Chapter 942

Hu Xiaotian looked up and saw the guard who had called him was exactly the one he had just bumped into; Hu Xiaotian pointed at his own nose and said, "Me!"

The guard nodded and said, "It's you, the ugliest one!"

Hu Xiaotian silently cursed, "Damn, am I really that ugly? This isn't my true appearance; if I showed my real looks, I'd be handsome enough to kill you!" He slowly rose to his feet, and Luo Shifeng whispered a warning: "Brother Huo, be careful!"

Hu Xiaotian smiled calmly and said, "It's fine; I haven't done anything heinous." He strode toward the guard.

The guard said, "Come with me!"

Hu Xiaotian had already guessed that this bastard was most likely trying to lure him away to a secluded spot for revenge; for him, it was exactly what he wanted, since he had originally intended to slip away. He followed the guard around to the front materials yard, and the guard pointed at a pile of blue bricks on the ground and said, "Pick them up and help me take them over there."

Hu Xiaotian bent down, and the guard whipped out an iron rod like lightning, striking Hu Xiaotian hard on the back of the head.

Hu Xiaotian heard the wind behind his head, knew this bastard had launched an attack, his body swayed and he backhandedly grabbed the rod's upper part, twisted hard and already wrested the iron rod away; the guard never expected Hu Xiaotian to be so formidable, a phantom flickered before his eyes, Hu Xiaotian covered his mouth and slammed the iron rod hard into the guard's ribs, making the guard grunt and kneel before him; Hu Xiaotian coldly sneered, "You blind thing, want to take revenge on me?"

The guard was terrified out of his wits, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Answer my questions honestly; if you dare utter even a half-sentence lie, I'll smash your skull." He lightly tapped the iron rod on the guard's forehead; the guard nodded repeatedly, and his earlier arrogance and domineering attitude had vanished completely.

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Where is Murong Feiyan?"

The guard trembled and said, "You mean Commander Murong? She... she has always been in the southeastern camp. People of our rank... we can't get near that place..."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, then suddenly heard faint footsteps approaching from a distance; someone must be coming. He raised the iron rod and brought it down on the guard's skull, knocking him unconscious, then leapt up and landed on a pile of huge stones piled up to a height of three zhang ahead.

From his high vantage point looking down, he saw two people sneaking up, one of whom was actually Luo Shifeng.

Luo Shifeng came to where the guard had fallen, looked around but saw no trace of Hu Xiaotian, Luo Shifeng crouched down, reached out and felt the guard's neck, determining the guard was still alive. He whispered softly, "Brother Huo, Brother Huo!" After calling twice with no response from the surroundings, the person beside him said, "Big brother, I think he's already fled."

Luo Shifeng drew a waist dagger from the guard's belt, then seized the guard's neck and twisted hard. With a crack, the guard's cervical vertebrae were broken, and he died instantly without making a sound.

Hu Xiaotian saw it clearly; he never expected Luo Shifeng to dare kill the guard so ruthlessly. The brother beside Luo Shifeng was obviously startled as well, whispering, "Big brother... you..."

Luo Shifeng said, "Tonight is the time to rise in revolt; we just await Elder Brother Song's order, then we'll raise the banner." He stripped the guard's clothes, put them on, hid the corpse, and left the materials yard together with that brother.

Hu Xiaotian inadvertently heard that these laborers planned to revolt tonight, and he silently thought, "Oh no." Although he had only recently arrived at the mausoleum construction site, he had already felt the inhumane treatment these laborers endured; officials oppress the people, forcing them to rebel. Even though Hu Xiaotian is an official of Dakang, he still sympathizes with these poor commoners who want to revolt, but sympathy aside, at least Hu Xiaotian won't join them; he has his own way to solve the problem. Especially tonight, for him the only thing is to quickly find Murong Feiyan, take her away from this dangerous place, and definitely do it before these laborers rise up.

Following the guard's earlier directions, Hu Xiaotian made his way toward the garrison where the guards were stationed; the mausoleum project was huge, with tight security everywhere, but with Hu Xiaotian's current skills he could move about stealthily with ease. He gradually approached the command camp. Seeing the connected barracks ahead, he didn't know which one was Murong Feiyan's tent, and dared not rush in.

Just as Hu Xiaotian was preparing to find a soldier to apprehend and interrogate for Murong Feiyan's whereabouts, he suddenly saw a troop approaching from afar; Hu Xiaotian hurriedly hid in a pile of sand and stones. The troop drew near; the person at the rear dragged a rope, one end of which was tied to a man. The man was being dragged along the ground, his clothes worn ragged, his whole body covered in abrasions and bloodstains, yet the man was quite tough, gritting his teeth without uttering a sound.

At that moment, several people emerged from the upper camp upon hearing the news; the leading man, tall and handsome, was Jiang Shaoli, the favored disciple of Mu Rongzhan, who also served as the head of the guards at this mausoleum site. Seeing the scene, Jiang Shaoli's eyebrows knitted together, and he coldly asked, "What is this?"

The leader holding the rope dismounted from his horse, tossed the rope to his subordinate, and strode up to Jiang Shaoli, clasping his hands in salute: "Commander Sir, we just discovered this person inciting the laborers to revolt!"

Jiang Shaoli snorted coldly, strode up to the man, and two guards seized him, pulling his arms behind his back and lifting him up; one guard grabbed his hair bun, forcing him to raise his head.

Jiang Shaoli said in a sinister tone, "Are you planning to rebel?"

The man clenched his teeth and refused to speak.

Jiang Shaoli said, "Name your accomplices and I'll spare your life."

The man glared at Jiang Shaoli and said, "Kill me or cut me up as you wish; I did everything alone, and it has nothing to do with anyone else!"

Jiang Shaoli sneered, "I'd like to see if your bones are as hard as your mouth!" He slowly drew from his waist a steel blade about four feet long, bringing its edge slowly toward the man's throat.

Suddenly a clear voice rang out from behind: "Hold on!"

Jiang Shaoli's steel blade halted in midair; his brows furrowed habitually, his expression showing some hesitation.

Hu Xiaotian's heart leapt with joy upon hearing that voice; he hadn't expected Murong Feiyan to arrive. He furtively glanced toward the direction of the sound and saw Murong Feiyan's tall, graceful figure appear in his view, still full of heroic spirit, dressed in warrior's garb, she rushed over to Jiang Shaoli with flying steps.

Murong Feiyan said, "How can one take a life without first clarifying the matter?"

Jiang Shaoli said, "Junior sister..."

Murong Feiyan snapped, "I've told you many times, I'm not your junior sister, and I have no relation with you whatsoever." She pointed at the blood-covered man and said, "These days you've been arresting supposed rebels every day, but have you ever obtained solid evidence? Yet because of this you've killed how many lives? I see that by treating them this way, you're practically forcing these commoners to rebel."

Jiang Shaoli said, "The Emperor has ordered to speed up the project; how dare we defy his command?"

Murong Feiyan said, "That's easy for you to say, but what do these laborers eat each day, and what kind of grueling work do they do? To build a tomb for the Emperor alone, how many innocent commoners must be buried with him?" In the days she had been at the mausoleum, she had seen nothing but the people's lives of utter misery, arousing boundless sympathy in her heart; yet helpless, her personal power being limited, she wanted to change the situation but was unable.

Upon hearing Murong Feiyan utter such blatantly treasonous words in public, Jiang Shaoli's face changed instantly, and he shouted sternly, "One must not show disrespect to the Sovereign!"

Murong Feiyan said, "What? I've already said it; if you think I'm disrespectful to the Emperor, feel free to arrest me and send me to the court for punishment."

A hint of helpless smile appeared on Jiang Shaoli's face; his master had sent his daughter here to let him look after her, which had really brought him no little trouble. This junior sister is strong-willed, utterly unwilling to heed his words, and what's more, it gives him a headache that she constantly opposes him, sympathizes with the laborers, and has had multiple clashes with him over their treatment. Some things must never be spoken rashly, especially in front of so many guards; if word reached the Emperor's ears, not only would she bring trouble upon herself, but it might also affect her father.

Jiang Shaoli did not want to quarrel with Murong Feiyan in public; he pushed his steel blade forward a bit more, its edge cutting the man's throat skin, a trickle of blood sliding down his windpipe. Jiang Shaoli said, word by word, "My patience is limited; if you don't speak, I'll let you die right here."

The man's face was full of ferocity, his grin terrifying; he laughed loudly, "Today is your day of doom!"

At that very moment, suddenly a rocket trailing a comet's tail shot forth with the speed of wind and lightning, aiming at the man's abdomen. Nobody expected anyone to attack him then, but they saw the rocket strike true into his belly. With a boom! a huge explosion rang out; the man's flesh and blood body actually burst apart, the blast power tremendous, shaking the very heavens and earth. Jiang Shaoli, being nearest to the man, reacted instantly, leaping backward, yet even so he could not fully escape the shockwave; his body was flung aside like leaves swept by an autumn wind, crashing to the ground, his clothes already aflame, he rolled about like a fireball, and several warriors who couldn't flee in time were blown to death on the spot.

Although Murong Feiyan was farther away, she still lay within the blast's reach; her delicate body was flung upward by a powerful shockwave, her chest feeling as if struck by a heavy hammer, and while still airborne she spat out a mouthful of blood with a puff!

Hu Xiaotian was farther off, yet even so the earth-shaking jolt made him lose his footing, nearly causing him to fall. He immediately understood what had happened: that man had obviously been captured on purpose, the only way to let Jiang Shaoli and the others lower their guard and bring him into the command camp's core area. He must have swallowed a large quantity of explosive pellets or similar explosives beforehand; that rocket was fired by his comrade hiding in the dark, using this method to eliminate the main force of the mausoleum guards.

Third Update sent up, please vote for Monthly Ticket and Recommendation! (To be continued~^~)