It was only a matter of moments. Liu Guang had already dealt with the assassin who posed the greatest threat to him from the high place, but he still dared not be careless. There was no sound coming from the two remaining assassins, presumably they had already changed their crossbow cartridges and were holding their breath, waiting for the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.
Liu Guang quietly pressed his face against the ground, a skill he had learned over the years in the military—to sense the opponent's location by feeling the vibrations in the ground. A cool, tingling sensation came from the ground, and he could faintly hear a rustling sound underground. A thought struck Liu Guang: there was a legendary earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of escape technique), different from the escape techniques of Taoist sorcerers, where one could truly move stealthily through the earth. Could it be…?
With this thought in mind, he ripped off his outer garment with force, channeled his spiritual power, and threw it outwards. This provoked the assassin to fire a second quiver of crossbow bolts. At the same time, the assassin, holding the slender waist, suddenly rolled, skimming the ground for nearly ten feet. With a clanging sound, a gleaming blue dagger emerged from where they had been lying, only to retract itself.
"We have to get this thief out of the ground!" Liu Guang felt a little anxious. If he lay on the ground like this, he would be stabbed by the assassin in the ground sooner or later. But if he stood up, he would inevitably be exposed to the remaining crossbowmen. What should he do in this life-or-death situation?
three,
Only by eliminating the remaining crossbowmen can we free up our strength to deal with the assassins in the ground.
Liu Guang reached out and pulled over another samurai's corpse, throwing it away. But the crossbowman was no longer fooled, silently lurking there, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Liu Guang could only grip the samurai's sword tightly in his hand. If he knew the assassin's location, he was confident he could kill him in one fell swoop, but now that the enemy was in the dark while he was in the light, he could not act rashly.
Slender waist barely dared to breathe, leaning against Liu Guang's side, her beautiful eyes wide open. Liu Guang met her gaze and smiled slightly. Slender waist knew that Liu Guang now had a knife in his hand; if he could distract the assassins for a moment, they could escape danger. She breathed softly a few times, and Liu Guang, hearing her unusual movement, assumed she was afraid and patted her cheek with his left hand.
Just then, Slender Waist suddenly smiled at Liu Guang, her smile as beautiful as a spring flower in bloom, indescribably stunning. Liu Guang was stunned. Slender Waist straightened up, and Liu Guang could clearly reach out to grab her, but his hand only reached halfway before stopping there!
"Pfft! Pfft!"
The crossbow bolts roared again. Liu Guang roared and leaped up like a crane skimming the ground. He pinpointed the assassin's location by the sound. With a flash of his blade, he sliced the assassin, hiding behind a pine tree, in two from shoulder to waist with a furious strike. Another crossbowman, lying in ambush behind a monk's pagoda, was about to load a new cartridge when Liu Guang pounced again, decapitating him with a single blow. Before the blood from the skull could fall, Liu Guang kicked the still-standing headless corpse away. The corpse, imbued with his spiritual power, slammed into the spot where Liu Guang had just stood, causing the ground to explode. A man in yellow robes vanished in the crater. Liu Guang yelled, "Where do you think you're going!" He hurled his waist knife, embedding it deep in the yellow earth. Blood seeped from the blade, staining the earth a mushy mess.
"Slim waist!"
Slender waist lay on the ground, more than ten poisoned arrows piercing her chest and abdomen. When Liu Guang rushed over and picked her up, her body trembled slightly, her gaze blankly fixed on the sky. Liu Guang desperately channeled his spiritual energy into her body while shouting, "Slender waist! Slender waist!"
A blush suddenly rose on her slender, greenish face. She laboriously turned her head towards Liu Guang, stroking his face, and said, "Duke...Buddha...Buddha, do you really...blame me for being too greedy? I wish...I wish I could..."
…to have more children for the Duke…so that the Duke can…have everything go smoothly…Does the Buddha blame me…blame me for being too greedy?
Liu Guang felt as if Qian Yao's words had struck him like a thunderbolt, his heart shattering into countless pieces, or perhaps ceasing to beat altogether. He tightly embraced the convulsing, frail body in his arms, trying to warm Qian Yao with his own body heat, but the heat on her body quickly dissipated.
"I...I shouldn't have accepted the Duke'ing...I'd rather die a thousand deaths...but...but unfortunately..." The slender waist's voice trailed off, fading into the distance, and Liu Guang's heart drifted away, drifted further and further away. What of imperial ambitions, what of a thousand years of merit, what of wealth and glory, what of overwhelming power—why couldn't any of it protect this woman, this woman who only wanted to bear his child?
"Slender Waist..." Liu Guang's shout slowly turned into a sob. He had never cried when he was dismissed from his post by the new ruler of Heng, nor when the people of Heng considered him a traitor, nor when his entire family was slaughtered, nor when he lost his trusted general Huo Kuang. But now, he had no choice but to shed tears. An unprecedented sense of self-reproach shattered his heart. Suddenly, he frantically pulled all the crossbow bolts from Slender Waist's corpse, murmuring, "You can't die, you won't die. You still have to bear me a bunch of children, you still have to be the empress..."
But her body, already cold, could never be warmed again; her heart, no longer beating, could never tremble again. Liu Guang looked at Qianyao's sorrowful face, at her misty eyes, and despair and grief, pain and self-reproach surged into his heart. He buried his face in Qianyao's chest, stained blue with poisoned blood. He felt there was nothing left in this world to fear or cherish. Just moments ago, Qianyao had prayed like a celestial maiden beneath the Buddhist altar, her devout and sincere expression, that glance half pleading and half reproachful—could it be that Buddha resented him for not kneeling in worship, and was punishing this poor, weak woman? Could it be that his sins were too great, and Heaven decreed that he must sever this bond, extinguish this lineage?
"I...I'm such a bastard...What invincible general? I'm the biggest scoundrel in the world!" Liu Guang finally raised his head, looked up at the sky, his mouth wide open, and tears mixed with blood slowly streamed down his face. He knew he would never forgive himself, because he could have stopped Qianyao, but at that moment, what surged into his heart were the eight words from the military strategy: "Time is of the essence, opportunity knocks but once."
The late autumn sun, still carrying a hint of warmth, hung obliquely in the sky. A gentle mountain breeze carried the melodious chirping of wild birds and the murmuring of the stream. The pagoda forest, stripped of its tranquility by the killing intent and fierce energy, had regained its peace. Only one heart remained, devoid of any warmth, and forever without a day of peace.
"So Li Jun was also assassinated."
Liu Guang squinted and said calmly. It had been two days since Qianyao was buried. He buried her with the rites of the royal family, but this only made him feel more pain.
"That's right. Rumor has it that Li Jun was seriously injured, but our spies in the Peace Army say that the Peace Army has not stopped and is still advancing."
“How could Li Jun give up such a golden opportunity?” Liu Guang sneered, a cold glint flashing in his narrowed eyes. He understood what Pang Zhen meant; he feared that Pang Zhen would be overwhelmed by grief over Qianyao’s death, and might even halt the Northern Expedition. Therefore, he said, “Minister Pang, I have not been in charge of affairs these past few days. You and Minister Liu have worked hard. The original plan remains unchanged, and our army will advance as scheduled.”
Pang Zhen exchanged a glance with Liu Zheng, feeling slightly relieved. They couldn't understand why Liu Guang was so grieving for a concubine. Some court officials ridiculed Liu Guang, saying that holding a funeral for a concubine was presumptuous, and if it weren't for Ximen Rang and others' earnest pleas, Liu Guang would have already executed that person's entire family. Even Gongsun Ming, a long-time follower of Liu Guang, had never seen such a large-scale conflict over a woman.
After a brief silence in the hall, Liu Guang asked again, "Gongsun, have you found out the assassin's origins?"
"I was just about to report to the commander-in-chief." Gongsun Ming bowed slightly. "The assassins came from Hong Kingdom. They claimed to be heading to Yuzhou to sell tea. They arrived in Luoying City ten days ago and stayed at the Fugui Inn in the West Market. They usually stayed indoors and did not go out. They suddenly left a day before the incident. The crossbows they used were from the Hong Kingdom's army, and the fabric of their clothes came from the famous cloth shop 'Jinxiufang' in Hong Kingdom."
A cold smile played on Liu Guang's lips: "Gongsun, what do you think?"
“The assassin was definitely not sent by Hong Guo.” Gongsun Ming also sneered: “Although Qian Sheye is both afraid of and hates the commander-in-chief, with his abilities, he could not have devised such a meticulous assassination plan. If he could devise such a plan, he would not have left so many loopholes for us to investigate.”
"In my opinion, the reason for leaving so many loopholes is not simply to draw our attention to Hong Kingdom." After clearing his throat, Gongsun Ming continued, "Whether the assassination succeeds or not, we will retaliate with all our might. The mastermind is worried about this and therefore fears that we will find out. Most importantly, the commander-in-chief was going to Huguo Temple to offer incense that day without prior notice. How did the assassin know about this?"
Liu Guang's heart stirred. He had considered this point before, but hearing it from Gongsun Ming made him think about it more deeply. Had Qianyao also thought of this that day? Was it because Qianyao unintentionally revealed that he was going to Huguo Temple that she chose to die for him? But Qianyao was always cautious and disliked gossiping. How could she have made such a mistake? Now that they were separated forever, the truth of the matter would probably be extremely difficult to find out.
"Gongsun, investigate the people in my household thoroughly for me." After Pang Zhen and the others left, Liu Guang kept Gongsun Ming behind. "Especially those servants and maids. I was planning to go to Huguo Temple those days, and it's inevitable that some servants and maids would find out. The news was most likely leaked by them."
Gongsun Ming frowned: "We've investigated the backgrounds of these servants and maids, and there's nothing suspicious about them. They're all honest and kind people."
“There’s something,” Liu Guang said slowly. “I haven’t mentioned it before, but the assassin in the ground seemed to be using the legendary earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic used by the Netherworld Sect). The Lingqi of Huai Kingdom has a very close relationship with the Netherworld Sect, which is their state religion. The Lotus Dharma Sect was originally a branch of the Netherworld Sect. Check among these maids and servants to see if any of them have families that believe in the Netherworld Sect.”
Gongsun Ming took a breath. The Netherworld Sect was mysterious and secretive. Although it had never entered the Three Religions, its actions over the past thousand years had been nothing short of astonishing. It was said that the death of the Khan of the Four Seas was related to their assassination attempt.
However, as the three religions became deeply rooted in Shenzhou, the Youming Sect gradually declined due to its radical doctrines, yet it was still able to instigate the Lianfa Sect of Chen Kingdom to rebel several years ago. If they assassinated Liu Guang, does that mean Ling Qi ordered them to do so?
"I heard you recently organized two assassination attempts?"
Anger lingered on Ling Qi's jade-like face, but his eyes were as deep as the dark void. The white-robed man holding the long staff glanced at him discreetly, increasingly convinced that the anger on his face was merely a facade, while his true thoughts, like those eyes, remained unfathomable.
"Indeed, if we could kill Li Jun and Liu Guang with a mere wave of our hand, wouldn't that save His Majesty a lot of trouble?"
Even when seated, Ling Qi never relaxed his posture; his movements at any time served as a standard of court etiquette. His eyes flashed with a cold, electric light, sending a chill down the spine of even the white-robed man, who feared that a slight parting of his crimson lips would be enough to kill him.
"I've said it before, these political affairs are none of your business." The murderous intent in Ling Qi's eyes vanished in an instant. He slowly said, "Zuo Pinglin, your reckless behavior shows you disrespect for me."
He spoke his last few words slowly and softly, yet they exuded an irresistible authority. While anyone who has held a high position for a long time will naturally develop an air of authority, Ling Qi's authority was different from others; it seemed as if this authority was innate.
Zuo Pinglin suppressed the urge to kneel and beg for mercy, taking a slight step back to avoid Ling Qi's imposing aura. He said, "Your Majesty seems to have forgotten that when I forced Liu Guang away, I said that the more chaotic the world was, the better."
"Of course I remember," Ling Qi said calmly. "Slaughter and bloodshed are originally divine doctrines. But your reckless actions will ruin my grand plan, do you understand?"
"How could it ruin His Majesty's grand plan?" Zuo Pinglin protested. "His Majesty has already pacified the nine kingdoms of Southern Divine Continent, yet he has remained inactive for the past few years, allowing Liu Guang and Li Jun to catch their breath. Now that the two have had enough rest and are about to launch a military campaign, His Majesty remains unmoved. Could it be that His Majesty has already settled into a life of peace and has lost the ambition to unify the Divine Continent?"
Ling Qi glanced at him, and Zuo Pinglin could sense the disdain in that glance. Sure enough, Ling Qi parted his lips slightly and said, "Unify the Divine Continent? Can you unify the Divine Continent by assassination?"
"Why not? Even the mighty Khan of the Four Seas was poisoned by the slow-acting poison of my Divine Sect, becoming cruel and suspicious, forcing Sun Lou to leave, and ultimately failing!" A hint of madness flashed in Zuo Pinglin's eyes, showing his great admiration for the past achievements. He hissed, "Shenzhou is the Divine Continent of the Divine Sect. For those who do not believe in the Divine Sect, any means are acceptable!"
A smile slowly appeared on Ling Qi's face: "I heard you gave this assassination a name, why don't you tell me?"
"Your Majesty is fond of military strategy, and you should know that there is a saying in military strategy: 'Shoot the man, shoot the horse; capture the thief, capture the king.'" Zuo Pinglin's expression had returned to calm, as if he had not been the one who had just spoken so fiercely. "Liu Guang and Li Jun share a common weakness: they are both warlords in chaotic times. Although they are rising rapidly, their foundations are shallow. If we eliminate them, their subordinates will inevitably fight each other for power and profit. At that time, the Divine Continent will be even more chaotic than it is now, which will be a good opportunity for our Divine Sect and Your Majesty to advance into the world. Just as beheading is the quickest way to kill, I have named this assassination 'Decapitation'!"