Chapter Twenty-Eight: It is impolite not to reciprocate.
Many years later, when Ye Tanhua looked back on the past, he could still seem to feel the wind and thunderous aura brought by that sharp arrow. At that time, the arrow was only an arm's length away from Ye Tanhua's brow.
"My life is over," Ye Yuqing said, closing her eyes with trembling hands. "To die now is death, to launch a grand plan is also death. Since death is inevitable, is it better to die for the country?"
A hair's breadth away.
With a "ding," everyone heard a whooshing sound as a butterfly-shaped object spun out, its graceful arc carrying the last feathered arrow just past Ye Yuqing's ear.
A sharp whistling sound passed by her ear, and Ye Yuqing's legs went weak for a moment. Slowly raising her eyes, the hair that had been shot off by the arrow fluttered and swirled in the wispy wind before gently falling. The sky was still blue, the wind was still blowing, and the air seemed to carry the fragrance of some kind of flower.
Ye Tanhua slowly let out a long sigh of relief and patted his chest. Thank goodness, he was at least out of danger.
The afternoon light was bright. The arrow, which had been shot off course, pierced the tree trunk behind them, its feathers still trembling slightly. The turn of events happened so quickly that it wasn't until everything had settled down that everyone reacted.
"Quickly, protect Lord Ye..." After his initial surprise, Yin Wenbin, the mayor of Luocheng, immediately gave the order.
"yes."
The guards of Luocheng immediately surrounded Ye Yuqing and her group, intentionally or unintentionally isolating the people from the Judicial Office.
What a clever trick of the thief crying "stop thief!"
Mu Lian snorted coldly, glanced at the daylight, and flicked her slender fingers, releasing a faint fragrance. Following the direction from which the arrow had come, she saw the figure of the fake soldier.
Standing eight feet tall and slender, though his features were indistinct, his upright posture and air of nobility were unmistakable; he was clearly no ordinary person. As Mu Lian gazed at the figure, a name surfaced in her mind.
Prince Li Peixuan, the heir apparent of Ruyang.
Just then, the fake pawn also looked up. Their eyes met, and Li Peixuan's eyes flickered slightly.
He had come in disguise, and no one knew his identity. But just that one glance was enough for him to know that his identity had been exposed, at least to the female guard in the bamboo hat. The Imperial Guards were certainly not a bunch of good-for-nothings, so it must be the Judicial Office, but even there, there weren't many with such talent. Thinking this, a name gradually surfaced in Li Peixuan's mind.
Haha, interesting.
Their eyes met, their gazes flashing briefly, but Mu Lian knew that the man opposite her was probably a formidable rival.
At this moment, order was restored at the city gate. Under the guidance of various parties, the previously stranded people slowly entered the city. The officials followed behind the Luo City guards, with only a few personal guards and Meng Yuan and Ye Xun by Ye Yuqing's side. After them came the people from the Judicial Office and the Imperial Guards, separated by another group of Luo City guards.
Before mounting his horse, Jiedushi Liu Zhang nodded slightly to Yin Wenbin, the Prefect of Cheng. Yin Wenbin understood and gestured behind him.
As the crowd entered the city gates, cheers erupted from the people lining the streets. News of the appearance of the Luo River Cauldron had already spread throughout Luoyang, and the people were overjoyed and excited. Liu Zhang, riding on horseback, smiled and waved to the people, basking in their love and enthusiasm, quite pleased with himself.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed, "Look! What's that?"
The onlookers quickly looked up and saw what appeared to be a light cloud drifting in from the sky. As the "cloud" drew closer, the sharp-eyed people exclaimed, "No, it's not a cloud, it's a bee, a kind of bee we've never seen before..."
It was a cloud bee. Lee Pei-hyun stared at the cloud bees buzzing and swarming towards him, a fine shiver running through his body. Heaven knows, he was most afraid of these densely packed insects.
The people along the roadside were also somewhat panicked, and some young women and girls, inexperienced in such matters, burst into tears. Just then, Yin Wenbin made another hand gesture behind him. The assassins lurking in the crowd received the order and immediately drew their swords.
Ye Tanhua, I'm afraid you won't be as lucky as you were before this time.
But to everyone's surprise, before the assassins could even break through the crowd, they were subdued by the magistrate's officers who had been lying in wait. Their speed and skill were so great that the bystanders barely noticed. Occasionally, one or two people would turn around and look at them strangely, but the disguised officers would smile and reassure them: "Sorry, sorry, my brother was just stunned. We'll take him back now."
The noise of the people along the roadside remained unchanged.
Yin Wenbin waited and waited, but the person behind him made no move, and he was startled. Just as he turned around in confusion, suddenly, the "buzzing" swirling "light cloud" came straight towards him. Yin Wenbin was greatly alarmed.
The cloud bees seemed to possess a spirit; everyone else avoided them, but they swarmed around Yin Wenbin relentlessly, impossible to disperse no matter how much he waved his hands. Instead, their numbers multiplied until they completely enveloped Yin Wenbin. The surrounding officials, terrified, immediately retreated.
"Ah..." Another scream came from inside, and the officials were so shocked that their legs went weak. This Lord Yin was probably beyond saving.
Fortunately, in no time at all, the cloud bees dispersed and gathered back into clouds, flying away as they had come.
Everyone rushed to help Yin Wenbin. The once plump and healthy Lord Yin was now completely dazed, seemingly terrified, and his face was covered in large welts, making his round face appear very swollen. Even more pitifully, there were water stains where he had fallen to the ground, and a foul, pungent smell of urine emanated from them.
The officials exchanged bewildered glances, wanting to laugh but daring not to, struggling to suppress their amusement. Liu Zhang, mounted on his horse, however, wore a cold expression, his eyes blazing with barely concealed murderous intent.
Very well, how dare you make fun of my Los Angeles officials in public!
Mu Lian casually adjusted her bamboo hat, her beautiful eyes smiling. An eye for an eye. You're allowed to assassinate our Chief of the Cauldrons, but we're not allowed to publicly humiliate your City Magistrate? Hmm, this is just the beginning.
After the initial astonishment, some of the onlookers finally burst into laughter. This laughter quickly spread, and those around them joined in. In an instant, waves of laughter rose and fell, and Yin Wenbin's carefully cultivated image in the officialdom was utterly destroyed. Although the Luoyang guards, acting on orders, hurriedly carried Lord Yin away and returned him to his residence, the scene was too shocking, and it remained a topic of conversation in the streets and alleys for years to come.
After this exchange, Liu Zhang and his men gained no advantage whatsoever, and their anger intensified.
That night, a servant brought in a sandalwood box carved with lotus patterns. Mu Lian looked at the box on the table and stopped Meng Yuan. Although the box had been scented with incense, Mu Lian still keenly detected a trace of blood within it.
With her eyes closed, Mu Lian pondered for a long time before gently breaking open the box on the table with the tip of her sword. As expected, the box contained a pair of bloody ears and a pair of bloody hands.
"Liu Zhang, you old bastard, you've gone too far!" Meng Yuan cried and cursed as she knelt on the ground.
Mu Lianyi slowly knelt down, leaning on her sword. She had guessed it. It seemed that the clerks from the Judicial Office who had been sent to gather information had all fallen into Liu Zhang's hands, and their fate was probably grim.
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