荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

Bai Siling, Zhao Yatong, and Xu Gan quickly left, Xu Qiqin and Huang Qian-er vanished, and Wei Anfang and the others also took their leave of Deflecting Blade Manor.

On this night, many people went down the mountain.

Just like Wang Chong, they all needed to go back for a spell. So many things had happened that it was necessary to give their clans an explanation.

The once-packed Deflecting Blade Manor suddenly became quiet. Only the lonely lanterns remained, swaying in the cold wind.

Coocoo!

The sound of a nighthawk came from overhead, whistling through the wind as it flew to the mountain.

"How much longer?"

In the solitary darkness, Wang Chong stood at the edge of the summit, his hands behind his back as he surveyed the pitch-black mountains. The blowing of the winds ruffled his robes, making a snapping sound that made the atmosphere seem even colder.

"The Imperial Army has already begun to move, and even the Court of Judicial Review has dispatched troops over here. I have even heard that there is activity in the palace..."

Old Eagle’s apprehensive voice came out of the gloom.

He was standing close to Wang Chong, the nighthawk that had just flown down perched on his shoulder. He threw the white paper he had just finished reading into the air, where it broke into pieces and was blown away by the wind.

Impulse had a price to pay. A significant number of Hu had died in Drunken Sparrow restaurant, and no small number of Youzhou soldiers had died in that courtyard on the edge of the capital.

This was a large incident, an armed military clash, that had taken place at the feet of the Son of Heaven, in the very capital of the empire. It had even involved a major general of the border, Zhang Shougui. The Imperial Army and Court of Judicial Review could not act like they were blind.

Before the battle, one could say that these factions had been caught off guard. But now that the dust had settled... there was no doubt that these people were coming to arrest Wang Chong.

"In addition, the Chamberlain of Dependencies are also sending people. They might arrive even faster than the others!"

With these last words, a dark cloud seemed to settle over Old Eagle’s face.

This was not Wang Chong’s first conflict with the Chamberlain of Dependencies. This incident originally had nothing to do with the Chamberlain of Dependencies.

But a great number of Hu had been injured or killed, and some powerful Hu merchants of the capital had been among them. This just so happened to be under the scope of the Chamberlain of Dependencies.

The Chamberlain of Dependencies had a unique status and enormous authority. And it wasn’t like it hadn’t wanted to deal with Wang Chong for a while. In the past, however, the influence of the Wang Clan and Wang Chong’s prudence had not given them any chances, leaving them helpless against him.

But this time...

Wang Chong had delivered himself to them!

Wang Chong’s expression was calm, and there wasn’t much surprise to be found on his face.

Everything had its price. Before starting this operation, he had already known what the consequences would be. It wasn’t his first time facing imprisonment.

But Wang Chong was not afraid.

If Wang Chong craved wealth and rank, he would be afraid. If Wang Chong lusted for life and feared death, he would be afraid. But as someone who had lived twice, Wang Chong had already seen through all these things.

He had appeared here for one goal, one reason.

’I am willing to give my life for the good of the country, or is it that one should flee in the face of disaster and approach in times of blessing1?’ This was a saying from the other world that Wang Chong had come from, a saying that Wang Chong used to console himself.

Thus, Wang Chong didn’t care who came, whether it was the Court of Judicial Review or the Chamberlain of Dependencies. His true concerns had never been on these things.

Wang Chong waved his hand and leisurely said, "I understand. In a little while, whether it’s the Court of Judicial Review or the Chamberlain of Dependencies that shows up, don’t stop them. Just let them come in."

"This... Yes, Young Master."

Old Eagle clenched his teeth and finally lowered his head.

Wang Chong said no more. The howling of the winds could be heard in the darkness. This wind seemed to upset the stars and also upset Wang Chong’s mind.

Walking along the back of the mountain, Wang Chong slowly and aimlessly descended. The operation to kill An Yaluoshan had failed. After today, he would have to carefully organize his thoughts and contemplate what he should do in the future.

If he didn’t clear things up, Wang Chong would never be able to calm his heart.

......

Time slowly passed. Wang Chong walked alone through the mountains, not letting a single person follow him.

Without his noticing, the skies in the east gradually began to whiten. Wang Chong thought that he would keep being like this until he reached the bottom of the mountain, yet events took a completely different and unexpected turn.

Coocoo!

The strange call of a bird, different from any other sound in these mountains, disrupted the tranquility of the mountains and broke Wang Chong’s train of thought.

Wang Chong frowned and inadvertently looked up. In the overcast sky, Wang Chong glanced toward the southwest, where a massive bird was flying like a lightning bolt toward him.

This massive bird was like some mixture of hawk and sparrow. It was covered in golden feathers, and was at least double the size of a normal hawk.

The most striking part of it was the two red fiery-red rings on its legs.

Buzz!

The sight of those red rings caused Wang Chong’s hazy eyes to suddenly blaze as he came back to his senses.

An extremely bad feeling welled up in his heart. Wang Chong’s entire body became agitated, all drowsiness dispelled.

Wang Chong recognized that bird.

It was a hybrid of an eagle and a magpie that originated from the Gobi Desert in the Western Regions. It had a fierce personality and possessed incredible speed. It was capable of hunting down gyrfalcons, birds that reigned at the top of the hierarchy of the skies.

Wang Chong had seen it with Old Eagle before.

But none of that was important. The important thing was that this ’Eagle King’ that Old Eagle had spent countless hours training had been sent by Wang Chong half a year ago to Solitary Wolf, to the southwest of the empire.

This Eagle King was extremely fierce and powerful, so it could break through an aerial blockade of gyrfalcons. As a result, when Wang Chong sent it to Solitary Wolf, his orders had been clear.

The Eagle King could not be dispatched unless the information was absolutely critical, the situation extremely perilous.

As a result, even though Solitary Wolf had the Eagle King with him all this time, he had never used it. The normal information had been sent through ordinary channels.

This Eagle King appearing here meant only one thing: the southwest had experienced an upheaval of epic proportions.

"How could this be... My orders were clear, so why did he use this bird?"

Wang Chong’s brows furrowed in thought as a terrible foreboding gripped his heart.

Hwoom!

While Wang Chong was in deep thought, the winds howled. The Eagle King, its eyes sharp and bright, flapped its giant golden wings and slowed itself as it descended toward Wang Chong.

Wang Chong subconsciously extended an arm.

Boom!

The world quaked as an icy and dreadful voice resounded in Wang Chong’s mind.

"User has lived for one year and has accumulated over 400 points of Destiny Energy. ’Mission: Trial of Destiny’ officially begins. Upon completion of the mission, user will receive the new title of ’Controller of Destiny’. In addition, user’s ability to survive, ability to resist the World Constraint, and ability to rule fate will be greatly boosted. At the same time, a new set of rewards will be unlocked.

"Mission failure will result in death and the search for a new user!"

Boom! This voice of warning jolted Wang Chong’s mind, but before he could even think, crash! Countless bloody lights surged into his vision.

The entire world before Wang Chong’s eyes seemed to be shrouded in a curtain of blood, everything dyed a thick red.

At the same time, countless images began to surge toward him like waves...

______________

1. This saying comes from a poem by Lin Zexu, an official of the Qing Dynasty who was notable for his staunch opposition to opium. His attempts to end the illegal trading of opium triggered the First Opium War, with disastrous consequences for the Qing Dynasty. For his failures in this conflict, Lin Zexu was exiled to Xinjiang. Before taking leave of his wife at Xi’an, he wrote the poem from which this line was sourced, expressing his love for his country.