Chapter 86: Suppose I Were a Xuantian Sect Demon Cultivator — How Would You Respond, Old Chen?

Hearing Chen Shijie finish, Zhao Xing could not help but feel a measure of admiration.

Guiniang had no name or status with him, nothing more than a lover; the public order of Nanyang Jun was none of his business either, his duties as Military Agricultural Officer were merely to encourage and promote agriculture.

He could have simply walked away, climbed the ladder and returned to the army to serve as his Military Agricultural Officer.

Yet he was willing to risk his life, setting up a scheme to lure the Xuantian Sect into making a move on him.

For Guiniang and the common folk, it was loyalty and responsibility; for hunting down bandits and slaying the enemy, it was courage and confidence!

Old Chen, a true man!

After thinking it over, Zhao Xing knew he ought to say something. Old Chen had spoken so much to him — this was a sign of opening his heart.

"Actually, the reason I came this time also has something to do with the Xuantian Sect."

"Oh?" Chen Shijie's brow rose. "You mean…"

"Yes. Since I obtained the Evil-Avoiding Almanac, I have had three great calamities and several minor ones, all after Minor Heat, during the joint searches by the jun and the East Lake Army." Zhao Xing said slowly.

"Then why didn't you say so earlier?"

"For the same reason as you." Zhao Xing said. "I'm only a minor clerk. Issuing Thousand-Mile Transmission Tokens and the Evil-Avoiding Almanac is already a measure of precaution. A mere third-rank Gathering Origin clerk — could they possibly assign a ranked expert to protect me?"

The Evil-Avoiding Almanac is not all-powerful either. The information it displays is very sparse — it can only tell you at which moment, in which direction, something you do may run into trouble. Note: may, not will.

It's just like what ordinary folk use: today is auspicious for starting work and opening businesses and building houses, inauspicious for felling trees, travel, and funerals. How auspicious, and to what degree? How inauspicious, and exactly who would be involved? The possibilities are endless.

"The reason I didn't report it is very simple."

"First, even if I reported it, it wouldn't do much good. The higher-ups would still deploy things as they saw fit. They wouldn't go to great lengths just because of one minor clerk."

"Second, if the higher-ups took it seriously and wanted more intelligence, they'd have me cooperate as bait. That would certainly benefit the government, but for me it would be danger upon danger."

Zhao Xing spoke with great candor and directness.

He was afraid of being sacrificed.

Who could guarantee that everyone above was good, with no such intention?

And what if someone, for the sake of merit, grew reckless and overreached?

Step back another ten thousand paces — suppose everyone in their position did nothing wrong, and all were selfless, upright characters.

Doing this thing itself still carried danger.

Based on Zhao Xing's understanding of the Xuantian Sect, he felt he shouldn't have spoken at the time, lest he invite trouble. Raising his own vigilance and steering clear was enough.

The Xuantian Sect is no petty thief or knockoff bandit — it is an unorthodox faction with thousands of years of unbroken heritage.

"Then why are you telling me now?" Chen Shijie asked with great interest. "Were you moved by this official's bravery?"

"Not at all." Zhao Xing said mercilessly. "After I opened the mountain, my harvest was too great — I alone claimed forty-two portions of Lingxiu. If the Xuantian Sect isn't blind, they'll certainly move my capture priority up."

Zhao Xing's reasoning was identical to Chen Shijie's; he too guessed that his weight on the Xuantian Sect's list had grown heavier.

Besides, he had family and friends he cared about — Zhao Ruide, Zhao Zheng, even Madam Cai, Ziyu, Qian Dong — he didn't want them dragged in because of him.

"Striking them hard once, wiping out their nest here in Gucheng — that's also the outcome I want." Zhao Xing said. "The Xuantian Sect is powerful, but a big fish like that, when it has to lie low, is harder to conceal than small fry."

"Wipe out one nest, and within a dozen or twenty years, they'll likely struggle to rise from the ashes."

Chen Shijie nodded slightly: "You say your weight on the government's side is light. If you were me, what would you do?"

Zhao Xing said slowly: "That depends on just how much weight you actually carry."

Chen Shijie thought briefly and said: "Take me as a proper seventh-rank official. Since you even know the original water-script of the Your Majesty Primordial Lady is on Zixiao Island, you should know the clout of a proper seventh-rank official."

Zhao Xing pushed it aside: "Don't think too highly of me. I just like reading miscellaneous books — old county chronicles, jun court bulletins from various commanderies, legends of ancient sects. Those aren't hard to buy."

Chen Shijie said: "Just casual chat. Right now we're two friends shooting the breeze, no need to hold back. Right or wrong, only you and I will know."

Zhao Xing weighed it in his heart, then nodded and said: "Fine. If you insist on making me speak, I'll ramble a bit. But first I want to see the latest court bulletins, and a rough picture of the strength of Nanyang Jun's various armies and departments. Also, any intelligence related to the Xuantian Sect that can be shown to me, let me see it."

"After I've looked it over, let's do a sand-table exercise. You have a sand table of Nanyang Jun here, don't you?"

Chen Shijie's brow lifted. He had only meant to chat casually — he hadn't expected Zhao Xing to actually go through with it.

Seeing Zhao Xing in this state, he too grew interested: "Yes, yes, I do. I'm a Military Agricultural Officer by background — come with me."

He led Zhao Xing across the training ground to the rear hall.

Chen Shijie was indeed a born killer — he had actually converted the rear hall into a miniature campaign hall.

Right in the center stood a diagram sand table, a fourth-rank treasure capable of simulating many kinds of terrain, all scaled down in proportion.

Simply place a map on the sand table's base, and it would reconstruct it.

There were even clouds drifting above the sand table — it even recorded the weather!

"A top-grade fourth-rank? Hmm? This map… the six pacified-barbarian commanderies of the upper Canglan River? No — where did Xi'er Juncheng go? How did it become a patch of scorched earth?!"

Chen Shijie said in surprise: "Sharp eyes — you recognized it at a glance… Now I truly believe you've read a great deal."

"As for Xi'er Juncheng, in my projection it has already vanished — of course in reality it's still there."

Chen Shijie waved his hand, and a patch of scorched earth on the sand table instantly restored itself.

"Do you know how to use a sand table?"

"Not really." Zhao Xing lied. He didn't dare reveal too much. Reading a lot of books and knowing things is one matter, but being intimately familiar with how to operate a major military artifact would be too strange.

"It's written in the military manuals — look it up yourself." Chen Shijie pointed at the messy pile of documents. "Almost forgot, Guiniang is still waiting for me in the side hall… You read first, I'll be right back."

With that, Chen Shijie transformed into a gust of wind and left.

Zhao Xing looked around the campaign hall on his own.

Besides the diagram sand table, the hall held quite a few straw figures — but they were made very small, miniature, barely the size of a palm.

There were also Assault-Formation Drums, Forced-March Tokens, and various military banners.

All these items emanated a faint glow — none of them were low grade.

"Just how high a rank did Old Chen hold before? Could he really be a proper seventh-rank?" Zhao Xing walked to the desk and began flipping through the documents.

The contents were a hodgepodge — everything under the sun.

"Detailed Training of Halberdiers," "Five-Element Battalion: Blazing Fire Battle Formation," "Mechanized Battalion: Hundred Solutions of Contraptions," "Military Agricultural Officer's Field Manual," "Strange Beasts: White-Bone Golden-Toe," "Hundred Battles: Terrain Chapter," "Seventh-Rank Provisions"…

Old Chen's big table, both on top and underneath, was covered in books.

As a qualified Military Agricultural Officer, Old Chen's reading volume and the spells he specialized in were several times that of a Civil Agricultural Officer.

"Old Chen is passable." Zhao Xing evaluated in his heart.

He didn't go flipping through other things, but looked for intelligence and materials related to the Xuantian Sect.

"Chengkang 241, winter. Xuantian Sect demons caused chaos in Daoyuanzhou. The demon bandit 'Wanhua Zhenjun' used evil arts to corrode and control one garrison unit in Qinglong Prefecture — one Captain and forty-six commanding officers in total — intending to create slaughter in the Fucheng and spread disaster across fourteen commanderies. Fifteen days later, he was slain by Wu Hou 'Zhou Jue'…"

"Chengkang 249, spring. Xuantian Sect demons at Wanchuan Mountain in Dayuan Prefecture seized two Dragon-Headed Tower Ships transporting Grotto-Heaven materials, attempting to distribute them to the populace of Dayuan Prefecture's seven commanderies and spread the faith of evil gods… Three days later, the demon bandit 'Fazhen Shangren' and two evil gods were destroyed by Night Divine Guard Commander 'An Dinghe' and the Dayuan Zhenjun."

"Chengkang 257, summer. Xuantian Sect demons attacked the Minghu Academy, causing four hundred and twenty students casualties…"

"Chengkang 261…"

……

Chengkang was an era name before Jingxin.

It was now Jingxin 15, not far removed from those events.

Chen Shijie was searching for intelligence on Xuantian Sect activities within the last hundred years.

"Every time they get crushed, and the demon bandits are killed quickly too, but they just keep popping up to cause trouble from time to time." Zhao Xing looked at this intelligence.

The annoying thing about the Xuantian Sect was this — those they sent out to cause trouble were all powerhouses approaching the end of their lifespan.

They were already about to die, so they had nothing to lose, and acted with utter madness.

Even if killed, it meant nothing to them.

In most cases, the Xuantian Sect sought neither territory nor treasures — as long as they could disgust the Great Zhou and spread their existence, the purpose was achieved.

Planting seeds of fear in the hearts of the people, letting them know the Xuantian Sect exists — that was the purpose.

Worship wasn't necessary; fear was also nourishment for evil gods.

"From the start of Jingxin, they changed their strategy, kidnapping people everywhere — this is a new round of plotting." Zhao Xing compared the intelligence with memories from his past life.

At the same time, he deliberated on how to remind Chen Shijie while keeping the degree just right.

He couldn't let himself appear too abnormal.

Chen Shijie was gone for over an hour before returning.

When he returned to the back hall, his mood seemed somewhat low — clearly Gui Niang was someone he truly cared about.

Zhao Xing had no intention of prying into Chen Shijie's private affairs, because he felt that romance was truly troublesome. Old Chen, such a tough man, had been affected by a woman. In the future, he'd better just walk the body, not the heart.

"How did the reading go?" Chen Shijie asked.

"Passable." Zhao Xing put down the documents in his hands.

"Then let's begin."

Zhao Xing came before the illustrated sand table and swapped in the map of Nanyang Commandery.

"Hum~"

The sand table trembled lightly. The ten-meter-long, four-meter-wide sand table began to transform.

New mountains, rivers, and landscapes rose upon it, and in a short while, even the weather of various places was generated.

Zhao Xing found the location of Gucheng on the sand table, then channeled his primal Qi into it.

Gucheng immediately enlarged, occupying the entire sand table.

"Suppose I were a member of the Xuantian Sect, hiding somewhere in Gucheng other than Gucheng city itself, and now wanting to kidnap you, this official Ninth Rank Agricultural Officer of Gucheng — the first thing to consider would be timing."

Zhao Xing's opening made Chen Shijie slightly freeze, because he had asked Zhao Xing to consider from his own position, yet the other had directly stood at the Xuantian Sect's angle to think.

"What kind of timing?" Chen Shijie asked.

"Yang month, Yang day, Yang hour — the best," Zhao Xing said.

Chen Shijie's brow furrowed: "To avoid the surveillance of the Divine Temple?"

"Mm." Zhao Xing pointed at the location of the Divine Temple in Gucheng. "The first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh months — these six months are Yang months. I checked the intelligence: every time the Xuantian Sect deployed Yin Soul avatars, it was always in these months."

"And also on Yang days of Yang months."

"During these special time periods, the surveillance capability of the Yin Gods in the Divine Temple weakens."

"Although the Yin Soul power hidden by the Xuantian Sect also weakens correspondingly, when both sides are equally diminished, acting during such time periods is advantageous."

Chen Shijie nodded — this reasoning indeed held.

When both sides have advantages, it's a wash for the Xuantian Sect, because their Yin Souls can't beat those in the Great Zhou Divine Temples anyway.

But when both sides have disadvantages, it becomes an advantage for the Xuantian Sect, because the surveillance strength of the Yin Gods in the Divine Temple weakens.

They can obtain a stretch of time when the gods know nothing and detect nothing.

Of course, they'd ultimately still be discovered, and still couldn't win a fight — it's just that the time between 'acting' and 'being discovered' is greatly extended.

And that stretch of time is when the Xuantian Sect acts.

Zhao Xing said, "If I planned to make a move on you, I'd definitely wait until the eleventh month."

"Why? Isn't there still a few days in the ninth month?"

"Not enough time." Zhao Xing shook his head. "I'm trying to kidnap you away, not kill you."

"The remaining few days aren't enough for me to take you out of Great Zhou territory."

"Nanyang Commandery is a hundred thousand eight thousand li from the Great Zhou border. The Xuantian Sect aren't subjects of our Great Zhou — to take someone out, they must keep a low profile and can't use magic power, so it requires a certain amount of time."

"Indeed." Chen Shijie nodded. "If I were setting a trap, it should also be in the eleventh month, preferably the beginning of the month. Continue."

"Once the timing is set, one must also look at the specific circumstances." Zhao Xing pointed at the map. "If you stay in the county city the whole time, under the strong protection of the Divine Temple, I have no opportunity either. The Xuantian Sect couldn't possibly take you away from the city."

To forcefully attack a county city's Divine Temple — that was impossible to accomplish, at least not for the Great Zhou of this period.

"Then how would I have to act to give you the opportunity to kidnap me?" Chen Shijie asked.

"In the eleventh month, you will definitely leave the city at least twice." Zhao Xing said. "One is Start of Winter, the other is Minor Snow."

"For the Start of Winter assessment, as the chief Agricultural Officer, you must be present. And although there's no assessment for the Minor Snow solar term, you will still go down to the townships to inspect, checking whether the seasonal Qi across Gucheng is normal."

"Not bad." Chen Shijie nodded. "The Light Snow solar term is very likely to cause a snow disaster, so I must ensure it proceeds normally. Deploying at these two time points makes perfect sense."

"After considering the timing, I also have to consider the manpower issue." Zhao Xing said. "Gucheng is a superior county, with its county office's various departments — the Sikou Guard, the Martial Squad, the Patrol Office — as well as the East Lake Army stationed beside East Lake, all of which must be factored in."

"You're an official Ninth Rank, so if I wanted to capture you, I'd need to prepare at least seven Eighth Rank cultivators."

Chen Shijie shook his head and said: "Have you got it wrong? I'm asking you to count me as official Seventh Rank — the Xuantian Sect doesn't know my true strength."

Zhao Xing said calmly: "Even if I didn't know, I'd still have to prepare that many. And the fact that you're a Military Agricultural Officer isn't hard to find out either."

"Being able to capture you away without a sound would certainly be best."

"If something unexpected happens, some of these people will have to stay behind to cover the retreat and draw attention away."

"After seizing you, quickly perform Shape-Shifting and Face-Changing, Soul-Sealing and Origin-Locking, turning both you and me into ordinary people."

"After that, we'll rely on ordinary believers to receive us, and with the help of carts, horses, boats, and ships, we'll leave the territory of Great Zhou."

Zhao Xing shrank the map of Gucheng, then enlarged it to show the entirety of Nanyang Prefecture.

His finger tapped lightly on the map: "Nanyang Prefecture has many waterways. Once we can board a ship on the Canglan River and go downstream, in less than a day we can reach a border town a thousand li away. Then, after crossing through Dashan, we can employ magic arts — and then the sky's the limit."

Chen Shijie asked with a smile: "That's too ideal. First, tell me where in Gucheng you think the best ambush location would be."

Zhao Xing enlarged the map of Gucheng again, then tapped lightly on several places: "Gucheng is a superior county, and also Nanyang Prefecture's major grain-producing county. The concentrated grain-producing areas of Gucheng are in places like Shanggu Town, Old Granary Town, Bashuiwan, Sanpochong, and Pingtang Town."

"If you want to inspect, you'd definitely have to go to these places, right?"

Chen Shijie looked and nodded in acknowledgment: "Not bad. Ensuring the harvest of the people is the Agricultural Officer's chief duty. These eight places are all important grain-producing towns — I might go there. No, I definitely will go!"

Zhao Xing said: "At this point it's a one-in-eight choice, because the operation could be launched at any of these locations, and the positions aren't all that different."

Chen Shijie smiled and nodded: "Not bad, your analysis all makes a lot of sense."

Zhao Xing could tell from his appearance that Chen Shijie had already thought of all these things, and even more comprehensively.

But for Old Chen's safety, he still said a few more words: "The people the Xuantian Sect uses for operations have always disregarded life and death, and don't talk about cost-effectiveness — because the death warriors they send out on operations are all those who are about to reach the end of their lifespans."

"So when I said preparing seven Eighth Rank cultivators, that's actually on the low side — there might even be more."

Chen Shijie tilted his head and asked: "You didn't mention the officials and clerks of the other departments the entire time, only counted the force needed to capture me. If they really move, the ones assigned to deal with me would certainly be fewer — the Xuantian Sect can't possibly have that much manpower."

Zhao Xing could tell from Chen Shijie's appearance that he had fallen into the error of empiricism.

Because in previous Xuantian Sect abductions, they didn't just capture Agricultural Officers — they captured people of other professions too, including minor clerks and officials.

But Zhao Xing had worked backward from the results and knew that the Xuantian Sect's main target was the Agricultural Officer profession, because they captured Agricultural Officers to brainwash and train them, then create natural disasters within Great Zhou's territory.

"Suppose I were the leader of the Xuantian Sect — wouldn't I think that capturing just you alone would be enough?" Zhao Xing said what seemed like a deliberately contrary remark. "Lord Chen, you come from a Military Agricultural Officer background, so your face carries enough weight that even an official Sixth Rank official came to back you up. Capturing just you — wouldn't that be worth more than capturing a hundred officials and clerks of other professions?"

"Wouldn't the sensation it causes be even greater?"

"Or perhaps Agricultural Officers are their main target, and the others are just incidental — dispensable?"

Chen Shijie's expression turned solemn and heavy. The previous analyses had all been within his expectations.

But now, what seemed like a casual remark from Zhao Xing had reminded him — if such a possibility really existed, had he still underestimated the Xuantian Sect?