Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 573 Ten Thousand Miles of Yunmeng Marsh

"Humph!"

Faced with the questioning of the Listening Envoy, the Rat Hunting Master snorted coldly and did not answer. Instead, he raised his whip, arrogantly pointed at the Chu army shamans who surrounded him, and said coldly, "You've finally come!"

When the Chu army shamans saw that he did not give a direct answer, their faces darkened. They all began to gather their strength, form hand seals, and take out the remnants of their shamanic artifacts, ready to take action and capture him at any time.

The Rat, on patrol, paid no attention to their actions, but instead berated them harshly: "I thought you would arrive sooner, but you're only just getting here. You're too slow! If I had walked faster, how could you have caught up with me?"

The Chu army shamans were berated by him, leaving them bewildered, unsure whether to retaliate or admit their mistake.

The Chu army's listening envoy's ears twitched incessantly, while his brows furrowed as he tried to decipher the words of the Rat's hunting expedition.

I listened to it over and over, but I couldn't find anything wrong with that sentence.

The other party seemed genuinely annoyed that they had arrived too slowly.

The Chu army's listening officer's attitude changed involuntarily. He abandoned his interrogation stance, cupped his hands, and said, "Please answer my questions directly, sir!"

The Rat Hunting Guard snorted again before raising its head and saying slowly, "Of course I am the Ghost Chariot Guard!"

Upon hearing this, before the Chu army's listening envoy could react, Cheng Ren and Xu Zhen inwardly cried out in alarm.

The Rat's Hunting is neither a demigod of the third rank or higher, nor a master of rhetoric like the Strategists or Masters of Discourse.

The best way for him to deal with the questioning of the imperial messenger was to talk about other things or to use the truth to build up lies.

For example, when Liu Shan met Zhuge Liang after his death, Zhuge Liang asked him if the Han Dynasty had been restored. Liu Shan did not answer directly, but only said that the Wei Kingdom was finished, the Wu Kingdom was finished, and he went from Chengdu to Luoyang to enjoy his old age...

Every word he said was true. Even Zhuge Liang couldn't see the problem and would have to praise Liu Shan for his boastfulness, saying he was indeed the son of the late emperor.

However, now, the Rat on patrol not only didn't mince words, but directly admitted it...

This is a major taboo when facing interrogation from the Di Ting Messenger!
Unless the other party is a scoundrel, they will immediately be able to tell that the Rat Hunting is lying!

In their haste, Xu Zhen and Cheng Ren decided to take action and strike first.

The Rat on patrol noticed their unusual behavior and promptly spoke up to stop them: "What? You want to fight amongst yourselves!"

On the surface, this statement was a rebuke to the Chu shamans who were on the verge of attacking each other, but in reality, it was a warning to Xu Zhen, Cheng Ren, and Lü Yang not to act rashly.

Especially Lü Yang, as his cultivation improved and his swordsmanship became more and more like a sword, sharp and ready to be drawn at any moment.

This time, Lü Yang didn't act impulsively simply because he was unaware of the power of the Listening Envoy; otherwise, he would have already taken the initiative and released his flying sword.

When Xu Zhen and Cheng Ren heard Zi Shu's words, they assumed he was unaware of the power of the Listening Envoy, but they were indeed momentarily stunned by the shout and didn't have time to make a move.

At that very moment, they heard the hurried voice of the Chu army's listening envoy:

"Don't move rashly! Don't move rashly at all! Put away your weapons, and stop chanting spells... Shangguan wasn't lying, he really is a Ghost Chariot Guard."

Huh? !

Xu Zhen and Cheng Ren were both taken aback.

If they hadn't reacted quickly and managed to control their expressions, they would have been dumbfounded.

Zishu Xunshou's answer was perfectly clear, yet the Chu army's listening officer failed to detect the problem and even claimed that he was telling the truth...

Was this Chu army's Listening Envoy truly a useless good-for-nothing, or was he trying to trick them into lowering their guard?
Xu Zhen turned her head and looked at Cheng Ren.

Cheng Ren was also a Listener, and he could tell whether the Chu army's Listeners were lying.

Xu Zhen saw Cheng Ren make a cryptic gesture to him, which was their code word, indicating that the target was not lying.

Did the Chu army's Listening Envoy really not lie? Did he genuinely believe that the Rat Hunting was conducted by the Ghost Chariot Guard?
Xu Zhen was increasingly shocked.

Could this Chu army's Listening Envoy really be a scoundrel?

Surely the Chu army's military preparedness wouldn't be so lax?

"Do you still need to examine my sorcery talisman?"

The Rat, on his hunting expedition, was not so confused. He raised his head and asked, and before the Chu army's listening envoy could reply, he took out the Nine-Headed Bird Seal from his sleeve, infused it with witch power to activate it, and threw it to the Chu army's listening envoy.

The Chu army's listening officer hurriedly reached out and caught the seal with both hands, afraid that it would fall to the ground.

He held it carefully, and immediately a wizard took out a magical artifact made of a human skull and placed the seal inside the skull's mouth.

As the black sorcery surged, the human skull emitted a deep human voice: "Confirmed, number 36, B-class..."

The person didn't lie, and the divination cards were fine.

The Chu army's listening envoy had no more doubts, and the blood on his two large ears instantly disappeared, returning to normal.

He dismounted, held the Nine-Headed Bird Seal in both hands, and returned it to the Rat Patrol.

Upon seeing this, the Chu army shamans around them dispersed their shamanic power, ended their incantations, and bowed to the Zishu hunting party to apologize for their earlier offense.

"Don't rush to apologize."

Zishu Xunshou took the seal from the Nine-Headed Bird, pointed to Shang Lu, Gongshu Ling and others beside him, and said, "You haven't tested my subordinates yet."

Damn it? !
Xu Zhen and Cheng Ren, who had just relaxed, tensed up again in an instant.

If it weren't for the presence of the Chu shaman, and if Zi Shu's patrol wasn't their superior, they would have been cursing: "Who the hell are you on? Why are you handing a knife to the other side? Are you afraid we won't be exposed or what?"
The Chu army's listening envoy's gaze swept over everyone.

After hesitating for a moment, he assumed that the Rat's patrol was expressing dissatisfaction and didn't dare to continue questioning Shang Lu and the others. He smiled apologetically and said, "No more questions, no more questions. Please calm down, Shangguan. We had no choice. After all, it's a special time, and we apologize for any offense we may have caused..."

The Chu army shamans around also felt there was no need to test it any further.

As long as Guichewei is alright, his subordinates will naturally be fine too!
"I'm not a petty person."

Although Zishu Xunshou said that, his expression clearly brightened up a lot.

"I'm just annoyed by your slow reaction! It's fine normally, but right now the Bashu are at their most arrogant, and we're in chaos. What if they manage to send people in to infiltrate, and you can't identify them immediately? Wouldn't that be terrible?"

"Yes, yes, Shangguan is right."

The Chu army's listening envoy nodded repeatedly, realizing that Zi Shu's hunting expedition was not a lie.

However, he couldn't tell whether Zishu Xunshou was genuinely worried about this matter, or whether the statement "a Bashu took the opportunity to sneak in" was the truth.

Zishu, acting like a superior, reprimanded the group of Chu army shamans before leading Shang Lu and the others away on horseback.

After they had walked quite a distance, Shang Lu asked in a low voice, "Inspector, how did you manage to deceive the Chu army's Listening Envoy?"

This was a question that Xu Zhen and Cheng Ren were also very curious about, and they both pricked up their ears.

The Rat Hunting chuckled lightly: "Simple, just tell the whole truth."

"The truth?" Everyone was taken aback.

Shang Lu thought to himself, "As expected," and laughed, "I really didn't expect that you, the patrol officer, are not only the guard of the Ba Kingdom, but also the ghost carriage guard of the Chu Kingdom."

"what?!"

Only at this moment did Lü Yang belatedly exclaim in surprise, "You, the Imperial Patrolman, are also a double agent?!"

He instinctively reached out to pat the sword case on the horse's back.

"What, are you going to stab me with your sword?"

Zishu Xunshou looked at Lü Yang with a half-smile. "Uh...no, I was just tidying up the ropes," Lü Yang said awkwardly, but then he realized that if Zishu Xunshou were really a double agent, Da Zhu would have already cleaned up the mess, why would he need to do it?

Besides, with his cultivation level, he couldn't possibly defeat the Rat Patrol.

"There's no rope on your sword case, what kind of rope are you tidying up? You can't even make up a lie!"

After jokingly cursing, Zi Shu Xun Shou let Lü Yang go and then said, "I once carried out a mission in the Chu Kingdom, and it took a lot of effort to get the Ghost Chariot Guard's witch token."

The Ghost Chariot Guardian's Witch Cards cannot be dealt with simply by saying "with nine oxen and two tigers' strength".
What kind of danger and treachery lies hidden behind this?

Don't let the fact that the Rat Hunter isn't good-looking and is almost bald fool you; he did have a glorious past.

Of course, the Year of the Rat's hunting expedition is also quite formidable...

After this incident, everyone held the Rat's hunting expedition in even higher esteem. They also gained more confidence for this mission.

The Ghost Chariot Guard's Witch Card might come in handy at any time!

A group of people rode at full speed and soon broke through the newly constructed defensive line of the Chu army.

On their way into the heart of Chu, they saw many county soldiers and shamans who had received orders to be conscripted and were rushing to the front lines.

Fortunately, Da Zhu, Yan Man, and Li Xuan withstood the pressure and took down the three military towns of Heishi, Xiongling, and Langyan in one fell swoop, thus opening up the connection with Bozhi County.

Otherwise, once the Chu army has completed its new wave of troop mobilization, the Ba army will inevitably be pushed back to Xingshan!

At that time, Xingshan might have already become a ruin.

The fate of the Ba army was either to be swallowed up by the Ruins or to be surrounded and annihilated by the Chu army.

Now, with the three military towns of Heishi, Xiongling, and Langyan, plus the Xingshan military town that flew in, the four military towns not only form a solid defensive line with depth, but also form a pincer movement, enabling them to support each other.

As long as the connection with Bozhi County is maintained, they can remain firmly rooted in the Chu region.

I just don't know if we'll eventually have to withdraw our troops...

Thinking of this, Shang Lu couldn't help but sigh, "I really don't know what kind of conditions the Chu Kingdom offered that made the King and the court officials willing to give up the three places of Black Stone, Xiongling, and Wolf Smoke, and even tolerate the fact that Xingshan has become a ruin..."

He looked at the rat on its hunt.

The mouse on patrol shook its head: "Don't look at me, I don't know either."

He paused, then said, "Judging by the time, Da Zhu should have already returned to Wushan. But we are within the territory of Chu, so it is inconvenient for us to contact him."

Zishu Xunshou spurred his horse and called out to the group, "Speed ​​up and get to the capital of Chu as soon as possible. Once we see the Grand Master and the Clerk, we might be able to find out what's going on."

Everyone sped up to catch up.

Even after passing the border military town, they did not fly using their flying devices.

That would be too arrogant and attention-grabbing, and would not align with the purpose of their trip.

Even after passing through the border towns of Chu, Zishu no longer presented the Ghost Chariot Guard's shaman's token. Instead, he presented his merchant identity certificate and a business certificate issued by the Chu government, allowing him to trade within the territory.

Shang Lu and the others also received their respective identity documents.

They were all genuine documents issued by the Chu government, bearing not only the seal of a sorcerer but also the likenesses of several people captured by sorcery.

Not to mention the checkpoints and officials along the way, even if a sorcerer came, he would be able to detect the fake cloth.

As for the official horses they were riding, there was no major problem.

When merchants have money, they dare to do all sorts of outrageous things; buying and selling official horses is commonplace.

It's not uncommon for wealthy merchants to hire wizards to fly on magical artifacts.

However, he had to use things like talismans and remnants of spirits to conceal his cultivation level, so that he could appear more like a traveling merchant.

Shang Lu and his companions did not fly, which delayed them considerably. Fortunately, they rode horses at full speed, and even when the horses stopped, they did not rest. They finally arrived at Yunmengze five days later.

The Yunmeng Marshland in the Chu region is a group of lakes and marshes. When viewed from afar, it appears as a vast expanse of misty waves, seemingly boundless... It is said to be tens of thousands of miles wide.

The capital of Chu was located in the center of Yunmeng Marsh, standing above the misty waves and fog.

Therefore, to reach the capital of Chu, one must cross the vast and misty Yunmeng Marsh.

It is said that countless ferocious beasts and dangers lurk in this boundless swamp, making it extremely difficult to swim across or venture in with a small boat.

Even if one is not devoured by the ferocious beasts and treacherous creatures hidden in the lakes and marshes, there are still dangerous lake thunders and bottomless lake abysses in Yunmeng Marsh... These are like the gates of hell, waiting to devour people at any time.

Under normal circumstances, there are only two routes to enter and exit Yunmengze.

One option is to fly there.

Secondly, one could travel on government-run multi-story ships on the Yunmeng Marsh.

However, flying over Yunmeng Marsh requires official permission from the Chu state.

Otherwise, even if they escaped Zelei and the ferocious beasts, they would still be shot down and killed by the wizards guarding the capital of Chu.

Shang Lu and his group naturally wouldn't do that; under the guidance of Zi Shu Xun Shou, they all chose to travel by multi-story ship.

After verifying their identities and paying the fare, everyone boarded the multi-story ship.

This is a large, three-story ship with shamanic patterns painted on its hull. It can move quickly through swamps without sinking and can also prevent attacks from ferocious beasts.

In addition, a lightning protection spell is painted on the top of the ship to avoid the bombardment of lightning.

The ship is very large and can accommodate many people at the same time. The rooms on the ship vary significantly depending on the price.

The best rooms offer the best comfort and views, and naturally come at a high price.

The cheapest rooms are located at the bottom of the ship, where there is no view, and the rooms are damp, stuffy, and very uncomfortable.

Shang Lu and his companions were traveling on the luxury ship as merchants, so naturally they wouldn't stay in the worst cabin, but they also didn't ask for the best either.

They chose a standard cabin, which could accommodate ten people. The seven of them, plus their seven horses, barely managed to squeeze in.

After everyone found the cabin and settled in, Zishu Xunshou called Shanglu and Chengren to go out and inquire about the news.

Cheng Ren has excellent hearing and is good at distinguishing truth from falsehood.

Shanglu, on the other hand, is quick-witted and good at dealing with people.

However, after some investigation, no useful information was obtained.

The people on this ship, or rather, the people Shang Lu and his group could come into contact with, were not of high status, and naturally, they didn't know much.

There are many things that Shang Lu and his group don't understand yet.

They were completely unaware of the diplomatic situation in the Chu capital.

Left with no other option, the Rat had to abandon its plan to gather information from the ship.

But he didn't give up completely, and had Cheng Ren keep listening to what was happening on the ship.

Many people were coming and going from Yunmeng Marsh, and Shang Lu and his group didn't have to wait long before the ship was full of people.

As the magical runes on the ship's hull shimmered, powerful magical energy erupted, propelling the ship out of the harbor and deeper into the Yunmeng Marsh...

(End of this chapter)