Chapter 108: Chapter 78: Watching the Tides, the "Buddha" Mother Peacock
Did he do something wrong?
Was he careless?
No...none of it.
Li Xuan was almost certain that if he got involved in this affair and went to the final battlefield, the outcome might not be much better than Liang Shigu’s.
Because this war was unfair from the beginning, it was an information mismatch.
And the reason these last dozens of riders managed to escape, Li Xuan was sure, was inevitably related to the extinguished incense.
’So, in the future, if my enemies carry incense, I must not let them ignite it.’
Li Xuan summed up the "bloody lesson."
This was a lesson learned during the exam, paid for with the lives of General Liang Shigu and his thousand elite troops.
"Aunt Yun, what does Uncle Zhou intend to do?" Li Xuan continued to ask.
Commandery Princess Chunyang said, "The Prime Minister and the Ministry of War have a deep-seated hatred for demons, and in such circumstances, both sides naturally share the same goal.
Your Uncle Zhou is having people evacuate the surrounding populace near Xinci Temple to the State City, while simultaneously locking down the entire city.
General Sheng Chuanxiong will then go to the warehouse to collect kerosene, prepare fire arrows, and plan to burn Xinci Temple."
Burn it?
Xinci Temple is on Guangye Mountain.
If the temple is burned, what if it causes a wildfire in the deep mountains, this...
Li Xuan froze for a moment.
Experience taught him that the mountain...absolutely mustn’t be set ablaze!
But no one else knew about the Red Cloud Demon Fiend except him.
Li Xuan thought for a moment and bluntly revealed, "Aunt Yun, I suspect the reason the Demon Buddha has such great Divine Abilities is certainly related to the incense offerings. If going head-to-head, one must not wait for them to ignite incense.
Moreover, during my previous study preparations, I stayed at the Jin family’s estate in the mountains and encountered the White Bone Demon. I suspect that there’s more to the mountain than just one demon. If we start a fire indiscriminately, it could create a disaster and attract more demons, wouldn’t that be troublesome?
Demons, of course, should be slain, but if we suddenly face many at once, I fear General Sheng’s entire army could be wiped out."
He shared his experiences generously, only wishing for Sheng Chuanxiong’s blade to be sharpened, so it wouldn’t strike wrongly, or lead to a mess that was difficult to resolve.
After saying all this, he further dissected his own words simply, explaining the details and reasoning thoroughly.
Commandery Princess Chunyang listened to his words and felt increasingly rational, her beautiful eyes sparkled with light, "I didn’t expect Xiaoxuan that not only your knowledge is great, your martial arts are strong, but you also possess such insight and decisiveness, truly remarkable."
Then she quickly got up and said, "Then Aunt must hurry to tell Zhou Chihe to make preparations early!"
Commandery Princess Chunyang then hurriedly ran away.
Zhou Jihai looked at Li Xuan with admiration.
Just now, hearing his mother’s words, the only thoughts in his head were "demons are terrifying, demons should die."
Yet his brother had already mentally outlined a "strategy to counter demons," this... was truly impressive, it made him involuntarily think of the powerful strategists in the storytellers’ tales who "sit calmly at the fishing terrace, unmoved by eight winds, strategize everywhere, and win from a thousand miles away."
But his brother was indeed an accomplished Martial Artist...
...
...
Here, Li Xuan was as usual "sitting at the fishing terrace" at the Governor’s Mansion, watching the hidden tides rise and fall.
Meanwhile, outside Green Willow Pavilion...
Rose, as usual, was beside the river washing Li Xuan’s clothes.
She was Li Xuan’s little maid, after all; doing laundry was her task, or should she let the young master do it?
She hummed a tune, rolled up her sleeves, and hammered the dirty clothes with a laundry mallet "bang bang" to remove the dirt within.
After a while, she shook the outer garment in the river’s clear water to let it float.
The clear stream covered the clothes and her hands.
Suddenly, her pupils contracted.
The river reflection added two figures.
These two figures appeared behind her without her noticing.
Rose quickly turned her head.
She looked.
The two were a man and a woman.
The man was in front, a stranger’s face, cheeks cold as the dead, eyes indifferent and void.
As for the woman...
"Purple-tailed..." Rose blurted out, said half, then stopped, lowering her voice, "Aunt, why did you come to the city?"
The visitor was none other than the recovered Purple-tailed Flood Dragon Monarch.
At this moment, one of the Yu Sect’s four Dharma Protectors didn’t speak, but humbly stood slightly behind, behind the man.
Rose froze, then looked at the man and chuckled, "Ha, a new face, Aunt, who is this?"
Purple-tailed Flood Dragon Monarch still didn’t speak.
Instead, the man stared fixedly at Rose, then said in a strange voice, "Mother."
Rose: ???
She instinctively turned her head to look behind, but there was no one there.
She turned back and saw the frightening man staring at her.
Only then did Rose notice something seemed off with the man’s head, it was... very stiff, and seemed to be rotting.
Suddenly, she understood.
She raised the laundry mallet, "Don’t force me, don’t force me! I am not your mother!"
Purple-tailed Flood Dragon Monarch saw her like this, felt speechless inside.
In front of this divine spirit, who wouldn’t be nervous? Who would act like the Saintess?
Moreover... coming here wasn’t to harm her.
The Feather Robe literally has unique containers; it isn’t possession, but becoming.
The divine spirit came simply wanting to grow together with her.
Thus, Purple-tailed Flood Dragon Monarch stepped forward, crouched beside Rose, and spoke softly...
After a long while, Rose’s expression gradually relaxed, showing thoughtfulness and hesitation.
Finally, she bitterly smiled and looked up, "Isn’t it said that Feather Robe prefers a pure container..."
I’m already so dirty, why can’t I escape?
The frightening man didn’t respond, merely said lightly, "Let’s go, mother."
Rose sighed heavily, "Let me finish washing the young master’s clothes first."
