Chapter 646: Alarm Bell

The last time... was it?

Recalling the slight tremble in Li Junwu's shoulders as he had left, Xu Yuan lifted his gaze toward the sky above, and sighed softly.

She must be hurting now.

Just like the terrible cliché that circulated in his previous life:

"If you don't try hard enough, you'll never know just how useless you truly are."

ttknco

She had decided to go forward, yet discovered she wasn't as all-powerful as she'd imagined.

She believed she could step in as a savior, righting a collapsing world—only to be slapped hard in the face by reality before even beginning.

Her ideals shattered. And on top of that, this friend of hers—originally lacking in every way compared to her—had already pulled far ahead of her, leaving her behind.

"Given her current state, how could she possibly carry the weight of Zhunxi Prefecture?"

A raspy voice suddenly cut through Xu Yuan's thoughts.

Turning back, the speaker was the elderly man in charge of the heavy armor.

As a powerhouse of the Primordial Realm, Lu Baozhu, though aged, had managed to heal his neck wound within these few moments. Fixing his gaze on Li Junwu's retreating path, the murky eyes filled with contempt and mockery:

"If she possessed half the resolve of the Lady Wu Yuan, none of us, the men who've served the Lord for a lifetime, would have harbored such thoughts."

"...

Staring at him, Xu Yuan said nothing—only regarded him as a dying dog's whim.

Lu Baozhu seemed to sense Xu Yuan's inner thoughts, yet chose not to respond. Instead, he settled cross-legged upon the Xuanwu platform, gazing at the now-empty training grounds, and spoke to himself:

"Boy, do you know? Back then, we old men repeatedly advised the Lord—despite being a woman, the Princess must be groomed as the heir, for she is the Lord's only descendant, and the Western Commandery needs her to stabilize the people."

Idly, Xu Yuan replied with a calm indifference:

"If I'm not mistaken, Li Junwu was sent to the Imperial An at the age of six."

"What a joke—do you not find it absurd, with your standing, to say such a thing?"

Lu Bo, with no regard for Xu Yuan, glanced sideways. "With the Marquis's achievements and prestige, there are a hundred reasons to bring the Princess back from the Imperial Capital."

As he spoke, a subtle softening appeared in the lines of his face, yet his tone remained calm and unhurried:

"At that time, Wu Yuan had already gained renown in the northern frontier. The Princess's example gave us old officials hope—provided we could mold the Princess into a woman of Wu Yuan's caliber, the future of our Zhunxi Prefecture would be secured. Yet our appeals were met only with repeated disappointment.

"The Marquis refused to have his daughter dragged into this mire. If that were all, then if the Princess could make a name for herself in Di'an, that would be sufficient. But her performance in Di'an—being one of the Four Young Men of the Capital, you should be well aware of it."

Silence followed.

After a long while, Lu Bo slowly lifted his gaze to Xu Yuan, smiling gently:

"Boy, tell me—how could we old men find peace in loyalty to Zhunxi Prefecture, when the future seems so utterly gone?"

". . ."

Xu Yuan gazed down at the elder seated before him, calm and still, and spoke plainly:

"Even if you spin your motives into a web of grandeur, you'll still die."

Hearing this threat, Lu Bozhu's contempt only deepened:

"Death? Boy, my current standing was forged step by step through life and death—since the very moment I stepped into the ranks of the military, I've prepared myself to die at any moment."

"I've told you all this,

only to make clear that

Li Junwu is unworthy of the loyalty owed to the Western Commandery."

With that,

Lu Bozhu slowly drew the long blade from his waist, gazing at his own reflection in the gleaming edge of the sword, and smiled gently:

"At last, I no longer have to endure this torment.

Your family and your sect are all alike scum, and with Li Junwu's temperament, she can never preserve the foundation built by the Marquis."

"Lu Bozhu died before he saw the fall of Zhenxi Prefecture—perhaps that was a blessing after all."

"..."

Xu Yuan did not intervene, merely stating:

"Name all the spies within Zhenxi Prefecture, and I will ensure your family, your wife, and your children remain unharmed."

"..."

Hearing this, Lu Bozhu, who had just drawn his blade across his throat, suddenly broke into a strange, eerie smile.

Xu Yuan frowned slightly:

"What is there to laugh about?"

Lu Bozhu, his voice hoarse, chuckled:

"Throughout my life, I have fought in countless battles, with no wife, no children. Is it not a funny threat from you?"

“.”

Xu Yuan stiffened, instinctively asking:

"Without a wife or children, why did you betray the Western Prefecture?"

"The reason was already stated by me earlier,"

Lu Bozhuo's eyes remained calm, showing not the slightest fear of death:

"Because Li Junwu was not worthy of my loyalty."

Lu Bozhuo committed suicide.

Zhou Chen, summoned to collect the body, quietly took Lu Bozhuo's remains, and Xu Yuan, in turn, departed the Xuan Ting military camp with Linlang.

When she saw Li Junwu again at the magistrate's office, he was bent over his desk, meticulously handling the vast volume of official correspondence.

Organizing a company's travel was already a monumental task; let alone the scale of personnel and supply coordination required during wartime in the city.

Standing to the left and right of him were two men—one dressed in scholarly attire, the other clad in armor—constantly offering suggestions for revisions, likely the clerks of the Western Prefecture.

As Xu Yuan entered the hall, Li Junwu instinctively reached for his feet to rise, but as a flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes, he remained seated behind the desk, merely asking in a simple tone:

“Anything?”

“.,”

Xu Yuan stood silently at the foot of the hall, not speaking, but gazing instead at the two advisors who had risen beside him.

Seeing this, Li Junwu simply waved gently at the two men.

Once the room was cleared, Xu Yuan spoke softly:

“Lu Bozou is dead. He committed suicide.”

Li Junwu stared at the file before him, and softly replied:

“Hmm. I know.”

"Before he died, he revealed some possible spies."

"What?"

On hearing this, Li Junwu lifted his gaze, instinctively asking, "Are his words trustworthy?"

As the words left his lips, Li Junwu subtly tightened his grip on the wolf-hair brush in his hand, then said:

"Alright, just hand me the list first."

Xu Yuan, seeing this reaction, did not immediately advance and remained where he was.

Li Junwu's brows furrowed slightly:

"What's wrong?"

Xu Yuan chuckled and playfully teased:

"Being too obsessed isn't good. Even if you don't want to rely on me anymore, at least clarify the reasons and circumstances. After all, Lu Baozhu is one of the top officials in your Zhongxi Prefecture."

Li Junwu remained silent for a moment, then rubbed his brow with a hand:

"Let's get to the point. I'm currently very busy."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yuan was equally direct:

"Before he died, Lu Baozhu told me the reason behind his betrayal of the Western Prefecture."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and pulled out a scroll from his Xumi seal, placing it gently upon the desk.

Li Junwu reached out to take it, but found it held firmly in place by Xu Yuan's index finger. Confused, he raised his eyes—and met her serious gaze.

He looked at her, each word deliberate:

"He said you weren't worthy of his loyalty."

Snap.

The wolf-hair brush broke in two.

A brief utterance reached her ears, and a thick, suffocating sensation surged through her chest.

Li Junwu instinctively averted his gaze from her relentless stare, fingers gently pressing into the flesh of her palm.

The city's defensive array was formidable—should she choose, she could inspect every inch of the land within at any moment.

She heard the many judgments spoken of her below.

"Being a playboy in Di'an was merely acceptable. Last year, she even showed up in Xijiang and continued her antics."

"She indulged in drinking, feasting, and reckless revelry for over a month in Zhenxi Prefecture. Then, suddenly, the Marquis had her enter the military—what a strange turn of events?"

"I suspect he intended to groom her, but isn't it a bit too late for such a redemption?"

"A playboy should simply remain one. To suddenly command troops—wouldn't that be dangerous?"

"That woman is merely fortunate—born into the Marquis’s household."

These words pierced her heart like fine needles, yet Li Junwu could accept all of them.

All these complaints stemmed from her past actions—things that could be gradually reversed through effort. But now, the words Xu Yuan spoke cut her in two, as if a sharp blade had sliced her soul in half.

Li Junwu's narrowed black pupils trembled incessantly. His breath grew increasingly rapid.

It was she who caused the division of Zhenxi Prefecture.

It was she who made those who had once remained loyal to their father begin to waver.

As Li Junwu's vision slowly dipped downward, Xu Yuan's index finger slowly released the scroll he had been pressing against.

He lifted his gaze immediately, only to find Xu Yuan had already turned and walked toward the outer chamber.

As he walked, Xu Yuan spoke calmly:

"You needn't worry so much. Lu Baozhu's words might simply be something he fabricated in his final moments, meant to mock and provoke."

Li Junwu watched his back, a confusing mixture of emotions rising within him. His voice remained steady:

"Lu Baozhu had served my father for a lifetime, without a wife, without children. There's no reason he would betray the sects' loyalty in his final breath."

Xu Yuan halted, half turning his face:

"Then this conversation, and those lists—must be true."

Li Junwu bit his lip, responding:

"Yeah."

Xu Yuan turned fully, suddenly smiling:

"So, just from this point, we're truly kindred spirits, aren't we?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Figuratively speaking—wouldn't you think the high-ranking officials of the Xiang family would blindly support me?"

Xu Yuan's tone was carefree, murmuring softly: "To win over those high-ups, even with my father's authority pressing down on me, I—this former playboy—must earn my reputation, one step at a time."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan sighed with a touch of frustration, half-jokingly:

"Besides, the predicament I face is far greater than yours; after all, my family is considerably wealthier than yours."

"."

Beholding his grinning, facetious visage, Li Junwu could not help but feel a flicker of amusement, yet once that fleeting emotion vanished, it was replaced by a boundless, melancholic desolation:

"You and I are different. I... I simply cannot do as you do."

"No one in this world is born all-knowing. You have never been taught such skills, so how could you possibly manage? Ah, excluding my father, of course—he seems to have begun scheming for power since he was six or seven."

"And what about you?"

"I am not born all-knowing either, but my situation is somewhat unique."

Xu Yuan lapsed into a brief silence, then murmured softly, "You know how it is. My household is always visited by all manner of eccentric figures—Grand Secretaries, Chief Justices of the Supreme Court, and high nobility with whom we frequently interact. Immersed in such surroundings, my perspective is bound to be vastly broader than yours, a mere hostage prince.

"Moreover, my father rarely concealed anything from us, and the secret dossiers of the Premier's estate were always available for me to browse freely during my childhood."

At this point,

Xu Yuan's face flickered with a touch of embarrassment:

"Me too, there are exceptions—after I sold over a dozen of those files, I simply couldn't get back in. But this whole thing, it's also your fault."

Hearing this, Li Junwu spat out a curse, muttering:

"You three always pretend to be so important—what does that have to do with me?"

Xu Yuan shrugged, then pointed behind him with a finger, smiling:

"Ultimately, ability is something that can be developed. Take the example just now—the kind of power-grab scenario we're in. My family's internal reference library has roughly several hundred such cases. If you go through them all, you can surely find a solution.

"So,

"Everyone grows slowly, step by step. You don't need to be so hard on yourself, Junwu."

"."

Li Junwu remained silent for a moment:

“Did you say all that just to comfort me?”

“Sort of.”

“Useless, wasting time.”

"Ugh, you damn fool—"

"Still, it's quite helpful."

Li Junwu's slender eyes curved into two crescent moons, his smile pale and clear as moonlight, breathtaking.

Xu Yuan froze for a moment, then muttered:

"Could you just stop smiling? It's creepy."

Seeing his expression, Li Junwu lightly scoffed and tilted her fair chin upward:

"Born with natural beauty, your reaction is entirely normal."

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes, saying:

"You with this hair, this armor—smiling like that only reminds me of a little actor in a pleasure district. I have no interest in the kind of indulgences you're implying."

"."

Li Junwu's eyes flickered at the corner, gritting his teeth:

"Wait until my hair grows long, then I'll properly dress myself, and you'll finally see just how beautiful I truly am."

Without waiting for Xu Yuan's reaction, Li Junwu waved a hand at him:

"As for now, little emperor, step back. I have urgent state affairs to attend to."

"."

For a single, fleeting glance, Xu Yuan lowered his eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips, and with theatrical flair, folded his hands together in a bow:

"Here."

Speaking, he took small, hurried steps backward, and stepped directly out of the hall where she had been.

Watching him go, Li Junwu couldn’t help but bite the inside of his lip, gently placing his palm against the rising and falling of his chest, feeling the rapid beat beneath it—then, with a disdainful little snort, he exhaled.

Lu Bozhu had revealed, in his final moments, that certain generals suspected of being spies had been quietly detained by Li Junwu under various pretexts. The resources of the noble clans and the merchant-wandering guilds had also been smoothly mobilized.

Taking advantage of this gap, Xu Yuan made his way to No. 7, Section A, on Zitán Road.

It was a tavern with a membership system, elegantly and quietly furnished.

As Xu Yuan stepped inside, Si Zi Jing, who had been waiting for him, immediately approached and handed him a small box from her lap.

In addition,

behind the counter, Xu Yuan saw a translucent wine jar containing a head immersed in silk.

Mu Qing.

Before Xu Yuan arrived, Si Zi Jing, head of the Black Scale Bureau in the capital region, had already arranged everything with meticulous precision.

Without disturbing a single soul, Si Zijing silently assassinated Mu Qing.

Watching this scene, Xu Yuan departed, satisfied.

The city's defensive array and the military forces were fully consolidated, and the spies within the city were systematically eliminated—everything unfolded exactly as planned.

And precisely as Xu Yuan stepped out of the tavern,

"Bang—"

"Bang—"

"Bang—"

Nine alarm bells erupted suddenly in the sky above the Western Prefecture of the town—no warning, no forewarning.