Star Trace Gate

Chapter 985 Commander Liu's Wisdom in Nanshan

After leaving the prison, Liu Wei, accompanied only by ten veterans from the camp, rushed to an empty house next to the Embroidery Courtyard; while Wang Anquan and others, accompanied by more than a hundred cooks, went ahead to the decisive battle site and waited patiently.

This vacant house next to the brothel was bought years ago by one of Liu Wei's mistresses for a very cheap price. She originally planned to earn enough money, marry an honest man, and settle down here. But later, the madam reminded her, "This house is too close to your workplace. Rumors about you are everywhere in the neighborhood. No man could stand that..."

The lover thought about it and realized that the madam was absolutely right. Then he used a secret technique that was not to be shared with outsiders to persuade Liu Wei to sell the house to a military officer in the cooking army.

In short, this house is usually deserted and secluded, making it ideal for shady dealings.

Inside the dimly lit, empty house, Qu Acai, the leader of the Brown Robe Camp, sat slumped in the northwest corner, his body bound by six dragon-binding ropes and with twelve source-sealing nails driven into his body. His situation was extremely pitiful.

The second kidnapping he experienced in his life happened at the beginning of Shenshi (3-5 PM) today. It was a sunny and breezy afternoon... Nearly three hours have passed since then.

He felt utterly hopeless. He sat there thinking all afternoon but still couldn't understand why such terrible things always happened to him.

Where exactly is the problem?

Sigh, are there just too many bad people in this world, or is my IQ just too low?

Qu Acai collapsed to the ground, at a loss for words.

"Squeak...!"

A series of teeth-grinding sounds rang out, and the door to the inner room was pushed open. Liu Wei, disguised, walked in aggressively with only six old brothers who were responsible for guarding Qu Acai.

Although he had disguised himself, Qu Acai still greeted the other party with certainty: "Liu Wei, you're a damn treacherous villain! I'll fucking swear to you!"

Liu Wei paused for a moment, then immediately waved his hand and said, "Brother, calm down, don't start cursing!"

"Go to hell! I only met you because I trusted you. You'll get your comeuppance sooner or later for acting like this!" Qu Acai was so angry that he was trembling all over.

"It seems Lord Qu has been sitting here all afternoon, yet he still hasn't managed to clear his mind." Liu Wei personally lit the oil lamp, then stepped in front of Qu Acai, saying bluntly, "The matter is urgent; I don't have time to listen to your cursing. Let's get straight to the point…!"

Qu Acai stared at him coldly, his teeth grinding together.

"You think your life will be easier if I don't kidnap you? You're too naive!" Liu Wei looked down at him, his thoughts clear. "Last time, when Wang Anquan rebelled, the three teleportation arrays were reactivated, almost causing the entire North Wind Town to fall into enemy hands. Whose responsibility was that? You handed over the warrant and seal, which gave the Divine Court spies an opportunity to release over a hundred prisoners in the Southern Mountain Illusion! The entire process was witnessed by those captured military officers... Think about it, after this huge Star Source case is over, do you think Tianzhao Temple will let you off? What future prospects do you have left in your career?!"

“If it weren’t for the temple’s consideration for the stability of the entire Beifeng Town, then you dozen or so captured military officers would have been summoned back for questioning long ago. If Niu Dali hadn’t had other schemes, do you think you would still be stationed in Nanshan Illusion? He would have replaced you long ago and then controlled you… just wait and see what the temple’s attitude is.”

“Old Qu, if I were you, why would I still be guarding the Nanshan Illusion? I would definitely find an opportunity tonight to run away with the Star Source I’ve embezzled! If you’re still dreaming that you can get away with this and get promoted and make a fortune in the future, then I really overestimated you before… That’s the idea of ​​a top-notch idiot.”

"..." Qu Acai listened to the other party's words, his expression shifting between light and dark, and he did not respond.

“Tonight, I’ve prepared two options for you. First, you can do as I said before and fully cooperate with me, then we can each get what we need and go our separate ways.” Liu Wei held up two fingers: “Second, you can continue to hold fast to your beliefs, attribute the fact that you’ve been kidnapped twice to bad luck, and then choose to face death with equanimity.”

"But you only have the right to choose to die, and how you die... that's up to me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Wei picked up an oil lamp and illuminated the area to the left of the door. He then patted the water vat there and said, "This is the way I prepared for you to die. It is indeed a bit cruel and unbearable, but for a loyal and valiant general with a firm belief, it is the best end."

"...What...what are you going to do?" Qu Acai felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

"brush!"

The moment an old cook lifted the lid of the water vat, a foul stench instantly filled the room.

Liu Wei raised his hand and summoned a dark bell, then gently shook it.

"Ding ding...!"

A clear bell rang out, and the water vat, which was almost half a person tall, inexplicably began to shake.

"Squeak...!"

Immediately afterwards, wriggling sounds arose in the water tank, along with a shrill cry from some unknown species that was extremely piercing and made one's hair stand on end.

Two breaths later, countless cockroaches, snakes, centipedes, bedbugs... all awoke in the vat and, hearing the bell, crawled out of the vat like a tidal wave, then spread across the ground like maggots, surging towards Qu'a Cai.

These maggots and poisonous creatures emitted a pungent stench, glowed with a shimmering green light, and wriggled and swam excitedly, arriving at Qu Acai's feet in the blink of an eye.

His entire body was bound, and his divine magic and spiritual power were sealed. He was unable to dodge or dispel these repulsive poisons. He could only watch them approach him slowly, his scalp tingling and his face pale.

If these things really get on your body, they will burrow into any hole they see and devour any blood they find. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they will crawl all over Qu Acai's internal organs, wriggling around and defecating at the same time.

The phrase "a thousand insects devouring the body" perfectly describes this very moment!

"what!!!"

When Qu Acai saw a venomous snake, about the length of a finger, crawling up his body and heading straight for his nostril, he completely broke down and screamed hysterically, "Brother! Brother, spare me!!"

"Tell me, are you a treacherous minister or a fierce general?!" Liu Wei roared, his eyes wide.

"Traitor! I'm definitely a traitor! After all... I've already been captured once, and... I've compromised with Wang Anquan." Qu Acai roared, trembling all over. "If I said I was... a fierce general, nobody would believe me!"

"Thank you for giving me another chance to fight alongside you." Liu Wei showed a gratified expression.

"Quickly...quickly shake the Soul-Controlling Bell to make these poisonous creatures retreat!" Qu Acai shouted.

“No…we’re brothers, and we don’t trust each other. I’ll pick a few good ones and get them in first…once the job is done, I’ll call them home!” Liu Wei grinned.

Qu Acai looked completely bewildered: "Huh?!"

"Ding ding...!"

When Liu Wei shook the bell, his right hand left afterimages.

Three breaths later!

"puff!"

A small, bluish-green snake forcefully forced its way into Qu Acai's large mouth and teeth, then with a swift "Shenhou" motion, it vanished without a trace.

The little snake's actions seemed to be shouting, "Brothers, charge!"

"Gurgle gurgle...!"

Following closely behind, cockroaches, bedbugs, maggots, centipedes... filled Qu Acai's mouth in one go. How much ultimately went in is unknown, but judging from Qu Acai's stomach, this "Monkey King" operation must have been at least a full hour's worth of output.

……

Half an hour later, the Nanshan Illusionary Realm appeared.

Qu Acai, accompanied by sixteen personal guards, hurriedly returned to his brown-robed camp.

After he entered the tent, several captains, officers, and adjutants from the camp rushed over upon hearing the news.

When everyone saw that Qu Acai was dressed in armor, sitting upright behind the commander's desk, and looking energetic, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother, where have you been all afternoon? We've been looking for you like crazy!" A trusted military officer asked, his voice full of confusion.

Qu Acai glanced subconsciously at the sixteen guards who had accompanied him back, before replying with a stern face, "I went to the inner palace and had a long talk with Lord Moro."

Upon hearing this, the generals looked even more bewildered.

"Moro?! Why did you meet with him?"

What did he say to you?

"...!"

These military officers must have already learned of the earth-shattering commotion at the Martial Monk's Mansion. In addition, Qu'a had been missing for several hours, and the camp was without its commander. Therefore, everyone must have had many speculations and was in a state of fear and unease.

Qu Acai looked at his subordinates, then raised his eyebrows and said, "Lord Moro and I share the same opinion... We both believe that Niu Dali embezzled that huge sum of Star Source and is suspected of treason."

Upon hearing this, the room fell silent. Everyone understood what Qu Acai meant and knew that he was about to choose sides again.

These military officers were all Qu Acai's confidants, so after understanding the meaning behind his words, they all expressed their opinions.

“If my elder brother says someone is plotting a rebellion, then that person must be plotting a rebellion.”

"So what should we do next?"

"Yes, we still have members of the Imperial Guard in our camp."

"...!"

Everyone chimed in, all responding to Qu Acai with clear attitudes.

"Don't make a fuss." Qu Acai's face was serious as he asked in a low voice, "Aside from the monk soldiers who must guard the illusion, how many more people can we mobilize right now?"

"Brother, as you know, there are twelve prison areas within the illusionary realm. Each area is a separate prison. If we want to ensure the safety of the illusionary realm, we can only mobilize about a hundred men," an elderly trusted general replied, bowing.

Qu Acai thought for a moment and then immediately said, "You have half a quarter of an hour. Secretly gather these hundred or so men and set up an ambush outside my tent. Old Han, go to the guard camp and call Li Duozhi, who is by Niu Dali's side, to bring his officers to my tent for a meeting. The reason is that there is a battle outside the Martial Monk's Mansion, and Lord Niu has urgently ordered me to discuss this with them in the tent."

"Be quick, and be efficient!"

"As ordered!"

Seeing that Commander Qu spoke with such a resolute attitude, everyone knew that he was determined to do it, and there was no point in trying to persuade him, so they could only accept the order.

"Brothers, rest assured, Lord Moro has already planned everything for tonight's events. Even if Niu Dali had a thousand mouths, he couldn't change the fact that he was corrupt and plotting a rebellion. We're brothers, and I won't lead you all into a fire pit...!" Qu Acai quickly added a reassuring remark.

Hearing this, the generals felt that Moro must have revealed his trump card to Qu'a and that he had a good chance of winning, so they left with peace of mind.

As soon as they left, Liu Wei, disguised as Qu Acai's personal guard, asked in a low voice, "Why did you insist on ensuring the safety of the Nanshan Illusionary Realm, only deploying a hundred monk soldiers for an ambush?"

Qu Acai glanced back at him and said with great helplessness, “Although I am the commander of the Brown Robe Camp and have led these military officers for many years, their lives are not in danger at the moment. If I were to openly say that I want to open the Nanshan Illusionary Realm… this would be no different from treason, and these generals… may not necessarily follow me to the death, and may even rebel against me.”