Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 69 Know yourself and the enemy
Sheng Yuanyao looked at him strangely: "You came all this way just to tell me this?"

Lu Xingzhou said seriously, "If you need help with this, you can perhaps come to me."

"So nice?" Sheng Yuanyao asked suspiciously, "Are you trying to trick me again?"

"It's just an exchange, mutual assistance," Lu Xingzhou said frankly. "If an outside sect were to launch a war of annihilation against the sects of Xia Prefecture, what would the City Lord think?"

Sheng Yuanyao narrowed her eyes.

She was aware of the hostile relationship between the Incense Burning Pavilion and the Heavenly Sword Sect. She personally participated in that ceremony and witnessed the Incense Burning Pavilion guards attempting to assassinate Shen Tang. She wrote a report on the entire incident and submitted it to the capital, which was a kind of occupational hazard for her as a member of the Demon Suppression Division.

However, she was unaware that the emperor had a different perspective on the report, which she was reading together.

In this particular incident alone, her report and the report from the emperor's men had different perspectives, yet their descriptions of the events corresponded perfectly. This even earned her father praise from the emperor, who said he had raised his daughter well and was conscientious and responsible...

But Sheng Yuanyao never dared to imagine that Fenxianglou would actually dare to wage a full-scale war against Tianxing Sword Sect.

This is no ordinary massacre; this is a sect that the emperor has explicitly "supported." How dare Fenxianglou do this?
Where did they get the guts?
When Lu Xingzhou said this, Sheng Yuanyao's first reaction was disbelief. But seeing that Lu Xingzhou's expression was not joking at all, she became serious: "Do you have any basis for what you're saying?"

Lu Xingzhou sighed and said, "Lord City Lord, although I have used you in many ways, the events have always been true. When have I ever completely fabricated something to deceive you?"

Sheng Yuanyao released Anuo, stood up, and paced back and forth in deep thought.

The imperial court had a peculiar attitude towards factional struggles. In theory, they were prohibited, since murder was a serious crime under any system.

However, in the world of cultivation, some things are quite awkward. For example, when Shen Tang "cleansed house" and killed eight elders, Sheng Yuanyao couldn't interfere. Nor could she interfere with those who provoked and were killed at the grand ceremony.

So, can she intervene in factional wars?

If it breaks out within Xiazhou City, she can handle it; that's being responsible to the people of Xiazhou. That time, when Liu Qingcang attempted to attack the Shen Family Merchant Guild, she stopped him.

However, if a battle breaks out in famous mountains and rivers far from towns, the Demon Suppression Division generally won't intervene. In a sense, these immortal sects are outside the established system.

The Heavenly Sword Sect is currently located on Danxia Mountain, in the outskirts of the mountains, bordering the outskirts. It's normal for them to interfere; if they don't, no one can say anything about it.

Therefore, Lu Xingzhou wanted to "exchange" for her help.

After a long while, Sheng Yuanyao sighed softly, "Lu Xingzhou... Shen Tang is Princess Chaohuang, isn't she..."

Chaohuang was the unofficial title given to Princess Gu Yitang right after she was born, highlighting Gu Zhanting's affection for her when she was just a little dumpling. This affection may have faded as the princes were born one by one, but the fatherly love he showed during that time was truly genuine.

Unfortunately, people's hearts are fickle.

Lu Xingzhou laughed and said, "You finally figured it out?"

“I’ve received far too many hints already; it’s foolish of me to only realize this now,” Sheng Yuanyao sighed. “When I first came here as the commander of the Demon Suppression Division, my father only instructed me to secretly assist Shen Tang, without even revealing her identity to me. You know what that means, right…”

"Well, I'd like to make an investment, but I don't dare to do it openly, otherwise it will inevitably be interpreted as taking sides, and your dad won't allow it."

"In that case, how could I dare to openly lead the masses to help the Heavenly Sword Sect fight a sect war? Even in the name of the city lord, it would be very inappropriate. You are putting me in a difficult position."

"That's why I suggested an exchange," Lu Xingzhou said. "Besides, there's no need for the city lord to lead the troops into battle."

"Oh?" Sheng Yuanyao's expression softened, and she finally sat back down in her chair. "So, how do you want me to make a move?"

"Those who come out to attack other sects are definitely not alchemists, since combat is not their forte. It's usually their guardians who do the fighting, right?"

"Yes. If they really come to attack you, at most a few alchemists will lead the attack, but the main force will definitely be their protectors."

"Sect gates are often protected by powerful formations, which are extremely dangerous. The Heavenly Sword Sect is an old, third-grade sword sect, and its inherited killing formations are far more formidable than those of the Incense Burning Pavilion. Everyone is just after some pill resources, why risk their lives... I don't believe that every guardian is willing to risk their life."

Sheng Yuanyao raised an eyebrow: "So?"

“They’ve infiltrated Xia Prefecture in batches, which gives me the perfect opportunity to sow discord and cause trouble. All I need is information from the Demon Suppression Division about these people—their cultivation, backgrounds, internal factional relationships, and so on. That’s the Demon Suppression Division’s specialty, isn’t it?” “You know they’ve infiltrated in batches, but I don’t even know who’s here. How can I give you that kind of information?”

"Lord City Lord, you're still investigating the demon case, searching for clues about demons within the city, and screening outsiders. Do I need to teach you that?"

Sheng Yuanyao: "...So what you mean by 'exchange' is how you'll help me?"

"Once this matter is settled, I will accompany you to the prefecture. Trust me, the demon case must be investigated in the prefecture."

Sheng Yuanyao was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Fenxiang Tower is located in the mountains outside the prefecture. They sent a large number of powerful protectors to attack your mountain gate, so there won't be many powerful figures left in their own mountain gate, just a group of alchemists. Are you going to the prefecture to help me, or to launch a counterattack?"

Lu Xingzhou and A Nu blinked at the same time.

This girl has become so much more alert...

"Ahem." Lu Xingzhou coughed lightly: "I will indeed consider counterattacking Fenxiang Tower, but the situation may not be as I think, and it may not be successful. Even if I do go to counterattack Fenxiang Tower, we will be on the same way, and the power of Tianxing Sword Sect will also be used by the City Lord to deal with the demon case together."

Sheng Yuanyao stared at him for a long time before slowly saying, "You used me for some things before, such as when I helped you intercept Liu Qingcang last time. I wasn't unaware of this, but I intentionally helped Shen Tang. It's the same this time. Your so-called help in investigating demons is just a pie in the sky. I have no expectations. The reason I helped you was still to secretly help Shen Tang. You must explain all this to Princess Chaohuang. Don't make it all your doing and take me for a fool."

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "Yes, Lord City Lord."

Sheng Yuanyao leaned back in her chair, looking somewhat weary: "Your previous style of doing things was quite ruthless... Whether you are the city lord or the commander of the Demon Suppression Division, I hope you can restrain yourself a little and not do something like burning a mountain in flames and wiping out all the invaders. If public opinion gets out of control, it will make things very difficult for me."

Lu Xingzhou laughed readily and said, "I'll listen to the city lord. This time it will definitely be much more peaceful than before."

"Don't call me Lord City Lord anymore. It sounds like a sarcastic malice coming from your mouth."

"No, not at all." Lu Xingzhou put away his smile and answered seriously, "When I call other city lords, I do have a bit of sarcastic malice in my heart, but I don't have that for you. Whether an official is worthy of being a city lord is not just about whether he is good at government affairs."

Sheng Yuanyao laughed and said, "Then thank you."

When the position of city lord is combined with that of the commander of the Demon Suppression Division, the power to control the local area is terrifying.

When Huo Yu ordered a search for Lu Xingzhou, it seemed like a lively day, but in reality, most of the people were just going through the motions. The Demon Suppression Division was completely uncooperative, and even the constables were just going through the motions, without finding a single person.

Not long after Lu Xingzhou left Sheng Yuanyao's office, the imperial guards of Xiazhou City went out in all directions, under the pretext of investigating a demon case, and thoroughly investigated outsiders.

This was the proper course of action for Sheng Yuanyao to concurrently serve as the city lord. It was already quite slow for them to start making a fuss after so long. No one in the entire Xia Prefecture found it strange, and even the people from the Fenxiang Tower who were investigated didn't think anything was wrong.

Late at night, a pile of documents was laid out on Lu Xingzhou's desk.

Looking at the large stack of documents, Shen Tang felt a chill run down her spine. Putting everything else aside, this proved Lu Xingzhou's judgment to be correct: Fenxiang Tower was indeed infiltrating Xiazhou in batches, and it was anyone's guess when they would launch a thunderous attack.

If we continue to slowly and deliberately engage in a protracted and hostile relationship with the Incense Burning Pavilion, we might not even know why the Heavenly Sword Sect's mountain gate was overturned tomorrow.

"Chang Qing, a third-grade alchemist, is the team leader and the Grand Elder of the Incense Burning Pavilion."

"Zhu Lianfeng, a third-grade Dao cultivator... joined the Incense Burning Pavilion when he was an eighth-grade cultivator and has been trained ever since. He can be considered one of the strongest in the Incense Burning Pavilion and its first protector."

“Zhang Shaoyou, a third-rank sword cultivator… Originally a rogue cultivator, he hesitated for more than ten years on the path to breaking through to the third rank. Later, he joined the Incense Burning Pavilion and received a large number of pills to help him break through to the third rank. After that, he became the second protector. The Incense Burning Pavilion’s resources were heavily favored, and we were a community of interests…” Lu Xingzhou read this in a low voice and sneered slightly: “A community of interests? Not necessarily.”

"Qin Buwang is a fourth-grade upper-level Dao cultivator. Like Zhang Shaoyou, he also hopes to break through using the pills from the Incense Burning Pavilion, but he has been with the pavilion for five years and has not yet broken through..."

"Zhao Guishan, a fourth-rank upper-level martial artist, a body temperer. He was recruited as a guardian martial artist with spirit stones and pills, and has been with the Incense Burning Pavilion for two years..."

"Cao Qiang is a fourth-rank upper-level Daoist cultivator, trained by the Fenxiang Pavilion. He originally joined the Fenxiang Pavilion as a young man to learn alchemy, but he didn't master it and abandoned it to fight, becoming a rather strong fire-type cultivator."

"They're really strong... Money really allows you to do whatever you want." Lu Xingzhou flipped through a stack of documents and sighed, "If they weren't from all over the country and were all trained by our own family, it would be really hard to handle."

(End of this chapter)