Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 134 Schemes and Intrigues

Thirty miles away, the battlefield.

The Eight Vajras were engaged in a fierce battle with the man in black. Although they had the advantage in cultivation, the opponent's battle formation was exquisite, and for a time they were deadlocked.

The situation changed immediately after Zhao Zilong joined the battle.

The Dragon Gallant Silver Spear transformed into a sky full of spear shadows, each strike precisely hitting a key point in the battle formation.

In less than three breaths, the battle formation was broken.

"Puff puff puff—"

Three men in black were pierced by gunfire and died on the spot.

The remaining men in black, seeing the situation was not good, tried to retreat, but how could the Eight Vajras let them go?

Eight long spears formed a spear array, blocking off all sides and trapping all the men in black.

Zhao Zilong swiftly dispatched a black-clad man at the early stage of the Grandmaster realm with a single spear thrust, the spear tip now pressed against his throat.

"Tell me, who sent you?"

The man in black gave a bitter laugh, a trickle of black blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, and then he died.

He committed suicide by poisoning himself!

The remaining men in black also committed suicide one after another. In the blink of an eye, all thirty-odd people were dead, with no survivors.

Zhao Zilong frowned: "A suicide squad."

Wang Meng, one of the Eight Vajras, said:

"General Zhao, these people's martial arts techniques... seem somewhat familiar."

"Like the methods of 'Shadow Assassins'." Another Vajra Zhou passage:

"Shadow Assassins is an assassin organization secretly cultivated by the Cui family, specializing in dirty work."

Zhao Zilong nodded: "It seems the Cui family is in a hurry."

Just then, a muffled sound came from the sky.

Everyone looked up and saw the clouds burst open, and two figures fell from the sky.

One of them was a man in black robes, his breathing disordered, and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

The other was Li Chunfeng, holding a battle flag and smiling.

"Bang!"

The man in black robes crashed heavily to the ground, creating a large crater.

He tried to get up, but he was bound by countless rune chains and could not move.

Li Chunfeng landed gracefully and laughed:

"You've been hiding your true abilities quite well, but unfortunately your skills in array formations are lacking."

The man in black robes stared intently at Li Chunfeng:

"Are you Li Chunfeng?"

"Not bad!" Li Chunfeng smiled slightly.

"Your cultivation is at the early stage of the Celestial Realm, yet you are willing to be a lackey of the Cui family. What a pity."

"I am not a member of the Cui family!" the man in black roared.

"Oh?" Li Chunfeng raised an eyebrow. "Then you are...?"

Before he finished speaking, a fierce glint flashed in the black-robed man's eyes, and his body suddenly swelled up.

"Oh no! He's going to self-destruct!" Zhao Zilong's expression changed.

Li Chunfeng remained calm and composed. With a wave of his array flag, countless rune chains tightened, forcefully pressing the black-robed man's swollen body back down.

"Playing the self-destruct game in front of me?" Li Chunfeng shook his head. "You underestimate me too much."

He reached out and touched the black-robed man's forehead, and a restriction was sent into his sea of ​​consciousness.

The man in black robes stiffened, the light in his eyes quickly dimmed, and he eventually fell unconscious.

Zhao Zilong breathed a sigh of relief: "Mr. Li, you have excellent skills."

"A mere trifle," Li Chunfeng laughed.

"Take him back; the Lord must have many questions for him."

……

Beside the carriage.

The man in black robes was thrown to the ground, still unconscious.

Lin Chen squatted down and carefully examined the man in black robes.

This person was about fifty years old, with an ordinary appearance, the kind of person you wouldn't notice in a crowd.

But there was a strange black rune between his brows, faintly radiating a chilling aura.

"Mr. Li, can this restriction be lifted?" Lin Chen asked.

Li Chunfeng nodded: "Yes, but it will take time."

This person has been cursed with a "Soul-Devouring Curse." If their soul is forcibly searched or the curse is broken, their soul will be completely destroyed.

"Soul-Devouring Curse..." Lin Chen frowned. "A method from the Central Plains?"

"It's almost certainly true," Li Chunfeng said.

"This curse is extremely vicious and requires the soul of a living person to be refined. It is rarely circulated in the Eastern Region."

Lin Chen pondered for a moment and said, "Lock him up first and keep a close watch on him. We can interrogate him slowly once we reach the Northern Border."

"Yes."

Two Heavenly Guards stepped forward and dragged the man in black away.

Lin Chen sat back down on the soft couch, lost in thought.

Ye Qingying handed over a newly translated secret report:

"Eighth Brother, news has come from the Bad People that Cui Yuanhao's trusted confidant has secretly left and his whereabouts are unknown."

"Whereabouts unknown?" Lin Chen took the confidential report.

"Leaving the city at this time...is it to seek reinforcements, or is there some other plan?"

Zhuge Liang said, "My lord, there are only three possibilities for Cui Yuanhao to secretly send his trusted confidants away from the city."

First, seek help from the Cui family or other forces in Zhongzhou.

Second, contact Bei Shuo and use him as a tool to kill someone.

Third, they are preparing to ambush us at Falling Eagle Gorge.

"I think it's the third one," Xiao Yulou said.

"The Cui family has been operating in the northern border for many years, so they must have their own trump cards. They generally don't easily send out their main family members."

Qin Shuyan shook her head:

"I think he might do all three. The Cui family and the Duke's mansion are irreconcilable now, so he will definitely go all out."

Lin Chen listened to the three women's analysis and suddenly smiled:

"Whatever they do, we'll deal with whatever comes our way."

Our task now is to keep acting, and act as convincingly as possible.

He looked at Zhuge Liang:

"Mr. Kongming, pass down the order to continue proceeding slowly tomorrow."

In addition, have the cook prepare several good dishes; I'm hosting a banquet tonight to entertain the 'frightened' Manager Chen.

Zhuge Liang understood: "I understand."

……

As night fell, the campfires illuminated the camp.

Lin Chen hosted a banquet in the commander's tent to entertain Chen Ping.

With the Eight Great Vajras as our companions, we drank three rounds of wine and ate five dishes.

Chen Ping was clearly still shaken, but seeing Lin Chen chatting and laughing, he gradually relaxed.

"Lord Duke, what about those assassins today..." Chen Ping asked tentatively.

"It's nothing." Lin Chen waved his hand.

"The Cui family is just desperate, Manager Chen. Don't worry, now that you've pledged allegiance to me, I will protect you."

"Thank you, Duke!" Chen Ping said gratefully.

The banquet lasted until late at night.

After Chen Ping was drunkenly helped away by the Heavenly Guards to rest, the drunkenness on Lin Chen's face vanished instantly.

He stepped out of the command tent, gazing at the northern starry sky with a profound look in his eyes.

Qin Shuyan and the other two women followed him out and stood behind him.

"Eighth brother, what are you thinking about?" Qin Shuyan asked softly.

"I'm thinking about... my father and my seven older brothers," Lin Chen said slowly.

"Three years ago, weren't they also like this, under the starry sky of the North, discussing how to defeat the enemy and how to protect their homeland?"

The three women remained silent.

Ye Qingying suddenly said, "Eighth Brother, you will avenge them."

"Of course." Lin Chen turned around and looked at the three women.

"It's not just about avenging them, but also about restoring the Lin family to the pinnacle of the Great Yan Dynasty."

Let everyone know that the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has never fallen.

He opened his arms and embraced the three women, saying, "It's so good to have you all with me on this journey."

The three women leaned against him, none of them saying a word.

The moonlight cast long shadows of the four people.

In the distance from the camp, Li Bai sat on a treetop, drinking wine and watching this scene with a slight smile.

"A young man's dashing spirit, his concern for his country and the world... Interesting."

He raised his wine gourd to the bright moon and said, "I will accompany you to the very end on this journey."

He raised his head and drank it all in one gulp.

……

A thousand miles away, in Dingbei City, in the secret chamber of the Cui family mansion.

Cui Yuanhao looked at the secret report in his hand, his face grim.

"Thirty elite Shadow Assassins, all wiped out. The Black-Robed Venerable... was captured alive?"

Opposite him, an elderly man in a gray robe said in a deep voice:

"Second Master, Lin Chen has Li Chunfeng, a master of celestial array formations, by his side. The black-robed Venerable was careless and fell into an ambush."

"Useless!" Cui Yuanhao slammed the secret report on the table. "Those from Zhongzhou are nothing special!"

The old man in the gray robe said in a low voice:

"Second Master, what do we do now? Lin Chen will arrive at the Northern Border in half a month, what about our plan..."

"The plan remains the same." A ruthless glint flashed in Cui Yuanhao's eyes.

"How are the preparations for Falling Eagle Gorge going?"

"The three late-stage Grandmasters and three thousand elite warriors have arrived," the gray-robed elder said.

"If Lin Chen dares to leave Eagle Gorge, he will never return!"

Cui Yuanhao nodded: "Also, how's the contact with Beishuo going?"

"Wanyan Honglie has agreed to deploy a large army outside Luoying Gorge to cut off Lin Chen's retreat," the gray-robed elder said.

"This time, Lin Chen has no chance of escape!"

"Fine!" Cui Yuanhao sneered.

"Lin Chen, Lin Chen, do you really think the Northern Territory is still your Lin family's territory?"

It's been three years; this place has long since belonged to the Cui family!

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the night sky.

"The revenge for my third brother, the humiliation suffered by the Cui family... this time, I will avenge them all!"

The room was filled with murderous intent.

At that moment, the sound of even breathing could be heard coming from Lin Chen's carriage.

He was fast asleep, his arms around his three wives.

In his dream, he saw his father and seven older brothers.

They stood on the northern city walls, smiling and waving at him.

"Chen'er, the Lin family is now in your hands."

Lin Chen nodded in his dream.

"Don't worry, leave it to me."