Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Let the Prince Go!
While the two were arguing in the house, a loud noise came from the snow-capped mountains not far away, resounding through the valley and dense forest like winter thunder.
Yin Jinglong was startled and quickly ran out of the house, looking towards the Goddess Temple on the top of the snow mountain.
Under the golden sunlight, the snow on the top of the snow-capped mountain was jumping. From a distance, the snowballs under the light and shadow looked like surging black ants, and the mountain also shook for a while when the loud noise came.
Suddenly, Hanyu, who had already put on her clothes, rushed out to see what was happening. She looked at the snow on the mountain and said in panic, "It seems something happened at the Goddess Temple!"
Hearing the loud bang, someone must have blown up the Goddess Temple. Han Yu cast his gaze at Yin Jinglong, who was also confused, and asked him, "Is it your people who are causing trouble up there?"
These outsiders were not only ignorant, but also extremely stupid. How could they actually do such a thing as blowing up the temple? Little did they know that this move would not only attract the elders of the tomb-guarding tribe up the mountain, but also might trigger an avalanche due to the shaking of the mountain. By then, they would not be able to carry the statue down the mountain, and they might be buried in the avalanche before they even reach halfway!
"So what? Perhaps they saw that I had disappeared without a trace and they couldn't get close to the temple, so they came up with the idea of blowing up the statue!"
Yin Jinglong still looked indifferent at this moment, not realizing the seriousness of the matter at all.
Only when he saw Hanyu running up the mountain without even putting on her warm outer robe did he follow her up the mountain.
The Tomb Guarding Clan's tribe is located halfway up the Yulong Snow Mountain. The elders of the Tomb Guarding Clan go up the mountain to the temple to pray at the beginning of every month and on the fifteenth day of every month. At other times, they will not easily go up the mountain unless there is something important. They will only send tribesmen up the mountain to clean the temple every few days.
There are not many people in the tribe who can get close to the statue without being affected. Hanyu is one of them, so she is often sent by the elders to the temple to guard and clean the statue.
The destruction of the temple soon attracted the attention of the chief and elders of the tomb-guarding tribe. They suspected that outsiders had sneaked into the snow-capped mountains with the intention of stealing the statue, so the chief immediately ordered more than ten young and strong men in the tribe to go up the mountain with weapons to drive away the outsiders.
Before Hanyu and his companions arrived at the temple, the tribesmen were already facing off against the Central Plains guards.
Leading the group was Li Yu, the deputy general who followed Yin Jinglong. Behind him stood more than a hundred royal guards wearing sharp armor and holding iron-cutting swords.
Opposite them in a stalemate were a group of Snow Mountain Tomb Guardians dressed in coarse linen clothes and armed with short knives and sharp axes.
The two sides are far apart in terms of both numbers and military equipment.
Behind the dozen or so young men stood five white-haired old men. Although they all looked over a hundred years old and had beards down to their waists, they all stood straight behind the young men to support them, not at all afraid of the murderous, brave and powerful guards in front of them.
The elders of their tomb-guarding clan are the backbone of the entire tomb-guarding clan except for the clan leader, and they are also in charge of all matters big and small within the clan.
When they went up the mountain this time, they thought that they would encounter a group of thieves who were trying to steal the statue by blowing up the mountain and digging holes. They had never seen so many armored soldiers holding swords.
"Where did you come from, you outsiders? How dare you trespass into the Snow Mountain Temple and blow up the statue of the goddess? How dare you, a bunch of bandits? Blowing up the statue is disrespectful to the goddess. The goddess will surely punish you. We, the Tomb Guardians, will not allow you to take the statue out of the snow mountain today!"
The person who stood up to speak was the oldest among the elders and also the leader of this group of elders. His Dharma name was "Wuxin" and he was known as Elder Wuxin.
His threatening words failed to intimidate the ruthless guards on the opposite side, and instead he was ridiculed by them.
"Are you the tomb-guarding tribe in this snowy mountain? You're just a bunch of old, weak, and sick people! I thought you had some divine powers! Now that the statue has been blown up by me, I must take all the fragments away today. If you know what's good for you, don't block my way, or you'll only bring disaster upon yourself!"
Deputy General Li Yu showed the bronze sword in his hand. Under the sunlight, the sharp sword edge flashed with golden light, and it was murderous.
However, his harsh words did not dissuade the tribesmen from retreating. It was not known whether to say that they were brave and fearless or extremely stupid. The dozen or so young men in the front actually obeyed the orders of the old men behind them, picked up their axes and chopped at the guards.
Li Yu looked at them with disdain. Whoever stands in the way will be killed. Whoever stands in the way will be killed. Today's fight is inevitable!
"Soldiers, listen up! The prince was killed by these evildoers. We must slaughter their entire clan, seize the statue, and avenge the prince! Kill them!"
When Hanyu reached the middle of the mountain and passed by the tribe of tomb keepers, he found that only women and children were left in the tribe, and all the strong men had gone out to fight the enemy.
She rushed back home in a panic, but the door was closed and her adoptive father was nowhere to be found.
"Dad! Ayu is back. Where are you?"
She was anxiously looking for her elderly adoptive father, fearing that she would not be able to stop the situation in time and cause the tragedy of the massacre of the clan in the previous life to happen again.
Yin Jinglong followed her up the mountain and came to this ancient and backward tribe. When he walked through the winding muddy path, he stopped in a daze and recalled some past events in his stunned state.
The sounds of the guards fighting echoed in his mind, and the tragic scenes of casualties resurfaced in his mind. He seemed to see the scene of corpses all over the ground and blood-stained snow-capped mountains again.
Hearing Hanyu shouting "Dad", he quickly followed into the house and found an old man wearing a turban in the cellar in the backyard.
The old man was huddled in the corner of the cellar, holding a dark brown earthenware jar, his eyes filled with fear. He relaxed a little when he heard Hanyu's voice.
"Ayu, foreigners have invaded the snowy mountains. They are armed with long swords and knives and have brutally massacred our people. While they are trying to seize the statue, you should quickly go down the mountain and seek refuge!"
Hanyu knew that the foreigners her adoptive father was referring to were the guards brought by Yin Jinglong. Fortunately, her adoptive father did not see clearly the person behind her who looked exactly like Ajiang due to his eye disease.
She comforted her adoptive father, then led Yin Jinglong out of the house and questioned him, "I failed to kill you in the secret passage of the temple, and even saved your life. Now you want to repay my kindness with hatred and massacre my people?"
The duty of the tomb-guarding clan is to guard the Snow Mountain Goddess and the goddess' statue for life. They live in peace with the world and never interfere in the affairs of other races.
Ever since the goddess statue was recast, over the past few decades, there have always been foreigners with ulterior motives who have secretly entered the snow-capped mountains and harassed them in order to steal the statue.
Most of the time, the tribe members only drove away the invading foreigners and never really killed them all. But since they met Ajiang, everything changed. Ajiang's arrival brought disaster to the tribe and led to the catastrophic massacre of the tribe.
Now that she has a chance to live her life again, is she still unable to change this tragic ending?
"Don't spit bloody words at me. I have never ordered the massacre of your people! Besides, now is not the time to settle accounts with me. You should go and stop them from fighting first."
Yin Jinglong stared blankly at Hanyu's hurriedly departing back. The guilt hidden deep in his heart was like a poison spreading throughout his body, penetrating deep into his heart.
He did not order the massacre of the tomb-guarding tribe, neither before nor this time.
But the scene of the tribe being slaughtered in the previous life really happened, so she hated him to the core, and she would still hate him even if she lived again.
The strong men of the Tomb Guarding Clan who fought with the Imperial Guards were no match for their swords and armor, and suffered heavy casualties.
Elder Wuxin and the other four elders hid in the temple, praying to the goddess for protection in front of the broken statue.
"Goddess, the Tomb Guardians have been stationed here for a hundred years to protect your mausoleum and temple. Fifty years ago, they mobilized their entire clan to build this golden and stone statue for you. Please, Goddess, in recognition of their loyalty to you, bless them through this difficult time. I will grant you ten years of my life in exchange for their safety!"
The young and strong men in the tribe were all stabbed, but they still raised their axes and swung at the invaders. The hot blood sprayed on the snow, like flowers painted crimson.
The other elders knelt in front of the collapsed statue with tears in their eyes and prayed sadly.
——
"Stop it, my king!"
Yin Jinglong's sharp command came from behind the temple. Seeing that his guards showed no sign of stopping, he raised the white jade seal in his hand and ordered, "Don't stop yet? Do you want to disobey me?"
"It's the prince!"
"General Li, the prince is not dead yet!"
"The prince is back!"
When the guards found out that their master was still alive, tears of excitement welled up in their eyes. They had thought that they would be beheaded after returning to the capital after failing in the mission of protecting the prince and seizing the statue. Now they didn't have to die.
At this time, Deputy General Li Yu was holding the collar of a tribesman and holding a sharp sword to his neck. If the sharp blade moved even slightly, the young man would die immediately.
"Don't kill him!"
Upon seeing this, Hanyu immediately stepped forward and begged him to spare his people.
But Li Yu seemed not to hear it. The sword slid and cut the man's neck, and blood spurted out.
"ah!"
Han Yu rushed forward, clutching the wound on his neck, and glared fiercely at Li Yu, who was holding the sword. "Your Highness has already ordered this to stop, so why are you still slaughtering innocent people? He has elderly parents to care for, and a fragile wife and children to protect. What did he do wrong to deserve such a brutal murder?"
The indifferent Li Yu looked at the dead man at his feet with disdain, took out a cloth and wiped the blood off the sword, as if he was still disgusted that the man's blood had stained his sword.
After seeing Yin Jinglong, he sheathed his sword, knelt on the ground, and reported: "Your Highness, I saw you disappear after entering the temple. I thought you had met with an accident, so I took the initiative to blow up the statue in a hurry. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"
The guards behind him put down their swords and knelt before Yin Jinglong, echoing, "We didn't know the prince was still alive, and we were determined to avenge him, so we blew up the statue and massacred these people. Please forgive us, prince!"
Hanyu felt that the body of the young man in her arms was getting colder and colder. He seemed to no longer feel any pain. His eyes were fixed on the sky. In the last moment before his death, he reached out to touch the snowflakes falling from the cypress branches, as if he saw his relatives waiting for him to return home.
She closed her bloodshot eyes with tears in her eyes, stood up and looked around at the corpses of her tribesmen lying on the snow, and the hatred in her heart suddenly burst out like a volcanic eruption.
"Yin Jinglong! Why did you massacre them?!"
She picked up the dagger from her tribesman's hand and put it on Yin Jinglong's neck.
Li Yu, the deputy general behind her, immediately stepped forward to stop her and grabbed her throat from behind: "Let go of the prince! Otherwise, today will be the day you die!"
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