pertwk Chapter 31 Prefect
Chapter 31 Prefect
Dark clouds obscured the moon.
The starlight was dim.
Crescent Moon County, the backyard of the county government office.
At this moment, Magistrate Lun Ren was pacing back and forth restlessly in the courtyard, by the light of the candle in his room.
In the battle of Yejia'ao, the more than ten bandit groups that he had painstakingly cultivated and used as henchmen were surrounded and wiped out by the elite righteous army commanded by Zhang Tianxing.
Although they were all lowly humans, like ants, their deaths were nothing to them.
Fortunately, he had a member of the Kang tribe as an inside agent to report military intelligence.
That's how they narrowly escaped disaster.
But he had previously made a solemn vow to his father-in-law, the governor of Shazhou, Luncheng, and boasted that he would definitely kill Zhang Tianxing when he lost his power.
Now that the plan has failed, I really don't know how to explain it to my father-in-law.
Previously, the Beggars' Sect had helped him, and now the Mingsha Gang seemed to be coming to seek refuge.
Looking at it now, the Mingsha Gang seems somewhat suspicious.
Meanwhile, the Beggars' Sect was entangled by the Black Fox Gang, which appeared out of nowhere.
The county army is utterly useless, and yet this group of incompetents is still in the hands of the Yin family.
The Kang family, where the county magistrate worked, were both honest about getting things done and genuinely interested in money.
The situation took a sharp turn for the worse, becoming increasingly unfavorable for him.
The county magistrate, Kang, who was standing nearby, looked anxious when he saw Lun Ren there.
He reported in a low voice: "Sir, we have found out that the person who tipped off the rebels in Yejia'ao that day was Liu Sheng, a disciple of the Bajiguan who happened to be passing by. I heard he's just a greenhorn who has just entered the ranks."
Upon hearing the new information, Lun Ren's eyes flashed with a cold light, and then he heard the words "Bajiguan".
The Gao family of Shazhou is a bit of a problem!
He averted his gaze and then gestured for County Magistrate Kang to continue.
Observing the expressions on the face, County Magistrate Kang reminded him:
"He's also signed up for this martial arts exam. In my opinion, why don't we have one of my Kang tribe's most outstanding young men 'instruct' him during the exam? What do you think..."
Lun Ren certainly understood what County Magistrate Kang meant.
Taking action against aristocratic families behind their backs and breaking the rules could easily anger the Gao family.
If everyone resorts to underhanded tactics, the situation will be difficult to control.
As for the martial arts examination, you have to sign a life-or-death contract. If you can't admit defeat in time, then you deserve to be beaten to death.
In previous years, many grudges between human races were tacitly resolved through the martial arts competition.
Just as he was about to make a decision.
A familiar voice drifted from afar: "A county magistrate, unable to deal with the elders, only knows how to vent his anger on the younger ones?"
But only for a moment.
The dark clouds in the sky suddenly dispersed, and the bright moonlight poured down.
The two then saw a semi-transparent demon figure formed from moonlight appear.
He has curved goat horns on his head, braids hanging down on both sides, holds a golden token in his hand, has an ancient and simple face, sharp eyes, and an imposing presence without anger.
Although it is only semi-transparent, its shape and outline are clear and its colors are lifelike.
This is precisely the technique that only fourth-rank demons can master—manifestation.
The spirit can manifest clones from hundreds of miles away by using natural objects such as moonlight and fog.
Of course, the farther away the avatar is, the weaker its power becomes. A hundred miles away, it can only talk and pass on a message.
The governor's clone, with eyes as sharp as lightning, swept over the county magistrate of Kang County, who hurriedly bowed and took his leave, leaving only Lun Ren behind.
Lun Ren immediately bowed and said, "Father-in-law."
The other party seemed displeased: "When discussing official business, always refer to each other by our official titles."
"Yes, Your Excellency! Why have you come in person?" Lun Ren respectfully changed his address.
Lun Chengguan looked at his humble son-in-law and shook his head. He really didn't know what his daughter had seen in him in the first place.
Previously, this son-in-law disregarded the ridicule of his colleagues.
He boasted that he could definitely kill Zhang Tianxing.
Looking back now, it was a complete and utter defeat.
But at least the other party changed his surname and married into the family; they're family now. Unlike those spoiled brats in the clan, this kid is willing to take responsibility, so I can only choose to help him out.
So he continued:
"Don't waste your time on such insignificant people. Your mission here is to truly take control of Crescent Moon County and subdue the Yin and Yan families as soon as possible."
Lun Ren dared not retort, but inwardly he was in great distress.
Unlike the neighboring counties, where the officials and their families are all demons.
In Crescent Moon County, within the government compound, he was the only one without a staff.
Within the county town, only the Beggars' Sect was truly willing to die for him, and that was only because of his father-in-law's influence, with the order issued by the Beggars' Sect headquarters in Shazhou City.
The Kang family often acts based on money. As for the Yin family and the monk clan, they have countless connections, and the Yan family is even more despicable, stubborn, and unyielding.
Even if he were to make some big move and succeed by chance, gaining control of Crescent Moon County, Zhang Tianxing's rebel army would still be eyeing him covetously in the neighboring county.
After thinking for a moment, he could only bite the bullet and say, "This humble official... will do his utmost."
The forced look on his face was obvious to anyone in the city.
So Lun Chengguan said in a deep voice, "I've come here because I have something important to tell you—the 'retreat' of the imperial army on the border was actually intentional."
"What?!" Lun Ren had never considered this possibility.
Then, as if he had just thought of something.
Yes, the army was defeated and failed to gain a foothold in Illinois. Why did they retreat slowly towards the more distant Sazhou?
"Are you saying that the border army's retreat was a ruse, and the real target was Zhang Tianxing and the rebel army?"
Lun Ren knew that there were two main reasons why these aristocratic families in Shazhou and Guazhou had survived to this day.
First, the Lun clan and the Shang clan have been fighting for hundreds of years, and neither can stand idly by while the other truly devours the human race's territory.
Secondly, although the human race has destroyed its kingdoms, the power of its aristocratic families still exists, and its overall strength should not be underestimated. If a large army cannot be mobilized, it will be impossible to pacify the region.
The Great Fan Kingdom was a tribal alliance system, divided into 61 tribes, each governed by one of the five kings.
The Lun tribe has two kings, each with 20 tribes; the Shang tribe has two kings, each with 20 tribes; the remaining king, either a crown prince or a prince, is directly under the Demon Emperor and has 21 tribes. Moreover, the overall strength of these 21 tribes far surpasses that of the tribes belonging to the Lun and Shang tribes.
It would be difficult to mobilize an army of 61 allied forces if it weren't for a war between nations. Now, with the war against the Bone Bird Khanate to the north, it's a golden opportunity.
"good."
Seeing that her son-in-law understood everything immediately, she was indeed smarter than the average demon.
There was some relief regarding the city gate.
His expression also softened:
"The clan chief has reached an agreement with the emperor. We will help the emperor suppress Buddhism. Once the army has completely retreated to Shazhou City, the emperor will issue an edict to wipe out the Zhang family and the rebel army in one fell swoop with overwhelming force!"
The magistrate, after discussing benevolence, finally understood everything.
This is the real opportunity!
Previously, he had suggested that he would scout out Zhang Tianxing's location, and then his father-in-law would personally approach within 10 miles of Zhang Tianxing, directly use his manifested clone to kill Zhang Tianxing, and thus gain the greatest merit within the clan.
As a result, his father-in-law threw him a demon clan cultivation manual and told him to practice it.
Only then did he realize that the demon race's cultivation techniques, before reaching the fifth rank, were almost entirely devoid of lethality, and were no match for the demon race's natural talent and physical strength.
After reaching the fifth rank, one can command their soul to leave the body and condense a clone to kill enemies from a distance, making them difficult to defend against. However, this soul clone is vulnerable to the blood and qi forged by human martial arts.
To the naked eye, the human warriors appeared normal.
Once the soul leaves the body and flies over the battlefield, all it will see is a vast ocean of blood and qi, making it impossible to approach. Any attempt to get close will result in being swallowed by the swamp of blood and qi and annihilated.
It's no wonder that Zhang Tianxing always took at least 200 elite rebel soldiers with him when he went out.
Previously, Lun Ren had always used the most clumsy assassination methods, continuously sacrificing lives in order to find a possible momentary opening.
Now that the clan chief has finally taken action himself and reached an agreement with the emperor, all that is left is for him to use his methods to consolidate Crescent Moon County, which will surely bring him great success!
Thinking of this, he knelt down excitedly and bowed again: "Thank you so much for your guidance, Father-in-law!"
After kneeling and bowing for a long time, by the time Lun Chengguan's clone had long since dissipated.
Lun Ren then slowly stood up.
He looked in the direction of the Yan family, a sinister glint in his eyes.
The next day.
Liu Sheng carried 11 taels of silver in his pocket and a small folding stool in his hand.
They arrived at the Yan family's residence again.
One tael was yesterday's daily settlement, and ten taels were given separately by the steward, who said it was an extra payment from the head of the household each month.
This made Liu Sheng extremely happy.
That makes 40 taels this month.
This already covers most of my meat and medication expenses.
Moreover, he even got the Golden Bell Shield martial arts for free, and yesterday he even asked the junior brothers at the martial arts school to help him improve his proficiency in the Golden Bell Shield.
[Internal Training Method: Golden Bell Shield (Beginner Level 96%)]
In the early stages, it's still quite fast to start.
Liu Sheng was secretly delighted.
Three layers of protection bring peace of mind.
He had long heard that Yan Lie, the head of the Yan family, was short-tempered, but in his opinion, this man was quite reasonable.
Clear distinction between rewards and punishments!
As long as you pay, even if you have to come over and get scolded in person, it's a minor issue.
Thinking that it would only be a little while before the young master started throwing a tantrum again, I should give him a nicer look today.
Encouragement!