Chapter 227
The Imperial Guards had seen her l.u.s.trous, white hand and thought that she was showing her summoning token, so they stepped back and held up their spears, but before they knew what had happened, heavy neighs and strong wind swept by their ears and the rider was through.
A guard cried out in alarm as he reached down for his secondary weapon, noticing the absence of his golden mace.
None of the gate guards were allowed to leave their station, and soon all three of the entry gates were sounding the alarm.
Deep, loud horn calls filled the skies as if to tear apart the clouds above and all Nine Gates readied themselves. Never before in the history of the Tian Sheng Dynasty had a rider dared brave the sealed gates of the Imperial Palace, forcing the guards to blow the golden horns.
The horse and the rider never looked back.
Feng Zhiwei cared nothing for the uproar she was causing.
She knew nothing about her mother’s situation; she only knew that time was running out. She could not waste time, and so she could not be stopped and questioned or summoned before the Emperor. Even if the Emperor had sent word allowing her through, with the speed the Eunuchs walked, it would already be too late by the time he arrived.
Life was too long — so long that some people ended it on their own.
Life was too short — so short that sometimes you could not spare a single second.
The Fourth gate!
Two huge, heavy spears barred the way, sparking as they crossed, an immovable barrier like a looming mountain.
She rode down towards them, pulling the wind around her as the great horse beneath her pounded at the pavement.
The tips of the heavy spears gleamed like ferocious eyes tracking the rider who had broken through three gates.
The horse leapt!
A golden light flashed!
“Clang...”
A mace shining with the brilliance of the sudden flashed out in the rider’s hand and smashed down on the spear tips, clattering and clanging and sending the two hundred Jin spears flying aside.
The brilliant spear tips cut dazzling arcs through the air as the burly guards stumbled backwards.
As soon as they parted, the horse threaded the gap and pa.s.sed between the tall gates.
The Fifth!
A forest of long spears stood in formation, waiting by the gates.
The dark wood of the forest meshed together too tight for a bird to pa.s.s.
The Imperial Guards gritted their teeth as the readied for battle. Ever since the founding of Tian Sheng, no one had ever broken through the four gates; the approaching rider was clearly a formidable master, and all the nervous blood pumped through the heart of every guard.
The beautiful black horse appeared, its hoofs flashing as it raced towards them, its great mane dancing in the wind. A golden spear sat by itself, tied to the saddle.
The guards stirred.
Where was the rider?
Had they been stopped at the previous gate?
At this thought, the Imperial Guards relaxed a bit.
The horse raced ever closer, showing no fear as it faced the spear square. As it neared, the horse seemed to even accelerate.
All pract.i.tioners of Kung Fu admire horses, and the Imperial Guards could not help but admire and pity the peak quality Da Yue steed. With no enemy in sight, the guards relaxed and pulled away their spears.
But as soon as they moved.
A pair of snowy white hands reached out from under the horse in a flash of lightning, arms unfurling in as she spun through the air, s.n.a.t.c.hing spears out of unsuspecting grips.
She floated up into the air like a black feather, swirling in a beautiful arc before landing in her saddles, grasping the bundle of spears together like a great battering ram as she charged through the guard formation.
The disarmed Imperial Guards panicked and stepped aside, dodging into the spears of the other guards. The alert guards on the outside of the formation quickly turned their weapons aside to spare their brothers, and for a moment, the precise formation fell into disarray. Before the guards could snap back into position, the pounding hoof beats were already fading as the rider pa.s.sed through.
The Sixth Palace Gate!
On top of the palace gates, a man looked through a spygla.s.s at the Fifth Gate. He tracked the rider as she swept up from her hiding place below her horse, floating through the air like a feather, her hands a blur of motion. She never stopped, forging forward like an unstoppable storm, and then she was through, galloping her way down the white stone road.
He could only track her in astonishment as this black-dressed girl charged towards his gate, the wind and sun around her like a cloak.
As her face came into view, he was thrown back to the battles against Da Yue when a woman just like this one in crimson plate and black cape held her golden spears as she guided her dark stallion, her long hair unfurled for a moment in the thick of combat amidst the blood and flame, striking out as she threw a fearless, powerful Da Yue General off his horse with her killing blow.
That year he’d only been a small soldier, admiring the Heroine of Tian Sheng from afar.
As the years pa.s.sed, he was now only the Captain of an Imperial Guard Squad who had just heard that his peerless hero lay dying. He looked down from his spygla.s.s as his men arrayed themselves, standing in the way of another peerless woman.
“Is that Feng Zhiwei?” He said, turning to his subordinate. “I heard what happened in Ning An Palace. His Majesty will be summoning her soon, let her pa.s.s.”
The rider and her horse were like black lightning cutting through the gates below.
The Guard Captain stood, turning to watch the young woman go as he thought back to that patient, steel-willed woman, and tears wet his eyes.
“I pray that she will be a worthy successor.”
The Seventh Gate!
The rider and her brave stallion dashed forward, brooking no resistance.
A firing squad was already waiting at the Seventh Gate. The Sixth Gate’s Captain had been an anomaly to not only know of the matter in Ning An Palace but also caring for and admiring the great Female General. All the Seventh Gate’s Captain knew was that only three gates remained to the heart of the Imperial Palace and no one was allowed to pa.s.s him.
Feng Zhiwei frowned as she spied the firing squad, calling out and gesturing with her golden spear.
“Let me through!”
“Dismount and wait for arrest!” A voice shouted down from the Seventh Gate Palace heights. “Trespa.s.sing in the Imperial Palace and bypa.s.sing the Sixth Gates, you are courting death!”
“His Majesty has allowed me access!”
“Present your Token!”
“The Imperial Order is on its way!” Feng Zhiwei shouted, raising her Golden Spear to point at the Captain. “Move aside, now!”
The Gate Captain burst into laughter, calling out: “The coming Imperial Order will exterminate your nine lines!”
“Shua!”
A golden flash howled through the air, clanging and cutting off the Captain’s laughter.
The golden spear had been thrown up into the covered gate battlement, stabbing the dark green brick beside the Captain, only inches from his jaw!
“The next spear!” Feng Zhiwei called out, lifting another from the bundle she balanced on her knees. “Will be in your teeth!”
“You...”
“Let her through!”
“His Majesty speaks...” The sharp voiced Eunuch said, finally arriving and breaking the intense deadlock. “Summoning Feng Zhiwei to the Imperial Palace...”
The Captain’s eyes flickered as he gestured with resentment, waving his men aside.
Feng Zhiwei clutched the bundle of golden spears, a smile quirking her lips as tears finally dripped from her eyes.