Chapter 57: The Young Hero, Peerless in Might!

The Criminal Laureate pondered for a long time.

After a while, faced with Ji Wu’s invitation, he couldn’t help but ask, “Are you certain you truly know an immortal?”

The moment he spoke, the Criminal Laureate sensed a faint strangeness, as though all the rumors he’d sent out had suddenly materialized before his very eyes—the whispers were true, exactly as he’d claimed! Now, as the instigator himself, even he felt a flicker of doubt.

“In the spring of next year, the immortal will descend to the mortal world for a day. If you agree to cooperate with me, what harm is there in taking you to meet him? Then, all your questions will be answered,” Ji Wu replied, unwavering and smiling.

To have asked such a question, even if the Criminal Laureate remained skeptical, he believed perhaps a third of it. Believing a third was better than not believing at all. All these claims of immortal mandates were far too fantastical. What he needed now was to transform this supposed power into real support for himself, such as persuading the Criminal Laureate to lend his aid.

He didn’t even know what grudge the Criminal Laureate bore against the court, but once a proud laureate with a promising future, he had angrily beheaded a high-ranking official, offending the court beyond all hope of reconciliation. Afterward, he continued to stir trouble everywhere, causing countless disturbances—he had become a thorn in the court's side, the first to be targeted whenever rebels arose. The Criminal Laureate had stood resolutely at the forefront of the anti-Qi camp for over a decade, surviving relentless suppression and pursuit. His cunning and abilities were well proven, beyond question.

If Ji Wu could win his support, he would no longer be a solitary dreamer, but a true force capable of upending the balance.

“To trust you once will do no harm,” the Criminal Laureate said, this time without hesitation. It wasn’t that he fully believed Ji Wu’s words, but his own men were reaching their limit. With Liu Sanyuan’s tight defenses and the court’s armies closing in, he was only human, not an immortal. It sounded impressive to lead a group through the winding mountains, but only he knew the hardships. By now, many among his followers looked pale and weak, their discontent growing daily. Were it not so, he would not have risked coming here.

Whether this invitation was genuine or not, spring would reveal the truth.

“Excellent!” Ji Wu was overjoyed at the Criminal Laureate’s confirmation. “With your aid, sir, I am as a tiger with wings!”

The two continued their discussion on the little boat until nearly dawn, then parted ways.

...

Not long after autumn began, facing the court’s iron-clad defenses, the Criminal Laureate’s forces attempted several raids for provisions, but all ended in failure. Yet whenever his men sensed danger and retreated into the vast mountains, the court's troops found themselves at a loss, achieving little.

It seemed both sides were locked in stalemate. The Criminal Laureate desperately needed supplies; without them, they would soon starve in the mountains. Foraging wild fruit, digging roots, and stripping bark could only sustain them for so long. If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before morale collapsed and mutiny broke out.

Liu Sanyuan was suffering as well. He had indeed struck at the Criminal Laureate’s weakness—if they couldn’t seize enough food, the rebel force would eventually crumble. Yet the court’s attitude prevented him from proceeding steadily. The Criminal Laureate was not the only rebel, merely the most notorious and troublesome, so the court wanted him dealt with first.

Now, with the army encircling the mountains, if they couldn’t subdue the Criminal Laureate within a year, wouldn’t that imply incompetence? What would other ambitious traitors think? The pressure from the halls of power was suffocating, and despite the support of the Liu clan, he had to produce results to silence the doubters. His defensive approach, never venturing deep into the forests, would never yield any real accomplishments.

He had indeed targeted the rebel’s fatal weakness, but the Criminal Laureate gave him no chance to claim victory. It was not merely a contest between the two camps; the court’s additional pressure weighed heavily upon him.

As Liu Sanyuan cursed the useless officials at court and prepared to send elite soldiers into the forests to finally achieve something, a victory report was delivered to him.

On the tenth day of autumn, the Criminal Laureate covertly dispatched nearly a thousand troops to raid Baiyan Town. This place lay almost a hundred miles from the blockade, a modest settlement. The court’s forces were concentrated near the mountains and wealthier areas, leaving other places as bait, to be swiftly recaptured if attacked.

But since the rebels had been quiet for so long, Baiyan Town was caught completely unprepared, with almost no resistance. After the rebels plundered the town and prepared to retreat, a young hero happened to pass through, joined forces with several dozen government soldiers, and miraculously routed the thousand-strong rebel force, sending them fleeing in panic!

Over a hundred surrendered on their knees at the scene. Afterward, the youth, riding a Violet Lightning horse and wielding the Deep Spring sword, led the remaining soldiers in fierce pursuit, not only intercepting all stolen supplies before the rebels could vanish into the mountains, but also capturing several rebel leaders.

“Is this even humanly possible?” Liu Sanyuan read the battle report several times. A youth hero—could he be a martial arts grandmaster? With only a handful of soldiers, he blocked a thousand rebels? If those soldiers were truly so effective, where were they before the raid?

Fortunately, aside from the official report, there was a summary. It explained the youth was not yet twenty, possessed remarkable martial prowess, and before the current campaign against the Criminal Laureate, had already foiled one of his plots, saving a gift of auspicious beasts sent to the emperor from Xishan Commandery, for which he was rewarded with the Violet Lightning horse and Deep Spring sword...

This time, his decisive action was not only due to his own merit, but because he had a black bear as a bodyguard, whose brute strength was unmatched—none could withstand it in combat. The rebel force collapsed when the bear charged, and the survivors were terrified, unwilling to resist.

Liu Sanyuan, shrewd as he was, immediately understood the black bear was the real factor, but as it was not human, it was unsuitable for public acclaim. Since the bear obeyed the youth, the honor rightly belonged to him.

“Excellent, excellent, excellent!” he exclaimed. Just as he needed results, they arrived! All his doubts vanished; he was beaming with joy.

“Hurry—summon the young hero Ji Wu at once! I shall present this report to the court and offer him my congratulations!”