Chapter 405

Wailing, sobbing, hysterical shouting and cursing, and hoarse pleas……

Zhang Xibai took over all administrative authority of Daze Prefecture, even the task of building the city was forcibly taken from Wu Tie's hands.

Wu Tie had nothing to do for a while; in this Daze City of only a few hundred thousand people, what could you expect Wu Tie to do?

Thus, Wu Tie poured all his energy into training that group of prefecture army toughs.

The so-called training meant that each day Wu Tie, accompanied by Huang Yu and Li Erhaozi, wielded military clubs to beat those prefecture army toughs to a pulp, then had them cultivate the "Pulverized Bone Myriad Tribulations Scripture," consume pills, inhale and exhale heavenly and earthly primal energy, constantly repairing their flesh.

The greatest advantage of the demonic path cultivation method is that progress is extremely rapid, and strength can soar to its limit.

In just three days, this group of prefecture army toughs saw little increase in attack power, but their bodily toughness and fleshly defense rose at least threefold.

When the weakest Huang Yu struck them with the alloy club, it produced a crisp "peng-peng" sound of metal and wood striking each other; Huang Yu needed hardly any force, yet it was truly difficult to break their arms and legs.

What surprised Wu Tie was that within three days, over two thousand people voluntarily walked into the trap.

Speaking of this, Huang Lang was a bit unscrupulous.

This old, crafty scoundrel suggested that Wu Tie activate the camp's soundproofing barrier, sealing off the weeping, wailing, and all other negative sounds within the camp; then this old fellow applied for funds and brought over a hundred or so flirtatious women from the city.

Once a prefectural lord, he would daily bring seven or eight of Wu Tie's aides, surrounded by a flock of warblers and swallows, sit at the north gate of the camp eating meat, drinking wine, and listening to women sing—those days were indescribably pleasant.

Thus, over two thousand able-bodied youths voluntarily came to the camp to apply to join the prefecture army.

These fellows were impatient with being urged by the Minister of Works, Liu Li, to build the city; they were lazy idlers accustomed to ease, and upon seeing Huang Lang's gang of old-timers feasting and carousing all day here, they were instantly bewitched and eagerly joined Wu Tie's ranks.

By the time these fellows realized what kind of days the prefecture army toughs under Wu Tie had been living these past days…

It's too late; there's no turning back.

Wu Tie directly controlled their souls, severed their retreat, and likewise imparted the "Pulverized Bone Myriad Tribulations Scripture" to them.

Huang Yu and Li Erhaozi were exhausted to the point of reeking over these two days.

Over three thousand new and veteran prefecture army soldiers each day had to wield their clubs to help these fellows cultivate their "divine skill"…

Although beating people felt satisfying, after three days Huang Yu's palms had been rubbed raw by the club to a bloody mess, and both arms could no longer be lifted.

At dusk three days later, Wu Tie stood on the north wall of the camp, squinting as he gazed over Daze City.

That fellow Zhang Xibai is certainly capable of doing such a thing.

He discarded the site Wu Tie had chosen, forcibly relocating the new Daze City's site three li north; for this he did not hesitate to destroy a large tract of thriving crops north of the city and level the fields there.

The new site measures thirty li in length and width; under Zhang Xibai's command, many powerful cultivators raised the city's foundation by about three zhang, which is over one zhang higher than the foundation Wu Tie had originally marked.

Consequently, Wu Tie's cave-abode camp, along with the large tract of city foundation he had originally designated, ended up cast to the south of the new city wall.

What infuriated Wu Tie was that the design drawn by Minister of Works Liu Li placed the total outlet of all the city's drainage pipes directly behind his camp; one can imagine how embarrassing it will be for Wu Tie once the new city is completed and those pipes go into use.

Wu Tie rubbed his chin with his right hand, gritting his teeth as he stared at that pitch-black outlet, resembling the anus of a ferocious beast.

"Old coot, you really can pull this off, heh, you take the first, I'll take the fifteenth, heh…"

Wu Tie was pondering how to counter Zhang Xibai's petty tricks when suddenly a urgent horn blast sounded from within the city; familiar with the various orders of the Da Jin Shen Guo military, Wu Tie immediately recognized it as the most urgent warning signal.

He leapt into the air and looked around.

In the western sky, six tower ships that had rushed out of the city three days earlier were slowly flying toward the city.

Among the six tower ships, two had been ripped open with several large and small holes, black smoke continually billowing from them; Wu Tie narrowed his eyes and saw that on the decks lay nearly a thousand wounded soldiers in disarray.

Several tower ships from within the city rose into the air, heading west to meet them; the fleet converged and slowly flew back to Daze City, then with a "swish," strands of faint five-colored cloud vapor shot upward, crisscrossing into a great net that enveloped the entire Daze City below.

"Wow, even the city's grand defensive array is set up? And they didn't even give a heads-up." Wu Tie was a bit annoyed.

After all, he is the commander of Daze Prefecture's army; the Daze City before him is currently the prefecture's sole city, and it may well become the future prefectural seat.

A prefectural capital's grand defensive array is ready, yet they didn't even notify the army's commander… Are they treating him like a thief to guard against?

"Prefect Zhang, your magnanimity is a bit small." Huang Lang appeared silently behind Wu Tie, stroking his long beard and smiling.

After cultivating the "Void Nirvana Scripture," reforging his Dao foundation, and restoring his mana, Huang Lang's cultivation had not yet returned to its peak, but the marvels of the Void Nirvana Scripture had already manifested.

At the very least, Huang Lang's "Void Escape Technique" had reached minor accomplishment; the evasion is sound‑traceless, and to Wu Tie it seems an extraordinary art especially suited for assassins.

"Perhaps it's not a matter of narrow-mindedness." Wu Tie stroked his chin and said, "I have a feeling… this old coot is calculating that I won't live many more days, so there's no need to be polite with me. What do you think?"

Huang Lang's face darkened, and he said in a low voice, "You mean Lord Zhang Xibai intends to act against you, my lord?"

Several figures flew out from the city; the leader was none other than Zhang Xibai, behind him were the heads of the Prefectural Prefecture's offices of Punishment, People, Agriculture, and Works— the highest-ranking civil officials of Daze Prefecture.

Zhang Xibai came over furious, his face livid; even from a distance he was seething and shouted, "How outrageous! Simply lawless! Truly… lawless! General Huo Xiong, if someone plots rebellion, what would you do?"

Wu Tie widened his eyes, staring at Zhang Xibai in astonishment: "Plotting rebellion— whom do you mean?"

Zhang Xibai narrowed his eyes, already standing ten zhang in front of Wu Tie in midair, exactly at the same height as him.

"Naturally it's some people in the Black Phoenix Army… they seized the Black Phoenix Army commander, Feng Feng, and brazenly attacked the detachment I sent to survey Daze Prefecture's mines… Such conduct, if not rebellion, what is it?"

Wu Tie spread his hands, looking bewildered at Zhang Xibai: "Yeah, it looks like rebellion… well, then, what do you mean?"

Zhang Xibai slapped his palm hard: "Mobilize troops to quell the rebellion, General Huo Xiong… as the prefecture army commander, shouldn't you be putting down the revolt? Quickly gather your own forces and slaughter those rebels in the Black Phoenix Army to rescue Commander Feng— that's the proper course."

Zhang Xibai produced a folded document from his sleeve and flung it hard at Wu Tie: "Here is the detailed roster and résumé of all the Black Phoenix Army officers plotting treachery; General Huo Xiong, after crushing the rebels, simply follow the list and kill them all— then the matter will be settled."

A flash of light gleamed in Zhang Xibai's eyes as he said solemnly: "But General Huo Xiong must note that Commander Feng Feng is utterly loyal to the Da Jin; she could never harbor any divided heart… therefore, all Black Phoenix Army officers of the rank of colonel and above may be slain, but Commander Feng Feng herself must not be harmed a single hair."

Wu Tie and Huang Lang stared at each other, unable to speak for a long moment.

After a cough, Huang Lang whispered: "Prefect, the current Daze Prefecture army numbers only a mere three thousand troops…"

Zhang Xibai had his hands in his sleeves, straightened his waist, slightly lifted his chin, and glared at Huang Lang through his nostrils: "Oh, so you're the former Langhe Prefecture Prefect, Huang Lang… in Daze Prefecture you're also one of the top criminals; at least your former status was the most illustrious, right?"

Shaking his head, Zhang Xibai sneered: "But since you served as prefect for decades, you ought to know that suppressing bandits, quelling rioters, and subduing any treasonous rebellion are the duties of the prefecture army commander."

Zhang Xibai cocked his head, curiously asking Huang Lang: "How dare you tell me, sir, that your prefecture army has only three thousand troops and therefore cannot march to suppress the rebellion?"

Huang Lang closed his mouth.

Wu Tie gave a dry laugh: "But, Prefect, I have only been in Daze Prefecture for a short month, and my troops are merely…"

Zhang Xibai cut off Wu Tie's words: "This matter has nothing to do with me. I only know that as the chief civil official I oversee all civil affairs of Daze Prefecture, while General Huo Xiong, as the chief military officer, commands all military matters."

Zhang Xibai turned his gaze to a heavily armored officer behind him and said coldly: "Who knows, if a prefecture army commander cowers from battle and lets rebels grow unchecked, what crime would that be?"

That officer replied in a dry, icy tone: "Confiscation of property and extermination of the clan, sir!"

Zhang Xibai turned his head, looked at Wu Tie, and laughed: "Exterminate the family and wipe out the clan, General Huo Xiong!"

Zhang Xibai stretched out a palm, his five fingers stiffly extended: "General Huo Xiong, I give you five days…… If within those five days you cannot slaughter all the rebels in the Black Phoenix Army, cannot rescue the Pei Feng Army's main camp back to Great Marsh Prefecture…… Don't blame me for filing a complaint against you in the Divine Might Army, don't blame me, for borrowing the Divine Might Army's troops to suppress the rebellion……"

With a grim face, Zhang Xibai glared fiercely at Wu Tie: "When the time comes, General Huo Xiong, I will be the first to cut off your dog's head!"

Wu Tie's face turned red with anger.

"Zhang Xibai, watch your words—in Great Marsh Prefecture, my status is not inferior to yours!" Wu Tie roared.

Zhang Xibai instinctively stepped back; the heavily armored commander stepped forward, hand on his sword hilt, shielding Zhang Xibai behind him.

"Huo Xiong…… you dare show disrespect to the Prefect…… General, may I suspect you of colluding with rebels and plotting treason?" The heavily armored commander looked at Wu Tie with a half-smile: "Isn't that so?"

Wu Tie puffed out his chest and shouted angrily: "Nonsense! I've been wounded for the Divine State, I've bled for the Divine State—how dare you frame me?!"

The commander immediately laughed: "General Huo Xiong's loyalty to the Great Jin is admirable…… In that case, please, General Huo Xiong, immediately mobilize troops and set out……"

He pointed to the western mountains and laughed: "The rebels of the Black Phoenix Army are right in those western mountains—just a two-day journey from here. Please, General Huo Xiong, hurry up."

Wu Tie took a deep breath, staring fixedly at Zhang Xibai.

This old bastard—really didn't expect he had this trick; it's a two‑pronged borrowed‑knife killing. If it were really Wu Tie as 'Huo Xiong', he'd surely be screwed by him.

Following 'Huo Xiong's' character, that guy would definitely bring his troops to fight to the death upon encountering this, regardless of whether he could win or not—he'd surely go all‑out.

But if it were Wu Tie……

Wu Tie blinked his eyes, then suddenly said to Zhang Xibai: "If you want me to go risk my life to suppress the rebellion, fine—I've just arrived, my forces are insufficient; give me thirty thousand able‑bodied youths from the city and two days to prepare, and I'll go!"

He lifted his head arrogantly and sneered: "Otherwise, I also have powerful backers…… If you go to the Divine Might Army to borrow troops to suppress the rebellion, they might not dare to do anything to me."

Zhang Xibai smiled, his eyes flickering slightly: "General Huo Xiong, I don't know which high‑ranking figure of the Great Jin you know."

Wu Tie didn't bother to explain; he simply took out the ten techniques that Mr. Li had given him.

Ten jade pendants wrapped in misty clouds hovered before Wu Tie; Zhang Xibai's face stiffened, then he suddenly laughed, clasping his hands in a respectful salute toward Wu Tie.

Wu Tie noticed that, at the instant he produced the jade pendant, Zhang Xibai's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and his black irises emitted a thread of white light—at a glance his whole eyeball turned deathly pale.

"In that case, General Huo Xiong, I will enroll fifty thousand able‑bodied youths into the prefectural army and give you three days to organize the troops." Zhang Xibai drew a deep breath, stared straight at Wu Tie, and said softly: "I have already done all that benevolence and righteousness demand; if General Huo Xiong cannot safely bring back the leader of the Pei Feng Army nor wipe out those rebels in the Black Phoenix Army…… don't blame me for directly sending a memorial to the Left Minister."

Wu Tie silently gazed at the ten jade pendants before him.

It looks like he could in the future wield a tiger's skin as a banner……

He gave a charming smile, cupped his hands toward Zhang Xibai in a salute: "Thus, thank you, Prefect…… However, those fifty thousand able‑bodied youths will likely be hard to control; before you send them over, Prefect, let's first beat them half‑to‑death."

After a moment's hesitation, Wu Tie said in a low voice: "Breaking arms or legs is fine—just don't actually kill them."

Wu Tie laughed especially brightly.

He pointed backward, and the entire camp instantly levitated, swayed once, then became a five‑li‑square, four‑by‑four formation that crashed to the ground with a boom, shaking the foundations of the new city in the northern part of Great Marsh City until they trembled.