The First Lackey Under The Empress

Chapter 518 Mo Chou: Actually… the Taicang Silver Mine wasn't bombed… (5k)

The flames in the ancestral hall still burned, but the temperature between heaven and earth plummeted.

Zhao Du'an took a deep breath, tightened his grip on the hilt of the Zhen Knife, and looked at the back of the female priest in front of him: "Daoist Yuxiu…"

Like an old New Year picture that had been weathered for a year, Yuxiu, who was beginning to fade, coughed. She covered her mouth with her hand, and a pool of scarlet blood appeared in her palm, but her tone was still firm:

"This humble Daoist can handle it."

Curse—

Undoubtedly, it was an extremely unreasonable force. Back then, Xu Zhenguan, who was comparable to a Celestial Human Realm expert, was still successfully cursed to death by the White Robe Sect at the peak of Luo Mountain. The Emperor Star dimmed, and his fortune plummeted, let alone Yuxiu?

The White Robe Sect's sorcerers fully explained the meaning of "Defeating you doesn't require me to become stronger, it only requires making the opponent weaker."

Shi Luoyi leaned on his mourning stick and smiled calmly:

"It's enough for you to take care of Lord Zhao. Her opponent is me."

Therefore, the remaining four sorcerers all locked their eyes on Zhao Du'an, preventing him from interfering.

Yuxiu slowly pinched out a sword seal with one hand, and the green jade flying sword at her waist leaped out, coiling around her body. She stepped directly towards the young master of the White Robe Sect and said:

"The God of Mourning and the God of Death are of the same origin, and they are both keen on absorbing death energy. This humble Daoist should have thought long ago that you would be keen on wandering on the front line battlefield. It wouldn't matter if you only absorbed the mourning and death energy lingering on the battlefield.

But you are so bold as to slaughter villages and burn ancestral halls. The words of the successive Celestial Masters to slay demons and eliminate evil are indeed… meaningful!"

A dazzling sword light suddenly lit up, and the frantically scattered sword energy permeated the entire ancestral hall. Yuxiu tapped her toes, bent over and rushed forward, her right hand pointing out like a sword, and the small green jade sword dragged out an afterimage, as if pulling her forward.

Because it was too fast, the figure almost merged into the sword light, like the torrent that gushed out of the breach when the dam collapsed during a rainstorm, using the earth as a riverbed, rushing towards Shi Luoyi.

From Zhao Du'an's perspective, the small green jade sword was extremely conspicuous in the turbulent white sword energy, and even after being cursed by the five people, it still burst out with a dazzling clear light.

Eliminating evil spirits.

Evil does not prevail… over good?

Shi Luoyi faced the Celestial Master's disciple's furious sword without panic. The pure white mourning stick in his hand turned pure black.

In the sky, the white paper money that fell like snowflakes out of thin air also turned black.

Pieces of black paper money seemed to be drawn by Yuxiu's green jade sword, gathering together, and pieces of them disintegrated into scattered ominous energy.

The devastating sword edge visibly slowed down and finally stagnated.

Shi Luoyi smiled, folded his hands, and stabbed the mourning stick hard into the ground again!

"Boom—"

The surrounding ground shook, and seven black wooden coffins suddenly cracked open, standing up from the cracks in the earth.

The seven coffins were slightly illusory, not physical, and their styles were exactly the same as the small coffin hanging on Shi Luoyi's waist, only many times larger.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

… …

The black coffin lids exploded, and seven dried corpses bound with red threads wearing brand-new copper coins emerged, their eye sockets burning with ghostly green phosphorus fire.

The dried corpses raised their necks, and their mouthparts covered with sharp teeth spewed out turbid "mourning energy." Zhao Du'an's eyelids twitched wildly, and he noticed that the surrounding ground and vegetation were withering.

"Hiding filth and harboring dirt."

Yuxiu's eyes turned cold, and she tapped her toes on the ground, but instead shot backwards, widening the distance. During the process, she pinched out a hand seal, and the flying sword in the air seemed to be pulled back by an invisible thin thread, lighting up again, circling the female priest, and the sword light was even brighter than before.

"Sword Two!"

Yuxiu uttered the words, and the flying sword crashed into the chest of a dried corpse with a "ding" sound, and the latter exploded with a bang, turning into a sky full of black paper money.

Shi Luoyi was calm and unhurried, summoning three dried corpses to protect himself, and the three shot towards Yuxiu like cannonballs.

From Yuxiu's two clean and refined sleeves, a refreshing breeze blew out, blowing away the turbidness and absorbing many negative states of the curse.

The sleeves slipped down, revealing her fair wrists, and there was a thin jade bracelet on each of her wrists.

She pinched out hand seals with both hands, and handed them forward. The two jade bracelets flew out spinning, and with two soft sounds, they crashed the two dried corpses that were not physical and condensed by mourning energy into a sky full of paper money.

The flying sword that had lost its power had been withdrawn. Yuxiu's cloth shoe tip lifted up, and her heel spun in place. While her body turned a circle, the flying sword with a sharper edge roared out:

"Sword Three!"

In an instant, two more dried corpses were pierced by a sword, and they returned after being dim and dull.

Circling around her waist, it was "Sword Four" again.

This time, Shi Luoyi paid the price of the last two dried corpses, plus twenty pieces of paper money to block it.

Yuxiu's expression remained unchanged, and she let out a low roar as the fifth sword roared out in one go. When the sword was released, it was already full of momentum like a rolling tide.

A full third of the black paper money in the sky collapsed into ominous energy, which made this sword return without success.

It's just that after Yuxiu retracted her sword this time, she didn't immediately strike out "Sword Six", but vomited a mouthful of blood!

Her fair skin had patches of cadaver spots and red疹, and the faint blue veins turned black, as if she was terminally ill.

Shi Luoyi stood with his hands behind his back and smiled triumphantly:

"As expected of a rare genius in the Celestial Master's Mansion who cultivates the sword. Compared to the old Daoist in Binhai Dao who had six or seven flying swords killed by the imperial court, you only cultivate one sword, focusing solely on it, and you can control it with ease.

If you can kill me with two more swords without giving people a chance to breathe, you might really be able to kill me, but unfortunately, in this place, the longer you drag it on, the weaker you will become. How can you make each sword stronger than the last?"

Yuxiu's answer to him was the sixth sword.

Two-thirds of the paper money left in the air turned into fly ash, but Yuxiu seemed unable to release her sword anymore.

Taking advantage of this gap, Shi Luoyi, who was startled, patted the small coffin on his waist, and the ground cracked open again with seven coffins, and seven dried corpses climbed up again, making Zhao Du'an's eyelids twitch wildly!

He suddenly realized why the Celestial Master's Mansion had always been slaying demons and eliminating evil.

Not only because this group of evil god believers used unscrupulous means to harm living beings, but also because when this group of "demonic paths" chose to abandon the bottom line of being human, they would quickly become exceptionally powerful.

So it must be nipped in the bud early, otherwise, once it grows up, it will be extremely threatening.

Yuxiu wiped the blackened blood from the corner of her mouth with her clean white sleeves, and suddenly said:

"Why don't you try to kill me?"

Shi Luoyi suddenly became vigilant. He smiled unnaturally, moved his steps back, let himself be protected by seven dried corpses, and said very seriously:

"Although this young master is indeed very tempted, as a disciple of Zhang Yan Yi, how could you not have some life-saving trump cards? But I advise you to leave now, otherwise, if you drag on any longer, and the curse penetrates deep into your bones, I'm afraid I really can't help but kill you."

Leave?

As a "sword cultivator" known for speed and attack, even if she only controls a palm-sized flying sword, there is still no problem if she wants to leave.

But Yuxiu just gasped a few times, wiped the corner of her mouth again, straightened her back, and smiled:

"If you don't come, then this humble Daoist will go over. With so many people watching, if I drag it on for too long, it will indeed disgrace the reputation of my Celestial Master's Mansion."

Shi Luoyi laughed in anger: "What are you going to use to kill me?"

Yuxiu sighed, stopped talking, just stretched out her finger and gently wiped the small green jade sword floating in front of her.

The clear wind surrounding her suddenly split into twenty-four strands, wailing and frantically pouring into the sword body, and a strong unease surged in everyone's hearts.

The small flying sword, superimposed with twenty-four streams of clear wind, drew a circle under the traction of the female Daoist's slender palm, and thus twenty-four flying swords appeared.

Every generation of Zhu Dian Boys are ordered to go out and travel after being promoted to the world, imitating the sages and walking in all directions, so they become famous in the Jianghu.

The nickname "Green Jade Sword" is how it was acquired.

But only a very few people know that Yuxiu's flying sword is not called "Green Jade", its real name is "Awakening of Insects."

There are four seasons in a year, spring, summer, autumn and winter, divided into twenty-four solar terms.

"Earth Gods" move according to the solar terms. When it comes to the Awakening of Insects, the Yang energy rises, the temperature warms up, and all things recover.

The earth will spew out earth energy, and the ancient Qi refiners collect Qi, and what they collect is this. Yuxiu traveled for several years and collected two sleeves of pure Qi.

"The second month… all things come out of Zhen, and Zhen is thunder, so it is called the Awakening of Insects, which means that the hibernating insects are frightened and run away." Yuxiu whispered: "In mid-spring, there is timely rain, and the first thunder occurs in the east."

The female Daoist suddenly raised her head, and pointed her fingers like a sword:

"Sword Seven, Thunder."

Everyone heard a clap of thunder erupting in the sky above Songjia Village!

"Crack—"

The seven dried corpses were like snowmen under the blazing sun, melting with a hiss, and the mourning energy frantically burrowed into the earth, and the Yin wind ceased.

Shi Luoyi was shocked, raised his hand and grabbed, and the four White Robe sorcerers were pushed forward by him, and were pierced by the Awakening of Insects sword!

The sword force did not diminish!

"Pfft!"

Shi Luoyi spat out blood and fell into the distance like a kite with a broken string.

"He's going to run!" Zhao Du'an was quick-witted, and the Zhen Knife suddenly slashed through the air, and the flying sword and sword energy exploded on Shi Luoyi at almost the same time, like two thunderbolts.

However, pitch-black feathers appeared out of nowhere, blocking most of the energy. A black crow hooked its crimson claws onto Shi Luoyi's shoulder, flapping its wings with all its might.

"Whoosh—"

The ground cracked open, revealing a phantom river surging within. The crow grabbed Shi Luoyi and fell into the crack. The earth healed, and the person disappeared without a trace.

… …

A dozen miles away.

The grave mound beneath the leader of the Underworld Sect began to tremble. He sighed deeply, stood up, and watched as a crow emerged from the grave, along with the heavily injured and unconscious Shi Luoyi.

"Ptooey, ptooey…" The crow spat out a mouthful of yellow mud and cursed:

"Scared the hell out of me! That young man is fierce."

The leader of the Underworld Sect, with his unkempt appearance and copper coin sword on his back, confirmed that Shi Luoyi was not dead and shook his head, lamenting his incompetence:

"If I hadn't been here, you would have been dead for sure."

The crow's eyes darted around as it incited:

"Aren't you going to avenge him? The Underworld Sect and the White Robe Sect are closely linked. If you avenge him, this guy's mother will definitely look at you in a different light. Maybe you can avoid paying a bride price when you arrange a ghost marriage."

The leader of the Underworld Sect sneered and drew his sword without warning, beheading the crow. However, the black crow, now headless, quickly pieced its fragmented body back together and mocked:

"He's getting anxious, he's getting anxious…"

The leader of the Underworld Sect sheathed his sword, his expression normal. He bent down, picked up Shi Luoyi, and walked towards the distant weeds:

"Even close brothers need to settle accounts clearly. Saving his life can be sold for a good price."

After taking a few steps, his figure gradually faded and disappeared without a trace.

… …

… …

"Don't bother chasing. It was a powerful member of the Underworld Sect who intervened. Continuing the pursuit won't do us any good."

Yu Xiu reminded Zhao Du'an, seeing the unpleasant look on his face.

Zhao Du'an slowly sheathed his saber, glanced at the four warlock corpses on the ground, and frowned: "The Underworld Sect?"

The real reason he hadn't chosen to attack earlier was that Pei Niannu suddenly "awakened" and gave him a dangerous premonition within his body. Only then did Zhao Du'an realize that there were still powerful individuals nearby.

Yu Xiu took out a pure white pill from her sleeve, put it in her mouth, and swallowed it. Her complexion visibly improved. She turned to look at him and explained:

"The deities worshipped by the Underworld Sect and the White Robe Sect are very similar. One focuses on death, and the other on funerals. Both sects need to absorb the residual 'qi' after people die. Whenever there is war, the battlefields are never without the warlocks of these two sects scavenging."

"Generally speaking, however, both sects are not tolerated by the righteous path and are very low-key."

"This time, the White Robe Sect has gotten involved with the Mu Prince's Mansion, probably because they have gained some confidence. However, there are not many people in the White Robe Sect either. They have suffered heavy casualties today and won't show their faces for a while."

"As for the Underworld Sect… The people of the Underworld Sect are very secretive, digging graves and tombs all day long. They are not good at fighting, but their self-preservation skills are extremely strong."

In other words, they don't have much offensive power, but they just can't be killed?

Zhao Du'an suddenly remembered that when the Cultivator Zhenren was incited to revive and enter the capital, the imperial court had speculated that his revival was related to the Underworld Sect. However, the Cultivator Zhenren was a member of the Five Rampant Sect…

The Five Rampant Sect is extremely loose, and its members hardly know each other. It is a rather unique heretical sect.

"My lord, are you alright?"

At this moment, the remaining light cavalry and retainers finally arrived.

Zhao Du'an shook his head, indicating that he was fine, and asked about the situation. He learned that all the rebels entrenched in Song Family Village had been killed.

Ji Yue also floated back, saying that the flames within the village had been extinguished. It was a pity that after this round of extermination, only a dozen people were still alive in the entire Song Family Village, most of whom had survived by hiding in various places.

Well, not counting the group of young men and women who had escaped earlier.

"Chieftain!"

Young Xiao Wu didn't know when, but he had actually run back and was wailing beside a corpse in the ancestral hall ruins.

Zhao Du'an was silent. He walked over, rubbed the young man's head, and said to him:

"Take the others and go to the prefectural city."

The young man nodded, choking back tears.

Zhao Du'an took a deep breath and looked at the ruined village: "Clear the surroundings, and then… return to the city!"

He had to go see Xue Shence.

… …

… …

Taicang Prefectural City.

"Wooo—"

Behind the attacking rebels, a signal horn for retreat suddenly sounded. All the rebels, like worker ants returning to their nest, began to retreat in an orderly manner.

On the city walls, the exhausted imperial soldiers felt a surge of joy after surviving the disaster, and they all fell to the ground, their bodies washed over by weariness.

"They're retreating just like that?" Prefect Sun Xiaozhun was stunned. "Why did they suddenly retreat?"

Xue Shence stood on the city wall, his brows also knitted together.

At this time, a scout quickly ran up the city wall:

"Report! The Beijing camp reinforcements led by Commander Zhao have arrived ten miles north of the prefectural city!"

What? Reinforcements have arrived?!

Everyone on the city wall was stunned, and then a strong sense of joy surged in their hearts.

"So that's how it is. The rebels must have detected the arrival of the reinforcements, so they hurriedly withdrew!" Sun Xiaozhun suddenly realized.

An officer said excitedly: "High councilor, should we open the city gates and launch a counter-attack and pursue them?"

Xue Shence was the only one who was not overwhelmed by the good news. He calmly observed the retreating formation of the rebels under the city and sighed, shaking his head:

"There is no need to pursue. The enemy is not retreating hastily, but obviously has thorough preparations. They are not hurried or slow, and their retreat is orderly. With the exhausted military strength in the city, if we leave the city to pursue them now, we will only be eaten up."

"As for the reinforcements, although they are strong, they are still ten miles away. By the time they arrive, the rebels will have had enough time to retreat… Su Dan, this 'scholar-general,' is indeed impressive and a difficult opponent."

Extinguishing the thought of pursuing, Xue Shence turned around and looked at everyone:

"Issue an order that the east, west, and south city gates will continue to be under martial law to prevent accidents. Prefect Sun, please trouble you to order people to appease the people and inform them that the enemy has retreated and the reinforcements have arrived. The rest of you will come with me to the north city to welcome Commander Zhao."

"Yes!"

… …

Soon, at the north gate of Taicang Prefectural City.

A group of local officials and generals, led by Xue Shence and Sun Xiaozhun, waited for the arrival of the densely packed reinforcement troops.

"Haha, High councilor, hearing that the prefectural city was attacked, we rushed here as quickly as possible. Are we timely enough?"

Shi Meng, the commander of the Divine Machine Camp, who was as burly as a fierce general on the battlefield but had meticulous thoughts, walked over with a loud laugh. Beside him was Yuan Feng, the commander of the Five Armies Camp, who was unsmiling.

Seeing the two of them, a relieved smile finally appeared on Xue Shence's face: "You came just in time. If you had been any later, the enemy would have been annihilated by me."

The two were stunned.

Sun Xiaozhun laughed: "The High councilor is joking with you."

Only then did Shi Meng and Yuan Feng feel relieved. The High councilor was still in the mood to joke, indicating that the situation was still under control.

Xue Shence glanced at the two of them and asked curiously: "Where is Commander Zhao?"

Just as the two were about to answer, a figure walked over from behind. Mo Chou approached with graceful steps and nodded solemnly to everyone:

"Lord Xue, Prefect Sun, hearing that the bandits attacked the city, what are the losses?"

"Greetings, Lady Mo." The two of them hurriedly saluted, not to Mo Chou, but to the Empress she represented.

Zhao Du'an and Mo Chou were the two commanders, one in the open and one in the dark, as mentioned in the intelligence reports.

Speaking of losses, the smile on Prefect Sun Xiaozhun's face gradually disappeared, and dark clouds re-covered his brow.

He opened his mouth, suddenly took off his official hat, bowed deeply, held the hat with both hands, and raised it to Mo Chou. In the astonished gazes of everyone, he said in a sorrowful voice:

"This time, the rebels attacked the city, trapping us in the city, and transferred troops to enter the territory and destroy the Taicang Silver Mine. The imperial court has suffered heavy losses. All this is due to this prefect's unfavorable protection of the territory and the people. I cannot shirk the blame. Xiaozhun… is willing to accept all punishment!"

Xue Shence also fell silent upon hearing this. The joy of the arrival of the reinforcements vanished!

That's right, although the rebels had retreated, judging from the time, the Taicang Silver Mine had probably already been destroyed by now.

Such a great loss could not be recovered. In the end, they had lost this battle.

Xue Shence suddenly took a step forward and said in a deep voice:

"I am the chief general here. The destruction of the Taicang Silver Mine has nothing to do with Prefect Sun. I will bear it alone! After the war, I will report to His Majesty and request punishment!"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the generals and officials on Taicang's side said in unison:

"This crime is due to our dereliction of duty. We will all bear the responsibility together!"

Mo Chou, Shi Meng, Yuan Feng, and other generals from the reinforcement troops looked at each other in dismay.

Mo Chou said with a strange expression: "Actually… the Taicang Silver Mine should be fine."