Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 668 Cleaning
With its upturned eaves adorned with gold and colorful paintings, the Western Capital Imperial Palace is comparable in scale to the Forbidden City.

The grand bronze symphony resounded.

Inside one of the grand halls, with its carved beams and painted rafters, exuding boundless grandeur.

A group of fierce soldiers, clad in armor and exuding a menacing aura, were rehearsing a sacrificial dance under the guidance of General Liu Wenxiu, the General of the Southern Expedition.

Although the Great Western Kingdom was actually a regime established by a group of peasant rebels, it had been nearly 60 years since its founding, so the proper pomp and ceremony could not be omitted.

The fact that the Great Western King will ascend to immortality in seven days is not only a matter of great concern to the other three kingdoms, but also a matter of paramount importance that all the civil and military officials of the Western Capital must take seriously in terms of law and principle.

At that time, as long as the emperors of the other three kingdoms are not incompetent, they will definitely send people to sabotage and interrupt Zhang Xianzhong's ascension ceremony. Otherwise, if this blood-handed butcher really becomes a living saint of slaughter, the world order will definitely undergo changes they do not want to see.

"Your Majesty, Qin Wu is a promising talent. Don't you really want to consider recruiting him?"

The fisherman, dressed in court attire, looked at Zhang Xianzhong, who was enduring excruciating pain as he slipped the spiked bracelet onto his wrist on the dragon throne, and suddenly spoke up to offer his advice.

"If it were before you sent him to Yazhou, I might have considered this Changshan man of unknown origin. But now that he is a follower of Ba Hui, I don't want to ruin the relationship between Shura and Ba Hui for the sake of a saint who is too busy to be in two places at once."

Zhang Xianzhong glanced at his still-bleeding wrist, his expression unchanged, exuding an imposing aura without anger.

"So he observed the [bloodletting]?"

Yu Gongcao's gaze narrowed slightly as he tentatively inquired.

"Let him come. Temporarily assign him to Dingguo's Anxi Camp and keep him by my side. He doesn't need to fight on the front lines."

Zhang Xianzhong stroked his beard and said decisively, "After all, he went through countless dangers to bring me this treasure from Sheyi. While he is still in Daxi, please try your best to fulfill any requests he may have."

"Yes. Does Your Majesty have any further instructions?"

Fisherman Cao bowed slightly and then asked.

"Dingguo has captured quite a few interrogators recently, and I have no interest in knowing which faction sent them. But one thing is certain: there can be absolutely no mistakes in the bloodletting!"

Speaking of the spies planted in Xijing City by the other three kingdoms during this period, Zhang Xianzhong's tiger-like eyes widened, and a murderous aura surged forth. He said coldly, "Give all the available officers of the Killing Department a mission. Have them assist the Anxi Camp in investigating. Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, find out all those traitors who dare to provoke us at this critical juncture!"

"By imperial decree, effective immediately, for the next ten days, no one is permitted to leave their home. Violators will be severely punished, and in serious cases, beheaded!"

A loud shout echoed from the long street into the room. Qin Huai sat by the window, his brows furrowed as he looked out at the deserted street where the rain was falling. There were few people on the street, except for a group of burly men in full armor riding horses, their hooves clattering as they charged toward the imperial city.

This is the twenty-seventh group of people in the past few days. The aura they exuded and the waist tags they deliberately wore made Qin Huai realize that these people were recruits sent by the Great Western Army of the Killing Department to collect rare and precious treasures.

After completing their mission, they all returned to Xijing to hand over their duties.

Although it was only dusk by the hour, the gloomy rain in the sky made it almost like night.

Not only were there few people, but the entire Xijing city looked like a storm was brewing, like a heavy stone weighing on everyone's hearts.

"It seems like the rain hasn't stopped since I arrived here?"

Qin Huai looked up at the sky, carefully recalling his situation after arriving at the fruit plantation. It seemed that there really had been no sunny days, and the weather had been like this, with continuous drizzle.

"Does Sichuan also have a plum rain season? I've never heard of that."

Just as Qin Huai was muttering to himself, a mechanical bird swept across the sky, then circled around in the distance before landing steadily on the windowsill in front of him.

Qin Huai recognized this bird; it was created by the Killing Department using military and mechanical techniques to transmit information, and at this moment, there was a square-shaped sealed box inside its belly.

When Qin Huai opened the sealed box and took out the letter, he immediately stood up after reading its contents.

"It's finally about to begin."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Huai's robes fluttered, and he rushed towards the Ministry of Justice like a roc spreading its wings.

After he passed the courtyard where the crimson greatsword was stuck, and then followed the secret door to the main hall that used to be covered with screens, he found that all the screens had been removed and replaced.

Perhaps for reasons of secrecy, the oil lamps on the wall were not lit, making the entire space extremely dark.

Even with Qin Huai's excellent eyesight, he could only make out the scattered figures in the darkness, but not their faces. Only by getting very close could he see their faces clearly.

"Is the power of the Divine Star interfering?"

Qin Huai walked through the crowd until he reached the very front before stopping.

Out of the corner of his eye, Qin Huai glanced at the crowd of people, some standing and some squatting. The strange aura emanating from them made Qin Huai, with his keen senses, feel uneasy and prickly.

The low, muffled chatter of the soldiers mingled together, and combined with the oppressive atmosphere in the hall, made everyone inside feel suffocated.

"Brother Wei, is the blood donation about to begin?"

Turning his gaze away from the recruits, Qin Huai looked at Wei Xiaolian beside him, who had changed drastically and was now dressed impeccably, and took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"Two more days."

Wei Xiaolian turned his head and nodded to Qin Huai.

"Brother Wei, are these people all soldiers recruited by Xijing City?"

Qin Huai looked around at the others.

"Not only that, but there are also those from other prefectures, and even several high lamas that Master Sa invited from Tibet. Hehe, His Majesty is really going to get serious this time."

"Tibet?"

The image of the withered, decaying old lama flashed through Qin Huai's mind. After looking around, he indeed saw several people wearing lama headdresses in the distance, emanating a faint aura of death.

"Brother Wei, is everyone here? Where is Fisherman Cao?"

Qin Huai asked again.

"The old fisherman is discussing the next steps with the other Jiahou, so he'll probably be back later."

Before Wei Xiaolian could finish speaking, a clear gong rang out, and everyone present looked in the direction of the sound.

The sudden burst of blood and fire illuminated Yu Gongcao, who hadn't yet changed out of his court robes, and the four imposing figures behind him, adorned with gilded waist badges.

Upon seeing Yu Gongcao appear, the discussions in the hall immediately subsided considerably. "Brother Wei, doesn't the Ministry of Justice have a Minister or Vice Minister? Is Yu Gongcao the boss?"

Qin Huai glanced at the faces of the four people who were deliberately obscuring their features, making it impossible to see them clearly, and whispered to Wei Xiaolian beside him, "What do you mean?"

"Nonsense! Who do you think Yu Gongcao's Gongcao is? Seventy years ago, when the Emperor raised his army, Old Man Yu was his Gongcao!"

After rattling off these words in rapid succession, Wei Xiaolian became unusually serious and abruptly ended the discussion about Qin Huai.

"The reason why the Killing Department has summoned you here today is probably self-evident."

As soon as Yu Gongcao spoke, a terrifying aura instantly erupted from him, as if Buzhou Mountain had collapsed, and the entire hall fell silent.

Bang~bang~bang~
Every now and then, someone in the crowd would stiffen and fall straight to the ground.

Just when Qin Huai thought those people had done something wrong to be punished, he found someone walking up to them, holding up a palm-sized bronze mirror, and directly exposing their background.

The objects reflected in the bronze mirror are the concrete manifestations of the power of destiny they cultivate, that is, their nature!

Glaciers, Gu worms, a flesh-and-blood Buddha, a face of a hundred beasts, yin-yang fish
Qin Huai looked at the strange phenomena in the mirror and found that these appearances were basically representatives of the mainstream factions of the other three kingdoms, but there were also a few that looked quite unfamiliar and whose identities were difficult to identify.

"Lord Gongcao, I'm innocent! I'm innocent!"

A burly man with a face full of scars and a belly full of fat lay on the ground, struggling and howling.

"His Majesty said that if someone is killed by mistake, they should not be let off the hook. You young men whose identities are difficult to ascertain, you will have to endure this for a few days. If you are truly innocent, you will be compensated after the blood sacrifice is completed!"

With a wave of his sleeve, Yu Gongcao led away the soldiers who had fallen to the ground, their menacing aura palpable.

"There are still twenty-eight hours before the blood transfusion begins. What you need to do now is to arrest all the suspected spies in Xijing City."

At this point, Yu Gongcao waved his hand lightly, and some soldiers handed some papers to each recruit soldier.

Qin Huai took the paper, lowered his eyes to examine it closely, and found that it seemed to contain some addresses and simple sketches.

"These are the targets the lamas have divined. Bring them here, and their lives are irrelevant."

"As long as their identities can be verified, ordinary spies will receive a reward of fifty merits and a promotion of half a rank. As for the one with the greatest merit, the Emperor himself will bestow upon him a lotus seed!"

These words caused an uproar among everyone. Clearly, such force was unprecedented since the founding of the Assassination Division.

Lotus seeds!
Even Si Chen is vying for this lotus seed!

Who wouldn't want to stay sober for a few more years, pushing back the inevitable death of being corrupted by evil?
The soldiers who had previously intended to conceal their strength immediately put aside all their concerns and became eager to try.

"Go ahead, I wish you all success and promotions. By the way, Si Chen has been keeping a close eye on Xijing these past few days. If you can kill all these spies, you might gain some benefits from the killing."

Boom~!

The four gates of Xijing City—east, west, south, and north—slammed shut with a deafening roar.

Accompanied by the sound of war drums, the elite troops of the Eight Great Camps, clad in heavy armor, ascended the city walls. Their menacing aura seemed to form four giant walls, sealing everything inside.

The giant crossbows and firearms that were originally intended to deal with invading enemy forces were also turned around and aimed at the city.

The rain was still falling, and the rising mist shrouded the entire city of Xijing in a hazy fog. Small black dots, like ants, gradually spread outwards from the direction of the Ministry of Justice.

Qin Huai spread his bony wings and headed towards the eastern corner of the city, where there were several spies who appeared to be sent by the Southern Ming court, which piqued his interest.

Behind him, several unfamiliar soldiers followed silently, looking at the intelligence in their hands, seemingly determined to follow Qin Huai and take advantage of the situation.

Few of the recruits who have been in the Killing Department for so long are fools. Anyone with eyes can see that although Qin Huai’s appearance is terrifying, the aura he exudes is undeniable. In addition, the fact that he can chat and laugh with General Wei Xiaolian further confirms that he is a strong man.

After all, everyone knows that the spies sent by the other three kingdoms to Xijing to cause trouble and interrupt the ascension ceremony are rarely mediocre.

Although the rewards offered by the Killing Department are generous, even the most generous rewards come at the cost of one's life. Following a powerful figure like Qin Huai, while the potential gains may be less, safety will undoubtedly be more guaranteed.

Qin Huai acted quickly, but someone was even faster than him.

Screams and cries could be heard from the houses surrounding him, which were low in the air.

A wooden door adorned with peach wood charms was kicked open, and a thin woman carrying a swaddled baby stumbled and rushed outside.

But accompanied by a violent howling wind, a large, blood-stained, ghost-headed sword came speeding up from inside the house.

At this critical moment, the woman suddenly swung her arm and threw the baby out of her arms. Her red lips parted and she chanted an evil incantation. The small baby instantly became soft and boneless, and fine snake scales grew on its body, wrapping around the flying knife. She used this opportunity to escape.

Tsk~
The blade grazed the scales, scattering dazzling sparks. The snake infant was instantly disemboweled by the blade tip, its rolling, eerie purple blood mingling with the boundless rain, creating an unusual, sweet-smelling odor.

A burly, fat man rushed out of the house menacingly, drew his large, ghost-headed sword, and chased after the woman who was scaling walls and rooftops.

"Damn it! You damn Tartars! Don't you dare run away!"

Qin Huai glanced at the deformed infant in the puddle, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"Next, I'm afraid many, many, many people will die. Could it be that this is also a requirement for receiving blood?"

Qin Huai didn't know the answer; he could only make his own guesses based on all these clues.

Along the way, all sorts of bloody and nauseating scenes unfolded before Qin Huai's eyes. Whether it was the Great Western forces or the secret agents of the Three Kingdoms, both sides were serious, and the commotion was particularly large.

Most of them fought alone, but there were also times when they cooperated with each other. The entire Xijing City was like a pot of boiling soup, thoroughly boiling over by the scorching heat of blood and fire.

Before he knew it, Qin Huai had arrived at his destination—a two-courtyard house.

With his bone wings folded and the Seven Star Sword drawn, Qin Huai smashed through the window and wall, and the round, moon-shaped blade, bright as autumn water, sliced ​​the crying, huddled family of three inside in half.

"What a cold-blooded killer! It's a pity he's such a blockhead. He'd better just obediently drink the Taoist priest's foot bath water!"

Before he finished speaking, the six pieces of corpse suddenly expanded and exploded, splattering blood and flesh everywhere. The blood and flesh stained the snakeskin cloak and hissed as if strong acid was corroding metal.

"Using innocent strangers as bait, you bastard, do you even deserve to be a Taoist priest?!"

Qin Huai, his eyes shining like searchlights, turned around and swung his greatsword directly at the source of the sound.

(End of this chapter)