Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 120 What?! They want me to go undercover in Wufeng Banner?! (Please subscribe and vote!)

Three days later, on the first day of the third lunar month.

Zhenhaiwei Commandery Training Ground.

Xing Baichuan, the commander sitting in the center of a grand chair, looked down at the dark mass of garrison officers below, especially Wang Fugui, who stood next to Lu Yunchen as if nothing had happened. The veins on his forehead throbbed uncontrollably.

"How could things be so coincidental?"

Everyone else is fine, even the old dog that just came from the capital to the garrison, and Eunuch Park, haven't gone missing. Why is it that Cai Rong, who grew up in the garrison, is the only one who gets lost after just one trip out?

His trusted subordinate, Cai Rong, a sixth-rank "needle and pen craftsman," has been missing for three full days.

Since he was ordered by his father to find some Tanka people to kill innocent people and claim credit for it, and then return to save face, he has never come back.

The Zhenhaiwei Commandery was neither a family power nor a cult that held the lives of all its subordinates in its hands. It could not leave its generals with soul lamps that could be used as a medium for "cursing".

Even after something happened, they couldn't find him.

It wasn't until yesterday that I realized something was really wrong. After casting divination and consulting the oracle several times, I was able to roughly deduce that his chances of survival were slim.

The official's protective aura remained unresponsive, and the identity of the murderer was a complete mystery.

The case was not immediately reported because the bodies of the group and any remaining traces could not be found. The investigation efforts for missing persons and murder cases are ultimately different.

However, following the general principle that whoever benefits is the murderer, Xing Baichuan subconsciously looked at Wang Fugui.

But he quickly looked away.

"Lu Yunchen has a powerful background, so it's not difficult for him to know the Ministry of War's arrangements in advance."

But the fact that I ordered Cai Rong to take drastic measures was something that only the two of us involved knew; I never told anyone else about it.

That day, Wang Fugui was practicing sailing with Lu Yunchen. Many people in Yuegang, including my informants, saw it with their own eyes.

Furthermore, is it really logical or reasonable for someone to hire someone to kill someone simply because they suspected Cai Rong, a commander of a thousand, might challenge them?

The person capable of such an act is probably even more ruthless than those notorious pirates.

"To have such a vengeful enemy, and not kill him immediately, is truly terrifying!"

Xing Baichuan shook off the gloom in his heart and cheered himself up, comforting himself:

"Besides Cai Rong, who is a sixth-rank official, I have a few capable subordinates among the ordinary centurions, who are all seventh-rank officials like Wang Fugui."

Perhaps I can't handle it with ease, only injuring but not killing, but taking down this kid who supposedly just broke through to the seventh rank shouldn't be a problem.

Let them try; I have nothing to lose anyway.

At this time, Supervisor Park had already conveyed the latest official document from the Ministry of War to everyone, encouraging those hereditary generals who had not yet been granted a real post to volunteer themselves and prove their abilities.

As soon as he finished speaking, excited challenges erupted one after another:

"This humble general will challenge Wang Fugui, the centurion of Baoshan Thousand-Household Garrison."

"This humble general also wishes to challenge Commander Wang!"

"I'll come first!"

Even without Xing Baichuan's special arrangements, among the group of recruited officers, "Wang Fugui," who looked the youngest and had the most youthful appearance, was clearly the easiest to bully.

They immediately picked on the weakest link.

Hearing these arrogant voices who didn't take him seriously at all, Wang Cheng shook his head helplessly at Lu Yunchen beside him:
"If you want to keep this job secure, you still have to flex your muscles."

Lu Yunchen reminded him:

"You be careful."

Wang Cheng waved his hand:

"These rotten sweet potatoes and bird eggs whose ancestors have already been investigated by the Mountain and Sea Society for eight generations, how can you expect me to be careful?"

Lu Yunchen corrected:

"What I mean is, be careful not to kill someone. It's a small matter if Xing Baichuan loses face, but it's a big deal for our Baoshan branch to pay compensation."

Upon hearing this, Wang Cheng wholeheartedly agreed and immediately corrected his attitude.

Without waiting for others to urge them, they took the initiative to step into the ring.

Among the group of candidates for centurion, the one closest to the arena jumped onto it first.

Wang Cheng discovered that this person was actually an acquaintance.

"Guo Liang, a seventh-rank official of the local class, [Guanshan Taibao], made his living by collecting swallows on cliffs and steep slopes."

His disciple was harvesting swallow nests below, while he was pulling the rope above, his life's ambition being to find a disciple who wouldn't die from a fall (Chapter 21).

Born in Xuanzhong Thousand Household Garrison, which has now become Meiling Port, after the garrison collapsed, he had already switched to making a fortune by frequently changing disciples.

Upon receiving news of a chance to regain power, he immediately rushed back.

Upon taking the stage, he first boiled a bowl of dark, talismanic water and drank it down his throat.

Then he strode towards Wang Cheng, and with each step he took, the arena trembled slightly.

The extraordinary technique he practiced was called the "Mountain Unloading and Mountain Moving Technique." He swallowed one Mountain Unloading Talisman and one Mountain Moving Talisman, making him the strongest among all the special skills of the Earthly Officials!

Guo Liang's fists, like those of a zombie, gradually turned bluish-black, a sinister grin spreading across his face.
"Kid, fighting the Japanese pirates is not child's play. If you surrender now, you still have a chance to survive unscathed."

I, Lao Guo, am too strong; once I start fighting, I can't stop. We're colleagues, and it's never a good thing to have broken bones and tendons."

Others in the audience also joined in the clamor:
"Sigh, Lao Guo beat us to the punch, we've missed our chance."

"How many moves do you think it will take Guo Baihu to take him down? I guess five at most."

"I bet it only takes three moves."

Before the betting game even started, a loud "boom" was heard.

A dark figure flew backward and crashed into the wall on one side of the ring, hanging there like a painting for a while before slowly sliding to the ground.

Everyone fell silent, as if someone had grabbed them by the throat. "Next!"

It wasn't until they heard Wang Cheng's somewhat unsatisfied urging that they snapped back to reality and looked at Wang Cheng, who was slowly putting down his punching stance.

His right arm swelled up noticeably, as if inflated, and looked thicker than an average person's thigh. His feet remained firmly planted in place, without moving an inch.

What's even more alarming is that no one could figure out what special skill he used to crush the Mountain Moving and Ridge Unloading forces.

Just kidding, Master Wang is a man who survived being stepped on by a dragon. Trying to outmuscle him is like a centenarian eating poison.

"Old Guo was careless just now, let me handle this one."

Then another one, Bai Shuilang, rushed up. He was much more cautious. He stayed at the edge of the arena and sent out a bunch of otters that had been transformed into monsters to besiege Wang Cheng.

Who would have thought that when these otters arrived in front of Wang Cheng, they immediately lay down in a row on the ground one after another, exposing their bellies and whimpering for him to pet them.

Boom!

Another loud bang, and Bai Shuilang, who looked like he'd been bullied by Old Wang next door and whose face had turned green, only saw a black shadow flash before his eyes before he was also hung on the wall.

Wang Cheng turned around and beckoned to the audience:
"Anyone else, come at me all at once. If you win, I'll give you this fifth-rank general position."

He knew the principle that peace is preserved through struggle, but perishes through compromise.

Having suddenly risen to the high rank of fifth grade and wielding real power over a local thousand-household garrison, he would have to subdue them all if he wanted to live a peaceful life in the future.

If we don't fight it today, all sorts of troubles will come knocking on our door later.

"This"

However, these centurions were all hesitant. Two skilled fighters had been sent flying with a single move, which could not be explained by mere luck.

It wasn't until they were stared at by Commander Xing Baichuan's cold gaze that the last three seventh-rank officials under his command, who had been sidelined, mustered their courage again and jumped onto the arena together.

As soon as they looked up, a gust of wind swept in, and a huge black shadow suddenly enveloped their entire field of vision.

However, Wang Cheng continued to grow taller, reaching a height of ten feet, almost as tall as the eaves. Without using any special skills, he simply raised his hand, pulled out a weeping willow tree from beside the arena, and swung it at them.

Violence!

Fierce!

One force can defeat ten!

Regardless of their artistic skills, the only thing to do is smash!

Boom! Boom!
"Wait, we admit it."

Once the dust settled on the arena, the three of them were neatly hung on the wall.

Apart from a few suppressed groans, the entire arena was completely silent.

The "Transformation into a Dragon," a skill that allows Wang Cheng to transform his physical body, is his exclusive specialty after learning the Yang Star-Tracing Technique.

Since no one could discern the origin of his extraordinary skill, they naturally found it unfathomable.

Wang Cheng had a hammer, so everyone looked like a nail to him.

When his gaze swept across the audience again, none of the garrison officers or recruiters could meet his eyes openly anymore.

Park, the military supervisor, smirked and, ignoring Commander Xing Baichuan's unpleasant expression, said in his hoarse voice:

"The imperial court's selection system is clearly not flawed; the hereditary officials who were eliminated were indeed unworthy of their positions."

"Commander Wang, you can go back now."

The matter should have been settled at that point.

Suddenly, a civil official in his early forties, dressed in a blue seventh-rank official robe, walked steadily into the drill ground, surrounded by a large retinue of attendants.

Although he was only a seventh-rank official, many officers on the training ground immediately stood up to greet him.

Whether it was the commander, Supervisor Park, Commander Gou, or even the powerful Lu Yunchen, none of them dared to be arrogant, and they all bowed and addressed him respectfully:
"Lord Wang!"

Wang Cheng reverted to his original form, bowed his head in greeting along with the others, and suppressed the sharp glint in his eyes.

Because he had already recognized the other party's identity.

Besides the nobleman of the Han family, Long Yin, the direct instigator responsible for organizing the ambush and killing of the entire Wang family, which led to the current chaos in the East China Sea, is the Imperial Inspector Wang Bengu!

Although the Imperial Inspector was of low rank, he was the emperor's "eyes" in the provinces, capable of not only making decisions first and reporting later, but also reaching the emperor directly.

Wherever the Imperial Inspector went, even the most powerful governors and provincial governors had to treat him with utmost respect.

At least from his appearance, this Imperial Censor Wang was clearly the kind of upright and incorruptible person who did not exchange many pleasantries with the officers of the Zhenhai Guard Commandery.

After taking his seat, he casually said:
"Gentlemen, Lord Yu Zhifu, one of the 'Yu Long Qi Hu' (a group of famous generals), has just been promoted to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Minzhou Anti-Japanese Pirate Campaign."

He issued a handwritten order encouraging civilians to provide intelligence on the Five Peaks Banner, the largest pirate force in the East China Sea.

However, I anticipate that we will inevitably have to fight those thieves. It would be better to send reliable elite spies to infiltrate the Five Peaks Banner and obtain firsthand intelligence.

What do you think? "

Wang Cheng thought to himself:

This person is either truly stupid or truly evil.

Why make such a big fuss about sending infiltrators?

Which of these wasn't the result of years of planning, heavy bribery, strict secrecy, and single-line communication?

Announcing in public that you're going to send an undercover agent—do you think this is a martial arts competition?
If it wasn't a pretext to deliberately send someone to their death, then the real undercover agent was someone else, and he was simply creating another target in the open to draw the fire of the Five Peaks Banner.

Either way, whoever goes is doomed!

I originally thought this matter had nothing to do with me.

Unexpectedly, the imperial inspector pointed with a look of admiration:
“I just saw this young hero outside the door, and he is exceptionally brave and valiant. Why don’t we entrust this important task to him?”

(End of this chapter)