Isolated town in northern border region

The astonishing conjecture in Xiao Lie's mind was like a stone thrown into a deep pool, the ripples spreading wider and wider, yet never reaching the bottom.

Horse farm...

Panlong Guard...

The water source was poisoned...

There seems to be an invisible thread connecting these three things in the dark.

But he didn't have time to investigate further.

The people of Qingzhou are still waiting for him, and hundreds of thousands of people in eastern Qingzhou are lying in the corners of their villages waiting to die.

He suppressed those chaotic thoughts and turned to walk towards the camp.

"Let's not think about these things for now."

"Save lives first."

While he was focused on saving lives, things were getting lively in the capital.

News of Xiao Lie's disaster relief efforts in Qingzhou reached the capital.

In the teahouses and taverns, the storyteller changed his tune again.

"Do you all know? The Northern Frontier King Xiao Lie just finished fighting in the Northern Frontier and was passing through Qingzhou when he encountered a rampant plague!"

"Prefect Du Ming of Qingzhou has ordered the roads closed and the infected people to be burned alive!"

"The Northern Frontier King Xiao Lie stood alone on the official road and said to Du Ming, 'If you burn even one civilian today, I will demolish one of your government offices!'"

"Then the prince led three hundred elite soldiers and set up an isolation camp on the riverbank, rescuing people from house to house!"

"The King of the Northern Frontier loves his people like his own children; he is truly a wise and virtuous ruler!"

"What 'wise prince'! If it weren't for that... you know, the prince would be a truly enlightened ruler!"

When the news reached the ears of the Chu Emperor, he was in his study reading memorials.

Emperor Xiao Mu of Chu sat in his study, holding a memorial in his hand.

A report came from a spy in Qingzhou that a major epidemic broke out in Qingzhou as soon as Xiao Lie arrived. Instead of leaving immediately, Xiao Lie stopped the army sent by Du Ming, the prefect of Qingzhou, to block the disaster victims and organized the people to save themselves by his own efforts.

The Chu Emperor read the report three times, his smile never fading.

"A major epidemic?"

"Hahaha!"

"Truly divine intervention!"

"Can plagues be contained by human power?"

"My good nephew, you're courting death!"

The Chu emperor picked up his brush to draft an imperial edict.

He wanted to directly order Du Ming to send troops to seal off the epidemic area, trapping Xiao Lie to death in Qingzhou.

Just as the Chu Emperor was writing with great pleasure, his personal eunuch rushed in with the memorial in hand.

"Your Majesty! An urgent message from Qingzhou, traveling 800 li!"

The Chu Emperor raised an eyebrow and reached out to take the memorial.

This is a letter from Du Ming, the prefect of Qingzhou.

The document contained a long, detailed account of the devastating epidemic in Qingzhou, but the last sentence nearly made the Chu Emperor spit out a mouthful of blood!

"King Xiao Lie of the Northern Frontier has found a way to control the epidemic, the situation in eastern Qingzhou is gradually stabilizing, and the people are returning to their homes."

The Chu Emperor's gaze lingered on the four words "the people's hearts are with him" for a long time.

He put down the folding book, his fingers slowly tapping on the table, his expression shifting between light and shadow.

"My heart longs to return home..."

He murmured the word, his expression turning somber.

"Wherever he goes, people turn to him."

"Just who is Xiao Lie?!"

"After playing the fool in the Eastern Palace for so many years, he's really become shrewd once he arrives in the Northern Frontier!"

"Not only have you recovered the northern border, but you've even managed to contain the plague?"

"Xiao Lie!"

"You deserve to die!"

He originally intended to issue an edict to seal off the epidemic area, using the pretext of the plague to trap and kill Xiao Lie in Qingzhou.

If Xiao Lie dies from the epidemic in the epidemic area, then it is fate!

If he forces his way out, that would be defying the imperial decree!

But Du Ming's proposal came at just the right time.

They even said the epidemic was under control!

With the epidemic under control, how could the Chu Emperor possibly trap and kill Xiao Lie?

If an order to blockade is issued at this time, wouldn't it be a clear indication that troops are being sent to surround and kill the meritorious official who saved the people from suffering?

The Chu Emperor was not yet so delirious.

After hesitating for a moment, he issued an edict summoning the Second Prince, Xiao Zhang, to the palace.

Emperor Chu knew that his ascension to the throne was illegitimate, and he had always been careful to protect his reputation since taking the throne. In the past, he had entrusted difficult matters like this to the eldest prince, Xiao Yu. Now that Xiao Yu had died in the northern frontier, only the second prince was jumping the gun.

After the second prince entered the palace, the Chu Emperor casually tossed him two memorials.

Xiao Zhang did not disappoint the Chu Emperor; he devised a solution in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

"Father, I have a plan."

Xiao Zhang entered the hall and bowed respectfully.

"Xiao Lie's act of saving the people in Qingzhou will surely spread throughout the land."

"If we allow its reputation to grow unchecked, it will become a major threat in the future. Perhaps we should..."

"Not as good as what?"

"Why not have the historians write this down?"

"It just so happens that Xiao Lie has become engaged to Princess Minyue of Jing Kingdom. As a member of the royal family, it is only natural that we ask the Imperial Observatory to verify his birth date and time!"

"Your subject is willing to take the lead in summoning the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial Observatory to record Xiao Lie's journey in history!"

"But what to include and how to write it are up to your son."

The Chu Emperor narrowed his eyes.

"How do you want to write it?"

Xiao Zhang smiled slightly and lowered his voice.

"Father, the Imperial Observatory has recently observed unusual celestial movements, saying that a 'killing star' has entered the Purple Palace, signifying impending war and calamity."

"Your Majesty, I believe that this 'killing star' is quite compatible with Xiao Lie."

"He was skilled in warfare and prone to killing. Countless soldiers died in the war to reclaim the northern frontier, and the eldest prince, Xiao Yu, happened to die of illness beside him..."

"And if we also consider that a plague broke out in Qingzhou shortly after his arrival..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was already quite clear.

The Chu Emperor remained silent for a moment, then added a sentence.

"In that case, the late emperor's sudden passing might be..."

Xiao Zhang was taken aback when he heard this, but he understood the next second.

"Rest assured, Father, I will certainly polish it carefully!"

"Go ahead and do it."

Xiao Zhang accepted the order and left.

Within three days, a new legend began to circulate in the major teahouses and taverns of the capital—"The Lone Star of Calamity."

The storyteller slammed his gavel and lowered his voice.

"Do you all know that Xiao Lie, the King of the Northern Frontier, was born a reincarnation of a killing star!"

"Why did the late emperor die? He was murdered by him!"

"Why did the eldest prince die of illness? It was also because he was cursed to death by him!"

"He had barely arrived in Qingzhou when a plague broke out there!"

"Gentlemen, think about this carefully. This is no coincidence. This is a cursed star; wherever it goes, people die!"

At first, the people were skeptical, but as more and more people spread the word, more and more people believed it.

On the streets and alleys, some people covered their faces and sighed, some shook their heads and clicked their tongues, and some lowered their voices and said.

"His Majesty is probably the true Son of Heaven, while Xiao Lie... is just too powerful, so powerful that even the dragon throne can't withstand him!"

Jiang Min, who was in charge of the Bureau of Folklore, naturally learned of this explanation.

The moment Jiang Min opened the carrier pigeon, she completely forgot her dignity as a princess and immediately cursed out loud.

"A despicable trick!"

"Utterly disgusting!"

Bisu, who was boiling water nearby, stretched out her head, looking like she wanted to ask but didn't dare to.

Jiang Min snorted coldly and handed over the secret report.

"them!"

"How dare they slander His Highness like this!"

"Haven't you bullied me enough after all these years?"

Bisu felt wronged for Xiao Lie, and tears fell like broken pearls.

Jiang Min raised her chin and asked softly.

"Bully?"

"With the prince's cunning and shrewdness, staying in the Eastern Palace is nothing more than a way to conceal his talents."

"How is this bullying?"

Bisu wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

"No! Your Highness has no scheming or cunning whatsoever!"

"Your Highness... Your Highness simply doesn't want to be bullied anymore, and doesn't want to see others being bullied!"

Jiang Min didn't believe Bi Su's answer at all, and just thought that Bi Su was ignorant.

At this very moment, Xiao Lie, who was so busy he barely had time to breathe, was unaware that he had become known as the "lone star of ill omen" among the people of the capital.

He is leading the people, using Liushugou Village as their base, and gradually advancing eastward.

They searched village by village and investigated household by household.

For the first two days, they could still find living people.

Some people huddled in the corner of the bed, while others lay in coffins waiting to die, only daring to peek out when they heard any noise.

Xiao Lie led his men to feed each person water and medicine, carrying away those who could be carried away and settling those who couldn't be carried away on the spot.

By the third day, fewer and fewer people were alive.

The village is becoming increasingly empty, and the courtyards are becoming increasingly quiet.

In some villages, when you push open the door, the yard is full of flies, buzzing like a black tide.

Xu De squatted at the doorway, closed the eyes of an old man who had stopped breathing, and then stood up and shook his head at Xiao Lie.

Xiao Lie didn't say anything, but simply ordered the bodies to be carried out and burned.

On the fourth day, the fifth day, the sixth day... the further east you go, the more corpses there are and the fewer living people there are.

By the seventh day, Xiao Lie had led his men to every corner of the seventeen towns and five counties in eastern Qingzhou, confirming the scope of the epidemic.

This also confirmed something else!

The blood debt of tens of thousands of innocent souls must be sought from the mastermind behind it all!

The polluted water sources have gradually returned to cleanliness after Xiao Lie and his men cleaned and burned them.

Xiao Lie stood by the river, gazing at the clear, bright water, and remained silent for a long time.

"Your Highness, what should we do next?"

Ledo stood behind him, his voice a little hoarse.

Xiao Lie did not turn around.

"These bastards need to be taught a lesson!"

After the initial control of the epidemic, Xiao Lie turned his attention to the grassland hidden deep in the mountains.

He gathered all the soldiers of the Vanguard Camp, divided them into groups of three, and equipped them with armor, swords and shields, crossbows and whistles.

"Go into the mountains to search, and follow the watercourses upwards."

"Mark anything suspicious."

"Then, immediately fire a whistle, and everyone who hears it should immediately respond and provide support!"

The first search of the mountain ended in failure.

The forest was too vast and the vegetation too dense. If three people were thrown in as a group, it would be like throwing a handful of sand into a pond, and you wouldn't even see a splash.

The next day, Xiao Lie narrowed the search area to the region where the Panlong Guard's mark had been found earlier.

He personally led the team at the front, with the soldiers of the Trapped Camp advancing step by step in a fan shape along the ridgeline in groups of three.

But that very afternoon, two soldiers carried a bloodied comrade down the mountain.

The man was struck in the right arm by an arrow; the arrowhead pierced the outside of his forearm, and blood stained his entire sleeve.

Xiao Lie quickly went to meet him and helped the wounded soldier up.

"What happened?"

The soldier gritted his teeth, his face pale, but he was still conscious.

"Your Highness... as the three of us were walking up the mountain, an arrow suddenly shot out from the woods."

"I didn't even see where the person was before the arrow flew over."

"We raised our shields to block the arrows, and they fired two more. We didn't dare to charge in head-on, so we had to retreat first."

Xiao Lie took the arrow.

The shaft was made of ordinary wood, but the arrowhead was sharpened to an extremely sharp point and had a strip of cloth tied to it.

The words written on it in charcoal are: “Where Heaven commands, those who defy it shall die.”

Xiao Lie stared at those eight words and slowly clenched his fist.

The veins on the back of his hand bulged out one by one, like the tangled roots of a tree.

"Destiny?"

He tore off the strip of cloth and threw it on the ground.

"You bunch of beasts who hid in the shadows, poisoned villages, and wiped them out, you dare talk about destiny?"

He turned around and said sternly.

"Everyone, listen up!"

"Starting today, the search area will be narrowed down to the areas where the wounded are injured. Teams of three will be equipped with full armor, crossbows, and whistles."

"Once you encounter the enemy, fire a scout arrow first, then don't linger in battle!"

"I'd like to see who's playing tricks on me on this mountain!"