Chapter 422: Cleansing and Withdrawal

False Song, Taihu Lake waters.

Night was ink-black, fine rain drizzling, adding a touch of mystery and solemnity to the already crisscrossing waterways and reed-choked lake surface.

Langlijiao Shen Gang crouched low, hiding behind a thick clump of reeds, his whole body already soaked through by the cold lake water and rain, yet he remained motionless, only a pair of sharp eyes fixed through the reed gaps on the distant official patrol boats slowly sailing by.

A strong sense of unease weighed on his heart.

This unease did not stem from those ordinary officials on routine duty.

but rather a colder, more intangible danger that felt like it could choke a person's throat.

Since a month ago, after those two mysterious persons sent money and a few seemingly offhand 'reminders' via the South Wind Chronicle, he followed their advice and changed his harassment tactics against the official troops, no longer meeting force with force but striking at soft points and fleeing after a hit, which proved markedly effective with his own losses small.

The official troops were harassed to the point of exasperation, and their marching speed indeed slowed.

But just two days after the False Song Imperial Court declared the south completely pacified and the whole nation celebrated, the atmosphere around Taihu Lake suddenly changed.

The frequency of official troop patrols increased manyfold;

Some low-level clerks who could originally facilitate connections and gather information suddenly became tight-lipped, even avoiding sight;

What made his heart pound even more was that last night, his hidden supply point by the lake was silently taken out.

There were no signs of a struggle at the scene; the two brothers on watch seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving only some ropes and wooden posts instantly sliced by a blade, their cut surfaces unnervingly smooth.

That was not something ordinary soldiers could do, nor even something a person could do.

Shen Gang recalled the last warning of those two mysterious persons: 'If the matter succeeds, quickly leave the nest, guard against Ghost Night Walk.'

He did not fully understand what 'Ghost Night Walk' meant back then, but now he has a vague idea.

"Big Brother,"

A similarly soaked man silently swam up beside him, lowered his voice, and showed poorly concealed panic.

"San Gouzi and the others……we can't contact them. Our last hiding island……seems……to have been probed."

Shen Gang's heart sank sharply.

San Gouzi was the one he sent to meet with the South Wind Chronicle's outer contacts, and it was extremely secretive.

Even that place was discovered?

"Notify all brothers,"

Shen Gang's voice was dry and hurried, carrying a tremor he himself did not notice.

"Follow Plan C, disperse and withdraw immediately, head to the Third Rally Point, take what you can, sink what you cannot!"

"Quick!"

Almost as soon as his order was given, on a patch of water less than a hundred zhang from their reed-bed hiding place, the air seemed to twist slightly.

A black shadow nearly blending with the night, like a weightless wraith, stood silently on the bow of a small sampan.

This shadow had no face, no definite form, only a mass of human-shaped, ever-flowing deep darkness.

It was exactly one of the 'Wraiths' dispatched by the master of the Iron Crow Army.

In its 'senses,' it clearly marked the dozens of life-light points ahead in the reed marsh that represented 'unstable data.'

And farther away, the weak signal representing the South Wind Chronicle's information node, which had just briefly contacted those points and was preparing to quietly leave the lake area.

"Target confirmed. Execute purge order."

No sound, only a wave of icy intent.

"Wraith" raised its "hand."

The next moment, the sampan beneath its feet silently turned to dust, and its figure vanished on the spot.

Almost at the same moment, at the edge of the reed thicket where Shen Gang was, the two men on watch, without even a grunt, slumped softly into the water, their necks twisted at a strange angle.

"Enemy attack——"

The shrill alarm cried out only half before cutting off abruptly.

In the rain curtain, a ghostly black shadow like a scythe wielded by the grim reaper swept through, cutting flesh as if by an invisible blade, reeds fell in swaths, and blood instantly dyed the murky lake water red.

"Fast!"

"Too fast!"

Shen Gang couldn't even see what it was, only feeling a bone‑chilling cold rush upon him instantly.

Relying on years of combat instinct honed on the water, he jerked backward, simultaneously drawing his waist‑short blade and slashing forward fiercely.

"Clang!"

A crisp ring sounded, as if his short blade had struck hardened steel, shaking his tiger's mouth split and blood pouring out.

And that icy sensation swept past, taking a patch of flesh from his chest, burning with pain.

He used the force to roll backward, fell into the water, and desperately dove into the reed depths.

His heart pounded wildly, near bursting his chest.

What the hell is that thing?!

"Withdraw! Withdraw quickly!"

He hoarsely shouted, calling to the brothers who could still move.

The surviving water bandits had already lost their souls, paddling desperately and scattering in flight.

Yet that black shadow, like a bone‑deep infection, flickered and darted over the rainy night and water surface, each appearance inevitably spouting a gout of blood and leaving a corpse.

It seemed not in a hurry to kill everyone at once, but rather to carry out a precise purge……while also driving them away.

Just as Shen Gang thought he was surely doomed and desperately swam toward a preset underwater tunnel entrance, a sudden change occurred.

"Whoosh—Bang!"

A rocket with a special whistle suddenly shot from a thicket on the lakeshore into the sky, exploding into an inconspicuous green flame.

Immediately afterward, sharp bamboo whistles sounded from several directions along the lakeshore, accompanied by the footsteps of people moving quickly.

It seemed as if multiple forces were converging from different directions to encircle this water area.

The Hidden Shadow that was chasing and killing the scattered water bandits paused slightly in its movement.

It 'looked' toward the lakeshore direction; those suddenly appearing light dots, representing the 'local official armed forces', were rapidly approaching, interfering with its cleansing path.

According to the underlying rules, it needed to avoid displaying abnormal power too conspicuously before ordinary historical units, lest it cause greater data disturbances.

"External interference engaged. Cleansing efficiency expected to decrease."

The icy logic core made an instantaneous judgment.

It gave up pursuing the remnants of 'data' that had completely lost their will to resist and scattered in flight; its form flickered, like a drop of ink merging into the water surface, and it vanished instantly.

Its next target was the 'South Wind Chronicle' node that was trying to distance itself.

Shen Gang seized this fleeting opportunity, dove headfirst into the narrow underwater passage that only allowed one person through, and desperately swam forward.

Ice-cold lake water flooded his mouth and nose, his chest ached fiercely, but his mind held only one thought—survive!

Almost at the same time, False Song, near Hangzhou Bay.

A seemingly ordinary coastal village housed a secret South Wind Chronicle material transfer station.

The person in charge was a capable middle-aged individual, codename 'Fisherman'.

He had just received the highest-level warning from the direction of Lake Tai—just four simple words: 'Ghost Walk, hurry away.'

Without any hesitation, the 'Fisherman' immediately activated the emergency plan.

He calmly and swiftly directed the station's only three core members, placing the most important ledgers, secret letters, and some silver and gold into specially made waterproof bags.

The remaining supplies that could not be taken, especially the modified tools that might expose the technology's source and a few drawings, were doused with fire oil.

"Take the waterways and meet at Backup Point Two."

"The Fisherman's voice was steady, but his eyes were sharp as an eagle."

"Go separate ways; whoever is targeted, the others must not look back or render aid."

Not long after they had secretly entered the waterway behind the village leading to the bay, the inconspicuous thatched hut of the transfer station was quickly reduced to ashes in an 'accidental' fire.

A vague black shadow similar to that by Lake Tai emerged silently in the shadows where the firelight could not reach, 'gazing' at the empty scene and the few traces that had already vanished deep in the waterway.

"Target has shifted. Cleansing not complete."

"Begin tracking..."

Similar scenes unfolded simultaneously or in succession across several areas in the south of False Song that had been marked, funded, or influenced by Chen Wen's team.

Some core members of the resistance forces, having received a mysterious warning just before the Hidden Shadow arrived, managed to escape;

Some outposts of the South Wind Chronicle, before suffering a fatal blow, decisively self-destructed, with personnel dispersing into the populace;

Of course, there were also those who reacted too slowly or were overly exposed, and they vanished forever under the Hidden Shadow's silent and efficient eradication.

Qian Gui held the fort within the Chen Dynasty's territory, nervously receiving and transmitting messages through that information channel that crossed the light curtain and was still not stable enough.

Before him, on a huge map of southern False Song, several marked points were quickly erased or had their status changed.

Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but his gaze remained calm.

"Your Majesty,"

He reported via a special channel to Chen Wen, who was still sensing distant Fortune Momentum changes in the secluded chamber of the private villa.

"The 'cleansing' has begun, its intensity exceeding expectations."

"Our side lost three outposts, with seven personnel confirmed dead and twelve missing."

"But the core intervention points—such as Shen Gang's core members and the 'South Wind Chronicle's main informants—had all evacuated ahead of plan according to the contingency, and most succeeded."

"The Iron Crow Army's 'Ghost' is indeed formidable."

In the quiet chamber, Chen Wen slowly opened his eyes, a fleeting cold glint flashing in the depths of his gaze.

He could clearly feel that on that distant land, several faint light dots representing 'our side' Fortune Momentum, after intense flickering, were extinguished.

But at the same time, more numerous and important light points, though grown dim and erratic, stubbornly persisted, moving toward a more concealed direction.

"Understood."

His voice was calm, giving no hint of joy or anger.

"Have our people remain completely silent, awaiting the next order."

"Tell Zhang Cheng and Wang Ru, the first stage: the 'Thorns' have successfully taken root, though pruned, the roots remain."

"Next, let's see what act this crow, which has regained some of its strength, will perform."

The rain continued, washing away the bloodstains of Lake Tai and burying the ashes of the coastal villages.

A 'cleansing' and 'withdrawal' taking place in the shadows have temporarily come to a close.

The Iron Crow Army erased some unstable 'noise', maintaining history's 'purity';

Meanwhile, Chen Wen's team paid a price, yet also succeeded in preserving the most vital spark.

On the chessboard, the silent exchange has already been completed.

Next move, it is the white side's turn to place a piece.