Chapter 355: Kill Without Mercy

It came so easily, without any effort!

Realizing he had been tricked, Pei Shangyan didn't lose his temper; Gu Rongjin forced him to keep backing up, leaving him no composure, yet he still smiled and said, "Do you really think I'm completely unprepared?"

"Oh? So you also have five thousand dead soldiers?" Gu Rongjin asked.

He's not using much strength now—like an eagle snatching a chick—and is just slowly toying with Pei Shangyan.

Hearing this, Pei Shangyan's expression finally changed: "You actually know I have dead warriors? Impressive, Gu Rongjin."

He admitted it!

So he really is colluding with Pei Si? Gu Rongjin stopped joking and struck him with the next blow, sending Pei Shangyan flying.

Pei Shangyan spat blood as he hit the ground, fiercely wiping the blood from his mouth, his eyes sharp: "My dead warriors have already gathered, near the imperial tomb."

"Near the imperial tomb, you're again dabbling in dark arts?" Gu Rongjin said, furrowing his brow.

No, tomorrow is the day the new emperor will perform the ancestral rites at the imperial tomb; the royal clan should already have arrived there!

"You want to copy the Jingzuo rebellion?"

Gu Rongjin exclaimed in surprise.

"Too bad you realized too late." Pei Shangyan curled his lips, "Those treacherous ministers have already reached the imperial tomb, haven't they? Perfect—we can wipe them all out in front of our ancestors."

He looked at Gu Rongjin's face and teased, "Do you still have time to waste here with me?"

Gu Rongjin grabbed Pei Shangyan from the ground and pulled him up: "Come with me!"

Each time the imperial family performs the rites at the tomb, the combined number of palace guards and imperial guards they bring is no more than five hundred; we don't even know how many dead warriors Pei Shangyan has, but given his confident air, the disparity in strength between the sides must be huge.

Careless!

He should have immediately reported to the new emperor and requested reinforcements!

Can we still transfer the capital's garrison troops in time? But he lacks the authority to mobilize forces; Shi Huai currently holds a tiger tally that can only command a thousand soldiers, and even adding the Eastern Palace guards and Ministry of Justice troops that Pei Di can mobilize brings the total to just over two thousand, and it would be hard to gather them at the tomb anytime soon.

Regardless of whether we can make it in time, we must act immediately!

"Too late—by the time you manage to move all the troops you can to the tomb, those traitors will already have been executed!" Pei Shangyan said with a sinister, vicious smile.

Unlike the former gentle, elegant, and dignified crown prince, Pei Shangyan has now become utterly mad, his demeanor completely changed, with no trace of his former self.

Gu Rongjin ignored it; the only thing he could do was this, and he had missed a move.

"You're in my hands, yet you're still so arrogant?" Gu Rongjin taunted while rushing after him.

"I sacrifice the small self for the greater self; even if you hold me hostage, my dead warriors won't retreat, especially since I've already given them a death order—they will only obey the command."

"You think that by kidnapping or even killing the emperor at the tomb, you can smoothly return to take the throne? That's wishful thinking—the princes' personal troops, the remaining palace guards, and all the major strategic points in the capital are not in your hands; you'll only be seen as rebels and shot down with arrows."

Even with ten thousand dead warriors, it's still like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!

Imitating the Jingzuo rebellion isn't done like this.

"Why do you think we chose the tomb? You think we're just blindly copying the Jingzuo rebellion? The ancestral spirits in the tomb will tell the world who the true master of this realm is!"

Gu Rongjin understood, just as he had initially thought, they also wanted to use the occult?

He gritted his teeth silently, wondering if they should gather the Frost Descent?

But if they gathered the Frost Descent, they feared it would arouse the emperor's suspicion.

But without the help of the Frost Descent, this time...

Gu Rongjin found himself in a dilemma.

If only Xiao Yuan Zhi were here now, she could give her advice.

If they agreed, he wouldn't hesitate to throw himself into the flames like a moth.

At this moment, Mu Yuanzhi stood anxiously in the courtyard.

The baby's crying, she guessed, might be Gu Rongjin's method to lure Pei Shangyan out; they wanted to see her child, and she naturally wouldn't not know—such incessant infant wailing would make Pei Shangyan think something was wrong with the child.

This yin tactic is just right for dealing with yin people.

But for some reason, she always feels a bit uneasy, probably because no good news has arrived yet; logically, their strengths are vastly unequal, Pei Shangyan is no match for Rongjin, unless extra help arrives!

Rongjin, you must be careful!

At this moment, the imperial tomb.

Performing ancestral rites is a major state affair; the royal clan arrived early at the tomb to prepare, and this night they basically don't need to sleep.

Pei Di was the first to sense something amiss; the air seemed to carry an unusual aura. He wanted to go find his father, but feared his father would think he was being paranoid, or even worse, that he was afraid in the tomb.

"Younger brother of the crown prince, what are you thinking? You look like something big is about to happen." Pei Si walked over, smiling, and asked Pei Di.

Pei Di isn't particularly close with his several brothers, so facing this third brother, he naturally has nothing much to say.

He always felt that Pei Si's right eye behind the eye patch was strange, even suspecting it wasn't actually afflicted.

It made Pei Di think of gu poison for no reason—imagining something terrible crawling out of that right eye to attack him, a scene from his childhood nightmares.

"Nothing."

Pei Di tried to leave, but Pei Si stopped him: "Where are you going? I haven't finished speaking yet."

"I have something to do and need to see the emperor." Pei Di directly brought up his father.

But Pei Si had no intention of stepping aside.

The two remained locked in that stance, and just as Pei Di was about to say something, a sudden commotion arose, as if some disturbance had occurred.

Something happened?!

Pei Di didn't care about that, shoved Pei Si aside and tried to leave, but Pei Si grabbed him with one hand and pulled him back: "Don't run around!"

"What time is it now!" Pei Di tried to shake off Pei Si's hand, his eyes widening in sudden realization: "Is it you?!"

"Idiot!"

Pei Si roughly pulled Pei Di's father to his side, and just then, several men wearing iron masks sprang out from nowhere and leapt down before them.

"Bold! Who are you?!"

Pei Di shouted loudly!

At this moment, she saw that in every direction were these people wearing iron masks, and she instantly grew tense.

Where did these people come from?

They only have eight hundred troops here!

"These are my people," Puyi Si said.

"Puyi Si, what do you mean?!" Puyi Di exclaimed in shock.

Puyi Si and Puyi Biao also want to rebel?!

She could hardly imagine what it would be like for her mother to endure this again; last time her mother nearly became bedridden from illness, but thankfully there was Sister Mu, and it's not always this fortunate!

"No time to explain to you, stick close to me!" Puyi Si said, then ordered them: "Rebels are to be killed on sight!"

"Yes!" the iron-masked ones replied in unison.

Who exactly are the rebels?!