The people in the camp had also heard about the Ghost Boys, and all of them felt that they were extremely evil. Although witchcraft and spells were prevalent in the Southwest, it was really shocking that such filthy techniques existed. Gao Lin cooperated with Ku You to urgently dispatch soldiers and horses. They erected barriers at the junctions where each village met the dense forest, in order to prevent the Ghost Boys from entering the villages to kill, but this was not a long-term solution.

An adjutant said: “The battle line is more than a hundred li away. We can’t just keep defending it for eight to ten years.”

But if they didn’t defend it, this miasma-dense forest was really not a place that ordinary people could just enter. The adjutant also brought up a suggestion, wondering if it were possible to organize a group of local born and bred soldiers, and have a hunter lead them in to explore, but this was rejected by Ku You.

“It’s too dangerous, and the losses outweigh the gains,” he said.

Everyone had underestimated the Baifu Sect’s “ability” to raise such a large number of child Gu in the dense forest. As for where the children came from, the total number of women and children lost in the Southwest in the past ten years numbered more than a thousand. Ku You’s face was livid. Gao Lin patted him on the shoulder, comforting him: “You’ve been here a long time and done many practical things since taking office. Even now, the cultists are still offering a reward of ten thousand gold for your head, so don’t blame yourself too much.”

Ku You asked: “Where is the prince now?”

Gao Lin guessed that he was still with Young Head Escort Chang.

Apart from the frostbite on Chang Xiaoqiu’s hands, the Ghost Boys had scratched and bitten out bloody holes in his legs and feet. Fortunately, they were not poisoned, and only simple debridement and sutures were needed. Of course, the sutures had to be done by First Young Master Liu himself.

Liu Xian’an stood up from beside the bed and gave up the seat to his brother. Liu Xianche took the silver needles from A-Ning and ordered without raising his head: “You go and look at that child Gu again. Dissect the rest of it. I’ll come over in an hour.”

The surrounding servants were puzzled. Did the two immortal sons of the Liu family not need to sleep? No matter how busy they were all night, they didn’t feel tired. Liu Xian’an agreed, and under those admiring gazes, he stepped out the door without a change of expression, with fairy-like grace, and walked steadily toward a pond.

The maid in the courtyard turned pale: “Ai ai ai!”

At the critical moment, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang fortunately appeared in time, held him horizontally in his arms, and took him away with big strides.

Liu Xian’an was still dazedly talking in his sleep: “I’ll sleep on the way for a while.”

Liang Shu answered: “Okay.”

He then brought him to the bedroom, removed his clothes, shoes, and socks, and wrapped him up in a quilt. Then he lowered the window screens so that it was dark enough to sleep peacefully. After tidying up, Liang Shu went to leave, but before reaching the door, he turned around to kiss the slightly cool tip of this person’s nose. His head hurt in the face of this sudden chaos, and only when he looked at the sleeping face of his sweetheart could he find a moment of peace.

Liu Xian’an slept for a long time, and when he woke up, his mind was still muddled. In the remnants of his dreams, he asked A-Ning, “What evening is this?”

A-Ning replied, you haven’t been sleeping for three thousand years, it has only been five or six hours. It is not time to eat yet, the young master can sleep for a while.

No more sleep, Liu Xian’an said, yawning. I’m going to dissect the rest of the Ghost Boy.

“The First Young Master has finished the rest of the work,” A-Ning said. “He took out a lot of Gu from the child, and it looked frightening. Some of them had already taken root in its brain, and he said there was no no way to cure it but to kill it……besides, there was no need to cure it.”

After speaking, he couldn’t help but give a small sigh. Although the Ghost Boys were ferocious now, when they were alive, they were all innocent children. Without the villainous Baifu Sect, these children should have grown up carefree with the love of their families, instead of being monsters trapped in a miasma. A-Ning had always been kind, but at this time, he couldn’t help but think fiercely, the cult has done a lot of evil, and they really deserve to be hacked to pieces.

Sitting by the bed, Liu Xian’an asked: “Is the prince in the study?”

“No,” A-Ning said. “The prince only slept for two hours, and then led everyone to the foot of the mountain with Lieutenant General Gao and Commander Ku. They should be checking on the teams defending against the Ghost Boys.”

Liu Xian’an said: “Then let’s go down the mountain and have a look.”

His riding skills were already very good now, and even if it was a tall war horse, he could control it skillfully, holding tightly to a whip all the way and galloping like lightning. With a whoosh, he brushed past his elder brother, who was stretching, without leaving even a shadow.

First Young Master Liu: “…….”

Although there had been a disturbance just now, the village at the foot of the mountain was not as riotous as Liu Xian’an had thought it would be, but was on the contrary full of people. Everyone was gathered in the big field where the grain was dried. Black and white ropes and five-color ropes were hung all over the treetops, and a grandmother in colorful clothes was sitting on a high platform, singing a sad and melodious song. The singing seemed to have a fantastical magic power that penetrated into the hearts of all the listeners.

“It’s a requiem.” Liang Shu stood behind Liu Xian’an and placed a hand on his shoulder, saying softly, “Sung for those unfortunate children in the deep forest.”

The wind blew over everyone’s hair and cheeks, drifting into the deep mountains along with the singing. Like the loving hands of a grandmother, tremblingly caressing those tortured hearts.

. . . . . . .

Chang Xiaoqiu lay on the bed, struggling a little to get up: “Big Brother, Big Brother Song!”

“Hey, Xiao Chang!” An adjutant hurried into the room. “Quick, stop moving. Be careful that the wound doesn’t burst open again.”

“I won’t move, I just want to ask, can I get my sword back?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because a few brothers already went to help find it for you. There is a rushing river under the cliff, and after your sword fell, it washed away somewhere.”

“Ah?” Cheng Xiaoqiu grimaced. “Then I don’t have a weapon.”

“You child, why are you so honest?” The adjutant patted him on the forehead. “With Song-xiansheng here, why fear not having a sword in your hand? After the injury is healed, ask him to make a new one for you.”

That’s easy to say, Chang Xiaoqiu muttered in his heart. With my ability and reputation, how could Song-xiansheng agree to give me a sword?

Just as he was thinking, Song Changsheng walked through the door with a cloth bag on his back.

Chang Xiaoqiu instantly sat up straight and looked at him with gleaming eyes.

Song Changsheng smiled and said: “The prince asked me to deliver a sword to Young Head Escort Chang.”

. . . . . . .

The young man who received the new sword seemed to have grown a pair of wings. He couldn’t even walk stably, and he wanted to fly. He couldn’t wait for his legs and feet to be in working order, and laid down for a few days before slipping out the door right under Liu Xianche’s nose, limping around and asking what they would be fighting next.

An adjutant said: “The deep forest.”

Chang Xiaoqiu was puzzled. Wasn’t the deep forest full of miasma? It was big and unknown, so how could it be fought?

He asked again: “When will we fight?”

The adjutant said nothing, his expression meaningful.

Chang Xiaoqiu: “…….” Middle-aged people like you with knowing eyes are really sleazy.

When they fought depended on when His Royal Highness Xiao Wang returned.

With the appearance of the Ghost Boys, the entire Southwest grew tense at once.

A group of cultists who had already been targeted by the garrison were arrested one after another, and another group of believers who were imprisoned in a dungeon were also transported to the Valley of Ten Faces. This included Zhao Xiang, the head of the Dawn’s Gate Sect who had kidnapped Chang Xiaoqiu, and also the butcher later captured in Raven City. There was no proper and civilized interrogation, and they were tossed into the execution room as soon as they arrived. Some of them were still brainwashed and hard-headed, still counting on the Baifu Buddha Mother to save them, but they were whipped until their faces were covered in blood.

“I advise you to recite fewer mantras.” Gao Lin crouched in front of one of them. “You deserve to be down on your luck, my prince is in a bad mood just now.”

The teachings of the Baifu Sect preached karmic reincarnation. If you didn’t believe in the Baifu Buddha Mother, you would be tortured in the next life, but if you fell into the hands of Liang Shu, there was no need to worry about waiting for the afterlife. The torment that would be suffered in this life was not less than half, or even doubled. The cursing at the beginning gradually died down, and they began to spit things out. Confessions made their way one after another to the study, but Liang Shu still seemed to think it wasn’t enough, and a new round of arrest warrants were soon sent down, this time in even bigger quantity.

It was said throughout the country that His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was ruthless and violent, but the common people far in the Southwest had little experience when it came to the specific degree of “ruthlessness”—until now.

They saw with their own eyes as one city after another was blockaded, people being taken away one by one. A large number of troops washed over the mountains like the tide, still marching at night with torches. From a distance, they looked like a huge, entrenched python.

No matter how arrogant the Baifu Sect were, in the face of a crushing offensive on this scale, they still knew to quiet down for the time being and hide in the shadows. Many preachers wandering the streets seemed to disappear overnight. They tucked their tails one after another and stopped provoking the government, trying to show weakness in order to calm the prince’s fury.

In the cult’s old lair, Wumeng Yunle asked: “Just for those Ghost Boys, Liang Shu didn’t hesitate to mobilize tens of thousands of troops?”

“The Ghost Boys were just the fuse.” Feng Xiaojin looked into the distance. “His aim has always been the Baifu Sect.”

Holding a medicine tray, Liu Hengchang withdrew from Wumeng Yunyou’s room. Feng Xiaojin asked Wumeng Yunle to go back and rest first, and Liu Hengchang closed the door behind them. He said in a low voice: “The medicine has already been added.”

Feng Xiaojin nodded: “Good.”

“But……” Liu Hengchang couldn’t hold back, and asked, “Why did Young Master Feng use medicine to delay Young Master Yunyou’s recovery and keep him lying in bed?”

“Because Liang Shu has already begun his plan,” Feng Xiaojin said. “And in the Baifu Sect, no one is his opponent.”

Liu Hengchang probed: “I heard that the Southwest Garrison has arrested many people recently, and we have suffered heavy losses. The leader is also furious because of this.”

Feng Xiaojin said: “Perhaps we will have to wait for the next round soon.”

The next round of losses, and the next round of wrath.

Liang Shu personally led the army and marched south from Lu’e City. It seemed that he was going to the next city to patrol, but on the evening of a certain day, he appeared in a quarry like a divine soldier descending from heaven.

The owner of the quarry was named Chi Teng, and he was the number two figure in the Baifu Sect after the leader.

Having not been discovered for many years, he thought he had hidden well. Moreover, he had been paying close attention to the direction of the Southwest Garrison recently, and judged that there would be no heavy troops near the quarry. However, he didn’t expect that in the end, he would be stunned by Liang Shu’s seemingly chaotic deployment of troops.

Before Chi Teng had time to reflect, he donned his battle armor and shouted loudly: “Light the cannons!”

The whole quarry was full of cries. The craftsmen were all cult disciples, and they tore off their disguises, taking weapons from everywhere in a habitual manner, and soon formed a well-trained army. Accompanied by their belief in the Baifu Buddha Mother, they rushed forward like wild beasts!

The artillery roared, boulders rolled, and the quarry that had been calm moments before turned into a screaming pit of hell in an instant. Flesh and blood were crushed into the soil, and the sound of the charging horn did not stop for one moment. Chi Teng was in a hurry to escape, but was swept off his horse by Gao Lin’s sword.

And more than one battle like this was happening simultaneously. The scale of them ranged from small to large, but without exception, they ended with the victory of Dayan’s army. In one location after another, the old dens of the Baifu Sect were uprooted. In the sea of flames, the cult disciples finally understood in a panic that when facing Liang Shu, it was useless to tuck their tails for a short period of time. There were only two roads before them — surrender or death.

In the raging fire, Gao Lin raised Chi Teng’s chin with the tip of his sword: “What is his name?”

Chi Teng closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling violently. “Mu, Mu Zhe!”

The invisible dark hand hiding behind the scenes had finally become a well-known person.

The disciples of the Baifu Sect went as silent as cicadas. When passing the leader’s courtyard, none of them dared to speak, nor even to raise their heads.

Mu Zhe looked at the portrait on the wall, his face livid: “What did you say?”

The subordinate who had been at his side for many years plucked up his courage and repeated again: “Diancui City….was also….also….”

“Disgraceful thing!” Mu Zhe threw the teacup in his hand with force. “Where did they get so many soldiers?”

“The number of soldiers is still the same.” The subordinate was sweating profusely. “But under Liang Shu’s command, it seems like they can ride on clouds, flying everywhere.”

All over the mountains and plains, the cities and villages, Dayan’s soldiers were like leeks after the rain, to be harvested casually. It was not that the Baifu Sect had not fought against the Garrison before. Ku You and Ku You’s predecessor, and the one before him had caused the Baifu Sect to suffer defeats, but after this last loss, it collapsed like never before.

“Liang Shu is so terrifying,” the subordinate murmured.

Not only did he have terrifying power, but he had terrifying combat capabilities, which was enough to horrify any opponents who fought against him — even if someone was lucky enough to escape his dark sword, boundless nightmares would doubtlessly accompany them for the rest of their life.

“Master.” The subordinate knelt. “We—”

“We’ll make Liang Shu pay for this.” Mu Zhe’s expression had returned to normal. “Go and ask when the guests will be here.”

. . . . . . .

After winning a series of battles, Liang Shu led his army back to the Valley of Ten Faces day and night, rushing until Lieutenant General Gao’s face turned green and he felt he would vomit upon dismounting his horse. Suppressing his discomfort, he ran up to him and called: “Your Highness, take care of your injuries!”

When marching and fighting, how could he not get injured? A bloody gash had been cut into Liang Shu’s chest by blasted rubble. Although it looked frightening, it was not serious, just right to wheedle out a bit of concern from his sweetheart.

Seeing that the gate of the garrison camp was approaching, Gao Lin reined in his horse and heaved a sigh of relief: “Your Highness, you—”

Before he could finish speaking, he turned his head and saw his family’s prince running like a mad dog. He suddenly felt ill, and held his heart weakly like one of the four legendary beauties.

Gao Lin: “…..Second Young Master Liu hasn’t come yet, it’s indeed a bit early for such a show.”

Liang Shu: “Scram!”

“Okay!” Lieutenant General Gao led the troops and rolled back into camp via another path.

Leaving the vast stage for his family’s prince to continue to play.

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Chapter Ninety-Five << Table of Contents >> Chapter Ninety-Seven