Gold Face, Four Eyes, and a Downfall

"So, it turns out that the people in the capital also chose to cause trouble tonight."

Cao Ying's body slumped to her side, her breath ceased, and her eyes lost their luster.

Chu Tianshu stood to the side, pondering the questions he had asked earlier.

The poison inflicted on the Five Rampancies Witches Saintess was quite subtle; the blood wine weakened both her soul and body simultaneously, and in the process of their joint decline, they became even more tightly bound together.

This should be useful to prevent top-tier sorcerers from casting spells on souls to interrogate them.

Even if a top-tier sorcerer wanted to bewitch and control her in this state, they would only extinguish her life force prematurely upon touching her.

However, Chu Tianshu's "Vertical and Horizontal Simple Seal" is a method that confuses even the physical body's aura and the brain's senses, and its purity of internal energy is extremely rare.

Using his internal energy to keep her clinging to life, Chu Tianshu asked her whatever came to mind, a dozen questions in total, before he could no longer hold on and she was driven to the brink of death.

For example, which other experts in the Cao Family family are worth paying attention to? After being injured, will Five Rampancies be able to use the method of stealing the Origin Canon text again...?

Cao Ying had long harbored schemes against the Five Rampancies, possessing a thorough understanding of both herself and her enemy. She must have deeply researched methods such as talismans to appease and subdue Five Rampancies. Perhaps she possessed techniques that could be quickly and effectively used in battle...

Unfortunately, there were some problems that Cao Ying herself couldn't explain.

Call!!

A gentle evening breeze rustled, and the moon waned in the west.

Some broken grass and leaves on the hillside were blown over and landed on the altar.

Chu Tianshu snapped out of his daze and blew on it.

A blade of grass that drifted toward his face veered off course and slowly landed on his black iron mask.

After the altar cracked, all the candles went out.

The magical artifacts beside Cao Ying also seemed to have lost some of their luster.

This one black iron mask, however, remained pure black, with a sheen to it.

Chu Tianshu bent down and picked up the mask.

The mask looks extremely heavy, but it feels surprisingly light when held in your hand.

The masks were originally designed according to the "three courts and five eyes" principle.

This refers to the facial proportions of a traditional portrait: from the hairline to the area between the eyebrows, from the eyebrows to the base of the nose, and from the base of the nose to the tip of the chin.

These three sections are of equal distance and are called the three courts.

The term "five eyes" refers to the fact that the width of a person's face, when viewed from the front, is exactly five times the width of a single eye, and can be divided into five equal parts.

A face formed in this proportion may not be particularly stunning, but it is the most pleasing to the eye.

However, this black iron mask has many carved patterns added to the basic three courts and five eyes.

His forehead was covered with clusters of iron-like flowers, his eyebrows were like raging clouds, his cheeks were tight, and his chin was long and square.

It's like using several other black metals, each engraved with a pattern, and then applying it to these parts of the face.

Chu Tianshu had already dealt with the Five Rampancies Dharma Lineage of this world several times.

Especially on Yuanli's side, there are clear statements and portraits.

The style of Cao Ying's mask is significantly different from the ghost and Ghost God masks worshipped by other members of the Five Rampancies Sect.

Chu Tianshu touched the brow bone of the mask with his left index finger.

These two thick eyebrows, curling like clouds, were already quite exaggerated in appearance, and they were even more closely intertwined with the bulging iron flower buds on their foreheads.

Upon closer inspection, one can discover that above these two eyebrows, there are actually carvings resembling eyeballs.

The pupils in the eyes also exhibit a vertical pupil pattern.

In other words, the Ghost God represented by this mask actually has four eyes.

One pair has human eyes, the other has beastly pupils.

Chu Tianshu murmured.

"A golden-faced man with four eyes, Nuo Gods of Fangxiang!"

The Zhou Li (Rites of Zhou), in the section on Xia Guan (Summer Official) and Fangxiangshi), records. "The Fangxiangshi wore a bear skin, had four golden eyes, wore a black robe and a red skirt, held a spear and a shield, and led a hundred servants to perform the Nuo ritual to search rooms and drive away plague."

It is also said, "The Fangxiangshi) was buried on a day when the sun was high in the sky, to drive away Wangxiang."

The Wangxiang is a legendary monster that sneaks into graves after a person dies, eats their brains, and causes suffering to the soul of the deceased.

Therefore, some people also erected statues of Fangxiangshi in their tombs.

Ordinary families, lacking the means to erect a statue of a deity, would use tiger-related carvings and cypress trees as substitutes.

Another legend says that Fangxiangshi was the god of opening roads. When traveling far away, people are prone to encountering various monsters and beasts, and they should first seek Fangxiang's protection.

In the minds of our ancient ancestors, a person's life, with its myriad encounters, illnesses, journeys, and even the afterlife, was filled with all sorts of terrors.

There are always various monsters, both tangible and intangible, that cause disasters to humanity.

One must wield weapons, wear animal skins, and use power, savagery, and even brutality to intimidate these monsters in order to put people at ease.

The word "Nuo" originally refers to the roar used by people to scare away monsters when they hold weapons and dance around the fire.

Over time, the position of Fangxiang, who was in charge of Nuo opera, became the name of Da Nuo.

"The Five Rampancies once swallowed up Patriarch Jiaoli, but now Patriarch Jiaoli has been able to regain its independence and has even taken away a lot of the Five Rampancies' power."

"The Five Rampancies also once stole the influence of the Nuo Gods, hmm..."

Chu Tianshu had some plans in mind.

Nuo Gods is not a specific Ghost God, but rather a symbol of an ancient and traditional magical custom.

Separating the power of the Nuo Gods from the Five Rampancies's body is obviously even more difficult to find a starting point for.

However, it is precisely because Nuo Gods are a product of humankind, rather than real Ghost God, that Chu Tianshu has this idea.

If they are truly Ghost God, then separating them would only create another enemy for oneself; why bother?

"Brother Chu! Brother Chu!"

A loud shout came from afar.

Chu Tianshu turned his head and saw Sun Feng'an's head on a skeleton's body, rapidly approaching.

His eyelids twitched, and he looked again.

It turned out that Sun Feng'an had grabbed the skeleton in front of him and rushed over.

Because the two are about the same height at the shoulders, at first glance, it looks as if Sun Feng'an's head is being pushed against the skull's neck.

Seeing something rushing towards me in the middle of the night was quite frightening.

Brother Sun.

Chu Tianshu said calmly, "Why are you holding this skull in front of you?"

"And it conveniently blocks out his entire body?"

Sun Feng'an slowed down, stopped below the altar, and took a couple of breaths.

"Oh, there's a very faint suction between this skeleton and the altar. I'm holding it in front of me to better feel the direction of this suction."

After the altar was destroyed, Yu Ji's skeletons immediately became much less responsive.

Sun Feng'an seized the opportunity to capture the skeleton, and using the connection between the skeleton and the altar, he was able to find his way here.

"I've heard that the Five Rampancies Saintess is extremely skilled in using poison. Brother Chu, you didn't fall victim to her, did you?"

"She used the poison on herself."

Chu Tianshu said, "The city should be pacified by now, right?"

Sun Feng'an nodded.

Recalling the figure still embedded in the city wall, Sun Feng'an couldn't help but sigh.

"Brother Chu is truly terrifying when he gets going, especially with Team Leader Huo's unparalleled marksmanship assisting him..."

Sun Feng'an unfolded his folding fan, fanned himself, and said, "If Luoyang still had its barbican, I think they wouldn't have been able to enter the city today. They would have been killed by the two of you inside the barbican."

At the gate of Luoyang, there used to be a barbican, but it is old and dilapidated, with only a few remnants of the wall remaining.

But even if the barbican still exists, it wouldn't be of much significance.

Those ancient city walls could only stop ordinary soldiers.

With the skill level of these people tonight, they could easily scale the wall and enter the city from elsewhere with some tools.

Sun Feng'an's statement is somewhat exaggerated.

"That guy on the city wall had a kung fu style I'd never seen before. What a pity."

Chu Tianshu recalled the main force that ambushed him tonight; they were indeed all very skilled in martial arts.

Bench Skill, Dragon-Horse Combined Strike Sword Technique, Drunken Mantis.

And then there's the Origin Canon of Lü Bu.

If possible, we should have more exchanges, letting everyone share their expertise and discuss it – that's where the fun lies!

Unfortunately, everyone has different perspectives.

No wonder it is said that martial arts can stop war.

First and foremost, you absolutely must have a halberd; you can't do without it.

But this conflict must be contained.

Those who truly love martial arts, and who have mastered it, only hope that there will be no life-or-death conflicts among us.

Death means losing everything; only by living can we anticipate more enjoyment.

Chu Tianshu took two steps, his toes brushing against Thousand-Drunken Old Man's belt.

"Hey, stop playing dead, I haven't made a move yet."

Chu Tianshu said, "It would be a pity if your skills were lost. Write down all the secret manuals afterward, and I'll give you a quick death. Don't even think about committing suicide halfway through. You should know very well whether you have the chance to commit suicide in front of me."

The Thousand-Drunken Old Man wanted to say that he had relatives and many disciples, and that his skills would not be lost.

But after thinking about it, I decided against it.

If this person asks me to write down a secret manual, then I'll write it. If I really disagree with him, who knows what he might say next?

Besides, his disciples all mingled within the Cao Family lineage. If the Cao Family were to fall completely, he feared that the reputation of his martial arts would truly be ruined and buried in the future.

It's good to preserve another lineage.

Alas, even though I used to think that the Cao Family might not have been absolutely certain of dominating the Nine Provinces.

But at least I think that the tripartite balance of power, or the division of Divine Land into two parts, can be maintained for several decades.

Unexpectedly, it came to the conclusion so quickly that the Cao Family might be on the verge of collapse.

In Rongcheng, a tree-lined cobblestone path leads to a cemetery.

Liu Yanqi, wearing a coat, walked along this road in the dead of night, sighing repeatedly.

"Shanjun, I think I'm going to fall."

Cai Shanjun asked, "What is it now?"

"It's not that I'm going to fall from grace, but I feel that I should step down."

Liu Yanqi said, "My eyes hurt once before, and they hurt again just now. It hurts so much that I feel like all the muscles in my body are weak, and I can't muster any strength."

"Our cause still has a long way to go. It's definitely not right for me to be in a leadership position in my current state."

"I plan to step back and wait for an opportunity to target the Ghost King. If I can eliminate it, then we can talk about other things."

Cai Shanjun remained silent, lost in thought.

From a rational point of view, Old Liu's considerations are quite reasonable.

The world is in turmoil, and the task ahead is arduous and long-term. His temporary second-line position is a viable solution.

But... if people could be completely rational and instantly weigh the pros and cons, why would they have chosen such a rugged path all these years?

Even if Old Liu is willing to retire, it depends on what his colleagues think. The ideological work involved is quite complicated.

What are you doing here?

The chief of staff strode over, holding a page of intelligence in his hand. "Look at this! It just arrived from the capital."

"The Cao Family is suddenly preparing to negotiate peace with us. Our secret agents in the capital should quickly leak this information so that we can also mobilize support across the country as much as possible."

"That way we can better prepare for the propaganda offensive that the Cao Family is about to launch."

Cai Shanjun asked in surprise, "Peace talks? Is the news accurate?"

"We haven't been engaged in any large-scale war recently, so where does this talk of peace talks come from?"

Upon hearing this, the chief of staff pondered for a moment.

"The information should be accurate."

The chief of staff said, "Old Liu, didn't you want to take a break lately? If we can really reach a peace agreement, the situation will be much more favorable, which would be a good thing for us."

Liu Yanqi and Cai Shanjun exchanged a glance.

"No!!"

Liu Yanqi pulled off his coat from his shoulder, folded it up, and wrapped it around his waist. His voice suddenly gained strength.

"Look at what Cao Bokun has done over the years; he is definitely not a person who truly wants to seek peace."

"He must have suffered a great loss if he wanted to negotiate, so he's resorting to underhanded tactics here."

"At times like these, we cannot afford to let our guard down."

Liu Yanqi touched his right eye.

"Ghost King, humph, I'll hold out a little longer."

Cai Shanjun's eyes flickered. "Send a telegram to Luoyang to see if there's any new development."

(End of this chapter)