Chapter 813 A Beauty's Heartfelt Words
Ouyang Rong remembered that Li Congshan seemed to have indeed come from an elite scout background in the border army.
There is a special set of Qi cultivation techniques that specialize in specific areas.
You can track down enemies based on the slightest clues.
He pressed further:
"Are you saying that Li Congshan is not a trusted confidant promoted by Yi Qianqiu in the White Tiger Guard?"
"That's right. Strictly speaking, Yi Qianqiu was favored by the Sage and parachuted into the White Tiger Guard. Before that, Qiu Shenji, a famous military strategist in the border army, rose through the ranks from the White Tiger Guard. After leaving the White Tiger Guard, he seemed to get close to Wei Jisi and others, becoming the teacher of a young master in the Wei Prince's Mansion. At the same time, he was also one of the most important retainers of the Wei family... As for what happened after that, you know about those old stories in Longcheng. I'm sure you know them best."
Rong Zhen spoke clearly and recounted everything in detail. When she got to this point, she glanced at the cloth-wrapped scroll that Ouyang Rong had placed on the table with a strange look in her eyes.
Ouyang Rong seemed to be deep in thought:
"Qiu Shenji has been in the White Tiger Guard for many years. Later, he was won over by Wei Jisi. So, the White Tiger Guard can be considered the Wei family's sphere of influence. If I were Wei Jisi, I would also manage it carefully."
Rongzhen nodded:
"Indeed, when Wei Wu came to Xunyang City last time, he was able to set up such a trap. Besides the fact that I ignored him and Wei Jisi took the opportunity to win over Deputy Supervisor Song and Commander Yi so that they would turn a blind eye, there was also the factor that many generals in the White Tiger Guard had close ties with the Wei family."
Ouyang Rong nodded slowly and sighed softly.
"Looking at it this way, when they asked you for reinforcements, Luoyang specifically sent the White Tiger Guards. The Wei Prince's Mansion had already made plans. They really haven't given up on destroying the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, even with a formidable enemy at hand."
Rong Zhen lowered her eyes slightly, somewhat lost in thought.
When the past was brought up, Ouyang Rong noticed a hint of sadness in her voice, so he stopped talking about it and changed the subject:
“Li Congshan rose from a border scout at a young age, faster than Wei Mi. This is only because he has the powerful background of the Wei family in the south of the city. Besides his outstanding military achievements and youthful talent, it is impossible for Li Congshan to have no one behind him. That scout technique of tracking prey by observing the aura was probably taught by Qiu Shenji.”
Rongzhen nodded:
"I am not very clear about the extent of Wei Jisi's control over the White Tiger Guard, nor have I been interested in it before. However, in my opinion, it is obviously a bit strange that he was transferred to the guard team of Xunyang Prince's Mansion at the beginning, along with Miaozhen."
“Ouyang Lianghan, your suspicion of Li Congshan and your opposition to this personnel arrangement were indeed reasonable… I remember that when the reinforcements first arrived, during the morning meeting, the decision to leave Li Congshan and three hundred White Tiger Guards to protect the Prince’s residence was supported by Yi Qianqiu, Duan Quanwu, and Granny Song. Looking at it this way, it’s even more obvious.”
Rong Zhen sneered, then frowned slightly and spoke to Ouyang Rong, who was deep in thought:
"It's a pity that Yi Qianqiu isn't here, and it's too late now, otherwise we could just ask her directly and save ourselves from all this troubleshooting."
"Um."
The cabin rocked with the waves, but Ouyang Rong remained rooted to the spot like a pine tree, not swaying at all. He even took a few steps forward with a thoughtful expression on his face.
He suddenly turned around:
“Rongzhen, your inside information is very timely. At least we can rule out one thing now: the fact that this group of White Tiger Guards was able to follow us all the way to Longcheng is most likely not because there is a traitor among the prince's men, but because of Li Congshan's strange abilities. So, the situation is not too dangerous.”
Rong Zhen shook her head with a stern face:
"He should not be underestimated. This Li Congshan has been pretending to be an innocent rabbit all along. I was almost fooled by him. This kind of person is like a snake. Once he shows his fangs, it is definitely when he thinks he has a great deal of confidence."
"His special Qi refining technique must have been firmly anchored on Li Xian and Xie Lingjiang, which is why he was able to relentlessly pursue them. Moreover, there is another dangerous matter that I wonder if you have considered."
Ouyang Rong pondered:
“I know. You mean, the Prince and Junior Sister may not know that Li Congshan’s group is chasing them. Being half a day ahead is not safe, especially since Li Congshan can lock onto the target.”
"That's right."
Rong Zhen was about to offer a few more reminders, but seeing Ouyang Rong's pursed lips, she stopped talking and said nothing more.
"It's good that you've thought about it."
Rongzhen spoke again:
"There's one more thing, I don't know if you've overlooked it, but I've been forgetting to ask about it."
"What is it?"
"How do you plan to clean up the mess in Xunyang City? Now the Buddha statue is destroyed, and our people are almost all gone. You're sending Li Xian back to the capital like this... How do you plan to explain this to Luoyang? You can't really just go find Xiu Niang and abandon her, can you?"
"Or are you suggesting we reveal our identity as the Swordholder to the Sage in exchange for leverage? But judging from how you escorted us back to the city that day, it doesn't seem like it... How exactly do you plan to handle this situation?"
Ouyang Rong suddenly said:
"What you really want to ask is how to handle our situation, right, Rongzhen? You want me to give you an explanation too?"
Rong Zhen subconsciously looked away, but the next instant, she looked back and nodded:
“That’s right. The Buddha statue is destroyed, Emperor Wen’s sword formation is gone, and almost all the people sent by the court are dead. I am primarily responsible. Even if the Emperor favors me, he would not be so lenient.”
She sniffed, her expression still cold, but she slightly raised her chin and asked him directly:
"But I am not afraid of taking the blame, not afraid of being punished, and not even afraid of the death penalty. But Lianghan, you have to tell me your thoughts. If you want to continue to hide your identity and the Dingjian, you can say so directly. I and Yi Qianqiu will cooperate with you. We will take the blame. It is the same as the saying goes. If it weren't for you, we would have died at Xuezhongzhu's hands long ago."
"However, there is one thing I must remind you: it is not good for the Xunyang Prince's family to just run back to the capital like this. Even if they have nothing to do with the Xunyang incident, or are even victims of the 'attack by the Tiannan River Bandits,' the Emperor is in a fit of rage, and they will probably not have a good outcome."
"You need to be prepared. This time, the mess in Xunyang City is huge. It concerns the Emperor Wen. You may not know how much the Sage values this cauldron and sword. Wei Jisi and the others must be very anxious now. They will probably try to shift the blame onto the Prince of Xunyang and you."
"I also understand the Sage. The Sage may be slightly biased and not place all the blame on me. This is not a complacent statement, but a possibility that may happen, which I cannot control. Some sins are not ones that I can bear just because I want to."
Ouyang Rong was silent for a moment, then turned and went to open the door:
"I will give you an explanation. For now, let's deal with the pursuers."
The hatch opened.
Rong Zhen tilted her head, looking at Ouyang Rong's calm face with some confusion.
Does he have a better way?
A moment later, Rong Zhen still left with a puzzled look in her eyes. Before leaving, she gave Ouyang Rong a deep look.
She whispered a sentence:
"I am waiting for you."
The cabin fell silent.
Ouyang Rong stood there for a moment, then walked alone to the table.
He glanced at the bronze scroll.
With his slender hands, he took out a sword box and a string of eighteen seeds from the painting.
His gaze fell on the eighteen seeds.
This is the only counterfeit Ding Sword of Emperor Wen. In a sense, it is equivalent to the Four Directions Buddha Statue and the Praise of Virtue Heavenly Pivot, only its power is concentrated.
He then turned to stroke his old companion, the Mo family sword case.
Although the sword case could be placed in the Peach Blossom Spring painting.
However, once the [Craftsmanship] skill is restored, it's best to keep the sword case with you at all times.
Easy to draw the sword from its sheath.
Otherwise, having a layer of drawing paper in the middle would delay the time for setting up the sword.
Ouyang Rong is actually worried about something else right now.
His strength was diminished after the battle at Xunyang Grottoes.
After the great battle, one should have taken the time to recuperate, calmly digest the spoils of war, and study the Peach Blossom Sword Formation and the Kui Xing Talisman Confucian Arts to elevate one's strength to a higher level.
However, for the safety of the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, he had no choice but to rush south to catch up with the person.
Without the familiar [Craftsmanship], and before the Peach Blossom Sword Formation could be set up, their strength had been reduced by more than half.
Using two counterfeit swords might not be enough with spiritual energy and purple mist, so it would be better to use the Divine Descent technique.
If it's a séance...
Ouyang Rong took out the blood-written letter left by Cui Hao.
I browsed around for a while under the oil lamp.
After a short while, he silently put away the blood-written letter.
The possible relics mentioned in Cui Hao's message are too far from Jiangzhou to be found for the time being.
Speaking of which, what rank is Cui Hao? According to Old Yang, the fifth rank is called Jixia Master, and Cui Hao is definitely not a fifth rank, otherwise he wouldn't be chasing after Xue Zhongzhu and the others to beat them up. Xue Zhongzhu is one of the most outstanding sword cultivators in the world.
Unable to reach a conclusion, Ouyang Rong then thought of Tao Yuanming.
It would be possible to borrow another IOU from Little Ink Spirit, but Tao Yuanming mentioned that he did not want to be "resurrected" again, so it is unknown whether he would respond if forcibly summoned.
But there's no other way. If we really can't find anyone, it's extremely dangerous. We have no choice but to give it a try.
A moment later, Ouyang Rong took out a short knife from the scroll.
It's the junior sister's skirt knife.
He rubbed it a few times.
I wonder what my junior sister is doing right now.
Ouyang Rong was somewhat worried.
In fact, ever since he arrived in Longcheng, he had been trying to use the skirt knife to warn his junior sister.
Unfortunately, the skirt blade can only be passed in one direction and cannot receive a response from the other side.
However, by rubbing his skirt blade, Ouyang Rong could indicate his location to his junior sister.
In this way, as long as they are close enough and it doesn't interfere with the prince's journey, the junior sister will definitely come looking for him.
Even if he's too far away, his junior sister will still know his location.
In fact, ever since Ouyang Rong rode away from Xunyang that night, he had been rubbing his skirt knife from time to time, giving his junior sister a subtle hint.
Remind your junior sister of your location.
On the evening of the third day.
Ouyang Rong arrived at Shaoyang City, the main city of Raozhou, by boat.
From Longcheng County to Shaoyang City, the group saw from the boat that the route was almost entirely through deep mountains and forests, so traveling by water was obviously faster for them. They just didn't know if they could catch up with their junior sister and the others who were ahead of them in a day's journey.
If we can't catch up, it wouldn't be bad if we could block the White Tiger Guards who are half a day ahead. At least we could protect our junior sister and the others from danger and buy them some time.
When the group arrived in Shaoyang City, Ouyang Rong rushed to the local government office but could not find the group from the Xunyang Prince's Mansion.
Ouyang Rong spoke calmly:
"Logically, after traveling for so long in the wilderness, if Junior Sister and the others arrived in Shaoyang City, they would stay overnight to replenish their food supplies."
"So there are only two possibilities now: either they haven't arrived yet, or I guessed wrong and they didn't stop and just went through customs and left."
"Then let's prepare for both possibilities."
Ouyang Rong and Rong Zhen went to the government office to discuss the matter with the governor of Raozhou.
Soon, officers and soldiers were mobilized to intercept people at the post station, and at the same time, the list of those who had passed through customs was investigated, just to be on the safe side.
Just then, Qin Ying returned with her men who had gone out to investigate, and informed Ouyang Rong that an hour earlier, a group of White Tiger Guards had left their tracks on the official road outside Raozhou, completely ignoring Raozhou.
Ouyang Rong frowned immediately. After estimating, he realized that they had arrived in Raozhou around the same time as them. However, Ouyang Rong and his group disembarked at a ferry, while Li Congshan and his group went directly through the official road outside Raozhou.
Which way did they go?
"This group of White Tiger Guards continued south, passing through the main city of Raozhou, and they were moving very fast."
Ouyang Rong immediately fell into deep thought.
Have they succeeded, or are they continuing their pursuit?
After a short while, Ouyang Rong temporarily excused himself from Qin Ying, turned around and went back into the house, took out a skirt knife, and rubbed it for a moment.
He gave his junior sister a hint about his location.
Immediately, someone came to report from outside. Ouyang Rong immediately went out and saw a minor official reporting that the group of people using the alias Su Fu had passed through the checkpoint and left an hour before Ouyang and his group arrived in Raozhou City. They did not linger in Raozhou City and continued south in the same direction as the White Tiger Guards.
Ouyang Rong immediately spoke:
"The plan has changed. For some reason, both sides are moving faster than expected. We will continue south by water. This time, we will take the water route to save time. The time difference will be about an hour. Then, when we land next time, we will definitely be able to block them in front of us."
Rong Zhen frowned slightly:
"What's going on? Why aren't the Prince of Xunyang and his men resting in Raozhou? If they were, we could have met up together."
Ouyang Rong suddenly said:
"Perhaps it's a good thing. They may have sensed that they were being pursued, so they didn't stop and continued on their way."
How did you find out?
"I don't know, but I trust my junior sister's keen senses. There must be something urgent for them to leave so quickly without stopping."
Rong Zhen and Qin Ying exchanged a glance and both nodded.
"That makes sense."
So the group didn't waste any more time waiting for Qin Yanqing's main force. They left only the armored soldiers who had come to deliver the message and continued their journey south by ship.
Around the morning of the third day, they arrived at Hanyang, the southernmost county of Raozhou, by waterway.
Ouyang Rong immediately contacted the local government.
After investigating the situation, they felt somewhat relieved. This time, there was no record of the Su family passing through the pass. Qin Ying led people to check the surrounding official roads, and finally there were no traces of the White Tiger Guards passing through.
This indicates that both groups are still behind and have not yet reached Hanyang County.
Rongzhen calmly analyzes:
"We have two choices: either we sit and wait, or we take the official road and head north in the opposite direction to block them along the way."
Qin Ying hesitated for a moment:
"Qin Yanqing's main force hasn't arrived yet; it'll probably take several more hours. Just to be on the safe side, should we wait here for a while?"
Rongzhen calmly countered with:
"Then what's the point of us going ahead? If we have to wait for you, Miss Qin, then Ouyang Lianghan and I will go ahead. That's how it's arranged."
Qin Ying raised her eyebrows, her expression showing some displeasure.
Both women turned to look at Ouyang Rong, who had remained silent, and asked him to make the decision.
Just then, a minor official ran up and delivered a message by fast horse: a post station on the way from Raozhou to Hanyang County had suddenly caught fire, and the flames were an eerie, ghostly green!
(End of this chapter)
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