Page 148

"Hey, Old Wu, still snoozing?"

Hong Lie strode over, a frown creasing his brow as he looked at Wu You sunbathing in the courtyard like a dead pig. He stepped forward and gave Wu You’s exposed belly a slap.

"What else should I do if not sleep?" Wu You glanced at him irritably, "Be like you? Roaming the streets in broad daylight like a child, joining the commoners to watch the excitement?"

"What’s wrong with that?" Hong Lie chuckled, "You have no idea how lively it’s been these past few days, with competitions in weaponry, archery skills... Not to boast, Old Wu, but your soldiers are quite formidable, each of them solid in hand-to-hand combat, and proficient with swords, spears, shields, and halberds—especially that lad Di Yun. The way he wields a horseman’s spear!

If I had that kind of foundation as a kid, the old man wouldn’t have had to chase me around with a whip all day! "

Yet, upon hearing this, Wu You didn’t show much pride; instead, he fell silent and stared blankly at the sky.

Di Yun was a centurion he had personally selected—how could he be unaware of his capabilities?

But what was the use of having strong fundamentals?

Everyone knew that in real combat, they were no match for the do-nothing bloodline personal soldiers, and the more this was the case, the harder one had to fight to survive on the battlefield.

It was no wonder that most centurions chose to take their substantial retirement pay from the Imperial Court and leave once their service was up.

He didn’t want to wander the streets for the same reason—afraid of seeing those once numb soldiers now full of fiery passion.

But with this foolish lad, Hong Lie, around, there was no escaping it.

"I’m telling you, Old Wu, you don’t know how great the martial spirit in Lyuzhou is.

Our Capital City is considered a place that values martial virtues, right?

But ordinary families still prioritize education over everything.

It’s interesting here in Chen Qing’s territory—massive contests, civilians enjoy the spectacle, soldiers compete for genuine respect.

Plenty of kids are even boasting about wanting to join the army; I think His Majesty should do something similar.

We’ve been having more and more difficulty recruiting ordinary soldiers recently. "

"Those personal soldiers, relying on their bloodlines, lazy as anything, won’t budge even when whipped, without a hint of ambition... In the long run..."

Wu You’s brows furrowed upon hearing this, as he had considered this issue himself.

With the rise of bloodline noble families in the previous dynasty, many of these families had carried on for over a thousand years.

However, once the Central Plains were unified and peace endured for even a short while, the martial strength of the Central Plains would be outmatched by the surrounding nations of Ancient Desolation, and within at most three hundred years, their military preparedness could relax to an alarming degree.

The same held true for Great Jin; now, just twenty years into the new reign, the second generation of bloodline warriors was beginning to slack off. At this rate, there wouldn’t be a need for three hundred years; there might well be border troubles within a century.

Yet this issue was particularly tricky to resolve due to inequalities within the military.

With bloodline limitations in place, everything depended on one’s aptitude, and those with ambition could only go so far regardless of their efforts.

This was true for common soldiers and bloodline noble families alike.

For an average noble bloodline, one’s potential was capped by the purity of their blood from birth. No matter how hard they tried, they could only rise to a certain level, creating a situation that easily eroded people’s ambition.

"By the way, it seems like Chen Qing is back; he even greeted me just now..."

Wu You was stunned, his expression turning serious, but then he seemed somewhat despondent. What did this blatant return signify? That he no longer cared about Wu You’s threats?

Indeed, his soldiers were almost all gone, each heading off to join the selections for that so-called Tiger Guard Army, ostensibly to spy on military intelligence. But Wu You was very clear that, most likely, it was a lost cause.

Now he was left with only a hundred familial bloodline private soldiers. Even if he fought for that defensive duty, what was the point of taking it? How many would listen to him?

"Isn’t anyone interested in coming over to pay a visit to this imperial envoy appointed by the Imperial Court?" Wu You said with a smile.

"Eh, Old Wu, don’t be so petty..." Hong Lie laughed, "He even invited me to have drinks tonight."

"Tonight?"

Wu You looked at the sky, it was actually already approaching dusk, and by all accounts, this would be the most appropriate time for the evening banquet he was invited to. After all, it wasn’t the soldiers on the city walls who would arrange a late-night feast.

An official occasion should indeed be arranged at an official time. If today wasn’t convenient, then why not schedule it for tomorrow? Why set it for the evening? Considering Lyuzhou’s current situation, with no Flower Pavilions open at night, what good was there to arrange a meeting for?

Wu You suddenly stood up: "Let’s go, let’s take a look!"

"Eh?" Hong Lie was taken aback: "Look at what?"

"Our Prefectural Governor probably has something he wants to hide from us!"

"Why would you say that?" Hong Lie asked curiously.

"He used the excuse of having an engagement tonight to placate us, which implies he doesn’t want us showing up during this time period," Wu You said with a smile: "While we don’t know what he’s up to, I don’t feel like obliging him. Let’s go and see!"

"You..." Hong Lie shook his head with a smirk: "Always so paranoid."

"Whether I’m paranoid or not, we’ll find out once we get there."

--------------------------------------

"They really followed along..."

Atop a tall building in Lyuzhou City, Murong Yunji frowned upon seeing Wu You leaving the Provincial Government Office: "Your prediction was quite accurate."

"I haven’t met this surnamed Wu, but from what you all have described, I knew he’s the type to stir up trouble. Those who seek to stir trouble usually have keen instincts. If he hadn’t noticed that much, he’d be rather foolish."

Murong Yunji was stunned, at a loss for words for a moment. She actually also enjoyed stirring things up, but to be honest, she wasn’t as crafty. The foolish one Chen Qing referred to... wasn’t referring to her, was it?

"Here they come!" Murong Yunji suddenly looked towards the southeast: "It’s a bit of a tricky location, in the middle of the bustling area!"

Chen Qing’s mind snapped back to the present and smiled: "That’s what makes this spot a good one!"

-----------------------

"They actually made it inside!"

Mortals do not enter the underworld; once the Path of Yin and Yang opened, Wang Ye’s Flying Star almost directly landed in front of the residence that once belonged to General Weichi, located at the prime spot in South Street.

The people of Lyuzhou also mainly gathered at South Street at this moment. It was dusk, when the weather was no longer scorching hot but rather the most lively time.

Because many of the young laborers who had temporarily reported to work on Daqing Mountain only had time now—they were either watching the excitement or participating in the selection competition firsthand.

Just as Wang Ye and the others arrived, they were greeted by the enthusiastic cheers from the street, which left them rather perplexed.

Shen Lao San, Shen Yimiao, surveyed their surroundings and marveled. He had been uncertain before, but now he was utterly convinced that the vast effort to isolate Lyuzhou from the Path of Yin and Yang was likely the handiwork of the Magistrate!

He was indeed quite a character!

The more he thought about it, the more careful he became. If someone capable of such feats had set a trap, he needed to be extremely cautious.

However, once he was on this street, his thoughts changed.

"This Lyuzhou is better than I imagined!

" Shen Eighth Master looked around with curiosity. The West Sea’s horde of eight million zombies had attacked Jiangnan, which was fragmented and unable to support itself; they had thought that only Nanyang City and Nanming Prefecture could hold out in all of Jiangnan.

Wang Ye had said that Lyuzhou had held out, but Shen Eighth Master hadn’t believed him until now. Not only had Lyuzhou held out, but the situation seemed to be incredibly well managed.

It wasn’t just the flow of people; the overall atmosphere, the people’s morale, was almost catching up to that of Nanyang City.

But Nanyang City had the ancient formations left by the ancestors and the top formation expert Old Liu to defend it, which was why Nanyang could defend the city without loss. What was Lyuzhou relying on?

Logically, even if it could hold out, it should be extremely dire, but the scene before them was even more vibrant than that of Nanyang.

Seeing the cheering and joyous smiles of the people of Lyuzhou and the bustling atmosphere, his wariness slightly relaxed while marveling at the scene.

After all, if the other party could achieve this, besides having mystical methods, they must also have expended a great deal of energy. In such a position, in order to maintain stability, it was highly unlikely that they would act rashly.

With this thought in mind, both of them started to look around more leisurely.

And the more they looked, the more fascinated they became.

Unlike Nanyang City, which used piled-up goods to create a bustling market-like energy, Lyuzhou’s streets did not need a market to attract people at night. People seemed to come out for a stroll spontaneously, a habit that only comes from good energy conservation.

In ordinary cities, common folk exhaust themselves during the day for two meals and some silver, eating too little, so where would they find the energy to wander around at night?

Usually, only those with a little family wealth, no worries about meals, and not much labor would do this.

Not only were Lyuzhou’s citizens safe, but was their quality of life really that good?

A healthy complexion doesn’t lie, Third Elder Shen saw clearly; everyone on the street was full of energy, with rosy complexions. Such a complexion was impossible for everyone in prosperous Nanyang City, suggesting that Lyuzhou’s Magistrate was quite capable.

To create such a favorable situation, a great deal of effort must have been invested; thinking this, his already tight wariness relaxed even more, as he figured the other party wouldn’t disrupt the hard-earned situation they had created.

But this sense of relief didn’t last long.

Just as his wariness began to ease a little in his heart, an unexpected figure suddenly appeared.

The speed was so fast that even Old Ba didn’t react immediately.

"Sister-in-law?" Third Elder Shen’s pupils contracted, but before he could say anything, a piercing gust of wind hit them!

Divine Wind!

The first move was already deadly!

Shen Yimiao quickly retreated right next to Old Ba. Murong Yunji’s Divine Wind, when compressed, had a non-trivial penetrating force, which was difficult to block with any Technique in a rush, but Old Ba could.

Shen Eighth Master narrowed his eyes as if still not fully aware of what was happening, yet the Divine Wind unleashed by Murong Yunji already started distorting as if it couldn’t touch him no matter what.

Limitless Yin-Yang Positive Pole!

Murong Yunji knew this was Old Ba’s Technique, able to form a Technique barrier around him by using yin and yang positive and negative magnetic fields, cycling endlessly as yin and yang gave birth to each other, almost without any subsequent consumption to form a strong defense, a rather underhanded Technique indeed.

After all, it’s too unreasonable to always carry a defensive barrier that doesn’t consume Spiritual Power!

"Tsk..." Murong Yunji didn’t hold out hope; missing the first hit, she immediately turned into a streak of green light and retreated, leaving Third Elder Shen stunned.

An attacking Murong Yunji was frightening because her Techniques were most suited for an assassin. Attacking before Old Ba could react was the best opportunity, so why had she retreated right away?

Once this chance was missed, once Old Ba reacted, there were only a few in the world who could compete with him.

As he was puzzled, he suddenly thought of something, quickly turning to the side, his heart sank instantly—sure enough, Wang Ye was gone!

Without hesitation, he activated the Mystic Water Sorcery he had placed on Wang Ye!

But just as he did, he realized that the Mystic Ice on Wang Ye had been destroyed!

Shen Yimiao looked up sharply, just in time to catch Murong Yunji smiling back at him while raising her hand slightly. Floating above it was the very Mystic Ice he had placed on Wang Ye.

Shen Yimiao immediately felt puzzled. How could Murong Yunji know where the Mystic Ice was placed on Wang Ye?

His Technique formed Mystic Ice at the joints of Wang Ye’s body in the form of water droplets.

With a single thought from him, Wang Ye’s entire body could be utterly destroyed, and there were twenty-eight subtle points in total.

It required prior knowledge of their locations for someone to dismantle them promptly.

In an instant, Shen Yimiao understood—Wang Ye had a way to contact Chen Qing from afar!

"Chase!" Shen Yimiao couldn’t let Wang Ye escape. Calling Old Ba over, he was about to pursue, but just when he was about to move, he saw two unexpected figures.

"Third Elder Shen?"

Shen Yimiao paused, recognizing the newcomers. He had dealt with them when they helped his older brother in the north for his wedding. One was the imperial envoy Wu You, Duke of Qin’s deputy, and the other he recognized as Hong Lie, the heir of the Hong Family with the Thunder Elephant Bloodline.

People from the Imperial Court here?

This made him immediately halt Old Ba, who was about to take action.

But this move, seen by Wu You, instantly turned his face dark.

Dammit, it was a setup!