Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 346 How could he possibly be the mastermind?

Shen Tang was quite surprised by Sheng Yuanyao's aggressiveness.

Although she was the one I first encouraged Lu Xingzhou to date, she seemed to have remained just another face in the crowd for a long time. On the other hand, the Imperial Advisor, whom I had never even considered, had come out on top, which was incredibly frustrating.

This one is even fogged up from breathing today.

But Shen Tang had spent the longest time mentally preparing herself for this, and found it perfectly normal. By the time she was breathing out, it was already too late; she couldn't even be second in line anymore...

Shen Tang looked at Sheng Yuanyao with a hint of regret: "What a pity."

Sheng Yuanyao: “?”

Shen Tang sighed: "You knew them first, right?"

Sheng Yuanyao also felt the same burning anger that Yuan Muyu had felt before, the kind of anger that rushed to her head and made her face almost explode.

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

Shen Tang reached out as if to pat Sheng Yuanyao's shoulder, but couldn't reach it from her wheelchair, so she simply held her hand and said earnestly, "Some things need to be done quickly... Never mind, since Yuanyao wants to take care of Xingzhou, then I'll entrust Xingzhou to you for now. Keep an eye on things and make sure no one cuts in line again. It's for your own good."

Sheng Yuanyao's anger was raging, and her eyes seemed to be flashing with flames. She couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Holding hands and speaking earnestly was even more unbearable than the tea ceremony in the illusion of inner demons.

You even entrusted her with something and helped keep an eye on her, so you've already taken care of your wife, haven't you?
A capable wife.

Seeing that the melon was about to split open, Lu Xingzhou was about to say something when Shen Tang turned to him and said, "It's not really a good time to face him directly... I don't know how the battle is going over there, but it shouldn't be too long. I'd better leave first."

Lu Xingzhou swallowed back what he wanted to say and simply hummed in response.

Shen Tang smiled slightly, her eyes gentle and tender: "You saved so many soldiers of the Great Qian Dynasty this time... I won't say much more about thanking you."

Even Long Qinghuang could tell that Lu Xingzhou had no compassionate feelings, and Shen Tang knew it even better. So the reason he chose this method to save countless people was entirely because of her, Shen Tang, and Shen Tang knew it perfectly well.

Ironically, it was the emperor who caused so many people to be in danger.

Upon thinking of this, Shen Tang felt genuine anger towards her father.

It's infuriating to compare people like this. Lu Xingzhou, a cultivator of the demonic path, utterly devoid of compassion, could still do this. And you, the emperor, how could you…

Lu Xingzhou patted her head: "Go ahead. I've planted some landmines in the capital. I don't know how they'll explode, or maybe nothing will happen at all. But if something does happen, you'd better play dead and not say anything, understand?"

Shen Tang nodded obediently: "I understand."

Actually, she knew this better than Lu Xingzhou, but since the man wanted to show off and educate his girlfriend, she let him do it.

Sheng Yuanyao glanced at him sideways, grinding her teeth.

Don't think I don't know how authoritative you are in the sect every day. Who are you trying to impress with this gentle and demure woman act right now?
Now she finally understands how Lu Xingzhou is completely under this person's thumb; she really knows her stuff...

"Uh..." The generals, including Xiang An, who had come to greet the princess, were dumbfounded. After a long while, they said, "Your Highness... um, Sect Master Shen."

Shen Tang turned her head and smiled: "I'm leaving first. You don't need to mention me in front of His Majesty."

The generals looked at each other, all knowing what to do, and said, "We know what to do."

Shen Tang finally led her group away. They had arrived with overwhelming force, like stars falling in the sky, but left slowly on their swords, frequently looking back. Sheng Yuanyao really wanted to give her the middle finger and tell her to get lost.

It feels like the inner demon in the inner demon tribulation is not as strong as the real Shen Tang... Fortunately, she did not confront Shen Tang directly before her tribulation and did not know her well enough. Otherwise, if the Shen Tang reflected in the inner demon tribulation was of this level, Sheng Yuanyao felt that she would not be able to pass this tribulation.

How could that woman be crying in the background?

After Shen Tang left, Xiang An and the others hesitated for a moment before asking Lu Xingzhou, "Young Master Lu, what should we do now..."

Lu Xingzhou said, "What happens now is no longer something we can decide on our own. His Majesty and Lord Huo are both here."

As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Xingyuan stumbled down from the sky with Huo Zhang, appearing before everyone: "Now that you have regrouped your troops, why don't you return to provide reinforcements!"

The generals remained silent. They were the capital's army, under Huo Xingyuan's command, not his personal guards. Of course, a large portion of them were Huo Xingyuan's trusted officers and generals, but at this moment, they were all quite resentful. Everyone had heard Lion Mad shout "Abandon the pawn!" and they were all waiting for Huo Xingyuan's explanation.

No promotion is more precious than one's own life.

Huo Xingyuan knew what everyone was thinking, and thought to himself, "What can I possibly explain? I'm just a pawn myself!"

He could only say, “Don’t listen to the demons’ provocations. How can you talk about abandoning our pawns? Of course, His Majesty hopes that we can rescue the cities in the rear, defeat the Lion Madman, and regroup to rescue him! But in just three days, the rear has fallen completely, leaving us as an isolated army in enemy territory. How could His Majesty have foreseen this? And how could I have wanted to see such a thing happen?”

Finally, one of his trusted generals slowly said, "There is a traitor among us."

There must have been an inside traitor, which allowed the demon race to break through the front defenses and attack the rear cities with impunity.

Who is this traitor?

The name "Chen Yu" came to mind for everyone.

Then it immediately connected to the Prince of Jin.

Chen Yu, a student of the Dan Academy, wouldn't know many military secrets on his own, but Prince Jin did. Not to mention anything else, among the generals present, there were quite a few of Prince Jin's men. At this moment, many felt that they had almost been killed because they had informed Prince Jin of the situation; their anger and resentment were indescribable.

You are a prince, the Prince of Jin. We only told you the situation after you consulted us. Who gave you the right to tell others so casually?
Although there's still a gap in the logical chain here—the fact that the Prince of Jin knows doesn't necessarily mean Chen Yu knows—at this moment, everyone's anger needs an outlet, and it's all directed at the Prince of Jin.

For Huo Xingyuan, nothing is more important than shifting the blame at this moment.

Of course, as the commander-in-chief, Huo Xingyuan is undoubtedly responsible for such a defeat. He also has to shoulder another blame: the personnel for those cities in the rear were basically appointed by Huo Xingyuan himself, and they were all captured in three days. Shouldn't someone be held accountable for this?

Huo Xingyuan knew about these circumstances and was both angry and anxious. His injuries aggravated his condition, and he spat out another mouthful of blood.

Huo Zhang quickly stood by and supported him: "Father..."

Huo Xingyuan waved his hand: "This assassin from the Yama Palace is very strong... he might even be one of the Ghost Emperors. I heard that the Demon Emperor and the Yama King were fighting, so how come they're colluding together again? It's really strange..."

Huo Zhang's heart skipped a beat.

Praising someone's strength in this situation implies that their injury is quite serious.

Misfortune never comes singly... No, wait. If Father is seriously injured, will he consider passing the throne to his father?
Sure enough, Huo Xingyuan's next words were: "Zhang'er, you are very good."

Huo Zhang's anxious face couldn't hide the joy in his eyes.

Although Shen Tang and Sheng Yuanyao took the credit for their miraculous rescue of the soldiers, it was still worthwhile to receive their father's recognition.

Lu Xingzhou was indeed somewhat useful.

"Let's go." Huo Xingyuan paused to catch his breath, then said weakly to his generals, "Let's return to Juyao Pass first. His Majesty will decide what to do about this matter."

Everyone was waiting for him to say that. What kind of thing would it be if everyone just stood around on the road? Someone had to be able to arrange where to go.

Rejecting the demon gate... would most likely mean giving up the territory they've expanded over the years, which would essentially erase all the achievements of the Huo family over the past two generations.

The army marched back to Juyao Pass, only to find that Gu Zhanting had already arrived once they entered the pass.

He fled back, and when he saw the army on the way, he clearly had no time for pleasantries. He went straight back to the pass and waited for his generals to come to pay their respects.

At this moment, Gu Zhanting was in a worse mood than anyone else.

Previously, I thought that regardless of the outcome of other matters, judging from Long Qinghuang's reaction, the attack on the Holy Mountain was a sure thing, so I decisively retreated and didn't want to continue entangled with Long Qinghuang. However, on my way back, I received a message from the Ancient Realm saying that the Holy Mountain had not been captured.

It wasn't hit...

Using his special skill aggravated his old injuries, and Gu Zhanting was so angry that he almost died on the spot.

I lost dozens of cities along a hundred miles of border and almost wiped out my elite army, but the enemy's traitor didn't intervene, and Long Qinghuang wasn't even injured. That's bad enough, but I didn't even capture the Holy Mountain! What was the point of all this?!
Where exactly did things go wrong?

"It was Si Han from Tian Shuang Kingdom. He said that while Da Qian was engaged in a fierce battle with the demon race, he would follow the example of Ye Tinglan and attack the Holy Mountain. At that time, we were locked in a stalemate with the guards of the Holy Mountain when people suddenly appeared from behind. We dared not bet on what they wanted to do, so we naturally withdrew."

Si Han...

Gu Zhanting naturally knew that he had also tricked Si Han in the battle of Frozen Moon Cold River Bone Dragon, and had reason to suspect that Si Han had deliberately come to sabotage.

Gu Zhanting knew that Si Han was currently being supported by Ye Tinglan, but he certainly didn't believe it was at Ye Tinglan's behest. Ye Tinglan was more responsible than anyone else in the world when it came to dealing with the demon race, and it was impossible for her to help the demon race instead. Similarly, Gu Zhanting couldn't suspect Lu Xingzhou either. No one would think that Lu Xingzhou had such great influence in front of Si Han that he could order the ruler of a country around.

Moreover, where would Ye Tinglan and Lu Xingzhou get the information that someone was attacking the Holy Mountain? It doesn't make sense.

That means it could only have been done by Si Han himself... Most likely, his original intention was to steal the Holy Mountain for himself, but when he arrived he found that someone was already attacking it. It was a complete misunderstanding.

Feeling as if fate was playing a cruel joke on him, Gu Zhanting finally lost his temper and coughed up a mouthful of blood, ending up in the same miserable state as Huo Xingyuan.

At this time, Huo Xingyuan led his troops back, and the generals went to pay their respects to Gu Zhanting.

Seeing them actually improved Gu Zhanting's mood a little.

Regardless, the army was saved, and things weren't completely hopeless. Realizing that Shen Tang had been a great help, Gu Zhanting was filled with mixed emotions. His first question to the generals was, "Where is Yi Tang?"

The generals exchanged bewildered glances, but Huo Xingyuan finally answered, "The princess went straight back."

"He won't even see me..." Gu Zhanting's face showed some anger, but more so a sigh.

He knew why his daughter was missing.

She was afraid that she would think she was trying to gain credit or win people's hearts... Moreover, this was an unauthorized participation in the battle without orders, and it would be inappropriate to take it too seriously. The most appropriate thing to do was to leave and keep her identity hidden, so as to show that she was only doing rescue work and had no selfish motives.

The emperor knew in his heart that this was most likely just a show, but it was not easy for him to do it, as it at least showed that he knew when to advance and when to retreat.

Xiang An said, "Sect Master Shen said that upon learning of the border war, he specially brought the sect's experts to the vicinity to see if there was anything he could do to help. It unexpectedly came in handy, so he dared not take credit and returned first."

"I understand." Gu Zhanting sighed. "And you, is there anything you'd like to say to me?"

Huo Xingyuan knelt down: "Your subject suffered a defeat in battle, please forgive me."

Gu Zhanting shook his head, not feeling that this was Huo Xingyuan's fault, but coldly said, "Who can tell me how the demon race knew about our defensive vulnerabilities?"

Huo Xingyuan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "It must have been caused by Chen Yu's leak."

“Chen Yu…” Gu Zhanting frowned slightly. He knew who the generals were cursing in their hearts at the moment, but he felt that there was still a problem. Even if the Prince of Jin knew so many military details, what reason would there be to tell Chen Yu everything?
However, finding a scapegoat to quell public anger is a necessary measure right now... Gu Zhanting pondered in his heart, and slowly said, "Regarding the matter of the Prince of Jin, I will give the ministers an explanation when we return. As for the current matter, the Marquis of Zhenyuan's poor performance in battle is the first offense; the loss of dozens of cities within three days is due to the Marquis of Zhenyuan's ineffective recommendation and incompetence in managing his subordinates, which is the second offense. He will be demoted to a third-class marquis and removed from his position as commander-in-chief of the Northern Frontier."

This is basically just a penalty of three cups of wine. Huo Xingyuan bowed and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."

Gu Zhanting said meaningfully, "After returning to the capital, take some time to properly manage your family affairs, and don't let things become a mess."

Huo Xingyuan: "..."

Gu Zhanting's gaze fell on Lu Xingzhou, who was watching the show from the sidelines: "Did you bring Si Han? Did he save Guiyuan City?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "King Si came by himself. We just met him on the way and asked him for a small favor because of our friendship."

Gu Zhanting then asked, "Do you know where Si Han went afterward?"

Lu Xingzhou shook his head: "I don't know."

Gu Zhanting stared at him for a while, while Lu Xingzhou remained calm.

Gu Zhanting couldn't believe that the mastermind behind it all was such a young man. He finally nodded and said to Huo Xingyuan, "Your Seventh Young Master's rescue of Guiyuan City and his joint rescue of the army with Sheng Yuanyao are meritorious. I will reward you after I return to the capital. Such talent is rare. We were just talking about your family matters. Think about it carefully."

Huo Xingyuan kowtowed: "Your subject understands."

I secretly groaned in my heart.

Lu Xingzhou has been further gilded, and the emperor still needs to think carefully about his messy family affairs... This time, Lu Xingzhou has plenty of capital to stir up trouble.

It might not have been a mess before, but now it really is going to be a mess.

Having said all that, Gu Zhanting, still somewhat fatigued from his injuries, waved his hand and said, "Let's leave it at that for now. Let's discuss how to launch a counterattack..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hai Ruyuan rushed over: "Your Majesty! The Demon Emperor is leading his forces straight towards the Demon-Suppressing Pass, and it seems he intends to continue the battle!"

Gu Zhanting's words were stuck in his throat.

Before they could even think of a counterattack, Long Qinghuang was even more direct, launching another attack!
Is this female Tyrannosaurus Rex insane? Something happened to your sacred mountain, and you don't even go back to check on it?
(End of this chapter)