While His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was not doing his job properly as he accompanied his sweetheart to see villagers at the foot of the mountain, Gao Lin on the mountain opened Chi Teng’s mouth.

“Mu Zhe…..Mu Zhe is extremely cunning. He doesn’t trust anyone, including me.”

He confessed while only having a breath of life left.

Witchcraft was prevalent in the Southwest, and the Imperial court had always had an attitude of suppression toward it. The only difference was that their suppression was sometimes loose and sometimes tight, but even in the most relaxed moments, Gu masters still couldn’t walk openly in the streets. Mu Zhe was born in such a shady witchcraft village.

“That year, the Imperial court sent a massive military force to suppress it. The whole village was surrounded, and there were heavy casualties, but Mu Zhe escaped. He walked through the old forests of Cuili City, took a merchant ship in Beining City, and headed all the way to Nanyang, where he contacted Baifu cultists who were also in exile.”

He was good at making Gu, and good at using his words to manipulate people’s hearts. The speed of his congregation’s development was much faster than those of other disciples, and due to this, he was favored by the leader at the time and soon ascended to a high position.

“Mu Zhe hates the Imperial court deeply.”

But this kind of hatred was not shown like that of ordinary people, screaming and shouting about avenging their families and clansmen. Instead, it silently lingered inside the bones. He was like a venomous snake, slowly gnawing at Dayan’s foundation day after day in the border cities far away from the Emperor, or like a spot of mildew, infecting the originally blue sky inch by inch.

If Chi Ting’s confession was not exaggerated, the number of Baifu Sect disciples in the Southwest, and even in the whole of Dayan, was far more than the Imperial court had estimated. However, Chi Ting was also not clear about the specific extent. Over the years, his main tasks were to make money and train an “elite army”……he really worked hard, and considered the results to be excellent, believing that he could go North with the leader to capture the Empire at any time. Yet he was wiped out overnight by Liang Shu, which truly showed that there was indeed a lack of excellence.

The Baifu Sect’s forces were nothing compared to the Dayan army led by Liang Shu. Therefore, all cults throughout the ages were the same. They were not very strong, and their main repulsive method was to take control of innocent people through deceptive means.

Gao Lin asked: “Does Mu Zhe have a wife and children?”

Chi Teng shook his head: “No. Although he adopted the Wumeng brother and sister, he doesn’t treat them as his children. They are just two convenient tools.”

“That portrait, isn’t that his wife?”

“No.”

The woman in the portrait was named Ying Yuyan, and that was her appearance from thirty years ago. At that time, Mu Zhe was only eighteen years old, and had just returned from Nanyang to Dayan. Under the orders of the leader at that time, he went to the Qinling City area to develop the congregation there, but accidentally drew the notice of the Imperial court and was hunted down by officers and soldiers. Mu Zhu fled into a brothel in a panic, and was rescued by a prostitute. He hid for half a month in that Chunxiang Pavilion.

During this half month, perhaps something happened between them, but perhaps not. However, Mu Zhe fell in love with Ying Yuyan because of this. However, the atmosphere in the city was tense at that time, so he did not dare to stay longer. Ying Yuyan was also being sought after at that time, and the Madam said that she would not sell her even for a mountain of gold. Mu Zhe didn’t have enough money to redeem her, so he had to temporarily leave Qinling City, planning to return when he was able.

“But when he went back after a year, that prostitute was no longer in Qinling City. It was said that she redeemed herself.”

“Mu Zhe didn’t find her?”

“No, he searched for her, but didn’t find her up until thirteen years ago, when he brought back a fifteen-year-old boy with nearly the same appearance as the person in the painting. We all guessed that it must be Ying Yuyan’s son.”

“Feng Xiaojin?”

“It was him.”

Feng Xiaojin was very ill at the time, and all the doctors said that they should prepare for a funeral, but Mu Zhe insisted on using Gu to pull him back from the gates of Hell and saved his life, also keeping his fifteen or sixteen-year-old face. Over the years, his facial features never changed.

Chi Teng continued: “Mu Zhe also hired the best martial artists for him and gave him a unique and honorable status in the Baifu Sect, but Feng Xiaojin didn’t seem interested in any of it. Over the years, he became closer to the Wumeng brother and sister, and watched those two children grow up.”

Gao Lin asked again: “Is there any connection between the Baifu Sect and the case of the extermination of the Tan Manor family in Wangcheng?”

Chi Teng was unclear: “What Tan Manor? I don’t understand.”

“Never mind, let’s talk about the Ghost Boys.” Gao Lin held a long whip in his hand, knocking it against his palm again and again. “How many were raised in total?”

Chi Teng said: “Two thousand.”

Two thousand innocent children were frozen at the age that should have been the most worry-free. Thinking of such a thing, Ku You at the side wished that he could cut this group of people to pieces.

Chi Teng likely understood how appalling this atrocity was, so he hurriedly said: “I had nothing to do with these things, and I don’t know any Gu skills. It was all done by Mu Zhe.”

“Why were you in such a hurry to release the Ghost Boys?” Gao Lin continued to inquire. “You should have known that those children would not be the garrison’s opponents, and you actually picked a time when the prince was present.” If it was purely to nauseate Dayan, then the price was too high.

Panting heavily, Chi Teng replied: “Because…..Mu Zhe wanted to lure the garrison into the forest.”

. . . . . . .

On a mountain path full of stars and moon dew, Liang Shu held the reins with one hand and the Sleeping Immortal in his arms with the other, walking languidly toward the encampment with the sort of slowness that could trample ants. The next day, he would deal with many military affairs, but today was a rare day off for him, so he naturally wanted to extend this period of time.

“Wu…..” Shaken awake by him, Liu Xian’an twisted in dissatisfaction and almost knocked himself off the horse.

Liang Shu hugged him tightly: “Just rely on me behind you.”

“I won’t fall,” Liu Xian’an replied dazedly. “I can sleep without the prince.”

“But what will you do if you fall?”

“If I fall, then I fall.”

“…….”

The Sleeping Immortal always said “this is fine, that is fine” when facing various things. Even falling off a horse was fine, but only when faced with His Royal Highness Xiao Wang’s self-promotion did he often feel apprehensive, and find it not exactly fine — although he actually wanted to, thinking about the wetness enveloping his body in the dreams and the time when his arm was so sore in bed, he felt that it was fine to not do it for the time being. It was really too tiring, and it was quite comfortable like it was now. Plus, his elder brother was still there.

“What does it have to do with your elder brother? He doesn’t stay in the same room as us.”

“Don’t speak of it.”

Liang Shu wanted to speak. Not only to speak, but also to tease him, which caused the Sleeping Immortal to sigh again and again. Finally, he kicked the horse’s belly and ran back to camp.

“Your Highness.” An adjutant was waiting by the side of the road. “Lieutenant General Gao has finished interrogating Chi Teng.”

“How did it go?”

“It was a bountiful harvest.”

Since it was so bountiful, Liu Xian’an also read along. Flipping through the thick confession in his hand, he said: “Although Chi Teng knows nothing about the extermination of the Tan family, I still feel that our previous speculation is correct, and it happens to correspond with these past events.”

After Mu Zhe left Qinling City, Ying Yuyan met Tan Xiaozhong. The two had a child, and Ying Yuyan redeemed herself, but for some reason was unable to go to Wangcheng and join her lover. With a child in tow, she couldn’t live, so she had to marry that temperamental tofu man.

After Ying Yuyan died of illness, the eight-year-old Feng Xiaojin first killed the tofu man and then wandered outside for two years. Considered the adoptive son of the Dacang Mountain bandit leader, he stayed in the Southeast for four or five years, and after robbing the disaster relief money and food escorted by Tan Xiaozhong, the case of the Tan family’s extermination occurred.

“Feng Xiaojin had always refused to admit that he killed everyone in the Tan family.” Liu Xian’an mused, “Could it be that Mu Zhe did it? According to the degree of his obsession over Ying Yuyan, he must have hated Tan-daren to the bone.”

Liang Shu nodded: “It is possible. I have been investigating this old case all these years, and can recite Tan Xiaozhong’s records backwards and forwards. Twenty-nine years ago, the children of the Tan family did go to Qinling City to study.”

Liu Xian’an continued to read the confession, and said in surprise: “There is another tribe living in the deep forest?”

Gao Lin said: “In any case, that is what Chi Ting confessed. He also said that Mu Zhe released the Ghost Boys at this time in order to lure our army into the forest.”

Due to the heavy miasma, this dense forest had always been a warehouse for Mu Zhe to store valuable treasures. Although the garrison was close at hand, he was certain that this was definitely the safest place—and he was right. For more than ten years, the forest had been dead calm.

But three years ago, the treasures had been emptied overnight! On the west side of the dense forest was the meandering Dayan army, the east entrance was safe and sound, and there was boundless miasma on both the north and south sides. Logically speaking, this sort of thing never should have happened. How could gold and silver evaporate like dew? Mu Zhe was infuriated by this, and personally led people into the dense forest to search, finally finding traces of tribal life in the woodlands on the south side.

“They even fought each other for a short time. The opponent’s martial arts were extremely high. Not only did Mu Zhe fail to recover the lost property, but his arm was broken.”

Liu Xian’an said: “That is why Mu Zhe chose to release the Ghost Boys when the prince was here.” It was impossible for the garrison to ignore this sort of strange child Gu, and no one knew how many more were still hiding in the woods. If they wanted to completely eliminate them, the army would have to drive forward inch by inch, and the tribe would have nowhere to hide.

“Whether it is our loss or the other party’s loss, it is a good deal for Mu Zhe,” Gao Lin said. “In the end, those children were just an insignificant move for him.”

However, this move seemed to be for nothing at present.

At dusk, under the escort of the garrison, Chi Teng stood deep in the forest and blew the special jade whistle.

The sound of the whistle spread long and continuously, like a slight wind blowing through the forest, causing everything to rustle.

Liu Xian’an stood at the edge of camp, attentively listening to this mellow music.

Liu Xianche asked: “Is this how they train the Ghost Boys?”

“En,” Liu Xian’an said.

There was a faint shout as military orders were given in the distance!

Countless Ghost Boys jumped out from all directions, rushing in the direction of the whistle like a black stream.

Chi Teng paled and he shook like chaff, blowing intermittently and out of tune.

Gao Lin closed his eyes slightly, gritted his teeth, and commanded: “Kill!”

Swish, swish. Fiery arrows cut through the sky.

Screams mixed with the smell of burnt flesh, and the empty forest crackled and burned.

The rolling fireball was a scene that could only be beheld in hell.

Finally, a heavy rain enveloped the entire mountain.

After the rain stopped, the villagers at the foot of the mountain spontaneously sewed many small, colorful pieces of clothing and hung them on tree branches. When the wind blew, it looked like a group of light and lively little children were dancing there.

Chang Xiaoqiu gazed at the charred woodland and asked: “This place will be full of flowers in the future, right?”

A-Ning nodded with absolute certainty: “It definitely will.”

Chang Xiaoqiu was leaning against a tree with his sword in his arms and his eyebrows lowered. He looked like Liang Shu.

“En, that’s good.”

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