The Rebirth Of The General Who Always Sees Himself As A Replacement

Chapter 68: Here, I Brought Water For You.

“Why not make him kowtow to you, Lord Pei?”

As soon as Huo Xin’s words fell, several Capital Prefecture guards couldn’t restrain themselves from grabbing the hilts of their swords on their waists. They all knew how humiliating it would be for Pei Hantang to kowtow1 in front of everyone.

Pei Yu never thought Huo Xin would be so pushy: “Lord Huo?! You!!!”

Although Huo Xin’s voice had a displeased tone, he poured all his might into every sentence. His voice sounded so strong that no one dared to interrupt him: “Lord Pei, your son is so arrogant and disobedient in front of his elders. He is haughty, impolite, insolent, and disrespectful. If he is not properly disciplined, will he continue to have respect for his elders in the future? If he really regrets his past wrongdoings, then he should kowtow to apologize. What’s wrong with what I say?”

At the same time Huo Xin spoke, the Imperial Guard, who had kicked Pei Hantang to the ground, reached out to firmly grasp the back of Pei Hantang’s neck, forcing him to press his head against the ground.

Pei Hantang, for his part, found it impossible to resist and stand up, due to the fact that his arm was paralyzed. Therefore, when his neck was pushed so abruptly, his body leaned forward unsteadily, as his elbows and then palms violently collided with the ground.

Pei Hantang’s veins bulged suddenly and violently, his eyes became bloodshot. He fiercely clenched his teeth, clenching so hard that he could almost taste the blood in his mouth. His entire body was tense and trembling with pain, due to the fact that he was using all his might to resist being pushed down. No matter what, Pei Hantang refused to lower his head.

However, the Imperial Guard of the Jail Department wasn’t lenient in the slightest, and he was quite powerful as well. Although Pei Hantang tried his best to resist, his head was still pinned down a certain amount.

The night was moonless, the wind blew strongly2, and the Capital Prefectural Guards had slightly unsheathed their swords, ready to attack. Wen Heyin tried to approach again, but Mu Zhiming stopped him in time.

Wen Heyin: “Young Master!”

Mu Zhiming: “I’ll go.”

Wen Heyin: “You don’t know martial arts, what’s the use of going there?”

Mu Zhiming: “Although I can’t beat Huo Xin, I can talk to him. Isn’t he insisting on etiquette? It’s alright, don’t worry, I’ll talk to him.”

After saying that, Mu Zhiming moved forward a few steps. However, Mu Zhiming stopped abruptly, standing still and frozen in place.

The strong breeze scattered the clouds around the bright moon, bringing some light into the dark night. At that instant, white clothes rose into the air, and black boots touched the ground. Then, the hand of the Imperial Guard of the Jail Department, which pressed Pei Hantang’s neck down, could no longer move.

Someone had grabbed the wrist of the Imperial Guard of the Jail Department. Due to the pain, the Imperial Guard couldn’t help, but loosen up his grip on Pei Hantang’s neck. When the Imperial Guard turned his head to check who had dared touch him, he found a handsome young man, with eyes as bright as stars and swords-like eyebrows, standing in front of him with a frown on his face.

The young man’s gaze hid a murderous intent and bloodthirst. However, this emotion was so well concealed that the Imperial Guard was unable to grasp it right away. On the contrary, the Imperial Guard said with a deep voice: “Go aw-….”

Before the Imperial Guard could finish speaking, the young man suddenly released him and stopped squeezing his wrist.

However, right the next instant, the young man’s palm moved as agile as a sword, aiming towards the Imperial Guard’s neck. Although the Imperial Guard reacted on the spot, raising his arm to block the attack, the young man was much faster than him. In a flash, the young man’s palm became like a sharp claw that dug into the Imperial Guard’s right shoulder, twisting it mercilessly. Like a knife slicing through tofu, the young man roughly dislocated the Imperial Guard’s arm. 

“AAHH—!!!” As he half-knelt on the ground, the Imperial Guard’s scream roared to the sky. With his other hand covering his dislocated arm, the Imperial Guard’s forehead had become drenched in cold sweat from the endless amount of pain he felt. 

Without giving the Imperial Guard any chance to catch his breath, the young man hit the Imperial Guard with a palm strike, knocking him unconscious.

Everyone present didn’t even have the time to react. They only reacted when they saw the Imperial Guard of the Jail Department fall to the ground.

At that moment, the young man raised his eyes and coldly looked at Huo Xin, who was still mounted on his horse not far away.

Through the moonlight, Huo Xin was able to see who that young man was, and with that realization, a shocking wave was unleashed within him. However, Huo Xin was so shrewd and ruthless that none of this was reflected on his face. With a loud voice, he said: “General Gu, do you really want to get involved in these muddy waters?”

Gu Heyan didn’t respond. Instead, he withdrew his gaze. Gu Heyan then proceeded to pick up Pei Hantang, who was still kneeling on the ground supported by one hand, and threw him into Wen Heyin’s arms: “Hold him.”

Then, Gu Heyan turned to look at Mu Zhiming, walked towards him, and handed him something.

“Hmm?” Mu Zhiming, confused, took what he had been given. When he looked down to see what it was, he realized it was a water bag.

Mu Zhiming: “Huh?”

‘Why did he give me a water bag? Does he want me to hold it for him?’

Mu Zhiming, who had been crying for a long time, had a dry mouth and an itchy throat. Therefore, when he saw the bag full of water, Mu Zhiming unconsciously licked his lips and wondered to himself whether he could take a sip. However, as soon as he thought of that, Mu Zhiming felt embarrassed: ‘No, no, no. How could you think that? How could I drink Heyan’s water? I must give it back intact.’

When Mu Zhiming looked up again, he found that Gu Heyan was no longer in front of him.

Gu Heyan had walked back towards the fainted Imperial Guard of the Jail Department, and calmly looked at Huo Xin.

After a prolonged silence, Huo Xin took the initiative to speak. Still mounted on his horse, filled with a condescending amount of arrogance, Huo Xin said in a calm, but powerful voice: “General Gu has attacked and injured one of my Jail Department Guards. This is not appropriate—”

However, before Huo Xin could finish speaking, Gu Heyan suddenly picked up the fainted Imperial Guard and threw him towards Huo Xin, making him collide with Huo Xin’s black horse. The black horse was startled by the sudden impact, as it began to neigh and kick with its front hooves, causing Huo Xin to almost fall to the ground. Huo Xin pulled on the reins, but it took a lengthy amount of effort to calm the horse down. Huo Xin then looked angrily at Gu Heyan and said: “General Gu! You….!”

Before Huo Xin could finish what he was about to say, he abruptly shut up.

This because Gu Heyan’s gaze reflected a murderous intent and bloodthirstiness. That gaze turned Huo Xin’s blood cold and caused a chill to run down his back.

At that moment, Huo Xin suddenly realized something important.

The man standing right in front of him has killed decisively on the battlefield, with tens of thousands of barbarians having been slaughtered on the border. The Commander-in-Chief of the Rong Yan Army, who dared to tear apart a mountain of corpses and pierce through a sea of blood. He was none other than General Yulin of the Great Jin Dynasty.

The fierce aura that surrounded his flesh and iron bones could even make the Ghosts of the Underworld close their eyes, keeping silent.

The vast sky was clear of dust and clouds, making the bright moon hang high up in the sky. There, Gu Heyan stood on the stone road in front of the dozens of Jail Department Guards with no fear at all. With a frown, Gu Heyan looked at Huo Xin and asked coldly: “Who gave you the permission to speak to me on horseback?”

Huo Xin: “…..”

Although he was facing Gu Heyan, Huo Xin was also no ordinary person. Despite being frightened, Huo Xin’s face still reflected calmness: “I apologize, General Gu, I was impolite.” Huo Xin then turned around and dismounted from his horse. As soon as Huo Xin dismounted, the rest of the Imperial Guards of the Jail Department on horseback followed along and dismounted as well.

Huo Xin looked at Gu Heyan with clenched fists. Right when he was about to speak, someone suddenly spoke up: “Lord Huo, just by dismounting do you think you already have the right to speak to General Gu?”

Huo Xin, startled by the sudden interruption, looked back.

Although his figure was hidden amongst the Capital Prefectural Guards, Mu Zhiming’s temperament was so righteous, honest and completely devoid of any filth, that it was easy to find him at a single glance.

Although Mu Zhiming was still afraid of Huo Xin due to his past life experiences and nightmares, Mu Zhiming still had something he wanted to defend above everything in this life. Therefore, he forgot about the fear for a moment and managed to say: “There are rules in the Great Jin Dynasty’s Imperial Court. When Military Officers below the third rank meet a Great General, they must perform the kneeling ceremony. Even if your men don’t know the etiquette, how can you not know about it?”

Huo Xin stayed in complete silence for what seemed a long while, but then he looked back with a serious expression and shouted: “Kneel down!!!”

In an instant, the Imperial Guards of the Jail Department knelt down on one knee, bowed their heads, and clasped their fists in unison.

On the other side, upon hearing Mu Zhiming’s words, Pei Yu hurried to gesture at the Capital Prefectural Guards. At that moment, the Capital Prefectural Guards also knelt down with clasped fists in unison.

Huo Xin took a deep breath, clasped his fist, and slowly knelt down in a curtsy: “I pay my respects to the General.”

Footnotes

磕头 kē tóu; Used to express a high degree of loyalty and respect, kowtow is a traditional ceremony and form of etiquette in East Asia, which originated in China. The person performing this ceremony will kneel on the ground, press their hands on the ground, and lower their bodies low enough to touch the ground with their foreheads. This ritual was originally used for Humans to apologize to the Gods and Buddhas, but was later used for children to show respect to parents and ancestors, show respect before the Emperor, or when they made serious mistakes (in this case, the one performing kowtow may hit the ground with his head repeatedly). Confucian philosophy maintained that respect was of utmost importance to a society, so bowing became an important ritual.月黑风高 yuè hēi fēng gāo; ‘A windy night without moonlight’, is a metaphor for a dangerous environment. From《拊掌录》by and unknown author from the Yuan Dynasty [1279-1368].