Chapter 14 Hundred Mouths Spouting

When the rest of the Hell Frontline trio arrived in Soulbreak Gorge, Feng Bujue had just finished delivering a monologue of over a thousand words.

The expressions on Alliance Master Yuan’s and the martial artists’ faces… perfectly conveyed the extreme shock in their hearts and the acute pain in certain parts of their bodies.

But Brother Jue didn’t seem to care. He casually raised a hand, gesturing to his teammates, and said, “Oh, right, I haven’t introduced you… These three are all guests of my Broken Sword Teahouse.” He pointed to Ruoyu. “This is my wife, and these two are my disciples. Alliance Master, would you like to hear their titles as well?”

“No need!” Yuan Qi cried out, his eyes wide. “Really, no need!”

Alliance Master Yuan’s expression seemed to say, “Please, I beg you, spare me!”

Ji Neng, the Eight Direction Manor Lord, also rushed forward and said, “Teahouse Master Feng, the heroic reputations of your esteemed sect… I think we can hear about them another time… Right now, we have more pressing matters to attend to…”

“That’s right.” Yuan Qi quickly chimed in, “The terrain here is unfavorable, we shouldn’t linger…” He put on the air of a martial arts alliance master and loudly (there was no need to use internal energy to transmit his voice anymore, because there were fewer than fifty people around, and their hearing was good, so he could just speak normally) said, “I trust that everyone has recovered their strength (everyone was resting while Feng Bujue was rambling). We should set off as soon as possible… After the matter is concluded, we can return and properly bury our fallen comrades.”

“Yes, yes, Alliance Master Yuan is absolutely right!”

“Indeed, we can’t delay any longer!”

“That’s right, everyone, quickly get up and get moving!”

The surviving martial artists quickly responded, sparing no effort to prevent Feng Bujue from launching into another three sections of commentary.

And so, the remaining group of fifty or so people set off again…

…

Meanwhile…

In front of Burial Heart Manor.

Enshrouded in a misty light, nestled amidst hills and streams, a large contingent of soldiers marched to the entrance of the manor.

At this time, the village outside the manor was completely deserted…

Clearly, the ambush in Soulbreak Gorge was an all-out operation by the residents of Burial Heart Valley, but unfortunately… only one person survived.

Of course, even if they had all lived, they wouldn’t have tried to stop these imperial troops… because Yama had already issued an order to “invite” this group of people in.

That’s why… Yuan Qi and his martial arts heroes hadn’t found a single imperial soldier’s corpse along the way.

In fact, they hadn’t found any corpses, nor had they found any signs of fighting… not even horseshoe prints, cart tracks, or footprints.

Without a doubt… the imperial troops had turned onto a different path from the martial artists shortly after entering the valley, and the people in the valley had thoughtfully erased their tracks for them.

“Esteemed sirs, please hold.”

As the horsemen at the front of the column reached the manor gates, an old woman blocked their path.

She was an old woman who looked to be in her sixties, thin, with a face full of wrinkles, and dressed in simple peasant garb with patched clothing.

Seeing this, a burly man in armor rode forward from among the three leading horsemen and said, “Granny, are you from this manor?”

This man was named Lu Yuan, a general from the Grand Chief Military Commission (an organization that had been abolished quite early in official history). Lu Yuan had a rough appearance and a similar temperament. The fact that he immediately called her "Granny" showed that this lord was unceremonious and very approachable.

“Indeed,” the old woman replied. “I am under Yama’s orders to await your arrival.” Although she was old, she spoke quickly and her voice was full of vigor. “Burial Heart Manor does not allow living livestock to roam within…” She looked at the horses beneath the riders and pulling the carts and continued, “I ask that you dismount and leave your carriages behind, and follow me on foot.”

“Hmm?” Upon hearing this, a look of displeasure appeared on the face of the second horseman.

This man was named Bao Qi, the Garrison Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Although his name contained the character “Qi” (奇, meaning strange or unusual), his appearance was quite ordinary (secret agencies like to recruit this kind of person); furthermore, he was the most bureaucratic of the three leaders.

“Woman, how dare you speak like that?” Bao Qi said. “Do you know who’s riding in the carriage…”

“Hey~” At this moment, the third horseman waved his hand, interrupting Bao Qi. “Brother Bao, as the saying goes, ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’… Let me inform ‘that Lord’ and then we can discuss it~”

This one with a rather effeminate tone and slightly chubby face was naturally a eunuch in the Eastern Depot. His name was Mao Jincai, and his name suggested that his family was not wealthy when he was young, so he was sent to the palace at a very young age…

“That’s right, Brother Bao…” Lu Yuan also added, “Why make things difficult for an old woman? Let’s hear what ‘His Highness’ has to say first.”

“Hmph… fine.” Bao Qi coldly snorted and stopped speaking, seeing that Eunuch Mao had already turned his horse around and was heading back.

Before long, Eunuch Mao returned, and he was “walking” back.

“Gentlemen, His Highness has decreed that we all walk together,” Eunuch Mao said with a smile to the two men on horseback.

Hearing this, Lu Yuan and Bao Qi both looked back and saw that the important figures in the carriages had also come down from their vehicles.

So, they quickly dismounted as well, preparing to lead their troops into the manor.

Unexpectedly…

“Hold on.” The old woman once again raised her hand to block their path.

“What now?” Bao Qi was now a little impatient.

“Yama has ordered that no more than ten people may enter the manor,” the old woman replied, word by word.

“What?” Bao Qi said loudly, “Bold peasant! You…”

Just as he was about to use his "official authority" to intimidate this ignorant old woman, another voice sounded from behind him: “Aiya~ General Bao, why are you so angry? Ten people is fine.”

Upon hearing this voice, Bao Qi immediately shrunk back. Not only did he shrink back, but he also knelt down. And not only did he kneel down, but most of the people in the column knelt down as well…

Clearly, the speaker was a member of the royal family—Prince Jin, Zhu Zhizha.

Some might find this guy’s name strange. Yes… it is very strange, but for the princes and grandsons of the Ming Dynasty, naming was never a matter of choice…

According to the ancestors’ rules, the princes’ families had to be named according to a sequence of characters. Taking the Jin princely family as an example… there were twenty characters in total: Jì Měi Zhōng Qí Biǎo, Zhī Xīn Shèn Mǐn Qiú, Shěn Xīn Xián Jǐng Mù, Shù Xué Jì Qián Xiū.

Also according to the ancestors’ rules (Zhu Yuanzhang was inexplicably obsessed with this aspect), the third character in the names of the Zhu family’s descendants had to contain a radical related to the five elements, and they had to follow the order of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

But the characters were limited, and the descendants were endless… Therefore, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, we had the good fortune to see an emperor named Zhu Youlang.

Even that… was quite good. Some of the more miserable illegitimate descendants of the princes had to create their own characters to name themselves later on. If you see a character in a dictionary that has an unclear meaning and contains a radical related to the five elements, it was most likely created during the Ming Dynasty.

Alright… enough ranting, let’s return to the story.

“Your Highness…” Bao Qi said kneeling two seconds later, “…You are a treasure of immense value. To enter this dangerous place with only ten people… if anything should happen…”

“Alright, alright, everyone, get up, let’s talk after we get up,” Zhu Zhizha said in a very amiable tone. “Save it… what kind of treasure am I…” As he said this, there was a hint of self-deprecating smile on his face, as if he wanted to say something self-mocking, but he hesitated. After a pause, he continued, “Besides, ten people is enough… Besides me and Lord Chang, we have you eight top experts protecting us… What is there to worry about?”

The Lord Chang that Zhu Zhizha was referring to was named Chang Wei.

Alright, I know what you’re thinking right now, please discard that thought immediately.

Yes, this Lord is named Chang Wei, but he is not *that* Chang Wei who claimed to not know martial arts. Instead, he is a white-haired imperial physician in his sixties.

As for the other “eight experts,” Lu Yuan, Bao Qi, and Mao Jincai naturally held three of those spots, but… they could only be considered the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings… oh no, the weakest three of the Eight Great Experts.

The remaining five experts need to be discussed separately…

The first one was Shangguan Si, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. This person was quite shrewd and was considered by Cao Qin to be a "smart man." All along the way, he had been riding at the rear of the column, wearing an ordinary Embroidered Uniform Guard uniform; at first glance… no one would think he was one of the highest-ranking people here.

As for his martial arts… Shangguan Si, who was in his early fifties this year, had already cultivated his external skills to the level of invulnerability ten years ago. Unfortunately, his martial arts style was too rigid and upright, making it impossible for him to comprehend the No-Breath Skill (Wu Xi Gong), otherwise his cultivation could have reached even greater heights.

Next is the second expert.

This person was named Bian Ji, the Vice Envoy of the Grand Chief Military Commission. Normally, he gave the impression of being a desk-bound scholar who only knew how to talk about military strategy on paper, but in reality… his internal energy cultivation was among the top three among the imperial guards, no less than Du Ying.

By the way, before Cao Qin left the column, Bian Ji and Cao Qin were sitting in the same carriage, while the other two carriages were used by Zhu Zhizha and Chang Wei respectively.

Next, we can talk about the third, fourth, and fifth persons in one go.

Jiang Xu, Cao Guo, and Yu Fei; they were the three who were riding alongside the three carriages.

As mentioned earlier… they were specifically responsible for protecting the dignitaries in the column. All three were first-class experts selected from the Upper Twelve Guards for this operation, and they were all hereditary royal guards who could unhesitatingly give their lives for Zhu Zhizha in critical moments.

The above were the eight great experts that Zhu Zhizha was talking about. Including him and Imperial Physician Chang, there were exactly ten people. Other than Eunuch Cao who had left to go solo, the rest of the column was basically cannon fodder. Of course… “cannon fodder” was relative. Strictly speaking, the entire column was made up of martial arts practitioners, and they were regular troops. If a fight broke out, their combat power would definitely not be inferior to that of those martial arts forces of several hundred people.

“This…” Bao Qi thought for a moment, “Since Your Highness has said so…”

“Alright, Bao Qi, lead the way with that woman,” Shangguan Si’s intervention directly ended this argument.

Having received instructions from his superior, Bao Qi had nothing more to say. “Your subordinate obeys.” He acknowledged and turned back to the old woman, “Then… I’ll trouble you to lead the way, old woman…”

“Please, the ten of you, come in first,” the old woman stepped aside, raising her hand in a gesture of “please.”

Then, Zhu Zhizha, Chang Wei, Shangguan Si, Bian Ji, Lu Yuan, Bao Qi, Mao Jincai, Jiang Xu, Cao Guo, and Yu Fei crossed the threshold of Burial Heart Manor one after another.

“The rest of you, please wait outside the manor,” after the ten entered, the old woman said to the attendants outside, and then raised her palms.

In the next second, the manor’s thick gates were propelled by an invisible force… slamming shut.

Seeing this scene, six of the eight experts’ expressions changed drastically, only Shangguan Si and Bian Ji remained calm, not surprised by this scene.

After closing the gates, the old woman turned around and walked in front of the group, continuing, “Everyone… please follow me.”

After saying that, she headed into the manor without looking back. The ten obediently followed, without saying anything more.

Soon, they followed the old woman through an elegant courtyard to a large house.

The style of this house was very strange. The side facing the courtyard was a veranda; the doors on the veranda didn’t have handles, and they looked like a large wooden fence with white paper pasted over the gaps.

Modern people can easily recognize this as a Japanese-style sliding door, but the ten who had just entered Burial Heart Manor were seeing such doors for the first time.

“Master, the people have arrived,” the old woman stood in front of the veranda, bowing her head.

“You may leave,” a reply immediately came from within the door.

This single reply caused the ten people outside the door to have many thoughts. Because the voice coming from inside was like an oriole singing from the valley, clearly the soft and charming voice of a young girl.

“Yes,” the old woman replied, then slowly retreated, quietly disappearing.

A few moments later, the sliding doors on the veranda separated on their own without anyone touching them.

Behind the doors was a wide couch.

The couch was covered with a light pink gauze curtain.

And within the curtain, one could faintly see a reclining figure.

Although Yama had not yet truly appeared before these people, her tempting curves and voice alone… had already stirred up thoughts and unease in the hearts of several men outside the door.

“Heh…” After a soft laugh, Zhu Zhizha was the first to step forward.

As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. To this young prince, how could the alluring figure before him be associated with the word "danger"?

“…This young lady,” Zhu Zhizha said with a bow, “Could it be… that you are Yama?”