To the north of Qingshan County Town stood the Beacon Tower.
Cheng Yi gazed out the window at the pitch-black town.
A long table was set before him, on which lay a bright yellow charm for suppressing spirits, spread out flat on the surface.
Upon it were twelve red dots, each in its place, arranged in a circle.
Cheng Yi pulled out a large bottle of Palace Red and poured it onto the table.
The Palace Red automatically contracted and bunched together to form a huge, fist-sized red sphere resembling a glass bead.
Cheng Yi took a deep breath and began to chant lengthy Curse Words.
At first, it was a low humming by one person; gradually, it seemed as though two voices overlapped, and if continued, it sounded as though a thousand people were chanting at once.
In the end, it became a bizarre and indescribable Curse Command.
The crystal ball-like Palace Red instantly turned into a puddle, swiftly seeping into the bright yellow scroll.
Hum!
An invisible fluctuation radiated from Cheng Yi as the origin point and rapidly spread along the circle defined by the twelve Soul-Calming Stakes.
“It’s done,” Cheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Tu Shan, “I have temporarily suppressed the ghosts in the town, making them unable to manifest. We can send someone into the town tonight.”
“I heard that the rebels to the north slaughtered the city, with tens of thousands dead,” Tu Shan squinted.
“We indeed don’t have enough people, but with the other two families, we will,” said Cheng Yi indifferently.
“Will they be that obedient?” Tu Shan was skeptical.
“As long as we make a move, they will have to follow,” Cheng Yi sneered, “Do you think they would be content to stand by and watch us reap the benefits?”
“Not content,” Tu Shan chuckled.
“Once the blood sacrifice is initiated, the Thousand Mechanism Token will appear,” said Cheng Yi calmly.
“How much you can grab depends on your skills,” Tu Shan hinted at taking him away.
“Why don’t you go with them? Without you in charge, those eleven guys are no good,” Tu Shan said with a look of difficulty.
Cheng Yi calmly said, “I’m afraid you’ll kill the donkey after the grinding is done and steal my Thousand Mechanism Token.”
Tu Shan chuckled, “How could that be possible.”
Cheng Yi glanced at him but didn’t speak.
If I weren’t still useful to you, you would have made your move by now, wouldn’t you?
The incitement and discord sown by Sikou Qing were effective after all.
…
The next morning, Chen Mu continued to wash and chop vegetables with the Logistics Army.
The group appeared normal, but everyone’s eyes darted around furtively.
The short and stout Zheng Yuan was especially keen on sidling up to Chen Mu, looking like he had something to say but hesitating.
“Why don’t you just shout it out loud, saying you want to desert, that you want to run?” Chen Mu teased him when he saw Zheng Yuan’s hesitant look once again.
“Keep your voice down!” The short and stout man’s face turned white with fear.
“You sure have some nerve!” Usually, others teased him with that line; this was the first time he used it to tease someone else.
“Who isn’t scared!” Zheng Yuan glared at Chen Mu, “Look at your uncle Seven, his calves are trembling!”
“Get lost!” Sun Enqi waved his large spoon and turned to curse at Zheng Yuan.
“In the camp next door, there was someone who tried to run. They hung him up on the flagpole to dry, and soon enough, he turned into a dried corpse,” Zheng Yuan recalled with trepidation, “We all went to see. Aren’t you scared?”
Chen Mu didn’t respond; that wasn’t being dried out but rather being drained of Netherworld Thread.
“So, should we forget about it?” Chen Mu probed.
Zheng Yuan gritted his teeth and shook his head, “I don’t want to wait here to die!”
“Then you have nothing to fear,” Chen Mu nodded. Having the resolve was good; hesitation would only spoil the plan.
“I have already dug a tunnel, and there are boats prepared by the Bailang River. We’ll just wait for tonight when the patrol soldiers fall asleep, then we can leave the camp through the tunnel,”
“By the time they find out, we’ll be a hundred miles away,” Chen Mu reassured everyone.
“That’s good, that’s good,” many of the Logistics Army members immediately relaxed.
Chen Mu smiled but said nothing. Explore more adventures at empire
He had planned to head east along the Bailang River to leave Qingshan County, then take another route heading south.
With a few more Logistics Army members, he would have someone to help row the boat and guide him along the way.
…
“Father, something’s not right,” Shangguan Yu found Shangguan Ji.
“Miss Bai said the ghosts have all retracted to the west of the town.”
“Chao Fang’s men have entered the north of the town in large numbers. It seems they intend to set up camp there.”
“Any movement from the Startling Swan Gang?” Shangguan Ji asked without a change of expression.
“They’re holed up, not stirring,” Shangguan Yu shook his head, puzzled, “What exactly is Chao Fang trying to do?”
He wanted to kill people as a blood sacrifice.
Shangguan Ji glanced at his son and said nothing.
True to form as the rebellious king from the north, he readily executed his orders to slaughter towns and eradicate strongholds.
“Just wait,” Shangguan Ji said indifferently.
“Wait for the Startling Swan Gang’s response.”
“Once they make their move, we’ll immediately enter the town,” Shangguan Ji’s eyes narrowed.
He hadn’t expected to reach the final stage of the struggle so soon.
Chao Fang grew anxious.
Shangguan Ji stood up, walked to the entrance of the tent, and looked out towards the silent Qingshan County, “Take good care of the Gold Hoops; tonight is extremely perilous.”
…
In the evening, at the large tent of the civilian laborers of Dingyou Camp.
Over two hundred civilian laborers congregated, a vast and dense crowd.
“What’s going on?” Zheng Yuan asked somewhat nervously.
Chen Mu frowned and shook his head.
Since arriving here months ago, other than initially gathering people, felling trees, digging trenches, and establishing camps, this was the first time so many had been summoned.
“Fellow comrades, I have good news to tell everyone!” A fat man with a protruding belly stood on a makeshift wooden platform, cheerfully announcing.
“The unclean things have all been driven away by the Tangshan Army.”
“Our time to strike it rich has come!”
“Later, we will follow the Tangshan Army to clean up Qingshan County Town. The loot we gather will be split in half, with the rest being ours!”
A wave of excited chatter immediately rippled through the group.
“Don’t be skeptical,” the fat officer continued, “the two dozen people beside me quietly went into town to scout this afternoon. Look at their gains.”
Everyone’s attention shifted to the twenty or so beaming men in front of the platform.
These men wore ill-fitting, odd clothes of extravagance, their hands full of copper coins, Silver Pieces, pearls, and gold hairpins.
The already noisy crowd became even more boisterous.
“Line up, march!” the fat officer waved his hand grandly and took the lead out of the military camp.
“I never expected such a chance to strike it rich!” Zheng Yuan’s beady eyes instantly bulged out round with excitement.
“Something’s not right,” Chen Mu had a bad premonition, “Why can’t the fortune-making wait until tomorrow? You can’t see anything in the dark.”
“Didn’t Qu Zhang just say we’re going now to beat the clock?” one of the Logistics Army hastily retorted, “If we wait till tomorrow, wouldn’t the loot be snatched away by those other two groups?”
Chen Mu glanced at the man and then discreetly surveyed a few others.
“Wealth tempts the heart.”
Civil laborers are just like a field of leeks; if you don’t let the leeks grow properly and suddenly let them strike it rich, then this Qingshan County is off-limits!
Without speaking further, he quietly retreated to the end of the line.
Taking advantage of the others’ distraction, he quickly left the formation and arrived at the tent of the Firehead Camp. He lifted the ground cover, revealing a dark, large hole.
“It’s chaotic outside with too many people; it’s safer to travel through the tunnel.”
With his skills, he could naturally become invisible with the Ghosts.
But in this chaotic scene, Bai Miaojin and Cui Cui were definitely outside too.
If the two caught him, they would easily guess that he wanted to leave.
If they dug deeper, they might speculate that he had obtained the Thousand Mechanism Token. If they turned hostile, he would be caught between a rock and a hard place.
Just as he was about to jump down, footsteps reached his ears.
It wasn’t long before a short, sly-looking fat man burrowed into the tent first.
Following him were Sun Enqi and a slim member of the Logistics Army.
“Why aren’t you going to get rich?” Chen Mu asked the three in surprise.
With an awkward stammer, Zheng Yuan responded, “If you, with all your courage, don’t dare to go, I am even less daring.”
The logic was clear and sound.
Chen Mu couldn’t help but laugh. This little fellow was quite clever.
“You gotta be alive to spend money,” Sun Enqi shook his head and wryly smiled, “With the dark night and strong winds stirring greed, what if someone gets stabbed?”
“Uncle Seven is a sensible man,” Chen Mu nodded in agreement.
“I…I miss my wife,” the last slim Firehead Army soldier spoke, “If we follow them into town, we won’t be able to leave for a short time. Besides, I’ve saved enough military pay.”
Heh!
Chen Mu instantly laughed, “You are a good man indeed.”