"Xu Wencai!"
Chen Sanshi grabbed the old scholar by the shoulder. "I have a mission that concerns the lives of everyone in this city. Can you handle it?"
"Me?"
Xu Wencai was startled, but after a brief pause, he nodded firmly. "Rest assured, my lord! I, Wolong, can handle it!"
"Good."
Chen Sanshi leaned close and whispered his instructions.
When he finished, Xu Wencai's eyes reddened with emotion. "My lord, I swear I won't fail you. Even if I die doing this, I'll make sure everything goes exactly as planned!"
Loose lips lead to disaster.
Chen Sanshi didn't tell a second person. As the night deepened, he moved quietly through the shadows and headed to the eastern stables to meet Han Cheng before midnight.
…
At the hour of the ox.
The small southern gate of the city wall creaked open in silence.
Three riders emerged, making their way along a narrow forest path outside the city.
The barbarian army hadn't surrounded the city right up against the walls. They'd stationed themselves on open ground farther out. Their numbers were limited; they couldn't form an unbroken blockade. A few paths still remained where a handful of people could slip away undetected.
And among these three, two were cultivators at the tempering organs stage.
"How much longer until the hour?"
Prefect Xue, seated atop his horse, turned slightly.
Tang Ming answered, "Half a stick of incense."
"Good. So loyal, all of you," Xue sneered. "One wants to bring his wife, another his nephew. What great men—dragging family along while the world burns!
"Lord Chen I can understand—he's been rewarded personally by the Emperor. But that dog Luo Dongquan? What does he count for?"
Back then, Liang Shengzhi had taken the initiative to report everything.
Afterward, Xue Yuping secretly contacted Luo Dongquan and ordered him to lure Xiang Tingchun outside the city in exchange for his life.
As for the Liang family…
They had all been silenced.
The other martial halls involved hadn't been dealt with yet—there hadn't been time.
But two days from now, 30,000 troops would be pulled from the main battlefield in Liangzhou, and the Witch God Sect's experts would arrive in secret. When that happened, Poyang County would be wiped clean—not a single soul left alive.
"Hundred-Household Han," Xue said coldly. "Once we're safe, deal with Luo too. What a pity, though—we still didn't find the immortal treasure. Otherwise, I'd be sitting in the Grand Secretariat within three to five years! Looks like we've disappointed Grand Secretary Yan again."
"Ha, so it was Yan Liang's doing!"
A sharp, icy voice cut through the dark.
Three more riders appeared silently from the opposite side of the woods.
The man in front wore a crimson robe, flanked by two armored guards, each armed with a weapon.
It was none other than Ji Guangxian, accompanied by Shan Yuanzhi and the Ji family's old retainer.
"Ji Guangxian?!"
Xue Yuping's face twisted in shock. "What are you doing here?!"
"Settling accounts with you!"
Ji Guangxian pointed straight at him, voice trembling with fury. "The enemy is at the gates, and you dared murder Thousand-Household Officer Xiang—our city's chief commander! That's treason and collusion with the enemy!"
"Don't slander me!"
Xue's tone turned sharp. "Xiang Tingchun rode out himself and fell into an ambush. What does that have to do with us?"
"Bullshit!"
Ji Guangxian roared. "I just went to his estate. His entire family—eight people, including a five-year-old child—were all slaughtered in their home! What, did the barbarians sneak into the city and conveniently kill only the commander's household? Your Yan faction truly has no humanity left!"
"And you think you're any better?"
Xue dropped his pretense and snapped back, "You so-called pure officials—what are you really after? Power! Control! You're no different from us!"
"Enough!"
Ji Guangxian's voice thundered. "We have evidence. Tonight, you'll be arrested. The day you fall, Grand Secretary Yan's reign ends!"
"You dare?!"
Xue raised his arm toward the north, shouting, "Xiang Tingchun hid the immortal treasure—he deserved death! What crime is ours?!"
"Immortal treasure?"
Ji Guangxian narrowed his eyes. "So you did find it, Prefect Xue?"
"That we did not!"
"Liar!" Ji Guangxian's voice cut through the forest. "Your Yan faction's schemes have been clear from the start! The war in Anding Prefecture, the sudden fall of the Great Wall—don't tell me that wasn't your doing! Are you trying to destroy the Great Sheng Dynasty from within?!"
Xue lost his patience. "Enough talk! Kill them all!"
"You have two organ-tempering cultivators," Ji Guangxian replied coldly, pulling his reins back. "So do I."
The moment he spoke, his two guards charged forward to meet Xue's men.
Two versus two.
Xue sneered, glancing toward the distant city wall.
Tang Ming alone was already enough to crush them—he had reached Major Achievement in tempering organs.
And another one of their own was on his way.
…
"Hyah!"
Luo Dongquan galloped through the darkness, Song Yan following close behind.
"Uncle Luo, where are we going?"
"Running," Luo replied bitterly. "Xiang Tingchun was a fool! He got greedy, tried to hide the immortal treasure instead of reporting it—and now he's dragged me down with him! Take this jade pendant and keep it safe. From here, we part ways."
Song Yan frowned. "Uncle Luo, why aren't we leaving together?"
"No. I've changed my mind."
Luo Dongquan said, "Something about this feels wrong. They're acting too secretive. There's definitely more going on behind the scenes. Those other two are Embroidered Uniform Guard. If I tag along, an outsider like me will probably just get silenced."
"Once we're out of the city, I'll stick with them and pretend I've abandoned you. You head west tonight. Go find our distant relatives in Linjiang. If you don't get a letter from me within six months, it means I'm dead. Change your name. Disappear. Don't come back for revenge."
"Uncle Luo, let me come with you—"
"Get lost!"
Luo Dongquan barked the words and shoved him away.
After leaving the city, he was just about to ride toward the meeting point when he heard a sharp sound cut through the air.
Years of battle honed his instincts—his body reacted before his mind did. He kicked off the saddle and leapt skyward.
"Hss—!"
An armor-piercing arrow slammed into his horse, the beast collapsing with a pained whinny.
Luo Dongquan turned to see who had ambushed him—but before he could even locate the source, another wave of arrows screamed through the night.
Not one.
A barrage.
His war blade flashed, hacking the oncoming shafts out of the air in a blur.
Who could shoot this fast?!
It wasn't a volley—it was one man shooting like a whole squad of archers!
"You?!"
Following the trajectory, he finally spotted a shadow in a distant tree.
"Perfect. I'll kill you myself!"
Rage boiled up in Luo Dongquan's chest. Eyes bloodshot, he roared and charged forward, cutting down arrows as they came.
But the closer he got, the thicker the storm became. Arrows blurred his vision—an endless rain of steel.
He burst forward with a furious shout, his speed exploding. His body flickered like a phantom as he covered several dozen paces in an instant. Just as he was about to close in, a chill tore through his thigh. His balance faltered, nearly toppling him to the ground. He forced his qi to surge and steadied himself.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
In that brief pause, three more arrows hit him.
If not for his desperate parries, any one of them would've been fatal.
Two arrows punched clean through his shoulders, leaving gaping holes. Another lodged deep in his arm.
Bleeding heavily, he finally reached his attacker, his long Hemiaodao cleaving down with brutal force toward the man's head.
"Clang!"
The Reed-Leaf Spear met his blade, sparks bursting in the dark.
Both men staggered back.
Before Luo Dongquan could steady his footing, that dreaded twang filled the air again.
The bowstring's sound—relentless, merciless—like death whispering his name.
He had to block again, slashing frantically at the arrows flying toward him.
That speed… it was monstrous. Even as a tempering organs cultivator, he couldn't keep up!
Was there truly an entire cultivation art just for archery?!
Each instant, three arrows loosed—each as strong as if fired from a fifteen-stone bow. Every shot precise, every shot deadly.
At this rate, charging forward was suicide. Every step closer meant taking another arrow to the flesh.
"I'll see how many arrows you've got left!"
Luo Dongquan stopped advancing and swung his long blade, waiting for the attacker to run out of arrows.
But as blood drenched his clothes and pain numbed his arms, the arrow rain still didn't stop. The shovel-headed arrow lodged in his arm tore through muscle with each movement, nearly shredding it to ribbons. Even with his powerful physique, his movements slowed.
And once his speed dropped, he lost the greatest advantage a tempering organs cultivator possessed.
Arrows riddled his body one after another, until finally he couldn't stay upright.
He crashed to the ground.
'Damn… that's three quivers gone!'
Chen Sanshi exhaled sharply. Out of the five quivers he'd brought, three were empty.
Still, Luo Dongquan looked like a hedgehog—flat on his back, eyes wide, blood bubbling from his lips. His chest barely rose anymore.
Chen Sanshi nocked two more arrows—one to the head, one to the heart—and released. When he was certain the man was dead, he strode over and lopped the head clean off.
'If he hadn't rushed me, he could've lasted a while longer.'
'But in the end, he'd still die. I'd bleed him dry.'
'Truly worthy of a tempering organs cultivator.'
'Good thing he wasn't at Perfection—or I'd have had a real problem.'
They said those at Perfection could enter a berserk state for a short time—pushing their bodies past their limits, ignoring pain, and fighting like beasts.
"Li Dazhi, Xia Erniu," Chen Sanshi muttered, gripping the severed head. "I've avenged you… and myself."
He had come fully prepared.
His Vajra Body hadn't even been needed.
His final trump card—the Immortal Flame within the treasure—remained unused.
Better that way. Once revealed, it would draw too much attention.
"Uncle Luo!"
A panicked voice rang out from behind. Song Yan had doubled back, unable to bear leaving, and now stumbled upon the grisly scene.
Chen Sanshi turned slightly at the sound.
But even if the boy hadn't come back, he wouldn't have escaped.
With his White Swan horse, Chen could've caught him in under twenty minutes.
When you pull weeds—you pull the roots.
"Do you even know what your uncle did?"
"I know," Song Yan said, voice trembling. "He deserved to die. But he was still my uncle. I have to avenge him! Come on!"
"Pfft!"
A single thrust.
A tempering blood cultivator stood no chance.
Song Yan charged with his blade, but before he could swing, Chen's spear pierced straight through his heart. He fell lifeless into the spreading pool of blood.
Chen Sanshi exhaled slowly. "Great. Now I look like the villain again."