Chapter 207: The Death of Wanyan Honglie

Wooo—

Just as Huang Lao Xie and Yideng, one on each side, captured Wanyan Saibu and were about to return to the mountain, Hong Qigong snapped his palm, breaking the Jin State banner; the next instant, the attack horn sounded, shattering the night.

Kill!!!

A massive force of Xiangfan garrison troops surged out of the city gates, charging wildly amid the chaos; the already disordered Jin State camp was instantly smashed to pieces.

Shouts and clashing cries pierced the dim night sky; the Jin State troops, their formation in disarray, fled desperately, and the battlefield instantly became a one‑sided slaughter.

"Wanyan Honglie! The Jin people's disgrace! Look at the mess you've made!"

After returning to the mountaintop, Wanyan Saibu was struck at two acupoints by Huang Yaoshi, and he knelt helplessly on the ground, gritting his teeth as he glared at Wanyan Honglie.

"Why are you staring! This is your Prince Zhao!" Miss Huang glared, grabbed a bamboo rod, and struck Wanyan Saibu hard.

After the blow, she giggled, "Now it's perfect—one upright, one crooked, a pair. On your road to the afterlife you can keep each other company."

"You want to kill me?"

Wanyan Honglie's complexion changed.

"Amitabha!" Yideng sighed, pressed his palms together, muttered a Buddhist name, then silently turned and slipped down the mountain.

Huang Yaoshi, Hong Qigong, Niu Ben, and several nearby guards in black robes wielding bronze mirrors all stared at him with indifferent eyes.

A chill rose in Wanyan Honglie's heart, realizing the situation was dire; he hurriedly steadied the stretcher and called to Miss Huang, "I've done exactly as you said! Why are you still trying to kill me?"

"I am the Jin State Prince! If you kill me, the Jin State will never be satisfied; it will declare war on the Great Song! If you spare me, I am willing to trade all my treasure for my life!"

Amid the shouting, a sudden sharp pain shot through his lower limbs, and he slipped off the stretcher.

"Why kill you?" Hong Qigong sneered, casting a sideways glance.

He grabbed a wine gourd, gulped down a mouthful, and loudly recited, "The humiliation of Jingkang remains unavenged, the ministers' hatred—when will it end? Riding a long carriage, trampling the Helan Mountain pass. Ambitious hearts feast on captive flesh, laughing while drinking Xiongnu blood!"

Hahaha—

"Now you know why I'm killing you?"

After finishing a line of Yue Wumu's "Man Jiang Hong", Hong Qigong let out a hearty laugh, ignored the two men on the ground, and with a flushed complexion strode after Yideng's direction.

Huang Yaoshi made no move; he no longer wished to watch such disgrace, gave his own daughter a cautionary glance, stepped forward, and likewise rushed in that direction.

After the three left, Wanyan Honglie swallowed, his will to survive fierce, and looked at Miss Huang, pleading, "I've obeyed you honestly; why not spare me? If you let me go, name any amount of gold, silver, or treasure you desire, and it's yours."

Miss Huang pursed her lips and cooed, "Good begets good, evil begets evil; you, the Khitan, know how many misdeeds you've done. Moreover, I never promised to spare you."

Seeing the battle below decided, she lost interest in lingering, waved to the nearby guards, and said, "Take them down and imprison them well! Remember, before tomorrow's execution, strip them both naked and parade them through the streets!"

At dawn, the sky was dim.

At the foot of the mountain, mist rose and spread; within the hazy dawn fog one could see broken spears, wreckage, corpses strewn across the fields, rivers of blood, and torches long extinguished that, soaked by dew, still emitted faint wisps of smoke.

After a night of tallying, the garrisons of the two Xiangfan cities together annihilated 50,000 enemies, captured 80,000, and saw several ten‑thousands of remnants scatter into Jin State territory.

Hu Zai Xing, together with Chen Jin'er, Fentian, and Miss Huang, conferred and ordered a northern advance, pushing the front line northward over thirty miles; after occupying seven counties as a strategic counter‑offensive, they did not continue the pursuit.

At noon, as news of the Jin army's crushing defeat spread, the main street of Xiangyang bustled with crowds, heads jostling, as lively as a New Year celebration.

There was no other reason; soon would come the thrilling moment of executing the Jin State Prince Zhao, the Jin army's deputy commander, and the invading Jin generals.

Since Jingkang, aside from the Yue Family Army's brave strikes reclaiming lost lands, the Song people have largely feared the Jin like tigers; a public street execution of a Jin State prince is truly unprecedented.

"Here it comes! Here it comes! The prison carts are arriving! Everyone, get ready; soon we'll smash them all!"

"Hmm, this is the Khitan prince? Not much—still a middle‑aged youngster with soft skin."

"What are you babbling? If you won't smash, step aside!"

……

On the bluestone street, as more than ten prison carts slowly rolled in under guard, a cascade of rotten vegetable leaves rained down.

Even the affluent tossed fresh eggs from their hands, one after another, onto Wanyan Honglie's head, making the old lady nearby cringe with pity.

"Wanyan Honglie! You are the Jin people's disgrace! You are the Jin people's disgrace!"

In the rear prison cart, Wanyan Saibu clutched two iron bars with both hands, his eyes fixed on Wanyan Honglie in the front cart, his face wild as he cursed continuously.

Yet Wanyan Honglie ignored him, curling his body and leaning against the cage, his hollow eyes silently meeting the knife‑wielding soldier beside the cart.

"Soon, I will cut off your head with my own hands!" Yang Tiexin's eyes burned with unabashed hatred as he walked alongside the cart, staring at the naked Wanyan Honglie inside.

Glancing at the spot his opponent's hands covered, he felt a surge of satisfaction.

"So what?"

Wanyan Honglie's eyes flickered, then his expression returned; in a low voice he mocked, "Even if you kill me with your own hands, it won't hide that Yang Tiexin is a useless person!"

"Back then I, Wanyan Honglie, stole a woman from you; now Niu Dingtian has taken another. You can only watch helplessly—you are a downright useless man!"

As the words fell, Yang Tiexin's eyes bulged, and he raised the back of his blade, smashing down onto his knee.

Bang!

Ah!

A howl of pain rang as Wanyan Honglie curled up and fell onto the cage floor.

"I'm divorced!" Yang Tiexin withdrew his blade, snarling low into the cage; he could not stay calm about the matter.

The blow, though painful, cleared Wanyan Honglie's mind a bit; death was now unavoidable. After regaining his breath, he couldn't help but sneer, "We should have separated earlier; don't forget it was you, Yang Tiexin, who threw her down, giving me the chance."

"Qiu Chuji, that Niu Ben, has been at my mansion for three years, yet I never saw you go to Zhongnan Mountain to look for that old friend. You, Yang Tiexin, have never truly cared for Bao Xiruo; you are unworthy..."

"I'll kill you!!"

Before the words finished, Yang Tiexin's eyes flashed crimson, and with a roar he thrust his cleaver into the cage.

The next moment

Pfft—!

Pff—

The heavy blade pierced his chest, and a spray of fresh blood shot from Wanyan Honglie's mouth onto his own face.

"Well done!"

"Well killed!"

The onlooking crowd was stunned for a moment, then, upon reacting, burst into excited shouts in waves.

"Everyone, attack together! Don't let the Jin dogs die easily! Each with a stick, avenge Grandfather Yue!"

Just as the squad leader Niu Ben stared at Yang Tiexin, not knowing how to speak, someone in the crowd shouted, and immediately the onlookers, as if injected with chicken blood, surged forward, breaking through the soldiers' blockade, grabbing bamboo poles and stabbing at the prison cart.

"Puchi!"

"Puchi!"

……

Within a few dozen breaths, the people in more than ten prison carts were stabbed and poked by the crowd until they were a bloody mess.

Even so, they did not stop; as those in front retreated, others from behind rushed forward, until Niu Ben ordered them to be forcibly driven away, and only then did they gradually disperse.

Hiss—

Looking at the scene inside the prison cart, Niu Ben couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air; the hatred of the Song people for the Jin is truly etched into their bones.

On the distant Drunken Immortal Pavilion

Yang Kang, Guo Jing, Zhu Chong, Han Baoju, and the blind Ke Zhen'e stood by the window, looking at the gruesome sight in the prison cart, speechless.

"Obviously we could kill them with a single slash, why..." Guo Jing hesitated, a flicker of reluctance flashing in his eyes as he spoke.

"Hmph, he is the true murderer who killed your father! Jing'er, don't show womanly compassion!" Ke Zhen'e snorted coldly, berating Guo Jing.

"But, but..."

Guo Jing mustered his courage and wanted to argue further.

"All right, Jing'er, your master is right." Zhu Chong reached out and tugged at his disciple's sleeve.

He patted Guo Jing's shoulder and said softly: "You're still young, you don't know how cruel war is. When the Jin marched south, they left not one in ten Han alive; the Jingkang humiliation is an eternal pain in the hearts of the Han people."

"Don't advise others to be good without having suffered; you haven't endured the hardships of the Jin southern invasion, so remember not to say such things again, lest you cause unnecessary trouble."

Guo Jing murmured and said nothing more.

Yang Kang stood staring at the prison cart beside Yang Tiexin in the distance; the complex look in his eyes gradually faded, and without greeting anyone, he turned and silently left the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

Half an hour later

Yang Kang returned to Nine Palaces Mountain; upon reaching the gate of a small courtyard, he hesitated for a long time, but eventually stepped inside.

"Mother!"

Looking at the figure in the pavilion in the courtyard, he suppressed the urge to cry and softly called out.

Bao Xiruo wore a plain white dress, her luxuriant black hair styled into an elegant cloud-like bun, held by a jade hairpin; her jade-like complexion was radiant and lovely, showing no trace of a woman nearing thirty.

"Kang'er has come?"

Upon hearing the voice, she slightly raised her head, put down the secret manual she was holding, smiled and waved to Yang Kang: "Come quickly, Mother made some pastries out of boredom; later you can take some to Jing'er and your aunt Guo."

Saying this, she took a piece of mung bean cake from the blue-and-white porcelain plate on the table and handed it over.

Yang Kang stepped forward, took it in his hand, but did not eat it; he hesitated a moment, gazed at his mother, and said softly: "Mother, Wanyan Honglie is dead."

Bao Xiruo's motion of lifting the porcelain plate paused noticeably; her lowered jade face froze for a moment, then she quickly recovered her smile.

"Yang Tiexin killed him."

Yang Kang stuffed the mung bean cake in his hand into his mouth, watching his mother's expression, and suddenly said:

"Bang!"

Bao Xiruo's porcelain plate in her hand fell with a sound; she suddenly lifted her head and stared blankly at her son.

Yang Kang dared to swear that in that instant he saw in those eyes surprise, fluster, shame, bewilderment, and also complexity.

Before his mother could react, he gritted his teeth, took out a piece of paper from his bosom and placed it on the table, after a moment's hesitation he said softly:

"Mother, please sign this." (End of chapter)