Chapter 761 Who doesn't have a sword?
A silence fell over the high platform.
Everyone in the room stared intently at the nonchalant Ouyang Rong.
Granny Song was furious. She couldn't hold back any longer, took a step forward, pointed at Ouyang Rong's nose, and questioned him in a somewhat shrill voice:
"Naive! Ouyang Lianghan, let's not even talk about whether Wei Mi and the Xunyang Prince's family can escape, what about yourself?! You're still here, reminding them to escape, buying them time, but they don't care about your life or death, they won't come back to save you..."
At this point, Granny Song choked up, as if realizing that with a certain favored noble princess present, they indeed seemed unable to harm Ouyang Rong; at most, they could only confine him to the Xunyang Grottoes.
Her face was agitated, and she said angrily:
"You scholars, do you really enjoy playing the hero? How much did they give you for such selfless sacrifice? Are all of you scholars crazy?!"
Ouyang Rong didn't answer, and didn't even glance at her.
Duan Quanwu, with a stern face, said:
“Prefect Ouyang, what you did was indeed unethical. The princess treated you with the utmost respect and believed she had done nothing to wrong you. If you didn’t want to help, then fine, but instead of taking advantage of your friendship with the princess, you turned around and played a trick on us, leaking information to us. That’s far too ungentlemanly.”
"How about this, Governor Ouyang? Tell us where Wei Mi and the Prince of Xunyang's family ran off to, and we'll pretend the previous events never happened. You can still tell us now."
Ouyang Rong smiled.
Granny Song asked with displeasure, "What are you laughing at?"
"What you've all said is laughable."
The air fell silent for a moment.
In the next instant, Granny Song sprang up and threatened:
"You're not going to talk, are you!"
She shouted loudly to Old Yang, who was trying to blend into the background and become invisible, not far away:
"Pry open his mouth! Use the same method you used to pry open Qian Chen's mouth to pry open his mouth now!"
Before Old Yang could respond.
Rong Zhen, who had been silent all along, suddenly stepped forward and walked to Ouyang Rong. With her back to him, her hands in her sleeves, and her face stern, she faced Song Mama, Duan Quanwu, and the others.
She said coldly:
"Don't touch him."
Granny Song was immediately stunned. Despite her immense cultivation, she was completely blocked by the petite purple dress and could not exert any pressure on the young man in the scholar's robe.
Her old face flushed red, and she said indignantly:
"Rong girl, you're still protecting him? Haven't you realized that he doesn't care about you at all..."
Rong Zhen interrupted coldly, "What did you call me?"
Granny Song's chest heaved violently like a broken-down fan; after a moment, she slightly closed her eyes.
“True Immortal Princess”.
Rong Zhen took a deep breath, then addressed her, and also Wei Wu, Duan Quanwu, and the others, earnestly:
"You can handle your private matters yourselves. I am here to oversee the Buddha on the orders of the Sage. I have already done more than enough by tolerating your private affairs outside the main grotto. From now on, try to do anything to him."
She paused, then raised her chin and said matter-of-factly:
"He is the Prefect of Jiangzhou and a scholar of the Xiuwen Academy, appointed by the Emperor. He and I are jointly responsible for the Donglin Buddha. From this moment on, no one is allowed to harm him! Otherwise, they will be making an enemy of me and going against the Emperor."
Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the petite and delicate loli-like figure in front of him.
Rong Zhen threw away the half of the crimson official robe fabric in her hand, ignoring the various angry or aggrieved gazes of the people in front of her. She turned around and looked at Ouyang Rong.
The two looked at each other for a while.
The palace-dressed girl who had blocked the wind and clouds smiled slightly and said softly:
"Alright, Ouyang Lianghan, you've done what you were supposed to do. You've delivered the message, so you haven't wronged them. You've done your best. Don't feel indebted to them anymore, and there's no need to prepare a boat to return to the city. Leave the rest to me. You stay here. You said you would keep your promise to me. When the old master's zither music comes later, accompany me to arrest the people."
Ouyang Rong stared at her, somewhat lost in thought, without answering.
Yi Qianqiu stepped forward first and addressed Wei Wu and the others:
"Staying angry won't help; let's think of a solution."
She turned to her subordinate generals and gave them an order:
"Go find someone to break that iron chain on the river. Don't let them linger."
He then said to Granny Song:
"Don't chase after Wei Mi yet. The deputy supervisor should stay here and not leave the Buddha statue. Wei Mi's matter is not urgent; he is the deserter."
He paused, then said to Wei Wu:
"The most urgent matter now is to find the Xunyang Prince's family. Once this is resolved, everything else will be fine... Of course, this is just my suggestion. You can decide what to do. This is a matter for your Wei family. You should handle it yourselves. I will only do what I have promised, and you should not break your promises."
Wei Wu nodded, wiped the blood from his swollen face, and the Korean guard gave the order:
"Have your men split into two groups. One group should stay at the Prince's residence and check for their remains after the fire is extinguished. The other group should go to Mount Lu to pursue them; they can't have gone far!"
Duan Quanwu immediately breathed a sigh of relief and cheered himself up:
“That’s right, they can’t escape. Xunyang City is full of our people now. As long as we don’t help them at Xunyang Grottoes, Xunyang City is over a thousand miles away from the capital. Even if they are lucky enough to escape, they won’t be able to reach the capital! Manager Wu, let’s set up roadblocks along the way and send elite assassins to chase after them.”
Wei Wu calmly said:
"So what if we go to the capital? After we resolve today's matter, we'll submit a petition together, saying that the Xunyang Prince's Mansion ignored our objections, left their post without permission, and used the pretext of a river pirate attack to plot something sinister. We'll say that they released everyone, and there were no river pirates... Then the two princes can say a few words to the Emperor. Will the Emperor believe us meritorious officials or these scoundrels?"
Duan Quanwu sneered: "That makes sense!"
Yi Qianqiu watched coldly from the sidelines.
Rongzhen suddenly turned around and said:
"I and Ouyang Lianghan can pretend we didn't see or hear anything, but whatever you do, you are not allowed to interfere with the Buddha statue's affairs today. That is the top priority, otherwise I will not forgive you."
"Yes, Princess Zhenxian."
Wei Wu led the way by clasping his hands in a fist salute.
Rong Zhen stopped looking at them and turned to look at Ouyang Rong.
But they found that Ouyang Rong was turning his head to look at an incense burner not far away.
"What's wrong?"
Ouyang Rong did not answer, his eyes fixed on the incense stick that had burned to the very end.
Wei Wu pondered for a moment, then, as if he had thought of something, a smile appeared on his lips. He then summoned a Xianbei guard and gave him the order:
"Tell the people over there to be aware that a zither melody will soon enter the city, revealing a pillar of spiritual energy from Qi cultivators within a hundred miles."
“Since the King of Xunyang has fled, he must have Qi Refining cultivators accompanying and protecting him. The roads in the Kuanglu Mountains are rugged, neither waterways nor ordinary official roads. It is difficult for us to travel, and it is difficult for them to travel either. We cannot create distance between us. They will most likely hide in some mountain gullies and caves. So let’s wait for them to expose their spiritual energy pillars and then go and capture them.”
The Xianbei guard's eyes lit up: "Yes, Master Wu."
Duan Quanwu and the others also turned their heads, as if they had suddenly realized something.
Duan Quanwu chuckled:
"Then Wei Mi can't escape either. The pillar of light will expose him. As long as he doesn't escape by boat, as long as he's within the territory of Xunyang City, he'll definitely be exposed."
"Later, I will lead my troops to besiege the master of Butterfly Love Flower, and when I have time, I will also go and capture him."
Granny Song and Yi Qianqiu exchanged a glance and both nodded.
Wei Wu was turning his head to look at Ouyang Rong's expression.
He had been observing Ouyang Rong's expression ever since the air column was exposed. When Duan Quanwu mentioned Wei Mi, he stared intently at Ouyang Rong, as if trying to find some detail on his face.
Wei Wu suddenly shouted:
"Prefect Ouyang, surely you didn't even consider this?"
"Are the Prince of Xunyang and his men hiding in the Kuanglu Mountains? Did Madam Pei, who was working for you, use some caves in the Kuanglu Mountains to obtain raw materials for her newly established ice-making business? Is that where they are hiding?"
"It's alright. Even if they know about Qin Yin, they can't have traveled more than a hundred miles in such a short time. Whether they're hiding in the Lushan Mountains or using some kind of illusion, they're still hiding in the city. As long as Qin Yin comes out, there will be a pillar of spiritual energy."
"By the way, if I remember correctly, your junior sister surnamed Xie is the one who guards the Prince of Xunyang. She should be a sixth-grade cultivator with deep red spiritual energy, right?"
As he spoke, he waved his hand.
Upon seeing this, a Xianbei guard in the audience immediately left, clearly to report the news into the city.
Ouyang Rong turned his head and looked at Wei Wu, his eyes filled with a strange expression.
Wei Wu stared at him intently, his expression somewhat wary.
After what had just happened, Wei Wu no longer dared to underestimate this young governor.
"As I have said, Xie Lingjiang must not be harmed."
Rongzhen suddenly spoke.
Wei Wu immediately lowered his head:
"Understood, Princess. Please rest assured, those people you ordered will not be harmed. We are just relying on them to follow the clues and capture the Prince of Xunyang."
"Take care of yourself."
Rongzhen ignored him.
She looked at Ouyang Rong, and Yi Qianqiu was also looking at him. The female general said with a serious expression:
“Ouyang Lianghan, it's one thing to have Wang Caozhi deliver a letter to the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, but you really didn't need to send a letter to Wei Mi as well. That would have harmed him. Because he needs to preside over the Xuanwu Guard's White Mist Formation, and he wasn't originally planning to take the initiative to deal with Wei Mi, of course, this was under the premise that he knew nothing about it.”
"The original plan was this: although some contingency measures were arranged, if he properly managed the White Mist Array, he could pretend nothing had happened afterward. But now you've informed him and let him escape, making things much harder to handle. Ouyang Lianghan, you're just too clever, so clever it's frightening. You've even made the True Immortal Princess heartbroken and distressed, making it difficult to protect you."
Noticing Rong Zhen's displeasure, Yi Qianqiu remained silent. Rong Zhen gazed at Ouyang Rong for a moment, then whispered:
"I was a little overthinking and hurt by your actions of guarding against me just now... but, but it's okay, I've put myself in your shoes." She smiled and said, "I feel better now, I understand you."
"But from now on, you are not allowed to be willful anymore. From now on, I will take good care of you. You... are not allowed to make any other small moves. If there is anything, you can tell me directly. I can even tolerate you using your official robes to send messages. What else can't I tolerate? I hope you can be more honest and trust me."
"Besides your junior sister and the embroiderer, there are a few other people I can protect for you, such as Wang Caozhi and Yan Liulang. Afterwards, just keep quiet and pretend nothing happened. We'll return to the capital with the Buddha's merit. Ouyang Lianghan, this is already the best outcome."
Is this the best possible outcome?
Ouyang Rong muttered something to himself.
"Mm." Rong Zhen nodded.
She forced a smile and said:
"Actually, things are fine now. You've stalled for time and sent a message once. You have a clear conscience and have done your best. Now, just stay put."
Ouyang Rong nodded to himself:
"It is indeed the best result. If there were no music, this would be the best outcome."
Rongzhen felt that these words touched on the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, and fearing that bringing it up again would reopen his wounds, she stopped talking about it.
He simply said softly, "Ouyang Lianghan, gratitude is a very good virtue. You have done so well that you have lived up to the name of a gentleman."
Upon hearing this, Wei Wu stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly:
"It seems that even the governor did not foresee this. However, the governor is a little too confident. Even without the sound of the zither, they would not have gone far. Since the river bandits went to massacre the mansion today, they must have other backup plans to prevent any unforeseen circumstances and eliminate potential threats."
"Jiangzhou is a cage today. To think that you can escape by fleeing into the Lushan Mountains is to underestimate me and the Prince of Wei's mansion. How could someone who is going to do great things make such a childish mistake as not staying in the Xunyang Prince's mansion or the city? That's perfect. It makes us even more justified to kill them. Whether we charge them with treason or that they were mistakenly killed by bandits in the mountains, it's easy."
"However, the governor's move of giving advance notice did frighten me a bit. The governor is too clever. It's just that he was implicated by the Prince of Xunyang's mansion and his luck is not good. Well, now that the True Immortal Princess is here, once the situation can be turned around, he can rise to prominence."
Ouyang Rong remained silent, his gaze shifting away from the incense burner below the stage.
Suddenly I didn't want to wait anymore.
The young man in the scholar's robe stood still, his hands tucked into his sleeves, and closed his eyes as if in despair.
Seeing that he seemed to be running away from failure, Wei Wu wasn't angry, and just slightly tugged at the corner of his mouth.
The square-faced man and the crowd below the stage were unaware that the second incense stick had only a tiny ember left, barely burning out, and it was unclear whether it had actually burned out.
Duan Quanwu glanced at Rong Zhen's face and said with a smile:
"That's right, Princess Zhenxian and the governor are a perfect match, a match made in heaven."
Rong Zhen's face was stern, as if she hadn't heard, but she couldn't help but look at Ouyang Rong.
But they found Ouyang Rong standing silently with his eyes closed, like a sword, his body swaying slightly in the wind.
"Ouyang Lianghan, are you alright?"
Rongzhen asked in a low voice, hesitating whether to reach out and help.
Just then, Granny Song suddenly turned her head and looked at a grove of trees on the south bank in the distance.
Everyone was curious and followed her gaze.
All that could be seen in the distance was a white mist stretching across the great river, seemingly quiet and unremarkable.
The old musician's music had not yet begun.
As everyone wondered what was happening, Granny Song suddenly rose from the ground, hovering twenty feet in the air, her eyes turning purple as she gazed at the south bank.
Aside from the scholar-robed youth standing silently with his eyes closed, Rong Zhen, Yi Qianqiu, and the others looked into the distance, their faces filled with confusion.
"Senior Song, what's wrong..."
Their voices abruptly stopped.
Ahead, the river was shrouded in mist, a vast expanse of white, like a silver veil draped over the water, resembling a hazy painting.
On this painting, a deep blue line is gradually appearing.
From the perspective of everyone looking south, the blue line looked like a vertical stroke added by someone to this white mist painting. A thin line appeared on the paper where it was located, spreading vertically from top to bottom, as if it were gradually cracking.
At the same time, there was an increasingly loud rumbling sound.
Although they were puzzled by what they saw and heard, the deep blue color of the thin line seemed vaguely familiar to them.
The old woman with the white eyes suddenly spoke, and everyone's expression changed.
"It's the [Calligraphy Sword] of the Butterfly Love Flower Master! The sword has arrived!"
At this very moment, before the music of the zither even arrived, the sword appeared first.
Swift as wind and thunder, from south to north.
Between heaven and earth, white mist and river water, are divided in two.
(End of this chapter)
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