in his direction. At some point, the enemy dispatched a group of soldiers armed with bows and arrows. They were all lined up in a row, and they were shooting arrows at them. Murong Heng frowned just then. It seems that Murong Yu was determined to put him to death.
However, if he had died so easily, it would have been a waste to have been reborn. Moreover, he couldn’t afford to die. He still needed to return to the barracks to verify Shen Ci’s safety. With this thought, Murong Heng leapt off his horse and grabbed a soldier to use as a shield. All he heard were a few swishing sounds. A dozen arrows had been shot into the chest of the soldier in front of him, killing him instantly.
Murong Heng turned his head and gave Fan Hu a look. Fan Hu understood and immediately retrieved a signal flare from his pocket. The signal flare exploded in the air with a loud bang. This was the method used by their camp. All they needed to do was set off the special signal flare, and it would indicate that reinforcements were needed. The archers from the army would rush over to help.
Within a short time, a group of men attired in black appeared on the battlefield, lined up in a row. They were armed with extremely elaborate bows, aimed directly at the enemy troops. Once their leader gave the order, the archers instantly released their arrows. Countless enemy soldiers were struck down, dying face up, their eyes wide open.
Making the most of the steadily dispersing encirclement, Murong Heng and Fan Hu dashed out with a burst of energy. Their own troops also took advantage when the enemy soldiers were in disorder to break through the encirclement and slaughter them in one fell swoop.
Suffering heavy casualties, the enemy generals led the surviving soldiers to hastily withdraw.
Murong Heng wanted to catch up to them, but considering that he had to return to the barracks to check on Shen Ci’s situation, he jerked his horse’s reins in the direction of the camp and galloped there. When he arrived at the barracks and happened to spot Shen Ci coming out of the commander’s tent, he released a pent-up breath. Seeing that he was safe and sound, his entire body pristine without so much as a scar on it, the weight in Murong Heng’s mind immediately eased. His body’s exhaustion and the pain from his wound surged up like a tide. Without warning, his eyes closed, and he tumbled straight off his horse.
“Murong?” Only upon hearing the soldiers’ cry of alarm did Shen Ci finally realise that Murong Heng had returned with injuries. He anxiously followed the soldiers into the tent and stood to one side, his palms sweating from worry.
After some time, the military doctor withdrew his fingers, fished out a medicine from the medicine box, and pulled apart Murong Heng’s clothes. After applying the medicine, he bandaged the wound properly. Fortunately, the blade that struck him wasn’t poisoned, and the wound wasn’t significant. Sealing off the acupoints in time greatly reduced the amount of bleeding. He only needs to recuperate for a couple of days, and all will be fine once the wound heals.
After the bandage was finished, the military doctor went down to decoct the medicine. Shen Ci told everyone to leave and sat on the edge of the bed alone, fumbling about to hold Murong Heng’s large hand in his own palm. When he felt the sweat from that palm, Shen Ci was terribly distressed, and his gaze dropped a little.
From what he heard, the soldiers mentioned that Murong Heng became injured because he’d been worried about Shen Ci. Murong Heng had spotted someone who bore a great similarity to Shen Ci and had mistaken him for the latter. In that moment of carelessness, he was injured by a dagger. Luckily, he’d quickly dodged and sealed his acupoints in time, so there was no serious problem.
Shen Ci held Murong Heng’s hand, pressing it to his cheek. Shen Ci kissed his palm, praying silently in his heart for him to get better soon. He wasn’t aware when he began to have this kind of girlish inclination in his heart, worrying for those he cared about. Therefore, this is what love is.
An hour later, the military doctor delivered a bowl of thick black decoction. He wanted to stay and assist in feeding Murong Heng the medicine, but Shen Ci raised his hand and told him to withdraw. He can take care of his beloved by himself.
But after the military doctor had gone, Shen Ci began to fret while holding the medicine bowl. His eyes couldn’t see. What if the spoon wasn’t aimed properly when he fed it into Murong Heng’s mouth? Wouldn’t it be a waste of medicine?
After agonising for a while, Shen Ci suddenly came up with a brilliant idea. He took a big gulp of the medicine liquid from the bowl, felt around with his fingers for the position of Murong Heng’s lips, leaned over and rested his body atop Murong Heng’s, and fed him the medicine by mouth.
Once he’d given him a mouthful, a red-faced Shen Ci moved himself off his chest. Although he was terribly embarrassed, this was the only way right now. Shen Ci took another big sip, bent down, and pressed against Murong Heng’s lips as he did before. Just as he was about to pass the medicine over, he abruptly detected movement from the person below him, and a slightly hoarse voice rang in his ears. Shen Ci was taken aback and instantly swallowed the mouthful of medicine liquid.
Ah, it’s so bitter!
“Ah Ci?” Murong Heng slowly opened his eyes and saw Shen Ci, with a flushed face, sitting on the edge of the bed. There appeared to be something at the corner of his lips. He suspiciously licked his own lips, tasting some bitterness. Then he looked up again at the shiny wetness on Shen Ci’s lips, and his heart shone with a flash of understanding.
“Murong, you’re awake.” At that moment, Shen Ci was very glad that he couldn’t see; otherwise, he would have to find a hole in the ground to crawl in. It’s good since he’s now awake. He simply helped him sit up and handed the medicine bowl to him, listening as he drank it slowly.
When Murong Heng finished drinking the medicine, the wound in his abdomen was throbbing, yet his insides felt sweet, like he’d just consumed honey. His beloved Ah Ci would actually do such a thing for him. Should he raise his head and laugh up to the sky or get out of bed and bounce joyfully about a few times?
“Does your wound still hurt?” Shen Ci asked softly, not knowing what he was musing on. Just then, Murong Heng tugged on his hand, placed it on his lower abdomen, and slowly stroked.
“It hurts, so hurry and comfort me.” Murong Heng hissed a few times, pretending to be in pain, which actually made Shen Ci anxious. He felt his warm palm continuously caressing Murong Heng’s abdomen, and he sensed a fire suddenly surge from inside his lower body, blazing outward. It was so fervent that he wanted to plunge into the cold water to cool down.
Murong Heng glanced up and caught sight of Shen Ci’s worried expression, then he suddenly let out a wicked laugh. He tightened his grip on Shen Ci’s hand and drew it to touch him further down, placing it somewhere. “Ah Ci, here hurts a lot too. Hurry and comfort it.”
It didn’t register with Shen Ci at first; he didn’t understand what Murong Heng was talking about. But once his hand felt something scalding through his underwear, even if he was denser, he would realise what it was. He hauled his hand out of Murong Heng’s grasp. His face turned bright red as his eyes bulged. “Murong Heng, you’re obscene!” he said furiously. After speaking, he got up to leave.
“Ow, ow, ow!” Seeing this, Murong Heng quickly clutched his stomach and cried out. Sure enough, when he saw Shen Ci hesitantly stop and look his way, he deliberately cried even louder. The mirthful expression in his gaze was evident.
“If you tease me again, I’ll leave.” Shen Ci sighed softly, returning to the bed and sitting down.
Putting away his roguish thoughts, Murong Heng leaned against the side of the bed and chatted softly with Shen Ci. At that moment, he’d inflicted heavy losses on the enemy general, and he himself was wounded and bedbound, but the war couldn’t be delayed for even a day.
After pondering for a while, Shen Ci said seriously, “Murong Yu’s army has suffered so many casualties, so they will surely not let the matter go.” Then he pursed his lips to consider. Some time passed before his mind suddenly lit up, and he looked up to say, “Isn’t there a vast forest ten miles to the west?”
“That’s right; what about it?” Murong Heng had intentionally avoided the forest when they were marching because sunlight wasn’t able to permeate into the denseness all year round and it was filled with poisonous air. It had long been a place that wasn’t suitable for people to venture into, and besides, there were various kinds of poisonous insects everywhere. He didn’t dare get close to that place and play the fool with the lives of those tens of thousands of comrades from the Iron Halberd Army.
After mulling for a while, Shen Ci asked in a low voice, “Do you suppose Murong Yu knows of that place?”
“He ought to know of it, because there are poisons everywhere. Even if they arrive there, they won’t enter.” Murong Heng analysed it carefully. Although the forest to the west wasn’t well known, the average person was aware of it.
“It’s not that we want them to head to that forest.” Shen Ci spoke one word at a time. “Let our soldiers consume the Resist Hundred Poisons pills in advance. This way, they will not be affected when they go into the forest. Then, have them catch those poisonous insects and place them in the forest behind Baiyangpo. After that, we’ll devise a plan to lure them into the forest before releasing the poisonous insects. This way, their entire army will be wiped out without depriving ourselves of a single soldier!”
Murong Heng’s eyes grew wider as he listened. A look of joy appeared on his face, and after a while he said cheerfully, “Perhaps there’s a way!”
Half a month later, Murong Heng’s Iron Halberd Army was one step away from the capital. The two armies clashed again. The enemy general had recovered and led his troops to attack Murong Heng. However, halfway through the battle, he feigned defeat and withdrew his troops. Murong Heng inwardly knew that he’d retreated on purpose to lure him over, but he didn’t expose him. He merely pretended to have fallen for his trick and led his army to follow.
Sure enough, the enemy general had prepared an ambush and was waiting for them to come over. But how could Murong Heng be defeated so easily? He had already informed his brothers in the Iron Halberd Army that the enemy would lay this ambush. As such, the army was extremely coordinated just then, posing as birds and beasts to flee every which way.
However, there was only one destination for everyone to escape to—the forest behind Baiyangpo!