amaotonovel Chapter 358 The Sound of Killing, Empress Shen's Sorrow
Chapter 358 The Sound of Killing, Empress Shen's Sorrow
Chapter 358 The Sound of Killing, Empress Shen's Sorrow
Amidst the torrential rain, the ambush assassins and the royal guards stood facing each other from a distance.
These ambush soldiers were also dressed in the armor and uniforms of the Prince of Jingnan's mansion, and they were also wrapped in blue cloth headscarves in the rain. However, the expressions on their faces were anything but ordinary. Their skin was a deathly pale blue-white, as if they had been soaking in cold water for three days and three nights. Their deep-set pupils had shrunk to the size of pinpoints.
The dozen or so archers who had just shot arrows were still in the posture of drawing their bows, but their mouths were pulled into an extremely strange arc, stretching straight to their ears, revealing two rows of fine, sharp, shark-like teeth. Their finger joints were unusually large, and their fingernails were bluish-black and tightly gripped the bowstring.
The commander of the personal guards gasped, the veins on his hand gripping the hilt of his sword bulging, and he muttered, "Forbidden drugs... how could they be here..."
At this moment, the thirty-odd guards had no time to change formation or rush to the rescue, while the thirty-odd assassins, emitting inhuman roars, drew their waist knives and short guns and charged straight at Geng Jingzhong through the muddy ground.
They were all fully armored, their steps perfectly synchronized. Their heavy iron boots pounded on the stone slabs, splashing up murky water droplets. Like thirty wild beasts unleashed from their cages, they exuded an air of fearlessness. The rain lashed against their armor, making a crackling sound, but it did nothing to hinder their progress.
"Protect the prince!"
The commander of the personal guards roared, and at that moment, two fully armored guards standing in front of Geng Jingzhong immediately raised their spears to meet the assassin. However, before their spear tips could even touch the assassin, they were struck by several waist knives at the same time.
With a few sharp "cracks," the meticulously crafted spear shaft snapped in two. Then, countless blades rained down like a storm. Before the two guards could even scream, their heads were slashed by the blades, blood gushing out, their armor clanging as it was hacked at.
In the blink of an eye, his exposed limbs were hacked into a bloody pulp by the blades, and the blood and entrails overflowing from his mouth mixed with the rainwater, staining the mud beneath his feet red.
Then twelve spears shot out simultaneously, their tips flashing with a cold light, like venomous snakes spitting their tongues. As they advanced, they thrust repeatedly. Assassins spread out from both sides, wielding their waist knives to flank from the left and right. Their speed was astonishing. The mud and water under their feet were kicked up and splashed everywhere. The light of their knives shone in the rain.
Geng Jingzhong's face turned deathly pale. He subconsciously took a step back, his back slamming heavily against the cold wall. His hand holding the sword trembled slightly, the drunkenness completely dispelled by the sudden murderous intent.
Just then, Jiang Wen made a move.
He did not draw his sword immediately. Instead, he raised his head slightly, looked at the torrential rain flying all over the sky, sighed softly, and let the night rain soak his blue robe. He also let the distant mountains appear and disappear in the lightning, whispering along with the howling wind.
"The night rain is pouring down, why bother coming here?"
Before he finished speaking, he stretched out his finger and gently flicked the Zhanlu sword beside him.
"Zheng—"
The clear, melodious sound of swords rose continuously, cutting through the rainy night, like a mountain stream or the mournful cry of a lone goose. If only a erhu were found, it would be a piece of "Night Rain in Xiaoxiang".
The sound of clapping the sword was melodious and clear, echoing wildly in the wind and rain, faintly drowning out the fighting and mournful cries throughout the city. As the sword rang out, Zhanlu Sword finally made its move, a streak of azure sword light soaring into the air like a dragon, drawing a long arc in the rain, as if dyeing the entire world a pale azure.
Then, Jiang Wen's figure merged into the sword light. The sword light swirled around, changing unpredictably like clouds and mist. Sometimes it gathered into a single point, like a comet striking the moon, and sometimes it scattered into countless stars, like a rain of flowers. It was impossible to distinguish which one was real and which one was fake. All that could be seen were countless cyan light shadows shuttling through the rain curtain, their robes fluttering like immortals.
The assassins' encirclement was now complete. The front-line assassins were fiercely attacking with their spears; the slightest slip would result in a fatal blow to Geng Jingzhong. But Jiang Wen's figure slipped through the gaps between the spears like a ghost. With a flash of sword light, the wrists of three assassins were severed simultaneously, and their short spears clattered to the ground.
Before they could react, the sword flashed around their necks, and their three heads rolled into the mud, their bodies still in a charging posture, rushing forward a few steps before crashing to the ground.
The human wall instantly broke open, and the assassins behind it rushed forward with their spears, a dozen spears attacking Jiang Wen's vital points simultaneously. But Jiang Wen remained calm and composed. He lightly touched the tip of a spear with his toe, and his figure rose into the air like a graceful flying goose. He spun in the air, and sword light poured down like a waterfall, forcing the spears back one by one.
After a slight setback, Jiang Wen continued his relentless advance, maneuvering against the thirty-odd assassins in the confined space. The rain soaked his clothes, but it did nothing to hinder his movements; instead, it made his sword light linger like willow branches swaying in the spring breeze. The assassins brandished their swords and spears, hacking and slashing wildly, but their attacks all missed their mark, only managing to strike the swirling raindrops and the afterimages left by Jiang Wen.
Jiang Wen's swordsmanship appears to be on the left but is actually on the right, and he moves from high to low. His attacks and strikes are completely from two different directions, making them impossible to predict. At the same time, his power seems light and fleeting, but it is actually all-pervasive. Sword light, like a serpent, constantly pierces through the gaps in their armor, always licking at their wrists, shoulders, waists and abdomens.
Jiang Wen fought and retreated, his efforts seemingly futile as the assassins' formation slowly moved backward. Geng Jingzhong gripped his waist knife tightly; the short half-hour felt longer than a lifetime, and he could almost see himself being beheaded.
"Form ranks again! He can't break through the armor!"
The assassins didn't seem to have completely lost their minds. With a roar from their leader, they once again formed a dense formation that was enough to make anyone tremble. Now, even if Jiang Wen was skilled in movement, he wouldn't be able to find a place to move through the narrow gaps between the people.
However, Jiang Wen remained calm and composed, his movements elegant and natural, as if he were playing a zither in the cold rain or painting a picture in the fading night.
At first, the assassins were completely unaware and continued to advance fearlessly. But when the men in front of them saw the fierce attack and tried to swing their knives, a sudden numbness came from their bodies, and then the wounds at their joints suddenly burst open!
Blood gushed from the wound like a fountain, staining the surrounding rain red.
As soon as one assassin raised his pistol, a large gash split open from his shoulder, his tendons and bones shattered, and he convulsed uncontrollably. Another assassin opened his mouth to curse, but a large amount of blood splattered from his knees, and he fell straight down. Yet another assassin, whose neck armor had been grazed by a sword flash, was struck by the shaft of a nearby spear, his head rolling to the ground, his body still propelling him forward a few steps before crashing to the ground.
In a matter of moments, more than thirty assassins lay dead on the ground. Their bodies twisted in the mud, their blood flowing with the rainwater into small red streams that drifted towards the distant wilderness. The air was thick with the stench of blood, mingled with the dampness of the rain and the earthy smell of the soil, making one want to vomit.
Jiang Wen slowly sheathed his sword. The Zhanlu sword, with its deep, unblemished blade, remained untouched by a trace of blood. Rain dripped from the tip, creating small puddles on the ground. He stood there in the rain, dressed in a blue robe, like a statue of a deity.
Wang Xianzhu was stunned. It took him a long time to come to his senses. He cupped his hands to Geng Jingzhong and said, "Your Highness is truly awe-inspiring! The Jingnan Prince's Mansion is indeed full of talented people. To have such a peerless master in charge is truly an eye-opener for me today!"
Geng Jingzhong remained silent. He looked at the corpses on the ground, dressed in the uniforms of the Prince of Jingnan, then at Jiang Wen standing in the rain, his eyes unfathomable.
Water droplets slid down his cheeks, indistinguishable between rain and cold sweat. His lips twitched slightly, and his fingers gripped the sword at his waist so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
...............
Inside the dilapidated Mahavira Hall of Ci'en Temple, more than a dozen assassins, bound like dumplings, lay sprawled on the ground, along with several corpses hacked to death by wild swords, their blood emitting a nauseatingly sweet and foul odor.
After a series of interrogations, the commander of the personal guards knelt down with a thud, letting his helmet roll to the side.
He kowtowed three times, his forehead striking the bluestone slab with a dull thud, his voice hoarse like a broken gong: "Your subordinate is incompetent, failing to restrain the soldiers and allowing the assassins to commit violence. I deserve to die! Please punish me, Your Highness!"
Behind him, more than twenty surviving guards also knelt down, their swords lying askew on the ground, heads bowed, not daring to look at Geng Jingzhong.
Geng Jingzhong stood in front of the Buddha statue, his back to the crowd, looking disheveled, but his right hand still gripped the sword at his waist tightly, as if only in this way could he retain a sense of security.
Several times his arm trembled slightly as he tried to draw his sword, pulling the scabbard out half an inch. However, after a flash of cold light, he finally released his grip and pushed the sword back into its scabbard with a soft "click" that was particularly jarring in the silent hall.
Jiang Wen stood to the side, leaning against a mottled pillar, taking in the whole scene. He gently brushed the raindrops from his lower garment and said calmly, "Your Highness need not be angry. I believe this uprising was caused by rampant soldiers, beyond human control, and naturally has nothing to do with the commander."
Geng Jingzhong didn't turn around, his voice low and hoarse: "...What Sect Leader Jiang said is true, otherwise how could more than two hundred of my battle-hardened soldiers have gone mad and twenty-seven died overnight?"
"Your Highness is wise."
Jiang Wen walked to his side, his gaze sweeping over the personal guards kneeling on the ground.
Geng Jingzhong was now in a difficult position. These men were all servants of the Prince of Jingnan's household, and even more so, loyal bodyguards whom he had been pampered and supported. From birth to death, they depended on the Prince's household for their livelihood. Their fields and properties were all in the Prince's hands, and their wives, children, and elderly parents were all in Fuzhou City. Therefore, their honor, disgrace, life, and death were long tied to the Prince of Jingnan's household.
Even if it were just a small riot, or even if the sky were to fall, they shouldn't be drawing their swords against each other. However, the situation today is extremely precarious.
The commander in front of Geng Jingzhong was his father Geng Jimao's most trusted confidant. Geng Jingzhong had rushed to his fiefdom and had no time to cultivate his own power, so he could only rely on him. If he were to kill this commander with one blow and chill the hearts of everyone, that would truly be self-destruction. At that time, the Jingnan Prince's Mansion would disintegrate on its own without the court having to take action.
Geng Jingzhong remained silent for a long time before finally turning around slowly. Looking at the kneeling commander of his personal guards, the fear of not being able to control his own life and death once again overwhelmed him, making it hard to breathe.
His eyes were incredibly complex, filled with fear, anger, resentment, and an indescribable weariness. Finally, he waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Get up. I'll spare you this time, but if there's a next time, I'll execute you without mercy!"
"Thank you, Your Highness!" The commander of the personal guards kowtowed heavily again before leading his men to get up and hurriedly go down to clean up the mess.
"Sect Leader Jiang, please come with me to the side hall." Geng Jingzhong glanced at Jiang Wen and took the lead in walking towards the side hall on the west side of the main hall.
The side hall was even more dilapidated than the main hall, and it was probably rarely visited by monks on ordinary days. At this moment, apart from the bedding scattered all over the ground, there was only an oil lamp flickering in the wind, and the area in front of the Buddha was covered with a thick layer of dust.
Several dried prayer flags hung from the top of the temple canopy, their inscriptions blurred. Only one was still legible, crookedly written as "Hearing the cries of suffering and saving those in distress," but all the strokes below the character for "suffering" were misaligned, resembling a twisted, shapeless face staring down.
Geng Jingzhong sat in a chair and noticed that the brick carvings on the ground were written in different handwriting styles. Some were as clumsy as a child's scribbles, while others were as neat as an old monk copying scriptures. Until the last character, the brushstrokes had become frenzied, cutting through the brick surface.
"Prostrate yourself in reverence. Prostrate yourself in reverence. Prostrate yourself in reverence. Mahaprajnaparamita."
Jiang Wen didn't stand on ceremony and sat directly opposite him, getting straight to the point: "Your Highness, you seem to have never trusted me, a man of the martial world."
Geng Jingzhong slowly raised his head, his face pale, and said, "Master Jiang Wen, what makes you say that? If I didn't trust you, why would I have asked you to come out of seclusion to help me and consult with you on everything?"
"is it?"
Jiang Wen smiled, but his eyes were full of amusement. "Did the Daoist Dongxuan, the leader of the Xiandu Sect, secretly meet with Your Highness before? Did he tell you that people in the martial world are ultimately unreliable, and that you should not place all your bets on the Wuyi Sect, but should keep a backup plan?"
Geng Jingzhong's face turned deathly pale instantly.
Jiang Wen didn't stop, and continued, "Not long ago, Dongxuan died at my hands. Did Your Highness ever suspect that I deliberately killed him to seize power in the Prince's Mansion? Do you think that my saving you today is also to use you to achieve my own goals?"
"I……"
Geng Jingzhong opened his mouth, his shoulders trembling slightly, revealing his inner struggle and fear.
"Your Highness, you are mistaken."
Jiang Wen's voice softened slightly, but every word was piercing: "You think I'm unreliable, but how easy is it to subdue three hundred personal guards?"
"Ultimately, only the title 'Prince Jingnan' can give these arrogant soldiers what they want—land, wealth, power, and a future. They are never loyal to you as a person, but to the identity of Prince Jingnan. And you, on the contrary, have put the cart before the horse, wanting to rely on these arrogant soldiers to become the true master of the royal palace."
"Do you really think that by controlling your personal guards, you can control everything? Look at today, a small riot almost cost us our lives. If we really get to Fuzhou, those scheming people can easily use some tricks to incite your personal guards to turn against each other, and you won't even know how you died!"
What Jiang Wen said was no exaggeration. You should know that the first Prince of Jingnan, Geng Zhongming, committed suicide out of fear of punishment during the war. His father, Geng Jimao, was in the army at the time, so he took over his father's old troops.
In order to win over and support his subordinates, Geng Jimao tolerated their debauchery, plundering of gentry and women, and occupation of government offices and civilian residences. In Guangzhou, he requisitioned large quantities of timber and stone for large-scale construction projects and levied taxes on local trade without authorization, causing widespread resentment among the people.
Even if Geng Jingzhong succeeded to the throne in the normal timeline, he still had to go to sea on his own to engage in smuggling with the Dutch and others, and extort silver and rice from the salt tax in Fujian in order to obtain huge profits to support the army.
Only in this way could such a loyal army be maintained, from generals to soldiers, who only knew of the vassal king and not of the imperial court's personal guard.
Geng Jingzhong suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with despair.
"Then...what should I do? My mother must be coming to kill me..."
Geng Jingzhong's voice was choked with sobs. He had been driven to the brink of despair once again, as if grasping at the last straw. "Master Jiang Wen, tell me, what should we do now?"
He knew this must be a trump card prepared by the Zhou family. As long as something happened to him while he was leading the army, she could clear away the two major obstacles of himself and the imperial guards at the same time, and recommend her younger brother Geng Zhaozhong to succeed as the prince. If he went back step by step at this time, he didn't know how many "unexpected" things would be waiting for him.
Jiang Wen slowly stood up. He knew that Geng Jingzhong was arrogant, domineering, short-sighted, and suspicious, but he still said word by word: "There is only one plan now - put yourself in a desperate situation and then you will survive."
"What method?" Geng Jingzhong asked anxiously.
Jiang Wen's voice echoed in the dimly lit side hall, carrying a chilling aura that could freeze one's very soul.
"In ancient times, Lord Xinling stole the tally to rescue Zhao. Since even our personal guards cannot be fully trusted now, I, Jiang, will take on the role of Zhu Hai. Tomorrow, we will return to Fuzhou alone without a single soldier..."