Chapter 700

The Xu hour.

Lü Ji led the Personal Guard back to Ye Lao Mountain.

"My lord, a great victory!"

He strode to the outside of the Zhongjun Camp and reported loudly.

At that time, Chen Wuji was playing and roughhousing with Qin Zhanhong and Lu Wanwan.

He was waiting for Lü Ji to return, and with nothing to do, he just sought some small amusement to pass the time.

With Qin Zhanhong's strong assistance, he had just changed Lu Wanwan's clothes and hadn't yet moved on to the next step when Lü Ji happened to return.

"Don't rush to put on your clothes, I'll be back soon!"

Chen Wuji gave Lu Wanwan a smiling reminder, then left the Big Tent.

Lü Ji stood there, not yet speaking, when a strong fishy wind blew over him.

"My lord, I did not disgrace the mission; I annihilated the enemy troops and captured about a hundred people."

Lü Ji clasped his fists and bowed, speaking in a low voice: "However, these people look somewhat strange."

"How are they strange?" Chen Wuji asked strangely.

They are merely enemy infantry; what else could be strange?

Lü Ji's expression was torn: "This, Deputy General also finds it hard to describe; my lord, you should have a look."

"Lead the way."

Chen Wuji followed Lü Ji to the place where the prisoners were detained.

A small courtyard left behind by mountain bandits.

"My lord, these people… are really strange; how to put it, they look as if a female ghost has sucked their vital essence dry—not just one or two, but all of them are like this." Lü Ji pointed at a heap of prisoners squatting in the courtyard.

But what's absurd is that they fight fiercely, each seeming completely unafraid of death. Although they lack strength, they are very daring in fighting to the death!

Chen Wuji took a torch and carefully examined these enemy soldiers' faces; his expression suddenly turned grim: "They are troops from Songzhou!"

Yu Ren, that damned lunatic, has done a poisonous deed that will bring harm for ten thousand years.

Not long ago he had discussed this matter with Zhi Xu Daozhang, and the conclusion reached then was simply drug poisoning.

But at that time it wasn't entirely certain; Zhi Xu Daozhang, in order to verify, even personally brought disciples from the temple to Songzhou.

At this moment, seeing these enemy soldiers' appearance, Chen Wuji no longer needed any doubt.

It is A Furong.

This thing has many names, such as smoke soil, black smoke, etc.

In the common usage of Da Yu, it is called A Furong, a medicinal herb.

But no matter how many names it has, this thing is precisely the opium that the Humen opium destruction aimed to destroy.

"My lord, what is going on with these people?" Lü Ji asked, puzzled.

Chen Wuji handed the torch to the nearby Personal Guard, saying: "A Furong addiction causes emaciation, a sallow complexion, and lifeless eyes—these are the most obvious characteristics."

"My lord, it's even stranger— they look like this, yet they fight so fiercely? These people have little strength; I could kill two with one punch, yet they are extremely ferocious, like evil wolves, unafraid of death!" Lü Ji listened, becoming even more bewildered.

In normal people's understanding, having become like this, they should be utterly useless, right?

"It's the doctrine!" Chen Wuji finally understood everything.

Yu Ren used A Furong and the so-called divine spirits to control these people's minds and bodies, turning them into followers of fanatics, or rather, frenzied walking corpses.

"Doctrine?" Lü Ji raised his eyebrows, dazed for a moment before suddenly saying, "My lord, you mean these people worship a certain divine spirit, and because of the god, they are thus unafraid of death?"

Chen Wuji nodded: "A true divine spirit would not do such a thing."

"These people are not worth keeping; interrogate them, then execute them—the poison has entered their vitals, beyond cure."

Lü Ji said: "My lord, they have already been interrogated."

"What they were carrying on their carts was nothing but silver and valuable ritual objects, destined to be sent to the Great Monk Zhong Qiang, Master Bai Shi. These soldiers don't know much; some say the silver was a benefit from Yu Ren to Bai Shi for forming an alliance, while others say it was a congratulatory gift from Yu Ren to Bai Shi for founding a state."

"The ritual objects are not many, only a few pieces, but the silver is plentiful—one hundred thousand taels!"

Chen Wuji snorted: "Songzhou is actually quite wealthy."

"It probably isn't a congratulatory gift; Yu Ren isn't a fool, he wouldn't go to such trouble and expense just for a gift."

At that moment, Xu Zengyi, having heard the news, walked over wearing a piece of clothing.

He had rushed for two days, caught a slight chill, and spent most of today lying down, in a state near death, his lungs almost coughing up.

In the evening, Chen Wuji gave him a few acupuncture needles, and now he looks somewhat better in spirit.

"Sir, since you're unwell, you should rest; why have you come out again?" Chen Wuji said.

Xu Zengyi took a handkerchief to cover his mouth, gave a light cough, waved his hand, and said: "It's no problem; I'm much better now."

"I just heard the soldiers privately discussing that my lord intercepted a Songzhou convoy of luggage and supplies cavalry; worried, I came to have a look."

"It's not a big deal." Chen Wuji said, "Yu Ren and Zhong Qiang are in cahoots, having sent someone to deliver one hundred thousand taels of silver and some ritual objects; I suspect they have formed an alliance."

Xu Zengyi walked over, surveyed those prisoners, and his expression suddenly grew a bit angrier: "Yu Ren truly deserves death! This is the symptom of A Furong poisoning, and he actually uses it to control troops."

Chen Wuji nodded: "A Furong plus an evil cult—double poison combined!"

"My lord, the Qiang People take Yingzui Ridge as the site for their sacrificial founding of a state; it's only over two hundred li from Songzhou, and I suspect there may be some conspiracy between them." Xu Zengyi suddenly said solemnly.

Chen Wuji asked: "Sir, what are you worried about?"

"For now I have no clues; I just feel somewhat uneasy in my heart." Xu Zengyi's eyes grew deep, he tightened the clothing draped over his body, "They are too overconfident!"

"Whether it's Yu Ren or Zhong Qiang, they must certainly know that my lord has mobilized a great army and divided his forces into two routes. The Qiang People's defeated generals, Songzhou at most has only twenty or thirty thousand troops, yet they have not put my lord in their eyes at all, still grandly preparing for the founding of a state."

"This is too abnormal!"

After Xu Zengyi's analysis, Chen Wuji's brow also quietly furrowed.

Indeed, things are somewhat abnormal.

His great army has already entered Songzhou's territory, and the side of Xie Fengxian and Chen Baojia is also about the same.

Even if Yu Ren and the Qiang people's reaction were slower, they should have noticed something by now.

Under such circumstances, they did not send troops forward, and not even a single scouting party was dispatched; this is indeed highly abnormal.

What's more, both sides actually kept the same frequency.

Even more strange.

"What else could they do?" Chen Wuji was somewhat puzzled.

No matter how skilled the Qiang people and Yu Ren are at fighting, this ability to feign confusion is truly impressive.

Chen Wuji's brain has nearly been burnt out by these bastards lately.

Xu Zengyi's face was grim: "I can only think of assassination..."

He had considered everything he could think of, yet he really couldn't figure out what else Zhong Qiang and Yu Ren could do.

Two fronts, with over a hundred thousand troops, cannot be easily resolved by any mere scheme.