Chapter 494

Yuzhou trembled.

Yuzhou's new lord, the Great Jin Divine Emperor Sima Xianqin appointed Huo Xiong as Duke of Yuzhou, who, commanding millions of troops, descended; upon seeing him, he immediately ordered the imprisonment of Yuzhou Governor Tian Huayu and all civil and military officials beneath him, totalling 128 people.

We need to keep it concise but include all info. Ensure no omission.

Furthermore, a newly appointed First-Rank Marquis, the Ling Shan Marquis Pei Feng, who commanded the Black Phoenix Army and mobilized the Five Elements Spirits, blockaded the whole of Yuzhou.

Tian Huayu and the other officials, together with the hundreds of Yuzhou noble families connected to them, were all completely surrounded by Pei Feng's troops.

Furthermore, under Yuzhou Duke Huo Xiong, the long-serving official Huang Lang, leading thousands of fierce officials belonging to the Yuzhou Duke, investigated every prefecture, city, and numerous mines and estates of Yuzhou down to the last detail.

Anyone who had taken even a single copper coin from Yuzhou's public treasury was arrested by Huang Lang's troops, their homes ransacked, all clan members demoted to criminals, and directly exiled to Da Ze Zhou to serve on the frontier.

Heavens, Da Ze Zhou now faces the threat of Da Wu, with battles fierce and dangerous—going there would surely be a death sentence!

Even if Great Jin could resist Da Wu's forces… I heard Da Wu used extermination tactics, spreading the Earth Plague Powder, turning all of Da Ze Zhou's fertile land into desert wasteland—such a barren frontier would surely cost lives!

For a time, throughout Yuzhou, aside from the lower classes who were hardly disturbed, everyone else—those with a little status or identity, as well as the noble clans—was filled with panic.

Even some clans found by Huang Lang to have bad debts, facing extermination of their nine relations and exile to the frontier, threw caution to the wind, mobilizing death-defying warriors to fight desperately.

Nevertheless, under Yuzhou Duke Huo Xiong, his followers were many; the Black Phoenix Army was a truly elite force, and the Five Elements Spirits were vast in number and mighty in strength. Moreover, there was a villain who called himself Tie Daya, wielding a black-and-white spear, acting as a henchman for the tyrant...

In just a few days, Yuzhou Duke Huo Xiong suffered over ten assassination attempts, to the point that he simply shut himself indoors.

Only Lao Tie, leading a large band of fierce elites, roamed everywhere; those daring assassins who tried to kill Huo Xiong were slain to the last, and even their masters behind the scenes had their property confiscated by Lao Tie, their entire families old and young had their cultivation sealed, and were directly sent to Da Ze Zhou.

Yuzhou's turmoil drew the attention of the entire civil and military establishment of Great Jin, all turning their gaze toward Yuzhou.

After all, Yuzhou was exceedingly prosperous; basically, everyone in Great Jin's civil and military circles had their own interests involved. If Yuzhou Duke Huo Xiong merely reclaimed power and consolidated his own interests, that would be acceptable.

If he dared to offend the interests of those civil and military dignitaries, then what awaited him would surely be a storm.

Amid the close attention of countless people, Wu Tie silently left Yuzhou City, left the universe, disguised as an ordinary merchant, boarded a small merchant guild's cargo ship, and in just a quarter of an hour arrived at Anyang City.

Yuzhou was originally very close to Anyang; passing through a spatial gate, it hardly needed any time to arrive.

Wu Tie's departure was extremely covert; even the secret guards sent by Mr. Li were not alerted.

This was also Mr. Li's request—he asked Wu Tie to, as much as possible, reach Anyang by the most covert means.

Wu Tie secretly mused that it seemed the noble patron behind Mr. Li, even the secret guards he himself had dispatched, were not very trusting.

Merely, the matter was done so secretly… even somewhat shameful, Wu Tie couldn't help but ponder even more about the identity of that noble patron behind Mr. Li.

The small merchant guild's cargo ship slowly flew out of a spatial gate outside Anyang City, when several small patrol boats came up to meet it, with Anyang City's patrol soldiers shouting as they leapt aboard, searching the ship inside and out.

Da Wu launched a full-scale invasion of Great Jin, which entered a state of total war, with everyone on edge. Especially, the vicinity of Anyang City became heavily guarded; each day many unlucky folk were arrested by the guards and subjected to brutal torture.

For these low-ranking soldiers, such tension was precisely a good opportunity to make a fortune illicitly; the corrupt dealings of flies and dogs cannot be fully spoken of.

When the two soldiers approached him, Wu Tie, taking the form of an ordinary middle-aged man, silently produced a genuine identity token issued by the Yuzhou official office and handed it over with a smile.

"Are you from Yuzhou? No problem, why come to Anyang?" The two soldiers obviously intended to make things difficult; one held Wu Tie's identity token, flipping it in his palm, refusing to return it.

"I'm looking for a new shipping route for my master's silk." Wu Tie said calmly.

The soldier holding the identity token laughed: "Silk? Is your master's business that big?"

Wu Tie smiled slightly, took out a piece of gold from his sleeve, and quietly passed it over: "Just a small trade, earning some meal money."

The identity token was smoothly returned to Wu Tie's hand; the two soldiers, putting on an act, pointed at his nose and lectured him, telling him to abide by the law in Anyang City and not violate its regulations, and so on...

The group of soldiers obviously reaped a rich haul; after messing around on the cargo ship for a while, each with a grin, they boarded their own patrol boats and left.

After inspection by these city patrol soldiers, the cargo ship swayed as it descended to a storage ground three hundred li east of Anyang City.

Anyang City was heavily guarded, making it impossible for these merchant guild's cargo ships to enter its airspace; thus, many storage grounds were set up outside Anyang City specifically for transferring goods and passengers of these merchant guilds.

The gangway was lowered slowly, and Wu Tie stepped down; he was about to head to a nearby relay station to take a carriage to Anyang City when suddenly a gong sounded, and a squad of burly men dressed in black tight clothing, with red sashes around their waists and fierce expressions, parted the crowd and surrounded the dozen or so cargo ships that had just landed.

"From Yuzhou?" a strong, burly man strode up to the cargo ship and demanded in a low voice.

Without waiting for a reply, the man waved his hand: "Your merchant guild's people, if you're not newly hired helpers, step aside…… uh, do you have any passengers aboard? Point them all out!"

Wu Tie stared, bewildered—what was this for?

Looking at these men's attire, they didn't seem to be official Great Jin officials at all; rather, they had the air of private guards from noble clans.

"Hey, gentlemen, sirs?" the owner of this small fleet of twenty-four cargo ships, all belonging to a single small merchant guild, hurried forward to greet them, bowing repeatedly.

"What's going on? Our 'Jade River' has been an established brand for years; we only run the Yuzhou-to-Anyang route, all our crew and owners are local elders, absolutely no corrupt individuals."

The shrewd-looking proprietor hastily bowed to the men.

Doing business, especially for these small merchant guilds lacking strong backing, the worst thing is to provoke trouble for no reason.

There is no doubt that these men before us are nothing but trouble, and trouble of the worst kind.

"Jade River?" we've heard of it…… well, I said it before, it has nothing to do with your merchant guild. Do you have any passengers aboard? The black-clad man pushed aside the proprietor, walked over with a chuckle, and stood before Wu Tie, sizing him up.

The proprietor and crew of the Jade River all wore identical uniforms, making it easy to tell that Wu Tie, in his green long robe, was not part of the Jade River.

Wu Tie gave a light cough: "Sir, what business do you have with me? I'm a Yuzhou native and a traveler; you're looking for me—what do you want?"

The man gave a 'heh' laugh, slapped his palm onto Wu Tie's left shoulder, then clenched his fingers tightly.

Wu Tie let out a miserable 'ahh' scream, sweat pouring down like rain, his face turning deathly pale, his left shoulder twisted with a 'crack'—clearly the man had crushed his scapula.

The man stared, loosened his grip, shook his head, and muttered: "Obviously not."

He kicked Wu Tie in the stomach, coldly snorting: "It's none of your business—get lost…… uh, you few, come over!"

The man kicked Wu Tie, sending him stumbling back several steps, where he slammed his head into the cargo ship behind him.

Wu Tie's head struck the deck hard; his body swayed, he slumped to the ground, panting and dazed for a moment, then he struggled to his feet, dared not look at the man, and walked step by step toward the nearby relay station.

Several other black-clad men fixed their gazes like knives on Wu Tie.

They watched his every move, every change in expression.

No matter how they looked, Wu Tie's actions, expressions, and the cold sweat continually dripping from his forehead perfectly portrayed a low-cultivation, timid lone traveler.

Wu Tie's face twitched as he took cautious, fearful steps past those black-clad men.

Several black-clad men glanced at Wu Tie, then one suddenly roared, drew his waist blade, and slashed down at him.

The blade flashed, its edge instantly reaching Wu Tie's neck.

Wu Tie let out an aw scream, and warm water suddenly began to drip drip drip beneath his feet.

Several black-clad burly men simultaneously gave a slight smile. The burly man holding a long blade shook his head, the blade lightly grazing Wu Tie's neck, then he flipped his palm, sheathed the blade, shook his head and said: "It's really not... scared, get lost, didn't have time to dirty the old master's land."

Wu Tie trembled all over, hopping and jumping all the way, like a frightened monkey, with a 'pitter-patter' dripping water trail behind him, he fled in a sorry state to outside the relay station.

He took out a piece of gold, Wu Tie stammered, unable to express himself clearly, and negotiated with the relay station for a while; amid the contemptuous look of the station attendant, he alone rented a carriage with a driver, and headed straight for Peaceful Yang City.

On the stacking yard, those black-clad burly men inspected each passenger who had arrived by cargo ship, one by one.

Some were released after a few words, others like Wu Tie were beaten badly, their arms and legs broken, then driven away.

Some were extremely unlucky; not knowing what suspicious point on them these burly men discovered, they were trussed up with a rope and tossed onto a black lacquer carriage, not knowing where they were being taken.

Wu Tie sat in the smoothly speeding carriage, his face gloomy as he pondered today's ordeal.

His left shoulder remained twisted and deformed; for him, who had cultivated the Nine Revolutions Mystic Technique and mastered its various changes, fabricating such a false wound was child's play. Even the warm, slightly fishy-smelling water traces that had just dripped down were also a transformation of his magical powers, not that he had really pissed himself from fright.

But this matter is very strange.

Mr. Li urged Wu Tie to be extra careful, even to keep it hidden from those secret guards.

Wu Tie was curious, wondering what exactly had happened.

From the stacking yard to the east gate of Peaceful Yang City is only three hundred li, a straight thoroughfare; the carriage speed was not slow, and after a little more than an hour, Wu Tie arrived outside the east gate of Peaceful Yang City.

The speeding carriage slowed its pace, lining up behind a long convoy.

Outside the east gate of Peaceful Yang City, ranks upon ranks of elite warriors were arranged into small military formations, their killing intent soaring, their fighting spirit fierce. On the city wall above the gate, terrifying-aura gold-armored commanders stood solemnly, eyes like blades, continually sweeping over the passersby and vehicles entering and leaving the gate.

A hundred-zhang-wide treasure mirror, engraved on its back with a black and a white coiling dragon, hovered above the city gate, emitting a hazy beam of light; all who entered or exited the gate could not avoid being swept by its light.

The carriage in which Wu Tie rode slowly followed the troops forward; as the carriage passed through the mirror's light, Wu Tie felt an extremely penetrating force trying to surge into his body, probing his inner secrets.

The Yin-Yang Two-Qi Bottle emitted faint, almost imperceptible breaths, perfectly concealing Wu Tie's qi mechanism.

The treasure mirror showed no reaction; Wu Tie smoothly entered the gate, walked through the long passageway, and finally entered Peaceful Yang City.

Upon entering the city, Wu Tie felt that the atmosphere was off.

Pedestrians on the road all bore tense expressions; on the main street, groups of three to five sturdy men in vigorous attire could often be seen lurking.

These burly men were like the black-clad burly men outside the city—not officials of the Great Jin Divine Kingdom, but more like retainers of wealthy clans.

Wu Tie's carriage had traveled less than ten li on the main street when three groups rudely flung open the carriage curtains to stare at him.

But Wu Tie's transformed persona was utterly ordinary, his aura very weak; these people bothered him for a while, then ultimately let him go.

Thus, following Mr. Li's instructions, Wu Tie changed carriages twice within the city and finally arrived at a vast luxurious inn, where a separate small courtyard had been prepared; Wu Tie bathed, changed clothes, and thoroughly refreshed himself in the small courtyard.

At nightfall, Wu Tie's old acquaintance Sima You appeared silently, leading Wu Tie from the inn's rear gate onto a carriage, and they proceeded leisurely along the main street.

Not long after, the carriage entered the brightly lit Nine Bend Stream Hall.

In the distance, within a vast expanse of palace halls, the sound of strings and bamboo played continuously, as countless dissolute youths reveled all night.

The carriage quietly passed along the tree-lined path and finally stopped before an exquisite courtyard.

Wu Tie glanced at the characters on the plaque above the courtyard gate.

"'Three Reflection Hall!' Wu Tie clicked his tongue."