knife

Chapter 518 Response
(October 1st is, of course, a day off.)
He Zudao is truly a master of deception!
This was Zhang Qingyun's remark when he heard from Ke Wuji that the guy had actually already advanced to the Innate Realm.

For five whole years, this person did not reveal the slightest clue. Even when he was once forced into a desperate situation by Wei Zhengdao and Kou Zhong, and his entire army was on the verge of annihilation several times, he did not reveal his true martial arts cultivation.

It can only be said that the ruthless and ambitious man did indeed have his extraordinary qualities.

Zhang Qingyun did not consider He Zudao to be a heroic figure.

Not to mention that he couldn't get Li Dachui, Xiao Changche, Linghu Ye, or even his father He Qiku, he was still better than him.

In her view, He Zudao was the kind of guy who would give up on himself when he was down on his luck, wanting to drag everyone down with him, but when he was successful, he was arrogant and conceited, looking down on all the heroes in the world and thinking he could beat the heavens.

But in other respects, this person is indeed a genius.

Xue Wen was able to rank among the top three in the Qin Dynasty's hellish imperial examination.

Having mastered martial arts, he has now overcome the insurmountable barrier that 99% of martial artists cannot cross, and reached the Innate Realm.

Commanding troops, one can train an elite army capable of rivaling the most formidable forces in the world.
In combat, he possessed an extremely keen sense of the battlefield. Even figures like Wei Zhengdao and Kou Zhong suffered setbacks at his hands, not to mention the countless famous generals of Chu who had fallen to him in earlier years.

Such a person should have been a chosen one of heaven.

Unfortunately, his mindset ruined him.

And the root of this problem can be traced back to his father.

Their relentless pursuit, which they never achieved, eventually distorted He Zudao's mindset, ultimately shaping his current personality.

Every drink and every bite is a cycle of cause and effect.

"Just as Vice Dean Zhang said, He Zudao has begun to suspect me!" Ke Wuji tapped his shoe sole with his pipe and laughed, "Luckily I listened to you and went, otherwise He Zudao would probably have sent his army to attack us! I also followed your advice and revealed Jiang Qian's background to him, which really fooled him, and his suspicion of us should not be so strong now."

“He Zudao is actually very clear about the current strength of the Divine Cult in the eight towns of Jiangnan.” Zhang Qingyun smiled and said, “This is his last resort. He doesn’t have the courage to make a clean break now. So he called you over because he wanted to get a reason from you that he felt was sufficient. If he had a plausible reason and wasn’t absolutely sure that you were really from Beiting, he wouldn’t make a move.”

Ke Wuji laughed and said, "If he really fights with us, with our current military strength, even if we can't defeat him, we can still make him cough up blood. If it really comes to that, do you think Linghu Ye or Jiang Qian will let him go?"

“He has more to consider than just us!” Zhang Qingyun said. “Among the powerful figures in the world today, he is the weakest. It won’t be easy for him to survive in such a precarious situation!”

“Indeed, He Zudao is caught between Linghu Ye and the State of Chu, while we are caught between Linghu Ye and He Zudao. Our situation is not much better than He Zudao’s. Vice Dean Zhang, you absolutely cannot let him discover that you are here. If he finds out that you are here, he will see us as Li Duhu’s subordinates, and he will probably go crazy!”

Zhang Qingyun laughed: "That's true! But we're going to help him expand his territory next, which should dispel a lot of his doubts!"

"Help him? Fight whom?" Ke Wuji asked in surprise. "We need to incite He Zudao to wage war against Chu," Zhang Qingyun said. "Starting from Xiangfan, we'll head straight for Yong'an County, threatening the Jianghan Plain. Right now, Lin Hong of Yong'an County has been killed, and the newly arrived He Jiong is a confidant of Empress Dowager Jiang Qian of Chu. Although he is capable, he has no foundation in Yong'an. Although the directly subordinate imperial army stationed in Yong'an will obey his command, the local forces in Yong'an are a different story. They harbor resentment because of Lin Hong's death, and coupled with the infighting within Chu, we have great potential in this direction!"

Ke Wuji let out a breath. Many things, when they first happen, you can't see the mystery in them, but the further you go, the more mysterious they seem. When the last shoe finally drops and you suddenly realize it, you feel incredibly amazed.

When Li Dachui stirred up that chaos in Yong'an County, Ke Wuji genuinely believed that Li Dachui was only doing so out of pity for the suffering of the local people, and at the same time, he wanted to bring Su Qi and his gang from Houtu Banner to Ning County to increase his own strength.

But now it seems that Li Dachui was already playing a grand game back then.

What seemed like some meaningless moves are now slowly beginning to show their power. They are interconnected, like a stack of playing cards. Once one card is knocked down, the rest begin to fall one after another.

"Are you helping He Zudao take Yong'an County?" Ke Wuji asked. "Feng Kuan has already taken back Fancheng, and now you're giving Yong'an County to them? If He Zudao really gets the Jianghan Plain, his strength will skyrocket!"

Zhang Qingyun laughed: "Elder Ke, you underestimate the Chu people. If we launch a fierce attack, they will definitely be on the defensive, but it's probably impossible for them to take Yong'an County. Our goal is to force Jiang Qian to transfer the elite Tiger Legion from Danyang to Yong'an to stabilize the situation here."

"Mobilize the Danyang Tiger Guards?"

Zhang Qingyun nodded and said, "Elder Ke, we are almost at the stage of launching this operation. I won't hide it from you anymore. What the Protector is currently planning is to help the royalists of Chu overthrow Jiang Qian. With tens of thousands of elite troops in Danyang not moving, the royalists have little chance. Therefore, we need to win a major victory in Yong'an to force Jiang Qian to mobilize his trusted elite troops in Danyang to stabilize the situation here. If Danyang is left vulnerable, the royalists will dare to make their move!"

Ke Wuji was shocked. The matter seemed to be more complicated than he had imagined: "Is the Protector-General now in Chu, plotting with Xiang Ying, Xiong Yi, and others to overthrow Jiang Qian?"

“Exactly!” Zhang Qingyun nodded.

"The Protector-General is truly skilled and daring!" Ke Wuji exclaimed. "He actually dared to reveal his identity in front of Xiang Ying and the others. Isn't he afraid they'll turn against him?"

"They still need the Protector-General's help to overthrow the Demon Queen! What good would it do them to turn against her?" Zhang Qingyun said. "However, once Jiang Qian falls, they will definitely turn against her. Killing two birds with one stone, who wouldn't want that?"

"Wouldn't the Protector-General be walking on the edge of a precipice every step of the way? Could he possibly fall into an abyss if he wasn't careful?" Ke Wuji asked.

Seeing Ke Wuji's expression, Zhang Qingyun couldn't help but burst into laughter. She decided not to tell Ke Wuji about Li Dachui spending all his time with the Demon Queen Jiang Qian, lest she scare him.

“So Elder Ke, we’re going to have to use what you do best again!” Zhang Qingyun said, “Infiltrate the Chu Kingdom and arrange a safe passage for Protector Li to retreat after the mission is accomplished.”

"Where is the starting point? Danyang? That's a bit difficult!"

"The headquarters of the Demonic Cult, Cloud Mist Mountain!" Zhang Qingyun said, "Elder Ke should be very familiar with that place, right?"

(End of this chapter)