Lin Yuebai felt something was very wrong. The burning of the grain warehouse, does it harm the Fake Emperor or the common people? It's not easy to say.
But releasing prisoners is definitely not something a righteous person should do. Once those evil people in prison are released, wouldn't it cause more harm?
However, out of respect for the Grand Tutor's reputation, even though Lin Yuebai had his doubts, he could only console himself with "sacrifices are necessary to achieve great things."
"Alright, let's do it this way then. Quickly start the fire, and as soon as it blazes, we withdraw immediately. No unnecessary sacrifices."
The group swiftly lit torches, preparing to set fires in different places.
Yet, no one noticed that Qing Niao, silently and without a trace, had approached the side of Kou Qichi, who had just tossed the plaque under the eaves. Her eyes turned cold, and suddenly she struck, stabbing a dagger into Kou Qichi's side, injuring him.
Then she shielded the young man in front of her, pressing the dagger tightly against his neck, and said coldly:
"Stop immediately! Anyone who dares to start a fire, I will kill him instantly!"
"Qing Niao?! What are you doing?!"
The crowd was shocked, and Lin Yuebai's face changed at once, instinctively reaching for the magic artifact in the pouch at his waist.
"Miss Lin! I advise you not to move recklessly; you don't want your brother to die here, do you?" Qing Niao warned coldly.
"Sis—" The young man gritted his teeth in pain, trying to struggle free but found himself powerless due to his injury.
Lin Yuebai panicked, loudly ordering the others to stop lighting the fire. She widened her eyes: "Qing Niao... could it be..."
Qing Niao surveyed the crowd, smirking coldly:
"That's right, I've long since sided with Mr. Zhao and was ordered to stop you from wreaking havoc. Miss Lin, you're a good person, so I advise you to keep an eye on the others. If anyone dares set a fire and burn the county government, I won't hesitate to take your brother with me as a funeral sacrifice."
"Why..." Lin Yuebai was incredulous: "Was it Zhao Douan who threatened you? Did he have something on you?"
Qing Niao's eyes dimmed, she spoke calmly:
"At first, he did coerce me, but after I returned to the Kuangfu Society and saw Zhuang Xiaocheng's hypocritical old dog face, and the ambition lurking beneath many of the so-called Kuangfu members, I sincerely wanted to help Mr. Zhao.
Heh, you all keep calling Mr. Zhao a scoundrel, a villain, a grand traitor, but I only believe what my eyes see.
At least from what I've seen, Mr. Zhao may not be a good person, but he is far superior to the sanctimonious hypocrites in the Kuangfu Society."
Lin Yuebai was stunned, and after the others were dazed, they all started cursing angrily.
One even glanced harshly, immediately about to throw the torch without regard to Kou Qichi's safety, fortunately stopped by Lin Yuebai's use of magic.
"What do you think you're doing? Qi Chi is still in her hands!" Lin Yuebai shouted angrily.
A member of the society said coldly:
"In big endeavors, how can there be no sacrifices? Miss Lin, don't you think you're being too selfish?"
The others echoed in agreement.
Lin Yuebai was stunned, looking at the group she once considered like-minded companions, feeling as if she truly recognized them for the first time.
At this moment, the sound of hoofbeats approached gradually from outside the county government, everyone's expressions changed, and several people fiercely threw their torches simultaneously.
Lin Yuebai and another companion close to the brother and sister duo stepped in to stop them, and a fight broke out between the groups.
The county government's gate was suddenly split open, and the door-busting expert Hou Renmeng jumped in, followed by a group of Lihua Hall elites, they were ordered to rush to the aid of the county government.
Once inside, they were stunned by the scene.
"No way... why are the rebels having an internal conflict?" Hou Renmeng was caught off guard.
Qing Niao shouted loudly to them: "Quick, control them! I am ordered by Mr. Zhao to stop the rebels."
Shen Juan, Qian Kerou and others recognized Qing Niao, only then did they swarm forward, subduing all the rebels and extinguishing the torches.
At this moment, Ji Yue, following behind the crowd, slowly drifted in...
She looked around, confirming there were no rebel masters here, contemplating whether to go assist other teams when a bright moon shadow slowly appeared in front of her.
Jin Jian and Zhao Douan emerged from the "moon."
The Lihua Hall members hurriedly saluted and quickly explained the situation.
Zhao Douan nodded, glanced at Qing Niao who was also temporarily controlled, and said:
"Release her, she did well, leave a few to guard, the rest continue assisting elsewhere in the city, don't worry, Zhuang Xiaocheng's cleverness backfires due to his own cleverness, I calculated in advance, arranged scholars and Hong Ye to contact other spies to make a move and block, should be able to delay for a period of time."
He turned back, extending his hand, grabbing the bewildered Ji Yue: "You come with me, we need to quickly gather people and act immediately while the Kuangfu Society headquarters is empty."
"Ah?" Ji Yue hadn't quite comprehended before being pulled into the moon shadow, disappearing.
Similar scenes played out across various places in the city, with Zhao Douan's spies using their means to buy time.
And without the participation of Qi Yuchun and Ren Kun, these rebels stood no chance against the fully armed Great Yu official army.
Outside the East City Gate.
A giant moon shadow slowly and laboriously appeared, then figures emerged hand in hand, resembling a string of sugared hawthorn, drawing out.
"Phew, if Water Moon teleports too far, Jin Jian's mana won't hold, especially with so many people, we need to hurry and get going."
Zhao Douan's boots touched the ground, he turned to scrutinize the members behind him:
A pale-faced, clearly a bit exhausted, and listless Jin Jian.
Carrying a bamboo tube, raising his chin, the Heavenly Master's disciple exuding full "inventive genius" vibe, Gongshu Tianyuan.