Chapter 391

A four-wheeled carriage pulled a heavily armored wagon behind it, clattering 'clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter' as it moved forward.

Without needing to peek out the carriage window, Wu Tie could feel someone following behind, full of malice.

"Just some petty thugs, no need to bother with them." Sima You smiled and shook his head at Wu Tie: "They won't show up again, won't pop out to cause you trouble… but Sima You, that's not allowed."

After all, he was a master of profound cultivation; Sima You spat a mouthful of tea over himself, then with a sweep of his magic, he was dry and clean again.

Wu Tie let out a sigh, picked up the cup of tea clearly prepared for him on the small side table before Sima You, and gulped it down, water and tea leaves together.

From the main street behind came a faint clamor.

A few shifty-looking followers of the carriage were suddenly blocked at the street corner by a group of sturdy men in black battle robes, their upper bodies covered in dragon-scale soft armor. These sturdy men wielded ropes and short clubs, raining down blows; the several shifty youths were beaten until their noses were bruised and faces swollen, collapsing on the spot, bound with ropes and carried off like dead pigs.

The carriage turned onto a slightly narrow avenue, traveled a dozen or so li, then turned onto another slightly narrow avenue…

Anyang City is extremely vast, its streets ranging from three hundred zhang wide at the broadest to ten zhang at the narrowest, crisscrossing in a dense, orderly grid like a chessboard; anyone unfamiliar with the roads will surely get lost here.

After who knows how many turns, the carriage finally turned into a small lane shaded by thick greenery.

Though called a small lane, the road is three zhang wide; within the high-walled mansions on either side, towering ancient trees poke their heads out, their crowns interlacing above the lane, the dense shade blocking off the passageway completely.

Even in broad daylight, the light inside the lane is dim; along the base of the walls, dozens of sturdy men in black long robes stand in a line, hands naturally hanging at their sides, heads slightly bowed.

Each of these men exuded a domineering aura; Wu Tie glanced at them and knew they cultivated a method not inferior to the Divine Martial Army's Nine Revolutions Primordial Skill, their cultivation at least at the high stage of the Life Pond Realm, with the two leaders actually at the Womb Storage Realm.

The lane was three li long, and the carriage stopped before a vermilion-painted small door at its end.

The small door opened silently; Sima You brought Wu Tie out of the carriage, through the door, and as Wu Tie had expected, they entered a vast garden. After passing a winding path around a fake mountain, they walked a few hundred zhang, whereupon the view opened up: a small lake surrounded by lush woods, with a pavilion in the lake's center, and a nine‑curved wooden bridge running from the shore straight to the pavilion.

Sima You led Wu Tie across the wooden bridge, where a refined, scholarly‑looking middle‑aged man in blue robes stood smiling at the pavilion entrance, clasping his hands in greeting: "Lord Sima You, General Huo."

"Mr. Li." Sima You returned the salute with a smile, then pointed at Wu Tie: "This is General Huo Xiong… Originally he should have been the Marquis of Rujiang, a post in the Divine Martial Army that at least deserved promotion to second‑rank general, not to mention the various honors. But the Ninth Prince of the Cheng… heh."

The modest pavilion wasn't large, equipped with a tea table and small stools; after Mr. Li in blue robes, Sima You, and Wu Tie each took a seat, several white spirit monkeys over a foot tall carried tea and fruit trays, hopping across the lotus leaves on the lake surface and set the trays on the small table.

"No small talk, General Huo—are you willing to follow Sima You here and join the Hall of Demon Suppression?" Mr. Li rested his hands on his knees, not lifting his tea, but stared intently at Wu Tie.

"Yes." Wu Tie returned the steady gaze at Mr. Li.

"Hmm, good. No matter why you agreed, do well and you won't be shortchanged." Mr. Li nodded satisfactorily: "Someone like you is exactly the talent my lord longs for."

Wu Tie glanced at Mr. Li, then at Sima You.

Not bad—no wonder Sima You came begging again; it seems he has someone behind him.

The master behind Mr. Li is likely the same one Sima You serves, right?

"May I ask…"

Wu Tie wanted to ask Mr. Li who his so‑called master was.

"Don't ask." Mr. Li waved his hand with a smile: "You're not qualified yet, not enough to know my lord's name. In short, just understand that from now on Sima You will be your sole point of contact; you are the chief commander of the Great Marsh Prefecture's army, and likewise the Branch Hall Chief of the Hall of Demon Suppression in Great Marsh Prefecture. Do your duties well and you won't be shortchanged."

Wu Tie nodded; it seemed Mr. Li and the person behind Sima You still had some ideas.

"Then Sima You just took my achievements like that." Wu Tie swiftly changed the subject.

"They've done this sort of thing plenty over the years." Mr. Li looked sternly at Wu Tie: "If it weren't for you being of the Divine Martial Army, and if Sima Yan hadn't spoken up for you to preserve the army's dignity… heh, what do you think would happen to you now?"

Wu Tie opened his mouth, staring at Mr. Li in astonishment.

"If not, after you scored this great merit and brought honor to the Divine Martial Army, Sima Yan would have to speak for you… you're probably already…"

Mr. Li shook his head and said in a low voice: "The Cheng Prince is the twenty‑fourth son of the present Divine Emperor; Sima You, born of the Cheng Prince's concubine, is a bastard son and cannot inherit the Cheng Prince's title. If he gains no merit and is not ennobled, his future is dire; once the Cheng Prince's heir inherits the title, Sima You will likely be cast out of the Cheng Prince's manor and become a commoner."

"The Cheng Prince's concubine is a daughter of the Grand Chancellor Linghu Qingqing's clan, also of low birth; being a daughter of a concubine, she can only be the Cheng Prince's concubine." Mr. Li pointed out the crux: "If he were merely the Cheng Prince's bastard son, that would be fine; the Cheng Prince usually keeps a low profile… but the Grand Chancellor's clanswoman, whose son is the prince's heir, the Linghu clan would never let him remain a mere commoner."

"So… the Grand Chancellor?" Wu Tie looked at Mr. Li.

"Where would we need the Grand Chancellor?" Mr. Li smiled faintly: "What kind of figure is the Grand Chancellor? He controls seventy percent of Great Jin's military power; the Great Jin military clans practically follow his lead; among the myriad officials of Great Jin, he is a top‑tier figure, and there are hardly any senior ministers who can oppose him."

Mr. Li looked at Wu Tie and said softly: "You offended Sima Xin on the Three Kingdoms battlefield? That's right. Sima Xin and his decadent clique, who are on good terms with Sima You, haven't even returned to Anyang yet, but they've already sent word back to start their maneuvers."

"The Cheng Prince's manor and the Linghu family are operating together; even Sima Yan can't stop it… although a few junior members of the Jiang and Chiang clans spoke up for you, what are they?" Mr. Li shook his head: "Such things, huh."

Wu Tie lowered his head, lifted his teacup, and took a big gulp.

"However, no need to worry." Mr. Li produced from his sleeve three radiant rings, faintly wreathed in smoke and clouds, clearly of the highest Immortal‑tier, and leisurely placed them before Wu Tie.

"Talents like you, whose achievements have been snatched and who suffer unfair treatment in the military, are exactly what my lord values."

"Inside are some things my lord has prepared for you that the military department could never give, plus a portion of military supplies and funds—enough to equip a million soldiers for ten years." Mr. Li said calmly: "Just take and spend these; Great Marsh Prefecture is a land of great opportunity—there, you can raise a strong army for my lord. Can you do it?"

Wu Tie raised his eyebrows in disbelief, staring at Mr. Li in shock.

These words… privately raising warhorses—is that rebellion?

Looking at Sima You and Mr. Li's conduct, heaven only knows how many people they've already arranged.

"Perhaps…" Wu Tie furrowed his brow: "To raise a strong army, merely having logistics, armaments, and supplies isn't enough."

Mr. Li laughed, then smiled at Sima You: "General Huo, indeed as Lord Sima You said, you are a usable person."

Nodding, Mr. Li produced from his sleeve ten palm‑sized tablets, flowing with brilliant light.

"These are ten arts not inferior to the Nine Revolutions Primordial Skill, and in some respects even surpassing it—divine arts and secret techniques. Go to Great Marsh Prefecture, pick out the able‑bodied, teach them these arts, and with the cultivation resources my lord continually sends, can you forge a strong army?" Mr. Li laughed especially brightly.

Wu Tie's heart gave a heavy throb.

Quite the accomplice.

Wu Tie grew more interested in the master behind Mr. Li.

The Divine Martial State of Great Jin supervises cultivation arts with extreme strictness; folk‑transmitted techniques are exceedingly crude, while military‑transmitted arts are tightly guarded—anyone daring to leak military arts incurs the crime of exterminating the clan and confiscating property.

The Divine Martial Army, one of the main forces of the Great Jin Divine Martial State, at best possesses only a castrated version of the Nine Revolutions Primordial Skill derived from the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Skill.

And this Mr. Li produces ten arts superior to the Nine Revolutions Primordial Skill!

Reckless, insane… if the Hall of Demon Suppression were to discover this…

Wu Tie suddenly slapped his forehead, looked at Mr. Li and Sima You, and laughed: "I just realized—I am now the Branch Hall Chief of the Hall of Demon Suppression in Great Marsh Prefecture… and Lord Sima You, you are… the Branch Hall Chief of the Hall of Demon Suppression in Middle Constant State?"

Mr. Li laughed and shook his head: "No, no, no—Lord Sima You previously rendered great service, utterly eradicating the Middle Constant State's Great Wei Sky‑Patrol Secret Guard hidden organization; thus he is now one of the Thirty‑Six Great Hall Overseers of the Hall of Demon Suppression's Main Hall, and the Hall of Demon Suppression branch overseeing Great Jin's southwest region, with all affairs under his charge."

Sima You smiled at Wu Tie: "So you can rest easy, you can rest easy."

Wu Tie stared at Sima You, 'aghast'.

One of the thirty-six hall overseers of the Forbidden Demon Hall's main hall — this is a direct rise from the grassroots of the Forbidden Demon Hall straight into its core.

The person behind Sima You and Mr. Li truly deserves to be called someone whose influence reaches the heavens.

"In that case, this humble general can rest easy." Wu Tie slipped the three rings into his sleeve, then neatly arranged the ten jade tablets and carefully stored them in his wristguard.

"Hmm, very good." Mr. Li smiled and produced another spatial ring.

"This is something my master prepared especially for General Huo." Mr. Li smiled and said, "General Huo, you've been wronged this time; the military won't give you anything good. Here we have some equipment, which counts as my master's consolation to you."

Wu Tie stared blankly, then took the ring.

Inside lay a huge pile of gold, jade, and jewels, box after box of gold coins—far more than the annual pay the military gives to 100,000 soldiers.

Besides this mundane wealth, what most attracted Wu Tie was a full set of celestial armor, a celestial long spear, a celestial long sword, a celestial longbow, and a radiant celestial rope.

Just a bit, six-times refined celestial weapons; that celestial rope is actually a nine-times refined celestial weapon.

Wu Tie's mouth twitched violently—the master behind Mr. Li certainly has a grand hand!

With a whoosh, Wu Tie rose to his feet and solemnly slammed a heavy fist against his own chest: "General Huo, I wish… I wish… to lay down my life for that exalted one!"

Mr. Li and Sima You nodded in satisfaction; that's exactly the effect they wanted.

"Very good, excellent." Mr. Li smiled and nodded repeatedly: "Your loyal heart and courage I will report to my master! Well, in Great Marsh Prefecture, work hard—my master knows how to employ people and values talent; as long as you earn sufficient merit, even a mere Marquis of Hujiang is nothing."

Mr. Li narrowed his eyes and said softly, "General Huo, just remember how your achievements were taken from you."

Wu Tie gave Mr. Li a deep look: "Rest assured, sir, from today onward the Linghu clan and Sima Xin and his ilk are my mortal enemies."

Mr. Li smiled, and Sima You smiled as well.

What right does a mere 'General Huo' have to be the mortal enemy of the Linghu clan?

But Wu Tie's declaration is exactly what they need, precisely what they urgently need. A single 'General Huo' is insufficient to be an enemy of the Linghu clan, but a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand… even hundreds of thousands or millions of 'General Huos' combined would make a formidable force.

Mr. Li seemed to have many affairs, and he didn't keep Wu Tie for long.

Just delivering the words is enough.

Just handing the items to Wu Tie is enough.

Whether Wu Tie can become their true confidant cadre depends on his future performance and the achievements he makes in Great Marsh Prefecture.

In any case, Wu Tie is now considered a person of the master behind Mr. Li; how great his future achievements will be still depends on his abilities.

Further talk is useless.

After a quarter hour, Wu Tie sat on a heavy-duty carriage loaded with a heap of spatial wristguards; two blue-clad youths with small caps drove the carriage, clattering out of a narrow lane and heading toward the southwestern military city of An'yang.

The Great Jin military headquarters stationed eight garrison cities on the outskirts of An'yang.

These eight garrison cities can also be seen as large military waystations, with countless tower‑ships and flying vessels taking off and landing daily, providing the swiftest transport service for officers from all quarters.

To reach Great Marsh Prefecture in the southwest, Wu Tie had to board an ultra‑long‑range tower‑ship from this southwestern garrison city.

For the safety of An'yang, aside from a single teleportation formation inside the imperial palace reserved for the imperial elite, all other institutions, departments, and clans are strictly forbidden to set up teleportation formations; violators are punished for treason with confiscation of property and extermination of clan.

After presenting his transfer documents at the garrison city and waiting about a quarter hour, Wu Tie boarded a small tower‑ship.

The tower‑ship shot into the sky, turning into a streak of flowing light that sped swiftly southwest.

Two hours after Wu Tie departed with his retinue and baggage, a flustered convoy burst into the southwestern garrison city, its leader none other than Sima Xin.

"Damn it, has anyone called General Huo shown up here?"

"Damn it, damn it, where did he take my young master's servants?"

"He… he dared to lay hands on my young master's servants…"

"General Huo, this young master won't let you off… you wait and see in Great Marsh Prefecture!"