The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 298 A lie saves a city
Zhong Boxi reacted as soon as the Taoist's voice rang out. His body was enveloped by the flowing magic power, his feet stepped on the feng shui direction, and his eyes shone with a blue light as he confirmed his location.

Langzhong is a place where people are well-versed in the art of feng shui, and various legends have been passed down for generations.

Legend has it that Hua Xu raised Fu Xi here.

The Lu Shi records that Hua Xu conceived Fu Xi here.

The Xuan Guan who grew up in this place possesses various martial arts, supernatural abilities, and movement techniques all imbued with the principles of Feng Shui. The Feng Shui formation has already been activated, and they can appear like phantoms simply by stepping within its boundaries.

When the Taoist priest's palm fell, Zhong Boxi's body swayed but remained motionless.

Zhong Boxi's pupils contracted sharply.

The principles of feng shui are useless against this Taoist priest!

With a sway of his body, his arm bent like a snake's tail, sweeping towards Zhou Yan's neck. Golden light shone from his palm. This move extended his arm and could split steel, but the young Taoist grabbed his shoulder and with a single jolt, shattered all his joints and magical power.

It was like a snake being grabbed by the tail and violently swung up and slammed to the ground.

Even with his sixth-grade cultivation, Zhong Boxi was instantly shattered and fell to the ground, completely powerless to fight back.

Zhou Yan frowned.

This guy……

In order to quietly fulfill his great vision of beating up Fuxi's true form, Zhou Yan had conducted a special simulation of all the methods Fuxi had learned about, and found them incredibly easy to use when facing Zhong Boyi.

Although the taste is very mild, why does it taste like scum snake?
Fuxi was also—

I used to be quite unconventional.

But thinking about it carefully, although Fuxi had always kept a backup plan for himself, he only appeared when he was almost at Langzhong; and after entering Langzhong, he went silent. No matter how you look at it, this place is inextricably linked to that guy.

Langzhong.

[Hua Xu conceived Fu Xi here]...

Zhou Yan sighed silently to himself.

Don't tell me that Langzhong is home to the legendary ancestors of the Yan and Huang people, who gave birth to Fuxi and Nuwa, and even the ancient deity Huaxu, who is a mere mythical figure even the Yellow Emperor.

This is no joke.

Even if I were to unleash my full power, it would still collapse.

Zhou Yan's mind raced, but he had already captured and sealed Zhong Boxi. He casually grabbed a bag hanging at the latter's waist, opened it, and found a jumble of things inside, as well as a light arc that seemed to flow.

"...The two energies of feng shui are somewhat mixed."

"However, the technique of the Garbhadhatu Mandala might be able to serve as a guide."

He thought to himself that this was an unexpected surprise, like getting a map that, though blurry, could still be used.

Looking at Shen Cangming, Li Zhiwei simply nodded slightly, and the two knew what he was going to do: Zhou Yan had taken Zhong Boxi away.

A quick glance revealed an empty courtyard nearby.

After apologizing, Zhou Yan took Zhong Boxi here and threw her into a room to interrogate her.

Shen Cangming and the others faced the common people, as well as the state soldiers and garrison troops gathered by Lu Yishan. The first batch of these garrison troops numbered over four hundred, and later five hundred archers were brought in, totaling about a thousand men. They had previously been manipulated by Zhong Boxi using the fog.

After Zhong Boxi was captured by Zhou Yan, these people gradually recovered.

The events that had just occurred felt like a dream, a state of half-awake, half-asleep. A certain degree of commotion arose, and as Li Zhiwei looked at these people, her thoughts quickly shifted, and a bold plan appeared in her mind.

The matter of Langzhong must be resolved.

These state soldiers need to be held in our hands for a while...

With enough manpower, it's much easier to do many things, such as rescuing people. In such a big city, relying on just a few people would probably exhaust them and hardly accomplish anything. Although, this also involves taking certain risks.

For example, forging imperial edicts; for example, abusing military power...

Li Zhiwei licked her lips, raised her eyes, and before the soldiers could react, she took a half step forward, held up the seal in her hand, and said in a clear and spirited voice, "I am Li Zhiwei, the princess of the Li family of the Great Tang Dynasty."

"His Majesty has come here because he is aware of the great calamity in Langzhong, Sichuan. This treacherous general has been leading the troops in reckless acts. I am already aware of this. All the soldiers have been misled. Only the ringleader should be punished; those who are unaware will be spared!"

Although everyone was half asleep, they knew what they had just done.

Initially flustered and even harboring some ruthless intentions to go all the way, they all breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing these words. They bowed in unison, and the signs of mutiny in the army immediately ceased. They all said, "Thank you, Your Highness!"

Pei Xuan Niao secretly admired him.

Indeed, he is a descendant of Emperor Taizong, and thus possesses such spirit.

But the next second, even the audacious young master from a noble family realized that he had underestimated this seemingly small princess who loved to draw.

Li Zhiwei picked up another item and said slowly:
"I have come here on His Majesty's orders: all the troops in Langzhong shall be at your command!"

"This is the Tiger Tally!"

Pei Xuan Niao got closer and saw that what the girl was holding was actually an ink sac. His lips twitched violently. Li Zhen Yue's eyes twitched. Both of these elite soldiers felt, in that instant, as if they had been forced onto a pirate ship.

Sure enough, the next moment, the girl said loudly:
"With this item, I, the Grand Master, will hold all military power in Langzhong!"

As the words fell, the ordinary soldiers were fine, but the officers among the thousand men sensed something was amiss. After a moment's hesitation, they said respectfully, "Your Highness, such matters require official documents, seals, and a transfer of authority. We..."

Pei Xuan Niao felt a sense of foreboding.

But Li Zhiwei said sternly, "In times of emergency, we must act expediently. The safety of the nation and Langzhong is at stake. How can we delay? Don't you know that if we waste any more time, countless innocent people will lose their lives!"

"Your presence here proves that the Prefect of Langzhong has betrayed the country!"

“If you are willing to follow my Li family, then you shall all wear your robes with the right side overlapping the left; otherwise, you may wear them with the left side overlapping the right.”

Li Zhiwei's voice was stern, his phoenix eyes raised, exuding heroic spirit. Just as he hesitated, Pei Xuanniao suddenly gritted his teeth, stepped forward, drew his sword, took out his waist token, and raised it high, saying loudly: "I am Pei Xuanniao of the Pei family of Hedong!"

"The head of the family is none other than Pei Mian, the current Duke of Ji. I have come here on his orders to assist His Highness in quelling the disaster in Langzhong. Do you not believe us?!"

Li Zhenyue was surprised.

Did they know that Li Zhiwei was merely using someone else's power to intimidate them, and that Pei Xuanniao, who valued his family, was actually willing to use the name of the Pei family of Hedong to get involved in this mess?
So he whispered, "Little bird, are you crazy?"

"After this incident, the Pei family will likely be implicated."

Pei Xuan Niao's temples were soaked with sweat. His lips moved rapidly as he gritted his teeth: "I was almost expelled from the family... After what happened with Pei Xuan Bao and Pei Ang Ju, I didn't go back with San Lang Sheng Ren. The family probably already considers me dead."

"If things fail today, my family will have a way to throw me away to pay off their debts."

"If it happens today..."

He looked at the people and the desolate city of Langzhong. He was clearly willing to risk his life for the people, but he stubbornly insisted, "From now on, I'll make a separate page for the family genealogy!"

"If you lose the bet, you'll wander the world; if you win, your family tree will be published separately."

"With such a big deal, how can we not gamble!"

"All in!"

After saying that, he gritted his teeth in resentment.

"I shouldn't have gotten to know that thieving Taoist priest!" "Since I started following you guys, feeding Big Black with bean cakes and brushing its fur has been a rare treat!"

Li Zhenyue sighed deeply.

Knowing that this kid was all bark and no bite, he took half a step forward, raised his treasured waist token, which read "Shuofang Army" on the front, and said in a cold voice: "I am Li Zhenyue, Zhaowu Colonel under the Shuofang Army of Master Guo's son Yi, here to protect His Highness!"

Pei Xuan Niao was dumbfounded.

Li Zhenyue laughed: "If my Shuofang army generals were to see this scene and still be fools, even if Lord Guo didn't say anything openly, he would punish them secretly; if they drew their swords for the people, Lord Guo would punish them openly, but protect them secretly. If I didn't draw my sword today, how could I face the Shuofang army?"

The identities of the three individuals are revealed one after another, like layers of chips pressing down on each other.

The nearly one thousand soldiers believed it, and Li Zhiwei added, "I will take full responsibility for everything that happened today. If the matter is investigated in the future, it will not be related to you!"

"If this happens today, it will be considered disobeying military orders."

"When this matter is investigated in the future, do you know what the consequences will be?"

So all the soldiers of the state bowed and said that they were willing to accept His Highness's order!

Shen Cangming sheathed his Mo Dao and looked at the scene with a mixture of nostalgia and sadness in his eyes. He had lost the right to reveal his identity and stand up for the people. He could not overcome the pain in his heart until he had killed An Lushan with his own hands.

But then they noticed that Miss Li had turned her head away.

Miss Li's eyes sparkled.

Li Zhiwei then said, "You will all follow General Shen's arrangements!"

"Lieutenant Li and Lieutenant Pei will serve as his assistants!"

"To help the people, we must do our best."

"promise!"

These thousand men, briefly incorporated into the army, bowed in unison to Shen Cangming. Their voices echoed, momentarily stunning Shen Cangming. Li Zhiwei, a very intelligent woman, looked at him and smiled.

"The matter of Langzhong is of great importance to the people of our Great Tang Dynasty. We are grateful for your help, General."

Then she blinked again and whispered, "Uncle Shen, please agree quickly."

"I can't keep up the act anymore."

Once again, he led the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty to protect the people of the Tang Dynasty.

It really is like a dream.

Such a scene and such an experience caused a slight tremor in Shen Cangming's heart, a feeling of utter stillness that had been blocking his path to breakthrough.

A faint yet undeniably real aura of military might, centered around the girl, naturally began to converge towards him. Beyond power, there was also a sense of duty; the two converged.

His long-standing bottleneck in cultivation actually emitted a faint, almost inaudible cracking sound as this aura of military might merged into it.

For him, was his real regret that he failed to kill An Lushan?
Or perhaps, in the end, you failed to protect the people you swore to protect with your life?
So, there's still one more chance.

Shen Cangming was momentarily dazed. The man bowed respectfully, and he heard himself say softly:

"...I will certainly live up to my mission."

A military general with troops under his command is at a different level of strength than one without. From then on, they finally had a force under their command that they could use, which also relieved the governor of some of his power.

Furthermore, there was a state army corps composed of local good men.

It also provided tremendous help in intelligence gathering regarding the alleyway warfare in Langzhong and in rescuing the people. When she finished doing all this, Li Zhiwei was slightly taken aback. She felt that the small princess seal on her palm lit up slightly and then quickly disappeared.

Humanity's destiny?

Li Zhiwei looked at the seal in her palm; the seal was still heavy and cold.

Is it an illusion?

She's already run away from Chang'an; it's only natural that fate won't favor her.

So, Shen Cangming, Li Zhenyue, and Pei Xuanniao went to recruit these state soldiers, while Yuan Yufeng felt relieved, thinking that the imperial court had finally sent people, and they all smiled.

He ran around doing errands, helping everyone to comfort the people.

Everything seemed peaceful, like a harmonious and beautiful scene after the incident. In this harmonious atmosphere, among everyone, only Old Liu, who seemed to be a cunning old man with a broken leg but was actually a slippery fellow, saw something.

He stared blankly at the girl, guessing from the details that she was definitely faking it.

This is not in accordance with regulations.

No, wait...

Whose tiger tally is made from an ink cartridge?!

It's almost melted!

You! You all, falsely claiming imperial edicts and abusing military power, accuse a prefect of treason, and what else do you intend to do? Are you planning to kill the prefect?
Damn it, what kind of guts do they have?!

Old Liu felt a chill run down his spine.

He felt that his entire family was shining brightly before his eyes.

The old fox, who had only acted bravely once in his life and ended up with a broken leg, watched as the spirited young girl turned around and jumped down from a stepping stone. She was small in stature but very bold.

I felt my liver and gallbladder trembling.

Heavenly Bodhisattva, is your body, little girl, filled entirely with courage?!
Or is it that he has the courage of Li Zhiwei?

Li Zhiwei seemed to have sensed something and turned around.

Raise your finger and press it against your lips.

She smiled innocently and beautifully, then made a shushing expression.

Old Liu: "…………"

Oh oh oh!
He covered his mouth and nodded vigorously.

His vision blurred, and Old Liu realized that he might have boarded an extremely dangerous and massive pirate ship.

But just then, Li Zhenyue noticed Old Liu's unusual behavior. With a slight thought, he walked over, patted him on the shoulder, handed him a piece of dried meat and a small pot of wine, and whispered, "Brother, since you have trouble walking, help maintain order and take stock of the supplies in the back."

"I think you're a smart guy, so keep up the good work."

Looking at the wine and meat in his hand, and then at the soldiers who were beginning to move in an orderly manner, Old Liu suddenly felt that this pirate ship... was actually quite warm.
At least they'll provide meat and alcohol!
This seemed to be the first time in his life that he had been entrusted with an important task as "one of their own".

Although it was a trivial but important task.

Li Zhiwei exhaled, feeling that her back was completely soaked and her legs were a little weak. Not being able to see Zhou Yan, she raised her palm and pressed it to her chest, feeling her heart pounding.

Tell a big lie to cover up a city and to trick an army into joining.

It's just too, too—

So exciting!
(End of this chapter)