They've all become top scholars in the imperial examinations, and you're telling me this i

Chapter 181 Take action
"Third Prince Brother,"

Following behind Chen Guangrui, Tang Sheng noticed that Nezha was trying to suppress his laughter. He took two steps closer and spoke in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft.
"What are you secretly laughing about? Did you sneak off to the Moon Palace to watch the Moon Goddess Chang'e bathing?"

Nezha's smile froze instantly. "You little bald monk, are you trying to get yourself killed? How can you just shout things like that? If someone hears us, we'll both be skinned alive."

He let go and saw Tang Sheng covering his mouth and snickering. He glared at him, annoyed. However, that excitement surged back.
"But I'm really happy today! You didn't see it, that guy Chen Guangrui, I thought he would only play dirty tricks, but I didn't expect that he would also make a direct move."

"Don't you know why my dad got angry? It's because someone was spreading rumors about him behind his back and talking badly about him."

"Hehe, that's good. Chen Guangrui is really angry this time. He'll definitely give those people a good scolding. That old guy will be furious."

Tang Sheng looked at Nezha's relieved expression and sighed like a little adult.
"Third Prince, if you're so eager for him to suffer, why don't you just stab him to death? That would save you so much trouble."

Upon hearing this, Nezha seemed to have been struck at his weak spot. The excitement on his face vanished, and his face instantly drooped, filled with deep resentment and unwillingness.

"Nonsense, if I could stab him, I would have done it already! That broken tower seems to be in his hands. Every time he sees me, the first thing he does is look for that tower. I can't even get within ten steps of him, so what am I supposed to stab him with?"

He kicked the clouds beneath his feet in frustration.

Tang Sheng's dark eyes darted around, and he leaned closer to Nezha, whispering mysteriously,
"Then... shall I teach you a trick?"

Nezha looked at the little guy with suspicion, "You? What tricks could a little brat like you have?"

Tang Sheng puffed out his little chest. "Simple! At night, when he's sleeping or meditating, quietly sneak up to his tent. You don't even need to poke him. Just take your fire-tipped spear, heat the tip until it's red-hot, and wave it around his tent, making a little noise now and then, and then let out a few strange laughs..."

He gestured wildly as he spoke.

"Even if you don't stab him, you can scare him to death. He won't be able to sleep soundly or sit still. After a while, he'll scare himself crazy, and maybe you can even force him to put that broken tower down and rest for a while. Then you'll have your chance, right?"

Nezha was dumbfounded, looking Tang Sheng up and down as if he were meeting him for the first time, before finally managing to stammer out a sentence.
"Where did you learn all this from? What six-year-old spends all day thinking about these things?"

His expression was extremely complex, a mixture of surprise and as he shouted at Chen Guangrui.

"Chen Guangrui, is this the child you taught? What do you usually teach him?"

Chen Guangrui turned around and said, "No, I didn't teach him. Don't talk nonsense. He has a master. Go find that monkey from Flower Fruit Mountain."

Nezha:? ? ?
What did I do when I was six years old?

Before Chen Guangrui could answer, a deliberately amplified conversation, accompanied by several mocking chuckles, came clearly from behind a weapon rack not far away.

"That's why you say Vice Marshal Chen is so farsighted."

Behind a weapon rack in the training ground, a mocking voice rang out.

“I heard it all clearly that day in the command tent. The Heavenly King originally wanted to take a steady approach and choose a safe option, such as the lion demon from Wuji Kingdom. But our Deputy Commander Chen directly pointed to Leopard Head Mountain.”

Another voice immediately chimed in, mimicking the imagined tone.

“Heavenly King, Leopard Head Mountain is located in Xiniuhezhou, at the foot of Lingshan. The Yellow Lion Demon has been entrenched there for many years. He appears to be well-behaved, but in reality, he has been causing trouble for the region. We should rid the Buddhist sect of this monster.”

"That's right. He's someone from the Tushita Palace, yet he's so enthusiastically promoting Buddhism. Isn't that treason? He's practically siding with the Western Paradise. I heard that the Tushita Patriarch was so angry he stormed off. Everyone says he raised a thankless wretch..."

These words were heard by Chen Guangrui, Tang Sheng, and Nezha without missing a single one.

This means they were caught red-handed.

Chen Guangrui walked around a row of gleaming weapon racks. Behind him, spittle flying from their mouths, were three heavenly generals. Chen Guangrui had seen these three men in Li Jing's command tent.

At this moment, they still wore the smug look on their faces as they spread the secret, completely unaware that the person in charge would suddenly appear. Their voices stopped abruptly, and their expressions froze instantly.

"Chen... Vice Commander Chen?" The burly man who had been imitating the most enthusiastically stammered, taking a step back instinctively.

Chen Guangrui's gaze slowly swept over the three pale faces. He didn't roar, he didn't question, he just calmly said, "Say what you just said again."

That calm tone was more chilling than any roar.

"We, we were just chatting..."

Another tall, thin soldier tried to defend himself, but his voice was weak.

"I'll make you say it again." Chen Guangrui's voice was still not loud, but every word was as firm as iron.

The three heavenly generals remained silent, but sneered as they looked at Chen Guangrui defiantly. Their meaning was clear: "We've said our piece, what can you do about it?"
This is Li Jing's camp, and they are not worried about what a mere stable boy could do.

"Not going to talk?" Chen Guangrui's lips curled into a cold smile. "Then don't talk."

Before he finished speaking, he reached for his waist with his right hand, and a golden light shot out like a serpent, swift as lightning, instantly binding the burly general tightly. It was the Golden Rope!

"Ah!" the burly man cried out in surprise, fell to the ground, and struggled desperately, but the more he struggled, the tighter the grip became. He shouted the two men's names, telling them to run away quickly.

The other two were terrified and turned to run away.

Chen Guangrui originally intended to arrest only one person, but upon hearing the man call out two other names, he raised his left hand, and a jade bottle appeared out of thin air in his palm. He pointed the bottle at the tall, thin man and called out one of his names.

"Hey!" the man couldn't help but respond, and then everything went black as a huge suction force directly restricted his movements.

At the same time, the purple-gold gourd hanging from Chen Guangrui's waist flew up automatically without anyone noticing. The gourd plug popped open with a "pop" and aimed at the last short guy. Two powerful suction forces suddenly burst out!

"No!" The tall, thin man only had time to let out a short scream before he was transformed into a streak of light and sucked into the jade bottle with a whoosh.

The short man didn't even have a chance to resist before being directly absorbed into the purple-gold gourd.

The gourd stopper and bottle stopper automatically tighten.

The whole process happened in the blink of an eye. Beside the weapon rack, only the burly man, bound like a dumpling by the golden rope, remained, writhing futilely on the ground.

A deathly silence fell over the camp. All the heavenly soldiers and generals who witnessed this scene were dumbfounded, as if frozen in place. The air seemed to solidify, save for the heavy breathing and futile struggles of the bound man.

"That was so much fun! You actually did it!"

Nezha thought that once Chen Guangrui found these rumor-mongers, he could only give them a good scolding and make Li Jing lose face. He didn't expect that this guy would actually take action.

Tang Sheng's eyes widened and his mouth slightly open, clearly stunned by his father's clean, efficient, and decisive approach.

The commotion was so great, coupled with the sudden silence among the onlookers, that the news spread like wildfire throughout Li Jing's camp and even reached some corners of the Heavenly Court.

……

Inside the command tent, the bright lamplight illuminated the golden helmets and armor. Li Jing sat upright in the main seat, with several trusted generals lined up below, each clad in gleaming armor and displaying a composed demeanor. The atmosphere within the tent was solemn yet tinged with an indescribable sense of relaxation.

"With the conquest of the lower realm imminent, have you all reached a decision on the location of the first battle?"

Li Jing's voice remained authoritative as he slowly swept his gaze over the generals under his command tent, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the command table.

After a brief silence, a square-faced general in black armor stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and bowed. His voice was calm and even.
"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, the Yellow Lion Spirit of Leopard Head Mountain, which Vice Commander Chen highly recommended last time, is indeed an excellent choice."

His tone was businesslike, as if he were simply stating an optimal solution.

Another general, with a short beard and shrewd eyes, immediately echoed, a perfectly measured smile of agreement playing at the corners of his lips.

"That's very true. Leopard Head Mountain is strategically important, and Vice Commander Chen, with his keen insight, strongly recommended this place, so he must be quite familiar with its details."

The gazes of the generals inside the tent met silently in the air before quickly shifting away, all bearing expressions of deep agreement. Some nodded slightly, while others stroked their beards in contemplation, their movements composed and unhurried, displaying the demeanor of high-ranking officers.

Li Jing sat upright, his face revealing neither joy nor anger, but his previously taut jawline seemed to relax slightly. He turned his gaze to the Giant Spirit God, "Giant Spirit Vanguard, what are your thoughts?"

The giant spirit took a step forward, his massive body booming.

"This humble general seconds the motion! Since Vice Commander Chen has already pointed out the direction, Leopard Head Mountain is indeed the best choice. This humble general will certainly live up to the trust placed in him by the Heavenly King and Vice Commander Chen for the vanguard position!"

He pronounced the words "entrusted by Vice Marshal Chen" with exceptional clarity.

A tacit silence fell once again inside the tent.

Then they looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"Report!"

Just then, a hurried and panicked shout shattered the solemn atmosphere within the command tent. A messenger soldier practically stumbled in.

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Deputy Commander Chen has captured General Han, General Zhao, and Lieutenant General Wang at the training ground!"

(End of this chapter)