Astral Apostle

Chapter 519: Provoking the Fire; Our Dao Is Not Alone (1)

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

As the fourth-in-charge, Xiang Tianjie had a high status and led an army. His military authority could not be ignored, so the fact that he was imprisoned could naturally not be hidden.

The next day, his absence from the military meeting attracted attention. Soon, other leaders started to curiously ask about him.

Lu Longchuan was vague. He only said that Xiang Tianjie had violated military orders, so he was temporarily imprisoned. He did not mention the specific crime, causing the leaders to be puzzled and ask endlessly.

Since there was nothing he could do, Lu Longchuan could only act arbitrarily for once. He took on the attitude of a boss and said that his actions would definitely make sense. He also used the reason of being in the presence of a great enemy to prevent everyone from diverting their attention.

In the end, the military meeting ended unhappily. The leaders could only disperse with doubts.

Lu Longchuan was also in a difficult position. After all, Xiang Tianjie was a founding member of the stronghold and was quite popular. If he colluded with the enemy, the impact would be even more disadvantageous, causing the hearts of the people to fluctuate. Moreover, he could not be sure if Xiang Tianjie had been framed.

However, even if he did not say anything, when two armies were involved in a red hot battle, imprisoning their side’s general for no reason was also a huge taboo. It would still cause everyone to panic and be restless.

He could only choose his next steps carefully. At this moment, he hated the traitor deeply in his heart. He felt that no matter what he did, he had fallen into his opponent’s trap, sowing discord in the army.

In order to find the traitor, Lu Longchuan got someone to pay attention to the movements of the various leaders. He felt that if Xiang Tianjie was really framed, the real traitor would most likely send another message to the enemy to report this matter, so he might give himself away.

On the other hand, he got someone to interrogate Xiang Tianjie in detail. It would be best if he could get anything out of him… However, they were old friends, it was not good to torture Xiang Tianjie, so there was basically no progress in the interrogation.

For the next few days, Lu Longchuan focused on trying to uncover the spy, but it was to no avail, causing him to become even more suspicious. Everyone looked like a spy to him.

At the same time, his main focus had to be on dealing with the waves of attacks from the Dragon King Stronghold. He felt more and more exhausted, physically and mentally.

Because Xiang Tianjie had not been released for many days, coupled with the signs of internal investigation, the leaders of the Heavenly King Stronghold became more and more anxious. They did not know what Lu Longchuan meant by his cryptic and vague sentences of “violating military orders”.

Seeing that this could not continue, Sun Rong gave a suggestion. He said that they could use a screening method to gather groups of leaders for a military meeting and give different military information. From the movements of the Dragon King Stronghold, they would know which group of people had leaked the news.

Lu Longchuan felt that this method was not bad, so he followed it.

However, the outcome was not satisfactory. The Dragon King Stronghold did not do anything else at all. They only attacked as usual.

Lu Longchuan could not help but wonder if Xiang Tianjie was really that spy. Because he had been captured, no one had managed to send any military intelligence to the enemy.

Or perhaps the real spy had dived deep and was watching quietly.

His repeated failures made Lu Longchuan even more anxious and frustrated.

…

At night, in the prison.

Xiang Tianjie sat in the corner, only wearing a thin overall. His hair was disheveled, and his face was unkempt. It was difficult to hide the fatigue on his face.

Although he was imprisoned, he did not give much trouble to the guards, so he was not shackled.

However, the continuous interrogations had exhausted him. At this moment, he was looking at the beam of his prison in a daze, his emotions complicated.

During this period of time, Xiang Tianjie had already calmed down. He knew that he had been framed, which meant that there was indeed a spy inside, and he was someone with a high status.

He was also analyzing who might have betrayed everyone. He thought about it again and again, but he still could not figure it out.

What he could not understand was why there were old brothers colluding with the enemy. Did they really think that their Heavenly King Stronghold could not hold on anymore? What was exactly the reason to cause someone to be so disloyal as to become a spy?

Without the chaos of the outside world for the time being, Xiang Tianjie had a chance to calm down and reflect on the changes in the past few years.

Back then, he had joined the Heavenly King Stronghold because he had been infected by the loyalty of the Green Forest. They had gathered together to make a big career and had lived a mediocre life together.

But now, he had become the eagle and dog of the Imperial Court. He had turned his spear against his former comrades in the Green Forest and fought for the Imperial Court… Was this really what he wanted back then?

Although the older one got, the more secular they became, and they would not be able to return to the past… However, even if they were recruited, there were not many benefits. They were only working hard for the Imperial Court instead of for themselves.

Compared to when he was young, Lu Longchuan had also changed a lot. Although Xiang Tianjie cared about their old friendship, he had to admit that many of Lu Longchuan’s words and actions over the years did not meet his expectations. In his heart, he was no longer as respectful as before.

“Perhaps… the spy betrayed us old brothers because he felt that Commander Lu was no longer worth submitting to… Chen Feng is a peerless hero, so it’s not strange that he can attract people to seek refuge.”

Xiang Tianjie sighed to himself with mixed feelings.

In the past, it was always their Heavenly King Stronghold that had such charm, but now, it was someone else’s turn to attract the heroes of the world.

He sighed to himself, feeling helpless as if he had been replaced by his descendants.

At this moment, there was a commotion outside his cell.

Not long after, a few figures strode in. The soldiers guarding the prison followed helplessly by the side and tried to dissuade them.

Xiang Tianjie took a closer look and saw a few familiar leaders.

“Brother, we’ve come to find you!”

The leaders came to the cell and shouted.

Xiang Tianjie was shocked at the outburst. He immediately questioned, “Why are you here?”

He was locked up tightly and was not allowed to be visited by anyone. This was the first batch of people to so defiantly flout the rules to visit him.

Xiang Tianjie hurriedly stood up and went to the prison door. When he saw their reddened faces and necks, and smelled the strong smell of alcohol, he panicked.

“Aiyo, did you guys drink? This is a violation of military orders. Hurry up and go back. Don’t make things difficult for yourself!”