A Clash of Gods - Chapter 40
Chapter 40 The Black Scale Camp
Duan Canghai was stunned, as if he was surprised by Yang Ning who could even give such a literary speech. Then he shook his head and said, “Your Excellency, you misunderstand me. I have nothing to blame even if I am stabbed, let alone kicked by others.” He sat down slowly and looked up at the dark sky, muttering, “I am just missing the general. The general shouldn’t… He shouldn’t pass away like this. He is the best hero I have ever known. The God shouldn’t be so unfair…” When he spoke of this, tears ran down from his cheeks.
Yang Ning knew that men didn’t easily shed tears. Duan Canghai was a tough man. Such a person would never shed a tear unless he was heartbroken.
Duan Canghai, Qi Feng and other men were obviously overwhelmed by grief because of the death of the Marquis of Honor Qi Jing. It could also show that the Marquis of Honor indeed had unparalleled prestige in the hearts of these people.
Yang Ning knew very little about the Mansion of the Marquis of Honor. If he really wanted to muddle through in this mansion, he must get relevant information as much as possible. At this time, Duan Canghai was half drunk and half awake. If he could get some news from Duan Canghai, it would do him the world of good. He reached out his hand and patted Duan Canghai’s arm gently to offer his comfort.
Duan Canghai looked at Yang Ning and said, “Your Excellency, you…you are quite different today!”
Yang Ning felt nervous, but his face did not change color. He asked, “Why…why am I different?”
“Your Excellency, you used to…” Duan Canghai hesitated for a while and shook his head, “Maybe the general’s soul has blessed you. Your Excellency, you escaped the danger safely, and now you…you are sensible. If the general knows these things, he must be very happy.”
Yang Ning smiled, knowing that his performance in the mourning hall today surprised these people.
“My father… What happened to my father?” Yang Ning thought for a moment before asking, “Why did he pass away?”
Duan Canghai looked sad, and sighed, “I asked other people just now. The general was caught by a seizure of his old wound and was gone suddenly.”
“Old wound?”
Duan Canghai said, “For many years, the general has been guarding the frontline. The frontline of the Huaishui River is harassed by the people of the Northern Han State almost every year. Although both sides didn’t fight a big war before the Huaishui Battle, small conflicts and fights have never stopped.” He paused for a moment, looked at Yang Ning, and shook his head, “Well, Your Excellency, you may not like to listen to this, I’d better not be so wordy.”
“Who says that I don’t like this?” Yang Ning smiled and said, “Duan… Uncle Duan, I suddenly want to know the stories of my father. You can just tell me what you know.”
Duan Canghai showed a look of surprise, and said, “Your Excellency, you had no interest in the stories of the general in the past. Why are you in a good mood today?”
“The situation has changed,” Yang Ning sighed, and pretended to be sad, “Father is gone. I…I want to know more about him.”
Duan Canghai slightly nodded his head. He thought that the death of Qi Jing was also a great stimulus to the earl, so he was quite relieved, saying, “Your Excellency, you must know that the title of the Marquis of Honor is handed down from the old marquis. At that time, old marquis was the first general of the Southern Chu State, and he followed the King to fight enemies in the battlefield, winning the sovereignty over rivers and mountains of our state.”
Yang Ning thought that the title of the Marquis of Honor was handed down. The old marquis, of course, was the father of Qi Jing and the grandpa of the real earl.
“Old marquis crossed the Huaishui River and conquered Runan Prefecture and Shouchun Prefecture…” Duan Canghai paused, thinking that the earl wouldn’t understand the names of these places even if he told him, so he simply said, “Old marquis conquered two prefectures of the Northern Han State like a sharp knife. Since then, people in the Northern Han State have been thinking about taking these prefectures back day and night, but they just can’t succeed.”
“It seems that…my grandpa is very good at fighting.” Yang Ning said.
Duan Canghai showed awe on his face, saying, “Of course. A tiger father will not beget a dog son. At that time, the general followed old marquis to fight in the battlefield. When old marquis died, people in the Northern Han State wanted to take the opportunity to take the two prefectures back. The situation was critical. Then the general stood right in the forefront of the battlefield, and repulsed the attack of the Northern Han State. Since then, the general has been well-known in the world.” When he said this, his face was full of pride. Obviously, he felt that it was supreme glory.
“What happened later?” Yang Ning asked.
Duan Canghai said, “Later the King let the general defend the Huaishui River. People in the Northern Han State have launched countless attacks, but each time they returned crestfallen.”
“It seems that people of the Northern Han State are really useless,” Yang Ning smiled and said, “The knife is stabbed in their heart, but they just can’t withdraw it.”
Duan Canghai immediately said in awe, “Despite the bravery of the general and other soldiers in our state, we must not underestimate the people in the Northern Han State.” There was a strange look in his eyes, “Under the Changling Marquis of the Northern Han State, there is a Blood Orchid Legion, which is also…also a brave and invincible army.”
“The Changling Marquis?” Yang Ning asked with curiosity, “Is this person very powerful? What kind of army is that Blood Orchid Legion?”
Duan Canghai was grim-faced, and said, “When the general defended our state by the Huaishui River, only the Changling Marquis of the Northern Han State could be matched to him.” He sighed, “Beitang Qing, the Changling Marquis, is a top-notch figure in the Northern Han State. He is able to wield both the pen and the sword, and he even trains a strong legion. Armors of this legion are all carved with a crimson orchid as if they are stained by blood, so this legion is called Blood Orchid Legion.”
“Blood Orchid Legion?” Yang Ning smiled, “This name sounds womanish.”
Duan Canghai gave a wry smile, “It sounds like a womanish name. But when they are killing people, they are fiercer than beasts. Runan Prefecture and Shouchun Prefecture are under the control of our state. When the general was in Runan Pefecture, the people in the Northern Han State suddenly attacked Shouchun Prefecture. Shouchun Prefecture reported an emergency, so the general immediately led the Black Scale Camp to supply military aid. But Beitang Qing actually moved his Blood Orchid Legion to lay in ambush…” Speaking of this, he didn’t continue. His expression became downcast, and his fists were clenched tightly.
Yang Ning couldn’t help asking, “Is the Black Scale Camp very powerful?”
“Your Excellency, we have seen the corpses outside the ancestral temple before, and I once said that they were probably killed by the people in the Black Sword Camp. Do you still remember this?” Duan Canghai asked.
Yang Ning nodded and said, “You seem to be afraid of the Black Sword Camp.”
“The two strongest armies of the Southern Chu State were the Black Sword Camp and the Black Scale Camp,” Duan Canghai said slowly, “In the past, these two armies were almost on a par, and every soldier regarded it as their highest honor to be recruited by these two armies.” He pondered for a moment before saying, “The Black Scale Camp was created by the old marquis, and it was a real predator. Although the numbers of these two armies were not large, they inspired awe throughout the world.”
“The Black Scale Camp is also fighting at the front now?” Yang Ning asked.
“At the front?” Duan Canghai said with a bitter smile, “It no longer exists. The Black Scale Camp and the Blood Orchid Legion fought for three days and two nights. The Black Scale Camp was almost completely annihilated, and the Blood Orchid Legion also lost heavily…” He made a long sigh, and said, “Third Lord also died in that battle.”
“Third Lord?” Yang Ning was shocked, “Is he… Is he my Third Uncle?”
Duan Canghai nodded his head and said, “It has been ten years. At that time, you were still young, so you may not remember him well. Third Lord was the leader of the Black Scale Camp, a capable assistant of the general, and the pillar of the Southern Chu State…” His eyes turned red and he sighed, “Third Lord was in his prime that year, but he died for the state, leaving Third Lady alone…”
Yang Ning was hit by a shock, “You mean, Third Auntie is…is Third Uncle’s…?” He did not go on, but he finally knew that Gu Qinghan was not the concubine of the Marquis of Honor Qi Jing but the wife of Third Lord in the Qi family. It was no wonder that Gu Qinghan didn’t seem to be humble in front of Lady Qiong.
“In fact, the fate of Third Lady was also…” Duan Canghai’s voice was lowered. Perhaps he drank too much, so he talked more, “In these years, all things in the Mansion of the Marquis of Honor have been under the appropriate arrangements of Third Lady. If it was not for Third Lady, the Mansion of the Marquis of Honor would not be in good order today.” He also said, “Your Excellency, Third Lady has been taking care of you all these years. You should treat her kindly in the future.” Then he felt that he shouldn’t say this to Yang Ning, so he smiled awkwardly, “Your Excellency, forgive me. I… I am drunk, so I just talk nonsense here.”
Of course, Yang Ning would not blame Duan Canghai for his verbosity. Instead, he asked with confusion, “Then my…my mother…?”
In fact, he was always curious about this. Since he was the eldest son of the Marquis of Honor, his mother naturally should be the Marquise. But all the things in this mansion seemed to be arranged by Third Lady Gu Qinghan. After entering the house, he never saw the Marquise. If she was in the mansion, Gu Qinghan should lead him to see the Marquise after taking him to see the Dowager.
But it seemed that there was no such person in this mansion.
There was a weird look in Duan Canghai’s eyes. Obviously he knew what Yang Ning wanted to ask him. He didn’t answer his question, but stood up and said, “Your Excellency, we…we should go to the mourning hall. It has already been cleaned up. Let’s accompany the general.”
“Sit down first.” Yang Ning gripped Duan Canghai’s sleeves and asked him to sit down again, frowning, “Why did you want to leave when I asked about my mother?”
Duan Canghai’s expression was weird. He looked around, and then lowered his voice, “Your Excellency, this matter… You can ask the Dowager when you are free. The rule of our mansion requires that no one can mention the Marquise. In fact, I…I actually know nothing about the Marquise. I can’t answer your question even if you ask me.”
Yang Ning did not expect Duan Canghai to give him this answer.
He was very surprised and did not understand why the Mansion of the Marquis of Honor had such a strange rule. Since the Marquise was the wife of the Marquis of Honor, her status in this mansion was naturally important and should be higher than that of Gu Qinghan. He wondered why she couldn’t be mentioned in the mansion.
There must be a catch in it.
“How many years have you been in this mansion?” Yang Ning asked, “Why do you know nothing about my mother?”
Duan Canghai raised his hand and touched his forehead, saying softly, “After the Black Scale Camp was wiped out, the general recalled Qi Feng, Zhao Wushang and me to the capital and then we served in the mansion all the time. It has been quite a few years.”
“After the Black Scale Camp was wiped out?” Yang Ning was stunned, “What is the relationship between you and the Black Scale Camp?”
Duan Canghai looked at Yang Ning, saying the words one by one, “We three were all from the Black Scale Camp. I followed Third Lord and was his lieutenant!” He looked very sad, but in his eyes there was also pride which was hard to conceal.