All Heavens: Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts Starting from the Republic of China

Chapter 73 A Shocking Situation

The city guard was covered in blood, his chest heaving violently.

He looked like he had run there desperately; the front of his military uniform was soaked in blood, and half a broken knife was stuck in his left shoulder. After rushing into the hall, he only managed to shout this one sentence before collapsing forward.

Tang Ziming, who was closest, immediately stepped forward to help him.

"Which battalion are you from?"

The city guard's lips turned blue as he struggled to lift his head.

"Headquarters—Quarterly Department—Someone is falsely conveying military orders—"

"Both the South Gate and East Gate are undergoing troop rotations —"

"They said—it was a personal order from the commander—"

Before he could finish speaking, a mouthful of blood suddenly welled up in his throat.

Chen Ji'an's face was terribly gloomy.

"Explain yourself clearly!"

The city guard gripped Tang Ziming's sleeve tightly, his eyes filled with fear.

"No—not one of ours—"

'

"Eyes—their eyes—"

He seemed to want to say something, but he couldn't utter a word.

His head lolled to the side, and he stopped breathing completely.

Inside the banquet hall, the panic that had just been barely suppressed resurfaced.

Something happened at the city defense command headquarters.

The guards at the South Gate and East Gate will rotate shifts.

Someone falsely conveyed Chen Ji'an's military orders.

These few sentences, taken together, carry immense weight.

Tonight's assassination attempt was indeed not an isolated incident involving a single knife or gun.

Chen Ji'an slowly raised his head and looked at Fu Ze, Liao Xibai, Li Junfeng and others.

His eyes flashed with murderous intent.

"Someone wants to take my Wenlong away."

Zhao Rui sneered.

"You only find out now? The other side had several truckloads of guns, explosives, and talismans. It's probably not as simple as just wanting to kill someone."

Chen Ji'an did not refute.

Normally, anyone who dared to speak to him like that would have been dragged out and punished long ago.

But tonight is different.

Assassination at the city gate, munitions at the south dock, an evil formation in the banquet hall—now, even the city defense command headquarters is in trouble!

One thing after another, each incident felt like a slap in the face.

Liao Xibai remained calm.

He glanced at the still-shaken crowd in the banquet hall, then looked at Chen Ji'an.

"Ji An, we mustn't panic."

Chen Ji'an took a deep breath.

"Don't worry, sir, I'll head back to headquarters right away."

"If anyone dares to stage a coup under my nose, I will kill him with my own hands."

As he spoke, he turned to leave.

Liao Xibai replied.

"You cannot leave here now."

Chen Ji'an paused in his steps.

"gentlemen?"

Liao Xibai's voice was not loud, but it suppressed the noise in the banquet hall.

"These are Wenlong's military and political leaders, business guild members, newspaper representatives, and foreign journalists. You just publicly hosted a banquet for me, and the assassination attempt happened in the banquet hall. What will happen if you leave now?"

Chen Ji'an remained silent.

Fu Ze chuckled and picked up where Liao Xibai left off, speaking very directly.

"Some people will say you used the assassination attempt as an excuse to escape the meeting, while others will say you knew something was going to happen at headquarters and deliberately left everyone here."

"What's more troublesome is that if someone outside uses your name to mobilize troops, and you yourself are not in front of everyone, how will anyone know which order is genuine?"

Chen Ji'an's expression turned even uglier.

He certainly understands this principle.

Wenlong is his territory, but precisely because it is his territory, if things get out of control tonight, all the responsibility will fall on his shoulders.

Liao Xibai said.

"You stay here and give the orders in front of everyone. Let them all see that you didn't run away or cause chaos."

Chen Ji'an nodded slowly.

"Yes, sir, you are right."

He turned to look at Tang Ziming.

"Ziming!"

Tang Ziming immediately stood at attention.

"Your humble servant is here!"

Chen Ji'an took a copper token from his waist and tossed it to him.

"Take your men to the city defense headquarters. Find out exactly what happened in the quartermaster department, the staff office, and the guard battalion. If anyone is falsely conveying military orders, arrest them. If they resist arrest, execute them on the spot!"

Tang Ziming took the bronze token and said in a deep voice.

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Chen Ji'an then looked at Fu Ze.

"Brother Fu."

Fu Ze glanced at Liao Xibai, who nodded.

"Okay, I'll go with Battalion Commander Tang."

Chen Ji'an didn't say anything polite, he just cupped his hands in greeting.

Thank you for your trouble.

Feng Xuan suddenly spoke.

"Young friend Fu, wait a moment."

He picked up a broken piece of the lamp from the ground, and then took a small piece of charred paper from the back of the dead waiter's neck.

The paper was much thinner than ordinary talisman paper, yellowish in color, and its edges were drawn with extremely fine black lines.

Feng Xuan frowned and stared at it for a long time.

"This thing doesn't resemble the talismans of the Central Plains."

Fu Ze took it and glanced at it.

Most of the patterns on the paper had been burned away, leaving only a few cinnabar strokes.

The strokes were very fine and dense, unlike the vertical lines of Taoist talismans; instead, they carried a strange, winding, and looping quality.

It looks like a character, yet it doesn't look like a character.

Fu Ze's heart skipped a beat.

He had seen similar descriptions in some miscellaneous books left by his grandfather.

Beyond the East China Sea, there are also practitioners of spiritual cultivation in Japan.

They don't call themselves Taoist priests, but rather Yin-Yang masters, sorcerers, spellcasters, or witches. The talismans they use are different from those in Central China, showing traces of what they learned there, but also incorporating their own elements of Taoism, Yin-Yang, and incantations.

Fu Ze didn't immediately reveal the answer, but asked in a low voice.

"Have you met the Taoist priest?"

Feng Xuan shook his head.

"I heard a senior uncle from Gezao Mountain mention this in my younger days. In the East Sea, some sorcerers use paper talismans, but instead of drawing the decrees of the Heavenly Venerable or invoking the lineage of the Three Pure Ones, they mix together the names of ghosts and gods, the numbers of constellations, and yin-yang incantations. It's somewhat similar to this thing."

Tang Ziming was taken aback.

"The East China Sea? Is that the area near Japan?"

Feng Xuan neither nodded nor denied it.

"Just a guess."

Liao Xibai looked at the tattered talisman, his eyes darkening slightly.

"Don't make a fuss yet."

Chen Ji'an also understood the significance of this.

If it were just an internal rebellion within Wenlong, it would already be troublesome enough.

If outsiders are involved behind the scenes, things become even more complicated.

Fu Ze put the piece of paper away.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye on that."

Li Junfeng suddenly said.

"I'll go too."

Liao Xibai looked at him.

"Junfeng, your injury—"

Li Junfeng said coldly.

"He can still walk, and he can still fight."

Fu Ze shook his head.

"Brother Li, please stay."

Li Junfeng looked at him.

Fu Zedao.

"Mr. Liao, this place cannot be left unguarded. Although the evil formation was broken just now, the caster is still outside. If they come in a second wave, Master Feng Xuan may not be able to handle it alone."

Feng Xuan smiled bitterly.

"Young friend Fu is right."

Li Junfeng remained silent for a moment before finally nodding.

"it is good."

He looked at Fu Ze.

"Be careful. That warlock is not simple."

Fu Ze smiled.

"I know. I value my life more than I used to."

Zhao Rui rolled his eyes.

"You just rushed out of an exploding ship, do you even believe that yourself?"

Fu Ze ignored him.

The group quickly left the guild hall.

Tang Ziming brought a dozen or so soldiers he could immediately verify as trustworthy. Zhao Rui walked to the side and slightly behind, neither of his pistols sheathed.

Fu Ze walked at the front, his lightning-struck jujube wood magic dagger hidden in his sleeve, his spiritual vision never turned off.

As soon as I stepped out of the guild hall, the night scene of Wenlong City had already changed.

The once brightly lit street now seemed shrouded in unease.

Intermittent gunfire could be heard in the distance, suggesting that fighting had broken out in some parts of the city.

To the south, there was still black smoke left from the explosion of the Yongji.

From the direction of the eastern city wall, the firelight could be faintly seen.

The people on the street fled in panic, and many shops hurriedly closed their doors. Newsboys, clutching unsold extra editions, huddled in corners, their eyes filled with fear. Patrolmen ran through the streets, some shouting for the roads to be blocked, others for returning to camp, and still others had no idea whose orders to take.

Tang Ziming's face turned ashen.

"It hasn't been that long, and the city is already in such chaos!"

Fu Ze looked up at a street lamp on the side of the street.

The flames are normal.

However, in the spiritual vision, there was a faint ring of light blue around the edge of the lamp wick.

He walked over and reached down to touch the bottom of the lamppost.

A speck of ash touched my fingertip, carrying a faint aura of talismanic energy.

It is different from the dim lamps in the banquet hall, but they share the same origin.

Fu Ze's eyes darkened.

"They did more than just set things up in the clubhouse."

Zhao Rui frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Fu Ze looked into the depths of the long street.

"Streetlights, incense burners, city gates, armories—these places may have all been tampered with."

Tang Ziming's expression changed drastically.

"You mean, they've set up a magic array throughout the entire city?"

"It might not be a complete grand formation."

Fu Zedao.

"But at least, they were nodes used to conceal their presence, transmit signals, and disrupt military orders."

"I guess that's why the city reacted so chaotically after the incident at headquarters. Many people weren't unwilling to obey orders, but rather they simply couldn't distinguish between genuine and fake orders, nor could they see who was making the moves."

Zhao Rui cursed under his breath.

"Damn it!"

Just then, a group of soldiers rushed out from the street corner ahead.

They were holding guns and looked panicked.

Upon seeing Tang Ziming, the leader immediately shouted.

"Battalion Commander Tang!"

Tang Ziming recognized the other person as a platoon leader under the Third Battalion.

"What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be guarding the west entrance of the city?"

The platoon leader said urgently.

"Someone just arrived with a dispatch order from headquarters, saying there are rebels at the East Gate and we need to go there immediately to provide support!"

Tang Ziming said angrily.

"Who gave you the transfer order?"

The platoon leader was taken aback.

"It's a messenger from the quartermaster department."

"Where's the transfer order?"

The platoon leader quickly took out a folded official document from his pocket.

Tang Ziming took a look and his expression changed instantly.

The official document was indeed stamped with the seal of the Logistics Department of the City Defense Command.

However, a fake seal that was exactly the same was just found in the iron box at the South Wharf.

Fu Ze reached out and took the transfer order.

Under spiritual vision, a very faint gray-black aura could be seen at the edge of the paper.

He flipped it over to the back.

On the back corner, there was a small piece of yellow paper, about the size of a grain of rice.

You wouldn't notice it at all unless you looked closely.

Fu Ze peeled off the yellow paper.

There are a few tiny vermilion lines drawn on it.

The lines were winding and looping, somewhat similar to the broken talisman that Feng Xuan had just taken from the back of the servant's neck.

Tang Ziming's face turned pale.

"This is also—"

Fu Ze crumpled the yellow paper into pieces.

"Where is the messenger?"

The platoon leader looked bewildered.

"He's gone. He said he still needs to inform the South City Defense Team."

Tang Ziming was so angry he almost gritted his teeth.

"Everyone, stay put! No one is allowed to move without my and Commander Chen's personal orders."

The platoon leader was startled and quickly responded.

Fu Ze suddenly looked up.

"It's too late."

In the distance, a burst of rapid gunfire suddenly rang out from the direction of the East Gate.

Immediately afterwards, a fire also lit up in the direction of the city defense command headquarters.

Tang Ziming's expression changed.

"Walk!"

Without lingering, the group quickly headed towards the city defense command headquarters.

Along the way, they encountered two more groups of soldiers who had been transferred away under false orders.

Some were going to the South Gate, others to the telegraph office. And yet another team was ordered to take over the police station.

Each transfer order had a fake seal, and behind it was a small, inconspicuous yellow paper talisman.

The more Fu Ze looked, the heavier his heart became.

These talismans themselves are not very lethal.

But they are very insidious.

Unlike orthodox talismans from the Central Plains that directly invoke divine decrees, these were attached to military orders, subtly concealing any sense of incongruity and causing the recipient to subconsciously overlook any illogical aspects.

Fu Ze even suspected that if ordinary soldiers saw these orders, they would instinctively think, "There's nothing wrong with these orders."

This is not forced control, but a form of psychological guidance.

It is more covert than simple hypnotic spells and is more suitable for this kind of chaotic military and political situation.

Zhao Rui's face darkened after hearing Fu Ze's explanation.

"So, the other side didn't rely on one or two people falsely conveying orders, but rather on these evil talismans to disrupt the entire city's defense system and people's understanding?"

Fu Ze nodded.

"almost."

Tang Ziming said in a low voice.

"Japanese sorcerers—"

His voice was very soft.

It was so soft that only Fu Ze and Zhao Rui could hear it.

Fu Ze did not respond.

Because at this point, it's not possible to draw a complete conclusion.

Soon, the group arrived near the city defense command headquarters.

Surprisingly, there was no intense firefight as expected.

It's too quiet.

Two rows of soldiers stood outside the headquarters gate.

Their uniforms were neat, their guns were lowered, and their faces showed neither panic nor anger.

It was so quiet that it didn't seem like something had just happened.

Tang Ziming slowed his pace.

There's a problem.

Fu Ze also sensed it.

The fact that these soldiers still possess yang energy indicates that they are all alive.

But their expressions were too calm.

Especially the eyes.

A faint blue light shone in the depths of everyone's eyes.

Like the guests in the banquet hall who have been influenced by the dim light and cigarette smoke.

However, these soldiers were clearly more deeply affected.

Tang Ziming stepped forward.

"I am Tang Ziming, the battalion commander of the Third Battalion. I have been ordered by Commander Chen to enter the headquarters to investigate a case."

An officer at the door slowly raised his head.

Fu Ze recognized that the man's shoulder insignia were not low, indicating that he was at least an adjutant in the headquarters guard.

The officer looked at Tang Ziming and spoke in a very flat tone.

"Commander Tang, the commander has ordered that no one is allowed to enter."

Tang Ziming's eyes turned cold.

"I just came from the commander's side. The commander did not issue this order."

The officer said.

"The order has been sent to headquarters. Military orders are internal, not external."

Zhao Rui clicked his tongue softly.

"That doesn't sound right."

Tang Ziming held up Chen Ji'an's personal bronze token.

"Look carefully! This is the commander's personal order!"

The officer's eyes finally twitched slightly.

It's not about being sober.

Instead, the bluish light in his eyes became even brighter.

The soldiers behind him also raised their guns almost simultaneously.

Click, click.

The sound of guns being loaded in unison rang out.

The soldiers behind Tang Ziming's faces changed drastically, and they all raised their guns.

Tensions instantly rose between the two sides.

Fu Ze reached out and pressed down on Tang Ziming's shoulder, gently pulling him back.

"Battalion Commander Tang, take half a step back."

Tang Ziming gritted his teeth.

"They are all my comrades."

That's why I asked you to take a half step back.

Fu Ze looked at the soldiers with bluish eyes at the door.

"They may not even know what they are doing right now."

The voice just fell.

Suddenly, a shadow flashed past a window on the second floor of the headquarters building.

The shadow was very thin, slightly shorter than the men from the Central Plains, and wore a dark short coat with very narrow cuffs.

In the blink of an eye, Fu Ze only saw the other party raise his hand and form an extremely strange hand seal, crossing his hands and holding the yin and yang energies between his fingers.

The next instant, the blue light in the eyes of all the soldiers at the gate suddenly surged.

The officer slowly raised his hand.

"Those who trespass on headquarters—"

"kill."

Fu Ze's eyes turned cold.

The lightning-struck jujube wood dagger slid into his palm, and blue and white lightning suddenly shone brightly in the night.

"There really is someone inside."

Zhao Rui raised his two guns and said coldly.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Tang Ziming stared at the soldiers controlled by magic, his teeth grinding together.

"Try not to kill them."

Fu Ze nodded.

"Try your best. If that doesn't work, cripple their hands and legs; at least keep them alive."

next moment.

Gunfire erupted in front of the command headquarters.