Chapter 1137: Going on a Killing Spree

Since he took over the Feather Guards, he had never suffered such heavy casualties in half a day.

He casually removed the hemp ball from a Shadow Tooth Guard's mouth, and the other party cursed: "You killed foreign envoys for no reason, our country will definitely raze you to the ground..."

Nangong Yan asked him: "How many of you came, are there any accomplices outside?"

This Shadow Tooth Guard wouldn't pay him any mind, cursing even more fiercely, his spit almost splashing on his face.

Nangong Yan slit his throat with one stroke.

The cursing stopped.

Nangong Yan let out a heavy breath, then pointed at the remaining Shadow Tooth Guards: "Kill them, leave none."

Mou Nation guards—killing six is killing, killing eleven is also killing.

Since he had already acted, don't leave any future trouble! He turned and pulled the Rulin Inn's waiter over, pointing at the corpses on the ground and asking: "How many rebels are in this group, are they all here?"

The waiter trembled, his tongue unable to straighten: "No, no..."

"Not here or don't know?"

"Not here!" With the blade so close, the waiter finally found his voice. "There are two more, not here, not here!"

"Thirteen in total, two are missing here?"

"Right, right!"

"Where did they go?"

The waiter only said he didn't know.

Nangong Yan paced back and forth in the courtyard, more irritable than the Tiger-Mimic.

Who was framing him in the dark?

The person framing him not only understood the Feather Guards' style of doing things but also knew Nangong Yan's itinerary for today, knowing he would likely lead the team himself.

The big problem facing Nangong Yan was, what should he do now? The Shadow Tooth Guards were all dead, and he would have to answer to the Bo King sooner or later.

The personal guards didn't dare to breathe. At times like this, don't touch the Superintendent's bad mood.

"Who put Mai Liansheng's things in the Shadow Tooth Guards' guest room?" He asked the waiter again. "Did you see any strangers enter those rebels' guest rooms!"

The waiter thought carefully and shook his head: "No, no!"

"Trash!"

After a good while, Nangong Yan pointed at the corpses and said to his subordinates: "Collect them all. Remember, these are all rebels!"

"Yes!"

He changed out of his blood-stained clothes and entered the palace immediately.

Half an hour later.

The Feather Guards had long been taken away by Nangong Yan, and the government runners were responsible for loading the Mou people's corpses onto ox carts and pulling them to the mass grave.

Many people on the road stretched their necks, watching intently, but at the same time expressionless, some even with their mouths half-open.

"People died again."

"Are they rebels?"

"Of course they are rebels, definitely rebels."

Passing a small grove, the two runners watching the carts looked around to see no one, climbed onto the carts, and searched the corpses one by one.

These dead people were dressed in fine clothes when they were alive and stayed in the best inn; they looked like people who weren't short of money. It's a pity that the money and wealth on them had been taken by the Feather Guards, not even leaving them a silver ring, damn! The two could only take off the dead corpses' boots and belts.

Such good leather boots were rare; buying them outside would cost several *liang* a pair, right? And the belt, also good material.

Anyway, their final fate was to enter the grave, and maybe even enter the bellies of wild dogs, so it's better to give them to them.

One of them took off the boots and tried them on his own feet; they fit. He even dug a few pieces of silver from the boot shaft, unable to stop himself from beaming.

"Oh, a fish that slipped through the net! Lucky you." The other runner was quite envious.

He was taking off the dead corpse's clothes; the fabric of this undergarment seemed to be silk, soft and smooth to the touch, and not stained with blood. But he touched it a few more times and felt a bit of powder, like soil and powder, smelling a bit like ginger.

What is this? His brain didn't turn around, and the next second, the corpse suddenly sat up straight, grabbed his neck, and twisted hard! With a *crack*, the runner's neck broke.

A zombie!

The companion screamed in fright and jumped off the ox cart.

But as he turned, the living dead grabbed a long blade and threw it out.

Piercing the shoulder with one blade!

The runner screamed and fell to the ground.

The living dead wiped his face; it was Jin Bai!

His gaze was still a bit dull, the killing was just a subconscious reaction, and it took him a few breaths to come to his senses before he hurriedly checked the other ox carts.

Ten Shadow Tooth Guards, all here.

His eyes turned red, and he ran toward the runner on the ground. The latter stumbled and scrambled up, wanting to run out of the grove, but Jin Bai kicked him down and stepped on his chest:

"Why did the Feather Guards surround and kill us? Speak!"

His eyes were fierce; the runner trembled: "Superintendent Nangong said, you, you are rebels."

"Where is he?"

"This little one doesn't, doesn't know..."

Jin Bai didn't wait for him to finish, using his toes to press down, caving in his chest.

The runner died on the spot.

Jin Bai reached into his bosom, also touching a handful of powder. The Mou Emperor had once bestowed upon him a soul-anchoring treasure that looked like a piece of yellow ginger. After he died, as long as he wasn't beheaded, he could be resurrected in half an hour and erase the fatal wound.

The ginger had turned to powder, and he had lived.

But each person could only use it once in their lifetime, and Jin Bai hadn't expected it to be wasted in the Bo Nation. He had been careless, underestimating the ferocity of this kind of small place.

Just then, footsteps came from outside, and someone approached.

Jin Bai picked up his long saber, flashed, and dove into the woods, heading northwest.

￥￥￥￥￥

The King of Bo was having a meal.

Ever since ascending the throne, he had developed a habit of never having concubines accompany him during meals.

So he was alone right now, with not even Consort Mei by his side.

When Nangong Yan came in to report, he was eating lamb chops, which were charred and crispy on the outside, and fragrant, tender, and juicy on the inside.

However, before Nangong Yan could finish speaking, the King of Bo's eyes widened, and he suddenly threw the lamb bone in his hand at Nangong Yan, hitting him right on the forehead with a thud—it was very accurate:

"What did you say? Who did you mistakenly kill!"

Nangong Yan braced himself: "The Shadow Tooth Guards of the Mou Nation. I found evidence of the Wheat Party's crimes in their guest room."

"Then are they Shadow Tooth Guards, or are they the Wheat Party?!"

"I fear, I fear someone framed them!" Nangong Yan said in a low voice, "They are Shadow Tooth Guards; we found official tokens and documents proving their identities on the corpses."

The Shadow Tooth Guards had shown their official tokens from the start, but those stupid subordinates of his actually refused to recognize them! By the time he arrived, there were already casualties on both sides.

What other choice was there? The offense was already committed, so he might as well offend them to the death and figure out a solution afterward.

"Framed you?" The King of Bo sneered twice, knowing it was highly likely, "You went to make arrests just because of a few notes?"

Nangong Yan said in a low voice: "Commoners often report rebels like this as well."

The King of Bo knew he was reckless with arrests and couldn't be bothered to dwell on this: "Who did it? Can you find out?"

"This..." In such a short time, where was he supposed to investigate? The list of suspects he could name had at least three hundred people on it.

He had too many sworn enemies.

"Look at the mess you've made!" The King of Bo was still furious, "I just rejected the Mou envoy's request, and in the blink of an eye, my own Superintendent has slaughtered their entire guard unit! Are you afraid that I won't offend the Mou Nation to the point of no return?"

Even the King of Bo felt that this matter was indefensible.

He certainly knew this Superintendent had always been reckless, but the trouble he had stirred up this time was far too great! Could the Emperor of the Mou Nation swallow this insult?

Nangong Yan was stunned: "The Mou Nation's foreign envoy was just here?"

So the two people who disappeared from the inn were the foreign envoys of the Mou Nation?

"That's right, they had just left the palace not long before you arrived." The King of Bo snorted, "They wanted to take back the Bright Lamp, and after I refused, they said they were going to pay a visit to the Carefree Sect."

"Tell me, how am I supposed to answer to the Mou Emperor now?" He glared at Nangong Yan, "He wants the murderer from me; how about I hand you over to him?"

Nangong Yan immediately said: "I have a plan that can resolve this dilemma."

The King of Bo was skeptical; what plan could he possibly have to resolve this? "The Shadow Tooth Guards have been killed, and the grudge has been formed. If we let those two Mou envoys leave the territory, they will certainly go back and complain to the Mou Emperor. Why not—" Nangong Yan's face showed a ruthless look, and he raised his hand in a downward slicing gesture, "Why not wait until they leave the territory and kill them! If the Mou Emperor pursues the matter, you can just explain that the Bright Lamp was handed over to the Mou envoys and the Shadow Tooth Guards to take back, but they were killed within the Carefree Sect's territory, and the whereabouts of the Bright Lamp are unknown!"

He said every word clearly: "That way, there will be no evidence left!"

As long as those two Mou envoys were killed to silence them, the Bright Lamp wouldn't have to be returned either.

The Mou Emperor, far away, how could he know what specifically happened here?

Everyone died in the Carefree Sect's territory; could it have anything to do with the Bo Nation?

Even if the Mou Emperor suspected it, he would have to produce evidence, right? The more the King of Bo thought about it, the more it made sense. His anger gradually subsided, and he gave a hum: "That is indeed a way. Go and handle it; don't let any more mistakes happen this time!"

"Yes!" Nangong Yan replied before saying, "But I don't know what those two look like..."

The King of Bo immediately summoned a Court Guard: "He was in the palace at the time; take him with you to identify them."

Nangong Yan immediately took his leave.

This Court Guard was one of his subordinates, on duty in the palace today.

Walking outside the garden, the Court Guard said to Nangong Yan: "My lord, those two Mou envoys are the ones who chipped your weapon a few days ago."

That day, he was also behind Nangong Yan.

Nangong Yan's footsteps faltered: "What? Are you sure?"

"The two of them stayed in the palace for several hours, especially that tall one with the fake smile; I won't recognize them wrong."

"Are they the two people Consort Mei vouched for?"

"Yes!"

"Consort Mei and the Mou envoys? Hmm—" Nangong Yan's eyes flickered, and he said to another personal guard, "Go, report this matter to the King exactly as it is."

The wind and sand on the road were heavy, and He Lingchuan and his companion finally left the Bo Nation.

After leaving the territory, Dong Rui let out a long sigh: "I felt stifled in the Bo Nation."

The Ghost Ape squeaked twice, and Dong Rui translated for it: "It says that place is full of disgusting smells, worse than in the Yuan Nation."

"It's the smell of despair and rot." He Lingchuan said with some emotion, "No, it's the smell of slowly rotting in a quagmire of despair."

The Yuan Nation's weakness and chaos had only lasted twenty years, but here?

From what He Lingchuan saw, the people of the Bo Nation had long since lost the light in their eyes.

He knew very well that once there was no longing or hope, human nature had no bottom limit.

The King of Bo took the throne over a decade ago, but he hadn't been able to turn the country around.

His personal success was simply not equivalent to the country's success.

Dong Rui sat on his horse and stretched:

"This old guy, the King of Bo, his health is a bit depleted."

The King of Bo's voice lacked breath and had a phlegmy sound, and the whites of his eyes were a bit yellow. Although his frame still looked sturdy, his cheekbones were high, and his cheeks were flushed.

He Lingchuan asked casually: "Can't it be replenished?"

"He's already in his sixties, and his young concubine is only in her teens. Doesn't picking flowers take energy? It would be strange if he weren't depleted!" Dong Rui himself was highly skilled in medicine, so he could see how the King of Bo was depleted, "Besides, his troubles aren't just women. As the saying goes, human strength has its limits, and national destiny will backfire."

In the current environment of heaven and earth, living beings cannot escape birth, aging, sickness, and death. The King of Bo possesses the resources of the entire country, yet he still cannot fill his own depletion; that is truly a matter of life and death.

Furthermore, the more the national situation declines, the shorter the emperor's life, and the more turbulent the dynasty becomes; these are all a series of chain reactions that cannot be moved by human effort.

The replacement of kingdoms on the Gold-Flash Plain is as frequent as the rising and setting of the sun; how many emperors here can truly live to be a hundred?

"No wonder he's in such a hurry to awaken his son's consciousness." If something were to happen to the old monarch, how could a seven-year-old child hold onto the throne? Didn't he know in his heart how he got his own throne back then? The cycle of history is always strikingly similar.

Dong Rui asked him: "Now that the King of Bo has stated his position that the Bright Lamp will not be returned, what do you think the Mou Emperor's reaction will be?"

"That depends on how important the Bright Lamp is to the Mou Nation." He Lingchuan said slowly, "As it stands, as long as there are other options, the Mou Nation does not want to send troops directly to the Gold-Flash Plain."

For one, the commotion would be too great, inevitably alarming other countries, such as the Ya Nation.

Just like how Beijia didn't want to send troops initially, choosing to go around to the back of the Mou Nation to attack the Yangshan Archipelago, the current Mou Nation also doesn't want to send a massive army to the border to attack the Gold-Flash Plain behind the Ya Nation.

It is easy to cause regional tension and misjudgment of motives.

Secondly, sending a heavy force across the sea for over ten days just to teach such a tiny, insignificant country a lesson is not cost-effective.

Every monarch holds an account book in their hands, calculating it over and over again all day long.

Dong Rui covered his mouth and yawned to prevent the wind and sand from getting in: "If it's really as you suspect, and there's a mastermind behind the tribute theft case, they've planned so much but haven't achieved the desired effect; they must be very unwilling, right?"

"Perhaps they just naturally assumed that as long as the King of Bo offended the Mou Nation, this great power would destroy them in a fit of rage—the so-called 'punishment for those who are far away.' But they don't know that great powers have their own difficulties, and great powers have their own decorum." He Lingchuan said slowly, "This person definitely hasn't spent time in a great power."

"Then what about after they find out?"

"Once they discover this, they should pour more oil on the fire instead of just letting it go." He Lingchuan was also pondering, "Doing this kind of thing is like putting your head on the line; since they've dared to take such a strange risk, there's no reason to stop halfway."

Just then, he suddenly felt the divine bone necklace hidden in his collar tremble twice, becoming slightly warm.

Was there something nearby that it had taken a fancy to and wanted to eat? Something was wrong, He Lingchuan frowned.

They had just left the Bo Nation's border; this main road was usually busy with people coming and going, so what kind of strange object could be left behind? Could it be on someone else? He looked left and right; there were only three or four people walking on the road, and judging by their clothing, they were all ordinary commoners.

But hearing two muffled thuds from behind, Dong Rui looked back: "Hey, the city gate is closing!"

The border was exactly at the city gate. They had only walked out of there for a few dozen breaths, and the gate was about to close? They had been blocked outside.

This was broad daylight; what kind of major event could have happened to make the border close so suddenly?

He Lingchuan's eyes flickered; with his hearing, he could already hear the chaotic sound of horse hooves coming this way, and they were fast.

Bandits?

No, that's not right; bandits usually don't rob people under the city gate.

"Follow me." He said decisively to Dong Rui, "A large group of people is approaching."

The two of them tapped their horses' flanks, and their mounts began to gallop.

Before long, the sound of hooves became rapid, and over a hundred riders rushed out from the wild forest. Running at the very front was a massive tiger-like beast!

Seeing this big guy, He Lingchuan knew who had come:

Nangong Yan.

Sure enough, he immediately picked out Nangong Yan's figure in the group.

At the fork in the road ahead, He Lingchuan and his companion chose the left path, and Nangong Yan and the others chose the left path without hesitation, following closely behind.

Dong Rui asked as they rode: "There seems to be a valley ahead; should we activate the Snail Toad?"

He was asking if they should escape. "Enter the valley, but don't summon the Snail Toad!" He Lingchuan flatly refused, "I'm going to start a massacre!"

Dong Rui thought he was joking, but turning his head to look, he saw his expression was calm and his eyes were cold; how could there be any hint of a joke?

"We just left the border, and the city gate closed; it's because they don't want us to go back. What do you think Nangong Yan wants to do by chasing us here?" He Lingchuan clenched his fists, which cracked and popped.

Dong Rui gasped: "No way, they even dare to lay a hand on the Mou Nation's foreign envoys?"

"No matter, we'll know after we fight." He Lingchuan gave a low snort, "Find a good terrain; don't let them run away later!"

"Alright!" Dong Rui laughed, "You're finally willing to kill with abandon!"

Regardless of the motive, since Nangong Yan had laid a hand on them, they shouldn't be blamed for returning the favor without courtesy.

As soon as he finished speaking, a feathered arrow shot toward his back, but it was slapped away by the Ghost Ape crouching on his shoulder.

Ever since arriving at the Gold-Flash Plain, the poverty, the hopelessness, the chaos, and the pain here, as well as everyone's habituation to all of this, had caused a faint, restless irritation to surge in the depths of He Lingchuan's heart.

At this moment, he didn't mind at all venting his anger on the pursuers behind him.

He Lingchuan was no longer the greenhorn who had first entered Beijia and had to carefully survive under the gaze of the powerful and the gods.

He was the Lord of Yangshan, a target that both Lingshan and Beijia had to seriously court.

A strong person must have the mindset of a strong person.

He didn't need to avoid Nangong Yan and his lackeys chasing behind him at all.

Kill them, and that's it! In the blink of an eye, the two of them led the pursuers into the small valley Dong Rui had pointed out. The further they went, the lower the terrain became, and the mountains here closed in, leaving no other way out.

Both sides were very satisfied with this terrain.

He Lingchuan and his companion slowed their horses, and the pursuers closed in in the blink of an eye. He Lingchuan counted again; there were actually one hundred and thirty or forty riders.

The dozen or so riders at the very front had armor colors that were clearly different from the rest.

The tiger-like beast was aimed right at He Lingchuan, crouching down on the ground one last time before exploding into a leap, its speed so fast it left a blur.

Its forelimbs were thicker than a fierce tiger's, and this pounce showed even more power than Jiao Yu's.

He Lingchuan was of course not afraid, but his mount was only an ordinary steed; frightened by the beast's roar and pounce, its legs went soft, and just as it was about to turn, it tripped itself.

The tiger-like beast turned its head before even pouncing on the horse; its movements were agile, because the rider on the horse had already leaped away.

(End of chapter)