Chapter 20

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Two groups of people came out of the forest.

The three people at the front were stunned when they saw the dazzling bumper harvest in the fields and Chang’an Fortress in the distance.

The people behind them slowed their pace as well.

Feeling the pressure from the pursuing soldiers, the three fleeing people clenched their teeth and rushed toward Chang’an Fortress.

The soldiers chasing them were slightly hesitant.

However, they still managed to catch up.

They sped up as though they wanted to intercept these refugees before they could enter the fortress.

Without the complex terrain of the mountains and forests blocking them, the distance between the two groups rapidly shrank in the open space outside the fortress.

Everyone stopped their farm work as they watched them from the fields and speculated in their minds.

As the three vagrants approached, a black figure flew over their heads just as they were about to enter the fortress.

The pursuing soldiers crossed over from above and blocked the fortress gate, stopping them from escaping.

Anxious, the three of them wanted to break through the besiegement and rush into the fortress.

However, their enemies were simply too strong.

The three of them could not get close to the fortress and were driven away farther instead.

A careless youth moved slightly slower.

The other party swept across his legs, causing him to fall on the ground.

With a flash of cold light, a sword tip struck the fallen youth.

But at this moment, all the people outside the fortress gate suddenly stopped their movements.

Tremendous pressure immobilized both parties.

Many people simply fell flat to the ground, unable to get up.

A voice came from overhead. “Who dares to act rashly outside Chang’an Fortress?”

The hearts of the pursuing soldiers felt heavy.

They had succeeded in intercepting the vagrants before they entered the fortress, but someone still interfered outside the fortress.

The youth answered in a panic, “We’re being hunted down by the henchmen of Eastern Tang’s Secret Cabinet. Please save us.”

Upon hearing the words ‘Secret Cabinet’, the expressions of the people in the fields outside the fortress changed slightly.

One of them was not sure why, so he inquired about it from his partner, who had a grave expression.

When Zhang Dongyun, who was on the fortress walls, heard this, his heart moved slightly.

He had questioned Hui Tianyu, Cao Feng, and the rest and had heard them mention the Secret Cabinet.

However, they had limited knowledge about it and only said that they were henchmen used by the Eastern Tang Dynasty to hunt down people and monitor the entire country.

Based on Zhang Dongyun’s understanding, it was probably like the imperial guards that served the Ming Dynasty and the Eastern Depot, which he had heard about in his previous life on the Blue Planet.

“The Secret Cabinet is not of great importance. I can take you guys in,” Zhang Dongyun, disguised as the old man in black, said indifferently. “However, you have to abide by the rules in Chang’an Fortress.”

Those three people hurriedly replied, “Of course. We will certainly abide by the rules.”

A leader stopped a pursuing soldier and shouted loudly, “Hold on. They…”

The leader said in a low voice, “Our duty is only to chase down criminals. We have no intention of offending Your Majesty.

“Since Your Majesty is sheltering the three of them, we can only give up our pursuit of them. Please allow us to leave.”

“No, I can’t do that,” Zhang Dongyun replied straightforwardly.

The two groups of people were very close to the fortress, so he could easily capture these people back into the fortress.

“The first rule, report your family or clan,” Zhang Dongyun instructed.

The two groups of people looked at each other.

The three vagrants spoke up first. “Senior, we are descendants of the Chen clan…”

The identities of these people were akin to transparent to the Secret Cabinet, so they did not dare to hide anything from the old man in black and told him their identities and background honestly.

All the great powers in the Eastern Tang Dynasty were generalized as the ‘Three Courtyards, Four Daoist Schools, Five Martial Arts Sects, and Six Clans’.

The Four Daoist Schools referred to the four great traditions of Daoism, including the Forgotten Truth Temple.

The Six Clans, on the other hand, referred to the six influential clans with long histories and many descendants.

In earlier times, the Eastern Tang Dynasty had nine recognized prestigious clans.

The various powers were very high profile and had many experts, making it hard for the royal family to show its prestige.

The incumbent King of Tang made great efforts to run the country and was well prepared. He took drastic measures to straighten out the domestic situation and strengthen centralized power.

The Mingguang Cabinet, which had been established for less than a decade, particularly made all the powers in the Eastern Tang Dynasty be on guard.

It was also known as the Secret Cabinet, which was what everyone referred to it as private.

The Secret Cabinet Lord took orders from the King of Tang and had enigmatic subordinates. He had influence over various places in Eastern Tang and also had highly-capable men.

All these years, the cabinet lord was gradually known as the Dark King and Shadow Heir of the Eastern Tang Dynasty.

It was rumored that he was an illegitimate son of the King of Tang.

The Secret Cabinet was the sharpest butcher knife in the King of Tang’s hands and roamed in the night.

Various forces within the Eastern Tang Dynasty were divided and disintegrated.

Three of the nine great clans fell, and so there were only six clans today.

The Chen clan was one of the three fallen clans.

The descendants of the clan were now criminals of the Eastern Tang Dynasty and being hunted down.

The three vagrants in front of Chang’an Fortress were from the Chen clan. In order to avoid being hunted down by the Secret Cabinet, they had panicked and fled into the deep mountains of Dragon Ridge.

“How many people does the Chen clan still have today?” Zhang Dongyun asked casually.

“The Eastern Tang Dynasty has slaughtered many of our relatives. I’m afraid only less than one hundred of them are still alive.” The Chen clan member who answered looked sad.

At the same time, he looked surprised as he looked into the distance.

Groups of Tang Dynasty troops were hard at work over there.

The few Chen clan members shuddered with fear when they saw their Tang Dynasty army robes.

Although this old man in black had saved the three of them, who were being hunted down by the Secret Cabinet, they did not know the roots of Chang’an Fortress.

Seeing those Tang Dynasty troops, the Chen clan members felt perturbed, worried that they had been embroiled in another dangerous situation after escaping from one.

They had never heard of such a majestic fortress in the dense forest of Dragon Ridge.

Could Eastern Tang have built it?

Only Eastern Tang’s royal family could build such a fortress secretly in Eastern Tang’s borders, right?

The three of them felt uneasy, and Zhang Dongyun did not explain clearly. Instead, he spoke as if nothing had happened. “Chang’an Fortress will take in any kind of people and be accommodating. You may stay in the fortress as long as you abide by the rules here.

“When you enter the fortress, all of your karma outside will have nothing to do with you.

“However, you have to complete the tasks given by Chang’an Fortress. You will be rewarded for your merits and punished for your guilty deeds.

“If you don’t abide by the rules in the fortress, you will end up like them.”

As the old man in black said that, he looked at the distant Tang Dynasty troops.

Upon hearing this, the three members of the Chen clan were overjoyed as their trepidation subsided. “We understand. Thank you for sheltering us, Senior…”

Before they could finish their words, they suddenly felt a tremendous pressure on them, almost suffocating them.

The three of them realized that this pressure was coming from the old man in black in front of them, so they became terrified again, not knowing what words had angered the old man.

“His Majesty is the one helping you out of this predicament, not me.” The old man in black bowed to the Great Ming Palace. “If you want to stay in Chang’an, you have to know who the lord of this place is.”

“Yes, we were in the wrong…” The three Chen clan members were a bit confused.

The people of the Secret Cabinet were appalled as well.

This old man in black had terrifying means and was startling. With a flip of his palm, he brought all of them into the fortress. However, he was not the lord of this land but just a subordinate.

What kind of person was the Fortress Lord then?

When had there been such a mighty person within Eastern Tang?

Despite undulating in shock, they saw the old man in black looking at them.

“When you guys were working in the so-called Secret Cabinet, you must have gotten a lot of secret information, right?” Zhang Dongyun looked down at the people lying prostrate on the ground.