Astral Apostle

Chapter 517: Discord and Suspicion (2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The two leaders were so frightened that their souls almost left their bodies. They quickly knelt down and stretched out their fingers to swear.

“We’re not lying. Everything we say is true! We also have a famous case record in the Martial Inspectorate. Commander Lu, you can ask and find out from the Hongzhou Prefecture Magistrate if the two of us are really working for the Imperial Court!”

“How dare you spout nonsense? Tie them up and throw them in jail!”

Without any explanation, Lu Longchuan ordered angrily.

The guards immediately picked up the two sub leaders, covered their mouths, and dragged them out.

After the two of them were taken away, Lu Longchuan sat down again, his expression uncertain. He thought for a while before getting someone to call Military Advisor Sun Rong over.

Not long after, Sun Rong arrived.

Lu Longchuan did not hide anything and told him everything.

“… That’s what happened. I wonder what Military Advisor thinks?”

Sun Rong listened quietly and stroked his beard. He sighed,

“This matter is strange. Xiang Tianjie is a veteran of the stronghold. How can he easily defect to the enemy? This is most likely the opponent’s plan to sow discord and frame us so that we can cut off an arm.”

Lu Longchuan nodded, “I think so too. These two should be the death warriors sent by Chen Feng.”

“That might not be the case. Perhaps they were just bewitched.” Sun Rong rolled his eyes and said, “These two call themselves spies of the Martial Inspectorate. It’s better to send someone to the Hongzhou Magistrate to confirm the name list. If they’re killed by mistake, our witnesses will also be cut off.”

Lu Longchuan nodded. They were now representing the Imperial Court, so it was very simple to confirm with the government such matters. The prefectures in Huyang would assist them to the best of their abilities.

Sun Rong paused for a moment before continuing,

“Since Chen Feng wants to frame Xiang Tianjie, he naturally has a backup plan. Perhaps there’s really a spy from the other party in our army. We’ll temporarily monitor the Fourth Boss closely. The spy will eventually give himself away.”

“I’ll take care of it myself.”

Lu Longchuan nodded.

…

Ten days passed in a flash.

During this period of time, Xiang Tianjie had been in a daze.

He did not know if it was an illusion, but he felt that someone was watching him in the dark. However, when he looked around, he found nothing, making him suspicious.

He thought that he had been dealing with the enemy for a few days and was under too much pressure, so he did not take it to heart.

On this night, the camp was silent. Most of the soldiers were asleep.

Xiang Tianjie lay down with his clothes on. In his half-asleep state, he suddenly heard a faint sound in the tent, as if someone was moving by the bed.

“Who?”

Xiang Tianjie suddenly woke up and sat up. He took out his sword from under his pillow and looked around.

However, the tent was silent. There was no one else. Only the faint candlelight was flickering, casting his shadow on the tent in a strange posture.

Xiang Tianjie glanced around warily before standing up and using his sword to open the tent flap. He stuck his head out to take a look and realized that his personal guards were still guarding outside the tent.

He asked the guards and found out that no one had approached the area. Only then did he put away his sword and return to his tent. He thought that he was hallucinating from a nightmare.

However, when he passed by the table, Xiang Tianjie suddenly froze. He turned his head stiffly and looked at the table in shock.

He clearly remembered clearing the table before he went to bed. There should not have been anything else on it.

However, at this moment, a letter from an unknown source was lying quietly on the table, staring at him.

Xiang Tianjie felt a chill run down his spine and subconsciously took two steps back.

As a bloodthirsty old man from the Green Forest, he usually did not believe in ghosts and gods. However, when he encountered such a strange incident at this moment, he still subconsciously felt fear.

“Who’s messing with me…”

Xiang Tianjie took a deep breath and walked to the table. He carefully picked up the letter and started reading.

However, halfway through, his expression changed drastically, as if he had been stung by a bee. He threw the letter away.

“Someone is trying to frame me! This letter can’t be kept!”

Xiang Tianjie came back to his senses and quickly picked up the letter, wanting to burn it with a candle.

However, at this moment, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded from outside.

Swoosh!

Lu Longchuan and Sun Rong brought their personal guards and barged into the tent. At a glance, they saw Xiang Tianjie, who was planning to burn the letter.

“Stop! Restrain him!”

Lu Longchuan shouted and flew up, grabbing Xiang Tianjie’s wrist.

The personal guards beside him rushed forward and firmly held Xiang Tianjie down.

Xiang Tianjie did not struggle hard. Instead, he looked at everyone in shock.

“Why are all of you here?”

He did not understand why Lu Longchuan would come so coincidentally, and all of them were even wearing helmets and armor… If they were not prepared for this, why would they suddenly appear?

Lu Longchuan ignored him and read the letter with a dark expression. His chest gradually heaved, and his face turned ashen from anger.

“How dare you!”

Bam!

He kicked the table over in anger.

Sun Rong took the letter and read it. He was also shocked.

It was a reply from Chen Feng. The letter thanked Xiang Tianjie for the detailed military intelligence he had provided last time and asked him to continue sending information next time.

At the same time, the letter also mentioned that Xiang Tianjie should calm down. Even if he gathered a portion of the leaders of the Anti-Recruitment Sect, he should not rashly cause internal strife and attack at the critical moment.

In addition, the letter also agreed with the anti-recruitment faction led by Xiang Tianjie. They felt that Lu Longchuan was once a hero, but now that he had been reduced to a dog of the Imperial Court, he was indeed not worth submitting to. If they continued to follow him, they would only be reduced to a tool used by the other party to obtain wealth. However, they were brothers after all. After this matter was completed, they would not ruin Lu Longchuan’s life.

“What’s going on with this?”

Lu Longchuan calmed down and pointed at the letter, shouting at Xiang Tianjie.

Xiang Tianjie looked aggrieved as he said, “I don’t know either. This letter suddenly appeared in my tent just now. Someone must have sneaked into my tent just now and framed me!”