Continue with the title of the first installment
"Ghost...Ghost Luo?! You...how could you be here!" A-Wu looked at the person in front of her, her expression terrified, her eyes filled with disbelief and complexity.
Beneath the mask, Gui Luo crossed his arms and chuckled nonchalantly, "Is it strange? If you can be here, why can't I?"
"You...you...why? We've been keeping to ourselves for ages, why are you helping me—"
Before Awu could finish speaking, Guiluo's eyes suddenly turned cold, and his smile vanished in an instant: "No wonder there are always people chasing after you in Shuo Dynasty. It turns out there are rats among you. From Beidai to here, your reach is truly extensive."
Jiao Niang wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and upon hearing this, her eyes filled with horror and resentment as she looked at Gui Luo: "So the person back then... was you!"
"Why are you, a Southern Continent person, interfering in the affairs of the Northern Dynasty...?" A-Wu suddenly seemed to realize something, her expression turning horrified: "You and that woman are—"
"No matter what you want to do, this is not Nanzhou! Even you shouldn't try to interfere in Jinan's affairs! Besides, you only have so few people, you can't kill us! Do you really think Centipede Mountain is deserted?!" Jiao Niang roared.
"Centipede Mountain?" Gui Luo seemed to have heard something amusing, lightly stepping on the broken stones beside him: "Is there still a mountain now? I think only a pit remains."
"You!" she exclaimed angrily, almost grinding her teeth to powder.
Gui Luo brandished his knife, his eyes flashing. Just as he was about to strike, he was suddenly bumped into and stumbled to the side.
The person who hit him was clearly determined to die, while Gui Luo, who was inexplicably knocked aside, was like: ?
He stared blankly at the man blocking A-Wu and Jiao-Niang.
"Kill me if you want! But don't touch my wife and daughters!" the man opposite him shouted earnestly.
Gui Luo tilted his head. A Wu looked at the man blocking her way and instead of being moved, she angrily cursed, "Idiot! What are you doing running out here now!"
"father!"
Jiao Niang threw herself onto the man's back, and he stretched out his palms, completely protecting Jiao Niang and A Wu behind him.
Although they were afraid, they showed no sign of backing down.
What a touching family reunion!
Gui Luo chuckled. Then he half-squatted in front of the man, the short knife in his hand pressed against the man's cheek, only coldness visible beneath the mask.
"What a pity. I can't bear to see families reunited." He continued laughing, "How about I send your family on their way?"
"Gui Luo!" A Wu's voice turned fierce: "What's between you and me has nothing to do with him!"
"Of course it's closed! I'm your husband!"
Ah Wu slapped him: "Shut up!"
Gui Luo: ......
"You...you...I don't care who you are! If you're going to kill them, then kill me first!"
"Heh," Gui Luo looked at him and smiled quietly: "Do you think... you're innocent?"
"If I kill you all, I can be considered to be acting on behalf of Heaven." He drew out the last syllable, and smiled broadly.
“I accept defeat at your hands. However,” A-Wu said, clutching her wound and staring intently at Gui Luo, “everything was orchestrated by me. It has nothing to do with them. My daughter was only responsible for keeping an eye on the group of people we brought. As for him… he wasn’t involved at all! Could you please let them go?”
Gui Luo blinked, then suddenly tilted his head and said in a harmless manner, "I'm here to settle accounts, not to tend horses."
"Furthermore," he slowly stared at the man in front of him, but his words were directed at A-Wu, "how can you be so sure that he would still choose you after knowing everything you've done?"
He chuckled deliberately and looked at the man, saying, "Do you know that all those dirty deeds were orchestrated by your dear wife?"
Although Tang Qi had mentioned it vaguely before, Gui Luo's direct statement still made the man freeze, his outstretched hands trembled, and his eyes were filled with despair.
He slowly turned around, almost in disbelief.
*
Tang Qi was barely breathing. Hu Xingche, Lu Juezhen, and others supported the still unconscious Wu Shunyi on their sides, and together with Cheng Junshi, they rode wildly towards the defending side.
As soon as they approached the city, the group immediately reined in their horses and brought them to a halt. Everyone was stunned, for the scene before them was far more terrifying than the carnage at Centipede Mountain.
The once relatively peaceful area near the city gates was now a scene of utter chaos and uproar. A dense mass of starving people huddled together, their heads thrashing about, quickly surrounding several granaries. The starving people were all emaciated, their eyes sunken, as if they hadn't eaten in a long time; despair and madness filled their eyes.
"Open the granaries! Distribute the grain!"
"Food! Give us food!"
"They have grain! The grain has all been hidden!"
Outside the granary, the soldiers nervously drew their bows and nocked their arrows, yet hesitated to release them. A chaotic and desperate crowd surged forward, completely surrounding them, and the air was thick with unease and a sense of impending collapse.
"Hey! Over here!" The old apothecary at the city gate saw Cheng Junshi and his party and waved to them cautiously.
Upon seeing him, Cheng Junshi immediately dismounted as if he had seen a savior, and together with the others, carefully escorted Tang Qi and Wu Shunyi to Yao Lao's side.
The old pharmacist glanced at the two more patients arriving, his eyes rolled back, and he nearly fainted: "You...you guys!"
He was quite disappointed in him, and finally, he angrily shouted, "Come with me!"
"Wait! Elder Yao—" A soldier rushed out and said urgently, "Young Master Ye and Miss Shen are trapped in the largest granary in the west of the city! The mob has surrounded them too tightly, and our men can't break in at all!"
"This...this!" The old doctor looked at the rioting crowd, then at the patients on this side, and was really in a dilemma.
"Master Yao! Leave this to me. You take Tang... take them to get treatment first," Cheng Junshi's voice came quickly and resolutely after a moment of hesitation: "Juezhen, you go with Master Yao and make sure you are safe throughout the whole process."
"Yes! Your disciple guarantees to complete the mission!" Lu Juezhen said confidently.
Cheng Junshi carefully handed Tang Qi to him, but before leaving, he couldn't help but grab Lu Juezhen's hand tightly.
Lu Juezhen shuddered as he was gripped, but then looked at Cheng Junshi with a determined gaze and said, "Master, don't worry. As long as I live, I won't let anyone interfere with Elder Yao. Brother Zhengye will definitely be alright."
Looking into his earnest eyes, Cheng Junshi finally let go of his hand, and then turned his gaze to Zhuifeng and Huxingche beside him: "You two come with me and quell the riot."
"Yes!" The two nodded immediately.
Cheng Junshi then turned to the sentry who had brought the news, his logic clear: "Explain clearly, how did they get surrounded? Why is there a riot in the city?"
Upon hearing this, the sentry said urgently, "There have been rumors in the city that the imperial relief grain has arrived, but officials and wealthy merchants have colluded to hoard it, hoping to sell it when prices skyrocket. Today, someone set fire to it, and the starving people have all rushed to several large granaries! Young Master Ye and Miss Shen were counting the grain we had secretly collected to distribute to various places, but when they opened the granaries, they found that the grain had been replaced with straw and stones. Before they could even leave, the swarming mob mistook them for officials and merchants hoarding grain and surrounded the granaries! Although they tried desperately to explain, no one listened!"
"Hoarding and speculation?" Cheng Junshi's eyes flickered, and he understood the meaning almost instantly.
This is by no means a simple riot; it must have been deliberately planned by someone who spread rumors and incited public resentment, with the goal of gaining control of Jinan.
He suppressed the urge to rush to the rescue and took a deep breath. The current situation was truly perilous.
The mob needs food to survive, but if the granaries are forcibly breached, it will inevitably lead to looting and stampedes, resulting in countless deaths and injuries, and the food will be lost in an instant, causing the subsequent disaster to spiral out of control. Ye Qian and Shen Zhiqing are now in imminent danger, leaving no room for hesitation.
He immediately turned his gaze to Zhui Feng and Hu Xingche beside him: "You two, immediately take the rest of the brothers and rescue Young Master Ye and Miss Shen at all costs! Remember, focus on dispersing and deterring them. Do not kill the starving people unless absolutely necessary; they have no other choice." Cheng Junshi ordered, while simultaneously unfastening his token and tossing it to Zhui Feng: "Take my token and go find the garrison. If anyone dares to obstruct your rescue, whoever they are, take them down!"
"Yes!" Zhui Feng took the token, leaped onto his horse, and quickly gathered his men with Hu Xingche. They followed the sentries and sped towards the largest granary in the west of the city. They were moving at breakneck speed and dared not delay for even a moment.
After they left, Cheng Junshi turned his horse around, facing the direction of Shuojing City, his eyes filled with a resolute determination to gamble everything.
He must submit a petition immediately.
Jinan needs food and the imperial court needs to open its granaries to provide disaster relief. Otherwise, the Wugong Mountain rebellion, which has just been resolved, will be reignited by this overwhelming public resentment, and Jinan will once again fall into dire straits.
*
Within the imperial city of Shuojing, an urgent report from Jinan, along with Cheng Junshi's earnest and eloquent petition for grain, was presented to Emperor Ming.
Beside him, Eunuch You presented a memorial and an urgent letter.
Emperor Ming leaned back on his large dragon throne. He did not look at Cheng Junshi's tearful plea for grain first, but instead casually turned his gaze to another secret report that came from Jinan.
"Read it." Emperor Ming rested his head on his hand, his voice light and airy.
Eunuch You immediately picked up the secret report and read aloud: "The bandit leader of Centipede Mountain has been executed, and the remaining bandits have scattered... Wu Shunyi is seriously injured, and his fate is unknown..."
Eunuch You continued reading slowly and deliberately, while Emperor Ming's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.
After reading everything aloud, Eunuch You lowered his head and waited cautiously for His Majesty to speak.
But after waiting for a long time without His Majesty speaking, his heart began to pound and his expression became tense.
Emperor Ming's eyes were dark and his words were ambiguous. Eunuch You frowned, looking anxious and fearful for a long time, not daring to raise his head for fear of incurring the emperor's wrath.
Emperor Ming's gaze remained fixed on the secret letter presented to him. After a long while, he suddenly chuckled and said, "These youngsters... they really are a handy weapon."
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