Chapter 30

One Year Later.

Swift and decisive, Prince Dongyang gathered the troops of the Water-Taming King, merged them into one force, and advanced like a bamboo shoot splitting its sheath. In just one year, he captured the Yingnan Prefecture, and his army's momentum pointed directly at the Pingshan Prefecture, Zhaoming Prefecture, and even threatened the Xitai Prefecture.

After Prince Dongyang raised his troops to overthrow the false emperor, the false emperor's court was forced to dispatch troops southward, leaving them powerless to suppress the unrest. The four northern prefectures, which had shown signs of stability, were now in chaos.

Pingshan Prefecture, Jiangzhou, Hening County.

A large portion of the refugees who fled from the north stayed in Jiangzhou. They had not expected that after a brief period of peace, Jiangzhou would also be affected by the war, forcing them to flee north again.

Not only the refugees, but also a significant number of local residents in Jiangzhou chose to leave their homes.

Bandits comb like a comb, soldiers comb like a fine-toothed comb.

For ordinary people, what else could they do but flee when natural disasters and human calamities struck?

A long line of people stretched along the road.

Qin Sang, with a blade of grass in his mouth, sat on a stone by the roadside. He wore tattered straw shoes, a coarse cloth robe patched with many patches, and his face and hands were black and dirty. His eyes were dull, and his hair, unwashed for who knows how long, was matted and emitted a foul odor.

Zhou Ning, the water monkey, and another person leaned against the stone, dressed similarly to Qin Sang, making them look like three pitiful refugees.

This person was named Zheng Kun, who had studied martial arts under Bai Jianglan for many years. He was one of the people Qin Sang had met on the boat back then. Now, like the water monkey, he had joined the Blood Robe Tower and become one of Qin Sang's subordinates.

In this year, Qin Sang adhered to principles, and although his contributions were not numerous, his intelligence was accurate. Several key pieces of information helped the army break through key points, and his name was known to the prince.

With the princess covering for him, he quickly rose to a high position in the Blood Robe Tower. He was now one of the deputy hall masters of the military hall, and the position of hall master was left open, reserved for him.

Qin Sang looked up at the sun, silently calculating the time. His seemingly dull gaze was actually always focused on the city gate of Hening County.

This road connected all the way to Duling County in the south. The road was filled with groups of refugees, not just from Hening County, but more from Duling County, who had fled to avoid the disaster.

Prince Dongyang's army was divided into two routes. The western army was personally led by Prince Dongyang, consisting of the main force of the Water-Taming King and the troops he had recruited in Yingnan Prefecture. They had already achieved significant results in Zhaoyang Prefecture.

The eastern army, however, was blocked at the city walls of Duling County and had been in a stalemate with the false emperor's defenders for two months, making no progress.

Duling County was strategically important, historically a key point for military contention, known as the throat of Pingshan Prefecture and Jiangzhou.

Capturing Duling County would leave the entire Jiangzhou without any defensible positions. As the largest and richest of the three prefectures in Pingshan Prefecture, once Jiangzhou fell, it would mean that the fall of Pingshan Prefecture was not far off.

The false emperor frantically mobilized troops, concentrating all the forces of Pingshan Prefecture at Duling County. Despite numerous fierce attacks, the army made no progress and suffered heavy casualties. They then devised a plan to feign an attack while secretly moving troops.

The number of tents in the camp below the city did not decrease, and the attacks continued. At night, two flanking forces were secretly withdrawn, dispersed into the mountains, and moved through small mountain paths to infiltrate the heart of Jiangzhou, launching a surprise attack on Hening County and threatening Jiangzhou City.

Hening County was in the heart of Jiangzhou. With all the troops concentrated at Duling County, the prefecture was left vulnerable. If Hening County fell, the defenders in Duling County would be in a difficult position.

The southern part of Jiangzhou was mountainous, and the Blood Robe Tower had already mapped out the routes. The success of the surprise attack was highly likely.

The two flanking forces were already substantial. If the main force at Duling County refused to come to their aid and instead continued to reinforce, they could hold Hening County, plunder supplies, and cause significant trouble.

Qin Sang, along with Zhou Ning and Zheng Kun, had infiltrated the refugee groups. His task was to reach Hening County as quickly as possible, control the situation, and coordinate with the two flanking forces to open the city gates of Hening County, capturing it in one fell swoop to prevent chaos.

Hening County was clearly on guard. The militiamen and constables at the city gate were on high alert, weapons in hand. Any unidentified refugees who approached were shouted at and driven away, let alone allowed to enter the city.

"It's almost noon, why hasn't Liu Ji arrived yet?"

Qin Sang heard the water monkey complain and looked down. The water monkey was small and thin, with one arm missing. With his current appearance, he looked even more pitiful than the refugees.

Since losing his arm, the water monkey had become more composed, so Qin Sang agreed to take him under his command. However, his nature was hard to change, and he still liked to complain.

The water monkey knew his place, and Qin Sang did not scold him. He said, "Wait another hour. Zheng Kun, you go and keep an eye on those wealthy households distributing porridge. We must enter the city before dark."

Liu Ji was a member of the Blood Robe Tower, originally from Hening County. His ancestors had separated from the Liu clan and joined the Blood Robe Tower. He was arranged to return to Hening County to reconnect with his roots and went undercover with some people.

After arriving in Hening County early in the morning, Qin Sang immediately sent a signal for Liu Ji to bring them into the city, with the latest agreed time being noon.

"Alright!"

Zheng Kun grinned, rolled on the ground, and got up, hunching his back and limping into the refugee queue, waiting for the porridge distribution.

Qin Sang felt that sitting on the stone was too conspicuous, so he jumped down and sat on the ground, instructing the water monkey to keep an eye on the city gate while he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

Mixing with the refugee groups and traveling day and night severely disrupted his cultivation.

Qin Sang knew what was important. Although his duties in the Blood Robe Tower were complex, he never stopped practicing. He had hardly slept for a whole year.

For the past year, Qin Sang had lingered around the battlefield, staying on the outer edges, allowing Yama to collect the souls of the dead.

However, Qin Sang did not know the depth of the Jade Buddha's power and did not dare to let Yama go unchecked. Each time Yama collected a certain number of souls, he would recall him.

With a steady supply of soul pills, Qin Sang's progress was rapid. He was now at the peak of the second level and would soon break through to the third level of the "Yinming Scripture."

As for the "Mingwang Gong," Qin Sang had tried several times but failed to cultivate true qi, confirming his suspicion that the "qi" generated by the "Yinming Scripture" was different from true qi and internal energy.

Since cultivating internal skills would take time away from the "Yinming Scripture," Qin Sang had to give up.

The "Soul-Stealing Spear" and "Shadowless Step" were constantly practiced, and his skills were already quite advanced. He had also chosen several martial arts techniques, and even without the Yama Banner, he could be considered a first-class expert.

At this moment, Qin Sang suddenly heard heavy footsteps approaching. He opened his eyes alertly and saw a person similarly disguised as a refugee.

When the person reached him, Qin Sang frowned and whispered, "Zhang Wenkui, didn't I tell you to stay close to General Wang? Why did you leave on your own?"