He would turn to look at Lin Qiaole every once in a while. She was sleeping soundly with her head on the table as her drool pooled on the ground.

Ren Baqian wanted to clamp her mouth shut.

Why was a good looking lady like her drooling all the time?

Qingyun Sword was making preparations up front.

Killing the empress was going to take a lot more than just a bunch of guys charging head first.

Qingyun Sword divided the Earth Wheel experts from the various sects into 11 different groups. They were to be further split into vanguard and rearguard positions to maximize their strength in numbers and reduce casualties.

However, they only had three days to practice this formation. Their coordination would be essential for the formation's success.

Fortunately, they were all Earth Wheel experts with much higher adaptability and apt.i.tude than ordinary people. Despite the short time, they would definitely be able to reach an adequate level of proficiency.

Everyone was up discussing until deep into the night.

Ren Baqian wrote a letter and set off to find Su Qing.

He realized that their exchange at the entrance of the warlord's residence had given them a decent excuse to meet at this late hour.

"My men have already left Gu City. They had no more business there after their ident.i.ties were exposed," Su Qing replied. He wasn't surprised to see Ren Baqian, but was shocked that he wanted to send a second letter.

The way Su Qing saw it, all they had to do was wait for these people to fall into the trap they had prepared. There was no reason why Ren Baqian would need to send another letter.

Unless… The preparations weren't ready?

He immediately cast this thought away. Qi Zixiao's provocation and Ren Baqian's appearance here made it extremely clear that something was underway.

Honestly, Qi Zixiao was powerful enough to handle these people even if something went wrong with the plan. Moreover, Xi Wanya and the Protectorate of the North were there as well. All they had to do was wait for these people to gather before taking them all out in one fell swoop. Any survivors would be hard pressed to start another uprising.

"One more thing," Ren Baqian interrupted Su Qing's thoughts.

Su Qing looked at him and smiled. He received the letter from Ren Baqian's hand with his slender fingers.

"Here for more stories about my brothel escapades?"

Ren Baqian brandished his arms and left.

What was there to hear about?

He would visit them himself after all of this. First, however, he had to find a scapegoat.

Outside of the city, the experts trained and practiced the formation. There were still some people missing, two of which were Spirit Wheel experts.

Ren Baqian hoped that this routine would never end.

According to their plan, Xi Wanya was supposed to have set off already. Ren Baqian wondered if his second letter that contained the empress's location had reached him.

If the empress was really waiting, then the battle was most likely going to happen near that city.

Things were not always going to go smoothly for Ren Baqian. Three nights ago, Ren Baqian received notice that they were going to set off for battle in two days. (TLC. This part is confusing because they should have left already if they were leaving in 2 days. By the end of the chapter 4 nights have pa.s.sed.)According to Ren Baqian's calculations, it would take Xi Wanya around five to six days to arrive after receiving the letter.

Even if he had left immediately, today would only be the fifth day.

Ren Baqian had taken more than 20 days to get here from Gu City. However, he had traveled in a carriage and taken a bit of a detour.

It would probably take about 10 days on horseback at top speed to get from Gu City to where the empress was. (TLC. It said it would take Xi Wanya 5-6 days to arrive after receiving the letter.)

Xi Wanya wasn't going to be able to arrive on time.

If things went well, they should be able to meet Xi Wanya by the time he and the empress had gone to Earth and returned.

One other thing Ren Baqian was unsure of was how many Spirit Wheel experts would survive the fight with the empress. Things would get ugly if Xi Wanya were to face too many of them.

There were too many variables for Ren Baqian to accurately determine the odds. He supposed they would have to manage things as they happened.

Ming City was much quieter that night.

They were due to set off the next day.

Everyone took the time to condition themselves and maintain their equipment.

Ren Baqian checked his fortified smoke grenades once more.

He reckoned that their formation was going to be useless.

The essential component of this batch of fortified smoke grenades was the content in the smoke. The smoke itself was only a side effect.

Skunk musk was the star of these smoke grenades.

In other words, the grenades contained the secretions of skunks.

Being sprayed with skunk musk supposedly felt like getting whacked in the back of the head by a baseball bat. Following that sensation, one's brain would turn to mush, and it would become almost impossible to breathe. Add to that the burning sensation in the eyes, and it was no wonder why some people fainted after being exposed to it.

It didn't only a.s.sault the nose, but all other senses as well.

To make things worse, skunk musk would linger for a long time and could take a whole week of intense was.h.i.+ng to remove.

It is an indescribable scent, a level of smell that smelly tofu could only dream of attaining.

Ren Baqian's fortified smoke grenades were chock full of highly concentrated versions of that stuff. It was sufficient to cause existential doubt.

Aside from the use of weapons of ma.s.s destruction, Ren Baqian felt that this was his strongest option.

Of course, this could in some ways be considered a biological weapon of ma.s.s destruction.

Despite its positive points, there were downsides to using this as well.

Its biggest weakness was that the user had to suffer along with the targets!

After all, the smoke would quickly envelope anyone sufficiently close by once released.

Ren Baqian didn't dare imagine how the empress would react, but he knew it would be interesting.

He felt bad for a moment, but quickly picked himself back up. Given a choice, he wouldn't be using a chemical weapon like this. Under these circ.u.mstances, he was doing it in order to save someone.

"Ugh, such is life!" Ren Baqian heaved a deep sigh. He turned to the sleeping Lin Qiaole with slightly malicious intent and thought, She's got a great sense of smell doesn't she?

All of a sudden, Lin Qiaole woke with a start. She stared blankly at Ren Baqian and asked, "What's happening?"

"Nothing has happened. Go back to sleep." Ren Baqian waved.

One night pa.s.sed.

The group set out the next morning.

They departed in high spirits, completely oblivious to the present that one of their members had prepared.