Refining the Mountains and Rivers

On the eve of dawn after the heaviest night, the entire city governor’s mansion had been destroyed in the battle in just one day. The rubble was everywhere, and most of the bodies laying on the ground were largely incomplete. The earth was dyed red and the air was filled with the heavy, metallic smell of blood.

In a big iron cage that had talismans carved on it, Chen Yuanshen’s hair was disheveled and all his limbs had been broken. Two thick black chains penetrated through his shoulder blades, imprisoning his body and cultivation. Blood flowed from his wounds and down the chains, dripping continuously onto the floor.

It was indeed unexpected that such a traitor would still be alive today. After all, compared to being arrested and dragged back to the Imperial Capital to be interrogated, committing suicide here was better. At least he could save himself from going through some pain, and maintain some of his dignity.

However, a traitor who was alive was far more capable than reaping the credits of a corpse. Since Chen Yuanshen did not have the courage to kill himself, the people who helped to suppress the rebellion in the city were extremely satisfied. They had already done all the necessary investigations and gathered all the evidence. It was a hard fact that Chen Yuanshen had committed treason.

They had to do all this in order to send him to the Imperial Capital with peace of mind. If there happened to be any mistakes, not only would they lose all credit, they would also bring trouble to themselves.

“Escort the traitor back to the Imperial Capital. Let’s set out!” Marquis Guoqi looked excited and high-spirited as he roared, swinging the large sword in his hand heavily. He never thought that one day, he would be able to escort Chen Yuanshen, who never once even looked him straight in the eye, into jail. He could not feel more satisfied.

As the carriage that was pulling the cage along slowly exited the city governor’s mansion, which was now a pile of rubble, the thick darkness above it rapidly dissipated. The nine suns rose in the sky, getting rid of any darkness. On the two sides of the road, numb faces became visible in the brightness.

They could now see Chen Yuanshen, who was suppressed in that big iron cage. Their faces became ugly as they grit their teeth in endless resentment.

Their homes were mostly located around the city governor’s mansion and had suffered from collateral damage, so they were all shattered now. Additionally, every one of their families had also suffered countless casualties. Therefore, after their initial disbelief that it was Chen Yuanshen who instigated all of this, they were immediately filled with deep hatred.

“You swindler, return my daughter to me!”

“Chen Yuanshen, you deserve to die!”

“I curse your Chen Family to never be able to produce descendants ever again!”

Bang –

A rock flew over and hit Chen Yuanshen’s forehead. It created a wound and fresh blood immediately started to flow.

The crowd went silent for a while. However, after seeing that throwing a rock elicited no response from the escorting soldiers, in the next moment, pieces of rock, eggs, soil and even feces…came pelting down from the sky. They were desperately hoping that they could smash that once-dignified city governor into pieces.

Chen Yuanshen curled up into a ball to protect himself as much as he could.

Behind the agitated crowd, a window near the long street quietly opened. As the person behind the window watched this scene unfolding, their eyes reddened. They breathed heavily as they raised an arm to grab the window.

“You can jump out right now if you’re seeking death. However, if you do this, everything that your father has done will be for nothing,” Li Ruhua said slowly as she held the tea cup. Her tone was cold and indifferent, devoid of any emotion.

Chen Sanglue’s body shivered and his eyes were red. Without turning back, he said, “Save him. I know you can do it. I am willing to pay the price, whatever it is!”

Li Ruhua drank a sip of tea and her voice became even colder, “Your life is mine since I saved you. Therefore, you are in no position right now to make a deal with me.”

She put down the cup, and after a few moments of silence, she continued slowly, “You knew from the moment your father chose to go down this route, that it was to sacrifice his own life so that you could continue to live. Furthermore…I can’t save him.”

At this moment, Chen Sanglue who was in the big iron cage, suddenly raised his head to look in the direction of the window. In his shocked but calm eyes, there was a bit of relief and restraint. He wanted to go and see who it was, but resolutely shook his head.

The escorting team and carriage gradually travelled into the distance. The crowd on the long street followed closely behind. The silence that descended on this place afterwards made it easy for people to feel like they were in a trance.

Pu-tong!

Chen Sanglue collapsed to the ground like a withered tree and tears started to flow from his eyes.

“Go ahead and cry. Take this as a chance to see your father off. I have indeed underestimated Chen Yuanshen. However, you have to remember that the reason why your father suffering such plight today is purely because of Marquis Chongwu. It was him who forced your father to take this step to keep you alive.”

Li Ruhua walked to him and knelt down beside him, whispering these words softly and calmly. Her words were like a stream of water as they poured into his heart, filling him with ferocious hatred and violence, and he wished that he could destroy everything.

“Marquis Chongwu Ning Qin…Marquis Chongwu Ning Qin…Marquis Chongwu Ning Qin…” He mumbled repeatedly to himself, his voice full of anger and resentment.

Amongst the ruins of the city governor’s mansion, there was a hidden shadow. It was Rourou who was standing here. She had always been here, even from the beginning, but no one could see her. At this moment, she raised her head to look in the direction of the window and her eyes turned cold.

She was not worried about the West Desolate colluding with the Li Family. The reason was simple – after leaving the West Desolate’s Imperial Capital, she would no longer have anything to worry about. She could just kill these two people easily, and the alliance would just break instantly. Furthermore, Li Ruhua’s motives made Rourou’s killing intent surge even more. The corner of her lips turned up and she revealed an evil grin.

She was really, really, extremely fierce and savage. These were not empty words. To her, killing people was the simplest task. She treated Qin Yu differently.

So what if they were three generations of the Li Family? If she killed them, who would be able to find her afterwards? Or, even if they managed to find her, she would not be scared. They would just be like snacks that found their own way to her stomach.

Raising her hand, Rourou pointed at the darkness. The darkness instantly thickened, like a big monster that appeared quietly out of nowhere and opened its mouth to swallow everything in this world.

In the room, Li Ruhua’s face changed drastically. The red spot in her palm lit up at this moment and produced a searing pain! Without any hesitation, she reached out to grab Chen Sanglue. With a low growl, both of them disappeared.

Rourou raised her eyebrows and continued pointing at the darkness. Then, she frowned with helplessness, “You’re so hateful, why are you getting in my way?”

“What’s the matter? Am I provoking you now? Can you be more reasonable? They’re just two little worms, why are your words so harsh?”

“Fine, fine. I won’t kill them if you don’t want me to; don’t lose your temper so easily, alright? We were neighbors for so many years after all.”

“Hmph, fine, I got it. I’m going to go back first, your nagging is annoying me!”

She then turned and left, the violent energy condensing and surging in her eyes.

Whoosh –

Rourou disappeared in the darkness.

……

“Your Majesty, I do not understand,” Lord Chengtian frowned as he spoke, with worry on his face.

He was never really close to Chen Yuanshen, but they did have some history together. Otherwise, back then, Hundred Saint would not have taken the initiative to go and visit Chen Yuanshen.

Lord Chengtian thought that he had some understanding about Chen Yuanshen. He was a smart person, so why would he do something foolish like this?

Committing treason and rebelling? It was simply a big joke. Unless there was a big catastrophe that fell upon the world, there was no one that could challenge the West Desolate King’s rule.

Chen Yuanshen’s rebellion was basically courting death.

The escorting team finally reached the Capital Border Area. After their identities were checked by the Imperial Defense Division, they sent him to the Imperial Prison to await interrogation. However, everyone was clear that Chen Yuanshen, who was now behind bars in the Imperial Capital, was destined to die. The interrogation was just a formality.

The worry on Lord Chengtian’s face right now was not because of the fact that Chen Yuanshen was going to die. Instead, it was because Chen Yuanshen was a city governor after all, so his position was considered to be quite important. If he was suddenly given a death sentence because of his ‘rebellion’ and it was not executed properly, then there would be turmoil in the political court.

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