Chapter 73: Jailbreak

The Western Depot is managed by Eunuch Zhang; Eunuch Zhang's power is overwhelming, and with the permission of Emperor Wen of Zhou, he controls the entire Great Zhou Dynasty's administration.

Eunuch Zhang has a saying: "What the court can manage, I will manage; what the court cannot manage, I will also manage."

One can see how great his power is.

Eunuch Zhang, whose personal name is Zhang Huayu, entered the palace at age ten to serve Emperor Wen of Zhou, who was still the crown prince. Later, Emperor Wen of Zhou ascended the throne, and the Great Zhou Dynasty entered the Zhang Huayu era; he rose overnight to become the top favorite beside the emperor, second only to the emperor and above all others.

After that, Zhang Huayu changed his name to Zhang Huayu, meaning that as long as he wishes, even the rain that falls from heaven will melt.

He is loyal to Emperor Wen of Zhou.

He established this organization, the Western Depot.

Under the Western Depot, besides the two branches of the Eighteen Riders of the Western Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, there are countless others; its sphere of influence already encompasses the whole world!

The Eighteen Riders of the Western Depot are his personal troops.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is his trusted troops.

Under him, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has ten deputy generals who respectively command the Embroidered Uniform Guard; they are outstanding in ability and wisdom. They directly answer to Eunuch Zhang—that is, even if the emperor speaks, they do not listen; they only listen to Eunuch Zhang.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard numbers several hundred thousand; the power and influence of its ten deputy generals can be imagined. Whenever they arrive at a city, the local lord must personally receive them; prefects, magistrates, and so on are nothing in their eyes.

However, the pressure they bear is also imaginable. They must handle affairs meticulously and leave no trace, perfectly completing the tasks assigned from above. A slight mistake will lead to Eunuch Zhang holding them accountable.

Li Lan, who died earlier at the Thousandfold Gate, was one of the ten; if he performed poorly, he would be eliminated. He is unfit to be a trusted aide of Zhang Huayu.

This deputy general, who personally went to Mountain City to be responsible for wiping out the Dragon Tiger Gate in one sweep, is named Qian Da. His cultivation has reached Great Accomplishment in the Second Heaven; among the ten deputy generals, although he is not as good as Li Lan, he handles affairs more beautifully and decisively than Li Lan, and thus is greatly favored by Eunuch Zhang.

Today, Qian Da is to escort the five hundred twenty-six Dragon Tiger Gate rebels to the Imperial Capital.

Before, when the Dragon King was alive, even if he was trapped in the Thousandfold Gate and could not leave, he did not dare act rashly. Now that the Dragon King is dead, this is his time to exterminate the Dragon Tiger Gate.

This will be a great achievement!

The large force set out mightily from the Mountain City Prison.

The people of Mountain City feel no hostility toward the Dragon Tiger Gate; indeed, they even feel some regret about this.

The brothers of the Dragon Tiger Gate have never done evil or bullied the common folk in Mountain City; on the contrary, they are a symbol of Mountain City. When outsiders mention Mountain City, this obscure little town, they must mention the three words "Dragon Tiger Gate".

The Dragon Tiger Gate, with its overbearing and fierce image, protects Mountain City under the leadership of the Dragon King.

……

Chen Yi He stands on the great road outside Mountain City, holding the Purple Tempered Sword, standing ramrod straight.

The sky is just beginning to lighten; the people of Mountain City are still asleep.

Perhaps the diligent have already risen, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard left behind in the city must surely be sleeping.

The spring breeze is warm, but his heart is cold.

Today, he will kill people.

He will kill many people; the soldiers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are all imperial officials.

What he intends to do is exactly the jailbreak seen in TV dramas.

Originally he did not want to do this; he wanted to keep a low profile, but Xu Jia's injury stimulated his heart!

"Sniff sniff sniff…" Gao Di Chun lay on the ground, sensing the vibrations through the earth, heard the distant hoofbeats. He gestured to Chen Yi He, then hid in the nearby woods.

Chen Yi He remembered that face; it was Deputy General Qian Da of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Qian Da rode his horse swiftly; behind him were the mounted Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"What smell do you detect?" Qian Da halted his horse and asked his subordinate beside him.

"A muttony smell… it seems like the smell of horse…"

Behind the Embroidered Uniform Guard were the Dragon Tiger Gate brothers wearing shackles on their feet, handcuffs on their hands, and dressed in prisoner garb. They had no shoes, barefoot on the stone‑strewn road, rubbing their feet bloody. Walking beside the prisoners were the foot soldiers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who held whips; any prisoner who walked slowly would be mercilessly lashed.

"Crack!" Another round of lashing.

The prisoners writhed in pain on the ground.

"Yo, still playing dead, huh? I see you haven't been beaten enough!" Summer was approaching; even in the morning, the sweltering heat was unbearable. That hot‑tempered Embroidered Uniform Guard wildly swung his whip.

The prisoner being whipped hovered between life and death, finally fainting from the pain.

"Who dares block the road?" Qian Da asked. He never expected anyone to dare block the Embroidered Uniform Guard's path; today everyone knows they are escorting the Dragon Tiger Gate prisoners, yet someone still dared to stand in the way.

"Your father!"

Chen Yi He said no more, stepped forward and drew his sword, going around Qian Da. He thrust his sword at the Embroidered Uniform Guard behind him!

Men and horses overturned! Chen Yi He slew an untold number with a single sword strike!

Whether it was the Purple Tempered Sword in his hand or the countless sword qi surrounding him, the sword qi flew out, striking down enemies with unerring accuracy!

In an instant, the Embroidered Uniform Guard fell into chaos!

Qian Da pointed at Chen Yi He and shouted, "Kill him!" At the same time, he pulled the reins, turned his horse, and moved to block Chen Yi He!

Chen Yi He slapped his palm toward the horse beneath Qian Da's crotch; Chen Yi He was not in a hurry to kill Qian Da.

The horse's leg was broken, and Qian Da fell from his mount. After all, he is a master who has attained Great Accomplishment in the Second Heaven; he still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Undeterred, he brandished his knife and slashed at Chen Yi He.

Chen Yi He was challenging his speed of killing.

The five hundred twenty-six condemned prisoners, the Embroidered Uniform Guard at least number twice as many.

Soon, corpses piled beneath Chen Yi He's feet into a mountain of flesh. With a sweep of his palm, the bonds on the hands and feet of the five hundred twenty-six prisoners all shattered.

The Dragon Tiger Gate brothers seized the swords and spears from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and launched a frenzied counterattack!

They struck even more ruthlessly than Chen Yi He, giving full vent to their fury! After half a year of inhuman life, the hatred they had accumulated was about to overflow.

Countless Embroidered Uniform Guard were hacked into mincemeat, thrown into chaos!

"Quick! Quick! Quickly call for reinforcements from the city's Embroidered Uniform Guard!" The orderly officer's head fell together with his words.

"Hiss…"

"Hiss…"

"Hiss…" Countless horse cries shattered the tranquil morning sky; following them came thousands of horses bursting from the woods, as if injected with chicken blood, charging recklessly!

Gao Dichun sat on the lead horse, waving his whip, and said to his brothers, "Brothers! Mount up, follow me!"

The brothers of the Dragon Tiger Gate all grew up in Tiger Mountain from childhood, which is to say they grew up on horseback; they are all brothers of the Dragon King, following the Dragon King, riding and galloping! Their familiarity with horses is even deeper than with women.

Each of them leapt onto their horses, and each wild horse, under their crotch, instantly became docile.

Meanwhile, the soldiers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were miserable; they wore heavy armor and were not familiar enough with horses. Struck down by the charging horses, they hadn't even gotten up before the horses behind trampled them.

Chen Yi He's gaze found Xu Jia, who was in the carriage carrying the iron prison.

Xu Jia was in the midst of the crowd, with several Dragon Tiger Gate brothers guarding him!

Chen Yi He stepped on the heads of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and in a few strides reached Xu Jia's side, split open the iron prison, rescued Xu Jia, "Xu Brother! Brothers, I'm late!"

Qian Da swung his knife to attack! Chen Yi He thrust out with a sword!

One sword pierced Qian Da's throat!

Qian Da's eyes widened bigger than bronze bells, and he stared in astonishment at Xu Jia.

"Bang!" The tall Qian Da fell, and the frenzied horse that came after engulfed him; in the blink of an eye, he was trampled into minced meat.

The melee continued, drawing the attention of the city of Qunshan, and the supporting fireworks signal shot up into the sky.

We cannot wait for the enemy reinforcements to arrive.

Gao Dichun waved the reins, shouting loudly, "Brothers, follow me!"

Chen Yi He dragged the seriously wounded Xu Jia onto a horse, mounted himself, and said, "Go!"

Casualties among the Embroidered Uniform Guard were countless; most were not killed by Chen Yi He's sword, but by the hooves of the frenzied horses, and also by the revenge of the Dragon Tiger Gate brothers.

Chen Yi He's disturbance left the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and indeed the entire Western Depot, unable to explain themselves to the Changle Gate.