Chapter 43: The Envoy

Director Xu didn’t immediately consider whether these men might be enchanted by something.

First, the machine gun barrage had just been a terrifying ordeal for him—anger and panic surged together, clouding his thoughts.

Second, though he trained in martial arts, he had Eunuch Chen as his adoptive father and understood sorcerers’ ways.

Even if Cai Shanjun’s cultivation remained intact, given enough time, he could kill all these hundreds.

But to bewitch everyone present at once? That was impossible.

When a person’s yang energy is strong, it repels yin spirits and can backlash against all forms of sorcery.

Killing can be done in batches, accumulating gradually; the counter-reaction at any single moment is never overwhelming.

But to bewitch every soldier here means suppressing two hundred fit men simultaneously with mental force—the difficulty is incomparable.

All these men just fired at the convoy—could none of them recognize that vehicle, or their own commander?

So it must be that Wu Lao Liu had long harbored rebellion, inciting his men to mutiny.

Good. Good, Wu Lao Liu.

Such a secret plot, with not a single hint beforehand—and even as they opened fire, they still shouted lofty excuses.

You’ve truly learned the essence from your elder brother!!

“Wu Lao Liu is in my hands—drop your weapons, all of you, and I’ll forgive you.”

When Director Xu roared, his head seemed crowned by a dragon’s claw, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

His tendons bulged; even the skin on his temples showed the contours of muscle.

Thus, the “dragon’s claw” appeared both dark and gloomy, yet blazing with pent-up fury.

“Didn’t you hear? Drop your weapons—”

Before he finished speaking, someone hurled a turtle-shaped grenade.

Director Xu and Wu Lao Liu had trained these desperadoes well—at least they had fierce combat desire.

Now, to them, the man holding Wu Lao Liu was part of boundless fortune.

After all!

But before the grenade reached Director Xu’s side, a warped car door flew in from over ten meters away.

The two objects collided midair and exploded instantly.

Shrapnel scattered even more—seven or eight nearby soldiers screamed and collapsed.

Several shards pierced Wu Lao Liu’s occiput and back; he fell face-first, rigid.

Director Xu’s figure vanished from his spot, charging into the fortifications along the dock.

Deputy Officer Zhou, who had thrown the car door, also rushed in.

He was more cautious than Director Xu—or rather, he cared less about face.

During these days of patrol, he always wore his armor fully; now, he moved more freely than Director Xu in his reckless charges.

Boom! Boom! Bang-bang-bang-bang!!!

Gunfire raged continuously; explosions erupted sporadically—the dock descended into chaos.

Meng Daizong, however, had retreated behind the truck’s rear, face filled with doubt.

“How could his men mutiny now? No—this doesn’t make sense!”

Meng Daizong still held the birdcage; he lifted the red cloth—inside was no bird, but a rat.

The ninja schools of the East Yamato were numerous, but the Koga and Iga were strongest: Koga excelled with cats, Iga with rats.

Historically, there was a period when Iga held overwhelming advantage, nearly exterminating Koga.

Though cats hunt rats, rats are more agile and smaller; once truly tamed, their utility surpassed that of cats.

The rat in Meng Daizong’s hand was an excellent communication device.

Sorcerers’ spells easily disrupt wired telephones, but these rats could still sense each other.

If trouble arose at any nearby ferry, he’d know instantly and rush to reinforce.

Earlier, as the convoy neared the dock, the rat had stirred slightly—but Meng Daizong glanced and saw no distress signal, so he paid no mind.

Now, it was clear: the rat’s agitation had a strange cause.

The red-nosed, brown-furred rat squeaked wildly, leaping about as if trying to lock onto a direction but unable to settle.

“My lord!!”

A black-clad ninja suddenly flipped over the truck roof, kneeling on one knee: “When your convoy arrived, we saw you as targets and strangers.”

“Only when Xu Youjiang roared did our ninja awaken—but the other soldiers still seemed trapped in illusion.”

Meng Daizong’s heart jolted: “So he truly bewitched so many—what dark sorcery did Cai Shanjun use?”

Fortunately, such techniques only work well on ordinary people when covering a wide area; for those who’ve opened their dantian, the effect is negligible.

Since these ninja have awakened…

Meng Daizong’s gaze darkened: “Go assist Xu and Zhou—kill these soldiers swiftly until their morale collapses.”

Without knowing the cure, explaining further in this chaos would only waste precious time.

There is only one word: kill.

Later, let Xu and Zhou regroup with these ninja to hunt the enemy.

“Squeak-squeak-squeak!!”

The rat’s cries grew fiercer; it pressed against the cage’s edge, as if finally locking onto a direction, squealing nonstop.

“Wait!”

A sudden thought struck Meng Daizong—he grabbed the ninja.

The enemy’s method had already slightly deceived these ninja—if they waited until the soldiers were dead, then focused power on a few, wouldn’t the effect grow stronger?

“Follow your rat to kill.”

Meng Daizong’s mind raced with possibilities—each with pros and cons, tangled and complex—he gritted his teeth and decided.

“No matter what those people look like on your side, destroy everything they’re doing—kill! Kill them all!!”

The cage shattered; the rat leapt out.

The black-clad ninja snatched it up, dove onto the dim road beside him—and vanished.

Inside the woods, Chu Tianshu’s telescope swept left and right, but he couldn’t spot where the ninja had gone.

He turned the telescope toward the dock—dozens of black-clad figures had just leaped out from there.

The instant they crossed from dock to road, they briefly exposed themselves, then vanished.

“Not like the Jiaozhi sorcerer’s direct invisibility or illusion-making.”

Chu Tianshu recalled: “These ninja’s methods resemble chameleons—so there’s a flaw during transformation.”

The East Yamato ninja were originally said to be servants and bodyguards bred by sorcerers, similar to Jiaozhi’s leopard-cat possessed.

But their techniques were subtler and more varied; according to Cai Shanjun, most ninja didn’t need direct spirit possession—they used their own mental force mixed with drugs to unlock bodily potential.

In short bursts, their combat style resembled martial artists, yet more devious, and unlike spirit possession, not wildly uncontrollable.

But due to heavy reliance on drugs, their lives were controlled by the drug providers, and they were generally short-lived.

As for ninja masters, it sounded like they rose from ordinary ninja with extended lifespans—but that was a lie.

Ninja masters never followed the ordinary ninja path; from the start, they were entirely different classes.

“By their speed, they should have reached the edge of this grove.”

Chu Tianshu retracted his telescope, tossed it onto the donkey cart, spread his feet shoulder-width apart, and stared silently into the woods.

Cai Shanjun’s use of the Colorful Flute surpassed the Wujia Village people, but still had limits.

His flute’s effect spread widely, bewitching large groups—but such sound couldn’t be focused; even if fewer people remained, the effect wouldn’t strengthen.

Fortunately, with Meng Daizong as his old rival, he made exactly the judgment Cai Shanjun expected: sending ninja first to wear them down, rather than risking a wait until ninja joined Xu and Zhou.

Cai Shanjun played his flute, a flicker of worry in his eyes.

The biggest problem now: the ninja should have been scattered across different ferry points.

Yet the number of elite ninja appearing at this single dock exceeded Cai Shanjun’s estimate.

Ma the Shopkeeper stood beside the donkey cart, fingers forming the Maoshan seal, eyes closed, motionless.

Xiao Huo, Lao Yu, and Zhong Jinqiu were stationed at different positions.

Chu Tianshu, at the front, suddenly chuckled softly.

Sunlight cast tree shadows—the woods were empty.

Wind swept fallen leaves—the woods, suddenly filled with killing intent!

(End of Chapter)