```
The words are few and easy to understand.
But Yang Zaixian still wasn’t quite sure, so he clasped his hands and said, "I, Yang, am but a simple man with little schooling, please enlighten me with your guidance... What exactly do you mean by that, Yang Ge?"
The man in black suddenly smiled, "Isn’t General Yang raising troops to resist Wei because of ’unbearable oppression and humiliation by the officials’? What Yang Ge means is that he wants General Yang to settle scores and grievances, to target those who deserve it, to kill those who need to die, and not to turn your weapons towards the common folk!"
"This..."
Yang Zaixian subconsciously glanced at Deng Wuxie standing by his side but could only see a trace of panic on his face. Struggling to find an answer, after a long pondering, he clasped his hands again with a look of difficulty, "To let you know, though all the clan leaders have nominated me as the leader and seemingly obey my commands on the surface, they actually govern themselves, amassing troops for their own power. I’m afraid I don’t have the ability to restrain them..."
"General Yang need not worry,"
the man in black said with a nonchalant smile, "General just needs to pass on Yang Ge’s words to all the local chieftains: whoever doesn’t follow the rules will die, kill a few dozen of them, and the rest will certainly learn what can be done and what cannot."
Before Yang Zaixian could speak again, he continued, "As for the business Louwailou deals with, General Yang might as well ask Deng. I also don’t mind telling the General that Louwailou has already sent a large number of capable agents into the southwest, watching your every move day and night..."
"That’s all I have to say, I hope General Yang takes this to heart!"
After saying this, the man stood up and left. With a few steps, he had crossed the threshold and, with a leap, he disappeared into the endless night.
As he departed, Yang Zaixian’s expression gradually became doubtful, and his eyes showed flashes of fierce light from time to time.
He wasn’t stupid; of course, he could sense the threat in the man’s words... For the sake of delivering a single message, they could infiltrate right by his bed in the dead of night, and if one day they wanted his head, wouldn’t Yang Zaixian become a clueless ghost?
"My lord,"
Deng Wuxie stood up with his sword, clasped his hands, and said, "Our protection was inadequate, please punish us, my lord!"
"No, what are you talking about, Deng!"
Suppressing the anger in his heart, Yang Zaixian forced a smile and helped him up, "The old saying goes, ’You can’t be a thief for a thousand days, just as you can’t guard against one for a thousand days.’ The fault lies with us, we have been too winning and smooth-sailing to guard against such despicable tactics. But I believe that after this incident, our brothers will surely be more cautious and prevent any further lapses."
Deng Wuxie gave a wry smile... Could he tell Yang Zaixian that even if they devoted all their efforts to defense, they probably couldn’t guard against this man?
The messengers of the Five Elements of Louwailou, those are figures on par with the Hall Masters of sects like the Ming Sect and the White Lotus Sect!
With just their few men, how could they possibly contend with Louwailou?
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Yang Zaixian couldn’t hear his inner thoughts. Seeing his rueful silence, he took it as an admission of guilt and, pleased with himself, clapped Deng Wuxie on the shoulder and asked, "Such a big talker, this man, just what business does Louwailou deal with?"
In remote Guizhou, Yang Zaixian, although he could be considered a backwater emperor with a certain level of knowledge, clearly wasn’t knowledgeable enough.
Deng Wuxie answered, "My lord, Louwailou is the largest information and assassin firm on the jianghu. Their spies permeate all thirteen provinces of Wei, their presence is ubiquitous, and their assassins are as numerous as fish crossing the river. They have made multiple successful assassination attempts on high-ranking officials of the Imperial Court and heads of various jianghu sects, with few failures... With the capability of Louwailou, their claim of keeping an eye on your every move is by no means an empty threat!"
His implication was clear: This isn’t just big talk; they have real power, and it’s best you heed the advice and don’t act rashly, or else we won’t be able to protect you!
"Spies, assassins?"
Yang Zaixian stroked his temple hair and realized, "No wonder he came without a shadow and left without a trace... Then, the man you referred to as ’Yang Ge’ before, could it be Yang Erlang who beheaded corrupt officials in Jiangzhe and executed King Ning years ago?"
Deng Wuxie gave him a glance and cautiously reminded him, "There’s only one Yang Ge in the world, that is ’Lord Zhongshen’ Yang Erlang. He is known as ’Yang Ge’ in the jianghu. Though you, my lord, are not from the jianghu, it’s best to maintain some respect for Yang Ge. He has friends all over the world, and if word of any disrespect reaches their ears... it could bring great disaster!"
"Is his martial arts very high?"
```
Yang Zaixian furrowed his brows in confusion and asked, "How does he compare to Brother Deng? How about compared to the hundred thousand brave men of the southwest?"
He asked sincerely.
But Deng Wuxie nearly lost control of his expression, his eyes twitching as he clasped his sword in a salute and said, "This humble one thanks the lord for such high regard, but to compare me with Yang Ge... is truly too high a praise for me!"
Yang Zaixian was shocked, "Is the gap really that big? What if we add Brother Liu and Brother Zhang to the mix? Could we possibly fight Yang Erlang to a standstill?"
His shock was genuine; he was very clear about how skilled Deng Wuxie was in martial arts. During a previous campaign where he led troops against the Wei Imperial Court’s forces, Deng Wuxie had guarded him and shattered the enemy ranks, moving through the armies as if treading on flat ground, no foe lasting a single exchange beneath his three-foot blade; Yang had deemed him superhuman!
His limited imagination made it hard for him to envision someone whose martial arts were several times superior to Deng Wuxie’s, contemplating what kind of earth-shattering event it would be when such a person made a move.
Deng Wuxie, hearing his astonishing words, hesitated to speak, but after a long while, he thought of a metaphor, "My lord is not a man of the Jianghu, so it’s quite normal not to understand the weight of the words ’the finest under the heavens.’ Let me put it this way, the gap between me and Yang Ge is like the difference between you and the entire Wei Imperial Court."
Yang Zaixian pondered seriously and expressed his doubt, "That doesn’t seem too large!"
Deng Wuxie cautiously added, "What I mean is... the gap between you alone, and the entire Wei Imperial Court."
He thought this comparison quite fitting, as rumor had it, the Wei Imperial Court was utterly helpless against Yang Erlang!
Yang Zaixian, incredulous, asked, "Doesn’t that mean that even thousands of troops couldn’t stop this Yang Erlang?"
"Unstoppable!"
Seeing that Yang still wasn’t convinced, Deng decided to make his point clear, "If his elder decides on killing someone, no place in this vast world would give that person an inch to stand on. Furthermore, the elder doesn’t need to take action personally; dropping a word is enough for the great sects like Ming Sect, White Lotus Sect, Five Poisons Cult, and others to come knocking on the door, twist off that person’s head, prepare it with spices, place it in a fine nanmu box, and present it respectfully before the elder... If you still have doubts, my lord, you may invite the White Lotus Sect Hall Master to ask in person."
Yang Zaixian’s eye twitched, swallowing a gulp of saliva.
At this moment, his thoughts were likely... Had I known martial arts had such prospects, why would I have ever bothered with officialdom or rebellion?
Rebellion won’t save the Southwest!
He sat in complex contemplation for a long time, then carefully inquired again, "Since Yang Ge is so formidable, could we perhaps... um?"
He gave Deng Wuxie a look that was more suggested than spoken.
Upon seeing his look, Deng Wuxie, speechless, wished he could draw his precious sword and stab several transparent holes into Yang to wake him up, "My lord mustn’t harbor such improper thoughts. A peerless figure like Yang Ge, who shows up once in a lifetime, is not someone to be used as a tool. Since the elder has sent word here, it implies he sees you as the leader of our righteous southwestern army. Any slip-ups from anyone will surely be accounted for on your head by the elder... My lord, do you think you could compare to Prince Ning from back then?"
His implication was clear: If even Prince Ning couldn’t escape a direct strike after inconveniencing Yang Ge, how could Yang Zaixian?
After his expression changed several times, Yang Zaixian suddenly slapped himself hard and stood up to salute Deng Wuxie seriously, "I nearly made a grave mistake in a moment of folly. Thanks to Brother Deng’s frank advice, I have come to my senses and pulled back from the brink..."
Deng Wuxie quickly helped him up, verbally demurring with "I dare not," while his mind was already set on leaving.
With Yang Ge involved, clearly there was no future here!
Time to go, quickly, not to follow these naught-to-monarchs to a dead end...
Yang Zaixian didn’t notice his disturbed expression, still urgently pondering how to convey this matter to the regional chieftains.
"Someone, quickly summon the clan leaders to a banquet..."