Qin Chu stood on horseback in front of the city gate, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the reins.
He remained silent for a while, then instructed, "Take the men to set up camp first, and proceed as usual."
Upon hearing this, the soldiers behind him were all relieved.
The soldiers moved to a camp on the outskirts of the city, but Qin Chu remained standing in front of the city gate without making a move.
The fifth man at the back of the line looked at Qin Chu and called out, "General?"
Unexpectedly, the next second Qin Chu spurred his horse and rode straight into the city.
The fifth brother hurriedly turned his horse around to chase after them, but he could never catch up with Qin Chu's horse: "General, where are you going?"
"I'll go take a look."
Qin Chu rode smoothly all the way to the palace gate.
Outside the palace walls, as if waiting for him, civil and military officials dressed in mourning clothes knelt on the ground.
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree stood on the palace wall. Upon seeing Qin Chu, he shouted, "Is the messenger Qin Chu, the great general of the western expedition?"
"yes."
Qin Chu pulled on the reins and stopped the horse.
He glanced down at the people kneeling on the ground, then looked up at the eunuch who was delivering the imperial edict.
In fact, as early as when they pacified the northwest, Qin and Chu were already able to choose to detach themselves from the world.
But Qin and Chu did not.
He went to great lengths to lead his troops back to the capital, just to fulfill the agreement he made five years ago: to kill someone as promised.
But after a long and arduous journey, he finally arrived here, only to be told that the man was already dead.
Anger and resentment churned in my suddenly empty chest, creating a unique flavor.
It's a saying that evil deeds will live on for a thousand years.
Is he going to die like this?
Who sends two letters every year to let me know they're safe?
Was the letter written by a dog?
Qin Chu felt like he had been gathering strength for years, but when he threw a punch, he didn't even hit cotton, leaving him extremely frustrated.
He looked up at the eunuch and asked, "Where is the Emperor?"
The eunuch delivering the imperial edict did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned around, extended his hands, and respectfully picked up the bright yellow scroll beside him, saying, "Read the late emperor's last edict."
The will did not summarize his own achievements, nor did it arrange subsequent policies, nor did it inquire about the heir apparent, nor did it mention the empresses and concubines.
The will contained only one sentence.
"General Qin Chu was to be buried with him."
-
Amidst endless mournful music and wailing, the funeral procession departed from the palace gates and proceeded in a grand procession to the imperial mausoleum.
The practice of human sacrifice has long been abolished. Although there are many vehicles in the funeral procession, most of them are just tools, except for one horse-drawn carriage with people sitting in it at the end.
Inside the carriage, Qin Chu, still in his armor, leaned against the carriage wall, closing his eyes to rest.
In his mind, Noah provided a new message.
This is an obituary from another world.
The obituary mourns the passing of a genius game designer; according to his will, the once wildly popular game will be permanently shut down.
After seeing this news, Qin Chu remained silent for a long time.
After a while, Noah cautiously spoke up: "Sir, should we choose to leave the world?"
Qin Chu no longer has any reason to remain in this world.
But to Noah's surprise, Qin Chu hesitated for a moment and said only, "Wait a little longer."
Waiting until the imperial tombs...
Noah remained silent.
The funeral procession slowly left the imperial city and then headed north.
Few people know that the initial site for the mausoleum was in the south, but the late emperor insisted on choosing the north.
When the officials at Dingling asked why, the late emperor simply replied, "It's nearby."
No one knew that the late emperor had only one burial item with him: a sword that had once been stuck in the dragon throne, without a scabbard, only a sharp blade.
The imperial mausoleum was located far away, and the funeral procession took a very long time, from day to night.
The carriage lagging behind the group slowly veered off course and headed elsewhere.
The carriage was enclosed and completely dark.
Qin Chu realized something was wrong when he couldn't hear the funeral music playing in the procession.
A short while later, the carriage stopped, and the carriage door was opened.
Qin Chu frowned and jumped down from the carriage. Just as he was about to ask a question, he saw an acquaintance and a horse waiting by the roadside.
This man was a eunuch who once delivered messages to Qin Chu, and also a eunuch who proclaimed imperial edicts on the palace wall.
Upon seeing Qin Chu descend, the young eunuch hurriedly went to greet him: "General, you have been wronged. This servant was waiting for you here in accordance with the late Emperor's decree."
As he spoke, he handed Qin Chu several items: a token representing his identity and another imperial edict.
The young eunuch said, "According to the late emperor's arrangements, if you have any other matters to attend to, you may ride back to the main camp. The imperial edict contains further rewards and arrangements for you."
"If you do not intend to return to the military camp, you can use the token to obtain a new identity and be free from the turmoil of the imperial court."
Finally, the young eunuch handed Qin Chu another piece of paper: "This is what the late emperor specifically instructed me to give to you before his death."
He then smiled and said, "Being buried alive with the emperor was just a joke by the late emperor. He said that from now on, the world is vast and you can go wherever you want without anyone getting in your way."
Qin Chu remained silent for a while, then took the items one by one and began to look through them.
He didn't expect that this person was waiting for him here.
When Qin Chu learned of the news of being buried alive with the deceased, he was not surprised at all; in fact, he seemed to understand.
It is not surprising at all that this person left behind such a will.
However, Qin Chu did not expect that the forced burial was just a pretext, and the real imperial edict was here.
This man made clear arrangements for him. If he wanted to continue fighting on the border, he took the imperial edict, received the reward, and continued to lead his troops back to the border as a general.
If they wanted him to withdraw from the political arena, they arranged for him to have the identity of an ordinary person, so that even if the court officials caused an uproar, they could not harm him.
Everything was considered from his perspective, and the idea of him being buried alive with his family became a capricious joke.
This is not something that the mission target Qin Chu knew before would do.
This is something Qin Rui would do.
His fingers tightened instantly, squeezing the paper into his palm.
"General, are you ready..."
The young eunuch raised his head, as if to ask Qin Chu about his plans.
Qin Chu didn't reply. After packing the things, he directly led the horse to the side.
The young eunuch sighed inwardly, thinking to himself that no matter how much His Majesty longed for him, this general remained cold and indifferent.
Just as Qin Chu had never replied to his letters in the past few years, Qin Chu would continue to do his own thing at his own pace, without paying any attention to others.
Soon, the young eunuch saw Qin Chu mount his horse.
He pulled on the reins, turned his horse around, and headed onto the official road.
"General, if we want to return to the main camp..."
Just as the young eunuch was about to give directions, Qin Chu spurred his horse and rode straight after the funeral procession ahead.
The young eunuch was startled and instinctively asked, "General, where are you going?"
A cold voice drifted on the night wind.
Just two words: "funeral sacrifice".
-
The cool, detached voice seemed to echo as it fell on the starry stone floor.
In the living room of Roy Palace, the enormous wall clock continued to tick away, making a soft "click" sound. The second hand completed a full circle, and the minute hand followed suit, moving one step forward.
The short, heavy hour hand moved slowly, and the hourly chimes echoed throughout the reception room.
The person who was immersed in the story suddenly came to their senses and looked at the black-robed man sitting alone on the sofa.
Under everyone's gaze, the man in black robes sat there steadily, his hood covering his eyes, leaving only a glimpse of his chin and his flattened lips.
There were more people in the reception room today, including two cabinet ministers, Camin, the young master of the Larousse family, and...
The old butler glanced at the young man standing beside him, Lanny.
Although he was never used to this abrupt ending to storytelling, the old butler refrained from speaking this time, mindful of the guests filling the living room.
Clearly, he wasn't the only one who wasn't used to this way of storytelling.
After the hourly chime, Cumming and Cabinet official Dudley asked in unison, "Was he really buried alive in the end?"
Speaking at the same time as others clearly made Duds a little embarrassed. The middle-aged official immediately smiled awkwardly and scratched his thinning hair.
But Camin ignored all of that, stood up, walked to the sofa where the man in black was sitting, and, gripping the back of the chair, asked, "Wait, is this emperor really dead? What if he only died in the real world and is actually still alive in the imperial tomb? And then the general went there, and they could have a fight!"
As soon as he spoke, Kaming's chuunibyou spirit took over, and he started gesturing wildly.
He gestured for a while, then looked up and saw Levi in the main seat, meeting their captain's ambiguous smile.
Kaming immediately recalled how their captain had tugged at the black-robed man's sleeve and acted coquettishly, and he instantly sat up straight.
Two cabinet officials sat opposite Qin Chu. Dude was obviously forced into this position due to a lack of manpower, but Mullin, his old friend, was very perceptive and had been watching Qin Chu closely since he came in.
Mulin narrowed his eyes, as if he wanted to ask something.