I Am Immortal in Great Yu

Chapter 167: Chapter 71: Blossoms

County Magistrate’s Office.

Zuo Boyang burst through the door. ”Master Zhen, something terrible has happened! There’s trouble at the Xia Family!”

”Oh?”

Zhen Yi didn’t even lift his head, continuing to review a document. His heart was calm, his hand steady. ”Don’t panic, Bo Yang. Speak slowly.”

”Master Zhen, according to our spies inside the Xia Mansion, the servants and the Nursing Home have all suddenly collapsed... Another spy saw the heads of the Xia Family’s first and second branches—two Fifth Grade Martial Artists—and a group of Sixth Grade Martial Artists go over, but all that followed were screams... After that, chaos erupted. It was a river of blood!”

”Most importantly, one of the spies saw from a distance that the one who attacked the Xia Family was a single person, who didn’t look very old!”

Zuo Boyang’s face was a mask of unconcealable panic. ”To take down the Xia Family single-handedly... it’s almost certain this person is at least a Fourth Grade Martial Artist, maybe even one of the Upper Three Grade Martial Artists!”

Just as Fang Rui expected, some fish had indeed slipped through the net. Among them were three or five spies from the Taiping Army, and it wasn’t hard for them to send out a message after the incident.

After all, as powerful as Fang Rui was individually, he couldn’t possibly monitor the entire, sprawling Xia Family estate.

”The Upper Three Grades?!”

Zhen Yi’s wrist trembled, smearing the ink on the document before him, but he paid it no mind. He snapped his head up and stared at Zuo Boyang.

”Master Zhen?!”

In Zuo Boyang’s eyes, his master had always been the picture of wisdom and composure, someone who wouldn’t be fazed even if the sky were falling. He had never seen Zhen Yi so shaken.

Zhen Yi’s shock was certainly justified.

Like Fang Rui, he despised variables, especially one of this magnitude.

’For someone like me, who sees the whole board and strives for complete control, variables are the most detestable thing. It’s just like this moment: a low-level game, suddenly interrupted by a top-tier player who, all by himself, has thrown the entire board into disarray. How are we supposed to play now?!’

”Master Zhen? Master Zhen?” Zuo Boyang had to call out twice before Zhen Yi snapped out of his daze.

”The Upper Three Grades... that would require... In any case, it’s impossible! It must be a Fourth Grade Peak master who has achieved Great Success in two or three Martial Arts. With the help of drugs, that would be enough to take down the Xia Family.”

As expected of Zhen Yi, despite his lapse in composure, he calmed down within moments and deduced the truth.

”How are the security measures I ordered being carried out?” he asked grimly.

”We’ve been following your instructions exactly. The countersign changes daily; the terrain has been modified to make it easier to encircle and kill Martial Artists; our elite Armored Soldiers are in ambush positions, ready for battle at a moment’s notice; and for the food, we have a Physician examining everything. Any abnormality will be reported...” Zuo Boyang replied.

”Good. Be extra cautious, especially tonight!”

”Master Zhen, you suspect that person will come here? But how is that possible?!” Zuo Boyang’s eyes widened in shock.

’How would he dare?!’

’After taking down the Xia Family, he’s thinking of attacking the Rebel Army too? Does he fantasize about wiping out the two biggest powers in Changshan City in a single night? Has he gone mad?!’

”Bo Yang, don’t be careless. The more impossible you think something bad is, the more likely it is to happen.”

Zhen Yi had already regained his composure, that air of having everything under control returning to him. ”If that man believes he’s invincible, and thinks to strike where we least expect it, to eliminate both the Xia Family and us in one fell swoop and cleanse Changshan City, then he will come.”

”However, people often stumble when they’re on the rise. If he truly comes with such arrogance, I will be sure to teach him a lesson—one that will cost him his life!”

Zhen Yi stood no chance against a Fourth Grade Peak Martial Artist in a direct fight. But with his advance preparations and a few special tricks of his own, he was eighty to ninety percent confident he could ensure the man would never leave alive.

”Master Zhen, should we send reinforcements to the Xia Family?” Zuo Boyang hesitated for a moment before asking.

His beloved eldest son, Zuo Risheng, was at the Xia Mansion. When he first heard the news, he had almost lost control and charged over there himself, but his reason held back the impulse, and he came to report first.

”That boy Risheng? He was invited to the Xia Family tonight, wasn’t he? I’m aware. But, Bo Yang, you must understand: if Risheng is blessed by fortune, he’ll be fine. If something has happened, it’s already too late for you to go now.”

Zhen Yi thought for a moment, then said, ”How about this. Those new recruits, haven’t they already been trained in formation marching? Have them put on Armor and go reinforce the Xia Family.”

”Remember, no need to make a big show of it with gongs and drums, but no need to be deliberately sneaky either.”

At this, he stood up and gently patted Zuo Boyang’s shoulder. ”If that boy Risheng really is... Bo Yang, if you want revenge, staying here is your best choice.”

”Master Zhen, I understand!”

Zuo Boyang took a deep breath and nodded heavily in agreement.

He wasn’t a fool; a moment’s thought was all it took to understand Zhen Yi’s strategy.

Having the new recruits put on Armor to pose as elite soldiers was a way of feigning weakness, creating the illusion that the County Magistrate’s Office was undefended to lure the enemy in.

Not making a big show of it was to prevent the plan from backfiring, lest the person lurking in the shadows see through it.

And not being deliberately covert was to make it look natural, while also letting the common people see that the Rebel Army was loyal—that when the Xia Family was in trouble, they rushed to their aid.

Of course, this was far more symbolic than practical. As Zhen Yi had said, if the enemy was truly determined, it was already too late.

’I hope he comes!’ Zuo Boyang thought to himself, his hawk-like eyes flashing with furious rage and a towering will to fight.

...

”The Rebel Army is on the move?!”

Fang Rui froze, standing atop a wall as he gazed into the distance.