Cai Wenxuan left as he had come.

He did not return to the governor's mansion, but went straight to the Xu family.

When Xu Qiao saw that only he had returned, his gaze sharpened as he looked him up and down and slowly asked, "Why didn't you come back with me, Da Lang?"

Cai Wenxuan said in a timid manner, "Yuan Ye is dead. Originally, my elder brother was going to come back with me, but he said that instead of spreading the news of Yuan Ye's death now, he would stay in the main tent and pretend to be Yuan Ye to give orders. At that time, he would order the gates of the Xizhou camp to be opened, and the general could lead the troops to drive straight in."

Xu Qiao frowned. What Cai Wenxuan said was exactly what Xu Dalang would do. But for some reason, when he saw Cai Wenxuan returning alone, a strong sense of unease suddenly rose in his heart.

He was a seasoned veteran who had survived countless life-or-death situations thanks to this instinct.

Xu Qiao squinted and looked Cai Wenxuan up and down, saying, "Since that's the case, as the governor, you should share the emperor's burdens. This time, you will lead the troops to personally annihilate the remnants of the rebel king."

Cai Wenxuan was taken aback; this was different from what they had anticipated. But he quickly realized that Xu Qiao, that old fox, had probably become suspicious.

Especially at this time, it is crucial to avoid revealing any weaknesses.

He wiped his face, looking terrified, and said, "But...but my brother clearly said that as long as I cooperated in killing Yuan Ye, everything that happened before would be wiped clean..."

"The general knows me well. I am but a scholar who has never even killed a chicken. How can I lead troops to fight the enemy?"

He knelt down with a thud, pleading tearfully, "Father-in-law, please spare my life! I was ungrateful before. I only beg you to give me a chance to reform. I promise to drive Chen and those two bastards out of the house, and I will be devoted to my wife and have no other intentions towards the Xu family!"

He looked terrified, clearly frightened by Xu Qiao's broken promise. He seemed to be facing imminent disaster and his life was about to end.

Xu Qiao looked down at him, but couldn't see anything unusual.

That lingering doubt in my heart resurfaced.

Perhaps that premonition shouldn't be about this place, but rather about something unexpected happening to the King of Qin? After all, Dalang was a child he had personally trained, and he was exceptionally skilled. He didn't really think Dalang would make a mistake.

Moreover, he knew Cai Wenxuan very well. Having been Xu's son-in-law for so many years, he knew the other party's character better than anyone else. The other party would never dare to deceive both sides.

If Cai Wenxuan was lying, he should have already given himself away when he was startled by him.

Xu Qiao pondered for a moment and said, "Never mind, he's not going to amount to anything. I'll send Sanlang to meet Dalang. You can stay at the Xu family's place for now."

Cai Wenxuan knew he had passed this test, but Xu Qiao was still worried about him and wanted to keep him at the Xu family's residence.

Although he desperately didn't want to stay, he dared not voice any objections and could only put on a relieved expression, thanking everyone repeatedly.

After sending Cai Wenxuan away, Xu Qiao summoned Xu Sanlang and told him the news Cai Wenxuan had brought back: "I suspect something went wrong at Tamu Mountain, and I'm going to go check it out myself. Your elder brother has killed Yuan Ye and has temporarily taken control of the Xizhou camp. You should immediately lead troops to meet him."

Xu Sanlang was overjoyed upon hearing this and replied, "Yes!"

That night, he mustered 30,000 troops and headed to the Xizhou camp.

Just as Cai Wenxuan had predicted, the guards at the Xizhou camp initially appeared tense and on high alert upon seeing them. However, after a brief standoff, a soldier galloped in with a message: "The general has ordered that they be allowed to pass!"

The outer guards exchanged bewildered glances, not understanding why they were being allowed to pass, but they had orders from above. They eventually parted the way and opened the camp gates.

Xu Sanlang swaggered into the camp with his men and headed towards the central command tent.

According to Cai Wenxuan, his elder brother is currently impersonating Yuan Ye in the central command tent. Once he joins up with his brother, they can wipe out the entire Xizhou camp.

Thirty thousand troops entered the camp one after another, and Xu Sanlang also arrived at the camp tent.

When the two guards saw that he requested to see Yuan Ye, they went inside to inform him and then let him pass.

As Xu Sanlang entered the tent, he saw a figure sitting behind the screen. Instinctively assuming it was Xu Dalang, he couldn't help but laugh and say, "Brother, you really have a brilliant plan. Even Yuan Ye has been tricked—"

Before he could finish speaking, the figure sitting behind the screen revealed his true identity. It was not Xu Dalang, but Yuan Ye, whom Cai Wenxuan had mentioned as having been killed by Xu Dalang.

Although Xu Sanlang was reckless, he wasn't stupid. He immediately realized he had fallen into a trap. He thought of Cai Wenxuan, who was hunched over and wagging his tail, and gritted his teeth, saying, "That despicable Cai Wenxuan!"

He glared at Yuan Ye and shouted, "Where's my older brother?!"

Yuan Ye didn't answer, but got up, grabbed a meteor hammer from the table, and smashed it at him.

Xu Sanlang, who prided himself on his brute strength, didn't dodge and actually took the blow head-on. But unfortunately, he misjudged his opponent. The meteor hammer seemed to carry a thousand pounds of force, crashing down on his head, not only breaking the blade he was using to meet it, but also forcing his legs to bend—because Yuan Ye's strength was too great, his legs couldn't withstand it and were forcibly dislocated and broken.

Xu Sanlang cried out in pain and looked at Yuan Ye in disbelief.

Yuan Ye grinned at him, waved the meteor hammer in his hand, and said, "You underestimated it, didn't you? This pair of meteor hammers is made of bronze and weighs a full hundred pounds."

But the meteor hammer, which weighed a good fifty pounds, felt as light as a knife or a sword in his hands.

Xu Sanlang tried to struggle again, but Yuan Ye was too lazy to waste time with him. He swiftly dislocated Xu Sanlang's jaw and broke both of his arms, saying, "Lock him up. We can start now. Pass down the order to prepare for the attack!"

*

The 30,000 men brought by Xu Sanlang were all captured.

Xu Qiao had just left Xizhou City and was heading towards Tamu Mountain when he heard deafening sounds of fighting coming from the direction of Xizhou City.

He reined in his horse and looked back, and saw flames shooting into the sky in the direction of Xizhou City, as bright as day.

"We've fallen into their trap!" Xu Qiao immediately realized that something had gone wrong on Xu Sanlang's side. Without much thought, he guessed that he had fallen into Cai Wenxuan's trap.

He gripped the sword at his waist and gritted his teeth, saying, "I never thought that someone who hunts geese all day would have their eyes pecked by one."

"Good! Good! Good!"

He said "okay" three times, but had no intention of returning to Xizhou.

Such a large commotion in Xizhou City clearly indicates that Xu Dalang and Xu Sanlang have been completely annihilated. To put it even worse, Xu Erlang may also have met with misfortune. The Xu family has already fallen into the Qin King's trap. Rather than turning back to their deaths, it's better to preserve their strength and wait for another opportunity.

Xu Qiao made a decisive decision and ordered his soldiers, "Tubo, turn around and go to Tibet."