Chapter 77 - 78: Passing White Stone City Three Times Without Entering

Chapter 77: Chapter 78: Passing White Stone City Three Times Without Entering

"Dingfang, you gathered all these people together but forbade them from leaving without permission. What exactly are you planning?" Tao Wenxuan asked, looking at his nephew with curiosity.

Tao Dingfang smiled. "Uncle, don’t you think White Stone City is too chaotic right now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Before we can fight external threats, we must secure our own home. Without the interference of these Martial Artist factions, it won’t be long before we can stabilize White Stone City. Once that’s done, we will have the leeway to deal with Lianyun Stronghold."

"It’s just..." Tao Wenxuan didn’t object to the idea once he understood his nephew’s reasoning, but he was considering the broader picture. "If we don’t have these Martial Artist factions suppressing the city, I’m afraid our own forces won’t be enough to manage all fronts by ourselves."

"That won’t be an issue. With the Han Family’s assistance and the three hundred soldiers I brought, it will be more than enough!" Tao Dingfang said without a hint of worry. "Besides..."

"Besides what?" Tao Wenxuan asked.

Tao Dingfang dropped his smile, his gaze deepening. "Besides, I suspect that some of these Martial Artists might be colluding with the Rebirth Sect. I’m just not certain yet."

"What are your thoughts on this?"

"I don’t have any right now. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Alright, you’re the one in charge."

A silver moon hung in the sky like a perfect disc, casting its cool, clear light over the earth below.

RUMBLE!

A deafening roar erupted from ahead, shaking the ground like an earthquake. It instantly alarmed the City Guards on night watch.

"Oh no, enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

Seeing the bandits charging from a distance, the City Guards were terrified. They blew their horns, waking countless people.

"Where is the enemy?" A commander who heard the commotion rushed over and asked in a deep voice.

"Just outside the city!" the City Guard replied.

He then led the commander up the city wall. As soon as they reached the top, another City Guard spoke up. "Sir, it’s confirmed. It’s the men from Lianyun Stronghold, but..."

"But what?"

"But they just left."

The commander froze for a moment before looking out into the distance. At the very edge of his vision, he did indeed spot the traces of the Lianyun Stronghold men as they quickly vanished into the forest. Seeing this, he wondered what exactly those bandits were plotting.

Without hesitation, he quickly reported the incident. Upon hearing the news, Tao Dingfang simply ordered them to deploy more men to keep a close watch and prevent a siege.

For three consecutive days, the same situation played out every night.

The men from Lianyun Stronghold seemed to be just going through the motions. They would circle White Stone City and turn back before the City Guards even had a chance to react. At first, the City Guards remained on high alert, but as the false alarms piled up, they gradually grew used to it. Still, they made sure to report every incident.

When Tao Dingfang heard these reports, he roughly guessed Lianyun Stronghold’s intentions. He warned the City Guards not to slack off and dispatched more men to strengthen their defenses.

Over the past few days, both Tao Wenxuan and Tao Dingfang had been incredibly busy. Fortunately, their hard work paid off. After three days, the chaotic White Stone City gradually stabilized under the Government Office’s forceful intervention. Although it hadn’t returned to the peace it enjoyed before the rebellion, the street brawls had significantly decreased. A few merchants had even begun to set up their stalls to sell their wares again.

As order was slowly being restored in White Stone City, Zhu Hu and the others were holding a meeting far away in Lin Family Castle.

"This Tao Dingfang is incredibly patient. It’s been so long, yet he hasn’t made a single move!" Zhu Bao grunted.

Sitting above him were Zhu Hu and Sun Yun.

Hearing Zhu Bao’s complaint, Zhu Hu looked at Sun Yun. "Right now, Tao Dingfang is busy reorganizing the factions within the city. Once he finishes, he’ll undoubtedly make his move against us. Why don’t we seize this opportunity to take White Stone City in one fell swoop?"

"There is no rush!" Sun Yun calmly shook his head. "Tao Dingfang is no simpleton; he has already guessed our intentions. Let’s do this: starting tomorrow, send men to spread the word that Lianyun Stronghold is going to attack White Stone City. Tell them to get ready."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Zhu Bao asked, taken aback.

Sun Yun chuckled. "Just do as I say. Then, send some men to cause trouble during the day. In short, remember this: if they actually deploy their troops, you retreat."

"Understood!"

Another three days passed.

The defending soldiers of White Stone City were completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. It was bad enough that the men from Lianyun Stronghold launched surprise attacks at night, but they now deliberately picked fights during the day as well. Ever since Lianyun Stronghold spread the rumor of their impending attack, the number of guards stationed at the city gates during the day had drastically increased.

While the men from Lianyun Stronghold did show up, they acted like cowardly rats—shouting provocations but never actually engaging in combat. This exact scenario repeated for three whole days.

One commander couldn’t stomach the anger anymore and reported the matter to Tao Dingfang. He thought Tao Dingfang would seize the chance to strike, but unexpectedly, the young man merely gave a casual reply, ordering everyone to observe quietly and refrain from fighting.

This left the defending soldiers feeling utterly helpless. Still, they didn’t dare disobey orders. They could only watch helplessly as the men from Lianyun Stronghold taunted them before casually strolling away. As this cycle repeated, they felt furious every single time, but they were faintly growing accustomed to the routine.

One day, Tao Dingfang sought out Tao Wenxuan and got straight to the point. "We can begin."

"Tonight?" Tao Wenxuan was slightly surprised by the haste.

Tao Dingfang nodded. "Exactly. The soldiers must be holding in a lot of pent-up anger right now. This is the perfect chance to let them vent. Besides, the people of Lianyun Stronghold probably won’t expect us to make our move tonight."

"Are those Martial Artists going to deploy with us as well?" Tao Wenxuan asked after a moment of thought.

"Yes. This time, I plan to wipe out Lianyun Stronghold in one fell swoop!"

"But didn’t you say there might be a mole among them?" Tao Wenxuan asked in confusion.

"Hahaha, it’s precisely because there is a mole that we must act tonight. Uncle, just watch as I wipe them all out." Tao Dingfang laughed heartily, offering no further explanation.

"What? We’re striking at midnight tonight?"

Hong Ming and the others were shocked upon receiving the news. This was far too sudden. The soldier delivering the order didn’t offer any explanations. He merely told everyone to get ready and that they would assemble beforehand.

After the soldier left, Hong Ming looked at the group with a solemn expression. "I don’t need to spell out the danger of this operation. Just remember one thing: put caution above all else."

Su Chen and the others nodded gravely, fully aware of the gravity of the situation.

Not long after Hong Ming and his group received their orders, Lianyun Stronghold also caught wind of the news.

In the main hall.

Sun Yun and the other two men stared at the message smuggled out of the city. It read: "Striking at midnight tonight. Burn after reading!"

"Striking at midnight? It seems this Tao Dingfang couldn’t wait any longer and wants to catch us off guard!" Zhu Bao chuckled, his tone full of disdain. "It’s a pity he doesn’t know we’ve already seen through his plan!"

However, Sun Yun and Zhu Hu, who were sitting nearby, did not share his amusement.

"Something isn’t right. It feels like he leaked this information on purpose," Zhu Hu said in a deep voice.

"We’ll find out tonight if that’s the case!" Sun Yun said after a moment of thought, his gaze deepening.