Sealing Sword

On September 30th of the [-]th year of Chongzhao, the emperor was seriously ill, King Jing forced the palace, the capital was diseased, and there was a lot of noise.

That night, the situation in Tianjing City changed suddenly, the rain was dripping red, and the world was bloodbathed.

When the bloody rain fell, Yingxiu was watching Chu Yao rummaging in the courtyard against the wind and rain. After some time, there was a slight landing sound behind him, and the spies hid in the shadows.

Ying Xiu's lips moved: "What time is it?"

"Yin's time has come." After a pause, the spy's voice trembled a little, "Master Gu sent a secret message from the palace that Prince Jing is dead."

Ying Xiu's hands clenched into fists at this moment.

Her gaze was fixed on Chu Yao's back. The young boy was isolated from the world in this prison, unaware of the earth-shattering changes tonight, and just found a clue from under the stone table, digging open the wet and soft soil with his hands , revealing a corner of the wooden box.

Ying Xiu's eyes were stung by the smile on his face.

She lowered her eyelids and said in a low voice, "Speak clearly."

"On the day when Master Gu killed Lin Chao and Beiman's spies, half of the content was hidden on the parchment forged by the Southern Confucian Ruan Feiyu himself. King Jing only knew that Beiman would take advantage of the opportunity of the envoy's entry to launch a sneak attack, but he didn't know that Hu Ta Er specifically reminded that this battle was just a slap in the face, with the intention of mobilizing Tianjing's troops. In fact, there was not much chance of winning, and he must wait until the army left Beijing to fight quickly... However, this letter was intercepted by Mr. Gu and Nanru, and they reported it secretly The prime minister, Qin Mingde, also secretly reported to the emperor a few days ago, so..."

Yingxiu opened her eyes: "Therefore, Chu Yun didn't go to Northern Xinjiang at all!"

King Cheng led an army of [-] troops to leave for the war, but after leaving the city for two days, he took a dangerous road in the mountains and turned back secretly. Afterwards, they cooperated internally and externally to regain control of the outskirts of Tianjing City.

"Ruan Feiyu's confidant changed into the appearance of the Lin Dynasty. Ben was ordered to be in charge of the deployment of King Jing's second batch of troops. Before the incident, he deliberately broke up the camp and led half of the rebels to the outer city to face the returning Cheng King's army. The remaining half However, the Situ family united with other families to resist outside the Tengtian Gate. King Duan put on his armor and went into battle to kill the general of the rebel army.

"Princess Yuning killed Tang Zhiyang, the son-in-law, with poisoned wine and doves, and won the Jingwei Soldier Talisman and handed it to the emperor's grandson. At that time, the imperial guards and dark guards who ambush the palace fought with King Jing's rebels. After three hours, they were pushed all the way to Liuhe Palace, but it has been controlled by King Jing, there are several princes and important ministers in addition to the emperor, the battle situation is anxious, until..."

Yingxiu's heart tightened, just as thunder exploded in the sky, the voice of the spies added trembling to the thunder——

"Until King Jing held the emperor hostage with a sword, Lord Gu, who had been protecting him all the time, cut off his right arm with a backhand knife, and the ambush soldiers took the opportunity to take down the rebellious party and traitors in the palace. King Jing heard the shouts outside and knew that the situation was over. He cursed Gu Hengjian to commit suicide on the spot. Exhausted and dead."

Ying Xiu's pupils tightened at this moment.

Chu Yao finally dug out the wooden box from the soil. He hurried to open the box under the light, and found three pieces of cloth as thin as cicada's wings, a short knife and a note inside.

He paused the hand holding the knife, and suddenly remembered that on the day when he was apprenticed to the master, he was dissatisfied with a small wooden knife, and coquettishly asked the master for a real knife, but the master made a joke of it, saying that he would not mention it until he grew up.

Now, such a sharp and sharp short knife is in the box.

The three pieces of cloth were the mind, footwork and knife technique of "Jinghongjue". Every word and sentence was the incisive experience summed up by the two generations of sword masters Gu Xiao and Gu Huafang. Words, sorry.

A thunderbolt exploded nearby, and Chu Yao's mind suddenly buzzed. The note fell into the muddy water, and his heart sank when he lifted it.

He stuffed the cloth and the dagger into his bosom, and walked up and down the corridor restlessly, but he didn't find the two Yingxiu people hiding in the dark, their eyes were always fixed on the door and the roof, and the person he was waiting for Haven't come back yet.

Suddenly there was the sound of uniform footsteps outside, it was the sound of soldiers and horses going straight to the palace gate after the chaos was over, the horses neighed in the sky, and the golden spear clanged.

It's not that Chu Yao has never heard such a voice, but it is the first time he feels fear.

Only then did he realize that he had stayed here for nearly a night, and Gu Xiao hadn't come back yet, and he didn't know what happened outside.

Chu Yao gritted his teeth, waited for the sound of soldiers and horses to go away, and pushed hard on the gate. Unexpectedly, the courtyard gate was not locked. He pushed it open a crack, looked outside cautiously, and saw nothing but nothing. A laneway for one person.

After hesitating a few times, he finally ran out with a cat body.

"Master, Mr. Gu said that you can't..."

"Where is he?" Ying Xiu looked at the wooden box on the ground, "Since King Jing is dead, why hasn't he come back?"

The spies said: "Your Majesty Gu was injured by an arrow in the back and is currently undergoing treatment in the palace. I'm afraid he won't be able to come back for a while."

"That's fine, let him go." Yingxiu said coldly, "Since King Jing is dead, no one in Prince Jing's mansion can run away. King Jing, this child will definitely seek revenge on him, who is he going to cause trouble for by leaving a disaster?"

"But……"

"It's hard to persuade the damn ghost, we have kept to this point as promised, and now Chu Yao wants to go back to find death, no one can blame anyone!" Yingxiu suppressed all the pity in his heart, his face was frosty, "Jing Hong Dao Master The vengeance has been avenged, and this mission is over! Inform everyone, except for the hidden piles of inquiring about news that continue to lurk, and the rest are ready to leave the capital in these two days, and leave this muddy water earlier!"

"……Yes!"

Chu Yao braved the wind and rain and ran all the way.

Although he grew up in Tianjing, he seldom went to this remote place. Naturally, he didn't know where Gu Xiao had brought him, so he had to run wildly looking for it based on his feeling. He didn't know how far he ran. I don't know how long it took, but when he stopped due to exhaustion, the sky was already bright and the rain had stopped.

There are gradually people around, except for a few people who are probing their brains, most of them are soldiers in armor patrolling back and forth, but when Gu Xiao went out, he specially put on a coarse cloth for him, and now he is tossed in muddy water, no one can He couldn't recognize that this embarrassing half-grown boy turned out to be a noble grandson.

The bluestone floor was dripping wet, and the ten-mile long street was still brightly lit. Soldiers came and went looking for possible rebels. Houses were searched one by one, and many people were whispering.

Suddenly, I don't know who shouted loudly: "Look! There's a fire over there!"

"Ah! Go water!"

"What is that place?!"

"Yes, it's Prince Jing's Mansion!"

Chu Yao trembled all over, and immediately turned his head to look, and he saw that half of the sky was dyed red by the flames.

The gray night sky was dyed an ominous red by the flames, and the dark clouds were scorched and rolled like torn flesh in the flames, and the wind howled, like the desperate howling of a dying person.

Chu Yao's heart jumped wildly.

For a moment, he couldn't think of anything, and didn't dare to think about anything. He ran towards the direction of the fire, his small body squeezed desperately in the crowd, but he couldn't move an inch.

Tears burst out of his eyes suddenly, obviously he hadn't seen anything yet, but the moment the wind blew past his ears, tears burst down his face.

When he finally arrived outside Prince Jing's Mansion, there were already many people surrounded here. The soldiers kept the crowd away from the swordsmen, forming a big circle on the ground, and inside the circle was the palace that was engulfed in flames.

Chu Yan likes spirits, and there are hundreds of altars of fine wine hidden in the palace, but after the rain stopped, the princess ordered her confidants to take spirits and pour them over the palace. And all those who might leak secrets were burned.

Chu Yao didn't stand still at this moment, and sat down on the ground slumped. He was stepped on several times by the crowd, causing pain to his flesh and blood.

He was at a loss at this moment, he didn't know what happened, and he didn't even realize what he had lost.

There is only one thought in Chu Yao's mind - the palace is on fire, where are the father and mother?Did they escape?

As soon as this idea came up, Chu Yao couldn't sit still any longer, and under the cover of the crowd, he quietly went around to the hiding place, and for the first time in his life, he quietly and quickly climbed up a big tree of Cen Tian as if with the help of a god.

He climbed high, but unfortunately looking from top to bottom, there was only a sea of ​​flames and people struggling for help in it. They were all servants of the mansion, trying to escape by smashing on the door, but the fire blocked the way out, and people came from outside the door. The "rescue" soldiers were indifferent.

Chu Yao's heart sank suddenly.

The fire hurt people's eyes, but he desperately opened his eyes and scanned back and forth, wanting to see the figures of King Jing and Princess Wang, but unfortunately he didn't see them from the beginning to the end. Instead, a group of people came on horseback, the leader was dressed in black with blood on them , left arm still wrapped in white gauze.

That was Gu Xiao, beside him was Chu Xun and a general he didn't know.

When Gu Xiao saw the fire, his face changed drastically. He kicked off his horse, turned over and fell into the sea of ​​fire. Chu Yao once again raised his heart to his throat, staring at Gu Xiao's figure in the sea of ​​fire, such a small one The shadow is his only straw at this time.

Fiery fire, broken beams, falling rocks, broken tiles... These things were smashed down, making it difficult for ordinary warriors to move forward, but Gu Xiao kept moving forward.

Chu Yao watched helplessly as he finally broke into the main courtyard, and was about to jump down to talk to Chu Xun with a sigh of relief, when he suddenly heard the general say to Chu Xun: "Your Highness, Prince Jing should be punished for the crime of treason, and Princess Jing is afraid of the crime." ***It should also be her fate, why should Mr. Gu risk going in?"

Chu Xun's bright yellow clothes were stained with blood. He didn't notice anyone above him, and said coldly: "Although King Jing is dead, the remnants of the party are still there, and we haven't caught many lives. Important evidence and registers are all hidden in the palace. , what is left after this fire?"

Chu Yao's mind became blank at this moment.

Next, he seemed to be integrated with the tree trunk, not daring to vent his breath, and listened to the conversation between Chu Xun and the general in a daze, occasionally mixed with other people's discussions, and pieced together the "truth" that lacked weight and quality.

Conspiracy, coercion, betrayal, death...

After all, Chu Yao is still young, and his knowledge is limited. He doesn't understand so many schemes and intrigues, and he doesn't know the great crimes of collaborating with the enemy and treason, and he doesn't know how much right and wrong and undercurrents are behind it.

He only knew two things from these words, one was that his parents died, and the other was that they turned against each other.

"Brother Xun..."

A murmuring voice came from the top of his head, Chu Xun was startled suddenly, and saw a small figure in a state of embarrassment fall from the tree, rolled twice on the ground, seemed to be so painful that he couldn't stand still, lying on the ground in disbelief. looked up at him.

"Ah Yao..." Chu Xun's heart skipped a beat, and he tightened and loosened his hand holding the rein. After all, he still signaled the surrounding soldiers to put away their swords and retreat, and he got off his horse to pull Chu Yao up. Why are you here? Just now...you have been here?"

Chu Yao held his hand tightly and stared into his eyes: "Brother Xun, my father... and my mother and concubine..."

"..."

At this moment, Chu Xun didn't know how to speak.

Chu Yao, who was always innocent, read the answer from his face at this moment.

He let go of his hands unconsciously, and sat down on the ground, tears welling up suddenly.

Chu Yao has always loved to cry, but he always acted coquettishly and made noises, deliberately trying to attract people to coax him, but this time he really cried bitterly.

Chu Xun clenched his hands into fists, his fingers sunk into his palms, and he took a deep breath, with the cruel taste of blood and fire.

There was a "crack" sound from the sea of ​​fire behind, which should be the sound of wood being burned and broken. At this moment, it was very clear, just like their broken past and friendship since then.

"Why, why..."

Chu Xun bent down: "Ah Yao, you start first..."

"Your Highness, get out of the way!"

"Bold!"

In an instant, Chu Xun's eyes were stung by a cold light, and the sound of breaking wind came from behind in an instant, it was the sound of a general drawing his sword and falling.

Naturally, this knife was not aimed at Chu Xun, but at the young man in his arms. The other party actually pulled out a short knife from his arms and stabbed at Chu Xun's chest!

In the blink of an eye, the blade pierced into the flesh, blood spattered out, spread in the wind, and settled in the dust.

After Chu Xun was pushed hard at the moment, he almost staggered and fell to the ground. He stood in front of him alone, raised his hand to hold the general's fierce knife, his chest was exposed, and he was stabbed into the abdomen by the short knife.

For a moment, everyone was stunned.

Blood flowed down from the corner of Gu Xiao's lips. He swung away the general's long knife, held Chu Yao's hand tightly, and called softly, "Ah Yao."

Chu Yao finally came back to his senses, and his eyes fell on him in a daze.

There was nothing in Gu Xiao's hands, because when he broke into the main courtyard, there was no more Princess Jing in the world.

The gentle woman still sat in the room, cutting her throat with a long sword and letting the fire burn her body. Gu Xiao could only see her faded shadow through the twisted window.

Chu Yao's knife was not deep, he didn't know what he was doing at all, and naturally he didn't have any accuracy, but Gu Xiao felt very painful.

He could still think: "It really hurts, I feel so hurt... Ah Yao, how much pain does it hurt now?"

Chu Yao saw him clearly, subconsciously let go of his hand, sat down on his knees, and muttered: "Master...why...is it you?"

Enduring the pain, Gu Xiao didn't answer, but raised her hand and dropped the knife, knocking out Chu Yao, who was already insane. Her body couldn't hold on any longer, and she staggered and knelt down.

The general shouted: "This son is so bold that he dared to assassinate His Royal Highness, the grandson of the emperor. Thank you Lord Gu for taking him down. Please..."

"He didn't." Gu Xiao stood up with Chu Yao in his arms, and looked straight into Chu Xun's eyes, "The person he wants to kill is me, not the grandson of the emperor, so I have the right to dispose of it, not you...Your Highness, what do you say?" Yeah?"