"Which college?"
All three of them were stunned by the name: Yin-Yang Academy. They really dared to choose such a name!
" Yin-Yang Academy!" Shen Yuan said with certainty, "The news has already been released that the academy will open and enroll students tomorrow. Everyone who enrolls will become a citizen of Liuzhou, and it's said..." Shen Yuan hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "It's said that this Yin-Yang Academy in Liuzhou is a branch of the imperial court. Can you really learn the techniques of the Yin-Yang Academy?"
"Isn't that utter nonsense?" Wei Gongyan the first to refute with a laugh, " The Yin-Yang Academy in the capital was barely established by the Duke of Song, who brought together hundreds of noble families from the Great Jin, along with various generous promises from the imperial court. How could it possibly be Liuzhou's turn to open a branch?"
"That's true." Shen Yuan nodded with a cold smile.
But a sense of realization dawned on him. Back in the Shen Family, he was the most studious among his siblings. But no matter how well he studied, if he didn't have a talent for magic, he wouldn't be valued in the Shen Family. He passed the imperial examination at a young age and became a Jinshi. In an ordinary family, he would probably have the prestige of holding an ancestral hall to worship his ancestors. But in the Shen Family, the elders were too lazy to even hold a decent banquet.
Meanwhile, his carefree younger brother, due to his sensitivity to magical techniques and spiritual power, entered the Yin-Yang Academy at a young age. His coming-of-age ceremony was so grand that the whole city knew about it, all to find him a good woman from a prestigious family for a marriage alliance.
Yin-Yang Academy
What was once a hurdle I couldn't reach even after more than a decade of hard work has now appeared in Liuzhou —it's truly surreal.
He certainly despised Chen Qing's underhanded methods, but every night when he was asleep, he would sometimes wonder if this so-called Liuzhou branch might actually have something going for it.
After all, if they're putting it out so openly, they can't possibly be making a fool of themselves by showing nothing, right?
" Lord Shen? Lord Shen?"
"Um?"
"Why are you spacing out?" Yuchi Feihu waved his hand in front of him.
"Oh," Shen Yuan snapped out of his reverie and quickly said, "I was just thinking about some old things. Please forgive me for making a fool of myself. What were you all talking about just now?"
"We were just discussing how to infiltrate Liuzhou," Yuchi Feihu said, looking at the other man. He thought to himself, "This scholar is a bit dim-witted; I probably can't get any information out of him."
But he still said, "You just said that to become a citizen of Liuzhou, one can either join the army, become a farmer, or enroll in that... Yin-Yang Academy, right?"
"Yes!" Shen Yuan replied quickly.
"Then let's split into three groups!" Yuchi Feihu immediately decided. "Here's the plan, Gongyan and I will go to participate in that Tiger Guard Army selection, Gongzhan, you go to Great Azure Mountain to gather intelligence, and finally, Shen Yuan, right? You're the only one here who studies literature, so you'll go to that Yin-Yang Branch Academy, how about that?"
Gongzhan was taken aback and looked up at his young master. Yuchi Feihu continued talking enthusiastically, and Gong Zhan didn't pay much attention. He was just wondering, in the end, did his young master still harbor resentment towards him for attacking him?
Wei Gongyan, on the other hand, was full of smugness. He thought that the young master didn't care at all. It seems that not punishing him with family law is already the young master's bottom line. The young master is still too soft-hearted. But it's okay. In the future, he will be by the young master's side and will definitely correct his temperament and make him a qualified Yuchi Household.
Wei Gongzhan his mouth, somewhat worried about his older cousin following the young master, but he didn't know what reason to give, and ultimately couldn't say anything, silently accepting the arrangement.
" Shen Yuan, what about you?"
Shen Yuan was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Since it is General Yuchi's order, I will do my best."
Whether it was a misperception or not, Shen Yuan felt a surge of excitement.
He immediately reassured himself: he went in on a mission to investigate the truth for the imperial court, not because he believed there was really a Yin-Yang branch here.
And so, the three agreed on a time and place to meet again. After receiving a relief meal, they split into three groups and began their journey to Liuzhou. This choice of path would ultimately change their lives forever.
" Lord Wang, where are we going?"
On the ship, Vice Admiral Lan Xiang gazed at the mist ahead, sensing that the route didn't seem to lead towards Nanming Prefecture.
" Yangzhou," Wang Ye replied calmly.
" Yangzhou?" Lan Xiang frowned immediately. "Why go there?"
"Isn't this retreat to preserve the strength of the Duke of Duke of Qi?" Wang Ye asked, looking at the other party.
"Uh..." Lan Xiang was taken aback. "That's true, but..."
"The situation in Jiangnan is unclear, Nanming Prefecture may become the next target of the zombies' resurgence. Without knowing the full story, it would be unwise to go to a place like Nanming Prefecture. The same applies to the Shen Family's Nanyang City. Fifth Master Shen is conspiring with the imperial court, and we don't know what the other Shen Family are thinking, do we?"
"Well, that's true. But..."
"What better place is there than Yangzhou?" Wang Ye looked at the other person curiously. " Yangzhou is located in the middle of the three cities, in the rear. It has enough time to react to any situation. Isn't it the safest way to hide the troops there and wait for Duke of Qi to come and join us?"
"Lord Shaoqing is right!" Lan Xiang decided not to argue anymore, because he realized after only a few words that he couldn't win the argument.
Wang Ye smiled and nodded, "General, you see, we're almost ashore."
There were quite a few zombies in Yangzhou Port, but they were nothing to the 30,000 pure-blooded soldiers. The thousands of zombies wandering around the port were wiped out almost instantly.
"Check everyone carefully, make sure they have no wounds!" Lan Xiang inspected the group while saying to Wang Ye, who was following behind, " Vice Minister Wang, how come these zombies are so different from those that attacked us yesterday?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Ye explained, "The parasite and its host are different. The ones that attacked us that day were infected members of the Imperial Golden Dragon Guard. The Golden Dragon Guard are all born into aristocratic families, so their individual strength is naturally far superior to that of ordinary people. Then there are the parasitic worms. As far as I know, these worms that parasitize humans and cause them to turn into zombies also vary in quality. Ordinary people are mostly parasitized by low-level worms, but those that parasitize the Golden Dragon Guard are different."
"I see." Lan Xiang nodded upon hearing this. "Does Vice Minister Wang know how many monsters like those that parasitize the Golden Dragon Guard are?"
"I don't know about that." Wang Ye shook his head. "There isn't just one sea demon. The imperial court is cooperating with a portion of them, while several others are in the West Sea, and one of them is in Jiangnan."
"Where?" Lan Xiang asked, her heart tightening upon hearing this.
"I don't know where it is, but we'd better avoid it."
Lan Xiang nodded upon hearing this, then looked in the direction of Yangzhou: "My lord, where are we going now? Yangzhou City?"
" Yangzhou City is not a place to go."
Why?
Wang Ye pointed in the direction of Yangzhou City: "My lord possesses the Jade Bat Bloodline and has excellent eyesight. Take a close look above Yangzhou City."
Upon hearing this, Lan Xiang looked over and his expression immediately turned serious. Under the bright blue sky, dark clouds rolled in above Yangzhou City, shrouding it in shadow!
"That is?"
" Yangzhou City didn't have many troops stationed there, so it fell almost immediately when attacked by the zombies." Wang Ye sighed, looking at Yangzhou City Yangzhou City. " Yangzhou isn't as prosperous as Nanming Prefecture, but it's still one of the Seven Provinces, with a million inhabitants. However, facing the zombies, without military protection, the denser the population of a large city, the easier it is to be infected by more insects. Now, in Yangzhou City, all one million people are zombies!"
"A million." The generals exchanged glances. The number sounded terrifying, but if they all had the same fighting strength as before, they weren't afraid. However, if they forced a fight, the losses would be considerable. After all, the fact that even a slight scratch from these zombies could be fatal was too troublesome.
"Then what do we do?"
"Don't worry." Wang Ye looked in another direction and said, " Lord Chen of Liuzhou has already sent soldiers to rescue the countryside around Yangzhou. He assessed the situation and concluded that a large number of zombies are gathered in the city of Yangzhou, while the number of zombies in the surrounding rural counties is limited. Therefore, he adopted a strategy of dividing his forces to rescue the countryside Yangzhou first. We can go to the nearest county to see the effect."
" Liuzhou?" Lan Xiang was stunned. " Liuzhou still has troops supporting other regions?"
He remembered that all the soldiers in Liuzhou had been mobilized, right?
In his view, it would be a miracle if they could even manage themselves, let alone send troops to manage others?
Besides, wasn't it said that several state capitals were isolated by this dense fog formation, making communication impossible?
"Let's discuss the specifics once we get to the county town," Wang Ye said in a low voice. "We need to arrive before dark, otherwise, it'll be quite dangerous for such a large target in the wild. If the zombies in Yangzhou City notice us, we'll be in trouble."
Upon hearing this, Lan Xiang suppressed his doubts and nodded slightly. "Then please lead the way, Lord Wang."
He sensed that this man surnamed Wang was up to something, but he didn't know exactly what. Now that he'd been tricked into coming here, he could only wait and see.