Chapter 1905: Please Pray to the Gods

“What was the cause of County Magistrate Wu’s death?”

“He died in his sleep, from heart failure, they said,” the attendant continued. “The Tian family has been in the medicinal herbs business in Tongxi for generations, but Yangshan completely disrupted their operations, making it impossible for them to compete. As soon as Magistrate Tian took office, he started arresting our people. It’s hard to say there wasn’t a personal vendetta.”

Lu Qiuwei repeated “Good” several times. “There’s still an official so clueless?”A local official who failed to recognize Yangshan’s influence was, by their standards, not a good official.

“A new official takes office, and perhaps influenced by some malevolent forces, he immediately targets us?” Ding Zuodong nodded. “This new Magistrate Tian seems rather narrow-minded. Should the Black Armored Army help him ‘open his eyes’?”

The Yangshan Chamber of Commerce was a powerful benefactor wherever it operated. To dare offend it, Magistrate Tian must have allied himself with a more powerful entity, or perhaps he deluded himself into thinking he had.

Lu Qiuwei stood up, draining the tea on the table. “Just wait and see.”When he walked out of the Yangshan branch, more than a hundred people followed him.By the time they reached Tongxi, these hundred-plus individuals had transformed into black-clad, black-armored, menacing warriors!

Meanwhile, Ding Zuodong was back to work.As night fell, he received new intelligence from the east:

The Black Armored Army appeared in Tongxi, frightening off the patrols and rescuing Yangshan personnel who were about to be paraded. They then casually decapitated Magistrate Tian before swaggering away in plain sight.They left Magistrate Tian’s head hanging on the county yamen's plaque, with a white banner beside it, on which eight large characters were written in blood:“Human face, beast heart; eyes but no vision.”

Ding Zuodong simply remarked, “Their movements are getting faster and faster,” before tossing the intelligence aside and focusing on his official duties.Previously, they had to be extra cautious when dealing with such troubles, ensuring people wouldn't associate Yangshan with the Black Armored Army.Now, however, that concern had been cast aside.

About fifteen minutes later, the bronze bell hanging by the window suddenly began to jingle – *ling-ling-ling*—In the quiet of the deep night, its sound seemed particularly clear and urgent.Yet, there was no wind outside the window.

Ding Zuodong seemed to pause for a moment, then immediately pulled open a drawer and grabbed several files.At that moment, an army of several hundred men unexpectedly charged into the town from outside. The guards of Kun Town rushed out to intercept them, identifying their uniforms in the torchlight:“They’re the Bixia people!”

The two leading riders charged recklessly, galloping towards Ding Zuodong’s office.“Quick, quick! The target is just ahead, don’t let him get away!”

Their speed was impressive, and the branch was not very large. The two horses galloped through a rounded archway and arrived directly in front of Ding Zuodong’s study door.But before they could dismount and push the door open, they heard a deafening explosion—The room suddenly blew up!The resulting blast wave nearly knocked both riders and their horses to the ground.

“Damn it!” both leaders cursed.Ding Zuodong was an important figure in Yangshan and surely knew many of He Xiao’s secrets. However, he was very cunning, never staying in one place for too long. After their superiors finally managed to pinpoint Ding Zuodong’s location, the Luodian people were ordered to capture him.Who knew that before they could even get close, the man had already detonated his own office.With this explosion, all the important documents were also incinerated.

The entire Kun Town was alerted, and shadowy figures began to converge on the location.Ding Zuodong was no longer to be found.

On the same day, in the royal capital of the Poliu Kingdom.The sky was dim. A person emerged from the back door of the temple, looked left and right to confirm no one was watching, and then returned to the palace.Upon entering the palace gate, protocol required presenting a token and then being searched to confirm identity.However, this person didn't need to show any token; merely seeing his face, the palace guards respectfully ushered him in, and the body search was waived.

The Poliu King’s imperial study was brightly lit. The person announced his arrival, and he was called inside.“Everyone out. Close the doors and windows,” the Poliu King ordered everyone else away before asking him, “Have you brought it?”“Yes, I have.”

With the doors and windows closed, the old palace attendant carefully took something from his robe, wrapped entirely in red cloth.When the red cloth was removed, it revealed a deity statue!It had the head of a lion, a forked tongue like a snake, and was dark greenish-black.What the old palace attendant had carried back from the temple’s back door was a small statue, slightly larger than a palm.

“Your Majesty, is this the deity you’ve been dreaming of?”Recently, the Poliu King had been having recurring dreams at night, always seeing the same deity speaking to him, but he couldn't hear clearly. So, he had asked the palace attendant to search the temple.The statue’s appearance was unique, and the Poliu King recognized it at once: “That’s right! Who is this?”“Under the Venerable God of a Hundred Battles, it is Yu Shen.”

After the fall of Miao Zhan Tian, it was unknown what changes had occurred in the divine realm, but many celestial gods no longer manifested. The Poliu temple originally worshipped the Goddess Feng He, and this Yu Shen statue was not prominently displayed. However, when the old palace attendant went this time, every divination stick he cast landed in front of the Yu Shen statue.Thus, finding the Yu Shen statue was not difficult for him.

The Poliu King let out a cold laugh, mockingly saying, “This is my royal city. Yet, I have to secretly invite a god here!”In the past, he would visit the temple openly whenever he wished to worship; now, he had to assign his most trusted old palace attendant to secretly bring a god into the palace.

“The situation is special, Your Majesty. Countless people are watching and speculating on your every move, so naturally, it’s best to be cautious!”

To the east, there was a small, high-legged table with a pot of orchids on it.The Poliu King pointed at it, and the old palace attendant took down the orchid pot, wiped the table surface, and used it as a temporary altar.He placed the statue on it, then added an incense burner and took out a row of tall incense sticks.

“This incense is specially made by the temple. It must be lit at night, and there should be no strong light or wind.”The Poliu King personally lit six tall incense sticks and placed them in the burner.The incense sticks were blue, and the smoke that rose was also blue, spreading everywhere with a sweet fragrance.Soon, the blue smoke filled the imperial study, and visibility became very low.If the doors and windows were opened, and smoke billowed out, other palace attendants would likely think there was a fire.

However, the Poliu King felt no irritation in his nose; in fact, his breathing grew long and even, as if he had entered a world of mist, where everything was a hazy blue.He didn't realize that this was a state of “trance.”Communication between gods and the mortal realm required a medium, a role usually played by a temple priest. Only powerful deities like the Venerable God of a Hundred Battles or True Lord Tong Ming could transmit messages through condensed smoke.However, the old palace attendant couldn't bring a temple priest into the palace without attracting too much attention. So, Yu Shen found a compromise: using the special blue smoke to guide the Poliu King into a state of “trance,” facilitating their communication.This also had the advantage that even if someone outside were to peek in, they wouldn’t know what was truly happening inside the study.

“Is... is anyone there?” Although surrounded by a world of blue smoke, the Poliu King found he could speak.Suddenly, a colossal dark greenish-black lion emerged from the blue smoke, startling him greatly. Yet, his feet seemed rooted to the ground, unable to move.The giant lion was at least fifteen feet tall; its mouth was large enough to swallow him whole, and its presence was terrifying.