The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 33 Gratitude and Revenge, Good and Evil, Extraordinary Comprehension

The county magistrate's heart pounded wildly. He thought of that boy, who was, after all, just a mortal. Faced with Li Zhenyue's imposing aura, he instinctively wanted to speak.

He was a shrewd official, not the so-called incorruptible one. He accepted bribes and did favors; kicking a rat's head or a rebel's head was no big deal for him. But at this moment, thinking of that young man who slew demons and monsters, thinking of those eyes, he inexplicably said:
"Yes, it's a gambling den!"

Yu Hongjin stammered, clearly terrified, and said:
"A monster opened a gambling den, hiding many things inside. We don't know where all the money went. Luckily, a lone swordsman killed the monster for us. But who is this monster colluding with? I'm wondering, could this monster be related to the rebels?"

Li Zhenyue sheathed his sword, his brows relaxing.

"monster?"

The county magistrate said, "Yes, yes... Generals, come with me."

He bent over, jogged along, and led these people to the gambling den, saying ingratiatingly:
"General Li, look, there are so many monsters here. Who knows if this rat spirit has any connection with the rebel Shen Cangming? If you ask me, it's definitely a case of the rebels colluding with the monsters!"

"Otherwise, why would Shen Cangming be here?"

"The rat spirit's head is still intact."

He ordered the constable to quickly bring out the head of the rat demon. When Li Zhenyue saw the head, his expression softened. He confirmed it was a demon and, looking at the cunning old magistrate, slowly nodded: "...Not bad."

"Monsters, rebels, there were indeed demons mixed in with the An-Shi rebels."

"It's not impossible that they're colluding with monsters."

Yu Hongjin smiled apologetically.

He cleverly replaced the intelligence.

Did he lie? No.

He simply used the experience of a seasoned official to slightly conceal a bit of the truth.

If Zhou Yan has nothing to do with the rebels, then it's fine. Even if Zhou Yan is related to Shen Cangming, who is located near this county, their capture wouldn't implicate Yu Hongjin, or make him an accomplice.

This is his area of ​​expertise.

He didn't intend to keep it a secret for too long, but he could at least offer some help. Even after being an official for so many years, and with his youthful ideals rotten, something still remained. Within his power, he wanted to make himself feel better.

The rat spirit's head was taken away. Yu Hongjin almost humbly saw off the thirteen elite cavalrymen with a respectful expression. But when he raised his head, his clothes were already soaked with sweat. He looked up and watched the troop of men and horses disappear into the distance, the sound of hooves like thunder.

He thought of that black-and-white boy, of the gold medal and armor that could only be obtained by dying for the Tang Dynasty, of the state of the world, of the illustrious saint, and of Zhang Shoutian's absurd death. Suddenly, he felt a little tired.

This world is full of monsters, knights-errant, and cavalry.

Yu Hongjin's eyes showed weariness and confusion, and in the end, he could only think about it in his heart.

My love, my love, run!

This is all I can do. If you still get caught, don't blame me. When the time comes, I'll definitely stomp on you and sever all ties with you. If you die, don't blame me.

………………

After Li Zhenyue's cavalry charged out, he took off the jade plate from his waist and tossed it to a thin young man in the ranks, saying, "Track them."

The young man took out a jade talisman, poured out three drops of the Daoist Rootless Water from the gourd at his waist, and made a hand gesture, reciting the Daoist incantation: "Heaven and earth, the universe, all laws are vast and boundless, all gods of the four directions, track and reveal your form."

"The Method of Manifesting Form with Circular Light!"

The story of the rat spirit was revealed on the jade plate.

The young man examined the scroll at his waist, took it out to compare, and said:

"It's a rat spirit from the Reclining Buddha Temple, and has nothing to do with Shen Cangming."

"It was discovered by the Xuanxiang Bureau a long time ago, but there was no time to deal with it. Unlike the rebels, it didn't cause any great harm, so it was left here."

"The one who slayed the demon was a chivalrous hero."

Li Zhenyue said:

"Continue looking for Shen Cangming. If you can't find him, try looking in another direction."

The young man continued to use his magic to track the target, and finally arrived at the woods outside the city. He then made a hand seal, and the three drops of rootless water spun around on his fingertips, reflecting the morning light.

The jade plate in his hand spun rapidly, eventually revealing a scene: a demon-slaying swordsman returning with something in his arms. Li Zhenyue lowered his eyes and said, "It's his camp, not Shen Cangming's."

"Let's go."

Suddenly, a figure appeared from behind in the method of manifesting the radiance.

Li Zhenyue's pupils suddenly contracted. He grabbed the wrist of his subordinate who was about to withdraw the spell, staring intently at the figure. The figure had lost an arm and was no longer wearing armor, but the bloodthirsty aura that only fierce generals could sense rushed towards him.

Almost instinctively, all the soldiers straightened their bodies, and the sound of blades being drawn echoed throughout the battlefield.

This is almost an instinctive reaction.

Li Zhenyue's eyes were sharp:

“Shen Cangming…”

"What a clever counter-tracking tactic of the border troops! If it weren't for the [Mystic Official], you would have almost escaped."

Shen Cangming has implemented counter-tracking measures to counter the tracking.

However, Shen Cangming did not expect that the government's pursuit of him would reach this level, even employing the Xuan Guan [Xunji] who is skilled in tracking. Li Zhenyue looked at the young man, who seemed to be Zhou Yan, the one who killed the rat demon, and the two seemed to have a good relationship.

The gate [track] said:

"Captain, Shen Cangming still has men with him. What should we do?"

Li Zhenyue did not immediately order a pursuit. Instead, he took out a jade talisman and used the jade plate to transmit a simple message, indicating that Shen Cangming also had a companion named Zhou Yan. He paused and then recorded that this young man had a history of slaying demons and saving people.

Within a certain range, information can be transmitted through [spiritual objects]. In Chang'an City, Pei Xuanbao was playing chess and drinking with his cousin, who was a general in the Shuofang Army. The jade pendant on Pei Angju's waist lit up.

Pei Xuanbao asked, "Brother, have you achieved military merit?" Pei Angju replied, "We have found Shen Cangming of Xingxiuchuan. However, it seems that Shen Cangming is accompanied by another person. Only Shen Cangming is a person who must be killed. As for the person he is accompanied by, we will deal with him second-best according to the commander-in-chief's orders."

"If you don't know Shen Cangming's identity, just punish him and let him go. If you do know, he will be incorporated into the front-line army. Of course, if he resists, kill him without mercy."

Pei Xuanbao asked, "Shen Cangming, do you have friends?"

Pei Angju casually said, "It's a young man named Zhou Yan who said he was killing demons for the people. Li Zhenyue asked me how to deal with him."

Zhou Yan?

Pei Xuanbao frowned; he remembered this person.

This happened quite a while ago. If his brother hadn't brought it up, Zhou Yan would have almost forgotten about it. But the mention of it brought back memories of that person's unruly eyes, even though he had long forgotten what they looked like.

Pei Angju noticed the change in his cousin's expression and jokingly said with a smile:
"What's wrong? My black leopard can frown like this too?"

Pei Xuanbao simply said:

"I don't like this name."

Pei Angju laughed loudly: "Alright, since that's the case."

He casually wrote a word and said with a smile, "It's nothing serious."

"do not like."

"Just kill him."

"The important thing is not to spoil the fun of playing chess."

Beside him lay the compensation documents for the fallen soldiers, casually written with a "yes" suffix. On the jade plate beside him, the word "kill" was written lightly, and then, as if brushing off dust, he picked up another chess piece.

“You have to ask me about such trivial matters? Xuanbao, come on, let’s continue playing chess.”

Pei Xuanbao smiled and said, "Okay."

“It’s a trivial matter, not worth making my brother frown.”

Soon, Li Zhenyue and the others received news from Chang'an.

The response was only one word.

【kill】.

Li Zhenyue watched Zhou Yan slay demons and monsters, subconsciously stroking the hilt of his sword. After a moment of silence, he said to his adjutant beside him, "Kill without mercy."

Li Zhenyue's eyes regained their coldness.

"The county magistrate seems to be covering for them."

"Go back and strip that county magistrate of his official robes and detain him temporarily."

"We will use the method of revealing the form with circular light to continue tracking, and then we will deal with it when we return."

They mounted their horses and gave chase once more.

Yu Hongjin was buying a doll for his unborn grandson, a little horse embroidered with auspicious patterns. In the manner of a seasoned official, he covered up for Zhou Yan, feeling that he had done a good deed and had a sense of accomplishment.

The thought of my grandson holding a doll in the future brings me joy.

As he was happily selecting items, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly rang out.

Yu Hongjin froze, then realized something, his eyes quickly turning ashen. He put down the doll, took out some money from his pocket, put it down again, and said softly, "Just take this doll to my house..."

The vendor hadn't even realized what was happening.

The warhorse returned, and the cavalryman dismounted and grabbed Yu Hongjin.

No reason or evidence is needed.

"I shouldn't take any chances," the old fox thought.

In front of everyone, the cavalrymen stripped the old man of his official robes and pinned him to the ground. The people around him scattered in terror, their eyes filled with fear and reluctance, and chaos ensued.

On that old face, the wrinkles from the forced smile were buried in the mud, yet he still tried his best to hold his face up, while the remaining cavalry chased after Zhou Yan and Shen Cangming.

However, it was ultimately delayed by another half day.

………………

Shen Cangming, leading Zhou Yan, had already arrived near the mountains where Wang Chun was located. He began to teach Zhou Yan that technique, his voice deep and resonant:

"Although I will teach you the power of the [Mysterious Official], this talisman is very difficult to master."

Don't be discouraged.

He sat cross-legged, waiting for Zhou Yan to continue questioning him. He planned to spend several hours teaching him slowly. Based on the difficulties he had encountered when learning talismans, he had already compiled some learning techniques and experiences, intending to teach him in a targeted manner.

Zhou Yan looked up at the talisman that appeared under his finger:
"Uncle Shen."

"I think I've learned it."

Shen Cangming replied, "Mm."

Shen Cangming lowered his head, realizing what he meant by those words.

His expression hardened slightly.

"…………"

"Um??!"

(End of this chapter)