A Poison Tribe flying rider carrying Great Zhou’s flag… The clerks and advisors in the hall were bewildered, unable to immediately connect “Great Zhou’s military flag” with “Poison Tribe.”

Hmm? Flying rider?

The next moment, everyone caught the key point, all turning to look at Yang Gong simultaneously.

“Search him for weapons, then let him enter,” Yang Gong said unhurriedly after a moment’s consideration.

The clerk withdrew with his orders. A quarter-hour later, the Administrative Office guards brought two people into the main hall.

Yang Gong, Li Mubai, and the assembled advisors scrutinized the arrivals.

The one on the left was from the Southern Borderlands, with dark skin, pale blue eyes, and naturally curly hair. His attire and explosive musculature gave him a wild appearance.

But those pale blue eyes contained the light of intelligence.

*Indeed a Heart Poison master…* Yang Gong, as the province’s highest administrator, maintained his stern dignity as he turned his gaze to the soldier beside Tamo.

Second Young Master Xu’s deputy.

Gu Qi immediately understood the Governor’s questioning look. He clasped his hands and bowed: “This humble one is Gu Qi, Deputy to Lord Xu Xinnian.”

After a pause, seeing Yang Gong nod, he continued: “This is Tamo of the Heart Poison Tribe, commander of their flying beast unit, reinforcements brought by Licensed Xu.”

Li Mubai and the advisors swore this was the most pleasant and wonderful sound they’d heard in the past ten days.

When had Licensed Xu gone to the Southern Borderlands’ Poison Tribe? And he’d brought back their flying beast unit?

Moreover, how many flying beast units were there, where were they, and what was their combat capability? They had a string of questions to ask, but before Yang Gong spoke, everyone controlled their impulses well.

Though their hearts quietly burned with anticipation.

Yang Gong straightened his back slightly, his gaze fixed on Gu Qi: “Why did the Poison Tribe’s flying beast unit come with you?”

He asked the question that was in all the advisors’ minds.

Gu Qi said: “The Heart Poison Tribe warriors came to Songshan County on Licensed Xu’s orders to assist us, helping the garrison repel the enemy.”

As he spoke, he pulled a letter from his chest: “I have Lord Xu’s written proof.”

A clerk stepped forward to receive the letter, respectfully presenting it to Yang Gong. Yang Gong opened and read it, then nodded to the advisors staring intently at him.

*Songshan County is saved…*

Another piece of wonderful news that made them dizzy with joy. The advisors were delighted, looking at each other, transmitting their excitement and happiness.

At this point, Tamo took another letter from his chest and said: “This is Licensed Xu’s letter, to be delivered to Governor Yang upon reaching Qing Province.”

This time, Yang Gong directly raised his hand, drawing the letter through the air to himself, opening it somewhat impatiently.

Unlike Xu Xinnian’s neatly flowing handwriting, this letter from Xu Ningyue was written in twisted, ugly characters that seemed forcibly pieced together from strokes.

*Yes, these are Ningyue’s characters…* Yang Gong immediately believed it, no longer doubting.

It wasn’t that no one could imitate Xu Ningyue’s writing, but rather that his calligraphy was extremely rare. In today’s Nine Provinces, apart from Cloud Deer Academy and the Xu mansion in the capital, Xu Ningyue’s handwriting could hardly be seen anywhere.

Xu Ningyue was a person who cared about-face, so he greatly valued his calligraphy, never letting it circulate.

Thus even if someone wanted to imitate it, they had no samples to work from.

Yang Gong read on. The first half described how Xu Ningyue had engaged in verbal combat with the scholars of the Southern Borderlands, using his unparalleled eloquence to persuade the Poison Tribe and his noble character to move them, finally resolving their grudges and getting them to send troops north to support Great Zhou.

Yang Gong believed the eloquence part might be true, but the noble character was questionable.

Further down were the troop numbers from each tribe.

“Heart Poison Tribe flying beast riders, five hundred…”

Yang Gong froze at the first line.

He suspected Xu Ningyue had written it wrong. During the Shanhai Pass campaign years ago, Great Zhou’s flying beast units had only numbered fifteen hundred.

A few years after the Shanhai Pass campaign ended, the court had disbanded half the flying beast camp, selling off many Red-Tailed Fierce Eagles.

Why? Because they couldn’t afford to maintain them.

If heavy cavalry ate silver, then flying beast units ate gold.

What did five hundred flying beast units mean? It probably represented half of the Heart Poison Tribe’s total flying beast forces.

Reading on: Force Poison Tribe warriors, four hundred; Corpse Poison Tribe controllers, six hundred; Shadow Tribe elites, eight hundred. Adding the five hundred flying beast units…

Yang Gong’s heart sank, both delighted and worried. The delight came from knowing these Poison Tribe elite warriors would undoubtedly help reverse the Qing Province army’s current decline.

The worry was because the Poison Tribe was giving too much—they must want something substantial in return. Governor Yang worried that Xu Qi’an had made rash promises that the court couldn’t accept.

He frowned as he looked at the end of the letter, at Xu Ningyue’s promises to the Poison Tribe.

This… Yang Gong again suspected Xu Ningyue had written it wrong.

Before it was because the number of flying beast units seemed too high, now it was because the price seemed too low.

*Too cheap…*

Yang Gong’s back had unconsciously straightened more and more. He maintained his dignified, stern demeanor, but his eyes had become exceptionally bright.

He calmly put away the letter and stared at Tamo: “Has the Heart Poison Tribe’s leader seen the contents of this letter?”

Tamo didn’t understand why he asked this, thought for a moment, then understood and nodded steadily: “Governor Yang need not worry, the letter’s contents are entirely accurate.”

Heart Poison masters generally had above-average intelligence, which was why Xu Qi’an had entrusted the letter to them.

If it had been the Force Poison Tribe, they might have responded:

“How would I know!”

Or just said: “Same here!”

Tamo continued: “We hope Governor Yang will petition the court soon to confirm this matter.”

Yang Gong nodded: “I understand. Commander Tamo has come from afar and must be tired from the journey. I’ll arrange for your rest first, then properly host you at a banquet tonight.”

After having someone take Tamo to arrange his lodging, Yang Gong slowly exhaled and turned his gaze to the advisors at the table.

These scholars, well-versed in various fields and extensively read, were already bursting with impatience.

“What does Ningyue’s letter say? How many flying beast units?”

Li Mubai asked on everyone’s behalf.

Yang Gong showed a slight smile: “Five hundred.”

“Five hundred?!”

Cries of surprise rose around the table. Even the distant clerks busy with work stopped and looked over in astonishment.

“Let me see,” Li Mubai extended his hand and said firmly: “Come!”

The letter in Yang Gong’s hand abruptly disappeared and appeared in Li Mubai’s. He opened it to read, and as he read, his breathing quickened slightly, his hands holding the letter trembled faintly, but he quickly composed himself.

The letter circulated among the advisors, hands trembling as they held it, faces showing excitement and elation.

The arrival of the Poison Tribe elites was like timely rain for Qing Province.

Watering the parched battlefield everywhere.

“Just for this small price, to bring so many Poison Tribe elites—Licensed Xu’s noble character can even move the Poison Tribe people.”

An advisor stroked his beard in admiration.

*Naive…* Li Mubai and Yang Gong glanced at him, the latter saying slowly: “Perhaps there are prices we don’t know about, paid by Ningyue himself.”

The mood around the table lightened as the advisors discussed with sighs and smiles:

“Wonder when Licensed Xu will finish his business in the Southern Borderlands. If he could come to Qing Province, how could the rebels not be defeated?”

“Though he’s not on the battlefield, his heart is still with Qing Province, isn’t it?”

Speaking of that martial artist whose reputation was at its zenith, even these assembled scholars felt only reverence. This was notable because scholars typically looked down on crude martial artists.

“Looking back now, we must thank Minister Wei. He ensured Great Zhou’s pillar of state continued, not collapsing with his sacrifice.”

Great Zhou had lost Wei Yuan but gained Xu Qi’an—the legacy remained unbroken.

Li Mubai frowned and snorted: “Ningyue truly lives up to being my student. His art of vertical and horizontal alliances has reached perfection, not wasting my years of teaching.”

Xu Ningyue was his student in name.

Yang Gong expressionlessly scrutinized his old classmate and friend, saying flatly: “Indeed, this student Xu Ningyue satisfies me as well, not disappointing those years of my thorough instruction.”

The two great scholars of Cloud Deer Academy looked at each other, sparks seeming to fly in the air between them.

…

Two days later, ten li outside Wan County, at the Cloud Province army’s main camp.

Eight crimson, fire-like giant birds flew in from the horizon, passing over countless tents before landing in the northwest of the camp.

At this time, Qi Guangbo was conducting a sand table exercise with his strategists and various camp commanders.

“With our forces, we could take Wan County by storm within ten days, but Wan County has Great Scholar Zhang Shen. This man primarily studies military strategy and cannot be underestimated. If we attack forcefully, we might lose our elite troops.”

Ge Wenxuan analyzed, looking at the sand table.

Seeing the camp commanders furrowing their brows, not taking it seriously, he said gravely: “As mentioned before, in attacking Qing Province, stability is more important than speed. The faster we attack, the faster we lose elite troops. We can’t arrive at the capital with barely any elite forces remaining.

“So for Wan County, surrounding without attacking, slowly wearing them down is the best method. If Qing Province troops come to reinforce, we’ll consume them. However many come, we’ll consume them all.”

A square-faced commander shook his head: “Using a dull knife to cut flesh only works if we can take Songshan County. Only by taking Songshan County and Dongling can we force the Qing Province army to go all out to stabilize Wan County.

“Otherwise, they can use Songshan County as a base to send troops to join Dongling’s defenders and consume Ji Xuan’s forces. If that happens, Wan County instead becomes a stubborn rock holding down our main force.”

The army’s supreme commander Qi Guangbo finally spoke: “Any intelligence from Zhuo Haoran?”

A few days ago, Zhuo Haoran had sent an urgent report that his six thousand elite troops had encountered fierce resistance from the defenders at Songshan County, requesting reinforcements.

Qi Guangbo had sent forty Vermilion Bird riders at top speed to assist.

By reasoning, Songshan County should have fallen by now.

“This Xu Xinnian has surprised this general. Although Zhuo Haoran isn’t skilled at siege warfare, his six thousand elite troops are brave and battle-hardened. For a youth barely twenty to achieve this much is quite remarkable.”

Qi Guangbo smiled: “He has talent as a general.”

Just then, running footsteps stopped outside the tent. Qi Guangbo looked toward the open tent flap at an approaching soldier and said: “What is it?”

The reporting soldier said loudly: “The Vermilion Bird unit has returned to camp with intelligence: the six thousand elite troops sent to Songshan County were destroyed. Zhuo Haoran fled, whereabouts unknown. Of forty Vermilion Bird riders, only eight returned.”

As he spoke, he presented the intelligence report.

In the tent, the commanders’ expressions changed.

Qi Guangbo narrowed his eyes, his expression becoming somewhat heavy. He strode over and took the intelligence report from the soldier’s hand, opening it.

“Grand General?” Ge Wenxuan called softly.

Qi Guangbo passed over the report expressionlessly.

Ge Wenxuan read it and fell silent.

The report circulated among the camp commanders. In the silence, someone finally couldn’t hold back, grinding his teeth: “The Poison Tribe has allied with Great Zhou.”

When Ge Wenxuan had returned to camp earlier, informing everyone of the failed alliance with the Poison Tribe, the Cloud Province army’s high command had vaguely sensed something bad coming.

The commanders all looked at Qi Guangbo.

This supreme commander of the Cloud Province army was silent for a long while, then laughed: “Interesting.”

Years ago, when he first joined the army, these were the words he’d spoken. When conducting sand table exercises with Xu Pingfeng, he said the same words.

…

At Dongling, the south gate had collapsed into ruins.

Initially, Great Zhou’s defenders and the Cloud Province army had engaged in street fighting, with battle fires burning every inch of the city.

After six days of street fighting, the city’s population had been halved.

Some civilians had fled Dongling, some had been forcibly conscripted by either the Cloud Province or Great Zhou armies, and some had died in the crossfire.

Afterward, Great Zhou’s defenders withdrew from Dongling to engage in field battles with the Cloud Province army.

The fighting in the city had finally subsided, but was followed by Cloud Province army’s plundering—money, grain, and beautiful women were all taken from civilian homes.

In a well-preserved small courtyard, Xu Pingfeng coughed palely, fresh blood seeping from his palm.

The Garuda Tree Bodhisattva sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. The courtyard’s temperature, due to his presence, was as sweltering as midsummer.

“It’s been many years since I’ve been so severely wounded. The teacher is still a teacher indeed.”

Though severely injured, Xu Pingfeng’s eyes held a smile.

He then glanced at Garuda Tree: “But even the teacher couldn’t seriously wound you.”

Garuda Tree meditated with closed eyes, saying flatly: “Even the first Imperial Censor couldn’t wound me back then. Except for nearly dying at God Shu’s hands during the destruction of the Myriad Demons Kingdom, I haven’t been wounded in five hundred years.

“It seems the Poison Tribe has joined the war.”

Xu Pingfeng shook his head dismissively: “All minor matters. The alliance with the Poison Tribe was just a front, the goal was to let the White Emperor’s avatar meet the Poison God. As for that eldest son of mine, let him jump around as he pleases. Only when he advances to Unity with the Dao will he be qualified to be my opponent?

“Ah, after all these years, I’ve finally resolved a confusion in my heart.”

Garuda Tree opened his eyes, staring at him: “What matter?”

Xu Pingfeng smiled: “I think I know who the Guardian is.”