Chapter 338 Duel

Chapter 338: The Clash

"Venomous wretch, how dare you harm the imperial heir!"

Consort Nie hadn't expected that after court the emperor would neither go to the Imperial Study nor the Qianqing Palace, but instead head straight with his men to the Qinan Hall where the state preceptor was refining pills.

Liang Pin, her face covered in blood, crawled forward with her dying breath to the emperor's feet, her eyes filled with resentment and regret. "Your Majesty, you must seek justice for me! That wretch Nie Lan'er threw the Sixth Prince into the furnace—she... she!"

Liang Pin's injuries were too severe; before she could finish her words, she died consumed by hatred.

When the emperor saw the blood still streaming down her face, he realized half her face's skin had been torn away. Lifting his gaze to the towering bronze alchemy furnace before him, the flames in the wide furnace mouth blazed fiercely, and a small arm still coated in congealed fat had already been charred to a dark brown-black.

The emperor's hands trembled as he roared hoarsely, "Poisonous woman! Vile slave, how dare you be so audacious!"

That was his most beloved child—so young, so obedient and clever. He would save his favorite pastries to give to his father, would curl up on his knee, acting cute and wheedling favors, was diligent in his studies, filial and thoughtful. When the emperor died, he would leave behind a clean court, free from meddling by maternal relatives.

His son was born of noble blood, yet this venomous woman had done him in!

"Guards! Throw this vile woman and that sorcerer into the furnace!"

Consort Nie had already recovered from the initial shock of being caught. Hearing him call the state preceptor a sorcerer, she realized he had seen through Chi You's identity. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty—so you already knew that the pills this Taoist was refining were meant to kill you. Unfortunately, it's too late now. I wonder if Your Majesty still dreams of your good imperial brother in your sleep—how does it feel to be tormented day and night, unable to find peace, unable to escape? Hahaha..."

She laughed aloud, a stark contrast to her usual noble and aloof demeanor, as if savoring the most satisfying moment of her life.

Beside her, the state preceptor Chi You, missing one arm, remained utterly composed, showing no fear. Guo Qixiu, who should have been imprisoned, stepped out from behind him with a pale face. With a few minor adjustments, that face was indeed identical to the late Crown Prince's.

"Imperial Uncle, you held me in your arms when I was a child. It's only been thirty-some years—have you already forgotten?" Guo Qixiu smiled with a strange, twisted smile.

So he truly was the late Crown Prince's son. Who knows where Prince Lian found him all those years ago? All these years, "Guo Qixiu" had been living on Jipo Island, and the moment he entered the capital, he broke through the emperor's guard. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to use the medicine so brazenly.

Guo Qixiu's laughter intertwined with Consort Nie's—one low and strange, the other high and shrill. It pierced straight into the emperor's head as he clutched it, as if ten thousand needles were stabbing his skull at once.

"Guards! Guards!!!"

"Arrest them all! Hang them... no, execute them by slicing! Cut them in half!"

The emperor's pain was unbearable, but even more intolerable was the maddening ache that crawled through his body. Every day after morning court, he would take the pills as Chi You had instructed. This morning, after growing suspicious of the Taoist's identity, he had Eunuch Xi send the pills out of the palace.

Now the most revered man in all of Yu was clutching his head and screaming like a madman, as if countless tiny worms were crawling through his bones. The agonizing, bone-deep ache made him tremble uncontrollably and instinctively curl up on the ground. Aside from his bright yellow dragon robe still marking his imperial status, even his gold-woven winged crown had fallen to the ground, stained with ash—he hardly looked like an emperor anymore.

Zheng Rui supported him loyally, asking anxiously, "Your Majesty, what's wrong? Your Majesty!"

It was then that the fleeing Qianlong Guards and Imperial Brocade Guards found the emperor.

Zheng Rui was overjoyed at their arrival. "Quick! The emperor has been attacked by traitors—come protect His Majesty!"

The Commander of the Qianlong Guard, the elite assassin who had previously served the emperor, calmly glanced at the trembling emperor. "Tie up Consort Nie and the others. We'll deal with them once His Majesty is better."

"Yes, Commander!" The remaining Qianlong Guards moved swiftly to bind the prisoners. Consort Nie was powerless to resist, but the state preceptor Chi You and Guo Qixiu wouldn't go down without a fight.

Taking advantage of the chaos, the petite Commander hoisted the emperor onto her shoulders and led the rest deeper into the palace to hide, with Zheng Rui following close behind.

Not long after they left, Nie Chuan and Prince Lian arrived with their men.

Consort Nie was still bound with ropes. Seeing this, Prince Lian quickly crouched down to untie her. "Mother, are you alright?"

Relieved to see him back, she let out a relieved breath. "I'm fine."

Nie Chuan looked at the bodies scattered across the ground, their faces blackened, and asked in a low voice, "Where's the emperor?"

Chi You brushed away a strand of white hair hanging over his face with his remaining hand, tucked a black medicine bottle back into his robes, and said casually, "Taken away by a group of guards. The leader was a woman."

Though Prince Lian was nominally his employer, he showed no sign of fear before them.

Nie Chuan, tall and imposing, glared down at Chi You with murderous intent flickering in his eyes. A Taoist with such sinister methods must never be allowed to live until Prince Lian takes the throne.

Having roamed the martial world for years, Chi You immediately sensed something was wrong. He warily eyed Nie Chuan, whose killing intent couldn't be hidden even by his court robes, and the soldiers continuously flooding in behind him.

No matter how potent his poison, he couldn't poison a thousand soldiers. Before he could even use it, this battle-hardened old general would snap him like a twig.

Chi You's nerves were stretched taut, but Nie Chuan let him go for now and led the guards to continue the search.

The entire imperial city was far too vast, and the Qianlong Guard Commander knew every palace and secret passage like the back of her hand. It wasn't until dusk, when torches had been lit in every hall and the Five Army Camps—except for those guarding the gates—had all entered the palace to reinforce, that they finally found the emperor. He was hiding in a stable at the Imperial Horse Administration in a remote corner.

Feng Chu, at Prince Lian's side, was locked in combat with the Qianlong Guard Commander. Nie Chuan's experts swarmed out, and the woman finally left an opening—Feng Chu cut her down with a single stroke.

The rest were no longer a threat. Nie Chuan dragged the unconscious emperor along like a dead dog, brought him straight to the Imperial Study, and tossed him before the triumphant Prince Lian.

"Have that sorcerer you found give him a pill to wake him temporarily," Nie Chuan said to Prince Lian.

With victory within reach, Prince Lian was trembling with excitement, his arms quivering—he hadn't even heard what Nie Chuan said.

"Prince Lian!" Consort Nie sat to the side, her eyes narrowing with impatience as she snapped coldly. He jolted awake, suppressed his smile, and sent Feng Chu to fetch the man.

But Feng Chu went out and came back alone, reporting that the Taoist had already fled.

—

Chi You calmly changed into a guard's uniform. Though his half-black, half-white hair was somewhat conspicuous, no one paid attention on this pitch-black, windy night. He drugged over a dozen guards stationed at the north gate of the imperial garden's rear entrance all at once. Just as he was about to push the door open, he noticed two figures—one large, one small—trailing behind him.

"Two noble souls, born of dragon and phoenix blood—why do you follow this humble priest?"

Following him were none other than "Guo Qixiu" and his son, who had recently been posing as a young acolyte.

"Master, you jest. Why are you running? We're running for the same reason." If they stayed, they'd be silenced. Who would recognize his claim of being the late Crown Prince's son?

Neither Prince Lian nor the Crown Prince would acknowledge him as kin. Nie Chuan acted ruthlessly—to avoid complications, they would be eliminated sooner or later.

Chi You smirked, a hint of cold detachment in his eyes, his laugh short and sharp. "Then after you, honored ones."

Guo Qixiu took the boy's hand and backed out the door. "Then many thanks to the Master."

The moment he passed through the gate, he grabbed the boy and sprinted away. Chi You heard not a sound.

No one on guard outside? Or were they all patrolling at the Shenwu Gate?

The palace was nothing but trouble—one layer after another. From this Shunzhen Gate, he still had to find a way through the Shenwu Gate. If he hadn't scouted an escape route beforehand, he'd be lost even without guards. Now he could only hope that father and son would divert most of the troops.

Chi You opened the door cautiously, and the next instant, a sheathed sword pressed against his throat. His hands reacted faster than his mind—the moment the scabbard touched his throat, he flung a packet outward.

But before the packet left his hand, one of his arms flew off. Blood only burst forth after the arm thudded to the ground.

Chi You screamed in agony—now both his arms were gone. He looked up with bloodshot eyes and saw that the entire street between the Shunzhen Gate and the Shenwu Gate beyond was packed with cavalry. Only one man—handsome as a jade statue, fair-skinned—stood without a horse. Behind him, Guo Qixiu and his son had already been captured, their eyes closed, unconscious or dead.

No wonder they'd been subdued without a sound—with skill like that.

The Crown Prince, clad in armor, sat atop his horse and said coldly, "A demonic priest like this is a scourge on the living. Just dispose of him."

The next instant, Ge Quan—without even drawing his blade—used the scabbard and internal energy alone to snap Chi You's neck.

From the moment his arm was severed to his death, the High Priest of the Miao people didn't even have a chance to utter a single word—he just died like that.

All his cunning schemes, all his potions and poison pills, were futile in the face of absolute force.

Ge Quan and Qin Xiaoyun had been guarding the Crown Prince closely all along, while on the other side, Qin Jiao also brought his men to rendezvous with the Crown Prince's party.

They moved with calm deliberation, everything firmly under control.

First, they freed the trapped ministers, then, brandishing evidence of Prince Lian's treason, they gradually reclaimed the rebellious Five Army Camps and the twenty-six garrisons under the pretext of clearing the court and saving the emperor, heading straight for the Imperial Study.

The emperor, still barely conscious, had been forced by Prince Lian to write an edict and stamp it with the imperial seal. When the Crown Prince strode in, he was still groggy, but he knew the bright yellow edict couldn't be handed over to just anyone. He tried to snatch it back, but Nie Chuan kicked him flying.

The emperor fell to the ground and spat out a mouthful of pale blood, which snapped him back to his senses. He cried out to the Crown Prince, "Wen Zhao, come save me, quickly!"

Nie Chuan gripped the imperial edict and fixed his gaze on the Commander of the Three Thousand Camp behind the Crown Prince. "Though the Three Thousand Camp is cavalry, they are fewer in number than the Five Army Camps. Wen Zhao, are you really going to fight me with just these men?"

The Crown Prince first shot Zheng Rui a glance, and the latter, without needing further instruction, instinctively ran over to help the emperor up. The Crown Prince smiled. "Let me tell you, Duke, the Five Army Camps aren't entirely made up of the Nie family's men, are they?"

Outside, Nie Hongfei had just cut down the rebellious Count Chengen. He strode in carrying a red-tasseled spear, still with that devil-may-care attitude. "Godfather, the tide's turned. You'd best surrender and spare us a father-son showdown."

Nie Chuan sneered. "I always knew there was a traitor in the Nie family, but I never imagined it would be you. Hongfei, I saved your life out of the freezing snow that day. If not for me, you'd still be fighting other beggars for scraps. Now you betray me? Do you really think Wen Zhao won't question your Nie family ties once he's on the throne?"

Nie Hongfei's starry eyes under his sword-like brows turned deep and dark. "Good godfather, the name Nie Hongfei was given to me by you, but you haven't forgotten General Huo Yi, have you?"

A father's murder is a blood debt you don't dare forget. It was a wonder Nie Hongfei had held it together this long without going crazy.

Nie Chuan's pupils suddenly contracted as fragments of the past came crashing back. Huo Yi had once been a fierce general under his command. After the emperor ascended the throne, he had been looking for opportunities to weaken Nie Chuan's power, and Huo Yi had been a pawn sacrificed in the power struggle between the two of them.

But even a pawn was a person, with family and friends.

The Crown Prince's Grand Tutor was the Empress's elder brother and the Crown Prince's own maternal uncle. A Great Scholar of the Yu Kingdom, his status was even higher than Zheng Su's.

The Grand Tutor adhered to Confucian principles, advocating benevolence and righteousness, to the point he couldn't bear to step on a single ant. The old man had been a vegetarian all his life, and his favorite pastime was taking in strays. Lezheng Qi's father was a member of the royal family, and the Grand Tutor couldn't bear to see him abandoned, so he took him in. As for Nie Hongfei, the Grand Tutor had known his husband Huo Yi, so he brought him home as well.

The Crown Prince was far more pragmatic—he didn't keep anyone useless around. So even though the two were his childhood companions, he wouldn't hesitate to use them when it suited him.

"Huo Yi... Huo Yi! So that's it. You were deliberately sent to my side by the Crown Prince from the start? You certainly know how to endure." Nie Chuan laughed in fury. He wasn't afraid of betrayal, but Nie Hongfei wasn't just one of his capable generals—he was his most trusted adopted son. He had been involved in at least half of the Nie family and Fifth Prince's schemes. Though he hadn't known about the privately raised troops, he was fully aware that Count Chengen, the Commander of the Five Army Camps, had defected to the Nie family. No wonder the Crown Prince was so confident.

Prince Lian also realized this, and what's more, with three members of the royal family present, he was being completely ignored by the Crown Prince. Unable to contain himself, he shouted at the Crown Prince, "Wen Zhao, do you think all our planning amounts to just this? There are eighty thousand troops in Tongzhou who can march into Shengjing City within a day. Taking the imperial palace would be no challenge at all. Never mind your Three Thousand Camp—even if you combined all the city's defenses, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!"

He rarely got one over on the Crown Prince, and now he felt a surge of smug satisfaction. But after two loud laughs, he found the hall utterly silent, with only Qin Jiao looking at him with pity, as if he were a fool.

The Crown Prince turned and walked toward the chair in the Imperial Study, saying casually, "Unfortunately, while you, Duke, prepared eighty thousand private troops to take Tongzhou, I have ordered Qin Xiaozhong to lead ninety thousand soldiers stationed in Shunyi. Why don't you guess when your private troops will arrive to reinforce the city?"

"How is that possible? We killed the Tongzhou military supervisor, seized control of the relay stations early on, and cut off communication between the provinces and the court. How could you have known in advance and recalled Qin Xiaozhong to counter the Nie family's private army?"

A certain victory had turned into this? Prince Lian staggered back two steps, his face full of disbelief.

Compared to his incompetent reaction, Nie Chuan was far quicker to respond. The palace was now full of the Crown Prince's men, and the private troops outside couldn't get in. At this point, there was only one way out—

"Your Highness, be careful!" Qin Jiao shouted.

The clang of clashing blades rang out, and the next moment, Nie Chuan's thrusting saber was deflected by a long sword.

Nie Chuan's first strike at the Crown Prince failed, and his second came immediately. "No wonder no one could lay a finger on Wen Zhao throughout this entire journey—he had a master of such supreme skill by his side all along."

Ge Quan flew into the hall without a word and traded blows with Nie Chuan in a fierce exchange.

Their movements seemed to awaken the others in the hall, and everyone, with tacit understanding, sprang into action.