Chapter 726: Assignment

Tang Zhao had just slipped back to the foot of Zijin Mountain in a flash. From afar, he saw Xu Zhongnan's house, and then he heard the bells on Zijin Mountain ringing wildly.

The sound of the bells came from above. First, the sound of one bell rang as if from the nine heavens, shaking one's soul. Immediately after, bell after bell, sound after sound, each one deafening, just like rolling thunder in the sky.

Following that, the bells in the shops at the foot of the mountain also began to ring, sound after sound coming from all directions, like ten thousand horses galloping.

It turned out there was a great bell at the peak of Zijin Mountain, larger than the one in the Jingcheng Bell Tower, but it did not tell time and rarely rang. Yet, Zijin Mountain had layers of palaces, and each layer had hanging bells. Even the eaves of every house in the quarters prepared for Disciples at the foot of the mountain had a fist-sized bell hanging from them. When one bell rang, ten thousand bells moved, like layers of overlapping waves, with great momentum.

Even someone without a guilty conscience would inevitably tremble when suddenly placed among thousands of bells, let alone Tang Zhao, who had matters on his mind; hearing it made his scalp tingle even more, and he hurriedly vaulted over Xu Zhongnan's courtyard wall.

As soon as he entered, he saw Xu Zhongnan had changed into his formal Daoist robes and was about to head out, coming face-to-face with Tang Zhao. As they looked at each other, Xu Zhongnan saw that Tang Zhao's expression was wrong and asked urgently, "What is it, Junior Brother? Could it be that the bell was rung for you? It even made the 'Ten Thousand Affairs Bell' above move, and everyone has been summoned. What did you do? Did you trespass into the Dao Palace and come back alive?"

Tang Zhao shook his head and said, "It is not for me. I just witnessed a great upheaval, and my mind is unsettled. Simply put, the Emperor has just died."

Xu Zhongnan let out an "Ah?" and was momentarily dumbstruck.

Tang Zhao said hurriedly, "There is no time for details. In any case, you had best not ask so much; asking too much will get people killed. Do whatever they tell you to do, don't pry, and protect yourself. If there is an emergency, call me."

He surmised that this was a moment of change, and the State Preceptor needed manpower to stabilize the situation. Zijin Mountain was full of the State Preceptor's own people who knew nothing, which was exactly what was needed. He assumed Xu Zhongnan would be in no danger going there.

Xu Zhongnan wanted to ask more, but the bell urged them on. If everyone did not assemble before the bell stopped, they would be held accountable. He could only rush out, calling back, "I am going now; I don't know when I will be back. You stay here and don't go anywhere! My place is relatively safe, but Jingcheng is dangerous at every step. You had best hide for a few days and don't let them find you." Having said this, he rushed out the door.

Tang Zhao let out a breath and said to Wei Se, "This matter is very strange; I fear only the Marquis can understand it. Help me send a message back."

As he spoke, he told Wei Se truthfully what he had seen and heard upon entering the palace, then wrote a brief note and sealed it in an envelope.

Wei Se's first reaction was the same as Tang Zhao's: "How could it be known in advance? Was it calculated through divination?"

Tang Zhao said, "I don't know. There is a small chance it was a coincidence, and he really guessed it. But I always feel there is no reason for such a coincidence. It must have been known through special means. Actually, if it had been calculated through divination, that would be fine. I am just afraid there is something more complex."

For example, time disturbance.

That should be one of the most profound realms in the world.

The reason Tang Zhao wanted to consult the Gaoyuan Marquis was that he remembered the Gaoyuan Marquis also possessed a Sword Technique involving time. The Gaoyuan Marquis's eyes should be able to see through time, though it required paying a steep price.

Although time Sword Techniques are not "master one, master all," the Gaoyuan Marquis understood more about the realm of time than others and was more likely to see the essence through these phenomena.

Tang Zhao instructed Wei Se on what to say to the Gaoyuan Marquis and handed him the Dharma Artifact of the Vanishing Sword, saying, "It is not easy to travel outside now. You must vanish before you go out. Only undo the Sword Technique once you have seen the Marquis; it should be safe."

Wei Se asked, "Is the Master staying? Why not leave together?"

Tang Zhao pondered, "I feel that at this time, someone should stay to see which way the wind blows. This may relate to the direction of the next few years, decades, or even an era. Yunzhou cannot remain aloof either. I think it is better not to just walk away and leave everything to the Heavenly Dao. If this matter involves Yunzhou and we are slow to realize it, would we not regret it too late?"

Wei Se nodded. Since one person had to stay, and Tang Zhao's strength was far greater than his, it was naturally impossible to let him stay. He immediately took out two bottles and said, "These are the disguise Masks I recently researched; they can quickly apply and remove makeup. This one is a completely unfamiliar person. This one is a Dao Palace Disciple next door to Master Xu, named Guo Mingfan. I just asked about his situation and wrote down all the key points. You can replace him at any time to obtain a convenient identity."

Tang Zhao was full of admiration: they had only been in Jingcheng for half a night, and Wei Se had already prepared replacement identities, two of them at that. This was what you called professional.

The two parted in a hurry. Once Wei Se turned his head, even Tang Zhao could not remember him, leaving only a line of records on his Glasses.

After Wei Se left, Tang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and first took out a Jar. This was, of course, a Sumero Jar that could hide people. He placed it in the courtyard to serve as a hiding place. If absolutely necessary, he would not hide in Xu Zhongnan's house but would take the Jar and find a place to hunker down, so as not to cause trouble for his Senior Brother.

Xu Zhongnan hurried to assemble before the main hall with his fellow Disciples. At a glance, there were hundreds of people at the foot of Zijin Mountain, packed densely. It was dawn, the light was dim and hard to discern, and a circle of Lanterns was set up in the square. They could cast shadows of people, but could not reveal individual faces; it was a black mass, like a sea of terracotta warriors.

Xu Zhongnan stood in the ranks, his position near the front. He had followed the State Preceptor for over a decade. Although his strength was not outstanding, he was quite good at the ways of being an official and had always been well-liked. By chance, he had caught the eye of Chongmeng Daoren and was already considered a Disciple in the Nine Heavens Dao Palace who could handle things on his own. At this moment, he looked up and could see Chongmeng Daoren's face, and could also see the other's face full of worry.

He had matters on his mind, so he took one look and lowered his head.

He then heard this usually amiable Head Teacher Senior Brother say sternly, "Everyone, do you still remember the oath you took when you entered the Dao Palace?"

Xu Zhongnan's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself: Good heavens, is this about to be a life-or-death situation?

This sentence was roughly equivalent to a Master finding a servant and asking, "How have I treated you all these years?"

You could only answer, "Your kindness is as heavy as a mountain!" and then accept a mission with a nine-in-ten or even ten-in-ten chance of death, and go do it without complaint or regret.

"When you entered the palace, you swore to protect the country, protect the Master, and protect the world! However, all these years, under the protection of our Master, you have had no opportunity to fulfill your promises. But I believe your oaths were all sincere! Now, the opportunity has arrived!"

"Now that Shenzhou is in turmoil, it is the time for loyal and righteous men to show their skills. The State Preceptor has given the order: our Nine Heavens Dao Palace shall go through fire and water!"

"Through fire and water, we shall not refuse!"

Xu Zhongnan followed along and shouted a few times, thinking: The Emperor is dead, how are we going to go through fire and water? Could it be that we are to storm the Imperial Palace, kill the rebels, and install a new monarch?

Or perhaps no new monarch will be installed, and we will support Brother State Preceptor to be Emperor?

Just then, Zhongmeng Zhenren said, "The first priority now is the defense of Jingcheng. Junior Brother Pu, Junior Sister Yao..."

He called out a few names, telling them to lead men to strengthen the city's defenses.

Of course, the city defenses had garrison troops; the State Preceptor's men were there to suppress them and prevent the garrison from rebelling. This assignment took away half the people.

"Furthermore, there are several key locations. Junior Brother Li, you go to the Shangshutai; Junior Brother Lu, you go to the Wuku; Junior Sister Mei, you lead the Junior Sisters into the Jinyuan..."

After the key locations in Jingcheng were assigned, there were actually several Wangfu left.

Including the highest-ranking Shou Wangfu, the currently flourishing Chun Wangfu, and the current Emperor's brother's Xing Wangfu... these imperial relatives who held great weight in Jingcheng were now one by one being placed under guard. The same went for the powerful ministers and battle-hardened generals. For a time, apart from the city garrison and the palace guards, all other forces were kept under tight watch.

Originally, the layout of Jingcheng was strict, with Zijin Mountain overlooking it from above, and outsiders above the level of Sword Guest were not allowed to enter without permission. Now, with all the forces within the city kept under watch, it was truly like an iron bucket; not even a fly dared to fly around.

Xu Zhongnan's heart pounded: if this wasn't a usurpation, it was at least a palace coup, right? It was fortunate that Junior Brother was quick-witted and escaped at the last moment, and even escaped to my place. My place should be the safest spot in Jingcheng; after all, it is darkest under the lamp. But if the net tightens, once Junior Brother goes out, he will be unable to move an inch. What could he possibly accomplish? It would be better to leave early so everyone can be at ease.

However, everyone else had been assigned tasks, but Xu Zhongnan still had none. He also grew uneasy: Why am I not being used? Could it be that they know I am hiding Junior Brother and want to expose me?

This was exactly "Suspicion Breeds Dark Ghosts," and the more he thought, the more anxious he became. Fortunately, besides him, there were several others who were on the same level and had not been assigned tasks. If he were the only one, he would have panicked even more.

By the time the main force had left, only a few people remained under the platform. Although the number was small, they were all elite backbone members, and all were the State Preceptor's direct subordinates, at least at Xu Zhongnan's level.

Zhongmeng Zhenren came before the few of them, his expression softening, and said, "Junior Brothers and Sisters, there is one arduous task left, but it cannot be done by anyone but our own people. That is to deal with the various feudal lords coming to Jingcheng."

The crowd was silent.

Although no one spoke, everyone could not help but grumble inwardly: How are we to deal with them? Don't tell me we are being asked to go and detain the feudal lords?

Isn't that courting death?

When the feudal lords enter Jingcheng, they surely have a few Sword Heroes and dozens of Sword Guests at their side. Our strength is at most comparable to a Sword Guest; how could we possibly resist a feudal lord's entourage?

In fact, if one dared to invite the various feudal lords to Jingcheng, one would naturally have made full preparations with sufficient manpower. But now an accident had occurred; the forces in Jingcheng were not only divided, but half were watching the other half. So, let alone half their strength, they didn't even have one-tenth. It could be said they were gold and jade on the outside but rotten on the inside, unable to withstand the probing of the feudal lords.

Therefore, they had to find a way to restrain them and prevent a great chaos.

But surely they couldn't just send their own people to their deaths?

Fortunately, Zhongmeng Zhenren continued, "I will give each of you different orders; you only need to take your men to different locations."

Once you arrive at the location, arrangements will naturally have been made.

This time, Zhongmeng Zhenren did not read out names one by one to issue orders, but instead pulled out individual brocade pouches and handed them to each person.

Xu Zhongnan obtained the brocade pouch, opened it to pull out the order, and first saw the first line:

"Prince Shun—"