Stealing the Pen: Kirin's Primordial Lotus

Chapter 569

Xie Yuchen stood on the top of the mountain at the palace gate, his figure as straight as a pine tree. In his hand, he held tightly an exquisite telescope, through which he could see all the actions of the Chongwu Camp in the private courtyard below the mountain.

In the private courtyard, Zhen Mei, the commander of the Chongwu Camp, was training the soldiers. Xie Yuchen was clearly observing every move of them.

"Palace Master Zishang, the weapon you recently researched with the people from the Back Mountain Flower Palace can finally be put to use." Xie Yuchen handed the Clairvoyance in his hand to Gong Zishang beside him, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a hint of confidence.

Gong Zishang took the Clairvoyance and looked towards the Chongwu Camp at the foot of the mountain, a glimmer of anticipation in her eyes. However, as her gaze swept across the Jiuchen Valley, a trace of worry welled up in her heart.

"What about the residents in the Old Dust Valley?" Gong Zishang frowned and asked worriedly.

Although she was confident in her newly developed weapons, she was absolutely unwilling to use the lives of innocent people as experimental subjects.

Xie Yuchen seemed to have anticipated her question. He simply glanced at her calmly, then slowly said, "The Yuanzheng team should have already dealt with those outside the valley. Now we just need a bait to lure those inside out. Then, you can dispatch the palace guards to escort those civilians away and ensure their safety."

Gong Zishang's worries eased slightly after hearing Xie Yuchen's words. She understood Xie Yuchen's plan, and although it was a bit risky, it should be successful as long as it was handled properly.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Young Master Xie!" Gong Zishang gazed at Xie Yuchen with gratitude, her eyes revealing deep gratitude. Then, she resolutely turned around and began methodically dispatching the palace guards, making final preparations for the upcoming plan.

As she turned to leave, Gong Zishang couldn't help but look back, her gaze once again landing on Xie Yuchen. She parted her lips slightly, as if she had a thousand words to say, but before she could speak, Xie Yuchen ruthlessly interrupted her.

"Miss," Xie Yuchen said in a cold and decisive voice, "you should be fully aware of the severity of Gong Ziyu's offense this time! I've only imprisoned him within the Yu Palace, and that's the best I can do for him. Otherwise, he would have been torn to pieces by those guards within the palace whose families were destroyed because of Wu Feng! As for how to punish him, that's a matter for your own palace."

Xie Yuchen's words were like a sharp sword, piercing straight into Gong Zishang's heart. He seemed to be able to see through Gong Zishang's every thought and accurately guessed what she wanted to say.

Gong Zishang couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart. Her disappointment in Gong Ziyu had reached its peak. Although she had always thought Gong Ziyu was a little foolish, she always believed that he had deep feelings for Gong Men.

However, the facts now made her wake up from her dream. She never expected that Gong Ziyu would forget the blood feud of the entire palace because of a woman's few sweet words!

In the end, Gong Zishang did not say the words of plea that Jin Fan asked her to say, because she and Wufeng also had a blood feud!

She could never forget how her mother died! How she had grown up for so many years, ignored by her father, harassed by her stepmother, and despised by her younger brother!

It was clearly her mother who had single-handedly supported her father, the untalented Palace Master of Shang Palace, but after her mother was killed by Wufeng, he quickly erased all traces of her and even took all her research for himself.

Her father was so eager that he didn't even want to wait a little longer. He couldn't wait to marry the new wife and have the son he had always dreamed of!

On the outskirts of Jiuchen Valley, a tense and fierce battle was underway. Gong Shangjiao led a group of men, including Gong Yuanzheng, and, along with Zhuo Yichen and his men who arrived to provide timely support, engaged in a thrilling battle with the Chongwu Camp guards who were attempting to encircle and suppress them.

After a bitter fight, Gong Shangjiao finally slew the last guard. Panting heavily, he took the handkerchief Jin Fu offered him and carefully wiped the blood from his long sword. The blade, once gleaming with cold light, was now stained red with blood.

Gong Shangjiao turned his head slightly. His once handsome features were now stained with blood, giving him a sinister look. His gaze fell on Gong Yuanzheng, who was standing not far away. Gong Yuanzheng was also standing behind him, his face also stained with blood. The blood from the dagger in his hand was dripping from the tip of the blade onto the fallen leaves, forming a small dark red bloodstain.

Gong Shangjiao looked at Gong Yuanzheng, took a deep breath, and asked, "Has the person been released?"

Gong Yuanzheng raised his head and exchanged glances with Gong Shangjiao. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile. He said, "Brother, are you still not confident in my ability to handle things?"

"Jin Fu, tell the brothers to set up camp and rest here! Now we are waiting for the group of people guarding the valley to arrive!" Gong Shangjiao gave an order, and Jin Fu immediately notified everyone.

Zhuo Yichen stepped over the corpses of the Chongwu Camp guards one after another and came to Gong Yuanzheng, looking him up and down to see if he was injured.

"Yuanzheng completed the mission so well on his first try!" Zhuo Yichen praised Gong Yuanzheng without hesitation.

After hearing Zhuo Yichen's perfect words, Gong Yuanzheng blushed and hid away, "How can it be as good as what Second Brother said! I just follow behind Brother and do odd jobs!"

Zhuo Yichen didn't think so. Perhaps as an older brother, seeing his younger brother grow up was a big deal, so Zhuo Yichen followed behind Gong Yuanzheng, praising him from time to time.

Gong Shangjiao watched with interest as Gong Yuanzheng, his ears blushing and hiding behind him like a frightened rabbit, felt a surge of curiosity. He had never imagined that the usually calm and reserved Gong Yuanzheng could have such a lively and lovable side. He was completely different from the image he had displayed at the palace gates!

Zhuo Yichen's praises were like a barrage of bullets, continuously reaching Gong Shangjiao's ears, making him laugh. However, this burst of praise didn't last long, as Zhao Yuanzhou quickly brought Wen Xiao and the others over.

Seeing this, Gong Yuanzheng felt as if he had been pardoned. Looking at Zhuo Yichen being dragged away by Zhao Yuanzhou like a chicken, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh, as if all the pressure in his body was released in an instant.

After Zhuo Yichen had completely disappeared from his sight, Gong Yuanzheng slowly walked out from behind Gong Shangjiao. He first glanced at Zhuo Yichen, who had already left, and then turned his gaze to Gong Shangjiao beside him. Gong Shangjiao's eyes revealed an indescribable joy.

"Brother!" Gong Yuanzheng's voice was obviously filled with a hint of anger. He shouted at Gong Shangjiao angrily, as if he wanted to vent a little bit of the "shock" he had just received.

Gong Shangjiao naturally understood what his brother was thinking. He quickly smiled and comforted him, "Okay, okay, it's your fault! You should have rescued Yuanzheng earlier instead of standing aside and watching your brother Yuanzheng being bullied!" As he spoke, he reached out and gently touched Gong Yuanzheng's hair, as if he was comforting a kitten with its fur standing on end.

Gong Yuanzheng snorted softly upon seeing this, but the anger on his face had clearly subsided. He turned and walked away, his black hair cascading down like a waterfall, gently fluttering in the wind as he moved. The silver bells on his head rang out a clear, jingling sound, as if accompanying his departure.

"You're still a child at heart! You get angry at any time!" Gong Shangjiao smiled and shook his head, then followed Gong Yuanzheng away.

On the other side, the guards of Chongwu Camp who were let go by Gong Yuanzheng rushed all the way to the Chongwu Camp’s stronghold in Jiuchen Valley with wounds that were not fatal but could not be cured.

"I want to see Lord Zhen and Lord Wen!" The guard rolled off his horse, grabbed a guard's foot, and shouted breathlessly.

When the guards guarding the gate saw their brothers rushing in from outside the city, covered in wounds and in a miserable state, a sense of fear suddenly surged in their hearts, as if they were enveloped by a chill from head to toe.

"Someone come quickly! The brothers who were ambushing outside the city are back!" The guard's voice became sharp due to fear and echoed in the silent night.

After a while, the guard finally recovered from his shock. He hurriedly took out the pills he had prepared and stuffed them into the mouth of the guard who had grabbed his foot without hesitation.

"Brother, hold on a little longer! Lord Zhen and Lord Wen will be here soon!" The guard's voice was filled with anxiety and concern.

He turned around and shouted at his men, "What are you still standing there for? Come over here and help carry this little brother into the yard! And send someone to get a doctor!"

However, before the guard finished speaking, one of his men whispered, "Boss, have you forgotten? Isn't Lord Wen the renowned physician of our Chongwu Camp? Moreover, this operation is to be carried out in secret, and must not be known to outsiders!"

The guards were reminded by their subordinates that they were conducting a secret operation this time. "It's my fault! I was frightened by the miserable state of our brothers who were ambushed outside the city! I actually forgot such an important thing!"

The guard looked back at the subordinate who had reminded him, patted his shoulder with satisfaction and said, "You are very good! After this operation is over, I will promote you to team leader!"

After receiving the leader's recognition, the subordinate's eyes lit up instantly, "Thank you for your appreciation! I will definitely live up to your expectations!"

After receiving the letter from the guards, Wen Zongyu and Zhen Mei hurried over.

After learning that the guard was seriously injured and that although the wound was not fatal, it would be difficult to recover, Wen Zongyu suddenly thought of something in his mind, but he could not connect the two.

Wen Zongyu's face was solemn. While he quickly treated the guard's wounds, he anxiously asked about the situation outside the city.

"What's the current situation of the people lying in ambush outside the city? What's the situation with Gong Shangjiao and the others? Have the people from the Demon Collection Bureau shown up?" He spoke very quickly, as if every question was a matter of life and death.

With Wen Zongyu's treatment, the guard thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, but suddenly, his throat seemed to be tightly strangled by something, and a fatal feeling of suffocation came over him like a tide.

"Gong... Yuan... Zheng! Die! All..." The guard's voice was incredibly labored, as if every word required all his strength. However, after uttering just these few words, his eyes suddenly widened, staring straight out the door. Then, as if all his strength had been drained away, he collapsed to the ground, breathless.

Wen Zongyu stared at the dead guard in astonishment, his expression turning grim. After a moment's silence, he ordered in a deep voice, "Come here, dispose of his body."

Zhen Mei cautiously approached, his body trembling slightly from the presence of the demon pill. He suppressed his physical discomfort and inner bloodlust, and whispered to Wen Zongyu, "Teacher, that guard just said a few words. I couldn't hear them clearly, but it sounded like 'Gong Yuanzheng, die, all alive.'"

Seeing that Wen Zongyu didn't refute her, Zhen Mei's suspicions grew more certain, so she blurted out, "Could it be that the guard just now wanted to say that Gong Yuanzheng was dead, and that the palace gates and the demon collection department were thrown into disarray by his death, allowing our ambushes outside to take advantage of the opportunity and inflict heavy damage?"

After hearing Zhen Mei's words, Wen Zongyu's originally tense expression finally relaxed a little.

He frowned slightly, pondering Zhen Mei's words. The more he thought about it, the more he felt there was some truth to it. After all, the fact that only the guard had returned, and that he had died in such a strange way, was truly puzzling.

"Now he is the only one back, and he died in unclear reasons! I carefully examined the wounds on his body and found that they were not fatal and could be healed with a little bandage. However, he died suddenly like this..." Wen Zongyu muttered to himself.

Seeing this, Zhen Mei quickly agreed, "Teacher, you're right! After all, Gong Yuanzheng is a rare herbal medicine genius in the palace! It's understandable that he carried some poisons. Perhaps the guard accidentally came into contact with these poisons while fighting the enemy, and may not have noticed it at first, but over time, the toxicity took effect, ultimately leading to his death. It's not impossible!"

Wen Zongyu thought about Zhen Mei's words and felt that it was indeed possible. "Go notify Dian Zhu and ask her to gather the people! Before the news of Gong Yuanzheng's death spreads, wipe out Gong Shangjiao and his group as soon as possible!"

Zhen Mei truthfully informed Dian Zhu, who was resting in the backyard, "Are you sure what Wen Zongyu said is true? Is Gong Yuanzheng really dead?"

Dian Zhu was still a little unconvinced, but after Zhen Mei's persuasion, he finally decided to follow Wen Zongyu and give it a try!

After receiving Dian Zhu's reply, Zhen Mei immediately returned to the courtyard, summoned the guards of Chongwu Camp, and waited at the door, waiting for Wen Zongyu and Dian Zhu to come out.

After Wen Zongyu gave some encouraging words at the door, he led everyone to the place outside the city where they were ambushing Gong Shangjiao and others.

Because Wen Zongyu was eager to confirm the situation, the journey, which originally took two hours, was shortened to one hour. After arriving at the place, Wen Zongyu was cautious and did not rush up immediately. Instead, he sent several guards to find out whether the situation was true.

The guards advanced quietly and saw white sails hoisted in the camp. They then sneaked into the camp, but did not find any leader in the camp. They only saw Jin Fu, who was beside Gong Shangjiao, guarding the door of a tent with a serious face.

The guards thought that what their brother who had risked his life to return said must be true, so they quietly slipped out of the camp and rushed back to report to Wen Zongyu.

After seeing that everyone had left, Jin Fu entered the tent and told Gong Shangjiao and the others that Chongwu Camp and Dianzhu had been deceived.