Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 571 Calling a deer a horse, disobeying orders

Everyone was taken aback when they heard the order brought by the royal envoy.

However, Lü Yang's focus was different from others.

He muttered, "Why does this guy have such a high-pitched voice?"

“It’s most likely a eunuch from the King of Ba’s side; that’s a castrated voice.” Cheng Ren had large ears and hearing far superior to others, allowing him to hear some unusual sounds.

eunuch? Castrated? In other words, a eunuch?

Shanglu muttered to himself.

Looking at the royal envoy again, his every move indeed carried a feminine air.

Yan Man frowned and hesitated before saying, "We have just captured Xiongling Military Town and are about to take Heishi and Langyan Military Towns in one fell swoop. How can we retreat and abandon this excellent situation? His Majesty must not be aware of the situation at the front and thinks we are underestimating the enemy and advancing recklessly. Please have the royal messenger report back to His Majesty that everything is going smoothly at the front and our army is advancing like a hot knife through butter..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was rudely interrupted by the eunuch.

"His Majesty knows you have defeated the Chu army! But His Majesty's order is for you to withdraw your troops immediately and cease fighting. As for the captured Xiongling military town, it must be returned to the Chu army!"

Upon hearing this, the generals inside the tent erupted in an uproar:
"what?"

"Withdraw troops? Are you kidding me!"

"Are we just going to give up Xiongling Military Town, which we fought so hard to capture? What about our brothers who died in battle? Did they die in vain?"

"Be bold!"

The eunuch's face darkened; he was indeed quite imposing, having borrowed the tiger's power.

His gaze swept over the people in the military tent, he bowed in the direction of Wushan, and said coldly, "Are you questioning the King's orders? Do you intend to rebel?"

The generals were intimidated by the eunuch's words.

He wanted to get angry, but was afraid of being accused of rebellion, so he could only swallow his words and secretly resent it.

This eunuch was arrogant enough to bypass Yan Man and Li Xuan and directly order the generals in the military tent: "If you don't want to rebel, quickly take your troops and withdraw from Chu and return to Ba! Otherwise..."

"What else?"

A voice asked.

"Otherwise, you will be labeled as rebels and subjected to joint attacks by the states of Ba and Chu!"

After saying this, the eunuch realized something was wrong and quickly turned around to look at the chief priest.

That was the question Da Zhu asked.

The eunuch looked astonished: "Great Master...you...you're not going to disobey the order, are you?"

The Grand Master did not answer, but instead asked, "Since Your Majesty knows that we have defeated the Chu army and the war is going smoothly, why did you send him to deliver the order for us to withdraw our troops?"

"Ah? This..." The eunuch's tone was flustered: "I...I don't know...His Majesty didn't say."

"His Majesty ordered the withdrawal of troops; surely there must be a formal royal decree?"

Da Zhu closed the order in his hand: "A privately sealed edict is invalid."

The eunuch suddenly realized what was happening, his face filled with astonishment: "Great Priest, you...you really intend to disobey the king's command?!"

The Grand Master raised his hand and bowed in the direction of Wushan.

“If it truly is a royal decree, we shall obey. But I suspect it is not my king’s order at all! And you are not truly a messenger of the king’s decree!”

"What? You dare question the royal decree? You dare question my identity?"

The eunuch appeared fierce but was actually cowardly. Although he shouted loudly, everyone could hear the panic in his voice.

Da Zhu ignored him and instead asked the people in the military tent, "Does anyone know what the situation is like around Xingshan right now?"

The generals looked at each other, puzzled as to why the Grand Master would suddenly ask this question.

Shang Lu immediately understood and continued, "Although the Chu army was defeated, there are still quite a few Chu soldiers hiding around Xingshan... In addition, there are also many Chu spies loitering around Xiongling military town."

This was the truth, and all the generals nodded in agreement.

"I see!"

Da Zhu snorted coldly, his face instantly darkening.

He raised his hand and pointed at the eunuch who was delivering the order.

"This person is not a royal messenger at all, but a spy from the State of Chu in disguise, trying to falsely convey the king's orders and disrupt the morale of our army!"

"I'm not……"

The eunuch was shocked and hurriedly tried to deny it to prove his identity.

But he stopped abruptly as soon as he began to speak.

Immediately afterward, his mouth broke into a sinister grin, as if it were his own: "That's right, I'm not a royal messenger... As expected of the Grand Priest, you actually saw through me!" He then turned and tried to escape out of the tent.

This turn of events came extremely suddenly, and many people in the military tent were caught off guard.

Shang Lu, however, had already made preparations the moment the great chanting began.

Seeing the eunuch trying to run away, the beast whip at his waist flew out like a nimble snake, and with a "whoosh," it tightly wrapped around the eunuch.

The eunuch had some cultivation, but not much; he was only at the level of opening the meridians and hadn't even developed his internal energy.

Despite struggling desperately, it could not break free from the pokeweed's beast whip.

Upon realizing this, the generals all began to curse:

"So he was a spy!"

"I almost fell for his trick!"

"How dare they impersonate a royal envoy to deceive us!"

Some, driven by even more impulse, drew their swords and tried to kill the eunuch.

Da Zhu shouted, "Don't do it yet. Drag him away and tie him up. I still need to interrogate him later."

"Yes!" Shang Lu clasped his hands in acceptance and handed the eunuch over to Zi Shu, the patrolman, to be taken away and kept under guard.

Unlike the agitated general in the military tent, Shang Lu clearly understood one thing: the eunuch was not a spy! His absurd reaction just now was triggered by the "calling a deer a horse" trick from the sophistry of the Great Master Zhu.

In fact, there were several other people in the military tent who had also noticed this.

But everyone tacitly agreed not to say it aloud.

"You all go down immediately and set off according to the established plan. Target: Black Stone Military Town!" Yan Man waved his hand and issued the military order to the generals.

"Leader!"

The generals clasped their hands in agreement, clutched their swords at their waists, rushed out of their tents, and rallied their troops to march.

Shang Lu, along with Lü Yang and Gongshu Ling, also went out with the others.

After everyone left, Yan Man and Li Xuan turned to look at Li Xuan, their faces showing worry.

Li Xuan cast a soundproof spell and whispered, "Great Master, what about the King..."

Da Zhu slowly shook his head: "I don't know either, why he suddenly ordered a retreat."

Yan Man frowned and said, "We will disobey orders and continue the attack..."

"Even if the sky falls, I'll take care of it!"

The Grand Master said in a deep voice, "We've finally got this opportunity to carve out a large chunk of flesh from the Chu Kingdom. If we give up now, what will our fallen soldiers think of us?"

Yan Man and Li Xuan exchanged a glance, then without further hesitation, they both crossed their hands in agreement.

The Ba army's morale was high, and their offensive was relentless. In just a few days, they captured the military towns of Heishi and Langyan, successfully opening up the connection with Bozhi County and forcing the Chu army to hastily construct new defensive lines in the rear.

However, on the Pakistani side, after the passage was opened, instead of military supplies and provisions, they were greeted by yet another royal messenger.

This time, the messenger was no longer a servant of the Inner Palace Temple, but a formal official.

What he held was not a private edict, but an official decree stamped with the royal seal, and it also had anti-counterfeiting spells on it.

"Grand Master, General Yan, High Priest Li, let's withdraw the troops!"

The envoy handed the formal order to the three men and bowed deeply: "His Majesty has instructed me to convey to you that the State of Chu has sent an envoy to Wushan and has reached an agreement with our country on the terms of peace. You are to withdraw your troops immediately and have the Grand Master of Ceremonies depart immediately to return to Wushan."

"The State of Chu wants to negotiate peace?" Yan Man and Li Xuan exchanged a surprised glance.

"Even if we negotiate peace, there's no reason to hand over the territory we've conquered!"

"Yes, now our country has the upper hand. It's one thing not to take this opportunity to force Chu to cede territory and pay reparations, but how can we also give up the military towns we've captured? It's easy to hand over these three military towns, but if the Chu army takes them back, they'll border Xingshan! Xingshan is about to become a ruin. If Chu uses the ruin to cause trouble, how should our country respond?"

"What? Xingshan is going to become a ruin?" The royal envoy was shocked.

"You didn't know about this?"

Da Zhu raised an eyebrow: "I have already sent a letter to the King and the officials of the court reporting the situation here."

The royal envoy shook his head: "This humble official is of low rank and truly does not know."

Yan Man asked, "Does the envoy know what the conditions for peace negotiations between Chu and us are? We can't possibly win a battle and still have to cede territory, can we?"

Li Xuan sneered, "We've already lost Xingshan! How can we retreat so easily!"

The royal envoy hurriedly replied, "I truly do not know; I have only heard that there is even better compensation..."

"What kind of compensation?" Da Zhu pressed.

"I don't know, my subordinate."

The royal envoy knew nothing when asked.

He wasn't lying; he genuinely didn't know.

Soon, Da Zhu, Yan Man, and Li Xuan finished questioning the royal envoy.

This time, he wasn't treated harshly, nor was he subjected to the "calling a deer a horse" tactic to turn him into a spy.

Li Xuan summoned the accompanying priests and led the royal envoy away to rest. Then, he turned around and looked at the Grand Priest with Yan Man.

After a moment of contemplation, Da Zhu said, "We have finally captured the three military towns of Xiongling, Heishi, and Langyan. How can we retreat like this? You all stay here for now. I will return to Wushan to see what is going on with the King and the officials of the court!"

"Alright!" Yan Man and Li Xuan responded in unison, as they did not want to withdraw their troops just like that.

The Grand Master instructed, “I will leave Mao Tu here so that he can inform you if we are to withdraw. Do not listen to any retreat orders delivered by others! If the King blames you, you can blame it on me.”

Yan Man laughed and said, "You flatter me, High Priest Li. Neither I nor I are afraid of trouble."

"Alright." Da Zhu cupped his hands in greeting. "Then it's settled! I'll leave the three towns of Blackstone, Mighty Ridge, and Wolf Smoke to you two!"

After discussing the important matters and reaching an agreement, the Grand Master summoned the Rabbit, Ox, and Rat, who were on patrol, to the room.

Seeing this, Yan Man and Li Xuan wisely excused themselves and went to arrange the defenses.

"His Majesty has issued another decree, ordering the withdrawal of troops..."

The chief priest explained the situation to the several inspectors and then made arrangements:

"Mao Tu, you stay here and assist General Yan and Chief Priest Li in guarding the three military towns, and rigorously investigate spies and spies. Without my order, no one is allowed to withdraw the troops!"

The Rabbit, on patrol, crossed its hands and accepted the order: "Yes, Rabbit understands!"

"Chou Niu, in the name of the Guardian Witch, gather experts from all over the country who are well-versed in feng shui and geomancy, and set up formations around Xingshan to lock the Void Realm within Xingshan and prevent it from spreading!"

"Your subordinate obeys and will do it immediately!"

Chou Niu Xunshou was not an impatient person, but he knew that this matter was very urgent. He clasped his hands to accept the order, and after receiving the Grand Master's permission, he immediately rushed out of the room to contact the cultivators who were well-versed in feng shui and earth veins.

Da Zhu looked at Zi Shu Xun Shou: "Go to the State of Chu, infiltrate their capital, and secretly protect the safety of Da Xing Ren and Dian Ke. If Chu makes any unusual moves, you must rescue Da Xing Ren and Dian Ke no matter what! You are in charge of all the spies in Chu."

"Yes, sir!" the Rat Patrol replied loudly, hands clasped.

Da Zhu paused for a moment, then added, "Let Shang Lu and the others go with you. He's very fortunate, clever, and intelligent; he might be of great help to you."

"Let Xu Zhen, Cheng Ren, and the other two come with you."

The Rabbit Hunting Trip added three more helpers: "Their combat strength may be a bit lacking, but they have special skills that can be put to use."

Having witnessed the abilities of Xu Zhen, Cheng Ren, and the blindfolded girl, the Rat Patrol knew that what the Rabbit Patrol said was true, so he cupped his hands and thanked them.

After assigning the tasks, the Grand Master wasted no more time. He sent someone to bring the "spy" eunuch out of the prison, then summoned the Starship and boarded it with the royal envoy, flying to Wushan in the Kingdom of Ba.

After seeing off the Grand Master, Zi Shu, the Hunting Rat, immediately found Shang Lu and the other two and instructed them: "The Grand Master has ordered that the three of you accompany me to the capital of Chu to secretly protect the Grand Master of Ceremonies and the Clerk. If there's anything that needs to be done or prepared, hurry up! I'll give you one hour. Meet outside the city in one hour!"

“Especially you.” He pointed at Gongshu Ling. “Your appearance is too conspicuous. We need to find a way to cover it up.”

“That’s easy,” Gongshu Ling said. “I brought my head with me this time. I’ll change into it later, then put on a humanoid witch’s armor, and then wear a robe over it. No one will be able to tell.”

Upon hearing this, not only Shang Lu and Lü Yang, but even Zi Shu Xun Shou was surprised: "You can switch your head back?"

Gongshu Ling said, "I can replace any part of my body if I want to. But flesh and blood limbs are too weak, I don't want them."

Shang Lu, Lü Yang, and Zi Shu looked at each other in astonishment.

The rat went on its hunt quickly; it still had many things to prepare.

Zhu Quan and Zhuang Fan immediately surrounded Shang Lu, anxiously asking, "Sir (Sima), what should we do?"

This trip to the State of Chu is a secret mission, so I certainly can't bring so many county soldiers and just swagger over there.

However, Shang Lu did not want to return these county soldiers to Baiyi County.

After several fierce battles, these county soldiers have grown into elite troops, with significant improvements in both morale and strength.

The pokeweed wanted to keep them by its side and select promising talents to cultivate.

After exchanging a few words with the Rat Patrol via telegram, Shang Lu learned about the arrangements at the military town and immediately instructed, "You all stay here and await the orders of the Rabbit Patrol until I return."

He paused, then added, "Remember to cultivate every day. When I get back, I'll be checking on everyone! If anyone's cultivation level regresses instead of improving, don't blame me for dealing with them!"

Upon hearing this, not only Zhu Quan and Zhuang Fan, but also all the soldiers of the prefecture breathed a sigh of relief.

They also wanted to continue following the pokeweed.

Such generous and capable superiors are truly rare.

After settling the soldiers, Gongshu Ling completed the head transplant—just as she had said, after the head was replaced and the robe was put on, no problem could be seen.

Gongshu Ling wasn't particularly handsome, and his head had turned somewhat pale from being submerged in nutrient solution for so long. Fortunately, it didn't have a significant impact, and he could use cultivation techniques to cover it up.

Immediately afterwards, Shang Lu, Lü Yang, and Gongshu Ling went to the military supplies warehouse. After showing their identification badges and the letter from the Grand Master given to them by the Rat Hunting, they were allowed to enter and begin selecting the items they needed.

This military supply depot contained not only various medicines, but also many captured witchcraft artifacts and remnants of spirits...

An hour later.

Shang Lu rode on a black cloud, and together with Lü Yang and Gongshu Ling, they left the military town. In the distance, they saw Zi Shu on patrol, as well as Xu Zhen, Cheng Ren and his group.

Once everyone had arrived, the Rat Hunter, without saying a word, simply flicked the reins and led the group off.

Soon, they left the area controlled by the Pakistani army, crossed the combat zone, and arrived in enemy territory.

From afar, they could see a patrol of Chu troops ahead.

The Chu army also spotted them and rushed closer, shouting and nocking arrows, chanting incantations and firing signal arrows to call for reinforcements.

(End of this chapter)