Chapter 72 All Beauties Grieve (3) Blood Splattered
Hearing the voice she hadn't heard in eight years, Feng Tan's eyes reddened. Holding a tinderbox, she slowly approached and said in a hoarse voice, "Sir, it's me."
A woman with a pale halo sat in a meditative posture on withered grass, her skin pale from years of lack of sunlight, her black hair turned completely white, and fine lines appeared on her cheeks. She was bound by heavy chains a fist wide on her hands and feet, and due to the damp environment, the chains had developed a layer of light rust, leaving indelible red marks on her wrists and ankles.
Feng Tan's eyes reddened almost instantly. She stepped forward and knelt down, her voice choked with emotion, "Sir, I'll take you out... I'll take you out!"
Feng Youming wanted to raise her fingers to stroke Feng Tan's hair, just like when she was a child, but the iron chains binding her wrists were too heavy, and she couldn't lift her hand. She could only whisper, "Yongle has grown up and become so handsome."
Feng Tan couldn't hold back her tears, which streamed down her face as if they were free. She tried hard to control her emotions; time was of the essence, and she had to get her husband out of the prison as soon as possible.
The iron chains binding Feng Youming were embedded in the wall and couldn't be removed anytime soon. Feng Tan wiped away her tears and chose to continue using her sniper rifle to pierce through them. She signaled the Shen family soldiers who followed behind her to light some dry grass to illuminate the area before retreating. She pursed her lips tightly and gripped her sniper rifle.
On the fifth floor, Shen Shiyi had already led the Shen family army to rescue Shen Ze. She bowed to Feng Youming and said to Feng Tan, "Lord Feng, I can't stay here with you for too long. I need to take my brother and leave first. You can keep the half of the Shen family army behind you. I'll take my men and leave first!"
Feng Tan kept his eyes straight ahead, deftly chambered a bullet, and said, "Okay, I'll follow."
Feng Youming was bound by four chains. Shen Shiyi could no longer obey Xiao Yinshi's orders to knock out Feng Tan after rescuing Feng Youming. Rescuing Feng Youming would take more time, which was far beyond their plan. Every extra minute would be more dangerous, and she could not gamble with her brother's life.
Shen Shiyi led his men away. Feng Tan carefully aimed the anchor at the chains. A gunshot rang out, and four thick, long chains fell to the ground. Feng Youming had been nailed to the cell for a long time and could not move. Her legs were not used to walking for a while. Feng Tan stepped forward, carefully carried her on his back, and quickly walked out of the cell.
The sounds of fighting between Shen Shiyi and the Imperial Guards could be heard from above. Feng Tan turned around and looked at the half of the Shen family army behind him, saying, "Soldiers, please follow your general up there."
Feng Tan is carrying the wind, and even if she has excellent lightness skills, she will be limited. Her martial arts skills are not high, so it would be better to send the soldiers behind her to reinforce Shen Shiyi.
There were no footsteps behind her. Feng Tan turned around and looked at the dozen or so Shen family soldiers standing behind her. They gripped their sword hilts tightly and stared at her with murderous intent.
Feng Tan, with her back to Feng Youming, took a sudden step back, her heart filled with vigilance. But even if she reacted quickly, she couldn't keep up with the speed at which they charged at her with their knives!
Seeing this, Feng Youming removed his arms from Feng Tan's shoulders and neck, abruptly turned her around, and used his back to firmly block her in front of him. A dozen long swords pierced through his body, but he used all his strength to push Feng Tan backward to avoid the long swords that had pierced through his body.
"Bang bang bang... Bang!" Feng Tan immediately took action, her eyes bloodshot as she unleashed a barrage of sniper fire, emptying most of her magazine. Shen Jiajun fell to the ground. She stumbled to Feng Youming, who lay in a pool of blood, and pleaded, "Sir, don't die... I beg you, don't die..."
Feng Tan's lips trembled as she spoke, her fingers trembling as well. Feng Youming struggled to hold her hand, knowing his time was up, and told Feng Tan something important, "Yongle, listen to me, didn't you always ask me where I came from when you were little?"
The suffocating pain spread through Feng Youming's limbs and bones. Like every generation of transmigrators, she was unable to escape the imperial prison. She was the tenth generation mission taker. Unlike the past, the main system automatically differentiated into a subsystem during her last chance to transmigrate. On the day Feng Tan was born, auspicious phoenix clouds hovered above the palace, and aurora borealis surged and poured down from the sea of clouds. She knew then that the chosen recipient of the subsystem had been born.
The fighting at the top grew increasingly fierce. Feng Youming lay in Feng Tan's arms, blood constantly gushing from his lips. "Yongle," he said, "I actually come from the future. In our time, women had a certain degree of fairness, but there was still a long way to go before they were treated completely fairly. You could even say that the era had regressed somewhat. Childbirth could be exploited, wombs could be bought, and the law did not serve women..."
The blood from her lips gushed out more and more violently. Feng Tan frantically wiped the blood away with her fingers, tears streaming down her face.
Feng Youming's gaze was somewhat unfocused. She strained to focus on the girl she had carefully raised and nurtured, and continued, "In our era, more and more girls began to awaken. Each awakened girl was like a rising star, and the awakening of female consciousness was accompanied by the ever-growing brilliance of that star. With sincere prayers, the system was triggered, giving us the opportunity to go back in time and fundamentally improve women's political participation. However, the first nine time travelers all failed; no one could shake the feudal dynasties. This time, the system can even support a certain number of firearms..."
Feng Youming conjured the physical form of the main system from his mind; in standby mode, it shimmered with a deep blue starlight. He handed it to Feng Tan, saying, "The key to the main system is the subsystem... Yongle. If you're willing to save them, you can open it, but the process will be extremely dangerous... If you're not willing, that's fine too. After you get out, find a place to live as you please and enjoy your life. Also..."
The gushing blood gradually pooled into a bright red mirror, staining Feng Tan's clothes crimson. Feng Youming's breath grew weaker and weaker. "In my heart, I didn't want Yongle to be the savior of the Ziwei Stars. The laws of nature are constant. We've suffered enough from trying to forcibly change their course. I didn't want to drag you down with me, but the system chose you... I'm so sorry, sir..."
Feng Tan shook her head, wanting to say no, but her throat was choked with emotion and she couldn't speak. Feng Youming's eyes welled with tears as he looked at her and said, "Years ago, I rose up with hundreds of women from the Great Huang Dynasty. We should have died together. They preceded me by eight years, and today on the road to the Yellow Springs... I wonder if I can catch up... Yongle, the principles I taught you have always gone against the grain of this era. You must not be confined by them... Your teacher hopes you can find peace and escape this cage..."
As her last breath faded, Feng Youming slowly released her grip on Feng Tan's fingers. They had been together for less than an hour, and everything had vanished like smoke. She sat in a pool of blood, tightly embracing Feng Youming's body, tears streaming down her face. She prayed to all the gods and Buddhas in the heavens, but no one answered her prayers.
She cried helplessly, unable to utter a sound; her heart was clenching so badly it almost suffocated her. The fighting above subsided considerably, and when Yu Ruxi rushed down, her pupils dilated sharply.
The ground was littered with the corpses of the Shen family soldiers and the gentleman who had been stabbed multiple times. Tears welled up in Yu Ruxi's eyes. She knew that she had to be more rational than Feng Tan now. She choked back tears as she pulled Feng Tan up from the ground and said urgently, "Yongle, let's go! Shen Shiyi and the others have already left. If we don't get out now, it will be too late!"
A deep male voice came from above, followed by a group of men in black descending with knives. The Silver-Masked Venerable slowly walked into the dark room and said, "It's too late."
The last person to appear behind the Silver-Masked Venerable was Hu Shu, with a long sword held to his neck.
Feng Youming's body was still warm. Feng Tan gently laid her flat on the ground, tears still glistening in her eyes, and said in a cold voice, "Feng Tingxiao, what are you going to do?"
Hu Shu's mouth was gagged with a white cloth by Feng Tingxiao's men, her body was tightly bound with hemp rope, and a masked man in black held a long knife to her neck. She couldn't utter a single word, and even making a gesture to signal was difficult.
Feng Tan and Yu Ruxi's hearts sank. Shang Chunxiang's message indicated that Hu Shu had awakened and would find a way to leave the palace. The situation was urgent; rescuing their teacher was the priority. Feng Tan had verified the handwriting and coded message on the letter; there were no problems. Hu Shu's current identity was, after all, Princess Yongle; it was impossible for her to be openly kidnapped by the Prince of Chu. Where had things gone wrong?
The current situation didn't allow Feng Tan to think too much about the issues. Feng Tingxiao also knew that it would be easiest to succeed before the Embroidered Uniform Guard mobilized a large number of troops. He followed closely behind Feng Tan and broke into the Imperial Prison as the Silver-Masked Venerable. He seized the opportunity perfectly, took off his mask to reveal a handsome face, and stared at the sniper rifle in Feng Tan's hand. He said, "Yongle, this time, will you switch or not?"
Feng Tingxiao's goal was clear: from beginning to end, all he wanted was the weapon that Feng Youming was carrying.
Back in the Linzhang waters, he beat Feng Tan half to death just to get her to hand over her weapon. And today, he kidnapped Hu Shu, using her life as leverage, his goal still being the deadly weapon in Feng Tan's possession. So he coldly watched Feng Tan risk everything to save Feng Youming, neither stopping her nor hindering her, only to ultimately use Hu Shu's life to restrain her.
With a sharp blade held against Hu Shu's neck, she shook her head at Feng Tan, signaling that Feng Tan was not allowed to change it.
Feng Tan's cheeks were still wet with tears, which she wiped away fiercely, unwilling to show such vulnerability to others. She reached out and took out a sniper rifle, saying, "Feng Tingxiao, take this. Are you planning a rebellion?"
The dim light couldn't illuminate the darkness in the man's eyes. He looked at Feng Tan standing in the pool of blood, smiled coldly, and said, "You know perfectly well what I mean, little niece. What I've always wanted is to ascend to the throne. Emperor Jianming didn't pass it to me, and Emperor Chongming only considered me as a backup, but that doesn't matter. I can take it for myself."
He approached Feng Tan step by step, his imposing aura as a superior being was overwhelming. Just as he was about to come into contact with the sniper rifle, Hu Shu's pupils constricted. His courage suddenly surpassed his will to survive. He made a snap decision and slammed his neck hard into the sharp blade in front of him, and blood splattered everywhere in an instant.
Feng Tan's eyes welled up with tears, her heart ached, and she cried out in a shrill voice, "Hu Shu!"
The author says: The time travelers never left their hometowns; they were not in the same time, but in the same space.
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