Chapter 30: Return to Pingling
Click here to watch Your Majesty in women’s clothing (〃▽〃)…
Ying Xi’s tone always commanded a sense of conviction.
The sister thought for a moment and decided to obey first. She said, “Last year, a plague broke out in the village. Half the villagers were gone.”
“Some people went down the mountain to flee for their lives, but there was fighting everywhere last year. I heard those who escaped didn’t meet a good end either. Later, only the old and young remained, and most were sick. The village died off, household by household.”
The sister fell into memory, pursed her lips, her voice dry and hoarse: “Those who died early still had people to arrange funerals for them. Later on, the living couldn’t even take care of themselves. When people died, they were just thrown far away. Some corpses weren’t collected and just floated in the river.”
“Wave after wave died. Those who survived, barely hanging on, mostly were left with chronic illness. The village elders say the lungs were damaged.”
The girl’s brother coughed continuously, his chest making a rasping, crackling sound with every breath.
Ying Xi said, “I clearly heard able-bodied men in the village.”
Just moments ago, when that mother and son were killed.
When Ying Xi asked this, the girl clearly flinched, looking toward the door in terror. The brother hugged his sister tight.
“They are bandits…”
The brother curled into a small ball, adding hoarsely, “F-formerly, rebels.”
—Rebels!?
Last year, the Xie father and son departed from Chang’an, reclaiming cities occupied by rebels along the way.
The routed remnants mostly drilled into the mountain forests and became bandits.
Ying Xi knew this, but meeting them in Pingling Village was truly unexpected.
“That gang of bandits came a few times. They know there was a plague here, no strong men, no law. They rob grain, rob things, kill people, ruin women. Sometimes when they go back to their camp, some get drunk and wild, break into homes, and live in the village.”
So Pingling Village suffered two great catastrophes.
First, the plague. Second, the bandits.
Although this place was some distance from Chang’an, it wasn’t far. The memorials presented to him mentioned nothing of the chaos in Pingling Village.
Ying Xi secretly guessed it was one of a few situations: The court’s finances were tight at the time; the village was remote and closed off, so even if the plague spread, it wouldn’t reach the Imperial City. Later, the situation in the North stabilized, and those destined to die of illness had died off. There was no need to report it anymore and cause the court unnecessary worry.
Under his rule, some people were not treated as people.
As the highest person responsible for Great Qin, Ying Xi felt a heavy weight in his heart.
But holding people accountable for the Pingling Village incident would have to wait until he returned to the capital. Currently, being here in person was to drag out the mastermind behind Feng Ze.
Ying Xi gathered his thoughts of execution and used the fabricated identity from earlier: “Young man, I remember you have a relative named Feng who is said to live here. It’s been a long time since I saw him.”
How could Lang Xun catch the Emperor’s improvised act?
Afraid that saying too much would lead to mistakes, Lang Xun could only nod: “Yes… yes.”
“I wonder if this person is still alive after the plague and banditry. Leave a token for these siblings.”
Lang Xun never understood what Ying Xi wanted to do.
But he would follow orders. He actually scrounged up two silver buttons that shone brightly even in the night, ripped them off neatly, lowered his head, squatted, and said, “Here.”
The siblings’ eyes lit up.
Ying Xi asked, “Is there someone named Feng in the village? If there is, give him one button, and the other is yours. If not, and you trouble yourselves to inquire for us, then both are yours.”
This was a trick to extract words.
The little siblings lacked money; they would definitely give a clue.
As for whether it was true or false, Ying Xi had his own judgment. He wasn’t afraid of losing the cost of two buttons.
The sister said, “Everyone in Pingling Village is named Tang. There is no one named Feng.”
The brother said, “Then the person you’re talking about, is he from outside the village?”
“There are people from outside the village here?”
“Yes,” the brother whispered. “He used to come often. When the fighting started, he left. Whether he came back later or not, I didn’t see.”
“Where does this person stay? Who does he visit?”
The brother thought for a while before answering, “I was playing at the end of the small river in the village and saw him two or three times. The few households on the edge of the village live far away. The adults in my family aren’t close with them, so we never spoke.”
Search along the river…
Ying Xi obtained this clue, and the silver buttons were given to the siblings. Before they could rest for even a moment, he heard the sound of messy footsteps approaching from the village path adjacent to the broken house.
The silence of Pingling Village was once again torn by rough roaring. Just having received the intelligence from the siblings, Ying Xi knew—that was a small group of bandits.
The bandits carried torches.
The somewhat sizable firelight shone from the distance into the small hut. As people moved, shadows shifted inside the room. The siblings shrank back in fear, trembling ceaselessly.
Lang Xun immediately moved near the door, back against the wall to hide and look out, reporting in a low voice, “Young Master, there are dozens of people. All armed.”
The rebels who revolted originally certainly had weapons.
Ying Xi glanced at the unlit system interface, blaming Sweet Tub for not finding a countermeasure. He had just thought of picking up the hemp-sack fake female corpse on the ground.
A female scream came from the other end of the village path.
A few minions dragged a group of women and children out of a house.
A bandit minion shouted, “Second Boss, we’ve been tricked. There was a dead one outside; they dragged the corpse over and threw it out front. I thought the house was empty. Turns out all the women of the family were inside!”
“Mom! Mom!”
“Big Sister, Second Sister!”
“And a bed-wetting brat. Damn it, hid them real tight.” The minion’s blade swished, the child’s crying stopped abruptly, and the child’s mother and sister wept inhuman sounds.
Bandits rob; women are goods, children are burdens. Males, whether adults or not, are killed to prevent future trouble.
The Second Boss said, “Slaughter the ones crying the loudest directly. You few, go check over there. I’ll feel them up first, see if there’s any jewelry or valuables.”
The bandits roared with laughter. Screams rose and fell. The sound of consecutive slaps fueled the bandits’ carnival.
These weren’t the bandits who initially plagued Pingling Village.
They must be another gang from nearby who came to loot overnight.
Lang Xun ground his teeth so hard they almost shattered, trembling with rage: “Young Master!”
He was asking to fight, but it was impossible for Lang Xun to properly protect the hostages and their own safety while dealing with ruthless bandits.
The bandits would discover them as soon as they entered the house.
Ying Xi rationally suppressed his anger and said to Lang Xun, “Wait for them to enter, then you go out and lure them away.”
How could Guard Lang dare leave Ying Xi?
He was the last person protecting Ying Xi. According to Lang Xun’s priorities, even if he had to abandon these siblings to carve a bloody path out with Ying Xi, he absolutely could not be separated from the Emperor.
But Ying Xi frowned; the Imperial Decree allowed no alteration.
Lang Xun had to obey. When the bandits kicked open the door, he raised his sword and stabbed two of them.
In an instant, wailing pierced the night.
The Second Boss was startled: “Who is it?”
Guard Lang finally had a moment of cleverness and shouted loudly: “Coming to my turf to pick up scraps! And you ask who I am? I’m your grandfather!”
“Green Ox Stronghold, from Green Ox Stronghold.”
“Old Third’s eye was blinded by a master with a blade. Kill him.”
The bandits chased Lang Xun. Dozens turned into a remaining few. Those few weren’t much use; they were still tying up the captured women.
The door was half-ajar.
The Second Boss actually didn’t spare this house; he approached.
A black shadow was cast on the wall.
The girl and the little boy were so scared they sat on the ground unable to get up, covering their mouths and hugging one of Ying Xi’s legs tight.
Ying Xi confirmed once again that the system was malfunctioning; he couldn’t take them back to Weiyang Palace. He patted their heads and signaled them to hide back in the cabinet.
The Second Boss came in!
The Second Boss’s steps stopped abruptly, his mouth opening as wide as a chicken egg: “…”
Before his eyes was a woman with loose hair, dressed in green cloth clothes. Her expression was blank, smiling as she looked at him.
In that split second, the Second Boss felt his heart skip a beat, seeing a fairy or spirit in the deserted village deep at night. He didn’t even notice the bare hemp sack at the woman’s feet.
The Second Boss’s Adam’s apple bobbed, unaware the mountain village held such a supreme beauty.
He reached out greedily. The woman didn’t retreat but advanced, as if actively welcoming him. It delighted the Second Boss as if he had fallen into the clouds.
But the woman changed face in an instant; her left foot kicked violently at the Second Boss’s lower road!
Severe pain instantly swept through his entire body.
The Second Boss immediately clutched his crotch and convulsed, while the woman had already run off with all her might, disappearing without a trace.
The Second Boss squeezed a word through his teeth: “Capture alive… chase… everyone chase…”
Three or four bandits chased Ying Xi.
Inside that broken house’s cabinet, the little siblings hugged each other tightly, listening to the footsteps getting farther and farther away, finally letting out a long sigh of relief.
“Over there!”
“Little beauty, I see him.”
Huff.
Huff…
His stamina couldn’t support him shaking off several strong bandits. Ying Xi’s legs were about to break from exhaustion.
His steps grew heavier and heavier. running along the village river constantly, but unexpectedly, the road grew narrower, and more people were chasing him. The bandits who had infiltrated the village merged into one stream, gradually forming a mass.
The river reached its end.
Ying Xi turned into a narrow alley. At the end of the earthen walls was a tightly closed brushwood gate; this was a dead end.
Ying Xi looked back. His back was illuminated by torches. His shadow cast on the earthen wall constantly changed and stretched. Too many bandits; he couldn’t go back.
He had to try calling Sweet Tub again.
Behind him, the bandits advanced. Ying Xi was almost forced into a desperate situation, but a scream suddenly exploded from among the bandits.
—”Ahhhhhhhh!”
Firelight swayed wildly. A moving shadow was cast on the earthen wall, and then a hawk’s cry pierced the night curtain.
The bandits had seen this hawk. Instantly, they went from chasing a beauty to panic-stricken. They let the hunting hawk circle, as if frozen in place.
After a long while, a bandit stammered, “Xie…”
Duke of Ying, the Xie Residence.
The Dragon Martial Army had annihilated all the rebel armies in the North. These mountain bandits and rogues were precisely those who had lost to Xie Ji and his son on the battlefield and fled to become outlaws.
In the narrow aisle, the black falcon circled its prey and glided to the other end of the crowd.
The bandits held their weapons and looked back. Reflected in their eyes was a gleam of snow-white armor and the heavy weapon they never wanted to see again even in death—the Swimming Dragon Glaive, its cutting edge reflecting a chilling cold light in the night.
“Xie Qianli!”
“It’s Xie Qianli!!”
The bandits hadn’t been injured yet, but they were already screaming in advance.
They had crossed hands before. When the two armies confronted each other, it was this man who wielded a long spear and wove through the battle formations. Terrifying memories swept through their hearts.
Hearing Xie Qianli’s name, Ying Xi raised his eyes. It was indeed Xie Qianli himself. He had gotten intel from Xie Qianli, so of course, it was possible Xie Qianli would personally investigate Pingling Village.
In a flash, a dozen bandits wielded their blades and attacked together.
As if desperate to snatch a path of life from the hands of the God of Death, four or five blades chopped down with the force of splitting Mount Hua.
Xie Qianli raised his spear to block, the bandits pressing down with all their might.
The muscles in the latter’s arms went taut. The Swimming Dragon Glaive was held steady, his stance stable, his expression not moving a fraction.
He lifted with force, causing the four or five bandits to lean back. Then the cold tip of the Swimming Dragon Glaive struck instantly, and the four or five bandits sprayed fountains of blood on the spot.
Several other bandits circled back to flank, planning to surround Xie Qianli.
The Swimming Dragon Glaive whipped up a heavy humming sound. The spear carved out a large swathe of clear light, smashing the two bandits behind him into the wall.
The bandits spat blood, forming a bloody fountain.
Xie Qianli turned sideways slightly. The cold, bright silver armor wasn’t stained with blood. He raised his eyes; beneath the helmet were pitch-black eyes like gemstones. He pointed the spear toward the opposite side.
“…”
The remaining bandits all knew they were done for. They shouted loudly to embolden each other, attacking from different angles, attempting to use the terrain to limit the Swimming Dragon Glaive’s momentum.
Xie Qianli wielded the spear heavily yet flexibly. His angles were tricky, skewering several bandits into a string, then turning back to firmly pin the bandit sneaking up on him to the wall.
Then the spearhead was pulled out. The earthen wall collapsed with a deafening crash. In the narrow alley, bandit corpses lay everywhere, torches rolling around.
A large cloud of dust and smoke rose in the deep alley!
Ying Xi took a long breath.
The Xie Qianli before him was different from the Xie Qianli in his memories or anywhere in the palace.
Xie Qianli was a fierce general of the era.
He knew that. But he had never witnessed it this closely—the Xie Qianli whose power was incredibly dominant, who killed without blinking, whose valor was enough to make his subordinates follow him with dead-set loyalty.
Ying Xi was shaken and wary, standing outside the brushwood gate.
He was currently wearing women’s clothing and had his hair let down. Looking disheveled was secondary; being outside the palace, he had no means of self-preservation.
He absolutely could not be recognized!
Ying Xi made up his mind. He ignored the man, didn’t say thanks, and only hoped Xie Qianli would continue inquiring about Feng Ze and ignore him.
Thus, silence fell on both sides of the long alley.
Ying Xi moved a few more inches into the shadows, his back pressed tight against the brushwood gate.
However, in the gloom, Xie Qianli’s voice stated with dark certainty: “Your Majesty.”
Ying Xi: “…”
This guy’s eyesight was really good.
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