Chapter 77 Brothers and Royal Brothers...
Lou Wanqiao and her men quickly found the imperial manor. As soon as she entered, she ordered her men to surround it at lightning speed.
Nowadays, efficiency is the key to doing things. Li Jin's luck has run out, so we just want to take advantage of his illness to kill him.
"Wait, who are you?! Do you know that this place is under the protection of the prince? You, you are doing this...!" The person in charge was furious. He was about to call the guards, but when he turned around, he found that there was no one behind him.
Lou Wanqiao strolled out slowly. She kindly reminded him, "Li Jin is now a criminal harboring traitors. Are you colluding with him?"
His expression changed. Looking at the cold face and undeniable aura of the woman before him, a terrifying name came to mind, and his voice changed tone: "You, you are... Lou..."
"Take him to the Dali Temple and interrogate him strictly." Lou Wanqiao said in a light tone.
Immediately, guards stepped forward and dragged the steward, who looked as pale as death and had forgotten to even beg for mercy, away.
"Search." Her face was stern as she uttered only one word.
The elite guards and secret guards accompanying them immediately flooded into the imperial manor like a tide, their movements swift and professional, leaving no room for suspicious corners. Lou Wanqiao and Wen Xuechi headed straight for the main courtyard.
"It seems that Li Jin still refuses to give up and wants to make a comeback with the help of these remaining forces." Wen Xuechi looked around. Although the imperial manor looked like an ordinary manor on the surface, the guards inside were unusually strict.
"Just a last-ditch effort." Lou Wanqiao's eyes were icy. "If he had behaved himself, he might have managed to survive. But since he's still harboring evil intentions, don't blame me for eradicating him completely."
Soon, a secret guard came to report: "Sir, a secret room was found in the main courtyard study!"
Lou Wanqiao's expression darkened.
Sure enough, Li Jin was planning a final counterattack.
Without further hesitation, she walked into the study with Wen Xuechi. The entrance to the secret room was ingeniously designed, hidden behind a row of bookshelves. It was difficult to find without careful knocking and probing. Opening the secret room revealed a small space, consisting of a narrow tunnel.
The soldiers surrounded the imperial farm tightly. Lou Wanqiao confirmed the safety of the surroundings again and then entered the secret room.
She walked very slowly at first. There was no air or light in the secret room. Lou Wanqiao held the hilt of the knife tightly in her hand and gradually quickened her pace after her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
This should not be a closed space, but I don't know where it leads to.
She stopped in front of a door. There were two forked roads ahead. Lou Wanqiao thought for a moment and said to Wen Xuechi behind her, "We'll each go one way. If anything goes wrong, we'll return immediately. In any case, we'll meet here in half an incense stick."
Wen Xuechi nodded: "No problem."
She took the first path, which was even darker and deeper. The cold constantly attacked her body, and the warm air she exhaled seemed to quickly freeze into ice. Lou Wanqiao suspected that the temperature here was not right, but she didn't know why. She could only silently count the time as she walked forward.
There is not much time left, we must find the secret as soon as possible and destroy Li Jin's plan.
She paused and lowered her head without hesitation. A whistling sound came to her ears, followed by the sharp sound of a sharp weapon breaking through the air.
Lou Wanqiao frowned when he raised his head. He felt that this place was not simple. Not only was it arranged strangely, but it also contained hidden mechanisms.
She became more cautious, but her hands did not restrain their movements. Instead, she became bolder in her exploration.
After destroying countless traps along the way, a large door soon appeared before her. This door stood out from the surroundings, appearing both ornate and mysterious. Intricate patterns were carved into it, and Lou Wanqiao felt it looked familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
She carefully held the embroidered spring knife across her chest and kicked the door open with force.
After seeing the scene clearly, she suddenly opened her eyes wide.
It was not the gold, silver or jewelry as reported in the intelligence, nor was it the sharp weapon as expected.
In the center of the room was a cube that looked like it was carved out of jade or ice, with a "person" lying quietly inside.
But the man was no longer recognizable as a human being, his body was almost rotten and twisted, and only the bright yellow dragon robe on his body allowed her to guess the identity of the man in front of her.
Lou Wanqiao's fear was beyond words. She opened her mouth but couldn't utter a single word.
As the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, she had indeed seen many scenes over the years, but even so, the scene before her still shocked her.
It’s Li Lianhan.
He actually lives here in this way.
Is he really still...alive?
Lou Wanqiao once again tightened his grip on the Embroidered Spring Knife, and suddenly heard a burst of laughter behind him.
She turned her head suddenly and saw Li Jin standing not far away.
…He had been waiting for her in this secret room.
Did he know she would come?
Lou Wanqiao remained calm while quietly grasping the poison in his other hand, hoping to catch the enemy off guard without bloodshed, but he saw that the enemy showed no reaction at all, and did not seem to intend to attack, but was just smiling inexplicably.
Lou Wanqiao wasn't stupid enough to ask him something silly like "What are you laughing at?" She held the knife across her chest and was about to strike when she saw him stop smiling and said seriously, "You're finally here. I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Lou Wanqiao was not surprised. She nodded and said, "Your luck has run out."
"Bullshit!" Li Jin suddenly became agitated. He pointed at her and said viciously, "Bullshit, bullshit! My royal brother is the Son of Destiny, the bearer of the fate of the Great Li Kingdom. You traitors are the ones who deserve to be killed!"
Lou Wanqiao didn't intend to say much to him, and Li Jin quickly calmed himself down and said, "Since you've chosen this path, it seems that it's Pingyuan Hou who will take that path."
She looked up at him, only to see Li Jin slowly utter the second half of his sentence: "I've buried gunpowder and poison there. If you're not careful, it will... bang! It's only fair that you experience my royal brother's pain firsthand..."
Lou Wanqiao's face was expressionless. "Fair? Then why aren't you willing to experience the suffering of the common people, to work in the fields, to weave cloth? If you truly want to experience fairness firsthand, then this is what counts. Prince Yun, as a member of the royal family, you can't be partial."
He choked and simply ignored the conversation, saying viciously, "Your eloquence is useless. Wen Xuechi will soon die in agony. Haha, do you think he's the only one who will die? None of you will be able to escape!! When the time comes, the gunpowder buried in this secret room will explode, and you will all be buried with my royal brother!"
Lou Wanqiao's gaze fell on the transparent "coffin" and he shook his head. "You really don't want to let my brother rest in peace. Do you think he would want to see you do this? With a prince like you, it's only a matter of time before the previous dynasty is overthrown."
Her tone was light, and Li Jin's expression turned angry again. He would never allow anyone to slander his royal brother. He was the greatest emperor of the Great Li, having reigned for many years. They were so good, the Great Li was so good... but it was this garbage! They had entered the palace, openly shouting incomprehensible slogans, and then doing things that deserved the extermination of the entire clan!
But it’s okay, it’s okay.
The emperor's appearance means that the fate of Dali has come to an end.
He was just going with the flow.
Lou Wanqiao exerted force with his fingers, and a short dart popped out, piercing his shoulder in an instant.
Li Jin groaned in pain, and the folding fan in his hand reflected a sharp light under the reflection of the night pearl, and flew towards Lou Wanqiao.
He was naturally no match for her and was defeated in just a few moves. Lou Wanqiao swiftly broke his arm, but Li Jin said coldly, "Do you think that if you cut off my arm, the gunpowder will not ignite? Naive!"
"No, I just want to break your arm," Lou Wanqiao said coldly. She stepped on his intact wrist with such force that you could almost hear the bone crack. Li Jin cried out in pain again, completely unable to resist.
"Do you think I'll give you a chance to die together?" Lou Wanqiao looked down at him. "Li Jin, you're just like your brother. You both overestimate yourself and underestimate your opponent."
Her words were like poisoned needles, piercing Li Jin's heart. He twisted his body frantically, his good hand desperately reaching into his bosom—there lay his final trump card: a delicate tinderbox. In a single moment, it could ignite the gunpowder throughout the secret chamber and the other passage, forcing everyone to be buried with his brother!
Just as his fingertips were about to touch the tinder, his movements suddenly froze.
His gaze passed Lou Wanqiao and fell directly on the transparent ice in the center of the room. The soft glow of the Night Pearl shone through the ice, reflecting a blurry, distorted figure still clad in a bright yellow dragon robe.
My Royal Brother...
The once wise and powerful emperor who reigned supreme was now reduced to a half-human, half-ghostly shell, sealed in ice. This was the last remaining proof of his brother's existence, a figure he had barely preserved with all his might and uncanny secrets.
If the explosives were detonated, this ice coffin and the last trace of the emperor's brother in this world would be reduced to ashes, along with the body that carried his countless memories and ambitions, which would be turned into dust.
Does he...really want to do this?
Hadn't he lived to this day, forbearing and plotting, all for the sake of someday resurrecting his brother, or at least... preserving his physical body? If they perished together, his brother would truly be left with nothing.
The crazy hatred and desperate determination were like a flame extinguished by ice water the moment they touched Li Lianhan's figure, leaving only endless sadness and powerlessness.
He stretched out his hand towards his bosom, and then it slowly fell. The madness in his eyes faded, replaced by a bottomless despair.
Lou Wanqiao keenly sensed the change in his aura and remained vigilant. However, he saw that Li Jin no longer tried to resist. Instead, he turned his head with difficulty and looked at the ice coffin again. His eyes regained clarity. He murmured in a voice so soft that it was almost inaudible: "Royal brother... I am... incompetent after all..."
He suddenly raised his head and looked at Lou Wanqiao. There was no hatred in his eyes, only a calm plea: "Lou Wanqiao, kill me. Give me a quick death... But, please... let my brother go. He... he has come this far. No matter what, he is still the emperor of Dali..."
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his intact hand. Lou Wanqiao was alert and was about to take action, but he saw him mobilizing all his energy to gather the last of his internal strength, and then he slashed his neck with the folding fan in his hand.
"puff--"
There was a muffled sound and blood spurted out.
Li Jin's body shook violently, and his eyes quickly blurred. His last glance was still stubbornly looking in the direction of the ice coffin, filled with endless reluctance and attachment.
He died of suffocation.
The secret room fell into dead silence.
Lou Wanqiao frowned as she looked at Li Jin's dead body. She hadn't expected that Li Jin, in his twisted obsession with Li Lianhan, would give up on dragging everyone else down with him, even going so far as to commit suicide to save that already meaningless body.
She was silent for a moment and turned her head away.
A figure emerged at the end of the tunnel. It was Wen Xuechi. His sword and the hem of his clothes were covered in dust, but fortunately, he had no external injuries.
"I destroyed the lead to the other road. There are many poisonous insects inside. Fortunately, Mingfeng gave me a bottle of medicine before he left, which made me immune to all poisons." Wen Xuechi gave her a brief report of the situation. He looked into the room, his eyes moving slightly.
Lou Wanqiao's gaze fell on the transparent ice again. The figure inside seemed even more lonely and strange after Li Jin's death.
"He is a man who values brotherhood." Wen Xuechi walked to her side, looking at the ice coffin, his tone flat with a hint of imperceptible sarcasm.
Lou Wanqiao shook her head, feeling unmoved. She simply found this twisted obsession pathetic and ridiculous. She raised her Embroidered Spring Blade, gathering her inner strength at the tip, a chilling light emanating from it.
Li Jin begged for death, but she would not leave any hidden dangers. This body, a symbol of the previous dynasty and the unknown evil magic it contained, must be completely destroyed.
Then he sank his wrist, and the blade, carrying a thousand pounds of force, slashed fiercely at the transparent ice coffin!
Snap——
Boom!!
The ice shattered with a clang, exploding instantly, sending fragments flying everywhere. The body trapped within, upon contact with the outside air, shrank and decayed at a visible rate, eventually transforming into a pool of dark, murky water. Along with the bright yellow dragon robe, it completely vanished from the world.
The "completeness" that Li Jin exchanged for his death was ultimately empty.
The shadow of the previous dynasty that had plagued Dali for so long was finally brought to an end at this moment.
Lou Wanqiao put away his knife and looked at the stain on the ground that was gradually seeping into the ground and Li Jin's body not far away, his heart filled with coldness.
"Let's go," she turned and said to Wen Xuechi, "Let someone clean this place up and destroy it all. Such crooked ways shouldn't be allowed to exist in this world."
The last wisp of smoke dissipated in the air, and a new order was established more firmly on the ruins.
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