knife

Chapter 395 Making a feint to the east and attacking in the west
Yan Su stood on the threshold, looking at the soldiers who were still fast asleep, lying haphazardly on the ground.

What should have been a group of soldiers on patrol suddenly collapsed to the ground.

If it were death, I would find it easier to be serious.

This method, which doesn't harm people but only puts them to sleep, is even more mysterious and unpredictable.

A guard jogged over and whispered, "General, the ordinary soldiers are all fine, they're just asleep, but the officers and those martial arts masters are all dead! Not a single member of the He family is left, they all ran away, and now the whole mansion is spotless."

He nodded solemnly and walked out of the house.

On the shared bunk beds in the side room, the soldiers were sleeping soundly in rows. Yan Su took a deep breath, but suddenly felt a little dizzy. Although it was only for a moment, it surprised Yan Su greatly.

This is poison.

Then we went into a side room, where a martial arts master was sitting.

He should be on duty today, so he's in the side room.

Wine and dishes were laid out in front of him; he held chopsticks in one hand and rested the other on the handle of the wine pot.

However, this gesture became his final pose.

In that instant, the attack came suddenly and took his life in a flash. He didn't even feel any pain before he died.

He died so quickly that his body was still in its final state.

Almost all martial arts masters were killed silently by others.

He stared intently at the expert for a long while before reaching out and slowly pulling something out from behind the dead man's ear.

It was a pine needle.

The soft pine needles easily took the life of a Xuan Yuan master.

"Pine needles?" The people following behind Yan Su were dumbfounded.

Yan Su gasped in shock.

He recalled the descriptions of He Yiming's experiences in the deep mountains given by his spy.

Two pine needles were used to kill two dogs in front of a peak ninth-grade Xuan Yuan expert.

The exact same method.

A master born with exceptional talent.

Moreover, he was a master of innate cultivation from the Southern Chu region.

He turned and left in a serious manner.

"General, General!" The guards followed behind, somewhat bewildered.

"All central troops, enter high alert! All experts above the Xuan Yuan level, assemble immediately at the Prince's residence!" He mounted his horse and solemnly ordered, "You immediately go to the left wing and tell Huang Hua to prepare to enter the city!"

"Without the Prince's order, General Huang probably won't agree!" the guard said.

"Tell him to prepare for the troop deployment. I'll go to the Prince's residence to inform him that the troop mobilization order will arrive soon." Yan Su spurred his horse and galloped away, saying as he ran, "Hurry, hurry!"

Watching Yan Su disappear before his eyes with a look of panic, the guard was puzzled, but he still mounted his horse and rode out of the city.

Alarm bells rang from the city walls, and soon after, squads of soldiers emerged from their barracks and began patrolling the streets.

“A master of innate level?” Zhang Quanyi frowned. “Why would a master of innate level stand up for He Yiming? Even though He Yiming didn’t kill Han Zheng and Jiang Ping, he did kill Jiang Shiyuan. Jiang Shiyuan is no ordinary person in Southern Chu.”

"Who knows the reason?" he said seriously. "However, people like the Innate Realm Masters cannot be judged by ordinary standards. I suspect that although He Yiming escaped from the deep mountains, he was definitely found by this Innate Realm Master later. Perhaps they reached some kind of deal. Your Highness, He Yiming is, after all, the leader of the Canal Gang and a peak Ninth Rank Master. If he is willing to surrender to Southern Chu and become an inside agent for Southern Chu, then his value far exceeds that of Jiang Shiyuan. Moreover, Jiang Shiyuan is already dead, and a dead Jiang Shiyuan is worthless!"

“What you say makes sense!” Zhang Quanyi nodded and said, “So, this innate master came into the city and rescued He Yiming’s family?” “Rescuing people is not the problem!” he said seriously, “I’m afraid he will take the opportunity to plot against Your Highness. He Yiming is definitely pushing all the blame onto you now, and this innate master may come to retaliate against you. At this time, apart from the army, we don’t have anyone who can rival an innate master in martial arts.”

Looking at the heavily guarded soldiers outside the Prince's mansion and listening to the constant sounds of trumpets and gongs from within the city, Zhang Quanyi chuckled: "I remember Magistrate Kou saying that an ordinary Innate Realm expert could be trapped and killed by three thousand well-trained soldiers. A more advanced Innate Realm expert would only need five thousand! Innate Realm experts are still human, not gods. If they could really do whatever they wanted without any scruples, would there still be any benevolent laws and rituals in this world?"

As Zhang Quanyi stepped out of the main hall and looked at the rows of soldiers pointing their crossbows at the roof ridge, and at the powerful crossbows hidden in the side rooms, a look of anticipation appeared on his face.

If this so-called master of innate talent really comes knocking, then this is a perfect opportunity to test his abilities.

"Let's conduct a thorough search of the city and force him out!" Zhang Quanyi laughed. "Now that the Left Army has entered the city, we can't let them sit idle. You can also take this opportunity to clean up a batch of spies from all over the country! Especially those from Linghu Ye and Nan Chu, there's no need to keep them alive."

“Sweep it all up!” Zhang Quanyi chuckled. “How can we favor one over the other! Next, I will lead the army out to clean up Luoyang City and prevent them from causing trouble.”

"Understood, Your Highness, but you must be on high alert in the manor these next few days!" He said solemnly, "After all, he is a master of the Innate Realm, and we cannot afford to be careless in the slightest."

"Don't worry, as long as this innate master isn't mentally impaired, he won't cause trouble at the Prince's mansion. But you're the one running around outside; be careful he doesn't take it out on you!"

Yan Su laughed heartily: "Yan Su is a nobody. A master of innate talent is probably too high a level to even see me."

The army, numbering ten thousand, entered the city in two columns, their imposing presence immediately astonishing the people within.

The people of Luoyang had just recently experienced the chaos of war.

Military unrest is more terrifying than banditry.

Li Dachui was outside the city at the moment, with Xiao Le and He Yiming standing beside him.

“No wonder Cao Hui strongly advised you, young master, to demonstrate the prowess of a master of innate skill, and even to imitate that mysterious man in the deep mountains. When it comes to cunning, I am far inferior to Cao Hui!” Xiao Le shook his head repeatedly: “Zhang Quanyi will definitely try to bring all the masters to his side, and has even brought the army into the city. After all, his own life is the most important thing. In this way, He Yiming, your family’s escape will be smooth sailing. By the time Zhang Quanyi realizes what’s happening, your family will already be far away from his controlled area.”

He Yiming cupped his hands in greeting to Xiao Le: "It's a real pity that Manager Xiao's business, which he has run for more than ten years, has been destroyed in an instant. I will definitely remember such a great kindness and repay it in the future!"

Xiao Le laughed heartily: "You don't need to thank me. This shop won't last much longer anyway. It's practically on the verge of having a sign above the door saying 'Northern Protectorate's Office in Luoyang,' hahaha! The sooner the better. I've been in business for decades, I'm tired of it, time to do something else. Brother He, I'll go to Ning County to help you with logistics. To be frank, your canal gang's accounts are probably a mess. We couldn't manage them before, but we can't anymore. The Northern Protectorate takes integrity very seriously."

"I couldn't be happier. Since I'm going to do something big, I should naturally act and behave like one." He Yiming said, "Protector, shall I now pledge allegiance to He Zudao?"

“It’s not He Zudao, but a force under He Zudao. You will form an alliance with them, and Ning County will be your base of operations from now on.” Li Dachui laughed, “Zhang Quanyi probably won’t have the mind to deal with you anymore. He might even send someone to Ning County to return your family property. Your family will be well taken care of after arriving in Shu County. Although they can’t show their faces for the time being, they will definitely live very comfortably. When they can show their faces in public, your talented family members will also be well taken care of!”

"Thank you, Protector-General!"

"Alright, now you can head to Ning County!" Li Dachui said with a smile and a wave of his hand. "Use this time to plan your next development strategy carefully, and then realize it step by step."

"Isn't the Protector-General coming to Ning County with us?"

"No, I'll stay in Chang'an for a few more days!" Li Dachui said. "Once they relax, I'll go and cast a tightening spell on them to keep their nerves on edge and buy you more time."

"Young master, you should still be careful. Don't let things go wrong and get surrounded by the army!"

"Do you think your young master is that stupid?" Li Dachui laughed and took a step forward, heading towards Chang'an City.

One moment it's right in front of you, the next it's vanished without a trace.

He Yiming glanced enviously at the empty space ahead, then turned to Xiao Le and said, "Brother Xiao, let's go to Ning County. Although I've been there for quite some time, I'm ashamed to say that it's still a mess!"

"It's alright. I've already sent Cao Hui back to Chang'an. Zhang Bing has quite a few talented people from beyond the Great Wall, and they're preparing to send them to Shu County one after another. We can intercept them halfway and bring a few over to help. Even if they can't appear in public, it's good to have them work behind the scenes and make plans. Officials trained by the Beiting Protectorate are all experts at making plans."

"is it?"

"Of course! When they arrive, you'll know what a one-year plan, a three-year development plan, and a five-year grand plan are!" Xiao Le laughed.

Deep in the mountains, in a small hut made of branches and withered grass, Han Zheng stretched, got up, picked up a tree branch from the side, propped it under his arm, and slowly walked out.

The door to the small shack across the street was open, but Jiang Ping was nowhere to be seen inside.

"Jiang Jiang! Jiang Jiang!" Han Zheng shouted.

(End of this chapter)