Chapter 216: He’s Busy
“Remember this: there are no demons in this courtyard, only ancestors and immortals,” Wei Yuan admonished solemnly.
Xu Jingfeng nodded repeatedly, though he didn’t quite grasp the meaning.
Wei Yuan left the Xu residence after giving the instruction. The old tree was a clear sign of the Xu Clan’s terrifying depth of resources. The Xu Clan of Ningxi had clearly intended to establish long-term control of these lands, which was why they had left behind such a venerable ancestral spirit—one whose combat power was equivalent to that of a late-stage Avatar—to guard the estate.
Previously, Wei Yuan had always entered the Xu residence with Xu Jingfeng. Zhu Yuanjin had likely intervened behind the scenes to cover for him as well. That was why the old tree hadn’t detected a thing. But if Yuan Qingyan were to attempt to enter the estate to kill Xu Jingfeng, he would most likely hit a brick wall.
After leaving the Xu residence, Wei Yuan wasted no time and headed northeast. Along the way, he combined with the riders rushing over from the realm of Qingming to form a squadron of fifty horsemen. They vanished into the wilderness the next moment.
The eastern border of Ningxi Commandery, once the territory of three counties, was now nothing more but a barren wasteland.
Wei Yuan had relocated the magistrates and their entourages of those counties to the west, whereas Yuan Qingyan had driven the common people into the realm of Qingming. Now, only a few military forts remained to guard strategic passes and cut off all east-west traffic.
The Shaman realm was filled with dense forest and countless swamps, leaving few paths suitable for large merchant caravans. In fact, if a path wasn’t used by caravans, it would fall into disuse within a year and be reclaimed by the forest.
Wei Yuan had already ascertained that Yan Qingyan deployed over seven thousand troops along the entire eastern front, distributed across six military forts of varying sizes. The fort before him now was one of them, garrisoned by a thousand men.
Ten masked riders appeared before the fort, advancing slowly. The garrison on the ramparts had spotted them long ago and immediately turned their bed crossbows their way. An officer climbed onto the wall and shouted, “You cowards hiding behind masks! Who are you? Come any closer, and don’t blame us for putting a crossbow bolt in your chest!”
The leader of the horsemen adjusted his iron mask and replied, “We are the Fifty Bandits of the Heaven Fighting Gang! Our gang is recently short on food and clothing, and we heard that you soldiers are living in luxury. That is why we’ve come to borrow some provisions.”
The officer let out an incredulous, infuriated laugh, “Out of everyone you could’ve borrowed from, you chose the royal army? Are you blind, or have you gone mad from poverty?”
The horseman grinned widely, revealing a mouthful of pearly-white teeth. “You are spot on, general—we have gone mad. There isn’t a sane soul left in the western regions, and this madness is all driven by you. Attack!”
The officer was about to burst out laughing—a mere ten-man-group thinks they could attack a encampment of one thousand troops?
Just then, powerful auras surged from both sides of the fort’s rear. Then, dozens of horsemen split into two groups and charged straight toward the fort!
Chaos instantly erupted within the military fort. Shocked and enraged, several military officers flared their own powerful auras and steeled themselves to confront the charging horsemen.
The horsemen were all wearing masks and wielding long spears. Upon reaching the perimeter, they actually abandoned their warhorses and flew straight into the military fort!
They were all Dao Foundation-stage cultivators!
The officers were horrified, but it was far too late to flee at this point. They had no choice but to grit their teeth and hold their ground. What happened next could only be described as a disaster. Each military officer was surrounded by several horsemen pointing their long spears at their vital points. A series of deafening bangs followed, and gunpowder smoke obscured everything for a moment. Then, one by one, the officers dropped to the ground.
At that moment, the officers felt as if fire had blinded their eyes, and several hammers had struck their bodies simultaneously at full force. It wasn’t until they crashed to the ground, severely wounded and mostly incapacitated, that they realized the spearheads were actually projectile weapons!
If this was a one-on-one fight, it would have been manageable. However, each officer was surrounded by four or five horsemen, and they had been caught completely by surprise. As a result, the entire force was wiped out in the blink of an eye.
A thousand-man garrison was typically commanded by around ten or so Dao Foundation stage officers. After all the officers had been taken down, and the horsemen took down a large number of soldiers using various Dao spells, the rest of the troops lost all will to fight and threw themselves to the ground in surrender.
The horsemen dragged the severely wounded officers to the central military drill ground first. The rest of the soldiers were herded there and forced to line up in formation as well.
While this was going on, the officers reacted in various ways: some cursed furiously, refusing to yield unto death. Others knelt on the ground, begging for mercy with tears streaming down their faces.
However, the Fifty Bandits of Heaven Fighting remained utterly impassive. Without uttering a single word, they stripped the officers and bound them with ropes.
It was the soldiers’ turn next, but unlike the officers, they were allowed the dignity to remove their possessions of their own accord. It wasn’t long before various armor, weapons, and undergarments were placed in designated spots. With ten naked officers setting the example, the soldiers offered no further resistance. Over a thousand naked pigs filled the drill ground in the blink of an eye.
There were a few girls among the Fifty Bandits of Heaven Fighting. At the moment, they were eyeing several men with unusual proportions and giggling behind their palms.
Next, the bandits ordered the soldiers to load the provisions, armor, and weapons onto carts. They had even dismantled the bed crossbows. Finally, the officers’ and soldiers’ personal clothing was piled together and set ablaze.
Once all this was done, a masked rider stepped forward before the soldiers and declared, “Those who have mastered the Body-tempering stage or are close to doing so, and those with no family ties to hold them back, step forward now if you wish to join us. I cannot promise you wealth and luxury, but I can promise you a Dao Foundation!”
The horsemen waited for a bit before two soldiers hesitantly stepped forward. Without further question, they led the two men to the carts and set the military fort ablaze.
The group traveled about ten li from the encampment until they found a company of about a hundred men, already waiting to assist them. With that done, the Fifty Bandits headed straight for the next military fort.
Within a single day, the Fifty Bandits had fought their way across a thousand li and taken down five military forts in one fell swoop. They had stripped four thousand soldiers of their armor and weapons, carried off all the military equipment and provisions, and taken away more than a dozen soldiers who had achieved the pinnacle of Body-tempering.
At this point, the entire eastern line was left with a single fort garrisoned by three thousand men.
Outside the last military fort, a masked rider appeared and taunted the defenders, declaring that, if they dared to venture fifty li beyond their encampment, then he would wipe out their entire force.
How could the officers stand idly by in the face of such brazen defiance? Immediately, someone stepped forward to challenge him to a one-on-one duel.
The result was the masked rider knocking down eight officers in quick succession. Each duel was carried out with effortless precision, striking directly at his opponents weak points and bringing them down in just two or three moves.
It was only then the officers realized with horror that the horseman was a heavens-damned heaven foundation!
The chief officer—a staff general—of the encampment was a late-stage Dao Foundation stage cultivator, but he didn’t dare to engage the masked rider in battle after realizing the truth. He could only watch importantly as the man flaunted his might, hurled a barrage of threats, and rode off triumphantly. For a time, the army’s morale plummeted to rock bottom.
The next day, when a report arrived informing the staff general that all other military forts beside his had fallen, he fell as silent as a cicada in winter. He hurriedly ordered all four gates to be shut, forbade anyone from leaving the encampment, and dispatched messengers to Yuan Qingyan to request for reinforcements.
Meanwhile at the yamen inside his office, Yuan Qingyan was poring over one battle report after another with an ashen face. Seated on either side of him were a general and several officials, most of whom wore expressionless faces—save for the general surnamed Hsu.
The general surnamed Hsu was sitting to Yuan Qingyan’s left, slouching in his seat. Occasionally, he would cast a disdainful glance at the general across from him.
Before he had even finished reading, Yuan Qingyan slammed his palm down on the desk and roared, “What ‘Fifty Bandits of Heaven Fighting’? It’s obviously Wei Yuan!”
The officials remained silent. No one who climbed to their positions was a fool. Everyone knew that the Heaven Fighting Gang was Wei Yuan’s group in disguise. So?
The problem at hand hadn’t been solved when a new one arose.
A soldier came in reporting that he had found the chief clerk and his escort. They were currently lying outside the room.
The soldier’s choice of words caused Yuan Qingyan’s heart to sink even as he ordered them to be brought inside. In the blink of an eye, several men covered in mud were carried into the room, each barely clinging to life, and their limbs visibly deformed. Clearly, they had been broken by force.
“How dare they!” Yuan Qingyan slammed his palm on the table and shot to his feet. “Someone! Go to the Xu residence immediately and summon Xu Jingfeng to see me!”
The Xu residence was located in the north side, and the yamen in the south side of the town. There was less than ten li of distance between them. Consequently, the messenger returned in the blink of an eye and reported, “My lord, Xu Jingfeng says... he’s busy.”
There was a crash, and the teacup in Yuan Qingyan’s hand shattered on the floor.
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