Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The crescent moon was like a hook, hanging in the night sky.
In White Jade City’s pavilion, candlelight shone through the lanterns, illuminating the entire room.
Lu Fan sat in his wheelchair, with a cloak draped over his shoulders.
Next to him, Ning Zhao, Yi Yue, and Nie Changqing stood quietly.
Ni Yu wanted to take an elixir out of the cloth satchel she was holding against her chest to eat, but she did not dare. She was afraid the crackling sound from crunching the elixir would break the utter silence.
Ning Zhao was as cold as ice. She had read the denunciation. The author disparaged Lu Fan and even humiliated him in every possible way.
“Young Master…,” Ning Zhao said hesitantly.
However, Lu Fan waved his hand to stop her.
“His Majesty came to Beiluo in person. And I promised him I would do something he didn’t have the nerve to do…,” Lu Fan said slowly.
His voice echoed in White Jade City’s pavilion.
“It’s time to pay the capital city a visit.”
Leaning on the back of his wheelchair, Lu Fan placed his forearm on the armrests and tapped it with his fingers.
“Nie, Sister Ning, Yi Yue… Get ready. We’ll go to the capital city tomorrow.”
“I’m good-tempered, but the world lacks the respect they should have for cultivators,” Lu Fan said flatly.
Ning Zhao nodded slightly, while Nie’s pupils shrank. Young Master Lu would go to the capital city. It was not difficult to imagine what would happen to the capital city.
“By the way, Nie, you told me your wife, Lil Shuang’s mother, is kept in the Daoist School. I want you to go there and take your wife back when this thing with the capital city is over.”
“In the name of White Jade City,” Lu Fan said slowly.
Nie was shocked. He murmured for a while, but in the end, he just let out an emotional sigh.
“Thank you, Young Master.”
Lu Fan nodded. He waved his hand, telling all of them to go out.
******
Yuanchi City.
In the barracks of Great Zhou’s elite troop…
Jiang Li was looking at the sand table inside the tent. Chi Lian, wearing a charming black dress, was standing next to him. Some of the lieutenants were also looking at the sand table, studying the current situation.
“His Majesty went back to the capital city alone, so he didn’t talk Lu Ping’an over?”
Jiang Li let out a sigh after hearing his subordinate’s report.
He extended his hand to point at Beiluo City’s position on the sand table. At the moment, Beiluo was the most unpredictable factor in Great Zhou.
“Mo Beike is allying with Tantai Xuan. Surely Mo Beike wouldn’t let go of this unpredictable factor easily. That means… He must have already done something to Beiluo City. That night, I thought it was Yinyang School’s philosopher Wei Luan who came to kill me, but it wasn’t… Wei Luan might have gone to Beiluo.”
Jiang Li analyzed.
Chi Lian was shocked.
Yinyang School’s philosopher Wei Luan?
Wei Luan was a philosopher-level man. That night in Drunken Dragon City, if Wei Luan had shown up, she was afraid the City Master would have been doomed, and Drunken Dragon City would have been captured.
“However, judging from the current situation, Wei Luan… He should have been killed.”
Jiang Li’s fingers gently moved on the sand table.
“By Young Master Lu from Beiluo.”
“So Lu Ping’an is a great concern for Mo Beike. If His Majesty can get Lu Ping’an into the capital city, the capital city will definitely remain safe. Mo Beike can’t anticipate what Lu Ping’an will do, so he won’t have the nerve to jump the gun or try his luck,” Jiang Li said slowly.
In the tent, the others did not even dare breathe hard. They were all listening to Jiang Li talking to himself.
Jiang Li suddenly turned to Chi Lian.
“How is Qingniao?”
Chi Lian bowed and cupped her hands. “She needs to get used to the cruelty of war. Lord, rest assured that she is in a fairly stable condition now.”
Jiang Li nodded. He looked out of the tent at the crescent moon. The look on his face showed a complicated emotion.
Since Lu Ping’an never left Beiluo, he would need to deal with Mo Beike and Tantai Xuan’s cruelty next.
In the silent night…
The clacking sound of horses trotting could be heard.
Outside of the barracks, the clacking sound was deafening…
As if dark clouds were gathering, giving people a suffocating feeling.
“Report!”
“The emperor’s decrees have just arrived!”
******
Ten miles away from Yuanchi City…
“This He Shou… He is really a moron!”
Beside Tantai Xuan, Mo Ju swore in anger with a cold face after reading the denunciation.
Mo Beike read it too. He closed his eyes slowly. The wrinkles on his face vibrated. He did not know how to express his feelings.
“The aristocratic families in the capital city were tragically suppressed by Kong Xiu when Yuwen Tuo was in power. Now, they had their tails up as soon as they seized the chance. Unfortunately, they are just a bunch of morons.”
“This denunciation could make He Shou famous indeed, but did he ever think about the influence it would bring?”
Mo Beike sighed, shaking his head.
He was not afraid of strong enemies, but he was really afraid of foolish teammates.
This denunciation did put pressure on the emperor.
However, it would also draw Lu Ping’an, who had not gone to the capital city with the emperor, out of Beiluo.
Mo Ju was in a towering rage. He crumpled up the denunciation and threw it hard on the ground.
“Lu Ping’an from Beiluo is a narrow-minded man. Now with this denunciation, what happened to the aristocratic families in Beiluo would happen again to those families in the capital city very soon.”
“The emperor might have qualms with the aristocratic families in the capital city, but is there anything Lu Ping’an cared about?”
Mo Ju waved his feather fan hard. He was so angry that he turned pale.
Tantai Xuan, who was sitting in the seat of honor, understood what he meant.
“Giant, what shall we do next?” Tantai Xuan asked.
Mo Beike sat in his chair. On his old face, his big eye bags slightly vibrated.
“Wait.”
******
A team of armored horsemen came from the west and was heading north. They were going to the capital city.
Western Liang’s armored horsemen were the strongest troop in the Great Zhou Dynasty. If Jiang Li were in charge of the Western Liang Army, then his troop could be compared to them. However, Jiang Li had been the City Master of Drunken Dragon City for years, and his valiant troop was already history.
Xiang Shaoyun, clad in black armor, was not wearing his helmet. Carrying his axe and shield on the back, he mounted a giant black horse. The black armor complimented the black horse really well. He looked like an evil god in the dark night.
While on horseback, Xiang Shaoyun was holding a document.
He tore it into pieces after glancing over it.
“The author of the denunciation is an idiot.”
The military generals around him were confused.
Well, you are the commanding general, so you can say whatever you want to say.
The cold moonlight shone on Xiang Shaoyun’s black armor, giving it a frosty luster.
Xiang Shaoyun pulled the reins to summon a Grandmaster general whom he trusted.
“Xu Chu, you put on my black armor and lead the troop to Yuanchi City. Encamp 150 miles away from Yuanchi City. Don’t fight the North County Army. Just stay away from them,” Xiang Shaoyun said.
Xu Chu, a muscular military general carrying two giant barbed iron balls on his back, was dumbstruck.
“Lord, what is this for?”
Showing a smile, Xiang Shaoyun looked at where Beiluo City was located.
“It’s a rare chance… I should pay a visit to Young Master Lu from Beiluo, the best cultivator in the world.”
Under the armor, Xu Chu’s muscles bulged. He looked excited.
Average people would not be able to handle the Overlord’s visit…
******
At daybreak, the next day.
When the first rays of the early morning sun shone on the flagstone ground of Beiluo City…
The heavy city gate of Beiluo was slowly opened.
And a luxury horse carriage drove out of the city.
On the side window of the carriage, the curtain was lifted. Lu Fan’s gentle face showed up.
“Fan’er, don’t linger there. Come back early,” Lu Changkong, clad in full armor, said to Lu Fan, who was sitting inside the carriage.
He told Luo Cheng to follow Lu Fan to the capital city with 500 elite soldiers. Lu Fan refused him, but Lu Changkong insisted until eventually, Lu Fan accepted this arrangement.
When Lu Fan’s carriage left Beiluo City…
Scouts from various powers lurking outside of the city were alerted instantly.
Like a brood of alert birds…
One after another, messenger pigeons flew out.
When Lu Fan’s fleet was near to the capital city…
A carriage drove across Beiluo Plain, grinding gravels on the way. It stopped before Beiluo City.
Lu Fan lifted the curtain of his carriage’s side window. Sitting in the wheelchair, he was checking the carriage opposite him.
The man in the opposite carriage lifted the side window’s curtain too. Inside the carriage was an old man wearing a thick golden beaded necklace around his neck. He got off the carriage with a sordid smile.
Lv Mudui followed the old man with a complicated feeling.
“Lv Dongxuan, Tianji Zi from Tianji School, is here to meet Young Master Lu.”
The old man bowed deeply before Lu Fan’s carriage.
The people around them all showed odd expressions on their faces.
Ning Zhao pushed Lu Fan’s wheelchair off the carriage.
“Tianji School?”
Lu Fan, sitting in the wheelchair, looked straight at Lv Dongxuan flatly. Then he looked toward the thick golden beaded necklace around his neck.
All of a sudden…
Around Lv Dongxuan’s neck, those hollowed-out golden beads started to turn.
Lv Dongxuan was slightly shocked. He was even a little horrified.
Lu Fan raised his eyebrow. Although Lv Dongxuan’s golden beaded necklace was not a Spirit Tool like the Spirit Pressure Chessboard, it did possess some spirituality.
He supposed Lv Dongxuan must be using this golden beaded necklace to calculate things.
Lu Fan said in a plain voice, “Nie, Sister Ning, Yi Yue… You three go to the capital city. Just do it in the old ways.”
“Yes.”
Nie Changqing and the other two cupped their hands.
“Ni, take me back to the island.”
Then Lu Fan looked at Lv Dongxuan and Lv Mudui with a slight nod.
Rather than deal with those insignificant people in the capital city, incorporating Tianji School was more important for Lu Fan right now.
Outside of Beiluo City…
Seeing Young Master Lu returning to the city…
The scouts from all those big powers were all shocked.
The message had been sent, but Young Master Lu went back?
The scouts hurried to write another letter and sent messenger pigeons out once again.
The brood of birds was alerted once again.
******
In the tent of the North County Army…
Tantai Xuan, Mo Beike, and the others had been waiting up all night. Finally, a pigeon came.
They unfolded the letter delivered by the pigeon. Then, the air in the tent suddenly was charged with tension.
“Lu Ping’an left Beiluo City in the end.”
Mo Beike let out a sigh.
Tantai Xuan’s facial expression changed. He made a difficult decision after a long time had passed. He commanded the troop—which had retreated ten miles—to retreat thirty miles more.
However…
Not long after he gave the order…
Another pigeon flew into the tent.
He took the letter and glanced over it.
Tantai Xuan…!