Chapter 76

Shen Tianxing went down the mountain, the black wolf personally sent it, when they were about to reach the foot of the mountain, Shen Tianxing thought for a moment, in the System Mall he spent ten thousand Killing Value to exchange for a Top Grade Martial Arts Gale Blade Technique and gave it to the black wolf.

As expected, after the black wolf obtained the Gale Blade Technique, his Loyalty increased once again to 80%.

"My lord, your great kindness and virtue, the black wolf will never forget; please rest assured, entrusting the Wild Wolf Army to the black wolf will absolutely cause no problems."

Shen Tianxing nodded in satisfaction, without wasting words with the black wolf, he took Zhao Lingfei and headed for Autumn Wind Town.

"My lord, do you really trust him? From meeting to defecting, it's only a few short hours; although you have means, aren't you afraid he might have problems? Moreover, my lord, aren't you supposed to ask about the people behind him? Why haven't you asked?"

Zhao Lingfei is also a straightforward person; her Zhao Hu Gan Du toward Shen Tianxing has already reached 50%, although she still doesn't like him, at least in front of him she no longer hides anything.

"Given his current Loyalty, if he knew who was behind him, he would naturally have told me, but he said nothing, which proves he doesn't know."

I can monitor his Loyalty at any time, I'm not afraid of him betraying; letting him stay in Black Wind Mountain is to draw out the people behind him—didn't I still leave 100 cavalry? They will keep watch on this Black Wind Stronghold.

Zhao Lingfei nodded in sudden realization, her Zhao Hu Gan Du jumped to 51%, but it's somewhat unstable; this is also something Shen Tianxing has been helpless about.

The two have had many contacts and exchanges, but Zhao Lingfei's Zhao Hu Gan Du can increase by no more than 5% each time; sometimes the increase is unstable and may even drop.

"My lord, your plans are flawless; This One admires you!"

Zhao Lingfei was very respectful, Shen Tianxing shook his head helplessly and said no more. The two quickly returned to Autumn Wind Town, Shen Tianxing first went to see Yang Tieqiang and Yang Hongyue, after explaining the situation he returned to his room and embraced Qin Mingyue.

The next morning, Shen Tianxing and his party continued on the road; after another seven days they finally entered the territory of Leizhou.

Upon entering Leizhou's territory, Shen Tianxing saw the Battalion Commander of the Tunnel Soldiers, Gao Qiang.

"My lord, I've finally waited for you; thirty li from here is Leizhou's first major city, Leiming City; following your orders, I have already purchased a villa outside Leiming City."

It is a five-courtyard villa, large enough to accommodate three to five hundred people; this territory isn't expensive either, it cost 3000 taels of silver; in the city they also bought a residence, though only three courtyards, also costing 3000 taels of silver.

Just yesterday, the underground passages of these two residences have been dug; also recently Leiming City has been unsettled, it seems the daughter of Leizhou's garrison general, General Yue, has left Leizhou.

General Lei's people are now in the city, and another part have gone to Jiangzhou and Linzhou, all to find the Yue family's Eldest Young Lady.

Gao Qiang finished speaking, and everyone's gaze unanimously turned to Yue Qingxue, who had changed back into women's clothing but was still wearing a veil.

"Not bad; let's first go to the villa in the suburbs; there should be no General Yue's people outside the city now, and the Eldest Young Lady you mentioned is there."

Shen Tianxing smiled and also pointed at Yue Qingxue; Gao Qiang glanced at her, then smiled and nodded.

"My lord, rest assured, General Yue's people are all in the city; those who went to Jiangzhou and Linzhou couldn't possibly appear outside the city either, but if Miss Yue follows us into the city, she'll likely be discovered soon, as her portraits are all over the streets."

Gao Qiang answered truthfully; aside from Yue Qingxue's embarrassed face, everyone else wore a smile.

Finally, everyone stopped wasting words and followed Gao Qiang all the way, finally arriving at the villa outside Leiming City, where they also saw the other Tunnel Soldiers.

Shen Tianxing had Gao Qiang arrange everyone's lodging, then went to find Yue Qingxue; the two sat opposite each other, just after sipping a cup of tea, Shen Tianxing stated the purpose of his coming to Leizhou.

"Impossible, Big Brother Shen, your idea—my father would never agree; although he is also very disappointed with the current Imperial Court, he would absolutely not choose to follow you in rebellion."

As for Big Brother Shen wanting to seize Leizhou, that's also an extremely difficult undertaking; know that Leizhou has always been quite chaotic, although the prefects of its cities nominally obey Imperial Court orders, they actually do the opposite.

The key is that they all have elite troops and fierce generals under them, not easy to deal with; however, the Imperial Court is unaware that the prefects of these cities actually have their own forces.

For this reason my father had previously memorialized, but the memorial could not reach the Emperor; someone in the Imperial Court covered it up, and my father has long suspected that Leizhou is actually Sun Zhongquan's territory, otherwise this memorial would not have been blocked from reaching the Emperor's hands!

Yue Qingxue spoke very clearly; Shen Tianxing merely smiled and nodded, and after listening he already understood.

If Leizhou truly is Sun Zhongquan's territory, then the prefects of Leizhou's cities being his people means Sun Zhongquan really has set up a grand chessboard.

"If you say that, I understand; Sun Zhongquan has not yet mobilized Leizhou's troops, likely intending to use these forces as a surprise army."

He is currently in Jingcheng, essentially serving as bait; as soon as something bites, a large portion of Leizhou's troops will be dispatched to suppress these rebels, while the remainder will remain in Leizhou to restrain General Yue.

But this is precisely the best opportunity for your father to cooperate with me, even becoming a general under my command; the first step, I've already figured out how to proceed—capture Leiming City—but before that you need to find the people your father sent.

Have them immediately inform your father that you're safe, and convey my intentions to your father. Leiming City is my first step in seizing Leizhou!

Done; I hope we can have a good talk with your father; if not, I suppose I'll never get another chance to see your father—what do you think?

Yue Qingxue is far smarter than Yang Hongyue; upon hearing Shen Tianxing's words, she instantly understood.

"If you say that, once all external threats are eliminated, Sun Zhongquan's target will be my father and the Yue Family Army; aside from surrender, there is only a dead end."

You only need to capture Leiming City to prove to my father that you have this ability; not for any other reason, even for the sake of family and the Yue Family Army, my father would choose to cooperate with you, even becoming a general under your command.

Shen Tianxing nodded with a smile; Yue Qingxue fell into contemplation, then made a decision.

"Just the people my father sent—telling them to go back would be impossible to succeed; I know my father's stubbornness well, so tomorrow morning I'll go with you into the city and have my father's people bring me back."

I will do my best to help persuade my father; I also hope that after I leave, you will successfully capture Leiming City—don't let my efforts go to waste.

Shen Tianxing was about to agree when a system prompt sounded in his ear.

"Congratulations, Host, you have triggered a Side Quest: capture Leiming City; please, within fifteen days, lead troops to assault Leiming City and slay its magistrate, Jiang Buffan."

Completing the quest yields rewards: 1,000,000 Killing Value, a 50% increase in Martial Arts Experience, 10,000 sets of standard equipment, 1,000 sets of low-grade refined iron equipment, a random top-grade martial art, a random top-grade equipment, five Intermediate Lotteries, ten Beginner Lotteries, and 50,000 taels of silver.