PWE – Chapter 170

“Mm.” Zhan Zeyan replied and quickened his pace.

He just wanted to get home as soon as possible, to be with his wife and son.

Hou Dayong was very pleased to see that the commander had agreed.

Walking alongside him, he asked, “Commander, what dishes do you like? And what about Sister-in-law and Zhaozhao?”

He needed to know their preferences. If he made dishes Sister-in-law didn’t like, it would be a problem.

Zhan Zeyan glanced at Hou Dayong, frowning slightly. “Anything will do. We aren’t picky.”

Without wanting to say more, he quickened his pace even further.

Hou Dayong: “…”

He scratched his head, glancing at the commander with suspicion. Was he serious? He believed that Zeyan and Zhaozhao weren’t picky, after all, they were men—though Zhaozhao was still a boy. But he thought real men shouldn’t be picky about food; that was girlish. A man should be able to handle any kind of food.

But Sister-in-law? She was a supreme being of the Underworld. Someone like her should be extremely particular about her tastes.

Yet at today’s meal, he hadn’t seen her refuse any dish. She ate everything happily.

Still, he was worried. What if there was a dish she disliked or was forbidden to eat? If he accidentally made something she couldn’t eat, he and his wife could get into trouble.

He hurried to keep up and asked, “Commander, does Sister-in-law have any dietary restrictions? Will she eat anything? I’ve heard some people don’t eat mutton or offal. What about Sister-in-law…”

“She has no restrictions,” Zhan Zeyan replied, frowning slightly as he gave Hou Dayong a cold glance. “You’ll be hosting others tomorrow, right? Just consider their tastes. There’s no need to focus on your wife’s preferences. I know you’re grateful to her, but you don’t need to go that far.”

His tone was serious, and a faint displeasure appeared on his face.

Although Hou Dayong had no improper intentions toward his wife, Zhan Zeyan still felt a little annoyed that Hou Dayong kept asking about her preferences.

After all, Hou Dayong was another man, and he didn’t like other men paying too much attention to his wife.

“Commander, I…” Hou Dayong felt a bit embarrassed, thinking the commander had seen through his thoughts. He wanted to say something, but Zhan Zeyan quickly walked ahead, clearly not wanting to chat further.

Hou Dayong: “…”

He scratched the back of his head, feeling even more awkward. Great, now he’d made the commander unhappy.

He called out, “Commander, wait for me!” and hurried after him.

Qi Jiancheng and a few of his subordinates were about five or six meters away.

Guan Hongwen, the company commander under Qi Jiancheng, said, “Commander, Hou Dayong is like a lapdog. Did you see how he was just now? He was practically wagging his tongue around Zhan Zeyan.”

Guan Hongwen disliked both Zhan Zeyan and Hou Dayong and was taking this chance to belittle them.

Qi Jiancheng looked at the backs of Zhan Zeyan and Hou Dayong, curling his lips into a cold smile without replying.

Guan Hongwen continued, “Hou Dayong is several years older than Zhan Zeyan, yet he calls Zhan Zeyan’s wife ‘Sister-in-law.’ Ha! His flattery is so obvious.” He paused and added, “I think I heard him inviting Zhan Zeyan’s family to dinner tomorrow. He’s really putting in all his effort to curry favor.”

“She’s Zhan Zeyan’s wife, and he’s his superior. Of course he’d flatter him,” the deputy company commander chuckled, glancing mockingly at Hou Dayong’s back.

“Like a lapdog. I’ve never seen such a bootlicker,” Guan Hongwen sneered, his tone full of contempt.

Qi Jiancheng frowned slightly, glancing at Guan Hongwen. “Enough talking about them. Let’s think about how to take credit for retrieving the supplies. That would be a major achievement—we can’t let Zhan Zeyan and the others steal it.”

“But Commander,” the deputy company commander frowned, sighing. “I heard that Commander He intends to assign this mission to Zhan Zeyan’s unit. If we try to take it, it might…”

“The matter isn’t decided yet, right? As long as it’s not settled, anything can happen!” Qi Jiancheng’s expression darkened, and his tone grew colder.

Guan Hongwen and the deputy company commander: “…”

They lowered their heads silently, afraid to speak.

Though the decision wasn’t final, Commander He had almost made up his mind. Changing his decision would not be easy. Besides, he always favored Zhan Zeyan. Taking the mission from them would be extremely difficult.

Qi Jiancheng clenched his fist, his eyes filled with dark resolve.

He would take this mission no matter what. Everyone said retrieving the supplies would be hard, that Qi Yun Mountain might be haunted. But ghosts? There are no ghosts—people just scare themselves.

The supplies were on Qi Yun Mountain, and he didn’t believe that turning the entire mountain upside down wouldn’t recover them.

So this mission would be his. Sometimes he even suspected Commander He had staged this as a setup, to let Zhan Zeyan earn the credit.

He would not let Zhan Zeyan take the credit—he had to steal it!

His eyes flickered with determination as he snorted coldly and walked toward the residential area.

…

After dinner that evening, Zhan Zeyan leaned against the bed reading a military book, while Xiao Wange lay back, lost in thought.

Seeing her worried expression, he furrowed his brow and gently asked, “What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?”

He reached out and stroked her hair softly.

Xiao Wange glanced at Zhan Zeyan, and seeing his handsome, chiseled features, she immediately thought of Long Yan.

She had always wondered how Long Yan looked exactly like Zhan Zeyan, even their auras were identical. Even twins weren’t this similar.

“Zeyan, do you believe there can be two people in the world who are exactly identical? Appearance, temperament, even aura, all the same,” she hesitated, then turned to lie on her side, eyes fixed unwaveringly on his face.

Zhan Zeyan was momentarily stunned.

He stared at his wife: “Exactly identical? Even the aura?”

“Mm.” Xiao Wange nodded, frowning slightly. “Do you think there could really be such two people in the world?”

Zhan Zeyan frowned, thinking. Then he smiled faintly. “I’ve been learning a bit about cultivation recently. Cultivators say there can’t be two people with identical auras. But I heard that abroad there’s a powerful technique called cloning. Cloning can create an exact copy of someone through asexual reproduction. If a person were cloned, their aura might be identical to the original.”

Xiao Wange: “…” Though she didn’t believe Long Yan was a clone, Zhan Zeyan’s words made her recall something.

She had heard of an ancient secret technique that could forge one’s shadow into a person. A person created from the shadow would be identical in appearance, temperament, and aura—it was literally a shadow of oneself.

She had never encountered this technique before, so she hadn’t remembered it.

Now, hearing Zhan Zeyan talk about cloning, she suddenly recalled it.

If either Long Yan or Zhan Zeyan was created by this shadow technique, it would explain why their auras were identical.

But which one was the shadow-forged person? Zhan Zeyan, or Long Yan?

A shadow-forged person is bound by the original. If the original dies, they die. If the original is injured, they are injured. Being a shadow is a miserable existence.

She didn’t want Zhan Zeyan to be the shadow-forged one. If he were… then she…

“What is it? What are you thinking about?” Zhan Zeyan noticed her suddenly serious, troubled expression, and his brow furrowed in concern.

Xiao Wange exhaled quietly, looked at Zhan Zeyan, and smiled faintly. “Nothing. I was just thinking about how advanced those foreign techniques are.”

Zhan Zeyan looked at her, clearly unconvinced.

He caressed her face and smiled. “No matter how advanced they are abroad, are they as powerful as you? You’re a high-level immortal. Even the underworld judges obey you.”

He had always believed his wife was a deity. Only a deity could command the underworld judges—a supreme being!

Xiao Wange shifted to lie down, drawing the blanket around her. “Mm, indeed, they aren’t as powerful as me. I am the strongest in the world—I am the Heaven King.”

Zhan Zeyan: “…” Hearing his wife speak playfully like that, he silently chuckled.

He set aside his book and lay down beside her.

He reached out and pulled her into his arms, eyes blazing as he said, “Even if you are the Heaven King, you are still my wife, my most beloved for life.”

Her smile widened at his words. She looped her arms around his neck, teasing, “Your big mouth is so sweet, like it’s smeared with honey.”

Zhan Zeyan: “…Big mouth? Is it big?” He touched his lips, puzzled.