Chapter 361: Xiang Liang and Wang Yuxiu, Buddha's Decree, Transmitting Messages and Setting Strategy

131st Year of the Mao'ao Era, October 3rd, Night

Hexia Village, a wooden house near the main building.

"Brother Xiang, open the door quickly."

A green-clad girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old, carrying a basin of steaming meat soup, knocked on the door of the wooden house with full expectation and shouted inside.

Creak, creak…………

The wooden door slowly opened from the inside, revealing a young and firm face.

It was a young man in his early twenties. It could be seen that the young man was in a bad mood. When he opened the door, his face was still full of thick gloom, but as soon as he saw the girl and the steaming meat soup in her hand, the gloom on his face instantly dissipated a lot, turning into a look of tenderness and helplessness.

"Yuxiu, didn't I tell you not to send it to me anymore? Your father is already worried about me, and you run to me every day. If he finds out, he will scold you again."

Wang Yuxiu clearly didn't listen to Xiang Liang's words. She walked into the house familiarly, went straight to the hall, put down the beast meat in her hand, scanned the room slightly, and found no one, so she turned to look at the young man and asked: "Is your grandfather out again today?"

Hearing this, Xiang Liang's face instantly dimmed, and he nodded.

Hearing this, a look of sympathy appeared on Wang Yuxiu's face, but after thinking about it, she still walked up and said softly: "Brother Xiang, your eldest brother and second brother have been missing for more than half a month. Such things have happened in the village before. It's been too long. If they were really fine, they would have come back long ago. Since they haven't come back for so long, they must be..."

Speaking of this, she looked up and saw Xiang Liang's face was even dimmer. Realizing that she shouldn't continue, she stopped immediately, turned to walk up and persuaded softly: "Brother Xiang, persuade your grandfather not to look for them anymore. It's not safe in the snow forest at night. Don't wait until you haven't found your eldest brother and get him involved too. In the future, you two grandfathers and grandsons can live peacefully in Hexia Village, isn't that good?"

Xiang Liang was silent for a long time and didn't answer her question.

Wang Yuxiu seemed to realize something, and said with a trace of anger: "My father let you into the main building yesterday, and you still say he doesn't trust you. As long as you are determined to integrate into Hexia Village, with your aptitude, my father, and Uncle Liu, Uncle Zheng, and those people, they would all be willing to accept you.

And my father said that not only is your cultivation talent, but your hunting talent is stronger than others. When you break through to the Frigid-Resistant Realm in the future, maybe he will hand over the hunting team in the village to you to manage!"

Hearing these words from Wang Yuxiu, Xiang Liang's expression was a bit moved, but after hesitating for a moment, he still smiled bitterly, shook his head and said: "I have only been in Hexia Village for nine months after all. It is right for your father not to trust me. Yuxiu, my eldest brother and sister-in-law have been missing for so long, and grandfather goes out to look for them every day. I cannot continue to stay in the village. We have already planned it. If we still can't find them in a few days, I will pack up with grandfather and..."

"Brother Xiang, you cannot leave!"

Hearing Xiang Liang's words, a group of water mist appeared in Wang Yuxiu's eyes. She interrupted him directly. The reason why she ran here every day for the past half month was that she was worried that the grandfather and grandson would leave Hexia Village together to look for people.

The thing she was most worried about finally happened. Wang Yuxiu could no longer hold back the love in her heart. Her cheeks flushed with a trace of crimson. She gritted her teeth, rushed up directly, hugged him, leaned her head on his chest, and said with incomparable firmness: "Brother Xiang, no matter what, I will not let you leave Hexia Village."

Xiang Liang's expression froze, and a look of complexity appeared in his eyes.

A girl of seventeen or eighteen is at the time when her sense of shame is strongest. He knew very well how much courage it took to be able to rush up and hug himself like this.

He took a breath, thought for a moment, raised his hands slightly, hugged Wang Yuxiu lightly, and said softly: "Yuxiu, I know your heart, but it is indeed not easy to get your father's recognition. Yesterday your father called me to the main building to ask questions. He still had an attitude of side-stepping toward me. Later, I saw a shaven monk from Dajue Temple come over, and he drove me away immediately, which shows that he still doesn't trust me much. If I continue to stay here..."

"That is my third brother!"

Suddenly interrupted, Xiang Liang's expression tightened.

Wang Yuxiu seemed to have made some important decision, gritted her teeth and continued: "Brother Xiang, I came to you today because I intended to say this. The shaven monk who came yesterday is my third brother, Wang Director Yu Wen. He and my second brother, Wang Yuan, were the first batch of boys selected by Dajue Temple seven years ago. He came yesterday to deliver the Buddha's decree of Dajue Temple to my father."

A glimmer of light flashed deep in Xiang Liang's eyes, and then he looked at Wang Yuxiu with confusion and asked: "What is the Buddha's decree?"

"The Buddha's decree is the decree conveyed by Dajue Temple to the eighteen families of the three villages in Qinghepu. Once the decree is issued, all camps must comply."

Wang Yuxiu clearly intended to continue, and Xiang Liang did not interrupt.

"I heard that something happened in Qinghe Village five days ago. The spies of the Jiuzhen, led by Jiangxia, took advantage of the dawn to set fires in the village, causing countless casualties, and more than a dozen shaven monks in the Zen courtyard died. The Master was furious and wanted all camps in the eighteen families of the three villages to draw out half of the Earth-Digging Realm and Frigid-Resistant Realm to gather in Qinghe Village. It should be intended to retaliate against Jiangxia Town."

"Jiuzhen?"

Having stayed in Hexia Village with Xu Ning for more than half a year, Xiang Liang naturally knew about the existence of the Jiuzhen, but at this moment in front of Wang Yuxiu, he still had to pretend to be ignorant and looked at her with curiosity.

Wang Yuxiu explained the Jiuzhen to him, and then remembered something, and asked back: "Don't you always feel that my father doesn't trust you? The reason lies in this Jiuzhen, especially Jiangxia Town, which is closest to our Qinghe Village. They have sent many spies to infiltrate Qinghepu, which is why my father is so wary of strangers. In the past few years, they have actually caught quite a few, but I didn't expect them to have so many people lurking in Qinghe Village. This time, the trouble is so big, the Master is finally going to take action to punish them."

"So that's it!"

Xiang Liang showed a look of understanding, nodded and asked: "You just said that you came to me today to say this, why?"

Wang Yuxiu gritted her teeth and said: "Brother Xiang, don't you always feel that my father doesn't trust you? Taking advantage of this opportunity of Dajue Temple issuing the Buddha's decree, as long as you take the initiative to ask my father to accept the conscription, he will definitely be very happy. Later, if you can make some military achievements for Dajue Temple, he will definitely treat you as his own family in the future. By then, the two of us..."

Speaking to the end, Wang Yuxiu's face was full of shyness, and the meaning was self-evident.

Seeing Xiang Liang's hesitation, Wang Yuxiu thought he was afraid of the battlefield, and immediately continued: "Don't worry, Brother Xiang, my third brother Wang Director Yu Wen is now a deacon of the Zen courtyard. I will explain it to him well. When you go to the battlefield, let him take care of you, and there will be no danger."

"I am not afraid of this!"

Xiang Liang shook his head immediately, and the hand holding Wang Yuxiu tightened slightly: "I just went to your father to take the initiative to ask, and he will definitely guess that you revealed the news to me. By then, you will be scolded again."

Seeing that Xiang Liang was not afraid, but was worried about herself, Wang Yuxiu's face was full of sweetness, nodded and said softly: "You don't have to go to him now. He should talk to all the hunting teams in the village these two days. When it is your turn, you just need to show a positive attitude, and he will definitely be able to see it."

"Yuxiu, thank you. For the future of the two of us, I will definitely work hard to accelerate the integration into Hexia Village!"

Hearing this, Wang Yuxiu's face became even redder, and the look in her eyes looking at Xiang Liang was also full of sweetness.

The two young men and women talked for a while in the house. Finally, when the sky was about to brighten, Wang Yuxiu left reluctantly, looking back three times at every step.

Xiang Liang watched Wang Yuxiu leave, turned back to the house, looked at the meat soup on the table that still had warmth, and his eyes became exceptionally complex.

Bai Shanqiu walked out of the house, saw Xiang Liang's expression, smiled slightly and asked: "Do you feel guilty in your heart for deceiving her like this?"

Xiang Liang didn't speak, and the expression on his face clearly gave the answer.

"Do you like this Wang Yuxiu?"

Hearing this question from Bai Shanqiu, Xiang Liang's expression was stunned, and then his tone was low: "Hexia Village belongs to Dajue Temple, and she is a person from Hexia Village. She should be considered an enemy of Great Xia. How could I like an enemy?"

"Confused!"

Bai Shanqiu, who is old, as a person who has experienced the affairs of men and women, how could he not see Xiang Liang's heart? Hearing Xiang Liang deny it with this lame reason, he shook his head and scolded with a smile, and then continued: "These eighteen families of the three villages in Qinghepu can at most be considered humans bewitched by strange monsters. They are not bad people. How can they be considered enemies of our Great Xia?

The two of us are here to explore the situation of Dajue Temple, just so that Great Xia can rescue the eighteen families of the three villages from Dajue Temple. You are deceiving her essentially to save her, to save all the people in Qinghepu, so you don't need to feel guilty at all. Once Great Xia reveals the true face of Dajue Temple, she will naturally understand you.

Liking her is not a crime. This time you take the initiative to ask, staying in Hexia Village at such a great risk, Secretary Xu knows it in his heart. In the future, if you two really have a day of success, he will definitely be the master for you."

This remark from Bai Shanqiu clearly had a great impact on Xiang Liang's heart. He stood in place and thought for a long time. The complexity and entanglement in his eyes gradually faded, and his expression began to become clear. Then he looked up at Bai Shanqiu, a look of gratitude appeared on his face, and he bowed: "Many thanks to Elder Bai for the guidance, it is the junior who almost fell into the trap!"

Seeing Xiang Liang figure it out, a look of satisfaction appeared on Bai Shanqiu's face. Although the two had no blood relationship, and they didn't have much contact in Wuyuan in the past, he really appreciated this brave and careful young man from the bottom of his heart.

"It's good that you figured it out. Alright, organize the words Wang Yuxiu just said. Buddha's decree of Dajue Temple, Wang Director Yu Wen, Wang Yuan, Jiuzhen setting fires in Qinghe Village, angering Dajue Temple... these intelligence are all very critical, especially the one that Dajue Temple is gathering people to take action against the Jiuzhen, which must be passed back to Xia City quickly. We can't wait until the end of the month. I will find an opportunity when no one is around after dawn to slip out."

Xiang Liang nodded heavily and organized the intelligence with Bai Shanqiu.

They had infiltrated Hexia Village for more than half a year and had already set a way to send messages back to Baiyang in advance. If there is no important situation, then send a message back to Xia City at the end of every month to report safety. If there is an important situation, send a message back in advance. The specific method is to put the letter in the interlayer of a marked big tree fifteen kilometers west of Hexia Village.

Chen Ying, the Baiyang Garrison Envoy, would send people to check beside that big tree once every day during the day, which could ensure timely communication between the two sides.

These intelligence tonight are clearly extremely important, so the two naturally couldn't wait until the end of the month and had to pass the news back as soon as possible.

………………

7th Year of Great Xia, September 30th, just before nightfall

Baiyang outpost main building main hall, Garrison Envoy Chen Ying is sitting on the main seat.

Below, in addition to the eleven Frigid-Resistant Realm team members of the Iron Eagle team, there are more than fifty people wearing hundred-forged iron armor. They all hang a token on their waists—Qingyang, Tiger, Golden Mane, Bright Moon... almost no two characters on the tokens are the same.

If you look more carefully, you will find that the tokens hanging on their waists are all emitting a faint silver light, clearly made of thousand-forged iron, and they are deliberately wrapped with iron cloud patterns, which are more beautiful than ordinary tokens.

Among the eleven Frigid-Resistant Realm people in the front row, Chen Shang suddenly stood up slowly, turned back to count all the people sitting below, and then turned to bow to Chen Ying on the main seat: "Garrison Lord, the captains of the fifty-seven intermediate hunting teams of the Baiyang outpost have all arrived."

Although the two are father and son, they still have to address each other by their positions on formal occasions.

Chen Ying heard his eldest son's words, nodded slightly, first raised his hand to signal him to sit down, then looked around at everyone below, and said in a low voice: "Secretary Xia just sent a message. This Garrison Lord has decided that from today, the entire Baiyang outpost will only retain five full-staff intermediate hunting teams. The remaining fifty-two teams can leave the weaker members behind, and other Frigid-Resistant Realm and Earth-Digging Realm limit cultivation people must be withdrawn to Wuyuan and cannot stay here."

Hearing this, everyone below did not show any surprise. Clearly, they had expected it long ago, and some even guessed the reason and asked directly:

"Garrison Lord, is it because of Integrity Envoy Xu and Dajue Temple?"

Six days ago, many people saw the scene of Xu Ning being carried back by Xia Chuan and Xu An with their own eyes. Moreover, Baiyang is closest to Qinghepu, and they have also heard about Dajue Temple, so they linked it immediately.

"Don't ask too much, just follow the Secretary's orders!"

Chen Ying's brows tightened slightly. He didn't answer everyone's confusion, not because he deliberately hid it from everyone, but because he himself was not very clear.

The order Xia Chuan gave him was to disguise the Baiyang outpost as an ordinary village-level camp. In the future, he would act as the leader of Baiyang Village, and try his best to hide everything in the camp that could connect to Great Xia.

In fact, from this order, one can roughly see some clues.

No need to think, it must be related to Xu Ning and Dajue Temple. Letting the Baiyang outpost pretend to be an ordinary village-level camp is clearly worried that Dajue Temple will discover this place and then follow the vine to discover the existence of Great Xia.

Except for this, Chen Ying couldn't think of any other reason for Xia Chuan to give him such an order.

Of course, these are just his guesses, and he naturally wouldn't say them to these people below. He is now troubled by how to pretend to be an ordinary giant camp.

Disguising Baiyang as a village-level camp is really not an easy thing!

His Iron Eagle team already has eleven Frigid-Resistant Realm people, and the captains of the fifty-seven intermediate hunting teams below are all in the Frigid-Resistant Realm. Just this alone makes Baiyang clearly not look like an ordinary village-level camp;

Secondly, the overall population of the camp. Baiyang is just a small outpost and has not set up the eight divisions under its jurisdiction. Although there are more than five thousand people, hunting team members account for almost 60%, and the remaining 40% are basically members of the eight divisions of Wuyuan, with the most people in the craftsman and logging divisions.

People from the logging division are here to find new types of vegetation; people from the craftsman division are here to find rare materials that can be used for manufacturing or forging; people from the military division are here to map the terrain; the prison division will have people stationed here; the remaining civil, hunting, and camp needs divisions also have some members staying here with their respective purposes.

People who can work in the eight divisions of Wuyuan, even if they don't have official status, are at least at the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm. A small number are even in the Frigid-Resistant Realm.

That is to say, the population structure of these five thousand people in Baiyang is: more than one hundred in the Frigid-Resistant Realm, and the rest are basically in the Earth-Digging Realm or the limit of the Earth-Digging Realm, and even fifty in the Woodcutting Realm cannot be found.

How can this be disguised?

Anyone with a brain, as long as they visit the Baiyang outpost, will immediately notice that something is wrong. An ordinary village-level camp cannot have this strength.

A normal camp must have the vast majority of people in the Woodcutting Realm and ordinary people.

But if Baiyang wants to do this, it can only transfer a batch of ordinary people and Woodcutting Realm people from Xia City and Wuyuan.

The problem is, living well in Xia City, who is willing to come to Baiyang?

Chen Ying thought hard for a long time and finally had an idea, so he called these hunting team captains over.

He looked down at everyone below and said in a low voice: "Since the Secretary has ordered, then we must follow it, and we must do it beautifully. I have already thought about it. Since we want to disguise, then be thorough. We must mobilize a large number of ordinary people and Woodcutting Realm people to come over. It is unrealistic to transfer people from Xia City for no reason, so we can only think of our own way!"

"The leader's meaning is to let us bring our own family members, right?"

Hearing this, someone immediately reacted.

"Exactly!"

Chen Ying nodded immediately and continued: "From today, everyone who stays in the Baiyang outpost must bring their family members over. Of course, ordinary family members, those above the Earth-Digging Realm are not needed. The lower the cultivation, the better, preferably ordinary people."

As soon as he finished speaking, most of the people below showed resistance.

"Everyone, living in Xia City is naturally much more comfortable, but how critical the north bank of the Xing River is to my Great Xia, you all know in your hearts. The one who gave me the order this time is not the Jurisdiction Department, but the Secretary himself, which shows how much he attaches importance to it. So this matter is non-negotiable. Everyone must follow it. After you go down, tell the team members of your own family clearly..."

Speaking of this, Chen Ying looked at his eldest son Chen Shang and continued: "My youngest son Chen Ping just set off back to Xia City. My wife, eldest daughter-in-law, second daughter-in-law, including six grandchildren, will arrive in Baiyang at the latest tomorrow night."

Hearing Chen Ying's words, everyone below looked moved. Many who had just shown resistance now had expressions that became a bit ashamed.

"The Garrison Lord leads by example, what else do we have to say."

"I will send a message back in a few days to let my family pack up and come to Baiyang."

"It's just living in Baiyang for a period of time. My lord, rest assured, I will notify the families of all members of the small team to come over when I go back."

………………

Hearing everyone express their stance one after another, Chen Ying's face finally showed a trace of satisfaction.

He was about to speak, but someone rushed in from outside the door.

"My lord, news has come back from Hexia Village, look!"

The person who came was He Yuanfeng, a team member of the Iron Eagle team. His expression was exceptionally smart. He walked quickly to the side of the main seat and took out a piece of animal skin from his arms and handed it to Chen Ying.

When Chen Ying saw that it was He Yuanfeng, his expression changed. Looking down at the few lines written on the animal skin, he stood up from his chair with a thud.

"I want to go back to Xia City. Today's discussion ends here. You all follow what I said next. I will talk about other things when I come back."

Before everyone below could respond, Chen Ying walked quickly toward the door.

Everyone looked at Chen Ying's hurried posture and looked at each other in dismay. ===== CHAPTER 362 =====