Chapter 88

"Whatever shall we do? Lord Feng is always unpredictable. He might go to the demon realm today and return tomorrow. If Fang Yun is really not dead, he will surely kill all of us," one person said.

"What else can we do? We can only kill Fang Yun to vent our anger! I wonder which half-saint is so ruthless, willing to consume the talent of the Holy Temple to secretly harm us all through the monthly *Holy Path* magazine. This *Ode to a Humble Abode* is a rare and inspiring piece of literature. Our principles conflict with this kind of writing, and those who survived must have been very lucky."

"Truly a half-saint's method. This time, at least two out of ten of us will die or become completely demented, and at least five out of ten will have their literary palaces cracked. Fortunately, the demon realm is rich in treasures that can mend our literary palaces, but we don't know when it will be our turn."

"I have been responsible for recording the movements of those human geniuses. I know very well about Fang Yun. A few days ago, Fang Yun and the State Literary Academy's Scholar class went to Mi County to kill demons. According to the schedule, they should return to Dayuan Prefecture today. We only need to ambush them on the road from Mi County to Dayuan Prefecture and kill him."

"Should we kill just him or everyone?"

"Since Lord Feng is angry, we must kill everyone. I will immediately gather everyone, regardless of whether their literary palaces are damaged. As long as they can talk about war on paper, everyone must go!"

"Those Scholar class demon-killing teams usually only have three or four candidates. Do we really need everyone?"

"You know Lord Feng's temper. If we don't go all out, and Fang Yun escapes, we will surely die. Since a half-saint used *Ode to a Humble Abode* to harm so many of us, we must take revenge! I will take Lord Feng's order to invite three candidates and all the candidates, and bring two demon generals and ten demon commanders. This is all the strength of Jingcheng Peak. Even if Fang Yun brings the entire Dayuan Prefecture's army, he will surely die."

"Dayuan Prefecture's army commander, Chen Xibi, is only a candidate, and the rest are candidates and scholars. They can't compare to us at Jingcheng Peak. Unless all the officials of Dayuan Prefecture come out, Fang Yun will surely die. The only concern now is Li Wenying and Zhang Poyue."

"Li Wenying and Zhang Poyue are in Yuhai City; they won't be able to come to the rescue in time. Since we are mobilizing all the forces of Jingcheng Peak, this battle must succeed!"

"Then it's settled. The power of the Holy Temple covers nearly twenty miles around the city. We will ambush thirty miles outside Dayuan Prefecture, kill all the Scholar class, and immediately withdraw."

"They will likely arrive in Dayuan Prefecture in the afternoon. We will gather our forces now and set up the ambush in the afternoon! We must fight quickly and decisively!"

Half an hour later, over a hundred rebellious scholars and demons gathered. Among them, three rebellious candidates and two demon generals held the highest status, followed by twenty candidates and ten demon commanders. The rest were scholars and demon soldiers, enough to wipe out an entire prefecture's army.

Soon, these people left Jingcheng Peak and headed for the road from Mi County to Dayuan Prefecture.

Half an hour after they left, a demon eagle landed in the inner courtyard of Jingcheng Peak.

A rebellious scholar walked over, took a piece of paper from the demon eagle's leg, and read that a dragon palace demon turtle had killed people in Lujia Town, and Li Wenying had killed it. Then Li Wenying rushed into the Yangtze River to take revenge.

"Lujia Town is in Mi County, but since Li Wenying took action, it probably has nothing to do with the State Literary Academy's Scholar class. There's no need to inform them." The rebellious scholar said, returning to the house to continue recording and organizing information about the scholars of Jingguo.

Lujia Town was not a bustling place. After the demon turtle and snake demons destroyed part of the town, the entire town was immersed in grief, with almost everyone in mourning.

Just after 11:00 AM, a large convoy of armored ox carts arrived from the southwest. Some of the people on the armored ox carts were survivors of the battle with the demon turtle, while others were reinforcements from Dayuan Prefecture's army and officials.

Some of the armored ox carts were isolated, carrying not only the soldiers who participated in yesterday's battle but also personnel from the Holy Academy's Criminal Hall to prevent these soldiers from talking to outsiders.

Some of the armored ox carts carried the bodies of dead demons, while others carried living demon savages, who were private soldiers of several candidates and Hanlins. Candidates with demon savage private soldiers were rare, but almost everyone at the Hanlin level or higher had them.

On the second armored ox cart, over a dozen officials and a respected old Hanlin, Wen Zhenghuan, were seated. Fang Yun was also there.

The old Hanlin had previously served as a Minister of Rites but resigned due to ideological differences with the Left Chancellor and retired in Dayuan Prefecture, occasionally guiding younger generations. He was a close friend of Ge Zhounu.

Fang Yun spoke little on the journey, just listening to the officials chat.

In the carriage, there was one Hanlin, eight candidates, and four scholars. Even without using their talent, Fang Yun could faintly sense the talent and primordial energy surging.

Due to Li Wenying's order, no one discussed yesterday's events in detail, only chatting about ordinary things.

However, Ge Zhounu occasionally glanced at Fang Yun and gave his old friend Wen Zhenghuan a look, but the old Hanlin pretended not to see.

Seeing his old friend couldn't bring himself to speak, Ge Zhounu changed the topic and found an excuse, smiling and saying, "Fang Yun, University Scholar Li really values you. Yesterday, I received an official seal red text for assistance and sent the State Literary Academy's high court official, the magistrate of Liuyuan County, and Deputy Commander Xie to reinforce. Soon after, University Scholar Li sent me a message from Yuhai, asking me to personally lead all available forces to reinforce, and to bring people from the Criminal Hall to isolate and ensure your safe return. I knew this was important and was afraid I couldn't do it perfectly, so I invited Old Wen. Old Wen was once a minister and usually has a lot of pride, but he immediately agreed to come when he heard it was to help you."

"Thank you, Lord Ge, and thank you, Hanlin Wen," Fang Yun said respectfully.

Wen Zhenghuan, over seventy years old and still spirited, smiled and said, "Don't be so formal. I was just looking for an excuse to get out and stretch my legs."

Ge Zhounu continued, "Since University Scholar Li has ordered silence, I won't ask about yesterday's events. However, since you are now a Scholar before the Holy, you must be careful in the future. Before the prefectural examination, don't enter the literary academy to avoid being noticed. On the day of the prefectural examination, we will cover for you, and you will definitely pass. This way, those rebellious scholars won't know you are a Scholar before the Holy."

"Thank you, Lord Ge," Fang Yun said.

The old Hanlin Wen Zhenghuan added, "Fengcheng Jue is ruthless. Once you become a candidate, you may face assassination by candidates and demon generals. Be very careful."

Ge Zhounu cleared his throat and said, "Fang Yun, I heard your *Ode to a Humble Abode* manuscript is with Jianmei Gong?"

"Yes," Fang Yun realized. Even if Li Wenying ordered Ge Zhounu to come personally, it didn't make sense to bring the old Hanlin Wen Zhenghuan. He was using Wen Zhenghuan to show his value, aiming for the *Ode to a Humble Abode* manuscript.

"Can I borrow it after Jianmei Gong finishes reading it?"

Fang Yun hesitated, "The *Ode to a Humble Abode* is not a great treasure to me. I have no problem lending it to you, but many people have asked before you, and I don't know who to lend it to first."

Ge Zhounu immediately understood. Fang Yun's words seemed like a refusal but actually indicated he was open to negotiation.

"Since that's the case, I won't force you. It's a pity my talent is limited. Without the *Ode to a Humble Abode*, it's hard for me to become a Hanlin. If someone can help me become a Hanlin, I will treat them as a benefactor." Ge Zhounu's face turned red at the end, as his words were too direct.

Some of the people in the carriage disapproved of Ge Zhounu's behavior, but most understood. After all, becoming a candidate was extremely difficult, and if there was a chance, it was worth asking for help. Once a Hanlin, one could be considered a high-ranking figure in the Ten Kingdoms, with greatly improved status and ability. Whether for fame, profit, or the Holy Path, it was worth going all out.

There was a brief silence in the carriage. Wen Zhenghuan changed the topic, "Since you need to hide your identity as a Scholar before the Holy, you can't participate in this year's Dragon Boat Literary Gathering. What a pity. If nothing goes wrong, our Jingguo will be humiliated by Qingguo again this year."

"It's just a Dragon Boat Literary Gathering. We've lost for so many years; one more year doesn't matter. Fang Yun's safety is more important."

Ge Zhounu said, "Looking at the young scholars of Jingguo, who else can compete with the geniuses of other countries besides Fang Yun? Fang Yun's safety is paramount, and those empty titles are not worth it."

"That's true, but I still can't accept it. We've lost for seventeen years, and another year will make it eighteen."

"Qingguo is despicable! Our Jingguo is surrounded by demon savages, and our national strength is gradually being eroded. Instead of helping, Qingguo takes advantage of us every year, truly a disgrace to the human race!"

"I hope Chen Sheng has successors," Wen Zhenghuan sighed.

The atmosphere in the carriage was heavy. The biggest problem for Jingguo was the lack of successors. If no one could become a Saint within five years, once Chen Guanhai falls, Jingguo would inevitably be swallowed by neighboring Qingguo and Wuguo.

The large convoy stopped outside Lujia Town, and Fang Yun and all the students got off to comfort An Chengcai's family.

They did not tell the truth about An Chengcai and the snake demon, as it would make the people of Lujia Town resent An Chengcai and the snake demon. They only said An Chengcai was eaten by the demon turtle and that he died for the country. They promised that the army would send compensation in three days, and one of his children or nephews could study for free at the county school for three years.

Fang Yun, who didn't have money at the moment, said he would send a thousand taels of silver to An's family in a few days.

The others, unaware that Fang Yun had obtained a fragment of *Peach Blossom Spring*, thought he was giving too much. Fang Yun was helpless; he actually wanted to give more, but too much would be inappropriate, so he could only help An's family in the future.

The fragment of *Peach Blossom Spring* had become part of the Wondrous Books of the World, and even if Fang Yun wanted to turn it over to the Holy Academy, he couldn't. He could only swear to kill more demons and not辜负 the fragment of *Peach Blossom Spring*.

After comforting An's family, the group walked out of town. Lu Yu whispered, "A thousand taels of silver is too much. Many wealthy families don't earn a thousand taels in a year."

"Yes, it's too much," Ning Zhiyuan agreed.

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