Chapter 88: Capturing The Enemy
Li Hongjian was standing behind the Marshal’s desk, dressed for a long journey, his cloak already fastened.
He was Li Ye’s elder brother, about fifty years old. The silver in his temples had been dyed indigo, and in the firelight, it revealed a hint of his age that he tried to conceal. His expression was kind, but his eyes held deep contemplation.
Xiao Yi noticed that as Wang Chengxun paid his respects, Li Hongjian kept fiddling with the gold thread on his robe, clearly anxious.
“It’s difficult for Wang Erlang to enter the city to see me. Is my elder brother doing well?”
“Of course, he’s well. He left Chan Prefecture and is with the Marshal. He’s in good spirits, has gained weight, and will be reunited with his brother Li Gong soon.”
“Erlang can rest assured, I’m taking very good care of the Wang family’s dependents.”
“To be frank, I’ve come tonight to offer Li Gong a great future.”
Li Hongjian’s expression changed. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “There are still Liu Zhu’s troops in the city. How did you get in?”
“Ha?” Wang Chengxun chuckled and said, “Does Li Gong actually consider Liu Zhu a person of importance? In my opinion, he’s just a piece of merit. It’s best to capture him and present him to the Marshal early, lest the merit go to someone else. Once more people surrender, it will be difficult for Li Gong to even get a chance to step forward…”
Xiao Yi remained silent, observing from the side with a cold gaze.
Li Hongjian was clearly struggling internally but refused to commit. His gaze drifted to the carriage outside the door several times; he still seemed to want to leave.
He then spoke, shattering Li Hongjian’s last hope.
“Li Gong, do you intend to take the Imperial Treasury Gold to Shaan Prefecture and establish your own territory?”
“You! You, you… what are you talking about?”
Li Hongjian’s face turned instantly pale, pointing at Xiao Yi, his finger trembling uncontrollably.
“How did you know…”
Xiao Yi suddenly raised his voice, stern and severe, and rebuked, “Don’t you see the three garrisons rebelled, and the Marshal quelled them in one fell swoop? How do your Li family brothers’ forces compare to those of the three garrisons? Do you rely on the garrisons and fear not death or annihilation for your clan?!”
Li Hongjian’s pupils trembled violently, and cold sweat broke out on his face.
“I…”
Just then, a whistle suddenly sounded.
“Whoo—”
A sharp whistle pierced the grim atmosphere of the Imperial Guard Headquarters.
Xiao Yi thought Li Hongjian was about to make a move and instinctively stepped forward.
However, when he looked, he saw Li Hongjian flinch, his eyes wide with terror.
“Wh-what’s wrong?!”
“Report!”
A soldier ran over, saying, “Prefect Liu is leading troops here!”
“What?! He must be after the gold. Quick, quickly move the carriage to the back.” Li Hongjian suddenly stood up, paced anxiously, and muttered with his hands clasped, “What should I do? What should I do?”
Xiao Yi was also thinking.
Liu Zhu’s arrival was too sudden. It was likely that Zhang Mantun had not yet contacted the Imperial Guards to start their uprising. But this was not necessarily a bad thing. If they chose to deal with Liu Zhu first, Li Hongjian would surely escape with the Imperial Treasury Gold. Now was the chance to force Li Hongjian to order the Imperial Guards to capture Liu Zhu.
He worried that Guo Xin, Guo Xin, Li Chongjin, Tang Jin, and others waiting outside might act impulsively, so they needed to be quick.
Wang Chengxun also reacted quickly and immediately bowed solemnly to Li Hongjian, his tone filled with joy.
“Li Gong, this is a heaven-sent opportunity!”
After a highly inflammatory opening statement, Wang Chengxun continued his discourse.
“If you lead the Imperial Guards to capture Liu Zhu now and present him to the Marshal, not only will you avoid death and annihilation for your clan, but you will also secure a boundless future!”
“I…”
Li Hongjian was almost about to agree, but his words stopped short as his eyes flickered, and he muttered, “Let me think… let me think again…”
“Hurry!”
Wang Chengxun was almost angered to death. He stepped forward and said, “What is there to hesitate about? Do you know how many loyal Han officials who wish to surrender are unable to get such an opportunity? Please make a decision soon, follow the general trend, and if heaven offers, you don’t take it, you will only suffer consequences! Any further hesitation is a path to death, a path to death!”
“I’m thinking… my mind is too confused…”
“Give the order quickly, quickly.”
“I…”
“Damn it!”
Wang Chengxun, uncharacteristically losing his composure, cursed loudly.
Suddenly, Xiao Yi lunged forward, charging directly at Li Hongjian.
“Protect the Marshal!”
The guards in the hall immediately drew their swords and faced them.
“Stop!”
Xiao Yi had already grabbed Li Hongjian by the neck and shouted, “Deliver an order to the Imperial Guards: capture Liu Zhu.”
“Yes, yes, put away your swords, I’ll give the order, I’ll give the order… Where is my Talisman Seal? My Talisman Seal…”
Li Hongjian panicked, his knees hitting the Marshal’s desk, scattering documents and orders.
There was no more time.
The sound of dense footsteps had already crossed the courtyard, and the clanging of armor echoed.
Xiao Yi looked back and saw faces filled with killing intent beneath rows of helmets, and Liu Zhu.
The first thing to flood the main hall was a clamor.
“Prefect Liu, you cannot enter…”
“Get lost!”
“Imperial Uncle, we are about to fight a decisive battle with the Northern Army. Why do you intend to flee with the Imperial Treasury Gold?!”
“I, I, I didn’t… it’s a misunderstanding…”
“You dare to lie to me?!”
Compared to Li Hongjian’s indecision, Liu Zhu was much more decisive and ruthless. He was clad in armor and led over a hundred elite guards, with swords already drawn before entering the hall.
“Capture this man who surrendered before the battle… Huh? Shi Erlang? Why are you here…”
“Protect the Prefect!”
Xiao Yi grabbed the nine-section whip from the Marshal’s desk and struck suddenly.
As Liu Zhu stepped into the hall and his gaze shifted, his face showed astonishment, and he felt everyone in the hall freeze for a moment.
He had only met Liu Zhu once. At that time, he was just a slave. The anachronistic aura from his transmigration often led to him being misidentified. It didn’t matter; if he killed Liu Zhu, no one would care about this “discrepancy” anymore.
“Shh—”
The nine-section whip flew out like a nimble snake.
The whip was nearly two meters long and weighed less than five pounds. It had nine sections, cast from refined iron, with octagonal edges, making it easy to concentrate force. Each section was connected by copper rings, with a flat, round double joint, the outer ring larger than the inner, and both rings riveted with copper tenons. This allowed for flexible rotation without ever coming apart, a very complex craft.
This was a rare weapon, and others might think it not deadly enough.
However, in Xiao Yi’s hands, it was different…
When he struck, he didn’t use arm strength but his waist. With a twist of his waist, the tip of the whip shot out like an arrow, and the barbed tip of the copper ring lunged like a venomous snake.
“Thwack.”
The sharp spike pierced the throat of a guard who was blocking Liu Zhu. He couldn’t believe he was attacked from such a distance and died on the spot.
“Kill!”
A sudden uproar.
In the front hall, amidst the sounds of fighting, Li Chongjin and Tang Jin’s shouts were like thunder.
“Marshal Guo’s royal army has entered the city! Only the ringleaders will be punished; those who surrender will be spared death! Those who resist will be killed without mercy!”
Guo Xin’s voice, with a youthful tone, followed, “Those who capture Liu Zhu will not only be pardoned for past offenses but will also be rewarded for their merit!”
With this earth-shattering roar, from the direction of the back hall, sounds of fighting and shouting also gradually emerged.
“Brothers of the Imperial Guard, follow us to surrender to Marshal Guo!”
“Follow Marshal Guo to cleanse the court, only punish the ringleaders!”
“Abandon the dark and turn to the light, past offenses will be forgiven!”
Among them, the voices of Zhang Mantun, Lu You, Fan Si, Wei Liang, and Li Chongju could be heard.
In the main hall, Wang Chengxun held Li Hongjian hostage, raised his token, and shouted, “Li Hongjian has surrendered! Those who capture Liu Zhu will be rewarded with a hundred strings of cash! Their rank will be promoted by three levels! Those who defy this order will be executed along with their nine generations of kin for conspiracy!”
Li Hongjian, his face pale with fright, trembled and said, “Yes, yes… capture Liu Zhu!”
Seeing their commander-in-chief give the order, most of the Imperial Guards were willing to surrender, or they drew their swords and observed the situation around the main hall, or they turned their weapons against Liu Zhu.
However, the guards brought by Liu Zhu were also fierce, cursing “Traitors must die” and wildly slashing with their swords, instantly killing many Imperial Guards, which scared others into not daring to approach.
“Form ranks! Protect the Prefect!”
“Fight our way out!”
“Breakout! Breakout!”
“Kill!”
Seeing that the situation had become clearly defined, Xiao Yi focused on killing the enemy.
He learned the nine-section whip to be a villainous expert. Although this weapon was uncommon, it was actually very powerful.
The whip tip struck down one person. As the blood splattered, he lowered his wrist, and the whip shook like waves, knocking the swords from the hands of two enemy soldiers. At the same time, the whip tip swept across, from the temple to the chest of another enemy soldier.
With the help of the flexible joints, one strike could attack three times, known as “one move, three changes.”
“Kill him!”
Two men lunged forward.
Xiao Yi held the whip body diagonally, using his waist and abdomen to drive his arm in a horizontal sweep.
“Shh—”
The whip body unfurled, and the nine sections of refined iron formed an attack range of over two meters, moving with great force.
An enemy soldier charged forward. The ninth section immediately shattered his leather armor and broke his neck.
“Ah!”
The flexible copper rings prevented the long whip from getting stuck like a spear. Instead, it swept past, and at the same time, the sixth section struck another enemy soldier’s arm, sending him to the ground with a scream.
Xiao Yi changed his move, switching from a horizontal sweep to a whip strike.
He first pulled the whip body back, then suddenly flicked his wrist forward. The ninth section, using the inertia of the copper ring, whipped out like a snake’s tail, striking an enemy soldier in the face, shattering his cheekbone and spitting out a mouthful of teeth, a truly horrifying scene.
Blood splattered, some of it landing on Liu Zhu’s face.
The shouts from outside the hall also reached them.
“Seal off the headquarters, not a single mosquito is allowed to fly out!”
“Capture Liu Zhu!”
The sounds of fighting grew closer, and Xiao Yi could now see Guo Xin and Guo Xin.
“Prefect, we can’t break out…”
“So what?!”
Liu Zhu suddenly looked at Xiao Yi, his pupils contracting, and killing intent erupted.
“Shi Er, let’s fight to the death!”
“Roar—”
Using two guards as cover, Liu Zhu suddenly pounced, swinging his saber.
This man was a madman; he didn’t try to escape but chose to fight to the death.
Xiao Yi flicked his wrist again, and the snake-like long whip came alive. The second section coiled around the back of the saber, and the copper ring scraped against the iron blade, emitting a piercing shriek.
Liu Zhu proved to be an extremely capable fighter. He pulled his saber back, leaned back, and his body folded like a broken piece, dodging the long whip.
He intended to close in and fight hand-to-hand.
Xiao Yi believed that an inch longer was an inch stronger, while Liu Zhu sought an inch shorter meant an inch more dangerous.
“Get out of the way!”
The nine-section whip immediately unfurled, dancing so densely that for a moment, almost half the main hall was a blur of afterimages, preventing Liu Zhu from getting close.
“You hurt me…”
Wang Chengxun cried out in surprise, threw Li Hongjian aside, and narrowly fell to the side.
The whip’s shadow struck the Marshal’s desk, sending wood chips flying.
“Bang.”
“Bang.”
Liu Zhu, however, restrained a guard who was trying to apprehend him, pushed him towards Xiao Yi, and at the same time, kicked another guard into the area covered by the afterimages.
With two dull thuds, those two guards fell to their deaths.
The nine-section whip also coiled around someone’s neck.
“Die!”
“Roar—”
Liu Zhu lunged like a falcon, swinging his saber down.
Xiao Yi instantly retreated, stepping on the broken Marshal’s desk, moving back, and standing on the wooden beams of the desk. His movements were fluid, his posture like a crane.
However, his armor was cut open by the saber’s edge, and pieces of leather fell to the ground.
Liu Zhu closed in, sneering, and charged forward, his saber tip aimed directly at Xiao Yi’s abdomen.
It was fast and ruthless, a killing technique honed on the battlefield, clean and decisive.
In a flash of lightning.
Xiao Yi’s right foot was on the wooden beams of the Marshal’s desk, his left leg suspended behind him. His body stretched out like a dragon circling clouds. He turned, twisting his waist, and with his right hand gripping the middle section of the whip, he flicked it violently upwards.
The long whip became a short cudgel.
“Clang!”
The whip tip skillfully stabbed Liu Zhu’s backhand.
The saber flew out of his hand, grazed Xiao Yi’s neck, and embedded itself in the map behind him, its hilt still vibrating.
“Good!”
As everyone finally broke into the hall, there was a round of cheers.
In an instant, Xiao Yi used his momentum to move forward, his left foot kicking the back of Liu Zhu’s supporting leg’s knee.
Liu Zhu immediately knelt on one knee. As he was about to look up, Xiao Yi stepped forward with his right foot and stomped heavily on his face.
Using the momentum, he leaped off the precariously balanced wooden beams, and the Marshal’s desk behind him broke apart with a crash.
“Fancy moves, die!”
Liu Zhu still refused to be captured. He looked back, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He drew a short dagger from his boot, stood up, and lunged.
Xiao Yi sent the long whip forward and twisted it. The whip body coiled around Liu Zhu’s ankle like a snake, and the copper ring tightened instantly.
“Ah!”
Liu Zhu roared, fell to the ground, and struggled to get up.
Guo Xin, Tang Jin, and Li Chongjin had already rushed in, stepped on Liu Zhu’s back, and forcefully pinned the madman down.
“Don’t kill him!”
Guo Xin’s face turned red. He had struck over ten blows, chopping off Liu Zhu’s hand that held the dagger, yet he was still shouting.
“Don’t kill him, torture him to death!”
“Haha.” Liu Zhu groaned in pain but still laughed, “As long as I don’t care, you’ll only be angered by any torture you inflict.
“Die! Die!”
Guo Xin angrily smashed him a few times.
Liu Zhu seemed oblivious, tilting his head back and sneering at Xiao Yi, “Shi Er, I killed all the dependents at the Shi Residence too. Come, you torture me too, hahaha.”
“Foolish bird, I’m not Shi Erlang.”
Liu Zhu froze and subconsciously asked, “You’re not? You set this up to capture me, so who else could it be but Shi Er?”
“Heh.”
Xiao Yi couldn’t be bothered to reply and turned to leave.
From behind him came Tang Jin’s “hehe” rustic laugh, sending chills down one’s spine.
“Arrogant? We’ll play slowly… San Lang, I’m skilled, I can cut him into three thousand six hundred pieces. First, clip his eyelids so he can’t see me torture him when he closes his eyes.”
