Chapter 413: 413. You die, I live

Chapter 413: 413. You die, I live

Translator: 549690339

Yao City.

It was the end of March, the late spring in Qian Country. The springtime in Liang Country’s capital city had just begun.

Qiu Cong and his grandson, Qiao Jing, had just passed noon when they arrived in the city. Disguised, they went directly to the biggest restaurant in Yao City and ordered a table full of food and wine.

Halfway through a strong drink, Qiu Cong sighed in comfort, feeling his fatigue easing.

Qiao Jing only had a small sip, not wanting to drink too much. He had a low alcohol tolerance and didn’t want to make any mistakes.

The window was open, and the cool breeze blew in. People came and went on the streets below, unaffected by the distant war. There was no sense of tension in the most prosperous capital of Liang Country, as if the people there lived in a different world from those in the nearby border cities.

Qiu Cong spotted a corpulent man dressed in gold and silver, with a clean-cut girl with red eyes in his arms. He recognized him as a Liang noble and felt disgusted.

Qiao Jing also saw and commented indifferently, “That’s the former Queen’s nephew, a lascivious ghost.” He was familiar with the members of the Liang Royal Family.

Seeing Qiu Cong raise his hand, Qiao Jing frowned but said nothing to stop him. Moments later, the fat man suddenly fell to the ground like a heap of meat, stirring up a cloud of dust. The girl he controlled screamed and retreated to the corner. A group of followers rushed forward, calling him “Young Master” and struggled to lift him up and headed towards the Medical Hall across the street.

An old man with patched clothes passed through the crowd, grabbed the girl, and ran off. Qiao Jing couldn’t hear the sound, but from the girl’s lip movements, she was the old man’s granddaughter.

There was discussion in the restaurant, with many people believing that the fat man had been plagued by wine and lust and suddenly fell ill. No one had seen Qiu Cong’s hidden weapon.

“Grandfather, this might end up alerting the enemy,” Qiao Jing calmly warned, pouring Qiu Cong another drink.

Qiu Cong drank it all in one go, scoffing, “All the better! Let’s see where Situ Xie can hide his useless children and grandchildren!”

Since Qiao Jing didn’t stop him, it meant there was no serious harm. The only concern was whether the girl would bear the brunt of the man’s revenge afterward, but that was also not a big issue. As the emperor, and given the current tense situation, Situ Xie couldn’t hide. The grandfather and grandson planned to act tonight to prevent any possible changes.

After finishing their meal, they paid the bill and left the restaurant, strolling around the street for a while before disappearing into a dead-end alley.

Peng Mansion.

Peng Fan was holding a book about soldiers, not turning the pages for a while. He closed it and was about to check on his mother when he saw two shadows flash by, and the room suddenly had two strangers in it.

Peng Fan’s face changed, and he immediately grabbed the longsword hanging on the wall, his eyes guarded. “Who are you?”

“Calm down, young man! I’m Xiaoliang’s master!” Qiu Cong introduced himself this way.

Peng Fan was taken aback, “Su Liang? Senior, are you Su Liang’s master?” Then he relaxed, lowering the sword he had raised.

Qiao Jing remained indifferent, “Aren’t you afraid we’re liars?”

“Are you... General Qiu?” Peng Fan recognized Qiao Jing’s identity just from his voice. They had met before.

Seeing Qiao Jing nod, Peng Fan hurriedly asked, “How are my grandfather and father? How are they?” He had just received news that Yi Chong had exchanged Peng Wei for Yi Fei. Although Peng Fan knew that Peng Wei would not be harmed in Xuanbei City, he was still anxious and more concerned that Peng Qian left in Nanping City would be persecuted by Yi’s father and son.

“They’re fine,” Qiu Cong said as he sat down. “Nothing happened at your house, did it?”

Peng Fan nodded, “Everything at home is fine.”

Qiao Jing then said, “We came to assassinate Situ Xie.”

Peng Fan was momentarily stunned before nodding, “Oh.” He was quite calm. He was still young, and his dissatisfaction with Liang Country’s Royal Family would only be more significant than Peng Wei and Peng Qian. He had mentioned earlier that the Peng Family should move to Qian Country. But it was not that Peng Wei was unwilling, but rather that considering the many family members, young and old, and even the servants, it was almost impossible to leave under the watchful eye of the Royal Family and safely arrive in Qian Country.

“Is there anything I need to do?” Peng Fan asked.

Qiao Jing counter-questioned, “Aren’t you afraid that our failure will implicate the Peng Family?”

Peng Fan smiled, “This senior is Su Liang’s master; how can he fail? I believe in the strength of both of you.”

Qiao Cong stared at Peng Fan, “You little brat, are you also fond of my apprentice?”

Peng Fan nodded, “Admiring, worshipping.”

Looking at Situ Xie, Qiao Jing felt that something was off. Qiao Cong, having taken out the nail gun given to him by Elder Mu, aimed it at Situ Xie’s forehead. He didn’t want to waste any words with Situ Xie, only to avenge and kill.

The fast-moving nail, illuminated by the firelight, penetrated Situ Xie’s forehead and buried itself in his brain; no blood flowed out. With his body stiffening, Situ Xie fell headfirst to the ground among gasps and cries, motionless.

“Your Majesty!”

“Assassin! Save His Majesty!”

“Quickly call the Imperial Physician!”

Chaos erupted both inside and outside the Imperial Study, but nobody caught even a glimpse of Qiao Cong and Qiao Jing’s shadows.

Qiao Cong muttered to himself, “That was too easy...”

Qiao Jing stared intently at Situ Xie’s corpse, now surrounded by people, and felt that things had gone too smoothly to be real. Normally, Situ Xie shouldn’t be so careless, and there should have been a master to protect him by his side. There must be something amiss.

Could it be a stand-in...? This thought popped into Qiao Jing’s mind, but he didn’t say anything more as he left Liang Country’s Imperial Palace together with Qiao Cong.

Qiao Cong wanted to return to the Peng Family but Qiao Jing held him back, “Grandfather, let’s go check out the old King Yue Mansion.”

“Alright.” Qiao Cong thought of visiting the place where his daughter grew up.

After Situ Xie became the emperor, there weren’t many people left in the King Yue Mansion, but everything remained the same.

Qiao Jing headed straight to Situ Xie’s study room in the mansion. He had been there before, where Situ Xie handled important matters, and there was a secret chamber in the study.

No one was guarding the study at the moment. Qiao Jing asked Qiao Cong to watch the outside while he pushed open the door, entering Situ Xie’s study room.

It was pitch black inside, only lit by the moonlight seeping in from the outside. Qiao Jing took out a luminous pearl, glanced around to make sure no one was there, then walked towards the bookshelf.

After searching for a while, he found the mechanism to the secret chamber. Qiao Jing twisted it, and the bookshelf slowly moved, revealing the hidden chamber behind.

Standing at the entrance of the secret chamber, he quietly waited for a moment. Qiao Jing was about to step in but frowned and retracted his foot. If there was no one inside, there was no need to go in. If there was someone, it was definitely a trap.

The light from the luminous pearl in Qiao Jing’s hand flickered as he was about to leave. Suddenly, a cold glint flashed in front of his eyes. Four shadows pounced from the secret chamber, attacking him with murderous intent!

When Qiao Cong noticed something was off, he saw Qiao Jing being forced into the secret chamber, and the slow-moving secret door closed quickly, blocking his vision!

“Jingjing!” Qiao Cong rushed in, swinging his palm at the bookshelf. The bookshelf trembled a bit but didn’t collapse.

By the time Qiao Cong finally found the mechanism and opened the secret chamber, there was no one inside. Apparently, there was yet another secret passage inside the chamber. Despite Qiao Jing being careful, he still fell into the trap.

Not being able to find the entrance to the secret passage and in fear of more traps, Qiao Cong left in a rage, heading towards the Imperial Palace again.

It was while Qiao Jing was conscious that he fell into the secret passage. At this moment, he was somewhere underground in Yao City. Four blades were against his neck, and a silver-haired old man with cold eyes was standing not far from him. The man was none other than Situ Xie, who “died” in the palace recently!

So it was a substitute after all... Qiao Jing thought. He had guessed what Situ Xie would do. Similarly, Situ Xie also calculated how he would act and prepared a trap for him.

But Qiao Jing was calm at the moment, looking at Situ Xie with a faint expression and saying, “You can’t possibly find substitutes for all your grandchildren or hide them. Before dawn, if you don’t release me, my grandfather may kill one of your grandsons.”

Hearing this, Situ Xie sneered, “At this point, do you think I care about that? Grandsons? Grandchildren? They’re all either useless or against me. You’re not even willing to call me ‘grandfather’ again.”

A faint smile appeared on Qiao Jing’s lips, not reaching his eyes, “This is all the result of your own actions.”

“You think I won’t kill you?” Situ Xie asked coldly.

Qiao Jing shook his head, “Of course not. You’ve gone through so much trouble to capture me as a hostage, hoping to use me to turn the tables. However, you have no chance anymore.”

Situ Xie’s eyes narrowed as he strode over, raised his hand high, and slapped Qiao Jing fiercely several times, causing blood to flow from Qiao Jing’s mouth before stopping. The long-standing anger from being “betrayed” by Gu Ling and Qiao Jing was slightly relieved at this moment. But seeing Qiao Jing’s calm eyes, the extinguished rage in Situ Xie flared up once again.

Situ Xie approached and strangled Qiao Jing’s neck, his eyes cold and ruthless, “When you were born, I should have killed you!”

Four skilled masters who had been restraining Qiao Jing in the past now moved to the side. Qiao Jing suddenly sneered. Situ Xie felt that something was wrong, and he felt something tiny penetrate his body...

Situ Xie felt his body rapidly becoming paralyzed, and as he fell to the ground, he heard Qiao Jing’s cold voice in his ear, “I didn’t expect you to set a trap and wait for me in person because I thought that if you arranged for a substitute, you would run further away, hide deeper, and wait for an opportunity. You should have gone farther away, because I came to kill you. But you insisted on seeing me, so now it’s either you die or I live!”