Chapter 278 Ready to go
On the other side, Zhao Ji followed Yuan Tiangang from the snake cave on the top of the mountain all the way to the main altar.

Along the way, the purple-robed man who led the way treated Yuan Tiangang with great respect, not at all like he was treating an old servant who had been marginalized.

However, the guards along the way did not have a good face towards Yuan Tiangang who was disguised as "Lu Cheng". It was only thanks to the purple-clothed man who led the way that he was able to pass smoothly.

This strange contrast was puzzling, and made Zhao Ji full of doubts, and he felt that the situation was becoming increasingly complicated.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Yuan Tiangang and the man in purple finally arrived at their destination, which was the stone chamber in the center of the snake cave.

Just as Yuan Tiangang was about to step into the stone chamber, two purple-robed guards stood in front of the door like iron towers and stopped him.

Zhao Ji had no choice but to stop as well. He clung to the top of the cave, silently, almost blending into the environment.

At this moment, a hurried sound of footsteps came from a distance. It was Xiao Qingfang leading the team.

The man actually greeted me enthusiastically, but he seemed to be hesitant to speak, as if he paused and swallowed his words.

She finally uttered only three words: "You are here?"

Seeing this, Yuan Tiangang couldn't help but laugh: "Let's talk inside!"

As he spoke, he pushed open the stone door and walked in first, followed closely by Xiao Qingfang.

Zhao Ji was anxiously watching from the top of the cave and wanted to go into the stone chamber to listen to what they were saying.

Unfortunately, the stone chamber was completely sealed and heavily guarded. With Zhao Ji's physical skills, there was nothing he could do.

Just as Zhao Ji was feeling regretful, he suddenly noticed some rustling noises not far away.

He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Li Yuanfang's figure looming in the distance.

However, after a brief thought, Zhao Ji decided not to meet Li Yuanfang at this moment, but turned around quietly and disappeared into the darkness.
-
In Dhula land, the sky was gloomy and covered with dark clouds.

Wen Kai and Zhou Yi led thousands of Liuzhou soldiers to ambush around the town of Tuoluodi.

Zhou Yi looked towards the dark sky and couldn't help muttering, "Lord Wen, we rushed to this Tuoluo land in a hurry, why did Lord Di ambush the army again? It's really unreasonable!"

When Wen Kai heard these words of resentment, his face darkened and he immediately shouted, "General Zhou, don't talk nonsense. The elder must have his own intentions for making such arrangements! It is not something you and I can easily guess!"

Zhou Yi disagreed and smiled contemptuously: "It's just a broken town. I don't believe there can be any evil here. Thousands of troops rushed in and razed it to the ground in an instant. Lord Di is too cautious!"

Seeing Zhou Yi being so ungrateful, Wen Kai was furious: "General Zhou, please listen to my kind words. Trouble comes from the mouth!"

"Thank you for the reminder, sir." Zhou Yi agreed perfunctorily, but his face was full of contempt, and it was obvious that he did not take Wen Kai's words to heart.

Wen Kai shook his head and sighed, thinking to himself: Although this man has courage, he has no brains, and is really a piece of mud that cannot be helped. If it were not for the current situation, why would he be allowed to lead the army?
Zhou Yi was a local tyrant with little knowledge and was arrogant in his daily life. He relied on his ancestors' influence to get an official position.

If all the former captains and generals were not Snake Spirit spies and promoted him on the front line, it would never be his turn to lead the troops.

It was clearly a God-given opportunity, but this person was so foolish that his life is over.

Just as Wen Kai shook his head, a soldier came running over: "My lords, Elder Di is here!"

In the distance, Di Renjie, Xiaomei and his companions were galloping towards them on horseback.

Wen Kai and Zhou Yi dismounted and went forward. Di Renjie also dismounted and asked hurriedly, "What's going on? Is there any movement?"

Wen Kai shook his head: "No. There seems to be no one in this town."

Zhou Yi couldn't help but interrupt: "Lord, could it be that the news is wrong? Could there be any rebels these days?"

Di Renjie looked deep in his eyes and said in a deep voice: "Don't underestimate this seemingly ordinary town. As long as we walk in, you will find that it is full of traps that kill people."

Zhou Yi questioned again: "But... Lord, are we just going to wait forever?"

Di Renjie looked at the sky and said, "Don't be anxious. Wait a little longer. Wait a little longer."

Xiaomei explained, "Di Gong, you are right. This Tuolao land is where the main altar is located. There is a small town on the ground. There are even mountain people coming and going on weekdays."

"But all residents and shopkeepers are members of the Snake Spirit. All shops are equipped with hidden traps. Once activated, the whole world will be turned upside down, and an army of thousands of people will be wiped out in an instant!"

Zhou Yi looked Xiaomei up and down and said disdainfully, "Girl, thousands of troops were destroyed in an instant in such a small area. Are you exaggerating?"

Wen Kai felt that Zhou Yi had taken the wrong medicine and was simply a nitpicker. He could not help but remind him, "General Zhou, don't talk nonsense!"

Xiaomei didn't care about Zhou Yi's rude words. Instead, she frowned and said worriedly: "Generally speaking, Tuoluo Land is not so dead. This kind of movement, I'm afraid there must be something wrong!"

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie frowned slightly and asked, "Is it possible that Xiao Qingfang has already known about the army's movements and is therefore on guard?"

Xiaomei thought for a moment, shook her head and said, "It's unlikely. General Zhao and I have already eliminated all the snake holes along the way. It's reasonable that the headquarters won't receive any information!"

Di Renjie nodded slightly, and after thinking for a moment, he speculated: "Perhaps someone got there first and accidentally disturbed the main altar of the snake spirits in Tuoluodi."

Xiaomei heard this and suddenly realized something. She said excitedly, "That's possible! Maybe General Zhao and General Li got to Tuoluodi first!"

"Then he fought with the snake killer, which alerted the headquarters, causing all the people in the Tuoluo land to flee!"

At this point, Di Renjie had made a decision: "Xiaomei, take a few Qianniu guards with me, and sneak into Tuoluo land in plain clothes to investigate."

Xiaomei responded quickly, followed by Di Chun, Zhang Huan and others, and the group quietly sneaked into the town of Tuoluodi.

When the group arrived at the main street in the center of Tuoluodi, Zhang Huan suddenly exclaimed, "Sir, look over there!"

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing, and saw a coffin lying across the street, with the coffin lid shattered into pieces and scattered all over the ground.

Di Renjie's eyes followed the coffin fragments, and suddenly, he keenly caught a hint of bright red faintly visible in the fine dust between the coffin fragments.

Xiaomei followed Di Renjie's steps and saw him leaning down and lightly touching the bloodstain with his fingertips. He confirmed, "The bloodstain is still fresh. It should have been left today."

"It seems that a battle took place here not long ago, and some people were injured." Di Renjie's brows were furrowed even tighter, and he looked deeply at the surrounding shops, already having an ominous premonition in his heart.

Xiaomei reminded, “There should be a secret passage leading to the main altar among these shops!”

Before he finished speaking, there was a noise coming from a grocery store.

(End of this chapter)