Chapter Thirteen: The Six Great Commanders

The wind blew, the clouds drifted.
The old locust tree shook, shedding a few withered leaves.

Chao Jin’er spoke softly, “I never expected so many people would want you dead.”

Lu Zhou laughed, “Nor did I expect someone would come to save me.”

Chao Jin’er took out a pale yellow handkerchief and gently wiped the blood from her long flute, her brows lightly furrowed as if the bloodstains had sullied her inner peace.

“Who insists on killing you?”

“The Brocade-Clad Historians.”

“You provoked them?”

“I ruined their plans. Besides, the Brocade-Clad Historians don’t need a reason to kill us, the Thousand Ox Guards.”

“……”

Chao Jin’er was momentarily stunned. Suddenly, she regretted summoning Lu Zhou from beyond the pass to the city of Shenzhou. He was living well outside the pass—why had she brought him into the city to suffer?

A quiet settled between them.

Lu Zhou, meanwhile, was replaying the conversation with Blind Yu and his companions in his mind.

Blind Yu had admitted they were sent by the Brocade-Clad Historians, and revealed their mission was to abduct Shen Changbai.

So, the demon was merely a pretext.

The true aim was to distract the cultivators and guards of Shenzhou City, then seize Shen Changbai. They simply didn’t know Shen Changbai was a decoy, so everything remained under Chao Lu’s control.

But why had Anger brought him here?

Lu Zhou couldn’t pinpoint the reason.

Chao Lu didn’t trust him, perhaps fearing complications, and wanted to use the Historians’ blade to dispose of him? It seemed rather elaborate.

And what about the woman before him—how did she fit into all this?

A soft whimper broke the silence between Lu Zhou and Chao Jin’er.

Li Zhilan opened her eyes, discovering herself cradled in Lu Zhou’s arms. Her cheeks flushed instantly, and she quickly struggled free.

“Senior brother, that villain…”

“Dead.”

“Ah?”

“Killed by this…um, lady.” Lu Zhou wasn’t sure how to address Chao Jin’er.

Li Zhilan finally noticed Chao Jin’er standing nearby and hurriedly cupped her hands, “Thank you, miss, for saving me and my senior brother.”

Chao Jin’er merely nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

Seeing Li Zhilan leave Lu Zhou’s embrace, Chao Jin’er’s expression eased, though the veil hid her face from Lu Zhou’s view.

Lu Zhou pondered briefly. Before this woman, it was best to assert his position as a Thousand Ox Guard captain.

“Blind Yu let slip some news—the Brocade-Clad Historians want to abduct Shen Changbai. I think we've fallen into their trap.”

“Who is Shen Changbai?” Chao Jin’er asked.

Lu Zhou froze, realizing his deduction might have been flawed.

“Shen Changbai is the prefect of Shenzhou City—the target of the Historians’ operation. I must inform Commander Chao immediately,” Lu Zhou explained.

“I’ll inform him for you,” Chao Jin’er replied.

With a twist of her fingers, a flying crane appeared in her palm. Her fingers danced in the air, and soon the information was fed into the crane. It gave a low cry and vanished into the heavens.

Lu Zhou felt a twinge of annoyance.

This woman doesn’t play by the rules.

With her methods, how was he supposed to report to his superiors?

Lu Zhou hesitated for a moment, then said, “Captain Anger is not in the city right now, and most of our guards have been drawn away by the demon. Commander Chao must be short-handed—I cannot delay. I must return to the city at once.”

With that, he mounted his talisman paper.

“Senior brother…” Li Zhilan called out, “I’ll go with you. This time, your junior sister won’t let the Historians poison anyone!”

Lu Zhou nearly toppled from his talisman.

He put on a stern face, “Why are you coming?”

Li Zhilan summoned her flying sword, “You only have Foundation Establishment cultivation. I can’t let you go alone.”

Lu Zhou: “……”

“I’m coming too,” Chao Jin’er’s cold voice rang in his ear.

Lu Zhou: “……”

Are you both doing this on purpose?

Lu Zhou had no choice but to fly on his talisman, pretending not to notice them. Chao Jin’er and Li Zhilan flew slowly, flanking him on either side.

Once airborne, Lu Zhou’s lazy demeanor vanished. He became as alert as a hound, using every faculty—ears, nose, eyes, spiritual sense—to probe his surroundings. If even a trace of an enemy lingered, he would not miss it.

Better safe than sorry—he still didn't know if the Historians had set another ambush.

At the entrance to Liu Family Village, a breeze stirred the ashes on the ground.

Aside from the scorch marks, no one would have guessed that a fierce and unexpected battle had just taken place here.

After a short while, a group of cultivators returned, cursing.

“That so-called demon was nothing but a sham!”

“Master Withered Leaf says it was a heretic cultivator.”

“Are these heretics just bored out of their minds?”

“Who knows…huh? Why are there signs of fighting here?”

Someone first noticed the anomaly at the village entrance, and the cultivators quickly gathered to inspect the scorched earth. Soon, others found three similar burn marks hundreds of yards away.

“Amitabha, if this old monk is correct, the ground was scorched by Soul-Eating Bone Scatter, destroying three corpses,” said Master Withered Leaf, his palms pressed together, chanting Buddhist scriptures, compassion written on his face.

Yet his body had already retreated dozens of yards.

The cultivators exchanged glances, their expressions odd.

Someone shivered.

“My academy needs cleaning, I’ll take my leave.”

“My wife is calling me home for dinner, farewell.”

Within two breaths, the entrance to Liu Family Village was deserted once more, as if the cultivators had never been there, leaving only the collapsed altar creaking in the cold wind.

No one noticed that the Thousand Ox Guards who had chased after the demon had vanished without a trace…

…

…

Lu Zhou returned to Shenzhou City to find it eerily quiet.

Aside from the occasional crow of a rooster or bark of a dog, there was not a sound. Every shop’s doors were tightly shut, and the streets lacked their usual bustle.

From afar, a beam of sword light shot skyward from the Prefect’s mansion.

Lu Zhou pondered, then quietly flew toward the mansion. At this point, informing Gao Zhuang was pointless—he would have noticed the commotion at the mansion by now.

He could only hope nothing had gone wrong.

As soon as Lu Zhou landed in the mansion’s courtyard, he saw a masked figure clad in black.

The man stared straight at him.

His eyes, bloodshot and bulging, made the exposed half of his face appear gruesome. He neither spoke nor moved, like a statue in a temple.

He was dead.

Lu Zhou sighed, “As expected…”

It seemed Chao Lu had changed his plan—from planting Shen Changbai as a pawn in Nan Zhou, to using him as bait.

Chao Jin’er also saw the corpse, her brows knitted.

Li Zhilan went pale with fright, but her resolve to protect Lu Zhou only strengthened.

Lu Zhou continued into the rear courtyard. The Prefect’s rear garden was modest—a crooked tree, two rockeries, suiting a scholar like Shen Changbai.

In the small yard lay six corpses, identical to the masked figure outside.

In the center stood Chao Lu, hands behind his back, indifferent, as if the bodies were merely six dogs that could no longer jump.

Anger stood to his left, holding the dazzling sword—blood still dripping from its tip.

Clearly, these were his handiwork.

On Chao Lu’s right stood Shen Changbai, head bowed, expression unreadable.

Chao Lu saw Lu Zhou enter, then noticed Chao Jin’er behind him. He frowned slightly. For some reason, Lu Zhou felt Shen Changbai lowered his head even further upon seeing him.

Behind Chao Lu stood four people: a child, a woman, a middle-aged man, and an old man.

All familiar faces.

The child from the scythe murder case, the mother, the constable, and the old driver who brought Lu Zhou to Shenzhou City—most likely the murdered Old Xu.

Lu Zhou smiled, and in that instant, all the threads became clear.

The muddled case judged by Shen Changbai was fake.

It was all an act.

The purpose was either to gain the Historians’ trust, or to respond to their test.

The only puzzle was why Chao Lu had suddenly changed his mind and no longer sent Shen Changbai to Nan Zhou.

At that moment, Chao Lu smiled, “Captain Lu has returned. What a coincidence—my six captains are all gathered.”

Six captains…

Anger, the child, the woman, the constable, the old man, and Lu Zhou—exactly six.

Lu Zhou turned.

Then, who is this woman?