Wife, you didn't really drug me, did you?

Chen Jie and Yuan Sanjia devised a plan: Yuan Sanjia would go up the city wall to lure the enemy the next day, while Chen Jie and Li Dao would strike from the shadows. This way, they would surely catch Tang Bao and his two companions off guard.

Thinking this, Chen Jie instructed Yuan Sanjia to rest more. Although the poison had been neutralized and Chen Jie's vitality had helped Yuan Sanjia quickly repair his injuries, the energy and spirit that Yuan Sanjia had lost in the past few days could not be compensated by vitality.

The life force primarily replenishes physical injuries, so Yuan Sanjia's condition was not very good at this time.

Seeing Yuan Sanjia's physical condition, Chen Jie once again advised him to rest more. Yuan Sanjia did not refuse, knowing that there was no point in continuing, so he agreed and decided to rest.

While Yuan Sanjia decided to rest, Chen Jie couldn't; he had a major meeting to preside over outside.

At this moment, Chen Jie got up and said goodbye to Yuan Sanjia. Yuan Sanjia gave him a few words of advice, and then Chen Jie left.

Soon Chen Jie appeared in the main conference room of the Chen residence, which was already full of people.

These were all high-ranking military and political officials from Huangzhou Prefecture. They were summoned in the middle of the night, completely bewildered, and had no idea what they were supposed to do.

Because when Chen Jie summoned them, he did so not in his own name, but in Su Yunjin's name.

Therefore, they all assumed that Su Yunjin had summoned them in the middle of the night, and thus they were all very suspicious. After all, summoning all the civil and military officials in the middle of the night must be a big deal.

So everyone was preoccupied, wondering what big thing it was. At this moment, Jin Yanzi approached Chen Xiaohu and asked, "Tiger Commander, you're close to the mistress and the others, have you heard any news?"

Chen Xiaohu frowned and said, "No, I only went to see Mr. Yuan today and said some things about being willing to live and die with Huangzhou Prefecture. There was nothing else unusual about it."

“That’s strange. Logically speaking, the mistress should have told you what was going on right after you parted ways. But now she’s contacting us again at the last minute. That doesn’t make sense unless something unexpected happened that’s causing her to contact us at the last minute.”

"What could possibly happen?"

Hearing Jin Yanzi's words, Chen Xiaohu frowned slightly. Wu Daojun, who was standing next to him, said, "I heard that some people from big families in the city are getting restless lately. Could it be that the mistress has received news that someone is planning to rebel?"

"dare!"

Chen Xiaohu slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly: "Huangzhou Prefecture supports them, lets them make money in Huangzhou Prefecture, and gives their children the opportunity to go to school and become officials. Now they want to turn against us? Grandma, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Do you think they can just take advantage without suffering any losses?"

"If anyone dares to turn against me, don't blame me for making this clear upfront: no matter who you are connected to, I won't show any mercy!"

As Chen Xiaohu finished speaking, he looked at the people present. These people all had very strong connections, and they had also developed intricate relationships in the city over the years. Normally, no one would dare to talk about these relationships, because solving a case would offend people. But Chen Xiaohu was not afraid, and he was going to speak out.

Now let's see who dares to betray their own side.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu frowned and said, "Xiao Hu, what's wrong with you? The people here do have some outside connections, but these connections are all reliable, and the lord knows about them and they are also being monitored by Wu Hong. Who can act recklessly?"

"If anyone acts recklessly, do you think Wu Hong, the inspector, will let them get away with it?"

Zhou Chu spoke up, and upon hearing this, Wu Hong said, "It's not that any family wants to rebel; I guarantee that."

After Wu Hong finished speaking, he stopped talking. Chen Xiaohu immediately stopped asking questions after hearing Wu Hong's words. Among these people, Wu Hong was the most trustworthy.

If he says no, then it definitely means no.

Chen Xiaohu sat down, and Shi Gengming also asked, "So it's not a big family turning against us, but a local small tyrant who wants to turn against us?"

Zhou Chu said, "With 30,000 patrolmen patrolling day and night, I could know if a needle fell on the ground in Huangzhou Prefecture, let alone anyone plotting a rebellion. It's absolutely impossible for that to happen."

Zhou Chu said, "I can guarantee that. I haven't slept much these past few days, I've been keeping an eye on this matter!"

If any more problems arise, he'll lose his position as the chief of police patrol on Hubei Road.

After listening to Zhou Chu's words, Chen Xiaohu sat down as well. Zhou Chu was an old friend, and he trusted him with his work.

Just then, Zhang Dingbian spoke up: "Everyone, don't panic. Things haven't gotten to the worst point yet. It must be something else, not related to the city's defenses."

Upon hearing Zhang Dingbian's words, everyone was taken aback. Was there anything that didn't concern the city's defenses?
The most important thing in Huangzhou Prefecture right now is city defense. City defense has become a sword hanging over everyone's heads. There's really nothing else worth getting together to discuss right now.

Ni Wenjun then glanced at Zhang Dingbian and said, "Dingbian, you're not one to speak without reason. Have you perhaps noticed something?"

Zhang Dingbian looked at everyone and said, "Today I was in charge of the city's defense, but at midnight I discovered something strange under the east city wall. When I got there, I found that there was a hole that led directly into the city."

"what!"

Everyone was shocked to hear this. Jin Yanzi said, "Could it be that the enemy has bypassed Mr. Yuan's Small Heavenly Star Formation and has already infiltrated the city?"

"That's really bad! The destructive power of three fourth-stage Molten Gods is unimaginable!"

Everyone gasped, a sense of horror rising in their hearts.

At this moment, Zhang Dingbian said, "It shouldn't have been dug by the enemy."

Everyone was taken aback. Zhang Dingbian said, "The cave entrance is very well hidden, and the excavation must have been going on for some time. The things inside the cave look very old, at least two or three years old. It couldn't have been done in a day."

Chen Xiaohu thought for a moment and said, "Dingbian, you're not talking about the entrance to the city that's two hundred paces to the right of the East Gate, are you?"

Zhang Dingbian looked at Chen Xiaohu and said, "That's right, Commander Hu knows that place?"

Chen Xiaohu said, "I know. That passage was dug by me and my lord with men back then. At that time, my lord had too many enemies in Huangzhou Prefecture, so he left an escape route. However, that passage has been sealed for many years and has been sealed with iron plates for two hundred years. Moreover, it is covered with dust, and grass even grows outside the city. People who do not know the secret will definitely not be able to find it!"

Hearing this, everyone was stunned, and then looked at Chen Xiaohu and asked, "Commander Hu, what do you mean by knowing something?"

Chen Xiaohu said, "There are definitely no more than five people who know this passage is still open. The remaining three are all under my command, and I guarantee they haven't leaked the information."

Golden Swallow asked, "What about the remaining two?"

Chen Xiaohu glanced at Jin Yanzi and then said, "One is me, and the other is our lord."

"Lord!"

Upon hearing the word "Lord," everyone was startled, then looked at Chen Xiaohu in shock and asked, "You mean the other person who knows is the Lord?"

Chen Xiaohu nodded, then looked up and exchanged glances with the others, saying, "Do you think it might be that our lord has returned?"

"The Lord is back!"

Everyone was shocked. After a long pause, someone said, "That's impossible! Our lord has been in Kunlun for so long. If he were to return, how could there be no news at all?" "That's right, that's right, I feel it's unlikely!"

"I also feel it's unlikely!"

The others echoed this, but Chen Xiaohu said, "No, no, we've been locked up in Huangzhou City these past few days, and we know nothing about what's happening outside. How do you know that our lord hasn't returned?"

This question left everyone speechless.

Immediately, everyone's expressions became excited. If their lord really returned, then Huangzhou Prefecture could still be saved, and they would all have hope.

Chen Jie was their backbone; as long as Chen Jie was there, they felt they could overcome any difficulty.

During Chen Jie's absence, they felt as if the entire Huangzhou Prefecture had experienced an apocalypse.

Thinking this, the group exchanged glances, and just then, the conference room door was suddenly pushed open.

A person then slowly walked in.

"My lord, my lord!"

At this moment, everyone's eyes turned to the person who entered through the door. The person who entered glanced at everyone, then smiled and said, "Everyone has arrived."

Everyone looked at the person at the door, and for a moment, everyone was too excited to speak.

It wasn't until that person slowly sat down in the main seat that everyone came to their senses, and at the same time, everyone's gaze changed.

At first, everyone's eyes were gloomy and lacked fighting spirit; they seemed to be in low spirits.

But ever since Chen Jie entered the room, everyone's spirits have been lifted, as if parched seedlings have suddenly been greeted by a light rain.

It woke me up immediately after being watered.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on Chen Jie, and it was clear that they really had a lot to say to him.

Chen Jie then looked at everyone and raised his hand, saying, "Everyone, it's been a long time. Why do you seem to not recognize me?"

Chen Xiaohu, Chen Jie's cousin and also his closest friend, couldn't help but exclaim excitedly, "Brother Jiu Si, it really is you! Am I dreaming?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jie looked at Chen Xiaohu and said, "Pinch your face hard with your hands and see if you're dreaming."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hu immediately reached out and pinched his own face, then snot and tears streamed down his face as he cried out, "It hurts, it hurts!"

His face was all smiles; the pain meant it wasn't fake.

Seeing this, Chen Jie looked at Xiao Hu and said, "Look at you, so pathetic. I told you to pinch him, and you actually did it. Does it hurt?"

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.

The oppressive atmosphere vanished instantly. Everyone looked at Chen Jie with excitement. With Chen Jie back, their pillar of support had returned. The previous gloom and gloom disappeared without a trace.

Even if there were three fourth-level Molten God experts outside who wanted to attack them, they felt they wouldn't lose when they saw Chen Jiu Si.

Yes, that's how unreasonable they are. They don't even know what realm or cultivation level Chen Jie is at, but they just feel that Chen Jie can lead them to defeat the enemy.

Chen Jie then glanced at everyone and slowly said, "Gentlemen, I'm no longer working hard these days."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately replied, "It's not hard work at all..."

Chen Jie waved his hand and said, "I know very well whether everyone has worked hard or not. This time, it has indeed been tough for everyone. Three experts at the fourth level of the Fusion God realm, three armies, and nearly 200,000 troops have besieged our Huangzhou Prefecture. This can be said to be the biggest crisis since the establishment of our Huangzhou Prefecture."

"I understand that everyone fought very hard and resolutely this time. I thank you all."

Chen Jie stood up and clasped his hands in thanks to everyone. Upon seeing Chen Jie clasp his hands, the people around him immediately said, "My lord, what are you doing? You mustn't do this, you mustn't do this."

Chen Jie said, "You have protected the lives of nearly a million people in Huangzhou Prefecture. You deserve this bow."

Hearing this, everyone was quite excited. At this moment, Chen Jie said, "Everyone, this time it was thanks to you that Huangzhou Prefecture was able to protect its foundation. I know that you are all very uncertain about tomorrow's battle."

"After all, no one is confident when facing three experts at the fourth level of the Fusion God realm."

"But I, Chen Jiu Si, am back! I'm back to give you all peace of mind!"

Chen paused for a moment and said, "I know what you are thinking. Yes, three fourth-level Fusion Gods are indeed very strong. However, my return from Kunlun this time was not in vain."

"I have completed the Four Seasons Celestial Phenomena Technique, and at the same time, my strength has also increased to the fourth level of the Fusion God."

"Ah, Brother Jiu Si, you've reached the fourth stage of the Molten God realm!"

Upon hearing Chen Jie's words, Chen Xiaohu excitedly asked, and Chen Jie nodded and said, "That's right, I have indeed entered the fourth stage of the Fusion God realm."

Chen Xiaohu immediately said, "This is great, Brother Jiu Si! I knew you could do it! You actually reached the fourth level of the Fusion God Realm. This time we're not afraid of those three bastards outside anymore."

After Chen Xiaohu finished speaking, Ni Wenjun said, "Although Jiu Si has entered the fourth level of the Fusion God Realm, there are three other fourth-level Fusion God Realm experts outside. We are not at an advantage!"

Upon hearing this, everyone frowned slightly.

However, Jin Yanzi said at this moment, "We still have Master Yuan, who is equivalent to two fourth-level Fusion Gods. Although it is difficult for two big ones to win against three, we should not be defeated. With the support of Master Yuan's grand formation, plus the strength of our lord at the fourth level of Fusion God, we should be able to fight the opponent to a draw. At this time, we can ask for help, whether it is the Holy Maiden of the Five Poisons Sect, or pay some conditions to let other forces come to our aid. It is always a way out."

After Jin Yanzi finished speaking, everyone began to think about it and agreed that her words were feasible.

But at that moment, Chen Jie spoke up: "Who said I came back alone?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Chen Jie in surprise, their faces showing delight as they asked, "My lord, what do you mean?"

Chen Jie looked at everyone and laughed loudly, "Right here in my Chen Mansion, there is another expert at the fourth level of the Fusion God Realm. His strength is no weaker than anyone outside. Moreover, I cultivate the Human Emperor's Three Divine Techniques, and my strength far exceeds that of an ordinary fourth-level Fusion God Realm expert. It is not impossible for me to fight two of them at once!"

"Then, with Master Yuan and all of you brothers, tell me, how can we possibly lose tomorrow's battle!" (End of Chapter)