Chapter 250: Chapter 161: Shangguan Siblings_2
Translator: 549690339
On the 20th, after receiving the news of the arrival of the imperial army, Poison Sect leader Lan Zhaoyun, who had already led his troops to break through Shaoyang Prefecture’s three counties, immediately left the newly appointed Left Protector to command the army of 60,000 and continued besieging Shaoyang Prefecture.
He then led a 50,000-strong army to turn back and head north to the rescue of Baling City.
On the same day, in the north of Dongting Prefecture, the Tianmen Prefecture was finally breached by the 100,000-strong Zhou army’s months of fierce attacks on the northern portal of Changling County. Tens of thousands of Zhou troops advanced straight ahead, and as a result, Tianmen Prefecture City fell into danger.
Over one hundred thousand Army of Pacifying Shu was at risk of being trapped behind enemy lines.
On the 25th, an earthquake struck Jiangyou Prefecture, a region in the Xichuan
Prefecture, affecting dozens of adjacent prefectures and counties. In Qingchuan, Long’an, Yanquan and other counties, the city walls were cracked, more than 100,000 houses collapsed, and millions of refugees were in despair.
After years of war, Xichuan was already impoverished. Local officials couldn’t provide relief, and some wealthy refugees rebelled.
The northern route between Zhou Country’s Xingyuan Prefecture and Xichuan was temporarily cut off, and the logistics of the Zhuo-Shu allied army became insufficient. They then retreated from Yuzhong Prefecture to deal with the disaster in the rear.
Yuzhong Prefecture was relieved, and the pressure on the Army of Pacifying
Shu was greatly reduced. Marquis of Wuan Bai Mengyang then deployed 50,000 elite troops to Tianmen Prefecture City to defend against the Zhou army and maintain the retreat route.
On the 28th, after Lu Yuan had inspected the veteran soldiers and the newly recruited 20,000 soldiers, he temporarily handed over the army to his disciple Li Liang, who had cultivated to the second-highest level in his Eighth Orthodox Taoism.
He then left the barracks and headed north to Changning County in Hengyang
Prefecture.
An ancient road by the long pavilion, was covered with withered grass.
Lu Yuan was leading a red horse, looking helplessly at the two people beside him, and said, “Mister Shangguan, Miss Shangguan, I am going to Yuzhang Prefecture to attend the Tianluo Grand Meeting. Are you sure you want to follow me there?”
In front of him stood a pair of a man and a woman, both dressed in white uniforms, each holding a white horse, smiling at him.
These two were the son and daughter of Wucheng Marquis Shangguan Yang, Shangguan Guangbai and Shangguan Haimoon.
“Brother Lu, don’t bother trying to persuade us anymore. My sister and I were instructed by our father to stay by your side and learn from you. It’s only been half a month, how can we go back so soon?”
Shangguan Guangbai smiled lightly and then spoke with a hint of longing, “The Inescapable Meeting of Ziyun Dao has long been famous to my sister and me, but we’ve never had a chance to see it.
Since we have both time and opportunity, it’s just right for us to go together.
Arnthar T 11 right?”
As he spoke, the eyes of Shangguan Haimoon beside him turned to Lu Yuan.
It seemed as if there were water in her eyes, and she looked pleadingly at Lu Yuan, as if she would burst into tears if he said no.
What could Lu Yuan say in the face of these two, one speaking and one looking?
He could only nod and say, “Alright, you two can come along if you want. But this is our grand meeting of those on the path of cultivation. It’s all about discussing the Dao and might not be very entertaining. When we get to Tianluo Mountain, don’t complain that it’s boring.”
Upon hearing Lu Yuan’s agreement, a smile appeared on Shangguan Haimoon’s face, and she said in a bell-like voice, “Don’t worry, Brother Lu, my brother and I have also studied the Taoist Classics since we were young, and we have read the classics of various Daoist schools, so we won’t find it boring.”
“I hope so.”
Lu Yuan sighed in his heart, then got on his horse without saying anything more to the pair, and started on his journey.
Seeing this, the two siblings quickly mounted their horses and followed.
Hearing the sound of horse hooves behind him, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but feel helpless.
Ever since ten days ago, when these siblings came to Luyang with their father’s name card and asked to see him, they had stuck to him like glue,Apparently, they had no intention of leaving.
And their reason was legitimate. Shangguan Yang sent them over to learn from Lu Yuan and strengthen their abilities.
Lu Yuan was the Pingxi General, a third-rank military official, while Shangguan Yang was the Conquering Western General, a second -rank military official and the guardian of Dongting Prefecture.
In terms of both rank and status, Shangguan was technically his superior. The Shangguan family was one of the top aristocratic families in Da Yue, and Shangguan Yang was an Inborn Grandmaster.
Such a person sending his children to learn from Lu Yuan was undoubtedly favoring him.
Facing such goodwill from his superiors, what could Lu Yuan do? He couldn’t refuse, so he had to keep them by his side and deal with the headache of it.
Shangguan Guangbai and Shangguan Haimoon, on the other hand, were hardly easy to deal with. They came to chat and play with him every day, as if they couldn’t get enough of being in front of him.
Especially Shangguan Haimoon, who often invited him to take a walk, and sometimes brought a Taoist Classic to consult with him, or asked for advice on martial arts.
However, during their sparring, she was prone to be unstable and leaning towards Lu Yuan, making him feel overwhelmed.
In fact, Lu Yuan, an old fox, knew very well what was on Shangguan Haimoon’s mind, or rather, what was on the mind of her father, Wucheng Marquis.
It was nothing but the possibility that Chu Wei had told Shangguan Yang about Lu Yuan’s strength, which made Shangguan Yang take him seriously and want to win him over.
On hearing that he was still unmarried, Shangguan Yang even thought of forming a marriage alliance and sent his daughter over as well.
Actually,
Shangguan Haimoon’s appearance did not come close to that of a beauty capable of causing the downfall of nations, but she did possess an extraordinary beauty. Moreover, she had a literary air about her, thanks to being born into an aristocratic family. From studying martial arts since childhood, she also had an added dash of heroism in her gracefulness.
No matter how you looked at it, she was indeed a perfect match.
Moreover, what was even rarer was that she had achieved considerable success in both scholarship and martial arts.
Lu Yuan had been in the company of cultured figures like Sun Siwen and Cui Changqing for a long time, and had often read the Taoist Classics. His own cultural level was actually not that bad..