“Guard Commander Wei gave me two tasks…” The Captain of the Guards suddenly stopped speaking, glancing at the two armored soldiers behind him.

Nan Gong Qian Rou looked at her two subordinates and said, “You may leave!”

“Yes!” The two soldiers withdrew, closing the door behind them.

The Captain took a seat by the table and first produced a silk pouch: “Guard Commander Wei’s first task was that after the Former Emperor’s death if Princess Huai Qing wished to seize the throne for the Fourth Prince, I should come here to find someone. To be honest, before coming here, I didn’t remember Nan Gong Jin Luo—the pouch only contained an address.”

Nan Gong Qian Rou nodded: “This is the art of concealing fate by the ceremonial masters. Probably no one in the capital remembers me anymore.”

She knew her situation—apart from her adoptive father, she wasn’t close to anyone, and the weaker the karmic connections, the harder it was to remember.

Just as a person would forever remember losing their parents, while the disappearance of a stranger wouldn’t leave an impression.

“You just said that if Princess Huai Qing wanted to seize the throne for the Fourth Prince, you would come find me. But why do you refer to Princess Huai Qing as Your Majesty?” Nan Gong Qian Rou couldn’t help asking about her confusion.

“Princess Huai Qing has ascended the throne, with Silver Bell Xu’s support,” the Captain smiled.

…It took Nan Gong Qian Rou quite a while to digest this shocking news before she asked in astonishment: “Xu Qi An supported her ascension? Wait, how did Yuan Jing die?”

“The Former Emperor was personally executed by Silver Bell Xu. Shortly after Guard Commander Wei’s death, Silver Bell Xu advanced to Transcendent, and now he’s even a Second-Rank Warrior,” the Captain said with undisguised admiration.

“Wait, wait!”

Nan Gong Qian Rou raised her hand to interrupt him, sat dumbfounded for a long while, then asked with an uncertain expression: “What year of Yuan Jing’s reign was it when Guard Commander Wei attacked Jing Shan City?”

“Today marks the Spring Sacrifice. Guard Commander Wei’s attack on Jing Shan City was last autumn, about five months ago,” the Captain replied with absolute certainty.

So I only stayed here for five months, not five years or fifty years… Nan Gong Qian Rou massaged her temples: “If there’s no rush, first tell me what has happened outside.”

The Captain immediately gave a summary of events following Wei Yuan’s death: how Xu Qi An single-handedly held off three hundred thousand Witch God Cult troops outside Yu Yang Pass with just his blade, his return to the capital and storming of the Imperial Court to slay the degenerate Emperor Yuan Jing, his various exploits in the jianghu, up to his recent Tribulation battle.

Although he had summarized greatly, Nan Gong Qian Rou was still stunned, her face blank with shock.

“I see…”

She massaged her temples again, feeling a profound sense of time’s passage, as if years had flown by while she remained unchanged.

If she remembered correctly, when Sun Xuan Ji concealed her, that smiling boy who only competed with her for attention was merely at the Fifth-Rank realm, and had just reached that level.

“Tell me, what was my adoptive father’s second task for you?”

The Captain spoke frankly: “In the pouch Guard Commander Wei gave me, he said that Xu Qi An and the Bureau of Astronomy would try everything to resurrect him. If any activity was observed at the Star-Observing Tower, I should immediately leave the capital to find you and have you open the third pouch. Guard Commander Wei provided me with this location’s address.”

As Captain of the Guards, he followed wherever Her Majesty went.

He had witnessed everything that happened at the Star-Observing Tower.

“Has my adoptive father been resurrected?”

Nan Gong Qian Rou’s cheeks suddenly flushed crimson with excitement.

Her whole body trembled slightly as she stared at the Captain with eyes both excited and fierce.

In the orange lamplight, tears glimmered in her eyes.

“This is the pouch Guard Commander Wei gave me,” the Captain directly handed over the silk pouch.

He believed no words could be as effective as this pouch.

Nan Gong Qian Rou snatched the pouch and eagerly opened it.

After reading it repeatedly, her nose stung, but she took a deep breath and held back her tears.

Then, Nan Gong Qian Rou stood up and pulled out a wooden box from under the bed, taking out two pouches.

Without hiding anything from the Captain beside her, she first opened the pouch marked with the character “Two.”

“Qian Rou, I left Xu Qi An a blood pill. After my death at Jing Shan City, he was in an impossible situation—either advance to Fourth-Rank and take the blood pill to attempt reaching Transcendent, or die in Zhen De’s purge.

“With his luck, he will likely survive this tribulation.

“Given his temperament, his first act upon reaching Transcendent will certainly be to kill Zhen De.

“The Crown Prince is timid and content with pleasure, unable to shoulder Great Liang’s burden. Huai Qing has ambition and courage—she may well seize this chance to ally with Xu Qi An and stage a coup.

“But Great Liang has not yet reached its darkest hour. The court officials only recognize the Crown Prince as legitimate, making a coup difficult and internal strife inadvisable. Therefore, you must help Huai Qing control the Imperial Guard and establish control as quickly as possible.

“The combat power of ten thousand heavy cavalry should be sufficient for this task.”

So he did want me to help Huai Qing seize power… Nan Gong Qian Rou put down the note and opened the third pouch.

“Qian Rou, when you open this pouch, it means Huai Qing did not seize power. Your next task then is to launch a surprise attack on Yun Province.

“Among Great Liang’s thirteen provinces, Yun Province’s population barely exceeds that of Chu Province. Though Xu Ping Feng wishes to use Yun Province as a base to attack Great Liang from the north, no matter how well-prepared he is, insufficient troops remain his greatest weakness.

“The garrison left in Yun Province cannot be too large. Of course, it’s still not something an ordinary army could overcome. This is where the heavy cavalry I’ve poured my heart and soul into creating comes into play. From the horses to the soldiers, as well as your armor and weapons—all are magical items capable of sweeping aside thousands of troops.

“Through mental suggestion, I will make myself remember after the resurrection that the key to victory lies in surprising Yun Province, but I won’t remember you. Therefore, you must question my agent to understand the specific situation between Great Liang and Yun Province before making your decision.

“If Great Liang’s forces are on the verge of collapse, pressed by the combined Yun Province and Western Region monk armies, or if both armies are still locked in battle at Qing Province, or if a Transcendent is guarding Yun Province, abandon the surprise attack plan and have my agent who informed you quickly return to the capital to report to me.

“I will change strategy, abandoning the quick victory plan and try to take command of troops to face Yun Province’s army head-on.”

Did Father never consider the possibility that when he awakened, Great Liang might already be defeated? Well, in that case, Xu Qi An and Huai Qing probably wouldn’t resurrect him… Nan Gong Qian Rou slowly exhaled.

She looked at the Captain and said: “With all Transcendent experts engaged in battle and Yun Province’s forces having suffered losses while approaching Yong Province, isn’t this the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack on Yun Province?”

The Captain smiled: “I think so!

“Her Majesty said that Xu Ping Feng calculates everything and wouldn’t give Great Liang a chance to raid Yun Province. But he won’t know about this heavy cavalry under Nan Gong Jin Luo’s command. After all, even Guard Commander Wei can’t remember you all.”

Nan Gong Qian Rou exhaled deeply: “Good! After raising troops for a thousand days, they’re used in a single moment. I’ll lead the army south now.”

The Captain clasped his hands and bowed: “I wish Nan Gong Jin Luo a triumphant return!”

…

Star-Observing Tower.

Under the night sky, Wei Yuan stood at the edge of the Eight Trigrams Platform, looking down at the sleeping capital.

He first gazed south, lost in silent thought.

Then he looked northeast, his brows furrowed.

Now that he had been resurrected and returned, the Confucian Saint’s seal was broken, and the Witch God had returned to its original state—breaking the seal was only a matter of time.

Thinking back now, if they hadn’t attacked the Witch God Cult’s headquarters then, the Witch God would have completely broken the seal by now.

“The Insect God will break its seal soon too. The one from the Western Regions remains unclear but should be in much better condition than the Insect and Witch Gods. The great calamity approaches.”

Wei Yuan then turned to face north.

“You brat, even Luo Yu Heng has become your dual cultivation partner.”

He could now vaguely guess what Xu Qi An was plotting, but he hadn’t told Huai Qing.

After this playful rebuke, Wei Yuan said softly: “You’ve done well.”

Of course, he wasn’t referring to sleeping with Great Liang’s greatest beauty and then sleeping with Great Liang’s Imperial Advisor.

That Xu Qi An could shoulder Great Liang’s burden after him—that was what was truly good.

…

Yong Province City.

Yong Province City had been sealed for several days, with neither civilians nor soldiers allowed in or out.

Guards patrolled the walls day and night, while the Dark Insect Tribe warriors of the Insect Tribe served as scouts, monitoring Yun Province’s army’s movements from the shadows.

As long as they didn’t get too close to Yun Province’s forces, the Dark Insect Tribe warriors were the most secretive scouts.

These past few days, the entire Yong Province City had been shrouded in an atmosphere of fear and unease. The civilians in particular thought daily of fleeing the city. The Heaven’s Mechanism Palace’s spies stirred up panic throughout the city, inciting civilians to riot and storm the city gates.

Yong Province’s Administrative Commissioner Yao Hong struggled to maintain control because those who wanted to leave Yong Province City included nobles and himself.

Everyone knew Yong Province couldn’t be held. After Xun Province fell, Great Liang’s last elite force numbered less than five thousand, retreating to defend Yong Province.

How could such meager forces resist Yun Province’s army watching like tigers outside the walls?

Second Young Master Xu finally resolved this issue by killing Yao Hong, then having the Corpse Insect Division leader transform him into a puppet to temporarily stabilize Yong Province’s officialdom.

Then, under the banner of punishing the corrupt rich, he executed several of the most troublesome noble families and executed the ringleaders of the unrest, using the confiscated wealth and food to aid the common people, painting grand promises before the porridge stalls with his silver tongue.

Second Young Master Xu was extremely skilled in rhetoric, very adept at swaying hearts—he usually just used it to mock people. In other words, being able to mock others so masterfully was proof of his excellent speaking ability.

Using both reward and punishment, the city’s people indeed became much more orderly.

After finishing his city inspection duties, Second Young Master Xu returned to the barracks to see Chu Cai Wei leading soldiers carrying buckets of fish into the kitchen.

These fish were caught from Yong Province City’s river. Besides food, they were also “medicine”—specifically, the fish skin was medicine, used to treat burn wounds.

Due to cannons, fire oil, and other causes, Great Liang’s army had many burn victims.

Without timely treatment, wounds would quickly become infected and fester, leading inevitably to death. The shortage of medical supplies meant not all wounded could receive treatment.

So Chu Cai Wei invented using fish skin to treat burns—simply covering the burn with fish skin could prevent infection.

This was indeed something only Chu Cai Wei could research and develop.

Second Young Master Xu entered the barracks and was heading to his room when he encountered his teacher Zhang Shen along the way.

“You’ve come at the right time!”

Zhang Shen said gravely: “The teleportation array in the barracks just transported the palace’s Chief Eunuch, sent by Her Majesty. I’m going to gather all the Fourth-Rank experts for a meeting.”

As Yong Province’s core city, Sun Xuan Ji had built a teleportation platform here, though it could only transport within a single province.

“What’s the matter?” Second Young Master Xu asked.

Zhang Shen’s expression turned ugly: “Her Majesty commands us to evacuate Yong Province tonight.”

Second Young Master Xu’s expression also darkened.