Li Miaozheng knew that this Third Senior Brother was obsessed with imitating Xu Qi’an. According to him, Xu Qi’an was the epitome of public displays of divinity, always one step ahead of him, snatching away his opportunities.

It wasn’t that Yang Qianhuan was falsely accusing anyone; he had his reasons. For instance, during the Buddhist confrontation, the Chief Star Diviner deliberately locked him in the basement of the Star-Observing Tower and then sent Xu Qi’an out to represent the Astronomical Bureau.

Another example was during Li Miaozheng and Chu Yuanzhen’s battle of transcendence when Yang Qianhuan “happened” to be locked in the tower’s basement again.

If he knew what Xu Ningyan had done, he would surely be envious to the point of beating his chest and stamping his feet… Li Miaozheng decided not to tell him now, at least not until Xu Qi’an’s condition stabilized.

So she suppressed her smile, clasped her hands, and said sincerely, “I’ll trouble Senior Brother Yang with Xu Qi’an’s care.”

Yang Qianhuan nodded, satisfied with this pleading gesture from the Heavenly Sect’s Holy Maiden.

He immediately took out various bottles and jars from his storage bag, along with needles and thread. Yang Qianhuan pried open Xu Qi’an’s mouth, then with a “pop,” uncorked several porcelain bottles and stuffed four or five bottle mouths into Xu Qi’an’s mouth.

His method of administering medicine was downright brutal. After a few moments, the unconscious Xu Qi’an’s face turned purple-red, looking as if he was about to suffocate.

“What are you doing?” Li Miaozheng’s eyebrows shot up.

“He’s severely injured. For a serious illness, use strong medicine!”

Yang Qianhuan explained righteously, slapping Xu Qi’an’s jaw to make him swallow the medicine.

Is that what “for a serious illness, use strong medicine” means? Are you sure you’re not seeking revenge? The Flying Swallow Heroine glanced at him sideways.

After using the medicine, Yang Qianhuan stitched his wounds, barely stopping the bleeding. Then he said:

“I can only stabilize his condition. To save him, my teacher needs to personally intervene.”

“Even you can’t do it?” Li Miaozheng was surprised.

In her view, Yang Qianhuan was the top dog of the Astronomical Bureau. Apart from the Chief Star Diviner, Li Miaozheng hadn’t seen any magician in the Astronomical Bureau with a higher rank than Yang Qianhuan.

… Yang Qianhuan was silent for a long time, then slowly said, “It’s this kid’s fault for courting death. It has nothing to do with my abilities.”

Li Miaozheng’s words, in the eyes of Senior Brother Yang, who believed “If heaven hadn’t born me, Yang Qianhuan, Great Liang would be in eternal darkness,” were a blatant provocation.

He paused, then continued:

“He must have used the Confucian ‘words become reality’ technique. Huh, without the protection of righteous qi, he dared to use Confucian magic. Looking at his grievous injuries, what did he exchange for using Confucian magic?”

Li Miaozheng pondered for a while, then said, “Perhaps it’s related to combat power and state.”

“Forcibly increasing combat power… He isn’t afraid of death.” Yang Qianhuan clicked his tongue:

“Even fourth-rank Confucians don’t dare to play like this.”

“Is that so?” Li Miaozheng asked.

“Of course!”

Yang Qianhuan pursed his lips:

“Those fourth-rank practitioners from Cloud Deer Academy, when fighting, only dare to mutter things like ‘your pants fell’ or ‘retreat a hundred miles’ – effects that are strong but won’t cause too much damage.”

“That’s because the backlash that righteous qi can offset is limited. Otherwise, wouldn’t the Confucian school be invincible?”

Li Miaozheng said, “Wasn’t the Confucian school invincible during its peak?”

Yang Qianhuan didn’t want to talk to this woman anymore. He coughed and said, “Once he initially absorbs the medicine’s power and alleviates the pain, we’ll take him back. Huh, don’t underestimate pain; it might kill him outright.”

He strode towards the exit: “I’m going out for a walk.”

Now that the great master Yang Qianhuan of the Astronomical Bureau had arrived, how could he keep his talents and fame hidden? He had to go out and show off a bit.

“Creak…”

He opened the barbican’s large door, appearing before the gathered garrison troops outside.

The soldiers were bewildered to suddenly see a white-robed figure appear.

Yang Qianhuan’s gaze, hidden under his veiled hat, slowly swept over the bewildered faces. His tone was steady, exuding the calmness of an otherworldly sage as he announced:

“This one is Yang Qianhuan of the Astronomical Bureau, third disciple of the Chief Star Diviner.”

A magician from the Astronomical Bureau… the Chief Star Diviner’s third disciple…

After a brief silence, the soldiers outside the barbican suddenly erupted in intense cheers.

Oh? They’re so welcoming. This… this doesn’t seem quite right… No, it makes perfect sense! Yang Qianhuan couldn’t help but straighten his back, then turned around, stubbornly facing the crowd with the back of his head.

Even though the back of his head was hidden under the veiled hat.

At this moment, amidst the clamorous cheers, he heard soldiers in the distance asking, “What’s going on? What’s happened to everyone?”

Some soldiers answered, “That person is a magician from the Astronomical Bureau, the Chief Star Diviner’s third disciple.”

“What? That’s wonderful, so wonderful…”

“Yes, yes, Sir Xu can be saved now, Sir Xu can finally be saved.”

Some wept with joy.

As citizens of Great Liang, who didn’t know that magicians from the Astronomical Bureau could bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh on bare bones?

The reason for their cheers is… is that Xu Qi’an can be saved, not because of me?!

Yang Qianhuan’s heart sank as he listened, still facing away from the crowd. He raised his hand and pressed it down.

Seeing his gesture, the soldiers gradually quieted down.

Yang Qianhuan said in a deep voice, “Xu Qi’an, what… what has he done this time?”

He knew Xu Qi’an had a high reputation in Great Liang (stealing Yang Qianhuan’s opportunities), but even if these military-achievement-obsessed soldiers revered Sir Xu, the scene before him was still too exaggerated.

He had a bad feeling.

“Sir Xu, with his boundless loyalty, single-handedly broke through the enemy formation to ease our pressure,” a soldier said.

Huh, just like when he beheaded the duke at the vegetable market, he still knows how to win people’s hearts! Yang Qianhuan commented, not feeling envious at all, with an air of having long seen through Xu Qi’an.

“Sir Xu, all alone, twice routed the enemy army, slaying nearly ten thousand.”

Killing ten thousand enemies, twice routing the enemy army… Yang Qianhuan listened, gradually becoming dumbfounded, his gaze slowly losing focus.

“Sir Xu, by his strength alone, amidst tens of thousands of troops, personally beheaded the Yan monarch, Nur Hachi.”

“Sir Xu is invincible.”

“In this life, I only wish to follow Sir Xu.”

As they spoke, the soldiers began to shout, their eyes red.

Yang Qianhuan silently closed the barbican’s large door.

Li Miaozheng heard the door close and came out to look. She saw Yang Qianhuan leaning against the door, slowly sliding to the ground, his hat askew…

“Are you alright?”

Li Miaozheng wore an expression of “I’m a professionally trained Holy Maiden, I won’t laugh no matter how funny it is.”

“I was wrong. I still underestimated Xu Qi’an. I thought beheading the duke at the vegetable market was already the peak of his life, but I didn’t expect he would do something even more…”

He was too upset to speak.

“He feared I would steal his limelight, so he deliberately ran to the border, just to avoid me. What a despicable person… Twice routing the enemy army, killing nearly ten thousand, taking the enemy general’s head amidst tens of thousands of troops. Why doesn’t Xu Qi’an ride the wind and soar, ascending ninety thousand li in one go?”

His voice trembled with envy.

Li Miaozheng almost covered her face and let out a pig-like squeal.

After complaining for a while, Yang Qianhuan’s eyes burned with fighting spirit: “Please tell me, where is the capital of the Yan State?”

Li Miaozheng pursed her lips, suppressing her laughter: “You want to go to the Yan State? But Xu Qi’an repelled the enemy in front of over ten thousand defending troops. What use would it be for you to go to the Yan State alone?”

“Then where’s the Shaman Religion’s headquarters?”

“It’s already been captured by Wei Yuan.”

“… Do I still have a chance?”

“No.”

Li Miaozheng mercilessly crushed his ideas, then said, “Xu Qi’an’s condition seems to have improved a lot. Let’s return to the capital and find the Chief Star Diviner to save him.”

From under the veiled hat came Yang Qianhuan’s despairing and exhausted reply:

“It’s hopeless. Just wait for death!”

…

Zhang Kaitai in the military camp was awakened by the cheers. He leaped onto the city wall and, upon learning of Yang Qianhuan’s arrival, entered the barbican with great joy.

“Where’s Yang Qianhuan?”

He looked around but saw no one.

Li Miaozheng pointed to a corner. Zhang Kaitai looked over and saw Yang Qianhuan crouching in the corner, facing away from them, as quiet as a piece of furniture.

“What’s wrong with him?” Zhang Kaitai transmitted.

“He just learned about Xu Qi’an’s deeds,” Li Miaozheng transmitted back.

… When Zhang Kaitai looked at Yang Qianhuan’s back again, his gaze was full of pity.

“I’ll arrange for my deputy to return to the capital with you to report the situation here to the court. Even with an eight-hundred-li express delivery, it will take several days to reach the capital.

“Although the allied armies of Yan and Kang have retreated with heavy losses, we can’t let our guard down. They might return at any time. I hope the court will make preparations early.”

Zhang Kaitai said.

Moreover, the deaths of soldiers needed to be reported to the court, as well as Xu Qi’an’s merit in single-handedly holding off eighty thousand enemy troops.

Li Miaozheng nodded: “Alright.”

…

At the beginning of the Si hour (9-11 AM), in the Inner Cabinet.

In the council hall, Prime Minister Wang Zhenwen held a steaming cup of health tea, listening to the heated discussions among the Grand Secretaries of various halls.

“What does His Majesty mean? Why hasn’t he expressed any opinion after two days of discussion?” Zhao Tingfang, Grand Secretary of the Eastern Palace, frowned.

For two consecutive days of court meetings, they had been discussing follow-up matters. However, regarding the nature of this battle and the subsequent precautions against possible retaliation from the Shaman Religion, Emperor Yuanjing showed an extremely passive attitude.

He talked a lot about trivial matters but never mentioned the main issues. No matter how the officials advised, he ignored them. The Remonstrance Officials had been jumping up and down these two days, writing memorials yesterday and directly rebuking Emperor Yuanjing in the hall today.

Then they were all dragged out for a court beating.

“His Majesty seems… unwilling to give Duke Wei a posthumous title. As for the matter of troop deployment in the three northeastern border provinces…”

At this point, Qian Qingshu, Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall, paused without continuing.

For anyone else, such behavior could be branded as colluding with the enemy and betraying the country.

But His Majesty was the ruler of the nation, so of course, that couldn’t be the case. One could only say he had become muddleheaded recently.

Knock knock!

Prime Minister Wang tapped the table. When the Grand Secretaries looked over, he let out a breath and said in a low, gentle voice:

“After lunch, I’ll go to the Star-Observing Tower to see the Chief Star Diviner.”

His intuition was sharper than others. Since Wei Yuan died in battle, Wang Zhenwen had reconstructed the event based on the intelligence received.

He sensed that this matter not only involved two countries but also touched upon secrets at the peak of cultivation ranks, and the latter was a realm that civil officials like them couldn’t delve into.

But the Chief Star Diviner would know.

The Grand Secretaries slowly nodded. Chen Qi, Grand Secretary of the Jianjie Hall, said in a low voice, “It might be worth asking the Chief Star Diviner to put some pressure on His Majesty.”

If these words were to spread, they would become grounds for political enemies to attack, and he might not even be able to keep his position as Grand Secretary. But he said it anyway, thinking only of Emperor Yuanjing making a quick decision.

This showed how tense the current situation was.

At this moment, an Inner Cabinet official came to the council hall door and reported, “Gentlemen, a person claiming to be Zhang Kaitai’s deputy commander seeks an audience. He wishes to see the Prime Minister.”

“Zhang Kaitai’s deputy? Why come to the Inner Cabinet instead of the Ministry of War?” Qian Qingshu frowned slightly.

Zhao Tingfang, Grand Secretary of the Eastern Palace, said, “Perhaps he’s already been to the Ministry of War and has other urgent matters to discuss with the Prime Minister?”

Wang Zhenwen pondered for a moment, then said, “Let him in.”

The Inner Cabinet official withdrew. Shortly after, he led in a middle-aged military commander, covered in dust, his armor riddled with sword marks and bloodstains.

This… how did he enter the imperial city dressed like this?

The Grand Secretaries were shocked.

“This humble officer is Li Yi, Deputy Commander under Commander Zhang. I pay my respects to the gentlemen,” Li Yi cupped his hands.

Prime Minister Wang nodded and asked, “Why aren’t you staying with the border troops? When did you return?”

Li Yi replied, “This humble officer was still at Yuyang Pass in Xiangzhou yesterday. I just returned to the capital this morning, brought back by Yang Qianhuan of the Astronomical Bureau.”

The Grand Secretaries looked at each other in confusion, while the Prime Minister asked, “Is the urgent intelligence report true?”

Li Yi nodded solemnly.

In an instant, the last hope in Prime Minister Wang’s eyes disappeared. He remained silent for a long time, then said, “What is your purpose in seeking an audience with this official?”

Li Yi said, “The day before yesterday, an allied army of eighty thousand from Yan and Kang states attacked Yuyang Pass.”

“What?!”

The Grand Secretaries were shocked.

Prime Minister Wang’s hand holding the teacup suddenly trembled, spilling scalding tea on his hand, but he didn’t seem to notice.