They all became female demons after being reborn.

Chapter 49 Luoyang Magistrate, I've come to kill you.

"Of course we'll make it in time." Wu Cheng smiled. "Senior Brother Xue, Senior Brother Zhou, you two go to the North Gate immediately to meet up with Young Master Li's men, and then wait for me outside the city."

He turned to look at Qingque, who remained silent, and said, "Sister Qingque, even if I told you to leave, you wouldn't leave, would you?"

Qingque's face showed no extra expression. She only glanced at Li Anchan indifferently before silently walking to stand behind Wu Cheng.

Li Anchan glanced at Qingque with a playful look in her eyes, "She's quite loyal to you."

Wu Cheng didn't respond, but instead looked at Xue Jianren and Zhou Ke, "You two, act quickly, don't waste any more time!"

Xue Jianren was still hesitant, but he also understood that staying here would only be a hindrance.

So he bowed to Zhou Ke and turned to leave.

After the two left, Wu Cheng took a deep breath and smiled, "Alright, let's begin... give Lord Luoyang a surprise!"

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In the back office of Luoyang Prefecture, Yuan Hao stood in his study, with a fair-skinned servant boy of no more than seven or eight years old kneeling beside him. In front of him, a map of Luoyang's city defenses hung on a screen.

He is forty-seven years old this year, but he is well-maintained and looks no more than thirty years old with his fair skin and tender flesh.

At this moment, he rested his hand on the table and tapped it gently and slowly.

"Fourth Prince, where will you hide? Cough..."

He suddenly coughed, and the servant kneeling at his feet immediately looked up and opened his mouth.

Yuan Hao turned his head and spat the phlegm into the servant's mouth, only turning his gaze away with satisfaction after watching the servant swallow it.

His wife died young, and his only remaining goal in life was to climb the social ladder as high as possible, hoping to one day return to Lin'an and enjoy life to the fullest.

For this reason, he even drove his only son to his death.

But you can have another son if you lose him, but you don't have many opportunities to climb the social ladder.

He came from a poor family, and even though he was skilled in martial arts and had guarded Luoyang for more than 20 years, he was still considered a lowly peasant by the elite families of Lin'an.

Only by clinging to the coattails of that noble person in Lin'an, the capital, can one have a chance to break free from these constraints.

Therefore... the Fourth Prince must die!

"My lord! Something terrible has happened! Fires are raging throughout Luoyang!"

At that moment, his aides rushed in, their faces filled with anxiety. "Fire has broken out in the east, south, and west of the city!"

Yuan Hao frowned. "It's just a fire, what's the panic?"

"My lord! The fire is breaking out at the homes of Councilor Zhang, Chief Clerk Wang, and Commandant Zhao!"

"Um?"

Yuan Hao was taken aback, then quickly looked at the city defense map.

He immediately located the three houses, and the three fire sites formed a loose triangle surrounding Luoyang Prefecture.

"Has anyone offered assistance?"

The aide bowed and said, "Because there are three fire points, and the previous two cases delayed a lot of manpower, the city defense guards, the Shenshu Camp, and the yamen runners are each responsible for one of them, and they have all gone to put out the fires."

Yuan Hao strained his ears to listen, and heard a cacophony of sounds outside the wall: the clanging of gongs, the clatter of horses' hooves, and shouts for help to put out fires. It was as if the entire city of Luoyang had been violently roused from its slumber.

"The old drunkard's intention..."

Yuan Hao traced his finger across the map, finally fixing it on the location of the Luoyang Prefectural Government in the center.

"Give the orders immediately," Yuan Hao said calmly. "First, all soldiers and yamen runners remaining at the government office must retreat to the inner courtyard, and the outer courtyard must be left unguarded. Second, send men to guard the cellar to prevent anyone from sneaking in during the chaos."

The aide asked, "My lord, are the children in the cellar...?"

He gestured across his neck.

"Don't cause trouble. Those are reservations made by nobles in Lin'an. If anything goes wrong, I'll hold you responsible!" Yuan Hao glared at him.

"Yes, yes!" the aide asked again, "But if the outer courtyard isn't guarded, wouldn't that mean...?"

"Heh, since they were able to burn down three houses at the same time, they must have more than one group of men at their disposal. If I were to divide my forces to guard the houses, wouldn't that be playing right into their hands?" Yuan Hao picked up the cool tea on the table, took a sip to rinse his mouth, then lowered his head and spat it into the mouth of the young servant boy. He then said indifferently, "Do as they say."

"Yes!" The staff member immediately withdrew.

Yuan Hao looked at the city defense map hanging there and suddenly smiled.

A prince who had been a fool in the palace for sixteen years wanted to challenge him?

So what if he pretended for sixteen years? Pretending means he has no maternal support behind him. Although he is intelligent, he is powerless to change things, so he can only keep a low profile.

If I were to pretend for the rest of my life, that would be fine, but what can I do if I stop pretending now?

Do you think you can deal with him with just a few fires and a few unknown henchmen from the martial arts world?

This is Luoyang!

This is the territory that Yuan Hao has been managing for over twenty years!

Even if those people's homes burn down, as long as they are alive, as long as they can climb the social ladder, and as long as they still hold onto those children who keep being sent to them, then all those connections can be rebuilt!

Just as Yuan Hao was making his plans, he suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps outside the door.

A blood-soaked guard knelt on the threshold, his voice trembling, "Sir! Someone has broken into the cellar! The brothers are fighting! I'm afraid we can't hold it!"

Yuan Hao swayed, his face ashen, and gritted his teeth, saying, "They're just a few kids, don't worry about them."

As long as his channels remain open, there will continue to be a steady stream of children being sent to him.

He composed himself, though his voice was three degrees deeper than before, "How many people are coming?"

"I can't see clearly! They're all dressed in black and masked! But they're incredibly agile! They don't seem like ordinary martial arts practitioners, more like soldiers!"

Yuan Hao waved for him to leave, his gaze sweeping over the city defense map.

If the Fourth Prince were truly a fool, that would be one thing, but it's obvious he's not a fool, otherwise he wouldn't have escaped the assassination attempt at Longmen Ferry and even managed to kill Meigensheng.

If he's not a fool, why would he walk right into a trap?

What other tricks does he have up his sleeve?

And how exactly did he escape the assassination attempt at Longmen Ferry and kill Megan Sheng?

Was he protected by someone in the palace? Or...?

Yuan Hao's gaze swept across the city defense map, finally settling on the north gate.

Beisheng or Beijing?

Yuan Hao's pupils contracted slightly.

The only variable he hadn't considered was those two countries to the north!

Just as he was about to call for reinforcements to make the next arrangements, a blood-covered sentry from the Divine Pivot Camp stumbled to the study door, hoarsely called out "My lord," and then collapsed to the ground.

Yuan Hao walked around the desk and personally turned the man over in the room. He saw that the man had a deep, bone-revealing wound torn open on his chest by something sharp. The blood in the wound was dark red, clearly indicating that he had run back to report the news with his last breath.

He recognized the man; he was one of the sentries assigned to monitor the Prince Yu's residence!

"But something happened at the Prince Yu's residence?!"

"Prince Yu...Prince Yu, he..."

"What happened to Prince Yu?!"

The sentry's Adam's apple bobbed violently, and even his eyeballs bulged out.

He groaned a few times, then his head lolled to the side and he was gone.

Almost at the same time, a round head flew in from outside the outer gate and rolled to his feet.

Yuan Hao looked down and his pupils suddenly contracted!

Wu Ju's ashen face was turned upwards, his frozen expression showing neither anger nor resentment, but confusion, as if he did not know why the other party had killed him.

Yuan Hao looked down at the head and felt his blood run cold.

Prince Yu died in Luoyang.

His path to advancement was also cut off.

He slowly straightened up, his hands, which were tucked into his sleeves, slowly clenched into fists, and then looked up at the two people who were leisurely walking into the courtyard.

Wu Cheng's smile widened even more upon seeing him:

"Lord of Luoyang, I've come to kill you."