Aoyama

Chapter 396 The mastermind behind the scenes
Warhorses galloped among the plum trees, the biting wind like a glass of strong liquor, cutting like a knife as it entered their lungs.

The plum tree branches were low, brushing against his face with a stinging pain. Chen Ji lay on his horse's back and looked back, only to see the Five Witches' army following closely behind.

He abruptly turned his horse around and fled northeast, a sharp bone arrow whizzing past his back and severing a lock of his hair.

Without a bow and arrows, Feng Dao Jie Gu used his longsword to launch a stone that whistled towards Chen Ji. Chen Ji instinctively used his horn bow to block it, and with a clang, the stone shattered into pieces, leaving his hand holding the bow painfully shaken.

Invincible!

I wonder how long these Five Witches soldiers summoned at the cost of their lives can last? The corpses will rot, the fire will go out, and they will eventually disappear... But how long can I hold on?

There are no answers in the traces of the past.

He stroked the horse's mane; the horse's sweat had seeped through its fine downy hairs.

Ordinary warhorses would slow down to trot for the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn before slowing down and lowering their body temperature. His warhorse wouldn't last long, but the warhorses of the Five Wrath Army seemed tireless.

It's unclear whether these Five Witches soldiers can sense my location or whether I need to find them using clues.

Chen Ji suddenly looked up to determine the direction.

The next moment, he spurred the horse and accelerated again, rushing towards Furongping.

There is only one mountain road leading north from Meigu, winding upwards along the ridge.

In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Chen Ji saw a figure moving in the distance ahead along the mountain road. Without saying a word, he urged his warhorse to continue on its way.

Ahead, Mr. Liao was carrying the prince on his back and running wildly. Hearing the sound of horses' hooves, he turned around and saw Chen Ji galloping towards him, with the rumbling sound of iron hooves rolling through the mountains and forests behind him.

Mr. Liao flew into a rage: "You brat, you're asking for death!"

Chen Ji calmly said, "This humble servant has come to protect Your Majesty."

The crown prince looked back. He didn't understand how Chen Ji had broken through the encirclement, nor did he understand why Chen Ji had led those Five Witches soldiers to his side.

What about the others? Are they still alive?
Mr. Liao was furious. As the sound of hooves grew closer, he suddenly turned around, his face transformed into a red-faced, fanged mask. The mask opened its mouth and exhaled, sending a plume of black smoke straight towards the ruins behind him.

Dozens of hands were tearing and ripping inside the black smoke, as if trying to tear it apart.

Black smoke swirled and flew towards Chen Ji, but Chen Ji had no intention of getting entangled with it. He swung his horn bow with all his might, striking his warhorse's rump, and then leaped off, rolling down the side of the mountain road, barely avoiding the rolling black cloud.

When Chen Ji landed at the foot of the mountain, he rolled twice to stop himself, gripped the horn bow tightly, and hid behind a boulder.

The warhorse, startled and now unburdened, galloped even faster. It raced along the narrow mountain path toward Mr. Liao, and just as they were about to collide, Mr. Liao, carrying the prince on his back, dodged aside to avoid the horse.

He wanted to pursue Chen Ji again, but then he heard the approaching hoofbeats of the Five Witches' army halfway up the mountain, so he had no choice but to continue fleeing for his life.

Chen Ji hid under the boulder, his right hand gripping the horn bow tightly, and his left hand holding an arrow nocked on the bowstring, ready to draw the bow and shoot at any moment.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths...

He listened silently as the hoofbeats of the Five Witches' army drew closer, his hands clenching tighter and tighter until his palms were sweaty. As the hoofbeats drew nearer, he suddenly held his breath.

Will we be discovered?

The next moment, the Five Witches' army swept past, their hooves thundering over Chen Ji's head. The Five Witches' army did not glance at Chen Ji's hiding place and continued to chase after him along the mountain path.

Only when the sound of hooves faded into the distance did Chen Ji finally breathe a long sigh of relief, then leaped and bounded wildly down the mountain.

……

……

The Five Witches' army galloped along the mountain path, which climbed up the ridge. Looking south, the mountains below resembled blue lotuses.

The centurion suddenly stopped chasing. He reined in his horse, stood still, and quietly looked at the mountains and rivers, holding his eight-foot-long broadsword.

His expression was hidden behind the bone mask as he said softly, "Take a look. Such a sight is hard to come by again."

Dozens of Wuchang soldiers actually stopped on this mountain ridge, silently watching the green mountains stretch for miles and the clouds drift by. The mountain wind blew across the ridge, making their raincoats flutter slightly.

Nothingness, no self.

People living in this world see this scenery all the time but don't know how to cherish it. But on this mountain ridge, there are the "people" in the whole world who cherish this scenery the most at this moment.

The centurion chuckled and said, "Let's go, let's finish this first. This world has no place for us."

As soon as he finished speaking, he spurred his horse up the mountain again, even faster than before, showing no signs of fatigue. The remaining Five Witches soldiers followed behind, carrying banners made of white bones.

After chasing for two hours, they arrived at Furongping, where their view suddenly opened up.

The centurion saw Mr. Liao carrying the prince as he ran from afar.

At this moment, Mr. Liao turned around and saw the Five Witches' army was full of murderous intent. He knew that he could not outrun the Five Witches' army while carrying the prince, so he had to slowly stop and put the prince down.

Mr. Liao said in a low voice, "Your Highness, if you continue running along the mountain road, you will reach Qingxue Pavilion in Xishan in another ten miles. Our men are lying in ambush there... This old minister will definitely buy Your Highness half an hour, even if it means my death, to hold them off."

The prince said in a low voice, "Mr. Liao, you shouldn't have taken me with you. Rather than die here, I would rather die with some dignity."

Mr. Liao said urgently, “Your Highness, the rise and fall of the nation depends on you. His Majesty is obsessed with cultivating immortality, and Prince Fu indulges in eating, drinking, and reckless behavior. When will the war between the two dynasties end? How will the people survive? The Jing Dynasty is currently in turmoil, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is about to arrive. Your Highness has already endured for so long, why not endure a little longer? You cannot die here!”

The Crown Prince smiled helplessly and said, "Mr. Liao, you can't hold out that long, and I can't run that far either."

However, as the two men were talking, the centurion, sword in hand, asked from afar, "Where is the boy who rode up on horseback earlier?"

Mr. Liao was taken aback, and immediately pointed behind the Five Witches' army: "Just now on the ridge, he abandoned his horse and went down the mountain!"

The centurion turned around to look behind him, ignoring Mr. Liao and the Crown Prince, and rode off: "On command, go hunting in the mountains."

Ten hunters carrying bone bows and arrows clasped their hands in greeting: "Present." The centurion calmly said: "Bring his head back before sunset."

"Yes!" The ten hunters immediately jumped off their horses and climbed down the cliff like geckos, disappearing into the forest in the blink of an eye, traversing mountains and valleys as if walking on flat ground.

The remaining five savages also abandoned their horses and descended the mountain, but not as swiftly as when they were hunting.

In the blink of an eye, Furongping was empty.

The prince stood by the cliff of Furongping, facing the wind. Looking down, he could only see the swaying bushes and trees, but not the figures of the Five Witches' soldiers.

He was momentarily dazed, feeling a sense of absurdity.

Mr. Liao reminded him from behind, "Your Highness, don't get too close to the cliff."

After a long pause, the Crown Prince suddenly asked, "Mr. Liao, do you think my elder brother died a martyr?"

Mr. Liao said in a deep voice, "Definitely not. With Zhou Kuang and Yang Yang there, those ghosts would have to put in some effort even if they wanted to kill Prince Fu. It must have been Chen Ji who used some trick to lure those ghosts away and get Prince Fu out of trouble."

The crown prince sighed softly, "How unfair."

Mr. Liao paused for a moment, then asked, "What does Your Highness mean?"

The Crown Prince smiled and said, “It seems that Heaven always likes to play tricks on me. When I was the Education Commissioner, I selected talents for the court and promoted those from poor families, but I was criticized for cultivating cronies. When investigating the private minting of copper coins, I negotiated with those aristocratic gentry. My father wanted me to show my iron fist, but if it were that simple, wouldn’t he have already beheaded those who privately minted copper coins?”

"I have done so much, but I still can't compare to my elder brother's love of eating, drinking and having fun. My brother can do anything, but I can't even choose a junior guard or a right guard."

Mr. Liao pleaded earnestly, "Your Highness, please bear with it a little longer, just a little longer!"

"This time, I will bear the infamy of betraying my principles, while my royal brother will be able to live on with a reputation for loyalty and righteousness. It's just a matter of a little bit. If I had lived just one more incense stick later, perhaps everything would have been different."

Mr. Liao knelt down behind him: "This old minister deserves to die!"

The Crown Prince shook his head: "It's not your fault. But, Mr. Liao, we can't let them return to the capital alive. Only if they die can my reputation be preserved."

Mr. Liao was taken aback: "This old minister understands, this old minister will take care of it right away!"

……

……

Hunting along the mountain ridges, they were like hunting dogs, their eyes searching for clues in the forest, not missing a single detail.

They searched down the mountain until they found the remains of an abandoned horse. Suddenly, a hunter raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist.

The next moment, the remaining nine soldiers gathered around and looked down at the broken grass stems on the ground, traces left by Chen Ji as he rolled across the mountainside.

Following the clues, everyone looked down and saw a soldier silently jump onto the boulder where Chen Ji had just hidden, crouch down, and look down.

With just one glance, he deduced: "This person was hiding behind the boulder... We must have been passing right over his head at that time. What audacity!"

After saying that, he looked down the mountain along the broken grass stems, his gaze seemingly jumping in rhythm with the movement of the debris.

The hunting squad leader whispered, "He runs fast, but not as fast as us... He's not familiar with the mountains."

A soldier whispered a reminder: "Before sunset."

The squad leader said calmly, "They can't escape."

Meanwhile, Chen Ji was traversing mountains and valleys, intending to leave Fragrant Hills first.

At one point, he pondered and hesitated: Who exactly sent the assassins? At first, he and Zhang Xia were certain it was the Crown Prince, but now it seemed unlikely.

If he were truly the Crown Prince's man, why would the Crown Prince abandon his reputation and run away?

strangeness.

strangeness.

strangeness.

If it's not the Crown Prince, then who else could it be?

After the Battle of Guyuan, who else knew the inside story of the Dragon Gate Inn?

Zhang Xia, Zhang Zheng, the Crown Prince, Qi Zhenzhuo, Xiaoman, Chen Liqin, Chen Wenzong, Chen Wenxiao, Liang Shi, Wang Gui...

and many more.

Chen Ji suddenly realized that he seemed to have overlooked two inconspicuous people.

Liang Shi and Wang Gui!
When Chen Liqin was transferred to Nanjing to serve as a sub-prefect, she stayed at the Chen residence under the pretext of taking care of Chen Wenzong, but her scheming was far more complex than that.

In Liang's heart, she harbored a deep-seated hatred for him, believing he had killed her son. Most importantly, Liang also knew what she had done in Guyuan.

However, Liang lacked the capacity to raise a large number of assassins. She had to rely on someone else's power to kill her. This power not only needed to be able to raise hundreds of assassins, but also needed to hate her to the core and be determined to kill her...

Chen Lizhi, second son of the Chen family!

If these were assassins sent by Chen Lizhi, then everything makes sense; this man is cunning and capable. Given the resources of the second branch of the Chen family, maintaining hundreds of assassins and officials would not be difficult.

But there's still one thing that doesn't make sense: if Chen Lizhi only wanted to avoid being adopted into the main branch of the family, there was no need for him to take such a risk, even going so far as to have assassins impersonate Jie Fan Wei. If this were discovered, it would be a heinous crime punishable by the confiscation of his property and the extermination of his entire clan.

Little monk!
Chen Ji suddenly realized that there was only one explanation: the little monk had seen a huge secret in Chen Lizhi's heart.

Oh no, the little monk is in danger!

(End of this chapter)