Yan Feng even felt that perhaps because he had earned plenty of silver this year and prepared ample sacrificial offerings, the ancestors were pleased and had blessed them with this opportunity.
It would not be an exaggeration to say this completely changed their fates.
Following the princess meant they could eat their fill, earn silver, and even wait passively for their enemies like sitting by a tree stump for rabbits. They could exact revenge openly and honorably—one stroke, three gains, a heavenly opportunity.
Yan Feng patted his chest, standing ramrod straight. “The sacrificial rites end at the hour of the rooster. Your Highness, come and grab them at will.”
Chu Yunge found Yan Feng’s demeanor adorable. “Good, then we have a deal on the time and place. This princess will arrive right on time to snatch them.”
She pondered for a moment. “As for the numbers, let’s tentatively set it at a hundred for now. Of course, the more the better—this princess can afford to keep them all.”
“Then this subordinate will observe carefully today and gather all those who meet the standards together. That way, Your Highness can grab some and simply select them on the spot without needing to rush around.”
It was also a chance to screen them, preventing any ill-intentioned individuals from sneaking in.
Chu Yunge was nearly moved. Yan Feng was the first to worry that she might tire herself out by forcibly taking common men, considering things so thoughtfully for her.
“That is perfect. Yan Feng, you have thought this through very thoroughly.”
Wasn’t this essentially a beauty contest in disguise?
Just thinking about the testosterone surging made her excited. What a great day this was—handling serious business while enjoying such perks.
The Yan people were skilled in martial arts, so their abs and physiques were probably impressive. Hormones bursting from abs, pecs, and biceps would soon surge toward her. The netizens no longer needed to worry about her lacking handsome men or abs, or about her insomnia.
Chu Yunge reined in her wandering thoughts in time. “If we use the pretext of face boys, will they mind?”
Yan Feng said solemnly, “No, this subordinate thanks Your Highness for giving the Yan people this chance. A place like this is so good—coming here is their fortune.”
His words sounded like flattery, but Yan Feng’s face was full of sincerity. He truly believed it, making Chu Yunge laugh.
“Then it’s a mutual pursuit.” Chu Yunge instructed,
“Not everyone has to be highly skilled in martial arts. Those with crafts or talents are fine too—even unorthodox skills like poison or disguise techniques are acceptable.”
“Age can be flexible as well. Older is fine, and even thirteen- or fourteen-year-olds are okay. Just say this princess likes all types.”
She wanted to recruit people, not just guards but other talents as well. This was a perfect way to mislead others.
Yan Feng paused briefly before agreeing. “Yes.” This would bring even more people.
Those half-grown kids of thirteen or fourteen were at the age where their bodies were developing. At that age, they had all gone hungry—he had too. Back then, he had been so starved that he not only chewed tree bark but even gnawed his wooden pillow in his sleep. Being selected would be their fortune.
“The princess is righteous.” He would definitely pick carefully, choosing capable ones and avoiding rice buckets who could only eat.
“Hardly—everyone gets what they need.”
Chu Yunge waved her hand. But having spoken this far, she wanted to learn more about the situation and her future employees, so she asked a couple more questions.
When it came to the sacrificial rites, Yan Feng bowed. “We must also thank the Chu State imperial family for giving the Yan people a place to lay their bones. In the future, when this subordinate dies, he will be buried there too.”
Chu Yunge frowned. “Your life is just beginning—why talk about where you’ll be buried now?”
Flipping through the princess’s memories, she recalled those about the Yan people’s Blood Graves. Once, Zhao State people had gone to destroy the Yan people’s Effigy Tombs. The tomb guardians defended them to the death. Even after more than a decade, the white-bone warriors still clutched their long sabers, kneeling rigidly in vigilance. Exposed to wind and sun, they maintained their guarding posture, protecting the Yan people’s remains.
And this was merely the tip of the iceberg compared to the slaughter in Yan State’s capital, Snow City.
“Yan Feng, have you been to Snow City? Do all of you yearn for it?”
“Yes, every Yan person wants to return to their homeland, to Snow City.” Yan Feng shook his head. “But everyone is also very cautious, not daring to disturb the ancestors’ peace. Some are even afraid. Still, as Yan people, if there’s a chance in this lifetime, we hope to go to Snow City to pay respects on the sixth day of the fifth month.”
The sixth day of the fifth month was not only the day Yan State fell but also the day the Yan people suffered calamity. Back then, Zhao State breached Snow City. Because the Yan people resisted to the death, the city was massacred. Zhao State pillaged, burned, and killed for three days and nights, slaughtering all Yan people before fully occupying Snow City.
But as Zhao State celebrated, ghosts haunted the place nonstop. People died mysteriously one after another, strange events abounded, and no one dared live there. Even when they forced people to move in later, none survived.
Everyone said it was the Yan people’s ghosts at work. Later, the Zhao people were too scared to go, and it became an empty city.
Only Yan people could hide and survive inside.
Rumors spread across the world, saying Zhao State had reaped what it sowed. They had conquered the once most prosperous and coveted Snow City, yet couldn’t hold it, making it the thorniest problem for a time.
It also turned Zhao State’s supposed heavenly mandate to unify the world into a joke.
Perhaps because Chu Yunge’s gaze was too gentle, and she showed interest in learning more, Yan Feng—who had no one to confide in daily—spoke of Yan State’s past.
“Snow City became a sore spot in the Zhao State imperial family’s heart. They refused to believe in ghosts, convinced it was all the Yan people’s doing. Added to that, the Yan people hadn’t given up on restoring their country. In the end, the Zhao State emperor flew into a thorough rage.”
“They waited for the Yan people scattered across various places to gather at Snow City on the sixth day of the fifth month for worship, then exterminated them all. They massacred the city again during the rites to wash away past humiliation and warn the world: those who oppose Zhao perish.”
Yan Feng took a deep breath. “Another three days and nights of slaughter, wiping out two-thirds of the Yan people and nearly exterminating the race.”
“The once most prosperous and coveted Snow City became a living hell.”
“Just as the massacre ended, the sky shifted, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and a violent rain laced with bolts fell for three days and nights.”
Yan Feng’s eyes were already red by this point. “When the rain finally stopped, not a soul remained alive in the city. All the Zhao State people who took part in the slaughter had been struck by lightning—no one escaped.”
“It was true heavenly thunderbolt punishment. They were like charred coal, skin split open and flesh torn, their outer layers cooked.”
“The Zhao State people who went in to check all went mad.”
Yan Feng took another deep breath. “Later, snow flew in Snow City in the sixth month, and the entire city was frozen in ice.”
“What Zhao State did shook the world. Heaven has eyes. That year, Zhao State suffered a great drought, followed by three years of frequent disasters. The imperial family came down with strange illnesses, and the generals who led the initial massacre died gruesome deaths one after another.”
“The Zhao State people, refusing to believe, went to Snow City again, but none returned alive.”
“Seeing that the Zhao State imperial family was about to collapse, plus opposition and accusations from Chu State and Chen State, in the end, the Zhao State emperor personally went to Snow City to offer sacrifices. He issued a decree of self-admonition, vowing no more massacres, and only then did Zhao State’s heavenly disasters stop.”
Zhao State bowed its head, but Snow City had become a dead city, an empty shell.
No matter how Zhao State was reviled, Yan State was gone.
Facing a remnant of Yan State, Chu Yunge could only console him. “Yan Feng, the Yan people’s spirit will be passed down generation after generation, their heroic souls unyielding. So don’t be pessimistic—the Yan people won’t go extinct. Their spirit and soul endure forever.”
Yan Feng was stunned for a moment. He clenched his right fist, lightly tapped his Forehead Band with the back of his hand, leaned forward slightly with a bent waist, and performed a Yan person salute. “Yan Feng thanks Your Highness.”
“I will inform all the Yan people of Your Highness’s words today, to comfort the currently despairing and anxious Yan people and to appease the spirits of the Yan people in the heavens.”