Supreme Emperor of Mist

"I'll leave everything back in the Qin-Zhou Medicine Store to you." Qin Lan kissed Hu Jia's forehead as he placed her on top of the royal carriage. Although she no longer seems as weak as before, it would still be an arduous journey for her to travel all the way back to Fuyun City.

"En..." Hu Jia hesitates. There seem to be some words she would like to say by looking at her facial expression. But after some consideration, Hu Jia decided that it would be better for her to keep it to her own.

'At this stage... I shouldn't contribute more to his problem.' thought Hu Jia.

And as her husband, how can Qin Lan be unaware of what is in her mind?

"You have something to talk to me, correct?" suddenly, Qin Lan whispered beside her ears. The way he executed it was both mysterious and sweet in the eyes of the bystander.

"How - How do you know?" Hu Jia lowered tucked her head a little lower as she tries to hide her embarrassment. She felt like a rabbit that got caught by the ears from slightly peeking out of her burrow.

"If I can't even notice something like this, am I still qualified to be your husband?" Qin Lan pinched the tip of her nose slightly as he speaks.

"Just do what you think is correct if it's regarding the matter between Zhou Mei and myself. I'll follow your arrangement no matter how it goes. But just promise me one thing..." roughly knowing what she had in her mind, Qin Lan continued to speak.

"Do not give up on cultivating. Take this time to try to comprehend what you've learned so far. When I come back, we might follow brother Sun to the Royal Capital. There's a treasure over there that helps to restore your cultivation." said Qin Lan.

"En! I won't give up. I'm willing to let go of everything, but not you. Not my cultivation. Not my family. Leave everything to me." Hu Jia said.

"Good. Then I'll leave everything in your hand." Qin Lan said.

"Oh, by the way... Take a drop of the tonic from this medicinal bottle daily." Qin Lan placed a bottle made from garnet material into Hu Jia's hand.

"Make sure you remember to take it. It will keep your body in top condition even if you're not cultivating. If there's nothing else, then be on your way. We'll be coming back as well after a few more days." he finally willing to let Hu Jia left after finish saying what he wanted to say.

"Sister-In-Law, I'll rely on you to make sure she's safe on her way back to Fuyun City." Qin Lan cupped his hand as he addressed Li Dan as his in-law. That way, it also means he's more than happy to bless the relationship between Shan Xiong Xin and her.

"Ah! I love hearing this! Leave it to me. With me, Li Dan, here guarding the return convoy, there won't be a problem at all!" she said.

"Be on your way!" Expert Shun ordered.

"Third brother... We'll leave first." Qin Qin and Qin Huang said as they followed Hu Jia's carriage on horseback.

"En. Be careful along the way. Make sure you help Hu Jia settle down before returning to the Qin Estate." Qin Lan nodded.

After the convoy pulling the remaining convicts they capture around here left, the atmosphere changed. The smiling expression earlier all changed as they prepared to march towards the Ten Miles Plain.

"Brother Qin. Based on what both expert Shun and Xie said, I believe that the possibility of Hushan Bandits trying to catch us unaware of their path is much greater." Shan Xiong Xin said.

"If that the case, we'll teach them a lesson for underestimating the subjugation force." Qin Lan said.

"Haha, I've been waiting for this word from you for too long." Shan Xiong Xin added. Turning his head over to the men he had brought here a day ago, Shan Xiong Xin howled.

"Are all of you ready?"

"YES! SIR!" their reply came like a thunderclap. Even the soldiers under the three experts were shocked by their response. Unexpected by all of them, every single troop led by Shan Xiong Xin was an eighth-level or ninth-level Flesh Refining cultivator!

They're the same quality of soldiers following Sun Wu Jian's vanguard convoy!

'Where... Where did his highness found so many peaks Flesh Refining experts?' some of them trembled in excitement as they're able to witness an exciting battle soon.

"Soldiers of his highness, the ninth prince of Wu, Sun Wu Jian, listen to your order!" Shan Xiong Xin said as he pulled out a token from the pocket around his chest. There were three tassels on the bottom of the engraving plate.

"Two silver tassels and one gold tassels... That's the Vice Commander token!" all the soldiers reporting under the three experts kneeled, including the three experts. Only Qin Lan was acting indifferent about it.

"We're ready for the Vice Commander's instruction!" they replied. In the loudness of their reply alone, it was not losing to Shan Xiong Xin's 180 elite soldiers.

"Expert Yi, Expert Shun, and Expert Xie. Each of you will lead two hundred soldiers as you depart from this checkpoint. Please control the traffic of the checkpoint until you've been told to proceed."

As for the remaining three hundred soldiers, you'll be reporting under my brother Qin as our leading force. My elite force will proceed as usual towards his highness position." Shan Xiong Xin said.

"Is this arrangement viable, commander?" after giving out all his instructions to the soldiers present, Shan Xiong Xin's following word made them feeling baffled.

"Co... Commander?" the three hundred soldiers that were assigned last was a little disappointed by Shan Xiong Xin's arrangement at first. To be put on Qin Lan's foot soldiers were likely means they're going to be excluded from the battle.

But then, Shan Xiong Xin's following word made them curious.

'Why would the vice commander addressed the alchemist this way?' they asked themselves.

Calmly, Qin Lan tapped the Purple-Dragon Spatial Jade on his waist.

A piece of token identical to Shan Xiong Xin's appeared in his hand. Instead of two silver tassels, it was two golden tassels and one silver. This means Qin Lan's position in this subjugation force wasn't just a mere alchemist but a commander like Huang Ping.

"We've paid respect to the commander of the ninth prince's army!" everyone lowered their head, including Shan Xiong Xin, his 180 elite soldiers, and those from Qin Faction.

"The three experts shall follow the vice commander's instruction until the main force reaches your respective checkpoints. From there, we will follow behind and launch a grand scale attack towards the remnants of Hushan Bandits if they're still camping between the Ten Miles Plain and Ninth Milestone."

"Shan Xiong Xin. Upon contact with his highness, launch all your available flare signals. Use red flares if you spotted the Hushan Bandits on your way and Green if the path is clear." Qin Lan ordered. Without Hu Jia by his side, there's no need for him to maintain a good husband's appearance.

Because like Sun Wu Jian, he's also a ruthless individual when it comes to the fight for power. In front of power and rights, lives were nothing but mere dolls made from straws and grasses. Only the courageous, strong, and brave may survive through this law of the jungle that passed down since the primordial age.

"If there's no question... Prepare to depart!" Qin Lan said. Qin Chan also came from behind as she placed a red cloak around Qin Lan's shoulder.

"YES, SIR!" they replied.

Shan Xiong Xin's elite soldiers were the first to depart after ten minutes of repositioning. It was followed by Expert Yi, Expert Xie, and Expert Shun. They were tasked with securing the checkpoint of the seventh, eighth, and ninth milestones while waiting for Qin Lan's main army to arrive.

Thirty minutes later, Qin Lan's army of close to 350 people finally departed. Each of them was given a set of specific equipment that used to be available only to Sun Wu Jian's vanguard soldiers.

"Listen to my instruction carefully!"

"When I order everyone to join the battle, you'll activate this talisman attached to your body. Everyone will be issued with three Flesh Mending Pills to recover their wounds during the start of the battle. As for this last pill here, take it right now, and we'll depart." said Qin Lan.

**Wooooo...**

A horn is blown as the battle started to get closer to the climax.

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"All of you! Get ready for battle!" Wang Xun shouted as he gathered all the remaining soldiers before him. Standing behind him is a cultivator that had his face wrapped like a mummy.

"Senior brother... Are you sure you don't need to rest?" Sun Wu Jian asked.

"I - I'm... Fine..." Huang Ping struggles to reply. Right now, he's only capable of executing the strength around fifth to sixth-level of Flesh Refining cultivator at most. But that did not destroy his confidence as Huang Ping feel much more collected as he strategized the battle plan together with Sun Wu Jian.

"Good. Then let's make sure we caught that Lang Xue unaware as we try to capture all of them right where they are. By controlling this entire region also means we're getting the right to access to all the resources the Hushan Bandits have."

"Only through this way can I obtain more chips to fight against my two other royal brothers in this race for the position of the crown prince!" Sun Wu Jian destroyed the teacup in his hand as he tightened his grip.