Chapter 204: Surrender
In the firelight, the expressions of the believers whose faces were painted with cinnabar could not be seen clearly, but many of them looked at each other, as if they were wavering.
Sun Wei knew that his words had taken effect.
These people had retreated from the Three Wus to Guangzhou, and had been harassed by Xie Xiao and his men for days. Even with their large numbers, they were exhausted. Wu Fen attacked Shixing County, firstly to gain a foothold, and secondly to rekindle the fighting spirit of his men.
Unfortunately, he used all his intelligence to be sneaky and cunning.
"You are spreading rumors and misleading the people!" Wu Fen's expression suddenly darkened, and he pointed three fingers to the sky. "The Three Heavenly Masters are protecting us above us! Success or failure is all due to the Heavenly Master's test! Those with a sincere heart can burn in flames, but their souls will remain undefeated! Reincarnate and enjoy the wealth of the world! You have been protecting the Dharma until now, and you are only one step away from achieving the golden body. You must not waver in your mind, or you will fail at the last moment!"
Then he suddenly pointed at the child in Qiao's arms and said, "Kill that child and offer him as a sacrifice to the Three Heavenly Masters! Then take his head to the county magistrate and see if he surrenders!"
When one of his men receives the order, he will step forward.
Deng Lian led a group of guards and drew their swords to protect Sun Wei and Qiao's mother and son in the middle.
For a moment, the situation was tense, and the only sound that could be heard was the crying of Qiao's mother and son.
Sun Wei said calmly, "If the Left Protector kills the young master, the prefect will surely come and fight him to the death. Not only will he not surrender, but even the lives of the Left Protector and his men will be in jeopardy. Even if the Left Protector doesn't think about himself, he should at least think about these men. They followed you, endured so much hardship, just to seek a place to live. Are you unwilling to give them even that?"
Wu Fen was extremely angry and shouted, "Kill this witch!"
All the members of the Three Immortals Sect received the order and stepped forward with swords in hand.
After all, these people outnumbered Deng Lian and his men several times, so he had no choice but to order his men to retreat and protect them more closely.
Sun Wei, however, figured out something.
Although these believers were aggressive, it could be seen that many of them were hesitant and their steps were slow.
She went all out and continued loudly, "Tonight, I put my life and death aside. I am carrying out the will of Heaven to deliver a message to you all! You abandoned your homes and careers to follow the Three Heavenly Masters in search of a way out! But now, fate has changed, and this path is closed! If you persist in your wrongdoing, not only will you not gain wealth and honor, but even your body and soul will rot away, and you will never be able to be reborn!"
Wu Fen cursed loudly, kicked down a hesitant subordinate, snatched the knife, and was about to lead his men to kill.
At this moment, there was a sound of shouting and killing coming from outside.
Everyone in the temple was thrown into confusion.
"It's the prince!" Deng Lian was the first to react and said with a smile, "The prince is here!"
Sun Wei finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, it's finally here...
She immediately shouted, "This is the Prince of Yuzhang, sent by Heaven to attack us!"
Deng Lian and others also echoed loudly: "Those who obey me will prosper, those who oppose me will perish, surrender your weapons and you will not be killed!"
Wu Fen was already anxious and had no time to fight with Deng Lian and others. He just ordered his men to retreat into the temple.
But at this moment, shouts and screams were heard from the temple.
Torches lit up brightly, and hundreds of soldiers rushed out of the small temple.
Wu Fen was dragged by someone and thrown into the open space in front of the temple.
Sima Jun stood in front of the temple, the firelight making his face as bright as a god.
"The Three Immortals outside the city have surrendered!" His voice was sonorous and powerful. "Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"
——
The riot was quickly quelled.
Most of the Three Immortals followers in the temple had no fighting spirit. When they saw Sima Jun's troops coming, they immediately knelt down and surrendered.
"Is everything alright, Princess?"
A'ru ran up first and asked, pulling Sun Wei aside.
Sun Wei smiled and said "Nothing", but turned his gaze to Sima Jun.
He looked at her coldly. Sun Wei knew without asking that he was very unhappy.
Sun Wei knew what he was thinking. With a gentle and cheerful expression, he asked with a guilty conscience, "Is the prince alright? Why did you come out of the temple?"
Sima Jun ignored her and turned to Deng Lian, saying, "Send someone to escort the county magistrate's wife and her son back. Also, have everyone in the house leave immediately as planned."
Deng Lian agreed and turned away.
Sun Wei was very surprised and asked, "Leaving right away?"
Before he finished speaking, he heard Wu Fen, who was tied up nearby, burst into laughter.
"Your Highness, if you want to leave, I'm afraid it won't be that easy!" he shouted. "Your Highness, do you think that just because you've wiped out the Three Immortals Sect, Guangzhou will belong to you?"
Sima Jun looked at him and said, "The Left Protector has been betrayed, are you still unaware of this? Wang Zhi, the son of the Minister of State, has his troops at the gates of the city. Otherwise, why would the Three Immortals outside be so routed? The one who lent him the troops was none other than Liu Ke, the Governor of Guangzhou."
Wu Fen's expression froze on his face, and he looked up at Sima Jun in disbelief.
Sima Jun continued, "Who instigated Protector Zuo to risk his life, set up a trap in the city, and kidnap the princess? How did I know about the secret passage in this temple? Has Protector Zuo not figured it out by now? Does Protector Zuo still believe that Liu Ke is loyal to Qu Kang? I advise Protector Zuo to stop entangled with me, otherwise you and your men will have no way out."
After saying this, he said no more, and only ordered Yin Wen to take people to cover their retreat and lead Sun Wei out of Fushou Temple.
Sun Wei understood and followed Sima Jun, asking, "So there's a secret passage in this temple?"
Without waiting for Sima Jun's reply, A'ru exclaimed joyfully, "Exactly! Liang Wen confessed this himself. I was ordered by the princess to inform the prince, and he immediately found Liang Wen and arrested him. He's such a spineless man, he confessed everything with just a few tricks. This secret passage in Fushou Temple was dug by the nuns in the temple to avoid bandits, and it leads directly down the mountain. Wu Fen and other bandits chose to cause trouble in Fushou Temple because they had such an escape route. But they didn't expect Liang Wen to betray him so easily. So the prince simply led his troops up the mountain through this secret passage and caught Wu Fen off guard."
Sun Wei understood and flattered him, "The prince is indeed unparalleled in wisdom and courage."
Sima Jun ignored her and got on his horse.
——
The rumbling of carriages and horses did not return to the house, but went all the way to the west gate.
Sima Jun rode a horse and walked beside Sun Wei's carriage.
Sun Wei pulled open the curtain on the window, and under the moonlight, their eyes met.
Sima Jun turned his head and looked ahead with a cold face.
Sun Wei knew he was still angry with her, so she said in a gentle voice, "Your Highness, are you still angry with me? This time, it is indeed my fault. I did not listen to your advice and stay at home. But I can't help it. Wu Fen has captured the son of the county magistrate. If I don't help him..."
"Wang Zhi isn't just coming for Wu Fen," he interrupted, "he's also coming for you and me, so we need to leave before he can gain a firm foothold."
Sun Wei paused, then flattered again, "How did the prince know what I was going to ask? The prince is truly talented and wise, and worthy of admiration."
In the torchlight, Sima Jun had a sneer of disdain on his lips.
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