Chapter 302 - 302: Temporary Pause to the Storm (2)
In the mountains…
After Yao Wenzhong escaped from the forest, he quickly walked out of the mountains and stopped looking for Ye Jingtang.
After all, the advantage of Jun Mountain Terrace’s Dragon Slaying Decree was that it was nigh invincible in short-range combat. Its disadvantage was that the weapon was too special. The only equivalent in Jianghu was the ‘dragon head guillotine’.
If he had lost another weapon, he could casually pick one up to make do with it, and his combat strength wouldn’t be reduced much. But without the Dragon Slaying Decree’s specific weapon, he wouldn’t be able to use what he had learned.
Both of them had lost their Jun Mountain Sabers. The only thing they could do now was to go to a town and see if they could find two more Jun Mountain Sabers.
While walking, Yao Wenzhong was very angry and still brooding over what had just happened. “That child used the Wind Pool Reverse Blood and lost his spear. His accomplices wouldn’t have been able to rush over in a short time. As long as I struck him with my Jun Mountain Saber, he would have had no chance of winning. But you sent your Jun Mountain Saber to him…”
Xuanyuan Hongzhi had been cut on his left shoulder and stabbed in his right shoulder. His injuries were not serious, but they greatly affected his combat strength. While walking, he was bandaging his wounds with a rather ugly expression. “Who would have thought that he knew the Dragon Slaying Decree? If he didn’t know the Dragon Slaying Decree and was forced away by my saber, you could have counterattacked. If 1 threw it to you and he slashed you when you caught it, you would have lost an arm on the spot…”
Although the two of them were leaders of the Jun Mountain Terrace, their positions in the sect were different. One was an enforcer, and the other was a part of the think tank. It wasn’t strange for them to be unable to cooperate well.
If they were like Ye Jingtang and Song Chi, two enforcers, the effect of working together would be much better. If anything happened, it would mostly be because of using excessive force and causing a ruckus. It would cause the pavilion lord to have an aneurysm, but they would still get things done.
Now that things had turned out like this, it was meaningless to complain about his deadweight teammate.
After complaining for a while, Yao Wenzhong stopped. After thinking seriously for a moment, he said in a deep voice, “Ye Jingtang’s physical strength is slightly weaker than mine, but he has learned too many things. He’s proficient in light sabers, heavy sabers, and spears. He can fight Guan Yujia in unarmed combat, and he also knows Yan Mountain’s Cutting Cloud Steps. 1 definitely can’t kill him in a one-on-one battle. Are you sure that he had a close fight with Jian Yuhua at the Zhou residence?”
Xuanyuan Hongzhi frowned and said, “At the Zhou residence, this child must have hidden his strength. He has already grown to this extent. If he’s given another year or two, he will definitely become a Martial Chief. I’m not afraid of the Eight-Steps Frenzied Blade, but the Overlord Spear is purely shameless. At the same level, even my father is inferior to him. He’s also young and vigorous. If we can’t get rid of him, our Jun Mountain Terrace will probably be expelled from Jianghu…”
Yao Wenzhong knew that letting a tiger grow was dangerous. He thought for a moment and frowned. “I’m afraid it’ll be very difficult for the two of us to kill him. But getting Master to come over will cause too much of a commotion…”
Xuanyuan Hongzhi said, “I’ll contact some more people and strive to use this opportunity to get rid of him in Wu Province to prevent the trouble from growing. If he really becomes a Martial Chief…”
Hearing this, Yao Wenzhong didn’t say anything else and quickly left Wu Mountains with Xuanyuan Hongzhi…
Meanwhile, outside Rising Sun City…
Amidst the sound of horns, more than ten official ships loaded with imperial guards slowly approached the port outside the city.
The officials and generals who had received the news waited at the port in advance in order to claim credit with the Imperial Court. They had arranged a five-kilometer-long welcome for the imperial envoy.
The majestic main ship slowly approached the shore. A gangway was lowered from the deck, and countless imperial guards filed out and lined up on both sides.
Then Dongfang Liren, dressed in a silver python robe, walked at the front with a dragon-patterned sword hanging at her waist, her aura dignified and noble. Behind her was Daoist Xuanji, dressed as a Daoist priest of Void Jade Mountain, and the empress dowager, who was wearing a veil and looking around curiously.
“Greetings, Your Highness the Prince of Jing!” Countless local officials on the shore didn’t even dare to raise their heads when facing the empress’s sister. They only cupped their hands and bowed.
Dongfang Liren didn’t feel the slightest emotion in her heart about this small scene. She led the officials of the Six Ministries off the ship to the waiting Wu Province officials and asked calmly, “How is the situation in Wu Province?”
In the crowd, an old official standing in front quickly stepped forward, cupped his hands, and answered respectfully. “Your Highness, everything in Wu Province is fine. The private army under the Prince of Wu has all surrendered, and the people are not affected at all…”
Dongfang Liren didn’t come all the way here to hear the news she already knew. She frowned and asked, “Have you found the Prince of Wu’s whereabouts?”
A Ze Province general standing at the side was more astute. He hurriedly went forward and cupped his hands. “Your Highness, I am Hou Yong of the South Stabilizing Army. Recently, with the assistance of the deputy commander of the Black Office, Sir Ye Jingtang, we eliminated many remnants of the Prince of Wu, such as Huang Yulong and Xiao Shicheng of the Grasping Moon Tower. We captured more than one hundred and fifty bandits, seized countless properties, rescued more than thirty imprisoned civilians… The rebels are detained in the prison of Rising Sun City and awaiting Your Highness’s interrogation…”
I
When Dongfang Liren heard this, she immediately stood a little straighter with approval in her eyes.
After all, the deputy commander of the Black Office was her right-hand man. Saying that he had been assisted by the Black Office to render meritorious service in front of the officials of the Six Ministries and Wu Province was to praise her for her good management of people and her strong ability in handling matters. This was something that made her proud.
Sure enough, as soon as the military official reported the matter of the Grasping Moon Tower, the officials of the Six Ministries nearby looked surprised and began to praise Dongfang Liren for her swift and decisive actions.
Dongfang Liren was quite satisfied, but she still didn’t show her emotions. She only nodded slightly. “General Hou, you and your subordinates have worked hard.”
“Thanks, Your Highness.” Military Official Hou Yong continued in a clear voice, “At noon today, Sir Ye sent a message. We found traces of the Prince of Wu in the mountains fifty kilometers away. I have sent two thousand soldiers to capture him. I just received an urgent report that the scouts have already caught up to the Prince of Wu’s personal guards. Guan Yujia, one of the leaders of the rebels in Wu Province’s Jianghu, has been killed. If nothing goes wrong, we will capture the Prince of Wu before tomorrow night…”
“Hmm…”
As soon as he said this, the officials of Wu Province were stunned. They didn’t expect the military official of Ze Province to be close to capturing the Prince of Wu without a word. This way, wouldn’t they, the local officials of Wu Province, seem useless?
The officials of the Six Ministries in the back also looked surprised. The lead official of the Ministry of Justice said, “Your Highness, is this Commander Ye Divine Constable Ye who solved the case of Prince of Wu’s heir in the capital? His ability to handle cases really makes me blush with shame…”
“It is said that Commander Ye has opened a ‘heavenly eye’ and is able to foresee events like a god. He truly lives up to his reputation…”
“Your Highness is really extraordinary to be able to make such a capable person work for Your Highness…”
Dongfang Liren didn’t expect that Sir Tangtang would actually settle most of the matters before she arrived, letting her come here just to be worshiped by the courtiers. She felt a little complacent.
After listening to the courtiers’ flattery for a moment, Dongfang Liren said a few words of courtesy and rewarded the military official with a meaningful look. Then she brought her attendants into a carriage.
The empress dowager had always been quiet in public. Only when she boarded Dongfang Liren’s carriage did she say in surprise, “Ye Jingtang is so powerful? It’s only been a few days, but he’s almost finished.”
“Ye Jingtang has always been efficient. If we had arrived a day later, he might have already captured the Prince of Wu and waited at the port.”
After hearing that the soldiers were pursuing the Prince of Wu and were only about 50 kilometers away, Dongfang Liren couldn’t help but want to have a sense of participation and run to the Wu Mountains to suppress the rebels herself.
“Master, please accompany the empress dowager around Rising Sun City. I’ll bring the imperial guards to the Wu Mountains to take a look at the situation.”
Although it was extremely safe to appear with hundreds of imperial guards, it would be very difficult to prevent a top expert from capturing the princess. It was still risky.
Although Daoist Xuanji was a little worried about the awkwardness of bumping into Ye Jingtang, with their identities, they would bump into each other sooner or later. She thought for a moment and replied, “I’ll go with you.”
“What about me?”
“War isn’t child’s play. Empress Dowager, sleep well.”
“Huh?”