Chapter Eighty-Six: Clearance Granted

At the foot of Azure Prefecture City, tens of thousands of displaced refugees lingered at the checkpoint. On either side of the city gate, dozens of imperial soldiers inspected every newcomer. Each person had to be searched from head to toe before being allowed through, along with a temporary pass.

But those who had fled here did not want such a thing. Without resettlement funds, they were doomed to remain in Azure Prefecture only for a short time. It could be said that the recapture of Jizhou and Bingzhou could not be delayed any longer.

A black-armored general standing atop the wall let out a long sigh, gazing at the sea of refugees below, dark as a gathering storm. He truly did not know how to arrange them properly.

A junior officer behind him asked, “Are you worried about what to do with the refugees, Sir?”

“Yes.” Yang Hong furrowed his brows and pointed at the surging crowd below the tower. “Azure Prefecture has twenty-six gates facing Bingzhou in total. This is supposed to be one of the least crowded places, yet look below us. There are at least tens of thousands here.”

Turning back, he looked at the junior officer. “Leaving aside whether we can admit them into Azure Prefecture before the enemy attacks, even after they are inside, the supplies consumed by a million refugees each day are no small matter.”

The junior officer lowered his head and fell silent. How could he possibly understand such a thing?

Yang Hong knew that speaking to him would yield no useful response, and could only sigh gloomily. “I only hope the imperial court can issue the order soon and release the silver. Otherwise, if this drags on, the price paid will be one neither side is willing to bear.”

Just then, a burst of screams abruptly shattered Yang Hong’s thoughts.

He walked to the other end of the tower and saw what was happening inside the city: a woman was being dragged away by several soldiers, likely because she had relatives outside the walls.

Yang Hong had no wish to meddle in such matters, but unexpectedly a woman leapt down from a nearby carriage. She wore a bamboo hat, and her plain clothing revealed nothing remarkable. Yet from the way she moved, her skill was clearly extraordinary.

She seized the woman being dragged away and pulled her into her arms, then shielded her behind her back as she faced the soldiers.

These two women were Gu Fanshuang and Jiang Xixuan, who were headed for Bingzhou.

Yang Hong folded his arms and watched with interest. “I never thought disciples of the sects would appear here.”

Normally, such sect disciples would avoid war like the plague. Though the woman’s face could not be seen, she seemed quite young. At her age, she ought to be cultivating within her mountain gate...

“Could she be from Blood River Pavilion?” Yang Hong stroked his short beard in curiosity. “No matter how Blood River Pavilion chooses its final trial, it wouldn’t bring them to Azure Prefecture.”

While he was pondering Gu Fanshuang’s identity, the people below had already begun to move.

First, the soldiers who saw Gu Fanshuang snatch Jiang Xixuan from their hands demanded, “Who are you?”

Gu Fanshuang tried her best to suppress her temper. Being out in the world alone while also having to account for Jiang Xixuan’s safety forced her to keep her tone calm as she said to the soldiers, “We want to leave the city. Please be accommodating.”

“Get lost, get lost!” the soldiers said irritably, waving her away. “Azure Prefecture only allows entry now, not exit. If you want to leave, you might as well go home and wash up and sleep.”

“Then I may have to trouble you a little longer,” Gu Fanshuang said, her voice growing colder, both hands clenching as though she would strike the next second.

Hearing the threat in her words, the junior officer also seemed impatient. “So you’re here to cause trouble, are you? Brothers, teach this little wench a lesson. There are still so many people waiting on us; finish this quickly.”

With a wave of his right hand, four or five soldiers rushed toward Gu Fanshuang.

Yang Hong had no intention of stopping them and instead watched the show with great interest. This was a good chance to see what kind of strength this sect disciple had.

“Ha!” A burly soldier raised his fist and charged straight at Gu Fanshuang.

The others clearly thought that as merely a young girl, she could not amount to much, and so simply stood back to watch the fight.

Yet to their surprise, Gu Fanshuang moved with startling speed, striking after the fact but arriving first. Her body was supple as a serpent, and her attack was fiercely lethal. With agile footwork she slipped past the soldier’s punch, then turned sideways and sent two fingers like a hidden blade through the gap beneath his arm, aimed directly at his throat.

In the next instant, her fingers curled into claws and clamped tightly around his windpipe.

His tall frame happened to block Gu Fanshuang from the others’ view, so to them it looked as though he had been frozen in place by some spell. One of them even asked in confusion, “Dazhu, what’s wrong? Hurry up and finish this so we can go.”

“Uh, uhh, uhhh!” The burly man had his throat seized by Gu Fanshuang and could not even speak.

At that moment, Gu Fanshuang suddenly said, “I want to leave the city now. If you agree, I’ll let this man go. Otherwise...”

The burly man stiffened, panic flashing across his face. This woman was not someone to be trifled with. If they refused to go along with her, she really might kill him.

“Alright, alright, we can talk this out. You let him go, and I’ll let both of you pass right away.”

“Your word means nothing. Why should I believe you?”

Gu Fanshuang was no child. How could she trust their words so easily? Besides, their rank was obviously low; how could they possibly have the authority to let anyone through?

As the stalemate dragged on, Gu Fanshuang suddenly heard a man’s voice behind her.

“Then do my words count for nothing as well?”

The moment the voice came from behind her, Gu Fanshuang inwardly cried out in alarm and quickly turned, trying to use the soldier’s body as a shield.

“Quick reflexes. A pity your martial realm is still a little lacking. Which sect are you from?” the person behind her said with a light laugh.

A large hand patted Gu Fanshuang’s shoulder, yet within that palm, inner force instantly spread from her shoulder through her entire body. In the next moment, Gu Fanshuang felt utterly drained, every limb completely controlled by a foreign power.

“Y-you... who are you?”

Gu Fanshuang’s voice was clearly no longer as steady as before. The strength of the person behind her was plainly far beyond her own; he was very likely the commander of the checkpoint’s garrison. To resist him would be pure overestimation of herself.

“I’m merely the superior officer of the soldier in your grasp. Let him go first, and we can speak of the rest slowly.”

As he spoke, he walked to stand before Gu Fanshuang.

Only then did Gu Fanshuang see the man’s full appearance, and from his relaxed smile she could tell that his strength was unfathomable.

“No need to think too much. At your age, you’ll reach this realm sooner or later.” The man in black armor spoke softly to her. “I’ve already released my hold on you. Let the man go.”

Only then did Gu Fanshuang feel the control over her body return. The delicate hand clamped around the man’s throat gradually loosened. Still, the faint blood mark left on his neck was rather conspicuous.

“Sir!” The soldier was released and immediately hurried to Yang Hong’s side, bowing deeply. “Thank you, Sir!”

“Stop standing around. There are still plenty of refugees waiting for you to process.” Yang Hong did not even look at him, only waved a hand to send them back to their duties.

“Yes!” The men immediately replied and turned back toward the gate.

Now Gu Fanshuang stood face to face with Yang Hong, unsure where to begin. Yang Hong, however, spoke first and rescued her from the awkwardness.

“I’d like to ask, which one of you is Jiang Xixuan?”

“I...” Jiang Xixuan had only just begun to speak when Gu Fanshuang covered her mouth with one hand and answered, “Why do you ask?”

“I was going to say that if Miss Jiang is here, I could simply send her across into Bingzhou.” He glanced at the two of them, then turned away and added casually, “It seems I remembered Miss Jiang’s appearance wrongly. Let this matter be dropped.”

“Wait!” Jiang Xixuan broke free from Gu Fanshuang’s hands, took two quick steps to Yang Hong’s side, and asked, “Are you speaking the truth?”

With his back to the two of them, Yang Hong smiled faintly. “A gentleman’s word is as swift as a whip.”

...

“Did he actually let us through so easily?” Gu Fanshuang was driving the carriage safely out of the checkpoint now.

Inside the carriage, Jiang Xixuan smiled and said, “Stop being so suspicious. He was being kind. Maybe he’s a friend of his.”

“Oh, oh.” Gu Fanshuang knew that the “he” Jiang Xixuan spoke of was the person she had come all this way to find. As for his identity, Jiang Xixuan had never mentioned it, and Gu Fanshuang naturally had no desire to pry into someone else’s privacy.

“Even if he knows you, he wouldn’t be able to let us through this easily,” Gu Fanshuang muttered under her breath.

Yang Hong’s sequence of actions was simply too strange. Gu Fanshuang was not a fool, nor the kind of person easily swept off her feet, so unlike Jiang Xixuan she could not remain completely at ease.

Meanwhile, atop the city tower, Yang Hong watched the carriage Gu Fanshuang was driving gradually disappear from view. Narrowing his eyes, he said, “It seems the higher-ups are paying close attention to the matter of Shao Xinhong. That’s only natural. After all, Shao Xinhong has implicated far too many generals. If Jiang Xixuan is still alive, she will surely become a weakness others can exploit.”

Thinking of this, he felt a touch of regret. “That woman’s feelings for Shao Xinhong were truly devoted. It’s a pity that those in love may not always end up together.”

Recollecting the moment before he had appeared in front of Gu Fanshuang and stopped her from continuing to fight the soldiers, he had already confirmed her identity the instant she struck: a member of the Gu family from Blood River Pavilion.

Though Gu Qingyun was a man of the martial world and lived a carefree, drifting life, officials of the court, especially military generals, held no less ardent a regard for him than they had once held for Su Qing. Gu Fanshuang’s skill had likewise piqued Yang Hong’s interest, and he was also worried that this woman might act without restraint. If trouble arose, it would not be easy for him to settle.

Just as he was descending the tower, a slip of paper had somehow been pressed into his hand.

When he looked around after picking it up, he saw nothing.

He was, after all, a loyal martial officer of the sixth rank, and a small expert at the eighth level of the Heart-Guarding realm. Yet from the moment that paper was placed in his hand to the moment the person departed, that person had never appeared within his sight at all.

This sent a chill down Yang Hong’s spine. He did not know when, but someone had actually been watching him from the shadows. When he unfolded the note, there were only two words: let them pass.

At the same time, the junior officer who had been following him all along was silently observing Yang Hong from within the distant crowd.

This was naturally someone arranged by Yang Tingyu. Along the way, their purpose had been to ensure that Jiang Xixuan could leave Azure Prefecture safely. Once she was out of the prefecture, they would make their move...

Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Revenue, Hua Wenkai strode briskly toward the great gate, with Feng Xunqin following behind him, holding the emperor’s decree in his right hand beside the side of his head.

The moment he stepped through the gate, hundreds of eyes turned toward him. Yet Hua Wenkai remained calm and unhurried. These people would have gladly flayed him alive; he was not ignorant of that. But now that he held the imperial decree, and with the emperor’s protection, these dogs would not dare bite him.

The Ministry of Revenue was like a beehive. Every official darted ceaselessly through the various “honeycombs,” holding memorials from all over the realm and seeking instructions from their superiors. Hua Wenkai’s arrival made many who saw him pause unconsciously in mid-task, then retreat from him as though fleeing a plague god.

Some even glared at Hua Wenkai with such hatred it seemed they wished to devour him alive. Yet under their companions’ restraint, they still flung away their sleeves in indignation and left.

When Hua Wenkai finally stood at the very center of the Ministry of Revenue’s courtyard, an elderly man with white hair and beard slowly emerged from the side gate of the main hall.

He wore a scarlet robe, a six-ridge official crown, and a belt of rhinoceros horn. Two middle-aged officials in cyan robes supported him from either side as he walked.

The old man shuffled up to Hua Wenkai and said slowly, “I wonder what matter has brought Your Excellency the Commander here today to seek out this old man. Tea has already been prepared inside; please come in and speak.”

Hua Wenkai nodded and politely declined. “Minister Lu, there is no need for ceremony. I have merely come bearing the emperor’s decree to discuss the details with you.”

With that, he gave Feng Xunqin a look, and the latter immediately understood and stepped forward to read the decree aloud.

Lu Chang immediately knelt to receive the edict. Because he was so advanced in years, he needed others to support him as he knelt, nearly toppling to the ground.

After the decree had been read, Feng Xunqin presented it to Lu Chang. At that moment, Hua Wenkai spoke again. “Minister Lu, before I came, His Majesty asked me to bring you a message.”

Seeing Hua Wenkai’s meaningful gaze, Lu Chang felt a little uneasy. After some hesitation, he said, “Please speak freely, Commander.”

Hua Wenkai leaned close to his ear and said quietly, “His Majesty says that when your silver is needed, it must come out. We are already at the hour of national peril and survival. If you continue dragging your feet at this time, you will be forcing His Majesty to come and dig into your own pockets himself.

“I will deliver the same message to the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Personnel. If you wish to join them in discussing how to fend this off, there is no need. Otherwise, your old bones, already seventy or eighty years of age, may yet have to suffer the torment of the imperial prison.”

“Minister Lu, the message has been delivered. Please keep the decree safe. I shan’t disturb you further.” As soon as he finished speaking, Hua Wenkai swept his embroidered sleeve and strode out through the gate, leaving only Lu Chang standing there with a troubled expression.

“Minister, what did Hua Wenkai say to you?” The officials nearby, seeing Hua Wenkai gone, immediately crowded around and asked.

But Lu Chang shook his head. “This time, the fat of the Six Ministries is going to be stripped clean by the emperor.”

“What do you mean by that, Minister?”

“Hua Wenkai came bearing the emperor’s order, telling us in the Six Ministries to raise silver and allocate funds for the fighting at the front. But he never said how many taels were required.” Lu Chang sat down in a few steps away in a broad official chair and slowly reclined, then continued:

“His Majesty also added that this is a matter of national survival and crisis, and we must not force him to personally come and take the silver himself. Is that not plain enough?”

“This time, the emperor is simply using the war as a pretext to reclaim the silver we have secretly accumulated over the years. Part of it will go to Yang Tingyu and the others to recover lost lands, while the rest will be poured into the imperial treasury. If we do not hand it over, then the imperial prison will be our next residence.”

At Lu Chang’s words, the entire Ministry of Revenue erupted at once.

“This... this is outrageous!”

“Yes, yes!”

Watching the crowd of outraged officials, Lu Chang reclined comfortably in his chair and thought to himself, “Your Majesty, are you already preparing for what comes after? You are moving to strike us before we can even catch our breath. If the silver I turn in fails to meet expectations, am I to become the next Su Qing...?”

Lu Chang knew that this was Qin Chaoyang’s fear arising from the ever-worsening state of affairs. Only by making his empire stronger could the aged monarch feel some measure of peace. If he dared to defy him now, it would be no different from an old man hanging himself because he has grown tired of living.