I Possess a Scroll of Demon-Subduing Records

"Since you've already seen through me, I won't pretend anymore. You're half right. I'm not one of your emperor's men, nor am I one of the Liang King's men. I come from the north..."

Chapter 193 Secret Passage

When Lu Ningchuan heard the skeleton say that it came from the north, his heart sank.

He wouldn't think that the North was the North of the King of Liang; it could only be the North that was further north than the King of Liang.

The Northern Wei, a regime established by a foreign ethnic group, occupied the vast and beautiful lands of the Central Plains.

The Southern Dynasties also experienced several changes of regime, but the slogan of "Northern Expedition" remained unchanged. The two dynasties have been in a state of opposition for many years, fighting each other year after year, but there was no Warring States period.

Lu Ningchuan was already pale as a ghost. He could collude with demons and frame loyal officials, and even if he died, there would still be people to send him off in the future. But if he colluded with enemy countries, his descendants would have no way to survive, and his ancestors would be disgraced.

When the Han Chinese migrated south, the nomadic tribes ravaged the Central Plains, their brutality far surpassing that of demons. After all, killing is the nature of demons, while killing is nothing short of utter cruelty. (Please interpret this at your own discretion to avoid sensitive vocabulary.)

The cultivators of the Northern and Southern Dynasties were highly united because they were also originally Han Chinese Daoists. Each sect held important positions and each mountain gate had its own guardian power. When the Central Plains fell, they could at least protect their small area, even if they didn't go down the mountain to help.

The Taoist traditions of foreign tribes often involved witchcraft and invoking spirits, but few had direct lineages leading to the Great Tao. Therefore, in the Northern Wei, those who could afford it would try to enroll in a proper Taoist temple to learn. In order to reduce trouble, various sects in the north would also accept some noble children from the Northern Wei as a token gesture.

"You monster, how could you do this to me!"

The skeleton had already laid its cards on the table, so how could Lu Ningchuan not know that this guy had already achieved his goal: to incite the Liang King and the Emperor to fight amongst themselves, so that the Northern Wei could take advantage of the internal strife in the south to send troops. At that time, Lu Ningchuan would become a sinner who could not be cleared of his name.

"It's all your fault for being so stupid. But if I told you that if you don't agree to my plan, I'll turn you into a puppet to carry it out for me, would that make you feel any better?"

To be honest, it's actually a bit better. At least I don't feel like my IQ has been crushed. I can die with a smile on my face.

The skeleton then made a very human-like shrug and said helplessly, "You Southern Dynasty people just love these empty gestures. No matter what I did, the fact is that you were the one who instigated the internal strife."

"You won't succeed so easily. I will definitely stop you!"

Lu Ningchuan gritted his teeth. It's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost. As long as he spreads the news, both the Prince of Liang and the Emperor will consider the overall situation.

The skeleton laughed again.

"You don't think I'd let you live after telling you all this, do you?"

"I am protected by the imperial court's fortune, why would I be afraid of a mere demon like you!"

"How ridiculous! You think you can use the fortune of the Southern Dynasty to block the ghost slaves of my Northern Dynasty?"

Lu Ningchuan's face turned pale instantly. He stared at the skull's eye sockets, where two balls of flame flickered eerily. In a daze, the flames grew larger and larger, seemingly about to burn him to death.

Lu Ningchuan's consciousness gradually became hazy. He did not feel the pain of being burned by the flames, but only felt his thinking becoming sluggish. He vaguely remembered what he was supposed to do, but could not recall it.

Finally, he slowly closed his eyes.

Not long after, he opened his eyes again, slowly stood up from the ground, and looked around, seemingly adjusting to his new environment.

"It's about time; it's time to add fuel to the fire of this farce."

Lu Ningchuan led his personal guards out of the government office and headed straight for the barracks. With his official seal in hand, he quickly mobilized more than 10,000 county soldiers.

"Fellow soldiers, today the Prince of Liang has burned the imperial edict in the street, intending to rebel. You all receive the emperor's salary, so you should think of being loyal to the emperor and serving the country. Now take your weapons and join me in beheading the traitor!"

The soldiers were in an uproar when they heard the news, but the highest commander had already ordered the entire army to attack, and no one dared to disobey. Lu Ningchuan also sent his personal guards to supervise the battle. Anyone who was unwilling to follow would be punished for treason. Helpless, the county soldiers had no choice but to obey and follow.

Ten thousand soldiers were indeed a small number compared to Xingsha County before, but once these soldiers were fully equipped and lined up, they looked quite a lot.

The shocking sight of the entire army launching an attack immediately terrified the city's residents, who fled back home.

It should be noted that when rumors first circulated that the Jingtian Sect was going to learn from Xingsha City, they only had a thousand county soldiers taking turns patrolling, and only a few dozen people were dispatched to patrol the roads at a time. They had never seen such a large-scale troop deployment before.

War is an omen of misfortune, and no one wanted to get involved in such matters, so they all retreated to their homes.

Such a commotion naturally caught Lin Yi's attention. He hurriedly went out to find out what was going on and saw the army moving out. He figured it was probably heading towards Xiao Se.

Lin Yi quickly told Wang Jinxuan and Xiaocao to stop practicing martial arts, and asked He Dong to take good care of them, before he went to find Xiao Se.

He Dong grimaced. It was all because of that little vixen that they were hiding in Xing Sha City, living a peaceful life, but now they've gotten themselves into a lot of trouble.

There's also a little vixen in the house; I have to be on guard every day.

It's pitiful that even as a ghost, she's still so tired and has no money to spend all day long.

"Oh, Jinxuan!"

"Master's wife, what's wrong?"

Wang Jinxuan was sensible enough to realize who was the temporary mistress of the house. She behaved herself well in front of He Dong to avoid being bullied as a concubine, just like in her dream.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about your master. He's never home, and when he is, he doesn't spend time with me. All he does is cultivate and teach you two how to cultivate. If you're going to find a husband in the future, please don't choose someone like him!"

Wang Jinxuan: "..."

She could see right through her teacher's wife's thoughts.

Isn't this practically saying, "My husband is no good, so don't even think about him"?

If it's really bad, you can give it to me!

Wang Jinxuan inwardly complained, but still smiled and said, "I think Master is very reliable. When a woman looks for a husband, isn't it to find a man she can rely on?"

Is this a declaration of war?

He Dong immediately perked up and scolded, "Prejudice! That's prejudice! Women can be strong too, and don't have to be subservient to others!"

"I know, my master also told me to cultivate diligently and to take control of my own life. However, if I'm going to get married, I naturally have to find someone I can rely on!"

He Dong gritted his teeth upon hearing this.

What a shameless vixen! She depends on others and yet speaks of it so confidently!

When will you be able to stand up on your own?

He Dong was furious. Faced with such a declaration of war, she was of course not going to back down. Just as she was about to say something more, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

He Dong was somewhat surprised. The place where they lived was very remote, and there weren't many neighbors around. They had just moved in, so naturally they didn't have much interaction with their neighbors. Why would someone come knocking on the door now?

He Dong's expression turned serious. He didn't have time to argue with Wang Jinxuan. He carefully went to open the door and saw a beautiful young girl in plain clothes standing outside.

She looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, her face full of childish innocence, with a pair of bright, watery eyes and rosy cheeks, making her look pure and lovely.

But when He Dong saw her, he was struck dumb, his whole being went numb.

"What, don't you recognize me, Yukihime?"

……

Lin Yi was unaware that his house had been robbed. He arrived ahead of the county soldiers and discovered that their target was indeed Xiao Se's residence.

The one leading them was Lu Ningchuan.

But this time, he was smarter and knew to hide in the crowd.

Within this military formation, the effectiveness of spells is greatly reduced, and sword energy is no exception.

Many profound sword techniques, besides relying on one's own true energy, also resonate with the power of heaven and earth. Now that the power of heaven and earth is gone, relying solely on one's own true energy, the destructive power is still there, but not as strong.

Lin Yi looked at Lu Ningchuan, who was being protected so closely, and silently clenched his fist.

It wasn't that he couldn't charge in and kill Lu Ningchuan, but he simply didn't want to harm these county soldiers.

Unlike Lu Ningchuan's personal guards before, the current county soldiers are all from Xingsha County or nearby areas, and are all local children. Moreover, these county soldiers had many merits in suppressing water bandits during Wang An's rule.

Furthermore, when the Jingtian Sect caused trouble, the Jingye Division was busy, but these county soldiers also worked very hard, and it was they who protected the peace of Xingsha City.

Lin Yi did not want to massacre these people. Perhaps they were simply unaware of the situation and were mobilized by orders from their superiors. They were completely different from Lu Ningchuan's personal guards.

Since it's not advisable to go on a killing spree, the only option is to flee for the time being.

Lin Yi, still dressed in black, rushed into Xiao Se's house. Xiao Se was petting her cat, looking up at the sky, seemingly lost in thought. Lin Yi hurried over and said, "Come with me quickly, Lu Ningchuan has sent troops to surround and annihilate you."

Xiao Se's talisman was practically useless. Although she still had some Qi Refining ability, she couldn't withstand an army of thousands.

Xiao Se didn't expect Lin Yi to come over so suddenly. It was quite a coincidence. She was thinking about Lin Yi, and since she had nothing to do anyway, it wasn't convenient for her to go anywhere else for the time being. She didn't expect to see him like this.

Unfortunately, this isn't a real-time chat platform. Upon hearing that an army was coming to annihilate them, Xiao Se calmly said, "Brother, don't panic. I'm prepared. Wu Yun, lead the way."

"Meow!"

Wu Yun obediently jumped into a well in the courtyard. Xiao Se called out to Lin Yi, "Follow me, there's a secret passage here."

"That's awesome, bro!"

Lin Yi often saw this kind of operation in TV dramas, but this time he actually experienced it, and it felt quite strange.

"You've been preparing for this all along?"

Lin Yi was speechless at Xiao Se's behavior. While actively preparing to escape, he didn't fight back when faced with assassination attempts, which seemed like a complete mental breakdown.

Of course, this is just a rant. Xiao Se is actually quite normal. People's thoughts are inherently contradictory and changeable. It's relatively rare to find someone who sticks to one idea without changing it.

“This tunnel was already there. After I discovered it, I had Wuyun dig it a bit more. From here, you can leave the city directly.”

Upon hearing Xiao Se's words, Wu Yun immediately became displeased.

"Was that just a simple digging? I was digging from dawn till dusk!"

This perfectly good cat was forced to learn how to dig holes. Is there any cat in the cat world more miserable than her?

Chapter 194 The Imposter

With a massive army pressing in from outside, Xiao Se was still in the mood to bicker with the kitten inside the cave.

"Wouldn't it be a good thing if you mastered another skill? All you do all day is sleep and you don't know anything else. You're clearly gifted, but you don't know how to develop your talents properly. Look, if it weren't for my supervision, we would be in danger today."

That's what you call being prepared!

Since Wuyun was not well-educated, he was naturally no match for Xiaose and could only lead the way in a miserable manner.

Despite the darkness, their vision remained unaffected. However, the tunnel was quite narrow, suggesting that the kitten had cut corners in its construction; the cave could only accommodate one person at a time, who had to stoop to move forward.

That's acceptable; at least it's not like crawling forward.

As Lin Yi walked, he listened to the sounds outside, knowing that Xiao Se was leading the way.

In the courtyard, Lu Ningchuan arrived at Xiao Se's residence and found that Xiao Se was not there. He immediately ordered, "Go in and search. Dig three feet into the ground to find him. The rest of you, send a thousand men to help me capture his accomplices."

Arresting accomplices?

On a small scale, it's just Shang Chang'er and Niu Er; on a larger scale, it's the entire Jingye Division.

It's no exaggeration to say that with the military power Lu Ningchuan currently possesses, he could easily crush the Jingye Division.