"So it's true, it's true." Ji Ai Guo's eyes were filled with tears of blood. She pointed a finger at Zhou An, "Bind!"
Zhou An channeled his energy, wanting to dodge. His body froze, and he was unable to move.
"All of you will die." Ji Ai Guo's eyes were cold, as steam rose from her body. Zhou An's body trembled. This was a sign that the effects of the drug had been expelled from his body. Just as he was panicking, a heavy slap landed on his face. Zhou An's head spun, and he was sent flying backwards.
"Kuang!" This slap was so heavy that half of Zhou An's teeth flew out. The sword in his hand fell to the ground. After Ji Ai Guo had slapped him, blood flowed out once more. Her face was pale as she touched her wound.
Her hand glowed, and the blood stopped flowing. However, the Daoist's treatment only caused the wound to heal slightly. She then bandaged it up again. She then picked up her sword and walked towards Zhou An.
Zhou An's face was filled with fear. He looked at Ji Ai Guo and shouted, "You cannot kill me, I am the disciple of the Sect Leader."
At this point, Zhou An calmed down. His voice grew louder and louder, "I am the disciple of the Sect Leader. My father donated three thousand taels of silver to Holy Jail Sect!"
"Do you know what three thousand taels of silver means? The Imperial Court Princess earns only 1500 stones of rice and 2000 taels of silver a year. The Prefecture Prince Cheng Shun of Ying Prefecture only earns five thousand taels of silver a year! "
"You're a burden to the sect, have you ever contributed anything to the sect?"
"Even if I broke the rules, only the Elders can take me down. The Sect Leader has to decide!"
"If you dare to touch a single hair on my head, the sect will punish you."
Ji Ai Guo's expression turned even colder. She then asked, "Senior brother Zhou, are you done?"
Zhou An was taken aback. Before he had time to think, he saw Ji Ai Guo raise her sword. With a 'pu' sound, the tip of the sword pierced through his chest and came out from his back.
Zhou An's body trembled as he spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyes were wide open, and his face was filled with disbelief. He screamed and fell backwards, blood splattering all over the wall.
Ji Ai Guo pulled out her sword and pressed forward. Zhou An was not dead yet, as he screamed and struggled. His eyes were filled with fear as he shouted, "Junior Sister, I was wrong. Spare me, save me, save me. I can still be saved."
As he spoke, he knelt on the ground and repeatedly kowtowed.
Ji Ai Guo stared blankly as the sword light pierced forward. Zhou An's screams stopped as he spat out a mouthful of blood. His entire body was covered in blood as his eyes widened and he gradually breathed his last.
Ji Ai Guo threw the sword to the ground and curled up in a corner, tears streaming down her face.
After a long time, Ji Ai Guo finally struggled to get up. Although she was young, she knew that killing the Sect Leader's disciple was a huge sin. Furthermore, she had no one to rely on.
Remembering her master's request, Ji Ai Guo wiped away her tears and carefully took off her blood-stained clothes. She bandaged her wounds and changed into a new dress. She closed the quiet room and walked down the stone steps.
As far as Ji Ai Guo was concerned, after not seeing her for more than ten days, the entire mountain path had become lush and verdant. She walked along the green tiles and the whitewashed walls, but did not see a single person. She could only hear the faint sounds of a zither, as if someone was drinking and laughing.
Ji Ai Guo thought for a moment before walking to a side door. She gently pushed it open and entered. As soon as she entered, she heard someone shouting, "Who's there?"
Ji Ai Guo could tell that it was a middle aged man. He was a Daoist, and had never opened the gates of heaven in his entire life. All he did was take care of some miscellaneous matters. She then replied, "It's me!"
Although her face was pale due to her injuries, her expression was calm. The middle aged Daoist did not suspect anything. He then smiled, "So it's my junior disciple. Why aren't you at the Xuanji Cave? What's the matter?"
"The weather's getting hot, I'm going back to my room to get a change of clothes." Ji Ai Guo's explanation was flawless. All sorts of matters, including food, could be handled by an outer sect disciple. However, it was still awkward to handle personal clothing.
"Ai Guo, the weather's getting hot. You do need to change your clothes. Our sect has recently distributed some silks to us. I'll cut some clothes for you." The middle aged Daoist said.
Ji Ai Guo knew that he hadn't received the news of her master's death yet. She nodded and turned around to go inside. She walked along the corridor and entered the area where the elders lived. The small building was hidden among the bamboo trees. She walked up the stairs and pushed open the door.
Ji Ai Guo looked at the room blankly. Apart from a small amount of dust, she noticed that the room was still clean. Everything was still there. There were a few books on the table, and the curtains on the bed were drawn. It was as if her master would come in and speak to her any moment. She covered her face with her hands as tears streamed down her cheeks. All of a sudden, a jade tablet flashed.
She paused before pouncing on it. She touched it, and an image appeared. It was the old Daoist. Ji Ai Guo looked at it and shouted out in surprise, "Master, are you alright?"
She then heard the image say, "Ai Guo, if you see this, I may not be able to help you anymore. With me around, there will be a place for you in the sect."
"Without me, to be honest, Holy Jail Sect is not a good place for a girl like you."
"This is a treasure that I've specially left for you. It contains the secret manual for opening the gates of heaven. It can also hide the secrets of the heavens. If anything happens, go to the capital city. That's a place where Daoist sects cannot develop. It's much safer there."
As soon as he finished speaking, the image disappeared. Ji Ai Guo could no longer hold it in, and started sobbing.
After an unknown amount of time, she heard a commotion from afar. She was startled and grabbed the jade tablet. She ran up the stairs and took one last look at the sect. Her eyes were filled with melancholy as she walked down the mountain path.
After some time, a Daoist shouted, "Not good, Senior Brother Zhou has been killed."
"There's blood. Quick, use your spiritual beasts to chase after her." Someone shouted in anger, "She can't have gotten far!"
Yuan An County
Huge rocks were flying through the air. All of a sudden, a loud boom could be heard. A part of the city wall could no longer withstand the bombardment and was finally breached. The soldiers of the imperial court rushed in like floodwaters.
In the past few days, the soldiers had tried their best and used all sorts of methods. Although there were many casualties, they still managed to break through the city wall.
This was completely out of Pei Zi Yun's expectations. It was as though King Lu had agreed to their demands. However, fighting spirit wasn't everything. The city wall was finally breached. The soldiers clashed against each other as they slashed and slashed at each other. Within seconds, hundreds of people had fallen to the ground, fresh blood stained the ground.
"Dao Master has given his orders. Those who do not surrender are to be killed without mercy!" Someone shouted out. Hearing this order, the enemy soldiers had no choice but to fight to the death. Their bodies were riddled with wounds as they struggled to hold on. However, as the soldiers continued to fight, they were drowned in more blades.
Corpses continued to fall from the sky. Within the city, cries and screams could be heard. Smoke and fire could be seen everywhere. Pei Zi Yun climbed up to a part of the city wall that had been cleared of enemies and watched silently.
"Dao Master, the enemy soldiers have been defeated. As long as you surrender, the battle will stop."
"Such a massacre not only kills many soldiers, but also harms the citizens!" The county magistrate, Wei Yu, kowtowed profusely.
Pei Zi Yun didn't even look at him as he laughed, "Maybe it's because I'm kind and merciful that I've pardoned so many people. That's why there are so many people who are willing to try their luck. Let's not talk about the enemy soldiers for now. Everyone has their own master."
"The officials and the wealthy families within the city have been blessed by the Emperor for a long time. If the enemy soldiers were strong, then so be it. But now that they're weak, they're not willing to take the risk of betrayal. That's strange."
"If the enemy soldiers can kill people and wipe out entire families, why can't the Imperial Court do the same?"
"If we were to follow the military laws during wartime, we would have to cleanse the city for three days, to let everyone know the consequences of resisting." Pei Zi Yun looked at Wei Yu and said, "However, things are different now, and we shall not allow the soldiers to fight for themselves. You and the rest of the county magistrates shall lead a group of people to search for the officials and wealthy families within the city."
"All males above the age of ten shall be beheaded."
"Dao Master, you mustn't do that. You mustn't do that. This is a disservice to the Imperial Court!" When Wei Yu heard this, he immediately shouted out.
"You're not following orders?" Pei Zi Yun spoke through gritted teeth, causing everyone who heard him to shiver in fear. Wei Yu felt a chill run down his spine, but he had already spoken out loud, "This is worse than killing prisoners of war. It's a disservice to the Heavens. This lowly official cannot follow orders."
"Good. You're so loyal to the Emperor now. Since you're loyal to the Emperor, why did you betray him?"
"Men, behead this person as a traitor." Pei Zi Yun was enraged as he shouted out. His personal guards pounced on him and knocked his official hat off his head before dragging him away.
"How dare you? How dare you?" The County Magistrate Wei Yu shouted.
"Why wouldn't I dare? Drag him away and execute him!" Pei Zi Yun laughed evilly. After some time, a scream could be heard. A moment later, a severed head was presented to him. It was the head of Wei Yu.
The surrounding magistrates trembled in fear. Pei Zi Yun laughed evilly and asked again, "You're not following orders?"
"This lowly official is following orders." The few magistrates bowed down together before Pei Zi Yun regained some of his composure. He then turned to an armored officer and said, "Send some soldiers to follow the magistrate and search his house. Every squad will follow a civil official and record the amount of silver that was seized. Not only do you have to distribute the silver to the soldiers, you have to hand it over to the Imperial Court."
"You're the officer that the Imperial Court sent here to wield the Emperor's sword. It's best that you take part in this."
"Yes!" The officer remained unmoved as he received his orders. Before long, squads of soldiers marched out and entered the city. There weren't many soldiers in each squad, but it was more than enough to search the houses.
Zhang Mansion
"Boom!" A loud sound could be heard as the doors of a mansion burst open. A squad of soldiers swarmed in. The people inside the mansion were shocked and angry. A middle-aged man walked out with his servants and forced a smile, "I'm an official in the Imperial Court and have contacted the Imperial Court before. Is there a misunderstanding?"
Before he could finish speaking, one of the soldiers laughed out, "The Dao Master has given his orders. At this point, anyone who refuses to cooperate with the Imperial Court is a traitor and will be killed without mercy!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he pierced his long blade through the air. A loud "pu" sound could be heard as the middle-aged man screamed out in pain and fell to the ground. He was no longer breathing. His eyes were wide open and his face was filled with disbelief.
"Ah!" The servants screamed out in pain.
"Kill, kill, kill!" The soldiers swarmed in and slashed their blades. Dozens of people fell to the ground. Apart from women and children, they killed everyone they saw.
A low ranking officer looked on coldly and shouted out, "You're not allowed to be promiscuous. You're not allowed to keep any gold or silver. The Dao Master has said that everything will be handed down to our brothers."
"Anyone who dares to extend their hands at this point will be killed without mercy. Do you understand?"
"Yes!" As soon as he finished speaking, the sounds of killing gradually died down. The magistrate sighed. He knew that the resistance of the traitors was over. What followed was a massacre of all the officials in the city.
"For traitors, the Imperial Court to forgive them is a grace. Not forgiving them is a matter of course. Nobody can say that they've done anything wrong." Although this was what he said, looking at how the officials were treated, he couldn't help but sympathize with them.
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