Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 135 Everything in the world is like a new chess game

On the day of moving into the new mansion, the house was decorated with lights and was bustling with people. Many officials in the court heard the news and sent gifts. The Qin officials were simple and honest, and the gifts focused on meaning rather than value. Most of them were calligraphy and paintings, flowers, ornaments, etc. Some people also sent bamboo slips with a few words of congratulations engraved on them. Fusu sent a guqin named "Luanming", which was obtained by Fan Qian when he wiped out the remnants of Jiujiang and presented to Fusu. Fusu gave it as a gift out of love, and it was the most precious one.

It was not until sunset that the mansion returned to tranquility. The evening breeze was blowing gently, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Wuzhai sat in the study, thoughtfully stroking the strings of the zither. The sound of the zither was as soft and melodious as water, attracting the maids to gather outside the window to eavesdrop, laughing and whispering.

Nothing happened that night and Jin Xingzi did not return home.

……

At noon on the day of the execution, the sun was scorching and the air was hot. Even so, thousands of people gathered by the Wei River. They stood densely on the slope, looking down at a large grassy beach beside the river bank, pointing and talking, with the sound of a lot of noise.

Hundreds of officers and soldiers dug a trench dozens of feet long as planned, until they reached the water level under the soil, which was two feet deep. The wet soil was piled on the side close to the people, forming a long mound across the hillside.

Two hundred officers and soldiers escorted the serious criminals and their nine generations of relatives implicated in the crime to the side of a deep ditch, nearly a hundred people, waiting to be executed. Thousands of soldiers were standing around with weapons in their hands, watching closely, alert and prepared to prevent anyone from raiding the execution ground. The scene was majestic.

Huan Xi and six other serious criminals knelt in the front row, facing the people on the hillside, with dull eyes and limp bodies. They had long lost all life. When they thought of this, all hope was lost. Their family members and relatives were tied together with ropes and knelt behind them, crying and shouting heartbreakingly.

Xiang Liang was as thin as a stick, with dirty hair, tattered clothes, and scars all over his body. He was tied up tightly, but his face was still full of anger and his character was unyielding. He knelt on the other side with the restoration criminals from all over the place. He was the first one and the easiest to identify.

A pergola had been set up by the riverbank. Wuzhe, dressed in official uniform, had a cold face, and stood tall and thin. He, Meng Yi, and Fusu sat on the right side of Li Si. On the other side were Wang Ben and Feng Jie, who looked solemn. Such a scene was rarely seen at the execution ground in the past.

This was the first time Wuzhan saw Xiang Liang in Xianyang. He and Xiang Liang had only met once, that night. Xiang Liang didn't pay any attention to him at the time, let alone think that he would be among the important ministers, so it was impossible for him to notice Wuzhan. Wuzhan then looked for Brother Zhang and others on Xiang Liang's side, but fortunately, he didn't find them.

In front of the crowd of people, amidst the noise, a beautiful woman whispered to the slender woman with a veil next to her, "I can't be wrong. He now recognizes the thief as his father and rises to prominence. He has long forgotten the revenge for his father's murder and the shame of the country's destruction. How could he help us!"

The masked woman said softly, "He is not that kind of person. He must have tried his best, but it was too difficult."

"He didn't even try his best. He just focused on his own affairs. I've seen through him!"

"You can't even think of a solution, so how can a weak man like him do it?"

The beautiful woman was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "Now that things have come to this, I have no choice but to save the general by myself!"

"With so many soldiers, no matter how high your cultivation is, you will just go and die."

"If we don't save him, are we going to watch him being executed?"

The masked woman wiped away her tears and sighed, "I have no choice but to go into the palace and kill him, and avenge the general!"

……

Trumpets sounded and the whole audience was silent. The executioner, sweating profusely under the scorching sun, read the long execution order loudly to the people. The people raised their fists and shouted angrily: "Kill! Kill! Kill!..." The shouts rose one after another, shaking the sky.

Huan Xi was awakened by the shouts and screams. He looked at the angry crowd, feeling the heat waves rolling in his face. He suddenly shouted angrily: "Ying Zheng is cruel and inhumane, and his meritorious ministers and good generals will not have a good end. I will be waiting for you in the underworld. The Qin Dynasty will perish..." Before he could finish his words, the soldiers stuffed a cloth into his mouth. His eyes were bloodshot and veins bulged.

Wuzhan looked at Huan Xi who was still irritable and said to Li Si, "I will say a few words to him so that he can leave in peace."

Li Si knew that Huan Xi was by no means a true restorationist, and that he ended up like this because of his different political views. He felt a little guilty, but it was inevitable and he had no choice.

Wuzhan played an indispensable role in severely punishing these troublemakers, rectifying the government, and warning people against discussing politics. As for Wuzhan's desire to appease Huan Xi's resentment, Huan Xi nodded in agreement without giving it much thought.

Wuzhan stood up and walked forward slowly, signaling the soldiers on both sides to make way. He came behind Huan Xi and said slowly, "You lost the battle and killed more than 100,000 soldiers, but you escaped back alone. His Majesty did not punish you and let you live out your life in peace. You are not grateful, but indignant and rebellious. You are digging your own grave and cannot be forgiven!" He grabbed a handful of soil and continued, "The commander abandoned the soldiers who died tragically and fled. He lived in shame and regretted his life. I heard that this handful of soil can make your wish come true. You can take your soul to see them and wash away their grievances. You have lived for so many years, and it is time for you to meet your soldiers!" He slowly sprinkled the soil on Huan Xi's head with one hand and whispered in his ear, "Li Mu regretted not burying you alive with his own hands. Today his son sends this handful of soil to you on behalf of his father. You should understand!"

Huan Xi was shocked when he heard this. This voice that only he could hear exploded in his mind. He stared at Wuzhe's face with wide eyes. He naturally understood what this sentence meant, but he never thought that there would be such a reason. Awakening, fear, absurdity, regret, unwillingness, and despair collided together in an instant, and finally came to an insignificant conclusion, "He is here for revenge!"

Wuzhan slowly stood up in the face of Huan Xi's complicated expression and walked towards Li Si. He shouldn't have said this, but he had been suppressing it for too long and couldn't help but speak it out at this moment.

Li Si saw that the time had come, so he gave an order and the criminals were pushed into the deep ditch one after another. They rolled into the mud, wailing and struggling, it was a horrible sight.

Xiang Liang spotted Gongsun Yu and Luo Yan from afar. He exerted all his strength, looked up to the sky and shouted, "Even if there are only three households left in Chu, Chu will be the one to destroy Qin!" He was pushed hard by two soldiers and rolled into the ditch.

Then, hot wet soil poured down, burying the criminal in an instant, and the wailing sound was silenced in the soil, and finally formed a long mound. Gongsun Yu watched Xiang Liang being pushed into the deep ditch and covered by the soil, helpless tears flowing all the time. The road to restoration was cut off, and there was only revenge, only revenge, and there was only one way left.

……

The scorching day is finally over, the lazy setting sun casts its afterglow, shining on the banks of the Wei River, making the waves sparkle. Wu Barrier sits quietly in the pavilion in the courtyard, leaning against the pavilion pillar. He cannot practice, so he can only close his eyes and take a nap. These days, he feels more and more that his body is weak. He doesn't know how long he can hold on, and whether he will have time to finish those things.

A graceful figure gently landed, and with a "swish", the tip of the sword was pressed against Wuzhan's throat. Wuzhan opened his clear eyes and looked at the furious Luoyan. He was not panicked and did not make a sound.

"I will kill you, you treacherous, cowardly villain!" Luo Yan said fiercely.

Wuzhan said calmly: "How do you know that I am treacherous and live a shameless life?"

"The princess asked you to do something, but you just perfunctorily did not do it at all. You just wanted to be a dog official for the tyrannical Qin Dynasty. You...are you worthy of the princess?" Luo Yan was about to cry.

"The princess asked you to kill me?"

"This has nothing to do with the princess. I just don't want you, a dog official, to live in the world so that no one will miss you!"

"Let the princess come to see me."

"Don't worry, the princess will never come to see you in this life, and I will kill you today!" As she spoke, the sword flashed with a cold light, but the sword did not stab down. In fact, she came here with Gongsun Yu on her back just to vent her emotions, and she didn't really want to kill Wuzhan. The princess would never let her do that.

"Go back and tell the princess that I have already done it. She can only see it when she comes."

Luo Yan was confused and had no idea what Wuzhan was talking about. She asked, "What else did the princess ask you to do? Can't I see you?"

"Yes, but you were so mean to me at this moment that I changed my mind."

Luo Yan waved the sword in front of Wuzhan's eyes, "If you don't tell me, I won't kill you!"

"Luoyan, is that you?" A weak voice came from inside the house.

When Luo Yan heard the voice, he trembled all over, his eyes widened, and he looked in the direction of the sound. It was like an illusion. The voice was very familiar. It was the voice of General Xiang. He threw away the sword in his hand and rushed into the house to check.

Luo Yan saw Xiang Liang lying on the bed in a bandage. She couldn't believe her eyes and cried out, "Oh my God! How is this possible? Am I dreaming?"

"I didn't expect that I was still alive. I just felt that someone pulled me out from under the mud and into the water cave when I fainted. When I woke up, I appeared here. I vaguely heard someone talking outside. After listening carefully for a long time, I guessed that it was your voice. From what you said just now, it seemed that you didn't know that I was still alive. What's going on?" Xiang Liang said weakly.

Luo Yan cried with joy. Although she couldn't understand what method Wuzhan used, she felt extremely guilty because he had saved a living person. Suddenly, she remembered that the princess was still in grief and she needed to tell her about this as soon as possible. After saying a few words in a hurry, she ran out of the house, glanced at Wuzhan who still had his eyes closed with shame, and ran back to Qingya Pavilion.

Jin Xingzi had been working hard for two days and was still sleeping. Fearing that he would be discovered, he wanted to go and tell Princess Yu to come and see Xiang Liang after dark. However, he guessed that Luo Yan would come to question him, so he saved the time of running errands.

Xiang Liang was rescued thanks to the assassination attempt by Huan Xi and others. If it weren't for them, Wuzhan really didn't know how he could have rescued him. Therefore, on the night of the incident, Wuzhan did not let Jin Xingzi chase him. If he had caught up with him, his plan would not have been carried out.

He knew that Li Si strongly advocated the county system and was disgusted with those who advocated the feudal system. He took advantage of Li Si's desire to punish those people and falsely accused Huan Xi of colluding with the remnants of the restoration. He arrested Huan Xi and made the other masterminds timid. He hastily poisoned the assassins to silence them. Wuzhan just wanted the assassins to die at their hands, which would be more convincing than letting them die alive, and the assassins' identities would be what they were.

In the Palace of the Supreme Court, facing the Palace of the Lieutenants and the Academy of Doctors, he used sophistry, first letting them say that the assassins were the remnants of the Six Kingdoms and had nothing to do with them, and then he exaggerated the situation and confused the feudal system with the restoration, making it difficult for them to defend themselves. Finally, when the bodies were found, the false became true, and those assassins really became the remnants of the restoration, unable to escape their connection, and they really became the restorationists who wanted to destroy Qin.

The next step is the most important one. Knowing that Li Si wants to know the affairs of the Supreme Court as soon as possible, and Huan Xi and others have the same crime as Xiang Liang and others, they will definitely be executed together. This is the result Wuzhan wants, and he can participate in the execution of criminals with justification and have a say. Even if Ying Zheng does not show up, Wuzhan will ask Ying Zheng to replace the chariot torn apart with the punishment of burying him alive. Only in this way will Wuzhan have a chance to rescue Xiang Liang.

After discussing with Li Si, Wang Ben and Feng Jie, they decided to hold the old execution ground by the Wei River. Jin Xingzi had already visited this place and found that it was all silt and it was easy to dig holes. Jin Xingzi's true form was the Fire Rat, and he was an expert at digging holes.

So in the past two days, Jin Xingzi dug a hole under the embankment of the Wei River, passed through the embankment, and dug to the bottom of the predetermined execution pit, which was the location of Xiang Liang. After recognizing Xiang Liang's appearance, Jin Xingzi left the execution ground, secretly dived underwater from a distance, swam back, drilled into the dug hole, and came to the side of the execution pit. The wall of the execution pit was only one foot thick. When Xiang Liang was buried, Jin Xingzi waited for the right time, broke through the silt, pulled the unconscious Xiang Liang into the hole, dived back to the Wei River, went downstream, and brought him to the Wuzhan Mansion.

If any one link of this plan went wrong, Xiang Liang would not be rescued. Wuzhan had tried his best to connect two unrelated things. At this moment, he felt relieved and finally completed Princess Yu's earnest request.

This moment is the most relaxing and beautiful time.

(End of this chapter)