They drove the carriage into the city, leaving the vast night behind.
Chu Xinian sat inside the carriage, deep in thought. He realized another manipulated plot point: in the original ‘A Thousand Years of Feud’, the Late Empress died of an illness, causing the Crown Prince to lose his mother’s guidance and become increasingly rebellious. How did it become that the Emperor strangled her to death?
And then there was Qin Daoyan, the Minister of War.
At first, Chu Xinian did not associate him with the situation because this character only appeared later in the original plot and had little screen time.
Qin Daoyan was ambitious. As his power grew, he secretly conspired with foreign powers and revealed secrets of the country. However, the Crown Prince discovered his actions and denounced them to Emperor Yan, for which Qin Daoyan was sentenced to death by beheading. The Crown Prince also gained a great achievement from this.
Qin Daoyan had countless adopted sons, among whom was an expert in the use of dual swords named Qin Shuang. He had remarkable martial skills and acted as Qin Daoyan’s hidden assassin, eliminating dissidents. A trusted subordinate.
When Chu Xinian saw the sword wounds on the body, he immediately thought of Qin Shuang. Following this line of thinking, the mastermind behind the scenes could only be Qin Daoyan.
Jiu Niang’s letter was crucial. If her words were true, Qin Daoyan must still possess a massive organization of assassins. This case would not be easy to solve.
However, if they could gather enough evidence to bring down Qin Daoyan, it would not only eliminate an enemy for Xie Jingyuan but also allow the Crown Prince to achieve great merit in front of Emperor Yan.
Therefore, Chu Xinian needed to carefully consider how to investigate this case.
At the same time, the Crown Prince was out driving the carriage, cracking the whip. Unfortunately, Chu Xinian did not know how to drive, and Xie Jingyuan was a sick person. Just now, they were nearly frozen to death in the well, so the only person who could drive was him.
The Crown Prince felt very resentful and turned his head towards the inside of the carriage, ”You scoundrels! How dare you let me drive the carriage?”
Xie Jingyuan silently grounded the toe of his shoe, suppressing the urge to throw him out of the carriage. He frowned and said, “Do you want to walk back?”
This mountain road was steep, and if someone unfamiliar with driving took the wheel, he might even end up crashing the carriage into a ditch.
The Crown Prince snorted loudly, clearly displeased, and his temper was about to flare.
Chu Xinian sensed that something was wrong, but he could not pinpoint it at the moment. However, his keen sixth sense alerted him to the approaching danger. Just then, Xie Jingyuan seemed to have discovered something. He suddenly frowned and said, “Wait a moment…”
The Crown Prince stopped the carriage, “What now?”
A gust of wind blew past, whispering through the mountains. Some pebbles fell from the valley and landed directly on top of the carriage.
Xie Jingyuan remained silent, closing his eyes, his ears pricked up as if he were listening to something. After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and quickly pulled Chu Xinian out of the carriage, causing the Crown Prince to fall as well, rolling to the side.
Bang-!
As soon as his front feet left the carriage, a black-clad figure leaped down from the treetop, two long swords glowing with a cold light, piercing straight through the carriage from above. The sword aura split the carriage into pieces. If Xie Jingyuan had been a little slower in fleeing, he would have been pierced through.
Chu Xinian was caught off guard when Xie Jingyuan pulled at him, causing him to fall from the carriage and roll several times on the gravel road before coming to a stop. Dizzy, sat up and saw a masked, black-clad person not far from him, staring at them with indifferent eyes. The person held a long sword in each hand, and the fresh bloodstains on the blades were visible.
Qin Shuang!
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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He refused to believe that the three of them could not defeat a single person.
Xie Jingyuan’s face darkened, and he coldly uttered, “Shut up!”
If Xie Jingyuan was at his best, killing Qin Shuang would be easy. However, with the remaining poison in his body and lacking any weapons, survival was already a struggle, let alone the protection of Chu Xinian and the Crown Prince. The odds of success were significantly diminished.
Qin Shuang had some wariness towards Xie Jingyuan and remained motionless. He silently swung his sword, blending into the darkness, “Hand over what Jiu Niang left behind, and I may spare your life.”
Those words could not be trusted.
Chu Xinian acutely grasped the key word, “Might?”
The Crown Prince displayed a somewhat regal demeanor at this critical moment, at least he was not trembling with fear. He scoffed, “If you dare to take my life, then go out and do it. Hiding like a rat, you petty scoundrel!”
Hearing that the Crown Prince was referring to himself, Qin Shuang frowned, seemingly undecided on whether or not to kill the Crown Prince. After looking around, it became clear that Chu Xinian was the easiest target. Without warning, the blade of the sword swung toward Chu Xinian…
“Run!”
Xie Jingyuan’s eyes narrowed, forcefully pushing Chu Xinian away and directly facing Qin Shuang. He leaped, deftly avoiding the edge of the sword, and with a mysterious and exquisite movement, snapped his finger, striking Qin Shuang’s wrist while it was numb. Seizing the opportunity, he snatched one of the long swords.
Chu Xinian did not expect Xie Jingyuan to protect him like this and was momentarily stunned. Once he reacted, he quickly opened the pouch at his waist, pouring its contents into his palm and crushing it forcefully.
The Crown Prince wanted to help but was unable to intervene. Seeing Chu Xinian doing something inexplicable beside him, he became angry and frustrated, “Chu Xinian, you are even more useless than me!”
It seemed that the Crown Prince’s perception of himself was still relatively clear.
Chu Xinian knew that at critical moments, he should not panic. As he energetically crushed the object in his palm to dust, he frowned and looked toward the center of the scene. He could only see Qin Shuang and Xie Jingyuan engaged in a fast-paced duel, their movements so swift that even the afterimages were indiscernible. The surrounding fallen leaves and shattered stones were all damaged by the sword Qi.
Although it was difficult to determine the winner, if the fight was prolonged, Xie Jingyuan would probably be exhausted and defeated.
The Crown Prince grabbed a stone from the nearby mountainside, stood some distance away, and attempted to smash it into Qin Shuang’s head. However, before it could reach his opponent’s shoulder, it was shattered by the tip of a sword.
Xie Jingyuan frowned and looked at the Crown Prince, ” Take Chu Xinian and go!”
The Crown Prince was furious, “You want me to leave, why would I take him, he’s a spy!”
However, neither Chu Xinian nor he had any intention of leaving.
Gradually, Xie Jingyuan began to show signs of struggling. His attack speed visibly decreased. Qin Shuang was also clearly struggling, his forehead covered in a thick cold sweat. He tightened his grip on his sword, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to Xie Jingyuan. However, at that moment, a calm voice rang in his ears, “Do you want Jing Niang’s letter?”
Qin Shuang instinctively looked and saw Chu Xinian standing not far away. He had his left hand behind his back and in his right hand he was holding a blood-stained envelope, and he was smiling at him, “If I give you the letter, will you let us leave?”
Qin Shuang thought that Xie Jingyuan was troublesome. Whether he killed these people or not was not important at the moment. What mattered was to get the letter first and deal with it later. Hearing Chu Xinian’s proposal, he immediately stopped his attacks, retreated from the battle, and began to approach Chu Xinian step by step.
Xie Jingyuan’s face turned as pale as paper. He expressionlessly swallowed the nauseating taste in his throat, using the sword to support his body with great effort. He frowned and looked at Chu Xinian, who gave him a comforting glance.
Qin Shuang remained cautious and stopped three steps away from Chu Xinian. He said coldly, “Throw the letter away. If you try any tricks, I will not spare you.”
“I don’t know martial arts, so what tricks could I use?” Chu Xinian smiled slightly, folded the card in half, and threw it straight at Qin Shuang.
Qin Shuang quickly reached out and caught it. But when he opened the envelope, he found it empty. He glared at Chu Xinian, “You dare to cheat me!”
Xie Jingyuan was about to spring into action, but just then, Chu Xinian suddenly threw a handful of red powder toward Qin Shuang, who cried out in pain, covering his eyes with his hand and staggering backward.
Chu Xinian quickly shouted, “Xie Jingyuan, spare his life!”
In other words, as long as he did not die, anything was acceptable.
Xie Jingyuan understood his intention and narrowed his eyes. Seizing the opportunity while Qin Shuang was helpless, he forcefully swung his sword, piercing straight through his opponent’s left shoulder. It swung so hard that it penetrated the mountain rock, pinning Qin Shuang’s entire body against the wall.
“Ah… !”
Qin Shuang threw his head back in pain and let out a miserable cry. He felt a burning sensation in his eyes, and his left shoulder throbbed unbearably. He swung his right-handed sword at random, but Xie Jingyuan grabbed and twisted it, dislocating his joints and even his jaw, rendering him unable to utter a word.
Finally, the battle stopped.
Xie Jingyuan leaned against the mountain wall, slowly sliding down until he was sitting on the ground. He frowned, calming the surge of Qi and blood within his body.
Chu Xinian clapped his hands, his calm expression not revealing his inner anxiety. The Crown Prince did not understand what had happened – had the battle inexplicably ended? He looked at Chu Xinian with a puzzled expression and sniffed the pungent smell in the air, unable to suppress a sneeze, “What did you do?”
“Nothing.” Said Chu Xinian, ” “I just sprinkled a bit of pepper powder.”
When he inspected the source of the poison in the General’s Mansion, he saw that dried peppers were drying in the sun in the kitchen courtyard. He casually grabbed a few and put them in a sachet, just in case. After all, in this age when anything could be used to kill, lacking martial arts skills was dangerous. In a way, the pepper powder could serve as a substitute for self-defense spray.
See? It came in handy today.
The Crown Prince seemed to be pondering and seemed to understand Chu Xinian for the first time, “You are so cunning…”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Chu Xinian accepted the comment. After speaking, he walked towards Xie Jingyuan, bent down, and placed the latter’s arm on his shoulder. Then he helped him up and asked quietly, ” Can you still walk?”
Xie Jingyuan did not speak, feeling as if he would cough up blood as soon as he opened his mouth. It had been several years since he had been in such a deplorable state. He frowned and nodded.
Not believing him, Chu Xinian grabbed his wrist, examining his pulse, and discovered that his breathing was ragged, indicating a grave condition.
“Don’t lie.” After saying these words, Chu Xinian looked deeply at Xie Jingyuan, then turned around without another word, crouched down in front of him, and motioned for him to come up, “Let’s go. I’ll carry you.”
Xie Jingyuan stared at his back, hesitating to move.
Chu Xinian did not turn around, and though his voice was still soft, there was no room for argument, “Get on. I won’t say it a second time.”
Only then did Xie Jingyuan crawl onto his back. Feeling the warmth of Chu Xinian’s back, he couldn’t help but close his eyes, feeling a peculiar sensation in his heart.
There was still a stretch to the Capital’s gate. The carriage was broken, and the horses had escaped, so they had to walk the rest of the way.
The Crown Prince, seeing Chu Xinian carrying Xie Jingyuan, instinctively asked, “What about me?”
Xie Jingyuan’s gaze turned cold, “Don’t you have any legs?”
The Crown Prince choked and pointed at Qin Shuang, asking, “What about him?”
Chu Xinian replied, “We’re taking him with us. He is a witness.”
Xie Jingyuan sneered coldly, “If you are afraid of death, let me take him.”
The Crown Prince cursed inwardly. Seeing a vine nearby, he wrapped it around Qin Shuang’s body, securing it tightly. He held the other end of the rope and kicked Qin Shuang’s butt as if he was walking a dog, “Move!”
Chu Xinian carried Xie Jingyuan on his back and walked steadily in the darkness. From time to time, he heard the Crown Prince grumbling behind him and couldn’t help but smile, involuntarily recalling the incident when the Crown Prince marched into the Shuofang Region.
“General, you know that killing is not always the best solution?” Chu Xinian’s voice was even clearer than moonlight as if he could see through many things.
Xie Jingyuan lowered his eyes and looked at Chu Xinian’s neck, “If not killing, then what?”
“Take him to the top, the higher the better. Even if we don’t make a move, those in power will suppress him heavily.” Chu Xinian seemed to be remembering something, but also as if he had not said anything at all.
Emperor Yan was always distrustful, and military power and the throne were the most untouchable things. The Xie Family had aroused the Emperor’s suspicion because of their prestigious military status. Moreover, the Crown Prince, as a qualified heir, was no exception.
Emperor Yan could tolerate an outstanding son, but he would not tolerate a son who wielded immense power in court. If the Crown Prince prospered in the army, the Emperor would naturally take action.
The Crown Prince walked behind and listened to the conversation. After a moment’s pondering, he looked at Chu Xinian and said nothing. Only after a while did he finally speak, muttering disdainfully, “You are nothing but a little spy”.
After speaking, he grabbed Qin Shuang’s hand and followed them to the side, warning Chu Xinian, “Stop trying to confuse others. I won’t be fooled by you.”
They were close to each other, and Xie Jingyuan shoved the Crown Prince directly, showing his contempt, “If you don't speak, no one will treat you as a mute“.
The Crown Prince felt that his comrade had changed, becoming different from before. He slowly coiled the vine in his hand and thought about the events of the last few days. It seemed that he understood something, but he didn’t at the same time.
The Crown Prince asked directly, somewhat listlessly, “Xie Jingyuan, why do you always protect him?”
With the hand holding the vine, he pointed directly at Chu Xinian.
Chu Xinian’s footsteps stopped.
Tell me. Please tell me. Am I the only one here who likes the Crown Prince’s personality? He’s so funny but also a loyal comrade at the same time!
Me me I also really like him!! Please don’t let him die like in the original story 😩🙏
+1 OMG OMG HE NEEDS TO STAY ALIVE IDC ANYMORE
+2!
Not a dull moment when they’re with the Crown Prince lmaoo he’s such an entertaining character🤣🤣 Even though he is irritating but he’s also funny… I hope he’ll survive🥺