Chapter 721: Inadvertently Alarming the Enemy
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The camps of the Army of Naval Conquests and Red Coat army were so interdependent that there was a gate connected the two. Together with the camp of the Nine Mountains Army, they formed a link around the core area of the Revolutionary Army.
Xu Wei had placed Qi Zhengyan and his friends in a tent near the Red Coat Army and Nine Mountains Army, where they could see troops from both camps patrolling. This was a rule made after Du Huaishang’s a.s.sa.s.sination. Since the largest armies within the Revolutionary Army had little trust in one another, the lack of mutual inspection meant one party might end up being the prisoner of another.
The Wind-resistant lanterns that lit the path leading to both camps were so bright that it felt like daytime. The chaotic Revolutionary Army did not bother to do such meticulous preparation for places of less importance.
Jiang Zhiwei sat cross-legged on the ground with her sword balanced across her knees. Her eyelashes appeared to be so long with half-closed eyes. She was sensing the perimeter with her Mind-penetrating Knowledge. Everything surfaced on her mind vividly regardless of the distance.
Meng Qi’s doppelganger had already informed them about the Red Coat Army requesting their help in finding the spy who was feeding news to the imperial court. However, as they could not think of a way of investigating for now, they decided to wait and see.
The spy would certainly incite trouble, sow dissension, and gather intel. That meant he would absolutely reveal a flaw!
Seated next to Jiang Zhiwei, Ruan Yushu had her elegant and beautifully carved Zither of Seven Deities resting on her lap. She lowered her right hand so that she was prepared to play at any time. Zhao Heng paced back and forth inside the tent as he a.n.a.lyzed all the information that Meng Qi relayed.
Meng Qi’s doppelganger sat lifelessly in a corner for it did not have the ability to adapt. Qi Zhengyan stood at the edge of the tent, his hands hanging on his sides. His eyes were like two viscous and serene swamps. No one could tell what he was thinking about.
Suddenly, Jiang Zhiwei opened her eyes. Her sword flew up, hovering an inch from her knees, as the cry of the sword resounded in her mind. Qi Zhengyan t.i.tled his head as he stared at a corner of the tent.
“Someone is trying to approach our tent and it is certainly no friends of ours,” Jiang Zhiwei said to Ruan Yushu and Zhao Heng, who already had their guard up.
Qi Zhengyan added, “The enemy is pretty sharp. He instantly disappeared into the darkness after noticing that we had discovered him. It looks like he is very familiar with the camp.”
He then muttered, “I will go out to take a look.”
He was expressionless and his eyes betrayed no emotion.
“Brother Qi, be careful. It might be a trap,” Ruan Yushu reminded him.
Qi Zhengyan’s proactiveness surprised Jiang Zhiwei. Her beautiful eyebrows were knotted in a frown. “Perhaps the enemy purposefully approached the tent to lure us, and the trap could be set somewhere else.”
“The longer we allow this to continue, the further apart the armies will be. We must immediately find the spy and calm the soldiers. If that was the enemy’s careless mistake, we must certainly pursue him. If it is a trap instead, then we will inadvertently alarm the enemy and draw them out.” Qi Zhengyan rarely spoke at such length in a.n.a.lyzing the pros and cons, aside from describing circ.u.mstances.
Zhao Heng’s expression was solemn as he said, “But you will easily put yourself in danger when you inadvertently alarm the enemy. If you are careless, you will have a hard time explaining yourself and the Revolutionary Army will besiege you at once.”
Just then, Meng Qi quietly chimed in. “Senior Brother Qi has no shortage of secret arts after experiencing an adventure. He is confident in his success.”
Since Meng Qi was personally vouching for Qi Zhengyan, the rest suppressed their doubts but still suspected him. They watched Qi Zhengyan lift open the flap of the tent and step out.
The guard outside asked, “Where are you going, sir?”
“Urination,” Qi Zhengyan casually said, ignoring the guard’s surprise that even an Exterior expert was not exempt from urinating. He strolled to the communal manure pit some distance away from the tent. The pit was surrounded by a simple, crudely built tent.
There were few wind-resistance lanterns here as no one was willing to urinate and defecate so openly. It was especially dark behind the tent.
Qi Zhengyan feigned disgust at the stink inside and made his way to a dark corner on the side of the tent.
He had just stabilized his footing when a sword light flared behind him and stabbed his Yuzhen meridian point at lightning speed.
This strike was very subtly linked with the Force of Heaven and Earth and carried little mythical power. It relied solely on speed for its success.
The sword light had just flared before suddenly coming to a stop. That was because Qi Zhengyan thrust his left hand backward with his palm in a brown color. Like an iron pincer, he firmly grabbed the sword at just the right timing and with just the right strength. The a.s.sa.s.sin was evidently startled. He had never once thought someone would respond to his strike in this manner.
The river of purple stars quietly flowed through the sword and into the a.s.sa.s.sin. It cleansed his body and Vital Spirit. In a flash, the a.s.sa.s.sin went limp and turned into a pile of mud.
However, the true killing movement was activated right at that moment. While Qi Zhengyan was focused on fighting the a.s.sa.s.sin behind him, a black flying light hovered from the manure pit inside the tent and charged at Qi Zhengyan’s midbrows!
Everything unfolded so quickly, yet there was not even the slightest change in Qi Zhengyan’s expression. His pitch black eyes were so dark that they carried the taste of degradation and nefariousness.
The black flying light abruptly stopped and fell, turning into a black figure. His eyes were full of fear as if he had fallen into a boundless h.e.l.l or the terrifying Nine Serenities. His spirit was under an unimaginably terrible torture. He retreated, again and again, looking like a madman as he stared at Qi Zhengyan.
“Cras.h.!.+” He pulled the tent down, exposing the situation inside. Lying next to the manure pit was a corpse dressed in a dark green robe with a Nine Mountains emblem embroidered on the chest. Judging from his clothing and exuberant flesh and blood, he was a decently strong master with a fairly high position within the army.
This a.s.sa.s.sination was being used to frame Qi Zhengyan!
Qi Zhengyan felt like he could see the upcoming scenario unfolding. The lanterns were suddenly lit as the soldiers of the Nine Mountains Army were drawn to this place to surround and accuse him of being a spy.
His expression remained indifferent without any s.h.i.+ft in emotion. He glanced at the corpse with his dark eyes.
Yet, with that one glance, it was as if the corpse was being soaked in the toxic waters of the Nine Serenities. In a flash, Vital Qi detached from the corpse and merged with the sea of Qi, leaving no trace behind.
“Capture the spy!” Just as the corpse disappeared, Qi Zhengyan’s ears rang with sounds of screaming. The night was suddenly lit so brightly that it felt like daytime. Masters outfitted in the Nine Mountains Army uniform surrounded him. Spearheading the siege was an impressive-looking man with a well-groomed mustache, dressed in a battle armor.
Jiang Zhiwei and the others had rushed here as well. They were facing off with the group of soldiers.
With a face that looked as if it was paralyzed, Qi Zhengyan pointed at the crazed a.s.sa.s.sin that had gone limp on the ground. “The spy,” he said dully.
“Those are Young Lord’s guards!” the mustached man screeched in anger. “Hurry up and hand over Young Lord, you spy!”
“You must ask them, seeing as they are the spies.” Qi Zhengyan did not show the nervousness commonly seen in a person being surrounded and interrogated.
The commotion here had drawn the attention of the leaders of the three other camps and “Lord of the Naval Conquests” Zhu Shou, “Marquis of Nine Mountains” Miao Hu, and “Qilin of Ningnan” Hu Zhigao arrived just then.
“What happened? How dare you trespa.s.s into my camp!” The tall and st.u.r.dy Zhu Shou was an incredibly strong master. He exerted great pressure on people around him simply by standing in place.
Miao Hu was an elderly man with a fairly crooked back, but his Qi and blood were so vigorous that he could cause a disturbance without even triggering them. The crutch on his hand was a dark copper color.
Wearing a gloomy expression, Miao Hu narrowed his eyes but did not answer Zhu Shou’s question. He then turned to look at his subordinates and asked, “Liang Ye, what happened?”
The mustached man, Liang Ye, said in an angry frenzy, “I was patrolling when I noticed a shadow leaping out of Young Lord’s tent. I found no one inside and instantly gave chase to this place. Here, I saw only this spy and two guards. Young Lord is nowhere to be found!”
“My dear Cong?” Miao Hu’s expression changed dramatically. The wrist of his hand that held the crutch split open on its own, was spouting blood. He then used his right hand to perform a seal and the blood began glowing with a faint glazed l.u.s.ter. He was trying to find his son through the connection of deities and demons lineage.
His blood spilled on the ground and seeped into the soil. Miao Hu’s eyes turned crazed. “My dear Chong is dead! Did you kill him?”
He looked like he wanted nothing more than to tear Qi Zhengyan into shreds.
There was still no change in Qi Zhengyan’s expression as he lied, saying, “I saw nothing but these two guards trying to a.s.sa.s.sinate me. I believe they are also responsible for your son’s death.”
“Since this happened so abruptly, Young Lord’s body must be nearby! Everyone, search!” Liang Ye cried, commanding his subordinates.
Zhu Shou sneered. “How can I believe that Miao Cong is dead just because you said he is? How can I simply let you search my camp without any proof?”
Jiang Zhiwei and the rest were calmly staring at Qi Zhengyan. Right now, they found him to be a little unfamiliar.
Qi Zhengyan suddenly said, “I happened to have obtained a secret art due to my adventure. Even when there is no corpse, or when the body is purposefully damaged with its Vital Spirit extinguished, I can summon the deceased’s obsession before his death. This way, we will be able to find out who the real a.s.sa.s.sin and spy is.”
“Really?” The muscles in Miao Hu’s hands were so taut that his veins could be clearly seen.
Hu Zhigao calmly watched for he knew the Master and his delegation were all extraordinary characters.
Qi Zhengyan nodded. “I will now use my secret art.”
“Humph! Who knows if you will really be summoning Young Lord’s obsession? Who knows if you will tamper with it?” Liang Ye glared at Qi Zhengyan, looking deeply distrusting of him.
Qi Zhengyan did not even look at him. “Those of the same lineage are connected by blood. The Marquis of Nine Mountains will be able to tell.”
“We must give it a try!” Miao Hu said, urging Qi Zhengyan to continue.
Qi Zhengyan’s ten fingers wiggled like they were a blossoming flower. Cold wind began rising all around them and formed a vortex.
Suddenly, fear crossed Liang Ye’s eyes. He lost control of the breath inside his body and it abruptly exploded!
“Kaboom!”
Undulating waves of Qi spread. The Exterior experts on the scene merely had enough time to protect themselves.
When everything finally quieted down, many of the Exterior experts found themselves in a pitiful state. Heaven Crystal Battle Robes were indeed extraordinary for Qi Zhengyan’s outfit was untouched. Yet astonis.h.i.+ngly, the two dead a.s.sa.s.sins had also exploded!
“Liang Ye, that d.a.m.ned traitor!” Miao Hu stamped his foot in anger.
Qi Zhengyan said calmly, “He was merely the executor, not the mastermind. That was why he was silenced.”
Miao Hu hurriedly said, “Sir, please hurry up and summon my son’s obsession so we can ask who is the true mastermind!”
“That was a lie.” Qi Zhengyan stared dully at him.
“Huh?” Miao Hu, Zhu Shou, and the rest were stunned.
“No such secret art exists. I said it to fool the culprit,” Qi Zhengyan said matter-of-factly.
That unfamiliar feeling vanished in Jiang Zhiwei’s heart. She relayed her voice telepathically to him, saying, “We have just arrived today but already we are being framed. Why does the mastermind fear us so?”
The arrival of dawn meant a new team would be taking over the patrolling duties.
“Divine Lord of Plenitude” Meng Qi led his subordinates back to the camp. Once he crossed the main gate, he headed straight for the location of Master of the Gu Poison Bug based on his deduction. He did not even turn around.
“Where are you going, Divine Lord?” a subordinate asked.
“Business,” Meng Qi answered coolly.
He did not have the time to use the Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth to examine Divine Lord of Plenitude’s memories. He had no idea where Divine Lord’s tent was, or how his relations.h.i.+ps with those around him were like. Thus, he decided to be curt and make up an excuse of having business to attend to so he could head straight for the Master of the Gu Poison Bug.
Of course, the most troublesome matter was that he would be exposed the moment he succeeded. The problem was making an escape in an environment where the Imperial Army was so prepared against transformation tricks!