bookbashuk Page 399
Page 399
Whether he was the Jinyiwei Tongzhi who spoke up for the people, or the dissolute drunkard he is now, Li Gexiao is still Li Gexiao, and he has never changed.
Where is Li Xunhuan?
Chu Yang looked around but couldn't see the other person.
"He's still guarding another city wall. He's all alone. Whether we're here or not doesn't really matter."
Lu Xiaofeng said with heartfelt admiration, "Little Li's Flying Dagger is indeed worthy of its reputation. Apart from the Golden-Winged Roc King, it can kill all the other demons, from great demons to beasts, with one strike each, without ever missing its mark."
Li Gexiao added, "His servant, Tie Chuanjia, is also extremely fierce. He fought against the demonic beasts, his body covered in blood, yet he didn't utter a sound. He's truly a man of honor."
Chu Yang asked, "How are the people?"
Li Ge laughed and said, "We haven't let a single monster into the city, so there shouldn't be any major problems."
Chu Yang asked, "How many constables are left?"
Li Ge smiled and replied, "More than half of the soldiers were killed or wounded; they all died in battle on the city walls. Not a single soldier deserted."
Chu Yang nodded. "From now on, all the evil deeds committed by them along with Magistrate Xu will be wiped clean. The yamen runners who died in battle will be treated as soldiers in battle, and their families will be treated well."
Li Gexiao bowed solemnly and said, "Yes."
"Let's go, come with me to take a look."
Chu Yang was the first to descend from the city wall, followed closely by Li Gexiao and the others.
As the group passed through the city, countless people cautiously peeked out of their windows, watching them with tense expressions, unsure whether the city gates had been successfully defended or not.
The hopeful eyes staring at Lu Xiaofeng made his scalp tingle, and he couldn't help but shout loudly, "The demon race has retreated, and Jinling City is safe!"
Lu Xiaofeng's shouts were like sparks, igniting countless lights in the darkness!
Only the grand mansions remained completely dark, but that small patch of darkness was soon swallowed up by countless bright lights!
The cheers were like a tsunami.
People wanted to step forward to express their joy, but were deterred by Chu Yang's imposing presence and could only stand and watch.
"Lu Xiaofeng, you stay and talk to these people."
"I?"
"If it wasn't you, then who was it? You love getting involved in things so much, isn't this the perfect time?"
"Hey hey hey..."
Lu Xiaofeng coughed lightly, walked arrogantly into the crowd, and stopped beside a group of beautiful young women, his four eyebrows trembling with joy.
"Listen to me, everyone. This attack by the demon race was extremely dangerous. We only managed to defend it because we risked our lives..."
Listening to Lu Xiaofeng's boastful voice, Chu Yang and his companions walked further and further away until they could no longer hear his voice.
Hua Manlou sighed and said, "Your Highness, must a ruler be a lone wolf?"
Chu Yang shook his head and said, "I don't think so. Most emperors choose to stay away from those around them in order to maintain their authority, which is precisely a sign of their lack of self-confidence."
Hua Manlou asked curiously, "Then why doesn't Your Highness say a few more words to the people so they know who saved them?"
Li Ge smiled and winked at him, then suddenly remembered that Hua Manlou couldn't see, so he could only laugh awkwardly and say, "Young Master Hua, you don't understand. Of course, it's others who should brag to you!"
Hua Manlou was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh loudly, "Wonderful, wonderful! Your Highness is truly a wonderful person, hahaha."
Chu Yang and Li Ge exchanged a smile and then laughed.
As the last demonic beast in the sky was killed by the flying knife, cheers erupted around Li Xunhuan.
The constables, who had just escaped death, all shed tears of emotion.
The end of the war meant they regained the right to live.
"Little Li's flying dagger never misses its mark; it truly lives up to its reputation."
Li Xunhuan turned around upon hearing the sound and saw Chu Yang and the others walking towards him.
"It cannot compare to the fact that Your Highness killed two demon kings by yourself. Such a feat has never been seen in the Ming Dynasty for decades, and it has brought glory to our human race."
Li Xunhuan said with heartfelt admiration.
Beside him stood a burly man with a full beard and sharp, eagle-like eyes, who was looking at Chu Yang with admiration.
Chu Yang also noticed the burly man covered in blood and asked, "Are you Tie Chuanjia?"
The burly man nodded and said, "That is indeed me."
Although Tie Chuanjia claimed to be Li Xunhuan's servant, his strength was extraordinary. Chu Yang observed that his blood was mixed with a faint gold color, indicating that he was a powerful figure who was proficient in Buddhist cultivation.
Vajra.
That is, it corresponds to the Grandmaster in the martial arts realm.
Looking across the martial arts world, someone with such cultivation would be either the abbot of a major temple or the head of the Bodhidharma Academy, yet he willingly served Li Xunhuan, demonstrating his loyalty and righteousness.
"Brother Tie is a rare hero. Although it was only our first meeting, I admire him very much."
Recalling how Tie Chuanjia bravely withstood the attack of a powerful demon with his own body to protect Li Xunhuan on the city wall, Li Gexiao felt a deep sense of respect.
"Excellent."
Tie Chuanjia was a man of few words; after saying only two words, he fell silent. No matter how much Li Gexiao praised him, he remained like a statue, silently guarding Li Xunhuan's side.
"Your Highness, the crisis in Jinling City has been resolved. What are your plans now?"
Seeing that Li Gexiao seemed a little embarrassed, Li Xunhuan quickly changed the subject.
"Let's wait until dawn and see what news Duan Tianya can bring back."
Chu Yang gazed intently out of the city.
"Do you still want to go to Wanglong City?"
Li Xunhuan frowned and said, "Forgive my bluntness, but you are of noble birth and it would be best not to put yourself in danger. The crisis in Jinling City has been resolved, so we should wait for the army to come to our aid."
"With the capabilities of the Qi Family Army, they shouldn't be unable to defend Wanglong City. When the two armies cooperate from the inside and outside, we can guarantee that there will be no failure."
Hua Manlou understood the implication in Li Xunhuan's words and asked, "Does Li Xunhuan think there are still demon kings in Wanglong City? And more than one?"
Li Xunhuan sighed and said, "These are all just my guesses. This time, the demon race is coming in a fierce and unusual way. Even in Jinling City, there are two demon kings attacking the city. General Qi will only have to face more."
"After all, for the demon race, eliminating Qi Jiguang is more meaningful than capturing Nanjing!"
Li Gexiao frowned and said, "Judging from what you're saying, the demon race's actions have a do-or-die feel to them. With so many troops being mobilized, are they even abandoning their own homeland?"
Li Xunhuan said worriedly, "I'm afraid they're really in danger of being wiped out, which is why they've become so desperate."
Chu Yang raised an eyebrow and said in a deep voice, "The Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons can no longer suppress its own demonic calamity?"
Li Ge smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, please don't say such unlucky things. If the demon race can't suppress the calamity of demons, I'm afraid that in just a few days, hundreds of millions of demon beasts will turn into demons and come looking for us."
Upon hearing this, everyone else was horrified.
Li Xunhuan shook his head and said, "The situation shouldn't be that bad yet, otherwise the demon race would have invaded as a whole long ago. How could there only be two demon kings near Jinling City?"
Even though he said that, a lingering gloom still hung over the faces of Li Gexiao and the others.
"Everything is still uncertain, so there's no need for unfounded speculation. Even if the situation really gets that serious, then we'll fight!"
Chu Yang laughed loudly, "So what if they are demons? It just takes a little more effort to kill them than the demon race."
Hua Manlou smiled and said, "Your Highness's bold words are indeed reassuring."
Li Xunhuan and Li Gexiao both nodded in agreement.
The group chatted and laughed, gradually shaking off the gloom of their worst imaginings. Time passed slowly, and Jinling City welcomed its first ray of dawn after the great battle.
Cries and shouts rang out from outside the city gate.
Before Duan Tianya, the maids and servants who had been abandoned along the way returned to Jinling City.
The Golden-Winged Roc King was unwilling to waste time eating the "small fry" he missed along the way. After swallowing the high-ranking officials and their caravans, he flew directly to Jinling City to participate in the siege.
This allowed them to survive by sheer luck.
The corpses of the two demon kings were piled up like mountains in front of the city gate, one of which was the Golden-Winged Roc King who had devoured countless people, which greatly frightened those who had returned.
The arrogant Golden-Winged Roc King left a very deep shadow in their hearts.
Only after repeatedly confirming that the Demon King was dead did they burst into tears. Had they known this earlier, why had they rushed out of the city and suffered so much for nothing?
When the guards saw people outside the city, they dared not make any rash decisions, fearing that a great demon might have disguised himself as a human and infiltrated the city. So they immediately ran to Chu Yang to report the situation.
Chu Yang said, "Let them in. Also, Jinling can resume its previous passage, but you must not neglect your duties as before. If you do it again, you will be executed without mercy."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Highness." Several yamen runners hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed several times to Chu Yang before leaving.
The city gates were wide open, and the refugees returned to the city. Upon seeing familiar faces, regardless of who they were, they began to weep and recount their tragic experiences.
Hearing that many who had left had been swallowed whole by the Demon King, the people hiding in the city turned pale and secretly rejoiced that they had not left.
"We also have to thank the official who stopped us from leaving the city!"
The scholar who had argued with Chu Yang stood in the crowd and shouted, "If it weren't for him, we would all have gone out of the city with him and would probably be in the bellies of the demons by now."
Others echoed.
"That's right!"
"We should thank that sir!"