NOVEL WEB chapter 112
112. Quelling the Internal Unrest
Wutu City, General’s Residence.
This was where Liu Shuqin had settled. These days, her nerves were taut, especially anxious, as she had to defend her homeland’s soil and could not afford the slightest slack.
“Lady Liu, a young lady named Su Kexin has come to see you!”
At that moment, a soldier came running to report.
“Kexin? Quick, bring her in!”
“Yes!”
The soldier ran out to usher Su Kexin in.
“Big Sister! Big Sister!”
Seeing Liu Shuqin safe and sound, Su Kexin ran over excitedly, holding Liu Shuqin’s hands like a young girl who had yet to shed her childishness, seeing her beloved elder sister.
Seeing Su Kexin here, Liu Shuqin’s taut nerves relaxed slightly, holding Su Kexin’s hands and lifting a gentle smile:
“Ke Xin, how did you end up here? Did you come alone?”
“No, my senior brother is with me. Master said that the foreign rebels have been causing trouble lately, so I came with my senior brother to Hu City to suppress the external enemies.”
“Hu City? Ke Xin, but this is Wutu City, and Hu City is still hundreds of miles away.”
“Yes, that’s correct. Senior brother said he wanted to visit you, so we came together,” Su Ke Xin said with a smile.
“You came together?”
Liu Shuqin looked outside the door and didn’t see Lin Nuo’s figure, “Ke Xin, where is your junior brother? Didn’t you say you came together?”
“Senior brother said he wanted to walk around Wutu City, to experience the local atmosphere. I wanted to go with him, but he wanted to go alone and didn’t let me follow. I’m not familiar with this place and didn’t dare to wander around, so I came straight to find you, senior sister.”
“Oh, I see. This place is modest, and I might not have been a good host, please don’t mind.”
“Ah, senior sister, you’re too polite. There’s no such thing as being a bad host, we’re not divas. I heard you were born in Wutu City, I always thought you were a native of the Central Plains.”
“My father is also from the Central Plains, and my mother is mixed, so my appearance leans towards the Central Plains people. But I was born here and have some fond childhood memories. Sorry, I never mentioned this before.”
“No worries, that’s your personal matter, senior sister. You’re not obliged to tell me. Are you getting used to living here? The foreign tribes must be tough to deal with.” Su Ke Xin expressed her concern repeatedly, and the two girls could talk non-stop when they were together.
“Everything is still okay, we’re barely holding on. Once the imperial army’s reinforcements arrive, we can breathe a sigh of relief.”
The two girls chatted for a long time, and the appearance of Su Ke Xin somewhat eased Liu Shuqin’s mood. Having a junior sister to talk to was somewhat relaxing.
Suddenly, there was a loud boom, like the earth was splitting and the mountains were crumbling, and the whole mansion shook on its brink.
The sound was very close, and Liu Shuqin felt it must be within the city.
Why would there be an explosion inside the city? Could it be a civil unrest?
Liu Shuqin had always been worried about this, as many border cities had already experienced rebellions and defections. She hoped the citizens would unite against the common enemy, rather than internal turmoil causing a collapse from within.
“What’s going on…”
“I’m not sure, but I don’t think it’s anything good.”
Liu Shuqin became serious, and the smile on her face disappeared.
At that moment.
A soldier rushed in.
“Lady Liu, rebels have appeared in the city, please give your orders!”
As expected, the thing she feared had come.
Liu Shuqin asked sternly:
“Where did the explosion sound come from?”
“It’s Lord Haru’s mansion, it seems to have been bombed, and now it’s about to be reduced to ashes by the raging fire.”
“I understand, I’ll go and quell it immediately.”
Liu Shuqin picked up her sword and turned to look at Su Ke Xin, “I’m sorry, Ke Xin, I couldn’t host you properly since you just arrived. Now that there’s a rebellion in the city, you stay here in the mansion, I’ll go handle it.”
“No, no, senior sister, you’re too polite. Now that the city is in trouble, I can’t just stand by and watch. I’ll go with you.”
Su Kexin also drew her sword, her expression solemn.
“Alright, thank you, Kexin.”
Then, the two of them left the general’s residence to pacify the rebels in the city.
Liu Shuqin thought this was a large, organized rebellion and would be very tricky. She was prepared to face death, but upon arriving in the city, she found that these rebels were just a rabble, like leaderless flies, with no organization to speak of.
The rebels in the city lord’s mansion had some organization, but their plans had already been exposed and were suppressed by the city lord’s hidden troops.
For Liu Shuqin, this suppression of the rebels felt like child’s play; it was far different from the rebellions she knew.
Or perhaps their arrangements had been disrupted, clearly in disarray.
“How can this be? Could there still be a hidden threat?”
Liu Shuqin found it hard to believe. She now suspected that this was a ruse by the rebels, appearing as a disorganized mob on the surface but hiding a deadly trap to lower their guard and then strike when least expected.
Haru’s mansion had been destroyed, presumably by the rebels.
Haru was a noble, and his mansion had its own army, yet it was destroyed, showing the rebels’ ferocity and cunning.
“Miss Liu.”
Hearing a shout, Liu Shuqin looked over and saw the city lord of Wutu City approaching.
“Lord City Lord, how are things on your side?”
“They’ve been suppressed. I didn’t expect Haru to collude with the foreign tribes.”
“Hmm? Haru? What do you mean?”
“A mysterious person gave us the rebels’ plans and layouts, along with intercepted covert letters, even the method to break their sealing techniques. He informed us through a note. We weren’t sure, but we were cautious, and indeed, we noticed their missteps, captured their people, and got more clues. After we acted, the rebels inside the city indeed started to riot, and the foreign tribes outside began to stir. However, seeing the city gates closed, they did not attack. Later, my men received a sound bead that recorded Haru’s conversation with the foreign tribes.”
The city lord then played the sound from the bead, and indeed, it was Haru conversing with the foreign tribes, speaking in a sinister and cunning tone.
With this, it was indeed Haru. Unexpectedly, as a noble of Wutu City, he harbored a heart of rebellion.
But what about that explosion?
“A mysterious person? Who could that be?”
“Not sure, he was masked and left quickly. We didn’t see his true face.”
“Hmm? How strange.”
Listening, Liu Shuqin found it indeed odd. After hearing more from the city lord, she felt this mysterious person had vast powers, as if he knew all this in advance.
Lin Nuo hid in a corner, watching them.
In his previous life, he had dwelled on this matter. After becoming a demon, he even made a point to understand the situation back then, armed with enough intelligence. But by that time, Haru was already dead, his ashes gone, or else he would have whipped his corpse.
After being reborn, he personally ended Haru, and how satisfying that was.