Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1361: Pointing to Saibei

Even the local aristocratic families in Huai Ling had to obey the majesty of the emperor in the end. As Lu Ning unfolded the imperial edict, he felt a little emotional in his heart - the Great Wei was not a weak country whose control was only retained within the capital, as could be seen here.

The content of the imperial edict was not long. Although it said that Lu Qingxu was reinstated, it was not a reinstatement of his original position. Instead, he was given the title of prefecture governor and was in charge of Fanzhou. The appointment letter from the Ministry of Personnel had been issued, and the official seal had been obtained upon his arrival. Everything had been prepared.

After Lu Ning finished reading, she put the imperial edict into Lu Qingxu's hands. At the same time, she heard the voice of "returning home in glory" completed in her mind.

[The second stage, returning home in glory, has ended.]

Visitor Lu Ning can choose two skills that he possesses to upgrade to the next level; immediately gain an ability seen in this scene; and get a chance to remove all abnormal states of himself (including positive effects).

The branch quest "Storm and Clouds" has been completed, enhancing crisis awareness.

The branch line of Xingyin Rebellion has been completed, and based on your performance, you will be awarded the messenger's plate.

Those who plot treason on the side quest fail to complete it and will not be rewarded.

The side quest Senluo Ghost Cave has been completed, and you will get the Yin Shuai map based on your performance.

The branch quest "Heavenly Palace" has been completed, allowing visitors to still feel the people affected by Heavenly Palace after the "Heavenly Palace" ends.

The side quest of slaying demons and monsters has been completed. Based on the highest level of demons and monster generals killed, you will obtain the Demon Blood Curse.

The branch quest of escaping the siege has been completed, adapted to the skills held by the tourists, and three perfect substitutes have been obtained.

Mission three: Yellow sand road.

Before the beginning of summer, arrive at Qin Zhong's camp in the northern border and choose to join the army, assist in the battle, or organize your own army to help Qin Zhong defend against the attack of the northern demon star.

Note: After completing the above selection, the task officially begins. 】

Lu Ning went over the mission rewards and new mission requirements carefully in her mind, and smelled the scent of a decisive battle.

To be honest, with the war in the northern border going on all the way up to now, she already knew that it might have become the center of the current problem. And to be honest, she did not get much information related to the northern border while she was in Xingyin City. The only one, Gu Tong, she did not get the chance to ask him in the end.

At this time, as an "angel", she has been surrounded by many people who want to curry favor with the powerful. Anyone who can convey the royal family's oral order is naturally extraordinary. Now Lu Ning comes here to read the imperial edict, which is for her father. From this point of view, what is there that these shrewd people in the Lu family don't understand?

However, Lu Ning and Lu Qingxu were both too lazy to care about this matter.

"Everyone, the matter of announcing the decree was just something I did on my way home. Now that it has been done, let's continue the clan meeting. Just now, there seemed to be something important?" Lu Ning asked.

"It's not a big deal, it's not a big deal." A man came up with a smile, but before he could continue speaking, he was pulled to the back.

"Please make the decision for us, sir!" Lu Qin came up with a few people.

"I'm not an elder, nor am I an official qualified to judge cases. You've got the wrong person." Lu Ning shook her head. "Besides, this is an internal clan matter. Do you want to resolve it within the clan or outside the clan?"

When she said this, the Lu family members around her were stunned and immediately looked at Lu Qin.

Those who could come to the clan meeting were very smart and understood what Lu Ning meant. Even Lu Qin did not intend to escalate the situation further. He took a step back and the others subconsciously made way.

When Lu Ning and Lu Qingxu came to Lu Qingxu's previous seat, someone came over and wanted to help them change seats, but Lu Qingxu waved his hand to refuse and just asked someone to add a seat here.

After such a commotion, the others were indeed not in the mood to argue, and the elders also proposed a compromise plan, each selected talent needs to answer correctly on the spot and satisfy the tribe members before they can be finally evaluated as a talent and use the resources of the tribe. Lu Qin and others also knew that too much is as bad as too little, so they accepted this proposal.

There was nothing interesting to say about what happened next. Lu Ning just whispered to Lu Qingxu about some of her experiences and counted their gains.

The skill upgrade was the same reward as last time, with two more items. She also needed to choose the one that would allow her to immediately gain the abilities she had seen in this scene. However, all the rituals were not within Lu Ning's consideration. Things that required the consumption of human lives were not to her liking, and they were not convenient for her.

"...night tour."

This Yin Shuai's ability was very powerful and very suitable for him. However, Lu Ning soon discovered that he had only acquired the initial stage of ability.

The momentary scene is a means of constructing a dream to draw out the other person's inner thoughts after entering the target's dream many times and slowly gaining a deeper understanding of the target. It took Yeyou an unknown amount of time to make the dream constructed by this ability closer to reality, and its use is to repeatedly test reality in dreams, thereby bringing the two parties closer together and testing what kind of reactions different behaviors will bring.

But Lu Ning can't do this yet.

The sense of crisis only made her more aware of some of the things around her, just like the previous five senses, it was not a particularly big reward. The herald's number plate was more useful. It directly acted on the token that Dong Zai gave her. Any person or demon who saw this plate could immediately realize that Lu Ning was walking on behalf of the emperor, which avoided the embarrassing situation that it might not work in some occasions.

The Yin Shuai Diagram is a simple illustration of the Yin Shuai of Fengdu. It does not mention how Yin Shuai responds. Instead, it is more like a biography of a character, detailing the succession of Yin Shuai over generations. Although it is good knowledge, it is not that useful to Lu Ning.

There is no need to say much about the two rewards, the Person Who Can Sense Heaven and the Perfect Substitute. The most useful reward is the Demon Blood Curse.

This is a spell that can be used repeatedly. It can be activated by applying the blood of a demon. It will consume the power of the demon's blood and the user's blood at the same time, greatly enhancing the user's characteristics corresponding to that demon, and at the same time giving the user temporary "demon energy".

Although it is impossible to obtain the special abilities of the demons, it is well known that the physical fitness of the demons is much stronger than that of humans. If Lu Ning fights the demons in her current state, she will definitely not be able to kill the demon generals. With this talisman, it may be almost the same. In general, compared with the risks of this encounter, the rewards are not rich. However, it can be seen from the judgment that everything experienced in Xingyin City is considered a "branch line" in the distribution center. However, in that case, apart from going to Xingyin City, the core of the event, where else can the requirements of the task of "returning home in glory" be met in a short time?

However, Lu Ning noticed a problem, that is, all her experiences in southern Xinjiang seemed to be not taken into account in this judgment.

Putting aside other things, the problems of Tianwaitian and Sanxian Island should be considered as a big discovery. Even if she didn't continue to follow up, the distribution center would not have mentioned it. So either the matter has not yet fully erupted, or she has missed an important time node.

If there is no way to judge, then don't think too much about this aspect. If the future battlefield is placed in the northern part of the Great Wall, but the time has been delayed for so long, it means that something big is likely to happen at the beginning of summer. After all, there is a whole spring in between, and there may be another turmoil in the middle.

The clan meeting ended in a weird atmosphere. The so-called weirdness was that although everyone was in a meeting, there were always people sneaking a glance over here, as if to see the reactions of the two. And from beginning to end, the two did not pay special attention to their decision.

After the clan meeting, the standard ancestor worship process was followed. However, this process only required the twelve main people to preside over it. Lu Ning followed Lu Qingxu for a while, and then it was time to leave. Lu Qingxu picked a time when no one was paying attention to this place, and took Lu Ning to quickly leave the old courtyard.

"Father, the people in our tribe are quite sensible. Why don't you want to interact with them?" Lu Ning asked on the way.

"They are sensible because they have gone to school and understand the ways of the world because of the clan rules. But because of this, it is very troublesome to talk to them, especially for those who carry the heavy burden of the family. They have to think carefully about every word and action. They are bound by the rules."

Lu Qingxu stroked his beard, his tone not without complaint. It was obvious that he had been harassed by his tribe members before.

"Okay, father. Fanzhou is a long way away, and you will have to take up your post after the festival. You will also need to prepare your travel belongings. In addition, you will have to bring a few new people with you this time, as we didn't have many servants at home before."

"Uncle Jun helped train a few people. When they went to Fanzhou, they had to select a few suitable people from the local area. Fanzhou is located in the west, so we need to popularize education there. I remember that there were not many scholars taking the imperial examinations there, and there were no wealthy families there. At most, there were ordinary wealthy families. The most troublesome ones might be some Fan people."

"You really got into the state quickly..."

"I haven't been an official in Beijing for nothing all these years." Lu Qingxu smiled, "But officials in Beijing are bullied everywhere, it's better for me to be a prefect. There's no one bigger than me in this state, how great. Did you ask for this position for me, or..."

"Prime Minister Yuan picked it for you." Lu Ning also answered with a smile, "He said that you have a stubborn temper and can't lower yourself. Only others have to accommodate you, but you don't have to accommodate others. But as long as you let go and do it, you can get things done, so he gave you the position of prefect. But you can't think of transferring back to the capital while he lives."

After saying this, she thought of Yuan Xiang's illness again and sighed. This sentence was probably just a joke from the old man.

"...I will never forget the Prime Minister's kindness."

"Oh, by the way, father, I have something else that I couldn't talk about at the clan meeting just now. I want to ask your opinion."

Naturally, she would not tell Lu Qingxu all the events in Xingyin at the meeting, but she still had to ask him to help her analyze it.

Both of them came on horseback, and on the way back they galloped at full speed, even running for a while at night before returning to the house outside Huai Ling.

"The disputes in Jiangnan seem to have calmed down by now. Ah Ning, I don't think those disasters will end so easily. I'm afraid next year will be even more eventful."

"I know. I plan to... do my best, father." Lu Ning thought about the wording. "If I plan to go to Saibei, what suggestions do you have?"

Lu Qingxu's expression suddenly darkened.

"If you really ask me for advice, I certainly don't want you to go to the battlefield." Lu Qingxu said seriously, "I would rather you wander around the world, or travel through famous mountains and rivers according to your own preferences. I know you can protect yourself that way, but on the battlefield, you will be no different from those soldiers."

"After I get home, I will tell you everything I've been through. Father, troubled times are about to come. If we don't take the initiative to face it, perhaps when the flood comes, it will be too late."

"……it is good."

Lu Ning could see that Lu Qingxu didn't want Lu Ning to go to the battlefield at all, but he wouldn't really restrict Lu Ning, he just maintained his own opinion.

When he returned home, Uncle Jun was of course very surprised to see Lu Ning return, and he was even more delighted when he heard that Lu Qingxu had taken the position of prefect.

However, the two elders had already gone to bed early at this time. Lu Qingxu just asked Shi Jun to prepare some simple meals. The two went into the study and talked about the affairs of Xingyin while eating.

Lu Qingxu did not interrupt Lu Ning, but listened to her talk about the events in Xingyin. The more he listened, the more solemn his expression became. When Lu Ning talked about meeting the Human King and Jiuli in Wan Yao Mountain, and then meeting Yuan Xiang in the capital, he even put down his chopsticks.

"The situation in Xingyin is so chaotic... Ah Ning, you are lucky to be able to come back alive. But Your Majesty... Oh, Your Majesty."

Although Lu Qingxu was dismissed from his post, he knew very well why he was dismissed, and Dong Zai could not protect him alone. During his years as an official, he had a fairly good opinion of Dong Zai. He was not a wise ruler, but he had tried his best to do what an emperor should do. The young emperor succeeded to the throne, and the country was in turmoil. He was able to extend the life of the Wei Dynasty for so long, so he was already a very capable emperor.

"Let's not talk about the finishing work in Xingyin for now. The most important thing now is the situation in the court. The country cannot be without a monarch for a day, so the new monarch must be appointed quickly. However, Prime Minister Yuan may not be able to preside over the overall situation, and even if the other two prime ministers rush back from Xingyin, it is impossible for them to return within the next few days."

"Now the late emperor chose Dong Tian, ​​while the ministers tend to favor Dong Zhao." Lu Qingxu said, "The prince has done nothing wrong, but he is still young and has not even started his own government yet. Some of those who support the prince may value courtesy, but there are definitely many who want to seize power. There is no one in the government hall right now, and Grand Tutor Qin is not here. It is a good time to fight for a position in the court. If Dong Tian comes, I am afraid that more than a dozen heads will fall before he can take the throne."

"What kind of person is Dong Tian?"

"He has a violent personality, but he is also eager to help others. I don't think he ever thought that Dong Zai would choose him to be the next emperor, but considering the current situation, I have to say... maybe Dong Tian is the one who can stabilize the Wei Dynasty."