End of Chapter 521 (Second Update)

However, just as Gu Jiao was about to sever Huangfu Zheng's neck with a single shot, a soldier on the other side grabbed Doctor Tong and held a knife to Doctor Tong's neck.

"Stop! Or I'll kill him!"

Gu Jiao turned around and looked at him coldly. Her murderous gaze made the soldier tremble. Before the soldier could utter another threatening word, Gu Jiao's red-tasseled spear flew out of her hand and pierced through the soldier's head!

Doctor Tong felt a wave of scalding heat shooting towards his cheek. He closed his eyes and froze, not daring to think whether it was blood or brain matter!

Huangfu Zheng was clearly astonished by what he saw.

He knew that the person who could kill Sirius was no ordinary person, but he did not expect him to be such a decisive and ruthless person!

When threatened, he didn't hesitate for a moment. In that instant, Huangfu Zheng's blood surged with excitement, fear, and awe for the master.

Huangfu Zheng looked at Gu Jiao in disbelief.

Gu Jiao stomped on his chest, and his ribs broke instantly, causing him to vomit blood!

He was trembling all over from the pain.

Gu Jiao looked down at him, her eyes devoid of any emotion, filled only with indifference.

Murder is not scary; what is scary is the calmness with which one kills.

Huangfu Zheng felt a tremor from his very soul.

With just a little more force, Gu Jiao could crush his ribs into his lungs.

Even at this critical moment of life and death, Huangfu Zheng still couldn't resist glancing at Princess Ning'an.

Princess Ning'an turned her face away.

"Ning An," he said, enduring the pain.

Princess Ning'an's Adam's apple bobbed, whether she heard him or not, she didn't turn her head to look at him.

Huangfu Zheng suddenly laughed: "My uncle has no sons. He once said that if he ascended the throne, he would make me the crown prince. At that time, I thought that if I became the crown prince, you would be my empress."

"Ning An, what's wrong with being Empress? Why don't you want to?"

“They killed your mother, they are your enemies. You would rather go back to them than be my empress.”

"Ning An".

"Are you done talking?" Gu Jiao asked calmly.

Huangfu Zheng coughed up blood, withdrew his gaze from Princess Ning'an, and looked at Gu Jiao with a mocking expression: "Do you really think you can leave after killing me? Do you know how much effort I put into building this secret passage? I don't want you to leave, and none of you can leave!"

"Including the princess?" Gu Jiao asked.

Huangfu Zheng could now tell she was a girl, but unfortunately his attention wasn't on Gu Jiao's voice. He said, "Yes, including her."

Gu Jiao continued, "You're dying, yet you won't let her leave. Is this how you treat her?"

Huangfu Zheng gritted his teeth and said, "As long as you give me the medicine, I won't die, and Ning'an won't lose her husband."

"Oh, you mean it's my fault?" Gu Jiao tilted her head indifferently and looked at him, saying, "The epidemic was brought about by you."

In one sentence, Huangfuzheng's confidence was completely crushed.

In the end, harming others will ultimately harm oneself.

Huangfu Zheng was badly injured, furious, and filled with remorse. He coughed up blood once again.

“Let him fend for himself!” Princess Ning’an suddenly turned around, her voice trembling uncontrollably. “Anyway, he has the plague and won’t survive.”

Huangfu Zheng's eyes lit up when he heard Ning An plead for him!

However, the next second, he heard Princess Ning'an say, "Once we cross the bridge, we'll cut it down."

This is the only secret passage; once the bridge is broken, there will be no way out.

Huangfu Zheng's expression froze on his face: "...Ning An, why are you forcing me?"

"Miss Gu, let's go!" Princess Ning'an left the cave without looking back.

Gu Jiao walked over and drew her red-tasseled spear.

Huangfu Zheng watched Princess Ning'an's resolute departing figure and said, "I told you, you can't leave! Only I can get out of this secret passage! If you don't believe me, just try!"

Princess Ning'an had already stepped onto the suspension bridge with one foot.

She paused for a moment upon hearing this, but didn't really pay attention and continued walking forward.

Something incredible happened.

The moment the suspension bridge swayed, the opposite cliff suddenly trembled, as if something was splitting open from the middle, and then a stone gate was revealed.

With a loud bang, the stone door opened, and a murderous assassin stepped out.

The man was as tall and robust as Sirius, and his aura was almost identical to Sirius's.

Gu Jiao's eyes turned cold.

This is……

Huangfu Zheng laughed coldly: "That's right, it's Tianlang, the second Tianlang. Did you think I only have one Tianlang? Although he's not as powerful as the original Tianlang, he's not much weaker, and he's more than enough to deal with you!"

Gu Jiao was severely exhausted and had difficulty breathing.

She barely managed to kill Huangfu Zheng; if Tianlang were to join the fray, she would truly have no chance of winning.

Huangfu Zheng said arrogantly, "Hand over the medicine, and I'll leave you with a whole corpse."

"Don't hurt her!" Princess Ning'an strode towards Gu Jiao.

"Make your move!" Huangfu Zheng said to the assassins.

The assassins were incredibly fast; they crossed the rope bridge almost instantly, passed Princess Ning'an, and arrived behind Gu Jiao.

He grabbed Gu Jiao by the neck, intending to lift her high up, but before he could exert any force, another muscular figure swept across the suspension bridge.

A sharp sword aura slashed down on the assassin's back!

The assassin had no time to dodge and took the hit head-on, cracking his armor.

Almost at the same moment, Gu Jiao blocked his shoulder with her red-tasseled spear, kicked him in the chest, and used the force to break free from his grasp!

The kick didn't injure the assassin, but after being hit twice in a row, he was truly enraged.

He reached out to grab Gu Jiao back, but Gu Changqing swiftly flashed in front of Gu Jiao and stabbed the assassin's wrist with his sword.

The armor on the assassin's wrists was also cracked.

Gu Changqing put his arm around Gu Jiao's waist, took a few steps back, and gently placed his sister at the entrance of the cave.

His hand holding the sword was filled with murderous intent, but his gaze towards Gu Jiao was gentle and doting: "Can you still walk? Let's cross the bridge first and wait for me over there."

Gu Jiao nodded.

The soldiers inside the cave were no threat; they were already terrified by Gu Jiao's headshot, and almost no one dared to stop her.

Gu Jiao and Princess Ning'an and the others went up the suspension bridge.

"Stop them!" Huangfu Zheng shouted.

Gu Changqing held his long sword to block the cave entrance, his eyes coldly watching the assassins rushing towards him. He said to Gu Jiao, "Go up the bridge, don't look back."

"good."

She didn't turn around.

Gu Jiao took the lead and went onto the bridge.

Princess Ning'an and Lian'er followed closely behind.

The physician Tong covered the rear.

But he's really afraid of heights!

This time, what's beneath our feet isn't some ancient well, but a bottomless abyss!

And the suspension bridge sways!

Waaaaah!

It's so hard for him!

"They're coming!" Gu Jiao said.

"Ahhh!" Doctor Tong waved his arms and darted across! He was the first to reach the opposite cliff!

The sounds of fighting continued to come from behind, and a cold wind blew from the cave towards the suspension bridge. Gu Jiao smelled a strong stench of blood, but she didn't know if it was from the assassins or from Gu Changqing.

She was very obedient.

There was no turning back.

The group crossed the suspension bridge and entered a cave on the other side of the cliff.

Snow began to fall again. Even if they wanted to see what was happening on the other side of the suspension bridge, they couldn't. They could only hear the sounds of bones breaking and blades snapping...

Then they heard footsteps on the suspension bridge.

The footsteps approached rapidly, carrying a strong stench of blood and murderous intent!

Then there was a loud thud!

The suspension bridge behind them had been cut down!

Gu Jiao turned around abruptly.

The figure, reeking of blood and murderous intent, enveloped her in an instant, gently pulling her into his arms, but not letting his blood-stained arm touch her: "Didn't I tell you not to turn around? You don't listen to me at all."

His murderous aura vanished in that instant.

Gu Jiao rested her head against his chest and pointed behind her: "That's the back, I didn't turn around."

Gu Changqing couldn't help but chuckle, a smile playing on his lips: "Solicitation of nonsense."

Gu Jiao sniffed: "You're injured."

Gu Changqing said, "No, it's his blood."

"Is he dead?" Gu Jiao asked.

"Um."

He will not let anyone who bullies his sister get away with it.

Snowflakes poured into the cave, and the assassin was impaled in the chest by a broken, huge icicle. Beside him, the prince consort was stabbed in the heart by a sharp sword. He turned his head and looked at the cave across the suspension bridge.

Not only did Gu Jiao not turn around.

Ning An never looked back.

...

Princess Ning'an only saw half of the map; they had to figure out the rest of the way on their own.

They traversed countless caves in the mountains, and eventually they were unsure of where they were.

Gu Changqing carried Gu Jiao on his back, with her red-tasseled spear hanging in front of him.

“I’m sick,” Gu Jiao said. “It’s an epidemic.”

So you have to put me down.

Gu Jiao spoke in a doctor's tone, very seriously.

However, to Gu Changqing, it sounded like his sister was very ill and felt very wronged.

"It's my fault," Gu Changqing sincerely apologized. "I didn't take good care of you."

Gu Jiao: "..."

What is all this about?

Gu Jiao: "I don't want you to carry me."

Gu Changqing: "Then I'll carry you."

Gu Jiao: "I don't want you to hug me either."

Gu Changqing thought about it seriously for a moment: "Then... I'll let you ride on my neck?"

Gu Jiao: "...!!"

Gu Jiao put on a mask and gave one to Gu Changqing as well. She also gave Gu Changqing medicine to prevent the epidemic, and of course, Princess Ning'an and Lian'er also took it.

The brother and sister walked at the front.

The other three already knew that Gu Changqing was the young master of the Gu family army, and that Gu Jiao was his sister.

Along the way, Gu Changqing would give anything good to his younger sister first, and if he had to carry anything, he would only carry his younger sister.

In his eyes, he was first and foremost his sister's brother, and only then a subject of Princess Ning'an.

"How did you find this place?" Gu Jiao asked.

Gu Changqing said casually, "I got the map of the mountain stronghold and the secret passage from a former court advisor."

He didn't want her to know how he "asked".

He already knew why Gu Jiao went to kill Tianlang. He couldn't find Gu Jiao in the forest that day, so he returned to the prefect's mansion to see if he could find any clues. As a result, he actually learned a thing or two from a consort's advisor who was imprisoned.

It turns out that the prince consort bought a group of powerful assassins from the Yan Kingdom. The leader was called Tianlang, and the second-ranked one should be the one he had just killed.

The prince consort and the Prince Yi brought in plague patients to infect the Gu family army, while the prince consort bought Tianlang from the Yan Kingdom to deal with Gu Changqing.

They wanted Gu Changqing's legs, so that he would lose everything and live the rest of his life as a monster.

Gu Jiao must have learned about the prince consort's plan by accident.

She did it for him.

Thinking of this, Gu Changqing felt a pang of pain in his heart.

He has the best sister in the world, and he wants to be her best brother.

"You're disobedient!" Doctor Gu said sternly, then fell asleep on Gu Changqing's shoulder.

Gu Changqing heard the even breathing on his back, and a tender, doting look flashed in his eyes.

He raised the cloak in his hand and gently covered her petite body.

He will repay her for every bit of suffering she endures, little by little.

The biting wind and snow flew wildly, cutting his face like knives, but not a single gust touched Gu Jiao's body.

She drifted off to sleep on his warm and broad back.

...

The previous dynasty's power was thus completely disintegrated.

The Chen army in Beiyang and Ye cities still has 80,000 troops remaining.

On November 27th, Gu Changqing led 60,000 Gu family troops to attack Beiyang City. In one night, they annihilated 20,000 enemy troops. Prince Bo was no match for them and led the remaining 20,000 Chen troops to abandon the city and flee, where they joined forces with 40,000 Rong family troops in Ye City.

Three days later, Gu Changqing led 90,000 Gu family troops to the city gates.

At this moment, Chen's 80,000 reinforcements arrived.

Prince Bo was overjoyed and planned to attack the Gu family army from both sides with 80,000 reinforcements, but unexpectedly, the leader of the 80,000 reinforcements was Yuan Tang.

Astride his tall steed, Yuan Tang gazed at Prince Bo and Rong Yao atop the city wall, brandishing the bright yellow imperial edict in his hand, and succinctly declared: "I have come here on the orders of my father to quell the rebellion. Those who surrender will be pardoned, those who rebel will be killed!"

With nearly 100,000 Gu family soldiers and 80,000 Chen Kingdom court troops, Prince Bo and Rong Yao's 60,000 men were facing enemies on both sides, and even if they caused a huge disturbance, they had no chance of winning.

Not to mention that Yuan Tang also had the emperor's decree, giving him a legitimate reason to act.

The morale of the 60,000-strong army plummeted.

Yuan Tang then looked at Rong Yao and obediently smiled, "Uncle, my father wants to arrest Prince Bo. If you kill him, you can atone for your crime."

As he spoke, seemingly afraid that Rong Yao wouldn't believe him, he handed the imperial edict in his hand to a soldier beside him, who then carried it into the city.

The imperial edict did indeed state that the traitor Prince Bo should be executed.

Rong Yao held the imperial edict in his hand, his eyes flashing.

Prince Bo's body trembled: "Rong Yao! Don't fall for this father and son's trick! You've already rebelled. Even if you kill me, my elder brother won't let you off!"

Rong Yao said coldly, "The King will not let me go after I return to the capital, but if I don't kill you, Yuan Tang will not let me go now, so I'm sorry... Prince Bo!"

Gu Changqing had no interest in the internal strife within the Chen state, but if he could subdue the enemy without fighting, it would be a brilliant plan.

Prince Bo and Rong Yao engaged in a fierce battle on the city wall.

Yuan Tang leisurely rode his horse toward Gu Changqing. Gu's army tried to stop him, but Gu Changqing stopped them with a wave of his hand.

Yuan Tang came alone, which shows his sincerity.

Yuan Tang stopped in front of Gu Changqing's horse, raised an eyebrow and introduced himself: "A friend of Doctor Gu, Yuan Tang."

Gu Changqing gave him a deep look, straightened his back, and said with a rare hint of pride, "Brother Jiaojiao, Gu Changqing."

Gu Jiajun, standing to the side: "..."

Doesn't this introduction seem a bit off?

Shouldn't it be the sixth prince of Chen and the young master of the Gu family army?

So in your eyes, these two identities are not as important as "Dr. Gu's friend" and "Jiaojiao's brother"?

I'm going back to Beijing tomorrow. I just checked and I'm only 4 votes away from breaking 100. I'm hoping to break through.

(End of this chapter)