Chapter 215 There's one person in the breached city I will make die by my hand. ...
As night fell, the city of Zhaoming, which had been besieged for a long time, was dimly lit, no longer the bustling city it once was. With all supplies cut off, this most prosperous capital in the world was like a piece of firewood burning down to its last bit, slowly going out.
Jiang Yuhuo sat atop the roc's back, looking down at the capital city from a similar vantage point long ago. She recalled fleeing in panic, looking back at the cage that imprisoned her, and being horrified to discover the vastly different world beyond Liyue Village.
Now, times have changed, and she has come to this capital city once again, without any fear. Instead, she carries the power to destroy it, watching it gradually die down below.
Famine and disease have broken out in the city, and many people have died, but the emperor of Yong Kingdom will not surrender, and the Zhou army will not allow a single piece of supplies to enter Zhaoming City.
In a battle between two armies, those who are least capable of fighting are often the first to pay the price.
She steeled herself, extinguishing any lingering doubt in her heart. At this point, neither she nor the Zhou people had a way back, and she would definitely kill Qin Yuqi with her own hands.
But she still wondered what had become of the people she had known in Zhaoming City. Was Yu Ling'er, who had helped her escape the palace, now also suffering from hunger and disease?
Fortunately, tomorrow is the final deadline for the siege.
On the way back on the bird, before they even reached Zhou's camp, Jiang Yuhuo saw a person standing on the hillside below, looking up at the night sky, quietly waiting for something.
Dressed in white with blue hair, tall and elegant.
The moment he saw her, a smile appeared in his azure eyes, and the frigid night seemed to soften.
"Having been gone for so long, have you discovered anything?"
Jia Yue stepped forward, calmly took the hand of the person who had landed, and tidied her wind-blown hair.
Jiang Yuhu shook his head. "There's nothing unusual. All the exits of the city gates are guarded by our men. They have no chance of escaping."
Jia Yue held her hand and walked slowly up the hillside, listening to her recount some trivial matters of the war. There were many eyes and ears in the military camp, and to avoid gossip, Jiang Yuhuo would deliberately act distant from him, only visiting her when no one was around at night, and leaving again before dawn.
These few moments in the wilderness were precious time for them to be alone.
Let's stay here for a while.
The person beside her suddenly stopped, and Jiang Yuhuo's hand, which he was holding, paused as well. Then he picked her up and sat her down in the dense canopy of a tree. She followed his gaze and saw the moon hanging high in the night sky, the stars and moon shining brightly, illuminating the brightly lit camp at the foot of the mountain.
This scene, viewed at this moment, is indeed a beautiful sight, and seeing a beautiful woman under the moonlight makes her even more enchanting, like a dream.
Jiang Yuhuo kissed the person next to her, but was met with strong resistance when she tried to leave.
Jia Yue pressed down on the back of her neck, licked her lips, her gaze deep and greedy, "This once isn't enough... You haven't kissed me for a full fourteen hours."
After saying that, he kissed her lips deeply, which he had just moistened, and began to conquer her, employing all the tactics Jiang Yuhuo had mentioned earlier in this small space. He drove her until she was breathless, and Jiang Yuhuo couldn't help but suspect that he was holding a grudge and that was why he was waiting for her here.
After lingering for a while, Jia Yue finally let go of her. Jiang Yuhuo leaned on his shoulder for a while before her breathing calmed down.
Jia Yue gently stroked her back, her soft blue hair falling over her body. Her eyes were closed, her expression relaxed, and she looked like she was about to fall asleep.
"Don't make a move tomorrow. There's someone I want to kill with my own hands." The voice murmured, as if in a dream.
Jia Yue kissed her temple, "As you wish."
...
The Imperial Palace of Zhaoming City, Guiyi Hall.
A sumptuous feast was laid out on the table, following the emperor's regulations: four cold dishes, eight hot dishes, one drink, and two fruits—fifteen dishes in total, none of which were missing, but five of them were repeated.
A hint of disorder lingered beneath the strict order.
Qin Yuqi glanced at the food table, let out a soft snort, and slowly swept his gaze over the palace servants who dared not breathe in the hall.
Two fewer palace servants have been dismissed from the Guiyi Hall, which is good.
A commotion broke out outside the hall; cries and reprimands reached Qin Yuqi's ears.
Qin Yuqi put down his chopsticks and said to the gaunt minister behind another table, "Lord Liu, you can eat. I'll go out and take a look."
Although Liu Dan was starving, how could he dare to eat before His Majesty after he left his seat? He could only sigh and follow him out.
The guards had captured a group of palace servants attempting to escape. Liu Dan recognized two of them; they seemed to work in the Guiyi Hall. These two were easily identifiable, not only because they had met before, but more importantly, because they were relatively thin compared to the other palace servants who were almost unrecognizable. Those who served the emperor always got to eat a little more than others.
The city was suffering from famine, and the palace was also short of food; however, the famine spread unevenly to everyone.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Please spare this servant! I just want to leave the palace to find some food..."
"Your Majesty, please have mercy! Spare my life... I have no other choice..."
The palace servants who had been captured knelt on the ground, their foreheads creased, their pleas incessant. Qin Yuqi remained unmoved, only narrowing his eyes as he scrutinized them, asking, "Where are your weapons?"
Everyone was empty-handed; they had thrown away the blue stone weapons he had distributed.
The pleas subsided, and some palace servants collapsed to the ground in despair, knowing full well that their sins could never be forgiven.
They learned that Zhou Jun did not kill unarmed civilians, but His Majesty ordered that they all be equipped with such weapons and that they all be made into soldiers to carry out his order to kill all the immortals in the world.
If they threw away their weapons and fled the palace, they might be able to save their lives when the Zhou army attacked... but throwing away their weapons would be tantamount to betraying the Great Yong.
Qin Yuqi coldly looked at the man prostrate on the ground, raised his hand and pointed to the guards escorting him, signaling them to execute him on the spot.
"His Majesty!"
Qin Yuqi turned his head, and the person who spoke urgently was his subject Liu Dan, who had followed him since childhood. His small eyes had become deep due to his thinness, and his gaze was sorrowful, yet he kept shaking his head to dissuade him...
Palace servants, ministers... everyone knew that this country was doomed, and the century-old foundation of the Great Yong Dynasty was about to be destroyed in the hands of Qin Yuqi.
So, there's no need to commit further killings and hasten our demise, right?
Qin Yuqi understood what he meant.
"If Your Majesty could have been more lenient, back then..."
"Shut up!" These words seemed to strike a nerve, and the young emperor flew into a rage, grabbing the sword from the guard's waist and preparing to slash at Liu Dan.
Liu Dan closed his eyes. He knew this was Qin Yuqi's scar; he had prepared to die when he uttered those words. But as a witness to it all, how could he not think about what the relationship would be between His Majesty and that person if that calamity hadn't occurred back then, and what the state of the Great Yong Dynasty would be like...
Will I still be living in the torment of unrequited love...? Probably not.
She was actually a soft-hearted girl. If it weren't for those murders that stood between them, how could she not feel sorry for him?
The knife didn't come down for a long time, and Liu Dan opened his eyes. Qin Yuqi's eyes were bloodshot, and the frost on his temples began to reappear. His hand holding the knife trembled slightly, as if he was struggling against something.
Finally, he slammed the knife to the ground, and his whole body seemed to collapse as if he had lost all his strength.
Liu Dan hurriedly went to help him up, but the next moment he stood up straight, as if he had been injected with some kind of power again. His sideburns turned black again, and he was full of vitality, as if the moment just now was just an illusion.
Qin Yuqi suddenly smiled enigmatically, "Very well, how could my Great Yong Dynasty lack a single bite of food from you? Men, bring out the food from the palace and distribute it to them."
Upon hearing this, everyone present was shocked, and the kneeling palace servants were even more incredulous. It took them a long time to come to their senses and express their gratitude profusely.
Qin Yuqi turned to look at Liu Dan, "How is it? Is Minister Liu satisfied with this arrangement?"
Liu Dan was suddenly startled.
Your Majesty... has become unlike Your Majesty. That ambiguous smile, those dark, lifeless eyes, are so much like that so-called demon who orchestrated the massacres on the southern border years ago, only to vanish without a trace...
*
The battle to breach Zhaoming City was easier than the Zhou army had anticipated.
The most elite Xuanjia cavalry had been almost completely wiped out in previous battles. The Imperial Guards defending the city were mostly sons of noble families who had come to gain experience. Their combat strength was incomparable to that of the Zhou army, which had been through countless battles and was enhanced by magic. Moreover, they were in a situation of insufficient food and rampant disease.
The four city gates were breached almost simultaneously, and the Yong army fled in disarray, abandoning their armor and weapons. The scene inside the city was even more unexpected for the Zhou army: corpses of the starved littered the streets, nine out of ten houses were empty, and the resistance encountered within the city was so weak as to be negligible.
Finally, the palace gates broke open, and Qin Yuqi stood on the steps of Guiyi Hall, looking down at the enemy soldiers surging in like a tide, as well as the sharp-looking woman in black among the enemy troops.
Then he slowly raised the bow and arrow in his hand and aimed it at her.
Jiang Yuhuo was also watching the person on the high platform, and at the same time he saw a faint blue light on his arrow.
Years ago, when she fled the palace on a crane, this man chased after her on the ground, cutting down the arrows the guards were aiming at her with his knife.
But today, one of them must die.
The last elite Xuanjia cavalrymen were each equipped with several weapons, making them capable of fighting as many as several men. They stood in rows, guarding Qin Yuqi. In front of the Xuanjia cavalry, a group of palace servants were bound and kneeling on the ground, their eyes filled with sorrow as they looked at the intruders, pleading for their rescue.
"Do you know?" The emperor on the high platform suddenly spoke, pointing his bow and arrow at the people below, "These people kneeling before you tried to escape from the palace last night. They believed your lies and wanted to join you... Unfortunately, they were still caught."
"Today I will make them watch with their own eyes how you kill them one by one, hahaha..."
He laughed wildly and unrestrainedly, as if he was certain that the intruders would show no mercy.
Because to kill the last person, you have to get past those kneeling at the front.
But they were people from the Yong Kingdom's palace, their allegiance even more unpredictable than that of ordinary people outside. Rescuing them risked an ambush by the Xuanjia cavalry; the easiest solution was to kill them all without question. But they were bound and unarmed…
To kill or to save?
Before Zhou Jun could think further, the first batch of arrows was already being fired at them.
Jiang Yuhuo charged ahead, her sword flashing like lightning, decisively and swiftly cutting down all the arrows coming towards her, creating space for the soldiers and cultivators behind her who were skilled in magic to survive.
Faced with a weapon specifically designed to counter spiritual power, she could still rely on her swordsmanship.
The black-clad woman wielding a sword charged forward through the rain of arrows, tearing a gap in the guard composed of palace servants and armored cavalry, and heading straight for the people on the high platform.
The soldiers following behind skillfully widened the gap, dispersing and surrounding the Xuanjia cavalry. The Zhou army outside the encirclement moved the palace servants on the ground to one side and began to fight the Xuanjia cavalry.
The rule established by the Great Zhou and the Immortal Sect is not to kill unarmed people, and they have been enforcing it.
On the high platform, Qin Yuqi's arrow was knocked away by Jiang Yuhuo, who then drew his sword. Both weapons were forged from blue stone; either could kill the other with it.
The swords clashed and clashed; in a simple contest of strength, Qin Yuqi was actually able to fight her to a standstill...
His behavior is strange.
The blade slashed at her sword with such force that it numbed her hand; this was no ordinary person's strength.
Jiang Yuhuo clearly remembered that Qin Yuqi had never had any innate superhuman strength.
Who gave him this power?
"Jiang Yuhuo, I told you long ago that I am no longer the person I used to be."
Qin Yuqi's attacks were like a dense net, yet he still managed to provoke her, "You're not the same person you used to be... You should have died long ago, from the moment you fled on a crane." He gritted his teeth, each word distinct, "You should have died."
"If I die in this palace... then I will never change, and I will always be with you."
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Author's Note: Sorry, I finished outlining the chapters today and it's late again... But having an outline definitely makes things much smoother, I'll definitely finish writing! [Okay]
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