Yinshan Record

Chapter 548 Let's use the jade hook to fish for the golden toad (Part 2)
Jiankang was the capital of the Great Liang Kingdom. Although the once glorious Great Liang was nearing its end, even a broken ship still had some iron. In the capital, many powerful and cunning individuals were lurking and lying in wait.

Su Che used his profound power to consecrate the talisman in the air, where it was surrounded by swirling azure energy that morphed into clouds. The Zhou Jue Yin Tian Secret Technique corresponded to the Xuan Yin Dharma lineage, and under the talisman's influence, a hundred ghosts would naturally appear to roam within a distance of two or three miles.

A red-clad ghostly woman smiles alluringly, seemingly yearning for marriage. A hideous yaksha swiftly traverses the air, devouring vital energy; a mountain goblin laughs grotesquely, mocking passersby. An old man sells melons, each melon shaped like a human head, its expression varied. A bull-headed demon pulls a blood-soaked cart, on which a child cries and wailes, its voice like that of an old woman…

All of this is not because there are actually evil spirits passing through this place, but rather because of the strange phenomena caused by Su Che using his magic.

However, to ordinary people, such strange phenomena are merely fleeting moments, like an illusion in a momentary daze. But if one looks closely, they become more and more real, until one's mind is dazed, one's hair stands on end, one's blood freezes, and one's teeth chatter like they are pounding garlic.

Inside the Censorate, there were naturally censors responsible for observing the heavens. One of the censors on duty was thin and had two heads growing out of his neck. One head was full of joy, while the other head had its eyes sewn on, its ears cut off, and its upper and lower lips cut off, revealing a mouthful of white, rotten teeth.

He looked up at the northeastern sky, his fingers constantly calculating.

“The northeast belongs to the Gen trigram, which is the gate of life. Taking the mountain as its element, it is still and long-lasting. How could there be such a strange cloud?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Imperial Censor Xingyou, who was also on duty, took over the conversation.

"With the City God of Jiankang guarding the city, what kind of ignorant demons would dare to come here?"

"Since ordinary demons and monsters dare not come, the one who comes must be hostile. Shall we go and take a look?"

"When a nation is about to perish, monstrous evils will surely appear. This Great Liang is truly doomed."

The group started talking at once, and after a while, the conversation turned into a full-blown tirade of sarcastic remarks and mockery.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, be careful what you say, they've been keeping an eye on us."

"What's there to be afraid of? At worst, we can just take off this official robe and quit serving. Isn't the East Sea enough for us to live a carefree life?"

"People say that a hen crowing at dawn is a sign of a country's downfall, but I don't know what kind of hen is crowing at dawn these days."

"It's not a hen, but it probably isn't a rooster either."

"Sigh... Old Wei should count."

"Now that the Imperial Guards are in charge, they should handle it. We shouldn't meddle in these matters."

Amidst the chatter, the imperial censors decided on the appropriate text, then grabbed the celestial register from the side and wrote it down in a few strokes.

On a certain day and at a certain time in a certain month of a certain year, strange clouds appeared in the northeast of Jiankang, as if a hundred ghosts were hiding. All officials, in order to protect the palace, have already sent documents to the Imperial Guards to handle the matter.

A document was sent, and the imperial censors who were traveling to Youzhou started talking about what kind of rooster was crowing at dawn.

Before they could even finish their idle chatter, the Imperial Guards had already issued their orders.

Leave it alone.

Although there aren't any foolish imperial guards around Young Master Su now, how could the imperial guards not care about their young master?

Since Marquis Changxin is in the mood to practice Taoist magic there, let him practice. If there's any hindrance, frightening of passersby, or disturbance, we can subtly mention it to Lord Su.

There are still too many rebels in the city to catch, so where would they find the time to mess around with their own people?

A few curious onlookers went over to take a look, while the rest of the group went about their own business.

You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge. Now that the Liang Dynasty has finally come to our command, we, the Imperial Guards, must keep our focus in mind.

For example, the Censorate had the most rebels.

Outside Jiankang City, within the main camp, soldiers shouted and drilled, the air thick with a murderous aura, armored horses and long spears moving back and forth, banners obscuring the sun. Wei Huaiwen, dressed in a blue robe, sat quietly inside the main tent, documents piled up like a small mountain on his desk. Commander Wei held a wolf-hair brush, its tip stained with vermilion ink, as he reviewed them. Suddenly, a voice announced from outside that an armored soldier had brought in a letter of yellow silk.

Wei Huaiwen was very strict in his military discipline. There were special staff in the headquarters to handle military intelligence, and different types of military intelligence information were classified according to their urgency and handled differently.

The lightest level of military intelligence was handled with blue silk. This type of intelligence generally did not reach Commander Wei's hands; it was handled by his staff generals and advisors in the general's headquarters. More urgent military intelligence was handled with yellow silk, and was dealt with by senior officials in Commander Wei's headquarters as needed. If necessary, Commander Wei should also be informed.

The next layer of information was on red silk, and all information on red silk was important military intelligence that had to be delivered to Commander Wei's desk for review. The most urgent military intelligence was on purple silk, and Commander Wei had to be notified as quickly as possible.

The yellow silk in front of him was clearly a military intelligence document that was not particularly important, but his subordinates felt it necessary to pass it on to Wei Huaiwen.

This, however, piqued Wei Huaiwen's interest.

With the various systems of the General's Office now in full operation, he hadn't seen such yellow silk for a long time. However, according to past practice, this was usually a very interesting thing, and his subordinates had specially selected it to make this humorous General Wei laugh.

With his desk busy, Wei Huaiwen simply picked it up to take a look, just for amusement.

Upon unfolding it, he frowned slightly.

Such matters seem more appropriate to be placed in the yellow silk, after all, it's all too common for some boy to practice some evil skill or do some bad thing.

As for the Censorate and the Imperial Guards, given the current situation, both sides should pay close attention.

However, a thought flashed through Wei Huaiwen's mind and he roughly guessed what it was, so he moved his lips.

"Damn it, what a fuss."

After thinking for a moment, Wei Shuai put the yellow silk into his sleeve. He planned to teach that old man a lesson when he met him tomorrow, and see what kind of good child he had raised.

However, Wei Huaiwen seemed to remember something else, and unfolded the yellow silk to look at it again.

He picked up a bamboo slip from the side, wrote a line of words with a wolf-hair brush, and flicked it, sending the bamboo slip flying.

Those people in the Shogunate's Military Intelligence Bureau have become complacent in recent years and have failed to see many of the underlying meanings.

With that thought in mind, Wei Huaiwen took the yellow silk scroll out of his sleeve and looked at it again.

"This is fucking noisy."

Wei Shuai added the character "真" (zhen, meaning true) to the name of someone surnamed Su, and then resumed his work at his desk.

The bamboo slips flew out and passed from hand to hand among several military officers, and the entire shogunate system began to operate smoothly.

Scouts set out from the camp one after another, and the officers disciplined and trained the soldiers. After a short rest, this battle-hardened elite force returned to the rhythm of preparation for war once again.

Meanwhile, inside a painted boat on the Qinhuai River, incense burned in a censer adorned with a mythical beast motif. Amidst the scent of perfume, a sword's edge was hidden. Madam Xie, dressed simply and with her hair as black as snow, sat crookedly at a small camphor wood table. Opposite her was a woman with heavy makeup.

The woman had delicate, soft features and a slightly flushed face as she looked carefully at Madam Xie.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you, sister. How could you be so careless as to fall into our trap?"

Madam Xie didn't say anything, but just looked up at the sky.

A swirling, ominous cloud was drifting across the sky.

(End of this chapter)