Chapter 623 – A Voice Comes from the Depths of the Darkness (II) (1/2)
Chapter 623 – A Voice Comes from the Depths of the Darkness (II)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Hearing this statement, Xue Xingchuan narrowed his eyes even harder, slightly tightening the grip on his spear.
He was the second-ranked Divine General of the continent, his strength far surpassing ordinary peak level Star Condensation experts, faintly exceeding them by at least half a level. Taken together with the fact that he was in the prime of his life, at his peak in terms of spirit, bearing, or anything else, many people even believed that he had surpassed the guardian of the Mausoleum of Books, Divine General Han Qing.
Even if Mao Qiuyu and An Lin joined hands and had the assistance of one of the Li Palace's important treasures, Xue Xingchuan was confident he would be able to handle them, but could he really keep Chen Changsheng here?
Just then, a massive boom could be heard from the long street running parallel to the alley of the Northern Military Department, followed by the stamping of hooves, and then the collapse of buildings into plumes of dust!
Everyone in the ruins of the courtyard turned in that direction and saw that the buildings along that street had already been destroyed, revealing the scene on the main street.
Bright candles in lanterns and blazing torches cast a dusky yellow light over the street, yet when falling upon the armor, they seemed to give no warmth whatsoever.
On one end of the street stood eighteen cardinals of the Li Palace, possessing profound cultivations, and also several hundred Orthodoxy cavalry with crossbows in hand.
On the other end of the street was a dense tide of troops belonging to the capital's City Gate Department and excellently equipped Imperial Guard. At the very front was Xu Shiji himself, a stern and solemn look on his face.
The standoff between the Orthodoxy and the Imperial Court had already persisted for the entire night.
At the very beginning, the two sides were both searching for a person, but now their swords were drawn and crossbows nocked, ready to strike at any moment. In truth, the two sides had already moved against each other. The collapsed buildings, the unsettled dust, the corpses of cavalry in pools of blood on the sides of the street, the blood trickling from the corner of Xu Shiji's lip, and three heavily injured cardinals were all proof of this.
The mood over the street was abnormally oppressive and tense. Even the warhorses could feel it, somewhat uneasily kicking their hooves.
The person who ultimately ended this standoff was someone nobody imagined.
The blood-covered Zhou Tong gasped out, ”I'm still alive.”
Yes, he was still alive, a matter that Chen Changsheng was utterly unwilling to accept, but one that both the Imperial Court and the Orthodoxy were. This meant that there was still a buffer to move around in this matter.
Now, Zhou Tong himself had spoken.
A carriage came from the alley facing the street. Its curtain was raised, revealing Prince Chen Liu's face.
This handsome face was covered in concern, especially after it saw Chen Changsheng.
”I came to pick him up,” Prince Chen Liu said to Xue Xingchuan, his eyes calm and fearless.
After a moment of silence, Xue Xingchuan slowly lowered his right hand, shot an expressionless glance at Chen Changsheng, then ordered his subordinates, ”Escort Lord Zhou Tong back to the palace.”
Hooves stamped once more like thunder, yet not as hair-raising as before. The cavalry of both the Imperial Court and the Orthodoxy obeyed their respective orders and gradually retreated into the darkness on both ends of the street.
”I've added to everyone's troubles,” Chen Changsheng said to Mao Qiuyu. Then, with Prince Chen Liu's assistance, he entered the carriage.
Because of various problems with both the general situation and his mind, he currently did not want to get too close to the people from the Li Palace.
The breeze ruffled the curtain of the carriage, and he saw the alley of the Northern Military Department and that courtyard which he had never been able to see in the past, saw those Imperial Guards raise Zhou Tong onto a stretcher.
Zhou Tong's eyes were closed, his complexion dreadfully pale, his body covered in blood. He looked just like a dead man.
Even if the imperial physicians of the Imperial Palace could rescue him, the soul and body of this famously villainous official would always be missing a part. He was already a cripple.
But the frustrations on Chen Changsheng's brow still could not be wiped away.
”Were my actions not presumptuous, disregarding the general situation?” he asked Prince Chen Liu.
Prince Chen Liu extended a hand and patted him on the shoulder, soothing, ”Zhou Tong is naturally no ordinary minister, but to the Empress, she would only use him if he's useful. If you had really killed him just now, would the Empress really have taken vengeance for him? Would she stir up a war for him and kill the future Pope? Of course not.”
In truth, he had not said all he wanted to say. In his view, if Chen Changsheng was the Empress's son, then his life was naturally more important than Zhou Tong's. No matter whether that rumor was true or not, even if the Empress wanted to kill Chen Changsheng, in her heart, Chen Changsheng's life was still one thousand, ten thousand times more important than Zhou Tong's.
Prince Chen Liu's gaze looked through the curtains at Zhou Tong on the stretcher and said in a heavy voice, ”He's just a dog.”
”Only a dead dog is a dog. As long as it's still alive, it's still a wolf.”
Chen Changsheng recalled the words Zhexiu had once said to him and suddenly felt very tired. He said, ”Tonight, I didn't truly kill him. I don't know if there'll be another chance in the future.”
He was well aware that at least he would not have another chance to kill Zhou Tong.
”A person like Zhou Tong is naturally difficult to kill. For you to force him into such a state is already very outstanding.”
As a member of the Imperial clan, it was impossible for Prince Chen Liu to feel any sort of positivity towards Zhou Tong. He wanted more than anyone else for Zhou Tong to die, so he was more grateful than anyone else for what Chen Changsheng did tonight.
”I deeply admire you,” he said to Chen Changsheng.
Thinking of tonight's turmoil in the capital and the tense situation on the street just a moment ago, Prince Chen Liu had grown much more solemn. He had appeared on the long street and was now sitting in the same carriage as Chen Changsheng, escorted away under the protection of the Orthodoxy cavalry. This was tantamount to proclaiming to the capital and to the Divine Empress where he stood.
Chen Changsheng did not feel there was anything worth admiring about him.
Because he still had not killed Zhou Tong.
In the Orthodox Academy, Zhexiu had once said that after killing Zhou Tong, he would go to Mount Li to pick up Qi Jian. At the time, Chen Changsheng, Tang Thirty-Six, and all the others felt this to be an impossible task.
An important figure like Zhou Tong was naturally difficult, but tonight, he had truly been on the verge of success, if not for the fact that he had been blocked by that patch of darkness.
If not for that voice that had come from the deepest depths of the darkness and resounded directly in his sea of consciousness.