IDWBE -Chapter 256 Reliable

Lin Yi nodded and said, “Inform Shen Chu and Ji Zhuo. They must be on guard against Mei Jingzhi. All unfilial sons! I’m not even dead yet, and they’re already fighting among themselves.”

He Jixiang lowered his head and remained silent.

He could charge into battle for Prince He, but whenever the topic involved the imperial family, he kept his mouth shut. That was not something he could meddle in.

His great-grandson was about to arrive in Sanhe. He still wanted to stay alive long enough to see the child.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to die in peace.

The others standing below the Governor’s Office hall were the same.

Especially Xiao Xizi.

Having survived in the treacherous imperial palace, he was naturally no fool.

In the palace, saying the wrong thing was worse than doing the wrong thing. One could cost you your head; the other might only earn you a beating.

Lin Yi continued, “That’s enough. I won’t interfere anymore. Handle the rest however you see fit—just don’t sell me out. This hundred-odd jin of flesh of mine isn’t worth much anyway.”

“We wouldn’t dare!”

He Jixiang immediately knelt.

Lin Yi said, “Pass the order: after lunch, we depart. Staying here any longer isn’t doing us any good.”

Once again, Lin Yi set off northward with two hundred cavalrymen.

The roads in Yong’an were far better than those in Nanzhou. With neither wind nor rain, they reached Wuzhou in just ten days.

Though Lin Yi appeared calm and carefree, his subordinates felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy. Yong’an was, after all, the territory of the Prince of Nanling—where Mei Jingzhi commanded a hundred thousand troops!

Even with two hundred experts above the fifth rank, they would stand no chance against an army of one hundred thousand.

Zhang Mian and Jiang Kan’s navy sailed directly into the Tianqian River, then dispatched two thousand marines ashore to guard Lin Yi on both sides.

Fortunately, the Prince of Nanling kept his word, and the journey was unobstructed.

As they neared Quancheng, the capital of Qizhou Prefecture, Lin Yi received news that Prince Yong was besieging Ankang City.

“Pan Duo!” Lin Yi suddenly shouted.

“Your Highness!”

“Where are my mother and sister?”

At this moment, they were the ones he worried about most.

Pan Duo replied, “Following the shopkeeper’s instructions, I’ve already arranged for over a hundred skilled men from the barber ranks to enter Ankang City. All of them are masters above the Transforming Force level. But for now, I haven’t received any news.”

His head lowered involuntarily.

The Transforming Force masters, once the pride of their Shadow organization, were nothing in Sanhe.

In Sanhe, mentioning Transforming Force was almost laughable—many old women there were second or third rank.

Lin Yi said, “Pass the order—spur the horses. We must reach Ankang City within ten days!”

“Your Highness!” Xiao Xizi panicked. “I fear your body won’t endure it!”

“You talk too much.”

Lin Yi cracked his whip. The donkey was startled, its front hooves lifting before it bolted forward.

Xiao Xizi had just begun to execute his Lightness Skill when a figure darted ahead, pressing a palm onto the donkey’s head. The animal immediately calmed down. Only then did he take hold of the reins.

“Amitabha.”

The monk handed the reins to Xiao Xizi.

“Your Lightness Skill has improved again,” Xiao Xizi said.

“You flatter me, Eunuch,” the monk replied with palms pressed together.

Lin Yi patted his chest.

He had truly been frightened.

The autumn air was crisp and refreshing.

Shen Chu led thirty thousand troops and forty thousand civilian laborers. They were less than twenty li from Ankang City.

“Sir, there’s an ambush ahead,” Wang Tuozi said.

Shen Chu snorted coldly. “Those laborers aren’t afraid of death? Have they rushed ahead again?”

Wang Tuozi gave an awkward smile. “Men die for wealth as birds die for food. Haven’t they always been like this?”

Shen Chu said angrily, “That’s two hundred thousand veteran troops! Even I lack confidence—what gives them the nerve?”

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

Those suppliers had learned to exploit loopholes. They no longer made laborers sign contracts. If something went wrong, it had nothing to do with them. There was no way to hold them accountable.

“Sir, should we ask the Prince for instructions?” Wang Tuozi suggested.

Ji Zhuo, standing nearby, smiled bitterly. “If we hadn’t already asked, would we have marched straight to Ankang City?”

“What did the Prince say?” Wang Tuozi asked curiously.

“The Prince said: If he understood everything, what would he need us for?”

Though Shen Chu’s tone was calm, he felt helpless inside.

There was another line in the Prince’s letter that he didn’t repeat: If I die, none of you will be innocent.

Wang Tuozi chuckled awkwardly. He couldn’t comment on the Prince—everyone knew the Prince was unreliable. That wasn’t a secret. But Lord He Jixiang wasn’t senile yet!

Surely he must have given some direction?

Ji Zhuo said word by word, “Lord He said: When two meet on a narrow road, the brave prevail.”

“Well…”

Wang Tuozi almost wanted to protest on their behalf.

Damn it!

All empty words!

Shen Chu said, “If nothing unexpected happens, Wang Dong should be arriving soon.”

“The blind man is coming?” Wang Tuozi exclaimed happily.

He instantly relaxed.

In his memory, there was no one the blind man couldn’t kill.

Shen Chu nodded. “That’s right.”

Wang Tuozi grinned. “Though the blind man’s eyes don’t work—”

Before he could finish, his newly advanced fifth-rank instincts sensed a gust of wind. He tried to dodge, but was lifted into the air, and his head slammed straight into the ground.

His ears buzzed. Amid the roaring sound, he heard a voice say, “Hunchback, talking bad about me again?”

“Blind man…”

Hearing the burst of laughter around him, Wang Tuozi rubbed his head and staggered to his feet, finally making out the figure before him.

He nearly burst into tears!

When did I badmouth you?!

Your eyes really don’t work, alright?!

Wang Dong said, “Looking to get beaten?”

“I’m telling the Prince!” Wang Tuozi protested indignantly. “Be realistic when you speak and act!

Your eyes really don’t work well!”

The blind man said, “The Prince also said—it’s a virtue not to expose others’ shortcomings.”

Wang Tuozi turned away angrily.

“Tuozi,” Shen Chu said coldly, “with a great enemy before us, don’t act on impulse. What the Prince worries about most right now is the Consort and the Princess. Take the blind man into the city. You must ensure their safety.”

Wang Tuozi made a mournful face. “You think I’m a god? Before I can even climb the wall, they’ll shoot me into a hedgehog. I can’t get in.”

The blind man smiled. “I’ll go by myself.”

Shen Chu said worriedly, “There are two Grandmasters in the palace—one is the Eldest Princess, the other Liu Chaoyuan. Liu Chaoyuan is Master Wen’s disciple. If you exchange the password, he’ll help you. But if you face the Eldest Princess, I fear you may not return.”

The blind man replied, “A glow-worm’s light is never true fire; a dewdrop on a lotus leaf is hardly a pearl.”

Shen Chu was about to speak again when he realized the blind man had already vanished from before his eyes.

“Has his cultivation improved again?” Wang Tuozi said.

In Sanhe, aside from Grandmasters and ninth-rank experts, no one dared claim superiority in Lightness Skill before him!

Even with Grandmasters, he could sometimes catch a glimpse of their movement!

But just now, he had no idea how the blind man disappeared.

The only explanation was that the blind man’s power had grown again.