Chapter 00118: The Third Team
# The Third Team
Chapter 118
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 118: The Third Team
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to quickly come up with a counterintelligence plan tonight.
This old man truly refuses to stay down.
The Kingdom of Yuan is in chaos, and in remote areas, many petty officials have no grand ambitions, simply idling away their days.
As the saying goes, they hide in their small towers, oblivious to the changing seasons.
This used to be his wish too.
He Lingchuan sighed inwardly.
Why has it drifted so far away?
He Chunhua put down his brush, and someone quickly stepped forward to take what he had just written.
The next task would require the agility of scouts.
He Chunhua couldn't help but pat his eldest son on the shoulder, praising him, "Chuan'er, today it was you who woke me up with your words. Very good, very good!"
He Lingchuan laughed a few times and exchanged some pleasantries, saying he was satisfied to be able to help his father.
Sigh, wasn't it because the situation was urgent and disaster was looming, leaving no room for holding back?
"You see, even if the water spirit has signs, it's probably pointing to this moment," He Chunhua added.
"If we work together to overcome it, everything will turn out well, and the so-called calamity will be broken!"
He Lingchuan's smile didn't fade.
"I think so too."
Was it really that simple? What about the phrase "the cuckoo occupying the magpie's nest"? Did it mean that bandits had taken over a mountain village, posing as villagers?
He Chunhua turned to discuss with his subordinates.
Time was precious, and he had to seize every moment.
He Yue also walked over and said to his elder brother, "Well done."
He Lingchuan asked him, "By the way, what was the commotion by the lake earlier?"
"Nothing much," He Yue exhaled.
"The skirmish by the lake tonight was caused by me. As a result, we missed a good opportunity and now have to make up for it."
"So it was you!" He Lingchuan was puzzled.
His father was always steady and would act only after careful planning.
How could he have rashly attacked Lu Yao?
"I was too impatient!" He Yue felt guilty.
"That's more like a kid," He Lingchuan said.
He Yue was mature for his age, and He Lingchuan often forgot he was only fourteen.
Fourteen years old—practically the epitome of frivolity and impulsiveness.
That he only occasionally acted like this was already quite impressive.
￥￥￥￥￥
West of Mount Xianling.
Wu Shaoyi followed the guide with a stern face, occasionally glancing back at the long line of torches behind him.
Originally, they had set up camp at the foot of the mountain, planning to rest and cross the mountain the next day.
But who would have thought that Lu Yao would send a guide to lead them up the mountain overnight, inviting them to a "whole fish feast"? The guide had shouted, "Fresh fish should be eaten fresh—fried, grilled, stewed, or boiled. If left until morning, they won't be fresh anymore."
The key was that the guide had practically shouted this, and the forty or fifty people in front of and behind the tents had all heard it.
Wu Shaoyi had gathered a remnant force of eleven hundred men.
After the failed uprising, everyone was already disheartened, and Wu Shaoyi had to restrain them from looting along the way, which had caused dissatisfaction in the ranks.
His advisors urged him to let it go—what harm would it do to let the soldiers vent once or twice?
For safety's sake, Wu Shaoyi had firmly refused.
But when Lu Yao's guide shouted "whole fish feast," the soldiers' eyes turned green.
In the past ten days, they hadn't even had a decent meal of mixed rice.
The officers could manage with some flatbread, but the lowest-ranking soldiers had to dig for wild vegetables and mushrooms.
At least seven or eight had died from eating poisonous mushrooms.
Seeing them salivating, Wu Shaoyi knew it was best not to say "no" this time.
So, they headed up the mountain overnight.
The guide also told Wu Shaoyi that Pei Xinyong's troops were also ascending the mountain.
Naturally, Wu Shaoyi couldn't take this at face value, but Pei Xinyong's army was on the other side of the mountain.
He sent scouts to inquire and received confirmation.
Long before the uprising, Wu Shaoyi and Pei Xinyong had been comrades-in-arms, and Wu had even saved Pei's life once.
They had a good relationship.
Since Pei Xinyong was also heading up the mountain, the stable triangular dynamic hadn't been broken.
After some thought, Wu Shaoyi waved his hand and decided to enter the village overnight!
Thinking of the good wine and fish awaiting them on the mountain, the entire army quickened its pace.
Wu Shaoyi's advisor was still uneasy and asked the guide, "Is there any other reason Lu Yao is calling us up the mountain overnight, aside from the feast?"
The guide laughed.
"What are you saying? Xianling Village is just a tiny village in the mountains. What other reason could there be? Could there be some ancient ruins there?"
Wu Shaoyi thought about it and found it reasonable, so he stopped asking and focused on the journey.
In the dark forest, the cries of owls and wolves echoed.
The deeper they went, the more uneasy Wu Shaoyi felt.
Tonight, there were no stars or moon, and the forest was pitch black, illuminated only by torches.
A dark and windy night, perfect for murder—this was exactly what it felt like.
If there were an ambush in such a forest, it would be extremely difficult to deal with.
Just then, a flock of night birds burst from the trees behind them, including crows cawing loudly, sending shivers down everyone's spines.
Everyone instinctively turned their heads, only to see an arrow shoot out from the dark forest ahead, thudding into a birch tree trunk two zhang away from Wu Shaoyi!
His bodyguards rushed forward, surrounding him, and shouted, "Enemy attack!"
The soldiers drew their weapons, ready for battle.
But Wu Shaoyi waved his hand.
"Bring me the arrow."
In the torchlight, he could see a red ribbon tied to the arrow's tail.
A message delivered by arrow.
Who would be lurking in the forest in the middle of the night? Who knew Wu Shaoyi's army was heading up the mountain?
For a while, the forest remained silent, with no other enemies or arrows flying out.
Wu Shaoyi sent his men to search the forest, but they returned empty-handed.
Wu wasn't surprised by this result.
He ordered his bodyguards to unfold the red ribbon and read it by the torchlight.
What he saw made his heart race:
"Lu Yao has surrendered. He is leading government troops to ambush Xianling Village. Another seven hundred are hidden under Shaozi Rock."
The night was cold, and Wu Shaoyi felt every breath he took was icy.
Had Lu Yao really surrendered to the imperial court?
His advisor leaned over and also saw the three lines of text.
They exchanged shocked glances.
Wu Shaoyi asked in a low voice, "Is it possible? He has a notorious reputation. The imperial army must hate him to the core."
The advisor quickly calmed down, knowing his boss needed his professional judgment at this critical moment.
After some thought, he cautiously said, "If he turns against us, the imperial court would be happy to see it. They might even offer him official titles and wealth. You know Lu Yao never intended to remain an outlaw. The two sides might have struck a deal."
"I've always heard he wanted to raise an army again."
"He would need to recuperate first," the advisor analyzed.
"Being a lackey for the imperial court is better than being a... better than wandering the world, evading the authorities."
He almost said "a stray dog," but caught himself, realizing that General Wu was in a similar situation.
Wu Shaoyi, of course, understood and looked displeased.
The advisor quickly added, "It's not hard to verify."
He pointed to the words on the red ribbon.
"Just send someone to Shaozi Rock to confirm."
(End of Chapter)