The rest of the troops wonât have any problems either.
If they run short on provisions at times,
Prince Jin, Yan Ze, would send these people out to rob and loot a bit. Bandits stopping travelers and extorting themâisnât that just business as usual?
No one would suspect a thing.
And as long as you keep the number of robberies within a certain limit, no big fuss will happen.
"This is the place!"
Qi Yuanliang had picked this particular bandit gang; not many men inside, only about a hundred or so.
Qi Yuanliang was deliberate in choosing a smaller crew.
That way, resolving things would be much faster. All he needed was to provoke Prince Jin, Yan Zeâs rage toward Ye Liuyun; itâs not like he actually wanted to do battle with the prince for real.
"First take care of these people, then blame their deaths on Ye Liuyun, and after thatâ"
At this point,
Qi Yuanliang could practically picture the scene of Prince Jin, Yan Ze furiously confronting Ye Liuyun.
Luckily, Qi Yuanliang was in good spirits.
He tucked away his smile, face turning somber, and stealthily slipped into the banditsâ camp.
With Qi Yuanliangâs abilities, taking on a hundred thousand soldiers alone is clearly impossible.
No matter how strong the Innate Realm is, itâs not that ridiculous; maybe if Qi Yuanliang broke through to Grandmaster, then one against a hundred thousand might be possible.
But against a mere couple hundred, thatâs not really an issue.
Howeverâ
What Qi Yuanliang didnât know wasâ
Just as he was about to take action, on the other side, Shi Sheng and Si Nan leading a squad of Embroidered Uniform Guards had already entered Sanquan Mountain.
Theyâd also found another bandit stronghold.
But this stronghold was much larger than the one Qi Yuanliang had chosen.
Probably a thousand men inside.
"What do we do next?"
Glancing toward the direction of the stronghold, Shi Sheng looked meaningfully at Si Nan at his side.
Though the two bickered often, neither really giving way to the other,
When it came to actual business, Shi Sheng was well aware of his own limitsâhe knew he couldnât match Si Nan in strategy, and this task was critical for their lord; they couldnât afford even the slightest mistake.
So Shi Sheng opted to follow Si Nanâs plan.
"Itâs simple!"
This time, Si Nan didnât take the opportunity to mock Shi Sheng,
But seriously began to analyze the situation.
"The lord wants the commotion to be bigâlots of witnesses. Iâm thinking weâll set a fire, but, with so many people here, can we really manage it?"
If the fire hasnât started yet,
With all these people in the stronghold, stopping us would be easy.
"So, we just need to fight!"
After listening all that time, Shi Shengâs takeaway was one word.
Fight!
"You light the fire, Iâll take care of the fighting. Leave it to me!"
And when it comes to this sort of thing...
Shi Sheng really didnât know the meaning of âchicken out.â
"Be careful. Try not to die."
Before things kicked off, Si Nan paused, then gave a reminder.
"Relax, even if you die, Iâm not going anywhere."
"Hmph!"
What a damn smooth talker.
Si Nan shot Shi Sheng an annoyed look, but didnât say more. Waving his hand, he ordered all the men behind him.
"Prepare to move!"
...
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The fireworks over the lake kept erupting.
Brilliant colors lit up the originally pitch-black night sky, making it glow fiercely bright.
Up in the pavilion, Prince Jin, Yan Ze, was effortlessly socializing with every guest; that beaming expression showed he was clearly enjoying himself.
After a while, he walked over to Ye Liuyunâs spot.
Apparently only just now noticing Ye Liuyun had come alone, he asked offhandedly,
"By the way, where are the other Embroidered Uniform Guards?"
Heâd only planned on recruiting Ye Liuyun, but if he could use this chance to recruit the rest of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, that would be even better, wouldnât it?
Finally, he brought it up.
Judging by the time, things ought to be about ready.
If Prince Jin, Yan Ze hadnât asked, Ye Liuyun was actually considering bringing it up himself.
Now that the question had come,
Ye Liuyun shrugged, then feigned indifference as he replied,
"Lord Governor was supposed to come with me, but halfway through, he seemed to get word that there were signs of bandit activity at Sanquan Mountain, so he went alone."
"Sanquan Mountain?"
Prince Jin hadnât paid much attention at first.
But hearing the name Sanquan Mountain, his mind instantly cleared.
"You mean, the Governor who came with you went to Sanquan Mountain?"
Southern Governor, Qi Yuanliangâthese past days, Prince Jin, Yan Ze had gathered some intel about him.
He already knew who was backing him.
So even though Qi Yuanliang was rather capable, Prince Jin never had any thoughts of recruiting him; after all, he wasnât recruitable, so why waste time?
Same goes for this.
Knowing whoâs behind Qi Yuanliang, Prince Jin, Yan Ze was always suspicious of his real purpose for coming to Prince Jin City.
Looking at things now,
Sure enough, it was that person behind the scenes instructing Qi Yuanliang to come investigate his troop deployments.
He hadnât expected them to pick such a dayâcrowds everywhere, distractionsâall to make their move. Quite clever, actually.
Prince Jin, Yan Ze was a smart man.
And smart people are masters at filling in the gaps.
Moreover, they tend to believe their own conclusions.
Prince Jin felt certain he had seen through Qi Yuanliangâs entire plan.
Seeing Prince Jinâs face gradually turn solemn, Ye Liuyun stoked the fire at just the right moment.