Chapter 135: Turbulence

Although Sergei ordered a strict blockade of the news, such a massive commotion at the Consulate was still difficult to hide from everyone.

Especially between the various Concessions of the three major powers, many secret agents and spies had been planted to gather intelligence, so it did not take long for the Shenluo and Sunlight Consulates to be the first to receive the news, triggering quite a shock.

Take the Shenluo Consulate, for example.

"What? The Sha'e Consulate was attacked by unknown firepower and suffered heavy casualties?"

"Yes, Consul. According to reliable sources, this attack resulted in nearly thirty casualties. Most of these people were sent to Shengkele Hospital, and our informant at the hospital sent back the intelligence at the first opportunity."

"Hiss—attacking a nation's consulate is equivalent to a direct declaration of war. Which side did this?"

"Could it be the Sunlight Country? After all, they just suffered quite a loss against the 'Hairy Ones' on the Liaodong Peninsula. But for such an act of war, where would these monkeys get such nerve?"

"Also, I recall that the Cross Star General Aojinniezi has not left since the last defeat and has been sitting in the Consulate. Could it be that he failed to stop this attack?"

"It is unclear for now. The newly arrived Sha'e Country Consul has sealed the news very tightly; the specific circumstances of the attack still require further investigation."

Including the other side.

"The Sha'e Consulate was attacked? Hahahaha, the Emperor is above, this group of stupid 'Hairy Ones' has finally met their retribution!"

"Oh? Only a dozen or twenty people died? The casualties are a bit low. But their face is now completely lost. To have this kind of strength, could it be people from the Shenluo side?"

"Consul, this matter is a bit off. In recent years, although Shenluo and Sha'e have been in a competitive, semi-hostile relationship, there has never been a direct military conflict. I fear this attack has nothing to do with them."

"Hmm? Then who could it be? It couldn't possibly be that group of sick men of the Jin Dynasty!"

"Apologies, Consul. Currently, the news blockade in the Sha'e Concession is very tight. These are the only intelligence reports we can obtain for now. I will order the informants to continue digging and present the detailed situation as soon as possible."

"The Shenluo people love to stir up trouble everywhere. Could it be their doing, intentionally splashing dirty water to frame others and provoke conflict so they can reap the benefits? Investigate it thoroughly!"

"Yes!"

Suspicion, schadenfreude, and all sorts of conversations played out in the Shenluo and Rizhao Consulates, and both sides began to suspect each other.

After all, the Jin Dynasty was such a large, sweet cake, and with conflicts in other colonies, the three powers were in a state of competitive hostility; any misfortune for one side was something the other two were happy to see.

And after the two Consulates obtained the news, they did not deliberately hide it; they even secretly fanned the flames and spread it intentionally, causing the news to quickly ferment and spread outside Jinjin, then setting off a massive ripple.

"The Sha'e Country Consulate was attacked and suffered heavy losses? Is that true or false?"

"It should be true. This news was told by that foreign priest in the Lord of Heaven church. He even hypocritically mourned for a while, saying that quite a few Sha'e people died."

"Ah? Attacking a consulate is treated as an act of war. Who has such nerve? Could it be the work of the Rizhao dwarf thieves?"

"Do the Rizhao dwarf thieves have such nerve? I don't believe it. Let's go to the Concession and see!"

"Go for what? The Sha'e Concession is already completely locked down; no one is allowed in or out. If you get too close, you might just get shot!"

"Hiss, it seems they are playing for real. With such a big thing happening, won't there be a war later?"

Whether they were ordinary commoners or patriots, most reactions were schadenfreude and applause, while a small portion were worried, fearing that the flames of war would reignite in Jinjin.

By evening, the news had spread to all sides, and the government was also alarmed and hurriedly sent letters to inquire.

And Lin Xingchao, as well as Gu Kanshan, and his disciple Fan Zhenxiong, who was a Commandant, arrived at the Guangwu Hall at the first opportunity to request an audience with Lu Yuan.

After finishing a big job at the Consulate, Lu Yuan had long since returned to the Hall to meditate, and he naturally welcomed the request from these three.

They arrived at the reception hall.

After the disciples served tea and withdrew, Fan Zhenxiong, who had just sat down, lowered his voice and asked immediately:

"Hall Master Lu, the mysterious attack on the Sha'e Consulate this noon—was this your doing? This matter is of vital importance; please tell us the truth."

Regarding the incident where Lu Yuan was suspected of being poisoned last night, they had rushed to the Hall as soon as they heard about it this morning, but because people from various factions were arriving one after another to visit, they could only leave in a hurry after saying a few words.

Therefore, until now, they still did not know exactly what happened last night, only suspecting that either the Sha'e or Rizhao side had nearly assassinated Lu Yuan.

As it turned out, by the afternoon, they heard about the attack on the Sha'e Consulate, and their first reaction was to suspect that Lu Yuan had carried out a retaliation, which is why they rushed over to understand the situation.

Lu Yuan smiled slightly, not telling the truth this time:

"Of course it has nothing to do with me. How could I do such an unwise thing? The news I received is that there was infighting among the Sha'e people; someone broke into the Consulate with a gun and went on a killing spree to vent their anger and seek revenge."

"Internal infighting?"

Fan Zhenxiong, and even Lin Xingchao and Gu Kanshan, were stunned upon hearing this.

Fan Zhenxiong, as a Commandant, felt as if a heavy stone had been lifted from his heart, and he pressed on:

"Hall Master Lu may not know, but after hearing about this, Magistrate Qi was quite frightened and immediately dispatched personnel everywhere to find out who attacked the Sha'e Consulate, fearing that this matter might be related to our people and lead the 'Hairy Ones' to use it as an excuse to start a war. That is why I came specifically to ask; please do not mind. I wonder, regarding the infighting among the Sha'e people you just mentioned, what exactly is the situation, and where did the news come from? Could you tell us a little?"

The powers have used excuses to start wars many times over the years, and an attack on a consulate is an extremely serious emergency. It was only natural for Qi Yuanjiang, as Governor, to have such concerns. Lu Yuan did not take it to heart and said casually:

"It is fine. A friend of one of my disciples works as a translator at the Concession Consulate. He vaguely witnessed a Sha'e person who, for some reason, went mad, fired wildly in the Consulate courtyard, and fled in a panic after killing and wounding quite a few people."

"No matter, I have a friend of a disciple who works as a translator at the Concession Consulate; he vaguely witnessed at the time that a Sha'e person, having gone mad for some reason, was firing wildly with a gun in the consulate courtyard, and after killing and wounding quite a few people, he fled in a panic."

Fan Zhenxiong was astonished:

"Who is that Sha'e person? To be so bold, have they gone insane?"

"Who is that Sha'e person? Is he so bold as to have lost his mind?"

"That is unclear. However, looking at the reaction of the Sha'e people, if it were the work of outsiders, they would likely have mobilized troops for retaliation with great fanfare. Now, sealing the Concession and the spread of news so tightly, it just happens to confirm that it was their own infighting."

The group looked at each other; although they were still surprised, they all nodded in agreement.

"These 'Hairy Ones' are all wolves with wild ambitions; none of them are good. It would be best if they all died in infighting."

Lin Xingchao sneered, then asked:

"By the way, we were in such a rush this morning we didn't have time to say much—has that Liu Yishou who secretly poisoned you been caught?"

"By the way, I was in such a rush this morning I didn't have time to say more; has that Liu Yishou who secretly poisoned you been caught yet?"

"No. Although this person has fled, I fear he has already been silenced by the mastermind. There is no great significance in looking for him anymore."

"It is fine that this traitor is dead. If we had found him, we would have had to slice him into a thousand pieces."

Gu Kanshan said with a face full of murderous intent:

"In this old man's view, whoever coerced and directed Liu Yishou to poison you is either a Sha'e person or a Rizhao person. It is a pity we cannot catch Liu Yishou; without a witness, we cannot point fingers. Otherwise, we would have to expose their shameless faces to the world!"

"Actually, the one who coerced Liu Yishou was not just the foreigners,"

"Actually, the one coercing Liu Yishou is not just the foreigners,"

Lu Yuan pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke:

"The Niangan Office of the Jin Dynasty was also involved, and last night, after I used a ruse to disperse my Gatekeepers, they were lured out, and a group of experts snuck into the hall with malicious intent."

"What?"

Lin Xingchao and the other two were all shocked:

"Experts from the Niangan Office snuck in?"

"How did this happen?"

Lu Yuan was concise and to the point, immediately narrating the general process, though he omitted the details of the fight.

"Mankeduo, the Great Governor of the Niangan Office, and another Great Shaman of Shamanism."

After hearing this, the three were shocked into silence.

The common people might not know, but Lin Xingchao, Gu Kanshan, and Fan Zhenxiong—the three who had directly or indirectly participated in that assassination attempt over two months ago—found the name Mankeduo thunderous to their ears.

This man had headed the Niangan Office for over ten years; not only was his Martial Arts formidable, reaching the realm of Grandmaster, but over these years he had also commanded his lackeys to hunt down and slaughter dissidents and rebels everywhere, with countless deaths on his hands. Among them, the Fu Sheng Sect, as a remnant of the Shengping Heavenly Kingdom, was specifically targeted, and years ago, at least hundreds or thousands of their people were captured and killed by his minions.

Even Gu Kanshan, who had the highest cultivation, had a perilous experience years ago where he was hunted by the other party and nearly lost his life, which shows how powerful the man was.

Yet, such a Jin Dynasty Grandmaster with blood-stained hands, the leader of the imperial lackeys, had died quietly and understatedly at the hands of Lu Yuan, and he had also taken the life of another Shamanism Grandmaster.

Such a battle record seemed like a myth to them, challenging their cognition once again.

"To think that old witch would actually dispatch two Grandmasters to come and plot an assassination!"

However, there had been too many miraculous deeds performed by Lu Yuan during this period, so Lin Xingchao quickly accepted the fact that both Grandmasters had died at Lu Yuan's hands, and asked with extreme suspicion:

"A Yuan is now famous throughout the world, and has even defeated the two great Grandmasters of Sha'e and Rizhao; in any case, he has brought some glory to the Jin Dynasty. Did someone whisper some slander, or is it simply that this old witch is wary?"

"Of course it is wariness!"

Gu Kanshan's eyes flickered:

"A Han Grandmaster who is only in his early twenties—if I were that witch, I would inevitably feel wary upon hearing the news. After all, although she is the hidden number one powerhouse of the Jin Dynasty, her advanced age of two sixty-year cycles means that her remaining days are surely numbered. To her, and even the entire Jin Dynasty, A Yuan is a massive threat; naturally, the sooner he is eliminated, the better. It is just that her reaction was so swift and decisive, which makes one underestimate her shamelessness and cruelty!"

Lu Yuan smiled faintly:

"Old Gu is right, but there is one more secret I wonder if you are aware of: that old witch, besides being the number one powerhouse of the Jin Dynasty, seems to have broken through the limits of her Martial Arts realm, reaching the legendary realm of the Eighth Realm Heavenly Gang Grandmaster."

"Eigh, Eighth Realm Heavenly Gang Grandmaster?"

Lin Xingchao and Fan Zhenxiong were both stunned, feeling somewhat confused, while Gu Kanshan's expression changed:

"Is there really an Eighth Realm Heavenly Gang Grandmaster realm? Was this said by Mankeduo?"

Lu Yuan nodded and immediately relayed the secret that Mankeduo had spoken of, causing Lin Xingchao and Fan Zhenxiong to be incomparably shocked, losing their words for a moment.

As for Gu Kanshan, his gaze was deep and heavy as he muttered to himself:

"Eighth Realm, it is actually true..."

"No wonder that old witch could kill Zhao Wupeng in ten moves."

Having once been the Chief Instructor of the Shengping Army, the secrets he could access were naturally far more than those of ordinary people. Regarding the Heavenly Dipper Realm, he had also seen a few words in some ancient, long-circulated texts, but he had always been half-believing.

Now, with Lu Yuan's corroboration, it could be confirmed that in this world, both in the past and the present, there indeed existed higher realms in the path of Martial Arts and Daoist Arts.

"Eighth Realm Heavenly Gang, Grandmaster..."

Gu Kanshan chanted, then suddenly looked at Lu Yuan with extreme solemnity:

"It is rumored that the Eighth Realm Heavenly Gang is the union of spirit and Qi, transforming truth into Gang; those who cultivate it have Gang Qi protecting their bodies, making them impervious to blades, guns, water, and fire, and they possess the ability to subdue dragons and tigers, and to destroy mountains and break peaks. Once that Empress Dowager learns that Mankeduo and the others died at your hands, she will inevitably view you as a thorn in her side and a nail in her eye with even greater wariness. Will she...?"

"Is Old Gu saying, will she come to kill me herself?"

Lu Yuan smiled slightly:

"She might not even dare if she were lent the courage. As the number one powerhouse of the Great Jin, when the Shenluo army bombed the palace with Steam Airships back then, if she had even a shred of bravery and blood, she would not have fled in such a panic.

Such a person who treasures her life, even if she is the world's number one expert, will not come to fight me to the death herself. And if she really dares to come, then she can forget about returning!"

It is still the same statement.

With many Earthly Fiend Arts at his disposal, even when facing a powerhouse of the unknown Eighth Realm Heavenly Gang, he still had a significant chance of winning.

Just the combination of the Premonition and the Earth Walking Technique meant he could fight when he wanted and leave when he wanted, naturally standing in an invincible position.

If the Empress Dowager does not come to find him, so be it; if she truly dares to come, he would not mind going all out to see who lives and who dies!

Meanwhile.

The two Niangan Office experts who had fled in a panic from the Guangwu Hall late last night had already taken a Steam Train back to the Capital, and without stopping, returned to the Forbidden City to report in terror.

When these two were led by the Chief Eunuch to the Qianqing Palace, they immediately knelt and performed the kowtow.

On the phoenix throne, wearing a gold crown and a phoenix robe, the Empress Dowager Xici looked coldly and indifferently toward them from afar:

"You say that the two Grandmasters I sent, Mankeduo and Lugu Ta, both fell in that Guangwu Hall, their life or death unknown, and only the two of you escaped?"

The moment the voice was heard, it was as if a ghostly, chilling wind had blown past, causing the temperature in the air to seem to turn icy, freezing one's body and soul.

The two Niangan Office experts naturally knew what kind of person Xici was, and immediately knelt on the ground, trembling like chaff, not daring to lift their heads at all:

"Reporting to the Old Buddha, our group originally followed Lord Man's orders to wait outside, and we rushed into the hall the moment we heard the sound of gunfire."

"As a result, before we could even enter the villa where Lu Yuan was staying, we heard Lord Man shouting that Lu Yuan could not be resisted, telling us to retreat and that we must bring the news back to you, so..."

(End of this chapter)