At the Grand General’s Mansion, Jia Yu hurriedly came out to greet the visitor.
Outside the main gate of the mansion, on the city wall about five zhang above the ground, a line of tallow lamps lit up the square before the gate brightly.
A wolf king stood quietly at the gate—its body more than twice the size of a normal steed, with silver-white fur all over.
Only a tuft of hair on its brow was blood-red, and its entire form radiated an imposing aura of killing intent.
From afar, Jia Yu spotted the figure standing next to the wolf king and couldn’t help but twitch his face in disbelief, thinking to himself, “That guy… haven’t seen him in years, what has he been eating? When I last saw him years ago, he was only about eight chi tall.”
Lu Tai, Marquis of Heavenly Grace, calmly stood beside his beloved mount.
His right hand was firmly stroking the wolf king’s neck.
He wore a dark black battle robe embroidered with cloud and thunder patterns beneath a set of pitch-black chainmail armor.
On his head sat a phoenix-wing helmet, on his feet were beast-headed boots, and around his waist was a wide, thick belt decorated with a beast’s face.
Draped over him was a black Kunpeng-patterned cape, his entire figure pitch black, forming a sharp contrast with the silver-white wolf king beside him.
Lu Tai was exceptionally tall, almost a zhang in height—perhaps even an inch or two taller.
Broad-shouldered with a narrow waist like a wolf’s, long arms and legs, and a weathered face adorned with a beard over a chi long; altogether, he looked imposing and magnificent.
Especially his height—it made Lu Tai seem like a towering iron pillar, firmly rooted in front of the Grand General’s Mansion.
A few years ago, when he took leave of the emperor and led the army to take over military affairs at the Northern Border City, Jia Yu swore on his head that Lu Tai’s height was a perfectly normal eight chi or so.
How come after so many years, he’d grown more than two zhang taller?
There was definitely something wrong here—he must have taken the wrong medicine.
Jia Yu grumbled inwardly while increasing his pace to a brisk jog.
From afar, Jia Yu laughed heartily and hurriedly saluted Lu Tai: “Marquis of Heavenly Grace, as expected, you are the Marquis of Heavenly Grace. It must have been a hard journey… returning from the Northern Border City. Although the imperial road leads straight to Haojing, thirty-plus wanli is still an exhausting distance, day and night travel is no easy matter.”
“Ah yes, two months ago when Your Lordship’s orders arrived, the Grand General had been thinking of you continuously.”
“The General said: In all Haojing, you are the one true hero. The General only truly feels at ease to drink heartily and rejoice with you, Marquis!”
Lu Tai placed his hands on his belt and nodded slightly with a calm tone: “You flatter the Grand General. This journey back was smooth, very peaceful.”
“Hmm, the strategist-general’s manor location hasn’t changed, right? This time I brought some special local products from the north. Nothing too fancy, but a festive gift to cheer up the family. Later, I’ll have my men send them to your residence.”
Jia Yu smiled even more brightly.
Lu Tai’s control over the Northern Border City made him ruler of the only gateway from Zuzhou to Beimingzhou.
Beimingzhou and Zuzhou, where Haojing was located, still had commercial exchanges.
The merchant caravan scale was vast with yearly trade reaching astronomical numbers.
Northern Border City was the largest transportation hub, commercial center, and warehouse hub between Zuzhou and Beimingzhou.
Countless merchants gathered there; countless goods traded through the city.
As the ruler, Lu Tai needed not reach out for tribute—it came to him on its own.
If Lu Tai simply stretched out a finger, with tens of thousands of Wolf Cavalry under his command and the ordinary legion’s strength over ten times that number, it would be only natural to take a two or three-tenths share from dozens or hundreds of large guilds.
The ‘local specialties’ he mentioned were surely the fattest, richest offerings.
“Marquis, you’re too polite. I, Jia Yu, am no flashy pretender. I appreciate your goodwill. The manor location hasn’t changed, still the same spot as before—the back garden. It’s several times larger than a few years ago… a coincidence really, my neighbors were moving out so I just took over their garden bit by bit, joined it up as one, isn’t that right?”
Jia Yu smiled brightly, standing before Lu Tai, giving him a respectful bow.
Lu Tai nodded and said with mild interest: “I see. Is the Grand General present? According to regulations, I must first report to the General in person before returning home. Discipline must be upheld.”
Jia Yu gasped coldly, spreading his hands with a bitter smile: “Your Lordship, unfortunately, the Grand General isn’t here today. Look, the General is currently inside the imperial city accompanying the Empress Dowager!”
Lu Tai’s eyes widened in surprise: “Strange—The Grand General never leaves the strategist-general’s side. Why today?”
Jia Yu squinted and lowered his voice: “Ah, the General wanted me to go with him tonight, but… a gentleman does not stand beneath a dangerous wall. I told the General I absolutely would not get involved in today’s events… even if I went, it wouldn’t do any good!”
Lu Tai’s eyes grew even wider as he pointed at Jia Yu with a smile: “Don’t tarnish yourself like that! How can a ‘gentleman’ disgrace his own name like that? Why is the Grand General going to the imperial city? Something serious?”
Jia Yu glanced furtively to both sides, then whispered to Lu Tai: “Ghost hunting… Suh, just hearing it chills me to the bone, terrifying. You see, with my thin arms and legs, if I go I’ll only cause trouble. So…”
“Ghosts?” Lu Tai’s face tightened; he said solemnly, “What ghosts? There are no ghosts in this world.”
Jia Yu grabbed Lu Tai’s sleeve and, with a flurry of taps, told him all the recent happenings in Haojing—especially how Consort Qi hanged herself on New Year’s Eve with a group of palace maids, then shortly after, strange disturbances suddenly flared up.
He recounted every detail he knew to Lu Tai.
After this outpouring, Jia Yu sighed: “Tell me, isn’t this terrifying? Ghosts are scary enough, but the remnants of the Nine Yin Sect from the previous dynasty, with their countless demons and monsters, make it all the more troublesome.”
Lu Tai vigorously stroked the beard under his chin and said calmly: “Interesting… so ghosts really exist? Ha, I want to see. Whether they’re female ghosts or demons, all of them, are they really impossible to kill? I don’t believe it!”
He slapped the sword scabbard on his waist forcefully and laughed loudly: “Very well, Strategist-General, please accompany me on a trip to the imperial city.”
Jia Yu’s face turned pale.
His originally hollow, gaunt white face, already somewhat drained of vitality, went completely deathly white.
“Ah, Marquis, please don’t joke!” Jia Yu shouted and turned to run.
But after barely a few steps, Lu Tai grabbed his neck and lifted him up like a chick, then casually placed him atop the wolf king’s back: “Hahaha, where does the strategist-general think he’s going? You’re coming with me… I just returned to the city as a commanding general; without you, it’s not easy for me to roam freely within Haojing.”
“Even with imperial favor, I must avoid suspicion, right?”
Lu Tai leapt onto his mount, gave a whistle, and with some two thousand Wolf Cavalry guards sped toward the south gate of the imperial city.
Jia Yu, strapped atop the wolf king, couldn’t help but flail and shout: “Marquis, no, no, you go on your own. Don’t bring me with you… let me remain safe and sound… Ah, Marquis!”
“Men! You lot, damn it! Wear heavier armor, bring heavy shields, and more people! Follow me to the imperial city. Ah… those are female ghosts… I don’t know if you lot have any use at all.”
While Lu Tai forced Jia Yu to come along.
In Kunpeng Ward of Haojing, somewhere, a rich, powerful voice laughed hoarsely: “Just as expected… a while ago, the Four Extremities Ward made a bold move and slaughtered greatly, but that hit the Empress Dowager’s heart hard. She flew into a rage and the court's attention was all on that side. Kunpeng Ward, however, has relaxed.”
“Especially today, the Empress Dowager is ghost-hunting? The elite troops of Kunpeng Ward’s imperial guards were all pulled away to the imperial city. Truly marvelous.”
The most recent update is first released at 6/9 Shuba.
“Truly, Heaven aids us. Our sect’s major plan is set to succeed no matter what. Brothers, mobilize!”
Overhead the imperial city of Haojing, especially near Kunpeng Ward, countless thumb-sized little birds of deep green color flew silently across the sky.
The birds landed on various manor houses and small buildings, chirping melodiously and clearly.
Following the birdsong, groups of men began emerging from these normally quiet residences.
They wore large coats several sizes too big for their figures, hiding finely crafted armor underneath.
They possessed various styles of armor—heavy plate armor of the imperial guards, dragon scale armor of the Feathered Forest army, mountain pattern armor of the city defense troops, and rhino hide half armor used by the patrol Wuhou (martial marquises).
Though styles differed, all were official military-issue from Dayin’s government.
Many held long packages in their hands.
At vague and muffled commands, they unpacked bundles to reveal strong bows and crossbows, all manufactured with excellent craftsmanship—all official imperial quality.
They strapped large quivers to their waists, filled with ironwood shafts, black carved feathers, and three-inch long triangular armor-piercing tips.
Such finely made arrows were standard issue only to the imperial guards within Haojing.
A few days ago, the assassins who recklessly slaughtered in Four Extremities Ward had only used average equipment.
These men gathered in groups of thirty to fifty in the courtyards.
Amid sparkling ringing laughter and a faint fragrance drifting in the air, the men slipped silently through backdoor alleys and then dashed northward swiftly and soundlessly.
Gradually, the narrow alleys converged and the men gathered.
Two or three li from the Grand Chancellor’s residence, the size of their forces had become impressive.
Looking from the high sky, one could see more than twenty groups charging north along back alleys.
These teams ranged from one to one and a half thousand men at their largest, and about a thousand at their smallest.
They seemed intimately familiar with the patrol routes of Kunpeng Ward’s patrol Wuhou, flawlessly evading every patrol group with no mistakes.
The unlucky few who ran into them with no cause in the back alleys were silently cut down by a flash of a cold blade or sword strike.
Above, trained hawks and falcons soared on patrol duty for Haojing’s official night guards.
Yet these birds, swooping over the unsettling crowds gathering below, had no time to issue warnings before arrows shot through the air, killing them on the spot at several dozen zhang heights.
In this way, over twenty teams smoothly approached the vicinity of the Grand Chancellor’s residence.
Then, from all directions within Kunpeng Ward, at least a hundred manor houses simultaneously burst into flames.
The fires spread rapidly, as if the hundred or so houses had been soaked in oil.
In a single flash of flame, vast areas were engulfed in a sea of fire.
(End of chapter)