Chapter 26 (1/2)
Chapter 26
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
”Leave some people here, the rest of you, follow me!”
The guards rushed out of the room in a flurry, leaving just three men to guard the body of old Grand Master Zhuge.
Other children all looked at Chu Qiao, terrified. She, who just coaxed away the guards of Zhuge courtyard, with a crossbow in hand, no longer showed any sign of fear on her face. She smiled at the servants checking on the corpse of the second Grand Master Zhuge, and whistled loudly in a light-hearted manner. ”Hey! Stop what you are doing.”
The three guards turned their heads and the color drained from their faces immediately. But before they had time to yell out a single cry, three arrows were fired in rapid succession and struck the three astonished skulls at the same time, like shooting stars. Their bodies fell simultaneously, their blood flowed, loyally following their Master Zhuge to hell.
”Ahhhhhh!” a child slave suddenly screamed.
Chu Qiao covered the child's mouth at once. ”You should have yelled when I told you to, rather than choosing this moment to make my life difficult.”
The children's faces were the color of clay as they sobbed quietly.
Chu Qiao breathed a long sigh, then slowly spoke, ”What I'm about to say is very important, you have to listen carefully if you want to stay alive, understand?”
They stopped crying and stared at her with their eyes wide.
”Me? I am one of steward Zhu Shun's people. That old goat has always harassed children and has lost all humanity. Steward Zhu Shun could put up with it no longer and I was sent here to kill him. We are getting rid of him for good of our society, and none of you are allowed to rat on steward Zhu Shun; no matter what kind of torture the Zhuge household imposes on you. You may not tell. Steward Zhu Shun will save you, do you remember that?”
The children nodded their head quickly, like a group of frightened bunnies.
Chu Qiao smiled faintly. The net had been cast, now they could only wait for the fish to flop in. Whether these kids would willingly take on the torture without telling or not, the people of Zhuge household would doubt their words. But all of Qing Shan court saw firsthand that it was Zhu Shun's men who brought her to the court of Zhuge household, and this fact alone would ensure that he would never get out of it. Death is inevitable, it's just a matter of how.
She glanced at the trickling hourglass. There was enough time to sneak back and help Xiaoba, who was escaping from the back door. Yet just as she was leaving through the front door, a hand suddenly clasped her ankle tightly. Chu Qiao looked down and saw it was a guard on his last breath.
”You deserve to die for playing jackal to the tiger!” Chu Qiao's eyes were cold as she pulled out the arrow from the man's forehand in a single motion. The body twitched a few times, then stopped moving altogether. Chu Qiao strained to pry open his hand, but couldn't pull her leg out after multiple tries. She abruptly lost her mind in a fury, pulling out the sabre at the guard's waist and then chopped off his hand with a thud.
”What are you doing?” a low voice rumbled, not particularly loud but filled with malice. Dressed in a fiery red fur coat covered in snow and followed by a large company of retinues from the Qing Shan court, Zhuge Yue looked somberly at the child whose hands were covered in blood, pausing after each word.
Chu Qiao looked up as her pretty eyebrows knitted together. Why was Zhuge Yue here? But that's not important to me anymore. She gazed at him calmly, ther corners of her mouth raised in a faint smile. ”As you can see, I've killed this filthy old man, who deserves to die ten thousand times over for his sins.”
Zhuge Yue's face looked sullen and dark clouds flickered under his eyes. ”The things that happened before, they were your doing too?”
”That's right!” The child's face beamed. The sweet, innocent smile on her face seemed so unfitting under the circumstances. Holding the severed hand in one hand, she grinned as she spoke, ”Unfortunately for you, it's too late to know now. It may be a better idea to think about how to face the questions from the other family branch leaders of Zhuge clan. After all, I'm a servant from your court, and with the death of Zhuge Xi, the biggest benefactor would be you and the first wife's family branch.”
”Men!” Zhuge Yue growled. ”Seize her!”
”In your dreams!” the child sneered. She bellowed as she made a throwing motion, ”Take this!”
The servants of Qing Shan court agilely went to surround Zhuge Yue, shielding him in layers with their bodies. Though still young in age, Yue Qi's martial skills are well beyond his years as he pulled out his sabre and rapidly spun forward. His blade was dancing like the wind and rain at extreme speeds. Waves of white lights flashed before him, forming a barrier that would even repel water if it was splashed at him.
Splat. An object abruptly struck the blade of Yue Qi, and a line of blood jetted up towards the sky. They looked down to find a mangled and disfigured hand.
Outside the window, the child uttered a shrill cry, ”Zhuge Yue, Linxi won't die for no reason!” The moonlight was dense with tension as the tiny body vanished into the boundless night.
The young boy's face was darker than the night, his eyes red with anger as he stood there. Zhu Cheng glanced at him fearfully, his voice anxious as he shouted at the guards, ”What are you waiting for? Get her!” They stumbled after the girl as if they had just woke from a dream.
In the flower thickets of the side residence, a girl's delicate body quickly dashed along the winding trails like a civet cat. Just then, a group of men seemed to emerge in the distance, apparently running towards her. The child's face showed nothing as she halted her footsteps.
”Oh! It's you!” Once she identified the approaching crowd, the child hurried forward. ”Did you get the bad guys?”
The man in charge barked when he saw it was a sobbing girl slave. ”Move! This isn't something you may ask, now out of my way!” As he spoke, his hands reached out and were about to push the child's shoulders.
”There were more assassins in the house who killed all of your people. They claimed to be working for the fourth young master of Qing Shan court, and I'm only here to spread the word.”