"Yes, Master Hou."The armored soldier answered and turned around to leave. At this point Shen Zhen barged in and hurriedly shouted, "Hold it!"
"What, even you are trying to obstruct me?" Ji Bei Hou spoke, his face downcast.
"Master, since when have I ever dared to obstruct you? Killing Pei Zi Yun is not an issue. It’s just that killing his family….." Shen Zhen noticed that Ji Bei Hou was glaring at him ferociously. He knew that if he couldn’t provide a substantial enough reason, even he could be killed by Ji Bei Hou. He thus leaned it and whispered.
Ji Bei Hou’s reaction turned to one of shock. After some time did he finally speak out hoa.r.s.ely, "What, the Crown Prince?"
Ji Bei Hou burst out in evident rage. With a flash of his sword, the serving maid next to him fell as she cried out in pain, and fell to the ground. Blood splattered across the room.
Yong Prefecture
The sky was a ma.s.s of dark clouds, obscuring the stars from view. The wind was blowing strongly, and the ground was covered in snow.
However, people could still be faintly discernible. There were a couple of shadows moving around. They were garbed in black robes, and had a band around their ankles. They wore cloth sandals and were treading across a river bank, where there were plenty of coa.r.s.e rocks and pebbles.
"Hurry run away, he’s going to catch up. I would never have expected him to come for us. Not only has he killed the leader, he even killed the chief as well. We’re trusted aides of the leader, I know he would not let us off he could help it." A man in black robes was sprinting, and he spoke to the people beside him.
This time, if it hadn"t been for them leaving the main hall for a stroll, they wouldn"t have a chance to escape as well. From afar, they saw their own chief being chased down by the a.s.sailant. At first, they wanted to run over to a.s.sist him. But when they saw their chief fall to the enemy in under three strokes, they knew they barely stood a chance.
"Hurry, hurry, he must"ve noticed us running away. As long as we reach the boats in the river, he can escape. He wouldn"t be able to catch us then. When we finally manage to escape, we can report this matter to the higher ups." The man in black was panting as he ran, telling his juniors of the plan he had.
They reached the point in the river where the boats were located very quickly. The few of them watched on as wave after wave of strong currents collided with the hull of the boat, splashing water everywhere. The few of them were sprinting as fast as they could, as if a monster was pursuing them. The minute one of them was close enough, he leapt over the boat and started making preparations to travel downstream.
The few men behind him managed to jump on board as well. In the depth of the night, looks of sheer terror was written all across their faces. Only after traveling for some distance did they finally heave a sigh of relief.
"Leader, who was that person? Why was he pursuing us so ruthlessly?" Someone asked in a soft voice that was trembling in fear. "Which Dao Sect would have someone so vicious?"
"Who knows. There"s been rumors circulating that many gangs had been attacked, and plenty of our brothers perished as a result. I"m afraid we’re the last few people remaining. d.a.m.n it. We don"t even know who’s killing us off."
"But we’re on a boat traveling downstream. Even a person on horseback wouldn"t be able to catch up." The leader of the group exhaled as he spoke. Immediately after his last word was uttered, they could hear the sound of water gurgling nearby. Since the stars were obscured by the clouds, they couldn"t get a good look and were all frantic to hear water leaking into their boat. In a moment of panic, they looked up to see someone standing on the hull of the boat, as it dipped steadily, sinking into the waters with every pa.s.s second.
The leader hardened his face as he drew his sword and shouted out ferociously, "You, who are you? Why are you so bent on killing us? We"ve been living peacefully and amicably among ourselves, without making any enemies."
He was stuttering, and his face had a look of utter fear.
"Why are you trying so hard to kill us, what did we do wrong?" The few men behind the leader were trembling violently. One of them mustered his courage and stepped forward to ask.
The man standing before them, dressed in a woven raincoat had annexed the entire White Hill Clan, which had several reputable and legendary swordsmen.
"Actually, I didn"t mean to kill all of you. It"s just that you chose the wrong person to follow. Since you"re men of Qin Gao, and someone wished for all of you to die, even I wish for all of you to die, that"s what I shall do. I have to kill every single one of you, not sparing a life." The man behind the woven raincoat was Pei Zi Yun. He had an expression of exasperation, and sighed after he spoke.
"No, you"re not human. You"re a monster." The Leader looked at Pei Zi Yun with a look of sheer terror. He had killed so many people before today, and still wouldn"t rest. What was he if not a monster?
"Who would choose to kill if they had an alternative, another solution?" Pei Zi Yun mumbled to himself, his gaze was distant and pensive. The leader glared at Pei Zi Yun before shouting out, "Brothers, flee!" He then charged towards Pei Zi Yun.
The boat wasn"t very big. As he rushed towards Pei Zi Yun, the boat rocked suddenly as a strong wave crashed into the boat. Pei Zi Yun drew his sword and waited for him to advance. Even before he could attack, Pei Zi Yun moved in such a frenzied speed and slashed him. The leader fell to the ground.
"Flee, don"t be stubborn…." The leader was still mid-sentence when he breathed his last breath and died. Scarlet blood flowed freely from the deep gash in his neck.
"Splash!" The remaining few men jumped out of the boat, into the river. Pei Zi Yun watched them and shook his head. Even if these men were strong swimmers, what could they do? Did they think they could escape?
The river water was icy, and one of the men had been swimming for some distance. He then raised his head above the water to draw breath. In that moment, he felt cold steel pierce through his forehead, and blood started gushing out. His corpse then floated above the water, and moved along with the currents, downstream.
Pei Zi Yun glanced around contemptuously before retrieving another silver needle. If he wasn"t a Yin Master, they might have managed to escape after splitting up and heading in different directions. Now, killing them one by one was only too easy.
He kicked out a piece of wooden plank from the boat and it fell into the water and floated. He pointed at the wooden plank before stabbing into the waters. Instantly water bubbles started to float up into the surface, and the surrounding waters took a red tinge.
On the river banks, one of the men was running as fast as he could. These men were part of the clan that handled the affairs of the sea and were proficient swimmers. After they split up, he managed to reach the river bank where he was shivering violently. He composed himself so that he wouldn"t breathe so loudly. After turning around and seeing that n.o.body had followed him, he whispered to himself, "Where did this war G.o.d come from? He killed all my brothers, the chief and the leader. Old Han, Old Wei, how can I ever find the chance to exact revenge for you on such an enemy?"
"You won"t be able to." There was some movement behind him before the voice rang out. Even before he could turn around, he felt the bite of cold steel on his neck. The sword pierced through his neck and was pulled away rapidly.
This man didn"t feel pain at all. All he felt was a sudden coldness. An intense coldness coursed throughout his body, a feeling that couldn"t be fought off ever. Next thing he knew cold blood was spewing out from his wound and he fell to the ground immediately after exhaling, vitals had been extinguished.
Pei Zi Yun sheathed his sword and remained wordless. This man’s eyes were wide open, as if he was extremely dissatisfied with such an unpleasant end to his life. Pei Zi Yun glanced far ahead, his heart felt anxious and
A gust of cold wind blew past, rattling the trees and shrubs around, causing Pei Zi Yun to feel chilly. He sighed, "The new year is fast approaching once again. At this time last year, I was with Liao Ge and two other soldiers, making our way to the capital."
"Liao Ge was really pitiful. The only daughter he left behind after his demise was being oppressed and bullied by his clansmen. If it weren"t for the fact that I rushed to her rescue, she might have not survived the abuse."
"The most pitiful thing was that he wasn"t even commended or awarded a t.i.tle after death due to his low rank!"
A t.i.tle awarded to an official after his death signified that he died in the field of duty. Without any posthumous t.i.tle, the deceased will spend the rest of their time in the underworld, whereas a person with a t.i.tle would be lifted into heaven. Many people insisted that this was just a rumor circulated by the Emperor, to urge his officials to do their utmost best, even in the face of death, for the dynasty.
What was spectacular was that back in his world, Cao Rui insisted on getting a posthumous t.i.tle even before his death. In that same breath, the famous scholar Li Dong Yang knew that his time to die was fast approaching, and yet wouldn’t go in peace. Seeing such a scene, someone stepped forward and a.s.sured him that he would receive a t.i.tle upon his death. The dying man jumped up to his feet, and kowtowed several times in grat.i.tude.
As for his own world, Pei Zi Yun was unsure if posthumous t.i.tles helped in life after death. In this world, he was absolutely certain that t.i.tles would be beneficial to the deceased. However, not every official would be lucky to obtain such t.i.tles.
The dynasty had decreed that the Emperor, the five orders of n.o.bility, and all officials with third rank and above would attain a t.i.tle upon their deaths. However, Liao Ge didn’t have such an advantage. Since his rank was far too low to even be considered, it was difficult to help.
As for unofficial t.i.tles awarded by families to their deceased relatives, that wouldn’t count and doesn’t do anything for the dead.
"Liao Ge, you must be suffering down in the underworld. When I return, I shall burn some paper for you." Pei Zi Yun spoke. Thinking this way, he then continued, "Now I have to go to Liang Prefecture, where there shall be plenty of people for me to kill. Besides, the Legacy which I require can be found there as well."
"This particular Legacy will reduce the amount of retribution which I would get from killing an official. It was a Divine ability. According to the rumors, this Legacy had been a gift to a particular Daoist. He used it to kill countless of officials, and received minimal retribution, and could escape unscathed."
King Lu, Ji Bei Hou were all officials, and all had the protection of Imperial Qi on them. Killing their henchmen was as good as just shaving their hair off, and didn’t harm them one bit. At this point, I am unable to kill them as the retribution would be far too great for killing such a high ranking official.
"It’s time for me to go to Liang Prefecture." Pei Zi Yun smiled as he walked off, snow falling down upon him. Before long, everywhere was a big white plain.
Military Camp
The wind brought a chilly feeling towards the entire area. The wind was cold and sharp, like the blade of a sword. It cut through the camp as if it was trying to tear down the tents.
Within the main tent, a fire burned brightly and strongly. It was providing heat for the people within, and was extremely comfortable.
At this point two people were in a discussion over a table.
"Eunuch Ding, to activate and gather such a huge amount of troops would really incur the taboo and displeasure of the Imperial Court."
"What are you afraid of? I shall block off the higher authorities from punishing us. Do you really think that the high ups would place the blame on you? You’re just a mere county official, how should you have enough authority to gather such a strong force?"
"You’re right, Eunuch Ding. I deserve to be scolded for doubting." The county official beside eunuch Ding hurriedly replied. He seemed extremely anxious, and didn’t dare to speak further.
Within the main tent, there was no more talking. They were just waiting for something to happen. The county magistrate appeared to be terrified, as he stood beside eunuch Ding. Eunuch Ding glared at the magistrate before draining a cup of wine. It was evident that he despised the magistrate.
The magistrate was a seventh rank official, and he was a sixth rank official. He was of a higher rank than him. Besides, his position was within the inner court. This magistrate had no reason to be so fearful.
The furnace beside them glowed a red hot, and was emitting hot steam. The eunuch sat down and started reading a letter. As he read, his face was one of contemplation, as he hit the table gently with his knuckles.
The flaps to the tent parted as an armored soldier walked in and delivered another letter to him. When the flaps to the tent opened, the magistrate could see the soldiers hurriedly walking around, as if they were patrolling the grounds.
"Eunuch, we"ve managed to pick up Pei Zi Yun’s tracks. He"s heading towards Liang Prefecture."
"Eunuch Ding, this man is crazed and insane. I"m afraid that even if we deploy all our soldiers, that might not be enough." The magistrate looked at the eunuch from King Lu’s mansion and gave his opinion.
When the eunuch heard this, he laughed, "Who said we’re going to deploy all these troops here? I’m just going to take my soldiers from King Lu’s mansion with me."
"But this person is indeed crazy. He’s murdered so many people, and is a criminal in such a serious crime. Deploy the constables and the soldiers to arrest him!"
Hearing the eunuch speak this way, the magistrate started sweating profusely, and heaved a sigh of relief.
Just as the magistrate was deep in thought, the eunuch asked, "The distance from here to Liang Prefecture is not far. Do you know of any high skilled constable who would offer his services?"
The magistrate pondered before replying, "There’s a constable in Liang Prefecture, in Ying Hua. His surname is Ji and is one of the best constables around. It’s been said that the past few generations in his family made a name for themselves by producing constables generation after generation. In fact, he even has a number of disciples following him. However, you should know that constables are not considered official, and thus would not be proper if we ask him to join us in attacking him."
Although the magistrate was a timid man, he was clear about the rules and customs of the nation. When he said this, the eunuch understood this at once. He looked at the soldier next to him and commanded, "Inform the network of constables in Liang Prefecture that we shall hand this mission of capturing Pei Zi Yun to Constable Ji Dan. Since he’s a renowned constable, he would gladly take on this task. Tell him that if he succeeds, I shall reward him with an official rank!"
The magistrate sighed. He understood what was happening. "Although there was no official warrant for his arrest, in fact, the eunuch had already p.r.o.nounced Pei Zi Yun as a guilty man, and condemned him to die. Should this convict die while resisting arrest, who speak out in his defense?"
"It’s such a pity that this man’s talents should go to a waste. Afterall, he is a Top Scorer, and yet pitted himself against King Lu. This was a clear case of overestimating his talents, and trying to achieve the impossible by winning the fight against King Lu."