At the South Gate of Lyuzhou City, a troop of soldiers in armor on tall and large horses entered the city under the curious gaze of the crowd. All of the horses were uniformly black, and all of the armor was silver. The formation maintained perfect order as they rode into the city, without the slightest disturbance. Their presence was imposing, and even laymen could tell that this was an elite unit.
The onlooking civilians watched with envy. In Jiangnan, the literary culture was prevalent, with the tradition that good men did not join the army. But at that moment, they were truly envious of the majestic display, and even some young men felt a surge of hot blood and the desire to join the army.
"Lord, shall we return to the mansion first?"
The person asking was the deputy general next to the team leader, and that formidable man leading them was none other than the Commander of Lyuzhou, the current titleholder of the Weichi Clan: Weichi Peng!
"Good!" Weichi Peng grinned and said, "The brothers have all worked hard. After entering the city, everyone should go home and remove their armor first. Tonight, I'll treat the brothers to a good drink!"
"Thank you, Lord!" The soldiers behind him all let out hearty laughs.
"Jiaming, you go to Jinxiang Tower and tell Mother Qin that tonight I'm booking the entire place. If there are other reservations, cancel them all for me!"
"Alright, Lord!" The deputy general named Jiaming chuckled and spurred his horse, racing toward the south.
"Alright then, brothers, disperse!" Weichi Peng chuckled and waved his hand, and the group of cavalry let out cheers and galloped away.
Horse racing was forbidden within the city, but these soldiers didn't care at all, causing quite a panic. Many scholars saw it and quietly criticized the military generals for their arrogance!
But they could only criticize quietly. Anyone who had been in Lyuzhou for some time knew that these cavalry did not belong to the Lyuzhou barracks but were personal soldiers of the Weichi Clan. Commander Weichi Peng was quite protective of his own, and the Magistrate who came into office and detained a personal soldier for horse racing was caught by Weichi Peng and got a whipping in front of the Government Office!
An official of the sixth rank had lost all dignity and resigned after submitting a petition. In the end, the higher-ups only reprimanded Weichi Peng and deducted half a year's salary from him.
Since then, no official dared to control this group of arrogant soldiers!
"What's the matter, Wei Gong?"
Weichi Peng looked at the remaining deputy general and slapped his shoulder with a smile.
Having been in Lyuzhou for nearly five years, among the deputy generals of the personal soldiers, Wei Gongcheng was the only one who still stayed at the Governor-general's Mansion with him. The other brothers had mostly found wives and settled down.
There were things about Jiangnan that he did not like; there was no strong liquor like in the north or formidable enemies to fight fiercely against. He became so bored that as soon as he heard there were monsters in Nan Mountain, he excitedly led a team to search for half a year... just to see how bored he was...
But the one good thing here was that the women were quite charming. Many of his brothers could not resist the temptations of love and ended up taking wives...
"I think…" The deputy general called Wei Gongcheng, with a stern face which showed he was serious by nature, spoke with a puzzled expression, and eventually whispered, "I think ever since Jiaming got married and moved out of the Governor-general's Mansion, his skills have deteriorated a lot, and he seems very stiff in his movements."
Confronted with his superior's nonchalant laughter, Wei Gongcheng's mouth twitched slightly, "I think we should call a doctor to have a look. I feel that it's not just Jiaming; the other brothers also…"
"Really?" Weichi Peng stroked his chin and interrupted, "But didn't you call a doctor for Jiaming last time?"
The topic brought a deeper frown to Wei Gongcheng's brow. He wondered if he was being too sensitive, but he always felt... that the doctor who had treated Jiaming also had that inexplicable stiffness...
"Lord!"
Just as he was about to say something else, a sudden rush of hoofbeats came from the front. The two looked up and were stunned to see that the personal soldiers who had just cheered and dispersed were returning.
"What happened, you're injured?" Weichi Peng's eyes grew serious, and he quickly spurred his horse forward.
"General!" The several personal soldiers panted, "There's trouble at Master Huang's place on South Street. The culprit is powerful, and the brothers couldn't take him down!"
"Is that so?" Weichi Peng suddenly became excited.
After five years, his body was almost rusting from inactivity. Finally, there was some trouble? And it sounded like the troublemaker had some skills!
Wei Gongcheng was about to ask for more details when he saw Weichi Peng already impatient to rush toward South Street, shouting, "Boys, follow me!"
"Yes!" All the personal soldiers shouted excitedly and hurriedly followed.
Looking at the reinvigorated commander and soldiers, Wei Gongcheng felt a bit helpless, but as he brought up the rear, suddenly his body stiffened. He wasn't sure if it was a mistake, but the movements of those injured soldiers spurring their horses... were like Jiaming's.
There was an indescribable weirdness, a certain inexplicable stiffness...
With this thought, a sense of unease rose in Wei Gongcheng's heart. Just as he was about to catch up, a voice suddenly rang out behind him.
"General Wei Gongcheng?"
"Hmm?" Wei Gongcheng was startled and turned to see a scholar in a bamboo hat blocking his way.
"Who might you be, young scholar?" Unlike the other domineering soldiers, Wei Gongcheng held great respect for scholars. Seeing the man dressed as one, he quickly saluted in return.
"I am Chen Qing, sent by Lord Wang of the Judicial Court. I have urgent business with the General!"
Upon hearing this, Wei Gongcheng was shocked and said sternly, "Lord Wang?"
"Yes, Lord Wang's life is in grave danger. Please, General, save him!"
Wei Gongcheng: "!!!"
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An hour before…
"Still no news?" Master Huang, busy in the courtyard, asked without looking up as Ghost Doll walked in.
Mr. Miao had personally gone to Weichi Peng's place, while Ghost Doll stayed with Master Huang, utilizing every surveillance power available throughout Lyuzhou City.
Strangely, a whole day had passed without any sighting of Chen Qing.
"No, Mr. Miao's side thinks that Wang Ye's Flying Star might have sent Chen Qing to the nether path..." Ghost Doll grinned and said, "In that kind of place, even I would lose a layer of skin. Not even the bones of that Scholar would be left."
This comment slightly distracted Master Huang, who was absorbed in crafting Wang Ye.
In his mind, his student exuded a calmness not seen in his peers. Despite being a poor Scholar, he was never servile or arrogant, but what was more important were his eyes, lacking in reverence for power and authority.
Actually, he quite liked this student. If the King of Qin's ideals had come to fruition, perhaps someone like Chen Qing would have lived well?
Shaking his head, Master Huang stopped worrying and continued his meticulous carving. He didn't really fear that Chen Qing would cause any trouble; a Scholar without any real strength or power could scarcely make any waves in such a situation. Old Miao was clearly over-worried.
"However, it's a bit strange..." Ghost Doll muttered to himself while sitting idly by the pavilion, "The puppets at the north gate haven't come to report for two hours."
This idle complaint made Master Huang, who usually paid little attention to external matters, freeze in his actions!
He then looked up at Ghost Doll: "How long did you say?"
The whole of Lyuzhou was under his surveillance, thanks to his puppetry and Skin Painting Art. After the death of the King of Qin, when these old powers withdrew to Jiangnan, he and Mr. Miao replaced many people in Lyuzhou while the new dynasty's grip on power was still weak.
Decades of effort had turned Lyuzhou City into a stronghold, impermeable to any secret. The residents living together didn't know that their neighbors, friends, classmates, parents, or even the wives sharing their beds, could have been replaced by puppets monitoring the entire city.
These dolls, carefully crafted by himself, were almost indistinguishable from real people but all shared one trait: they would never delay his instructions. The puppets he ordered to report every hour from the north side of the city would never be late, not even by a minute, let alone two hours...
"Something's wrong!" Master Huang immediately stopped what he was doing and started to carefully pack away Wang Ye's parts, "Go call the Shadow Guard, tell Mr. Miao to meet at the old place immediately!"
Ghost Doll was startled, feeling that the other might be too sensitive. But after receiving a glare from Master Huang, something in his body compelled him to suppress his doubts and he immediately activated the charms to notify the Shadow Guard.
But something strange happened. As the yellow charm burned, a few breaths passed, and the response that should have come did not arrive!
In that instant, Ghost Doll looked up sharply, tensed and on guard.
The Shadow Guard were the high-level shikigami Mr. Miao left to protect Master Huang, never straying from within thirty feet. If the talisman paper burned for three breaths without a response, there was only one possibility.
They were dead!!
"Which expert has come here? Why not show yourself?"
Master Huang also looked around warily, a bead of cold sweat running down his forehead.
The Shadow Guard was Mr. Miao's high-level shikigami. With four of them combined, even Ghost Doll wouldn't easily escape, yet someone was able to take them down right under his nose—what kind of person was this?
Could the Imperial Court have realized something was amiss with Wang Ye, and Liu Yu himself had come?
But the person who then walked in was someone Master Huang never would have dreamed of!
"You... how could it be you?"
Ghost Doll, standing in front of Master Huang, was also stunned, staring blankly at the newcomer. A sense of familiarity mixed with unfamiliarity made him feel extremely uneasy.
There was an instinctive fear, yet also an instinctive sense of kinship...
"Long time no see... Mister Hua Pi!"