Chapter 27

The Xichong Incident caught both the Shunqing Prefecture and the Shunqing Prince’s Estate completely off guard. Their entire military force, including the estate’s guards, had already been deployed to the east of the Jialing River to defend against the sweeping peasant uprisings. At this critical juncture, a key personnel arrangement made by Zhu Pingjin proved its worth.

Li Hai’s family lived in the parlor partition. Compared to the main and secondary bedrooms, the parlor was the largest area, capable of accommodating two beds and two wardrobes. Yet, this largest room was no more than seventeen or eighteen square meters.

In their tender moments of parting, he would wrap his arms around her waist, and she would stand on her tiptoes, brushing her lips gently against his before turning to leave.

After holding Li Xiang for a while, Wu Qi released her, rose to go to the washroom, freshened up, changed his clothes, and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

"My purpose in coming here was to bring him into the plan, and since he has done as I wished, I must naturally return. Besides, there is still a matter back home that requires a conclusion." Wang Xuehai was calm and collected, as if everything were within his grasp.

Last night, He Choukou received orders from the General Staff to report immediately to Chen Youfu and Luo Jingyun at Sanhui Town, though no details were provided. Impatient, he donned his armor and, taking his guards with him, set out from Yingshan County.

"I... I really don't know!" The driver truly wished he were dead; he never imagined that simply driving a car would lead to such a mess.

No! Zhu Pingjin quickly withdrew his fierce gaze and replaced it with a warm, friendly look directed at Liao Daheng.

Li Li said that the newly modified muskets had been tested by the Shuangliu County village defense force under the Garrison Rent Collection Bureau, and the results were excellent.

The irregular serve appeared somewhat similar to the twist serve, but compared to it, its destructive power was greater and more ferocious.

"Who took a fancy to her?" Ding Che finally reached his limit and slammed his fist onto the table. The poor table shuddered, the entire surface collapsed, and the collateral damage was absolute—the teapot and cups did not escape, sliding off to shatter on the floor with a rhythmic clatter.

These were extraordinary times; until Fan Dai returned from her inspection, she would not risk letting Fan Tong leave Dongdong and Luo.

After Huang Yuechun settled everyone in, he arranged to pick them up by car early the next morning, volunteering to be their part-time guide so they wouldn't need to hire one.

***

"Looking for whom? For what? Are you sure you didn't go to the wrong room? This is a man's room!" Qin Guan stood in the doorway, his sleepiness chased away, and his attitude was naturally less than pleasant.

After He Hua left, Duan Lang felt incredibly weary. It was the effect of the calming incense emanating from the wooden structure of the bed; feeling deeply relaxed, he drifted into a hazy slumber.

Luo tilted her head to look at him, a warmth flickering in her eyes. She slowly closed them, greedily savoring the gentle touch on the back of her hand, only being pulled back to reality when she heard his soft, gentle question.

After Fu Changfeng and Lingxi were seated and the staff had fastened their seatbelts, their journey of extreme flight began.

Black, shimmering metal wings snapped open like a bolt of lightning piercing the vast sky. The black spear in Ye Yu’s hand struck instantly, shattering a White Crane star-mech head-on.

This man understood nothing; they had long forgotten the ancient knowledge of the planes passed down by their ancestors. They no longer knew where they had come from, and to him, the bat-dragon from just before felt no different from any other.

Fang Shaoqing was secretly alarmed. This was the first time his subordinates had suffered such heavy casualties under his command; his undefeated White Crane team was on the verge of being routed by the enemy.

Of course, through this brief exchange, Xue Fei could see that Ouyang Jinxiu had not let him go. He did not know if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

With little health remaining and his internal energy nearly exhausted, Tusha nodded and slowly closed his eyes, awaiting the coming of death.

Wang Jie turned back and smiled, saying, "Yes, that's right, it's the Armed Forces Department. Follow me; it will be safe." They turned several corners inside the courtyard and entered an underground pipe.

"Uh... Mom, you noticed?" Li Junming felt somewhat awkward. Although Dongfang Yu hadn't explicitly exposed him, her words were blunt enough that he could not deny it.

"Wait... old man, hand over our captain." Zero fitted the Six-Crown Heavenly Thunder Cannon onto his right hand and aimed it at the white-haired old man.

Lin Yang felt a sharp pain in his head and simultaneously heard a roar as the primordial spirit retreated once more. Yet, a faint but gentle wave of mental energy swept across his consciousness.

***

Chen Yue was greatly alarmed. Suddenly, a ball of silver light erupted from her sleeves, and thirty-two beams of light traced colorful arcs, simultaneously meeting the darkest point of the shadow.

Lin Yang realized with a start, shouting, "So it was you all along!" For the past few days, he had vaguely sensed someone investigating him in the dark. Moreover, the person had warned him twice, and he had been unable to figure out who it could be. He never expected it to be a senior disciple sent by Yuan Ziyi.

He Meng and Ming Yitian turned their heads to the right simultaneously; a red sports car appeared right before them.

Even if one took a step back and assumed the Li family could control it, there is no such thing as an airtight wall; news would eventually leak. With the capabilities of netizens, the truth would be dug up sooner or later. Never underestimate the curiosity of internet users.

"Very well, I agree to be a guest at your Holy See, but you must also show the sincerity required to put our minds at ease," Li Qingyuan said.

This plan was extremely sound; even if some armies refused to obey the Empire’s orders, we could subdue them one by one and force them to serve us.

Mo Feng could not believe it; the strategist he had summoned this time was his favorite, "The Prodigal" Guo Jia.

With a significant disparity in equipment, the Swordmaster—whose ultimate ability had finished cooling down—combined with Teemo, had a decent chance of winning a fight against Jax, Blitzcrank, and Malphite.

No matter what they said, he simply ignored them. Xu Yecheng was the most worried about this matter; Wang Qi’s evidence was too comprehensive, and his attitude was so firm that everyone who tried to intercede for the two children was met with a cold shoulder.