Zongwu: Aspiring to be the mastermind behind the scenes

Chapter 355 Wu Hua's Scheme: Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain

"When do you think the Star Luo Church will make its move?"

Chu Liuxiang panicked a little and quickly asked.

Wu Hua said, "In five more days, the army will be able to return to Guizi Kingdom. The Star Luo Sect is clearly using this trick of using someone else to do their dirty work because they don't want to affect their reputation in the Western Regions. I estimate that they won't let this army return to Guizi smoothly. So, they should make their move on the fourth day, or even the third day!"

"In other words, if we want to rescue Li Xunhuan and Lu Xiaofeng and kill Shi Guanyin, the best time is within two days!"

Chu Liuxiang couldn't help but shake his head: "This is truly a difficult task!"

He also felt that Wu Hua's analysis was correct.

Although he didn't understand the Star Luo Sect, he knew a lot about the Eastern Depot.

Even the notorious Eastern Depot, with its rampant activities, dared not directly storm into the inner sanctums of those prestigious sects in the Central Plains and kill its targets.

Not only is the risk too great, but once discovered, the number of targets for elimination will increase.

The current situation is actually similar.

Before the main army returns home, the Star Luo Sect only needs to destroy three thousand troops.

However, if this army returns to Guizi Kingdom, then in order to maintain complete secrecy, the Xingluo Sect will need to eliminate not only three thousand cavalrymen, but also potentially an entire city and tens of thousands of civilians.

"What do you want to do with me?" Wuhua asked.

Chu Liuxiang said, "Use you to negotiate with Shi Guanyin and exchange hostages with him. At the very least, you should be able to get one person out."

"Hahaha..." Wuhua laughed loudly: "You really overestimate my role. She would never trade with you."

Chu Liuxiang asked in confusion, "You are her son, and she holds two hostages. I just want to exchange one of them with her, is that not allowed?"

“Son? In terms of bloodline, yes, but you are the first person I ever met her. When was that? Just recently!”

Wu Hua sneered: "Someone like her only cares about herself and never about anyone else. Your plan has a very small chance of success. You might as well choose a smaller target."

"what?"

"Antidote! Of course, I'm talking about a temporary antidote."

Wu Hua said, "The deadly poison that Shi Guanyin gave to Li Xunhuan and the other man was something she researched herself. As for a complete antidote, I'm afraid there isn't one. Even if there were, she wouldn't have made it. But she has prepared quite a few antidotes like this one, which can temporarily suppress the poison for three days."

Once you obtain the antidote, you won't have to worry about Li Xunhuan and his companion being poisoned for a while. As long as you return to the Central Plains within the specified timeframe, take the antidote sample to a renowned physician in the Central Plains, you should be able to easily concoct the same antidote, or even completely neutralize the poison.

As for the technique of sealing the meridians with blood, it can be broken by true qi, and I also know how to undo it, which I can teach you as well.

After overcoming these two obstacles, the remaining refined steel will be no problem at all against Lu Xiaofeng's Thunderclap Sword!

Chu Liuxiang said, "You've thought everything through."

Wu Hua's face showed a helpless expression: "How can we not consider all the factors when faced with life and death?"

Chu Liuxiang nodded, but then said seriously, "Not enough!"

"what?"

"That's not enough!"

Chu Liuxiang stared at him and said, "If it were anyone else with such a plan in mind, I could believe in their wisdom. But if it's you, I don't believe you would only plan in your mind without taking any actual action!"

Wu Hua was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Hehe, as expected, the person who understands you best is not yourself, but your enemy. Chu Liuxiang, I am certain that I have not revealed any flaws, but you have seen through this."

Indeed, I made some other preparations. The antidote wasn't just something Shi Guanyin had; I also hid a few others.

"Hmph, I knew it. Someone like you probably only believes in yourself."

Chu Liuxiang's capture of Wuhua was essentially a probabilistic event; no one could have predicted it beforehand.

Even without flowers, it's the same.

Under such circumstances, knowing that he was about to face the threat of death, how could he possibly not take any action?

And this kind of action must be something he can do himself; he can't rely on anyone else.

And indeed, things turned out exactly as Chu Liuxiang had imagined.

Wu Hua had secretly stolen a few antidotes long ago, his purpose being to rescue Li Xunhuan and the other man and escape with them.

That's right, escape.

On his own, even with Li Xunhuan and the other two, he only wanted to escape and never thought of dealing with Shi Guanyin.

After all, the difference in combat strength between the two sides is enormous.

Wu Hua's original plan was to launch an operation when the army was only one day away from the territory of Kucha, and to rescue Li Xunhuan and Lu Xiaofeng directly.

If the Star Luo Sect hasn't made a move by then, then we'll have to rely on the martial prowess of Li Xunhuan and Lu Xiaofeng to fight against Shi Guanyin.

If the Star Luo Sect makes a move, he will also need to rely on the two men's strength to fight against the Star Luo Sect.

This is the tragedy of being weak.

Faced with such a perilous situation, they could only rely on the force of others.

Where is the antidote?

"In my arms."

"Hand it over."

Wu Hua offered no resistance whatsoever. In fact, it was only because Chu Liuxiang hadn't searched her that he found anything; otherwise, he would have already done so.

Chu Liuxiang obtained the hidden antidote, a total of six pills, and distributed them to Li Xunhuan and Lu Xiaofeng, three pills each. Each pill could suppress the poison for three days, for a total of nine days.

"It's a bit too short. It would be best to trade more antidotes from Shi Guanyin."

Time was of the essence, so Chu Liuxiang immediately sprang into action.

He barged directly into the military camp.

This high-profile move immediately attracted the attention of many skilled fighters in the military camp.

Liu Xi appeared first, but did not make a move.

A moment later, accompanied by a gust of wind, a stunningly beautiful figure appeared before everyone.

Stone Guanyin reappeared.

She looked at Chu Liuxiang's figure, and a hint of joy appeared in her eyes, but when she found that he was standing fifteen feet away, the joy disappeared completely.

Through past encounters, she already knew very well just how powerful and exquisite this world-renowned master thief's lightness skill was.

Let alone fifteen zhang, as long as the two sides are already ten zhang apart, she simply cannot catch up.

If a Grandmaster of the Three Flowers level is like this, then Liu Xi, who only has the cultivation of a Grandmaster of the Two Flowers level, is probably no match for Chu Liuxiang at all.

This applies even if the distance between the two sides is within one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters).

"Chu Liuxiang, after hiding like a mouse for so long, are you finally going to jump out?"

"I am mocking you," Shi Guanyin said.

Chu Liuxiang said, "Didn't you notice that someone is missing?"

Shi Guanyin looked around and quickly noticed the problem: "Wuhua? You captured him?"

"good."

Chu Liuxiang said, "You can use Li Xunhuan and Lu Xiaofeng to threaten me, and I can use them to kidnap your son. Now, let's make a deal."

"A trade? You don't actually think that by capturing Wuhua, you can get two people from me in exchange, do you?"

"Of course I wouldn't think that way. How about one for one?"

"It doesn't matter." Shi Guanyin said coldly, "You can take that person away if you want, and even if you kill him, it has nothing to do with me."

"What? He's your son!"

"so what?"

"I knew you were ruthless, but I never imagined you could be this cruel. Even your own son, you can abandon him so easily—aren't you afraid of alienating your men?"

"Chilling?"

Shi Guanyin looked at Chu Liuxiang with a mocking expression, then turned to her disciples and numerous male concubines, saying, "Now, I am the Queen of Guizi Kingdom! After my death, Wuhua, as my son, should rightfully inherit the throne."

But if he dies, the successor to the throne will be chosen from among you. Do you feel disheartened?

"This……"

Such remarks are truly shocking and outrageous.

On one side is Shi Guanyin, and on the other side is Shi Guanyin's son.

No one dared to say anything out of turn.

After all, they knew best how eccentric Shi Guanyin's temper was, and speaking ill of Wuhua now did not necessarily represent Shi Guanyin's opinion.

But it was clear to the naked eye that many people's faces showed signs of interest.

However, they were overthinking it.

What Shi Guanyin is saying now is exactly what it means.

Seeing their silence, Shi Guanyin's eyes sharpened, but she still smiled and said, "Look, they not only don't feel disheartened, but they are actually quite tempted!"

In fact, Shi Guanyin had also built up a power base during her years in the Western Regions.

Although this force was under the complete control of Shi Guanyin, its members were already familiar with each other, forming an established structure.

On the contrary, Wu Hua suddenly appeared, and even appeared as the son of Shi Guanyin, which surprised and disgusted many people.

He is the outsider.

It's like a group of people cultivating a piece of land, nurturing the soil, planting the seeds, and waiting for the seeds to grow and be harvested, when suddenly someone pops up and says, "Thank you all for helping me cultivate this land."

Who would want that?

However, the charm of the Seven Wonderful Monks was no joke. Wuhua, through his own abilities, had won over many people and was even about to find love.

Unfortunately, this love was killed by Shi Guanyin before it could blossom.

It's safe to say that it would be strange if no one hated the Stone Guanyin.

"As expected, you won't agree. However, I was prepared for this."

Chu Liuxiang said, "Now let's talk about the real conditions: the antidote!"

"Antidote? Forget about it, I didn't make an antidote for that kind of poison."

"I need a suppressive antidote, at least a hundred pills."

"Unfortunately, I don't have that many. I only have forty-eight on hand right now."

A strange smile appeared on Shi Guanyin's face: "I can give you all of these antidotes. However, I will not create any new antidotes. Those two people just took a new antidote yesterday, which will suppress their symptoms for three days."

Chu Liuxiang's eyes flickered.

He understood what the other person meant instantly.

Giving him all the antidotes means that Li Xunhuan and his companion must rely on him to obtain new antidotes.

Chu Liuxiang had already taken one yesterday. Based on the calculation that the antidote could suppress the poison for three days, he would have to either rescue the two people or give them a new antidote within the next two days.

Regardless of which option Chu Liuxiang chooses, he must get close to Li Xunhuan and the other person.

In this way, as long as Shi Guanyin stays firmly by the side of the two, there is no need to worry about Chu Liuxiang running away.

Use a counter-strategy and take advantage of the situation.

All I can say is that she truly lives up to her name as Stone Guanyin.

However, Chu Liuxiang had no choice.

Taking a deep breath, Chu Liuxiang said seriously, "Okay, I agree! Bring the antidote and come with me."

"Ok?"

Shi Guanyin's gaze sharpened, and for a moment, she had a sense of déjà vu.

"Is this another diversionary tactic?"

Just like before, when she mistakenly thought that Chu Liuxiang and Lu Xiaofeng were together, so she personally led people to arrest them, only to find that Chu Liuxiang had infiltrated the military camp and taken away Hu Tiehua and Ji Bingyan.

Is he about to resort to his old tricks again?

But then I realized that my goal was Chu Liuxiang.

Whether it's a diversionary tactic or not, we just need to keep an eye on him.

The purpose of capturing those two people was to lure Chu Liuxiang into a trap. Once he was hooked, it wouldn't matter if the two people escaped.

Thinking of this, Shi Guanyin didn't care at all. After taking the antidote, she chased after them directly.

The two left the military camp one after the other in the blink of an eye.

Shi Guanyin also tried to speed up and catch up with Chu Liuxiang, but Chu Liuxiang was not completely unprepared. As soon as she sped up, he immediately showed his full speed, keeping the distance between them at about fifteen zhang.

It should be noted that Shi Guanyin is not only a master of the Three Flowers Sect, but also one of the best among them.

He cultivated the Heavenly Martial Nerve, his true energy was as vast as the sea, and he had also practiced the exquisite skills of various schools and sects, creating his own unique technique.

The lightness skill he used was naturally extraordinary.

She could catch up instantly with ordinary grandmasters, even those at the second level of the Grandmaster realm, even if they were twenty feet apart, let alone fifteen feet.

But Chu Liuxiang did it.

It can only be said that the world of geniuses is simply beyond the reach of ordinary people.

The so-called difference in realms is quite vague for geniuses.

The two sides quickly arrived at a point five miles outside the military camp.

Hu Tiehua was guarding Wuhua here, his hand forming a claw, tightly gripping Wuhua's throat.

The two landed on the ground one after the other.

Shi Guanyin glanced at Wuhua and smiled, "This is indeed a good place. It's so close to the military camp, it must be very convenient for you to observe the situation there, right?"

"What?" Chu Liuxiang seemed not to understand at all.

"Stop playing dumb. You invited me here just for a deal?"

Shi Guanyin said, "Is this also a ploy to lure me away from the camp, so that your people can find an opportunity to rescue me?"

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, "Your Majesty is joking. Old Hu and I are both here. How could one person possibly break into the military camp to rescue people?"

"lie!"

Stone Guanyin smiled slightly, a smile so moving that even the most outstanding painters in the world could not capture even a fraction of its beauty.

And her wisdom was equally sharp; in the blink of an eye, she had already considered another possibility.

"Besides these two friends beside you, there are others, right? I've long heard the saying in the Central Plains, 'Lu Xiaofeng's friends are all over the world.' It seems that besides you, others have come to help?"

(End of this chapter)