Chapter 152: Clear Day Chapter 131: Difficult to Distinguish Between Humans and Ghosts

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

The fire could no longer be saved, panic raged, and the assassins' identities were unexpected.

The assassins were not one or two, but dozens. They did not descend from the sky, but came from the Hundred Entertainments Troupe waiting in the wings.

Their weapons were hidden among the props used for performing tricks, and more were taken by killing the Imperial Guard and seizing them. At the moment they decided to act, they used the copper wires from the performance props to quickly slit the throats of many Imperial Guards, seized their waist blades, and then rushed into the frightened royal relatives and nobles, beginning indiscriminate slaughter.

These assassins struck ruthlessly, venting their anger without leaving any room or retreat. People kept screaming as they fell, and the great fire and fresh blood made this summer night even more scorching.

Although more Imperial Guards had been ordered to be summoned, the crowd had already become chaotic when the thunder-fire occurred, and now they were rushing wildly, screaming and fleeing, pushing and tripping, while the assassins scattered into the crowd to kill, greatly increasing the difficulty for the Imperial Guard and the Brocade-Clad Guards to fight the enemy and save people.

On all sides were either the chaotic crowd and assassins, or the spreading great fire. The people around the Emperor and Empress were limited in number and could not retreat from this place for the time being.

Yan Mian and several ministers guarded the Emperor on his left and right. Guo Shi shouted with a trembling voice, "Protect the carriage! Protect the carriage!" Liu Cheng held a sword with both hands, guarding in front of his Sovereign Father.

The youth's thin shoulders trembled slightly, but this was an action he had never dared to take before. Guo Shi saw it and could not help but feel that this punishment had not been in vain.

Too late to think further, Guo Shi let out a cry and shouted again: "Protect the carriage!"

An assassin covered head to toe in blood slashed his blade toward them. Several Imperial Guards fell beneath his blade until two Brocade-Clad Guards pierced his chest and abdomen with their long spears. He still staggered forward, the long spear thrust him back again, and he could no longer move. He stared fixedly at the Emperor, uttering word by word like a curse: "Chu fire burns the heavens! Slaughter Great Qian!"

Liu Cheng was shocked pale by this terrifying killing intent and bloody scene, his hand holding the sword trembled, but he forced himself not to retreat.

The Emperor's body also trembled slightly, but not from fear—rather from anger.

The foreign-surnamed ruler of Chu State had been executed ten years ago, yet there were still descendants and subjects attempting revenge and rebellion, and they had actually killed their way into his Weiyang Palace!

The assassin who had been pierced glared with eyes that refused to close. At this moment, besides anger, the Emperor felt a trace of awe—such a man of hot blood who did not fear death, how many more were hidden in the world? How could the Liu family's realm be stabilized!

The assassins shouting "Chu fire burns the heavens" rushed to kill one after another. The Emperor was protected as he retreated, extremely angry and uneasy. He suddenly snatched a long blade from a Brocade-Clad Guard's hand and shouted sternly: "I am right here, you traitors of a fallen state, come and kill if you dare!"

The monarch tried to use the heroic killing spirit of his youth to boost Great Qian's morale and dispel the unease in his heart, but as his qi and blood surged, stars dotted before his eyes, a rusty taste overflowed in his throat, and he could hardly stand. Yan Mian hurriedly supported him: "Your Majesty!"

The emperor's ambition had not faded, but his Dragon Body was already declining, leaving only the lingering twilight aura of unwillingness.

An assassin particularly fierce in martial skill, assisted by his companions, charged all the way, about to reach the Holy Carriage. His eyes were filled with bloodthirsty killing intent. Liu Cheng was terrified and could not move for a moment, then was dragged back by the Sovereign Father, and the long sword in his hand fell with a "clang."

In the same instant, a sharp arrow flew from the side, precisely and accurately slashing across that assassin's neck!

The Emperor suddenly turned his head toward the direction the arrow came from. Amidst the flickering firelight, a youth in a Red Court Robe stood holding a long bow. His head ornament was discarded somewhere, only a Jade Hairpin remained to bind his hair. The wide sleeves of his court robe spread out with the motion of drawing the bow, like wide wings in the light and shadow.

Father and son's eyes met. An assassin beside the youth raised a blade to strike. The Emperor's face changed: "Retreat!"

Liu Qi immediately retreated two steps. The long blade barely grazed his front. The assassin was about to change direction when Liu Qi suddenly raised his intact right leg to sweep the assassin's lower body. Dust flew up. The assassin lunged forward, his long blade propped on the ground. Just as he was about to rise, a weight suddenly landed on his back. Liu Qi's right foot landed on his spine. As he pressed down, lowering his upper body, the assassin grunted and fell to the ground. Liu Qi squatted down to suppress him, simultaneously drew an arrow from the quiver behind his back with his right hand, and without hesitation stabbed it into the assassin's back heart!

His series of counter-killing moves flowed like clouds and water. When he raised his head, he pulled out the blood-stained arrow, picked up the assassin's long blade, stood up straight, dragging a lame leg, killed back two more assassins, and came before the Sovereign Father.

"Imperial Uncle, rest assured. These are merely remnants of a fallen state. They dare call themselves the fire that burns the heavens? They are only seeking their own destruction!"

The youth's tone was stern and disdainful. He shielded the Sovereign Father, the Empress, and the Heir behind him, and once again drew the Changshao Dagon.

This great bow was used by the archers of the palace. To draw it, arm length and strength were both indispensable. Everyone saw the Sixth Prince shoot arrows in succession, controlling the enemy amidst the chaos, yet never missing. Such precise prediction of the assassins' footstep trajectories undoubtedly required utmost calm and composure.

Compared to the Imperial Guards who feared injuring nobles, he naturally possessed greater fearless courage. Therefore, he never hesitated when shooting arrows, appearing all the more outstanding and extraordinary.

Guo Shi felt the change in the gazes of the ministers and also noticed the change in the Emperor's body. The arm he was supporting, even through the Dragon Robe, could feel the tendons and bones tensing and trembling. It was the most direct instinctive reaction of a heroic monarch who had won his realm by martial force.

The Emperor gazed at the back of the youth who now stood as tall as him. This was his son, flowing with his bloodline, possessing his courage... This child had dared to take up a sword and guard before the night hunt at Cangchi when young, facing the ghosts of the fallen Qian Chao. Now those ghosts had become assassins wielding blades, yet he still dared to hunt them face to face.

—I can no longer take up a blade to kill enemies, but I still have such a son who can kill enemies in my place!

The Emperor's aged back unconsciously straightened. The shadow of his tall body and wide Dragon Robe and crown fell upon and covered the youth shooting bows to kill enemies.

The supporting Imperial Guards had arrived. The archers quickly began to occupy high positions. Grand Marshal Du Shulin led a troop of Imperial Guards quickly forward, saluting with a solemn expression.

Liu Qi put away his bow and looked at Du Shulin: "Trouble the Grand Marshal to open the way ahead and escort the Imperial Uncle to take refuge in the Gong Yuan."

Du Shulin lowered his eyes and replied "Yes": "Your Majesty, please move your carriage with this subject."

The Emperor looked at Liu Qi, seeing blood on his face and body, unsure if he was injured. He immediately said: "You need not concern yourself here. Come with me."

At this time, He Pingchun, who had been ordered by the Emperor to protect the Prince of Liang, arrived. The Prince of Liang, with a pale face, was carried on the back of a Brocade-Clad Guard, followed by other vassal princes and disciples in sorry states.

Seeing his royal brother was safe, the Prince of Liang wept with excitement. Then he suddenly remembered something, reached out and grabbed the old servant following beside him, and spoke unclearly: "Xiangzhi... go find her, make sure to protect her!"

Xiangzhi was very much favored by the Prince of Liang. The old servant knew the Master valued her and hurried to find people.

Xiangzhi, whom the Prince of Liang kept in mind, was now stumbling and falling several times, her skirt torn by being stepped on. She could no longer tell direction and was still anxiously looking around.

At this time, a scream suddenly sounded behind her. Xiangzhi turned in panic and saw a eunuch fallen in a pool of blood, while the assassin who killed the eunuch raised his blood-stained blade toward her.

Xiangzhi trembled and retreated. The assassin suddenly quickened his steps and ran toward her. Just as Xiangzhi's mind went blank, a figure suddenly lunged and threw her to the ground to protect her.

At the same time, the archers shot and killed that assassin.

Xiangzhi, who had been protected, was excited in her heart and almost thought it was the sister she had longed for day and night. But when she raised her head, it was the nervous and concerned face of a youth.

Yan Chu quickly helped her up and asked if she was injured.

Xiangzhi blankly shook her head and withdrew her arm held by the other party.

Seeing her appearance, Yan Chu hesitated but finally took this special opportunity to speak: "... Xiangzhi, how have you been at the Liang Wang Fu? Earlier on the journey to the capital, I told you that after entering the capital, if you had any unwillingness, just find me, and I will certainly do my best to help."

"Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Yan! I am fine..." Xiangzhi avoided his eyes and lifted her leg to leave.

Yan Chu grabbed her: "Do not move about. This place is dangerous. I will take you to find the Prince of Liang!"

"I..." Xiangzhi struggled but could not speak her true purpose, and for a moment she was so anxious that tears welled up.

Yan Chu only thought she was frightened and intentionally avoiding him. Now he did not want her to take risks no matter what, so he forcibly held her arm and took her away from this place.

Encountering such an emotional and meddlesome person, Xiangzhi had no other choice. She stumbled forward, looking around with tears, only hoping that Jiang Sister would be safe.

After calming down a little, she couldn't help but wonder why her sister hid her identity. If there was a secret reason, it was not appropriate to meet in public now. She was at the mercy of others and feared she might bring trouble to her sister... But when would the next chance be?

Meeting and recognizing each other were matters for later. For now, she hoped the gods and spirits would protect her, ensuring Jiang Sister came to no harm. She was willing to offer her own useless life as an exchange for the prayer.

Where Xiangzhi's tear-filled net failed to catch, a fox that seemed to be fleeing like everyone else had already stained its hands with the lives of three rats.

After her exchange with Liu Qi, Shaowei had originally intended to keep watch on Chiyang, but assassins kept attacking her along the way; those assassins treated her as a live target and a soft persimmon, and whenever they closed in, she took advantage of the chaos to twist their necks, their eyes wide and mouths agape, becoming bewildered corpses that quietly kept her secrets.

Shaowei killed several along the way, and Liu Qi, out of filial piety, shot dead more than ten with a quiver of arrows; there had originally been over forty assassins, but with Du Shulin bringing the Imperial Guard to arrive, the situation was gradually brought under control, and the remaining assassins were mostly forced into the same direction.

There were inevitably a few desperate fish that slipped through the net; as Shaowei was about to pass through a group of fake mountains, she saw a girl in fine clothes holding a knife she had picked up, facing an approaching assassin, and she shouted sternly: "Don't come over!"

The girl could be called brave, but she was ultimately not as fierce and terrifying as the assassin covered in blood; the assassin guarded against the knife in her hand but still advanced step by step, until the girl was forced to the front of the fake mountain, her back against the stone wall, with no retreat left.

"Stop posturing!" the assassin shouted, suddenly raising his knife.

Liu Ming gritted her teeth and gripped the knife, resolving to fight to the death, when she suddenly saw the assassin's body lunge forward and abruptly kneel and fall; before she could react, a figure crashed into her at an angle, forcing her to stumble forward, and just as the assassin was about to get up, he was pierced through the chest by the long knife in her hand.

Liu Ming stared blankly at the twitching assassin on the ground, released the knife hilt, and sat down heavily on the ground.

The person who had bumped into her also sat down heavily, gasping for breath; Liu Ming turned her head, stunned: "Jiang... Jiang Tai Zhu?"

Shaowei struck first, widening her eyes: "The Commandery Princess is truly impressive, daring to kill."

Liu Ming followed belatedly, staring: "I... me?"

Having been overwhelmed by terror just now, her mind had frozen; she only knew that the assassin seemed to have tripped over something, and she had just happened to be bumped into by Jiang Tai Zhu...

Thinking of the strange thunder and lightning that appeared when the Great Witch God asked heaven on Jiantai, Liu Ming's muddled mind found an answer: "It must be Jiang Tai Zhu's protection! Otherwise I would surely have died!"

She immediately adjusted her posture into a proper kneeling sit, hands clasped and pressed to her forehead in a salute.

Shaowei scrambled up to a sitting position, avoiding her salute. And as Liu Ming came to her senses, she also quickly stood up: "... I have to find my younger brother! I don't know how my younger brother is!"

She left in a hurry and unease; Shaowei thought of the ending in her previous life where this sister and brother both perished, and couldn't help but ponder; in her previous life she had only heard that a banquet was held in the Imperial Palace, thunder and fire struck down, and many people died, but only by experiencing it herself did she know that the culprits were not only thunder and fire, but also assassins.

Those assassins had clearly premeditated for a long time, choosing the timing to strike tonight.

In her previous life, the Imperial Palace had probably concealed the news of the assassination, or there was some taboo about the matter, and it had not spread widely to the Feng Family Villa; the matter of thunder and fire only became widely known because the noise could not be hidden, becoming the sole sinister culprit in the eyes of those who knew nothing.

In the midst of brief contemplation, Shaowei was about to leave when suddenly an arrow whistled through the air!

Shaowei immediately dodged to the side, and the arrow directly sank into the stone wall of the fake mountain behind her; but in an instant, another arrow closed in on the direction she had been forced to dodge toward; this arrow was extremely fast and had predicted Shaowei's dodging direction; even though Shaowei immediately reacted again, she still could not completely avoid it, and the arrow pierced her right outer arm; in her urgency, she swiftly reached out with her left hand to grab the arrow's tail, preventing it from piercing deeper.

And almost in an instant, she flashed forward, pulled out the arrow that had sunk into flesh and blood not very deeply, gripped it in her hand, and looked toward the two positions where the arrows had been shot; one place was already empty, and the other grass bush made a rustling sound; Shaowei did not hesitate, while paying attention to the surrounding noises, she quickly chased after it!

She was like a beast extremely alert and full of revenge desire; all responses happened in an instant; the other party knew that if they failed once, they would not have a second chance to strike, and soon fled; by the time Shaowei crossed that grass bush, she saw an Imperial Guard conducting the final encirclement and suppression, many of them holding bows.

Shaowei gripped that arrow tightly, her gaze hidden in the darkness, and did not act impulsively.

Compared with the previous assassins who attacked indiscriminately, these two arrows were undoubtedly aimed at her alone.

However, these arrows from the Imperial Guard could not serve as evidence, for assassins had seized the Imperial Guard's bows, arrows, blades, and swords.

Were there actually confidants of Chiyang among the Imperial Guard deep in the palace? Taking advantage of the chaos to want to eliminate her? By rights, Chiyang was currently unable to take care of himself, with surely many eyes watching him; how could he still have the opportunity to arrange his subordinates to attack her?

Firelight flickered all around; the shadows of the living and the dead overlapped, making it hard to distinguish person from ghost.

That night, the Palace Gate was locked down, assassins' traces were investigated, and no one was able to leave the Imperial Palace.

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