His voice was thunderous, echoing clearly for everyone to hear. Those who had already charged out, and those who had not, all retreated.
No one could disobey the Emperor’s command.
But Yun No. 14 beckoned twenty of the Golden Armor Guards (members of the Secret Sect) to follow Xiao Yunjing. The remaining eighty stayed behind to protect Gu Qingli and the three little ones.
The assassins, seeing Xiao Yunjing, their main target, charging straight at them, flew towards him like madmen.
As both sides met, the clashing of steel immediately filled the air.
Xiao Yunjing swept his sword, and wherever its sword qi passed, assassins were instantly bisected at the waist. He snorted coldly and ordered, "Kill them all. Spare no one."
The order was quickly passed down by Yun No. 14.
With that, they no longer had any inhibitions and just focused on killing.
After Xiao Yunjing spoke, he shot the assassins a cold glare. Seeing the move he had just displayed, the assassins gasped. Killing with sword qi—this was an exceedingly strong expert! So powerful! No wonder they couldn’t kill him, no matter how many of them attacked.
But the arrow had been nocked; there was no turning back. Today, they would die here.
This was the inevitable fate of assassins.
Xiao Yunjing’s eyes turned colder, and he leaped high into the air, landing directly in the midst of the assassins.
Suddenly, his power surged exponentially. Did these assassins think that was his strongest power? Heh, how could that be possible?
Had he been eating Li’er’s snow lotus seeds like candy for nothing?
His oppressive aura immediately immobilized the surrounding assassins, rendering them as helpless as ants for him to trample.
"SWISH SWISH SWISH..."
With one sweep of his sword, bodies fell in a circle on the ground.
Seeing this, a cruel smile crept onto Xiao Yunjing’s face. He intended to make these assassins who came to kill him tremble in fear.
As expected, the remaining assassins retreated hastily, only to collide with Yun No. 14 and his men, reigniting a fierce fight.
In the luxurious carriage, Gu Qingli, who had never seen Xiao Yunjing fight like a god of slaughter before, was terrified and cowered within it.
Although she possessed the Original Host ’Gu Qingli’s’ memories, those were not firsthand experiences. Witnessing such a scene in person, the fear was entirely different and far more palpable.
Wuqing shot her a cold glance. Truly shameful. If this person hadn’t saved her life back then, she would have long since stopped being polite to her.
A few days ago, their young mistress had told the four of them her origins, instructing them that if they ever discovered she was no longer herself, they must protect Gu Qingli.
At that time, they were all incredibly surprised, but thinking of their mistress’s mysteriousness and her abilities, how could a cloistered little farm girl possess such things? In an instant, they accepted it in their hearts.
At this moment, on this road, apart from the two carriages and the eighty Golden Armor Guards protecting them, only the combatants from both sides remained. The soldiers, court officials, and commoners had already retreated completely.
However, in the distance, there were still some daring commoners standing on tall buildings, watching the battle here.
They saw a bright yellow figure soaring and tumbling; they recognized him—it was their new Emperor.
"The Emperor is so formidable!" someone exclaimed.
"Naturally! How could he become the Emperor if he weren’t formidable?"
And so, the news that Daqian had a formidable Emperor was spread by the people of Capital City, throughout Daqian, and across the entire continent.
He was described in increasingly mythical terms, as if he were a god descended to the mortal realm.
Of course, news of this assassination attempt also reached the imperial palaces of the two rival countries. Even Beijiang Kingdom learned of it, and Xiao Ce also knew that Xiao Yunjing had finally conquered Daqian. He immediately dispatched envoys to Daqian, expressing willingness to become Daqian’s vassal state.
Of course, these are matters for later.
Xiao Yunjing, Yun No. 14, and their men easily dispatched these assassins. A final count revealed there were over a hundred of them.
"Dispose of all these bodies, then return to the Imperial Palace," Xiao Yunjing ordered Yun No. 14, glancing at the corpses on the ground.
"Yes." Everyone took out medicinal powder from their sleeves and promptly dissolved the bodies on the spot.
Xiao Yunjing returned to the emperor’s carriage. Seeing Gu Qingli’s ashen face, he said coldly, "Return to the Imperial Palace."
「At the Imperial Palace gate」
The court officials, whose hearts had been pounding, finally relaxed upon seeing the Emperor return unharmed. They all knelt and cried, "Long live Your Majesty!"
"All of you may rise. Return to your homes and rest today. Court will be held tomorrow morning. General Jiang, you will stay behind to manage the aftermath."
"We respectfully send off Your Majesty!" the court officials exclaimed again. Only after watching Xiao Yunjing’s procession majestically enter the Imperial Palace did they disperse.
Gu Xicheng was also among the officials. He had wanted to go and see his daughter, but after some thought, deemed it inappropriate and also returned home.
The officials, having experienced today’s events, merely offered Gu Xicheng simple congratulations before returning home to prepare gifts, planning to pay a formal visit on another day.
「In the Imperial Palace」
Gu Qingli was in Fengqi Palace, looking around with curiosity. Everything here was so novel to her that she couldn’t tear her eyes away. The furnishings in the palace were so luxurious; it was something she had never seen in her entire life.
When Xiao Yunjin entered, this was the scene he witnessed. Seeing this Gu Qingli, he truly wished he could kill her, yet he could not.
"Gu Qingli!" Xiao Yunjing called out coldly.
Gu Qingli turned. Seeing Xiao Yunjing, who looked like a god of slaughter, standing in the doorway, she instinctively recoiled. But then, remembering her current identity and status, she puffed out her chest, lifted her head, and asked Xiao Yunjing, "You’ve come to ask me where that outsider is, haven’t you? I can tell you, but I have one condition."
"Speak!" Xiao Yunjing said again, his voice cold.
"I want you to transfer Brother Erlang to Capital City. Then I will tell you where ’Gu Qingli’ is." Although she herself didn’t know where ’Gu Qingli’ was—whether she had left this body or was still somewhere within it, she had no idea. The source of this content ɪs novel(ꜰ)ire.net
Previously, she also didn’t know where she was, only that it was a pitch-black place.
But regardless of whether she was lying or not, Xiao Yunjing wouldn’t kill her.
This was a perfect opportunity to use this to pressure Xiao Yunjing into transferring her Brother Erlang to Capital City. In the future, wanting to see him would be as difficult as ascending to heaven. But if he were transferred to Capital City, she would have a chance to see him and tell Brother Erlang that he had only lost his memories, not truly forgotten her.
She wanted her Brother Erlang to remember her and love her forever. Even if they couldn’t be together, just being able to see each other would be enough!
Xiao Yunjing’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he sneered inwardly. She still dares to deceive him and try to make conditions with him? Back then, Li’er didn’t even know where this Original Host was; how could this one possibly know where Li’er is?
Heh, she wasn’t entirely stupid; she knew to use this condition to pressure him. Unfortunately, what little cleverness she had was used in the wrong place. At a time , she was still thinking about Chen Erlang. However, the fact that she wasn’t thinking about *him* brought him a sense of relief.
Xiao Yunjing turned and walked away. He hadn’t come to ask this Gu Qingli where his Li’er was; he was merely here to move his things.
He would leave her to live here alone, with Wuqing staying to keep an eye on her. Everyone else would move with him to his Taiqing Hall.
That was the palace where emperors had traditionally resided. It was adjacent to the Imperial Study and not far from Taihe Hall, where morning court assemblies were held.