Repugnant Gateway

Chapter 144

It was not the young men of eighteen or younger who killed, it was the rituals of those men who killed.

Wasn’t this more like a spiritual thing?

An Zaiyue couldn’t help but think of Quiet Nation, Zhuang Feifei had once told him about the matters of Quiet Nation.

More than a hundred years ago, the King of Hell was worried that his rule would be overthrown. In order to stop the people from focusing their attention on the imperial court, he ordered his ministers, Ji Changqi, to establish the Divine Meeting.

In just three years, God would grow into a power that could control the government.

At this point, the Dark King’s appointment and dismissal, the army’s command, and even the country’s economy were all in the hands of the Divine General.

Zhuang Feifei knew about these things, and so did Duke Yan Mu, Mu Changyan.

In the beginning, An Zhan felt that Mu Changyan was a coward, a coward. He was a coward who didn’t even dare to resist for his woman.

Thinking about it, after being tortured in the Celestial Prison for four years, he had never thought of rescuing her. His tolerance and fear of the empress dowager had reached such a level that it was truly disdainful.

But when he saw the honest young men with their hands on their chests mumbling, he suddenly realized that he was wrong.

Mu Changyan was not a coward, but a demon.

It took him four years to convince Her Majesty that he was a coward, and he succeeded in playing the part of a coward in front of most people.

And the most obvious proof that he was a coward was that Aunty Ye was imprisoned and he did not dare to save her.

So he used Aunty Ye.

The more suffering Aunty Ye suffered, the more he used it.

But it was during these four years that he had been looked down upon that he had controlled many people, many young people like him.

Wasn’t this the method used by the Ghost Kingdom Divine Association?

He gave the young people faith, and he was their faith.

Perhaps one day, these youngsters would also be able to force their power to grow as fast as the gods of Quiet Nation. That would be more than enough to help Mu Changyan regain all the rights she had in her hands.

An Zhan silently turned to leave, but those youngsters didn’t seem to care at all.

Some people looked at them as though they were looking at a monster. Due to the identity token, no one organized them to leave.

However, in the eyes of those people, An Zeng and Skinny Du seemed to be of a different kind.

“”You two aren’t loyal enough to the King!””

A voice called out from behind them, while An Chou and Skinny Du quickened their pace and left.

An Zeng alone could get rid of all those youngsters, but An Zhe didn’t want to stay here for even a second longer.

Both of them felt as if they had escaped. It was as if they had returned to their own world from a terrifying world. After they couldn’t see those people, both An Zeng and Du uncontrollably let out a long sigh of relief.

“”Why is this happening?””

“”They look like a cult.””

An Xuan nodded. “”They are.””

The two of them returned to the Heavenly Enlightenment Sect with mixed feelings. Then, An Zaiyue called everyone over to discuss what to do with the next two matters. … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Firstly, Auntie Ye and Xiao Qidao had just reunited, but it would be dangerous if Auntie Ye stayed in the capital.

An Xuan asked for Aunty Ye’s opinion on whether to leave with Xiao Qidao, or stay behind.

The second one was about the dozens of girls. Their decision to stay must also be made by themselves.

Unexpectedly, no one was willing to leave.

Auntie Ye looked much better now. She gave An Zaiyue a grateful look. “”The world is vast. I am willing to take Xiao Qidao and leave this place and find a peaceful place to live.””

But after leaving the capital, I don’t have the ability to protect him.

At least, not until I recover.

“”Xiao Qidao means that he will follow you wherever you go. I respect your child’s thoughts.””

Gu Qianye shrugged, “”I’ve asked, those girls aren’t willing to leave.””

To them, this was a paradise, and leaving it was hell.

They are already afraid of the outside world, so no one wants to leave. “”

“”Then stay here,”” said An Zaiyue. “”But you must pay attention to your safety. You can’t just casually leave.””

These two matters had finally come to an end, and the dispute over the future would have to consider their own matters.

Currently, only three people knew about the arrival of the Great Xi Prince Chen Chong Wu in Yan Kingdom: the empress dowager, Li Changlu, who was by the empress dowager’s side, and Zhuge Liuyun.

There were always people watching Zhuge Liuyun’s home, and the most likely people were from the empress dowager’s side.

Due to certain reasons, the empress dowager had no choice but to leave Zhuge Liuyun behind. She needed this person, or she might not be able to kill him.

However, she was worried, so she sent people to keep an eye on Zhuge Liuyun at all times.

An Xuan went to that small courtyard. Judging from Ding Ningdong’s reaction, Zhuge Liuyun also knew of her situation.

The three of them made a comparison. The hardest to make was naturally the empress dowager Su Qing’s warmth, followed by Zhuge Liuyun’s worry.

As for Li Changlu … he seemed to be easier to deal with than Zhuge Liuyun.

The war began to collect all the information about Li Changlu, and found that this person is also very complex.

An Xin went to the Military Department first, and then she brought Wang Kai Tai back to Tianqi Sect for a drink after a long day of work.

There were too many things going on in the Infantry Division at the moment. Wang KaiTai was so tired that he was on the verge of falling apart.

If others were to know that he still went out to drink at this critical juncture, it would be a bit unfair.

Therefore, instead of going to the restaurant, An Zeng and Wang Kaitai set up a table for a meal on the martial arts floor of the Celestial Sect.

Wang Kai-tai hadn’t touched wine these days, so he seemed to be craving too.

Before the dishes had even arrived, the two bowls of wine had already been gulped down.

“”Speak, you brought me here for a drink, and you have no reason to be courteous. You must be plotting something.””

Wang Kai-tai wiped the wine on the corner of his mouth as he watched the struggle to cut the meat.

Du was thin and chopping firewood and burning charcoal, while Qu Liuxi and Gu Qianye were washing the fruits they had just bought.

An Zeng shook his head. “”Nothing really. I know that the general is tired these days and has deliberately flattered him.””

Wang Kaitai burst out laughing. “”I really don’t believe that you are someone who knows how to flatter others.””

An Zhan chuckled. “”I just want to know if you are going to the eastern front, General.””

Wang KaiTai asked, “”Are you afraid that after I leave, no one will take care of you in the capital?””

“”You don’t have to worry about anything. With your current reputation and the way the King thinks of you, no one would dare to make things difficult for you.””

“”I think I rarely go to the eastern border. The king has asked me to be in charge of the supplies. At worst, I would just escort the food and equipment to the eastern border myself when there’s no one under me. It would only take me three to five months to go back and forth.””

“”That’s good.””

“”Where are the empress dowager’s men?”” he asked.

Wang KaiTai took the fruit Qu Liuxi handed him and took a bite. “”Of course the empress dowager wouldn’t be so peaceful. She already let Su Zong be the vice commander-in-chief and wanted Su Mao to be in charge of the logistics and supplies. But the king is also tough this time and didn’t let Su Mao get involved.””

“”If I were to pass these things to Su Mao, at least half of the money would be in his pocket before the food reached the front line.””

An Zeng sighed, “”Logistics is the most important thing. Once the supplies fail to keep up, the soldiers in front will find it difficult to move forward no matter how hard they try.””

“”It’s not the same this time.””

He looked around, then lowered his voice and said, “”In the past, no matter what the situation was, it was not allowed to disturb the people.””

The Great Yan had always been known as a state of etiquette. The army of the Great Yan had always been known as a righteous and benevolent army, so it was impossible for them to openly snatch away the possessions of the citizens of the Nether Kingdom.

“”You’ve done too much this time. Furthermore, our Great Yan could not support such a huge attack, so the King has ordered … to use war to nurture us.””

An Zhan’s expression changed, “”This … The commoners at the border have been reared.””

Wang KaiTai said, “”There’s nothing we can do about this. We have to avenge our losses, but the supply lines are too long. Not to mention we don’t have enough money, even if we do have enough, the supply lines will consume too much.””

Let’s put it this way. If we were to allocate one hundred thousand stones of food from the Ministry of Revenue and send them thousands of miles to the frontlines, how much would there be left?

On the way, people ate, horses ate, and with the wind and rain, half of them would be lucky enough to reach the border.

“”But it is also very encouraging for the soldiers to fight for their own money, to let go of the soldiers’ savagery, to take food from the kingdom of Hades to replenish themselves, and to have all the money to themselves.””

An Zeng sighed, “”But in this way, we will also force the citizens of You Country into a desperate situation of fighting to the death with our Great Yan’s army.””

Wang KaiTai waved his hand. “”Then they can only consider themselves unlucky. Who told that idiotic Underworld King to want to assassinate the King and Empress Dowager?””

If they were successful, then what would become of our Great Yan?

At that time, you will join forces with the armies of Yongguo and Hegemon to attack with all your might.

If the Great Yan was defeated, the BoHai country would have no choice but to retreat.

“”Maybe the people of BoHai and You Guo will cooperate to share a share of the spoils.””

“”It’d be better if the empress dowager didn’t intervene in the military affairs,”” said An Zaihai. “”If it’s Great General Fang’s close friend leading the army, it shouldn’t be a problem to win. But I’m afraid it won’t be so easy for you to exterminate Ethereal Opening.””

Wang Kai-Tai said, “”Actually, everyone knows very well that it’s impossible to destroy Ethereal Opening.

This time, Quiet Nation had crossed their bottom line, so no matter how poor Great Yan was, he had no choice but to keep fighting.

Let’s not talk about anything else, if You Nation is truly destroyed, Yong and Tyrant Country will face our Great Yan. This is something that those two countries do not wish to see.

Furthermore, the Da Xi south … also didn’t want to see any country being destroyed.

What Da Xi wanted to see was a fight between the sixteen kingdoms.

“”This time, we have to kill as many people as we can. We have to snatch as many people as we can.””

An Zaixian nodded. “”There’s no one beside the empress dowager who needs to be worried about. Su Zong is the vice commander-in-chief, relying on the empress dowager to show off her might in the capital. After reaching the border, she won’t be able to defeat her close friend the general no matter what.””

Wang Kai-tai said, “”Of course.””

“”What about that Li Changlu?””

Where did this person come from?

“”It seems the empress dowager really trusts me.””

After chatting for quite a while, Wang Kai-tai finally came to terms with Li Changlu. He didn’t seem to care. “”This person … it’s a long story.””

Li Changlu was originally the only son of College Scholar Li Chaozong.

In the past, Li Chaozong could be considered an extraordinary person.

Always unknown, the imperial examination has been repeatedly frustrated, 30 years old gave up the idea of becoming an official, take a wife and children to return to the countryside.

“”At the age of thirty-six, he happened to bump into an old Swallow King who was in disguise at a teahouse.””

“”Old Yan and Li Chaozong had a long conversation. Old Yan appreciated Li Chaozong’s many insights, so when he returned, he sent someone to bring him back to Empyrean Terminus Palace.

“”Later on, Li Chaozong’s career was smooth sailing, and he was only forty-five years old before he became a scholar and a Young Master of the Crown Prince.””

As he said this, An Zhe suddenly had a premonition, “”Because of the former crown prince, he was also implicated?””

Wang KaiTai nodded his head. “”That’s right. He was also implicated by the former crown prince’s matter.””

Li Chaozong was given his death, and his only son, Li Changlu, was castrated and sent to the palace to be a eunuch.

“”But who would’ve thought that in just a few years, he’d gain the empress dowager’s trust and become a head eunuch of the brocade palace.””

Wang Kaitai sighed. “”His father was killed by the empress dowager, but now he’s become one of her henchmen.””

Sometimes I wonder if, in the dead of night, he remembers who killed his family?

Every day, he grovels to the empress dowager. Is he really loyal to her, or is he plotting something else? “”

“”Perhaps … it’s because I’ve always had a blood-thirsty fantasy about men. I’ve always thought that Li Changlu must have served the empress dowager for revenge.””

“”But now, it seems that I have overthought things.””

Wang Kai-tai poured a bowl of wine into the cup. “”He is not a man. That knife did not only cut off his chicken pancake, but also his blood and loyalty.””

An Zaiyue remained silent for a while, not knowing what to say.

Wang KaiTai said, “”If he doesn’t intervene in the military affairs, that’s fine. But if he does, then I will definitely think of a way to kill him. I will help him clean up his father’s family affairs.””