The Double-Chapter 648 - 198 Guardian

Jiang Li was woken up by Wen Renyao.

As she regained consciousness, she noticed that the common folk who had laid down to sleep on the ground with her the previous night had almost all drifted off. Wen Ji was nowhere to be seen, Zhao Ke was still there, and with Lin Yao cradled in his arms, Wen Renyao looked at her and asked, "Second Miss, are you awake?"

"What happened?" Jiang Li looked around and fully awoke. She asked, "Is it over?"

"Prince Cheng’s troops have temporarily withdrawn, and everyone else has gone home," said Wen Renyao. "They shouldn’t return today, according to Ah Heng’s predictions. As long as we held our ground last night, Prince Cheng won’t be able to enter the city. His Majesty has already dispatched the Military Defense General to relieve the siege."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li said, "Once the Military Defense General arrives, the only one who can be used is General Ping Rong. And since General Ping Rong cannot leave his post, does that mean the Prince of Xia County is coming back?"

"Eight or nine out of ten," Wen Renyao replied as he stood up. Holding a child and having sat on the ground all night, he nearly lost his balance and staggered. Jiang Li also stood up, and Zhao Ke suggested, "Second Miss, let’s head back first."

Although Jiang Li wasn’t sure where "back" was, she nodded anyway.

Along the way, the streets were in complete disarray. Even when Jiang Li first arrived in Huangzhou, having been forcibly taken there, she remembered that Huangzhou City, though not as bustling as Yanjing City, was still lively and beautiful. Now the city, ravaged by the previous night’s fire, was left with nothing but charred blackness, rubble everywhere. There were dried puddles of blood and corpses on the ground. Some people were kneeling in front of their family members’ bodies, weeping in pain, while others, weary, began to tidy up their destroyed homes anew.

Those not burnt to ash had to be salvaged; they couldn’t spend the coming days sleeping on the streets. In front of homes reduced to cinders, the owners sat by the door, wailing. Their peaceful lives were shattered, leaving deep sorrow in anyone’s heart. These cries reaching one’s ears made one feel equally sorrowful. Overnight, countless families were torn apart. People in Huangzhou City had been living their lives peacefully; who would have thought disaster would strike them so suddenly? It was truly an undeserved calamity, a stark reminder of the world’s unpredictability.

Walking down the road, Jiang Li sighed with every step. When they reached the entrance of the Huangzhou City Government Office, she saw several rows of black-clothed figures neatly lying in front of the two stone lions. These men were all dead, with almost no wounds visible on their faces, nor any excessive injuries on their bodies—they had been killed with a single stroke, some with corners of their mouths stained with dark blood.

Jiang Li asked, "Are these the men who came out to fight the fire last night, the ones Prince Cheng had placed within Huangzhou City?"

They are," said Zhao Ke. "The authorities have already sent people to search for their whereabouts. These men are death warriors; there’s nothing we can get out of them. Anyone captured is subjected to summary execution. We’ve found only these so far, but that doesn’t guarantee there are no remnants left in the city, so the Second Miss must be cautious for her safety."

Jiang Li nodded, "I understand."

Zhao Ke continued to lead Jiang Li and Wen Renyao onward. At the end of this road, they finally came upon a residence. The residence had apparently been set on fire, but the blaze was quickly extinguished, so aside from the charred doorframe, the rest of the place was largely intact. Zhao Ke guided Jiang Li and Wen Renyao inside, where Wen Ji was already waiting. As they entered the hall, they saw Lu Jiu. Lu Jiu, perhaps having not slept all night, barely concealed his exhaustion, and his beard, usually well-groomed, now appeared somewhat unkempt. Seeing Jiang Li and the others, he said, "You’re back."

"Lu Jiu, you look very tired," remarked Wen Renyao. "If you’re tired, rest. Don’t overexert yourself."

Just as Lu Jiu was about to respond, his gaze fell on Lin Yao in Wen Renyao’s arms. Lin Yao turned his head upon seeing Lu Jiu’s stare and buried his head into Wen Renyao’s embrace. The boy was delicate and attractive, his temperament shy and timid like a girl’s. He had just experienced a great upheaval in his family and was extremely distrustful of others.

"Where did he come from?" asked Lu Jiu.

Wen Renyao replied with composure, "He’s the boy Miss Jiang the Second saved from assassins last night. His whole family—parents, brothers, sisters—all perished, leaving only him to escape. Seeing him like this, I thought he might be a good fit for our ’Jixian Sect.’ I was considering taking him as my apprentice."

An apprentice?" Jiang Li, unaware of Wen Renyao’s plan, asked in surprise, "What do you mean a good fit for the ’Jixian Sect’?"

Wen Renyao was frank, "People like us, who reveal heavenly secrets and alter others’ destinies, go against fate. Naturally, the heavens won’t tolerate us. As such, we are born under an inauspicious star. Cough cough, of course, that’s just one way to put it. The disciples of the ’Jixian Sect’ are generally those who have experienced tremendous family tragedies from a young age, with all their relatives dead. I am the same, an orphan. When my father died, he entrusted me to my master. I’ve never taken a disciple during all my years down the mountain, mainly because those who lost their families were often too old. Even when I met the young ones, they were all intent on avenging their families, so as soon as I mentioned taking an apprentice, they chased me away. This little guy is not bad, he’s much younger than I was, his family’s enemies have been dealt with, and he has no attachments left in this world, making him the perfect candidate for our sect and to become my disciple."