Ask the Nine Ministers

Chapter 422 Making a prompt decision
Xue Sui led Qin Feng and the others, silently sneaking to the blind spot on the west side.

Xiao Yan was standing on a protruding bluestone, giving a speech.

He wore a blackened leather coat over his armor, his cheekbones were high, and he had dark circles under his eyes, making him look quite haggard.

“Once the winds shift, Li Zhao’s death day will arrive.”

"After the fire started, we retreated from the back of the mountain, leaving them to perish in the flames... Don't look back..."

The guards listened intently, their faces filled with excitement and madness.

Beside Xiao Yan, a general with a scar on his brow bone directed his personal guards to move the last few boxes of gunpowder.

“That brat Li Zhao is so arrogant. If he can’t find his lord, he’ll definitely come in person. Just leave these gunpowder there… perfect for his funeral.”

Xiao Yan stroked his sparse beard, looking with satisfaction at the inescapable trap he had laid.

"Wait for the northwest wind to rise, then obey my orders."

"Here!"

Xiao Yan waved his hand, coughed, and walked down the bluestone.

Lost in thought, he swayed as if he had lost his footing and had to grab the arm of his personal guard to keep from falling.

Throughout their journey, no one noticed Xue Sui lurking in the shadows of the rocky cliffs.

Until he heard the soft sound of a dry branch breaking...

Turning around abruptly, I saw a woman in a soldier's leather armor leaning against the stone wall, toying with a tinderbox in her hand, the light flickering between her fingertips.

Xiao Yan was startled.

He gripped the knife at his waist, a ruthless glint in his eyes.

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into the camp!"

Xue Sui tossed the tinder between his fingers, his smile nonchalant.

"I'm here to clean house for your ancestors."

Cleaning the portal?

Xiao Yan's expression changed, then he burst into laughter: "So it's Li Zhao's mistress. He doesn't dare come himself, so he sends a woman to her death?"

Upon hearing his voice, several guards surrounded Xue Sui, weapons in hand, forming a fan shape around him.

Xue Sui did not move, his back ramrod straight.

She seemed oblivious to the danger before her, her clear eyes fixed on Xiao Yan, as if she had become one with the rock wall behind her.

"When you impersonated a wandering sorcerer to infiltrate the Old Mausoleum and killed Master Zhuang Jing, did you ever imagine that this day would come?"

These words seemed to strike a nerve with Xiao Yan.

His expression suddenly changed.

He had intended to take the matter of the old mausoleum to his grave, but he never expected that Xue Sui would expose his past in public.

"She brought this on herself; she didn't know what was good for her."

If it weren't for her meddling and peeking at the secret records in his alchemy room, which was then exposed by the blind nun Jingshan, he wouldn't have lost more than thirty skilled fighters, been knocked off a cliff, and barely managed to climb back up, ruining his father's plan to wipe out the remaining rebels...

Upon returning to the capital, he was severely reprimanded by Emperor Chongzhao upon learning of the incident, and nearly dismissed and exiled.

That was the shame of his life.

As for the woman who was infatuated with him, she was merely a cover for his whereabouts; he had no feelings for her, so why should he feel any pity for her?

Xue Sui sneered, "She was blind, trusted the wrong person, and lost her life... But you, you heartless wretch, shouldn't you be torn to pieces?"

"Bullshit—" Xiao Yan was so angry that he trembled all over after being humiliated in public by a junior. He pointed at her and shouted angrily.

"Guards, seize this arrogant brat..."

Several guards drew their swords and rushed forward, eager to chop her into pieces.

Xue Sui sneered, advancing instead of retreating, and grabbed the oil bucket at his feet, pouring it over Xue Sui's head. Then, he threw the tinder he was holding away...

The guards at the forefront couldn't dodge in time, their bodies covered in tung oil and sparks flying, turning them into human torches. They screamed and rolled on the ground, igniting the nearby dry grass...

The others were so frightened that they retreated repeatedly, their formation thrown into chaos.

"Put out the fire quickly. The wind hasn't changed direction yet. If the gunpowder ignites and spreads to the northwest, we won't have time to retreat..." "What a fierce woman! So reckless."

"Aren't you afraid of death?" Xiao Yan stared intently at Xue Sui. "Or do you want to inform Li Zhao so he can come and collect your corpse?"

"Why would someone who's afraid of death come here?" Xue Sui looked at the people frantically trying to put out the fire, then blew on a new tinderbox. His dark pupils held a chillingly sinister glint in them.

"How much gunpowder have you hidden? Is it enough if we die together?"

"She's gone mad! This woman has gone mad!" the scarred general shouted. "My lord, our plan has been exposed..."

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, watching the thick smoke rising into the sky, knowing that the situation was beyond repair.

Once the fire starts, not only will Li Zhao notice, but his subordinates who risked their lives for him in Lao Xiong Gou will also discover his betrayal.

At that point, he'll be caught in the middle, with no one to turn to but death...

"You're really willing to risk your life for Li Zhao."

"I'm not doing this for him. It's for justice and fairness, for my fourth master who died unjustly..." Xue Sui said coldly.

"Since you want to die, I will grant your wish."

Xiao Yan's face contorted with rage as he abruptly raised his sword, yelling, "Release the arrows!"

The arrow pierced the air.

Xiao Yan waited to see her pierced by a thousand arrows...

Unexpectedly, a rope suddenly fell from above Xue Sui's head. Qin Feng shouted "Miss" from above the rock wall, and Xue Sui smiled and jumped up, grabbed the lifeline, and used it to climb up the rock wall.

The fire started by the tung oil spread very quickly, igniting the gunpowder boxes piled up outside the cave. A group of soldiers were desperately trying to put it out, but they couldn't stop the fire from spreading northwest against the current, shooting straight into the sky...

Looking at the woman suspended in mid-air, Xiao Yan felt a strange sense of dread, as if it were a destiny, at her cold and resolute face illuminated by the firelight.

"withdraw!"

He made a prompt decision.

In the chaos, he led his confidants and turned to run into the depths of the mountains and forests.

Xue Sui leaped down from the cliff, picked up the waist knife on the ground, and gave chase.

Qin Feng and several of his brothers followed closely behind.

"Protect the girl, don't let that scoundrel Xiao Yan get away."

"Yes."

The flames burned fiercely behind them, casting a chill down everyone's spine.

Xiao Yan was familiar with the surrounding terrain, weaving through the crisscrossing rock crevices, and darting away in the darkness. Suddenly, he pushed aside a pile of dry branches and crawled into an inconspicuous cave...

When Xue Sui and Qin Feng arrived, the cave was deserted.

Qin Feng raised the torch high, looking at the shadow cast on the rock wall.

"Young lady, be careful, it might be a trap."

Xue Sui parted the withered branches, saw the dark cave entrance, and nodded...

"Don't go in rashly." She put down the blood-stained knife, took out a whistle from her bosom, and blew it three short notes, similar to the whistle of some kind of mountain bird.

Qin Feng understood.

They led their men to firmly guard the cave entrance.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a series of chaotic footsteps came from outside the dense forest.

Hachi, leading dozens of soldiers and carrying torches, hurried over and shouted when he saw Xue Sui in the distance.

"Is that Miss Xue from the Great Liang Dynasty ahead?"

Xue Sui emerged from behind the rock and calmly replied, "Indeed. What brings the young chieftain here?"

Hachi, his face smeared with mud and his expression urgent, strode closer and bowed to her. “My father led the village soldiers on patrol early this morning, but he hasn’t returned yet. We can’t find him anywhere… We saw the fire on the south side of the mountain, so we came to see what was going on, and just then we heard your signal, young lady…”

He paused, then asked anxiously:

"Young lady, have you seen my father?"

(End of this chapter)