Chapter 104: Leading Battle

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Gu Yun turned his head around without saying a word, like a Black Iron Camp’s Wind Slasher, his sharp killing intent caused Imperial Uncle Wang to be stunned on the spot

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       The Barbarian envoy’s smile was constantly twisting and morphing in Chang Geng’s eyes, with an unspeakable demonic aura. It was the same expression as Hu Ge Er’s when she was cursing him before dying. It deposited the bitterness of Eighteen Tribes who fought against heaven and earth, against people and for life.

      Chang Geng stared closely at the silver cup in the hands of the Third Prince. His whole body seemed to be shackled by a thousand weights. However, in the eyes of outsiders, he was silent for only a moment.

      Not long after, Chang Geng raised his hand in front of the eyes of the crowd. His thin lips were almost bloodless, he gracefully and calmly took a glass from a nearby servant.

      Anyone with eyes could see that Yan Wang had just come out of illness. His hand and cheeks lacked blood. The finger holding the cup trembled slightly. He lowered his eyes and touched the silver cup of the prince lightly, saying coldly, “Third Prince, help yourself. I have taken medicine recently and cannot drink alcohol. When the Eighteen Tribes will bring this year’s tribute, you and I will have the opportunity to drink together.”

      The Third Prince stared at him through the double pupils. Chang Geng touched his lips with the wine in his glass then put the silver cup aside, walking past the Barbarian envoy without looking sideways.

       In other people’s eyes, maybe His Highness Yan Wang was only indifferent towards the enemy envoy, but Gu Yun saw from his ghostly pale face the violent and repressive impatience.

      There truly was something abnormal about that Third Prince after all. Gu Yun’s heart sank and turned to Shen Yi to make a signal. The latter immediately understood and quietly went out of the hall. Gu Yun got up and pushed aside the people blocking the way. As he walked towards Chang Geng, he said in a loud voice, “Your Highness, please come and have a rest.”

      Before he could get close, his sharp nose that was different from ordinary people’s detected a very subtle odor of blood, and his heart was in a state of confusion when he recalled Miss Chen’s vague line about blood.

      At that moment, the Barbarian envoy was seemingly unable to read the situation and took a step forward to say, “I still remember that year when our goddess strayed to a foreign land, I didn’t expect that one day I would get to see her bloodline, it must be a blessing by god.”

      Xu Ling coldly answered, “Yan Wang is the true royalty of our Great Liang. It would be inappropriate for you to say so.”

      The Barbarian envoy stared into Chang Geng’s eyes intensely, as if wanting to see a little bit of clue from his pupils. But the more he looked, the more shocked he felt.

      The reason why it was so difficult to refine the Bone of Impurity was that besides being cruel, it also required every element to be aligned. The host must have a strong temperament, so as to leave a long fermentation time for the blood of the evil god. He must not lose control too early. Otherwise, the mental development of the host would remain at the level of a moronic child for the rest of his life.

      The Third Prince was one such example of a failure. This innocent child had a twin brother, both died together due to his father’s hatred. Failing to survive the first attack of the Bone of Impurity, he had been destroyed and could only serve as a ‘sacrifice’ to evil gods. In contrast, Yan Wang in front of them was the perfect product. Even now, he still maintained his sanity, and even in front of the sacrifice, he had not revealed an opening, how strong could his will be?

The evil spirit of the Bone of Impurity originated from devouring. When it was near another weak and incomplete Bone of Impurity, it aroused its instinct and would lose its mind. Therefore, the latter was also called a ‘sacrifice’. At this time, if someone nearby guided him properly, controlled his mind when the Bone of Impurity was distracted, then supplemented him with medicines, the evil god would be able to follow one’s orders until he collapsed completely.

      Perhaps, even Xiu Niang herself didn’t realize that the evil god she abandoned halfway through could be this powerful. Unfortunately, these years, the evil god was taken away by the people in the Central Plains, not only did they fail to exert the true power of the evil god, but it also became a sharp weapon against the Eighteen Tribes.

      “At Yanhui Town, my king had seen Your Highness once, but at that time, he thought that Your Highness was a dirty child birthed by Hu Ge Er, he was rude to Your Highness. During this peace talks, he had ordered me to bring his apologies.” The Barbarian envoy’s lips curved up slightly and silently hid the secret keywords that evoked the Bone of Impurity in his questioning, “I wonder if Hu Ge Er has ever spoken to His Highness about the Eighteen Tribes?”

      “Hu Ge Er… spoken,” These four words of a nonsensical question set off a storm in Chang Geng’s ear that nobody knew of. Before his eyes, the tall and rough Barbarian envoy merged with the gorgeous and demonic Hu Ge Er. The curse that the woman exhausted on her deathbed exploded like thunder in his ear, with an unspeakable peculiar scent coming from the Third Prince and plunged into his lungs — a little fishy, a little bitter. It spared no effort to pull Chang Geng’s nerves and aroused his bloodthirsty impulse.

      The door of memory which he had deliberately closed was suddenly knocked open, and the fragmented memories fiercely drowned him down.

      Hu Ge Er’s nightmare-like beautiful face, the hill filled with bandit corpses, the first fire in memory, the stench of blood on his face, the endless abuse and beating… the old scars under his gorgeous court attire came alive, the blood-sucking leeches drilled into his skin and flesh, but his mortal body seemed to be unable to withstand the enormous power of the evil god. Chang Geng’s chest and limbs were cut like knives. The sharp pain was the symptom of the Bone of Impurity’s attack.

      What’s worse was that the Barbarian envoy’s words aroused thousands of waves, which was totally seemingly speaking unintentionally for an intended listener.

       Wang Guo immediately added oil into the fire and said, “Is it inappropriate for you to mention Hu Ge Er here? Although Xiu Jun Zhu had a great achievement in raising His Royal Highness Yan Wang, it was also true that she provoked the relationship between the two sides at that time, which almost led to war nine years ago.”

      As soon as the words came out, the cowards following Imperial Uncle Wang did not know what the situation was, and the civil officers who simply hated the barbarians immediately jumped out to dance along.

      Wang Guo smile and said shamelessly, “Besides, I also heard there is nothing good about that Xiu Jun Zhu, she conspired to harm the Black Iron Camp. After it failed, she persuaded the Royal Consort who was pregnant to escape. Not knowing who she had gotten intimate with, if this old man remembered correctly, that year, there was even a rumor spread by a doctor that Xiu Jun Zhu was pregnant before marriage. Someone like this is not worthy of being our court’s Jun Zhu and your tribes’ goddess.”

      Even if someone were any dumber, they could also hear the hidden meaning in his words. Seeing that Wang Guo was courageous enough to point the sword at Yan Wang, the people who danced along just now all silenced, waiting for the follow-up.

 Looking at Yan Wang, no one could tell whether he was ill or what. cold sweat rolled down from his forehead, it seemed that he had no strength to stand.

      Fang Qin frowned and realized the problem on the spot: before he knew it, Wang Guo had colluded with the Barbarian!

      At this time, Fang Qin had no time to rejoice in Yan Wang‘s misfortune, he was very uncomfortable — internal struggle was internal struggle. It was normal for people on the same side to fight for power and influence. Whether the winner takes all or they fight to their last breath, these were all internal affairs. But at this moment where the border had not been taken back and the country was at a loss, how could he drag outsiders into this?

      If this was exposed — no, there was no need for it to come to light at all, even if Wang Guo was successful in proving how Yan Wang had mixed up royal blood, what would others think afterward? No one would think that the Fang family was innocent. He had been clearly in the same party as Wang Guo, but the old doctor was still waiting to be judged, the one who leaked the secret was kept in Fang household, there was no way for him to rid himself of this relationship!

      Fang Qin broke out in a cold sweat. Wang Guo was not only using him, but he also dragged him into being a national traitor who colluded with the enemy!

      He thought he was no worse than anyone else in terms of intelligence, but looking at Yan Wang, even though he was still young, he already had Jiang Chong as a strong right hand man, Xu Ling, the defender of justice, half of Ling Shu Institute, and even the Northern Camp who had fought side by side with him. Even the important figures in the army, such as the Marquis of Order and the governor of the Southwest, they all shared very close personal relations with him. But what about Fang Qin himself?

      All around him was the likes of Wang Guo and Lu Chang. If it was not poisonous snakes, then it was villains. Not enough success but failure was plenty.

      For a moment, Fang Qin felt a cold exhaustion in his heart. He truly learned what was called fate.

      Was it impossible for manpower to resist the tide of fate?

      The Barbarian envoy heard Wang Guo fishing in troubled water and laughed with contempt. He saw the color of Yan Wang‘s pupils deepening. He knew that they would completely turn into double pupils before long. Then Yan Wang would fall into an illusion. He would not hear a single voice from the outside world. Only special secret words and key sentences could enter his ear — that was the moment he would achieve the true evil god.

      The Barbarian envoy stretched out his hands as if to help Chang Geng: “Why, Your Highness does not feel comfor—”

      Before the word ‘comfortable’ could be said, someone shouted, “You dare!”

      The envoy’s pupils shrank and a strong wind blew past his ears. The cold air almost penetrated his pore. In a moment, the envoy’s hairs all stood up, but he could not respond at all. His neck felt cold, a sword was placed at his throat.

      Gu Yun was holding a sword drawn from the waist of the guard, holding Yan Wang in his arms with one hand in full view of the public. Chang Geng grunted and leaned on him as if he collapsed. However, the double pupils the envoy anticipated did not appear. Chang Geng’s mind was clearly clear. He whispered along with Gu Yun’s voice: “Barbarians… Voodoo…”

      Xu Ling exclaimed, “Yan Wang, what’s the matter?”

      A line of blood ran down the sleeve of Chang Geng’s court attire, it only took a moment for his sleeve to be soaked.

     All the court guards drew their swords in unison.

      Wang Guo did not anticipate this situation, but after a short surprise, he still refused to give up all his efforts: “Marshal… we…we can talk about it. What are you drawing your weapon for… what happened to His Royal Highness Yan Wang? Call for a doctor, where’s the doctor?”

      Gu Yun turned his head around without saying a word, like a Black Iron Camp’s Wind Slasher, his sharp killing intent caused Imperial Uncle Wang to be stunned on the spot, letting out an ‘Ah’ then falling flat onto the ground.

      As soon as the word ‘doctor’ was said, Fang Qin’s eyes twitched violently, he could not sit still any longer. He knew that he must clean himself of his relationship with Wang Guo instantly, finding every possible method to push all the blame onto this goddamn old man’s head, otherwise he would have to bear this humiliation for thousands of generations.

      On one hand, Fang Qin ordered his underlings to kill the old doctor who was bought by Wang Guo at the fastest speed. On the other, he stood up calmly and shouted, “The Barbarians’ guts are so large that they dare to act wildly in this court. It is clear that they hide their evil intentions, capture them!”

      Unfortunately… apart from the internal guards, most of the soldiers were members of the Imperial Army and the Northern Camp. The newly formed Royal Army and the Northern Camp could not afford to follow the command of a civil officer such as him. They all stood still in place waiting for Gu Yun’s order.

      Fang Qin was choked for a moment, but there was not much time for him to take back his dignity right now. He quickly returned to his senses and said, “Marshal Gu, I think what happened here today was very strange. You see, the servants should know that the Emperor had already left, why would they invite Yan Wang into the palace at this time? Even if he was invited, they must directly take His Highness to see the Emperor, why did they take him to the palace banquet? Let’s first take these mobs away for trial, report it to the Emperor, then send someone to investigate carefully. We still don’t know if there might be barbarian’s spy mixed in all of this…What do you think? How about you bring Yan Wang to rest first, call a doctor…”

      Gu Yun coldly interrupted his self-conscious chattering “No need to trouble yourself.”

      Fang Qin had never touched such a hard nail since he was born from his mother’s womb. He momentarily forgot his words.

      At this time, a guard dressed in the Northern Camp uniform came in hurriedly: “Marshal, we have surrounded the post station and kept the barbarian envoys under control.”

      Fang Qin was very frightened. Was Gu Yun going to declare war?

      “Quickly report to the Emperor,” Gu Yun ordered. “Besides, the palace doctors would not understand the barbarian’s trickery. Invite Doctor Chen.”

      With Gu Yun keeping watch, even if the sky falls, they would only become busy but not disorderly. Chen Qing Xu and Emperor Long An were notified and came running at the fastest speed. Li Feng quickly looked over Chang Geng’s situation. Without waiting for Gu Yun’s orders, Fang Qin immediately went forward and explained everything from start to end along with his own speculations.

      Emperor Long An was furious, all the palace attendants were detained in an instant, only Chen Qing Xu was allowed to enter to see Yan Wang, her medicine disciple was kept behind to identify the servant.

      With the interrogation going on this side, Gu Yun was too lazy to see them bite each other for longer, staying by Chang Geng’s side the whole time. Just now, his hand was stained full of blood. Even the bead bracelet given by the emperor dyed in red, his face was even worse than that of the injured one.

      “It’s alright. This time it was me who made myself bleed,” Chang Geng looked at him and said, “I know my limits…”

      “Limit my ass!” Gu Yun shouted at him in a low voice. “You really have to come and see what a barbarian looks like, don’t you? I really…”

      Chen Qing Xu made salt water for Chang Geng without anyone’s help and said, “Marshal Gu can rest assured, Wu Er Gu’s body is different from ordinary people. This little injury would not be able to affect him. What on earth did Your Highness encounter that you must bleed like this?”

      Chang Geng slightly closed his eyes for a moment. His gaze seemed clearer than usual. If the blood in Gu Yun’s hand hadn’t been wiped off, he would have thought that he was only pretending.

      “I was tricked into entering the palace.” In order to prevent eavesdropping, Chang Geng used sign language, “Even though the Eighteen Tribes may not be well-intentioned, I think that whether they really want to talk peace or falsely suspend their troops, the present time when our army is on standby and fully ready is not a good opportunity for them to play tricks. I did not expect that the Barbarian envoys dare to make a move on me boldly and publicly… moreover, with Fang Qin’s cautious personality, he generally would not want to easily bear a crime of colluding with the enemy.”

      Gu Yun angrily said: “Generally?”

      Chen Qing Xu quickly avoided Gu Yun’s anger and asked, “Your Highness, can you elaborate?”

      Chang Geng cautiously looked at Gu Yun and described the abnormalities of the Third Prince and the special scent he was able to catch. Chen Qing Xu stopped the bleeding for him quickly while paying attention to his gestures, her eyebrows wrinkled slowly.

      “It’s not necessarily Fang Qin who brought me here,” Chang Geng said. “He’s not going to be as foolish as to let himself be exploited by the Barbarians. It’s very likely that the purpose of his eagerness just now was to prove he had nothing to do with this… but the motives of the envoy of the Eighteen Tribes deserve further study.”

      Gu Yun felt uncomfortable whenever he looked at him. He simply turned his head towards the window — out of sight, out of mind — one hand inadvertently wandered on the scabbard hanging at his waist, the fierce expression on his face had yet to fade.

      He had already thought of this even without Chang Geng saying more. The one who had bribed the servants was most likely Wang Guo who jumped up and down just now. He always regarded Wang Guo as the dog of the former emperor and did not bother himself with a dog. Now, it seemed that some people really thought he had a good temper!

      Chang Geng reached out a cold hand and held the back of his hand, saying pitifully, “Zi Xi, I feel terrible. Look at me.”

      …This time, Chen Qing Xu was the one who did not look to give herself peace of mind.

      Gu Yun’s heart tightened from aching, unable to vent it, he wished he could immediately don his armor and set out to behead Jia Lai Ying Huo. After a long silence, he reluctantly suppressed his anger and said, “Maybe they wanted to assassinate the Emperor at first. When they arrived in the capital, they found that the capital was more strict than they had imagined, so they wanted to make their move on you. Otherwise, they came especially for the purpose of the Bone of Impurity. Barbarians must have the means to control the Bone of Impurity. When the Bone of Impurity is unleashed, the manpower is infinite and can exceed one’s limit. The palace guards would hesitate to attack you. If they use you as a shield, the guards may not be able to stop it. There is only one reason I can think of for them to waste so much effort, that is, the envoy is provoking a war.”

      “If Jia Lai wanted to fight, he can simply mobilize his army. It was not necessary to trouble themselves for provocation,” Chang Geng said. “General Cai’s news may not be entirely baseless. There must be something wrong with the internal affairs of the Eighteen Tribes after all.”

      “What happened to the Eighteen Tribes is not of concern at the moment,” Gu Yun interrupted him. “You also heard the words said by Wang Guo. He is on his last resort, there’s no telling what he would do next. You might as well think about how to deal with it first.”