Chapter 147: A Feint to the East, an Attack to the West

"Speak up, everyone. What should we do?"

In a great hall located within the Cangyun Mountains, dim lights illuminated a series of cold, stern faces. These people had varied expressions, but each radiated a terrifying aura; none of them were ordinary figures.

Sitting in the main seat was a lean, elderly man, and sitting in a lower position beside him was a middle-aged man in red robes. The two of them, one on the left and one on the right, looked down at the crowd below almost simultaneously.

"You all should know that our situation in Songnan Prefecture is very bad right now. Our people in the Dongning Army have basically been purged, even Elder Sun Yufeng did not escape, and those remaining in the Dongning Army can no longer be of any use!"

"Besides that, the Zhen'an Bo Mansion in Songnan Prefecture has been directly confiscated. The He Family and the Xu Family have also been taken down. It can be said that in just a few short days, the influence we have painstakingly cultivated in Songnan Prefecture for so many years has almost completely disintegrated!"

In the silent hall, the elderly man's cold voice rang out, his tone filled with endless killing intent. He was very dissatisfied with this situation—extremely dissatisfied.

They had painstakingly bided their time and overcome countless obstacles to achieve what they had today; originally, this should have been an easy victory. As a result, a twenty-something-year-old young man had come along and managed to throw everything into chaos in just two months. How could he be reconciled to this?

He swept his cold eyes over everyone, and under the pressure of this aura, everyone trembled slightly. They understood that their Elder was truly angry this time. At a time like this, keeping one's head down and speaking less was the right thing to do.

"News just came in again: this little Prefect is currently leading troops into the city, uniting with the remaining families to sweep through the gangs of all sizes in Songnan Prefecture, and rectifying the brothels, gambling dens, and other such places. Our secret agents in Songnan Prefecture have also suffered heavy losses!"

"Once he completes the integration, Songnan Prefecture will be an impenetrable fortress, and it will be difficult for us to find an opportunity to intervene for a long time!"

"Elder, will those families in Songnan Prefecture willingly listen to him? Can we find a way to sow discord?"

"Nothing else, it is merely a matter of profit!"

Shaking his head, the red-robed middle-aged man beside him also spoke, though his face was much more indifferent.

"This little Prefect's methods are indeed high-level. First, he killed the chicken to scare the monkey, making everyone afraid to act rashly. Then, he used the assets of the various families he took down as bait, making the remaining forces willingly submit to his command!"

"Those forces that were taken down held a massive amount of assets—shops, restaurants, and so on. These assets are vast in number; anyone would be tempted!"

"By promptly offloading these assets that the imperial court cannot manage directly, he has maintained the stability of the streets and market prices, preventing panic. At the same time, he has made other profit-seekers go crazy for them, willing to obey his orders. It can be called killing several birds with one stone!"

Speaking to this point, the red-robed middle-aged man paused slightly before saying with a sigh, "It's just that those assets are worth a fortune in total; to think he would be willing to part with them!"

"That is what is most worrying!" Tapping his hand on the armrest of his chair, the lean elderly man's face grew more worried. Such an opponent is not easy to deal with.

If he were greedy for money or lustful, that would be a good thing for them. As long as they were willing to spend, they could pelt him with sugar-coated bullets until his legs went weak. But if he were unmoved by any temptation, that would be the most terrifying thing; one could only meet such a stubborn fool head-on.

Yet this little Prefect's strength is unfathomable, giving one the feeling of facing a hedgehog with no way to get a grip. Could it be that he, a dignified Elder, must take action personally?

"By the way, reliable news has arrived that the item we have always wanted has fallen into his hands. No matter what, we must get our hands on this item!"

"Oh?" The red-robed middle-aged man raised his eyebrows slightly, a chilling light shooting from his eyes. "Then, for both public and private reasons, this person must be eliminated!"

"Elder, let us go!" Among those sitting below, two people stood up and said respectfully, "Our brothers will take men to go there; we will surely be able to kill this person completely!"

"Based on you lot?"

Looking up with disdain, the red-robed middle-aged man did not even offer a word of encouragement; his contempt for these few people was practically written on his face. If he really sent you, would you even be able to come back alive?

"Elder, although this person's cultivation is strong, if we all attack together, we don't believe we can't take down a mere junior!"

"Shut up! Even Elder Sun Yufeng died at his hands. Do you think you are stronger than Elder Sun? Don't say you, even I would not dare to say I could defeat Elder Sun!"

The lean elderly man beside him waved his hand impatiently. What time is it now to be putting on an act? We all know each other. Don't look at how these people shout slogans to the heavens on ordinary days; it's just something to listen to.

"I have already notified the Leader to send experts over. When the time comes, we will coordinate together; this time, we must ensure there are no mistakes!"

"You've already notified the Leader, then why the hell did you make us hold this meeting!"

"Elder, Elder, it's bad!" Just at this moment, a disciple rushed in from outside, causing the face of the leading lean elderly man to darken. What is wrong with today? Does no one understand the rules anymore!

"What happened? Panicking like this, what kind of decorum is this!"

"Elder, it's the Dongning Army! The Dongning Army has suddenly appeared and surrounded this place!"

"What? They have such guts, to actually dare to break in here!"

"Shen Yu! It must be him! Elder, this person is a scourge, let our brothers kill him!"

Although they didn't know how they had been exposed, since the enemy had already fought their way to the door, if they didn't show them something impressive, they wouldn't know the terror of the Thousand Blood Sect.

"Impossible! Currently, the only one who can mobilize troops is that little Prefect, but isn't he busy in Songnan Prefecture leading troops to maintain order? How could he..."

Hearing the disciple's report, a trace of doubt appeared on the lean elderly man's face. But suddenly, a bad thought flashed through his mind, waking him up like a dream!

"It's a feint to the east to attack in the west! We've been tricked!" His face turned deathly pale in an instant, and he slammed his right hand onto the chair, the purple dust-wood armrest snapping at the sound. At this moment, he finally understood he had been played.

Whether it was this little Prefect taking down the families or leading troops into the city to maintain order and clear out gangs, it was all just for them to see—it was to make them lower their guard.

That was why, even with such a large movement of troops, they hadn't taken it to heart, thinking that the troops brought into the city to maintain order were the entirety of the mobilized force. Little did they know, the other party had quietly split off a portion of their troops and headed straight for Cangyun Mountain.

To be led around by the nose by a brat of only twenty-something years old—what a disgrace!

"No, what about the Mechanisms along the way? Why weren't they triggered!"

"Elder, the Mechanisms along the way have all been destroyed; there was no warning at all!"

"Hmph, a bunch of trash!" Looking at the disciple kneeling on the ground delivering the message, the red-robed middle-aged man almost raised his blade to hack him in his anger. After finally suppressing his temper, he asked again, "How many people came?"

"This... the subordinate does not know. In the dark of night, it was not clear. The subordinate only saw that it was densely packed with people everywhere; the subordinate guesses there are at least tens of thousands!"

"You don't know? Damn you, then what do you know!" The anger he had just suppressed surged up again. If it weren't for so many people being here, he would have definitely killed this useless thing.