Бессмертие, Бессмертие - Глава 59
"Your Excellency," the lady, whose back was to the door, said indifferently, "do not come in."
“…Yes.” Although he was furious, Li Shiyu held back his anger, which showed him a deep fear and respect for Madam Li.
Shengxiang was now quite smug, waving his hand casually, "Even if you come in, you can't do anything to me. You've chased me twenty-eight times these past few days: once you fell into the river, once I locked you in the woodshed, once you stormed into the kitchen and overturned dinner, once you crashed into a wall, once you accidentally injured a passerby, once you demolished that garden over there, once..." He had such a good memory, slowly recounting all the consequences of Li Shiyu's pursuit of him in the Buddhist hall, "I advise you to give up. I've already shown you mercy twenty-eight times. Even Zhuge Liang only captured that guy seven times, didn't he? You're too difficult to deal with..."
"Holy Incense!" Li Shiyu was so angry that he felt like he was about to vomit blood. His hand holding the sword trembled uncontrollably. Before he could finish speaking, he finally couldn't hold back any longer, roared, drew his sword, and rushed into the Buddhist hall, shouting, "Go to hell!"
"Young Master!" everyone exclaimed in unison, "We absolutely must not enter this Buddhist hall..."
With a loud thud, Li Shiyu, who had just stepped into the Buddhist hall, was thrown back by a gust of wind. His clothes were torn open at the chest, revealing blood. It seemed that if Li Shiyu hadn't reacted quickly, his heart would have been ripped out. Everyone stared palely at the room. Beside the withered woman who was praying, there were specks of blood. It was her! She had actually treated her own son so cruelly! "Madam..."
Shengxiang stared wide-eyed at the claw marks on Li Shiyu's chest, then let out a long sigh of relief. "No way... why did I..."
"I was resting when you came in," the withered Madam Li said indifferently. "You're in, so be it. I don't like being disturbed."
It turns out Li Chenglou married a perverted wife; no wonder he wanted a new one. If Madam Li knew what Shengxiang was thinking, she would have ripped out all ten of her hearts.
"Thump thump thump—thump thump—thump thump thump—" Suddenly, the entire Daming Mountain, with its green bamboo and red walls, seemed to shake. It was as if dark clouds were gathering below, emitting a deafening roar, "Woo—thump thump thump—"
"What is that?" Li Shiyu stood up, leaning on his sword, his face pale. "What is that...?"
The members of the blood sacrifice ceremony looked at each other in horror, and someone muttered to themselves, "An earthquake?"
"Nonsense! Daming Mountain never experiences earthquakes! We're on the mountaintop! How could that be..."
"Is it still a herd of cattle?" someone asked hopefully.
"This is a mountainous area. Where did you get your herds of cattle and horses? Do you think this is your Mongolian grasslands where wild cattle and horses run rampant?" Li Shiyu shouted sternly.
"It's war drums!" Saint Incense suddenly rushed out of the Buddhist hall. "These are war drums! There's no mistake! Why..." He leaped onto the roof of the hall and looked out. He saw troops gathering below the mountain, a thick layer of dust rising and surrounding the mountain. Each army had its own long chariot and large drum, and the drummers were beating them with earth-shattering force. The shouts from all directions merged into a buzzing "whoosh" sound, which was terrifying to hear!
"Where did these troops come from? The imperial court has no troops like this in the south! Aren't we fighting against Liao? The army should all be mobilized to the north, how could they possibly be in this desolate southern land..." Li Shiyu's expression changed drastically, "Where is Lingyan? Where are the people from Lingyan?"
"I said—don't go looking for Ling Yan every time something happens." Sheng Xiang's eyes darkened, then calmed down. "I understand."
"The leader has arrived!"
As Shengxiang looked up, Li Lingyan swept in like a white feather. His gaze swept over the woman still chanting sutras in the Buddhist hall. "Brother, you've asked Mother to come out." Then he closed his eyes slightly, opening them with a calm smile. "Young Master Shengxiang, this isn't your new game, is it?"
Saint Incense was brushing off the ash that had accidentally gotten on him when she heard this. She looked up and pointed to the thousands of soldiers below the mountain. "Didn't you see them? Those armors."
"Han armor?" Li Lingyan murmured to himself.
“Not bad, Han armor…” Shengxiang smiled, “This is a big problem. These are remnants of the Northern Han army, not the imperial army.”
"The Northern Han should be in Hebei, so why did they move south to Daming Mountain?" Li Shiyu asked impatiently.
“Daming Mountain is located in the far south, with high mountains, many rivers, and deep waters, making it suitable for hiding these nearly ten thousand soldiers. Of course, their purpose in sending troops to surround the mountain and beat drums is only one.” Li Lingyan glanced cautiously at Shengxiang, then said, “To force them to surrender.”
“That’s because you were too flamboyant, Xiao Yan, and someone forced you to join the rebellion.” Sheng Xiang sighed. “Of course…” He didn’t finish his sentence, his eyes faintly gleaming with a glassy light. Why would the remnants of the Northern Han army suddenly come to Daming Mountain? Why were they besieging the mountain and forcing surrender? Apart from the fact that the Blood Sacrifice Society had become too powerful and almost omnipotent in recent years, arousing the covetousness of others—counting Liang, Shang Xuan, the rebellion, him, Rong Yin—he couldn’t help but suspect that this was an inevitable counterattack. Shang Xuan’s rebellion was already a certainty. He was alone with only a few confidants of the Prince of Yan. How could he rebel? Did he have the troops? The remnants of the Northern Han army still numbered nearly ten thousand, their desire to restore the country was obvious, they only lacked an excuse and a leader.
If Shangxuan uses the remnants of the Northern Han army to plot a rebellion, if Shangxuan agrees to seek only revenge and not become emperor, and if Shangxuan's identity is used by the remnants of the Northern Han army—then it's undoubtedly a perfect match. Furthermore, Li Lingyan's rising prominence has attracted unwanted attention, and coupled with his search for the truth behind his father's murder, whether for the sake of Qu Zhiliang or the emperor's reputation, the Yan Prince's faction cannot tolerate him. If they cannot bring him under their control, they will kill him on the spot! This is the truth behind the siege and forced surrender. Everyone wants to utilize the Blood Sacrifice Society's power, and Rong Yin must know that the Han army is marching south. Since he hasn't said anything, perhaps he also hopes for a major battle between the two sides to weaken both. Both sides are sources of turmoil; it would be best if one could reap the benefits. Rong Yin's idea is certainly not wrong, but… Shengxiang looked at the troops below the mountain, Shangxuan, Li Lingyan… He didn't want anyone to die, but the situation had changed so drastically that he couldn't even laugh for a moment.
Li Lingyan was indeed a proud man, and he would never tolerate being subservient to anyone. If the Shangxuan sect was indeed down the mountain, and if they insisted on attacking, the casualties would be heavy. Rong Yin… He looked up at the sky. This was my idea, to kill two birds with one stone and make both Shangxuan and Li Lingyan suffer heavy losses, and it was also your tacit approval. But now that things have come to this… He turned to Li Lingyan and winked, “Little Yan, do you dare to come with me to capture them?”
A subtle glint appeared in Li Lingyan's handsome eyes. "Arrest someone?"
"Isn't it true that you have to catch the king first?" Shengxiang chuckled and made a face. "If you catch their king, the army below won't dare to come up. It'll be a lot of fun."
"Hmm?" Li Lingyan slightly raised her delicate chin. "Is there enough time?"
"There's still time, there's still time. With me taking action, everything will be fine, meaning there's plenty of time no matter what. But if I'm not mistaken, that guy down the mountain is practicing some kind of heretical martial art, so I need a few helpers." Shengxiang smiled and counted on her fingers. "For example, Xiaoyan isn't afraid of pain, so she can rush up and take a hit for me. Da Yu is very beautiful, so we can try using her beauty to seduce her. It's just a pity we lack someone with high martial arts skills to capture him."
Li Shiyu couldn't help but sneer, "And what about you?"
"I bear the heavy responsibility of telling you who the leader is, and of course, the heavy responsibility of escaping." Shengxiang's fan snapped open. "Besides, he's coming for you, not for me. The fact that I didn't run away is already a testament to my wisdom and courage. You should praise me, shouldn't you?"
Li Shiyu chuckled, turned his head to look at the army surrounding the mountain below, and ignored him.
“Surrounding the mountain to force surrender will take at least two or three days. The Han soldiers will need to advance at least another ten miles up the mountain to cut off our water supply. If they want to come down the mountain to capture people, perhaps…” Li Lingyan closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, “Who are the people down the mountain?”
"He might be an old monster who has mastered the 'Rolling Snow Divine Skill'," Shengxiang said with a smile.
“‘Four-Cracked Moon’ stays, and elder brother stays.” A smile appeared on Li Lingyan’s lips. “The Blood Sacrifice Society is best at arson. If I hadn’t returned, and this place had fallen, you and these houses…” His clean lips curved into a slight smile, “We might as well use the remaining three hundred-odd barrels of oil.” Then he smiled at Shengxiang, “Let’s go.”
"Hey, Da Yu—Da Yu—" Sheng Xiang yelled as Li Lingyan grabbed her by the back of the collar and dragged her forward like a cat, "Come out now—"
“‘Gunxue Divine Skill’, truly a worthy opponent to look forward to.” Li Lingyan ignored his shouts and carried him down the mountain. Although he was not feeling the same in his hands and feet, his lightness skill was still quite good.
“Release my collar,” Saint Fragrant warned.
The strange smile that stretched across Li Lingyan's lips hadn't subsided yet, "From today onwards, the sky above the Blood Sacrifice Ceremony will be ablaze with flames..."
"Hey, haven't you thought about—surrendering?" Shengxiang flipped her folding fan, avoiding Li Lingyan's hand that was grabbing his collar. "Isn't surrendering after losing much better than committing suicide after losing?"
“Surrender…” Li Lingyan still smiled, “or suicide, those are things to consider after the game is over. What we should be thinking about now is—the process!”
The extreme speed caused the wind to rush past her ears, and Shengxiang muttered to herself, "You're just a crazy person who craves battle."
“I’m still alive…” Li Lingyan looked at the thousands of soldiers and cavalry below the mountain. If people could really be so cruel, living for no one and caring about no one’s life or death, how enviable that would be.
At the foot of Daming Mountain.
Shang Xuan sat alone in his military tent, facing the fire.
Rong Yin is not dead...
That guy was indeed a formidable character! The mere mention of him not being dead had already swayed his desire for revenge. Although he didn't approve of his father's actions, they were all for his own good. Zhao Dezhao's lifelong hope was that his son could fulfill his unfulfilled wish. He was forced to his death by the Emperor and Rong Yin's combined forces… that was his father…