Splitting Up

Except for the Swordsman at the Saint stage, no one present could "observe" the presence of the spirit servants. Even so, the arrival of the four yin corpses and the surge of extreme yin and freezing cold they stirred up made everyone's hair stand on end, as if plunged into an ice cellar. The ordinary soldiers felt sheer terror from the depths of their hearts, like children hearing ghost stories, frightened of ethereal ghosts and deities. The two Saints from the Shenrui Army exchanged a glance, their expressions turning solemn. If not for their absolute confidence in their source of intelligence, they would have doubted whether they were chasing the wrong enemy. Could that fatuous monarch who indulged in carnal pleasures truly possess such cultivation? Setting aside the fatuous monarch himself, the auras of the four evil beings and two aggrieved souls were terrifying—all at the Small Grandmaster level. How could such a powerful figure willingly act as a puppet emperor at the mercy of others? The two Saints from the Ministry of Justice felt their hearts flutter. The Beast King barked sternly, "What villain dares trespass upon the Ministry of Justice?" Having witnessed their foe's strength, they preferred to communicate first before deciding whether to risk their lives. However, the senior commanders of the City Defense Army knew what was at stake. Seeing this, a young general clutching a spear was the first to shout: "Trespassers upon the Ministry of Justice shall be executed without mercy!" With a thrust of his spear, giving the Saints of the Ministry of Justice no chance to speak, he ordered his subordinates: "Charge!" Over twenty fierce soldiers braced themselves and surged forward with blades in hand, while another ten-odd archers drew their bows and loosed a volley. Zhang Yuanqing remained motionless, letting the arrows strike his body, and threw back his head to let out a piercing shriek. Mental Strike! Bang, bang, bang... The charging soldiers collapsed one after another, dying on the spot, while the archers in the rear similarly bled from their seven facial orifices, their souls torn to shreds. Ordinary mortals stood no chance against the area-of-effect skill of a Level 5 Saint. With just a single Mental Strike, more than thirty fierce soldiers of the City Defense Army perished on the spot, and the corporals and sergeants among them at the Transcendent stage lost all combat ability. Having cleared out the minor minions, Zhang Yuanqing snapped his fingers with a crisp crack. "Get them!" The four yin corpses and two spirit servants pounced at the Saints of the City Defense Army, the Ministry of Justice, and the Shenrui Army. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuanqing summoned a short knife, concealed his form, and waited for a chance to ambush them. Chaos immediately erupted. A Saint-stage yin corpse's combat prowess was weaker than a Spirit Realm walker of the same rank, and naturally weaker than an ancient cultivator as well. However, their advantage lay in fearing neither life nor death; they dared trade life for life, and since they were refined from Bewitching Demons, they excelled tremendously in close combat. Thus, even though the Saints present could suppress the yin corpses and spirit servants, they could not destroy them in a short time. Zhang Yuanqing flickered into view from time to time, assaulting the Fire Demon, the Swordsman, and the Plague God, inflicting blade wounds with bleeding effects upon the enemies each time. After stabbing the Fire Demon in the chest with his short knife, Zhang Yuanqing once again vanished with Night Roam, donned the Yin Yang Robe, and summoned two water dragons, turning them into a downpour. Then, he took out the Thunder God Mark and pressed it to his forehead. Bright blue electric arcs erupted from his body. Instantly, lightning plasma surged, blanketing the entire courtyard along with the rain. *** After fleeing the Ministry of Justice, Brother Red Chicken dashed through the streets. The dense crowd prevented him from unleashing his full speed. After taking several vicious kicks from the Red Dancing Shoes, he leaped back onto the rooftops and began parkouring across the entire city. The clacking "tap-tap" behind him followed him like a shadow. A Saint's speed was naturally faster than the Red Dancing Shoes, but the shoes were a perpetual motion machine, a rule-based item. Once their hunt began, not even until mountains crumbled and heaven and earth merged would they ever part from you. Fortunately, the City Defense Army had all been drawn to the Ministry of Justice. For the moment, no one paid attention to this madman leaping high and low; under normal circumstances, a single arrow from the City Defense Army would have shot him down. After running for a quarter of an hour, starlight rose ahead, and a disguised Yuanshi Tianzun stepped out from the starlight. Zhang Yuanqing revoked the kill order and placated the Red Dancing Shoes, obtaining its consent to "defer payment of the price." Then, he looked at Brother Red Chicken and said: "Follow me." Rubbing his sore shoulder and back where he had been kicked, Brother Red Chicken asked: "Where to? How many did you kill at the Ministry of Justice?" "Four Saints," Zhang Yuanqing replied casually. "I didn't kill the Saints from the Shenrui Army. I felt they might be useful. I captured the spirit bodies of two senior City Defense Army officers and will perform Spirit Devouring later. First, I'll take you to regroup with Jingwei." Jingwei had been taken away by Wang Beiwang. Although things had happened so suddenly that they hadn't agreed on a rendezvous point, Zhang Yuanqing knew Wang Beiwang would definitely return to the safe house in the western city. That was one of only three locations known to both sides. The other two were Wang Beiwang's home and Elder Xu's residence. *** Ministry of Justice. Armored and with a longsword at his waist, Zheng Wenshi led a detachment of fifty men, storming into the Ministry of Justice yamen with long strides to arrive at the scene of the battle. Looking across the yard, the bluestone paving tiles were cracked, the pavilion had collapsed, and broken tiles and roof beams lay strewn about. Over forty corpses were arranged neatly in rows, covered with white cloth. The Plague God of the Ministry of Justice was gloomily directing clerks to clean up the scene and collect the bodies. Seeing Zheng Wenshi arrive, the Ministry of Justice's Plague God straightened his face and stepped forward to greet him. "General Zheng!" The man before him commanded two battalions of the City Defense Army totaling four thousand men. Though his official rank was only fifth-grade, he held real military power, and he was the younger brother of Chancellor Zheng, Zheng Wenhan. Moreover, Zheng Wenshi was an expert at the peak of the Small Grandmaster realm (Level 6), just a step away from Grandmaster (Level 7). Whether in background, authority, or cultivation, Zheng Wenshi was a heavyweight in the Southern Dynasty. It was said that Chancellor Zheng had once strongly recommended his younger brother Zheng Wenshi to command fifty thousand elites and guard Linxia City. Unfortunately, the prodigy of the Yang family had beaten him to it. Zheng Wenshi focused primarily on swordsmanship, supplemented by water-controlling techniques, possessing both the sharp majesty of a Swordsman and the gloominess of a Water Ghost. He glanced over the corpses covered in white cloth and asked coldly, "Has the villain been captured?" The Plague God shook his head. "The villain possessed matchless might. He slew four Small Grandmasters and over thirty soldiers of the City Defense Army before leaving at his leisure, and he even took their corpses." Pausing briefly, he added: "There were three other Saints chasing the villain, who fled into the distance. General Zheng, among the three villains, I heard one shout 'fatuous monarch'..." Before he could finish, Zheng Wenshi's eyes pierced toward him like sharp daggers. The Plague God instantly clamped his mouth shut. Zheng Wenshi said indifferently: "Fatuous monarch? His Majesty is wise and martial, residing high within the imperial palace. How could he appear here? Furthermore, His Majesty is no cultivator. Do your job and do not make wild conjectures." "Yes, yes..." The Plague God nodded repeatedly. *** The western city. Zhang Yuanqing vaulted over the gray brick wall with Brother Red Chicken. He saw Jiang Jingwei and Xiu'er sitting in the courtyard, each holding a large white steamed bun stuffed with minced meat. Glistening oil coated their lips as they ate. Wang Beiwang sat to one side, holding a teacup and anxiously twirling it between his fingertips. Seeing the two return unharmed, Wang Beiwang breathed a sigh of relief. Then, looking at Zhang Yuanqing with mixed feelings, he stammered: "Thank you..." Zhang Yuanqing wasted no words and said in a heavy voice, "Take Xiu'er and your parents and leave the capital. Hide somewhere outside the city." "Why?" Wang Beiwang instinctively resisted, because there were still too many unfinished matters in the capital. "I only rescued Xiu'er. Once the Ministry of Justice investigates identities, they can trace it back to your family." Zhang Yuanqing urged, "If you don't want your whole clan exterminated, leave right away." Being a Scout, Wang Beiwang naturally understood the stakes. Shuddering inwardly, he immediately got up to lead the horse out and hitch the carriage. Soon, having hitched the carriage, he picked up Wang Xiu and walked to the doorway. Wang Xiu said timidly, "C-Cousin, let's go home together..." Wang Beiwang paused in his tracks and snorted coldly: "Once I settle my parents, I'll return immediately. Fatuous monarch, I won't owe you any favors." Watching Wang Beiwang drive away, Brother Red Chicken muttered, "This NPC is quite the tsundere!" Zhang Yuanqing sat down in the bamboo chair Wang Beiwang had just occupied, closed his eyes, and devoured the spirit bodies of the two senior City Defense Army officers at the same time. Fragmented memories surged in. More than ten seconds later, Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes, retrieved three vials of source fluid of life and a healing wooden bracelet from his inventory, and slapped them onto the table. "You leave too." Zhang Yuanqing looked at Brother Red Chicken. "Get out of here quickly, you nuisance." Brother Red Chicken: "???" Seeing Brother Red Chicken's bewildered look, Zhang Yuanqing snapped, "Don't you find it strange how out of nowhere that attack was?" "You know why?" Brother Red Chicken countered. "You've been tracked. From the spirit bodies of those City Defense Army generals, I found out they came prepared. Even the female Daoist who attacked you was a Stargazer from the Heavenly Secret Tower. In other words, the Imperial Preceptor is a Golden Crow, adept at astrology and divination. He deduced your movements. If we keep staying together, we'll draw more assassinations. In fact, the killers might already be on their way." Zhang Yuanqing grabbed the water jug and glugged down several gulps, wiped his mouth, and said. Hearing this, Brother Red Chicken turned pale with shock. "If that's the case, we should stick together even more! Wouldn't splitting up just let them defeat us one by one?" "The one getting defeated is you, not me. If the Imperial Preceptor could deduce my movements, he wouldn't have waited until today to strike. I think he can't observe the emperor's movements—it's a character buff," Zhang Yuanqing said. "Your mission is to keep me alive for five days. Three days have passed already. Just lay low for two more days, and you can clear the dungeon." Brother Red Chicken felt that made sense, but thinking it over, he still felt unconvinced. "Hasn't Jiang Jingwei been following you the whole time, too? Why wasn't she deduced?" Jiang Jingwei, who was munching on her bun nearby, raised her chin proudly. "Because I'm smarter than you." "Pfft!" Zhang Yuanqing and Brother Red Chicken spat at her simultaneously. Zhang Yuanqing explained: "Because the Imperial Preceptor doesn't know Jingwei is Consort Chu. In Zheng Wenhan's intelligence, Consort Chu, Consort Wan, and Songstress Wang are all dead, hidden from sight. But you, Attendant Li, are alive and escaped the palace with the emperor. As long as he takes a personal item of yours for astrological divination, he can track your movements. By the same logic, Lady Ya and Consort De won't escape the Imperial Preceptor's sight either." Having heard that, Brother Red Chicken uttered the Fire Master's everyday catchphrase: "So what do we do?" "Go to the Yang family first and check whether Guan Ya is truly the empress. If she really is, then Lady Ya and Consort De should already be at the Yang Residence," Zhang Yuanqing said thoughtfully. "At the current stage of dungeon progress, Dominators haven't entered the fray yet. The Yang family can shelter you. I'll arrange for a yin corpse to follow you—it can protect you and also regroup with our teammates. "With the dungeon having progressed to this point, we need to hold a team meeting to consolidate intel and formulate a strategy." While speaking, he strode into the kitchen, found a piece of charcoal and the greaseproof paper left over from buying food yesterday, and wrote on it: "Give your beloved little megaphone to Us." Then he took out Little Red Riding Hood and stored the paper inside. A moment later, Zhang Yuanqing shook Little Red Riding Hood. A palm-sized little megaphone tumbled out, along with the greaseproof paper. An extra line of words was written on the sheet: "I'm so bored. When can I come out?" *Wait until I restore my Dominator stage...* Zhang Yuanqing replied inwardly. He summoned the yin corpse hidden in the house—the one that had escorted Wang Xiu back—and gave it the order to follow. Zhang Yuanqing did not leave immediately. He gathered teacups, bowls, chopsticks, bedding, and other items in the courtyard, burned them all with a fire, and only then left the safe house with Jiang Jingwei. About a quarter of an hour later, starlight rose in the courtyard, condensing into a cute and charming woman with a dull, vacant expression, clad in a Taiji-fish Daoist robe. Her hollow eyes stared at the charred remains of the fire. After a long silence, she dissolved into starlight once more. *** Yang Residence. Guan Ya hurried out of her father Yang Zheng's study, traversing winding corridors and two gardens before arriving at the guest courtyard of the residence. She pushed open the door to the central main room. Inside, Xiao Yuan sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, eyes closed as she recuperated. She had just returned from Linxia City yesterday, having suffered an ambush by assassins along the way—three at the Saint stage, two of whom were Night Wanderers commanding yin corpses and spirit servants. Had she not been carrying the consumables given to her by Tianxia Guihuo, Xiao Yuan would have already returned to the Spirit Realm. The Palace Master lay lazily on her side on the bed, holding a volume in her fair hand and reading a book of assorted tales. Her luck had been better than Xiao Yuan's; she hadn't faced an ambush. After seeing the signboards outside the Yang family's shops, she had come directly to the Yang Residence. —Guan Ya had instructed the butler to set up a signboard at the entrance of every shop under the Yang family's name, bearing a line of poetry: *Lush wild grass upon the plain, withering and flourishing each passing year.* The inspiration came from what Xie Lingxi had told her: "We were visited in a dream by Lord Wenqu and came upon a poem." "There's new intel," Guan Ya said directly. "This morning, the City Defense Army engaged in a fierce battle at Hongxiu Pavilion, after which the battlefield shifted to the Ministry of Justice. The Ministry of Justice and the City Defense Army each lost two Saints. The person fighting them was a Night Wanderer, so it's likely Yuanshi." "Is Brother Yuanshi hurt?" Xie Lingxi, who was daydreaming by the table, snapped back to attention and asked nervously. "Just look at Guan Ya's expression and you'll know Yuanshi is fine," the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter said, propping her head up with a fair hand. "What kind of place is Hongxiu Pavilion?" "A brothel!" Guan Ya rolled her eyes. Xiao Yuan frowned, and the Palace Master sneered. Xie Lingxi looked left and right, remaining wisely silent. Guan Ya truly was a Swordsman—calm and rational. She said, "The current stage is the safest one. The strongest enemies are only Level 6, unable to threaten us or Yuanshi. Once we pass this stage, we might have to face Dominator-level enemies. And we..." She looked around at everyone and sighed. Some were stuck at the Transcendent stage due to camp differences, while others were stuck at the Saint stage. The team's strengths were uneven. Once Dominator-level enemies descended, this ragtag bunch would all be wiped out. With the plot halfway through, these Saints were still in the dark, their level of participation low, feeling like spectators gazing through the mist. Of course, for Yuanshi Tianzun playing the fatuous monarch and Fu Qingyang playing the Grand Marshal, these past few days were surely bursting with excitement. Guan Ya let out a breath. "We need to find Yuanshi. The team can't keep wandering around like headless flies." Just then, a personal maid knocked on the lattice door and said softly, "Your Highness, someone outside the manor wishes to see you."