Chapter 552: Altar

"My dad can ride a horse! He's awesome!"

"My dad can climb trees, that's what makes him awesome!"

"My dad can eat shit!"

"My dad can eat two kilograms!"

"My father can sit at home, and his head can fly thousands of miles away at night to kill the enemy."

As soon as these words came out in a cold voice, all the children in the school were stunned. They didn't even notice the brushes in their hands fell to the ground. They all gathered around and begged:

"Can Prince Huo's head fly off?"

"Please take us to see it, please!"

"If you don't show us, you're lying!"

Under the siege of the children's chatter, a look of struggle appeared on the cold little face.

Although Huo Gannian was only seven years old at this time, his demeanor was quite mature, like a little adult.

He hesitated for a while, but finally took a group of little kids to find Huo Leiting who was taking a nap in the front yard of the Huo Mansion.

Little Huo Gannian clenched the knife in his hand, looked at Huo Leiting's neck, and swallowed nervously.

The children around him were whispering to him:

"Why isn't your head flying off yet?"

"Will it bleed if I cut it?"

"I don't know. How about trying it out by stabbing it first?"

"Then you go first."

"You first."

"You should come. If your father dares to eat shit, what else can you not dare to do?"

"Let me do it." Just as Huo Gannian mustered up the courage to swing his knife, Huo Leiting finally felt a chill on his neck in his dream. He opened his eyes with a "swish" and saw several sharp knives pointing at him.

Huo Leiting was horrified, and he jumped up with a somersault, pointing at Huo Gannian with shaking hands:

“You you you you you you…”

Seeing Huo Leiting wake up, Huo Gannian's face was quite dissatisfied, his brows slightly frowned, and he made a "tsk" sound with a tone of regret:

"I'm already awake, so I can't watch 'Flying Skulls Killing Enemies'."

Huo Leiting immediately understood what was going on.

A few days ago, in order to coax Huo Gannian to sleep, he made up a story about being able to fly out at night to kill the enemy.

Realizing that Huo Gannian was just bragging in front of his classmates, he brought people to verify it.

In line with the principle of not embarrassing his son or undermining his self-confidence, Huo Leiting called the little ones over:

"Want to see flying skulls killing enemies? It's a little scary, don't be afraid, just watch carefully——"

As he spoke, he tugged at the back of his collar, shook his shoulders, took a horse stance, and then suddenly dropped his head downward, letting out a terrifying "Huh" sound.

It looked like its head had really fallen off, and the children were so scared that they screamed and ran away.

Only Huo Gannian stood there in a daze, tears slowly gathering in his eyes.

"This isn't a flying skull kill! This is the little trick you always use to make me laugh!"

"Hehe..." Huo Leiting raised his head and stood up again, smiling ingratiatingly and trying to pull Huo Gannian.

The latter felt extremely deceived and humiliated, and left without looking back, waving his sleeves.

Huo Leiting touched his nose awkwardly and scolded with a smile:

"This poor kid, I don't know who his temperament is from? It makes me feel like I have a new father!"

On the other side, Huo Gannian returned to the study, climbed onto the tall armchair and sat down dejectedly.

The anger of being deceived, the immense shame, the anguish of not being able to face the classmates who were deceived in the future...

All kinds of emotions came flooding in, forcing the little seven-year-old to fight back tears.

At this time, something even more upsetting happened to him.

Three equally small figures, after being scared away by Huo Lei Ting, turned back.

As the three of them entered the study, they knelt down together, which scared Mrs. Huo - Du Wanyi, who was rushing to bring milk cake to Huo Gannian, and the plate in her hand almost flew out.

Three little faces of different heights, weights, and sizes were extremely solemn. They clasped their fists and saluted like adults, saying loudly:

"I, Duan Fei, Zhuang Fengtian, and Qin Zheng, wish to take Huo Jun as our master. From now on, we will follow you and practice the art of flying skulls to kill enemies. Please grant me your permission!"

After saying this, the three of them kowtowed.

Du Wanyi pretended not to see it, but in fact the corners of her mouth were trembling and she was trying very hard to hold back her laughter.

A certain kid called "Mr. Huo" sternly refused and coldly shut the three people out, but in fact he was crying loudly under his quilt at night:

"They... they thought Dad could kill the enemy with a flying skull... and I could do it too... but Dad is always a liar, he's a big liar... I... I've become a little liar, wuwuwu..."

Du Wanyi hugged the little Huo Gannian to comfort him, but the latter clearly felt the vibration in her arms and struggled out to see:

Sure enough! Mom was laughing at herself too!

Huo Gannian was so angry that he cried even louder.

Du Wanyi completely fell on the couch with laughter. After Huo Gannian finally cried enough, she wiped away his tears and coaxed him:

"Silly child. Your father's 'flying skull' is fake, but 'killing enemies' is real! Fengtian and the others want to learn from you, isn't it because they admire your father's heroic deeds in the emperor's campaigns? If you can't teach them to fly skulls and kill enemies, then study politics and military strategy diligently. They read one book, and you read ten. If you read more than them, then you will be able to teach others..."

Huo Gannian seemed to have gained enlightenment after being lost in thought and received some guidance.

From then on, he really studied hard as Du Wanyi said. He read ancient and modern books at a young age, which gave him a lot of young achievements.

Unfortunately, several years later, when he could finally stand in front of his mother and proudly say, "Mom, I think I can accept Fengtian and the others' offer to become their apprentice!", Du Wanyi had already become seriously ill.

She lay all day long in the gloomy Wanyi Fenglai Pavilion, where even the light and dust seemed to be frozen, looking up at the sky and shedding tears. She no longer had the grace and smile of Mrs. Huo, and was like a flower about to wither.

It was heard that the divine tiger bones could be used as medicine to calm the mind and cure Du Wanyi's illness. When the divine tiger left the palace, four young figures quietly followed it, following it all the way to the barren mountains east of Kyoto.

The journey was long and difficult. The four young men had to sleep in the open air and were out of breath from running. They could only stay in the grass for a while when the divine tiger was resting.

"Magic tiger bone, right? Just wait and see, I will shoot an arrow through the tiger's head! I will give you the tiger bone as a gift to become your disciple. From now on, I will be your younger brother, Mr. Huo, you can't refuse!" Zhuang Fengtian had run so hard that his face turned pale and his back was wet with sweat, but he still didn't forget to brag.

Qin Zheng next to him looked at Zhuang Fengtian teasingly:

"Just you? That was the Empress's mount during her lifetime. It accompanied her on campaigns across the world and achieved countless glorious military exploits. The mere sound of its roar would terrify the enemy. You think you can kill the divine tiger with just one arrow? I'm afraid the arrow was shot the moment before, and you, Zhuang Fengtian, reported to the Zhuang family's ancestral tomb the next moment."

"Hahahahahaha..." Duan Fei couldn't help laughing, but then received a stern stopping gesture from Huo Gannian, and quickly swallowed the rest of his laughter.

"No, it has discovered us a long time ago. It has been walking and stopping, waiting for us." Huo Gannian said this while staring at the divine tiger lying on the ground to rest not far away.

The three young men immediately followed Huo Gannian's gaze and looked:

The divine tiger was skinny and had all its hair white on its face. It looked very old and seemed to be about to die.

It is like the late emperor. Since the passing of the empress, it has lost its former majestic aura.

The huge body became thinner and thinner, and the golden fur slowly turned dry and white. Although he could not speak, one could see the loneliness and sadness in his turbid and dim eyes day after day.

Huo Gannian often went to the palace with Huo Leiting, and could see the divine tiger playing with Nan Lijun in the imperial garden.

When Nan Lijun almost fell into the pond while jumping, the divine tiger would use its big furry claws to pull her back;

When Nan Lijun climbed up the high rockery and jumped down, the divine tiger would jump up and catch her firmly with its two front paws.

One man and one tiger, it seems that life is peaceful.

But every time Huo Gannian entered the palace, he found that Shenhu was older and sadder than the last time.

Neither the palace maids who accompanied him every day nor Nan Lijun, who lived with him day and night, noticed this. Only Huo Gannian noticed it keenly.

Indeed, people always think that nostalgia and deep affection are human privileges, forgetting that a beast also has emotions and knows the pain of "losing forever".

Thinking of this, Huo Gan Nian forbade the three young men to plot how to kill the divine tiger and get its bones.

He ignored the three people's attempts to stop him, walked straight out of the bushes, and slowly walked towards the divine tiger.

Seeing Huo Gannian appear, the divine tiger was not surprised or alert at all. It slowly stood up from the ground and walked in front of Huo Gannian.

The skinny but still tall beast's body was like a hill, and its shadow enveloped Huo Gannian tightly.

A tiger head, almost as big as a human body, hung in front of Huo Gannian. It could swallow Huo Gannian in one bite with just a slight opening of its mouth.

This scene made the other three people in the bushes unable to contain themselves any longer. They rushed out nervously, tightly gripping their bows and swords, as if ready to fight to the death at any time.

Faced with the three teenagers' full vigilance, Shenhu let out a harsh breath, like an elder scolding a rude junior.

Huo Gannian gestured again to signal the three not to act rashly.

He looked up into the eyes of the divine tiger, as if walking into a golden glass ball, passing through a desert deposited by time, and seeing the sharp flame at the end that was about to go out.

"I'm sorry to have chased you here." Huo Gannian spoke as if he were treating everyone equally: "My mother is sick and needs divine tiger bones as medicine to treat her illness. Can you help me?"

Shenhu looked at Huo Gannian silently.

Just when the other three thought Huo Gannian was going crazy in his search for medicine and had started to communicate with the beast, the divine tiger made a very human and unexpected move:

It nodded its head in agreement, as if to say, "I'm almost dead, and there's no point in having this bone. When I die, I'll give it to you to save my mother."

Then it opened its mouth and showed Huo Gannian its sharp and yellowish tiger teeth, as if to say, "Take my teeth and go, it will be easier this way."

Huo Gannian obviously understood what Shenhu meant and bowed to him with gratitude.

The divine tiger lowered its head and sniffed the top of his head, then turned around and continued walking towards the barren mountain.

This time, it was no longer the divine tiger in front and the four teenagers sneaking behind, but four people and a tiger walking together.

The young men would catch prey for the divine tiger, which was too old to hunt, and bring spring water in leather cases for their bows and arrows;

The divine tiger would also open its warm belly to let the youngsters sleep peacefully at night.

They took care of each other and accompanied each other along the way, and there was an unspoken tacit understanding and trust between humans and tigers.

The young men didn't know where the Divine Tiger would eventually go. They vaguely guessed that the Divine Tiger might be dying soon and was looking for his final burial place.

Although they were eager to get the tiger bones, they upheld their respect and awe for life and did not rush it, insisting on accompanying the divine tiger over mountains and across rivers.

There is no need to elaborate on the hardships and difficulties along the way. After three full months, everyone finally arrived at a mountain valley with stunning scenery.

The young men looked around and saw that this place was backed by mountains and faced water, where the wind and energy were stored. The mountains flowed like rivers. They felt as if they had seen this kind of terrain somewhere before, but when they thought carefully, they could not remember where. Finally, Huo Gan read it out:

"In Kanyiwang, it's said, 'The dragon head is held high, the dragon body is connected, and the dragon tail is retracted; the wind does not disperse, the water is not disturbed, and the aura is full. This is the dragon vein.'"

After listening to this, Zhuang Fengtian gave thumbs up repeatedly:

"As expected, he's the man I want to follow. 'Kan Yi Shuo' is incredibly obscure, and the lecturer is incredibly boring. I fell asleep as soon as he started. I think you're the only one who can really listen!"

Duan Fei chimed in, "I was wondering why this place looked so familiar. Turns out it's the dragon vein mentioned in 'Kan Yiyi'!"

Seeing Huo Gannian's face was so dark, and these two idiots were still chatting nonsense, Qin Zheng helplessly slapped them both in the face and said angrily:

"So? The nine clans are about to be wiped out and you're still having fun? We've reached the Imperial Tomb!"

As Qin Zheng finished speaking, the group turned around the last low hill and stopped following the footsteps of the divine tiger.

The divine tiger gazed deeply into the distance, feeling relieved that it had finally reached its destination.

The four young men behind it widened their eyes, their hair standing on end.

In the distance, on a neatly cleared lot after logging, the grand entrance to the underground palace loomed. The tomb guards were directing the craftsmen to complete the final construction.

In front of the underground palace, a massive cyan altar and stone statues stood toward the sky. The altar was caked with dark blood, and beside it lay a mountain of sacrificed bones of cattle and sheep.

The whole scene looked weird, gloomy and grand.

The young men had no idea that the last place Shenhu wanted to go was the imperial mausoleum.

What they didn't expect was that the divine tiger was extremely smart. It chose a path that avoided all the patrolling mausoleum guards and led them directly to the gate of the imperial mausoleum.

The imperial mausoleum was such a top-secret place, how could it be a forbidden area that four young boys like them could trespass into!

However, what frightened and shocked the young men more than the imminent death penalty of exterminating nine generations of their clan was the figures in the distance who were staggering, crying, and supporting each other as they climbed up the altar.

At a rough glance, there were at least five or six thousand people, including men, women, young and old, and most of them were even babbling children.

And judging from their clothes and behavior, they are all decent people.

At this moment, they were like the cattle and sheep sacrifices whose corpses had piled up like a mountain. They knelt on the altar tremblingly, lowered their heads and exposed their necks, allowing the cold blade to cut them down, spraying innocent blood on the crazy power.

Soon, the blue altar was once again covered with blood, almost dyeing the entire ground crimson.

The mausoleum guards then began to drive the craftsmen towards the altar. It seemed that they wanted to keep the secret of the imperial mausoleum and kill all the craftsmen involved in the construction.

Looking at this scene, the young men stood there in a daze as if struck by lightning.

They simply couldn't imagine that the Emperor Nan Gaoyu, who brought peace and prosperity to the world, worked diligently to govern the country, loved his people like his own children, and was worshipped as a god by the people of Nan, was actually such a madman who ruthlessly slaughtered his people!

Killing tens of thousands of people just to build a ridiculous mausoleum for the dead!

The boys looked at each other and saw despair and collapse in each other's red eyes.

They clenched their fists tightly, their veins bulging with anger, and almost gnashed their teeth as they said:

"Are you just going to stand here and watch?"

"To watch someone die without rescuing them is inhuman! To wantonly kill innocent people is not the behavior of a wise ruler! If the emperor kills his people like this, I will make sure he has no imperial mausoleum to sleep in!"

"Fuck your imperial power!"

The four passionate, righteous and impulsive young men had a hasty discussion and immediately decided on a plan to burn the imperial mausoleum. Ignoring the divine tiger's obstruction, they resolutely moved towards the entrance of the underground palace, ignited the surrounding grass and trees, and started a raging fire.

Unfortunately, the young man always had high aspirations and mistakenly believed that he possessed the extraordinary power to save the world. Little did he know that power was the unshakable forbidden mountain.

The tomb guards quickly put out the fire, found and captured the teenagers.

Although the entrance to the underground palace was not on fire, it was obviously damaged by the thick smoke, and many craftsmen took advantage of the fire to escape.

With such a big mess happening, the soldiers guarding the mausoleum knew they couldn't get away with it and had to report the matter to the emperor.

Moreover, the four young men looked well-dressed and must be children of aristocrats. They had no choice but to tie them up and escort them back to Kyoto to report tomorrow.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the divine tiger, which was so old that it could hardly walk, suddenly jumped out, overturned the surrounding tomb guards, and used all its strength to bite off the ropes of the teenagers, even if its tiger teeth were caught by the tough ropes, it did not hesitate to try to help the teenagers escape.

The four men and the tiger roared and fought side by side, but were eventually knocked to the ground.

The young men were pinned to the ground, and the last thing they saw was the swords and spears of the tomb guards deeply inserted into the throat of the divine tiger.

They cried out in despair, and when they reached out their hands, all they could grasp were the bloody tiger teeth.

"These guys are crazy! Take them back to Kyoto and die! Otherwise, the news that we stole the Empress's body from Xiangxiao Cliff and buried it in the Imperial Mausoleum will spread, and the Emperor will execute everyone!"

"Fuck, these four guys look like they come from wealthy families. The one with the most arrogant and annoying look looks like General Huo. Damn, this is trouble!"

"What's the trouble? We can just pin the blame of killing the divine tiger on them! Sending the tiger's corpse to Xiangxiao Cliff will make people more convinced that the queen is still buried there."

"Should we execute all nine of their clans and expose the truth about human sacrifice? Or will we just find a random excuse to cover up what's going on here and just execute them? That depends on the Emperor's will."

"Yeah, who says the surname is 'Nan' in this world?"