Chapter 22

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Someone is going to cut away my leeks1?

Things were developing beyond Zhang Dongyun’s expectations.

Has Du Kun not received the news that his son and Gao Qi’s army has been annihilated?

If Du Kun were in a hurry to Dragon Ridge to deal with Chang’an Fortress, the vagrants he was hunting down would stand a chance instead.

Now that General Du was keeping his composure, those vagrants were in the soup.

Zhang Dongyun frowned.

Although the Tang Dynasty army under Du Kun could also fill the population of Chang’an Fortress, those displaced commoners were more suitable in comparison.

After pondering for a while, Zhang Dongyun squeezed all the information out of the Mingguang Guards again.

He called the old bloody shadow demon, who was in seclusion and cultivating.

After the old demon had been rewarded with the arrows and iron weapons related to the Phoenix Blood Book, it was determined to understand the arcana of the book.

At this moment, Zhang Dongyun called it over to the Great Ming Palace, so it soon perked up.

The opportunity it had been dreaming of for achieving merits might have arrived.

On the seat, Zhang Dongyun, who had the appearance of ‘Evil Emperor’ Ming Tonghui, lightly instructed it, “Work with Black Cloud. It’s up to the both of you to decide what exactly to do.”

He then closed his eyes to rest.

The old man in black at the side smiled slightly. “You will be working hard this time.”

The old bloody shadow demon took a deep breath. “I do not have any objections to Your Majesty’s orders.”

“Let’s go out and have a long chat. We should not disturb His Majesty with trivial matters,” the old man in black said.

The old bloody shadow demon nodded silently, and the two of them bowed to the ‘Evil Emperor’ together before leaving the Great Ming Palace.

“What’s the matter?” the old demon asked angrily.

It was cooperating with the old man in black, but it also meant that it had to go along with the old man’s wishes.

The old bloody shadow demon was definitely gloomy about this.

However, since it was the Evil Emperor’s orders, it could only resign to its fate while suffering silently.

On the other hand, the old demon was eager to render meritorious service.

It desperately wanted to render meritorious service so that the Evil Emperor could reward it with the complete copy of the Phoenix Blood Book.

As long as the old man in black did not intentionally play tricks on it, it was willing to endure taking orders from him.

“Chang’an Fortress needs more popularity and needs to gather some population.” After a brief explanation, the old man in black handed a token to the old bloody shadow demon. “Now I need you to give this to that young man of the Cold Mountain Sect named Hui Tianyu. Work with him to help that group of vagrants break out and bring them here.”

The old bloody shadow demon did not immediately take the token. “Why don’t you do it yourself?”

“I naturally have other things to do.” The old man in black smiled. “During the task, test that young man. He seems to be a moldable talent. There won’t be such an effect if I go personally. After you go there, just give him the token and relay a few words to him.

“Then just observe him from the side.”

The old bloody shadow demon frowned in contemplation.

The old man in black looked at it. “Are you afraid, or do you just not want to go?”

The old bloody shadow demon snorted and took the token.

“I will definitely get His Majesty’s orders done.” It looked at the old man in black. “However, I’m afraid that you won’t be able to afford any mistakes in your plans and that it will delay His Majesty’s matters.”

The old man in black sounded unflustered. “Same for you.”

He instructed the old bloody shadow demon again, but it impatiently took its leave.

The old demon turned into a bloody light and returned to the Blood Demon Ring.

The silver skull ring danced in the air before landing in front a Tang Dynasty soldier and onto his finger.

The Tang Dynasty soldier became dazed as a bloody glow emerged in his eyes.

This person went far out of Chang’an Fortress with the Blood Demon Ring.

In the Great Ming Palace, Zhang Dongyun watched the old bloody shadow demon leave.

If he had more suitable candidates, he would not want the old bloody shadow demon to interact with those vagrants.

Given the fact that the old bloody shadow demon cultivated the Demon Dao, it would look especially cruel if it fought with people.

Ordinary people would be easily frightened when they saw it, thinking that Chang’an Fortress was also a cannibalistic evil den.

This was not conducive to attracting vagrants to Chang’an Fortress.

However, his plans could not keep up with the changes, so he could only improvise.

Sure enough, I need to gather more talents to do tasks for me… Zhang Dongyun thought to himself. But let’s leave it at that for now.

He waved his hand, and the Phoenix Blood Book flew out of the depository and hovered in the air before him.

If the old bloody shadow demon returned with the task done well, he could give the Phoenix Blood Book to it.

The old demon went out of Chang’an Fortress and left Dragon Ridge.

Passing through a plain town, it could sense that the surrounding area was implementing emergency measures.

Gao Qi and Du Yifan’s army had not returned from the mountains, which created a great impact.

The old demon maneuvered its puppet to change his clothes and carefully cross the blockade.

A few days later, it found the one-eyed young man of the Cold Mountain Sect according to the contact information that the old man in black had given it.

Upon seeing the old bloody shadow demon, Hui Tianyu felt somewhat unnatural.

The old bloody shadow demon had captured him and his sect members into Chang’an Fortress previously, and it had tortured them in the blood river.

However, he was delighted after hearing the old bloody shadow demon make its intentions clear.

“The last primary force of the vagrants’ uprising is surrounded by the Tang Dynasty army in Weizhou Prefecture, which is no more than a step from Qinzhou in Dragon Ridge, yet it seems as though they are separated by a heavenly moat.”

The one-eyed young man spat out a mouthful of foul air. “I was agonizing over how to help the vagrants break out and lead them to Chang’an Fortress, but fortunately, you have arrived.”

The old bloody shadow demon snorted. “This is all due to His Majesty’s foresight.”

The old bloody shadow demon gave Hui Tianyu a token and said, “Get this into the hands of the Great Xuanwu General Du Kun without leaving any traces.”

The rebellious vagrants wandered on the border of Wenzhou Prefecture.

The Tang Dynasty army divided into several routes, gradually besieging them and blocking their various paths in an attempt to annihilate them in Weizhou Prefecture.

The blockade had yet to be fully tightened, so the vagrants could move within a range. However, they were like flying insects tangled in a spider’s web, as they found it increasingly harder to move.

The lack of clothing and food was becoming a danger for them.

In the Tang Dynasty army campground, a bronze-skinned military officer had a cold, stiff look while continuously giving orders, “The left flank will continue to advance. Reach the north bank by tonight and block the path of the rebels.

“The rear flank will speed up and be in place by tomorrow afternoon. We will make a general attack at that time.

“When you hear the drums, whoever makes a mistake will be punished by military law.”

The herald at the side agreed and left the tent to relay the orders.

The vice general opposite him said softly, “General, we’ve lost news about the young master and Old Gao for a few days…”

The bronze-skinned Great Xuanwu General Du Kun’s expression remained unchanged.

“If we rush there in haste, we won’t be able to save anyone in our hurry, and we will fall into the enemy’s trap instead.

“Furthermore, a general should put public interests before personal matters. The fortress will still remain in the mountains. We should first annihilate these rebels.”

The vice general nodded silently.

Du Kun asked, “Is there a reply from His Royal Highness?”

“It’s an urgent period for His Royal Highness. He can’t transfer more men to our aid. He only said that you should act at your discretion regarding Longbei County,” the vice general answered.

Du Kun nodded. “Pay close attention to the White Cloud Abyss’s movements and seal the place. After we annihilate the rebels, we’ll pacify that place with our victorious spurt of energy.”

“Yes, sir.” The vice general hesitated for a moment before saying, “General, the civil unrest in Longbei is because of the corrupt bureaucrats here. Those vagrants wouldn’t have been so desperate if they had food…”

As Du Kun looked at the map, he calmly replied, “It’s not our place to interfere with the bureaucracy. We can only accomplish our goals on the battlefield.”

He turned to look at the vice general. “Killing a good man to gain merit is something that should never be done, do you understand?”

The vice general was speechless. “Yes, I understand.”

Apart from fighting against the outside, they also had to quell the unrest and suppress bandits…

At this moment, a military officer walked into the tent. “General, I have an important matter to report.”

He then presented a bundle to Du Kun.

Du Kun was somewhat surprised. He opened the bundle and saw that his subordinates’ secret letters and a token were inside.

Instead of looking at the letter, Du Kun looked at the token, and his eyes suddenly narrowed.