Chapter 228 Mutiny (I)

She watched coldly as the head of the last rebel was nailed to the city wall. When the iron nails inlaid with spells pierced through the skull, there was a crisp sound like gold and jade hitting each other. These evil cultivators who once used living people to refine weapons had even their bones soaked in sinister spiritual power.

“Your Majesty, there are a total of 372 surrendered soldiers, and they have been taken to the Disha Prison.” The general knelt on one knee, with blood stains from the battle still lingering between the seams of his armor: “According to your order, nine levels of restrictions have been set up in the prison.”

“Maintain order in Yecheng, and wait for follow-up troops to arrive so that we can wipe out all resistance forces in Prince Shou’s fiefdom.”

“Yes.”

Below the city wall, cavalry poured into the streets like a tide.

The people hid behind the cracks in the door and peeked in, with fear and a hint of hope in their eyes.

They watched those once arrogant magicians being escorted away one after another, and the resentment that had been pent up in their hearts for many years was finally vented.

Xu Shanshan turned around and disappeared on the city wall.

As dusk falls, the first scent of mugwort wafts through the bluestone alleys of West Market in Yecheng.

Old Li, who sold bamboo weavings, tremblingly hung a red gauze lantern in front of his stall. He changed the Taoist talismans painted on the lantern into carp playing with lotus. The cinnabar mixed with gold powder glowed brightly in the twilight.

“Uncle Li is too bold. This talisman paper lantern is taboo.” Aunt Wu from the tofu shop next door complained while scooping the freshly ground soy milk into the celadon bowl. At the bottom of the bowl was the osmanthus honey that she was reluctant to put in in previous years.

“It’s already this time. Look at the sky. The haze has dissipated. From now on, we ordinary people can look up.”

Old Li narrowed his eyes and smiled at the children running by the street corner. The ankles of those who once had soul-locking bells were now wrapped with red ropes and silver bells: “The talismans of the Xuanmen sect cannot suppress evil spirits, but the blood on Emperor Yue’s evil-slaying sword can ward off evil spirits better than any cinnabar.”

“Can it really be better than before?” Aunt Wu murmured to herself.

Old man Li patted his aching shoulder and said, “No matter how bad it is, it’s better than worrying about being taken away and turned into a human pig. Those magicians are thinking about immortality all day long. If people don’t die, wouldn’t that make them immortal?”

Aunt Wu murmured, “People like them who have committed so many evil things, they want to become immortals? They can just dream on.”

As smoke wrapped in the aroma of wine drifted over the city wall, Xu Shanshan was staring at the thousands of lotus lanterns on the moat in a trance.

She changed into plain clothes, tied up her black hair with green silk, and walked on the road like an ordinary woman. Today, people were lighting lanterns and praying for blessings, and she was feeling the cool breeze by the river bank.

At this time last year, the white lanterns used for Taoist sacrifices were still floating on the river, wrapped with the nails and hair of the innocent victims.

Now, the warm yellow candlelight shines through the mulberry paper, reflecting the childish word “peace” which is shattered into golden scales by the waves.

“Shan, would you like to try the plum wine from Yecheng?”

Wei Canghao stood at the bottom of the steps holding a coarse earthenware wine jar, the seal on the jar still carrying the moisture from the cellar.

The four people behind him were either carrying bamboo baskets or holding wine cups. The wrist bones exposed by Tang Jiashan’s sleeves were still bruised by prison shackles, but at this moment he was holding a plate of amber-colored sugar cakes – they were made from the most distinctive maltose pot in Yecheng.

These five people were released immediately after Prince Shou was executed. After learning the truth, they did not blame her for pretending to be Nangong Fei to frame them.

I was just thinking about the upcoming separation, and wanted to have a good time with her before they each returned to where they belonged.

“It’s from the blacksmith Wang’s new stove in the east of the city.” Gu Yue Jiarong set up the small clay stove for warming wine on the grass slope. The willow trees were swaying in the wind, and the scenery was very beautiful. “The first pot of syrup is all condensed in this cake.”

Several people sat on the ground, and Xu Shanshan ran his fingertips over the cracks on the edge of the rough pottery cup, which was a sacrificial vessel used by the people in the past to worship the immortal master of Xuanmen.

Now the talisman painted on the bottom of the cup has been scraped off, revealing the original color of the clay, and the clear fragrance of plum wine.

Suddenly, there was a crisp explosion in the distance, and the exclamations of the whole city turned into waves of laughter.

It turned out that a little boy had secretly set off firecrackers, which scared away the bluebird perched on the eaves.

With a “clang” sound, Chi Jiangdong slammed the dagger onto the side of the wine jar.

The sharp blade was now used to cut open the smoked chicken wrapped in lotus leaves. The moment the oil paper was torn, the smell of meat mixed with the aroma of medicine made everyone’s stomachs growl, and they remembered that they had not had a good meal since they were imprisoned in Yecheng Prison by Prince Shou.

“It’s all your fault. You pretended to be Nangong Fei to tease us. Couldn’t you have informed us first?”

Li Yehe took a sip of the wine and said, “She is the Emperor Yue, and we are the handsome men who were sent back to their original place of residence. She doesn’t need to tell us in advance what she wants to do.”

Xu Shanshan suddenly chuckled: “Although it is inconvenient to move around in the prison, it is relatively the safest place.”

This is a rare explanation.

Li Yehe and Chi Jiangdong stopped talking for a moment. If they were awkward cats, as long as Xu Shanshan was willing to reach out and stroke their fur, they would obediently lie on her lap and let her stroke them.

She looked at a unique lotus lantern on the river, which was made of Xuanmen talisman paper folded into the shape of a boat.

The wick was burning with the most ordinary candle flame, but at this moment it was holding the peach pit that was secretly placed in it by a child, floating in the night, drifting towards the lights of thousands of homes farther away.

“Why is there suffering and sorrow in life? Can a pot of wine relieve sorrow?” she suddenly asked.

Wei Canghao poured her a cup. Perhaps it was because the lights at night were too gentle, she seemed a little different in his eyes than usual: “Of course not, but it is effective in forgetting your troubles for a while.”

“It’s difficult for me.” She took a sip, but it felt like drinking plain water.

Seeing that she was not in the mood to drink, Chi Jiangdong handed her a chicken drumstick and said, “Try this. Eating delicious food can make you feel better.”

Xu Shanshan took a bite and chewed it slowly: “As long as it fills your stomach, whether it tastes good or not, there is not much difference.”

“Then try this special pastry. Sweets have always been loved by women.” Gu Yue Jiarong handed her a piece.

Xu Shanshan did not refuse, but after tasting it, she only commented: “It is indeed very sweet.”

Seeing that she was unhappy, Li Heye asked her curiously: “You are not interested in these, so how did you feel happy in the past?”

“Happy?” Xu Shanshan thought for a moment and asked them, “Why should we be happy?”

The five people had different expressions when they heard her say this.

“Isn’t it an instinct to seek happiness?”

“Yeah, have you never been happy?”

Xu Shanshan shook the cup in his hand, as if recalling: “I should have been happy on the day when Xuanmen was destroyed. I should be happy at this moment too.”

Although Tang Jiashan has returned to secular life, he still maintains his previous habits and does not drink alcohol or eat meat.

While everyone was drinking and having fun, he stood aside, watching the various aspects of life in the distance, admiring the lights and praying for blessings, until he heard Xu Shanshan say, “I should be happy too” at this moment, then he turned his head.

“What happened?”

His voice was like a jade chime dipped in a cold pond, brushing against the copper bells on the eaves without wind, and going straight into people’s hearts.

Xu Shanshan was startled and met his clear and kind eyes.

But before she could respond, a streak of red-gold light suddenly flashed across the sky.

Xu Shanshan raised his hand to catch it, and it turned out to be a blood-colored divination coin.

She stared for a moment, then looked up.

Looking in the direction of the imperial city, the “Eye of the Sky” saw dense red clouds, lightning and thunder, which were signs of a mutiny.