Captured by the Emperor After a Successful Faked Death - Chapter 17

“Flying light, flying light, I urge you to drink a cup of wine.”

Gu Minsheng shielded Xie Chengyun behind him. As torches flared up before their faces, countless hooded figures stared at them in unison.

Hall Master Zhuang looked at them, her slender eyebrows arching. Revealing an expression that suggested their arrival had been effortless, she said, “Oh my, isn’t this Prime Minister Xie Chengyun?”

She stepped forward slowly as the cultists parted to form a path. “I heard you were quite ill recently. Why aren’t you resting properly in your manor instead of coming to our filthy place?”

Gu Minsheng stood at the front with his blade drawn. Although they were surrounded, Xie Chengyun remained as calm and indifferent as ever.

“There is no need for Hall Master Zhuang to concern yourself with Xie’s illness. If not for my sudden visit, how would I have known you had prepared such a grand surprise?”

Hearing this, it was clear that Hall Master Zhuang understood Xie Chengyun had heard everything just moments ago.

She stopped pretending and shouted loudly, “What are you all standing there for? He only brought one person; attack!”

“Keep him alive missing an arm or a leg is no big deal. The Nameless Deity is above; capture Xie Chengyun alive!”

As soon as the words fell, a massive crowd lunged forward with blades in hand.

Gu Minsheng and Xie Chengyun stood back-to-back, just as they had through countless days and nights in their youth.

Xie Chengyun sliced through the throat of the man in front of him with a single stroke of his sword and said to Gu Minsheng, “Fight your way forward! The Zhaixing Pavilion is filled with their people, and the beasts carry the plague. I am going to burn this place down!”

Gu Minsheng said nothing, simply blocking the path in front of Xie Chengyun and taking on ten men by himself. With every rise of his saber, heads fell, and his body was drenched in blood, resembling an Asura descended upon the world.

Xie Chengyun’s sword danced, picking up a candelabra and throwing it onto the colorful banners.

Hall Master Zhuang knelt on the high platform with her hands clasped together.

The Cuckoo Blood cultists were truly a group of madmen; even in this situation, they still had the mind to worship their god.

The flames spread along the banner fabric, but for some reason, the fire would not catch properly; it remained merely a few harmless sparks.

Hall Master Zhuang stood beneath the statue and ruthlessly severed her own arm, offering it upon the altar.

She turned to look at Xie Chengyun. “Release those beasts! I want to see if Xie Chengyun contracts the plague, whether your Emperor will save you and disregard the world, or kill you to save the world!”

In the next moment, the beasts in the cages escaped, fleeing in all directions throughout the underground palace.

Xie Chengyun threw his short sword behind Gu Minsheng. As he turned back, he saw a man staring with wide eyes and a giant axe, collapsing to the ground.

“Use cloth to cover your mouth and nose; you cannot let those beasts leave alive!”

With that, Xie Chengyun tore a piece of fabric from his clothes to cover his face first. His form was like a dance; he snapped a man’s neck with his bare hands and picked up the man’s long sword.

Gu Minsheng and Xie Chengyun’s movements were agile and every strike fatal, yet they were still losing ground.

They were incredibly unlucky; the fire would not grow, the cultists were swinging wildly with their eyes closed yet their weapons still landed on them, and when men died, their corpses would trip them, serving a final purpose in death.

Xie Chengyun looked up at the statue and cursed inwardly, “Damn it.”

A mere evil god, and it wanted to block his path?

Xie Chengyun’s toes touched the ground lightly as he flew forward. Hall Master Zhuang clearly understood what he intended to do and shrieked, “Stop him! Someone stop him, ahhhhh!”

Xie Chengyun used the cultists as stepping stones to leap into the air, spinning once and focusing his strength to stab toward the statue.

Whether it was his imagination or not, a muffled wailing sound came from the statue’s hollow mouth. Stones from the underground palace ceiling fell, but Xie Chengyun’s speed was faster than the falling debris.

A moment later, the head of the statue fell to the ground. With a thundering crash, the remaining half of the body crumbled into shattered stone.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

Hall Master Zhuang let out a wail, as if it were not the statue being shattered, but herself.

Xie Chengyun once again picked up the candelabra used for worship and threw it on the ground.

This time, the fire took hold.

As Gu Minsheng was killing the fleeing beasts, the animals’ blood splashed into his eyes. He covered his mouth and nose, but his eyes were left exposed.

Gu Minsheng paid it no mind; he shook his head and again raised his saber to kill forward.

Xie Chengyun ignored Hall Master Zhuang wailing and writhing on the ground, hurrying down to grab Gu Minsheng’s hand and running toward the tunnel ahead.

The cultists pursued them, but no one bothered to tend to the Hall Master, who was crying out and rolling on the ground.

The tunnel was pitch-black, the path ahead long and devoid of any light.

Gu Minsheng followed Xie Chengyun, running forward without a shred of fear. He knew that Xie Chengyun would lead him home.

Just as in the countless years of the past, with Xie Chengyun by his side, there was a home, and there was no more fear.

Zhu Yunyin sat in the front hall until late at night, but Xie Chengyun had not returned home. He frowned and stood up. The Prime Minister had not brought anyone with him when he went out, nor had he said where he was going.

A-Yun had no shortage of formidable warriors by his side. If he sent someone to follow the Prime Minister and report his whereabouts constantly, would he be discovered?

He had heard that in foreign lands, there was a type of peculiar stone that came in pairs—mother and child. If the child stone was kept on one’s person, the mother stone could track its location at any time.

The Prime Minister was in poor health; he should be pampered and protected in a golden house, not toil and run about outside. That was enough for him; his A-Yun only needed to look at him and wait at home.

The young man didn’t know what he was thinking, but a foolish, doting smile appeared on his face, which looked chilling in the night.

The Prime Minister would be frightened, wouldn’t he? No, given the Prime Minister’s character, he would only be annoyed that he had failed to educate him properly, feeling guilty toward the late Emperor’s trust in him. They were, after all, ruler and minister.

Looking at it this way, he himself was the most pitiable one.

He had been too late to participate in all that had come before; he had never seen the Prime Minister in his spirited youth.

But that was fine. The Prime Minister’s future belonged to him. He would squeeze his way into it, bit by bit, relying on himself.

Rapid footsteps sounded from outside, and a Jinyiwei knelt, cupping his fists. “Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Feiguang Pavilion has been burned down! All the noble families in the capital are alarmed, and Elder Meng says he is entering the palace to request that you personally punish the person who burned the Feiguang Pavilion.”

Zhu Yunyin’s eyes were full of impatience. He only asked, “What about Prime Minister Xie? Have you still not found him?”

“Your subordinate discovered that the Prime Minister entered the Zhaixing Pavilion, but has not appeared since.”

“Useless trash! Then seal off the Zhaixing Pavilion and search it! Do you need me to teach you how to do that?”

The Jinyiwei’s head hit the floor with a heavy thud, blood flowing profusely. “Your subordinate sealed the Zhaixing Pavilion and searched every room; Prime Minister Xie was not inside.”

Zhu Yunyin stood up abruptly and slapped the cap off the Jinyiwei’s head. “Keep searching! If the Prime Minister is missing even a single hair, I will cut off your head and execute your nine clans!”

“But… the Feiguang Pavilion…”

“If they want to make a scene, let them. They are nothing but a few old things. One day, I will kill them all!”

The Jinyiwei shuddered and hurriedly said, “Yes!”

Zhu Yunyin’s eyes were bloodshot. He strode out of the Prime Minister’s residence, intending to search for him personally.

But as soon as he stepped out, he saw the raging fire. A sharp pain pierced his heart, as if guided by the gods, and he ran toward the burning site.

Xie Chengyun pulled Gu Minsheng and finally reached the end of the tunnel.

He knocked on it with his hand; it was wood. He gestured for Gu Minsheng to kick the door open.

The Cuckoo Blood cultists were nowhere to be found. Xie Chengyun looked back; there was only one path in the tunnel. Had they stopped pursuing, or was there an ambush ahead?

He tightened his grip on the long sword in his hand and crawled out.

This place was not unfamiliar; on the contrary, it was very familiar.

Under the heavens, there was no one who did not know the Feiguang Pavilion.

The Feiguang Pavilion housed millions of books, from rare manuscripts and ancient classics to stone-engraved tablets. It was the result of a hundred years of collection by the scholars of Shangliang. Everyone who had placed on the Golden List had studied at the Feiguang Pavilion.

Naturally, that included Xie Chengyun.

The two of them were heavy with the scent of blood, completely out of place in the pavilion filled with the smell of sandalwood and ink.

Xie Chengyun looked up. In the very center of the Feiguang Pavilion were the four lines inscribed by his teacher, the former University Scholar of the Wenyuan Pavilion, Du Zhaoming:

“To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to inherit the lost teachings of the past sages, and to open a path of peace for all generations.”

Everything here made Xie Chengyun feel at ease, as if the brush with life and death moments ago were merely an illusion.

Gu Minsheng carried his saber, the blood on the tip already dried. Only then did he feel a sudden wave of exhaustion, sliding down against the wall to sit on the floor.

Xie Chengyun looked at Gu Minsheng, who had collapsed from fatigue, and did not urge him to move. This was his territory; he had studied here by the light of the window for over ten years no one knew this place better than he did.

However, he had not returned since he placed on the Golden List and was promoted to Prime Minister. Thinking of it now, he felt a deep nostalgia.

He reached out to take a book from the shelf, but as soon as he opened it, he saw something wrapped in oil paper inside.

Xie Chengyun put the book back on the shelf, frowned, and unfolded the oil paper.

A familiar fragrance wafted through the air; it was Wujin Powder that had not yet been rolled into pills.

Xie Chengyun threw the item to the floor and went to check other books; several in a row were all the same.

Good, truly good.

No wonder Wujin Powder could never be banned; no matter how many raids were conducted, it kept appearing in the capital. It turned out the largest apothecary was not on the streets, but right here in the Feiguang Pavilion.

The Feiguang Pavilion was managed by the noble families, who strictly controlled the donation and copying of books.

Did they not know there was such a thing inside? Or were they pretending not to know, or perhaps they, too, were taking it?

A boundless sense of sorrow suddenly filled his heart. Feiguang Pavilion, Feiguang Pavilion what a truly “fine” Feiguang Pavilion.

Are you a library, or a rat hole?

Xie Chengyun swayed, about to collapse, but was supported by Gu Minsheng.

At this moment, the sound of water being splashed came from outside the building. With a whoosh, the fire began to rage.

Gu Minsheng looked at the flames, and without hesitation, he picked up Xie Chengyun on his back and ran outside.

Xie Chengyun gripped the book in his hand, shielding it against his chest.

Gu Minsheng’s shoulders were broad, and he ran fast. When did the little boy he once saved grow up to be this big?

In a daze, Xie Chengyun seemed to recall something else, but it was blurry, not real at all.

Gu Minsheng’s neck was covered in sweat. Another horizontal beam was about to fall, and he shifted Xie Chengyun from his back to his arms without hesitation.

He held him tightly, used his own body as a shield, and leaped.

They tumbled on the ground twice before finally escaping the sea of fire.

Countless footsteps approached from outside. Gu Minsheng was the first to draw his saber and stand up; Xie Chengyun did the same.

An elderly man, supported by others, roared, “Who burned the Feiguang Pavilion!”

By now, Xie Chengyun had figured out why those people had not pursued them, and why they had left immediately after setting the fire, not wanting to fight. They had even calculated that he would bring the books out as evidence—they truly knew him well.

It seemed that today, this massive pot was his to carry, whether he liked it or not.

Another round of footsteps echoed, but this time, it was the little Emperor.

He gasped, looking at the two of them in their disheveled state. His eyes were dark and murky, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Gu Minsheng looked at the crowd surrounding them, stepped back two paces without hesitation, and exposed Xie Chengyun.

Then, he stretched out his arm and pointed at him.

Flying light, flying light, I urge you to drink a cup of wine.

I do not know the height of the blue sky, nor the depth of the yellow earth.

I only see the moon cold and the sun warm, coming to (slowly boil away) the lives of men.