0p0 Chapter 419 Surprise Attack! A killing god descends beneath Juzhou City, a ghost wields an umbrella
Chapter 419 Surprise Attack! A killing god descends beneath Juzhou City, a ghost wields an umbrella
Ezhou, Jiangxia City, Luojia Inn.
From a guest room on the second floor, Su Changhe's voice could be faintly heard:
"A plan? This isn't an assassination mission, what kind of plan do we need? Is Xin Baicao a very strong martial artist? I've never heard of her."
"I think Grandmaster Yi is making a mountain out of a molehill. Is it really necessary to mobilize so many people for a mere itinerant doctor?"
Luo Qingying was furious at his nonchalant attitude. She had a bad feeling about Su Changhe from the moment they met.
In the eyes of Luo Qingying and Luo Guhong, second-generation disciples of the Shadow Sect with impeccable lineage, the assassins of the Dark River were all wandering rogues and desperate fugitives.
Moreover, the Dark River is not directly under the Shadow Sect; the Soul-Raising Hall is above it.
In the Soul-Reaping Hall, the three officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water hold a much higher status than the head of the Dark River Clan, not to mention that Su Changhe hasn't even been able to get close to the head of the Dark River Clan yet.
If we compare the Xiao royal family to a state-owned enterprise in modern society, then the Shadow Sect is a second-level subsidiary directly under the state-owned enterprise. Every member of the Shadow Sect is a government employee with a formal position and a government salary.
Below the Shadow Sect is the Soul-Raising Hall, which is equivalent to a third-tier subsidiary of a state-owned enterprise. The three officials of the Soul-Raising Hall are merely ordinary management personnel.
The Dark River suffered the most. All the dirty work and messes that the Xiao royal family couldn't handle themselves were handed over to the Shadow Sect. If the Shadow Sect didn't want to tarnish its reputation and hands, it would outsource these messes to the Dark River.
Therefore, even though Su Changhe's cultivation and martial arts skills far surpassed those of Luo Qingying and Luo Guhong, he was merely an unemployed contract worker. (For ease of understanding, the author will briefly summarize the relationship between the Xiao royal family, the Shadow Sect, and the Dark River.)
"What do you mean by that? Su Changhe, don't forget who you are. A mere Dark River assassin, when have you ever dared to speak to a disciple of the Shadow Sect like that?"
Luo Qingying was sitting on the wooden chair at the door of the guest room when she saw Su Changhe's appearance and stood up abruptly, her face dark and frightening.
Seeing his senior brother's anger rising, Luo Guhong also put on an act and said:
“I see that your Dark River has been growing in value in the past few years, and you even dare to disregard the Shadow Sect. Do you think that you can act recklessly just because you have a little bit of skill?”
"You, surnamed Su, if you're truly capable, go and kill a few bandit leaders in those rebellious prefectures. You won't even need to ask; I, Luo Guhong, will be the first to petition my master for you! Who knows, maybe my master will be so pleased that he'll grant you entry into the Shadow Sect and give you a third-generation disciple spot!"
After Luo Guhong finished speaking, he let out a strange laugh, his words full of disdain for the Su brothers sent by the Dark River.
Su Changhe's eyes grew colder and colder. Seeing that one of them was speaking hurtfully and the other was being sarcastic, how could he suppress his anger?
"Shh!"
A cold glint flashed in the room, and before the Luo brothers could react, Su Changhe's incomparably sharp dagger was already pressed against Luo Guhong's Adam's apple.
"I might not be able to kill Baili Luochen, but I could wipe out someone like you with a flick of my finger!"
"Changhe! Do not act rashly!"
Seeing that Su Changhe had used his true energy, Su Muyu, who had been leaning against the bed, suddenly sat up straight, her inner strength bursting out, and shouted.
"Su Changhe, you...you...want your own people to fight each other?!"
Luo Qingying drew her long sword and pointed it directly at Su Changhe, but his hand holding the sword was trembling slightly.
Su Changhe turned around and glanced at Su Muyu, who was expressionless. He then sheathed his short dagger and deflected the longsword that Luo Qingying was pointing at him.
"Get your piece of junk out of the way. If I'm not afraid to stab you, what are you pointing at?"
After saying that, she flashed back to the bedside and sat down obediently, giving Su Muyu a smile that was both well-behaved and smug.
Su Muyu rolled her eyes at him, then looked at the Luo brothers on the other side:
"Two Shadow Sect disciples, since you know that Dark River and Shadow Sect are on the same side, don't speak so rudely. Changhe has a bad temper and doesn't know his own strength. If he hurts you two, hmph..."
"It's not a good look for anyone!"
Su Muyu had just released her internal energy, which immediately stunned the Luo brothers.
Intuition told them that the two assassins in front of them were not to be trifled with. Before Luo Guhong could even react, Su Changhe pressed a knife against his Adam's apple. Not to mention there was an even more formidable Umbrella Ghost in front of the bed.
If they were to actually fight, those two good-for-nothing second-generation Shadow Sect disciples would probably already be beheaded.
"Qiang!"
Luo Qingying sheathed her longsword, sat back down at the table, glanced at Su Changhe who was still playing with his short dagger, and then at Su Muyu, who remained expressionless, and said:
"Ahem... It's good to know they're on our side!"
"I don't want to reiterate the sect leader's order. I'm sure he made it very clear in his letter... It's getting late, so you should all get some rest. We'll meet at the inn at four in the morning tomorrow, and we must reach Qianzhou before sunset."
After saying that, Luo Qingying gave Luo Guhong a wink, and the two brothers left the guest room and returned to their own rooms.
Seeing the Luo brothers leave, Su Changhe put his feet up on the table and complained:
"Hey, wait, why did you stop me just now? What makes those two little bastards look down on our Dark River Sect? How great is their Shadow Sect? If they push me too far, I'll kill that old bastard sooner or later!"
Su Muyu got up, took off her outer garment and hung it on the clothes rack, then picked up a basin of water, placed it in front of the table, and asked with a raised eyelid:
"Are you going to sleep or not? If not, don't keep me from washing up!"
Seeing that his words had been ignored, Su Changhe became even more annoyed and pressed down on the basin, saying:
"Are you even listening to me?!"
Su Muyu remained expressionless, but somehow produced a handkerchief and handed it to Su Changhe.
"Go! Wash your face and go to sleep!"
Su Changhe was completely exasperated and had no choice but to put away his short dagger, hold it over the basin of water, and say in a long, strange voice:
"Fine, fine... I'll wash, okay? Are you on my side or not? Those two brats said some really nasty things, but why don't you seem angry at all?"
Su Muyu, while tidying the bed, replied without looking up:
"So what if we're angry? Killing them is easy, but do you think the Shadow Sect will let us off the hook? They know they're no match for us. We can only scare children. After all, we're the people of the Dark River..."
"Shadow Sect, we'll settle this score with him sooner or later."
Su Changhe took these words to heart and understood that Su Muyu was not just saying it casually, so he obediently went to wash up.
After a short while, Su Muyu had finished getting ready and lay down on the bed to rest.
Su Changhe glanced at him and saw that he hadn't left a seat for him, then deliberately asked:
"You've taken all the spots, so where am I supposed to sleep?"
Su Muyu said with her eyes closed, "Do you really have to share a bed with me? I'm not shortchanged from paying you for this business. Go and book another room."
Su Changhe took out the loose silver coins from his purse, held them in his hand, hesitated for a moment looking somewhat reluctant, then pulled up a chair, pushed it together, and lay down.
"Sigh... Forget it, I was planning to keep this money anyway. I'll just make do for one night. It's not like I've never slept in a dilapidated temple before. It's good enough to have a place to stay."
Seeing his helpless expression, Su Muyu lay down a little further in, making room for him.
"Can you try to change that stingy habit of yours?"
Seeing that he had left himself some space, Su Changhe happily climbed onto the bed:
"Hahaha... I knew you were the best to me! I can't change this habit of mine unless I become the head of the family someday. When we go out to do things, I'll sleep in one room, you'll sleep in another, and I'll book all the other guest rooms for him!"
"Ugh! It's all about extravagance and playing around!"
Su Muyu's face darkened, and she turned over, not wanting to talk to him.
As night fell, the two brothers fell into a deep sleep, but things were not so peaceful in Qianzhou.
……
Qianzhou Road, Juzhou City, South Gate.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, the governor of Juzhou has been brought here. Please make your decision!"
The captain of the Broken Wind Army escorted a stout, disheveled middle-aged man to Baili Luochen.
Baili Luochen glanced at the man and asked:
"You are Lü Mingde?"
The man's legs were sore and numb. He was sleeping soundly in his bed, cuddling in the side room, when the door was suddenly kicked open by the Pofeng Army, who grabbed him by the neck and forced him in front of Baili Luochen.
He opened his mouth, looked around at the fully armored Pofeng Army soldiers, then looked up at Baili Luochen with disbelief:
"You...you are the...Marquis of Zhenxi, Baili Luochen?"
Baili Luochen, having seen countless bloated and incompetent officials like this, replied with great interest:
"What? Doesn't it look like it?"
After confirming that it was indeed him, the man immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness:
"I have long admired the reputation of the Marquis of Zhenxi. I am Lü Mingde, the prefect of Juzhou. I beg Your Excellency to have mercy and spare my life. I will serve you like a slave without complaint..."
Baili Luochen waved his hand dismissively, "I don't need someone like you here. Take him away!"
The captain bowed and ordered two soldiers to drag the prefectural government office away.
Baili Luochen looked up at the sky, turned around and asked, "Vice General Chen, what time is it now?"
Chen Dunru stepped forward and respectfully replied, "Reporting to the Marquis, it's just past midnight!"
Baili Luochen nodded and gave the instructions:
"Keeping that prefecture is a waste. After finding out the population, money, and tax records in the city, behead it and display its head to the public. Find a reliable clerk in the prefecture to collect the money and grain. Leave a group of men to guard the city, and the rest of you come with me to the Zhenfeng Silver Mine!"
Upon receiving the order, Deputy General Chen immediately arranged for his men to act according to military command. Just then, Baili Luochen gazed north of the city, seemingly talking to himself:
"Logically, Dingzhi should have arrived at the mine by now. I wonder how things are going. Although Wang Renzhao, who guards the mine, is a good-for-nothing, he still has over ten thousand people under his command..."
"But he only brought two hundred-man squads, while the opposing garrison has a full ten thousand men. There shouldn't be any problem..."
Hearing the old marquis's words from behind, Chen Dunru couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat:
'Listen to this...listen to this! Is this how you speak, Lord Marquis...what do you mean by only bringing two hundred-man squads...'
"Last time, eight hundred men broke through a city, now two hundred against twenty thousand? Ye Dingzhi is also made of flesh and blood, this is too beastly!"
I've followed Lord Marquis for over a decade. My most glorious battle was defeating ten thousand with only three thousand. Alas... comparisons are odious...
Baili Luochen had no idea what Vice General Chen was thinking. He only knew that before setting off, he had planned to have Ye Dingzhi's eight hundred men ambush and kill the Juzhou garrison on the way.
However, Ye Dingzhi felt that there were too many people and that they would be easily discovered when bypassing Juzhou City, so he only ordered two hundred-man teams.
Baili Luochen was initially reluctant to agree, but Ye Dingzhi patted his chest and vouched for him, so he reluctantly agreed.
After arranging all the affairs in Juzhou City, Baili Luochen ordered his deputy general to take stock of the troops and immediately head to the Zhenfeng Silver Mine, which was ten miles away.
……