Sophia's eyes were cold, and she said angrily, "This man's infiltration and lurking will never succeed. The entire Liang Mansion, even the guards, are comparable to the elite of the Tianri Clan!"
"Oh?" The man in white finally reined in his horse, looked back, and after confirming no one was chasing them, dismounted to rest.
Having shed her Sophia persona, Elara finally felt relieved and sighed, "I understand now. To defeat Liang Xiao, we can only do so on the main battlefield. No matter what, I cannot get close to him!"
"What made you decide to stay away from Liang Xiao?" the man in white asked.
"Fear, and self-awareness," Elara stated frankly. "The number of barbarians killed by our warriors exceeds twenty million, but our clan has never slain three hundred thousand on the main battlefield..."
The man in white remained silent.
Liang Xiao, leading the Great Gan soldiers, had personally beheaded at least five hundred and ten thousand. The news had reached the holy land of the Tianri Clan, striking fear even into the hearts of the Tianri people...
This was on the main battlefield, in open combat, not by the Tianri Clan's slaughter policies, nor by fire or floods!
What kind of elite army was this?
"How are Duan Hong and the others preparing?" Elara asked.
"Liang Xiao doesn't fall for the honey trap. He even publicly threatened that the two Great Zhou women were not allowed to pester him. Surprisingly, the public didn't criticize him; instead, they advised the women to give up, showing how popular he is with the people. A scheme of division is also meaningless," the man in white sighed.
Elara was not angry but chuckled, "Achilles, you should understand now. Compared to thrilling schemes and desperate battles, someone like him, who can nip all hidden dangers in the bud, is true wisdom! It's just that those not in the game cannot comprehend this powerlessness..."
"This is the first time you've acknowledged an enemy. In the past, you treated all enemies with contempt," Achilles remarked, surprised.
Elara took a deep breath, finally shedding her disguise, her face full of dejection. "Before the Great Gan Kingdom recruits enough expeditionary forces, we must return and improve our military equipment. The Tianri Clan and Liang Xiao will inevitably have a war!"
"I heard that the Great Gan Kingdom has a Heavenly General, unparalleled in martial prowess? Liang Xiao is your concern. The invincible name of Achilles will be passed down through generations. I don't bother with schemes and tricks. In this life, I shall compete with the Great Gan Heavenly General," Achilles sneered.
"Perhaps Liang Xiao is also the Heavenly General himself..." Elara seemed to be talking to herself.
Achilles' pupils contracted. "He's only twenty years old, how could he be the Heavenly General? Doesn't martial arts require time?"
Elara turned her head away. "Perhaps as you say, but the Heavenly General must have a very close connection with him, perhaps always operating behind the scenes!"
Achilles rose abruptly, drew his saber, and severed a tree with a five-inch diameter.
Gazing at the tree falling backward, kicking up dust, Achilles' eyes gleamed with ferocity. "Who the Heavenly General is doesn't matter. The invincible name of the Tianri Clan belongs only to the strongest warrior. Even if he were a god, I would slay him under my horse! The Great Zhou Martial Saint killed my ancestor back then; I must have revenge on this land!"
Returning to Liang Mansion, Liang Xiao gently comforted Christa, "She is your sister, but she was merely playing a role for you. Your true family are we and the King of Qiuci."
Christa nodded with tears, "Now I understand why Father insisted on sending me to Great Gan. It turns out the Tianri Clan is far more insidious and treacherous than anyone imagined!"
At this moment, Christa felt only despair for "Sophia."
That man in white was skilled and also a dangerous individual.
"She wanted to endure hardships and bide her time; I didn't give her the opportunity. But I didn't expect her to have a trump card, actually finding her way to the single-plank bridge," Liang Xiao sighed.
Even the confessions of the core disciples of the Huichun Sect, captured by Zuo Jing, only mentioned "pay attention to that Sophia, maintain contact at all times."
Without concrete evidence, he naturally couldn't have shot Sophia immediately, especially since Sophia was Christa's sister.
According to his calculations, after Sophia blew her whistle, six elite cavalrymen should have arrived immediately, pinpointing Sophia's location.
This indicated that these cavalrymen had excellent hearing and vision, and the man in white, in particular, had astonishing reaction speed and was extremely quick to act.
Letting these two escape would lead to endless trouble!
But Liang Xiao was also certain that "Sophia's" reaction speed was not bad, her movements agile, and she was definitely not someone he could have shot down with a single arrow.
Christa timidly offered comfort, "It's good this way. At least we don't have to worry about Xiaoyuer's relationship with her anymore..."
Hearing Christa's reverse psychology comfort, Liang Xiao couldn't help but smile.
To prevent the common people from being deceived, after careful consideration, Liang Xiao still issued a city-wide notice to be wary of women who resembled "Princess Christa."
After all, some of the Liang Mansion's guards knew of Sophia's existence, and the common people might also know.
And Christa generally did not approach the common people casually, so there was no worry of misunderstanding.
After the full moon banquet, Mu Xueqin decided to continue leading her people to look after Liang Xiao's wife and children. Jian Nanfeng, with the Qin Saint mother and daughter, took their leave from Liang Xiao's family.
Liu Yunzi accepted Jian Nanfeng's invitation and also prepared to migrate to Tianshan with his disciples and grandchildren.
"Little brother, keep up the good work. Even if I meet my ancestors in the future, old brother can boast a bit," Liu Yunzi said playfully before leaving, astounding his disciples and grandchildren.
The matters in Yanzhou were settled. It was now early August. After ensuring his children were comfortable, Liang Xiao finally felt at ease to take his family back to the capital.
Meanwhile, Liang Yun had already fled to Luzhou with his guards and sought an audience with Li Xiuyun, the Prefect of Luzhou, to report the situation in Xichuan.
"There are too many Huichun Sect members lurking in Xichuan; business is impossible!" Liang Yun complained with frustration.
In his more than a year in Xichuan, he had earned hundreds of thousands of taels. However, he couldn't take the real estate with him, and in the end, after accounting for everything, he only profited a hundred thousand taels!
Li Xiuyun sighed, "The successive demise of prominent families in Xichuan, such as the Xichuan Jian Clan and Xichuan Shi Clan, is related to the Huichun Sect. For now, the only solution is for the imperial court to send reinforcements to guard Xichuan, supplemented by the Marquis of Anguo's 'Refuting the Huichun Sect' to educate the populace misled by the Huichun Sect."
The chaos in the world began in Shu before the world was in turmoil. The world is easy to pacify, but Sichuan is difficult to pacify, precisely because Xichuan is easy to defend and difficult to attack, making it too easy to form separatist regimes.
And the forces loyal to the Son of Heaven in the Xichuan region accounted for less than half. The closer to the southwest, the more severe warlord separatism became.
If even this part were to fall...
Liang Yun still felt a lingering fear and decided to move his business to the Jiangnan region.
Luzhou did not have enough troops to support Xichuan; it would rely on other regions in Jiangnan, as well as reinforcements from the north and west.
Just as the two were conversing, another urgent report arrived from outside: "Prefect, a person claiming to be the head of the Ye family in Xichuan has arrived with a large number of ancient books, seeking official protection!"
Li Xiuyun immediately stood up, "Head of the Ye family? Is it the great Confucian scholar of Xichuan, Ye Chong?"
"Precisely!"
Li Xiuyun was greatly surprised and rushed out immediately.
A slightly stooped old man with white hair and beard, originally looking weary, finally relaxed after Li Xiuyun rushed over and introduced himself.
"I am Ye Chong. I implore Lord Li to dispatch guards to escort six hundred ancient books to the capital!"