Xu Qi An was furious. Anyone would be angry in this situation.
If he knew he couldn’t win in a fight, Xu Qi An would have already confronted the monk, grabbing him by the collar with one hand and slapping him with the other, demanding: “Didn’t you promise to save me, you fraud? Give me back my life!”
This wretched monk had completely betrayed his trust. They had agreed that Xu Qi An would offer his body, and in return, the monk would help him defeat his enemies. Even though it was just a verbal agreement, shouldn’t there be some sense of honor?
At this moment, Xu Qi An fittingly thought of a song:
“You sold out my love, you’re in debt to your conscience, and when I finally learned the truth, my tears fell.”
“What should I do now? Can I still live? Do I need to reincarnate, or can I possess another body? Is there a cycle of rebirth in this world?” Xu Qi An asked, suppressing all his emotions and trying to negotiate calmly with Monk Shenshu.
At this point, losing his temper wouldn’t help. He needed to consider how to face the future. This wasn’t cowardice; it was the mindset of an adult.
Between reincarnation and possession, Xu Qi An preferred the latter. After all, growing from an infant to an adult would take a very long time. An adult soul trapped in an infant’s body would likely go mad from boredom within a few years.
As Xu Qi An’s mind wandered, Monk Shenshu opened his eyes, his expression serene, and said, “You seem to blame me?”
No, I don’t blame you. I only blame myself for trusting the wrong person, Xu Qi An thought sarcastically.
“How much do you know about the martial arts system?” Monk Shenshu asked with a smile.
Xu Qi’an thought for a moment and replied, “Qiong feng cuan jue?”
Master Shenshu’s expression paused slightly as if he hadn’t heard. He continued calmly, “Martial artists temper themselves to confront the forces of heaven and earth with human power. This ‘self’ doesn’t just refer to the physical body; spirit, energy, and body are one.”
You boring monk, you can’t even play along with a joke… Xu Qi An nodded in realization: “So, Master, even though you were sealed in Sangbo for five hundred years, your primordial spirit remained indestructible because of this principle?”
This made sense. If martial artists only trained their physical bodies, their weaknesses would be too obvious. Wouldn’t Daoist sects, which specialize in cultivating the primordial spirit, be able to possess martial artists in an instant?
Although martial artists didn’t have the flashy techniques of other cultivation systems, they seemed the most stable in the later stages, at least more so than the Daoist sects.
Look at the three Daoist sects; they were incompetent in everything and ranked first in collapse.
Monk Shenshu nodded, “But below the third rank, martial artists focus mainly on tempering their physical bodies and practicing Qi circulation. Only at the seventh rank, the Spirit Tempering Realm, do they cultivate their primordial spirit.”
Hearing this, Xu Qi An suddenly realized something was amiss. If spirit, energy, and body were equally important, why was there only one rank for cultivating the primordial spirit?
“Now you understand the importance of the Spirit Tempering Realm,” Monk Shenshu explained:
“Ordinary martial artists who cultivate their spirit only scratch the surface of their limits; this is the lower level. Continuously breaking through limits in desperate situations is the higher level. The more solid the foundation you lay at this stage, the deeper your potential will be when you reach higher ranks.”
“Master, which rank does the seventh rank Spirit Tempering prepare for?” Xu Qi An asked, his heart stirring.
“The second rank, Merging with Dao.”
That’s too distant for me. I’m not even sure if I can reach that level in this lifetime… Xu Qi An thought to himself, “That’s the principle, but I still died in the end.”
He felt that sacrificing his life for the vague possibility of reaching the second rank was too much of a loss.
“Face death to achieve life. Without death, how can there be rebirth?” Monk Shenshu smiled.
“So, will I reincarnate or possess another body?” Xu Qi An pressed, pondering, “If I have a choice, I hope to possess another body. I don’t have many requirements, but first, I must be stunningly handsome.”
“Secondly, I should be the eldest son of a prestigious family, born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Of course, my cultivation level should preferably be at the Qi Refining Realm. Please, not the Physical Refinement Realm. I don’t want to go through those miserable days of sighing while caressing myself again.”
“Lastly, I should have a bewitching sister in her twenties who can whimper coquettishly.”
Monk Shenshu ignored his requests, his face seemingly carved with eternal serenity, and said:
“Third-rank martial artists can regenerate severed limbs and are extremely difficult to kill. At the highest level, they’re said to be immortal and indestructible. This humble monk has fortunately reached such a realm.”
Xu Qi An’s heart stirred, and he heard Monk Shenshu continue: “Before you died, I captured your last trace of life force and preserved it. I borrowed your body to nurture my remnant form, which in turn can benefit you. This monk will gift you a drop of essence blood. Once you refine it, you can return from death.”
So that last trace of life force is the current me… Is that why I appeared here? Xu Qi An asked, “Thank you, Master. When will I awaken?”
“It will be a long process,” Monk Shenshu replied.
It’s a good thing this world doesn’t practice cremation, otherwise, all my relatives’ efforts would have been in vain… No wonder Master Shenshu didn’t save me immediately. So this is what he meant by facing death to achieve life… You should have told me earlier. I could have shouted a few more slogans and pretended to be clearheaded… After confirming that he could be revived, Xu Qi An’s mood brightened, and he happily continued his internal monologue.
…
Outside the city!
As the crude martial artist lunged towards him, Dream Shaman’s breath caught in his throat. It felt like facing a collapsing mountain or a tsunami.
At this moment, confusion and regret were useless emotions. Killing the enemy was his only way out.
Dream Shaman formed hand seals and chanted. His body erupted in a dazzling blood-red light, his aura rising rapidly.
Blood Spirit Technique: Sacrificing blood essence to temporarily boost combat power.
Jiang Luzhong’s peerless fist intent had arrived.
Dream Shaman met the attack with his fist.
When the two fists collided, there was an initial moment of silence. But seconds later, a thunderous boom exploded like a clap of thunder.
The ground beneath both men sank simultaneously, and dust instantly rose, enveloping an area of several hundred meters.
Yang Qianhuan couldn’t dodge in time. In his haste, he stomped the ground, and a series of formation patterns lit up, forming layers of barriers. But they shattered in the next instant.
The Pretentious King felt as if he had been hit hard on the back of his head with a club, and his back was violently struck by a carriage. The pain almost made him cry out, but he held it in because it didn’t suit his image.
Bang! Bang!
Two more punches followed. The blood light surrounding Dream Shaman dissipated, and the black smoke above his head exploded. He flew backward like a cannonball.
Jiang Luzhong’s rationality had been completely overwhelmed by anger. Now, he perfectly embodied the martial artist’s mindset: fighting heaven and earth, fearing nothing.
Suddenly, Jiang Luzhong felt as if a steel nail had been driven into his brain, and his heart seemed to be split in two by a blade. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, the unexpected change preventing him from continuing his pursuit.
Curse Killing Technique!
In that instant, Dream Shaman had stolen a piece of his clothing and used it to launch the Curse Killing Technique.
If it had been a low-ranked martial artist, they would have died on the spot.
In a battle between high-ranked powerhouses, such interference could almost determine victory or defeat. The chance for victory lay in that split second, but Dream Shaman decisively gave up this opportunity because his opponent was a martial artist.
Bronze skin and iron bones.
The various cultivation systems despised martial artists, considering them crude. Not only were martial artists’ methods simple, relying solely on brute force, but they were also difficult to kill.
They could make ten, twenty, or even more mistakes, and you still couldn’t kill them. You could only wear them down gradually.
But if you made just one mistake, they would smash your brains out.
They might even lift your skullcap to take a look at your brain, then walk away disappointed.
Bah, crude martial artists.
After the Curse Killing Technique took effect, Dream Shaman quickly retreated, fleeing towards the distance.
“Bang!” He subsequently crashed into an invisible wall.
“Yang Qianhuan!!” Dream Shaman roared in anger.
“Among the formations I excel in, six are for trapping enemies. Hurry up and break this formation; there are five more waiting for you,” Yang Qianhuan appeared not far away, his back turned to Dream Shaman.
In this scene, looking only at his back, anyone would sigh A true otherworldly expert!
Dream Shaman had no chance to break the formation. He wasn’t a martial artist; his error tolerance was far too low. Jiang Luzhong arrived to kill, and Dream Shaman’s battle soul had collapsed during the previous three punches. At this moment, Dream Shaman was no longer a “martial artist.”
As everyone knows, in close combat, practitioners of various systems are mere children before martial artists.
“Splat!”
Jiang Luzhong’s fist connected with Dream Shaman’s face. His head exploded, spraying red and white matter, with shattered bone fragments flying in all directions.
The headless body stiffened instantly, then slowly slumped.
“Bastard, bastard…”
An illusory figure appeared in mid-air, looking down at Jiang Luzhong and Yang Qianhuan, its face contorted.
It was Dream Shaman’s primordial spirit. When high-ranked powerhouses die, their primordial spirits can linger for a few days, especially in the realm of primordial spirits, where shamans are second only to Daoists.
“How should we deal with this guy?” Yang Qianhuan asked.
Jiang Luzhong shook his head: “I’m helpless against primordial spirits. I can’t kill him permanently. Nor can I trap him.”
If it were a physical body, one punch would be enough to destroy it. But primordial spirits are special, immune to physical attacks. Although the shockwaves from his attacks could harm the primordial spirit, the effect was limited. At this point, if Dream Shaman’s primordial spirit wanted to escape, Jiang Luzhong had no way to stop it.
Yang Qianhuan boasted proudly: “I can trap him! There’s a girl in the city who’s from the Celestial Sect. She has a way to refine this ghost.”
He then continued languidly: “Grasping the moon and plucking stars, there’s no one in the world like me…”
Boom!
The power of the primordial spirit surged wildly. Dream Shaman had self-destructed.
Jiang Luzhong slowly turned his head, staring at the white-robed sorcerer, and said word by word: “He destroyed himself.”
“…He was too hasty,” Yang Qianhuan said dejectedly.
“Isn’t the key issue that you talked too much and missed the opportunity?”
“Farewell!”
“Yang Qianhuan…” Jiang Luzhong shouted, but the white-robed sorcerer had already vanished. He didn’t say the second half of his sentence.
Xu Qi An had sacrificed himself.
…
Deep into the night, a sorrowful atmosphere permeated the postal station. The bright candlelight dispelled the darkness but couldn’t penetrate the gloom in people’s hearts.
It was now a quarter past one in the morning. The severely wounded members of the Bronze Gong Guards remained at the station. The Provincial Governor wasn’t present, nor was Yang Chuannan, as he had been released.
The Provincial Governor had personally released him.
When the disheveled but expressionless Governor Zhang returned and came before him, he asked if Yang Chuannan was willing to atone for his crimes by meritorious service.
Yang Chuannan immediately agreed, not out of eagerness to absolve himself of guilt, but because, at that moment, the Commander of Yangdu saw a storm in the scholar’s eyes that made his heart tremble.
Yang Chuannan then left the postal station, following orders to mobilize the Defense Command troops into the city. They cooperated with the Flying Swallow Army to eliminate the rebel forces of the other three sects.
During the suppression of the rebels, Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng led from the front, unleashing a killing spree. They were hit by several arrows and had to return to the postal station to recuperate.
After taking control of Baidi City, Yang Chuannan and Li Miaozhen led troops to surround the Five Cities Military Command. From the sixth-ranked “Commander” down to the clerks, all were arrested.
Afterward, Governor Zhang forcibly summoned all the ranked officials in Baidi City and ordered the white-robed sorcerer to interrogate them one by one. They rooted out thirty-four of Song Changfu’s rebel party members. Along with the officials and clerks of the Five Cities Military Command, as well as the captured soldiers, a total of four hundred and eight people were implicated.
There was no further interrogation or imprisonment. Governor Zhang acted on his authority and had all the rebels beheaded at the execution ground. While a provincial governor had the right to act at his discretion, this didn’t include privately executing criminal officials.
However, these were extraordinary times, and any overreach could later be explained as necessary for eliminating rebels. As long as Governor Zhang quelled the Yunzhou rebellion, the imperial court would only praise him.
At the execution ground, heads rolled, and blood flowed like a river.
The matter wasn’t over yet. According to the Dream Shaman whose head had been exploded by Jiang Luzhong’s punch, the rebels planned to first kill the governor, then seize Baidi City, and finally cooperate with mountain bandits to capture Yunzhou.
Governor Zhang had already dispatched messengers to various prefectures and counties, instructing local garrisons to be on high alert and vigilant against bandit attacks.
Li Miaozhen and Yang Chuannan were actively preparing for the city’s defense, conscripting militia, transporting and repairing defensive equipment, and eagerly waiting for the enemy.
But they waited until deep into the night without seeing a single enemy. The scouts sent out hadn’t returned to report either.
At the South Gate, the Barbican was built on the city wall.
Governor Zhang, Jiang Luzhong, Yang Chuannan, and Li Miaozhen sat around a table discussing matters. Jiang Luzhong squinted, studying the city defense map.
Li Miaozhen looked gloomy and remained silent.
Governor Zhang glanced at both of them, then finally looked at Yang Chuannan, humbly seeking advice: “Commander, do you think the mountain bandits have canceled their operation after receiving news of the failed mutiny?”
He was a scholar who, although he had studied military strategy for a few years, knew that book learning was worthless in practice. The two martial artists and the Daoist disciple present were all experienced and formidable generals.
Yang Chuannan’s face was still pale, his chest aching faintly.
Fortunately, he was a talented military leader. Though his cultivation had been temporarily crippled, his ability to command troops on the battlefield was more important than personal martial prowess.
They call me “Commander” when they need me, but “rebel” when they don’t… Yang Chuannan couldn’t help but grumble inwardly. Outwardly, he maintained a grave and composed demeanor, saying:
“In a multi-front war, information doesn’t travel that quickly. Even if the troops attacking Baidi City received the news, all other forces can’t be synchronized.”
“According to what that Dream Shaman said, by now, wars should have broken out in various prefectures and counties. Let’s wait another hour. If no rebel forces attack Baidi City, we’ll send troops to support the other counties.”
Yang Chuannan looked towards the Flying Swallow Heroine, with whom he had a deep friendship, “Miaozhen, what do you think? Miaozhen, Miaozhen…”
Li Miaozhen let out an “Ah,” as if she had just come back to her senses, and asked in return, “What is it?”
Yang Chuannan repeated the question, then asked with concern, “What’s wrong with you?”
“It’s nothing.”
Li Miaozhen shook her head, but the image of that young Bronze Gong Guard, standing firm at the courtyard entrance without retreating a step, floated in her mind once again.
It was both heroic and desolate.
But what truly lingered in Li Miaozhen’s thoughts wasn’t simply the impact of the scene, but rather her utter surprise that the man she had thought to be lecherous and shameless could go to such lengths.
When everyone was on the brink of disaster, when the other Bronze Gong Guards chose to meditate and heal their wounds, it was that lustful fellow who truly stepped forward.
The stark contrast created the strongest impact.
Every time she recalled the image of him standing with his sword, Li Miaozhen felt a twinge of sadness. Perhaps years later, when remembering this scene from today, it would still be vivid and profound.
“Where’s Yang Qianhuan?” Governor Zhang asked.
“He left. I couldn’t keep him here,” Jiang Luzhong said.
He felt some misplaced anger towards Yang Qianhuan. Whenever he thought of the sacrifice of his three subordinates, Jiang Luzhong would feel a surge of impotent rage, hating himself and also blaming Yang Qianhuan.
Despite Yang Qianhuan’s brief explanation.
Self-reproach and regret would accompany him for a long time, until time washed away the knot in his heart, and he could “meet himself with a smile,” letting go of the past.
“Why did he come to Yunzhou?” Governor Zhang frowned.
Jiang Luzhong shook his head.
Suddenly, Jiang Luzhong’s ears twitched, and he turned his head towards the pitch-black night. Li Miaozhen, a second slower, also turned her head.
“They’re here!” Jiang Luzhong said in a deep voice.
Everyone immediately rushed out of the barbican onto the city wall, straining their eyes to look into the distance. They saw a string of flickering lights appear in the darkness far away, slowly undulating like a flowing river.
Woo woo woo… Boom boom boom…
The sound of horns and drums rose simultaneously, echoing in the silent winter night.
Soldiers dozing against the parapets were startled awake, grabbing their spears, crossbows, shields, and other weapons nearby, and entering combat readiness.
Li Miaozhen stood on the wall, squinting at the distance. Suddenly, she tensed and shouted, “Be careful!”
As soon as she spoke, a silver light streaked through the air, the spear tip creating a sharp whistling sound as it cut through the air.
A fourth-rank martial artist!
And at the peak of the fourth rank!
Li Miaozhen was shocked, her body tense. How could Yunzhou have such a high-level expert? Were there such powerful individuals among the mountain bandits?
What happened next surprised her even more. Jiang Luzhong moved forward to meet it, unhurriedly reaching out to catch the silver spear. He showed none of the seriousness and caution one should have when facing a powerful enemy.
What surprised her even more was that the seemingly fierce and unstoppable silver spear was soft and weak, willingly delivering itself into Jiang Luzhong’s hand.
Li Miaozhen looked closely. It was a heavy silver spear, its silver paint mottled, exuding the vicissitudes of time, but its tip gleamed coldly, with fresh blood still on it.
Compared to the ordinary silver spear in her hand, this spear was a true weapon of war.
Li Miaozhen’s signature weapon was a flying sword. The reason she used a spear was mainly because after joining the army, she needed a weapon that matched her identity.
In the distance, there was a loud “boom,” and a figure leaped up hundreds of meters away, tracing a high arc through the air before landing on the walkway of the city wall.
This person wore the dark uniform of a night watchman, with a golden gong embroidered on his chest. His expression was hard as if carved from stone.
“Why are you here?” Jiang Luzhong was both surprised and delighted as he tossed the silver spear back.
“By my adoptive father’s order, I’ve come to Yunzhou to suppress the mountain bandits,” Yang Yan caught the spear and answered concisely.
Governor Zhang was taken aback, seeming to grasp something, and asked, “What did Duke Wei tell you?”
“My adoptive father said the Yunzhou mountain bandits would cause trouble and ordered me to come secretly,” Yang Yan said:
“I had secretly taken control of the troops in various garrisons of Yunzhou days ago, originally planning to clear out the mountain bandits after some time. Unexpectedly, at dusk today, more than a dozen groups of mountain bandits started causing trouble everywhere. I had just led a team to eliminate them when I guessed something might have happened in Baidi City, so I rushed over immediately.”
“Sixty li from Baidi City, I encountered a force of two thousand men. I’ve just finished killing them.”
Li Miaozhen glanced at the spear tip, thinking that’s why there was still blood on it.
Governor Zhang felt greatly relieved. So we were just the pieces visible on the board, while Duke Wei had made arrangements in secret.
Yang Yan’s gaze swept over everyone, searching through the crowd, then he frowned and asked, “Where’s Xu Qi An?”
Governor Zhang’s expression suddenly froze, and the joy in Jiang Luzhong’s eyes gradually faded.
Yang Yan’s heart sank, his already expressionless face becoming even harder.
“He…” Governor Zhang’s eyes showed sadness as he said, “He… died in battle.”
Li Miaozhen lowered her head slightly, sighing.
Crack… The stone slab under Yang Yan’s feet suddenly shattered, and waves of uncontrolled energy leaked out, indicating that this Golden Gong’s emotions were out of control.
His eyes were sharp as knives, and his usually expressionless face twisted in a rare display of emotion. Through gritted teeth, he squeezed out a question: “How did he die?”
Governor Zhang recounted everything that had happened that day to Yang Yan in detail. When he reached the part about Xu Qi An standing firm to protect everyone, refusing to retreat, the governor’s eyes turned red:
“He was hit by thirty-one arrows, with over sixty sword wounds… He stood until his last breath, refusing to retreat as he had promised… A man true to his word, true to his word indeed.”
Jiang Luzhong slowly exhaled, looking at the governor’s grief-stricken appearance with some sympathy. He said in a deep voice:
“It was my failure in duty. I’m sorry…”
Without warning, Yang Yan swept his long spear horizontally. The spear shaft bent, striking Jiang Luzhong heavily in the chest.
Bang!
A sound like a great bell exploding reverberated through heaven and earth.
Jiang Luzhong smashed through the parapet and was flung out.
Yang Yan stomped, collapsing half the top of the wall, and leaped into the sky. His roar echoed in the distance: “Jiang Luzhong, you useless piece of trash, I’m going to kill you today no matter what.”
…
In the main hall of the postal station.
The bodies of Xu Qi An, three Silver Gong Guards, and one Bronze Gong Guard were laid out in the center of the hall, covered with white cloth.
The arrows had been removed from Xu Qi An’s body, and his blood-stained face had been cleaned. In the sleepless night, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao, in tacit understanding, came downstairs, brought two chairs, and sat on either side of Xu Qi An.
They didn’t speak, just sat there silently, keeping him company.
Men’s grief is silent.
During this time, Song Tingfeng said two things: “Consider this as keeping vigil for you.” and “We’ll be brothers again in the next life.”
Zhu Guangxiao said one thing: “In the end, it’s still just the two of us.”
As the candles gradually burned to their ends, wax dripping and solidifying, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao didn’t say another word in this sorrowful atmosphere.
Until heavy footsteps were heard from outside the postal station, a team of night watchmen arrived, led by Yang Yan. The Golden Gong Yang seemed to have just been through a great battle, looking disheveled.
Behind him were several Silver Gong Guards who had come with him to Yunzhou. Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao knew them all.
Xu Qi An knew them too, like Min Shan and Yang Feng who had once investigated the Sangbo case together, and… their direct superior, Li Yuchun.
At this moment, Li Yuchun looked very much like a walking corpse. He walked towards Xu Qi’an one small step at a time, moving very slowly. The short dozen or so steps seemed to be full of thorns, each step causing heart-piercing pain.
Li Yuchun reached out and lifted the white cloth… His body swayed.
“Boss.”
Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao quickly moved to support him.
Li Yuchun lowered his head, looking at Xu Qi An’s face, and said, “I heard that Ning Yan died in battle, but I don’t know the specifics of how he died. Can you two tell me?”
Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao exchanged glances, both somewhat worried. The boss was too calm.
Song Tingfeng told Li Yuchun what had happened. The latter listened very quietly, slowly nodding, “As expected of the Bronze Gong I trained, well done, he didn’t let me down.”
“He always did things that pleased me, just like when he chopped down that little bastard surnamed Zhu back then. He was never greedy for money, better than both of you in this regard. You should learn from him.”
“The only bad thing was that he was too lax in his cultivation, and often sneaked off to brothels to listen to music while on patrol. Several people came to complain to me about it.”
He rambled on about trivial matters, recalling bits and pieces from the past.
He seemed relatively calm, which made Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao breathe a sigh of relief. They knew the boss valued and appreciated Xu Qi An greatly. Back when the incident of the sword-chopping Silver Gong happened, he even dared to publicly challenge Duke Wei’s authority.
However, when he lifted the white cloth to check Xu Qi An’s clothing, he suddenly flew into a rage:
“Which son of a bitch arranged his clothes? Which son of a bitch arranged his clothes? The lapels aren’t symmetrical, the lapels aren’t symmetrical…”
He cursed loudly, looking as if he was about to draw his sword and start hacking people as if by doing so, others would ignore the tears surging in his eyes.
“Boss.” Song Tingfeng called out.
“The lapels aren’t symmetrical, the lapels aren’t symmetrical.” Li Yuchun cupped his face with both hands, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably, shaking and shaking…
…
Li Miaozhen returned to her mansion in Baidi City and sat alone in the study for a long time, with a small jade mirror placed beside her.
Several times she wanted to pick it up to tell everyone about Number Three’s death, but she held back.
Let’s preserve a bit of face for him one last time… Li Miaozhen sighed and finally picked up the small jade mirror, sending a message:
[Daoist Master, I have something to tell you privately.]
Being woken up by the sudden vibration of a message in the dead of night, the members of the Earthly Society were very annoyed. After seeing the content of Number Two’s message, they became even more annoyed.
Again?
[Nine: I have already screened out the others.]
[Two: Daoist Master, the matter in Yunzhou has been settled.]
[Nine: That’s good news.]
[Two: I already know that Number Three is Xu Qi An.]
Golden Lotus Daoist chuckled: [Nine: That’s good news.]
[Two: Xu Qi An died in battle.]
[Nine: ???]
[Two: I will find a way to retrieve the Book of Earth fragment. After spring next year, I will leave Yunzhou and go to the capital.]
[Nine: Are you sure Xu Qi An died in battle?]
[Two: Yes.]
[Nine: That’s impossible.]
[Two: Why do you say that, Daoist Master?]
[Nine: Xu Qi An is a person with great fortune, not one destined for a short life.]
[Two: But he did die. I prepared his body.]
Golden Lotus Daoist asked: [Was there any dispersal of his primordial spirit?]
Li Miaozhen frowned: [When I arrived, he was already dead. Moreover, he had not yet reached the Spirit Tempering Realm, so his primordial spirit wasn’t particularly strong. It likely dissipated on the spot due to the impact of the killing intent and blood energy.]
Besides, with her level as the Holy Maiden of the Celestial Sect, how could she not tell whether a body still had any life force?
Golden Lotus Daoist didn’t reply for a long time. After a few minutes: [I understand. You don’t need to worry about the Book of Earth fragment. As for whether Xu Qi An is dead or alive, I will verify it myself.]
Li Miaozhen raised her eyebrows. Golden Lotus Daoist didn’t believe her judgment. However, she didn’t argue. The message had been delivered; whether to believe it or not was the Daoist Master’s business.
However, the Book of Earth fragment was a treasured artifact of the Earth Sect. Li Miaozhen felt that Golden Lotus Daoist was treating it too casually, not giving it enough importance.
Ending the screening, Number One immediately sent a message: [Number Two, has the case in Yunzhou been resolved?]
Li Miaozhen replied: [If you want to know the specifics, you can exchange equivalent information.]
[One: All right, no problem.]
[Two: The one truly colluding with the Witch God Sect and supporting the mountain bandits was the Provincial Administrator Song Changfu. After being exposed, he sealed off Baidi City and gathered rebel forces to surround and kill Governor Zhang. Although it failed, the night watchmen also suffered heavy losses.
[The Xu Qi An we often mentioned in our messages… has sacrificed himself.] In the end, she still didn’t reveal that Xu Qi An was Number Three.
Number Three will never appear again… Li Miaozhen added in her heart, feeling somewhat sad.
Xu Qi An has sacrificed himself?
Within the Earthly Society, the most intense reaction came from Number Six, Heng Yuan. Second was Number Four, though Number Four was purely lamenting the loss of talent.
Monk Heng Yuan was different. He once again experienced the grief he felt when his junior disciple Heng Hui died.
[Two: After spring, I need to make a trip to the capital. Number One, I want to know the intelligence of all the young disciples of the Human Sect.]
Number One never replied to her again.
…
Yunzhou was now in chaos, with great upheaval in the Baidi City officialdom and people living in fear.
As the provincial governor appointed by the imperial court, Governor Zhang couldn’t leave. He wrote a memorial detailing the events of the Yunzhou case and reported it to the court. Then he stayed in Yunzhou to manage the overall situation, waiting for instructions from the court and the arrival of a new Provincial Administrator before he could return to the capital.
Jiang Luzhong and Yang Yan remained in Yunzhou to suppress the bandits and protect Governor Zhang’s safety.
But the bodies of Xu Qi An, three Silver Gong Guards, and one Bronze Gong Guard needed to be transported back to the capital. They were heroes and shouldn’t be buried in a foreign land. In the cold winter months, the bodies wouldn’t decay quickly, but they couldn’t be kept in Yunzhou for long.
The task of escorting the four bodies back to the capital was given to Silver Gong Min Shan.
Li Yuchun and his two companions decided to stay in Yunzhou to participate in suppressing the bandits, venting their uncontainable grief. At the same time, deep in their hearts, they dared not bring Xu Qi An’s body back to the capital, fearing to face his family.
Governor Zhang prepared coffins for the five-night watchmen who had sacrificed themselves. He bowed deeply and didn’t rise for a long time.
When sealing the coffin, Governor Zhang placed four letters that had arrived from the capital on Xu Qi An’s chest.
…
February 2nd, Spring Festival Day.
This world didn’t have a Spring Festival, but it had a similar holiday called Spring Festival Day.
On this day, the Emperor led all civil and military officials in worshipping heaven, praying for favorable weather and peace for the country in the coming year. It was the most important day for the Great Feng.
Every household would join in the worship, slaughtering sheep and cattle for feasts. Even the busiest people would return home on Spring Festival Day to reunite with their families.
The early spring was bitingly cold, with thin ice floating on the Grand Canal. The official ship slowly sailed northward, embarking on its journey home.
Xu Qi An awakened on Spring Festival Day.