The Prodigal Son

Five miles outside Qingxi Camp.

Zhao Yi hurriedly came to see Fan Bing.

Fan Bing was both the Celestial Venerable of the Holy Fire Sect and the second son of the King of Lang Kingdom.

When Da Ning raised an army to destroy Lang Kingdom, he survived only under the protection of Zuo Jiangyue and others. He then proclaimed himself crown prince and secretly contacted former officials of Lang Kingdom to plot the restoration of the kingdom.

Five years ago, Fan Bing, under the guidance of his advisor, established the Sacred Fire Sect and operated in the southern border region under its name, gradually developing its followers.

Over the years, he not only developed a large number of followers, but also gradually gained control over several important figures in southern Xinjiang.

"You're insane!"

Upon seeing Fan Bing, Zhao Yi rushed forward in a rage, shouting, "Are you afraid these 30,000 border troops won't defect at this time?!"

Zhao Yi was furious.

He only received the news that Zhou Pu had released the Golden Lock Pass just before dawn.

This decision is absolutely stupid!

Actually, now is not the most opportune time at all. They were unprepared and were forced to start the uprising!

His original plan was to use Shen Jue's 30,000 troops, along with the followers of the Holy Fire Sect and the forces they had secretly developed over the years, to swiftly control the entire Chenzhou.

With him, the second prince of Ningguo, and Fan Bing, the crown prince of Langguo, in charge, they could quickly win the hearts of the people of Chenzhou by raising the banner of overthrowing Zhao Luan's tyranny.

Fan Bingbing ordered Zhou Pu to let foreign enemies in, which was treason for both the people of Daning and the former inhabitants of Langguo!

Under such circumstances, how could they win the hearts of the people and raise a large army to resist the counterattack of the Da Ning court?

Faced with Zhao Yi's roar, the old woman beside Fan Bing immediately glared at him coldly, "How dare you speak to the Crown Prince like that?"

As she spoke, the old woman's aura suddenly erupted, almost suffocating Zhao Yi.

"Sangpo!"

Fan Bing raised his hand to stop Sang Po, and looked at Zhao Yi with displeasure, "If we don't let those 30,000 troops in, do you think we can stop the counterattack of the Da Ning court with just our limited strength?"

Zhao Yi retorted angrily, "You're drinking poison to quench your thirst! Don't you know the details of those 30,000 troops?"

Although it was said to be an army of 30,000 Nuoli tribe members, only 10,000 were actually soldiers; the remaining 20,000 were followers of the Holy Fire Sect who had developed in the southern border region.

Although these believers were selected and trained, their combat strength was at most equivalent to that of the Chenzhou garrison due to differences in equipment and other factors.

Letting these 30,000 troops into Chenzhou will definitely do more harm than good!

He even dared to call himself the Crown Prince of Lang Kingdom!

A small country is a small country!

Even that damned crown prince is short-sighted!

"I don't want to hear any of this now! There's no turning back now!"

Fan Bing's gaze was resolute. "Now, only by going all out can we achieve great things!"

"Your mission is to work with Zuo Jiangyue to firmly control your 20,000 troops!"

"As long as you don't cause trouble over there, our chances of success are very high!"

"Once we seize the grain supplies from Xining Prefecture, and then establish defenses on the borders of Chenzhou and Juzhou, it won't be so easy for the enemy to break in!"

He admitted that Zhao Yi had some merit.

But now, the 30,000 troops of the Nuoli tribe have already crossed the Golden Lock Pass!

Debating right and wrong is pointless now.

He's already forty-five this year!

Since fate has allowed them to be exposed ahead of time, then it must be the will of heaven!

Only by taking a desperate gamble can we hope to restore our nation!

"you……"

Zhao Yi hesitated, a bitter smile playing on his lips.

Yes!

Since things have already come to this, what's the point of arguing about this anymore?

Right now, all we can do is try to clean up the mess.

Hopefully, Fan Bing won't regret his decision today!

Zhao Yi took a deep breath and reminded Fan Bing, "The enemy's reinforcements could arrive within ten days at the earliest, so we must act quickly!"

"I see!"

Fan Bing nodded slightly, reassuring Zhao Yi, "Don't worry, as long as I succeed in restoring my kingdom, I will fully support you in reclaiming everything that belongs to you!"

"Um."

Zhao Yi gave a casual reply and quickly headed towards the Qingxi camp.

He didn't take Fan Bing's words to heart at all.

It's too early to talk about taking back everything that belongs to us!

Let's figure out how to stop the imperial army's counterattack first!

Watching Zhao Yi's retreating figure, a cold glint flashed in Granny Sang's eyes. "It seems the Crown Prince's worries were well-founded! This Zhao Yi will eventually become uncontrollable!"

"It's alright!"

Fan Bing smiled calmly, "I won't give him that chance! Don't touch him now, he's still very useful to us!"

Grandma Sang nodded gently and said nothing more.

Meanwhile, Gui San and Gui Si had already knocked out two soldiers, put on their armor, and openly infiltrated the Qingxi camp.

The soldiers in the Qingxi camp were all preparing to set off and were completely unaware of the two people.

The two of them searched their way and finally arrived at the outside of Shen Jue's tent.

Unlike the bustling activity elsewhere in the camp, Shen Jue's tent was heavily guarded.

Without making a sound, Gui San gave Gui Si a wink, and Gui Si immediately understood.

As the two approached, the soldiers guarding the tent entrance immediately shouted, "Halt! Who are you...?"

Before he could finish speaking, a dazzling flash of light enveloped him.

Swish swish...

Gui Si swiftly drew his sword and reaped the lives of the soldiers guarding outside.

Facing Gui Si, a ninth-realm expert, even though the soldiers guarding the entrance of the main tent were all quite strong, they were still like ants, completely powerless to resist.

"There's an assassin!"

It wasn't until Gui San rushed into the tent at incredible speed that the soldiers' shouts rang out outside.

Just as Gui San rushed into the tent, a cloud of poisonous powder suddenly drifted towards him.

Gui San waved his hand, unleashing a palm wind that quickly dispersed the poison powder, while simultaneously dodging away from its range.

Only then did he realize that the person who attacked him was a young woman wearing a bone hairpin.

The woman had large eyes, and judging from her bone structure, she should have been quite beautiful, but she wore smoky makeup, which made her look eerily strange.

Shen Jue lay on the bed inside the tent, seemingly conscious, yet also appearing to be unconscious.

"A witch from southern Xinjiang?"

Gui San stared at the woman with great interest.

"There is no such thing as a witch from southern Xinjiang."

Nan Que'er revealed a charming smile. Instead of fleeing, she slowly approached Gui San, saying, "I am but a weak woman..."

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly struck Gui San with a palm strike, and a puff of poisonous smoke shot out from her sleeve.

"Witch!"

A cold glint flashed in Gui San's eyes, and he unleashed a powerful palm strike.

The violent force unleashed not only forced Nan Que'er to retreat repeatedly, but also tore the entire tent apart.

"That's amazing!"

Knowing she was no match for Gui San, Nan Que'er immediately fled!

Gui San immediately dodged and gave chase.

But as soon as he moved, Nan Que'er suddenly flicked her sleeve and sent out several small red snakes.

Gui San suppressed his killing intent and unleashed a palm strike.

The violent force not only blasted several venomous snakes into mincemeat, but also slammed into Nan Que'er's back, causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood.

Nan Que'er was terrified and was about to retaliate when Gui San appeared behind her like a ghost.

Bang!

Before Nan Que'er could retaliate, Gui San's palm strike landed on her neck.

Nan Que'er groaned and collapsed to the ground, completely powerless to resist.

Gui San quickly turned back, scooped up Shen Jue, and shouted to Gui Si outside, "Take this woman and retreat! Be careful, this woman is most likely a witch from Southern Xinjiang!"

Without wasting words, Gui Si unleashed a blade of energy, killing the charging soldiers, and then grabbed a rope.

The rope, like a nimble snake, swiftly bound the unconscious Nan Que'er.

Gui Si grabbed one end of the rope and carried it like a piece of cargo, quickly lifting the woman and following Gui San to escape.

"There's an assassin!"

"Quickly capture the assassin..."

The soldiers in the camp kept shouting, but it was no use.

By the time Zhao Yi returned to the camp, the two had already disappeared.

"What?"

Upon learning that Shen Jue had been rescued, Zhao Yi, already seething with anger, became even more furious. He roared at Zuo Jiangyue, "What are you all doing? A camp of tens of thousands of people, and you actually let someone take Shen Jue away?"

Their situation was already very bad.

Shen Jue has been rescued again!

Shen Jue had served in the army for many years, and even though they had allowed him to indulge in wine and women during this time, his prestige remained intact.

They wanted to control these 20,000 troops, and Shen Jue was very important to them.

Now that Shen Jue has been rescued, if he were to step forward to persuade them to surrender, these 20,000 troops might very well turn against them!

"Those two are both highly skilled. Our army was on its way and was completely unprepared, so we couldn't stop them at all."

Zuo Jiangyue's face was grim, and he was extremely agitated. "It's no use talking about this now! We must march on Xining Prefecture as soon as possible, make these soldiers completely oppose the imperial court, and cut off their retreat!"

Zhao Yi's face turned ashen, and he nodded furiously.

That's all we can do now!