Chapter 420: Results

The twenty-fourth year of Jiajing, the sixteenth day of the tenth month.

The heavens collapsed and the earth crumbled; the sky turned dark as night, and ten thousand homes sank into ruin.

Smoke and clouds billowed up from Wang Gongchang, resembling a colossal lingzhi mushroom. Iron slag and debris, the size of wheat bran, rained down from the sky, blanketing the surrounding area for several miles. Thousands of houses nearby were flipped over like pancakes, with earth and wood on top and tiles beneath, slowly smoldering with embers.

Underground, Mei Qinghe slowly opened her eyes.

Her mouth was filled with the taste of rust, her ears rang with a deafening hum, and her chest could only heave slightly, delivering a meager amount of oxygen to her heart and lungs.

An Ziyang's preparations were thorough, but he was, after all, a "local." Before today, no one knew the sheer scale of destruction that could be wrought by the massive accumulation of the black powder stored at Wang Gongchang.

The secret chamber had collapsed; only a few stone beams remained, propping up small pockets of space in the earth. Mei Qinghe was in one such space.

She did not move, instead sitting cross-legged to regulate her breathing.

The Gu worm within her body spat out the last trace of Li Miao's healing Qi, slowly mending her injuries.

After a while, she opened her eyes.

She focused her hearing.

In the final moments before the explosion, she had seen the Daoist monk from Mount Mount Wudang shield An Ziyang and rush toward a corner that had not collapsed. If she was still alive, it was highly probable that An Ziyang, protected by the monk, had survived as well. She needed to make contact.

After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Mei Qinghe finally heard a faint tapping sound.

Ding, ding-ding.

One long, two short.

She responded with the same rhythm.

Digging sounds came from the soil to her front-left. After nearly half an hour, a hand parted the earth, and then, the face of the Mount Wudang Daoist monk appeared.

"Thousand-Household Mei is still alive."

A sigh of immense relief came from behind him.

"That's good—"

The Mount Wudang Daoist monk and An Ziyang jumped out, helping Mei Qinghe up. Before she could speak, An Ziyang shook his head, as if reading her mind.

"There are no other survivors. If I hadn't had the foundation of the Nine Yang Divine Art and the Daoist's protection, I wouldn't have survived either. At the moment of the explosion, everyone else was shaken to death... there wasn't much pain."

Mei Qinghe fell silent.

It was she who had pulled the mechanism.

An Ziyang patted her shoulder without offering comfort, turning instead to the Daoist.

"Daoist, how long will it take to dig up to the surface?"

The Daoist calculated.

"With full effort, one hour."

An Ziyang nodded.

"Then I leave it to you, Daoist. I will heal Thousand-Household Mei. Feel free to exert yourself, but before we reach the surface, stop for a moment... An Qisheng might not be dead."

The Mount Wudang Daoist's expression changed.

"Can he survive such power?"

An Ziyang shook his head.

"The Commander-in-Chief had the heart to gamble his life, but he would not commit suicide. If he could survive, An Qisheng might have survived too... It is better to be cautious."

The Daoist went to dig upward, and that is that.

Half an hour later, the three finally neared the surface.

"Listen... there is sound," An Ziyang whispered.

The Mount Wudang Daoist said in a low voice, "Sounds of combat. An Qisheng survived, and Commander Li survived as well... but the sounds are similar to mine; both must be at the end of their strength."

Mei Qinghe and An Ziyang exchanged a look.

"Ha—"

Both let out a long breath. "Daoist, are you sure their combat sounds are on par with yours?" An Ziyang asked.

The Daoist listened for a while longer and nodded.

"I am sure. The intervals between their strikes are long; they must be exhausted. If I go to assist Commander Li, I might be able to settle it in one blow!"

"Wait here, I shall go!"

With that, he struck the earth above with all his might, punched through the soil, and leaped to the surface.

Mei Qinghe and An Ziyang waited below.

After another stick of incense had burned, it went quiet above.

The two exchanged a look and climbed out cautiously.

At a single glance, both their eyes widened.

Ten paces away, the Daoist stood there, holding a sword snatched from somewhere. His upper garments were shredded, and several deep, bone-exposing wounds on his gaunt body were slowly bleeding. Only the slight rise and fall of his chest indicated he was still alive.

In just the time it took to burn a stick of incense, intervening in the battle between the heavily wounded Li Miao and An Qisheng had left the Daoist on the brink of death.

And a little further away, a person sat on the ground.

To call him a person was a stretch.

Of his clothing, only a scrap of black cloth remained at his waist. His muscular frame was covered in burns and lacerations, with the few remaining intact patches charred like coal. His left arm was missing, his right ribcage was torn open, and the flesh on the right side of his face was gone. Only the slight curl of his lips hinted at his former heroic appearance.

He looked like a broken god.

Seeing An Ziyang and Mei Qinghe, he turned his head and smiled as if nothing were amiss.

"Little Xiao Anzi, Little Mei."

"Commander-in-Chief..."

An Ziyang murmured. He tried to step forward, but his legs went weak. Mei Qinghe supported him, tears streaming down her face.

Li Miao smiled.

"What are you crying for? You're grown adults."

"Rest assured, I won't die. Learn from Little Mei."

Mei Qinghe spoke hoarsely, "Commander-in-Chief, I..."

Li Miao interrupted them.

"Enough. Time is short. Listen well—I am going to sleep for a while. During this time, you and the old man must hold the line for me."

"An Qisheng is not dead."

"He escaped."

Mei Qinghe and An Ziyang's expressions changed drastically.

Li Miao continued, "I have fully probed An Qisheng's foundation... The reason for his abnormal state lies in the inheritance of Yingzhou, the 'nature' he split off."

"He hasn't reclaimed the 'nature seeds' planted in the Yingzhou Heavenly Humans, so he cannot fight at full strength. I suspect the reason he grew stronger tonight is because many Yingzhou Heavenly Humans died."

"His protective Qi grew stronger, the explosion failed to kill him, and I fought him until the Daoist intervened. Seeing the situation turn, he ran."

An Ziyang pondered for a moment and said urgently, "Do the Yingzhou Heavenly Humans know this? Does An Qisheng need to kill them all to reach his peak state?"

Li Miao smiled.

"Zheng Zheng Anqi knew, and they likely know too... Hehe, Little Xiao Anzi, your brain is indeed useful."

"Exactly. The situation has reversed."

"An Qisheng is heavily wounded and can no longer maintain his deterrence over the Yingzhou Heavenly Humans. They will begin to hunt him down, so he has no time to trouble us... at least not until the Yingzhou Heavenly Humans are all dead."

"Dogs biting dogs; they have no time to slaughter the commoners for now."

(End of Chapter)

"Zheng Zheng Anqi knows, they should also know... Heh heh, Little Xiao Anzi, your brain is indeed useful."

"That's right, the situation has reversed."

"Now An Qisheng is seriously injured and can no longer maintain his deterrent power over the Yingzhou Heaven-Men, they will start hunting An Qisheng, so he won't have time to find trouble for the time being... at least not until the Yingzhou Heaven-Men are all dead."

"Dogs biting dogs, they don't have time to kill and injure commoners for the time being."

(End of chapter)