Chapter 301: Chapter 256: Surprise Attack
"This time, being captured by Your Excellency, I am willing to admit defeat," Situ Zhi stated straightforwardly. "I will voluntarily remove the Suzhou Gu Poison, tidy up the remaining mess, and ensure it no longer affects either side of Yu Country in Jiangnan. In return, Your Excellency will release me and my disciple. I will provide the addresses of half of the Zhu Gu Demons capable of releasing a large number of Gu worms, so your people can excavate and destroy them. Once we reach a safe place, I will send a letter disclosing the addresses of the remaining Zhu Gu Demons. Hereafter, I will never set foot on Yu Country’s soil, nor harm the citizens of Yu Country. To prove my sincerity, you are free to use the Mutated Object from the Academic Palace East Lord Tower, the Oath Spear, as a witness."
The Oath Spear. Shen Tuyu’s eyelids twitched. He was a disciple of the Academic Palace, several generations senior to Xi Yangyu, and had almost become a member of the Academic Palace Patrol, but due to excessive laziness, he was not chosen. It was only after he became an Imperial Palace Tributor that he had the privilege to access more secrets of the Academic Palace East Lord Tower and learned about those Mutated Objects buried deep underground.
The Oath Spear itself appeared as a plain stone spear, with a wooden shaft and a stone tip, stained with dried blood. It had existed since before the Yin Shang era. Its effects had been discovered early on. After cutting one’s palm with the spear, any willingly made oath had to be fulfilled. Otherwise, the individual would suffer unbearable pain as their body gradually disintegrated and dissipated, literally turning to dust, body and soul annihilated. The ancient Royal Family used it to select Death Soldiers absolutely loyal to the Emperor. Even now in Yu Country, it was used to imprison the most troublesome and difficult criminals, and even demons.
Should he agree? Shen Tuyu’s eyes flickered, and he slowly said, "How can I know that what you say is true?"
Situ Zhi quietly breathed a sigh of relief, speaking rapidly, "Shannan West Road, Quzhou, five li south of the city, beneath the river embankment. Capital Province, Yingyang, three li east of the city, beneath the culvert. Huainan Dao, Chen State, in the well water on the north side of the city center. These are the locations of three Zhu Gu Demons. Your Excellency can use the Nearby Worm to notify Chang’an and various local authorities. They can send people to check and find out whether what I say is true or false. In the eyes of commoners, a Gu Master is an existence that incurs heavenly wrath and public indignation; one must secure a few guarantees for one’s own survival. As it concerns my life, I would not lie."
Shen Tuyu remained suspended in place, pondering for a long time, then slowly nodded. "Alright."
He controlled the Sword Light Cage with his right hand, while his left reached inside his robe and pulled out a delicate Thousand Paper Crane. Seeing the Thousand Paper Crane, Situ Zhi’s expression slightly relaxed. This type of Thousand Paper Crane was a communication method used only by a few high-level cultivators in Yu Country. It carried messages, flying directly to the intended recipient. Although slower than methods like the Communication Copper Plate, it was precise and without error.
Shen Tuyu scribbled something on the Thousand Paper Crane, as if finalizing the conditions discussed with Situ Zhi. Then, in the next instant, this Imperial Palace Tributor suddenly erupted. His right fist clenched fiercely, and the Sword Light Cage instantly contracted to its limit. Countless sword lights completely pierced through the shoulders and ankles of Situ Zhi and his disciple Yu Shi.
"You..." Situ Zhi was shocked and startled. He realized that Shen Tuyu had not intended to kill him; these sword lights merely blocked the pathways of Situ Zhi’s Spirit Veins, reducing the efficiency of his Spiritual Energy circulation to one-tenth of its original.
Before he could react, ripples stirred in the air behind Situ Zhi. A man in armor with short hair and military attire emerged from midair. He violently thrust a metal hook through Situ Zhi’s scapula and locked stone shackles onto Situ Zhi’s wrists and ankles.
A Martial Arts Grandmaster?! A sneak attack?! Situ Zhi was both shocked and furious. The abundant qi and blood of the military-clad man felt like a scorching fire against the Gu Worms on his skin. The stone shackles he was locked in also quickly suppressed his remaining Spiritual Power. Gu Masters excelled at clandestine scheming and were inherently inept at frontal confrontation. First, a higher-ranked Sword Master had locked onto his qi. Then, a Martial Arts Grandmaster, moving far faster than Situ Zhi could react, ambushed him at close range, leaving him with absolutely no chance to counter.
Was it a Deputy Commander from the garrison, or an Imperial Palace Tributor...? Situ Zhi had no time to think further. Using the last bit of Spiritual Power in his Spirit Veins, he activated the Gu Worms hidden within his body.
BUZZ—
Countless tiny Gu Worms flew about in a frenzy, yet not to harm Shen Tuyu or the unidentified Martial Arts Grandmaster, nor to envelop Situ Zhi for one last struggle. Instead, all the Gu Worms dived down, swarming over the body of Yu Shi, who was beside Situ Zhi, engulfing him completely. In just a moment, the mass of Gu Worms collapsed, shrunk, and vanished from the spot. Clearly, Situ Zhi had used some Secret Technique to teleport Yu Shi away.
The situation was extremely dire. Shen Tuyu had no time to concern himself with the pale-haired, fair-skinned youth. He brought two fingers together, pinching a slender Golden Needle covered in dense runes, and thrust it directly into Situ Zhi’s brow.
SSS—
The Golden Needle penetrated Situ Zhi’s forehead, emitting a faint glow. All of Situ Zhi’s Spiritual Energy circulation, even his mind and thoughts, came to a halt under the influence of the Golden Needle.
"Phew..." Shen Tuyu let out a long sigh of relief, wiping a bit of cold sweat from his forehead. Regardless of whether Situ Zhi’s statements about the Zhu Gu Demons were true or false, Shen Tuyu could now breathe a little easier. Under the influence of the Golden Needle, Situ Zhi had stopped thinking and couldn’t send any commands to activate the Zhu Gu Demons.
As for what came next, the interrogation experts from the garrison, who specialized in dealing with cultivators, along with the Doctors from the Academic Palace East Lord Tower, would surely pry the locations of all Zhu Gu Demons from Situ Zhi’s mouth. They would then eliminate this catastrophe, which was also immensely troublesome and thorny for Yu Country.
"I forgot to tell you the iron rule of the Li Yu Royal Family—we never negotiate with Gu Masters," Shen Tuyu said indifferently to Situ Zhi’s rigid body, then turned to look at the military-clad man who had suddenly appeared. It was Che Chong, Deputy Commander of the Jiangnan Road garrison.
"This time, I owe Brother Che a great deal. Otherwise, there was a real chance this scoundrel might have gotten away. It would have been truly embarrassing to face His Majesty in Chang’an then."
"To serve the Emperor who provides for you," Che Chong responded lightly, his face displaying an unhealthy purplish-red hue. He suppressed his breathing, quickly took a pill from a bamboo tube at his waist, and swallowed it.
Situ Zhi had misjudged. Che Chong was not a Martial Arts Grandmaster. In the garrison, only Commander Lin Hongbo and the two Deputy Commanders from Jingji Road and Guanei Road were of the Grandmaster Realm. Che Chong was still an Innate Martial Artist, just one step away from the Grandmaster Realm. He had just taken a forbidden drug to temporarily accelerate the circulation of his qi and blood, making himself appear as a Grandmaster.
Shen Tuyu silently watched as Che Chong’s complexion returned to normal. As an Imperial Tributor, he usually didn’t interact much with the garrison and thus wasn’t in a position to comment on such prevalent drug-taking behavior within their ranks. Putting it nicely, it was pursuing objectives at any cost. Putting it harshly, it was harming the body, trading the future for the present.
"My duty is to guard Jiangnan Road, so I cannot be spared. The task of escorting Situ Zhi back to Chang’an will have to trouble Esteem Shen Tu," Che Chong said slowly, pausing for a moment. "As for Situ Zhi’s escaped disciple, he teleported using a Secret Technique. He is definitely still nearby in Jiangnan Road, not too far. We will investigate and hunt him down to completely eradicate this evil. We will also investigate the unidentified cultivator who made the strange sounds earlier, alerting us."