books44 Chapter 720 Crisis (7)
Chapter 720 Crisis (7)
Chapter 720 Crisis (Part 7)
Clang!
The middle-aged officer suddenly drew his sword and slashed it heavily against the side door frame.
"Find them! They were just inside a moment ago, they couldn't have all escaped!" he commanded his men. "All of you, stay alert! Don't overlook any clue!"
Another chaotic scene ensued, with chickens and dogs running amok and people banging and smashing things.
Many pots and pans were broken, but not a single person was seen.
Nothing was found.
"Damn it, nobody's here, then burn them all!" The middle-aged officer grinned menacingly. "They must be hiding somewhere, I refuse to believe they can't be burned to death!" Boom!
Black oil was spilled everywhere, and a huge fire suddenly broke out.
The thick, black smoke, like twilight, stung my liver and lungs when inhaled.
pat.
The plaque hanging in front of the door was suddenly suspended in mid-air after being scorched by the fire.
Only one nail in the corner is still holding on.
Huff...
The flames grew larger and larger, and soon the flames licked at the plaque, quickly engulfing the four large characters "Xunzhen Academy".
In the blink of an eye, the plaque was burned to ashes, leaving only a few embers.
……………
Not far from the school, on the top floor of a teahouse.
Crack! The teacup floated in mid-air, as if an invisible hand had forcefully crushed several cracks into it.
"They...how dare they..."
Click, click...
The cracks on the teacup were increasing, and it looked like it was about to break apart.
Snapped.
A large hand grasped the teacup and slowly placed it on the table.
“Xunzhen, don’t act rashly… He’s strong… Let him be strong… Such high-pressure iron-fisted control… won’t last long… There will inevitably be resistance…” The speaker had slightly graying temples and a refined demeanor.
It was none other than Wang Yunkai, a renowned scholar from Yunzhou and the Dongyang Academy.
"I'm just a little unwilling..." Tantai Xunzhen said quietly, "Why is it that after trying so many times and making so much effort, I still failed at the last hurdle... So many people... were implicated and killed by me... Was it all worth it?"
…”
"Sigh..." Wang Yunkai sighed, without saying anything more.
There was no point in saying more; both of them knew the truth.
Fan Hongchou rushed from the capital and was transferred to serve as the military commander of Yunzhou Prefecture.
The new official took office three fires.
On the surface, the aim is to eliminate evil forces, adjust the hierarchical structure of martial arts in Yunzhou, and change the prevailing atmosphere.
A period of time has passed.
Starting from Huayang, a number of forces were indeed purged.
The oppression and evil practices of the sects in the past have greatly improved.
It seems that the entire Yunzhou is now clean and upright, and the atmosphere has changed dramatically.
In the streets, towns, and markets, those martial arts practitioners who used to be arrogant and domineering are now much more restrained, keeping their tails between their legs and not daring to cause trouble. They are afraid of being targeted and reported, or being labeled as criminals by the government troops.
As a result, people's lives and happiness index have improved significantly.
Fan Hongchou's reputation won him popular support, and the policies he implemented also gained widespread public support and proceeded smoothly.
But in fact.
Tantai Xunzhen and Wang Yunkai both knew that Fan Hongchou's desire to change the atmosphere in Yunzhou was a pretense.
The real goal is to find the two of them.
Many of the forces that were eliminated were those that supported Tantai Xunzhen.
Before Kou Hu, he had arranged and left behind many hidden agents, who remained in hiding and waiting for the right opportunity.
After several rounds of precise strikes, the leaders were all wiped out, thrown into chaos, and rendered completely unreliable. Even her secret hideout was eventually destroyed.
Hidden away in the city.
Hidden in a corner of the city, an inconspicuous little school.
They were all pursued by the enemy without being noticed.
This time, it really was just a hair's breadth away.
She was almost discovered, and then a large army quickly captured her and brought her back to the capital to have her bloodline extracted.
Fortunately, Wang Yunkai noticed in time and managed to escape quickly without being discovered.
Tantai Xunzhen looked at the middle-aged man before her, who was both a teacher and a father figure…
So many years have passed, and I still want to help her.
Her gentle face was already full of fatigue, and her once black hair was now covered with large patches of white.
"Teacher, all these years... I'm so grateful to you... I don't know how many crises... so many times..."
"I almost..." Tantai Xunzhen's voice was sincere, with a slight tremor.
"Xunzhen, why say all this?" Wang Yunkai smiled and said, "I could never repay the great kindness of your mother, even if I died. Besides, I watched you grow up from childhood; we're closer than family. We share the same fate, so if I don't help you, who will I help?"
But the more he tried to comfort him, the more indifferent he seemed.
Tantai Xunzhen felt increasingly distressed, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
"Alright, Xunzhen, stop crying. You're all grown up now, you can't be like before, always throwing tantrums and crying." Wang Yunkai said kindly, "A young lady should act like a young lady. If others see you crying, they might gossip about you behind your back."
“Teacher, I understand…” Tantai Xunzhen took a deep breath.
A short while later, she slowly opened her eyes and regained her composure: "Actually, this is a good thing; it serves as a wake-up call. Fan Hongchou was able to find us this time, but next time, it won't be so easy."
I just don't understand what he's in such a hurry for. Isn't he afraid of incurring public wrath?
Wang Yunkai analyzed, "I've dealt with Fan Hongchou a few times. He seems amiable on the surface, but he's actually extremely ambitious and no ordinary person. Moreover, he seems to be connected to a powerful force behind him, making him quite mysterious."
His hasty decision to take sides this time is unclear; it's uncertain whether it's his own will or the support of powerful figures behind him. Such a high-profile bet on Prince Sheng likely indicates he has inside information.
"Insider information... what inside information could change the whole situation?" Tantai Xunzhen sighed. "The current situation is clear at a glance. Among the nine members of my Tantai family this generation, the eldest brother is the most powerful, followed by the second brother... the two of them are at odds and are constantly fighting each other."
Ultimately, however, the final decision... rests with Father Emperor. What merit or ability does Fan Hongchou possess to change Father Emperor's mind? He has focused most of his energy on me, and he's not afraid of betting on the wrong person and losing his head.
"Don't overthink it. We've done what we could. If the final outcome is the same, we'll accept it," Wang Yunkai said with a wry smile. "In this world, how can one understand everything? There are no omniscient and omnipotent saints..."
boom!
Suddenly, a loud crackling sound came from outside the window.
The two looked in the direction of the sound.
The soldiers held black, oil-coated torches, lit them with fire, and hurled them one by one.
"That's... a school?!"
Tantai Xunzhen suddenly stood up.
"Calm down..." Wang Yunkai comforted him, "It's too late now, there's no point in trying to get through this."
Tantai Xunzhen naturally understood this principle, and could only sit down dejectedly. The two of them watched as the small primary school not far away was gradually consumed by the fire, leaving only black ash.
"By the way, teacher, those children..." Tantai Xunzhen suddenly remembered something and asked anxiously.
When she received the search notice from the government troops, the situation was urgent, and she had no time to worry about anything else, so she had to leave first.
"them…..."
Wang Yunkai suddenly fell silent.
After a long pause, he sighed and said, "When they left... they were all in a secret room... I thought we'd be safe after evading the search... I never imagined Fan Hongchou's people... would be so ruthless..."
"What?! Then they... deserve to die?!"
Tantai Xunzhen slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his long black hair instantly turning blood red.
The students she had just taught in class… were burned alive?! She remembered a little girl named Fangfang, whose family was poor and favored boys over girls. She had painstakingly saved a little money from eating meat, studying diligently, hoping to learn to read and write and change her fate, but…
There was also a little boy named Xiaogang, who was very bright but had a physical disability. He vowed to study to change people's perceptions of disabled people...
There are also Niu Niu, Hua Zi, Jin Bao...
Those were vibrant and beautiful lives, and just like that...?!
boom.
Click!
An invisible aura swept through the entire private room, instantly turning all the fragile ceramic items into a fine dust.
"Fan Hongchou...and Tantai Sheng!!!" Tantai Xunzhen gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, with vertical pupils faintly forming.
Never before had she felt such intense hatred for Fan Hongchou, for her elder brother Tantai Sheng, and for her own destiny.
If I were to die, that would be one thing.
But every time something goes wrong.
It wasn't her who died. It was the people closest to her who died.
She is a jinx, a curse.
Everyone who gets close to her... will encounter misfortune and bad luck.
"Calm down!" Wang Yunkai hissed. "Don't forget the important matter!"
In fact, he already knew the fate of those children.
It could even be said that he did it on purpose, luring them into an underground, enclosed space and sealing them off.
After all, these children, on the surface, all seem innocent and naive, their minds yet to be fully developed.
But what if? Even if these people are legitimate and not spies or anything like that.
However, if they are arrested and tortured, they might reveal things they shouldn't, leading to an intelligence leak.
That…...
Therefore, out of caution, Wang Yunkai reluctantly ordered the door to the underground chamber to be locked.
Of course, there was no need to explain the whole story to Tantai Xunzhen.
Wang Yunkai was a shrewd and experienced man. After years of getting to know each other, he had long since figured out Tantai Xunzhen's personality.
A few words of verbal persuasion had a considerable comforting effect.
Although a hint of gloom could still be seen in Tantai Xunzhen's eyes, her words and actions showed that she was gradually returning to normal.
Thump, thump, thump...
Just then, there was a knock on the door of the private room. "The code matches, it's one of us," Wang Yunkai nodded after carefully listening for a while.
Upon hearing his words, Tantai Xunzhen slowly relaxed his guarded posture.
The curtain hanging on the door swayed slightly, and an elderly man with a square face, a resolute appearance, and a robust physique strode into the private room.
"Hongran, it's been a long time." Wang Yunkai stood up to welcome him, greeting him with a smile.
"It's been more than a decade, and you're still the same, as charming as ever."
The person who came was none other than Huangfu Hong, the trusted strategist and advisor to Kou Hu in the former government army.
After Kou Hu fell, he disappeared without a trace.
But today, it appears here.
"Princess," Huangfu Hong bowed respectfully before sighing, "Yun Kai, don't say such things, it makes you a laughingstock... Who would have thought that these two, once so promising, would now both be wanted criminals?"
"It's still uncertain who will emerge victorious," Wang Yunkai said with a slight smile. "Fan Hongchou's ruthlessness and mercilessness this time are enough to force those people to make a choice."
"This is not a choice, but the right path," Huangfu Hong said earnestly. "Benevolence wins the world, while lack of benevolence loses it. Only benevolence is the path of the Son of Heaven."
……………
……………
At dawn, as the sun rises, its rays fall on the snow, creating a warm and languid halo.
As the morning dew slowly receded, a faint, seven-colored halo appeared on the surface of the lake.
"This is what they call... the remains of a demon?"
On the shore of Flower Lake, Han Yi's eyes gleamed as he stared intently at two objects on the lawn. On the damp grass lay two black ink cartridges.
On the left side, there was a mutilated hand, its black and red fur tangled and covered with numerous scales, like that of a lizard.
In the box on the right, there was a four-winged flying insect that was entirely dark purple and semi-transparent.
This flying insect resembled a dragonfly, with a large, fat abdomen and a huge compound eye that gleamed with a pale, lifeless aura.
It is also an inanimate object.
"Putting everything else aside... the efficiency of the Grandmasters Association is really somewhat unexpected..." Han Yi smiled strangely, clenched his palm and held it in front of his eyes to examine it carefully.
In just over ten days, the Grandmaster Association sent him two pieces of demon remains for his research and reference.
Within the Grandmaster Guild, everything requires accepting a quest and exchanging contributions for it.
The tasks here were naturally those issued by the imperial court, dispatched to various parts of the country, and required urgent handling. Han Yi, of course, neither carried out the tasks nor made any contributions.
But he didn't have it, while Sun Wuya and Bi Zhi did!
After Han Yi's 'friendly negotiations'.
As compensation for rashly intruding into the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect.
The two were generous and selfless, gritting their teeth and 'voluntarily' contributing a large amount of resources to exchange for these two demon remains that Han Yi considered useless.
After all, these two pieces of remains were not left behind by powerful demons, nor did they possess any strange effects.
Its only advantage is its freshness.
I heard it was just sent down from the front lines.
But what's the use of freshness?
The least needed element in the method of cultivating demonic power to enter the Dao is novelty.