CH 103

Chapter 103 Xu Shi*

* 7-9pm

The arrow lowered little by little, like the tightening tension in the brain of the two people.

The door above his head rattled, and Jiang Xingzhi was startled suddenly. When he looked up, it was his own man who jumped down, two steps at a time.

“What’s the matter?”

“My lord, change places quickly!” The attendant’s voice was full of heavy panting, as if he was running in a hurry: “Someone came here to search, and when I drove back, the distance was less than two streets. If you don’t leave, it will be too late.”

“Take the person away,” Jiang Xingzhi said without hesitation, “Leave a few people nearby, and if you see Fang Wuyang, call him to go…”

Before he finished speaking, suddenly there was a sound above his head. There was a thud, like a person’s body falling heavily on the ground, followed by the sound of many footsteps landing.

Without yelling or making noise, the people who jumped from the roof walked quickly on the ground, looking for the entrance underground.

Jiang Xingzhi knew that something was wrong, so he no longer had any unrealistic fantasies.

Before he had time to turn around to signal, Qu Chenzhou kicked his feet on the ground, vigorously lifted the table, and the whole heavy wooden table buckled towards the attendant.

With just this one obstacle, the person was about to pass him by.

Without thinking, Jiang Xingzhi opened his hands, and his arms were about to strangle Qu Chenzhou’s neck.

This was his only goal and also his last barrier. Even if he cannot bring the person to Jingchen, he cannot leave them to Liu Zhongming.

But Qu Chenzhou was about to collide with him head-on, not only did he not dodge, but instead made a strange movement – his hands were put into his sleeves and rested on his wrists.

For a moment, Jiang Xingzhi heard an extremely slight sound in his ears, as if a small machine button was snapping together quickly, and a bright silver light was close in front of his eyes.

Qu Chenzhou didn’t dodge, he slammed into his arms, paused and twisted. Jiang Xingzhi only felt pain in both ribs at the same time.

The blow was quick and hard, instantly taking all the strength out of his body.

Not waiting for him to struggle, the waist and legs of the person in his arms sank, and he took advantage of the force to pull him to the ground, then quickly stepped on his body, and pulled out two small silver swords more than a foot long with his backhand. Hiding it in the wrist, without looking back, he rushed towards the stone steps.

The sound of the wooden table being knocked to the ground came from behind, and the footsteps of the attendant came flying like an arrow, just a few steps away from Qu Chenzhou.

One step faster!

The exit was not far away!

One step faster!

The corridor was narrow, Qu Chenzhou’s body covered the faint candlelight behind him, and the darkness poured in.

For just a moment, his heart seemed to fall into the abyss in the darkness.

His ten fingers dug in the soil on both sides suddenly, so as to not let himself fall down again.

Xu Shi has come.

It hurts…

He raised his head, but couldn’t make a sound.

Why did it hurt more than he remembered…

He tasted the bloody smell from his throat, and his ten fingers drew deep marks on the wall. He couldn’t hold on any longer, and fell on his back.

In a trance, a silver-like sword light flashed in the darkness, the frost brushed past his ears, and a stream of hot blood splashed behind him.

Before he became unconscious, there seemed to be a hand around his waist.

Crying curses buzzed through the tunnel, making it hard for him to hear clearly. He only knew that there was something warm and soft sticking to him, prying open the gap between his teeth, and something was delivered.

It’s the place that can be touched.

He was pulled forward, throwing himself into an embrace.

So warm.

“Liu Zhongming! Are you out of your mind!”

Fang Wuyang fell to the ground, unable to stand up, and could only curse.

Liu Zhongming didn’t do anything to him, the solution was the simplest and most incomprehensible – just not give him food, he had never been starved in his life, and he never thought it would be so uncomfortable.

His stomach was on fire, his forehead was covered with cold sweat, and he felt dizzy just by moving, he didn’t dare to touch the railing in front of him—the railing was coated with scorpion powder, if he scratched it, his palms would be blistered.

“Why would I be out of my mind?” Liu Zhongming entered the door with ease, holding a delicate iron crossbow in his hand.

“What are you doing with a cage at home if you’re not sick?”

Fang Wuyang looked up at the beams of the roof. He thought he was careful enough when he came in. How could he have thought that there would be an iron cage falling from the sky and closing down with a lock on the ground. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake it.

Liu Zhongming raised his hand, and an inch-long crossbow arrow shot out, brushing Fang Wuyang’s temples, and hitting the iron railing with a tinkling sound.

“What do you think?” He smiled as usual: “Of course I’m waiting to entertain my friend!”

Fang Wuyang gritted his teeth bitterly. From the time he fell into the trap, he had figured it out. Qu Chenzhou was the bait, otherwise why would Liu Zhongming be waiting in the study.

“Liu Zhongming, you’re ruthless,” he sneered, “You’re good at using him, aren’t you afraid that keeping him will bring you a death sentence?”

Liu Zhongming raised his eyebrows, beckoning him to continue.

“Qu Chenzhou is a prophet, if the emperor knows that you are raising such a person, and you have hidden thoughts of seizing the throne, what do you think the emperor will do?” 

“I have labored you to worry about be. This is simple, I’ll just kill him. There will be no evidence with his death.” Liu Zhongming smiled and fiddled with his iron crossbow carelessly: “Are you done asking? It’s my turn.”

Without warning, he suddenly raised the crossbow, this time it was no longer a feint, and the crossbow arrow flew out like thunder, piercing through Fang Wuyang’s left shoulder.

Fang Wuyang fell to the ground in response, and the blood between his five fingers flowed down his arms.

“Answer truthfully, or don’t blame me for not showing my uncle face,” Liu Zhongming looked down at him coldly, “When did you hook up with Jiang Xingzhi?”

Fang Wuyang didn’t tremble at all when he saw the arrow pointing at his heart. Gritting his teeth, he replied, “Three…Three years ago, when Jingchen left the capital, I followed him in secret and was discovered by him.” 

“He looked for you first?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you protecting His Highness?”

Fang Wuyang took a look at the crossbow arrow, but still pursed his lips tightly.

Liu Zhongming nodded, and stopped asking: “What did you do with Jiang Xingzhi?” 

“It has nothing to do with you!” The sweat on Fang Wuyang’s forehead rolled down, “I promised Great General Bai that I would keep my word and not do anything against you.”

“It has nothing to do with me? It only has something to do with His Highness?” Liu Zhongming sneered, “What about Qu Chenzhou? Is it my business or His Highness’s business?” 

“Liu Zhongming!” Fang Wuyang raised his voice: “I said, I won’t do you any harm. I didn’t tell Jiang Xingzhi about Qu Chenzhou’s matter. He suspected it himself! I’ve done my utmost to you.”

“Done your utmost? Should I still thank you, thank you for keeping me secret, thank you for helping Jiang Xingzhi take Chenzhou away?”

Fang Wuyang was speechless, and after a while he said: “If you didn’t say that you wanted to seize the throne, that you were going to do something to Jingchen, I wouldn’t have done it, you set me up first.”

“If you have no intentions, why would you jump into my trap?” Liu Zhongming lowered the iron crossbow and pointed it between his legs: “Did you do anything to Chenzhou?”

Fang Wuyang didn’t have time to answer, he screamed suddenly, and covered the arrow that was stuck in his leg.

“You should be glad you didn’t do anything, otherwise I won’t let you do anything for the rest of your life.”

“Liu Zhongming!” Fang Wuyang’s face turned pale, and he shouted angrily, “You’re so poisonous! It’s in vain for me to treat you as a friend!”

“When you teamed up with Jiang Xingzhi to kidnap Chenzhou, did you think about me as a friend?”

Fang Wuyang was dumbfounded, then someone entered the study from the corner of his eye.

This time Liu Zhongming got up to greet the two of them, closed the door, and stood guard by the iron cage with a crossbow, calling out, “Father, Uncle.” 

“What are you two doing?” Bai Shining looked at the room in bewilderment: “Zhongming, did you do this?”

Liu Zhongming replied, “Uncle should ask him what he did first.”

Liu Weizheng sat down aside, looked at the two of them, and then asked in a low voice: “Wuyang, what happened?”

Fang Wuyang didn’t expect Liu Zhongming to call the two elders over, and he was even more stunned, but now the three of them seemed to be interrogating him together. He was silent for a long time, then gritted his teeth and answered sullenly.

“Lord Marquis, General Bai, you promised me that no matter what happens in the future, as long as the Liu family and the Bai family are still here, you will definitely keep Jingchen safe.” 

He glanced at Liu Zhongming and said angrily: “But Zhongming said that he would seize the throne, and would attack Jingchen first!”

Liu Weizheng remained calm, but Bai Shining became anxious first: “Impossible! Zhongming he…”

He suddenly realized that there were some things that should not be explained too clearly, and immediately changed his words: “Ah Zheng, you talk to Zhongming, I will take Wuyang away first.”

Liu Zhongming nocked his arrow and pointed it at Fang Wuyang.

“Uncle, you and Dad introduced Fang Wuyang to me, and I wholeheartedly treated him as a friend, but he first colluded with Jiang Xingzhi behind my back, and then kidnapped Chenzhou. I didn’t do anything to him first, it was already me doing my utmost.”

“The matter of seizing the throne is not a joke. I have mentioned it to my father before, and now I have let my uncle know.” 

“But making a move on Jingchen was just to provoke him to come out, it is not true.” 

“I am no longer a child, and I don’t want to be fooled by you.”

“Who is he, and why are you all protecting him? Why is he standing by Jingchen’s side? If there isn’t an answer today, he won’t get out of this door alive either.”

“Zhongming! Do you know that you’re talking nonsense?” Bai Shining said in a low voice, “When did you become such an idiot!”

Fang Wuyang sneered.

“Lord Marquis, General Bai, I am afraid that Shizi did not tell you that Qu Chenzhou in his room is not an ordinary person, and his eyes have the ability to predict the future. Shizi was coaxed by his eloquent tongue and he didn’t understand the heights of the sky and the earth, and only then did he get the wrong idea.”

The two people in the seat were shocked.

Liu Zhongming calmly faced the two gazes: “Chenzhou’s divination is true, but I decided to seize the throne, not because I was coaxed by him, but because I was thinking about the future of our two families. It is said one emperor one courtier*, father and uncle, can it be guaranteed that our two families will last for a long time…”

* When a new emperor ascends the throne, the officials of the old dynasty will be replaced by those of the new dynasty

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Weizheng said in a low voice: “Shining, take down this traitor!”

Liu Zhongming was taken aback.

He trapped Fang Wuyang, and was facing his two close relatives. He thought he had a hostage in his hands, and would press for the truth from them but it would also be the best time for his father and uncle to express their views.

But he didn’t expect that his father didn’t even give an answer, and acted decisively on himself.

He hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether to shoot the crossbow at Fang Wuyang or at his uncle, the strong wind was already howling towards him.

Naturally, he couldn’t be Bai Shining’s opponent. Although he had blocked the iron crossbow in front of his chest in time, the strength of the palm that crushed stones and broke gold went straight to his heart.

A fishy sweetness surged from his throat to the tip of his tongue, his body swayed, he fell forward, and was caught in Bai Shining’s hands.

“And him,” Liu Weizheng glanced at the stunned Fang Wuyang, got up and walked out: “Tie them together. Where is that Qu Chenzhou?”

The author has something to say: 

A timeline of Little Qu’s previous life timeline:

Fourteen years old, autumn, entered the palace, went to Jinxi Academy in the winter of the same year,

Fifteen years old, spring, met Liu Zhongming,

Seventeen years old, autumn, returned to the palace.

Twenty years old, Liu Zhongming escaped from the capital

Twenty-four years old, Huai Wang forced abdication and ascended the throne

Twenty-eight years old, he was captured in Star Gazing Pavilion, and spent his 29th birthday in prison. In December of the same year, he died on the Terrace of Broken Soul.