Chapter 92: The Setup
Chapter 92: Chapter 92: The Setup
"The Yuan Yang City Lord is heavily injured?!"
Zhu Ge frowned. "It’s only been a few days, hasn’t it? So soon?"
"Yeah, yeah!"
Liu Jianjian sidled up to Zhu Ge, her eyes darting left and right like a village granny about to spread some gossip.
"I heard that before the Plague God Sparrow and the Red River Dragon Python even made their move, someone in Yuan Yang City turned traitor and heavily injured the Yuan Yang City Lord."
’Betrayal?’
Zhu Ge’s frown deepened.
’From what I saw with the Raincoat Fisherman, this Yuan Yang City Lord shouldn’t be an idiot.’
’If the Yuan Yang City Lord has been taken down, we’re in trouble.’
Zhu Ge could imagine the devastation that would befall Red River Prefecture.
Before the Yuan Yang City Lord’s fall, the more powerful Demons, Ghosts, Spirits, and Monsters in the various regions would at least restrain themselves a little.
After all, the Da Sheng Dynasty was, at least in name, still the master of the world.
However, if the Yuan Yang City Lord fell, those Demons, Ghosts, Spirits, and Monsters certainly wouldn’t just watch idly as their "rations" roamed free in large groups.
’Hunting?’
’Fighting?’
’Just like the Fungus God.’
’Rather than searching all over for Believers one by one, it’s more efficient to just devour an entire village.’
Humans, after all, were social animals with high intelligence.
High intelligence meant strong souls, which were the most delectable treat for the likes of gods and ghosts.
If there were no Guardians like the Confucian Scholar, the villages of Red River Prefecture would all become feeding grounds for these gods and ghosts.
It was much the same for the Demon Race.
In short, the fall of the Yuan Yang City Lord would be an absolute disaster for the Human Race.
But Zhu Ge felt it wasn’t that simple.
’Something’s not right...’
Zhu Ge narrowed his eyes, recalling everything he had seen and heard on his journey, as well as the recent death of Hua Liusha.
’Why did the Confucian Scholar leave Jianshan Village for Yuan Yang City?’
’To seek medicine!’
’But in reality, you wouldn’t need to seek medicine for a common plague. Even if you did, there would be no need to take such a great risk just to go to Yuan Yang City.’
’Many of the surrounding villages would have medicine too.’
’So why did the Confucian Scholar still go to Yuan Yang City?’
Zhu Ge guessed that the Confucian Scholar was worried about the situation in Yuan Yang City. He’d probably sensed something from the plague that afflicted Hua Liusha and her mother and wanted to go warn the city.
’A warning delivered by a Confucian Scholar was something the Yuan Yang City Lord would surely take seriously.’
’Even if the Confucian Scholar failed to deliver the message, Zhu Ge estimated that some other village would have succeeded in reporting it.’
’A Great Immortal, with advance preparations, could still be harmed by his own people?’
The more Zhu Ge thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.
"Master, Master?" Liu Jianjian saw Zhu Ge fall into deep thought and asked curiously, "Master, I only said one thing and your eyes started darting around. What’s going on?"
Just now, Liu Jianjian had only mentioned that the Yuan Yang City Lord had been betrayed, and Zhu Ge immediately bowed his head in thought.
"It’s nothing. I just thought of something."
Zhu Ge had a faint suspicion, but he didn’t voice it. Instead, he asked Liu Jianjian, "Is there any other news?"
"Yes!" Liu Jianjian nodded, her expression turning worried.
"I heard from a little monkey in the old crooked-neck woods that the border at River Mouth Pass has been breached! The Demon Beasts from Nanyue Mianhuang have gotten in. There might be a lot of Demon Beasts fighting for territory soon!"
’The border has fallen?’
Zhu Ge’s pupils constricted, and his mind was once again flooded with a thousand thoughts.
If not for the fact that he only had one year to live, he really would have wanted to equip the Kunpeng to assess the situation.
However, by combining these two pieces of information, an answer was already taking shape in Zhu Ge’s mind.
Or rather, it wasn’t a single answer, but two possibilities that he considered.
The first possibility was that the Yuan Yang City Lord was heavily injured, the border of Red River Prefecture was breached, and the land would soon be soaked in blood.
In that case, Zhu Ge could no longer go out to hunt and practice martial arts at will. Instead, he would have to consider whether to first break through to become a Mountain Shattering Martial Artist to protect himself.
However, that was just one possibility.
In his heart, he actually believed the other possibility more—he put the probability of it happening at eighty percent!
’This is a setup...’
The corners of Zhu Ge’s mouth lifted into a smirk.
He, Zhu Ge, was just a village boy, and yet he’d been able to assassinate the Raincoat Fisherman.
The Raincoat Fisherman was only at the Third Realm, yet he was still treacherous and cunning. Killing him had taken every ounce of Zhu Ge’s strength.
Reality wasn’t a novel.
In novels, some powerful people in high positions might be simple-minded.
But in reality, an existence like the Yuan Yang City Lord couldn’t possibly be killed so easily.
Zhu Ge was only at the First Realm and the Raincoat Fisherman was only at the Third Realm, yet the two of them still had to engage in a battle of wits and test each other repeatedly.
’So what about an existence on the level of the Yuan Yang City Lord?’
’Perhaps, this is all just a scheme.’
The thought became clearer and clearer in Zhu Ge’s mind.
’A kill box!’
’It’s a sting operation!’
’Luring the snake out of its hole!’
’Beating the grass to startle the snake!’
No matter how you put it, the general meaning was... the Yuan Yang City Lord was only pretending to be injured!
And his intention was obvious.
Spread the news of his injury, throw all of Red River Prefecture into a panic, and use the chaos to force out his enemies and identify his friends.
’Rally those who can be rallied, distinguish friend from foe, and then catch them all in one fell swoop!’
Thinking this way, Zhu Ge even suspected that the rumor about the Yuan Yang City Lord not having condensed his own Immortal Realm was also false.
’A cunning old fox like him might be in the middle of a fight with the Plague God Sparrow and the Red River Dragon Python, only to suddenly release his Immortal Realm and turn defeat into victory.’
’At that point, not only would he have solved the hidden danger at the border, but he would also acquire the legacies of the Plague God Sparrow and the Red River Dragon Python. He could even become wildly famous and guarantee Red River Prefecture’s dominance for a hundred years...’
’In short, killing many birds with one stone!’
’With these old schemers, you really can’t believe a single word they say...’
Having figured out these connections, Zhu Ge relaxed a little.
Since it was highly likely he was only pretending to be injured, Zhu Ge didn’t need to be in such a rush to break through.
But even if he didn’t need to break through, necessary preparations were still essential.
’Tomorrow, I need to set up some traps and escape routes. A cunning rabbit has three burrows.’
’The traps don’t need to be lethal; they just need to give me an early warning of danger.’
’Also, since this Yuan Yang City Lord is laying a trap, could I possibly profit from it... ’
Zhu Ge began to calculate and plan in his mind.
After the incidents with the Fungus God and the Raincoat Fisherman, Zhu Ge had completely shed his naivety, becoming steady and sharp.
In other words, he was both cautious and wickedly cunning.
In a game of schemes and confrontations between such behemoths, a small fry couldn’t just think about securing a quiet corner for himself.
Instead, while ensuring he wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire, he had to cautiously seize any benefits.
Of course, for most people in the world, just surviving during such turmoil was already a difficult task.
But Zhu Ge currently had some strength to spare, so he naturally thought about seeking progress amidst stability and seeking profit while playing it safe.
Only by growing nourished by all sorts of different nutrients could Zhu Ge become stronger and stronger.
"Liu Jianjian, from now on, go out and gather fruit every day..."
Zhu Ge glanced at the two or three sour, shriveled fruits Liu Jianjian had brought back, not caring in the slightest.
’This girl’s desire to go gather fruit is just a pretense. What she really wants is to wander around, chat, and gossip everywhere.’
Still, this information was useful to Zhu Ge.
"Really, Master?" Liu Jianjian was pleasantly surprised. "I’ll definitely pick lots and lots of fruit for us to eat together!"
"Mhm," Zhu Ge nodded. "Also..."
"Do you know where the Black-Horned Bull is?"