The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 643 Undercurrent
On the 25th day of the fifth month of the 26th year of the Jiajing reign.

Tang Lanzhou died quietly.

Deng Baixuan, who was carrying him, was not even aware of his death until he felt a chill down his back and stopped. The body was already stiff, but his back was as straight as a pine tree. This old man, who had lived an ordinary life, was as hard as metal and stone in the years before his death. Even in death, his eyes were looking straight ahead, and the corners of his mouth seemed to be smiling, but upon closer inspection, there was no upturn.

For no apparent reason, Deng Baixuan thought of the saying, "A man's heart is as hard as iron until death."

Liu Baiyun beheaded Tang Lanzhou, and Deng Baixuan placed his head in a wooden box. Blood stained the tourmaline. The two silently headed north, passing through Juyong Pass and entering Datong. In the wilderness, they met An Ziyang, who had just returned from the battlefield, and then headed north straight to Shanhaiguan.

On the 26th day of the fifth month of the 26th year of the Jiajing reign.

Two masters from Wudang were entangled by alien celestial beings while spreading Gu worms. The army immediately surrounded them. Wang Hai and Gao Anyu risked their lives to charge into the enemy lines and rescue Zhiqing, but Zhisheng was trapped in the army's formation.

Before his death, this kind-faced, plump Taoist priest laughed loudly and practiced Tai Chi in the midst of the army formation. In a short while, he mastered the profound art, and his strength was somewhat similar to the Yin and Yang... However, he was ultimately too injured to continue, and he killed more than 700 people with his palm before dying from exhaustion.

On the same day, a celestial being from another race arrived from the capital, bringing with him a method to cure the Gu poison.

On the first day of the sixth month of the twenty-sixth year of the Jiajing reign.

After being entangled in the Gu poison for nearly half a month, half of the Tatar army finally removed the last trace of the Gu poison. After leaving some Celestials to search for An Ziyang and his group, the army set off again, following the route taken by the old man on the river to enter the pass and heading towards the capital.

Just as they were setting up camp to rest that evening, a large number of border troops suddenly emerged from the darkness. Leading them were Deng Baixuan and Liu Baiyun, who were holding up white banners bearing the words "Tang Lanzhou"... Because of the blood feud caused by the deaths of their relatives and friends when the city was breached, these remnants rushed into the camp almost as if they were risking their lives.

Without any order or formation, the hastily assembled routs could not form an effective command system. All they had was a frenzied and chilling killing intent. Even though the white banner bearing the words "Tang Lanzhou" had left before the main army surrounded them, hundreds of remaining soldiers still charged wildly through the camp.

The second day, the third day, the fourth day... it was the same.

As the remaining soldiers gradually thinned out, some ragged, beggar-like figures from the martial arts world joined in. Every time they killed someone, they would laugh and shout the name "Lao Qifeng." For a moment, the name of the deceased Beggar Clan leader echoed in the blood and moonlight.

Under this relentless, suicidal attack, the Tatar army's advance was once again slowed down.

On the third day of the sixth month of the twenty-sixth year of the Jiajing reign.

Inside the Tatar army's camp.

"Hatan (Damn it)!"

The tall and burly Tatar man slammed his fist on the table, instantly shattering the wide table into a pile of fragments that scattered in all directions. The speed and force of the impact were almost comparable to the hidden weapons unleashed by Tang Clan masters. If such a blow were delivered at an ordinary martial arts gathering, even an ordinary master would be killed on the spot.

Fortunately, the people inside were no ordinary people either.

The Tatar man sitting to his left, who was slightly thin, snorted and also threw a punch downwards.

boom!
His fist struck empty air, but his inner energy rippled outwards, intercepting and pulverizing all the flying wood chips. At the same time, he coldly snorted.

"If Anda Khan wants to show off his power, he'll do it in front of the people of the Central Plains."

"Don't play around here, this is not your Tumed territory."

The burly man who had first smashed the table squinted and glanced over.

The gaunt man who had spoken out with sarcasm also stood his ground, arms crossed, and gave him a cold look.

Both men were seated at the bottom, near the front left, but not at the head of the table. In other words, neither of them was nominally in charge. After the argument, no one in the tent dared to interrupt—including the young Tatar man at the head of the table, who simply ignored it and remained dumbfounded.

This is the power structure of the Tatars.

In short—the collapse of social order and morality.

The nominal ruler and Great Khan of the Tatar tribes was Dalaihun Kuden Khan, a young man seated at the head of the table and a descendant of the Golden Family. While nominally of immense prestige, he had long since become a figure akin to the Zhou emperor, possessing no real power beyond his own directly subordinate tribes, and unable to command even the most powerful ones. The true power in the Tatars lay with the two men currently observing each other with cold indifference.

The man with a burly build and coarse features was Altan Khan, the leader of the Tumed tribe.

The thin, cold-looking man was Yibula, the leader of the Ordos tribe.

The two most powerful tribes held supreme power.

But these two were at loggerheads.

Idahan said angrily.

"Whether I have any prestige or not, I don't know, but you certainly don't!"

"Last night, a mere second-rate nobody from the Central Plains came to my tent and even made me kill him myself. Instead of wasting time hurling insults at me, you should go and scrub and wash your tent!"

Yibuci also refused to budge an inch, replying coldly.

"You know why those Central Plains people were able to reach my tent last night!"

Anda Khan suddenly stood up.

"What do I know!"

Yibuci suddenly stood up.

"Do I really have to make things clear in front of the Great Khan?!"

"How could a mere few Celestials and some Gu worms have delayed us for so long! How could those second-rate Central Plains people have bypassed my tribe's sentry posts and reached my camp last night... Do I need to continue?"

Anda Khan snorted disdainfully, stepped forward, and, taking advantage of his height, looked down at Yibuci, saying each word clearly.

"What good will it do if you keep talking?"

Yibuci's voice faltered, as if instinctively fearful. He turned his gaze slightly away, but then seemed to remember something and retorted again.

"This is no longer the time for your Tumed tribe to be the only ones in power... Aren't you afraid I'll report you to the Eternal Heaven for acting so arrogantly!"

"I know what you're thinking, all these years—"

He pointed to the young man sitting at the head of the table.

"You have usurped the Great Khan's power. The Tatars are actually led by your Tumed tribe. So you have a plan to use the Central Plains people to reduce the power of other tribes before entering the pass. Once your Tumed tribe becomes the only one that is powerful, the Eternal Heaven will have no choice but to abandon the Great Khan and put you on the throne instead!"

His words have completely exposed the unspoken dealings between them, revealing his desperation.

"But don't forget—the big picture is yet to be decided!"

"The Eternal Heaven is still waiting in Shuntian Prefecture!"

"If you want to use these tricks, wait until you enter the pass and sweep across the Central Plains!"

"If you delay for a few more days, let alone the throne—if the Eternal Heaven knew that you were willing to resort to tricks to eliminate dissidents, allowing those people from the Central Plains to spread Gu worms and storm into the military camp, causing half of the army to be delayed until now, do you think the Eternal Heaven would kill you with one palm!"

(End of this chapter)