Chapter 1066: One Pit After Another (Part 2) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

It ended abruptly!

The moment Cui Xiao initiated the Way of the Scholars, the relentless barrage of lightning seemed to be paused. Although the thunderclouds overhead continued to churn, with countless arcs of dark purple lightning leaping and swirling among them, not a single bolt of lightning struck. This scene left countless onlookers speechless, some even disoriented by the sudden disappearance of the thunderous roar, mistaking it for auditory hallucinations.

Fang Yan's old friend looked at Cui Xiao in disbelief.

He never expected that this unremarkable stranger would have such skills. Why had he never heard of a similar person under Shen Youli's command before? His lips twitched slightly, and his mind began to wander—judging from this situation, Shen Youli really had the qualifications to compete with others.

The previous judgment seems to have been somewhat arbitrary.

Fang Yan noticed the calculating glint in his old friend's eyes.

Considering the status and abilities of Qi Shan and the other two, he was worried that his old friend might recklessly walk into trouble, so he secretly reminded him that if these three were targeting him, even a celestial being couldn't protect him. His old friend didn't care about this; he was just curious to find out Cui Xiao's identity.

Fang Yan said, "Cui Xiao, courtesy name Shanxiao."

Old friend: "..."

Fang Yan noticed that his old friend was particularly concerned about this name; the corners of his mouth were pursed, and he seemed quite wary. This reaction was a bit too much. Could it be that he had an old grudge against Cui Xiao?

My old friend just chuckled at that.

There was no old grudge, but the name Cui Xiao sounded familiar.

It can be described as "renowned"!

As everyone knows, the Censorate of Kang State is a force to be reckoned with. From the Grand Censor Gu Chi and the fiery Censor-in-Chief Tian Cuo to the group of omnipresent censors, anyone who provokes them is doomed, and if caught doing something wrong, they'll suffer greatly.

However, the most feared and venomous figure was a mysterious, elusive censor named Cui Shanxiao, who was once suspected of being part of a vast intelligence organization. Several major official scandals since the founding of Kangguo were inextricably linked to this man.

No one knows how he collected those confidential pieces of evidence, or how they ended up in Shen Youli's hands. All they know is that by the time they realized what was happening, he was already in jail. Because the evidence was so overwhelming, even the arrested man's cries of "innocence" lacked conviction.

Using this method, the man surnamed Shen got rid of a group of people he didn't get along with.

Families with tainted reputations were even more afraid to speak out.

They were afraid of being the next target.

An old friend had a distant relative by marriage who was among them, and he even visited him in prison to inquire about the situation. How could such meticulously preserved evidence be taken away? Could there be a traitor in the family? Had a spy been planted in the household? The other party wept bitterly: "How can we know?"

One or two times can be attributed to coincidence.

Seven or eight times would be terrifying.

The deeds of Cui Xiao, the censor of the Censorate, were also unearthed.

Despite knowing this, no one could find him, let alone know his appearance, age, strength, or abilities... So some people privately speculated that "Cui Xiao" wasn't actually a specific person, but rather a code name shared by all the spies in an intelligence organization. This mysterious organization belonged to Shen Tang, and specialized in gathering intelligence on the secrets of officials and monitoring the court.

For a time, people were restless and there was a sense of unease.

My friend had some reservations about this.

But he never expected this.

Choi Hyo-jae is actually a human being!

All those previous speculations about the "truth" were absurd rumors!

While his friend was wary and fearful of Cui Xiao, he also felt genuine admiration for him—to fight against a thousand men single-handedly! What a prodigy!

Unaware of his friend's inner thoughts, Fang Yan continued, "Imperial Censor Cui is not a narrow-minded, intolerant, or petty person. If you have any old grudges, why don't you sit down and have a frank discussion?"

Friend: "..."

For the first time in his life, he suspected that Fang Laoliu had a problem with his eyes.

Is he blind?

Just as his friend was about to explain, Cui Xiao, who had been grinning smugly at Qi Yuanliang a moment before, suddenly staggered backward, vomiting a mouthful of blood. His face was deathly pale, and the aura of heaven and earth surrounding him shifted from serene and peaceful to violent and chaotic: "Cui Shanxiao!"

This change came too suddenly.

Qi Shan approached Cui Xiaojin and reached out to help him up.

He hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

Cui Xiao didn't need to answer, because the thunderclouds overhead had already provided the answer. The thunderclouds, which had just been wandering aimlessly like headless flies, stirred again. Like a fooled person finding their culprit, they unleashed all their pent-up anger on their target. The thunderclouds churned even more violently, the ground trembled, and a bolt of lightning four or five times thicker than before crashed down.

Chao Lian sensed something was wrong.

"We can't fall behind!"

Dozens of beams of varying colors and intensities erupted simultaneously, heading straight for the lightning. The instant the two clashed in mid-air, a terrifying shockwave spread outwards from the beam, silencing all sound. A blinding white light burst forth overhead.

Countless people instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes.

Strangely, the expected blast wave did not materialize.

My friend cautiously opened his eyes, only to find his raised sleeve covered in white frost. The surrounding temperature had plummeted, and the air he inhaled was chillingly cold. Looking up, the first thing he saw were several solid barriers.

These barriers were created by Qi Yuanliang and others.

Both its thickness and area are astonishing.

A rough estimate suggests it can offset the frontal shockwave from the explosion.

In the past, he would have been shocked—literary scholars always used their literary energy frugally and sparingly. Such a method of using it without spending money was either the work of a capable person who was not lacking in literary energy or a clueless idiot who knew nothing. But right now, he was not in the mood for that, because what happened in front of him shocked him to the point of being speechless!

A colossal ice sculpture, almost connecting thunderclouds and city walls, appeared out of thin air! What was instantly frozen was not only the lingering power of the lightning that had not yet been completely neutralized, but also the shockwave from the explosion!

"It's...frozen?"

He vaguely heard himself stuttering.

At this moment, not only would he be stuttering, but the common people in the city who witnessed this scene were also so shocked that their tongues seemed to leave their homes, completely at a loss for words to describe the scene before them. Although the thunderclouds were low in the sky, their distance from the ground was still considerable. The difficulty of creating such a breathtaking spectacle is unimaginable.

Most importantly—

Those who have arrived are friends, not enemies; they are reinforcements!

The ice sculpture only lasted for a moment before the ice and snow melted away, and countless raindrops fell from the sky, pattering and wetting the ground.

Qi Shan's tense nerves finally relaxed.

Given these characteristics, guessing the visitor's identity would be too easy.

"Yuanmou!"

A voice of response appeared from the cloud.

The raindrops in the air seemed to be swallowed up by a whale and gathered in one place, coalescing into a figure that instantly transformed into Yun Ce's appearance upon landing. His face still showed lingering anxiety, yet he sincerely expressed his relief, saying, "Thank goodness, we finally made it in time. Is Qi Zhongshu injured?"

Before Qi Shan could speak, Cui Xiao, whom he was supporting, said softly, "What kind of injury could the Lord's precious child suffer? Yuan Mou is really not fair. If you had come earlier, I wouldn't have had to suffer the backlash... Alas, the path of a scholar that is not yet perfected is easy to suffer. How could he be found like this? It makes me so angry!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Shan immediately withdrew her hand.

Cui Xiao stumbled and almost fell.

He threw down the broken sword fan in his hand and said angrily, "Qi Yuanliang, are you taking revenge for personal reasons? Are you trying to kill me?"

Yun Ce tried to mediate the conflict, taking the blame upon himself. However, Cui Xiao refused to listen, brushing away Yun Ce's outstretched hand, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and staring at the brewing thunderclouds in the sky with a sinister gaze: "Very well! Very well!"

With the thunderclouds overhead no longer pressing in and Yun Ce present, Qi Shan could finally breathe a sigh of relief and notice some small details.

"Yuanmou, what happened to all this blood on you?"

Yun Ce is one of the few military generals who is clean-loving. Although he is not as enthusiastic about perfumed grooming as the literati, he always maintains a neat and tidy appearance and never acts sloppily. In the words of his lord, this fits the stereotype of every spearman who loves white.

There's only one possibility for the blood on Yun Ce's body.

They encountered the enemy on the way and were delayed.

Yun Ce's answer also matched Qi Shan's guess.

"We captured a group of enemy soldiers."

"enemy?"

When this matter was mentioned, Yun Ce's anger was visibly evident: "The tactics of that enemy force were exactly like those of the elite troops from the Zhechong Prefecture. They deceived us halfway and gained our trust, but then suddenly launched a sneak attack... That's why I thought Shangnan had fallen."

There was a moment of silence.

Qi Shan and the others arrived halfway and were unaware of what had happened. They were just frowning and worried about the enemy's methods. Given Yun Ce's caution, if they wanted to deceive him and infiltrate the army, this group of people must be extremely familiar with the Kang State's military headquarters and well-versed in military codes.

Meets the above conditions—

This indirectly confirms that there was a traitor within Kang Guojun's army.

While worried, Qi Shan couldn't help but curse Gu Chi. How could that guy be keeping watch like that? The enemy is practically riddling the camp with holes!

I had barely started to criticize when the truth was revealed.

Good news, there is no so-called super-powerful traitor in the camp.

Bad news: these enemy troops are from Shangnan County.

Fang Yan and the former garrison commander of Shangnan County turned deathly pale, and Qi Shan also felt a surge of murderous intent: "They've been executed?"

Yun Ce was not a slow-witted person, and he realized that something was wrong.

He said softly, "Kill forty, and the rest as prisoners."

Qi Shan and the others closed their eyes tightly.

If the information provided by Fang Yan is true, then this so-called rebel army was ordered to ambush the "enemy" disguised as their own people, and Yun Ce was ambushed and retaliated to clear out the enemy soldiers... Neither side was wrong, but the result was that both sides suffered heavy losses.

The person who orchestrated this scheme...

Extremely poisonous, and ruthless enough.

Whether it's mutual slaughter or Yun Ce being delayed and unable to arrive in time, Shangnan Commandery will ultimately suffer, while the enemies of Gao State will benefit. So, could this scheme be orchestrated by He Shu?

He Xin seemed to have read his mind.

"It can't be the eldest brother."

The two brothers are twins with a special connection, and to some extent, they can sense each other's situations. The elder brother, He Shu, lacked the time and resources to orchestrate this scheme. Within this scheme, there is a detail that is easily overlooked yet crucial.

He Xin looked at Qi Shan with a strange expression.

"Speaking of which, this disguise that can fool people so easily is comparable to Yuan Liang's, isn't it? If you..."

Qi Shan didn't want to open her mouth to refute it.

"how--"

He was speaking when he suddenly stopped.

(σ)σ:*☆

Guess who it is? There's no reward for guessing correctly.

P.S.: Today's update was a bit short, I'll try to make up for it tomorrow (I feel like I'm going to lose my perfect attendance bonus this month, sob sob).