Chapter 896: Plan Before You Act

"Both inside and outside. Inside, I truly didn't expect to succeed on the first try; outside, I didn't expect that we would still be safe and sound up to this point."

"What I mean is, I originally thought there would still be a scene at the final moment of the Sword Casting," Tang Zhao said solemnly.

Xing Ji laughed and said, "Interesting. At this point, you still lack confidence. You have already prepared thoroughly enough. With everything sealed off from top to bottom, inside and out, how can you not call it foolproof? Although it is only a Sword Casting Assembly at Zhuoyu Villa, I think the order here is far better than that Sword Casting Conference that was rumored to be so chaotic, the one that made Longyuan stumble right out of the gate."

Tang Zhao looked left and right; Ju Tianxuan had indeed already left, and there were no other companions who had attended the Sword Casting Conference around to hear him. He smiled and said, "Actually, we did learn from the lessons of the Talisman Assembly. But compared to the situation faced at the Talisman Assembly, we had too many advantages. Just counting those who provided intelligence, there were several families. Not to mention having an inside contact. Because we possessed so much information, we couldn't help but be overly cautious, wishing we could settle everything once and for all."

Indeed, compared to Longyuan, which only vaguely knew its opponents were coming, Tang Zhao had a lot of first-hand information here. Long before the Talisman Assembly, he had received news—some sent by his Second Senior Brother Xu Zhongnan, some by Lady Hua Rong, and some warnings from the family of his Senior Brother Deng. At that time, he had already received news that the force known as the Turtle Bandits was coming.

At the time, he was completely in the dark about the Turtle Bandits, but after a trip to Kungang, he had a clear idea in his mind. He had seen the cruelty, strangeness, and power of the Turtle Bandits with his own eyes. Although he had turned danger into safety during the two battles at Kungang and Yunzhou, he did not underestimate them because of it. What kind of teammates did Tang Zhao have back then? Even with a major power like Longyuan joining forces with nobles like the Snow Mountain Wangfu, they had nearly capsized during the Kungang incident, and it only settled down because the Kun Sword unleashed its divine might. In Xun City, they had Zhang Rong helping to calculate the lunar timing, and Mai Shiyu's sword happened to be able to turn the tide, and they even had a Town Guardian personally shoot and kill his own target to barely scrape through. Therefore, having experienced so much, Tang Zhao did not have the slightest bit of contempt for the Turtle Bandits; instead, he became increasingly vigilant. At that time, he already had the determination that his own strength was insufficient and he had to invite outside help.

Later, Tang Zhao and Zhuoyu Villa still had some luck, encountering a high-level mole. Or perhaps one shouldn't call her a mole; she was someone who was physically in the Cao camp but whose heart was with the Han. That was Tang Zhao's old friend, "General Pei," Pei Shoujing.

Back when the battle with the White-haired Swordsman ended, Xing Ji had taken action to exile Pei Shoujing. At the time, in order to keep this Sword Envoy of Power from stirring up trouble, she had been sent quite far away. He thought that although this girl was young, she had strength to rely on and was not stupid herself, knowing the directions well, so he expected that a few hundred miles wouldn't lead to any accidents. But later, an accident really did happen, and Pei Shoujing simply disappeared without a trace. Xing Ji felt somewhat guilty and even sent people to search around He Yang County, but there was never any news.

Unexpectedly, after several years of separation, Pei Shoujing had actually joined the Turtle Bandits and had risen to a not-insignificant position.

Pei Shoujing did not mention how she had joined the Turtle Bandits, but her natural talent was excellent, so it was no surprise that she stood out wherever she went. It was just that Pei Shoujing also expressed conflict in her letters. Firstly, someone of high status and power in the Turtle Bandits treated her well, and she was not without feelings. Secondly, she had not joined the Turtle Bandits voluntarily, nor did she feel that restoring the old dynasty was a mission with a bright future or one worth dedicating her life to. Moreover, she was a person with a family and a career; once the Imperial Court discovered her identity as a woman of the Pei Family, the consequences would be unimaginable. For the sake of her family and herself, she still wanted to escape.

Notifying Tang Zhao of the intelligence was, on one hand, out of concern for an old friend, and on the other, a request for cooperation. She wanted a chance to completely break away from the Turtle Bandits. Tang Zhao would naturally not refuse such a win-win situation, and combining her intelligence, he set a grand plan for defense and counterattack for the Sword Casting Conference.

The core of the plan was to divide and conquer.

It was known that the Turtle Bandits were going to attack from at least three directions: breaking through the perimeter, infiltrating as traitors, and sneaking in through secret passages. Regardless of the strength of these three routes, if they were to converge, it would be very troublesome. Zhuoyu Villa was too small to fight on two fronts, so Tang Zhao did not allow them to converge from the start.

Among them, Tang Zhao could not control the route Shi Chunqing was taking to reach Zhuoyu Villa. There was no help for it; how many years had he been on the mountain? How many years had Shi Chunqing been there? If Shi Chunqing wanted to find a path to sneak up the mountain for a surprise attack, they certainly couldn't stop him and could only wait.

Then, the remaining routes were absolutely forbidden from reaching the mountain. Those climbing the Snow Mountain on the outside were easy; how could the Snow Mountain be so easy to climb? The destruction of an avalanche was no less than Mount Tai pressing down, which could not be resisted by human power. By slightly triggering some Natural Disasters, most of the people were buried in the desolate mountains. It was also because Tang Zhao possessed a benevolent heart and did not want to kill them all, so he only used Art Tools like "Bu De" carried by cranes and owls to lead people astray in the mountains, then used signs to warn them and persuade them to go down the mountain. For those who were obsessed and refused to listen, there was nothing more to say; sending them off to become one with the Snow Mountain was enough.

As for the traitor route, it was originally easy to handle; with Pei Shoujing as the leader directly colluding with the enemy, how could it fail? However, one had to consider letting Pei Shoujing have a perfect exit, so not a single person she brought could leave. If one left, it would count as a failure. Therefore, the best location for the decisive battle had to be enclosed, ensuring the meat stayed in the pot.

To diverge from Shi Chunqing and to be enclosed—Tang Zhao pondered for a long time and came up with a perfect stage.

It was the very world he saw when he first entered the Sumeru Sword in his youth.

The world inside the Time Jar had mountains and water, appearing like a real world, yet it was fake, separated from the outside world by a thick wall of the jar.

At first, Tang Zhao wanted to build a world himself using the Lotus Pond and the jar storage, but that was truly a difficult method. He had to cast the sword and arrange the grand plan, so he simply couldn't do it. Later, he closed his eyes and steeled his heart—if it won't work, then forget it. Bring me reinforcements!

Anyway, he had to look for outside help from the beginning; looking for one was the same as looking for ten, so what was the difference? The only problem was that he didn't know that many people.

For this, Tang Zhao prepared paper and pen, opened his memories, and wrote as if flying. He would look for anyone he could find. "Chief Xing," I've already called you Chief Xing, can you not come? "Ping Xiansheng," I've called you Ping Xiansheng, you have to come, right? "Teacher Si"... Tang Zhao also wrote a letter, but he, like Mai Shiyu, held a formal official position, and with duties on his shoulders, it was hard for him to get away, unlike Xing Ji who was idle at home and could go anywhere.

As for Black Widow, Lady Hua Rong, Wei Zhangle, Feng Zhilie, and Yun Xiyan, Tang Zhao invited them all. If they came, they came; if they didn't, he had still invited them, and the invitations had been delivered.

Facts proved that Tang Zhao's popularity was not bad. Firstly, because there was indeed a friendship from before, and secondly, there was no need to shy away from the fact that Tang Zhao now had academic success, the Sword Casting was in sight, and his talent and status all showed that he had a limitless future, making him very worthy of attention. Human relationships were all about give and take; if one could help, why not help?

In this way, Tang Zhao very smoothly pulled in a large group of outside reinforcements he wanted, the most important being Xing Ji and Ping Jiangqiu.

Not to mention Xing Ji, who, after Tang Zhao went into seclusion, was practically the actual person in charge of the Reception Hall and Jichun City, aside from the local Zhuoyu Villa. Moving between the two sides and working overtime day and night, he could be called hardworking... though not without complaints. Ping Jiangqiu also gave Tang Zhao a huge surprise.

Originally, in Tang Zhao's impression, although the world inside the jar was good, it was a dead land, lifeless and without even fresh fruit. Relying solely on the jar storage, it was impossible to build a living world; it still needed to be coordinated with the Lotus Pond for concealment. However, after not seeing him for a few years, Ping Jiangqiu had actually made great progress—his world could actually accommodate living things.

Now, grass and trees could grow on the mountains in the jar, reeds could grow by the water, fish swam in the pond, and birds flew in the trees. This was the true Sumeru world. Staying in such a world for another few decades probably wouldn't be so hard to endure.

Tang Zhao was very curious about how Ping Jiangqiu had such a big change after only being out for a few years. Ping Jiangqiu was full of mystery and only said, "I found a new Sword Intent. With two swords combined, how could it be anything less than extraordinary? When the old man finds a third Sword Intent, standing like a tripod, I will be able to build my own Supernatural Power and chase after the Sword Immortal realm."

Tang Zhao didn't quite understand, but he thought of that White-haired Swordsman. His Pure Yang Sword intent was a seal, and it only sealed things related to life; wouldn't that perfectly complement Ping Jiangqiu? Back then, that person had specifically snatched Ping Jiangqiu's jar, which must have been to strengthen himself and supplement his Sword Intent. Could it be that in the end, the hunter and the prey swapped places, and it actually benefited Ping Jiangqiu instead?

Ping Jiangqiu didn't explain, and Tang Zhao didn't have time to ask. Anyway, when the time came, he would definitely touch the Sumeru Sword again, and wouldn't everything be clear then?

With the two great helpers of Ping Jiangqiu and Xing Ji, Tang Zhao's layout had no more obstacles. He invited all the guests with invitations to go to Runcao Ferry, and then Jiang Shenyi would pick them up. He said they were going up the mountain, but in reality, he was stuffing them directly into the jar. The wind bead that brought people up the mountain had a hypnotic effect; once they entered, they fell asleep, and when they woke up and saw the Reception Hall, how could they doubt that this wasn't Zhuoyu Villa?

In this way, anyone who went up the mountain via an invitation, regardless of whether they were real or fake, could not stay at Zhuoyu Villa, let alone converge with Shi Chunqing.

As for this jar, it was placed next to Xing Ji. Xing Ji also didn't go to Zhuoyu Villa, staying in Jichun City to take over the "Ghost Pushing the Mill"—how he took it over wouldn't be mentioned, but with the local Land Inspection Division cooperating, what power of resistance did an organization like the Ghost Pushing the Mill have?

Thus, Xing Ji was busy on both ends, pretending to be the Ba Mian Ren to lure people up the mountain while expelling people running around in the Reception Hall. Dealing with the Jianghu men with divided loyalties in the Ghost Pushing the Mill was indeed troublesome, and expelling the various people in the Reception Hall who discovered the "jar wall" was not easy either. After all, the world inside the jar was limited, and running a little too far might lead to "hitting a wall." While those who harbored ill intentions had to be captured, those guests who were simply bored also had to be persuaded to leave. Xing Ji really felt it was troublesome and took the opportunity to form a four-person team including Yun Xiyan, managing them separately so he could free himself up to handle matters in Jichun City.

In this team, Feng Zhilie had known the inside story all along, Yun Xiyan had been kept in the dark the whole time until Xing Ji brought her out of the jar and she suddenly realized, and Wang Fei had his own suspicions about the jar world but kept them hidden and never spoke of them. If one had to talk about these people, Xing Ji still liked Yun Xiyan the best.

Because this "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" move was done correctly from the start, exceeding the enemy's imagination, things went very smoothly. Those climbing the Snow Mountain, whether dead or alive, all failed to reach the mountain, and the base camp for climbing built outside the valley was also kicked over by Lady Hua Rong and her adopted children. The heroes in Jichun City forgot everything, and the Turtle Bandits in the Reception Hall were rounded up by inside and outside cooperation. No matter how much the Turtle Bandits racked their brains, they never threatened Zhuoyu Villa for a single moment.

It could be said that before the Sword Casting was successful, Zhuoyu Villa had already succeeded.

Xing Ji said, "The plan has already succeeded; do you still have worries?"

Tang Zhao sighed and said, "Yes, because there is still a clear enemy that has not appeared."