Chapter 31 Brothers, We Only Do Good Deeds
"Of course there will be no punishment for Yin Han Gu, since these people are not dead."
The Eastern King's head bounced around on the table, explaining to Zhu Ming's little servant.
"Besides, this Fairy Bitao only lured them out. If they didn't intend to kill anyone and didn't relentlessly pursue them all the way into the mountains, how could they have fallen into the trap?"
"These traps are all prepared for 'beasts.' This group of people came with evil intentions and malicious intent. Falling into them will only lead to their own demise."
"Yun Chuan Zhen Xian personally killed so many people, he can be said to be a mass murderer, yet Yin Han Gu still went unpunished?"
"As long as the stance is correct, the mess created can be cleaned up by the immortals who follow the competition and the underworld."
What the Eastern King Duke didn't say was that the star realm used for the competition was actually a shifting star chart, causing chaos in the life charts of the common people.
The younger generation of immortals competing in the lower realms, while gaining faith power in this world, are also assisting the immortals in the competition, dispelling calamities in the human world, and restoring the celestial orbits and the life compass of the common people.
Moreover, this kind of astral realm, or rather this first match, is merely a warm-up.
The Nine Heavens Immortals have been stuck in their ways for too long, focusing only on their own part of the immortal duties, believing that doing their job well is fulfilling their duties, shutting off their five senses, and not tolerating any dissent.
They are too ignorant, which is why they make a fuss about the Milky Way all day long.
Zhu Ming played with his immortal artifact, the Jade Bone, and tapped the head of the attendant beside him, signaling him to turn off the tracking of the Silver Han Net.
Then she stood up from the bedside, tucked the jade bone into her waistband, and hugged the wildly jumping head of the Eastern King.
He placed his head in front of Zhu Ming's ridiculously large dressing case.
They removed the purple jade hair ornament from the Eastern King's head and replaced it with an incomparably ornate, luxurious, and exquisite enamel gold crown.
The floating crane, supported by tiny gold threads, swayed gently with each movement, as if a living auspicious omen was lingering around his temples.
If you only look at his head and not down, Dong Wanggong's attire, paired with his youthful face and deep, unfathomable eyes, doesn't appear exaggerated at all.
On the contrary, they complemented each other perfectly. With the immortal's graceful and jade-like appearance, his divine form was revealed as if the fairy mountains and pavilions of Penglai Island had become one with him.
However... unfortunately, this beautiful woman only has a head.
"Hahaha! I knew you had something good here!"
"If I wear this thing to a banquet in Shangqing Realm, I'll definitely be the center of attention! It will showcase the majesty of the immortals of Taiqing Realm!"
Zhu Ming almost lost control of his expression.
Just thinking about the expressions on the faces of those True Lords who control the Six Realms in Shangqing Realm as they sit at the long table watching the head of the Eastern King Duke bounce around on it, Zhu Ming could only bite his lip in resentment.
However, the fact that the Eastern King was invited to Shangqing Realm was a very good sign for the Ming Dynasty.
If this troublemaking head of Zhu Ming were transferred to Shangqing Realm, then the authority to govern Penglai and supervise the male immortals of the Nine Heavens would belong to him.
"Try to control your expression; your ambition is written all over your face," Dong Wanggong clicked his tongue.
He wanted to drink Zhu Ming's wine, as he always felt that the wine had a plum blossom flavor.
Then he conjured his entire body, his robes shrouded in celestial clouds landing on the ground. He appeared as lightly as mist, sat down, picked up a wine cup, and drank heartily.
After three cups, he appeared as drunk as a jade mountain collapsing, his expression lost in thought. As the head of the Nine Heavens male immortals, his drinking capacity was truly astounding.
A pair of eyes that had seen many hardships, with a slight misty look on them.
He seemed to see through Zhu Ming's schemes completely, yet he didn't care at all. His tone even carried a hint of doting on the younger generation: "Don't be in a hurry. The selection of immortals has just begun. The ancient immortal clans are behaving like weasels giving birth to mice, each generation worse than the last."
"Once all the celestial competitions are over, the celestial powers in the Nine Heavens may be reshuffled."
Zhu Ming liked to hear this, so he gave his superior a gentle smile.
After indulging in his drinking to his heart's content, Dong Wanggong began to act wildly while drunk.
He tapped the table with his knuckles and said, "Hey? Why is the Silver River Net closed? Open it quickly, I want to see how that Fairy of the Peach Blossoms will deal with these people later."
Zhu Ming could only instruct the servants to reactivate the Silver River Net for tracking.
Because of the time difference between the celestial realm and the mortal realm, one day in the celestial realm is equivalent to ten years in the mortal realm, by the time they finished exchanging a few words and continued their pursuit, Bitao, who had been crouching beside the trap with murderous intent, had already emerged from the mountain.
She is currently in a spacious and bright room... uh, gnawing on pig's trotters.
Several plates were placed on the table, containing both meat and vegetables, but they were all empty.
A large pile of pig's trotter bones had fallen out, and Bitao's cheeks were stuffed with bones as she used her teeth and tongue to pick at the tender, fatty meat. She raised her head and looked at Cangling sitting opposite her.
"Big brother, why are you back again?"
Bitao spoke vaguely, but her address of "elder brother" was truly "a wake-up call".
The people around Cang Ling had different expressions; some stared wide-eyed, while others burst out laughing.
Some people patted Cang Ling on the shoulder, secretly admiring him—"Brother, you're amazing!"
They've all become like big brothers in front of Xiao Bitao.
Cang Ling could see that his chest straightened because of those two words.
After a moment, he looked at Bitao and said, "I was worried about you, so after finding them, we came back together to check on them."
Because all the immortals in this first competition have memories, not only did the ancient immortal clans establish methods for finding colleagues, but the merit immortals also have secrets for finding companions.
"This is exactly what I need to do."
It really helped a lot.
Last night, Bitao caught the group of people, and only had the fat manager of the cult brought up for a hasty treatment. The rest of them were all handed over to the vagrants to deal with.
Then she led the bodyguards she had hired back to the city, intending to swindle some money from the city gate guards who had looted the cult.
After all, she had dealt with these cultists, released the Heavenly Maiden and Heavenly Lord they had captured, and still had to go back to pick up Doctor Wu and the children.
You can't do without money.
However, after Bitao led her people back to the city, they discovered that the guards had indeed stormed into the cult's courtyard and looted a considerable amount of money.
However, it was mistaken for a "mantis" and was eventually captured by a "wild oriole".
A group of guards who usually swaggered around on the city walls were beaten black and blue and were squatting on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs, looking quite miserable.
As soon as Bitao rushed in, she was met by several handsome young men with long arms and slender waists who looked like they could fight.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Bitao immediately took the bodyguards who were about to roll up their sleeves and fight and tried to slip away.
As soon as she turned her head, she heard a very familiar voice call out from behind the group of tall, long-legged young men who looked like they were in a beauty pageant: "Bitao, where are you going?"
Only then did Bitao see Cangling return.
This handsome young man was brought by Cang Ling!
Thus, Bitao, who had planned to "scam some money," once again won a great victory, taking home all the gold and silver.
Seven more highly skilled and capable individuals have been added.
Before dawn, she led these people to finish dealing with all the mess, and gave some benefits to the group of gatekeepers who had been knocked in the back and could only swallow their anger.
They once again "usurped" the cult's hideout and enjoyed a sumptuous feast.
"By the way, let me introduce you. These are all under Zhu Ming, the Immortal Supervisor of You Tian. They are also Immortals who had a very good relationship with you and me when we were in the Heavenly Realm."
Just as Cang Ling was about to introduce Bi Tao to everyone, a man stepped forward and slammed his large hand onto the table where Bi Tao had made a mess of eating. Because he was exceptionally tall and strong, there was a loud "bang".
It almost overturned the table.
With his other hand, he directly touched Bitao's forehead.
"Let your brother take a look, has Tao'er really lost her mind?"
His voice and his physique complemented each other perfectly, creating a resounding, booming effect.
A moment later, he and Bitao looked at each other closely.
He then realized that his immortal spirit was gone, and he couldn't see any damage to his celestial soul.
So he slapped Bitao on the forehead.
That shot was so honest, even Bitao leaned back a little.
The massive, mountain-like man finally spoke, "Wow, you're not even dodging? Looks like you've really lost your mind. Let me introduce myself."
“My name is Taiyin, a high-ranking immortal, and also your brother…” He paused, glanced back at his eager colleagues, and then changed the subject, “…one of my brothers.”
Everyone watched Bitao's expression. Bitao carefully wiped her hands, which were covered in grease from eating, before nodding.
Then, surprisingly, he spoke up and obediently called out, "Brother Taiyin."
In truth, Bitao thought to herself, given this guy's demeanor, why call him Taiyin? He should be called Taiyang (Sun).
An excess of yang energy is so powerful it can shake mountains and rivers.
"puff!"
Hahahaha—
"How stupid! How stupid!"
"Is it really that fun to damage your Heavenly Soul?"
"Hey, hey, get out of the way! I, my name is Wanqiu! You... big brother! I'm the oldest, and I've been ascending for the longest time! Don't try to take me!"
Bitao nodded obediently, "Big Brother Wanqiu."
I even gave him an easy-to-remember name in my mind: Big Mouth Brother.
His smile was so "crisp and refreshing" that you could see his stomach.
"My name is Duan Yang, and you are... my third brother, right?"
Bitao also spoke up: "Brother Duanyang."
I came up with a name for him in my mind: Tiger Tooth Brother, he's so cute when he smiles.
"I...I...your fifth brother...Heyue!"
"Your seventh brother, Mu Dong..."
...
The group rushed forward to introduce themselves, waiting for Bitao to call them "brother".
Bitao was very cooperative, calling him "brother" a few times to make him happy so he would do her work.
Cang Ling was shocked by the shamelessness of her colleagues and tried to stop them twice, but was pushed away by the crowd.
Finally, they grabbed someone who looked like a baby, clearly very young, but also wanted to join in the fun.
"Qiu Bai! You're clearly even smaller than Bi Tao, don't push your luck!"
The baby-faced man called Qiu Bai shamelessly declared, "Then I'm her older brother!"
Anyway, we're in the lower realm now, so it would be foolish not to take advantage of any opportunity. Besides, when we return to the heavenly realm, "the law will not punish the masses."
And why are they all the older brothers?! He wants to be the older brother too!
Judging by the age at which he ascended from the lower realm, he must be several hundred years old!
Pian Bitao, however, really flattered him, addressing him as "Brother Qiubai."
Qiu Bai felt completely relaxed. He shook his arm to get rid of Cang Ling and looked at Bi Tao: "Hey, good sister, if there's anything you need, just tell your big brother. I'll do anything for you, even if it means going through fire and water!"
Cang Ling sighed.
He was clearly the first to find Bitao, but now he's been relegated to fourth place and has become the fourth brother.
Bitao seemed to accept it well, calling each of her brothers affectionately.
However, they can only swagger around in the lower realm. Once they return to the celestial realm, given Bitao's smiling and cunning methods of "killing without leaving a trace," if they don't get their revenge tenfold or a hundredfold, then Cangling will consider himself defeated!
Bitao was genuinely pleased. These people were all meritorious immortals of Youtian. Their ranking in the Heavenly Realm didn't matter, but in the Lower Realm, each of them was a formidable fighter capable of taking on ten opponents.
Moreover, Bitao had been on good terms with them, and even though she has lost all her memories, she doesn't harbor any ill will towards them.
Naturally, it's because they are very much to Bitao's liking.
With money and manpower at her disposal, Bitao thoroughly interrogated the half-dead, fat steward that very night.
We received several important pieces of information.
The "pioneers" found a foothold in Chongchuan.
When the newcomers brought the poisoned people into Chongchuan, they began preaching in the order that the previous seven stewards had not finished.
After spreading the teachings, they used the Heavenly Maiden and the Heavenly King to bring the local gentry and noble families of Chongchuan under their control.
A group of people were left to guard the new branch, while the rest joined the people sent by headquarters to meet in Dayuan Prefecture and escort the "Emperor's Attendant" to meet Dai Derong, the king of Dayuan Prefecture.
After recruiting Wang Dai Derong, who was not of the same surname, into the cult, the next step was to spread the branches of the Tsinghua Divine Cult throughout Dayuan Prefecture.
“Your ambitions are quite large…” Bitao sat on the chair, her feet resting on the fat steward.
Bitao did not torture him, but simply tied him up tightly.
After stomping on it a few times, he blurted out everything, both what he should and shouldn't have said, like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.
Most people who join cults are villains and madmen, but there are also tough guys and hardened criminals.
But if the miracles of the Tsinghua cult are real, and their faith is real, then they are truly difficult to deal with.
Nothing is harder to defeat or erase than faith that exists in the spirit. If faith is a spark, it can start a prairie fire once it is set out.
However, apart from the doctrine of "saving all living beings from suffering and guiding all souls to heaven" which is recited to outsiders, this Tsinghua Divine Cult does not have any scriptures that can be recited daily, or morning or evening prayers that are required for monks, like Buddhism.
There are no rules for believers to follow, no moral principles to uphold, and no records of the deeds of our ancestors compiled for people to look up to.
They didn't even bother to compile and disseminate information about the Tsinghua Emperor's background, life story, or achievements.
The sect was founded by a barefoot doctor and a group of bandits. They didn't care about, or rather, didn't think about, how to unite the members within the sect.
They also didn't know that true evangelism requires at least something for believers to rely on as a spiritual anchor and something to aspire to, or even something that resonates with them.
Therefore, rather than calling Tsinghua University's "cult" a heretical sect, it is more accurate to describe it as a motley crew of scoundrels who use power and sex to win people's hearts and use the plague to expand their power.
The cult's branch was small and inefficient, and when given a mission, it was like a headless fly, only knowing how to blindly follow the established practices within the cult.
All cult members are filled with thoughts of malevolent thievery and female debauchery, and the missionary tasks they assign are all focused on spreading poison and harming people.
Whether human nature is inherently good or evil has always been an age-old debate.
But even among the most heinous villains, how many truly resonate with and form a strong emotional bond with their companions who harm others every day?
They're probably only afraid of the butcher's knife their companion holds, which could turn around and stab them at any moment.
“I heard from Manager Qi that you have a very powerful background.” Bitao stepped on the fat blood gourd under her feet, deliberately poking her toes into his wound.
"Tell me, what exactly is the background?"
He wept bitterly, in so much pain that he wanted to curl up, but he was too fat to do so.
He quickly rolled on the ground, exclaiming, "It's the First Prince! It's the First Prince of the court!"
"The bishop has close ties with the Crown Prince and has been accumulating wealth and eliminating political opponents for him over the years, doing a lot of dirty work!"
"Oh, right! This time, the Crown Prince's intention was also to win over Dai Derong, the Prince of Dayuan Prefecture. The Crown Prince is using the Qinghua Divine Cult to collude with princes of different surnames, probably to plot a coup!"
"Stop stepping on me! Stop stepping on me! It hurts so much, waaaaah..."
Yesterday he boasted that he would skewer Bitao and the others into human skewers and roast them until they were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, but now he's crying like a big, snotty silkworm.
Bitao: "..." Okay.
Bitao thought she would have to put in some effort, but it turned out that the fat steward had soft bones and flesh all over his body.
One stomp and he vomited up his liver and intestines.
Bitao originally didn't intend to spare his life, but if someone can be so spineless...
We could spare his life for now and make good use of him.
The next day, Bitao packed her bags and set off to personally bring back Doctor Wu and the children.
Once the celestial maidens and celestial emperors in the courtyard were released, those who had somewhere to go were given money and left.
Having nowhere else to go, Bitao chose to keep everyone here.
When Da Yan'er was released from the pitch-black house that was nailed shut on all sides, she saw Bi Tao again and immediately burst into tears and collapsed to the ground.
She later became very compliant and did not suffer too much, but she was almost mentally destroyed.
But just after she decided to give up on herself completely, the door that had severed all her human dignity was opened again.
And it was still that same person who saved her from hell.
No, or rather, they are immortals.
She quickly began to wail, crawled to Bitao's feet, hugged her legs tightly, and kowtowed repeatedly to Bitao, her head hitting the ground.
Whether the other celestial maidens and celestial lords were influenced by her or felt that they had to worship this woman to be saved, they all knelt down one after another and kowtowed to Bitao to express their gratitude.
Bitao stood there without backing down, accepting their deepest respect.
He reached out and patted Big Eyes' head, asking her as if bestowing a divine favor, "Is there anywhere else to go? If not, you can come with me from now on."
Big Eyes shook his head frantically, then nodded frantically.
It felt as if a boulder was stuck in her throat, preventing her from uttering a single word of thanks.
But she knew that she would dedicate her life to the person before her, even unto death.
Bitao wiped the dirt from the blood that had stained her forehead and helped her up.
He looked at the other celestial maidens and celestial lords who had nowhere to go and said, "If you have nowhere to go, you can follow me."
“My name is Bitao. I come from Shiga Village, Yangjiang County, Qingliao Kingdom. I am no important person. But I can guarantee that from now on, as long as I live, no one will be able to treat you as fish and lambs to be slaughtered and cooked at will.”
However, after Bitao released some of the celestial maidens and celestial lords, news of her taking in the majority of people spread like wildfire.
Some of the refugees who had "fought alongside" her, upon hearing that she would take in people with nowhere to go, also came to her door to volunteer.
Bitao spent three days gathering many more refugees.
The cult members' courtyards couldn't accommodate them all, so they left the elderly, women, and children in the city, while the other able-bodied men were temporarily housed outside the city.
Her team grew from about thirty people who brought back the martial arts doctor to over a hundred.
However, most of these people were refugees, women, children, the elderly, and the infirm, and the rice and medicine they consumed every day amounted to a huge expense.
Everyone was willing to follow Bitao and was very satisfied with her arrangements and preferential treatment.
However, Cang Ling and the others, as Bi Tao's brothers, had no choice but to worry about their sister.
"What do you plan to do in the future?" Cang Ling asked Bi Tao this question again after several days.
Bitao was bent over her desk, writing something, when she heard this and slowly raised her head.
She put on the white robe with blue gauze that the cultists wore.
Her long hair was tied up with a tall crown, and the gauze ribbons at her temples hung down her shoulders and back.
Despite her ethereal and otherworldly appearance, her striking beauty made her seem like a demon hiding beneath a veneer of jade-like skin, capable of causing chaos and seduction.
Her captivating, almond-shaped eyes held a mesmerizing cunning that could bewitch anyone.
I must say, this outfit is much more comfortable and warmer than the expensive jacket she had custom-made.
The inner lining is white with cotton, while the outer layer is a flowing and loose blue gauze, so it doesn't look bulky at all.
This cult, a gathering of wicked individuals, is unparalleled in its personal enjoyment, if nothing else.
Cang Ling stared blankly at Bi Tao, but he wasn't so easily seduced by the beauty of his "sister" whom he saw every day in the Heavenly Realm.
I just felt that something about her was different.
It was different when she was in the celestial realm, and even different from when she said a few days ago that she wanted to go back to her hometown to pay respects at her ancestors' graves.
Indescribable.
Like flower buds nurtured over many years by the giant peach tree, they suddenly burst into full bloom, dazzling and vibrant, their fragrance spreading far and wide, covering everything in their path.
“It won’t work at the grave, the paper money has already been burned.” Bitao’s tone was melodious, her voice like the faint sound of a bell.
“Brother Cangling, now that so many people are following me, I can’t go back to that ‘home’.”
"But I want to go back there and take a look."
Bitao stretched out her finger and pointed to the top of their heads.
It points to the nine heavens where immortals roam and vie for power.
Cang Ling subconsciously looked up, but only saw a roof made of interlocking logs.
But he quickly realized what he meant and exclaimed happily, "You've decided to compete seriously?"
"Um."
“But Brother Cangling, in this chaotic world, people are like straw dogs. If we compete ‘properly,’ I’m afraid we won’t be able to get a good ranking.”
The path that Mingguang had planned for her was one she was still "being a person" at the time. When she suddenly heard his condescending "instruction," she was filled with resistance and rebellion.
Later, when I was preparing for the competition, I took it out again these past few days and thought about it carefully.
Although Mingguang was oblivious to his own deep-seated arrogance, it must be said that his way of speaking was based on the most reasonable "assumption" made by combining the current livelihood, prices, and even the climate of the four seasons in Qingliao Kingdom.
That day, he spoke gently and softly, listing matters that encompassed site selection, choosing people, understanding people's good intentions, and predicting their evil intentions. He imparted all his knowledge of a thousand risks and ten thousand solutions.
He truly put himself in her shoes and considered her perspective. If she had followed the path he had planned, she would have lived a peaceful and tranquil life.
Without risking one's life, by being patient, one can eventually have students all over the world, gain widespread fame, and reap both fame and fortune, which is naturally a great merit.
But since Bitao had decided to compete, she didn't want to be someone who was neither high nor low.
She then asked Cangling, "I've heard that one can return to heaven with 100,000 units of faith power, but there are differences in the order of return, aren't there?"
“Of course there are,” Cang Ling said. “The rewards for those who win in Guitian are different depending on their ranking.”
"If one returns to heaven first, one will gain 100,000 faith points and accumulate enough merit. When one receives the Five Thunders and draws in the immortal spirit, the amount of immortal spirit gained will be doubled."
After Cangling finished speaking, he was afraid that Bitao, who loved to exploit loopholes in the heavenly rules, would be too eager for quick success and go astray.
He comforted Bitao, saying, "But there's no need to rush. Sooner or later, you'll eventually pass away, and that's how you win."
"Your brothers will help you."
Bitao smiled and nodded, she really needed her "brothers'" help right now.
That same night, Bitao interrogated the fat steward again.
He wasn't so pitiful this time. Recently, Bitao had Doctor Wu treat his physical injuries, and he was treated like a "prisoner of war."
He was able to eat his fill and stay warm, except that he would be beaten up every day by the refugees he had persecuted, who would appear out of nowhere.
At least their lives are safe.
He was taken by Bitao to his former house, which was now Bitao's house. He was pale and only dared to sit on the edge of the stool.
Judging others by his own standards, he didn't think that Bitao's treatment of him was an act of great compassion.
He always felt that what awaited him was even more inhuman torture.
Therefore, when Bitao asked him questions, he obediently told her everything he knew and obeyed her orders.
"According to this, reply to the Tsinghua believers who will arrive in Chongchuan in two days, bringing 'poisonous people' to spread their teachings."
Bitao placed the letter she had written on the table and asked someone to bring paper and pen to the fat steward.
"Don't try anything funny. Regardless of the serious infighting within your sect, and whether anyone will genuinely help you if you try to ask for help privately after you've messed things up, personally speaking..."
“I have no fewer than a hundred ways to make people wish they were dead. You are plump and healthy, unlike the emaciated refugees who would die if you were to cause them any trouble. If you don’t listen to me, I will try them on you one by one.”
Bitao smiled at him, her face as beautiful as a summer flower, pleasing to the eye, without the slightest distortion or sharpness.
But those beautiful peach blossom eyes, as bright as when he fell into the trap that night, revealed a chilling beastly nature.
The fat steward certainly didn't dare to play any tricks, because, just as Bitao said, they only received money when they took on missionary work within their sect.
Those who want to indulge in extravagance and debauchery must compete for missionary work. There are countless managers within the sect, arranged according to the number of words they write.
One dies, another is promoted; no one has ever been irreplaceable.
Therefore, he messed things up, and at least his plea for help from those who came to preach was useless.
They will only take the opportunity to claim all the credit.
If he dies, that would be fine; if he survives and returns to the sect, he'll still meet a tragic end if he messes up the mission.
Therefore, he picked up the pen with trembling hands, copied the reply written by Bitao, and then nervously handed it to Bitao for inspection.
Hmm.
The handwriting is really ugly.
It looks like a chicken crawling!
She was initially worried that these cult members might have some way of secretly passing messages among themselves.
For example, hiding the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence.
Upon seeing this calligraphy, Bitao picked it up and looked at it from all angles, but it didn't seem to form a coherent picture.
I can finally relax.
She overestimated this group of people.
The letter that Bitao had the fat steward transcribe said that something had gone wrong in Chongchuan City, and that those people, along with the "poisonous people," should wait on an abandoned official road outside the city before they arrived.
As it turns out, their assessment was far from overestimation; they were like a sandbar that crumbled at the slightest breeze.
He received the letter sent by Bitao, but neither suspected anything nor replied.
Among the group that brought the poisonous man, only one was literate, but he couldn't recognize all the characters!
He barely understood what it meant, and spat out a few curses, "Who is so rampant as to dare to oppose the Tsinghua Cult?"
They took people directly there to wait.
After Bitao and her men subdued the group, they shouted, "We are from the Tsinghua Divine Cult! How dare you oppose the Tsinghua Divine Cult? Don't you want to die?!"
There's no reason left to back up your courage.
They arrested these people and interrogated them.
After having Physician Wu take over the poisoners and temporarily house them in a secluded place, Bitao and her group remained in Chongchuan City for several more days.
Then they divided the people into groups and took them to Jianfeng City near Dayuan Prefecture.
Bitao pried out of the cult leader that "Emperor Qinghua's Attendant" would personally lead his followers through Jianfeng City to Fengling City in the heart of Dayuan Prefecture to win over Prince Rong'an, Dai Derong.
She didn't reveal what she was going to do along the way to anyone except Cang Ling and the others.
Many of them had been saved by Bitao twice and had unwavering faith in her.
On the Silver River Net, Bitao's faith power rose from a dozen or so to over a hundred, her ranking jumped up a little, and then stopped.
On the contrary, the ancient immortal clan seemed to have accumulated strength and then made a breakthrough. After True Immortal Yun Chuan brought Ming Guang, the lost "grandson of the emperor," back to the imperial city, those whose faith power had previously remained unchanged all saw an increase to varying degrees.
Binglun, in particular, saw his faith strength surge from around a thousand people to 15,640.
On Mingguang's recommendation, he joined the Imperial Guard, a famous army of young masters in the capital, and became a deputy commander.
No one knows better than someone whose arrogance is ingrained in their very being how to deal with these good-for-nothing pampered soldiers.
Moreover, Binglun was trained in the Heavenly Realm to command the Thunder Department's soldiers, so naturally she knows best how to lead these spoiled brats who are just like the ancient immortals.
As long as he wasn't allowed to compose poetry or paint, Binglun secured his position as deputy commander-in-chief in just a few days.
It happened to be the end of February, the time for the spring hunt, and he was already a master of both fist fighting and the eighteen kinds of weapons.
Even weapons that one has not learned in the celestial realm can be mastered to an extraordinary degree in just a short time after being picked up.
So during a spring hunt, he excelled in everything in the camp, successfully winning over the group of spoiled young soldiers who were always dissatisfied and resentful, until they completely trusted him.
Sometimes, gaining someone's faith is that simple.
Meanwhile, the other junior generals of the Thunder Department were also quietly and subtly assigned to positions they were good at, by Mingguang, the newly promoted Prince Danxi, who was a "favorite of the emperor," according to their individual strengths.
The internal strife in the capital has never ceased for many years. The emperor is old and senile, and he is greedy for imperial power. No matter how much the court officials urge and pressure him, he would rather feign illness and skip court than establish a crown prince.
However, since Prince Danxi returned to the capital and was granted the summer palace as his residence, he has been showered with excessive favor. A new and powerful force has also taken hold in the capital, where land is extremely valuable.
Everyone was speculating about what the old emperor intended to do.
The eldest prince, the second prince, and several other princes who have been fighting like cats and dogs for years are all over forty years old now. Could it be that the emperor wants to make the young and vigorous Prince Danxi the crown prince?
In short, for a time, on the Silver River, because the ancient immortal clan had subtly overshadowed the merit immortals, another round of heated discussions arose.
As the ancient immortals were in full bloom, Bitao led a group of refugees disguised as cultists, along with a procession of celestial maidens, celestial lords, the elderly, women, and children, to Jianfeng City in Dayuan Prefecture.
They hurried as fast as they could and arrived before the procession led by the "Emperor's Attendant".
Many insignificant arrangements were made along the way.
A minor mishap, but a stumbling block that slows down progress.
There might be animal traps buried somewhere, narrow pits dug into the wheels that would almost certainly break the axle if someone fell in, and spikes made of iron needles on all four sides, etc.
Although everyone was amazed by Bitao's various tricks, they still trembled with fear when they learned that she was going to lead them to fight against the "Emperor's Attendants" team, which had the strength of a regular army.
“Bitao, your brother has already ridden out at night and led men to investigate. Those people are some Changshan garrison troops that Dai Derong brought from Changshan Prefecture, which is occupied by the bishop, to show off his strength.”
There are about six hundred people.
"We have no chance of winning against them."
Bitao is munching on a peach.
This thing was stolen by Bitao from the belongings of the "Emperor's Attendants" team by several of her older brothers who had repeatedly spyed on them.
These are tribute items, and this cult actually has some!
They also wanted to use it to win over kings of different surnames.
Bitao tried to squeeze peach juice, wanting to experience the noble person's eccentricities.
But it doesn't taste good when squeezed into juice.
It's still more satisfying to eat it dry.
She paused, waiting for Cang Ling to finish speaking, before saying, "Isn't that perfect? The Changshan garrison has abandoned their posts. If this gets out, we can deal with most of them."
"But it's too late."
Cang Ling said, "Moreover, the Qingliao Kingdom is now rotten to the bone, with officials protecting each other. We have no idea where to report to so that the government that can actually handle the matter can send people to arrest us."
"They will arrive outside Jianfeng City in less than three days. Beyond Jianfeng lies Dayuan Prefecture."
"Once they actually reach the territory of Prince Rong'an, and the two sides collude, will they have to travel a long way to file a complaint in the capital?"
"If we really complain to them, they will protect us at every level. Once the imperial city sends someone over, these soldiers can simply ride back to Changshan and pretend nothing happened."
"After all, this place is much closer to the capital than Changshan Prefecture."
"Mmm." Bitao nodded, finished eating a peach, and threw the pit on the table with a "thud".
He said, "Then let them not be able to leave."
Cang Ling's eyes darkened, then turned fierce.
They thought Bitao meant to forcefully stop them.
Although he disagreed, which of those immortals in the Netherworld who had attained their positions through merit hadn't climbed up from the hellish landscape of corpses and blood?
Even with a group of refugees and civilians who had never fought before, if they really wanted to stop them, they might be able to hold them off for some time.
During their journey, they had already conducted some training for the able-bodied young men in the group.
Moreover, along the way, Bitao had been recruiting refugees, and their group had grown to nearly two hundred people.
If you gather enough people among them, you can easily find over a hundred.
Although casualties were inevitable, the entire army was not wiped out.
At worst, we can avoid a direct confrontation and use harassment tactics instead.
"However, this means that before the war begins, women, children, the elderly, and the weak must first find a place to live..."
“Brother Cangling”.
Bitao winked at him, "You've got it wrong."
“I brought these people here with great difficulty, and just feeding them costs two gold bars a day.”
Bitao extended two fingers.
“I brought them all with me and fed them so well, not to send them to their deaths.”
"They're just there to make up the numbers."
"We don't need to fight an enemy."
"Doctor Wu should have almost cured those cultists' 'illness' by now."
"We are celestial beings descended to earth, so naturally we are compassionate and magnanimous."
All the cult members that Bitao arrested, including the fat manager, are alive and well these days.
Lively and energetic.
She even takes supplements occasionally.
They were just "accidentally" infected with the plague while transporting the infected people and hadn't fully recovered yet.
“I’ve decided to let them go tonight and let them join their ‘Emperor’s Attendants’.”
Cang Ling was incredibly perceptive, understanding everything instantly!
"So which move are you planning to use!"
He personally witnessed the outbreak of the plague within the cult, and that group of people completely lost their ability to resist within a few days!
"Using one's own spear to attack one's own shield—such a brilliant method, I never thought it could be used a second time."
"No wonder you had these people walk separately; it was to prevent internal transmission."
"You insisted on bringing several large carts of medicinal herbs, taking in refugees along the way. I thought you were planning to provide them with nourishing remedies."
Cang Ling only regarded it as accumulating good deeds.
"Once their plague breaks out and they eliminate it on their own, what should we do next?"
Cang Ling really couldn't guess what Bi Tao was planning to do next.
Several people who had overheard the two talking nearby came over excitedly.
Leading the way was the robust and energetic "Taiyin," a man as strong as an ox.
He asked with excitement in his eyes, "I heard from Cang Ling that you killed a whole courtyard of cultists like this before, which was very satisfying! I think this method is brilliant! Are you going to kill all the cultists in this way next?"
"We can capture more cult members, infect them with the plague, and send them back to their lair to become poisoners! We can wipe them out in one fell swoop!"
"Brother Taiyin, be careful what you say."
Bitao smiled gently and said, "We don't kill people."
"We only do good deeds."
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