Zhu Shoujing stared intently at the shadow, his heart gradually sinking.
His loud shout was both a deterrent and a warning.
After the chaotic night at the Imperial Mausoleum with three factions, how could he not be wary of thieves causing trouble at the Imperial Mausoleum tonight?
To prevent the other party from killing him, the one in charge, all the Heavenly Beings under the Xiaoling Guard had taken up residence nearby.
At the slightest unusual sound, they would immediately rush to provide support.
The Xiaoling Guard soldiers, usually scattered in various places, had also gathered, sleeping in their armor and waiting for battle, ready to assemble at any moment. As long as the opponent was delayed for a quarter of an hour, they would be surrounded.
His seemingly lightly guarded bedroom was, in itself, a trap.
Logically, after his loud shout, the Heavenly Beings living nearby should have rushed over immediately, surrounding the place so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through.
But, there was nothing.
Not a single sound.
His voice seemed to be firmly locked within the room, and outside, there was only the cold, biting air of the twelfth lunar month and the silently flowing moonlight.
Zhu Shoujing drew his sword, holding his breath and waiting intently.
Suddenly, the shadow slowly climbed down the window.
Zhu Shoujing watched as the shadow disappeared outside the window.
Then he slowly got up, listening intently to the movements outside the window while slowly walking to the side.
He suddenly raised his hand and pointed!
It was not a move, but a pure stream of true qi that opened the window with a “bang!”
Bang!
As the window opened, Zhu Shoujing kicked open the door, ducked out, continuously changed his posture, and finally flashed into the courtyard.
With his long saber held upright in front of him and his left hand guarding his chest and abdomen, Zhu Shoujing finally scanned his surroundings.
The courtyard was empty, as if the shadow had been merely an illusion, and all his previous actions had been a battle of wits against thin air.
But Zhu Shoujing knew very well that he could not have been mistaken.
Creak.
Suddenly, a soft sound came from behind him!
Zhu Shoujing suddenly turned his head to look and saw a corner of clothing fall from the rooftop, disappearing from his sight.
The eight Revered Ones slowly walked into the Xiaoling Guard's encampment, and before they had gone a few more steps, they heard a sharp shout.
“Stop!”
A person jumped down from a hidden spot, hand on the hilt of his saber, and looked at them.
One of the Revered Ones scanned the surroundings with his peripheral vision, thinking, “This is bad.”
In the surrounding woods, on rooftops, and in corners, dense gazes were firmly fixed on their vital points.
And in the distance, the faint sound of dense footsteps could be heard, clearly drawn by the man’s sharp shout.
Several Revered Ones suddenly turned their heads to look at the rooftops around them.
Several figures stood on the rooftops, looking coldly at them. Without even exchanging blows, the Revered Ones could tell that these were the Heavenly Beings of the Xiaoling Guard.
“Oh no, there really is an ambush!”
“We’ve stepped into it!”
The Revered Ones secretly thought, “This is bad.”
And the Xiaoling Guard Heavenly Beings on the opposite side were also full of hostility, with one impatient one eagerly speaking.
“Where is the Commander?!”
“Were he secretly kidnapped by you?!”
They recognized one of the Revered Ones who had visited the Imperial Mausoleum with Huang Jin last night.
The reason the Xiaoling Guard's Heavenly Beings said this goes back to when the Revered Ones pursued Emperor Jianwen to Tianshou Mountain.
Let’s rewind time a moment.
Zhu Shoujing had arranged for the Xiaoling Guard to strengthen their defenses, and several Heavenly Beings were meditating and recuperating that night, not sleeping at all.
Suddenly, a sentry came to report that a loud noise, seemingly from a battle between Heavenly Beings, had come from outside the Imperial Mausoleum, on Tianshou Mountain.
The several people dared not delay and rushed to find Zhu Shoujing to report, but when they arrived at Zhu Shoujing's courtyard, they could not find him.
The several people searched everywhere, and in a ditch outside the courtyard, they found Zhu Shoujing's saber.
Other than that, there was no trace, as if Zhu Shoujing had vanished into thin air.
The Xiaoling Guard had a tradition of father-to-son succession, and several generations of comrades. Their attitude towards Zhu Shoujing was like Mei Qingwei's towards Li Miao: they would obey his commands and would never retreat, even unto death.
Seeing that Zhu Shoujing's personal weapon was gone, his life unknown, and his whereabouts a mystery, they were immediately consumed by anxiety.
One of them said,
“With the Commander’s martial arts, I don’t believe anyone could have taken him away silently without us noticing at all. So there’s only one possibility: the Commander left willingly with him.”
The implication was self-evident.
Who could make the Commander of the Xiaoling Guard leave willingly without informing his subordinates or offering any resistance?
Naturally, it was the imperial court!
Last night, Huang Jin suspected the Xiaoling Guard of colluding with the Ming Cult. Although he did not make a move immediately, he did find several thousand-households and questioned them thoroughly.
Logically, with such a major incident at the Imperial Mausoleum, it was only right to question those present.
However, “questioning” is not just about the questioner getting answers.
For the person answering the questions, some questions themselves are a kind of answer.
Questions posed with the attitude of “inquiring about the situation at the time” and “suspecting you are a rebel” are different. No matter how much Huang Jin tried to conceal it, he could not completely hide his attitude.
At that time, some thousand-households noticed this point. Although they were displeased, they still suppressed it and answered one by one.
If the matter had ended there, it would have been fine.
But Zhu Shoujing just happened to disappear, on the second day after Huang Jin left.
The several people searched everywhere but could not find any trace of Zhu Shoujing.
It just so happened that several Revered Ones entered the Imperial Mausoleum, and the several people rushed over, immediately recognizing one of the Revered Ones as one of those who had come with Huang Jin last night.
Thus, it was not surprising that the Xiaoling Guard Heavenly Beings asked the question, “Where is the Commander?”
However, when the several Revered Ones heard this, they were at a loss.
What did “we kidnapped Zhu Shoujing” mean?
“You—”
One of the Revered Ones was about to ask for clarification, but only half a sentence came out.
Suddenly.
“Watch out!”
A Revered One beside him roared, clutching a wound at his waist and striking back with a fist, repelling a figure dressed in the tight attire of the Xiaoling Guard!
That figure used the force to retreat quickly, disappearing into the darkness.
And when the injured Revered One removed his hand from the wound, the blood flowing out was already black.
That person's weapon was poisoned with a potent venom! Clearly, he intended to kill him!
“The Xiaoling Guard has indeed rebelled!”
“Thieves!”
“Fight our way out!”
“Good!”
“Don’t leave! Where is the Commander?!”
“Go ask in the underworld!”
“How dare you! Die!”
“Kill!”
The already tense situation instantly spiraled out of control. In an instant, angry shouts, screams, the clash of weapons, and the twang of bowstrings erupted simultaneously!
Blood immediately splattered on the spot!
And the figure that had instigated the conflict had already used the cover of night to quietly withdraw from the battle, traveling several li before finally stopping.
—“They’re finally fighting.”
She removed the helmet from her head, pulled off her tight attire, and let her hair fall loose. She then reached up and peeled off a mask as thin as a cicada's wing from her face.
Revealing Ji Tianrui’s smiling face.
