Jing Yuanchu was shocked, but it was too late for him to avoid it. However, a guard near him did all he could to fend off the spear. As a result, the sharp spearhead grazed Jing Yuanchu’s shoulder. Blood from the wound tinted his clothes at once.
Leng Changxi in all black stood on the top of the wall. Raindrops made him wet, so his chest and abdominal muscles appeared against his cotton short top, showing his vigor. Large raindrops fell on his shining black-iron spearhead and down to the ground from the blade. Jing Yuanchu didn’t expect that Leng Changxi would hide his spear in the wall dent. How did he make this?
“You have the foresight, but only you can’t beat up a group of people. You truly can hurt me. However, can you defeat all soldiers behind me?” Jing Yuanchu took a step back. A dozen of soldiers behind took out their machetes and swords to fight. Qin Yunuan, who stood alone, became their target.
But unexpectedly, Qin Yunuan slightly leveraged her genuine energy in the way Leng Changxi taught her. Then she gained an aura of strong power.
She could practice Qigong?
Jing Yuanchu paused for a while and continued, “Even so, you two are not enough.” When he was about to order his men to fight, another figure flew and landed on the wall top. That was Leng Wu.
Jing Yuanchu taunted, “You three fight against 14 soldiers? Well, I’ll wait to see how you are killed.”
Jing Yuanchu tilted his head slightly and raised the wounded right shoulder to crook his index finger. Then, fourteen most skilled soldiers of the Yellow Flag Army stepped forward. Leng Changxi looked back and entrusted Leng Wu to protect Jing Donghua. On the wall, raindrops fell on the waving swords which brought about flashes of silver light. Raindrops seemed to turn red, and the air was mixed with the smell of blood.
Rainwater that was tinted red flew downstairs. The rain didn’t stop. After chopping off the arm of the seventh soldier, Leng Changxi put the spear horizontally behind his waist. He saw seven defeated soldiers all covered their arms wound painfully and gritted their teeth.
Chopping off their arms was humiliating. They were all left with a nonfatal wound but lost their right hands which they could use to wield weapons. The reason why Leng Changxi did this was to throw these soldiers into the endless shame of disability. Jing Yuanchu knew this, so he hated Leng Changxi more.
“Come back.” Jing Yuanchu took a look at those defeated and disabled soldiers and scolded, “Useless.”
Leng Changxi pointed his spear to soldiers who lost their arms and said loudly, “See, you’ve risked your life for him and now end up in the loss of an arm. But he scolds you and insults you. Do you really want to join in his camp?”
“They have no choice now.” Jing Yuanchu turned around and looked at Jing Yuanxiao who was controlled by his assassins.
“B*ast*rd!” Under Leng Wu’s protection, Jing Donghua was safe. Now in his eyes, there was no love or tolerance for Jing Yuanchu at all. Jing Yuanchu made an unforgivable mistake. Jing Yuanxiao, who was tied up, advised in earnest, “Yuanchu, we’re brothers, and he is our father. How can you revolt and take control of West Xia which belongs to our father?”
“He’s your father, not mine.” Jing Yuanchu smiled, and the rainwater on his face made him look more ferocious. “He is not my father any more right at the moment when I decided to revolt.”
“Your Royal Highness, evil will be rewarded with evil. You can’t get away with it.” Qin Yunuan stepped forward. After the fight, she only had small wounds on her hand and arm. The exposed wounds and slightly messy hair made her look tougher.
“Humph.” Jing Yuanchu was about to sneer at her, but he heard a guard down reported hastily.
The guard walked upstairs in a hurry and slipped several times on the wet and slippery stairs. At last, he directly knelt down on the stair and loudly reported to Jing Yuanchu, “Your Royal Highness, our camp is besieged by around 200,000 soldiers. Our army is fighting against them at the gate.”
Qin Yunuan suddenly smiled and said, “See, it comes.”
“Shut up.” Jing Yuanchu desperately wanted to stab his sword at Qin Yunuan’s chest and made her shut up forever. He shouted at the guard, “So what? This camp is easy to defend but hard to break through. As long as we keep the gate shut, they can’t threaten me. After I get the imperial seal, I’ll forge an edict announcing the death of my father who elects me as the new emperor at the last minute, given that the Crown Prince is incompetent. At that time, those 200,000 soldiers outside are seen as traitors who everyone hates and wants to kill. Then, it’s their doomsday.”
“Jing Yuanchu, you are so greedy. I have misjudged you,” Jing Donghua said with bitter hatred. He didn’t know his dear son was so ruthless. He even had taught Jing Yuanchu horse riding, archery and classics in person.
Jing Yuanchu gritted his teeth and ordered, “Guards, search him for the seal.”
In West Xia, emperors had two seals. The national seal that was kept in the Palace was used for marking on memorials sent by officials and issuing imperial edicts. The imperial one was carried by emperors to issue edicts when they were on a tour of inspection or in travel.
Jing Yuanchu knew clearly that Jing Donghua now took the imperial seal with him.
“Who dares to search His Majesty?” Leng Wu took out two iron halberds and sheltered Jing Donghua.
“Ho, why do you, a lackey in Qi, meddle in affairs of West Xia?” Jing Yuanchu set mind to get the seal, but he heard someone speaking from above. “Seal? Your Royal Highness, are you looking for this?”
Looking up at where the voice came from, Jing Yuanchu saw Leng Changxi stood straight on the highest buttress. He had the spear in his right hand and an aquamarine seal that was as long as one’s index finger in his left hand. He was twirling the seal which was invaluable for Jing Yuanchu. But for him, it was just a delicate stone.
“How can you, a wanted criminal in Qi, hold the seal of West Xia?” Jing Yuanchu became furious. “Whoever takes the seal back, I’ll reward him with a high position. As for the one killing Leng Changxi, I will ennoble him as the national master.”
Undoubtedly, it was highly tempting, and everyone wanted to give it a shot. But people turned silent after hearing what Jing Donghua said. “I give it to him.”
Jing Donghua tilted his head a bit. Although his robe was wet because of the rain, he remained majestic and powerful. “Last night, I found that he was my son. That year, I sent people to take care of Qinghe who was going to deliver the baby. But you found a way to ask one of your pawns, that nanny, to get close to her. When the nanny was going to kill the baby, Leng Zhongxiao, Prince Ning of Qi, found Qinghe in time and saved them. Qinghe was reluctant to leave, so she stayed in Yueya Mountain to wait for me, while Prince Ning took the baby back to Qi and brought him up. So, Leng Changxi, Prince Ning’s claimed son, and the young hero standing before us, is actually my son.”
“Yuanchu, don’t think I am aware of nothing. In fact, I know well about these. But you really go too far.”
“The Elder Princess is awake?” Only the Elder Princess knew these details. Thus, Jing Yuanchu thought she already woke up and told Jing Donghua everything.
“Ho, if she’s awake, I may not tear you apart. It’s you that drug her. How dare you mention her?”
“She will wake up soon.” Qin Yunuan took a step forward with a bright smile. She looked so calm as if they hadn’t fought at all but just had a normal talk. “As long as the Crown Princess regularly applies medicine and aromatherapy to her based on my method, she may already recover when we’re back.”
“Back? None of you can go back.”
“It’s you, not us.” Leng Changxi cut in. Meanwhile, another weak voice came from downstairs. “Your Royal Highness, they have broken in.”
“How could be?” Jing Yuanchu couldn’t believe it. “The gate was made of black iron. It’s impregnable. How can merely two hundred thousand soldiers break in so fast?”
“It’s someone inside, opening the gate.”
“We have a traitor.” Jing Yuanchu fell into a rage but could say nothing after hearing Qin Yunuan’s ironic remark. “Your Royal Highness, don’t get it wrong. I’m afraid you are the traitor.”
“Cut the crap. Defend the second gate to last.”
The guard who reported just now started to shiver. “They’re… also… close to break the second gate.”
Suddenly, Jing Yuanchu didn’t know what to say, so he kicked the guard out of the wall. He glared at Leng Changxi who stood on the wall and Jing Donghua who was under the full shelter of Leng Wu. He actually fell into their trap long ago. That Leng Changxi took down the hidden spear meant they had prepared for this before. At the moment when Leng Changxi took out the seal, Jing Yuanchu already lost the game.
“If so, defend the last gate.” Jing Yuanchu was ordering his underlings but still stared at Leng Changxi.
Suddenly, a powerful roar of fighting soldiers resounded through the sky. Soldiers in black armor who wore red scarves flooded in from the gate of the drill field. In a sharp contrast to Yellow Flag soldiers in blue, they were like the flaming red fireworks.
“Your Royal Highness, you lose.” Standing in a high position, Leng Changxi looked down at Jing Yuanchu who was extremely arrogant just now.
Jing Yuanchu slowly closed his eyes. Hearing soldiers shouting downstairs, he seemed to be able to see his 130,000 soldiers who gathered owing to his carrot and stick strategy were all killed by the black-armor troop, the most powerful troop in West Xia. He only heard about that this troop was good at fighting on horse and running fight. But they actually were versatile and invincible, which made Jing Yuanchu’s hope and ambition die out.
Suddenly, Jing Yuanchu opened his eyes and wore a creepy smile, “Not exactly.”
