The Invincible Bodyguard Starting by Escorting the Doomsday Imperial Princess Chapter 93 : Chapter 93

Chapter 93: Has Her ntal State Collapsed?

“Because of balance,” Chen Guan said, spitting out two words before continuing.

“The distance we’ve traveled over these past twenty-so days, viewed against the whole world, is only an insignificant stretch of road.”

“This world is far larger than you can imagine, and the human race is rely one insignificant branch among countless races.”

“Everyone knows that the Ten Directions Marsh is terrifying, filled with innurable Demon Kings and monstrous overlords. But have you ever thought about why, for all these centuries, the kings within Ten Directions Marsh have never dared to step lightly into human territory?”

“Isn’t it because the human race has Great Powers guarding it?” Luo Li hesitated, then shook her head uncertainly.

Chen Guan nodded. “That’s what everyone thinks.”

“But the real reason is that every one of these imperial dynasties holds not just one, but multiple century-old great demons and thousand-year demon kings suppressed in its grasp.”

“So long as those demon overlords, along with their descendants and offspring, remain in the hands of the human dynasties, the great demon rulers within Ten Directions Marsh won’t dare act rashly.”

“This...” Luo Li froze for a mont, then suddenly understood. “So these thousand-year great demons... are hostages?”

Chen Guan neither nodded nor denied it. He rely continued blandly, “I don’t know whether they count as hostages. But fifty years ago, Great Yun suppressed a Demon King overlord that had erged from the Ten Directions Marsh to wreak havoc, and by doing so forcibly cut short what should have been a coming Demonic Tide.”

“Twenty years ago, Great Yun returned an old Demonic Being and in exchange bought another twenty years of peace at the border.”

That much, Luo Li had heard before as well, and she added, “I’ve also heard that it isn’t only suppression. There are also so special Demonic Beings that can absorb the incense of the human world and protect a region in return.”

“For example, Earth-Fiends. They’re an unusual kind that feeds on ordinary demons. Great Yun has several of them, and common people often worship them as door gods.”

“Does that count as a hostage too?”

Chen Guan did not answer that question directly.

Originally, he had only ant to touch on the surface of the matter. But seeing how curious she was, he decided to continue.

“Then do you know why, when Great Yun suppresses those monstrous demon threats, the Demon Kings of Ten Directions Marsh not only fail to resist, but all hunker down together instead?”

Luo Li thought it over seriously, but in the end still shook her head.

“Because of the jianghu.” Chen Guan calmly uttered those two words. “Where there are people, there is jianghu. And the sa is true of the worlds of those demons and fiends.”

“No matter how vast Ten Directions Marsh may be, its territory is still limited. If one giant fiend disappears, that ans one more chunk of land becos available for another race to breed and thrive upon. Do you understand now?”

Luo Li was quick-witted, and at once grasped the core of it. Shock flashed through her eyes.

“So that ans... when Great Yun suppresses a Demon King, it isn’t because they have nothing better to do, but because so rival within Ten Directions Marsh secretly made a deal with Great Yun?”

“Great Yun beca that rival’s hired blade and suppressed its enemy in its place?”

“And once that Demon King fell into Great Yun’s hands, it in turn beca a fresh bargaining chip.”

“If the Demon King that cooperated with Great Yun ever dared grow disloyal and invade human lands, Great Yun could simply release the enemy Demon King and let the two sides tear each other apart!”

“That way it becos a balance among three parties, so these demons can only be suppressed and turned into trump cards?”

Chen Guan nodded. “Sothing like that.”

“So... this is what jianghu really is...”

Luo Li murmured in a low voice. In that mont, it was as though she finally understood what jianghu ant.

Yet not a trace of enlightennt or relief rose in her heart.

Because she had already applied the logic of this “jianghu” to her current situation—

Her uncle had released those great demons and fiends that had been suppressed. Once freed, those demons would inevitably help him pin down Great Zhou’s court troops. That, in itself, was a kind of transaction.

The great demons escaped, and her uncle profited.

Her uncle profited, and the great demons gained freedom.

Both sides profited enormously.

But the ones who lost... were the common people.

She slowly turned her head and looked toward the little town that had long since disappeared from sight and beco nothing more than a land of death.

And when she turned back again, it was as though all the spirit had been drained from her entire being. Her body sagged once more in dejection.

Chen Guan’s gaze settled on her face, as though verifying sothing.

Naturally, he had not said all that nonsense because he had nothing better to do. The point was to judge exactly how much this girl understood about Luo Wenyuan, and from that, estimate how many opportunities there might be along the way to demand more money.

And now it seed that this girl’s understanding of her uncle could only barely be said to exist at all.

One could even say she did not know the concrete thod of restoring the dynasty in the slightest.

Which ant the chances to ask for more money along the road were, in fact, quite plentiful.

In any case, his blade recognized only money.

Restore the dynasty? That could wait until after he safely delivered the girl to Shangjing City. Then they could go restore their dynasty to their hearts’ content.

...

The two of them rode on side by side like that.

Until one hour later, Luo Li suddenly yanked hard on the reins and ca to an abrupt halt.

Chen Guan had already ridden a bit too far ahead, so he had to turn his horse back and ask irritably, “Young lady, what is it now?”

Luo Li suddenly asked in a low, dispirited voice, “Brother Chen, do you think... that perhaps... I shouldn’t try to restore the dynasty at all?”

The corner of Chen Guan’s mouth twitched violently.

“Damn it. Was I not supposed to say all that?”

“How the hell did I talk her into a complete ntal collapse?”

Still, at that mont, he finally understood completely why that dead old ghost Su Jingyan had been so comfortable letting a slip of a girl like this go off to “restore the dynasty.”

Because this girl simply was not made for rebellion at all.

What Chen Guan still could not figure out, though, was what in the world gave her the confidence to head there alone.

Was she really relying only on that uncle of hers, Luo Wenyuan?

That did not quite seem right either.

Chen Guan put away his smile and said with rare seriousness, “Don’t ask whether you should restore the dynasty or not. You should ask yourself. Ask your dead father and mother.”

The mont her father and mother were ntioned, Luo Li’s dispirited expression trembled violently. Within her previously dim eyes, a fierce, resolute fighting spirit slowly rekindled.

That was right. She had to seek justice for her father and mother, who had died such miserable deaths!

“Thank you for the guidance, Brother Chen!” Luo Li lifted her hand and, with utmost solemnity, cupped her fists toward Chen Guan in a formal bow.

Chen Guan was so caught off guard by her sudden gravity that he froze.

Did I say the wrong thing again?

Still, seeing that her fighting spirit had returned, Chen Guan said no more.

As long as this girl’s mind did not collapse sowhere along the road and he could safely escort her to Shangjing City and collect his escort money, that was enough.

After the two of them rode side by side for a while longer, the rapid thunder of galloping horses could faintly be heard from the far side of the forest ahead.

Luo Li imdiately raised her guard and instinctively edged closer to Chen Guan.

Very soon, a thousand-man force of black-armored cavalry, splendidly equipped, burst out from the forest in the distance.

The leading officer was built like a tiger-backed bear, with a firm, resolute face and eyes as sharp as an eagle’s.

He spotted Chen Guan and Luo Li on the official road at once and urged his horse forward, arriving before them first.

That sharp gaze swept over the two of them before coming to rest on Chen Guan as he asked in confusion,

“And you two are?”

Chen Guan imdiately clasped his fists in reply. “This officer, I am Escort Master Chen Guan, and I am currently escorting this young lady to visit relatives.”

The officer’s eyes swept casually across Luo Li, then quickly withdrew. With a grave expression, he returned the salute.

“I am a Commander of the Cross Battalion under Great Zhou’s Southern Suppression Army.”

“To be frank, I have just received urgent military intelligence reporting that a Demonic Being has slaughtered the town of Baiyuan ahead. Judging by the direction from which you ca, you should have passed by there, yes?”