Keyboard Immortal - Chapter 2952

Chapter 1465 Parting Ways

Zu An’s heart skipped a beat. His opponent was the incarnation of the Immortal Ancestor of Annihilation; his Myriad Transformations technique might fool others, but it certainly wouldn’t fool him.

However, he remained calm and replied composedly, “What does the Marshal mean? Could it be that I am impersonating Zhang Jiao?”

“Since you’ve admitted it, you’re spared the pain of punishment. Come, drag him away and execute him!” Dong Zhuo slammed his fist on the table and roared.

Zu An didn’t argue, because others had already spoken up for him. Fu Wan

slammed his fist on the table and stood up: “Marshal, this is utterly absurd! How could Xuande possibly impersonate Zhang Jiao!” Upon

hearing this, the generals echoed his sentiments. Even Yuan Shu, who had always looked down on Zu An, secretly nodded, thinking that Dong Zhuo had truly gone mad. He had acted recklessly, leading to the army’s defeat, and now he wanted to use this ridiculous excuse to shift the blame onto Liu Bei.

Dong Zhuo frowned and said, “Because he possesses a transformation technique, allowing him to transform into anyone’s appearance.”

Fu Wan sneered, “Those of you here are all well-informed; you’ve seen transformation techniques before. Who could deceive so many people at once? Besides, last night that bandit leader displayed incredible power, summoning heavenly lightning. If transformation techniques could reach that level, wouldn’t he be invincible? Why would he need to be a mere county magistrate?”

The others nodded in agreement. Transformation techniques were hard to hide from their eyes. What, couldn’t everyone see through Dong Zhuo’s abilities?

Dong Zhuo’s fat face flushed crimson. As a true god, when had he ever suffered such humiliation? But he couldn’t explain this; he couldn’t very well tell everyone, “I’m a true god, and everyone believes me.”

Sensing his frustration, Zu An became increasingly puzzled. True gods descending to this world seemed to face even greater limitations than he had imagined.

But he was already a true god; why would he still be subject to such limitations?

Amidst the heated debate in the camp, an imperial edict suddenly arrived, declaring Dong Zhuo’s poor command had led to the crushing defeat, and ordering his dismissal and investigation.

It turned out the court had already learned of the battle report immediately, and Emperor Ling personally decreed that Huangfu Song, who had previously achieved a great victory in the south, would replace him as commander-in-chief, while Dong Zhuo was escorted back to the capital for investigation.

With this unexpected turn of events, no one was left to punish Zu An.

Seeing Dong Zhuo’s flushed face and frustrated expression, Zu An secretly chuckled, never expecting a true god to suffer such a fate.

He even considered taking this opportunity to eliminate him, but ultimately dismissed the tempting thought.

The Yellow Turban army couldn’t simply breach the defenses of the Five Northern Schools; even with his combined forces of Tingxue and Yun Jianyue, plus his 3,000 troops, they couldn’t possibly kill a true god.

Moreover, Dong Zhuo also had some trusted troops under his command; a cautious, defensive strategy was the best course of action.

With the new commander Huangfu Song yet to take office, the five Northern Army schools and the Yellow Turban Army enjoyed a brief period of rest.

Zu An took the opportunity to return to Guangzong City and discuss their next plans with the women.

Now that Zhang Jiao was dead, although he had briefly impersonated him to survive the crisis, he couldn’t continue indefinitely.

Princess Nihuang and Xie Daoyun had suggested he continue leading the Yellow Turban Army as Zhang Jiao, but he knew this was the Yellow Turban Army’s last moment of glory before its defeat and ultimately refused.

“Brother Zu, I trust your judgment. Since you’ve made this choice, I fully support you.” Although Xie Daoyun had experience as a leader in several lifetimes, she still remembered that tall figure from years ago, and countless events solidified her confidence in him.

Princess Nihuang also understood that while they were initially invincible against the poorly equipped county troops, the Yellow Turban Army was no match for the Empire’s elite forces.

Moreover, once the Empire’s dormant power awakened and all forces were fully mobilized, the Yellow Turban Army would eventually be suppressed.

However, Ashura’s warlike nature meant she never considered backing down, but the arrival of Zu’an gave her another option.

“The Yellow Turban Army may be defeated, but the Yellow Turban followers may not necessarily be wiped out,” Zu’an told them, recounting the historical fate of many Yellow Turbans who were eventually incorporated into the government.

Xie Daoyun nodded. “So what we need to do is lie low for now, wait for the right opportunity, and then lend Brother Zu’s hand.”

“But where can we lie low if we want to? There’s a large army blocking our way south; we can’t go to Qingxu,” Princess Nihuang said, opening a map with obvious distress.

Zu An pointed to a vast mountain range to the west: “The Taihang Mountains. Historically, there was a branch of the Yellow Turbans here, with a million-strong Black Mountain Army, hidden deep within these mountains. No matter how many troops the imperial court sends, they cannot besiege them.”

Xie Daoyun nodded slightly: “Indeed, I was thinking of going to this place before, and I even sent people to scout ahead.”

Zu An smiled: “Your sister is becoming more and more like a leader.”

Xie Daoyun smiled: “Still not as good as Brother Zu.”

Princess Nihuang, seeing this scene, got goosebumps and hurriedly said: “Now there is a problem. We have just achieved a great victory, and many generals may not agree to lie low, especially the third brother.”

Xie Daoyun’s expression was calm: “We will go to the Taihang Mountains to establish a foothold first, and they will come in the future.”

Whether it was the previous Holy Maiden of the Demon Clan, Yumen Beiqing, or the current Holy Maiden of the Yellow Turbans, Zhang Ning, she knew very well when to make the right choice.

Next, Zu’an, posing as Zhang Jiao, arranged his affairs, mentioning that he had been poisoned by a traitor that night. He had used his last breath to appear and stabilize the army’s morale, but now he was nearing his death, passing command to Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang before passing away.

After arranging everything, he died peacefully, and the cries of mourning echoed throughout Guangzong City.

Princess Nihuang and Xie Daoyun discussed with Zhang Liang several times about splitting up their forces, but he disagreed. So they each led their trusted troops away from Guangzong.

Before parting, Zu’an went to Xie Daoyun’s room to say goodbye, knowing that after they went to Taihang Mountain, they might not see each other again.

The two didn’t speak; their relationship didn’t require any words. They

simply embraced tightly, their body temperature rising, and naturally rolled onto the bed.

Xie Daoyun wanted to remove her veil, but Zu’an stopped her.

“Don’t remove the veil, just leave it like this!”

Xie Daoyun instantly understood his little scheme. Her eyes flickered, but she wasn’t averse to it; instead, she felt a little expectant.

Although she had been the world leader for several lifetimes, she was still willing to obey his commands in front of her beloved.

…

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but the Yellow Turban Saintess, revered by countless people, was now only wearing a veil. Her exposed body trembled incessantly, her skin as red as a blooming peach blossom.

At this moment, she possessed both her usual holiness and a different kind of fallen beauty, leaving Zu An in awe.

However, what surprised him even more was that he hadn’t collected any fragments of the True God’s soul.

It seemed that the followers of the Second Generation True God truly had no connection to the First Generation True God…