Chapter 69 The Viper Appears
Lou Jin took the bamboo tube and took out the extremely thin strip of paper inside.
The handwriting on the note was small but clear, with two separate messages.
The first one comes from the capital.
When the Imperial Concubine passed away, Prince Yi was deeply grieved. However, he secretly contacted the Imperial Censor, who suspected that he intended to frame his master for revenge and force the concubine to commit suicide.
The palace's spies have been activated, intercepting key physical evidence and several secret letters, which prove their framing.
The Prince Yi's Mansion has been in frequent contact with the South City Fur Merchants, suggesting a possible transfer of goods.
The second one comes from Ye Xunqin and Anar in the southwest.
Anar's father has been rescued. According to him, the Shadow Serpent controls several tribes through profit and force. Its core is located deep in the miasma rainforest. It is skilled in using Gu poison and has long-standing ties with the Rong tribe's high priest.
The leader of the Shadow Serpents, Viper, has a snake-shaped tattoo on his left cheek and wears a bronze snake-head mask year-round. His true identity is suspected to be Eunuch Feng from the palace.
Ye Xunyang gasped, his eyes filled with disbelief, "That eunuch Feng who was silenced after the incident at the villa? Wasn't he already..."
"Shedding its shell like a cicada." Lou Jin's eyes turned icy cold as he twirled the note between his fingers, his voice chilling to the bone.
"What a clever trick to deceive everyone. It seems that our fifth brother is not only ruthless, but also has many capable people under his command. He can even fool the Emperor and the Imperial Clan Court's spies."
He paused, then, combining the two pieces of information, his thoughts suddenly clicked: "That makes sense. Lou Yi controlled Shadow Serpent through Feng Tai, and Shadow Serpent was making money for him in the southwest and colluding with tribes in the southern border."
"On the other hand, they infiltrated the Northwest, helped the Rong tribes train their troops, intercepted our military reports, and may even... have been responsible for the poison I suffered from the Heart-Eating Grass three years ago!"
All the clues now connect into a clear line, pointing directly to Lou Yi.
"Your Highness, now that the evidence is becoming clearer, may we approach the Emperor..." Ye Xunyang asked urgently.
Lou Jin raised his hand to interrupt him: "That's not enough. Eunuch Feng is dead, the Shadow Serpent stronghold can be abandoned, and Lou Yi can completely cut off his tail and survive again. We need more conclusive evidence, preferably caught red-handed."
His gaze returned to the sand table, landing on the area marked as the battle of the night of the lunar eclipse.
"The night of the lunar eclipse is not only an opportunity for the Rong tribe and the Shadow Serpent, but also for us," Lou Jin said in a deep voice. "They plan to launch a coordinated attack from within and without to breach the Jade Gate Pass. We will use this opportunity to expose the traitor, severely cripple the Shadow Serpent, and capture that 'Viper'!"
He looked at Wushan, his speech quickening as he issued a series of commands:
"Tell Shanlan to properly safeguard the intercepted evidence of framing and not to take any action for the time being. Continue to closely monitor Lou Yi and the fur trading company, and report any unusual activity immediately. Focus on investigating the whereabouts of Feng Eunuch's confidants after his death, and whether any new mysterious figures have appeared around Lou Yi."
"Send a message to Xunqin to stabilize Kapok Village and, using the old village chief's prestige, try to win over the tribes controlled by Shadow Serpent. Keep the miasma rainforest inactive for now to avoid alerting the 'Viper.' Have them try to confirm whether the 'Viper' has truly appeared in the Northwest."
"Yes!" Wushan accepted the order, and his figure once again silently disappeared into the shadows.
"Someone, inform General Ye to strengthen security as planned, keeping the internal defenses tight while maintaining a relaxed external appearance. Conduct a secret screening of the troops, paying particular attention to those exhibiting unusual behavior recently."
The soldiers guarding the entrance left after receiving their orders, and the tent returned to silence.
In the following days, an eerie calm prevailed both inside and outside Yumen Pass.
The harassment from the Rong tribes has significantly decreased, like the calm before the storm.
Inside the pass, under Ye Xunjin's command, the soldiers of the Sheng Army were carrying out pre-battle preparations in an orderly manner. The patrol shifts became more frequent, and the sentries' eyes became sharper.
Lou Jin's body recovered quickly under Ye Xunyang's careful care, but his internal energy still needed time to be slowly nurtured and could not be used lightly.
Yu Beichen spent most of his time in the tent of the eldest prince, Lou Yan.
Lou Yan's injuries were more severe than he had anticipated. His damaged heart meridian could not be healed in a day and required a long period of rest and medicinal nourishment.
A subtle understanding seemed to have been reached between the two. Yu Beichen stopped mentioning leaving, and Lou Yan stopped pressing for answers. Only occasionally, when no one was around, low conversations could be heard from inside the tent.
The night of the lunar eclipse has finally arrived.
The sky was as if it had been splashed with thick ink, with only a full moon hanging in the mid-sky, illuminating the Gobi Desert in a silvery white.
Lou Jin, clad in black armor and draped in a dark cloak, stood atop the gate wall, gazing at the desolate wilderness shrouded in darkness in the distance.
Ye Xunyang stood beside him, spear in hand, also clad in armor, his expression solemn. Ye Xunjin, meanwhile, was directing troops below the pass; everything was ready.
It's here!
Lou Jin's eyes sharpened: "Investigate again! Watch for any unusual movements on the flanks and behind!"
"yes!"
Time ticked by, and the tension in the air almost solidified.
The soldiers on the wall gripped their weapons tightly, their breathing unconsciously becoming shallow.
As the first shadow began to appear on the edge of the moon, a deep and dense sound of war drums rose from the distance beyond the pass, growing louder as it approached, making people tremble.
Immediately afterwards, a dark mass of Rong cavalry surged forth like a tide at the boundary between moonlight and darkness, their hooves thundering so loudly that the earth trembled.
They did not immediately launch a charge, but stopped outside the range of the arrows, forming a strict formation, a stark contrast to their usual loose and undisciplined style of attack.
"As expected, there is a master to guide us." Lou Jin said coldly, his gaze sweeping over the enemy formation.
Just then, the moon was swallowed by the shadow at an accelerated speed, and the light in the world quickly dimmed.
"Light the fire!" Ye Xunjin shouted from below the gate.
In an instant, countless torches were lit on the walls of Yumen Pass, illuminating the area in front of the pass as bright as day.
However, the unexpected happened at that very moment!
It did not come from the Rong army that launched a frontal assault, but from within the pass.
Suddenly, the sound of clashing weapons erupted from an area near the west side of the gate wall.
"The traitor has made his move!" Ye Xunyang gripped his spear tightly.
Lou Jin's expression remained unchanged, as if he had expected this: "Proceed according to plan. Xun Jin, hold the front line! Xun Yang, follow me!"
At his command, he personally led a team of elite troops who had been lying in ambush nearby.
At the same time, the Rong army outside the pass saw the fire and the deafening battle cries inside the pass and assumed that the inside help had succeeded, so they immediately launched a general attack.
When Lou Jin and Ye Xunyang arrived at the west side, they saw hundreds of people dressed in Sheng Army uniforms frantically attacking the surrounding guards, trying to open the city gate.
These people are ruthless in their martial arts and work together seamlessly; they are clearly not ordinary soldiers.
“They’re from Shadow Serpent!” Ye Xunyang recognized the strange weapons used by several of them at a glance.
"Leave no one alive!" Lou Jin's voice was icy cold. His longsword was already drawn. Although his internal energy had not recovered, his swordsmanship was exquisite and his moves were ruthless. Every strike was aimed at vital points.
Ye Xunyang was like the strongest bulwark protecting him.
He knew Lou Jin's weakness at this moment. His long spear was impenetrable, fierce and domineering, blocking most of the attacks from the front and flanks.
His marksmanship was wide and powerful, and a single sweeping shot forced back several enemies, creating enough space for Lou Jin to unleash his full potential.
The guards and elite soldiers also joined the battle, engaging in a fierce fight with the Shadow Serpent assassins.
Shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, and screams filled the air.
The moonlight was completely swallowed up, and the world was plunged into the deepest darkness. Only the firelight above and below the walls illuminated this bloody battlefield.
Just as Lou Jin pierced the throat of a Shadow Serpent leader with his sword, he caught a glimpse of a ghostly figure silently passing by, its target being Ye Xunjin, who was directing the overall situation from the top of the wall.
The man was short and agile, with some kind of mask covering his face, which reflected an eerie blue light in the firelight.
Viper!
He finally appeared!
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