The First Lackey Under The Empress

The long-planned assassination finally descended abruptly as Lu Zhengchun's wails attracted everyone's attention.

Among the crowd near the execution ground, the ground beneath a group of commoners first rippled with earthy-yellow waves, the soil churning like a swamp, then arching up like a mud fountain, spewing mud, rocks, and dust.

An earthy-yellow, illusory, and majestic "Giant" emerged from the earth, possessing thick arms, a waist that dozens of people could encircle, clad in strange armor, with a hollow face.

It was unmistakably the image of the "Earth God" from folk sacrifices.

And within the "Earth God's" chest, two figures were cocooned like silkworms.

One was the sorcerer Ren Kun, wearing an earthy-yellow Taoist robe, with a square face, flat nose, yellowish eyebrows, left hand forming a hand seal, and right hand gripping a four-sided bronze awl.

The other was Qi Yuchun, dressed as a martial artist, carrying a black iron long spear, the former commander of the Imperial Palace Guard.

"Prepare to die!"

The two had been lurking nearby for a long time, not appearing during the previous attempt to seize the execution ground, waiting until the forces were divided to silently approach using "Earth Tunneling."

Now appearing, they gave no one time to react, joining forces to kill Zhao Du'an on the execution platform!

"Assassins!—"

Prefect Luan's mind buzzed, and as soon as he opened his mouth, the short, fat sorcerer who had been sitting beside Zhao Du'an floated out.

Gongshu Tianyuan's chubby face was full of solemnity, as if he had anticipated this, and as he took flight, his left hand grabbed a golden pellet drum from his wide robe.

"Dong, dong, dong, dong—"

The golden drum shook frantically, and a familiar sense of sluggishness enveloped the front, attempting to block the assassins.

His right hand did not grab a peach wood arrow, because the distance was too close for it to be effective, but instead pulled out a bamboo-jointed sword from the storage bag inside his robe, its six sections pieced together, entirely emerald green, more like a "whip" than a sword.

"High disciple of the Celestial Master, Ren is eager to learn!"

Ren Kun's lips curled up, his eyes filled with excitement.

This once-famous Jianghu genius sorcerer, who had refused the Celestial Master's invitation, floated in the air, holding the four-sided bronze awl with both hands, and thrust it at Gongshu Tianyuan from afar!

"Freeze!"

Behind him, the enormous and awe-inspiring divine phantom stepped on the ground, circles of earthy-yellow ripples spreading, the Earth God raising its arms, posing in an embracing posture.

"Chi, chi, chi…"

Sudden gusts of yellow sand swept through the entire execution ground, causing sand and rocks to fly, the commoners screaming in terror, falling to the ground.

Prefect Luan was blown to the ground, knocking over his chair, and watched in horror as streams of quicksand condensed in mid-air into a huge "ball", imprisoning Gongshu Tianyuan within it.

The Celestial Master's high disciple was struck as if by lightning. Although he had a rich foundation, he was ultimately inferior to masters like Ren Kun.

Under the opponent's full exertion, Gongshu Tianyuan was like amber, imprisoned by the divine-controlled sandstorm, unable to move.

This was the predetermined plan: he was responsible for controlling the field, and Qi Yuchun would assassinate Zhao Du'an alone.

"Zhao the traitor! Prepare to die!"

Qi Yuchun, his face covered with blue stubble, bearing a deep blood feud, flashed across the execution ground like lightning, the spear in his hand like a viper, stabbing at Zhao Du'an without any obstruction.

Sitting on the execution platform, Zhao Du'an seemed to be frightened, not reacting at all, still sitting upright.

The spear pierced his head without resistance with a "bang", but there was no imagined brain matter or blood spattering.

Qi Yuchun's smile of triumph, originally intending to avenge his shame, froze, his pupils suddenly constricting.

The upper half of Zhao Du'an's body, after being headshot, slowly faded, turning into a clay figure, slowly collapsing.

"Hahaha…"

In mid-air, Gongshu Tianyuan, who had been imprisoned by the sandstorm, suddenly laughed triumphantly, his eyebrows dancing, glancing at the two with a hint of mockery:

"You fell for our trap. Brother Zhao guessed correctly, knowing you had no good intentions."

Prefect Luan on the ground was stunned.

Ren Kun also felt as if he had been doused with a basin of cold water, and a chill surged into his heart, his eyes revealing disbelief.

Fake… Zhao Du'an was fake… this fat divine official had been controlling it all along… when did he leave? No, or was the Zhao Du'an on the platform fake from the beginning?

Where did the real court dog go? A strong sense of unease surged into his heart.

"Not good! Retreat!"

Qi Yuchun's expression changed drastically, his body acting before his mind, retreating rapidly, appearing beside Ren Kun like lightning.

The latter also reacted extremely quickly, controlling the huge Earth God to suddenly squat down, about to embrace the two into its body, and sink into the ground with a rumble, using Earth Tunneling to quickly escape!

They didn't know what had happened, but instinctively executed the failed retreat plan.

"Lu Zhengchun!" Qi Yuchun reminded loudly.

Ren Kun suddenly woke up, glancing coldly at the execution ground, forming a hand seal with one hand.

"Pfft!"

On the execution ground, the ground suddenly bulged with a sharp spike, piercing into Lu Zhengchun's buttocks and out of his chest.

Blood gushed out like a fountain, Lu Zhengchun slowly lowered his head in a daze, looking at the sharp earth spike piercing out of his chest, his throat making a "ho ho" sound, trying to say something, but failing, the remaining light in his eyes dimming little by little, his vitality extinguished.

"Damn it—"

Gongshu Tianyuan was stunned when he broke free from the divine gaze and saw this scene. By the time he came back to his senses, the two assassins had already escaped.

"Lord Zhao, he… what exactly is going on?" Prefect Luan Cheng crawled out from under the table, his embarrassment revealing shock:

"Where is Lord Zhao?"

Gongshu Tianyuan clicked his tongue: "Him, ah…"

… …

… …

Jin Fu Inn.

The entire inn was closed, with only two people in the backyard patio.

Zhao Du'an sat in a rattan chair, a chessboard placed in front of him, a chess piece pinched in his hand, gently tapping the table.

Opposite him, in another rattan chair, Jin Jian was curled up like a kitten.

The girl was curled up, sleeping soundly, making low snoring sounds, her white and delicate face frowning, using a corner of her robe to block the light.

"…So, Zhuang Xiaocheng certainly won't do as I wish, he definitely won't really rescue Lu Zhengchun, ha, I even suspect that Lu Zhengchun was eliminated by his hand through me… although there's no evidence."

"But if I were the leader of the Righteous Uprising Society, I certainly wouldn't waste this good opportunity. I would choose to create disturbances everywhere in the city, forcing the court to divide its forces, and as long as the forces are divided, there will be an opportunity to assassinate me, Zhao."

"Thus, there is truth in falsehood, and falsehood in truth. Even if they fail, two worldly high-ranked experts joining forces, and the Earth God is good at escaping, they can't be stopped… no matter how you calculate it, it's not a loss… Hey, are you listening?"

Zhao Du'an finished his analysis triumphantly, looked at the sleeping girl, and helplessly rubbed his forehead:

"Talking to a chicken is like playing the piano for a cow."

After a pause, he said: "Five taels of silver."

"Ah?" Jin Jian woke up groggily, rubbing her eyes and staring at him:

"What silver? What five hundred taels? I heard a five."

Zhao Du'an threw the Fengyue Baojian to her unhappily, along with a small ingot of silver:

"The magic power in the mirror is exhausted, fill it up."

"Oh." Jin Jian wasn't disappointed either, first carefully putting the silver into her purse, then stretched out her verdant fingers and tapped the bronze mirror.

Pure magic power poured into the mirror continuously, the mirror surface swept away the dust, and became as new.

"Five taels of silver for one charge, so expensive…" Zhao Du'an complained, took the mirror, and visualized Yunxi's appearance countless times in the past few days.

The mirror surface slowly rippled, clouds gathering and scattering, and Yunxi's figure appeared in the mirror. She was walking along a mountain road with several companions.

Zhao Du'an's spirit shook, and he tried to adjust the "viewpoint". A mountain village built on the mountain appeared in the mirror.

Distant clouds and mist shrouded the area, with jagged rocks. Through Yunxi's perspective, a paifang appeared in front of the group, with the words "Forbidden Purple Mountain Villa" written on it.

But when Yunxi walked past the paifang, the picture in the mirror trembled, flashing "snowflakes", as if encountering some kind of interference, losing the effect of insight and tracking.

"Found it!"

Zhao Du'an stood up excitedly, scaring Jin Jian, "What are you doing…"

"Quickly confirm how your senior brother is doing?" He urged.

Jin Jian said "Oh", took out a magic conch from her arms, and the conch vibrated suddenly. She put it to her ear, listened for a moment, and said:

"Qi Yuchun and Ren Kun assassinated you at the execution ground. After discovering that the person going to the execution ground wasn't you at all, they ran away, and also killed Lu Zhengchun."

"Such a quick reaction?"

Zhao Du'an clicked his tongue:

"It seems we have to hurry up. Let's go, we need to be faster."

Jin Jian, who was sleep-deprived, looked reluctant and muttered: "Working the day shift requires extra money…"

"Okay, okay, okay, after we capture Zhuang Xiaocheng, all my reward money will be yours, hurry up."

Jin Jian's small, tender hand grabbed a magic staff out of thin air, and with a point in the air, a silent, illusory moon, as tall as a person, appeared.

The girl grabbed Zhao Du'an's hand, and led him headfirst into the moon, and the two disappeared without a trace.

… …

… …

Fengcheng County Yamen.

Qingniao followed the team blankly, breaking into the county yamen, and watched as the "people with lofty ideals" beside her decisively killed the few clerks who remained in the yamen.

Leaving several corpses on the ground.

As the former maidservant of the Thousand-Faced Divine Lord, who later became a confused court spy, Qingniao was exchanged back with Yunxi.

It was just that she had apparently failed to gain Zhuang Xiaocheng's trust, and was scattered and thrown into a team, temporarily receiving orders to set fire to the county yamen.

Everything was too fast, she didn't have time to react and contact the court at all, she could only act according to the second task that Zhao Du'an sent yesterday.

"Quick! Fengcheng is not big, and the execution ground is not far from the county yamen. Once the opponent's cavalry reacts, they will be able to rush over soon."

"Put the firewood in the archives, and take apart all the gunpowder and pour it out, give them a big one!"

"Qi Chi, what are you doing taking off the plaque of the main hall? Wasting time!"

Lin Yuebai, a sorcerer dressed as a Confucian scholar despite being a woman, commanded loudly, and the members of the team were busy taking out flammable materials such as firewood and straw from the wood shed, piling them in important rooms of the county yamen.

Some people also carried rapeseed oil, sprinkled it on the ground, and threw cloth strips on top, ensuring that once the fire started, it could burn into a ruin.

The young man Kou Qichi was in the main hall of the county yamen, took off the plaque of "Bright Mirror Hanging High", jumped down holding it, and said triumphantly:

"This thing is good for starting fires."

Lin Yuebai frowned slightly and said:

"We are resisting the false emperor, not bandits and mountain bandits. Killing these clerks is already inappropriate, why damage this plaque?"

A member of the society said carelessly: "Anyway, they are all dogs of the false emperor, what does it matter?"

Another person said: "That's right, Miss Lin, you are clear-headed, but those court hounds, that Zhao Du'an, don't think like that."

"Being soft on the enemy is being cruel to our own people. Those who accomplish great things do not stick to trivial matters."

Lin Yuebai frowned, displeased by the nonchalant words of those around her.

Today's actions had already exceeded her moral principles. In her opinion, grievances should have a source and debts an owner. Dealing with the false emperor and corrupt officials was naturally acceptable, but reckless and arbitrary actions were inappropriate.

Especially since she had heard that the Grand Tutor had also arranged for people to burn down the granaries, and even to open the county jail, releasing all the prisoners… to create chaos and tie down the imperial army.

Lin Yuebai felt that something was very wrong. Would burning the granaries harm the false emperor, or the common people? It was hard to say for sure.

But releasing prisoners was definitely not something a righteous person should do. Once those villains in prison were released, wouldn't they cause more harm?

However, due to the Grand Tutor's reputation, although Lin Yuebai had objections in her heart, she could only comfort herself with the idea of "necessary sacrifices for great accomplishments."

"Alright, that's it. Hurry up and light the fire. Once the fire starts, we'll evacuate immediately. Don't make unnecessary sacrifices," Lin Yuebai said.

The group swiftly lit the torches, preparing to set fires in different locations.

But no one noticed that Qingniao silently approached Kou Qichi, who had thrown the plaque under the eaves. Her eyes turned cold, and she suddenly attacked, her dagger instantly piercing Kou Qichi's waist and ribs, injuring him.

Then, she shielded the young man in front of her, pressing the dagger firmly against his neck, and said coldly:

"Stop immediately! Anyone who dares to light a fire, I will kill him immediately!"

"Qichi!"

"Qingniao?! What are you doing?!"

Everyone was shocked, and Lin Yuebai's expression changed drastically. She subconsciously reached for the magic artifact in the cloth bag at her waist.

"Miss Lin! I advise you not to move rashly. You wouldn't want your younger brother to die here, would you?" Qingniao warned coldly.

"Sister—" The young man grimaced in pain, trying to break free, but his injury made him weak.

Lin Yuebai was anxious and loudly ordered the others to stop lighting the fires. She widened her eyes: "Qingniao… could it be…"

Qingniao looked around at everyone and sneered:

"That's right, I have already surrendered to Lord Zhao and am under orders to stop you from causing trouble. Miss Lin, you are a good person. I advise you to keep an eye on the others. If anyone dares to light a fire and burn down the county office, I wouldn't mind taking your younger brother with me."

"Why…" Lin Yuebai couldn't believe it: "Did Zhao Du'an threaten you? Did he seize your weakness?"

Qingniao's eyes narrowed, and she said calmly:

"I was indeed coerced by him at first, but after I returned to the Kuangfu Society and saw the hypocritical face of that old dog Zhuang Xiaocheng, as well as the ambitious faces of many people in the society who wore the skin of the Kuangfu Society but harbored evil intentions, I sincerely wanted to help Lord Zhao.

Heh heh, you all keep saying that Lord Zhao is a villain, an evil person, a great traitor, but I only believe my eyes.

At least what I see is that although Lord Zhao is not a good person, he is much better than a group of sanctimonious hypocrites in the Kuangfu Society."

Lin Yuebai was stunned, and the others, after being dazed, began to curse angrily.

Some even had a fierce look in their eyes and immediately pretended to throw the torches out, seemingly not caring about Kou Qichi's safety. Fortunately, Lin Yuebai stopped them with magic.

"What are you doing? Qichi is still in her hands!" Lin Yuebai said angrily.

A member of the society said coldly:

"How can great things be accomplished without sacrifices? Miss Lin, don't you think you're being too selfish?"

The others echoed.

Lin Yuebai was stunned. She looked at these companions, whom she had previously thought shared the same ideals, in disbelief, as if she had truly come to know them.

At this moment, the sound of horses' hooves gradually approached from outside the county office. Everyone's expression changed. Several of them became ruthless and threw the torches out at the same time.

Lin Yuebai and another companion in the team who were close to the siblings took action to stop them, and the two sides actually fought together.

"Boom!"

The gate of the county office was suddenly split open. Hou Renmeng, the expert at breaking down doors, jumped in, followed by a group of Pear Blossom Hall elites. They were ordered to rush to the aid of the county office.

After rushing in, they were stunned by the scene before them.

"Isn't… why are the rebels fighting among themselves?" Hou Renmeng was stunned.

Qingniao shouted loudly at them: "Quick, control them! I am under orders from Lord Zhao to stop the rebels."

Shen Juan, Qian Kerou, and others recognized Qingniao and swarmed up to control all the rebels and extinguish the torches.

At this time, Ji Yue, who was following behind the crowd, floated in unhurriedly…

She looked around, confirming that there were no rebel experts here. Just as she was thinking about whether she should go to other teams to provide support, a phantom of a bright moon slowly appeared in front of her.

Jin Jian and Zhao Du'an walked out of the "moon."

"Lord?! You're here?"

The people from Pear Blossom Hall hurriedly saluted and quickly explained the situation.

Zhao Du'an nodded and looked at Qingniao, who was also temporarily under control, and said:

"Let her go, she did a good job. You guys leave a few to guard here, and the rest continue to help in other parts of the city. Don't worry, Zhuang Xiaocheng is too clever for his own good. I predicted this and arranged for scholars and Hongye to contact the other spies to take action to stop them. It should be able to delay them for a while."

He turned his head back and reached out to grab the bewildered Ji Yue: "You come with me. We need to gather everyone quickly and take action immediately while the Kuangfu Society headquarters is empty."

"Ah?" Ji Yue hadn't recovered yet and was dragged into the bright moon phantom, disappearing from sight.

At the same time.

Similar scenes were playing out in various parts of the city. The spies arranged by Zhao Du'an each used their own means to buy time.

And in the absence of Qi Yuchun and Ren Kun, these rebels had no power to fight back against the fully armed Dayu government troops.

…

Outside the east gate.

A huge phantom of a bright moon slowly emerged with difficulty. Then, figures holding hands, like a string of candied haws, emerged one after another.

"Huff, if the Water Moon Teleportation goes too far, Jin Jian's magic power won't be able to hold on, especially when carrying so many people. We'll have to hurry from here on out."

Zhao Du'an's boots landed on the ground, and he turned to examine the members behind him:

Jin Jian, whose face was pale, obviously a little exhausted, and looked listless.

Gongshu Tianyuan, carrying a bamboo tube, raising his chin, and fully displaying the bge of a Celestial Master's disciple, the "inventor genius."

Lang Shiba, with disheveled hair and a wine gourd and scimitar hanging from his waist.

Ji Yue, who was still confused and unaware of the situation.

And Zhang Han and Haitang, whose strength was slightly inferior, but whose comprehensive business abilities were outstanding, and who could briefly contend with the Shijian realm when the two of them worked together.

"What exactly are you up to? What are you doing bringing us out of the city? And where are we going?"

Haitang, unaccustomed to teleportation, was dizzy when she landed. She covered her mouth and bent over, retching for a while.

Now, straightening her back, she asked unhappily, her almond eyes, dotted with tear moles, staring at him a little angrily: "When you arrange any plans next time, can't you tell us in advance? Don't you trust us?"

How could that be? I wouldn't trust anyone more than I trust Hai Gonggong's great-granddaughter… Zhao Du'an said apologetically:

"I couldn't be sure before, so…"

The poker-faced workaholic Zhang Han said:

"Zhao Shaobao, where are we going next? Can you tell us now?"

Zhao Du'an nodded and said: "I found Zhuang Xiaocheng's lair."

During this period, he had looked at the map of Fengcheng countless times. Therefore, relying only on the picture given by the mirror, he had locked onto the location.

"Really?" Haitang couldn't hide her surprise.

Zhao Du'an nodded and smiled:

"Now that Zhuang Xiaocheng has sent his men out, the headquarters must be empty. We must seize the time difference and use a commando strategy to rush over and capture the chieftain. As long as we take down the bandit leader, the rest of the rabble will collapse without being attacked."

"Then what are we waiting for? Oh dear, we don't have any horses," Haitang slapped her forehead.

"Hahaha…"

Suddenly, Gongshu Tianyuan's triumphant laughter rang out. He put his hands behind his back, puffed out his chest, and, with the air of a master, smiled slightly:

"Do you think that Brother Zhao wouldn't have thought of this? Today, I will show you the methods of my Celestial Master's Mansion."

Gongshu Tianyuan lifted his robe and grabbed a few talismans from the inside of his sorcerer's robe, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, throwing them forward.

The cinnabar on the surface of the talismans lit up, and pieces of… huge parts appeared out of thin air on the ground.

Mostly made of wood and metal, they were strangely shaped, with only a few large wheels being conspicuous.

"This…" Everyone looked at each other.

"Wait a moment," Gongshu Tianyuan grabbed a hammer with a flourish, and then, "ding ding dang dang," began to assemble a pile of parts on the spot.

After a while, something that looked like a ship but had several wheels appeared before everyone's eyes.

"This thing is one of this Celestial Master's creations, called 'Land Boat.' As the name suggests, it can carry us on our way, much faster than ordinary horses…"

Zhao Du'an interrupted Gongshu Tianyuan's desire to express himself and took the lead in jumping onto the boat:

"Hurry up, we must be faster than Ren Kun and Qi Yuchun, while they haven't necessarily come back to their senses."

The others immediately jumped onto the boat. Gongshu Tianyuan, with an unfinished expression, had no choice but to come to the "driving" position and fiddle around.

The boat slowly floated, a foot away from the ground, the wheels rotated "whirringly," and two flat "exhaust pipes" that popped out of the rear spewed out scarlet flames.

"Boom…"

The Land Boat suddenly accelerated, rushing towards the mountains in the southeast suburbs at a speed comparable to galloping horses.

About half an hour later, a group of people, their faces stiff and expressions numb from being blown by the cold wind, got off the "boat" and looked up at the mountain road ahead.

At the end of the line of sight were the ancient buildings that stretched across the mountain.

"The Forbidden Purple Manor, this is it," Zhao Du'an compared the picture with the reflection in the mirror, his expression solemn:

"Let's go."

"Hey, wait for me," Gongshu Tianyuan took down the key parts of the Land Boat, stuffed them in his pocket, and followed the others.

The group walked extremely fast. When they reached halfway up the mountain, Jin Jian suddenly stopped, turned his head to look down the mountain, and said:

"Someone is coming."

Zhao Du'an stopped, turned his head back, and saw a cloud of dust rushing rapidly across the ground at the foot of the mountain.

Then, two figures disengaged from their earth escape state and looked up at the crowd on the mountain from a distance.

"It's Qi Yuchun and Ren Kun! They're back!"

Haitang's expression changed, and she looked at Zhao Du'an:

"What do we do?"