Chapter 1401: That Troublesome Monkey

The Qin army was still seizing grain. At least for the moment, its movements remained centered on raiding for provisions.

Outside a great camp that had halted temporarily to rest and regroup, a flying mount descended.

A man hurried into the central command tent and reported to Luo Zhao, “Commander-in-Chief, Yuan Gang is here. He says he wants to see you.”

“Yuan Gang?” Luo Zhao froze. The others in the tent looked at one another.

By now, nearly everyone knew about Yuan Gang’s connection to Luo Zhao’s former wife. They had heard that Feng Guan’er was already together with Yuan Gang at Demon Ridge.

Lu Yuan, the newly appointed Sect Leader of Xiaoyue Pavilion, frowned and muttered, “What’s he doing here?”

The Xiaoyue Pavilion people had a very deep impression of Yuan Gang. They respected him, and they feared him. This was a man brazen enough to lay hands on Lü Wushuang’s disciple right in front of Lü Wushuang herself. Rumor even said he had killed that disciple. For someone like that to still be alive was remarkable enough to seem almost unbelievable.

And if he could survive that and even become the Holy Son of the Demonic Sect, then some of the rumors might actually be true. Sacred Venerable Wu Chang of Tianmo might truly be backing Yuan Gang.

In all honesty, none of them wanted to provoke such a reckless hardhead.

Luo Zhao asked, “How many came with him?”

“Just him.”

Since Yuan Gang had already come, refusing to see him would be inappropriate. Luo Zhao also wanted to know why he had suddenly appeared.

A short while later, Yuan Gang was led into the tent with a great saber strapped across his back. He wasted no words. After sweeping a glance over everyone present, he walked straight up to Luo Zhao and asked, “I heard the rebels in Qi are attacking the Qi capital?”

Luo Zhao nodded with a grunt.

“Can the rebels take it?”

Luo Zhao considered briefly. “Under ordinary circumstances, it wouldn’t be easy. But the situation is complicated, so it’s hard to say how it will end.”

“I heard you already sent a force to reinforce the city.”

“Yes.” Luo Zhao nodded, though he was becoming puzzled.

“Can the reinforcements get there in time?”

“Under ordinary circumstances, they should. But as I said, things are complicated. I can’t guarantee they’ll arrive before the city falls. Why are you asking?”

“I want to do my part to relieve the siege of the Qi capital. I want to join the reinforcements you sent, but I don’t know the others, so I came to you. I’m hoping you can give me a written order under your authority so there won’t be any misunderstandings.” Yuan Gang knew perfectly well that he could not accomplish much by himself.

Everyone exchanged looks. This man had actually come because he wanted to help relieve the Qi capital?

Lu Yuan asked in confusion, “Is this the Demonic Sect’s intention?”

Yuan Gang looked at him. “This has nothing to do with the Demonic Sect. The Demonic Sect won’t involve itself in this either. This is my own private matter.” He paused, thought about it, and decided an explanation was still necessary. “I heard the Huyan family is trapped inside the city. Years ago, I received a favor from the Huyan family. I want to repay that favor myself. It has nothing to do with the Demonic Sect.”

He emphasized more than once that the Demonic Sect had nothing to do with it. And that was indeed the truth. He did not even dare let the Demonic Sect know, or they would certainly stop him.

Faced with such a request, the others truly did not know what to say.

Luo Zhao did not give him a written order. Since Yuan Gang was determined to take part, Xiaoyue Pavilion instead sent someone to accompany him.

In a secret chamber at Maolu Annex, Niu Youdao frowned at the confidential letter in his hand. “Gone? How could he be gone?”

Yun Ji reminded him, “The report says he even took one of the Demonic Sect’s flying mounts. That’s enough to prove he left of his own accord.”

“He was fine. Where could he have gone?” Niu Youdao paced the chamber, unable to make sense of it. Suddenly he stopped and turned. “Send word immediately and ask whether Feng Guan’er is still there. Also, have Zhao Xiongge pay attention to what sort of intelligence Monkey has been following lately.”

“All right.” Yun Ji turned and left at once.

Two days later, the replies came back. Feng Guan’er was still at Demon Palace, and she had no idea where Yuan Gang had gone. He had not told her before leaving.

That was one thing. What really caught Niu Youdao’s attention was the intelligence Zhao Xiongge supplied on what Yuan Gang had been watching lately. Several pieces of information made his eyelid twitch.

Bang! Niu Youdao slapped the report onto the table, his face darkening. “Damn it! He’s been following the rebels’ attack on the Qi capital. Zhao Xiongge overlooked it, and so did I. I forgot to warn Zhao Xiongge. That bastard may have gone to the Qi capital!”

Yun Ji was thoroughly puzzled. “What would Monkey go to the Qi capital for?”

Niu Youdao sighed. “I’d forgotten about it myself until I saw this. You don’t know the history. Monkey once operated undercover in the Qi capital and got along quite well with Huyan Wei. Back when Qi was hunting him down, Monkey should have had no way out. But when Huyan Wei caught up with him, not only did he refuse to arrest him, he let him go. On behalf of his father, Huyan Wuhen, he even gave Monkey a treasured saber. That was the Three-Roars Saber.”

“Whether that old bastard Huyan Wuhen was buying goodwill or genuinely appreciated Monkey, he put on that whole moonlit-pursuit, repaying-grievance-with-virtue routine. Monkey values loyalty and old debts, so of course he took the bait. Now the Huyan family may be in danger. Given Monkey’s character, there’s no way he would stand by and watch. He must have gone to the Qi capital.”

Yun Ji gave a wry smile and shook her head. “So that’s where this old debt comes from. That Monkey really never gives anyone peace of mind.”

Niu Youdao spun around. “He has some ability to protect himself and react to danger, but there’s one person he can’t deal with: Lü Wushuang! The fact that we successfully used him to draw Lü Wushuang away last time proves she’s been keeping an eye on him all along. If he runs into her, he won’t even have a chance to escape.”

Yun Ji’s expression turned grave. “Then what do we do?”

“That bastard. I told him again and again, and he still refuses to listen! Hopefully we’re not too late. He’d better not let me catch him, or I’m going to straighten him out properly this time. Come on. We’re going to find him.” Niu Youdao waved a hand and strode out.

There was no telling whether notifying anyone else now would be fast enough, so he personally took Yun Ji and headed straight for the Qi capital.

Yuan Gang had repeatedly refused to learn his lesson, and this time Niu Youdao was truly furious. He had been sitting calmly behind the scenes, watching the winds rise and the clouds surge, only for Yuan Gang to force him to come out in person.

“How long are you people planning to drag this out? The enemy reinforcements arrive tomorrow. Once they do, we won’t be able to withdraw even if we want to!”

Gu Yuanda, his eyes red with anxiety, was shouting at the Blackwater Terrace men inside the command tent.

To hold the city, Qi’s Three Great Sects had gone to extremes. They had ordered huge numbers of people to pile earth and stone into the gateways and seal them completely. Forget about insiders opening the gates; even bombarding those blockages with Heavenly Sword Talismans might not be enough to clear them easily.

With enemy reinforcements also drawing near, how could Gu Yuanda not be anxious?

A Blackwater Terrace operative hurriedly said, “Grand General, please restrain your anger. We know the situation is urgent. We’ve already ordered our insiders in the city to cooperate today at any cost. Otherwise, we’ll expose the evidence of their secret collusion with us. If that happens, Qi won’t spare them either!”

And so, the city fell.

The Qi forces only had to hold out for one final day. Precisely because of that, Blackwater Terrace calculated that some senior official at the Qi court would inevitably come forward to bolster the soldiers’ morale.

When Chancellor Liang came for that very reason, Blackwater Terrace gathered all its hidden operatives and launched an assassination attempt against him.

That gave their insiders an open and legitimate reason to reassemble the troops that had previously been dispersed under their command, rush over to protect the chancellor, and encircle the assassins.

Naturally, once that force had gathered without restraint and reached the city gate, it had no intention of hunting assassins. Instead, the men suddenly charged the battlements in a frenzy, catching the defenders completely off guard and throwing the walls into chaos.

The instant disorder broke out on the walls, Gu Yuanda drew his sword and roared, “Charge!”

With no massed ranks of archers on the battlements to threaten them, large numbers of cultivators among the rebels flew up onto the walls first and plunged into battle with Qi’s cultivators.

A black mass of rebels surged to the foot of the walls like a swarm of ants. They brought out every kind of scaling equipment and began climbing.

Men were knocked down again and again, while others kept climbing. At last, the “ant swarm” poured over the walls and spread continuously into the city.

The reinforcements were supposed to arrive tomorrow. Everyone inside had believed that if they could just survive this final day, they would be safe, and many had begun to relax inwardly. Then the unexpected struck. Everyone was stunned and caught utterly unprepared.

As more and more rebels flooded into the city, they began fighting the defending troops in the streets, while terrified civilians fled in every direction.

The rebels already had the advantage in numbers, while the defenders had to hold all four sides of the city. For a time, the forces stationed on the other walls did not know whether they should abandon their positions to reinforce the breach or remain where they were. At the same time, Jin’s hidden operatives inside the city seized the opportunity to create disorder. They set fires and shouted that this gate had fallen and that gate had fallen, stirring panic everywhere.

Other men within the defending army who had been turned by the enemy also began leading small groups in revolt. The Qi capital collapsed into total chaos.

The decision by Qi’s Three Great Sects to seal the gates with great masses of earth and stone now left many people trapped in a cocoon of their own making. The gates could no longer be opened normally. The families and dependents of the court officials were numerous, and even fleeing the city in an orderly fashion had become difficult. Climb the walls and jump down from the top? There were nowhere near enough cultivators to help so many people.

A few escaped with cultivators’ assistance. Far more remained trapped inside.

Once the rebels had all scaled the walls, their numerical superiority made the situation even more one-sided.

When word reached Hao Hong that the city had been breached, he was badly shaken. Restless and unable to sit still, he hurriedly asked the Three Great Sects for a plan.

The women in the palace were even more frantic, like ants on a hot wok. All their wealth, status, and splendor seemed to turn to nothing in that instant.

One enemy force came howling toward the imperial palace.

Clad in battle armor, Huyan Wei stood atop the main gate of the palace city, his face ashen.

Below, many officials’ families were running toward the palace in tears under the protection of household retainers.

One palace gate still stood open to admit them. There was nowhere else outside to hide, so the only choice was to seek refuge inside the palace.

“Lower the thousand-layer portcullis! Seal the palace gate!” Seeing the enemy drawing ever closer, Commander of the Imperial Guard Huyan Wei suddenly gave the order.

“Grand Commander, you cannot!” A senior official climbed onto the wall, panting for breath. He was Qi’s Court Chamberlain, one of the nine great ministers beneath the Chancellor. Waving his hands repeatedly, he pleaded, “Grand Commander, show mercy. This old man’s family has not yet entered the palace!”

Huyan Wei stared at him for a moment, then said decisively, “Lower the portcullis!”

“Who dares!” the Court Chamberlain shouted in fury.

“Stop!” More than a dozen officials climbed onto the wall and took their places behind the Court Chamberlain in support.

Pointing at Huyan Wei and the others, the Court Chamberlain said angrily, “Without an edict from the Crown Prince, who dares—”

With a flash of steel, Huyan Wei’s sword left its sheath and drove straight through the man’s heart. Blood sprayed, and the Court Chamberlain’s lips trembled, no longer able to form a sound.

Huyan Wei tore the sword free, and the spurting blood splashed across his face.

He seized the Court Chamberlain by the neck, swung his arm, and hurled him directly off the wall. The body struck the ground below with a heavy thud.

“Anyone else who dares obstruct me will share his fate!” Huyan Wei pointed his bloodied sword downward and shouted with a decisiveness he had never shown before. “Lower the gate!”

The officials backed away in fright, their faces pale. Not one dared speak again.

A deep rumbling rolled out as the thousand-layer portcullis descended. Those who had arrived too late cried outside the sealed palace gate, begging for it to be opened.

[End of Chapter 1401]