Chapter 183: How Can It Lack Me

Chapter 183 How Could I Be Absent

The night was dark, the wind high.

On the eastern shore of Lake Tai, an army of several thousand was watering its horses and cooking on the lakeshore. Their discipline was not particularly strict, and there was much clamor, which seemed exceedingly noisy in the dead of this quiet night.

Yet, compared to the chaotic rabbles Yangzhou and Gusu that Zhao Changhe had previously seen, this could already be considered an orderly and disciplined elite force.

It was precisely the vanguard army led by the Ten-Abiding Bodhisattva, Fa Sheng.

The so-called Ten-Abiding Bodhisattva was not Fa Sheng's title, but a rank within the Maitreya Sect, meaning he had taken numerous lives; "Ten-Abiding" was still a Bodhisattva fruit status, and if he kept on killing, he would become a Buddha... Previously, Fa Yuan's expectation for Zhao Changhe had also been for him to become a Ten-Abiding Bodhisattva.

Fa Sheng had just entered Wuxing yesterday and had only rested for a single day and night. While Tang Buqi was still worrying about when he would strike, he had actually already bypassed the lake under the cover of night and headed north, lunging straight for Gusu.

There was another naval force on the lake, advancing simultaneously by land and water.

Though called a "vanguard" and not leading a vast multitude, judging by the irresistible momentum with which Fa Sheng had breached cities over the past few days, they had all fallen immediately, meeting with basically no decent resistance.

This was both because their Maitreya Sect members were everywhere in the cities, including officials and commoners alike, and because the armies of Jiangnan were more useless and derelict than a disorganized mob. At a time like this, it was instead the prominent local aristocratic clans that harbored a shred of desire to resist, because they looked down upon the Maitreya Sect.

But that bit of resistance was truly of no great use; those families themselves were nothing but useless trash who only knew how to eat, drink, play, and bully men and women. Before the grand army arrived, each of them patted their chests so hard it shook the heavens, all claiming they would personally pluck the head of Maitreya to present to His Majesty. Yet when the army truly bore down on the city gates and they looked upon the dense, black mass of soldiers, every single one of their legs went soft faster than prawns.

Thus, Fa Sheng slaughtered them clean, and the waters of Jiangnan had already turned the color of blood.

An "elite army" was tempered in just this way, starting from abusing weaklings and winning victories all along the line. When they first rose up, they were merely a tumultuous crowd of believers who had learned a few basic martial arts moves for farming, but now that they had won a few battles and equipped themselves with armor from various local storehouses, they began to possess a certain orderly and iron-blooded aura, looking more and more like a proper army the more they fought.

"Bodhisattva." Within the military tent, Fa Sheng was studying a topographical map before his desk, while a believer beside him spoke: "The scouts report back that Gusu has cleared the fields and fortified the walls, not even caring about the autumn harvest. Not a single dog can be found in the outlying villages and towns."

"Tang Wangshu stayed in Gusu for so many days before this; of course she made preparations." Fa Sheng was a mighty and stout monk with a full beard like Lu Zhishen, yet his demeanor was exceedingly calm and steady: "It is a pity that Tang Wangshu cannot separate herself; she must sit in Jinling to restrain the Sect Leader mutually. Since the affairs of Gusu are hosted by people like Tang Wangsheng, no matter how much painstaking effort Tang Wangshu spent, it will all be squandered in the hands of these useless trash."

Someone said: "Gusu still possesses quite a few figures. It is said that Tang Wangsheng and the others have already reached the Ninth Layer of the Profound Pass... Bodhisattva, with this small force of ours and no strong masters sitting with us, what if someone risks everything to assassinate..."

Fa Sheng waved his hand: "Gusu has no Grandmasters on the Ranking of Humans, and Tang Wangsheng lacks this ability. Never mind some Ninth Layer of the Profound Pass; if he truly comes to assassinate, a few volleys of chaotic arrows will turn him into a hedgehog. The Buddha of Jiangbei was killed by Xia Chichi because we originally had no power in Jiangbei, and the Buddhist altar was pinned down by the experts of the Four Images Sect, reversing the strong and the weak; it is not the same thing."

He paused, then added: "In truth, even with Tang Wangshu's strength, she would not dare to rashly enter a perilous place. Once entangled

The entire military camp was thrown into chaos.

“Young Master Tang, what are you pacing back and forth for?”

“I can’t sit still.” On the walls of Gusu, Tang Buqi paced, watching the guards who had divided into zones and fought on their own: “Will Fasheng launch a night raid?”

“You’re overthinking it. Fasheng only entered Wuxing yesterday; his vanguard is just a handful of men. He’ll have to wait for the main force to join up.”

“…Yet he took Wuxing with just these men, without waiting for the main force from Hangzhou.”

“The disciples of Maitreya have broken a key town—won’t they spend a few days looting, raping, and carousing? How could they come straight here…”

Tang Buqi paced back and forth, still uneasy. He turned to ask Wu Weiyang: “Aunt, did you have any special instructions?”

Wu Weiyang sighed: “Since the Chief has entrusted this to you, young master, you must decide for yourself. How can you ask the Chief about everything? If these people are noisy, you should try to suppress them… We are here; you are not fighting alone. You may give orders.”

Someone sneered: “And if no one attacks, what then?”

Tang Buqi was about to speak when a golden light flashed in the sky.

Everyone was startled and looked up. Had the Book of Chaos been updating rather frequently lately?

“On the seventh day of the sixth month, at midnight. Zhao Changhe raided the Taihu military camp at night, beheaded Fasheng, the Ten-Abiding Bodhisattva of the Maitreya Sect, at the camp gate, then rode back, and none of Maitreya’s generals could stop him.”

“The Hidden Dragon List changes.”

“Hidden Dragon, number eighteen: Zhao Changhe.”

“The galaxy hangs in the sky—how could it be without me!”

Tang Buqi glanced sidelong at the people from various families: “You tell me—what was this Taihu military camp of Fasheng’s for?”

They exchanged looks, opened their mouths, then closed them again.

Tang Buqi said softly: “I still fall short… At times like this, it’s the stage for men like Zhao Changhe.”

At that time, the barbarians came south to attack the passes, Maitreya rose in Jiangnan, heroes were about to emerge, and the realm was in chaos.

Winds surged, clouds gathered; dragons and serpents stirred on the land.

[End of Volume Two]

Volume Three: A Name That Shakes the World