Chapter 780: Wu Xian Seeks Help (Part 2) [Taking a break]

It is impossible to be ungrateful.

Shen Tang cherishes her reputation very much.

She knew that a good reputation made it easier to gain the trust and dependence of the common people, which would be beneficial to rebuilding a new order.

One is a cold and imposing monarch, the other a benevolent and gentle one; the common people subconsciously lean towards the latter. Even if both are at war, either at war or on their way to war, the common people are more likely to believe that the latter will bring them a stable life. The common people know her gentleness, while her infamous side only needs to be seen by her enemies.

"Shanxiao, shall we entrust this matter to you and Gongyi?"

Things should be done sooner rather than later; deliberately delaying will only create problems. Even if Shen Tang's ambitions don't allow Wu Xian to exist as an adversary, they are still allies for now, sharing a common enemy. Joining forces to eliminate the enemy led by Huang Xiguang is of utmost importance.

In this world, survival is the top priority.

Only the surviving forces have the right to talk about the future.

Shen Tang not only accepted Wu Xian's request for help, but also sent people to meet him as quickly as possible, hoping to intimidate Huang Lie's troops.

She has plenty of manpower; anyone could be picked out and get to work. But after much deliberation, she still chose Cui Xiao and Luan Xin. After Shen Tang finished speaking, Cui Xiao gave her a surprised look.

"My lord is willing to entrust me with this important task, and I should not be negligent in the slightest. However, it is probably not appropriate for me to take charge of this matter without any merit at the moment." Cui Xiao's words seemed to be a subtle way of refusing.

Shen Tang smiled and explained, "Shanxiao, don't worry. It's not that I'm deliberately making things difficult for you, but rather that I've thought it through carefully."

It's not very fair to put Cui Xiao directly in front of her former employer right away; suspicious people might think she's deliberately making things difficult for him. Even without that, wouldn't Luan Xin have some reservations about a task where the newcomer is the main character and the veteran is secondary?

There's another layer to the story: Cui Xiao might just be using a humble expression.

But Shen Tang has always liked to be straightforward. She's not mute; God gave her a mouth, wasn't it for speaking?

"There are many military spells that can conceal one's presence, but I've only seen one that can conceal the Imperial Seal, with Shanxiao. With you in command, the army can avoid the enemy's notice and successfully reunite with Brother Zhaode, something that others cannot easily do. As for having Gongyi accompany you to assist you, that's due to Gongyi's own circumstances. His scholarly ways are too burdensome, making him slower than ordinary people..."

Whose team leader would be the one whose network latency spikes so high during a fight?

Justice is good in every way, except for his sloth-like reactions, which are really frustrating. In battle, his reaction time is a dozen breaths slower than that of an ordinary person. This flaw means he can only play a support role.

Seeing the earnest way his new lord was explaining things to him, Cui Xiao smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: "Cui Xiao will certainly live up to your expectations, my lord!"

Cui Xiao also asked Shen Tang for Zhao Wei.

Shen Tang asked in confusion, "You mean Dawei's child?"

“Dawei’s father, Zhao Feng, had a long-standing friendship with Xiao, and Xiao also regarded Dawei as his own daughter, hoping that she would be successful. Young martial artists need more training on the battlefield, which is beneficial to their cultivation…” Since the new lord was so frank, Cui Xiao did not hide anything and spoke directly.

As an elder, he should take care of his niece.

Opportunities that offer low risk and the chance to gain valuable experience are rare.

Shen Tang nodded, and then thought of Xu Quan.

"In that case, you should bring Wenshi along as well." Bringing one child is the same as bringing two, so the more the merrier.

Cui Xiao had some impression of Xu Quan.

These impressions didn't stem from Xu Quan's cousin, Xu Jie, but from his own niece, Zhao Wei. Zhao Wei, relying on Zhao Feng's connections, bullied the younger generation in Tianhai, beating anyone who offended her, while her elders always covered for her when she got into trouble. Over time, she made many enemies.

Fearing that Zhao Wei would be led astray, they carefully examined her circle of friends, with Xu Wenshi from the Xu family, who was close to Zhao Wei, being a particular focus of their observation. However, all of this had previously been based on hearsay; this was their first time meeting her in person.

Shen Tang also threw out Gong Xi Chou, the nuclear weapon.

At first, Gong Xichou was reluctant, but Shen Tang had a little trick to persuade him: "You just need to keep an eye on Huang Lie's sixteenth-grade high-level warriors; you don't need to worry about anything else."

Gongxi Chou said: 【Alright then.】

They mustered five thousand soldiers and set out to meet Wu Xian.

The messenger sent by Wu Xian also went along. Without them, how would outsiders know that Shen Tang didn't drag things out?

The messenger was a military officer under Wu Xian, quite capable, and his Martial Spirit Totem was well-suited for reconnaissance and breakout missions. That's why the message requesting reinforcements for Shen Tang ended up with him. He vaguely felt that Cui Xiao looked somewhat familiar.

After staring at him for a long time, Cui Xiao couldn't ignore it even if he wanted to: "General, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something wrong with me?"

The messenger said, "May I ask your honorable name, sir? To be honest, I find your face very familiar... but I can't recall where I've seen you before... Is your ancestral home in Tianhai County?"

Cui Xiao: "..."

Luan Xin, standing not far away: "???"

No, although Cui Xiao's presence is not strong due to his special scholarly way, it's not like he can't even recognize people, right?

Cui Xiao left Wu Xian to join his lord in just a month or so!

Cui Xiao remained calm, toying with the knife-fan in his hand: "I am not from Tianhai. My surname is Cui, my given name is Xiao, and my courtesy name is Shanxiao."

The messenger blinked, his eyes filled with confusion and hesitation, and within that hesitation lay a hint of wavering. After a long while, he said, "Sir, your name is the same as my colleague's."

Cui Xiao asked, "Is it possible that it's just one person?"

messenger:"……"

messenger:"???"

messenger:"!!!"

His brain almost burned out.

When did Cui Shanxio arrive under Shen Jun's command?

The messenger had absolutely no recollection of it.

Cui Xiao interrupted his thoughts: "These trivial matters are insignificant. The most urgent task is to find Lord Wu's troops as soon as possible."

Shen Tang's guess was correct.

Cui Xiao's scholarly way is indeed very threatening.

If he were to harbor rebellious thoughts, he only needed to secretly activate the Confucian path at a crucial moment, inflicting its side effects on the lord he served, thus dismantling his inner circle. This is why he was unwilling to reveal his true intentions to others—including Zhao Dayi and Qin Gongsu, and even less likely to Wu Zhaode.

To some extent, Cui Xiaobi has a harder time finding employment than Qi Shan.

Qi Shan's "regicide" requires the lord to become suspicious, and the initiative lies with the superior. However, Cui Xiao's "ignoring" is entirely within his control. If he wants to secretly harm someone, he can do it flawlessly without being discovered or having his reputation ruined.

Even a villain would recognize this as expertise.

The drawbacks are obvious, but the benefits are also clear. As long as the superiors always trust him and Cui Xiao remains loyal, his troops will be a ghostly army that comes and goes without a trace.

Unrestricted access anywhere!

Of course, the larger the target group being covered, the greater the cost and the shorter the duration. During combat, scouts are needed to assist, employing the methods of strategists when there is a risk of exposure, and marching at full speed when it is safe to strike at the heart of the enemy.

At full speed, it only took three days.

The one who was most furious was undoubtedly Huang Lie, who received the news.

"Which army do you think was flying whose flag?"

The scout, trembling, proclaimed: "The banner of the Shen family."

Of the dozens of factions in the Dragon Slaying Bureau, only one is surnamed Shen.

"The one surnamed Shen, and Shen Youli again—this is five thousand soldiers, not five thousand ants. How could they have bypassed five lines of defense and appeared here silently?" This was the part Huang Lie couldn't understand the most. Such dereliction of duty must be the work of a spy, right?

The scout knelt on the ground, sweat pouring down his back. The fabric of his clothes was soaked with sweat and clung tightly to his skin.

He has no room for excuses or shirking responsibility.

With a pale face: "I have failed in my duty, my lord. Please punish me."

Huang Lie then asked, "Does the leading military officer have a grudge against Gongxi?"

Identifying Gongxi Chou is the simplest.

He's the one with a head full of braids and who's blind.

Upon hearing this question, the scout lowered his head even further: "Among the enemy generals, there is indeed one who looks remarkably like Gongxi Chou..."

Huang Lie looked in the direction of Wu Xian's troops, feeling somewhat unwilling.

Without Shen Tang's intervention, he and Zhang Yongqing would have a very high chance of winning by attacking Wu Zhaode from both sides. However, with Shen Tang's reinforcements arriving, more troops are likely on their way. At this point, a quick victory would be ideal, but the real fear is that the battle will drag on and Shen Youli will stab them in the back.

Most importantly, Huang Lie has a portion of his troops absent.

Huang Lie was weighing the pros and cons here, while Wu Xian's side was also bustling with activity, which reached its climax after Zhao Wei arrived.

Wu Xian's camp.

What are you doing?

Zhao Wei let out a furious shout, before anyone could figure out where the sound came from. She snapped the military baton in half with her bare hands and kicked the soldier who was about to be executed.

Cui Xiao shouted sternly, "Dawei, come back!"

Zhao Wei suddenly felt as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water.

He looked around, his face grim.

The main force successfully made contact with Wu Xian's advance outpost. Wu Xian was overjoyed upon hearing the news and immediately sent men to fetch Cui Xiao and the others. Zhao Wei initially followed him obediently, anticipating the scene of meeting her elderly father, Zhao Feng. However, she instead witnessed Zhao Feng being beaten with a cane.

This scene made her mind go blank, and she was filled with rage.

Reason vanished, and driven by instinct, she crushed the military baton, kicked away the executioner, and stood in front of Zhao Feng.

This scene left not only the others dumbfounded, but Zhao Feng was also stunned.

He was in a sorry state, having removed his upper armor, exposing his chest and back, where shocking wounds were still bleeding. His hair was slightly disheveled, and his face was icy cold. There were several red welts on his back from being struck heavily with a wooden staff, and some of the flesh was rotten.

Given Zhao Feng's current strength and reputation, to put it bluntly, even if he sexually harassed Lord Wu Xian or his wives and concubines, he wouldn't deserve to be flogged in public!

Unfortunately, this scene happened right in front of Zhao Wei.

What exactly happened?

Before Wu Xian's men could speak, Zhao Feng, standing behind Zhao Wei, spoke up: "This is a military camp, a place of great importance. How can we treat it like a child's play?"

Zhao Wei's face drained of color.

Her gaze met Wu Xian's cold expression in the distance, and there were several familiar uncles' faces not far away. She opened her mouth.

Behind him, Cui Xiao called out again, "Dawei, come back."

The voice was stern, but it was for the purpose of upholding justice.

Zhao Wei bit her pale lips, clasped her hands in a fist salute, and apologized to Wu Xian, accepting her punishment. If she went back, given the critical juncture of the cooperation between the two families, she could easily resolve the matter peacefully. However, since this incident was caused by her impulsiveness, she naturally had to take responsibility for it and couldn't let her elders clean up the mess anymore. Wu Xian, of course, wouldn't punish her; even when beating a dog, one should consider its owner, so he naturally had to give Shen Tang some face.

"Why did you come out to stop the execution, you brat?"

Zhao Wei countered, "What offense has General Zhao committed?"

Wu Xian said, "It delays military operations and harms colleagues."

Zhao Wei was taken aback. Was the other person talking about her father? With her father's pushover nature, would he really harm his colleagues?

She turned her head and looked at Zhao Feng, confused.

"Dawei, get down." Zhao Feng showed no remorse, nor any resentment at being wronged. His calm and composed demeanor left everyone completely baffled.

But Zhao Wei's feet were firmly planted: "General Zhao..."

Wu Xian asked her, "What is your relationship with righteousness?"

Zhao Wei breaking the cane was, at best, a fan's impulsive act of violence against their idol, but at worst, it damaged the relationship between the two families. Wu Xian didn't intend to escalate the situation.

But he didn't expect that Zhao Wei had a "bomb" planted on her.

Cui Xiao: "Dawei is General Zhao's daughter. Seeing her biological father being flogged, she lost her composure in her anxiety. Please forgive her, Lord Wu."

Shen Tang didn't stop Cui Xiao from bringing Zhao Wei along, so Cui Xiao tested Shen Tang's attitude—if Zhao Wei, as a personal guard, were to walk alongside him, they would inevitably encounter Zhao Feng and a group of uncles and elders familiar with Zhao Wei. This inherently carried the risk of their identities and genders being exposed.

Shen Tang looked down at her women's clothing.

The skirt also features floral embroidery specially drawn by Wu Hui.

Do I appear to be trying to hide something from you?

Previously, no one believed her gender, and since this matter was also beneficial to her, Shen Tang simply let them misunderstand.

Now that she's established herself, why continue to misunderstand?

Wearing a pretty dress and being mistaken for a cross-dresser—how frustrating! She's going to take this opportunity to lay her cards on the table! She, Shen Youli, is a beautiful and capable female ruler!

|ω`)

After several nights of staying up late, I couldn't take it anymore. Since testing positive for COVID-19, I've definitely felt my heart reacting more strongly than before. This afternoon, I suddenly woke up from my nap, and when I moved, I felt something strange under my left rib. I kept sleeping until I naturally woke up, around six or seven in the evening, before I felt like I was alive again.

(End of this chapter)