Star Trace Gate

Chapter 986 Luck or Ability? Wang Tudou's Negotiation

Nanshan Illusion.

When Qu Acai led four hundred monks and soldiers, it took nearly half an hour to finally kill the "rebel" Li Duozhi and his two hundred personal guards, a destructive light suddenly swept across the entire Nanshan Mountain.

The entire mountain shook violently, and a rainbow of light shot straight into the sky from the summit, accompanied by the dissipation of endless spiritual energy, which turned into clouds and gradually disappeared from the world.

Qu Acai was the garrison commander of Nanshan, so he naturally knew what the astonishing phenomenon before him meant.

This must be because the key to the formation in the Nanshan Illusion has shattered. It must be that a high-level expert took advantage of the infighting between the two camps to forcibly enter the illusion and rescue most of the Divine Court prisoners inside, thus enabling them to quickly destroy the formation.

It's over. My ill-fated and extremely unfortunate leadership career has truly ended at this moment.

In fact, from the moment Qu Acai was captured by Liu Wei for the second time, he knew very well that his fate would not be good. If he could end up being dismissed from his post and imprisoned, that would be the best outcome.

However, people always harbor a sense of luck and want to defy fate and change their destiny before they have actually seen a dead end.

Before attacking the guard camp, Qu Acai still felt that he was not entirely without a chance to turn the tide, because the Nanshan Illusion was his own territory, and only the two hundred guards led by Li Duozhi could be considered an uncontrollable event, while the other factors were directly or indirectly under his control.

Therefore, his thought was that he must not let the four thousand prisoners of war in the illusion escape. As long as these people were not successfully rescued, he would not have made a big mistake. On the contrary, if he handled it properly, he might even make a great contribution.

Therefore, after returning to his camp, he only deployed a little over a hundred monk soldiers to set up an ambush, and planned to pretend to follow Liu Wei's instructions to forcibly pull Li Duozhi into the trap, and then try to delay as much as possible. If the battle at the Martial Monk's Mansion could end as soon as possible, then psychologically, Liu Wei would be at a significant disadvantage, and might even surrender without a fight and abandon his rebellion.

But if Liu Wei forcibly activated the poison within him, forcing him to release the prisoners, he could immediately turn hostile and show an attitude of wanting to perish together with the other party. In short, he would not cooperate. If the poison consumed his body, he would order his soldiers to skin him alive, piece by piece... Nobody would survive.

He felt that Liu Wei would most likely choose to submit and back down in this situation, and he could also act as a loyal and valiant general, rather than a traitor, under Li Duozhi's witness.

The problem was that Li Duozhi, this shabi, didn't trust him at all. Moreover, judging from the fact that the monk soldiers in the enemy camp had gathered in advance, he seemed to be planning to make a sudden move. In addition, Liu Wei remained calm throughout the whole process, and even in his tent full of military officers, he did not show any sign of panic.

This made Qu Acai feel that Liu Wei was somewhat unfathomable. Even if he turned against him, Liu Wei might have a way to escape. In addition, Li Duozhi did not believe him, which was equivalent to losing the most important witness. Even if he chose to be a loyal general, no one in the temple would speak up for him or testify for him. If he died, it would be a pointless death...

After going through an extremely complicated internal struggle, Qu Acai was forced to choose to raise an army in rebellion and fight against the Imperial Guard. Just when he wanted to finish the battle quickly, the Nanshan Illusion was stolen. Everything was settled, and there was no turning back.

Within the Nanshan Mountains, in the guard camp, there were corpses with severed limbs and grotesque faces everywhere.

Qu Acai sat blankly at the entrance of the tent, looking up at the sky with eyes full of despair.

Of the four hundred monks he had mobilized, more than one hundred had died in the battle just now. The remaining men, before they could even enjoy the joy of victory, sensed that the illusion of Nanshan had been broken and that four thousand prisoners were about to emerge. So... those who could run away ran away.

Several of Qu Acai's old brothers, who had followed him for many years, still trusted him completely and kept asking him, "The Nanshan Illusion has been broken, and the four thousand prisoners are about to escape... Lord Moro, did you have any countermeasures in mind beforehand?"

What kind of plan does Lord Moro have? They have no idea what happened in the Southern Mountains... Qu Acai looked at these people with a guilty look and said, "Lord Moro won't come, and he won't care about what's going on here. You should go down the mountain... Run as far away as you can in the chaos."

The old men were all bewildered, but when they saw that Qu Acai looked ashen-faced, they realized they might have been fooled, so they all ran away and scattered down the mountain.

Some died, some fled, and Qu Acai sat motionless in the empty camp, letting the cold wind blow against his face.

"Tap tap...!"

Just then, Liu Wei walked steadily and slowly to his side.

"Gudong!"

As soon as Qu Acai saw him, he immediately got up and knelt down, shouting, "Brother Liu Wei, I've done what I asked for... Can you let me go now? With the help of the Divine Court's spies, you must be able to find a way to get me out of the city, right?"

Liu Wei looked down at him and shook his head, saying, "Brother, I have something else to announce to you!"

"...!" Qu Acai was all too familiar with this line, and his expression instantly froze.

"I hereby formally announce... I lied to you again. From the moment I tied you up, I never intended to let you live." Liu Wei showed no remorse, only saying with his hands behind his back, "This was a last resort, I hope you can understand."

"Liu Wei!!! You son of a bitch! I've never done anything to you, why are you trying to kill me like this?" Qu Acai cried out, his body twitching. "Why do you have to put me to death?"

“If you don’t die, the news that I released four thousand prisoners for the Divine Court will definitely spread. When the temple is purged, do you think I will survive?” Liu Wei leaned down and asked, “If you had to choose, would you rather I die, or would you rather die yourself?”

Qu Acai just stared blankly at the other person, speechless.

“We were never friends. You even lied to your old brothers for your own life, leading them to fight alongside Li Duozhi’s personal guards... How can I trust you to keep this secret for me?”

Liu Wei's voice was calm and steady, his eyes devoid of any pity. He slowly raised his arm, pointing to the brightly lit North Wind Town, and said, "Actually... we are just like the ordinary people trapped in this city, witnessing the rise and fall of this great era, the emergence of heroes, one after another taking the stage... yet we can only sit obediently in the audience, like ants at the mercy of others. The stage where heroes vie for supremacy is right before our eyes... but it is a height that neither of us can ever reach in our lifetime. The reason I survived is not because I am more cunning or better at understanding the situation than you... I was simply luckier."

"Then why... why am I so damn unlucky?!" Qu Acai responded like a walking corpse.

“Go to hell. Once you’re dead, all the money you’ve embezzled will be gone without a trace.” Liu Wei looked at him coldly and only said what he could do: “I can’t control your relatives in Tianzhao City, but I will find a way to send away your concubines and children in Beifeng Town.”

"This time I'm telling the truth, I'm not lying to you."

"…!" Qu Acai pursed his lips and asked in a low voice, "Li Duozhi, why did you gather the monk soldiers in advance? Does this mean you intend to make the first move?"

“Because you will be unwilling to accept this, you will try to resist. So, I had someone secretly send a secret letter to Li Duozhi, telling him that you will rebel.” Liu Wei did not hide anything: “With your previous compromise with Wang Anquan, this Mr. Duozhi will definitely think of it as… your career is ruined, and he may really take the opportunity to side with the Divine Court.”

Qu Acai slowly closed his eyes and let out a long breath: "No, you're not just luckier than me... you're just more capable. This era is perfect for someone as clear-headed as you. I... I fucking admit it. I hope this time... you're really not lying to me."

Liu Wei simply nodded but did not reply.

Not long after, Qu'a chose to leave and committed suicide in the camp of his personal guards, where corpses lay everywhere. His soul returned to the year 251.

When Liu Wei left, dozens of maggots and poisonous creatures crawled out of his body and dispersed into the mountains.

……

Within the Nanshan Illusion, Wang Anquan was discussing matters with dozens of former Divine Court generals and preparing to divide his forces among six teleportation arrays.

"Uncle, Uncle... the person who saved us is calling for you at the entrance to the illusion." A member of the clan rushed over and shouted loudly.

"Listen to my uncles' instructions, prepare yourselves, we'll be going down the mountain soon." Wang Anquan gave these instructions to the generals and then immediately turned and left.

A moment later, Liu Wei, disguised, met Wang Anquan at the entrance of the illusion and said succinctly, "Two sentences! First, none of my cooks' monks came to the Nanshan illusion tonight. It was Qu Acai who, because of his compromise after being captured last time, secretly sided with the Divine Court and conspired with you... to kill Li Duozhi and release the Nanshan prisoners. Afterwards, Qu Acai disappeared without a trace."

Wang Anquan paused for a moment, then said, "Uh, I understand what you mean, but...!"

"Secondly, having reached this point, I've completed all the tasks the gray-robed woman entrusted to me. From now on, we owe each other nothing and will have no further contact." Liu Wei pointed at the other party and said, "However, if after this matter, you intend to leak this incident and cause the Tianzhao Temple to investigate me... I certainly don't have the ability to retaliate against the gray-robed woman, nor can I assassinate Long Er, the head of the Fulong Pavilion... but I should be able to keep a close eye on your Wang family!!"

“Starting today, I will set aside a small portion of my family fortune. If I suffer any misfortune, someone will take the deposit and infiltrate Tiandu. They may not be able to kill you or your wife, but they should be able to kill your eldest son, your second son, and the elderly and children in your family... They will act in the shadows endlessly, ensuring that you will never have peace for the rest of your life.”

Liu Wei's face showed no ferocity, and his tone was calm, but every word was filled with decisiveness and sharpness.

Wang Anquan pondered for a while: "I understand what you mean. The matter is settled, and there is no need for us to continue. Moreover... perhaps one day, we may become close friends in private."

"Ha, you're overthinking it. I would never befriend those hypocritical people who uphold the order," Liu Wei said, then turned and left.

Wang Anquan looked at him and, with a hint of regret, shouted, "Brother, think about it again... The order is actually quite good, at least you don't have to shave your head!"

Liu Wei, accompanied only by his old brothers, hurried down the mountain and called out, "The people I left in the Heavenly Prison will now bring your closest relatives to the No. 1 teleportation array. You can meet up there."

"Sigh, what a clever man, it's a pity I can't use him." Wang Anquan shook his head helplessly as he watched his retreating figure.

They stormed the Heavenly Prison and rescued a hundred members of the Wang family; they broke through the illusion and released four thousand prisoners, then their horses trampled the Southern Mountains...

Liu Wei did a fantastic job on these two things, even flawlessly.

The task of imprisoning the emperor was ordered by Master Zhenyi, and it was backed up by someone above. Tonight's chaos in Nanshan had nothing to do with the cooks, because it was the work of Qu Acai, who suddenly turned against the government after feeling hopeless about his career and facing a critical situation.

Throughout the entire incident, he not only completed the tasks assigned by Little Bad King, but also handed over the huge blame to Old Qu. Although he also faced the risk of the Divine Court and his subordinates leaking information at any time, he disguised himself throughout the entire process. Even if the temple suspected him one day and questioned the person involved, they would not be able to find any solid evidence that he was involved in the matter. The house used by Zang Qu A Cai, as well as the various details of entering the Nanshan Illusionary Realm to coerce others, were all unknown to most of his soldiers.