Chapter 113
Hu Xingche kicked open the gates of Jingzhou Palace. Tang Qi tossed the head over, and it rolled away. He stared at the Chiyu Army opposite him and said coldly, "General Wolf Strategy is dead. Lay down your weapons and surrender, and I will spare your lives."
The man opposite him gripped his sword and confronted him: "Ta Qing! You have kidnapped the prince and plotted a rebellion. Your wolfish ambitions deserve to be punished by heaven and earth! Unless my Crimson Feather Army is wiped out, I will not allow you traitors to set foot in the palace even once!"
“Wrong,” Tang Qi said, raising his chin. “It’s not an intention, it’s treason.”
"I'm not only taking the prince hostage, I'm going to kill him too." He suddenly drew his sword, his face calm: "Where is Sheng Ye? The Wolf Strategy he relied on has already been defeated. I've already fought my way here, where is he still hiding?"
Ye Qian and Shen Zhiqing remained outside the palace. The general who had been replaced by the Wolf Army was beheaded by them. The army was stripped bare. Tang Qi's elder brother, Tang Yan, was appointed to take over the remaining Wolf Army in a time of crisis. Together with Li Guang, who was led by Ye An, they once again guarded outside the palace, directly defending against the long-coveted Southern Continent.
Sheng Ye had fled back to the palace like a stray dog the moment Tang Qi beheaded that person.
Hu Xingche snorted and continued contemptuously, "I think he's been hiding in the mud for so long that he's forgotten how to show his face."
Tang Qi glanced around at the people opposite him, and then slowly said amidst their hateful and fearful gazes, "Go to the main hall and tell Sheng Ye that if he doesn't show up, I will storm into the palace and kill them one by one until he shows up."
Tang Qi's eyes were devoid of emotion, his face stern. The Red Feather Army general stared at him, clearly stunned, unsure whether his words were a threat or a serious statement.
On the contrary, Hu Xingche's gaze fell on Tang Qi. He opened his mouth, wanting to shout, but stopped himself.
He had followed Tang Qi all the way here, witnessing Tang Qi do many things and kill many people on the road to "raising an army in rebellion". His eyes gradually turned cold and stern, and everyone in front of him looked at him with fear in their eyes, those gazes like sharp swords slowly carving out flesh and blood.
He came from the first city gate, his sword already stained with blood, his hands filthy and unsightly. Having killed so many, Tang Qi seemed to feel no pain. With a swift stroke of his blade, he moved on to the next city gate without looking back.
This is the path he walked.
Tang Qi could neither back down nor think. He didn't even dare to consider whether he was truly righteous. On the city wall, the blood of the soldiers who fought to the death to protect their lord was stained on their swords. Was loyalty to the emperor and love for the country something to be condemned to death?
The blood increased, becoming dark and murky, blinding Tang Qi and luring him step by step into an even deeper abyss.
There's no going back for him.
The rebels and the opposing side were locked in a stalemate for a long time. Finally, with a "crack," Tang Qi's bow and arrow broke in his hand. The arrow, split in two, fell to the ground with a soft sound, but it made everyone's hearts tighten. Tang Qi looked down at the broken bow on the ground, then raised his hand, seemingly startled by the unexpected turn of events.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze falling once more on the end of the palace path. The voice was even colder than before, and it carried an undisguised weariness: "It seems he's made up his mind not to come out."
With a flick of his wrist, he raised his longsword once more, its blade pointing directly at the Red Feather Army formation ahead.
"Since that's the case—"
Before he finished speaking, the rebel soldiers behind him understood his meaning, and countless weapons were raised instantly.
The Red Feather Army general's expression changed drastically, and he immediately shouted in a stern voice, "Form ranks!"
Just as tensions were running high and a bloody battle seemed imminent, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps approached from the end of the palace path. Then, surrounded by a group of panicked eunuchs and a few guards, a figure dressed in a prince's everyday robes, pale-faced and even somewhat unsteady, appeared hastily in everyone's sight.
The visitor was none other than the Fourth Prince, Sheng Ye.
He gazed at the army arrayed at the palace gate and the bloodied heads on the ground, his eyes filled with fear and despair. His lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single complete sentence.
"Sheng-Ye-"
Tang Qi's voice wasn't loud, but the person opposite him was so frightened by the direct address that they almost collapsed.
His face was deathly pale, his lips trembled, and he tried to adopt the demeanor of a prince, but the voice that came out was sharp and broken: "Ta...Ta Qing! How dare you! How dare you address me by my name! Leading troops to trespass into the palace, what exactly do you want to do!"
"What do you want to do?" Tang Qi suddenly laughed. "Of course, I want to kill you."
His words were spoken casually, yet they struck Sheng Ye hard in the heart.
Terrified by the undisguised killing intent, the man opposite him abandoned all pretense of princely dignity and screamed at the Crimson Feather Army, "Stop him! Stop this madman for me! Kill him! Kill him!"
If it weren't for his father, he would never have come out; if it weren't for these people, his father would never have given up on him!
Sheng Ye was filled with resentment and bitterness. He knew there was no way to resolve this today, so he decided to give up completely.
Just before the two armies were about to clash, a horse's neigh came from the direction of the palace gates:
"etc--!"
Everyone, including Tang Qi, instinctively looked in the direction of the sound.
A figure approached from afar, and the rider stopped abruptly. Not only Sheng Ye, but even Tang Qi was stunned, staring at the newcomer in disbelief.
“Brother Cheng…” Hu Xingche’s eyes widened.
Tang Qi's eyes were still filled with shock, as if a treasure locked in a cave had grown legs and run out.
Cheng Junshi's eyes were calm, and apart from his hair looking a little tired from the long journey, he was in high spirits.
He glanced at Sheng Ye, who was protected by the Chiyu Army and looked pale with fright, then turned his gaze back to the Chiyu Army soldiers who were filled with doubt and hostility.
"Gentlemen," Cheng Junshi's voice was hoarse, but he tried to make it carry throughout the room, "I have come here today for only one thing." He took out a piece of silk with some stains and bloodstains from his pocket.
"In the thirty-sixth year of the Taiming era, the Crown Prince passed away, and the late Emperor died suddenly. Rumors circulated in the palace that the Crown Prince had died of illness, but the truth was quite the opposite!" The voice resonated: "What I hold in my hand is a record personally written by the former historian Jin Ye. It recounts secrets: the current Emperor murdered his father and brothers, and usurped the throne! He seized the throne and executed Jin Ye's entire family. This silk scroll is the only remaining fragment of the historical records from that time, and Jin Ye hid it with Jin Yanzhao of the Cheng family in Luoyang. This is also the truth behind my mother's tragic death twelve years ago!"
He then took out several more sheets of paper: "These are ironclad evidence of how Sheng Ye and his cronies conspired to shift all the blame for the defeat of Katyu onto the Wolf Army, and how they framed spies within the Wolf Army! Every word is filled with the memory of wronged souls!"
Finally, his gaze swept over the crowd with grief and indignation: "And our Emperor, knowing the truth, yet in order to consolidate his own power, condoned and even plotted all of this! He knew that the Crown Prince had rendered meritorious service in the bloody battle of Jue City, yet he used a secret edict to kill his own son! Such a monarch, such a prince, what face do they have to sit high in the court, what right do they have to command our service?!"
With each sentence Cheng Junshi spoke, the commotion within the Chiyu Army intensified. Many soldiers wore expressions of shock, bewilderment, and wavering.
Those doubts about Tang Qi's rebel army, and those who have always been loyal to the royal family, were all crushed by this irrefutable evidence.
Cheng Junshi sat high on his horse, raised his hand, and the incriminating evidence flew up like falling snowflakes. The bloodstains were no longer vermilion and black. Under everyone's gaze, the truth that had been hidden for years was completely revealed. In broad daylight, the wronged souls were finally freed.
The Red Feather Army general before him trembled slightly. He looked at the shocking evidence in the air, then at the Fourth Prince slumped on the ground behind him, too weak to even utter a rebuttal. A profound sense of absurdity and desolation overwhelmed him. What, then, was the belief he held fast to, and what was he protecting?
Tang Qi slowly raised his hand, silencing the restless soldiers behind him. Then, he stepped forward and walked towards Sheng Ye.
His steps were slow, but each step felt like it was treading on Sheng Ye's pounding heart, as if he wanted to crush it.
The Akabane soldiers watched him approach, saw the blood-dripping sword in his hand, and not one of them stepped forward to stop him.
The general's lips moved, but in the end, he simply closed his eyes in pain and turned slightly to the side.
Tang Qi walked up to Sheng Ye, who was slumped on the ground.
He watched as Tang Qi approached like a demon, tears streaming down his face, and pleaded incoherently, "No, don't kill me, Ta Qing—no, General Ta! Spare me, I can help you—I can identify my father! Spare my life..."
Tang Qi looked down at him, her face expressionless, only indifferent.
“Forty-seven soldiers from the Southern Battalion’s new army,” he began, his voice low and deep, as if from the underground: “Katyu’s Southern Battalion.”
His voice was as calm as if he were talking to a dead man: "And Ye Jin, Your Highness—they are all waiting for you down there."
Before he finished speaking, the sword flipped over.
Without a roar or a howl, Sheng Ye's pleas abruptly ceased. His eyes widened in horror as blood gushed out like a fountain.
I'm not satisfied, but this is the end of it.
Tang Qi didn't even glance at the still convulsing corpse. He flicked the blood off his sword and looked past the empty, unobstructed palace passage.
He looked at Cheng Junshi beside him and said softly, as if talking to himself, "You still came."
"You shouldn't have locked me up."
"Your Excellency is truly remarkable; I am completely humbled."
“Your concerns are valid. The Shuo Dynasty does need a backup plan, but I am not. I should fight you to the very end.”
Tang Qi looked at him and heard Cheng Junshi continue, "Three years is neither long nor short. Zhuifeng and Juezhen are the next generation of sparks."
He paused for a moment, then smiled faintly: "Alright, with Shaoqing by my side on the final journey, even the netherworld won't be so scary."
Cheng Junshi smiled knowingly, picked up the evidence from the ground, and walked side by side with Tang Qi, stepping over Sheng Ye's still-warm blood, towards the main hall. Hu Xingche took a deep breath and led his elite troops closely behind.
"Ah Hu," Tang Qi said without stopping, "stand guard outside the palace."
"Understood."
Tang Qi stopped in front of the palace gate and exchanged a glance with Cheng Junshi. Then, he raised his foot and, with all his injustice and hatred, kicked the heavy palace gate violently.
On the dragon throne, Emperor Sheng Wenchi of the Shuo Dynasty sat upright, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe. His face was an unnatural ashen, like withered branches and fallen leaves rotting in the mud.
The palace was eerily empty; apart from the emperor, there was no one else there.
Tang Qi, carrying a blood-dripping longsword, stepped inside. Cheng Junshi followed beside him, while the person next to him stopped below the steps and looked up.
Their eyes met.
“Junshi,” Sheng Wenchi’s eyes were fixed on him, his gaze not filled with shock or anger, but with a deep, almost liberated calm: “Are you here to kill me too?”
Cheng Junshi stared intently at the emperor he had once served on the dragon throne. Twelve years ago, the raging fire that engulfed the Cheng family in Luocheng had extinguished all his pain and anger, which were now reduced to a single sentence: "Yes."
Tang Qi stepped forward: "Your debts are far more than this one. Your Majesty, you are not going to live."
Sheng Wenchi's lips seemed to twitch slightly, as if he were laughing or crying.
"Ta Qing, are you satisfied with what we've come to?"
“Satisfied?” Tang Qi repeated the word as if he had heard some absurd joke: “Your Majesty, didn’t you force us to this point? Those countless blood debts, today, it’s time to settle them.”
“Purge…yes, it should have been purged long ago.” He murmured, his gaze turning to Tang Qi again, a strange anticipation in his eyes: “Ta Qing, even if you succeed in killing me today, have you thought about the future? The pen of history is iron. If you murder the emperor today, in the future, you, and the new master you assist, will forever bear the stigma of usurping power in the history books! Can he hold onto this throne securely?”
He leaned forward abruptly, his voice rising sharply: "Even if he is indeed a wise ruler, as long as you live as a traitor, the speculation in people's hearts will never cease! As long as you live, the court of this Great Shuo will forever be mired in turmoil and betrayal!"
Sheng Wenchi, panting, leaned back on the dragon throne, his voice lowering again: "Ta Qing, I have not lost."
He continued to smile, like a true strategist: "However, I can give you a chance for revenge. The great war in the Southern Continent is imminent, and I will personally lead the expedition. I need you to pave the way for me."
He spoke almost word by word: "You and I will fight to the death on the battlefield. With our blood, we can cleanse the sins of this palace coup. I can write the abdication document so that he can take over this vast land with a clear conscience."
The main hall was deathly silent.
Tang Qi stood there, recalling the bloodstains of the battle, the soldiers who died on the city walls for loyalty to the emperor and their country, and the obstacles and suffering they had endured along the way.
He knew the emperor was right.
Tang Qi's very existence is the greatest threat to the future new dynasty. His very existence is treason.
A massive, chilling weariness swept over him. Tang Qi seemed to see again Katyu's unfinished journey. And this time, he was finally going to walk it, to put an end to this story.
After a long while, he raised his head very slowly.
"good."
Tang Qi was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Cheng Junshi, who had spoken.
"Since we can't live together, then we'll die together." The person beside him continued to laugh, "Anyway, you can't escape me now."
Tang Qi finally grinned, reverting to his usual roguish demeanor: "Then you'll have to die behind me. If you don't keep your promise, I'll laugh at you, Junshi."
They looked at each other and smiled knowingly once more.
A road that leads to certain death, walked by two people, even if there is no turning back, the road is still full of spring flowers.
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