Chapter 63

Wei Lenghou sat atop his horse and looked up and his eyes immediately caught sight of Ge Qingyuan, who had just ascended the city gate tower.

The bright red robes he wore stood out harshly against the backdrop.

Just yesterday, he had managed to reestablish contact with his covert agents in the capital.

Upon learning, much to his shock that Ge Qingyuan was set to marry Princess Yong’an, he had spurred his subordinates to ride nonstop to get here.

But judging by the timing, that bastard should’ve already completed the wedding rites by now…

He narrowed his phoenix eyes and extended his arm.

Lu Yuda, standing beside him, immediately handed over a heavy stone longbow.

Grand Tutor Wei nocked an arrow and drew the bow in one swift motion, then unleashed his full strength to shoot straight at the red-robed man atop the gate.

Ge Qingyuan hadn’t expected the Beggars’ Clan Leader below the city to attack without a word and let alone shoot six consecutive arrows in rapid succession.

Wei Lenghou’s bow was custom-made; only someone with extraordinary arm strength could draw it.

So despite the distance to the city wall, the arrows lost no speed.

Though Ge Qingyuan had trained in martial arts since childhood under famous tutors hired by his father and had decent reflexes, one of the arrows still grazed his face, leaving a deep, slanting gash that bled profusely.

Lu Yuda, a former hunter with a keen eye, shaded his eyes and glanced upward, remarking with some regret, “Just a hair off from seeing the color of that bastard Ge’s brains. Grand Tutor, I think you swung the hoe too hard before and strained your wrist and don’t have the strength anymore, do you?”

Wei Lenghou shot him a fierce glare at those words, causing him to shrink back in fear.

Still, his remark wasn’t without basis.

Damn it! If it weren’t for that treacherous bastard Ge on the gate tower, would they have ended up in such a desperate situation?

When they received intelligence that the princess had appeared in Li County, they had taken the water route straight there.

At the docks, a Black Banner soldier went to relieve himself behind a latrine and rushed out not even a quarter hour later.

When Grand Tutor Wei went to check, they saw a row of glowing characters beside the latrine wall in the dark:

“Ge Qingyuan is deceiving you. Flood incoming in Li County. Evacuate immediately.”

There weren’t many words, but Grand Tutor Wei instantly recognized the handwriting, that it was clearly Nie Qinglin’s.

In a flash, a thousand thoughts raced through his mind.

That girl was full of tricks.

Was she trying to mislead him, knowing he couldn’t swim, just to keep him away?

No…if she had really been captured by the Xiongnu, why would she go through all this trouble to lure him away?

As his mind churned, he ordered Lu Yuda to bring a map.

After a brief glance at the nearby river systems, he realized Nie Qinglin wasn’t lying.

If someone opened the sluice gates now, the area would be submerged in less than two hours.

“Grand Tutor, what do we do? Should we retreat?”

Wei Lenghou furrowed his brows deeply.

Though born into a seafaring family, he had always gotten seasick.

Still, when it came to calculating ship speeds, no one could surpass him.

If they boarded a ship now and Ge had indeed opened the gates, the flood wouldn’t kill them but their vessel would be carried far downstream.

Whether rowing back upstream or taking the land route, it would take dozens of days.

Too many things could happen in ten days.

If the Emperor was truly under Ge Qingyuan’s control, the capital would surely face upheaval.

The princess’s fate would also remain unknown.

He couldn’t afford delays… and what of the tens of thousands of civilians in the area?

Even if they warned them in time, this was a basin region.

The only route out was by water, yet more than half the boats at the dock had mysteriously disappeared in recent days.

Only a few small fishing boats remained scattered on the river like lonely leaves…

In that moment, Wei Lenghou made a bold decision that left everyone stunned, to split the mountain and carve a passage.

After examining the map and riding to the base of the mountain himself, Wei Lenghou found that although they were surrounded by steep cliffs, if they could dig a slanted trench about a miles long up the slope of a mountain called Eagle’s Beak, they could open a route toward the adjacent peak.

From there, they could take shelter from the flood and dig eastward to find a shortcut back to the capital.

In just under two hours, Wei Lenghou had ordered his men to notify the village chiefs and elders of over ten nearby villages.

Women and children were to be evacuated first using the Black Banner Army’s ships, while all able-bodied men stayed behind to help dig the mountain path.

That moment, even now, remained perilously vivid.

Several times they encountered massive stones blocking the way, but thankfully Wei Lenghou had brought blasting powder with him.

After blasting apart the rocks, they dug as if their lives depended on it.

When the floodwaters reached waist height, they finally managed to open a path to mid-mountain.

By the time everyone had relocated to safety, the surrounding area had become a vast ocean.

Trees were uprooted by the deluge, and the livestock they hadn’t been able to evacuate thrashed and wailed in the water before being struck and dragged under by floating logs and debris—vanishing in an instant.

There was no time to grieve.

At the mountainside, they continued digging tirelessly for three days.

Finally, they opened a shortcut leading to dry land.

But by then, the Black Banner Army had all turned into a “Black Mud Army.”

This was all thanks to Ge Qingyuan.

If that bastard didn’t get a taste of this unforgettable agony himself, the Black Banner Army might as well change their name!

The rebel soldiers from Langxi stood beneath the city wall, led by none other than General Gao Chang, the man who had usurped power and killed his adoptive father.

He was someone Wei Lenghou knew well.

Back when Gao Chang took the martial examination, it had been Wei Lenghou who oversaw the testing grounds.

A cold smile crept up Wei Lenghou’s lips.

“Gao Chang, back in the day, you were someone of note in the martial exams. Who would’ve thought that over the years, you’d become a sycophantic schemer,betraying your benefactor and killing your adoptive father. Today, I’ll take your head right here and show the world what becomes of those who rebel with troops.”

After finishing his statement, he suddenly turned the conversation and addressed Gao Chang and the soldiers under his command: “Do you all know that you are committing treason? By law, your entire families should be executed. But seeing that you were deceived by that traitor Gao, if you surrender now and allow yourselves to be bound, I can spare your lives and those of your families.”

The Grand Tutor was known as a god of war in his generation and had great prestige among soldiers.

When they realized they were to face the infamous Black Banner Army, the soldiers began to hesitate.

Gao Chang knew that if Wei Lenghou kept talking, morale would collapse and his army might fall apart on the spot.

He quickly sneered and shouted, “Wei Lenghou, battles are won with bravery, dare you let our generals duel?”

He gestured, and an exceptionally burly general in golden armor stepped forward.

This golden-armored general was the top warrior of the Langxi army.

Usually proud of his strength, he had always looked down on Wei Lenghou.

Seeing him in ragged clothes like a beggar made his contempt deepen.

He could no longer restrain himself, galloped to the front of both armies, and shouted loudly, “I am the Great General of Langxi’s Pacification Forces! Wei Lenghou, come meet your death!”

Wei Lenghou let out a cold laugh, spurred his horse forward, and struck with a blade straight at the man’s head.

Seeing Wei Lenghou engage, Gao Chang quickly summoned a skilled archer and whispered to him to ambush Wei Lenghou, commanding him to make sure the target was slain.

The archer received his orders, nocked an arrow, and locked his eyes on Wei Lenghou, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Wei Lenghou intended to end the duel swiftly.

Not wanting to prolong the fight, as their horses passed each other, he suddenly pulled the reins and stood upright on his saddle.

With a swift backward slash, he brought down his blade.

The golden-armored general, caught unprepared, was struck from his horse.

Wei Lenghou leapt down, planted a foot on the general’s stomach, and in one clean swing, decapitated him.

Blood spurted far from his severed neck, dyeing the ground red.

The soldiers of Langxi panicked at once when they saw their top general beheaded within seconds.

Gao Chang turned pale with shock.

Though he had known Wei Lenghou was formidable and never fully believed the golden-armored general would win, he hadn’t expected the man to lose before he could even exchange a proper blow.

Before the ambushing archer could take aim, the golden-armored general had already fallen.

Lu Yuda in the Black Banner Army swiftly noticed the ambusher.

Without hesitation, he drew his bow and released a shot and killing the enemy archer instantly.

Since Gao Chang had broken the code of conduct by arranging an ambush before the duel, Lu Yuda didn’t bother with formalities either.

His second arrow flew straight and true, piercing Gao Chang’s eye.

Gao Chang screamed in agony and fell from his horse.

With that, the Langxi soldiers were thrown into total chaos.

Wei Lenghou seized the moment and led his cavalry to charge into their disarrayed ranks.

The Langxi army, raised in peace and leisure, was no match for the Black Banner Army, who were hardened by years of blood and warfare.

Though fewer in number, they tore through the enemy like wolves among sheep—relentless and wild in their slaughter.

Wei Lenghou, noticing that the man in red atop the city wall had vanished, grew anxious and wanted to end things quickly.

He shouted loudly, “Look behind you at the rising dust, our reinforcements are arriving! Do you still refuse to surrender?”

The Langxi soldiers turned and saw billowing dust clouds behind them.

Thinking reinforcements were truly arriving, they lost all will to fight.

Soon after, they surrendered in droves.

Lu Yuda blew a whistle made of refined iron, and answering whistles echoed from within the city.

Before long, a dozen covert agents scaled the walls and swiftly killed the city guards with nimble precision.

There were not many elite troops in the city to begin with, and Grand Tutor Wei’s renown was so overwhelming that many of the defending soldiers were terrified just hearing his name.

They had no intention of truly risking their lives to resist.

Not long after, the gates were flung open, and Wei Lenghou rode in at the head of his troops.

But just then, the soldiers who had already surrendered and been tied up finally realized that the dust clouds in the distance weren’t from any real reinforcements.

It was merely a group of mountain folk running back and forth with long-handled brooms, kicking up dust.

Under the cover of the moonless, starless night, the scene had looked like a mighty army was charging in.

Inwardly, they cursed Wei Lenghou for his cunning.

He had used deception to break their spirit.

But regret came too late.

The battle was over, and there was no turning back.

Amid the chaos, no one noticed when Ge Qingyuan vanished from the city wall, nor where he had gone.

The Grand Tutor’s spies in the city had been well hidden and hadn’t been exposed.

Earlier, they had already raided the prison and rescued Shan Tiehua and others.

According to the plan, they were now on their way to the Ge Manor to rescue the princess.

But Wei Lenghou was burning with anxiety and he wished he could grow wings and fly straight to dragon pearl’s side.

When he reached the gates of the Ge Manor, he found the courtyard gates wide open and several black-clad figures engaged in battle with Shan Tiehua.

These black-clad men must have been henchmen raised by Old Lord Ge and his son.

They were skilled fighters.

Wei Lenghou didn’t bother with the front entrance.

He leapt over the courtyard wall and followed the trail of red lanterns through the long corridor straight into the inner quarters, only to see old Lord Ge, sword in hand, trembling as he made his way deeper inside.

“Lord Ge, halt!” Wei Lenghou called coldly.

But the old man acted as though he hadn’t heard and continued forward.

Wei Lenghou raised his sword and slashed the old man’s Achilles tendons, sending him crashing to the floor.

“A single wrong move, and the entire game is lost… You really are hard to kill…how did all that flooding fail to drown you?” Old Lord Ge muttered.

At this point, Old Lord Ge let out a strange laugh.

“I’ve long grown weary of this world. I stayed only to kill that new bride myself, to keep her from falling into your hands and shaming the Ge family’s name. But I was a step too late… Still, don’t think you’ll catch my son. He’s fated to bring down the Great Wei Dynasty. I’ve already sent him away. From now on, every day and night, you’ll wonder where he is and what he’s plotting. Peace will be forever out of your reach. Hahaha…”

Wei Lenghou didn’t even frown.

His lips curled as he said, “I thought the Ge family would be used to having dark clouds over their heads by now, but it seems in your old age, you’ve grown quite ambitious. Too bad…your family name can never be cleaned. If you truly had backbone, you should’ve abandoned your lust for power years ago and fled far away with your wife and child. Why did you let your beloved wife suffer under a debauched emperor? Raising a bastard child, how does that taste? You really are Great Wei’s top-tier cuckold! As for your son, I’ve never feared him. But from now on, he will spend every day and night wondering whether my spies have found him, and which dark, stormy night his head will roll in silence. Peace will never be his again.”

With that, he raised his sword and lopped off the old man’s head.

If he’d arrived a moment later, that old villain might have succeeded in his vile plans.

Just the thought of the man trying to kill the one he held most dear made Wei Lenghou wish he could kill him all over again.

Just then, under the pale moonlight, he saw an old crone with a face full of wrinkles trying to sneak out, her arms stuffed.

Bits of gold hairpins and jade ornaments kept falling from her sleeves.

These were clearly the treasures he had handpicked for dragon pearl.

The anger he’d suppressed in the mountains flared up once again.

Old Nanny Shen had picked a few valuables from the princess’s dressing box, hoping to escape in the chaos.

But then she saw a wild-looking beggar, fierce as a demon, chop off her master’s head with a single strike.

She was so terrified her legs turned to jelly, and a warm stream of liquid trickled down into her shoes.

In a panic, she dumped all the stolen goods and kowtowed frantically, crying, “Mercy, great sir! Take these valuables, they’re all yours. Spare this old woman’s life! If you want pleasure, just go to the bridal chamber inside…the girl there is a delicate, fair-skinned beauty. I’ve personally checked…she’s still a virgin, untouched. She’ll give you a most delightful time…”

Upon hearing this, even the handsome face of Wei Lenghou, hidden beneath layers of mud, turned ashen-purple.

He asked, word by word, “Did you examine her yourself?”

That old woman Shen, unaware that her death was imminent, mistook him for a rogue beggar who had sneaked into the manor amidst the chaos, hoping he’d lust after beauty and rush to defile the princess in the bridal chamber and giving her a chance to escape.

So she exaggerated and embellished, saying, “Not only is she a virgin, she’s remarkably smooth, born a natural white tiger, very tight… Ah—!”

Before she could finish, she saw the fierce man before her stomp down on her hand and began chopping off her fingers one by one.

The pain was so unbearable that she let out blood-curdling screams like a pig being slaughtered.

Once the offending fingers that had dared to insult imperial dignity were all cut off, Wei Lenghou raised his hand and, with a clean strike, beheaded the old woman.

He wiped the splattered blood from his body and quickly made his way toward the bridal chamber inside the residence.

Before he even entered, he could hear soft, low moans coming from behind the tightly shut door.

That hoarse yet tender voice, unique to his dear Guo’er…thudded directly against his eardrums.

Wei Lenghou couldn’t wait a moment longer.

He shoved the door open.

A clinging, intoxicating fragrance hit him in the face.

Inside, the candlelight flickered, the red bed drapes radiated warmth and sensuality, just like the wedding night he had imagined for them… except this was the bridal chamber where that bastard Ge was marrying the princess!

At that thought, a burning jealousy surged straight to the crown of his head.

With a cold, dark face, he walked step by step toward the joyous red bed hidden behind the curtains.

He reached out and lifted the drapes.

With a mental boom, it felt like an explosion of firecrackers had gone off inside his head.

There, on the crimson wedding bed, lay a delicate beauty.

Her robes were half-open, and her snow-white skin dazzled under the red bellyband.

Crimson ropes coiled around her body like lascivious snakes, leaving vivid red marks on her fair skin.

No one knew what had happened to this beauty, she had buried her little face deep in the pillow, her slim legs wrapped in red underpants were clamping tightly together, and a patch of dampness had spread across the red sheets…

Ge Qingyuan! If I ever catch you, I won’t rest until I cut you into a thousand pieces!

Hearing someone enter, the beauty drowsily lifted her little head.

Her pale forehead was beaded with sweat.

She blinked with effort and cried out weakly, “Grand Tutor… save me…”

That cry snapped the last taut string in Wei Lenghou’s mind.

The capital was in turmoil.

By right, he should’ve been out commanding troops to round up the remaining rebels, dispatching soldiers to guard the gates… but in this moment, none of that mattered more than the woman on this bed.

Wei Lenghou reached toward her, only to catch sight of his own hands—caked with mud and blood.

Damn it!

Just then, Shan Tiehua, having finished slaughtering all the black-clad men in the manor, rushed over.

As she stepped into the bridal chamber, she saw the Grand Tutor hastily drop the curtain and bark coldly, “Boil water! I need a bath!”

Though Shan Tiehua agreed that His Lordship was indeed filthy, it was rather odd to insist on bathing at such a moment.

But she dared not question him.

She quickly rounded up a few weeping maidservants from the Ge household, had them bring in a wooden tub, and moved it into the bridal chamber.

Luckily, due to the wedding banquet, the kitchen fires were still burning.

They fetched boiling water, adjusted the temperature, and soon the Grand Tutor had locked the door and was washing himself impatiently.

His eyes had already seen the objects scattered on the table and each one made his blood boil.

Then, spotting the porcelain bottle tossed at the foot of the bed with the bold characters “Spring Water Flow,” he instantly understood the reason behind the state of the beauty on the bed.

The treasure he would have cradled in his heart for fear of breaking had been treated like this by that Ge scum! Wei Lenghou’s fury was so intense, it could’ve boiled the water in the tub!

His body was so filthy, he had to wash with a second tub of water before he felt clean enough.

But the red bed behind him couldn’t wait any longer.

The soft, whimpering moans grew louder.

In the end, a delicate head peeked out from the red curtains, tearfully crying out, “Why is the Grand Tutor still dawdling! Are you planning to swim laps in that tub? Hurry up and untie these ropes. I… I feel like I’m going to die!”

She herself didn’t quite know why she wanted the Grand Tutor to come up…perhaps just to untie the ropes and, as they had often teased and played before, rub her and soothe the effects of the drug…

Being rushed for moving too slowly, the Grand Tutor couldn’t help being both angry and amused.

“Your Majesty, don’t be anxious. I need to be clean first to properly serve you!”

With that, he finally stood up, dried himself off with a long towel, and strode toward the red bed.

Once he undid the ropes, he didn’t even have time to feel distressed over the red welts covering her body.

The little emperor suddenly pounced on him like a starved kitten, pressing her red lips to his face.

His freshly washed handsome face was instantly smeared with crimson rouge, and the scent of her breath lingered.

He had never seen this side of Nie Qinglin…so passionate, so forward.

The Grand Tutor was caught in her kiss, feeling the white, delicate arms around his neck tighten, her body pressed flush against his strong chest, burning hot.

“Does Your Majesty clearly see who I am?” he asked softly, holding her and gently laying her down.

“Y-Yes… the Grand Tutor…”

The little dragon pearl wasn’t done teasing yet, eyes misty with tears, lips pouting as she leaned in for another kiss.

Wei Lenghou held back the eager little emperor and, with a jealous tinge, asked, “Which Grand Tutor?”

Nie Qinglin looked as if she was about to burst into tears.

“The Marquis of Dingguo… Wei—Wei Lenghou! My dear, can you hurry up already? Are you even a man, dawdling like this?”

In truth, all she really wanted was for him to use his fingers to ease the drug’s effects.

But addled by the aphrodisiac, her mind wasn’t functioning properly and Wei Lenghou would never settle for such shallow treatment.

Besides, what she had just said… had clearly lit a fuse on a barrel of explosives!

Hearing his masculinity questioned, the Grand Tutor let out a slight chuckle.

His phoenix eyes narrowed, and when he parted his lips, even his teeth gleamed with cold light:

“Then let this minister show Your Majesty… what a real man is!”