Chapter 24 A Play

"How are you planning to do it? Are you going to openly charge into the Zhu Jun Hall?" Ye Tao didn't refuse, he asked with a smile.

"How is that possible? Never mind those experts, once those followers are incited, a few people won't be able to handle them. Even regular troops can't deal with those lunatics." Guan Huan had already experienced the madness of the religious followers. During his continuous pursuit of Pan Jue, Pan Jue had relied on the religious followers to escape several times, and Guan Huan, unwilling to involve innocent people, had no choice but to avoid the entanglement of the fanatical followers.

"Then what are you going to do? As long as he hides in the Zhu Jun Hall, there's really nothing you can do. If I had known about this beforehand, I could have brought some kerosene bombs and built a few ballistae to level the place where he lives. You want my men to risk their lives, that won't do." Ye Tao's response made Feng Zi and Lei Huang, who were listening from the side, break out in cold sweats.

They had no doubt that ballistae, with their simple structure and high accuracy, were not a problem for Ye Tao at all. They had long known that Ye Tao's carriage always had a toolbox filled with all kinds of tools, and the precision measuring instruments inside alone were a great fortune. It should be known that although Bosch Instrument Company, which belonged to Ye's Workshop, also sold measuring tools with very good precision to the public, the really good stuff was not for sale, but only provided for internal use by Ye's Workshop or the military and some extremely reliable clients. And as the owner of Ye's Workshop, the things in Ye Tao's toolbox were of the highest precision and could be used to make ballistae sights and the like. Although they hadn't brought kerosene bombs, they had brought a lot of flame-spraying rods, which were good for close combat. The problem was, they brought these things not because any of them had ever thought of really using them.

Guan Huan pondered for a moment and said, "The mountain where the Zhu Jun Hall is located is now called Zhu Jun Mountain. And the people from the Eagle Hall have some conflicts with the ideas of the Tao Ming Sect's clergy. To avoid trouble, they have a contact point at the top of the cliff on the back of Zhu Jun Mountain. There's only one small path there, and behind it is the cliff. Although Pan Jue knows I'm chasing him, he can't ignore the Eagle Hall's affairs. I think, if I lure him there, it should be no problem. It's not difficult for you to evacuate from the cliff, is it? I've seen those gadgets you made."

Ye Tao chuckled and said, "So you've got your eye on my set of equipment. The quality of steel has improved a lot in recent years, and that mountaineering gear is very useful. Xiao Bi, did you bring that set of equipment?"

Bi Xiaoqing frowned and said, "I did bring it, but... Master, don't trust this guy's words too much. What kind of cliff is that? It's actually just a mountain peak, with cliffs on all sides. That small path was carved out of the mountain. And that mountain peak is only that far away from the altar behind the Zhu Jun Hall. Anything that happens on the cliff can be seen clearly from behind. He can kill to his heart's content, and then what? Everyone will remember his face?"

Ye Tao was surprised and said, "Is it that close?"

Bi Xiaoqing snapped his fingers coolly, and a guard quickly presented a map. Ye Tao looked at it for a few moments, then looked at Guan Huan, and said, "Forget your face, they can hear anything you say loudly. But... wouldn't it be much easier to build a suspension bridge at that distance?"

Bi Xiaoqing curled his lips and said, "There's only that much space on top of the cliff, a small house and a little open space in front of it, and a pigeon loft. Usually, there's probably only one or two people on duty, and they're all from the Eagle Hall, very agile. They won't have any problems going up and down the mountain. Why bother building a suspension bridge? And... it's said that there used to be a suspension bridge, but since the altar began to hold various gatherings frequently, the suspension bridge was removed. The Eagle Hall probably didn't want uninformed followers to go to the top of the cliff, and the Taoists in the Zhu Jun Hall probably嫌嫌 the suspension bridge was too simple and not solemn at all."

Guan Huan scratched his head awkwardly and said, "I probably don't have the luck to be on the Tao Ming Sect's top twenty assassination list with you. Even if I'm recognized, so what? I've been running around enough these past few years. How about I be your bodyguard?"

Bi Xiaoqing rolled his eyes, looking at Guan Huan innocently, as if to say, 'Although I can't beat you, you're not giving me any face, are you?' Looking at Bi Xiaoqing's expression, Ye Tao couldn't help but laugh.

"...In other words, as long as we lure that guy to the top of the cliff, it's easy to kill him, and as long as we cut off that road, the other side won't be able to get to the top of the cliff for a while. I looked at the back of the cliff, and it seems very convenient to evacuate... But if that's the case, couldn't you have done it long ago?" Ye Tao asked, puzzled.

"...I can. The problem is... Gu Xi and his family are with me, all in Shunyi City. After I kill Pan Jue, they will definitely search the surrounding area, and they won't be able to escape. Now Gu Xi and his family are being pursued by the Eagle Hall. It's not impossible for me to send them away first and then meet up again... But, who knows where it's safe to send them? I'm not familiar with Xi Ling, so it's safest to be with them. If I hadn't seen you in front of the Zhu Jun Hall today, I would have been ready to give up the pursuit and wait for Gu Xi to recover from his injuries. I'll settle him down and then kill that Pan Jue. I just don't know where he'll run to by then." Guan Huan said helplessly.

"...You...you guy." Ye Tao was speechless at Guan Huan's answer. He thought for a moment and said, "Alright then, I'll help you with this. Xiao Bi, have someone bring Gu Xi and his family here and prepare to evacuate with Qiu Yan and the others."

"You brought Qiu Yan with you? Are you here on vacation?" Guan Huan rolled his eyes and said in surprise.

"Hehe, Master, I'm afraid I can't obey you on this one. I have to send you away together. Most of the guards will go with you. With Zhou Rui and Wu Ping An there, I'm more at ease. I'll stay and help Guan Huan, a few brothers will be enough. As for Lei Huang and his group, they don't have to return to the country anyway. They can mingle with the followers and wait for the dharma assembly to end before going to the Li Clan's castle themselves. Anyway, Master, you can forget about risking your life again this time." Bi Xiaoqing said seriously.

After today's experience, which had given them all a cold sweat, Ye Tao knew that he couldn't convince Bi Xiaoqing to let him stay. Besides, after killing Pan Jue, the fewer people there were in their group, the better their physical condition, and the easier it would be to escape the pursuit. And there was no need to let Ye Tao suffer with them, riding continuously for many days. Ye Tao didn't want to stay and watch the killing either.

"So close... a good show." Ye Tao shook his head and said, "Too bad I won't be able to see it."

His casual words seemed to remind him of something. He frowned and stared at the map, again and again... A scene full of theatrical significance slowly emerged in his mind.

Ye Tao's eyes lit up, and he raised his head and said to Guan Huan, "Guan Huan, if you have the opportunity, would you be willing to denounce Pan Jue's crimes and then kill him in front of many Tao Ming Sect followers? Since they can see it, why not let them see it?"

Guan Huan frowned. Doing this in front of so many people wouldn't hurt his reputation. Besides, he didn't care what kind of image he had in the hearts of the Xi Ling people. He asked strangely, "Is it necessary? What martial artists want when they seek revenge is just the result. Making a big show of it is annoying. But I think, that's no problem."

Ye Tao smiled slyly and said, "Okay, then I require you to follow my script completely at that time."

"Script?" Guan Huan had at least seen some "stage plays" in the Danyang Yizhan Tower's lecture hall, so he had some understanding of the term. He knew that Ye Tao must have come up with some strange idea again. "What exactly do you want to do?"

Ye Tao looked at Lei Huang and said, "You said I left a thorn in those people's hearts, uh, I want more thorns, deeper thorns..."

Lei Huang opened his mouth wide and said, "Master... are you going to undermine the Tao Ming Sect's legitimacy?"

People who have been trained are different, Ye Tao sighed inwardly, even the words they use are so accurate. Ye Tao smiled and said, "There will never be a better opportunity."

Now that Ye Tao had decided to help Guan Huan solve Pan Jue, adding a little bit of material on top of this decision was not a risk at all. At most, it would just involve doing some extra work on that cliff, and staying a little longer--in Bi Xiaoqing's rather crude words when he was in a bad mood--just enough time to take a piss. But if these preparations could really be effective, the impact on the future would be considerable. Bi Xiaoqing felt it was acceptable. Moreover, when everything was happening, Ye Tao should already be hundreds of miles away. With Zhou Rui by Ye Tao's side, he expected them to be able to return to Dongping safely. Although Ye Tao's so-called team internship would inevitably have a somewhat anticlimactic ending, and the final observation of the dharma assembly would have to be done by the students themselves, even if Ye Tao had any thoughts, he wouldn't be able to give those students instructions face-to-face, and the inability to explain things in person would be a great loss. If he had to rely on letters to explain some issues afterwards, there would be problems with the transmission of information. But the important thing was that Ye Tao must not have any accidents.

According to Ye Tao's ideas, Guan Huan, Bi Xiaoqing, and others quickly busied themselves. And the entire team also organized the evacuation in an orderly manner. They would all leave Shunyi City two days before the dharma assembly began.

And their evacuation, on the surface, also seemed low-key and logical. The "merchant caravan" had sold off its batch of spices and excitedly began to rush back, although they certainly wouldn't be able to make it "home for the New Year", being able to return home in the first month of the new year would still bring some of the joy of the new year...

And the "Frankish craftsmen's daughters" who had originally planned to observe the dharma assembly were furious because their group had had various minor frictions with the religious followers and the locals, and "finally" decided to leave early. Friction was natural. Ordinary people were already a little worried about having such a group of aliens around them, and some radical religious followers had long shouted about driving the "monsters" out. When Ye Tao and his group felt the need to tolerate it, these verbal problems didn't matter, but when they began to look for reasonable excuses to evacuate, these were ready-made materials. And when one of the members of the team inadvertently revealed that Miss Sophie was preparing to observe the dharma assembly, the fanatical believers, who were extremely devout to the Tao Ming Sect, couldn't tolerate this indifferent attitude, and a conflict was almost about to break out. Fortunately, the clergy of the Tao Ming Sect were very clear-headed, and Bi Xiaoqing and others had also taken care of the local officials very well, and the criticisms of the religious followers were quickly quelled. But this bad atmosphere still led the Frankish expedition to decide to leave and "return" to Chun Nan.