Chapter 988: Quick Off the Mark

“The bitter cold in the north has forged a tough character in its people. With many cultivators here, it’s common for disputes to escalate into bloody battles,” Sang Hong said. Zu’an mused that it was just like those incidents from his past life where someone would challenge another with, “What are you looking at?”

“The north is not as fertile as the south. Coupled with some historical issues, many people, unable to make a living, turned to banditry. They soon discovered that looting was far easier than toiling in the fields, so more and more people joined their ranks. As the northern region has many mountain ranges, some of which are snow-capped year-round, bandits simply hide in the mountains when faced with large-scale military crackdowns. Once the main forces leave, they emerge again to plunder, causing severe headaches for local authorities and the imperial court,” Sang Hong continued. “The Demonic Cult is one of the larger groups among them. Unlike ordinary bandits, they possess their own political agenda. This, combined with their religious appeal, gives them a much higher combat effectiveness than common brigands.”

Zu’an paused, “Did the Demonic Cult originate in Yi Commandery? Is their main headquarters here?” He had witnessed Demonic Cult forces fighting imperial troops when he passed through the Wu King’s territory in Jibei Commandery, and had thought their base was there.

Sang Hong shook his head. “The Demonic Cult’s doctrines have a certain seductive appeal, making them especially popular among the common people. This is why they persist despite repeated suppression, with their presence felt nationwide. While they nominally have several headquarters, no one knows where their true main base is, which is why the Demonic Cult is so difficult to eradicate.”

“Because of the perennial conflict with the Demonic Cult and mountain bandits, the demands on local officials here have escalated. However, the Demonic Cult’s power is immense, making it difficult for local commanderies to suppress them alone. Therefore, imperial princes from the royal family are stationed throughout the country to defend these regions. These vassal states vary in size and power, with the Yan King’s domain being one of the largest.”

“The Yan King has achieved considerable success over the years, capturing and executing many Demonic Cult practitioners. However, the cult’s resilience is too strong, preventing its complete eradication, and a stalemate has ensued. Yet, the imperial court also fears the growing power of these local vassal kings, so they assign local officials to supervise them.”

“As you’ve seen, the Yan King is a Grandmaster, Chancellor Sun Xun is a Master, and even their guest cultivators include experts of the seventh and eighth ranks. With such power, how could they be reined in if this region were governed like other peaceful commanderies? That’s why officials at all levels here, from governors to commandants, possess significantly higher cultivation levels than their counterparts in other commanderies of the same rank.”

Zu’an was somewhat puzzled. “But even so, they are still far from the Yan King’s Grandmaster and Master. How can they possibly act as a check on him?”

Sang Hong smiled. “There’s also the imperial court. Unless the Yan King dares to openly rebel, how could he possibly move against officials of the local system? Furthermore, Yi Commandery has its own military. When regular armies engage in battle, individual martial prowess isn’t as decisive, unless one reaches the level of the Emperor—and he is currently the only Earth Immortal in the entire realm. Of course, you have a point. I suspect the imperial court has other contingency plans, such as the Embroidered Uniform Envoys, who are tasked with monitoring the entire realm.”

Zu’an couldn’t help but think of Gold Plaque Seven. Was he perhaps monitoring the Yan King, working in coordination with local governors and commandants, some openly, some secretly? But that didn’t seem right. The Yan King was the Emperor’s uncle, and quite old. Even if he harbored ill intentions, he couldn’t possibly become emperor. The imperial family had a complete set of succession rules. Not only did the Emperor have a crown prince and many sons, but there was also Prince Qi, a powerful figure. Besides Prince Qi, there were other brothers of the same generation. For a distant relative like the Yan King, the throne wouldn’t fall to him even after a hundred turns. So, he had no motive to be disloyal.

At that moment, he heard Sang Hong say, “I will seize this opportunity to stay in Yi Commandery for three days, to pay my respects to the Yan King and also help Governor Zhang maintain local stability. However, we clearly cannot stay here for long. Regardless of what happens, we must depart after three days.”

Zu’an understood that Sang Hong was hinting to him to finish his business within these three days, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to provide cover for him anymore.

“Thank you, Uncle.” It was already remarkable for Sang Hong to do this much, given his status.

Sang Hong took a sip of tea and said calmly, “I’m not doing this for you, but for… Never mind. Just be careful.”

Shortly after Zu’an returned to his room, a thought suddenly struck him. He changed into Gold Plaque Eleven’s attire and went straight to Xiao Jianren’s room.

Gold Plaque Seven was also in the room. He looked at Zu’an with surprise, having not detected his arrival.

“This person is indeed extraordinary; it seems he cannot be judged by his apparent cultivation level,” he thought. He had initially been somewhat concerned about whether Zu’an could handle this mission, having had no one else to turn to and gritting his teeth to seek out Gold Plaque Eleven. Now, he was completely relieved.

“It’s confirmed. The escort convoy will leave the city through the West Gate tomorrow at noon, then turn south after traveling a certain distance,” Gold Plaque Seven said, unfolding a map. It showed extremely detailed mountain terrain. This was a top-tier military map, something ordinary people would never see, but it was no issue for someone of his status. Zu’an thought Gold Plaque Seven’s intelligence network was truly impressive; Sang Hong had just spoken with Governor Zhang, yet Gold Plaque Seven already had such fresh information.

Next, he pointed to a location on the map. “We’ll make our move here, in Lone Wolf Valley. It has hundreds of meters of treacherous terrain where large forces cannot deploy effectively, making it an ideal opportunity for us to act.”

“Lone Wolf Valley? Are there powerful wolf-like beasts there?” Hearing the name, Zu’an couldn’t help but recall some past encounters where a formidable local beast suddenly appeared just when success seemed imminent. This rescue mission, being outnumbered, was already risky, and such a complication could easily ruin everything.

“No, it’s named that because there’s a giant rock on a nearby mountaintop that resembles a lone wolf. While there are occasional beasts nearby, they are of too low a grade to have any impact on the battle,” Gold Plaque Seven explained. He increasingly admired Zu’an, believing that for a Gold Plaque Embroidered Uniform Envoy, cultivation was secondary to a clear mind and cautious nature.

He then detailed the cultivation levels and unique skills of the escort team’s main individuals, providing even more information than Sang Hong had. He patiently detailed the number of soldiers as well: “My plan is as follows…”

“Now that’s professionalism,” Zu’an thought, deeply impressed.

They discussed for a long time, after which Gold Plaque Eleven quietly departed to monitor the escort convoy’s movements and prevent any last-minute changes to their itinerary.

As for Zu’an, he set off for Lone Wolf Valley in advance. Before leaving, he specifically found Pei You, Gao Ying, and others, telling them he was about to have a minor breakthrough in his cultivation and needed to meditate in seclusion, asking them not to disturb him. They readily agreed and congratulated him repeatedly.

With Sang Hong’s implicit promise to help cover for him, Zu’an quietly made his way to Lone Wolf Valley. Given his current cultivation level, it didn’t take him long to reach his destination while traveling at full speed.

After observing from a distant mountaintop, Zu’an understood why this location was chosen. The valley was funnel-shaped: wide at the entrance, narrowing as one went deeper, to only a few meters at its narrowest point for a stretch of two to three hundred meters, before gradually widening again. Such a place meant that once inside, even a large number of people could not maneuver effectively.

However, such a strategically vital location, known even to ordinary people, would certainly not be unknown to the military. Yi Commandery had built an outpost here to constantly monitor the valley. Any unusual activity would be reported via signal fires to the distant cities of Yi Commandery.

Zu’an’s first task was to figure out how to neutralize this outpost, rendering it unable to send warnings. Gold Plaque Seven had gravely warned him that while neutralizing the outpost itself wasn’t difficult, doing so without alerting anyone would be extremely challenging. Despite its small staff, the outpost personnel were widely dispersed: at the valley entrance, in the middle, at the end, and even on a high vantage point atop a cliff. Each location had a fire-lighting device, and if anything seemed amiss, a signal fire would be lit immediately.

That wasn’t the only challenge; even more difficult was the arrival of the escort convoy at noon. If they saw any issues with the outpost, they would naturally not enter the valley. Therefore, he could only target the sentries in the valley and at the high vantage point. However, entering the valley would necessarily mean passing through the surveillance range of the sentries at both ends.

Zu’an, however, wasn’t overly concerned. If he could infiltrate the imperial palace, how difficult could this heavily guarded place be? Four solutions instantly came to his mind.

He swiftly headed towards the outpost at the valley entrance. His movements were extremely fast. It was dawn, and though the sky was faintly lit, the valley remained quite dark. His movement technique, aided by the night, made him very difficult to perceive.

As he approached the outpost and was about to act, he suddenly frowned, sensing a strong smell of blood.

“What happened?” he wondered, cautiously approaching the outpost entrance. Inside, he saw several sentries lying in pools of blood. Each had been killed with a single, fatal blow, evidently without any time to react.