Yinshan Record

Chapter 267 Plotting a Rebellion
Su Che opened up the Nine Bends of Yin Spring, and a round of eerie light isolated heaven and earth, blocking all prying eyes.

With Madam Xie and Yan Qi present, some things still needed to be kept quiet.

"what happened?"

Su Che looked at the old ox, whose eyes were already brimming with tears. The old ox was slumped on the ground, showing no trace of its former status as a powerful demon.

"Sir, please don't send me to the front lines as military rations..."

"If you had told the truth, of course it wouldn't have been like this."

Su Che frowned slightly: "If you don't behave, then you'll have to give away what you can use."

Old Niu swallowed hard.

"Honest, sir, you know that I, Old Niu, am the most honest person."

"Whether you're honest or not depends on what you say," Su Che said coldly, glancing at the old ox.

When I first met this old ox, the diabolo was still by my side. At that time, I was just a novice who had just started practicing.

At that time, to deal with such a powerful demon, one could only rely on others.

They need fifth-rank experts like Feng Buxing and Yu Ze to pose a threat.

I can now handle the old ox in front of me with ease.

"That day, Old Niu followed the master's orders and went with Brother Zhang San to Guo Bei County..."

Su Che's original intention was to have Zhang San and Lao Niu act as his flanks.

Zhang San is loyal enough, but his skills are rather average. Lao Niu may look simple-minded, but he's shrewd beneath his rough exterior. These two working together should be able to provide backup for me in Guo Bei County.

Su Che led Lu Bai, while Zhang San and Lao Niu went together. This dual setup of one in the open and one in the shadows was also a routine procedure for the Secret Service in handling cases.

But who could have imagined that such a thing would happen in Guobei County?

With the shattering of the Yin-Yang boundary, Buddhism re-entered the Central Plains, and three ancient Buddhas took charge, directly establishing the Hungry Ghost Realm in Guobei County.

Given this dramatic turn of events, Su Che was barely able to take care of himself, let alone Lao Niu and Zhang San.

So when the great change happened that day, Lao Niu's first reaction was to take Zhang San with him and escape.

But escaping is not so easy.
Unlike Su Che, Lao Niu and Zhang San were not in the Yin-Yang realm, but were guarding Guo Bei County.

At that time, it was as if Master Mulan had sacrificed himself to create a hungry ghost realm within the Yin-Yang realm. Not to mention the clash of the laws of the two sides, Guobei County, as the foundation of the Yin-Yang realm, suffered a terrible blow.

They served as the backdrop for the clash between the two newly created worlds.

The situation at the time was so dire that even calling it a cataclysmic upheaval would be an understatement.

The biggest problem lies in the distortion of the laws at that moment.

The powerful impact of the collision between the two realms directly caused a slight disruption to the laws of heaven and earth within Guobei County.

What was cold suddenly turned hot, what was light became heavy. Countless people perished on the spot in that instant, their blood boiling over.

If Zhang San hadn't been protected by the old ox, he would have been dead long ago.

At that time, the concept of direction no longer existed. North could be anywhere, or there might never have been a north, because the concept of space had been distorted.

Worse still, the collision between the two realms brought forth hungry ghosts and fierce spirits.

If it is a malevolent spirit that has escaped from the Yin-Yang realm, it is alright. The Yin-Yang Dharma King has been governing by non-interference for a long time, so although it has a malevolent nature, it is not violent.

Those creatures that have been suppressed in the hungry ghost realm by Buddhism for many years are all pure monsters.

He was a thoroughly wicked person to begin with, and now that he has seized an opportunity to act recklessly, he naturally treats the human realm as if it were the realm of hungry ghosts.

Old Niu was, after all, a great demon who had fought his way out of Xuanshan. Although he lacked some knowledge, he was by no means lacking in magical power. In the end, he managed to protect Zhang San safely, and the two of them managed to escape from Guobei County together.

If that were all, that would be fine.

According to Lao Niu, he and Zhang Sanyi discussed it and decided that since such a big thing had happened in Guobei County, the first priority was to report it to the Imperial Guards as soon as possible.

At least send someone to rescue Su Che, who is trapped in the Yin-Yang realm.

But just as the two set off, they encountered a group of evil spirits who had escaped from the realm of the living and the dead, and they were captured.

In fact, with Lao Niu's cultivation and combat strength, ordinary people naturally couldn't capture him.

But the leader was not a common ghost, but Sikong Tu, one of the six ghost generals. This ghost general, who commanded troops in the Yin-Yang realm, had clearly come prepared, leading his elite troops and a hostage of hungry ghosts and fierce spirits that had swept in along the way.

Although Sikong Tu suffered a setback when he met Su San Gongzi.

But dealing with Lao Niu, who had just escaped from Guobei County, was no problem at all. As soon as the two sides started fighting, Lao Niu was captured after only a few rounds.

According to the ox, Sikong Tu has a picture album. Once it is used, countless shameless demonesses will appear. The old ox had only been painting the picture for a short time when these demonesses drained him of all his strength.

The enemy was simply too ruthless; it had nothing to do with him, Lao Niu.

Su Che had witnessed the power of that painting; it was indeed a noble and righteous path that prioritized winning hearts and minds.

Although Lao Niu was captured by Sikong Tu along with Zhang San, he still remained loyal to the Great Liang. On the surface, he pretended to be friendly with Sikong Tu, but revealed his identity as a great demon from Xuanshan.

It is said that because Xuanshan was destroyed by Daliang this time, the famous demons such as Xuanshan Old Monster, Qingfuzi, and Dushanjun either perished or went into exile.

The demon brothers and monsters were displaced and their strongholds were trampled by the Liang cavalry.

Having no other choice, Lao Niu took his trusted confidant, Zhang San, to Guobei County for refuge.

This makes sense logically.

Guobei County is, after all, the territory of the Yin-Yang Dharma King, whose prestige has stood for thousands of years. Naturally, the imperial guards would not come here to cause trouble.

Sikong Tu seemed to believe Lao Niu's words. Although he controlled both Lao Niu and Zhang San, he did not kill them.

This ghost general seemed to have other ambitions. After escaping the boundary between Yin and Yang, he gathered the escaped hungry ghosts and fierce spirits, heading towards the East China Sea. He finally stopped at the place where Cizhou met the sea. It would have been better if he hadn't stopped; as soon as he stopped, Old Niu felt that he was completely doomed.

Sikong Tu actually wanted to rebel.

It's not about rebelling against the Yin-Yang Dharma King, but against the Great Liang Dynasty.

This ghost general, for reasons unknown, sent his ghost minions to spread rumors everywhere, saying things like "The Three Yang Calamity is coming, and Heaven will destroy the broken beams," spreading these rumors among the people.

On one hand, they were making deals with those in the East China Sea. According to Lao Niu, grain, armor, weapons, and warhorses were being transported from the East China Sea in a steady stream.

He also assigned titles to Lao Niu and Zhang San, tasking them with recruiting monsters from Xuan Mountain and passing evil cultivators, acting as persuaders for Sikong Tu to gather manpower.

This time, they heard that a famous demon cultivator from the East Sea had settled in Cizhou, so they specially sent Old Ox out of his lair to recruit him, and he happened to see Su Che.

Old Niu had witnessed the horrific scene when Xuanshan was breached. He mistook Yu Lizi, who had intervened at the time, for the Grand Preceptor of Liang, and thought that Sikong Tu was simply courting death.

Seeing Su Che this time was like rain after a long drought, or meeting an old friend in a foreign land. Even though their own side was engaged in a fierce battle, with demons appearing and sword energy soaring through the sky, Lao Niu was determined not to leave.

I must see Su Che no matter what and explain the situation clearly.

“Sir, although I, Old Niu, am not well-educated, the words loyalty and righteousness are always on my mind. As the saying goes, ‘I eat the grass of my lord and share his worries.’”

Old Niu, with tears in his eyes, said, "Sir, please make the arrangements. We'll gather our men this time and do everything we can to capture that thief."

"Whether you are a loyal subject of the Great Liang cannot be determined by words alone; we need to observe you further."

Su Che stared coldly at the old ox.

If Lao Niu is a loyal subject of Liang, then Su Che will be the first to not tolerate him and will definitely take action to clean up his own house.

But is Sikong Tu going to rebel?

Is the Ghost General of the Six Departments who commands troops in the Yin-Yang realm going to rebel?

Su Che felt something was off about the news.

Su Che couldn't understand Sikong Tu's reasons for rebelling.

This ghost general is no ordinary person. He is neither exploited by corrupt officials nor bullied by landlords.

Of course, this person clearly had his own plans.

Moreover, the rumor of "the arrival of the Three Yang Calamity" was also related to Sikong Tu, which was indeed beyond Su Che's expectations.

"Now is not the time to take action."

Su Che said to Old Niu, "I'll have to keep you undercover for a while longer."

"Lurking, very well, sir, what does 'lurking' mean?"

"You need to pretend to be Sikong Tu's man, continue to cooperate with him, and find an opportunity to report the situation on his side to me."

Su Che instructed, "You are not allowed to tell anyone about meeting me, including Zhang San."

"Can't Brother Zhang San tell us either?"

"No."

Su Che shook his head.

Zhang San, after all, was just a yamen runner in Shanyin County. He lacked relevant experience and had not received systematic training. He was fine handling non-urgent situations.

But given the current situation, telling him too much about certain things might actually be counterproductive.

Old Niu nodded.

"Okay, how can I contact you, sir?"

"You don't need to contact me, I'll contact you." Su Che looked at Old Niu: "Remember, I will contact you personally. Don't trust anyone but me. Understand?"

"Clear, clear."

"Don't worry, just do your job well with the arrangements made by Sikong Tu."

Su Che patted Lao Niu on the shoulder: "Just pretend you really rebelled."

"Okay, I'll pretend I really did rebel. No, I really did rebel."

“That’s the spirit I’m looking for,” Su Che said with great satisfaction. “Settle down and do your job well. Brother Niu, think about it. Now that Xuan Mountain is gone, the world is vast and there are grasslands everywhere for you to roam, but aren’t there landmines everywhere?”

The biggest disaster I've ever encountered is you.

Old Niu thought to himself but quickly agreed aloud.

“Who says otherwise? If I hadn’t met you, sir, I don’t know how much more I would have suffered.”

"No matter how nicely you put it before, you were just nameless monsters in the mountains. Now it's different. You're a member of the Imperial Guard, a person of the Great Liang Dynasty. To put it bluntly, even if you're dead, you can still become a god of the state, right?"

Su Che comforted him, "From now on, you're my ox. You can ask Zhang San; I, Su, never betray my own people."

"With your words of reassurance, I can finally relax."

Old Niu nodded, glancing knowingly at Madam Xie and the others on the other side.

"You have other things to do, so I won't keep you any longer."

Old Niu clasped his hands in a salute and said, "Rest assured, I will definitely rebel properly."

"Good job."

Su Che smiled and watched as the old ox rode away in a streak of light into the distance.

(End of this chapter)