Chapter 452: Chapter 335: Feng Province, Changsheng Gu Family! (Double-Length)_2

"I am Song Changming, just an ordinary villager before joining the army, not from a noble family," said Song Changming, shaking his head.

Su Fengye was initially stunned, apparently not expecting Song Changming to be of humble origins, but then he smiled and said,

"No matter, someone like General Song, a person with great abilities, is bound to have a promising future."

"Elder’s praise is excessive," Song Changming replied politely, then suddenly thought of something and asked, "Was that evil rat slain by you, Elder?"

He had previously learned from Gu Xinyue about the existence of the Kangjin Giant Rat. Now that Su Fengye had returned from the battle, he couldn’t help but be curious about the rat’s fate.

"It escaped. After all, this place is the territory of the Rat Demon. If it wants to burrow into the ground and flee, even I cannot stop it," Su Fengye said, shaking his head.

Such powerful members of the Demon Race are inherently difficult to kill.

The Netherworld Dog at Baitian Temple was like this, and so was the Kangjin Rat.

Hearing this, Song Changming didn’t ask further questions.

Originally, he was thinking that if the Kangjin Rat had died, he might find a way to take that precious Demon Blood from its corpse.

Considering he had assisted Su Fengye by saving Gu Xinyue and the others, the other party might have gone along with the flow and given him the Demon Corpse.

Such powerful Great Demon Blood would undoubtedly be a huge boost to his strength.

Now that the Kangjin Rat still lived, it could only be considered a pity.

Song Changming dismissed the thought and waited for about another hour. Only then did the search teams from other directions start arriving here one by one.

Half a day later, the troops regrouped, and without much delay, they escorted everyone back to Yun Province.

"Not bad, Changming, you’ve done a great deed this time," Xing Tiexin approached Song Changming on the way, smiling.

"It’s nothing," Song Changming shook his head.

This achievement was merely an unexpected gain for him.

He was more concerned about the events in the Nine Netherworld, especially the encounter with the Netherworld Dog of Baitian Temple and the reappearance of the Great Demon Kite.

Also, the large amount of Demon Blood Essence acquired on this trip was more important in his eyes than this achievement.

Additionally, the Demon Slayer trait also came as a pleasant surprise to Song Changming.

With this trait, he would naturally gain many advantages in battles against the Demon Race, which was a significant help.

"So, this time, the key reason for causing Prince Cui to mobilize such forces is probably that woman, right?" Xing Tiexin suddenly whispered, his gaze shifting to Gu Xinyue, who was flying ahead with Su Fengye. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

His keen observation and quick thinking quickly identified which of the hostages was most important.

Song Changming did not comment.

"According to the Grand Marshal, this lady comes from the Changsheng Gu Family in Feng Province and came all this way for a marriage alliance with the Changsheng Su family," Yang Zhen’s voice drifted over, revealing Gu Xinyue’s origin and background.

"Considering the Su family’s nervous attitude, it seems that the Changsheng Gu Family from Feng Province is likely the dominant party in this alliance," Song Changming, interested in the topic of Changsheng Clans, joined the conversation.

"Yes," Yang Zhen nodded, speaking directly in a low voice, "The name of the Gu Family in Feng Province has been known for a thousand years. If there are levels among Changsheng Clans, the Gu Family’s renown surpasses the Su family by several tiers!

It’s unknown how the Su family connected with the Gu family, but if this Gu Family lady really suffered any mishap, not only would the Su family be unable to bear the consequences, but even Prince Cui would be implicated, given that this incident happened in our territory..."

Hearing Yang Zhen’s words, Song Changming and Xing Tiexin understood.

No wonder Prince Cui got involved in the Su family’s affairs, even going as far as to deploy military forces.

The main reason was that this Gu Family lady was too noble to risk any harm.

"Since this woman is so important, why didn’t the Su family send powerful experts to escort her from the beginning? If those few had escorted her all the way, such incidents wouldn’t have happened," Xing Tiexin said with a sneer.

He was referring to Su Jizi, Su Fengye, and the other Su family experts flying ahead.

In response, Yang Zhen chuckled softly and said, "Noble families value their reputation, and it’s even more so among the Changsheng Clans. Sending high-ranking elders from the family to perform escort duties for a young girl is something the Su family likely wouldn’t want to do.

Plus, traveling through the Three States of the Human Race doesn’t pose a major safety issue. Even if something does happen, revealing the identity of a Changsheng Clan usually deters any trouble.

Who knew they would actually encounter someone audacious enough to risk everything, targeting the Changsheng Blood, and nearly succeeding..."

His words seemed light-hearted, and Song Changming even detected a hint of schadenfreude from his tone.

Yang Zhen was never fond of these city noble families, including the Changsheng Su Family, partly due to his past difficult experiences in the military being oppressed by these families.

"Since it’s a marriage alliance, could it be with that person?" Song Changming hinted.

Yang Zhen also looked over, his gaze landing on Su Fengye beside Gu Xinyue.

"Who knows, they do seem affectionate toward each other, so it’s quite possible."

Song Changming didn’t ask further.

If so, with Su Fengye having a new love, Su Qingqing’s connection with the Su family would grow even weaker.

Later, when Song Changming was about to leave the Nine Netherworld and return to Yun Province, a Little White Bird suddenly flew back from the horizon, circling the group a few times.

Since it had no demon qi and was just a fast ordinary bird, no one in the group paid much attention to it.

The Little White Bird eventually landed on Song Changming’s shoulder, catching the attention of several people, but they didn’t say anything.

"What about that one?" Song Changming stared into the eyes of the Little White Bird and asked.

He was referring to the Great Demon Kite.

The Little White Bird, being intelligent, understood what Song Changming said but merely shook its head, seemingly unaware.

Seeing that he couldn’t get any information, Song Changming didn’t ask further.

In any case, it was thanks to the Great Demon that he was able to easily resolve that crisis.

A few days later, the group returned to Yunzhou Cui Bai Dao, the main city.

The rescue mission, despite having some episodes and unexpected events in the process, was considered successfully completed.

For the Su family, bringing Gu Xinyue back safely made up for their previous mistakes, avoiding the concern of facing accountability from the Changsheng Gu Family.

Meanwhile, the military, who had contributed manpower and effort, did not go without paying a price, as several general officers died during the exploration of the Nine Netherworld.

This included the loss of two centurions from Xing Tiexin’s team, a considerable loss.

Only Song Changming’s team, led by the local Feng Xingzhuo as a guide, sustained no casualties.

When the group disbanded, Grand Marshal Wang Tianshuang hurried to the Prince’s Mansion to report the mission results to Prince Cui.

Song Changming politely declined Xing Tiexin’s invitation for a ’victory celebration drink’ and returned to his residence.

The Little White Bird flew over the courtyard wall and comfortably perched on the eaves, leisurely preening its feathers.

"Young master, you’re back," A Da and A Er greeted as soon as they heard the commotion.

In the yard, the watch dogs Dahuang and White also perked up, circling around Song Changming excitedly.

Following his usual routine, Song Changming took out two large pieces of Demon Flesh collected from this trip, allowing the two dogs to feast.

This was the flesh of the Barbarian Bear Demon, a substantial nourishment for the two dogs.

"Prepare some food and drinks later, I’m hungry," Song Changming instructed A Da as he walked inside.

As he passed by the stone table, he suddenly stopped.

His gaze involuntarily fell on the Little Yellow Chicken.

It was still the same, small as ever, seeming forever unable to grow bigger.

It casually glanced at him and lazily chirped twice, greeting him in its way.

"Xiaohuang, do you know the Kite?" Song Changming suddenly asked.

Xiaohuang showed no reaction to this.

Seeing this, Song Changming didn’t ask any more questions and went inside.

Xiaohuang watched Song Changming leave, then turned its head to look at the returning Little White Bird on the eaves, before closing its eyes again to continue dozing off.

...