Chapter 80: Gaining the Trust of Nalan Yuanshu

Shaoxing City was in total chaos!

After the Taiping Rebel Army seized control of the entire city, they lost control themselves, burning, killing, and looting everywhere.

In essence, they were nothing but a pack of hoodlums and ruffians.

Along the way, Yin Qi killed quite a few rebels and hoodlums as he went.

Suddenly, someone came rushing toward him from the front.

Aided by the firelight, Yin Qi discovered that it was actually Nalan Yuanshu.

Nalan Yuanshu's face was pale, blood stained the corners of his mouth, and he had many wounds on his body; even his official hat had fallen off, his hair was disheveled, and he looked indescribably disheveled.

Behind Nalan Yuanshu were the government soldiers who had stayed behind to cover the retreat, engaged in a desperate, bloody struggle with the Taiping Rebel Army.

As for Chen Yucheng, he had not caught up.

A sharp glint flashed in Yin Qi's eyes; he gritted his teeth, rushed up to meet him, and said urgently, "My Lord, this way!"

Nalan Yuanshu also spotted Yin Qi. Because he hadn't seen clearly who it was before, he had been tense, thinking he had run into a powerful remnant of the Heavenly Kingdom coming to intercept him.

"It's you, Yin Qi!"

Nalan Yuanshu was somewhat pleasantly surprised. He saw that Yin Qi was covered in blood, clearly having killed many people.

"My Lord, come this way; I will take you through the small alleys to shake them off!"

Yin Qi said urgently.

Although he had joined the Heavenly Kingdom, it was under the threat of Chen Yucheng; furthermore, he did not think highly of Chen Yucheng or the remnants of the Heavenly Kingdom at all.

They hadn't succeeded back then, let alone now!

Besides, he had already set his sights on Shaoxing Prefecture as the base for his great cause; how could he possibly let it be given to Chen Yucheng?

Therefore, even though he was anti-Qing, he still had to save Nalan Yuanshu.

Not only could he use Nalan Yuanshu's hand to wipe out the remnants of the Heavenly Kingdom, but he could also temporarily attach himself to Nalan Yuanshu and use the name of the 'Reformists' to develop his own strength.

For example, by organizing a local militia.

Organizing a local militia was the only way he could currently grasp military power.

Additionally, his parents were still locked up in the Prefecture Office; if he didn't befriend Nalan Yuanshu and clear his suspicions, framing the killing of the foreign technician on the remnants of the Heavenly Kingdom, the Yin Family would never be released.

Nalan Yuanshu seemed to trust Yin Qi very much.

He nodded and said, "Good!"

His predecessor had been idle and shiftless, playing wildly outside every day, so he was naturally very familiar with the city.

Yin Qi led Nalan Yuanshu through various turns and, before long, they had completely shaken off their pursuers and arrived before a low city wall.

Because it had fallen into disrepair, it seemed on the verge of collapse.

Although this section of the wall was low, it was still over four meters high.

Nalan Yuanshu was now seriously injured and it was impossible for him to climb the wall alone, so Yin Qi said to Nalan Yuanshu, "My Lord, I will help you up."

As he spoke, he cupped his palms together.

As for the Samurai Sword, he had casually thrown it away the moment he saw Nalan Yuanshu.

That was a Japanese Samurai Sword; if he kept holding it, wouldn't he be telling Nalan Yuanshu that he had been to the Japanese martial arts hall?

How could he possibly make such a low-level mistake?

As for the small wooden box he had snatched from the Prefect, he had already found a place to hide it and would retrieve it later.

Keeping it on his person was not only inconvenient but also easily exposed.

"Good!"

Nalan Yuanshu nodded.

He stepped onto Yin Qi's cupped palms, and Yin Qi exerted a sudden burst of strength, tossing Nalan Yuanshu up. He landed very nimbly on the city wall, and then Yin Qi also sprinted and climbed up.

Afterward, the two of them climbed down the city wall.

The moment he landed, Nalan Yuanshu let out a long breath of stale air, feeling a sense of relief.

He was truly shaken with lingering fear.

He had almost been killed by Chen Yucheng.

Fortunately, he had fought with his life on the line, and by sheer luck, he had traded his own serious injury for the other party's injury, which was how he had escaped.

Nalan Yuanshu looked at Yin Qi and said with great gratitude, "Thank you, Yin Qi. If not for you, I would likely have been in grave danger. No one expected that the pseudo-king Chen Yucheng, who should have died over thirty years ago, was actually still alive."

"The pseudo-king Chen Yucheng?"

Yin Qi feigned a look of confusion, then exclaimed, "My Lord, are you talking about Chen Yucheng of the Heavenly Kingdom? How is this possible? Wasn't he killed by the Imperial Commissioner Sheng Bao over thirty years ago?"

Nalan Yuanshu snorted coldly, "Hmph, he must have escaped, and Sheng Bao didn't dare to report it, so he found a scapegoat. Come to think of it, you know this Chen Yucheng too."

At this point, a sharp glint flickered in his eyes as he secretly watched Yin Qi.

Although the moonlight was dim, he had long since been able to see in the dark.

Yin Qi looked completely bewildered: "I know him too? How is that possible! My Lord, my Yin Family has enjoyed the Emperor's grace for generations; how could we have any connection with such a rebellious pseudo-king? I beg you to investigate clearly."

Yin Qi's acting was so good that Nalan Yuanshu did not find a single flaw.

In reality, he was only testing him.

Regarding Master Chen, the incarnation of Chen Yucheng, he had paid attention to him while investigating the Yin Family, knowing that although the other party had a close relationship with the Yin Family, there should have been no collusion.

First, the Yin Family had a clean background, and Chen Yucheng had been recruited into the Yin Mansion as a boxing instructor.

Second, Chen Yucheng actually spent very little time at the Yin Family, and Yin Qi was a Reformist, so it was impossible for him to collude with the other party.

Furthermore, if Yin Qi were truly in collusion with him, he wouldn't have helped him escape the city, but would have moved to intercept him instead.

With his current injuries, he might not necessarily be a match for Yin Qi.

Nalan Yuanshu smiled slightly, "You don't need to be agitated; I know your family has no collusion with him. Chen Yucheng is actually Master Chen. I believe you didn't expect that either. A dignified pseudo-king, actually entering your Yin Mansion to work as a boxing instructor."

"Master Chen, this..."

Yin Qi wore a bewildered expression again, as if stunned by this matter.

Nalan Yuanshu shook his head and said, "Let's go, we are heading to the east of the city. This time, they caught me off guard; I did not expect Chen Yucheng to still be alive. However, I had long since received news that they were going to revolt, and I had prepared accordingly. Calculating the time, the main army I arranged should be arriving soon."

"As expected!"

Yin Qi felt a chill in his heart; it was just as he had anticipated.

He had long guessed that Nalan Yuanshu had very likely come because of the uprising of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Rebel Army.

Since that was the case, how could the other party not be prepared?

…………

When Yin Qi and Nalan Yuanshu arrived at the east of the city, they happened to see the main army rushing over; those individual fires formed an ocean of fire.

This army numbered at least ten thousand, and all were equipped with new-style muskets.

Following Nalan Yuanshu's order, this army split into two: one part headed to the garrison camp outside the city to surround and annihilate the rebels; the other part blew open the city gates and charged into the city to suppress the rebellion.

Yin Qi did not make a move, acting instead as Nalan Yuanshu's temporary bodyguard.

Bang! Bang!

The sound of gunfire, like popping beans, was dense and continuous; anyone on the street was killed without exception.

"Run! The government troops have entered the city!"

"Kill! Kill the Qing Demon!"

"What is going on? Didn't we take down the garrison outside the city? Where did these Qing Demons come from?"

……

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Rebel Army was instantly stunned.

A moment ago they were still reveling, burning, killing, and looting, but the next moment they were routed and fled in a sorry state.

It must be said, thugs and hooligans are just thugs and hooligans.

Letting them bully the weak is no problem, but once they encounter a well-organized army, they are only fit to be slaughtered.

(End of this chapter)