Chapter 28
The canal's current seemed stained with the blood of the Bing Warehouse, murky as congealed ink. Three speedboats broke through the still waters, sailing upstream. The black "Imperial Envoy" flag hung heavy on the bows, its corners ripping with a whimpering sound as the wind tore at them. The ships were deep in the water, and aside from the sturdy soldiers silently rowing at the stern, the decks were nearly deserted. An invisible, oppressive feeling, a mixture of blood, smoke, and the weight of irrefutable evidence, enveloped the entire fleet.
Inside the main cabin, the air was stagnant. The strong smell of medicine mingled with the faint scent of blood. Mo Ya lay on a makeshift couch, his eyes closed, his face a pale pale, his breathing as weak as a thread. The splint on his left arm had been replaced with a thicker cedar board, the linen bandage still stained with dark red blood. Old Man Chen, hunched over, his age-spotted hands trembling as he inserted several slender gold needles into the large acupuncture points on Mo Ya's head. Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead.
Gu Linzhi sat upright behind his desk. On the desk, the bloodstained, bright yellow edict and the seal of the Northern Di Southern Court, carved with a ferocious wolf's head, lay side by side. The flickering candlelight illuminated the edict's penetrating, blood-curdling accusations, the cold sheen of the seal, and his profile, calm as the abyss, yet concealing a storm. In his hand, he held a draft of a memorial, its ink still wet. His pen hovered, his gaze piercing the closed cabin window, gracing the twilight haze of the north.
"Prime Minister," Old Man Chen took back the last golden needle, his voice hoarse and tired, "Commander Mo's internal organs were severely injured, and old wounds ruptured, causing excessive blood loss... He is lucky to be able to hold on. If there is no more elixir to strengthen his body within three days, I am afraid... his energy will run out." His turbid eyes were full of helplessness.
Gu Linzhi's gaze returned from the window to Mo Ya's pale face. His expression, stern and relaxed from unconsciousness, still revealed a tenacity deep within his bones. His fingertips unconsciously twirled the pen, and he remained silent for a moment.
"Where can I find the medicine?" The voice was low and silent.
"The 'Black Frost Grass' of the Northern Territory and the 'Fire Lotus Seeds' of the Western Regions." Old Man Chen smiled bitterly and shook his head. "They are both things you can only encounter by chance. Even the secret vault of the Imperial Hospital may not be able to find them..."
"I understand," Gu Linzhi interrupted him calmly. "Do your best." He stopped talking, his gaze returning to the draft memorial. His pen finally fell, his iron-clad strokes piercing the paper. He laid out the details of the bloody battle at Bingzi Warehouse, Zhou Shihong's execution, the Ao Gang's collusion, the poison of the Soul-Seal Powder, and, most importantly, the ironclad evidence of Gu Zhong's blood edict and the seal of the Northern Di King. Every word was sharp as a knife, every sentence stained with blood.
The darkness, like thick ink, completely engulfed the canal. The fleet slowly docked at Changting Posthouse, an official post station a hundred miles from Shengjing. The post station sat on a high slope at a bend in the canal, nestled against a sparse poplar forest. Its several blue-brick and tiled buildings loomed like dormant giants in the night. Hanging lanterns swayed in the night breeze, casting a dim, flickering glow that only added to the loneliness and unease.
The fleet docked silently. Security was tight. Gu Linzhi personally carried the camphorwood box containing the blood edict and the royal seal onto the damp, cold stone steps. Mo Ya was carefully carried down on a stretcher by two members of the Shadow Scale. The postmaster, accompanied by several postmen, had already been waiting trembling at the entrance, their faces pale in the dim light.
"Welcome... Welcome to Prime Minister Gu!" The postmaster's voice trembled slightly. He bowed deeply, almost burying his head in the ground. "Your subordinate... Your subordinate has prepared the room and medicine..."
Gu Linzhi's gaze swept calmly over the postmaster and the several humbled postmen behind him, his deep eyes devoid of emotion. "Clear the area. All personnel inside and outside the post station, except for my immediate family, retreat a hundred steps. Anyone disobeying this order will be executed." His voice was low, yet it held a chilling, freezing intensity.
The postmaster's body trembled violently, and he lowered his head even lower: "Yes... yes! Your humble servant obeys your command!" He hurriedly led the postman and retreated into the depths of the post station like a frightened rabbit. Soon, the entire post station fell into dead silence, with only the sound of the wind and the whimpering of the canal in the distance.
The members of Shadow Scale quickly took over all entrances and exits and commanding heights of the post station, silently blending into the darkness like the most sophisticated machinery. Gu Linzhi placed the camphorwood box on the inside of his bed in his room, keeping the blood edict and the royal seal close to him. He walked to the window and pushed it open a crack. The night was deep, and the sparse poplar trees surrounding the post station swayed in the wind like ghostly shadows. The air was filled with the chill of late autumn and the smell of decaying plants and trees. Faintly, there seemed to be a hint of... the faint scent of wisteria, carried by the wind?
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Midnight.
Absolute silence reigned. Inside the inn, aside from the vigilant breathing of a few sentries, the only sounds were the faint groans of suppressed pain from the black crows and the whistling of the wind outside the window.
Sudden!
“Swish, swish, swish, swish—!”
A shrill, hair-raising sound, piercing the air, ripped through the dead silence without warning! Dozens of cold, blue rays, like poisonous bees from hell, shot out from the depths of the poplar trees surrounding the post station, covering every door, window, and sentry post! The angles were cunning and the intensity was brutal!
"Enemy attack—! Protect the Prime Minister—!"
Shrill alarms and roars instantly exploded in the post station!
“Puff, puff, puff!”
“Ugh—!”
The dull thud of crossbow bolts piercing flesh and short screams echoed almost simultaneously! The two Shadow Scale sentries guarding either side of the post station's gate were caught off guard and instantly pierced through their vitals by several poisonous arrows. Their bodies collapsed like tattered sacks! The window frames and door panels were blasted with wood chips by the dense barrage of crossbow bolts!
The attackers had obviously planned this for a long time, and their firepower was accurate and fierce!
"Guard the doors and windows!" Gu Linzhi's voice rang out amid the chaos, cold and steady. He didn't immediately rush to Mo Ya's room. Instead, he flashed to the shadows by the window like a ghost, his eyes like lightning, piercing the holes in the window paper and sweeping towards the darkness outside.
The attack didn't stop! Just as the first wave of arrows subsided, a sharp, piercing copper whistle suddenly rang out from the darkness surrounding the post station! The whistle was extremely strange. Not the long, drawn-out sound of a typical message, but short, sharp, and with a disturbing, vibrating frequency! It was like countless poisonous bees frantically flapping their wings in my ears!
“Buzz—buzz—buzz—!”
As this eerie whistle rang out, dozens of dark shadows suddenly leaped out from the poplar trees surrounding the post station, like demons freed from their bonds! They were clad in tight nightgowns, their faces covered with black scarves, revealing only pairs of... dull, empty, unfocused eyes! Their movements were swift yet slightly stiff, like puppets on strings! Their weapons flashed with a poisonous cold light as they lunged at the various entrances of the post station with a clear purpose!
The Buzzing Death Squad! Cao Wushang's ultimate killing machine! Controlled by a copper whistle, they are fearless and unafraid of death!
"Kill!" Inside the post station, the members of Shadow Scale roared as they charged forward! Blades and sabers clashed frantically in the narrow courtyards and corridors of the post station! The roars, the clashing of blades, the crackling of bones, and the howling of the dying instantly transformed this isolated post station into a bloody battlefield!
The assassins' attack was incredibly ferocious! They seemed insensitive to pain, unfazed by death! Even struck by swords and knives, they continued to attack frantically as long as the whistle blew! Even more terrifying was their coordinated attack, like a pack of wolves drawn by invisible threads, advancing and retreating in unison, fearless of death! Though elite, the Shadow Scales were outnumbered and caught off guard. They were instantly forced to retreat, suffering heavy casualties!
"Protect Commander Mo!" Gu Linzhi shouted fiercely, and rushed out of the room like a ghost! He didn't rush to the main door, but headed straight for the west wing where Mo Ya was! The black robe left a shadow in the narrow corridor!
At the west wing door, two members of the Shadow Scale were holding the door tightly, fighting a desperate battle with several Bee-Sounding Death Soldiers! Blades flashed, blood splattered! One of the Shadow Scale members was stabbed in the shoulder, bleeding profusely, but he continued to fight to the death!
Gu Lin took a step forward! There was no weapon in his hand, but his fingers and palms flew as fast as lightning!
“Crack! Crack!”
Two crisp bone-crackling sounds rang out! The wrists of the two Bee-Sound Death Warriors who pounced on him were instantly crushed! The weapons fell out of their hands! Gu Linzhi took advantage of the situation and snatched a short knife, the blade flashing like a streak of silk!
“Puff!”
Two heads shot up into the air! The headless corpse rushed forward a few steps before collapsing to the ground with a thud!
Without stopping, he kicked the closed door open!
Inside the room, Old Man Chen huddled in a corner, trembling in fear. Mo Ya remained unconscious on the couch. Meanwhile, at the window, two black-clad assassins broke in! Their poisoned short blades flashed a cold blue light as they charged towards the bed!
Gu Linzhi's eyes flashed with coldness! He threw the dagger he had snatched from his hand! Like a startled wild goose!
“Puff!”
The dagger pierced through the back of a soldier with incredible precision, nailing him to the window frame!
The other assassin's short blade had already pierced Mo Ya's chest by an inch! Gu Linzhi's figure had already pounced on him like a ghost! With five fingers spread out, with a fierce wind that tore through the air, he fiercely grabbed the assassin's wrist holding the knife!
"Crack!" A bone-breaking sound! The assassin's wrist was crushed! The short blade fell to the ground with a clang!
Gu Linzhi's other hand turned his palm into a knife, and with a tremendous force, he chopped the side of the assassin's neck!
"Bang!" A dull crash! The warrior's neck shattered instantly! His body collapsed to the ground like a snake with its bones pulled out, his hollow eyes still staring at the ceiling.
After resolving the threat inside the room, Gu Linzhi didn't even glance at the paralyzed old man Chen, and rushed to Mo Ya's bed. Mo Ya was still unconscious, but his breathing seemed even weaker. He quickly felt the side of Mo Ya's neck, his brow furrowed. The sounds of fighting, whistles, and screams outside were getting closer and closer! The attack of the assassins was like a tide, and the defense of the post station was in jeopardy!
"Prime Minister! We can't hold on any longer! There are too many assassins!" A roar of despair came from the "Shadow Scale" team leader outside the door!
Gu Linzhi turned abruptly! In his deep eyes, icy murderous intent burst forth like a physical substance! He snatched up the bloodstained ghost-head knife leaning against the black crow couch! The blade was heavy, its edge cracked, yet it still exuded a biting chill!
"Guard the door!" Gu Linzhi's voice was like the friction of cold iron, with unquestionable determination, "Truth be told... go meet the whistle-blowing ghost!"
As soon as he finished speaking, his dark figure rushed out of the west wing like a whirlwind! The ghost-head knife dragged behind him, and the blade scraped across the blue brick floor, making a heart-pounding friction sound and splashing sparks!
The cramped courtyard of the post station was a sea of blood and corpses! The seven or eight remaining Shadow Scale members stood back to back, battling to the death. Each one was wounded, and beneath their feet lay the bodies of dozens of black-clad warriors and their companions! More warriors poured in from all directions like a tide! The piercing, sharp whistle echoed wildly above the post station, like a demonic cry demanding death!
Gu Linzhi's figure was like a huge rock thrown into boiling oil! The ghost-head knife was swung up with the force of thunder!
“Woo——!”
The blade tore through the air, making a shrill whimper!
"boom--!!!"
A streak of blade light blazed out like an angry dragon! The three Bee-Sounding Death Soldiers who bore the brunt of the attack were like being struck by a galloping elephant. Their bones and tendons were instantly broken, blood spurting from their mouths as they flew backwards, slamming hard against the courtyard wall and turning into three pools of pulp!
Gu Linzhi remained relentless! The ghost-head knife in his hands transformed into a raging storm of death! He chopped, hacked, slashed, and swept! Each strike was powerful and devastating, carrying with it the force of destruction that could crush everything in its path! Wherever the blade flashed, severed limbs and arms flew everywhere! Flesh and blood showered like rain! Those fearless, utterly controlled by the whistle, were like paper toys before this sheer force and ferocious swordplay, easily torn apart and crushed!
He was like a tiger among a flock of sheep! Every step he took brought a bloody storm! Every swing of the heavy blade of the ghost-head knife cleared an area! Single-handedly, he forged a bloody path through the surging crowd of assassins! His target was directly in the poplar forest outside the post station, the direction where the copper whistle sounds were the sharpest and most frequent!
"Stop him! Stop him!" From deep within the woods, a voice filled with exasperation and a strong sense of sinister intent shrieked sharply! It was Cao Wushang!
As if stimulated, more assassins rushed towards Gu Linzhi frantically, trying to stop the killing god with their flesh and blood!
The cold light in Gu Linzhi's eyes grew even brighter! He suddenly let out a long howl! The sound pierced through gold and split stone, faintly overpowering the piercing sound of the copper whistle! The ghost-head knife danced even more rapidly! The blade flashed like a violent hurricane, crushing the attackers to pieces! He exerted force on his feet, his speed skyrocketing! Like a black lightning bolt tearing through the night, he pounced towards the source of the whistle!
Inside the post station, the remaining "Shadow Scale" members felt a sudden relief of pressure. Looking at the dark figure that was causing a bloody storm among the group of assassins, fanatical light burst out of their eyes and they roared to launch a counterattack!
It seemed that Gu Linzhi was about to break through the encirclement and rush into the woods!
Something strange happened suddenly!
“Buzz——!!!”
A terrifying buzzing sound, sharper and higher-pitched than any previous whistle, as if it could pierce the eardrums, suddenly exploded from the depths of the woods! This sound, with a strange penetrating power and a sense of shock, instantly drowned out all the sounds of fighting!
As this terrifying buzzing sound rang out, the bee-beeping warriors who had been frantically besieging Gu Linzhi and the post station suddenly froze! The dull emptiness in their eyes was instantly replaced by extreme pain and frenzy! They were like being hit on the head by an invisible giant hammer, howling like beasts, holding their heads tightly with both hands, and sticky black blood slowly seeped out from all seven orifices!
"ah--!"
“Ugh!!!”
The screams of agony instantly resounded through the night sky! These dead warriors seemed to have lost their souls, rolling on the ground in agony, twitching, and biting each other! The scene instantly became chaotic and weird!
Deep in the woods, the sharp buzzing sound suddenly stopped. Then, there was a muffled groan and the sound of something heavy falling to the ground, followed by several panicked cries: "Cao Gong! Cao Gong!"
Cao Wushang's whistle... lost control?! Or... was it backfired by a stronger force?!
Gu Linzhi abruptly stopped, leaning on his ghost-headed sword, panting slightly. His dark robe, thoroughly soaked in the blood of the fallen soldiers, clung to his body. His deep eyes pierced through the chaotic battle and the wailing bodies of the dead, fixed their gaze fixed on the darkness of the poplar forest. The scar on his face, illuminated by the firelight, resembled a bloody inscription.
Right now!
"Prime Minister, be careful!" From the direction of the west wing of the post station came the heart-wrenching scream of old man Chen!
A ghostly black shadow, swift as a ghost, had suddenly broken through the chaotic battlefield in the courtyard and silently climbed onto the roof of the west wing like a gecko! At this moment, he swooped down from the roof like a night owl hunting for prey! In his hand, a slender, poison-tipped dagger gleaming with a faint blue sheen pierced Gu Lin's heart with a biting chill!
The timing! The angle! The speed! All were incredibly tricky and brutal! It was the moment when Gu Linzhi's old strength had just faded, his new strength had not yet returned, and his mind was drawn to the strange changes in the forest!
Gu Linzhi didn't even have time to turn around completely! The shadow of death instantly enveloped him!
A critical moment!
“Puff!”
There was an extremely slight sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
The shadow that had pounced on Gu Linzhi suddenly froze! He lowered his head in disbelief, looking at his right arm holding the dagger—a steel needle as thin as an ox hair, gleaming with a cold blue light, pierced his wrist with incredible precision! The poison instantly paralyzed his entire arm!
This needle...was shot out from the broken window of the west wing!
Who is it?!
Gu Linzhi's counterattack had arrived! Without even turning his head, the heavy handle of the ghost-head knife rushed back like a poisonous dragon emerging from a cave, with violent force!
"Bang--!!!"
With a dull, heart-pounding thud, the end of the knife hilt slammed fiercely into the attacker's chest!
"Crack!" A clear sound of bone breaking!
"Puff!" The attacker was like being hit by a battering ram, spurting blood and broken internal organs. His body flew backwards like a kite with a broken string, hit the courtyard wall heavily, and slid down softly without a sound!
Gu Linzhi slowly turned around. He didn't look at the attacker's body. His deep gaze, like a cold probe, shot towards the broken window of the west wing.
Inside the window, it was dim. Mo Ya still lay on the couch, his eyes closed, as if he had never woken. Only his right hand, clenched into a fist, drooped limply beside the couch. His fingertips... seemed to still tremble slightly, like the slightest tremor from firing the steel needle.
Old man Chen sat slumped in the corner, staring at all this in amazement, as if he had seen a ghost.
The fighting within the post station gradually subsided due to the terrifying buzzing of the bees and the loss of control of the assassins. Most of the remaining bee-bee assassins died in agony, with a few still twitching and wailing. The smell of blood was so strong that it was nauseating.
Deep in the woods, Cao Wushang's presence had disappeared, leaving only a few panicked footsteps fading away.
Gu Linzhi, leaning on a ghost-headed sword, stood alone amidst a sea of blood and corpses. Under the flickering firelight of the post station, his dark figure resembled a Shura born from blood. He tilted his head slightly, gazing towards the dark night sky to the north. The direction of Shengjing remained shrouded in a still, silent darkness.
He slowly raised his hand and brushed his fingertips across the warm bloodstain on his cheek - it was cut by a dagger when he was dodging a sneak attack just now.
"Prepare the horses."
His voice was low and hoarse, filled with fatigue after the battle, but it was like a sword drawn from its sheath, severing the silence of the post station.
"immediately!"
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