Chapter 1016: Take Care

“They each have an Ancient-class Strange Artifact?” Ye Qing exclaimed with surprise.

“That’s right,” Feng Qingyou confirmed, “they wield the Heaven Destroying Jar, the Spirit Suppressing Pearl, and the King Slaying Sword respectively.”

“All three Strange Artifacts are quite deadly in their own right, and they are only deadlier when activated by a ten thousand-strong army formation. Combined with the fact that each army is overflowing with powerful warriors, it is unrealistic to think that the Eight Divine Armors alone are enough to keep them at bay.”

“More importantly, the Moon Praying Ceremony is very, very loud. As soon as our enemies realize what we’re doing, they will do everything in their power to stop us. If the Moon Praying Ceremony is interrupted, then all of our efforts would be for naught.”

Zheng Rong and Zheng Shan’s face turned grave. “You are absolutely right, miss. We should’ve known better.”

“Alright, how are we going to do this?” Ye Qing asked.

“Zheng Rong, Zheng Shan, I want the two of you and all of your men to guard the Nanjiang Royal Court.”

Feng Qingyou instructed, “Assuming my predictions are correct, the first army to arrive at the Nanjiang Royal Court must be King Slayer.”

“Say, where is Profound Spirit Taoist?” Ye Qing suddenly asked a question that seemed rather out of place.

“I’ve removed him from the walls since we’re going to fight soon,” Zheng Rong replied instinctively.

“Bring him back,” Feng Qingyou instructed. “Knock him out and suspend him on the walls. Then, withdraw into the city, every single one of you. Do not reveal your faces to the enemies.”

“But... why?” Zheng Shan looked more confused than ever.

“Th Empty Fort Strategy?” Ye Qing said subconsciously.

“That’s exactly right.” Feng Qingyou shot Ye Qing a curious look before explaining, “Remember that our goal is to delay the Chu army, not fight with them.”

“According to my knowledge, the great general of King Slayer, Jin Wujiu, is an exceptionally cunning and intelligent man. He is known to make a move only if he has sufficient information and has plotted out every possibility and outcome. To put it nicely, he is a cautious and meticulous man who plans far ahead. To put it bluntly, he is excessively paranoid and cannot help but see shadows at every corner.”

“When they arrive, Jin Wujiu will notice that Profound Spirit Taoist is hanging on the wall for some reason, and our men are conspicuously missing. He will surely suspect an ambush or something of similar nature. Until he figures out exactly what is going on inside the city, he will never attack.”

“Jin Wujiu would only grow even more certain about his paranoia once we’ve made contact with the other two armies. He will most likely turn around and leave to assist his fellow armies instead. Assuming all goes well, we would be able to buy a massive amount of time without losing a single soldier.”

Zheng Rong and Zheng Shan weren’t speaking, but their eyes were shining with clear respect.

“Of course, although I’m confident in my predictions, I am just a mortal. Assuming I was wrong, you must defend the Nanjiang Royal Court to the last even if it costs you all your lives.”

“We understand and obey, miss.” Zheng Rong and Zheng Shan clasped their fists and declared firmly.

“If we are staying, who will intercept Barbarian Slayer and Wildland Suppression, miss?” Zheng Rong asked.

“We will,” Feng Qingyou pointed at Ye Qing.

“Just the two of you?” Zheng Rong and Zheng Shan exclaimed in surprise, though not Ye Qing. He had had a vague feeling from the moment Feng Qingyou ordered Zheng Rong and Zheng Shan to stay behind.

“Specifically, the two of us and the Eight Divine Armors will go,” Feng Qingyou answered.

“That’s too much! Allow me and my best men to join you, Miss!” Zheng Rong argued.

“Yeah. I’ll come as well,” Zheng Shan said as well.

“No thanks,” Feng Qingyou rejected their request mercilessly. “You need to stay here just in case my predictions go wrong.”

“Besides, all of you are too weak. Bringing you with us would only increase our chances of being exposed and even reveal to our enemies that we are plotting something. Frankly, your presence is useless at best or actively detrimental at worst.”

Zheng Rong: “...”

Zheng Shan: “...”

Long story short, she thought that they were too weak to be useful.

“But...”

Zheng Rong wanted to argue some more, but Feng Qingyou interrupted him, “Time is running short. Obey and do as I say.”

“As you command.” The two men did not dare to argue.

“Let’s go.” Feng Qingyou cast Ye Qing a glance before leaping off the city gate tower and flying off toward the jungle.

Ye Qing was following right behind her.

“Can the two of us and the Eight Divine Armors really delay the Barbarian Slayer and Wild Suppression?” Ye Qing asked while flying beside Feng Qingyou.

“We can,” Feng Qingyou declared without hesitation. “Oh right, I forgot to tell you, but the two armies may not be our only opponents. There could be a Sage as well.”

“Excuse you?!”

Ye Qing lost control of his qi and nearly fell from the sky when he heard this.

A Sage?! Does she have a death wish?!

“Chu’s eastern, southern, western, and northern armies all have Sages in them, though the Nanjiang Pacification Army only has one Sage because the Nanjiang Royal Court is weak. His name is Wei Nanhua, and he is currently watching the Sky Mending Sect to prevent them from interfering with this war.”

Feng Qingyou explained, “However, there is a high chance Profound Spirit Taoist had notified Wei Nanhua about our activities, so...”

“So Wei Nanhua is coming to kick our asses?” Ye Qing visibly trembled at the news.

“He is,” Feng Qingyou murmured, “but how soon he’ll show up is a question. Does the Sky Mending Sect still remember their old bond with the Meng Clan? Could they really stand and do nothing while foreigners are running amok in Nanjiang?”

“I think not. So Wei Nanhua will arrive, but he most likely won’t arrive fast enough to interfere with our operation.”

“... If he’s not going to show up in time, then why did you bring him up?” Ye Qing asked in confusion. He only made out one thing from Feng Qingyou’s reply, and that was that Wei Nanhua most likely wouldn’t arrive in time. After all, when Feng Qingyou used words like “most likely”, she usually meant “definitely”.

“To comfort you, duh.”

Feng Qingyou smirked. “Don’t you feel much more confident now that you know that you don’t have to fight off a Sage as well?”

Ye Qing: “...”

You sure have a strange way of comforting people, girl.

“Let’s discuss the details of our operation, Qingyou,” Ye Qing changed the subject.

“It’s simple.”

Feng Qingyou began, “We’re going to split the Eight Armors into three groups. I will take the Qian Armor and Kun Armor and ambush the nearest Barbarian Slayer. You will take the Xun Armor, Zhen Armor and Gen Armor and lie in ambush on the path Wildland Suppression is sure to pass through. You will attack them when you deem the time is right and stall them. Finally, the Kan Armor, Li Armor and Dui Armor will be deployed against King Slayer.”

“Remember, our goal is to delay the enemy, not kill them. Don’t try to fight them head on, and if possible, try to use everything around you—the terrain, the weather, the native Strangers etc—to stall them.”

“How long do I need to delay them, exactly?” Ye Qing asked.

“It takes an incense stick to carry out the Moon Praying Ceremony.” Feng Qingyou said, “But of course, we don’t need to delay our quarry for that long. In fact, we need to return to the Nanjiang Royal Court before the Moon Praying Ceremony is complete.”

“When it is time, I will message you using the Hundred Kilometers Flying Voice Talisman. You will withdraw as soon as you receive my message.”

“Got it.” Ye Qing nodded.

“Alright, I’m going to transfer the method to control the Divine Armors to you now.” Feng Qingyou turned around and planted a finger on Ye Qing’s forehead. An incredibly profound spell immediately appeared inside his headspace.

At the same time, he felt a thread appearing between himself and the Xun Armor, Zhen Armor, and Gen Armor. Now, he could control them with a single thought.

“Done. This is where we part ways.”

After transferring the method to Ye Qing, Feng Qingyou said, “Remember, nothing is more than your safety. If necessary, do not hesitate to sacrifice the Divine Armors to save yourself.”

“Mm, I will.”

Ye Qing blurred and reappeared a far distance away from Feng Qingyou. He was about to leave when suddenly, the woman called out to him lightly, “Joyless...”

“Yeah?” Ye Qing looked back thinking that she had more instructions to give him.

“Take care.”

Feng Qingyou gave him a smile, and it looked so beautiful that it was like a dream, stunning throughout the ages.

“You too, Qingyou.”

The heavy weight in Ye Qing’s heart abruptly disappeared. His body felt light, and his mind felt fully in control.

“See you in a bit.”

Ye Qing returned a sunny grin and took his leave.