[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-after-the-immortals-disappeared":3,"chapter-after-the-immortals-disappeared-after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-121":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","After the Immortals Disappeared",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2284005,4468,"Chapter 121: The Plan Succeeds","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-121",121,"\u003Cp>\"Me?\" This topic successfully piqued Lu Yao's interest; he set down his wine bowl and frowned in thought for a good while. \"Dong Haoming had terrifying military achievements in his early years, but he grew muddled in his old age. He didn't even verify whether the Emperor was in the palace before attempting an assassination. If he didn't get his teeth kicked in, who would?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a sip of wine and ate two peanuts handed to him by a bandit: \"Besides, none of his sons have any real ability. I fought his second son, Dong Haoye, by the side of Xiangrong Lake. That kid had read two military manuals somewhere and dared to lead troops. His old man probably just wanted him to earn some military merit on the battlefield so he could rise through the ranks later, but who knew he would run into me in that battle!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the fish soup the cook had simmered was brought to the table. The thick, milky-white broth was topped with a few strands of baby bok choy, two tender mushrooms, and a small pinch of thin, chewy hand-pulled noodles. He Chunhua took advantage of the heat to drip a few drops of wine into the fish soup, making it smell so good that every carnivorous creature within a two-hundred-meter radius was swallowing hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He watched Lu Yao slurp down most of the bowl of soup before asking: \"How was that battle fought? General Lu, tell me about it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing someone wanted to listen to his proud past, Lu Yao was delighted. He wiped his mouth and said: \"At the time, Dong Haoye calculated that our camp by the lake was empty and brought over a thousand men to raid it. He almost succeeded, too! Fortunately, I was out on patrol with three hundred men and rushed back as soon as I saw the signal flare in the sky.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Chunhua gave a thumbs up: \"Three hundred against over a thousand. Impressive.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Haha, the kid was actually stupid enough to ride a white horse! On a dark, windy night, that horse was practically glowing. I took him down with a single arrow. Once the command flag fell, the army's morale collapsed on its own. Those thousand men were just a rabble; we scattered them in less than two rounds...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>￥￥￥￥￥\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Shaoyi was lost in thought for a moment, and before the troops down the mountain could come up, the purple sable returned first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There is an army hidden under Whistle Rock, at least five hundred strong. They are all sitting in the dark, but they aren't lighting any fires. I saw two guys whispering and laughing lewdly, and they got whipped for it. By the way, I saw a few familiar faces inside; these are definitely Lu Yao's men.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had actually spoken, but no one here was surprised; they were already accustomed to it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Shaoyi asked it: \"How far is Whistle Rock from County Magistrate Village?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It only takes me a few dozen breaths to jump over there; it would take you humans about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea,\" the purple sable added. \"The space under Whistle Rock is spacious, which is why it can hold hundreds of people at once.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Shaoyi's expression turned very ugly all of a sudden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the distance so close, these men didn't go to County Magistrate Village to warm themselves by the fire and eat fish, preferring to hide under Whistle Rock in the cold dew, not even lighting a campfire for fear of being discovered... Could it be that they were all squatting in a pit together? Since Lu Yao sent the invitation to join forces, the three parties had agreed that each would bring two hundred men to Twin Moon Pool, both for balance and as a precaution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now Lu Yao was secretly adding men at Whistle Rock; this was a unilateral breach of contract!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew it—this man Lu Yao was absolutely not to be trusted!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Shaoyi took a deep breath, warned himself to stay calm, and then asked the purple sable: \"What about County Magistrate Village? What did you see there?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lu Yao is sitting by the big lake at the village entrance with a man, with a huge fish king in front of them. The two of them are eating grilled fish and drinking wine while chatting and laughing. I heard Lu Yao bragging about his various past military achievements and even calling that man 'Lord He'! By the way, he was also offering the other party advice on how to capture Wuzhou and defeat the Grand Marshal!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Shaoyi's expression changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Yao sitting with a Royal Court official eating fish and drinking wine? The scene was jarring just to think about.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for dealing with the Grand Marshal, that was something for the Royal Court to worry about; no one else would ask Lu Yao for his opinion on that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That man surnamed He was undoubtedly an official.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The two of them were also gossiping about several generals, including General Pei. Lord He praised him for being resourceful and steady, but Lu Yao said steadiness has its pros and cons—General Pei's concubine slept with someone, and General Pei didn't even fall out with the adulterer.\" The purple sable scratched its belly. \"The two of them chuckled for a good while, and when Lord He pressed for the name of the adulterer, Lu Yao said it was General Xiaoyao.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By the way, that 'Lord He' is surrounded by soldiers in light armor. I circled the village, and there are at least two hundred soldiers, all looking nervous.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Shaoyi pressed a hand to his sword hilt, his face livid: \"Good, good, the one surnamed Lu really intends to use our lives to curry favor!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>New grudges and old hatreds surged up all at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guide on the side was shocked and widened his eyes: \"General Wu, do not fall into the enemy's trap. Those soldiers are the targets we are meant to kill! General Lu is only keeping him steady, waiting for you and General Pei to join in the sacrifice of the flag!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You drink and eat fish with the target you're meant to kill?\" Wu Shaoyi laughed instead of getting angry. \"Didn't you say earlier that there was nothing unusual in the village?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There aren't many soldiers; Lu Yao could take them down himself. Why must he wait for us to go together?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guide couldn't answer. He couldn't very well say that Boss Lu didn't want to suffer losses himself, could he? He had to bite the bullet and say: \"Think about that letter sent by arrow; someone must be sowing discord in secret!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guide wanted to argue further, but Wu Shaoyi couldn't be bothered to listen and decapitated him with a backhand strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the blade still dripping blood, he had already sent men to pass orders to Pei Xinyong. Lu Yao had not only broken the agreement by bringing all his men but was also conspiring with the government soldiers to plot against him—was he, Wu Shaoyi, really that easy to kill? This meeting was pushed hard by Pei Xinyong, who had a relatively peaceful temperament. To secure his combat strength, Wu Shaoyi ordered the scout delivering the message to emphasize Lu Yao's wild talk. Pei Xinyong's favorite concubine was a beauty, but the key was that she was thirty years his junior. No matter how robust old Pei was, he was over fifty and busy with military affairs; how could he satisfy every demand? That one time he led his troops out on a campaign for over four months, the concubine not only got involved with someone else but also became pregnant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Xinyong, no matter how steady, couldn't endure it. In a fit of rage, he beat the concubine to death without even finding out who the adulterer was, and then spent half a month drinking himself into a stupor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For any man, such a thing was a thorn in the heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What was even more perfect was that the adulterer, General Xiaoyao, had already died in battle; even if Pei Xinyong learned the news now, he couldn't wake him up to kill him a second time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Shaoyi's inner fire was raging, but he was in no rush to force the issue. He let the entire army wait in place, awaiting Pei Xinyong's reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this time, Lu Yao sent scouts again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Shaoyi's men responded politely, saying only that it was not easy for the General to sober up, which had delayed their entry into the mountains, but they would rest for a moment and continue their advance immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After another half-hour or so, Pei Xinyong's reply finally arrived, very simple: He had replenished his men and was willing to go to Whistle Rock to pin down the seven hundred elite troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his agreement, Wu Shaoyi felt confident. He waved his hand and said: \"Move out, target County Magistrate Village!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pei Xinyong also brought up his remaining troops from down the mountain, totaling sixteen hundred soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1535,"2026-06-20T02:23:30.219Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","d245a49c1a36d509fd313725f08eddd966743139081e897c5e4a339d1309147c","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-122","after-the-immortals-disappeared-chapter-120",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fafter-the-immortals-disappeared-cover.jpg"]