Chapter 84: I came here to take your life, to make amends to her...
When the fire started, the wind fanned the flames, instantly illuminating half the sky. The enemy's provisions were engulfed in flames, leaving them in complete chaos.
With most of Yangzhou's food supplies lost, they would not attack the city again easily during this period, and the siege of Weizhou was temporarily lifted. When Xie Yan and Qin Yue returned to the barracks with the victory report, they only saw Luo Wan lying on the couch.
Jiang Cichen arrived on the third night after Xie Yan sent the message. It took him two days to cross the entire Yun Kingdom, a five-day journey.
The room was silent. The young man was dressed in silver armor and looked dusty.
He said nothing, but slowly walked to the bed, squatted on one knee, and lifted Luo Wan's hand.
He wanted to touch it but didn't dare. The originally slender white fingers were now covered with a thick layer of medicine powder, and the shocking tiny blisters were faintly visible underneath.
"It's a plague." Xie Yan told him.
Qingyun took the medicine and entered the house. Seeing the two men looking bitter and resentful, she said calmly, "They won't die."
As he spoke, his eyes fell on the strange young man beside the bed. He had seen almost everyone in the military camp in the past few days, but this man looked very unfamiliar. Although he was dusty, it could not hide his delicate features and cold handsomeness.
Jiang Cichen took the bowl of medicine naturally and asked, "When will she wake up?"
Qingyun said, "Normally it would take ten days to half a month to recover, but the host's will to survive is very strong, so he should wake up in a few days."
Jiang Cichen breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, and suddenly seemed to realize something, and asked, "Are you from Tingyu Tower?"
Qingyun said nothing and turned away.
Jiang Cichen sat beside the bed and fed the medicine into Luo Wan's mouth little by little with a medicine spoon.
Xie Yan pulled out a round stool and sat aside, his expression becoming serious: "The source of the plague has been found, it comes from the North Country."
Jiang Cichen snorted and laughed, his face very cold, but his hands were extremely gentle and careful as he wiped the medicine stains from the corners of Luo Wan's mouth. He said, "When did Bei Yeji learn to use such despicable tactics?"
Xie Yan was stunned for a moment when he saw his actions, then said, "According to the information from Yanyun Pavilion, Beiyeji has recently accepted sages, and one of these sages brought this plague with him."
What Qingyun said was true. Luo Wan had a strong desire to survive. Although he was unconscious, his swallowing instinct was still there, and the medicine was fed very smoothly.
After feeding her the medicine, Jiang Cichen tucked the quilt in for Luo Wan and said, "I received something from Gu Zhuohan on the way here."
Hearing this name, Xie Yan's face changed, as if he was pulled back to the day of the siege in the heavy snow. The memory was really bad. He frowned and said, "What is it?"
"Declaration of war."
"He challenged you?" Xie Yan was incredulous. "One on one? How dare he challenge you?"
Jiang Cichen gently brushed aside the loose hair on Luo Wan's forehead. The woman's sleeping face was pale but peaceful, and she no longer had the frown she used to have.
He said, "Given Gu Zhuohan's current style, he naturally wouldn't dare to confront him one-on-one. He bluntly said that the plague was caused by the Northern Kingdom, and that he knew Luo Wan was in Weizhou, so he specially prepared this plague."
Having said that, Jiang Cichen's fingertips paused slightly, and he seemed a little angry.
Gu Zhuohan was a ruthless, cunning man. They had already suffered at his hands once, and they would never suffer a second time. Aside from past animosity, this matter involved the person lying on the couch, and Xie Yan knew he couldn't influence Jiang Cichen's thoughts.
Xie Yan simply asked, "Are you going?"
"Why not?" Jiang Cichen said calmly, "Let's avenge both the old and new grudges at once."
Xie Yan nodded: "Are you all ready?"
"Um."
They have been waiting for this moment for a long time.
*
The summer weather changes rapidly. After a rain in the evening, the whole city was covered by dark clouds and gusts of evil wind blew.
Gu Zhuohan sat on the balcony, with delicacies laid out on jade plates in front of him. He slowly filled a glass of wine for himself, then raised his eyes and looked across.
Across from him was a chair and a wine glass, but instead of chopsticks, there were three incense sticks. He had prepared these specifically for Jiang Cichen; after all, they were classmates, and he couldn't let this old friend die of starvation on the road to the underworld.
On either side of the pavilion were towering city walls that stretched forward, high and narrow. Gu Zhuohan tilted his head slightly and could see the narrow, oppressive bluestone path between the walls and below the pavilion.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew up, carrying with it the smell of dust after the rain, and it was pitch black, as if a torrential downpour was about to fall from the sky at the next moment.
At the end of the extended city wall stood a tall building. Beneath it, a heavy city gate slowly opened a crack with a muffled thud.
Rather than saying that Gu Zhuohan was disgusted, it would be better to say that he was jealous.
Even at this time, Jiang Cichen was still not wearing any armor. He was dressed in black clothes, holding a sword, and the straps on his horse's tail were fluttering in the wind.
Alone, strolling in the garden.
Gu Zhuohan said with a wry smile, "I knew you would come."
Jiang Cichen raised his eyes slightly and glanced coldly at the man on the balcony.
Gu Zhuohan said, "On Shen Zhiyan's wedding day, you blocked the sword for her, so I knew you would come."
"What?" Jiang Cichen raised his eyebrows. "Do you want me to praise you for your foresight?"
Gu Zhuohan sneered at this and raised his glass to say, "I wonder if you like this great gift I'm giving to your sweetheart?"
As dark clouds loomed over the city, the sky and the earth were filled with a solemn atmosphere. The summer heat had completely disappeared, and instead, a bit of winter chill had been added.
Jiang Cichen smiled lazily and said, "I don't like it very much. That's why I came here to take your life as an apology to her."
The fake smile on Gu Zhuohan's face froze instantly, and a hint of rage and shame emerged. "Even when death is imminent, you are still so arrogant. I let you escape last time, which was a mistake. If you commit suicide here today to atone for your sins, I might show mercy and leave your body intact."
Jiang Cichen said, "It's a pity. Even if you commit suicide here, I won't leave your body intact."
Gu Zhuohan asked, "After entering this city, do you think you can leave alive?"
After saying that, he waved his hand, and black shadows kept flying over the towering city walls on both sides, standing on the top of the walls, and in an instant the long city walls were densely packed with people.
Gu Zhuohan said sinisterly, "General Jiang, oh no, General Lingyun, these are the ninety-nine masters I prepared for you. Half are from the capital, and half are from the martial arts world. Please accept them."
The intelligence from Yanyun Pavilion was correct. Beiye Ji had indeed colluded with the underworld forces. The plague was most likely caused by some corrupt underworld organization.
The men in bamboo hats standing on the wall received the order and jumped down one after another, blocking Jiang Cichen and blocking all his escape routes.
The young man in black robes continued to walk forward calmly. He raised his sword, and with a flick of his wrist, it was unsheathed, a cold light illuminating his extremely handsome features.
A gust of evil wind whistled past, and people on the narrow bluestone road immediately started fighting.
The sound of breaking air was endless, and one after another, the men in bamboo hats fell down with a groan. Gu Zhuohan stared at the battle situation intently, and for a few moments he could not catch sight of Jiang Cichen's figure at all.
Suddenly, he saw a dark figure break through the encirclement, stepping diagonally on the nearly vertical wall and rushing straight towards the tower where he was! Behind the dark-clothed figure, several men in bamboo hats with extremely high Qinggong skills reacted very quickly and chased after him.
Gu Zhuohan suddenly pulled out the long sword that had been prepared on the table, barely blocking Jiang Cichen's sword, and staggered back a few steps.
Jiang Cichen turned around to deal with the men in bamboo hats who followed him, and then stabbed Gu Zhuohan with another sword. The latter's expression was frightened and he narrowly avoided it.
Gu Zhuohan took out a flare from his sleeve and shot it straight into the air. A flash of red light bloomed in the dark sky.
Seeing this, Jiang Cichen curled up the corner of his mouth into a very faint smile.
Gu Zhuohan gasped and retreated, saying, "Jiang Cichen, you're dead."
He left the building, escorted by the man in the bamboo hat. Just as he reached the stairs, a man suddenly appeared from the corner, and with a thud, they collided head-on. The momentum of their ups and downs was incredibly fast, and Gu Zhuohan stumbled back. The man on the stairs was about to fall backwards, but he immediately reached out and pulled him back into his arms.
A sweet fragrance filled his nose. The pink-dressed woman huddled in his arms, still in shock, her voice trembling, "Gu Lang..."
Gu Zhuohan frowned: "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to stay well?"
The woman raised her face and whispered, "I'm worried about you."
A hint of mischief flashed in Gu Zhuohan's eyes. He took advantage of the situation and hugged the woman tightly. He returned to the edge of the balcony and said to Jiang Cichen, who was under attack from both sides: "Jiang Cichen! Look who this is? Do you still remember? This is the woman you personally sent to me! She betrayed you a long time ago!"
Jiang Cichen's sword did not stop, he just glanced up indifferently in the gap between blocks.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Gu Zhuohan didn't linger any longer. He hugged the woman and hurried downstairs, constantly brainwashing her: "Did you see that? Jiang Cichen is a man who would do anything to achieve his goals. Only he would do such a despicable thing as using a woman!"
The woman trembled slightly in his arms and asked softly, "Will he die?"
"Of course," Gu Zhuohan smiled smugly, "and he will die miserably."
The woman became even more frightened after hearing this. She shrank back into his arms, her soft arms climbing up his neck. She said softly, "Then you will die too."
Before Gu Zhuohan could react to the meaning of the words, a sharp cold pain suddenly came from his neck! He reacted suddenly and kicked the woman in his arms away.
The woman's back hit the stair railing hard, and she knelt on the ground in pain, tightly clutching the bloody hairpin in her hand.
Gu Zhuohan opened his eyes wide in shock and covered his neck: "Are you fucking crazy?"
The woman stared at him and suddenly laughed.
Gu Zhuohan realized that he had been deceived and raised the sword in his hand to stab the woman. In an instant, a faster sword pierced his chest from behind.
Gu Zhuohan froze, his head lowered in a daze, staring at the blood-stained sword tip on his chest. The next moment, the sword was jerked back, and he fell apart like a puppet with its strings cut, collapsing on the stairs.
He looked back unwillingly, only to see Jiang Cichen wiping the sword blade from a high position. Behind Jiang Cichen and under the balcony, the masters he had prepared were controlled by a group of secret guards.
The foreign aid that he had originally sent signals to summon had all disappeared, and it was obvious that they had met with an accident.
"It's you!" Gu Zhuohan held his breath and pointed at the woman, "It was you who leaked the entire plan to Jiang Cichen!"
"It's me." The woman looked at Gu Zhuohan again, her eyes were calm, without any trace of the weakness and fear from before.
"I love you so much and treat you so well, why did you betray me? Why do you still side with Jiang Cichen?"
As he spoke, Gu Zhuohan's face was sinister, and he wanted to pounce on the woman and strangle her neck. Jiang Cichen raised his hand slightly, and the sword blade easily blocked him.
"Love?" The woman scoffed, as if she had just heard something ridiculous. "You're not even worthy of talking about love? You're just saying it because I look like your late wife. Ultimately, you didn't really love your late wife, you just attributed your love to me because we look alike. My whole family died at your hands, and you actually expect me to follow you."
Seeing his stunned expression, the woman continued, "Of course you don't remember, because you've persecuted so many people, killed them at your hands, and even died in the Red Mansion. Evildoers like you deserve to go to the eighteen levels of hell, to be devoured by evil spirits forever!"
Gu Zhuohan's face turned pale from excessive blood loss: "If I die, you won't be able to live. Don't forget the poison in your body. I am the only one who has the antidote."
The woman smiled nonchalantly.
Gu Zhuohan looked at Jiang Cichen and said with his last breath, "I'm very curious. The whole city is clearly under martial law. How did your people get in?"
Jiang Cichen sheathed his sword and said with a mischievous smile like a teenager, "Guess."
Gu Zhuohan died with resentment.
This was a game of chess, a game Jiang Cichen had played at the frontier. The reason Chen Bezhe stayed behind in Yanyun Pavilion was for the day when Jiang Cichen would return.
Jiang Cichen's secret guards did not follow him in treason, but they did not really leave his command. Instead, they stayed in the Northern Kingdom.
The woman had never betrayed Jiang Cichen. In that losing battle outside the Great Wall, she revealed her identity to Gu Zhuohan and swallowed the chronic poison. This was the key for her to gain Gu Zhuohan's trust one step further.
Today's Hongmen Banquet, which seemed to be aimed at Jiang Cichen, was actually a counterattack by the three parties working together from inside and outside.
The situation was under control, and Chen Beizhe came to report: "Sir, what should we do with these people?"
Jiang Cichen said, "Take him back."
"Yes." Chen Beizhe nodded, and after a slight hesitation, he continued, "I just fought with them, and I found that some of them have the same moves and techniques, and they seem to be from the same underworld organization."
Jiang Cichen said calmly, "Wanlei Sect."
Jiang Cichen realized it as soon as he started fighting with these people. Yanyun Pavilion had recorded the Wanlei Sect and had also analyzed its moves, so he knew it after just one try.
It seemed that the "sages" Beiye Ji had recruited were from the Wanlei Sect. This was precisely what Jiang Cichen couldn't understand: how could an organization that existed only in the underworld become entangled with the Northern Kingdom's royal family?
"Go check out the Wanlei Sect." Jiang Cichen said.
"yes!"
After this matter was over, Jiang Cichen turned around to look at the woman, and as soon as he turned around, he saw her kneeling behind him.
Jiang Cichen frowned and said, "Follow Chen Beizhe and leave. I will ask him to arrange for a doctor to detoxify you."
The pink-dressed woman didn't stand up. Instead, she bowed deeply and said, "Xing'er doesn't want to trouble you any more. Making Gu Zhuohan pay for his blood debt with his own blood is the only thing that keeps me alive. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to kill my enemy and comfort my family's souls. Now that I have my revenge, my wish is fulfilled. I have no more desire in this world."
Jiang Cichen lowered his eyes to look at her. The night wind swept across the building, carrying with it the lingering smell of blood, blowing his black clothes and brushing against the woman's thin shoulders.
The woman said, "I miss my relatives very much. I hope you can help me."
Jiang Cichen fell silent. After a moment, he said softly, "I agree."
The woman stood up straight and said in a resounding voice, "May your journey of revenge be smooth sailing."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
