Chapter 127

That night, Shen Tianxing changed his appearance and left the city for Taicheng; his goal was to infiltrate Taicheng and kill the two prefects and the commander-in-chief.

Mainly, Shen Tianxing wanted to test the power of the Subduing Dragon Eighteen Palms and the Rulai Divine Palm, and of course he also wanted to see whether sneaking into Taicheng at night to kill the prefects and commander-in-chief would trigger a hidden quest reward.

The system had not released any new tasks for a long time; Shen Tianxing tentatively asked Hong Yi, who, although she gave no direct answer, made it clear that the trigger probability for recent side quests was relatively low, while that for hidden quests was relatively high.

At the Taicheng Prefectural Office, it was already the third watch, yet the two prefects and two commanders-in-chief could not sleep at all, staring at each other in the main hall.

"What should we do? We now have only 50,000 garrison troops, while they have 80,000, plus Humen Pass, most of which are the Yang Family Army; if the two armies launch a pincer attack on Taicheng, we're done."

"Or we could go to Pingcheng? Then summon the fellow from An City and his troops; together we'd have nearly 120,000 soldiers, which might allow us to hold out, and later we could request aid from the imperial court."

"Those who don't know might think Xu Wenbin is addicted to fleeing; even if we gathered 120,000 troops, most of them are worthless soldiers—could we possibly defend a city?"

"What you say is laughable. Do you really think only Lecheng is in chaos? These days Taicheng appears calm on the surface, but strange incidents keep occurring."

"Already two regiment commanders and eight company commanders have died in accidents, dying silently without a sound; their bodies were found the next morning, either having smashed their heads while drunk or having fallen into the river while drunk."

"Some even died after indulging in pleasure at a brothel; the coroner's report could only attribute it to sudden wind, or a mild cold caught from wind, after taking medicine, they were found dead at home the next day."

"When I, the official, left the prefect's office to patrol, the people's gazes were filled with resentment, as if they were suppressing their hatred toward me, yet in an instant they would smile at me again."

"I now suspect that the people of Taicheng may already be like those of Lecheng, having been secretly bewitched; if Shen Tianxing attacks, they might simply rush forward and fling open the city gates."

"The one who said this is the Taicheng Prefect, Zhuang Juxian, who has attained Sixth Rank Complete; he is both literary and martial, far more capable than Xu Wenbin, yet he is also a greedy person."

"The difference is that Zhuang Juxian conceals it well; even though the people suffer greatly, they never suspect that this prefect of theirs has embezzled their money."

"Big Brother, if what you say is true, then the other two cities are likely the same; the border passes have been at war year after year, the people already suffer greatly, and those with ill intentions have bewitched them, naturally giving rise to other thoughts."

"The one speaking is Zhuang Juxian's younger brother, Zhuang Juyou, who is also the commander-in-chief of Taicheng; he too is a person of courage and strategy, only unfortunately neither brother has put these abilities to proper use."

"Talking nonsense is useless; Shen Tianxing has already occupied Lecheng and will surely attack within three days. We must find a way to prevent the city's people from causing chaos and also hold Taicheng."

"In my view, the best course is to pick out those worthless soldiers and have them restrain the remaining elite troops among the populace, letting them fight desperately to defend the city, while simultaneously seeking aid from the other two cities."

"If they are willing to come, the crisis can be resolved, but we must also ensure they bring sufficient grain and fodder; we may have to endure a long stretch of time."

"Who knows whether the capital will send reinforcements? After all, the prince is overwhelmed with countless affairs and cannot attend to our border region."

"The speaker is Xu Shu, who has recently defected to Zhuang Juxian; although he holds no official post, he is able to sit in the main hall and drink tea."

"Xu Shu's maneuver truly constitutes infiltrating the interior without anyone noticing; everything is his behind-the-scenes scheming, and even the Zhuang brothers place great trust in him."

"What Mister Xu says is indeed the issue we should consider now; speaking of it, I don't fear Mr. Xu's ridicule—our few prefects in Beizhou usually act independently, rarely interacting, and my relationship with the Pingcheng Prefect is still passable."

"Unless we can make the prefects of the other two cities aware of the danger, they might well sit back and watch the tigers fight; I wonder what clever plan you have, sir, to get them to send troops to assist as much as possible."

"Zhuang Juxian treats Xu Shu with great courtesy; in fact, it was Xu Shu who first noticed the people's abnormality, and Zhuang Juxian only became aware after his reminder."

"Any method is now useless; the governor-general has sent me to kill you."

"A sudden voice rang out—naturally it was Shen Tianxing, who at that moment stood on the courtyard wall outside the main hall, his face now that of a bearded man with a full beard."

"Xu Shu, you've done well; when I make my move, step back—I came tonight specifically to capture the bandit and the king."

"At the same moment, Shen Tianxing's voice also transmitted into Xu Shu's mind—this is the unique feature of his and the summoned civil and military officers: they can communicate directly via consciousness transmission, provided they are relatively close; if too far apart, it fails."

"This subordinate understands; I will stay far away. Even if the lord takes action and those four die, command of the troops will effectively be in my hands, after which the lord only needs to send someone to administer Taicheng."

"Xu Shu slowly retreated, simultaneously conveying his intention through thought."

"Damn it, how did he get in? He's definitely a master; quickly summon the garrison soldiers—I'll buy time."

"Zhuang Juxian gave the order; Zhuang Juyou hesitated not at all, turned and went behind the screen, then left through the rear gate to mobilize troops."

"Are you an assassin sent by Shen Tianxing, working for money? If so, I, the official, can buy my life with silver—how about one million taels? That's all the silver I can currently produce."

"Zhuang Juxian got straight to the point, offering a not-low price; Shen Tianxing didn't mind, merely waiting for more people to arrive so he could test the power of the Rulai Divine Palm."

"Lord Zhuang is indeed generous, but I have four people to kill; four lives will surely cost at least four million taels."

"Are you crazy for silver? Four people for four million taels of silver—once you have the money, do you even have a life to spend it?"

"Xu Wenbin is naturally the least willing to part with silver; if one million taels could buy them a few safe lives, that wouldn't be a sucker, but asking him to spend silver would be more painful than killing him."

"If you don't want to leave your life behind, I won't force you; moreover, because of what you just said, give me two million taels—after all, you make me feel your life is worth more."

"Upon hearing this, Xu Wenbin nearly lost his temper, but thinking that one must endure when under another's roof, he could only grit his teeth and say:"

"You're too arrogant; do you really think you alone can take our lives? You're seeking your own death—Xiao Kai, let's go together and kill him."