Chapter 28 (1/2)
Chapter 28
Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
”Everyone drop your weapons!” The rapid winds changed direction and snow flew adrift. Chu Qiao abruptly raised her lean, small face and cried sharply, ”Otherwise I will kill him!”
”Drop your weapons!” Wei Shuye hollered in response, frowning.
There was a shriek. An arrow accurately buried itself into the head of Wei Shuye's war horse, entering from its left eye and coming out of its right. Blood and brain matter splattered as the horse uttered a painful, shrill cry. Wei Shuye stumbled off of the horse and tumbled onto the ground. It was a rather sorry sight.
Half-crouching on the floor, Chu Qiao held her knife to Wei Jing's neck with her left hand. With her right hand, she held her crossbow, holding it up with her shoulder. She slanted her head and using her mouth she picked up an arrow from the quiver on her back. Her mouth and arm collaborated as she quickly reloaded the arrow. Arching her eyebrows, she gazed at Wei Shuye coldly, then slowly said, ”My next arrow won't be going for the horse, so I suggest you don't move.”
For a moment, everyone's eyes seemed to be dazed, all of them frozen by the unrelenting weather. Thousands of elite Zhen Huang soldiers, the princes and heirs of the biggest noble families, and top-tier generals serving at the Imperial Military Assignment Center gazed and frowned at the child who was barely three feet tall. She was dressed in clearly oversized leather armor, the teal leather collar shielding her sharp, lean face. It was a face even smaller than the palm of a full-grown man. She had a pair of clear eyes and her small, delicate nose perked upwards slightly. Her arms were so slim that they seemed like they would break if anyone placed force on them. Her entire person exerted an unmistakable sense of fragility and immaturity.
But it was this very child, who looked like the wind could blow her away, that had broken through the defenses of the elite soldiers of the Wei household. At this very moment, half-crouched at this very place, she fearlessly faced thousands of soldiers. She was against the decision made by the Grand Elder's Council, against the holder of Sheng Jin Palace, against the entire Great Xia Empire. She threatened everyone by holding the head of the enemy hostage, her face cold and menacing.
This was the first time Chu Qiao would go up against the authoritarian rule of the Great Xia Empire publicly, looking down on imperial authority. Her thoughts were simple. She would run away from here and bring Yan Xun along as she escaped from this place.
”Put down your weapons and open the gates. Don't make me say this twice.” Her voice was deep and her gaze slowly swept across the crowd. As her body slowly turned around, so did the crossbow resting on her shoulder. The arrow point glared like her other blood-thirsty eye, gliding across the people surrounding her as their fear increased.
”Do it!” Wei Jing suddenly cried out. Being of noble birth and having lived a luxurious life, the imperial prince could not tolerate the shame of being threatened by a lowly peasant. He stubbornly lifted his young face, unafraid of the knife that threatened to slice through the skin on his neck, and said furiously, ”Take them down!”
Thwack. Before Wei Jing could finish his sentence, two of his fingers had been sliced off by Chu Qiao. Unprepared for the pain, he howled in misery, blood pouring from his wound and dripping to the ground.
”I suggest you shut your mouth, Childe Wei.” Chu Qiao looked up at the soldiers of the Wei household and smiled coldly. ”Did you not understand what I said, or do you intend to disobey? Perhaps you are under the command of another master of yours?” Her gaze turned to Wei Shuye as she circled him slightly. ”With your biggest competitor dead, someone may be able to step up and become head of their family. Major General Shuye, who else but you would be the next Elder Master of the Wei family?”
”Scum!” Wei Jing seethed, his voice full of hatred. ”Don't bother trying, the bond between me and my brother is strong.”
”Bonds must be tested to tell how strong they are.” Chu Qiao grinned. The smile was creepy and ghastly, completely unfitting of an eight-year-old child. Her eyes met Wei Shuye's as she faked a cut with her knife across Wei Jing's neck.
Her hands worked quickly as she tied up Wei Jing. Despite her slight figure and weak strength, her skills and the type of knot she used worked miraculously. She had prevented Wei Jing from escaping despite his strength.
”Get on the horse,” she said. ”I wish to trouble Childe Wei to walk with us a bit further.”
The clouds had now grown so thick that not a trace of starlight could be seen and even the clear moonlight was starting to fade.
Chu Qiao did not ride the same horse as Wei Jing, but was alone on another war horse. She rode boldly and confidently, staying two horse-lengths behind him. She held her small crossbow, her eyes fixed lethally on the man strapped on the horse in front of her, and she remained prepared to deal the final blow should the need ever arise. ”Yan Xun, let's go.”
Yan Xun squinted. His lips slanted upwards on one side and he laughed joyfully. He lazily hopped back on his horse, leading his subordinates as he rode forward, completely unconcerned about the enemies at his side. Chu Qiao led the way and emitted a dark, cold feeling that was impossible to ignore despite her small body. Everywhere she went, rows of Zhen Huang soldiers cowered back like flood waters ebbing away.
The city gates opened with a creak. Torches burned brightly, lighting up the sky and coloring it red. The smoke signals from the north of the empire continued to fume. The battle affected tens of thousands of Xia people and blood soaked every inch of earth upon the Yan Bei Plateau. Yet at this moment, at the heart of the empire, the boy named by the empire to be the head of rebellion, son of the King of Yan, Yan Xun, strode out of the walls of Zhen Huang City unchallenged. The only thing the most elite of the Xia Imperial troops could do was watch on with blank expressions, no longer able to change anything about the outcome.
The corners of Zhuge Huai's mouth twitched upwards, forming a barely noticeable smile.
For the family of Zhuge, it was not important whether Yan Xun made it back to the north. What was important was the fact that Sheng Jing Palace had assigned the task to the Wei family, and they had failed.
No other news would be more delightful than this, Zhuge Huai thought to himself. He said to the guard next to him, ”Notify the fourth young master to return home at once. I have things to discuss with him.”
The guard bowed and stepped forward. ”The fourth young master has left the city.”
”What?” Zhuge Huai was taken aback. ”Left the city?”
”He has just left from the northern gate. He said he was going to catch a runaway slave from the household.”