Chapter 78: Feint to the East, Attack the West; The Misunderstanding Between Brothers is Resolved + Prince Yong Sees the Light + The Siege…
The sound of rubbing against the floor above suddenly intensified for a moment. It was as if Jia Ruzhen had suddenly applied force, and the elder was lifted up.
The cane fell to the floor, letting out a series of muffled gu-lu gu-lu sounds…
Prince Yong forcefully raised his hand!
Aching pain invaded his entire arm, pulling at all the wounds on Ying Dang’s body. The answer to the mystery that had always puzzled Prince Yong was right before his eyes.
He looked up at the airtight floor tiles above. He opened his mouth, his lips dry. The feeling of blockage in his throat made it almost impossible to breathe.
The elder replied: “Times are chaotic outside. This old man is here alone seeking refuge. I have seen no one.”
A silver light flashed on Jia Ruzhen’s sword. The short sword pierced the elder’s abdomen. The intense pain made the old man’s face deathly pale; nine parts of his life were already gone!
Large amounts of blood dripped down.
It seeped into the gaps between the bricks beneath the two of them.
The blood flowed di-di da-da along the sides of the secret compartment.
Ying Xi gritted his teeth fiercely, his mouth filled with the taste of iron.
Prince Yong, whom he was holding, lost focus and placed his hand against the wall. His nails rubbed against the soil, making a soft sound.
However, in using the sword, Jia Ruzhen had caused his internal injuries to worsen!
His sallow face was deathly pale. He pressed his lips together tightly, not vomiting that mouthful of blood.
He questioned in a tone that seemed dipped in poison, nearly one word at a time: “Where is Ying Xi?”
But his efforts to hide it couldn’t fool a doctor who had practiced for decades. A sense of vengeful joy rose within the elder through the intense pain. The old man hid that sense of gratification.
A jianghu ruffian who treats human life like grass.
Flickers of Ying Xi picking up the medical books and prescriptions passed before the old man’s eyes. He knew the people’s lives were not easy and that they were innocent; the Emperor could treat them all equally.
The Prefect of Guangling could not be compared with the Emperor of the North!
Blood flowed from the elder’s abdomen. He knew this was a torturous technique; the person struck by the sword would not die quickly but would feel an overwhelming pain and despair, only wishing for the killer to give them a quick end and answering whatever they were asked.
When facing those who are extremely evil, not yielding is resistance.
The elder was resolute.
Yet he let out a hoarse, tragic cry. Anyone whose conscience wasn’t completely gone would feel their heart tremble.
More blood droplets leaked through. The secret compartment felt as if it had become a crimson cage.
Ying Xi and Ying Dang of the North were matchlessly noble.
The brothers were now underground, while the elder above used his life to protect them. Such a helpless scene was so similar to when they first entered Chang’an ten years ago.
Countless drops of hot blood landed on Ying Xi’s forehead.
Crimson blood permeated Ying Xi’s eyes.
Jia Ruzhen showed not a shred of mercy.
He twisted the sword hilt viciously.
The elder’s tragic cries grew even louder!
Jia Ruzhen brought an overwhelming sense of threat. That feeling gave Ying Dang an increasingly inexplicable sense of familiarity. This person might have followed them like a ghost.
“Where is Ying Xi???”
The elder tilted his head back, his lips moving.
Jia Ruzhen’s brow knotted. His black-bean eyes flashed with a fierce look: “If you won’t speak, I’ll cut you into a thousand pieces!”
“The Emperor is heading… toward the East City… to escape… to join the… army outside…”
“The Imperial army… is about to… forcibly take the East Gate… You… are doing many injustices—your end is near!”
Jia Ruzhen: “Then you go die first!!!”
The elder’s thin, withered body crashed down.
At the same time, Jia Ruzhen’s anger surged, and dark purple blood sprayed from his mouth. As he vomited blood, the surrounding disciples crowded around. The noisy sound of voices instantly filled the Anren Yaotang.
The disciples feared losing their backbone at this moment. Having sensed the despair of an impending defeat, their voices were hollow.
“Master, Master, calm your anger.”
“Master, take care of your body.”
Jia Ruzhen said harshly: “Pursue.”
The rebels had been in a stalemate with the Imperial Court for several days. Now that they had missed a golden opportunity to turn the tables, they couldn’t help but think of the Mandate of Heaven.
Some of the rebels had seen Ying Xi at the bank of the Han River.
When they attacked Ying Xi, a fierce thunder had exploded across the sky. This was already beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.
One disciple trembled: “M-Master, the little Emperor might truly have the dragon’s luck on his side. The East Gate of Guangling hasn’t been broken yet. If we surrender now, it’s still a surrender. Why not open the city and discuss conditions with the Court?”
Once this suggestion was made, the others agreed one after another.
Two or three disciples were already unable to wait, trotting to the pharmacy entrance, just waiting for Jia Ruzhen to make a decision and order the gates to surrender.
A brief silence passed in the Anren Yaotang.
Then Jia Ruzhen surged up and stabbed that disciple who suggested surrender over a dozen times.
Each strike went deep into a vital point. It was so fast it was like venting anger, or like killing a chicken to warn the monkeys, cutting off any thoughts the disciples had of being a “fence-sitter.”
Jia Ruzhen rose and roared:
“I killed Ying Xi’s father! I killed his mother! I slaughtered the entire Yongning Prince Mansion! I monitored him for a full ten years!”
“I knew that once I was stained with the blood of the Yongning Prince Mansion, I couldn’t let him become the Crown Prince! I used any means possible to make the former Emperor loathe him. I once made Ying Xi’s life worse than death, making him walk on thin ice day and night!”
“We have an irreconcilable blood feud.”
“Who would he spare?”
“Anyone present who has the slightest connection to me must be the little Emperor’s mortal enemy!”
After those words, the expressions of everyone in the Anren Yaotang changed. No one dared mention surrender again.
The rebels swallowed their spit, each with a resolute expression: “Pursue—” “Kill Ying Xi before the East City is broken!”
The sound of thumping footsteps echoed on the floor tiles. Jia Ruzhen and his disciples rushed out of the Anren Yaotang, racing toward the East City.
Silence returned to the Anren Yaotang.
Only the blood droplets above the two people’s heads continued to fall, di-di da-da.
Ying Xi suppressed the sour pain in his throat. Guessing there was no one above, he tentatively pushed against the bottom of the floor tile with his fingertips.
His eyes were aching and hot, and a sticky liquid flowed down his fingertips.
Ying Xi pushed the floor tile open!
The air was saturated with the smell of blood.
The light of the remaining candle shone on the elder’s completely still corpse. He couldn’t describe his respect and gratitude for the old man.
In his empire, there were commoners he had never met who were willing to die to end a war.
As the Emperor, how could Ying Xi not be willing to take a great risk?
He had no time to inter the old man’s remains. Ying Xi took one last look at the secret compartment.
Inside, Prince Yong opened his mouth toward Ying Xi.
The words he had yet to ask needed no further explanation. It was his brother who had alone endured the death of their parents for ten years, feeling bone-deep grief while forcing a smile to deal with the hidden guards, not wishing to bring any danger to him.
Yet he had been self-righteous, repaying his brother with endless trouble! He had even caused an innocent life to be lost!
The brother he thought had betrayed him—was the closest relative in this world who treated him with the most kindness.
Ying Dang’s five fingers sank deep into the soil wall of the secret compartment.
“Brother…”
The anesthesia made his perception dull, so even the pain was not thorough.
Prince Yong’s eyes reflected Ying Xi as he pressed his arms against the edge of the floor tile.
His brother was going to hide him. Only Ying Xi’s shrinking silhouette remained in his field of vision.
Prince Yong shouted: “Brother!!!”
Ying Dang’s voice was swallowed by the heavy floor of the secret compartment.
The Dating System immediately popped up before Ying Xi’s eyes.
A button appeared in the bottom right corner of the system interface. Its background was a bright purple. It flickered hurriedly and then vanished.
Ying Xi had no time for anything else. He summoned the system assistant: “Prepare a Wild Goose Message.”
His voice was extremely cold.
Tian Tong was intimidated by his aura and said solemnly: [Understood!]
A wild goose appeared in the pharmacy.
Suppressing his grief and rage, he used the paper for writing prescriptions in the pharmacy, dipping his brush in the blood of the elder that covered the floor. His brush trembled. Ying Xi was shaking from his back to his shoulders.
“The. Enemy. Is. In. East. City.”
Every word was a startling crimson.
“Attack. The. West. Gate. With. Force.”
He folded the blood-written letter, tied it to the wild goose’s leg, and then raised his arm to release the bird.
The wild goose flew into the night, about to deliver this military intelligence quickly to Xie Qianli.
Ying Xi looked back at the Anren Yaotang, pressed his lips together tightly, and ran toward the West City with all his might.
Guangling City was in total chaos.
The sound of voices in the city was boiling.
Every squad in the city was in action.
The squad leaders and officers shouted one after another:
“The Prefect’s command: the troops are to head to the East City for support!”
“Pass Prefect Jia’s command: all soldiers in the city are to head to the East Gate immediately. Anyone who delays will be executed on the spot!”
“Cavalry are to head to the East City to search for spies!”
“Move the defensive works to the East City!”
“Kill anyone of unknown origin! Kill anyone suspected of being a spy! Kill any soldier who isn’t recognized!”
“Better to kill by mistake than to let one go!”
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Since rushing out of the Anren Yaotang, Ying Xi had taken off his bloodstained clothing and hidden himself along the way.
As long as he dodged these few waves of troops, the East City would soon be filled with rebels, while the West City would be very safe.
He tripped on a street leading to the West City. Intense pain came from his knee, and he couldn’t use his left leg as he ran.
Ying Xi hardened his heart.
Enduring the pain, he continued moving toward the West City. Along the way, he propped up a refugee’s corpse, leaning it against the wall from the center of the street.
The West City Gate could be seen from afar. Shouts were already coming from the wall; the Imperial army had begun its assault.
Behind him, the thick night was rendered with the color of fire.
Ying Xi became a single point of snowy white in the middle of the heavy colors, moving along the long street toward the other end of Guangling City—
Jia Ruzhen galloped so fast he left behind a blur of shadows!
He could no longer distinguish the scenery on either side of his body. He raced toward the east, charging through anyone in his path. If a refugee blocked his way, they were immediately trampled into bloody mud.
Behind him, his disciples were also charging like a swarm of ants.
But the reins were pulled tight, and the horse’s hooves rose high. Jia Ruzhen suddenly stopped. His sallow face had now lost all color, and his features were suddenly as twisted as a ghost’s.
“Master, what is it? Why have you stopped?”
“Prefect…”
Under his command, a large army continued to surge toward the East City.
Horse hooves were like thunder. The sound of the unicycles transporting defensive works was a low drone.
The extreme chaos and the East City being as silent as could be formed a completely stark contrast.
This scene was like a heavy blow to Jia Ruzhen’s head!
His black-bean eyes looked around sinisterly. He recalled the old man he had just killed, remembering that his features seemed familiar. Had he seen him somewhere? Was it an enemy?
He had no such enemy.
Who was the old man?
Who?
The old man’s features overlapped with the middle-aged doctor he had killed in the back hall of the Prefect’s Mansion—the one who had judged that he would not recover within a decade.
They were of the same family…
The old man had played him.
The army was definitely not in the East City.
Jia Ruzhen burst into a fit of crazed coughing.
Black blood continued to leak from the corners of his mouth.
He bent over and supported himself on the saddle with one hand, his sleeve raised as he pointed with difficulty in the opposite direction, causing all the surrounding rebels to look toward the West City.
The rebels: “What does the Prefect mean?”
Jia Ruzhen threw his whip and his eyes were bloodshot: “Kill our way back… kill our way back to the West City. The West City is the Imperial army’s main direction of attack… the old man saved the little Emperor.”
Jia Ruzhen roared: “WE HAVE BEEN TRICKED!!!”
Translator’s Note: The Wild Goose Message (鴻雁傳書) is a poetic way of saying he sent a letter via a bird, and using blood just makes it more desperate. The strategy of Feint to the East, Attack the West is in full swing. Let’s see if Xie Qianli can break through the West Gate in time!
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