The Mountain God Temple had not received any incense for a long time. There was an old hanging bell tree in front of the door, its withered leaves falling with the wind. Around it was a small path that had been stepped on, with withered yellow weeds on both sides.
The two or three Daoist officials were all lightly injured. They walked on the way to fetch water, holding a bottle gourd in their hands. Zhang Ling was even darker from the sun, and there was a bandaged wound on her body.
The water in the stream was very clear, and the stones in the water were round and round. In the drizzle, the few of them scooped up the water and drank it. They washed their faces and filled their gourds. They temporarily sat on the bank and looked into the distance without saying a word.
A gust of wind blew past, stirring up the rain, causing everyone to shiver. The two Dao officials looked at each other. One of them looked to be in his thirties and seemed to have a higher status. He then said, "Your Excellency, we've lost another five of our comrades. Now we're down to six. That's a loss of seventy percent!"
"If we continue to follow, even if we have a good foundation, we won't be able to live for much longer. They're clearly trying to exhaust us to death, my lord."
"Shut up. This is the Mountain God Temple. Don't let others hear you. We are officials of the Imperial Court," Zhang Ling berated.
"Milord is too detailed." Behind them was a twenty something year old Daoist official named Shang Xiang. He gritted his teeth and said, "This Mountain Deity is a deity. He doesn't even have a plaque to bestow upon him. He's just a wild deity. How can he hear us?"
"Even if they heard it, can they report us?"
"Your Excellency, there were only a dozen of us in the beginning, and we replenished our numbers twice. In total, there were more than thirty of us, and now we're almost all dead. Furthermore, we've been fighting continuously, and our magic power and energy have been depleted. If this goes on, we'll definitely die, and the Dao Records Department's vitality will be greatly damaged."
"Hua!" A small fish leaped out of the water and landed on the surface of the water, creating a circle of ripples. Zhang Ling looked at Shang Xiang and sighed in her heart.
Shang Xiang didn't have many family members, and his younger brother had died. He was practically all alone now. He remained silent as he stretched out his hand and touched his arm. His arm had been stabbed by a knife as well, and the wound wasn't shallow. He cleaned the wound and didn't bear to use his powers to heal it. After some time, he sighed, "But we can't retreat."
"Assassinating an enemy general is clearly beneficial to the imperial court. This is a righteous act."
"Pei Zi Yun didn't even ask us to participate in the battle. Basically, he asked us to fight alone. We're only in charge of logistics and intelligence. What else can we say?"
"The higher-ups want us to keep an eye on them and record the entire process."
At this point, the three of them were silent. This was the helplessness of a Dao official. Their lives and Dao techniques were all in the hands of a superior official. A mere superior official who didn't know anything about Dao techniques could deprive them of their Dao techniques with just a shout.
Usually, he was paid by the imperial court, but in times of crisis, he had no choice but to act. Sometimes, they had no choice but to risk their lives. If they didn't die when they were supposed to, their whole family would die together. This was the system and the imperial court!
Night gradually fell and the cold wind and rain fell. Zhang Ling said, "If we retreat, we will be considered deserters. Not only will we die, but our entire families will be punished."
As he said this, he smiled bitterly. "Accept your fate! Otherwise, what else can we do? "
The three of them lowered their heads, only to see Shang Xiang clenching his teeth, revealing a look of hatred as he suddenly clenched his fists.
Mountain Deity Temple
Spiders weaved webs on the eaves of the house. Under the statue of a deity, there was an incense burner, but it had long been broken, and there were traces of water flowing on it.
In a corner, there was a pile of straw. The little girl was trembling as she sat there, occasionally looking at the roasted rabbit, which gave off a fragrant aroma.
The beggar sniffed the aroma and took a deep breath. He then used a small knife to cut a small piece of the rabbit and placed it in his mouth. He then stood up and offered the roasted rabbit to Pei Zi Yun.
Pei Zi Yun ate and said, "Although there's only a little salt, the meat tastes good."
"What's your name?"
"Luo Cheng." The beggar replied respectfully. His face was yellow and stained with mud. His eyes were filled with determination.
Eh? This name sounded familiar. Pei Zi Yun had become an Earth Immortal and had a photographic memory. He searched through his memories and soon found something.
He looked at the beggar and realized that he was about fourteen or fifteen years old. It was just that he had wandered the streets and lacked nutrition.
According to the memories of his previous life, this person had been adopted by a noble at a very early age. Very quickly, the rumors reached the ears of the original owner. Although it was only by chance, and the original owner couldn't remember where he had heard it, but to be able to hear the rumors meant that he was a noble.
'According to the rumors, this person should have met a noble family last year. Why is he still a beggar?' Pei Zi Yun chewed on the rabbit and hesitated. He then understood.
'Looks like it's a butterfly effect. I've changed history, and this person missed out on a noble family.' However, Pei Zi Yun didn't care too much about it. Just as he was about to speak, a few Dao officials walked in with gourds in their hands. They placed the gourds on the ground and retrieved some rations and beef, "True Sovereign, please enjoy your meal."
Pei Zi Yun sliced the rabbit into several pieces and distributed them to everyone. He then said to the beggar and the little girl, "Since we're in the temple, give us a portion."
"Thank you True Sovereign." Although the beggar didn't understand what the True Sovereign meant, he understood that Pei Zi Yun was an important person. He then pulled the little girl over and sat down on a pile of hay. They were given a portion of beef and rations.
Pei Zi Yun's ears twitched as he heard some movement. He remained unmoved and continued eating, albeit at a much faster pace. He then tossed the beggar a silver medallion, a piece of silver, and a bag of dry rations to the beggar, "Hide behind the statue. There's a secret chamber there, and don't come out. After this, you can go to Ying Prefecture or Golden Island. With this silver medallion, someone will take you in."
As he spoke, he stood up. At this point, the sound of hooves could be heard. The few Dao officials' faces fell as they looked outside, "Not good, it's King Lu's cavalry."
Pei Zi Yun laughed, his smile was cold and sinister, "They've caught up to us again. Looks like King Lu is truly furious. He's willing to pay any price to capture us."
A 'ka' sound was heard as he unsheathed his sword, and a cold light shone within the temple.
When he looked outside, he saw a group of cavalrymen wielding crossbows. There were about fifty of them, and they surrounded the temple. As the cavalrymen neared, the birds in the forest were startled and flew away.
"True Sovereign, fifty of them. They seem to be patrolling and have spotted the Mountain Deity Temple. That's why they're here." Zhang Ling's face turned ugly as her heartbeat quickened.
Actually, this was easy to understand. It was too easy for the villagers to leak information. The commoners were the most snobbish of people. Even if a stranger was innocent, they would still kill him.
For the sake of the safety of the village, and for the sake of their own benefits, they would definitely report it to the officials.
Since that was the case, the patrolling cavalrymen were probably searching for the outskirts of the village. Hence, the moment the cavalry saw the Mountain Deity Temple, they rushed towards it.
'If the True Sovereign was at his peak, killing these fifty cavalrymen wouldn't be difficult.'
'But it's obvious that after so many assassinations, the True Sovereign is exhausted. The situation now is very dangerous.'
Just as he was thinking about this, the sound of the horses' hooves became quiet. It seemed like someone had entered the bushes.
"The enemy has crossbows, which would be disadvantageous to us. We shall fight within the temple. Everyone, prepare yourselves. Once the enemy enters, we shall surround and kill them." Pei Zi Yun said coldly. The rest of the Dao Officials all prepared their Dao arts and drew their swords.
At this point, Shang Xiang rushed out of the door and shouted, "Pei Zi Yun is inside. I have forsaken the darkness and turned to the light."
This person didn't want to die. Besides, he didn't have many family members. Since Pei Zi Yun didn't want to give him a way out, he might as well let him die.
"Damn it!" Zhang Ling was enraged. Now that the few of them were together, this person betrayed Pei Zi Yun and wanted to kill her. Initially, she still had some sympathy for him, but now she was filled with rage.
Seeing Shang Xiang rush out, Pei Zi Yun's face flashed with killing intent. He didn't move an inch, but kicked out with his leg. A piece of burning firewood flew out like an arrow, and pierced through Shang Xiang's back. He fell to the ground and died.
"Ah!" The cavalrymen who had just rushed in saw the Dao Officials die just as they were about to surrender. This attack had the strength of a crossbow, and was extremely terrifying. Everyone was in an uproar.
The cavalrymen were all wearing their armors as they readied their bows. The atmosphere was tense. The captain waved his hands and took a few steps back. He then took a deep breath, "Prepare the crossbows. Release the fireworks!"
Someone among the soldiers immediately acted. A red firework shot up into the sky and exploded.
"Captain, should we charge in?" The vice captain's eyes gleamed as he looked at the temple. King Lu had said that if they killed Pei Zi Yun, they would be promoted three ranks.
"We're only a small group. This person is too terrifying. Even if we had fifty men, it would be difficult to take him down. The fireworks are the right thing to do. If you dare to charge in and ruin the plan, I will hold you responsible." The captain spoke coldly.
When the vice captain heard these words, he stopped breathing. The fervent look in his eyes faded away, and he didn't dare to act rashly. The captain saw that he had given in and said, "We just need to buy some time. Once the army arrives, we will be rewarded!"
One of the Dao Officials peeked through the crack in the wall. Outside, there were many crossbows aimed at them. There was even a bonfire burning, and thick smoke billowed up.
"True Sovereign, something's wrong. They're not coming in. They're even lighting fireworks and a bonfire. It seems like they're sending a message." The Dao Official shouted out.
Pei Zi Yun closed his eyes and listened to the sounds coming from outside, "There are more than fifty men outside. They're cavalrymen, and they're wearing light armor. They're very cunning and won't come in."
Actually, this was very normal. In the past, Pei Zi Yun and the Daoist officials had their own powers, and loved to lure their enemies into narrow spaces where they could not use their full strength. Once they were in such an environment, it was not difficult for them to kill tens of soldiers. It was just that they had used this tactic many times. Their enemies were not pigs, and would not fall for their tricks. Pei Zi Yun looked at the Daoist officials, "I shall kill my way out. Do any of you still have your powers?
Zhang Ling's face was ashen as she looked at the crossbows in her hands, "True Sovereign, we don't have much energy left. We can still communicate. As for the Flash Technique, we don't have any more."
"Alright, the Flash Technique is enough. You guys use it. I'll go out and kill them." Pei Zi Yun said.
"Yes, True Sovereign — Flash Technique!"
In the gloomy rainy night, two white lights appeared on the ground. The captain's reaction was extremely fast. As soon as he saw the white lights, he ordered, "Close your eyes, and fire!"
The soldiers obeyed immediately. A "pu" sound could be heard as the sound of arrows pierced through the gloomy night. Dozens of sharp sounds could be heard as the arrows rained down on the entrance of the temple.
However, nobody dashed out immediately. Hence, the arrows pierced through the wall and the door. The door then flew out and smashed into the ground. Behind the door, a shadow appeared. With a slash of his sword, blood splattered everywhere. The three soldiers who were at the front did not even have time to react before they fell to the ground.
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