The crescent moon was like a hook, hanging in the night sky .
In White Jade City’s pavilion, candlelight shone through the lanterns, illuminating the entire room .
Lu Fan sat in his wheelchair, with a cloak draped over his shoulders .
Next to him, Ning Zhao, Yi Yue, and Nie Changqing stood quietly .
Ni Yu wanted to take an elixir out of the cloth satchel she was holding against her chest to eat, but she did not dare . She was afraid the crackling sound from crunching the elixir would break the utter silence .
Ning Zhao was as cold as ice . She had read the denunciation . The author disparaged Lu Fan and even humiliated him in every possible way .
“Young Master…,” Ning Zhao said hesitantly .
However, Lu Fan waved his hand to stop her .
“His Majesty came to Beiluo in person . And I promised him I would do something he didn’t have the nerve to do…,” Lu Fan said slowly .
His voice echoed in White Jade City’s pavilion .
“It’s time to pay the capital city a visit . ”
Leaning on the back of his wheelchair, Lu Fan placed his forearm on the armrests and tapped it with his fingers .
“Nie, Sister Ning, Yi Yue… Get ready . We’ll go to the capital city tomorrow . ”
“I’m good-tempered, but the world lacks the respect they should have for cultivators,” Lu Fan said flatly .
Ning Zhao nodded slightly, while Nie’s pupils shrank . Young Master Lu would go to the capital city . It was not difficult to imagine what would happen to the capital city .
“By the way, Nie, you told me your wife, Lil Shuang’s mother, is kept in the Daoist School . I want you to go there and take your wife back when this thing with the capital city is over . ”
“In the name of White Jade City,” Lu Fan said slowly .
Nie was shocked . He murmured for a while, but in the end, he just let out an emotional sigh .
“Thank you, Young Master . ”
Lu Fan nodded . He waved his hand, telling all of them to go out .
Yuanchi City .
In the barracks of Great Zhou’s elite troop…
Jiang Li was looking at the sand table inside the tent . Chi Lian, wearing a charming black dress, was standing next to him . Some of the lieutenants were also looking at the sand table, studying the current situation .
“His Majesty went back to the capital city alone, so he didn’t talk Lu Ping’an over?”
Jiang Li let out a sigh after hearing his subordinate’s report .
He extended his hand to point at Beiluo City’s position on the sand table . At the moment, Beiluo was the most unpredictable factor in Great Zhou .
“Mo Beike is allying with Tantai Xuan . Surely Mo Beike wouldn’t let go of this unpredictable factor easily . That means… He must have already done something to Beiluo City . That night, I thought it was Yinyang School’s philosopher Wei Luan who came to kill me, but it wasn’t… Wei Luan might have gone to Beiluo . ”
Jiang Li analyzed .
Chi Lian was shocked .
Yinyang School’s philosopher Wei Luan?
Wei Luan was a philosopher-level man . That night in Drunken Dragon City, if Wei Luan had shown up, she was afraid the City Master would have been doomed, and Drunken Dragon City would have been captured .
“However, judging from the current situation, Wei Luan… He should have been killed . ”
Jiang Li’s fingers gently moved on the sand table .
“By Young Master Lu from Beiluo . ”
“So Lu Ping’an is a great concern for Mo Beike . If His Majesty can get Lu Ping’an into the capital city, the capital city will definitely remain safe . Mo Beike can’t anticipate what Lu Ping’an will do, so he won’t have the nerve to jump the gun or try his luck,” Jiang Li said slowly .
In the tent, the others did not even dare breathe hard . They were all listening to Jiang Li talking to himself .
Jiang Li suddenly turned to Chi Lian .
“How is Qingniao?”
Chi Lian bowed and cupped her hands . “She needs to get used to the cruelty of war . Lord, rest assured that she is in a fairly stable condition now . ”
Jiang Li nodded . He looked out of the tent at the crescent moon . The look on his face showed a complicated emotion .
Since Lu Ping’an never left Beiluo, he would need to deal with Mo Beike and Tantai Xuan’s cruelty next .
In the silent night…
The clacking sound of horses trotting could be heard .
Outside of the barracks, the clacking sound was deafening…
As if dark clouds were gathering, giving people a suffocating feeling .
“Report!”
“The emperor’s decrees have just arrived!”
Ten miles away from Yuanchi City…
“This He Shou… He is really a moron!”
Beside Tantai Xuan, Mo Ju swore in anger with a cold face after reading the denunciation .
Mo Beike read it too . He closed his eyes slowly . The wrinkles on his face vibrated . He did not know how to express his feelings .
“The aristocratic families in the capital city were tragically suppressed by Kong Xiu when Yuwen Tuo was in power . Now, they had their tails up as soon as they seized the chance . Unfortunately, they are just a bunch of morons . ”
“This denunciation could make He Shou famous indeed, but did he ever think about the influence it would bring?”
Mo Beike sighed, shaking his head .
He was not afraid of strong enemies, but he was really afraid of foolish teammates .
This denunciation did put pressure on the emperor .
However, it would also draw Lu Ping’an, who had not gone to the capital city with the emperor, out of Beiluo .
Mo Ju was in a towering rage . He crumpled up the denunciation and threw it hard on the ground .
“Lu Ping’an from Beiluo is a narrow-minded man . Now with this denunciation, what happened to the aristocratic families in Beiluo would happen again to those families in the capital city very soon . ”
“The emperor might have qualms with the aristocratic families in the capital city, but is there anything Lu Ping’an cared about?”
Mo Ju waved his feather fan hard . He was so angry that he turned pale .
Tantai Xuan, who was sitting in the seat of honor, understood what he meant .
“Giant, what shall we do next?” Tantai Xuan asked .
Mo Beike sat in his chair . On his old face, his big eye bags slightly vibrated .
“Wait . ”
A team of armored horsemen came from the west and was heading north . They were going to the capital city .
Western Liang’s armored horsemen were the strongest troop in the Great Zhou Dynasty . If Jiang Li were in charge of the Western Liang Army, then his troop could be compared to them . However, Jiang Li had been the City Master of Drunken Dragon City for years, and his valiant troop was already history .
Xiang Shaoyun, clad in black armor, was not wearing his helmet . Carrying his axe and shield on the back, he mounted a giant black horse . The black armor complimented the black horse really well . He looked like an evil god in the dark night .
While on horseback, Xiang Shaoyun was holding a document .
He tore it into pieces after glancing over it .
“The author of the denunciation is an idiot . ”
The military generals around him were confused .
Well, you are the commanding general, so you can say whatever you want to say .
The cold moonlight shone on Xiang Shaoyun’s black armor, giving it a frosty luster .
Xiang Shaoyun pulled the reins to summon a Grandmaster general whom he trusted .
“Xu Chu, you put on my black armor and lead the troop to Yuanchi City . Encamp 150 miles away from Yuanchi City . Don’t fight the North County Army . Just stay away from them,” Xiang Shaoyun said .
Xu Chu, a muscular military general carrying two giant barbed iron balls on his back, was dumbstruck .
“Lord, what is this for?”
Showing a smile, Xiang Shaoyun looked at where Beiluo City was located .
“It’s a rare chance… I should pay a visit to Young Master Lu from Beiluo, the best cultivator in the world . ”
Under the armor, Xu Chu’s muscles bulged . He looked excited .
Average people would not be able to handle the Overlord’s visit…
At daybreak, the next day .
When the first rays of the early morning sun shone on the flagstone ground of Beiluo City…
The heavy city gate of Beiluo was slowly opened .
And a luxury horse carriage drove out of the city .
On the side window of the carriage, the curtain was lifted . Lu Fan’s gentle face showed up .
“Fan’er, don’t linger there . Come back early,” Lu Changkong, clad in full armor, said to Lu Fan, who was sitting inside the carriage .
He told Luo Cheng to follow Lu Fan to the capital city with 500 elite soldiers . Lu Fan refused him, but Lu Changkong insisted until eventually, Lu Fan accepted this arrangement .
When Lu Fan’s carriage left Beiluo City…
Scouts from various powers lurking outside of the city were alerted instantly .
Like a brood of alert birds…
One after another, messenger pigeons flew out .
When Lu Fan’s fleet was near to the capital city…
A carriage drove across Beiluo Plain, grinding gravels on the way . It stopped before Beiluo City .
Lu Fan lifted the curtain of his carriage’s side window . Sitting in the wheelchair, he was checking the carriage opposite him .
The man in the opposite carriage lifted the side window’s curtain too . Inside the carriage was an old man wearing a thick golden beaded necklace around his neck . He got off the carriage with a sordid smile .
Lv Mudui followed the old man with a complicated feeling .
“Lv Dongxuan, Tianji Zi from Tianji School, is here to meet Young Master Lu . ”
The old man bowed deeply before Lu Fan’s carriage .
The people around them all showed odd expressions on their faces .
Ning Zhao pushed Lu Fan’s wheelchair off the carriage .
“Tianji School?”
Lu Fan, sitting in the wheelchair, looked straight at Lv Dongxuan flatly . Then he looked toward the thick golden beaded necklace around his neck .
All of a sudden…
Around Lv Dongxuan’s neck, those hollowed-out golden beads started to turn .
Lv Dongxuan was slightly shocked . He was even a little horrified .
Lu Fan raised his eyebrow . Although Lv Dongxuan’s golden beaded necklace was not a Spirit Tool like the Spirit Pressure Chessboard, it did possess some spirituality .
He supposed Lv Dongxuan must be using this golden beaded necklace to calculate things .
Lu Fan said in a plain voice, “Nie, Sister Ning, Yi Yue… You three go to the capital city . Just do it in the old ways . ”
“Yes . ”
Nie Changqing and the other two cupped their hands .
“Ni, take me back to the island . ”
Then Lu Fan looked at Lv Dongxuan and Lv Mudui with a slight nod .
Rather than deal with those insignificant people in the capital city, incorporating Tianji School was more important for Lu Fan right now .
Outside of Beiluo City…
Seeing Young Master Lu returning to the city…
The scouts from all those big powers were all shocked .
The message had been sent, but Young Master Lu went back?
The scouts hurried to write another letter and sent messenger pigeons out once again .
The brood of birds was alerted once again .
In the tent of the North County Army…
Tantai Xuan, Mo Beike, and the others had been waiting up all night . Finally, a pigeon came .
They unfolded the letter delivered by the pigeon . Then, the air in the tent suddenly was charged with tension .
“Lu Ping’an left Beiluo City in the end . ”
Mo Beike let out a sigh .
Tantai Xuan’s facial expression changed . He made a difficult decision after a long time had passed . He commanded the troop—which had retreated ten miles—to retreat thirty miles more .
However…
Not long after he gave the order…
Another pigeon flew into the tent .
He took the letter and glanced over it .
Tantai Xuan…!