Chapter 73

At this moment, a strange and mechanical voice appeared in Liu Yao's mind.

"Ding!! The task to fight the Yellow Turbans has been activated. Task one: Kill Zhang Jue, reward: ten draws. Task two: Kill Zhang Bao, reward: five draws. Task three: Kill Zhang Liang, reward: five draws. Task four: Capture the Yellow Turbans, reward: a minimum of one draw for every ten thousand captured, with an additional draw for every additional ten thousand. Currently, the host has three draws remaining. Since this is the host's first task, there will be no penalty for failure. Would the host like to accept the task?"

Liu Yao was startled by the voice but quickly regained his composure. This was probably the voice of the ancient book, which had gained the ability to speak in his mind due to an upgrade.

Liu Yao then felt a surge of excitement. This was his first task! And the rewards were so generous, with the first three tasks alone offering twenty draws. This was more than double what Liu Yao had accumulated before.

Suddenly, Liu Yao thought of something, frowned, and asked in his mind, "Ancient book, does the killing have to be done by me personally? And what if the target dies of illness?"

"Any death caused by the host or the host's subordinates counts. Death from illness does not count," the cold, emotionless voice replied.

Hearing this, Liu Yao felt a mix of joy and worry. He was glad he didn't have to do the killing himself, which would save him a lot of trouble. However, he was concerned that Zhang Jue would die in October, and it was already mid-September. If Liu Yao couldn't capture Guangzong within a month and a half, the task would fail. The most critical issue was that Liu Yao had no good plan to capture Guangzong.

Liu Yao shook his head helplessly and sighed in his mind, "I'll just let it be. If I can't get the reward for Zhang Jue, so be it."

"Ancient book, I accept all four tasks," Liu Yao said to himself. After all, there was no penalty for the first task, so there was no reason not to accept it. Even if he failed, nothing would happen.

There was another "ding," and the ancient book's voice disappeared from Liu Yao's mind.

"Someone!! Lock Lu Zhi up for me," a loud voice startled Liu Yao.

He then noticed that two of Zuo Feng's guards were chaining Lu Zhi. Lu Zhi's face showed resignation, and he allowed himself to be bound. His guards looked on in anger, watching as Lu Zhi was humiliated by the eunuch. Some of the guards were about to intervene, but Lu Zhi's glare stopped them.

"What are you doing? Don't act rashly. The innocent will be clear, and the guilty will be exposed. I have done nothing wrong, and I can explain everything in Luoyang. The emperor will see the truth. If you act, you will make me look unrighteous," Lu Zhi scolded, glancing at Zuo Feng.

"Sir," the guards called out in sorrow and stepped back, not daring to act further.

Zuo Feng, feeling both intimidated and guilty, looked at Liu Yao. Not only was Liu Yao of high status, but Zuo Feng had also falsely reported Liu Yao's words earlier. Zuo Feng whispered, "Your Highness, isn't this against the rules? He is the emperor's wanted man."

"Your Highness, I am fine. You don't need to defy the imperial order for my sake," Lu Zhi also advised.

"This..." Liu Yao hesitated for a moment but finally nodded in agreement. Of course, this was just for show. He had a small part in Lu Zhi's arrest and escort back to the capital.

Liu Yao then turned to Zuo Feng and said coldly, "Listen to me. On the way to the capital, you must not chain or shackle Lu Zhi. You must treat him well. If I find out you haven't, hmmm!!"

"Yes, I will do as you say," Zuo Feng said humbly. His original plan to torment Lu Zhi on the journey to vent his anger was now forgotten.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Lu Zhi said gratefully. "Please take care of the Yellow Turban rebels in Guangzong. I am useless and cannot complete the emperor's task. But I believe that with your abilities, you can pacify the Yellow Turbans and bring peace to the Han dynasty."

"I will do my best," Liu Yao said firmly.

Lu Zhi was then escorted away by Zuo Feng, leaving Guangzong for Luoyang. The guards and Liu Bei watched him go with mixed feelings. The guards were genuinely concerned for Lu Zhi, while Liu Bei was worried about losing his patron.

At this moment, Liu Bei walked up to Liu Yao and said, "Your Highness, I am also preparing to leave."

Liu Yao frowned and asked, "Why are you leaving, Xuande? Is there something wrong?"

Liu Bei shook his head and said calmly, "I came here to help my teacher. Now that he has been framed, I have no reason to stay."

Liu Yao narrowed his eyes at Liu Bei, admiring his alertness. He had planned to "entertain" Liu Bei, but Liu Bei had already decided to leave when he saw the situation turn bad. Liu Yao couldn't force him to stay.

"Is that so? If that's the case, I won't try to keep you. I won't see you off," Liu Yao said casually and turned back to his tent without another word.

Liu Bei and Guan Yu left the camp with some reluctance.

"Brother, are we really just leaving like this? How will you earn merit and get rid of your commoner status?" Guan Yu said, feeling frustrated. He knew Liu Bei had great ambitions, but leaving would make everything a mere talk.

"Yun Chang, we can't stay. Even if we did, do you think Liu Yao would let us earn merit? It would be a courtesy if he didn't target us every day. It's better to leave early than to live in constant fear," Liu Bei said helplessly.

"Where are we going now, Brother?" Guan Yu asked.

Liu Bei thought for a moment and said, "We'll take it one step at a time. I've heard that there are still many Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou. Let's go there and see if there's an opportunity."

"Alright, I'll follow Brother wherever you go," Guan Yu said firmly. The two then set off for Qingzhou.

On the other side, Liu Yao and Shi A were heading to the main tent.

"Shi A, send twenty elite assassins to kill Liu Bei and Guan Yu," Liu Yao said viciously. Although he knew that Liu Bei and Guan Yu were skilled warriors and assassination might not work, he still wanted to try. If it succeeded, it would be the best outcome, eliminating a great enemy. Even if it failed, it wouldn't matter.

"Understood," Shi A said and left to carry out the assassination.

Liu Yao then sent his guards to summon Guo Jia, Zhang Fei, and others to discuss the four tasks. He needed to find the best way to complete them.