Su Zhirou struggled to dismount from the horse, dragging her exhausted body to find a clean spot for herself. After building a fire, she lay on the ground, clutching the grass tightly and pounding the ground with her spear. "...Damn it, what the hell did they feed me? If Qingliang Valley doesn't have an antidote, then I'm doomed. But now, who else can I turn to besides her?"
After a while of feeling uncomfortable, Su Zhirou drifted off to sleep. When she was awakened by the cool mountain breeze, looking at the starry sky, she actually thought of other solutions: "Huangfu Zhong, Huangfu... Nanyue. God will not abandon me. Besides Qingliang Valley, there may be another place where I can find the antidote."
...The South Vietnamese camp, where Su Zhirou believed there was a glimmer of hope, hadn't been peaceful recently. Shi Zairong's desk was piled high with military reports from various locations, as well as urgent memorials sent from South Vietnam eight hundred miles away.
Not only was he busy with the things happening right before his eyes, but there were also too many things in South Vietnam, thousands of miles away, that he had to worry about.
Sometimes Shi Zairong wondered if he was stupid. Why did he think he had the ability to truly manage a country when he could do something else? This burden was too heavy. In just over a year, he was already exhausted. If he had known this would be the outcome, he would have chosen to be a free and unrestrained person from the beginning.
After Shi Zairong blew out the candle on the desk that had been burning from dusk till dawn, he stretched himself, took the hot soup handed to him by Lianguang, and asked, "Has there been any movement in the Northwest Courtyard recently?"
Lian Guang replied, "Huangfu Xiong has been staying in his room all this time and I don't know what he's doing. I went to see him several times, but he was always turned away."
Huangfu Xiong had been unable to sleep these past few days because of the Shengxi Gu. Time was so urgent, and if a living dead could come and do research, perhaps it would provide some help in finding a solution. If they couldn't find a solution before Xiahou Qing officially took action, and the Huangfu family directly intervened, his and Hong Yu's situation would be in danger.
Shi Zairong sighed for a long time and then said, "Have someone take good care of him. Don't let anything happen to him."
"I understand."
After saying that, Shi Zairong looked at the unfolded note on the table and instructed, "By the way, call Xie Zhuangshui, Xiao Liang and the others over and tell them I'm treating them to tea."
"yes."
Xie Zhuangshui and Xiao Liangcai came in, and they didn't know why Shi Zairong called them in so anxiously. Shi Zairong didn't say much, and handed over the things sent by Qingliang Valley.
After a cup of tea, Shi Zairong saw that they were all sitting in their seats, deep in thought, so he said, "You've all finished looking at the things, so tell us what you think."
Xie Zhuangshui and Xiao Liang exchanged a glance before quickly standing up, bowing their heads and saying, "I dare not!"
Shi Zairong held his forehead and said, "Sit down. I told you all I'm here for tea. Just say whatever you want to say. There's no one here you need to be wary of."
Xie Zhuangshui stopped hesitating after hearing what Shi Zairong had said. He said bluntly, "Although Liang State currently has Tianshu Tower controlling the government, the results of our several fierce battles with Liang State are not what we initially expected."
Qingliang Valley's proposal to negotiate peace with South Vietnam at this time might be a good choice for South Vietnam. However, it's also clear that they are very wary of the still-unknown living dead in South Vietnam's hands; otherwise, they wouldn't have proposed such a plan when they have the upper hand.
Shi Zairong continued to ask, "So, General Xie agreed to this matter?"
In reality, Xie Zhuangshui was still somewhat hesitant about this matter. He worried that if they negotiated peace with Qingliang Valley now, and if Xiahou Qing had already made any unruly moves, their alliance would push him into a corner, potentially leading to uncontrollable changes. "...Xiahou Qing's intentions are unclear, and I'm worried that while he's stalking the cicada, the oriole is waiting behind. We can give up Liang State, but we can't let him cause any unrest in Nanyue."
Shi Zairong nodded and said, "General Xie's words coincide with mine. Military Advisor Xiao, what do you think about this?"
Xiao Liang quickly replied, "I share the same sentiments as the General and Grand Tutor, but I don't think Xiahou Qing has the guts. If the matter of the living dead gets out of hand, the situation won't be under your control. He can care about other things, but he can't even care about his own family."
Shi Zairong added, "So, he needs something that can help him control the living dead. Regardless of whether the living dead can be controlled, it has already deviated from my original intention of inviting the Huangfu brothers to bring the Life-Resilience Gu. This kind of thing, which destroys the principles of heaven and humanity, must not exist in this world."
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Liang suggested, "Then, should we contact Qingliang Valley immediately?"
Shi Zairong shook his head slightly. This matter couldn't be rushed. He needed to discuss it with all the influential generals in the army first. "This is a serious matter after all. We should discuss it with everyone before making a final decision. After all, if someone accidentally makes the wrong decision and does something to the Qingliang Valley envoy, that would be disastrous."
Xie Zhuangshui said curiously, "I just wonder who Qingliang Valley will send if this thing succeeds."
Shi Zairong said, "No matter who comes, they must be someone who can rank high. Okay, save time and gather everyone."
"yes."
After Xie Zhuangshui and the others hurriedly left, Shi Zairong had a moment's leisure and looked at the folding fan in his hand, muttering to himself, "...Hui Jue, why didn't I ask you beforehand? Now it's a mess, and I'm really overwhelmed trying to clean it up."
After Xie Zhuangshui and Xiao Liang left Shi Zairong's residence, they continued their earlier conversation. In their opinion, negotiating peace now would be a wise move. Even if the peace talks ultimately failed, they could at least strive for some possibility of cooperation. They couldn't completely resolve the issue of the living dead.
Just as the two were discussing whether to inform other generals before holding a meeting in the army, the sentry who was supposed to be standing guard at the town entrance came running over in a hurry.
"General, there's a woman outside the town who wants to see the Grand Tutor. Look at this..."
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