Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 663 Change
Prefect Qiu looked at the people beside him, his eyes revealing a hint of authority and ruthlessness.

"Anyone who dares to reveal what happened today will have their head chopped off."

The person beside him quickly bowed and said, "I wouldn't dare."

Prefect Qiu continued, "If you handle things well, you will naturally receive credit as well."

"We are willing to risk our lives."

Prefect Qiu nodded and looked at Master Wu: "The fact that Madam didn't tie you up shows that she trusts you a lot. On the way to escort you, I will also instruct my men to take good care of you."

Master Wu smiled bitterly, “My only son is in Lord Wang’s hands. I have already devised a plan for Madam Xie, hoping to gain merit and save my son’s life. Rest assured, sir, I will help escort the prisoner. If we encounter any members of the Holy… Demon Cult along the way, I will warn them immediately.”

To put it bluntly, he's just a lackey.

Prefect Qiu inquired about Master Wu's thoughts, and upon hearing this, he had no more doubts. He then said, "I will make preparations. We will set off tomorrow to escort the birthday tribute to Bianjing."

Master Wu bowed and said, "I will obey your orders, sir."

Prefect Qiu arranged for men to guard the courtyard, and then headed towards the yamen. He had been in the position of prefect for a long time, and this time he was really going to stake everything on this opportunity to gain merit.

Having figured this out, Prefect Qiu got busy, and he himself didn't even realize that he was working so hard for Lady Xie in such a short time.

……

On the way from Enzhou to Dezhou.

In a small village, Xu Shu lay on a wooden plank bed, looking haggard, while her followers removed the arrow from her leg.

Blood spurted out, and the arrowhead, along with some flesh, was pulled out.

Xu Shu bit down on the wooden stick in pain, almost fainting.

The believers cried out in terror, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

Large beads of sweat rolled down Xu Shu's forehead, her eyes rolled back, and her body convulsed uncontrollably. If someone hadn't held her down in time, she would have rolled off the bed.

After a long while, her body finally went limp again. Although she was still trembling uncontrollably, her eyes were half-open and her gaze was slightly unfocused, but she was clearly much better than before.

"We made it through."

The doctor examined Xu Shu's condition and said to Xue Er, who was standing anxiously beside him, "Now, as long as you rinse her down, apply medicine, and take a few more doses of medicine, she will get better."

"However, you need to rest and recuperate properly from now on."

The doctor, also a member of the Holy Sect, said with a worried expression, "We can't keep running around like this."

Xue Er was pale and had many wounds on his body. If it weren't for his strong physique, it would have been difficult for him to escape with his men. However, he managed to wound the captain who was chasing him, which gave Xu Shu a chance to escape.

Xu Shu finally made a faint sound. She spat out the wooden stick from her mouth and stretched out her hand.

No one knew what she was going to do, but Xue Er understood and instructed the followers, "Hand the arrow to the leader."

The cultist hurriedly wiped the blood off the arrow before handing it to Xu Shu. Xu Shu struggled to hold the arrow up to her eyes and looked at the inscription on it.

Xue Er stepped forward and whispered, "These arrows are not from the Longde Xiang Army, but from the Xingzhou Xiang Army."

In other words, the troops chasing them had long been replaced.

Only the Privy Council could mobilize so many local troops. Xu Shu gripped the arrow in her hand tightly, her lips moved, and a trickle of blood flowed down the corner of her mouth.

“Your Excellency,” Xue Er stepped forward to persuade, “we will certainly avenge this grudge. As long as Your Excellency takes care of your health, there will be plenty of time in the future.”

Xu Shu's lips parted again, and after a long while, she finally uttered a sound: "Wan Jie'er".

She was worried about Xie Wenwan, who was presenting herself as Xie Wenjing in Bianjing. Either she had already been exposed, or she had fallen victim to Xie Yizhi's evil deeds.

She was determined to avenge this.

And it's not in the future, it's right now.

She had been kept in the dark for so long, she couldn't let it go on like this any longer. She had to find out the truth, peel back the layers on Xie Yizhi's face, and let the world see what kind of person he really was.

“We’ll rest for a bit and then leave,” Xu Shu said. “We’ll find a forest to hide in, regroup, and then head south.”

This decision surprised Xue Er: "Your Excellency, we...aren't we going back?"

Xu Shu shook her head: "Why were we always caught up with along the way? Because... they know every place our sect has set up... so it's easy for them to capture us."

"If we stay any longer, they will soon surround and attack us, so... we must... leave."

Xu Shu's words make sense. Xue Er didn't mention it because he was afraid Xu Shu's body couldn't handle it. Besides, they hadn't told all of Xie Yizhi's people about these places, so they might be able to avoid it by chance.

Xu Shu looked at the people in the room and gestured for everyone to leave, leaving only Xue Er to speak.

“I’ve thought about it,” Xu Shu said. “If Xie Yizhi had wanted to make a move against us all along, he would have planted his spies around me.”

"When we leave later, keep an eye out and see if anyone is secretly passing messages to them."

Upon hearing this, Xue Er immediately nodded. The Venerable One was indeed very intelligent, but he had been deceived by Xie Yizhi over the years. In fact, he could understand the Venerable One's thoughts.

It's clearly impossible for a woman like the leader to escape her identity as a member of the demonic sect and live a life of wealth and luxury. Her only support is Xie Yizhi.

When someone desires something too much, they are easily deceived. The head of the family longed to return to the past, when she was still a young lady in her boudoir and the Xu family was a respectable official family.

"I'll make the arrangements," Xue Er agreed through gritted teeth. It was better to figure everything out now than to continue being used by Xie Yizhi.

Xue Er had someone find wooden planks to make a carrying pole, and made a thing similar to a carrying stick, and carried Xu Shu away.

Under cover of darkness, the group left the courtyard where they had stayed and avoided the official road, heading into the woods.

A figure initially followed the group forward, then quietly fell behind. He hadn't been by the side while the leader was being treated, and unaware of why the leader had suddenly ordered them to leave, he had no chance to relay the message.

Now we can only look for other opportunities to leave road signs so that the generals can be guided in the right direction.

He took out the straw in his hand, used stones to make a simple marker at the intersection, and was about to follow the crowd when two figures suddenly walked out from behind him.

Upon seeing this, the man's expression changed, and he tried to find a way to escape, but he was hit in the hind leg by a flying stone. Just as he was about to stumble and fall, two people pounced on him and pinned him to the ground.

Xue Er stepped out from the side, looked at the person on the ground, and said coldly, "The leader guessed right. Someone is passing messages on Xie Yizhi."

　One more chapter

　　(End of this chapter)