Stealing The Heavens
chapter-39

Over two thousand years ago, the founding emperor of the Great Yan Dynasty, Zedan, also known as Lord Yan Dan, made his sudden debut in the world with dozens of his hanger-ons and tens of thousands of his people.

At that time, within the land now known as the Great Yan Dynasty, countless barbarians and wild beasts roamed around. Foul ghosts and savage demons were fighting and battling each other in broad daylight. Yan Dan remained dormant for hundreds of years, then struck when the time was right, expelling the barbarians, killing the wild beasts, and slaughtering the foul ghosts and demons. He then built a city called ‘Ji’ City in the wilderness, establishing strong foundations for what would later become the Great Yan Dynasty.

Two thousand years later, the Great Yan Dynasty had become prosperous and developed into an advanced civilization, ruling a land more than tens of thousands of miles in circumference, and having millions of peoples. Under the roof of the Great Yan Dynasty, there were even few hundred kingdoms ruled by the royal family members and ministers. Cities that had yet to become a kingdom totaled to a few thousand. The land that ruled by Great Yan Dynasty was so huge that it would take three months of restless riding to cross from one side to the other.

Since the establishment of the Great Yan Dynasty, the emperor had always been Emperor Yan Dan.

The Admiral General Jing Ke was one of the most influential people in the Great Yan Dynasty’s military, and one of Emperor Yan Dan’s most trusted men. Scouting Officers were from a special agent institute that was solely controlled by Jing Ke. They were this world’s equivalent of spies.

For these Scouting Officers, aside from studying people’s livelihood, supervising on business activities and keeping a watchful eye on all the lords and royal family members, the most important tasks would be making expeditions deep into the mountains. They would engage in either surveying the terrain or in search of natural resources, or spying on the activities of barbarians. Sometimes, they even had to carry out secret missions, the likes of which most people couldn’t even guess.

Scouting Officers had a very high power in the Great Yan Dynasty. Not including the Great Yan Dynasty itself, even all the kings of various kingdoms were ranked lower than these Scouting Officers. When they were in the presence of a Scouting Officer, these kings would treat them with the utmost respect and do whatever they could to complete any orders that came from them. Compared to a Scouting Officer, the position of so-called Military Supervisory Officer that Liu Suifeng and Lu Quyuan undertook was simply a joke.

This was Lu Chengfeng’s quick explanation to Wu Qi on what Scouting Officers were.

Wu Qi became dizzy when he heard this explanation. His heart started pounding fast. Was this a coincidence? No...? Yes...? Maybe...? [1]

Yan Dan, Jin Ke, and Ji City!

Having all the blood rush to his heart, Wu Qi felt cold on his hands and legs. With a smile on his face, he stared at Lu Chengfeng and asked, in a soft voice, "Then, how about Gao Jianli?"

Lu Chengfeng lowered his voice and carefully said, "Gao Jianli? He is the Chief Prime Minister of the Great Yan Dynasty, who manages the overall matters of the Great Yan Dynasty!"

A tingling feeling, like a small buzz of electricity spread from Wu Qi’s tailbone up to his head. Wu Qi stared at Lu Chengfeng with his eyes glowing bright, "That would make them over two thousand years old!" He tried to calculate in his mind the time since the end of Warring States Period [2] until now. It had really been more than two thousand years!

Lu Chengfeng gave Wu Qi a smile and said, "They are all men with incredible cultivation/ What’s so surprising about living for more than two thousand years?"

While both men were whispering, Yan Bugui had let Liu Suifeng and Lu Quyuan examine his golden token. It was authentic. The duo instantly put bright smiles on their faces, bowing and nodding their heads eagerly, trying to do everything they could to earn Yan Bugui favor. At the same time, they were swearing that they would do whatever they could to help Yan Bugui accomplish his mission.

The Lu Kingdom was the youngest kingdom in the Great Yan Dynasty, and its national strength was ranked at the bottom, which meant it was a really tiny kingdom. The king of the Lu Kingdom had only been honored with the title of viscount. A slightly decorated Scouting Officer could have a similar title as the king of the Lu Kingdom. Therefore, was there any reason for Liu Suifeng and Lu Quyuan not to flatter this man?

However, Yan Bugui only gave them the cold shoulder. He gazed at everyone in the General’s Office and said with a stern voice, "Since my identity had been proven, I want all those warriors who possess the cultivation of more than forty years in Little Meng City to gather and follow me. Those who disobey this command will be killed!"

Pausing for a moment, Yan Bugui continued and said, "The mission I’m on is very crucial. I don’t have time to get more men from Ji City. If you can work together with us and accomplish the mission, I’ll have you rewarded handsomely."

Not only LiuSuifeng and Lu Quyuan, even Lu Cengfeng’s eyes immediately brightened at this prospect.

When a Scouting Officer said ‘handsome reward’, that must be a truly massive reward. The national strength of the Lu Kingdom and the strength of the Great Yan Dynasty were incredibly far apart. A tiny little bit of credit given by this Scouting Officer would be more than enough for an ordinary civilian to be honored with a title. If one had a good connection with a Scouting Officer, one would easily be moving up in the world.

Immediately, Lu Chengfeng grabbed Wu Qi and sprinted out of the Mayor’s Mansion, beginning to recruit helps on the street of Little Meng City. The name of the Scouting Officer was really powerful. Lu Chengfeng just stood right in the middle of the street and shouted a few times and soon, there were nearly a hundred brave men with the cultivation of forty years and above expressing their willingness to join.

The people of Little Meng City were pretty intrepid, as those who came here to earn their living were either those who had committed some crimes, or those barbarian hunters and wandering rogues who risked their lives to make a living. These people worked so hard and struggled for their entire life. After all, they just wanted to put food on their table and have an enjoyable life. Now, with the promise of the Scouting Officer, they were more than happy to join the expedition just for the reward itself.

Soon, the news had spread across Little Meng City. Even those guards who worked as escorts for caravans and fulfilled the requirement were rushing to the Mayor’s Mansion to join Lu Chengfeng’s team. In just fifteen minutes, all the warriors with the cultivation of over forty years in Little Meng City had joined Lu Chengfeng, making up an army of nearly one thousand brave men. Among these men, at least thirty of them had the cultivation base of peak Houtian.

Wu Qi stared at these men in shock. He never expected that there were so many strong men in Little Meng City.

Liu Suifeng also sent someone to get Old Devil and Lord Flame to come back. When the duo heard that a Scouting Officer was requesting their help, they immediately forgot their magical storage bags and rushed back with bright smiles on their faces, fearing that they would miss a great opportunity if they didn’t.

Both of them were cultivators at the Embryonic Breath tier of the Xiantian level. A Scouting Officer would give them different rewards than what he would give to ordinary warriors. If they could work together with Yan Bugui and help him accomplish his mission perfectly, their lost items were nothing compared to what they might get.

Among all the hanger-ons that Liu Suifeng and Lu Quyuan brought to Little Meng City, twenty-one of them were peak Houtian warriors, and nearly two hundred were warriors with the cultivation of over forty years. Together with Old Devil and Lord Flame, who had achieved the peak Xiantian Embryonic Breath tier, their overall strength was incredibly strong.

Yan Bugui was very satisfied with the men that were gathered by Liu Suifeng and Lu Chengfeng. He did some calculations in his mind and nodded his head, "Over a thousand men, that’s enough. Open up the military equipment storehouse and equip everyone with leather armor. Also, give them all the pills they will need. Hurry, move now!"

In less than fifteen minutes, the whole group of people had left Little Meng City, and were now riding on Raptors toward Meng Mountain.

It all happened so quickly that Lu Chengfeng only had a short time to give some orders to Laohei and Xiaohei, then was forced to leave with the group. Liu Suifeng and Lu Quyuan also gave some orders to their men in a secretive and suspicious manner, then left the city happily with insidious smiles on their faces.

Wu Qi pulled over Lu Chengfeng, Zhang Hu, and Hu Wei and stayed at the back of the group, whispering to each other as if they were discussing something important.

Listening to what Wu Qi said, the other three nodded their heads in agreement.

Wu Qi was analyzing the composition of this temporary army. The personal guards of Liu Suifeng and Lu Quyuan were a group of united elite soldiers; they were one group. Wu Qi, Lu Chengfeng, Zhang Wu and Hu Wei was another group with a close relationship. As for those thousand newly recruited warriors from Little Ment City, there might be someone suspicious ones mixed within them.

The situation in the depths of the mountain was very complicated and dangerous. Wu Qi reminded Lu Chengfeng and the other two to be extra cautious and to try their best to keep a distance from Yan Bugui, and also the rest of the men. When Yan Bugui’s target was found, they would need to be very careful not to take any unnecessary risks.

Especially for Lu Chengfeng; although he had a pretty good cultivation and owned an array that could protect him when needed, he was from a wealthy family after all, and this vast forest was a hundred times more dangerous for him than it was to Wu Qi and the others. Zhang Wu was a barbarian hunter; he earned his living by venturing in and out of mountains and could protect himself. Hu Wei was the leader of some elite soldiers. His familiarity toward this mountain and forest was no weaker than Zhang Hu. He would be able to protect himself too.

Wu Qi had inherited all the experiences and knowledge from Wu Wang. To him, these mountains and forest were like his second home.

Therefore, only Lu Chengfeng had no familiarity with this situation. A tiny blade of grass or a bug that he unintentionally touched might get him killed in an instant.

Lu Chengfeng nodded his head, with a dignified expression on his face. Zhang Hu and Hu Wei looked at each other, then separated and walked to Lu Chengfeng’s left and right side. Wu Qi was riding in front of them, but was behind the main group. They had just formed up into a triangular defensive formation to protect Lu Chengfeng.

Lu Chengfeng took a deep breath to calm his nerves, then carefully took out three array pillars from his bag and pulled out the energy stones in them, replacing them with a few middle tier energy stones Wu Qi gave him some time ago.

Yan Bugui was leading the army from the front, quickly leading them down the road that led to Meng Village.

About ten miles before Meng Village, Yan Bugui gave a command and got off his ride. Everybody followed suit and got off from their rides while Yan Buguo made a few insect-liked sounds with his lips.

A few black figures silently dashed out from the woods. These men were wearing the same attire as Yan Bugui. One of them asked with a deep voice, "Sir, you only brought these people?"

Yan Bugui affirmed his question, then turned around and shouted with a stern voice, "After we enter the mountain, no one is allowed to create a disturbance. No questions, no talking, no coughing, no farting, no swallowing lump in throat. In short, treat yourself like a dead man. Be silent. Those who disobey this will be killed!"

An awkward silence covered the whole army, and no one dared to question the death threat from the Scouting Officer.

Yan Bugui let out a cold snort and quickly gave out his commands. He divided this group of over a thousand men into five teams, led by him and the other four Scouting Officers respectively. Then, they silently ventured into woods.

The personal guards of Liu Suifeng and Lu Quyuan were the most organized and elite group, so Yan Bugui had them grouped into his team. He also ordered Lu Chengfeng and Wu Qi’s team to group under his team as well.

Not including Yan Bugui, the rest of the team were all Liu Suifeng and Lu Quyuan’s men.

Wu Qi’s face darkened, but the duo was smiling gleefully at their backs.

The darkness of the night had covered Meng Mountain, and a faded black fog had begun to roll out through the woods. Wu Qi suddenly had a feeling that a lot of people would die on this expedition.

Notes:

[1] The reason Wu Qi behaved like this is because all the names of the emperor, city and general were real history in the world he came from (or, our world).

[2] Warring State Period - 5th century BC - 221 BC