Chapter 00144: Discovered
# Discovered
Chapter 144
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 144: Discovered
This was also his reason for choosing to head west.
The terrain along the eastern road of Xianling Village was too flat, and with their horse-drawn carts and heavy loads, they would surely be outpaced by the rebel army; however, if they traveled west and seized the right moment, they might descend the mountain without incident.
As soon as he finished speaking, two bandits rushed over, holding a severed head: “General, we searched the woods by the western mountain road and found a person beheaded, lying there all alone. We brought back his belongings.”
The head grinned with its teeth bared, covered in mud and grass, but when Wu Shaoyi took a look, someone nearby shouted, “Liu Monkey! This is General Pei’s scout, Liu Monkey. We’ve drunk together at Woling Pass twice, and he paid for both times!”
Before anyone else could speak, He Lingchuan immediately said, “Our soldiers do not have the habit of beheading people; this must have been done by the Lu bandits.”
“Perhaps Pei Xinyong sent him to gather intelligence. If he was killed by the Lu bandits, then they probably also obtained information about Old Pei.” Wu Shaoyi looked at the mountain bandit, “What do you have in your hand?”
The man quickly stepped forward, “It seems to be a mechanical bird. Liu Monkey was killed on the ground, and I found it on the treetop above his head.”
He Lingchuan had heard of the existence of puppet techniques, where puppet masters could make their creations move in various ways.
However, witnessing it firsthand was a first for him.
The mechanical bird in the bandit’s hand was the same size as a real pigeon, dark gray in color, inconspicuous, which suited its function well.
“This person was most likely discovered while tinkering with the mechanical bird in the tree. Lu Yao killed him but didn’t notice that a mechanical bird was still perched on the treetop above.”
Wu Shaoyi examined the mechanical bird from every angle, then opened its belly, revealing a hidden compartment that was empty.
Yet, a hint of a smile finally appeared on his usually serious face: “Heaven helps me. This scout must have intended to send a message; the mechanical bird can likely fly directly to Old Pei.”
Lian Deng clapped his hands: “Right! Let’s have the mechanical bird send a message to General Pei; that way, we can get in touch!”
Time was of the essence, and the bandits fetched paper and ink.
Wu Shaoyi quickly wrote down dozens of large characters, folded the note, and stuffed it into the mechanical bird’s belly.
Then he patted its head: “Go find Pei Xinyong.”
The mechanical bird raised its head and flapped its wings, making a sound like a real bird as it flew into the sky, heading west.
“Let’s go.” He Lingchuan stood up, “There’s no time to waste.” He had already spent too much time in Xianling Village.
The group climbed onto the back of the giant crocodile, which moved a few steps and elegantly entered the water.
Such a heavy body, yet it didn’t even splash a drop.
Although they were heavily laden with people, the several Crocodile Demons were immensely powerful, appearing to glide effortlessly, their speed hardly slowed.
Sitting on the back of this ancient ferocious beast, the group initially felt apprehensive, but after a while, they discovered it was even steadier than a boat.
Closing their eyes, they couldn’t even feel themselves gliding over the water, which put their hearts at ease.
The giant crocodile carried them westward as well; the water was wide, and they could travel in a straight line, unlike the winding mountain paths on land.
At this time, it was late autumn, the maple leaves along the lakeshore were turning red, and the mountains were adorned with golden threads, an indescribable beauty and solemnity.
The river breeze brushed against his face, and He Lingchuan stood at the head of the crocodile, taking a deep breath, feeling the coolness fill his lungs.
Riding on a giant crocodile over mountains and waters, accompanied by a group of bandits heading to the battlefield.
Could he have imagined this just half a year ago?
Lu Yao was galloping down the western road.
He urged his mount, which nearly stumbled several times on the sharp turns, kicking several stones down the cliff, the echoes taking a long time to reach him.
He was not afraid, but his subordinates were terrified.
Galloping down such a winding mountain road was akin to courting death, wasn’t it?
But no one dared to utter a word.
Earlier, they had passed by the Sentinel Rock, and Lu Yao had deliberately taken a detour to take a look.
The place was in disarray, marked by the traces of battle, with bloodstains everywhere on the tree bark and grass leaves.
There were dozens of corpses on the ground, some shot by arrows, others hacked to death.
These were all his subordinates! The more Lu Yao looked, the more his expression twisted into a snarl, until he finally roared to the heavens: “Pei Xinyong, you stupid donkey!”
The new recruits under Wu Shaoyi had explained to him on the road the reasons for the sudden betrayal of Wu and Pei.
It was indeed the scheming of that dog official named He!
No wonder he had invited him for drinks and fish last night, showing such enthusiasm; he had intended to let Wu and Pei’s scouts come over and catch him in the act.
These two fools had truly jumped headfirst into He’s trap.
A good three-way alliance had been completely disrupted.
As he looked again at the corpses of his subordinates on the mountain road, he instead calmed down, only to sneer: “That dog official He Chunhua loves to eat grilled fish, doesn’t he? When I catch him, I’ll flay his family alive in front of him and roast the flesh to feed it to him! Heh heh, until he chokes to death!”
Saying this, he swallowed a few times.
At that moment, a cry rang out from the sky.
Lu Yao raised his hand, and a red-tailed falcon landed on his arm, speaking human words: “The official army’s convoy is thirty miles ahead of you, but the mountain road is winding; you may need more time to catch up!”
“What about Pei Xinyong?”
“He is resting at the Horse Station and has not yet moved.” The red falcon continued, “Our people have already crossed the Horse Station and retreated to De Sheng Town.”
“A bunch of useless fools!” Lu Yao snorted, then said to the red falcon, “Go back again and urge all the forces in De Sheng Town to come here.”
“They are afraid of Pei Xinyong.”
“Once Wu Shaoyi is dead, Old Pei won’t have the guts to oppose me!” Lu Yao laughed, “He will turn back sooner or later.”
He fed the red falcon a few pieces of meat and was about to let it go.
The red falcon suddenly lowered its voice, leaning close to his ear: “By the way, I flew back over the lake and saw something unusual at Shuangxia Bay. Those Crocodile Demons were carrying people and heading west.”
“Crocodile Demons? Carrying people?” Lu Yao was taken aback.
He knew the temperament of the Crocodile God; it was cold and ruthless.
Although they had cooperated a few times, if he went to find the Crocodile God now without offering sufficient rewards, the other party wouldn’t hesitate to eat him. “Who did the Crocodile God carry?”
Who could make the Crocodile God willingly become a vehicle, obediently carrying people?
“Wu Shaoyi.” The red falcon’s voice grew even lower.
Lu Yao immediately waved back his subordinates, riding forward a few steps before fixing his gaze on the red falcon: “What’s going on? How is he still alive?” Wasn’t Wu injured by the crocodile? How could he still be riding on its back now?
In the midst of his chaotic thoughts, he didn’t forget to distance himself from his subordinates.
Many of these bandits had switched from Wu Shaoyi’s side to his; if they heard that their former master was still alive, who knew what kind of trouble might arise.
If Wu Shaoyi was still alive, he would be the greatest source of instability, and he felt a bit worried.
“I’m not sure, but he brought over two hundred subordinates, using both crocodiles and boats.”
(End of Chapter)