43: There's no choice in Chapter 43.

After his identity as an Imperial Censor was 'exposed', Commander Wan Fei arranged a separate tent for Chen Aoyun.

Upon returning to the West Mountain Camp, Chen Aoyun did not see Zhao Hongxiu or Xiao Zhenghong in the usual spot. Not knowing where to find them, he had no choice but to return to his own tent and wait for nightfall.

Before night fell, Chen Aoyun repeatedly recalled the conversation he had with Commander Wan Fei at the dinner table.

"The plot itself is a bit of a trap! Counting on persuading Commander Wan Fei to go to the capital is a lost cause, and forcibly seizing the token isn't realistic either. That guy is at the Sixth Stage; even if Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong teamed up, they might not be a match for him. What should I do..."

Chen Aoyun's face was filled with worry.

At the hour of the Rat, the four gathered once again in the 'Dream Space'.

Zhao Hongxiu spoke first, saying dejectedly, "Xiao Zhenghong and I did not find the troop-mobilization token in Commander Wan Fei's room."

Chen Aoyun said, "The token is on Commander Wan Fei, but I can't get him drunk, and I can't persuade him."

He concisely recounted what happened at the dinner table, with Chen Aoyun specifically mentioning the imperial edict that Commander Wan Fei had shown him.

"The token is just a decoy! The emperor here is playing a game. Have you watched 'Ming Dynasty'? Emperor Zhu Di knew Jin Douzi was going to rebel, so he was just waiting to watch the show!"

"The emperor here is the same. He deliberately created a so-called confidant and placed a token in the West Mountain Camp, just waiting to see the methods of the two princes! The token has always been in Commander Wan Fei's hands. That wooden box was intentionally placed on the corpse by Commander Wan Fei; it was meant to bait the princes, but who would have thought that we would take the bait!"

Xiao Zhenghong was a bit confused, "Are you saying that the attack on the West Mountain Camp was something the Emperor anticipated? Was he testing whether the two princes had thoughts of rebellion? Or was he secretly observing the two princes' capabilities and skills? But that doesn't make sense. If everything was within the Emperor's expectations, then why does the [Background Plot] state that the Emperor has already been controlled by 'the Weird'?"

Zhao Hongxiu was very smart, and she quickly figured out the logic of the plot. "The [Background Plot] cannot be fake. The Emperor must have been controlled by 'the Weird'. Only by 'clearing the Emperor's side' and eliminating this 'Weird' can we consider the mission complete."

"As for your doubts, the logic is simple: The Emperor did indeed direct a play, and he was waiting to watch it. But that was the plot before 'the Weird' appeared! According to my understanding, 'the Weird' appeared and controlled the Emperor. The play the Emperor originally directed changed its flavor before it even began... unintentionally becoming the straw that saves him from 'the Weird'!"

"And what we Raiders need to do is to use this play originally directed by the Emperor to save him. Whether we can save the Emperor or not, the key point still lies in that token!"

Chen Aoyun was very surprised by Zhao Hongxiu's analytical ability. It had taken him an entire afternoon to figure out what Zhao Hongxiu had sorted out after just a few words from him. She was so smart!

Zhao Hongxiu gave a bitter smile. It wasn't intelligence; it was just that she had studied more and participated in plotlines more frequently, accumulating a certain logical inertia that helped her find the answer. Instead, Zhao Hongxiu felt that Chen Aoyun was the truly smart one for having this ability to think critically during his first plot raid.

"Stop with the mutual flattery, you two. We've gone in circles and ended up right back at the token!"

"We cannot mention 'the Weird' to Commander Wan Fei; that is the underlying rule of the plot. Commander Wan Fei currently thinks those assassinations are just the Emperor's way of testing the princes, and since we can't mention 'the Weird', there's no way to persuade him to go to the capital. But if we try to seize it by force, we can't beat this Sixth Stage expert! Oh my god, we can say that the situation here at the West Mountain Camp is completely unsolvable!"

Mentioning the martial arts tournament, Xiao Zhenghong said, "Zhao Hongxiu and I encountered a martial arts tournament today. Winning it would grant three [glory fragments], but the problem is our stage is too low. Zhao Hongxiu and I participated, but after some fighting, we couldn't even make the top ten. It seems that gathering ten [glory fragments] to summon one Heroic Spirit is difficult, let alone gathering twenty to summon two!"

Both the plot progression and the acquisition of fragments at the West Mountain Camp were blocked, and the situation on Fan Ling's side was no better.

Fan Ling said, "The news on my side is also very bad. The number of suspects for 'the Weird' is only increasing. Especially after hearing your conversation just now, the First Prince and Second Prince, whom I suspected the most, have actually moved down the list. Although I can't rule out that 'the Weird' killed the princes and disguised itself as them, after my investigation today, I suspect others more than the princes."

Chen Aoyun asked, "Counting the two princes, how many suspects do you have now?"

Fan Ling replied, "Ten." Now everyone's expressions became even uglier.

Whether it was the West Mountain Camp or the Imperial Palace, as long as one side could be successfully raided, the plot on the other side that couldn't be cleared could be forcibly replaced by using a Heroic Spirit.

Chen Aoyun had even thought of the replacement Heroic Spirits.

If the plot at the West Mountain Camp got stuck and they couldn't get the token, he would have Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong suppress the roving bandits. After gathering ten [glory fragments], they would summon a Heroic Spirit. There were many Chinese Heroic Spirits with stories of 'clearing the Emperor's side':

[An Lushan] killing Prime Minister Yang Guozhong was 'clearing the Emperor's side', so he could be used. [Liu Pi] killing Chao Cuo was also 'clearing the Emperor's side', and he could also be used. Even the likes of [Dong Zhuo] killing the Ten Eunuchs used the name of 'clearing the Emperor's side'. Although according to the hidden rules, [Dong Zhuo] could not seize imperial power after being summoned to the capital, he could still be used.

There were plenty of Heroic Spirits for 'clearing the Emperor's side', and Heroic Spirits for 'distinguishing the loyal from the treacherous' were also easy to choose; [Heroic Spirit Zhuge Liang] would do!

[Heroic Spirit Zhuge Liang]'s 'Chu Shi Biao' mentioned officials who were all loyal. Liu Shan used these people until they all died, and not a single one rebelled. You could say that the people [Heroic Spirit Zhuge Liang] chose for Liu Shan weren't very capable, but not a single person mentioned by [Heroic Spirit Zhuge Liang] was not a loyal subject.

Using this story to 'distinguish the loyal from the treacherous' was absolutely feasible. The 'Weird' that Fan Ling couldn't find would be found by Mr. Kongming!

Chen Aoyun had figured all this out, but the problem was that [glory fragments] were limited, and it was impossible to summon two Heroic Spirits at the same time!

For a moment, even Chen Aoyun fell silent. The countdown above their heads ticked away; there were less than three minutes until dawn. Once dawn broke, it would be the final day. If they couldn't complete the plot, they would be at the bottom, and everyone present would die.

It seemed that the word "despair" did not exist in Zhao Hongxiu's dictionary. She stepped forward and said, "There are only failed people of the Dragon Kingdom, no people of the Dragon Kingdom who give up! On this last day, we can still take a gamble!"

Looking at Xiao Zhenghong, Zhao Hongxiu said, "Give up on the token raid at the West Mountain Camp. Tomorrow, you will come with me to the roving bandit camp. We must clear out the bandits within one day and gather the ten [glory fragments] first! Once the [glory fragments] are gathered, you, Mr. Strategist, will summon the Heroic Spirit who can force a 'clearing of the Emperor's side'!"

Finally, Zhao Hongxiu came to Fan Ling's side and said: "The West Mountain Camp side will rely on the Heroic Spirit to complete the mission. There is only one Heroic Spirit, so you can take a gamble at the Imperial Palace! You have one more day; try your best to narrow down the range of suspects for 'the Weird'. If you narrow it down to nine suspects, the probability of guessing right is one in nine! If you narrow it down to five, it's one in five! Fan Ling, it's up to you!"

He understood what Zhao Hongxiu meant. The West Mountain Camp would rely on the Heroic Spirit. Since the identity of 'the Weird' could not be determined at the Imperial Palace, he would just pick one at random from his suspects. The probability of picking 'the Weird' depended on the number of his suspects; the smaller the number, the greater the probability of completing the plot, provided, of course, that 'the Weird' was among the suspects.

"The pressure is too great!" Fan Ling said with a bitter face.

Not only the lives of the people present, but whether or not the Dragon Kingdom's national fortune would go bankrupt was now in his, Fan Ling's, hands after Zhao Hongxiu decided on this tactic. But it seemed this was the only way; everyone had no other choice...