Chapter 106 The Rebellion of the Marquis of Le'an Has Begun

Li Yao looked around and saw someone waving at the entrance of a nearby alley.

Upon closer inspection, it really was Fairy Jinli!

Li Yao was overjoyed and quickly dismounted, walking over to greet her with clasped hands. "Fairy? What are you doing here?"

He thought the fairy would only descend upon Linxian Village.

Now that's good, with the fairy here, she will surely be able to resolve the crisis that Your Majesty is facing!

"Where is this?" Ning Jinli asked.

Li Yao replied respectfully, "This is Da Xuanshun City. It is several hundred miles away from Xitun Pass."

"Wasn't he supposed to be going back to the royal city? Why is he here?" Ning Jinli asked in surprise, turning around to look at the fluorescent vortex not far behind her.

These days, she thinks of Xiao Qidi all the time.

Especially tonight, I don't know why my heart is pounding.

Remembering what Shangguan Ying had told her before, that the key to opening the time-space channel lay in herself, she tried to change the channel while thinking about Xiao Qidi.

She succeeded again.

Stepping through the fluorescent vortex, you arrive at a completely unfamiliar ancient alley.

Just as he was about to walk out of the alley to ask someone if this was the capital of Xuan Kingdom, he saw Li Yao.

"Where is Xiao Qidi? Aren't you all together?" Ning Jinli asked hurriedly.

Li Yao knelt down on both knees, "Fairy, the Emperor is in danger! Please help me, Fairy!"

Ning Jinli felt a chill run down her spine.

No wonder I was so panicked, something really happened!

"Quick, tell me what happened!" Ning Jinli helped Li Yao up.

Li Yao quickly explained what he had just seen and speculated about, and also told the fairy about his plan to go outside the city to find reinforcements.

Ning Jinli shook her head repeatedly after hearing this, "No, no, your plan may not work. If it fails, not only will you not be able to save him, but you will also be killed by the Shuncheng army."

"Does the fairy have a better way?" Li Yao asked.

"Let me think about it." Ning Jinli crossed her arms and frowned as she began to ponder.

Li Yao had absolute trust in Fairy Jinli. Although he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, he remained calm and patient.

The alley was dark and quiet as Ning Jinli paced back and forth, lost in thought.

Analyzing the historical records of my own world and applying them to the original development of this parallel universe, it is estimated that a few years later, the Marquis of Le'an here will also launch a rebellion.

In addition to deploying about a hundred elite soldiers and three thousand retainers, they also used a forged imperial edict to deceive fifty thousand soldiers in Shuncheng, almost succeeding in their rebellion.

However, the events here have changed. Judging from the current situation, it is as if the rebellion of Marquis Le'an, which was supposed to happen a few years later, has already taken place.

“A forged imperial edict… 50,000 Shuncheng troops…” Ning Jinli gently tapped her forehead with her index finger.

"Fairy, what are you saying? Do you have a solution?" Li Yao was getting impatient.

As Ning Jinli spoke, she pondered, “As far as I know, that forged edict was a blank edict. It was secretly stolen by the Marquis of Le’an, who then had the Empress Dowager affix her imperial seal. With the Empress Dowager’s help, he then obtained the royal seal, which was under the control of the Prime Minister, and affixed it to it while Xiao Qidi was away from the capital.”

"Huh?" Li Yao was stunned. "A blank imperial edict?"

Ning Jinli wasn't explaining anything to him, but rather trying to organize her thoughts and find a solution. She continued muttering to herself, "A blank edict like that is only used in the most crucial moments. But now that things have happened so suddenly, it's impossible that the Marquis of Le'an's advisors had already prepared the forged edict beforehand, so..."

"We might need them right now!" Ning Jinli clapped her hands. "I've got an idea! Let's hurry, hopefully we can make it in time!"

Li Yao hurriedly asked, "Fairy! What's the solution?!"

"Wait here for a moment!" Ning Jinli hurriedly turned around and stepped into the fluorescent vortex, disappearing from Li Yao's sight in the blink of an eye.

Soon, Ning Jinli reappeared.

She also had a drone in her hand.

Her factory is currently building a drone production line, and it won't be long before she can produce drones on her own.

However, this drone was purchased in the past because we were concerned that the batch of drones supplied to Xitunguan would suffer damage, so we bought more and stored them in the warehouse as a backup.

This time, I just grabbed one, packed it up, and brought it over.

Li Yao didn't understand what use a drone could be at this time, and asked doubtfully, "Fairy, how can this thing save the emperor? It shouldn't be able to fly away with the emperor, right?"

As Ning Jinli piloted the drone into the air, she said, "That's not how I use it. I want to find the hiding place of Marquis Le'an's strategist. You should come and take a look too."

The drone disappeared into the night with a whoosh.

On the remote control screen, an aerial view of Shuncheng appeared.

An ancient city from more than two thousand years ago came into Ning Jinli's view. Shuncheng was considered a large city in Xuan Kingdom at that time, but it was far from comparable to a modern city. Its scale was even smaller than the town center of an ordinary modern town.

Since it was already dark, most of the people in the city had gone home. Apart from a few peddlers and laborers on the main street, the rest of the city was quiet.

In this scenario, any disturbance can be quickly detected from mid-air using drones.

The drone flew for less than a minute and sure enough, it spotted a large group of people.

These people first emerged from their respective houses in twos and threes, and then all headed in one direction.

Judging from their clothing and appearance, they come from all walks of life, including ordinary people.

“These must be the retainers of Marquis Le’an!” Li Yao immediately judged.

Ning Jinli asked, "Are you sure?"

Li Yao nodded. "First, although they seem to be a diverse group, they are all martial artists, which can be identified by their walking posture. Second, the fact that so many people are out at the same time means they must have been summoned. Considering the current situation, there is no other possibility than that the Marquis of Le'an's strategist has employed his retainers."

"Alright, let's follow them! We're sure to find the headquarters where Marquis Le'an is plotting his schemes, and the key figures who are giving him advice must be there too!"

Ning Jinli used a drone to observe the movements of those people while tracking them.

To avoid alerting the enemy, neither she nor Li Yao rode horses.

The two walked lightly and quickly, with Ning Jinli secretly using the Heavenly Profound Heart Method to mobilize her inner strength and continuously increase her pace.

Li followed behind, gradually finding it difficult. He couldn't help but marvel inwardly, thinking, "As expected of a fairy, she walks faster than an ordinary martial artist can run, without even panting."

About half an incense stick's time had passed.

The first hundred assassins arrived at the gate of Shun Palace, showed the guards the token of Marquis Le'an, and entered the palace smoothly.

Meanwhile, Ning Jinli had also located the strategist's location by tracking down those retainers.

This is an unremarkable house.

After the arriving guests went in and came out, Ning Jinli and Li Yao quietly climbed over the wall and slipped inside.

Inside the house.

The Marquis of Le'an's advisors had just devised a plan for the leaders of the retainers they had gathered, so that these men could lead all the retainers in a unified manner.

He didn't even have time to rest before immediately returning to his study.

The imperial edict on the desk was still blank.

His expression was solemn as he picked up a brush and dipped it in ink.

But as he was about to put pen to paper, he hesitated, put the brush aside, and stared at the blank edict, frowning in thought.

This thing is extremely important.

And it's not something you can just get easily.

We must ensure that it is used at the most critical time, otherwise it would be too wasteful.

So now, is this truly the most crucial moment? Is it simply a matter of cost?

He was a little unsure.

"Sigh..." The strategist sighed, leaned back in his chair, and muttered to himself as he analyzed the situation. "The only thing we know for now is the signal from the Marquis, which indicates that Xiao Qidi poses a fatal threat to the Marquis in the Shun Palace."

"Regardless of why Xiao Qidi suddenly appeared, this is enough to show that the second assassination attempt failed."

"Then, Xiao Qidi must have come here alone. He not only had no soldiers, but also very few followers. Otherwise, our spies throughout Shuncheng would have discovered him long ago."

"In that case, perhaps a hundred elite guards would be enough to protect the Marquis."

"In addition, with three thousand retainers going, killing Xiao Qidi, who is all alone, will be a piece of cake."

"This blank edict..."

"Perhaps we don't need to mobilize the Shuncheng army now? Perhaps we can keep them for future needs?"

The strategist pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "It seems foolproof, but why... am I still so uneasy? Sigh, what should I do? What if something goes wrong..."

"No, we absolutely cannot allow any mishap to occur, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable!"

"It would be best to use this imperial edict!"

Once the strategist had made up his mind, he was about to open his eyes and take up a brush to write a forged imperial edict.

But the moment he opened his eyes, he suddenly felt a chill on his neck.

The study door had been opened at some point, and a gust of wind blew in, causing the candlelight to flicker.

"Don't move." A deep voice sounded behind him. "And don't shout. If you make a sound, I'll kill you!"

He then realized that a small knife was pressed against his neck.

"Who...who are you...how did you get in?" the strategist asked, trembling.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask." The person behind him exerted a little force, and the blade cut a bloody gash on the strategist's neck.

The strategist turned pale with fright, realizing that this man was not joking.

"Then...what do you want to do?" he asked, mustering his courage. "Do you know who I am?"

The other party said, "I know who you are, and I know you are going to help Marquis Le'an rebel and kill the emperor. Now, I will immediately order you to stop all your actions!"

The strategist trembled, “It’s too late… I gave them a death order to protect the Marquis and kill Xiao Qidi at all costs. Even if I personally intervened, I couldn’t take back the order.”

The person behind him said in a deep voice, "Fairy...this..."

The strategist exclaimed in surprise, "A fairy? What fairy..."

“That’s not surprising,” Ning Jinli stepped out from behind the strategist. “I didn’t come here with that goal in mind.”

The strategist's eyes widened as he realized that there were two people standing behind him, a man and a woman.

Ning Jinli walked to the desk, looked at the blank edict on the table, and smiled slightly at the strategist. "Pick up the brush. Write exactly what I say, understand?"

Ning Jinli couldn't write in the style of this period, and Li Yao, a military general, although literate, had limited writing skills. Therefore, the strategist had to be spared for the time being, and he would write on Ning Jinli's behalf.

The strategist was still in a daze.

Li Yao pressed the dagger against his neck again. "Are you deaf? Or can't you understand?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The strategist hurriedly picked up his pen. "This young lady... uh... fairy, please speak!"

——

Xiao Qidi searched all over the Shun Palace and found traces of the Marquis of Le'an's escape along the way, but he could not find him anywhere.

Before he knew it, he had returned to the open space in front of the main hall.

All the palace eunuchs and maids had disappeared.

The surroundings had become quiet and lifeless, with only the dim yellow lanterns swaying in the wind high above.

Suddenly, Xiao Qidi sensed a murderous aura.

At the same time, hurried footsteps approached from afar.

On the wide open ground, a group of burly men wielding long knives suddenly appeared, looking menacing.

Lao An also appeared among this group of people.

Although his hair was disheveled and his clothes were in disarray from his earlier hasty escape, there was no trace of panic on his face.

"Xiao Qidi!" Lao An roared, "I failed to kill you twice before, but you won't be so lucky this time! These are all my elite assassins whom I have carefully trained over the years! Tonight will surely be your death night!"

As soon as the voice fell, the hundred assassins drew their swords and charged at Xiao Qidi like wolves.

Xiao Qidi's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

He was filled with hatred and anger, and needed to vent it. Instead of retreating, he rushed towards the assassins of Marquis Le'an.

In the chaos of battle, Xiao Qidi only attacked and did not defend. His moves were wide and powerful, each punch landing hard and fierce, like a tiger entering a pack of wolves.

In just one encounter, several assassins were killed instantly.

As his tall, black figure pounced on the crowd, more and more assassins fell to the ground.

He hadn't even taken out the special forces knife he was carrying; he just wanted to unleash his anger with his bare fists and feet.

The Marquis of Le'an, who was watching the battle, was initially full of confidence, but gradually became somewhat alarmed and flustered.

He discovered that there was a reason why Xiao Qidi only attacked and did not defend: the swords and blades of the assassins clearly struck Xiao Qidi, but they could not cause any damage.

"Xiao Qidi... his martial arts are so high that he's invulnerable to swords and spears? How is that possible!" The Marquis of Le'an trembled more and more as he looked at it.

Whoosh!

Several sharp bronze swords pierced Xiao Qidi's upper body simultaneously from the front, back, left, and right.

However, the sword tip only pierced his outer garment, and no matter how hard the sword-wielding assassins tried, they could not penetrate any further.

"What...what's going on?" The assassins looked horrified.

In the brief moment they were distracted, Xiao Qidi turned around and dodged the longsword.

Before they could retract their strength, the sword tips suddenly lost their resistance, and with a few splattering sounds, they pierced each other's chests.

Xiao Qidi's outer garment had been slashed by swords and knives. Finding it in the way, he simply ripped it off, revealing the black special protective suit he was wearing underneath.

At this moment, fewer than thirty assassins remained standing.

They surrounded Xiao Qidi with swords and knives, and for a moment they dared not attack easily again.

But Xiao Qidi wouldn't give them a chance to breathe. With a low roar, he charged towards them!

One by one, the suicide soldiers fell.

Seeing that his hundred-plus elite guards were almost wiped out by Xiao Qidi, Marquis Le'an turned pale with fright and ran away.

Xiao Qidi snapped the neck of the last assassin with his bare hands. Seeing that Marquis Le'an was about to escape again, he immediately hooked a long sword on the ground with his toe and swiftly swung it at Marquis Le'an's back!