Chapter 20: The Magical Powder

"Courting death!"

Di Luoxi had intended to kill Shangguan Xiu and eliminate a rising general of Southern Liang, but was blocked by the two young wretches, Shangguan Po and Shangguan Qiu. Her great spear swept aside their short halberds and, seizing the opportunity, she thrust at Shangguan Qiu. The two had no time to don armor; the spear pierced through Shangguan Qiu's collarbone, nearly severing his shoulder.

Li Xiannan caught up and brought his hammer down on Shangguan Qiu's back, smashing half his body, splattering blood, flesh, and bone together. Before Shangguan Qiu could even scream, Li Xiannan struck again, shattering his skull.

With Shangguan Qiu dead, Shangguan Po turned to flee in terror. Di Luoxi hurled her great spear, skewering Shangguan Po through the heart.

As the corpses fell, Di Luoxi retrieved her spear. Shangguan Xiu and Shangguan Mu had already escaped.

"What a pity!"

Di Luoxi cursed bitterly.

Fifty thousand troops from Eastern Zhou surged into Linjiang City. Most of the Southern Liang soldiers were killed in the explosion; the rest were burned, surrendered, or slaughtered. The battlefield soon fell silent.

By dawn, smoke still drifted in the air, though the blizzard had ceased. Snow blanketed the wreckage of the battlefield, chaos reign everywhere.

Di Luoxi issued proclamations to pacify the populace: those who wished to stay could stay; those who wished to go to Fishing City for resettlement could go; those who wanted to leave were free to do so.

"Princess, we haven't found Little Dragon or Wu Jian," Xuan Yi said anxiously.

Di Luoxi ordered a search of the battlefield, hoping to find Long Chen, but nothing turned up.

"Princess, this was the Jade Shattering Plan... I'm afraid..." Li Xiannan hadn't expected Di Luoxi to care so much about a mere eunuch. Since it was called the Jade Shattering Plan, it was likely that jade had indeed shattered.

"Keep searching! Dead or alive, I want him found!" Di Luoxi roared.

Xuan Yi hesitated, then hurried off to continue the search.

"It would be enough just to find him alive—what use is a corpse?" Long Chen's hair and clothes were caked with mud, his entire body filthy. Wu Jian, behind him, fared no better; they looked as if they'd crawled out of a fetid ditch.

"Little Dragon, you're alive!" Xuan Yi ran over, overjoyed, wanting to hug Long Chen, but hesitated at the last moment—he was simply too dirty.

"Come on, give me a hug!" Long Chen teased, reaching out. Xuan Yi backed away repeatedly, exclaiming in disgust, "No, you're too filthy!"

Di Luoxi gazed at Long Chen, her eyes growing moist, and scolded, "If you weren't dead, why didn't you show yourself sooner!"

Long Chen slapped the mud from his clothes, wiped his nose, and said, "We barely made it out. The explosion was too fierce—the underground passage collapsed, and we were nearly buried alive."

Li Xiannan asked in surprise, "Underground passage? What passage?"

Long Chen stomped his foot and replied, "There's a passage beneath the city connecting Fishing City to the Grand Marshal's Mansion here. That's where I detonated the fire oil."

Li Xiannan glanced down, then at Di Luoxi, and demanded, "How do you know Linjiang City so well?"

Long Chen made no attempt to hide it. "I've told the Princess before—I once served at the General of the State's mansion and was greatly indebted to General Long. I'm here for vengeance."

Li Xiannan looked to Di Luoxi, who nodded in confirmation, and he asked no more.

"This time, you've rendered great service." Di Luoxi tapped Long Chen's shoulder with her great spear.

"Since it's a great service, may I request a hug from the Princess as a reward?" Long Chen grinned, stepping closer.

Di Luoxi recoiled in distaste. "You're filthy—absolutely not."

Linjiang City was utterly ruined. Di Luoxi felt deep regret.

"Such a massive fortress, gone just like that."

Long Chen felt the loss even more keenly. The colossal city he’d spent years building had been destroyed by his own hand.

"Has the material I asked the Princess to prepare arrived?"

"That? It has. What do you plan to do?"

"To rebuild Linjiang City. Five days will be enough."

"Five days? To rebuild Linjiang City? Impossible!"

"I guarantee it."

Di Luoxi was skeptical, but Long Chen had surprised her too many times; she was willing to try.

"Send the materials over immediately on tower ships," Di Luoxi ordered.

Li Xiannan relayed the command to transport everything at once, and the Southern Liang prisoners were put to work as laborers.

"Over ninety members of the Long family were executed, their remains buried beneath a public latrine. I wish to rebury them properly."

Though Long Chen was a transmigrator, his host’s deep-seated wishes remained, and he was determined to fulfill them.

His host’s birth mother, elder and younger sisters—all rested there.

"Men, accompany Chief Steward Long," Di Luoxi commanded.

Long Chen led the group to the public latrine, cleared away the earth, rinsed the bones with clean water, sorted the remains, rebuilt the graves, engraved new headstones, and buried them with proper rites.

Draped in mourning white, Long Chen lit incense before the tombstones. Wu Jian knelt behind him, crying, "The Long family served valiantly for generations, dying on the battlefield for the nation, only to be exterminated in the end by that dog emperor!"

Many local citizens of Linjiang City came voluntarily to pay their respects, having once benefited from the Long family. Now, with the Southern Liang court’s power broken, they were no longer afraid.

"This hatred, I will avenge!"

Long Chen swore before the tombstones.

After burying his kin, the cement materials arrived.

Long Chen immediately set about manufacturing crude cement in the city, revealing the process only to the soldiers of Eastern Zhou—outsiders were kept away.

Di Luoxi watched as Long Chen mixed cement, binding broken stones together into a sturdy wall.

"What is this miraculous material?" Li Xiannan asked in awe.

The original bluestone slabs had been shattered in the blast and should have been useless, but with the cement, they could be used again—it was extraordinary.

"This is called cement. With it, city construction will be much faster."

"Southern Liang has lost Linjiang City—they will certainly counterattack. We must rebuild quickly. Without a strong city, we cannot hold our ground south of the great river."

The southern territories were all under Southern Liang’s control; without a fortress as a base, Eastern Zhou could not stand.

Di Luoxi understood this well. The explosion had destroyed Linjiang City completely, forcing her to allow those willing to leave for Fishing City to go—she was prepared to abandon this place.

But now, she saw hope.

"Little Dragon, you’re something else—you can lead troops, fight, and build cities. You could be Minister of Works."

Di Luoxi realized her eunuch was a treasure, skilled in everything.

"Thank you for the title, Princess. Your humble servant will fulfill his duty as Minister of Works," Long Chen replied, seizing the opportunity for real.

Xuan Yi quipped, "You’re shameless. The Princess was just making an offhand remark, and you take it seriously."

Long Chen laughed. "The Princess’s words are as good as gold—she can’t go back on them. The Ministry of Works is mine."

Di Luoxi was exasperated. She couldn’t break her word, yet felt she had been outwitted.

With the aid of cement, Linjiang City was rapidly rebuilt. Tens of thousands of Southern Liang prisoners, together with the troops of Eastern Zhou—over a hundred thousand men—worked at once, speeding up the process.

...

Southern Liang’s capital, Jinling.

Shangguan Xiu and Shangguan Mu rode their wounded steeds into Jinling under the cover of night, deliberately avoiding the crowds.

Upon entering the Shangguan General’s Mansion, General Shangguan Wei emerged. Seeing the two in their disheveled state, he exclaimed in shock, "What happened?"