Chapter 3

"Deep mountains?"

At this moment, Zhao Chen stood in front of Li Er, surrounded by fully armored Tang soldiers. Li Er, after hearing the words of the young officer, looked at Zhao Chen with great curiosity and spoke with interest.

"Yes!" Zhao Chen wiped a cold sweat and answered cautiously. As he spoke, he couldn't help but take a step back.

Too terrifying! At this moment, Li Er was like a tyrannosaurus rex in a rage, having been extorted by the Turks until the treasury was empty. His heart must be filled with brutality. Didn't you see how Fang Xuanling and others were hiding far away?

What virtue or ability did I have to stand in front of this raging tyrannosaurus rex, bearing the wrath of this tyrannosaurus rex, who might swallow me whole and leave not even a bone fragment!

"Hey, such talk might fool someone like Cheng Chumu, but you dare to come and fool me!" Li Er's face turned cold in an instant, and he said with a cold smile, "Come on! Take him away and behead him!"

Beheaded? Hearing this, Zhao Chen raised his head in surprise, looking at Li Er's expressionless face with disbelief, as if he suspected he had heard wrong.

What the hell, beheaded? Do you think my head is a carrot or something, to be cut off so easily? Even if you are Li Er, you can't do that!

Cheng Chumu, who had brought Zhao Chen down from the mountain, also looked up in surprise upon hearing Li Er's order. Seeing Li Er's expressionless face, which didn't seem like a joke, he had no choice but to bow and agree, then slowly came over to grab Zhao Chen's arms and pull him away.

"Master! Isn't it good for your disciple to stay in the mountains? You old man had to trick me out of the mountains, saying that a wise ruler had appeared and a prosperous era was about to come. But now, I'm going to be beheaded, Master... wail wail wail wail..."

With his arms firmly held by Cheng Chumu, Zhao Chen struggled a few times but couldn't break free. He had no choice but to resort to the next best thing, opening his mouth and wailing loudly, hoping that flattery would make Li Er change his mind.

Unfortunately, the idea was good, but reality was cruel!

While Zhao Chen was wailing, Li Er seemed to ignore him completely, lowering his head to fiddle with the telescope he had just taken from Zhao Chen. It seemed that the telescope in his hand was more interesting to him than Zhao Chen's life.

So cold-blooded, truly the Li Shimin who could kill his brothers without hesitation in the Xuanwu Gate Incident!

Seeing that wailing was useless, Zhao Chen could only turn his pleading gaze to Fang Xuanling and the others. Especially Fang Xuanling, a great prime minister! How could he stand by and watch such a tragic event unfold?

Unfortunately, Zhao Chen was disappointed again! The great prime minister he saw in his eyes was now stroking his beard and smiling, looking at this scene with evident pleasure, as if he was very happy to see Zhao Chen's head fall.

All lies! What wise rulers of old! What great prime ministers! They were all used to deceive future generations. Look at their cold-blooded, ruthless appearance, like bloodthirsty madmen!

If I had known this would be the outcome, why would I have come out of the jungle!

Thinking of the great efforts and difficulties he had endured to come out of the forest, and now he was about to die at the hands of Li Er, the tyrannosaurus rex!

The more Zhao Chen thought, the more sad he became, and finally, he couldn't hold back and really started to wail, with tears streaming down his face, overwhelmed with sorrow!

Cheng Chumu, dragging the wailing Zhao Chen, slowly brought him to within a few dozen steps of Li Er, then slowly pushed him down, slowly drew his saber, and repeatedly looked back at Li Er. Seeing that the emperor showed no sign of changing his mind, he could only sigh and raise his steel saber.

"Wait, I have something to say!" Just as the steel saber was about to fall, Zhao Chen suddenly stopped crying and shouted.

Flattery didn't work! Throwing a tantrum didn't work! The only thing left was to appeal to his interests!

Zhao Chen's voice made Cheng Chumu's saber, which was about to fall, stop abruptly at Zhao Chen's neck, his eyes full of expectation as he looked at the emperor.

"Your Majesty, this fellow has something to say..."

"Even at the point of death, what more can he say?" Li Er, who had been fiddling with the telescope, finally looked up, first giving Cheng Chumu a sharp glare, then looking at Zhao Chen with interest, and slowly said, "Well, let's hear what he has to say. If it's not good, behead him!"

What the hell, the feudal society is inhumane!

"I know there is a gold mine in the mountains. If you don't kill me, I can lead you there!" Zhao Chen wiped a cold sweat, though he was seething with anger, his life was more important, so he had to use the gold mine to save himself.

I don't believe that with your treasury empty, a gold mine won't move your heart!

As soon as Zhao Chen said this, the surroundings fell into an eerie silence. Zhao Chen could clearly see that Fang Xuanling, who had been stroking his beard and smiling, suddenly pulled out a small tuft of his beard upon hearing his words.

"Boy, if you dare to make fun of me with this, I might really behead you!" Li Er, hearing this, frowned and looked at Zhao Chen with a sharp gaze, then spoke word by word after a moment.

Pfft, as if it was a joke just now... Uh, really beheaded? Was it really a joke just now?

Thinking this, Zhao Chen suddenly looked up at Li Er and Fang Xuanling, and recalling Fang Xuanling's smiling face just now, he suddenly felt as if he had two long donkey ears growing on his head.

What kind of world is this! Using beheading as a joke, do I know you that well? The tears that Zhao Chen had just held back couldn't help but flow down again.

"Smack!" A heavy slap on the back of his head from Li Er made Zhao Chen stagger, his head buzzing. He heard Li Er's cold voice above him.

"What is this thing?"

"Telescope!" Zhao Chen, hearing this, wiped a tear and answered unhappily.

"What?" Li Er's tone was already tinged with dissatisfaction.

Zhao Chen, frightened, quickly suppressed his dissatisfaction and, with a fawning smile, explained to Li Er, "Your Majesty, this telescope can see things that are far away and hard to see with the naked eye. Through this telescope, they become very clear..."

"千里眼?" (千里眼 means "千里眼" which translates to "千里眼" in English, but it is a term for someone with exceptional vision, so it can be translated as "千里眼" or "千里眼". For the sake of clarity, I will translate it as "千里眼".)

Zhao Chen's words immediately piqued Li Er's intense interest. As he spoke, he already raised the telescope.

An emperor is an emperor. Standing there casually, holding the telescope in both hands, the aura of a king who stands above all others was immediately evident.

Of course, if the telescope were held correctly, the aura would be even more majestic and imposing!

"Your Majesty... you're holding it upside down!" Zhao Chen swallowed carefully and, before Li Er could get angry, quickly and cautiously reminded him.

"Hmph!" Li Er, who was about to get angry, heard Zhao Chen's cautious reminder and immediately gave a cold snort, turned the telescope around, and put it back to his eyes, looking towards the Turkish camp.

Indeed, the previously blurry scene suddenly became crystal clear. Li Er, not believing his eyes, put down the telescope, paused, and then raised it again, repeating this several times before finally nodding in satisfaction.

Standing here and looking at the Turkish camp, he could only see a general outline. Now, through the telescope, everything was exceptionally clear. Li Er could even see Changsun Wuji negotiating with Jiali and Tuli, though he couldn't hear what they were saying. However, seeing Jiali's smug and triumphant face, he could easily understand.

What a disgrace! Li Er, looking at Jiali's smug and ugly face, gritted his teeth in anger. This disgrace would one day be washed away with Jiali's head!

Seeing Li Er's changing expression, Zhao Chen could easily understand the anger in his heart. To avoid being caught in the crossfire, Zhao Chen quietly stepped back before Li Er could act.

He really couldn't stay by Li Er, the tyrannosaurus rex!

"Smack!" Another heavy slap on the head made Zhao Chen's anger flare up. He thought, "Is my head a gong or something? Why does everyone want to hit it, and so hard!"

One slap from Li Er was understandable, after all, he was a great emperor!

"Boy, is the gold mine real?" Before Zhao Chen could vent his anger, a cold and sinister voice came from behind.

"Who's there?" Zhao Chen, holding his head, turned curiously. Seeing the person behind him in metal armor, wearing a gold-plated helmet, his eyes widened, and his gaze sparkled with countless stars.

Li Jing! This must be Li Jing!

Heaven, this is the great military god! Look at those eyes, like lightning, full of brilliance, with a penetrating gaze. Just one look can see through a person.

"May I ask, are you General Li Jing?" Zhao Chen, with a look of admiration, gazed at the valiant general in armor, his voice trembling.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Zhao Chen spoke, the surroundings fell into an eerie silence, and everyone looked at him as if he were a grunting pig.

"Grunt!" Cheng Chumu, who was with Zhao Chen, blinked in surprise for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh, but quickly stifled his laughter when he met Li Ji's cold gaze.

Did I guess wrong? Zhao Chen, seeing the expressions of those around him, muttered to himself, and quickly recalled the participants of the Weishui Alliance. The next moment, a name flashed in his mind—Li Ji.

Heaven, I can't live anymore!

Guessing wrong was one thing, but to look at someone with such admiration, wasn't that just asking for death?

"Go back!" That's why Li Er is a great emperor! Just as Li Ji's gaze grew colder and Zhao Chen was trembling, Li Er's timely words made Zhao Chen feel as if he had been granted a reprieve, and he immediately ran to Li Er's side.

"Good thing!" Li Er waved the telescope in his hand as he walked.

"Your Majesty, if you like it, I'll give you the telescope!" Having been saved by Li Er, Zhao Chen immediately returned the favor, generously giving the telescope to Li Er.

"Hmph!" Li Er, hearing this, immediately gave a cold snort, mounted a horse led by a eunuch, and rode away without looking back.

Look at that, a great emperor! Even as a bandit, he can be so majestic and imposing! Zhao Chen, looking at Li Er's back, had a look of admiration.

"You're something!" Cheng Chumu, beside Zhao Chen, bared his teeth and couldn't help but give a thumbs up, saying with a gloating tone.

"Ha ha!" Zhao Chen, seeing this, gave an awkward laugh, then, remembering that Cheng Chumu had just saved his life, immediately gave a graceful bow, "Thank you, Brother Cheng!"

"Where, where! It was just a small effort!" Cheng Chumu, thumped his chest, looking extremely generous.

"Cheng Chumu, go back and take twenty lashes!"

However, before the two could share a moment of mutual admiration, Li Er's cold voice came from the front. Hearing Li Er's voice, the two looked at each other, and both let out a sigh of despair.