Chapter 15 Trapped in a Jar

Looking at the venomous smile before him, Jiang Chen frowned and immediately raised his saber, slashing at the ghostly figure.

'Clang!'

The sound of metal clashing echoed, causing the Imperial Guards, including Xu Mu, to widen their eyes and rush forward to protect the Emperor.

But Jiang Chen had no time to worry about the changes around him. His dark eyes were fixed on the ghostly figure in front of him, and he swung his saber, fiercely striking the wronged soul of Old General Xu!

With a bang!

The so-called wronged soul was cut in half and fell to the ground.

Jing Yue, who had been hiding in the darkness, also slowly appeared, her sharp gaze piercing into the depths of the dense forest.

"You cowardly rats playing tricks, get out here!"

She shouted sternly, wielding the long whip in her hand and rushing towards the dense forest.

Jiang Chen glanced at her and, seeing that Jing Yue was not acting rashly and was accompanied by several teams of hidden guards, he felt relieved and turned his attention back. He used his sword to lift the remains of the wronged soul on the ground and dragged them under the firelight for a closer look.

Unsurprisingly, he discovered that this thing was man-made.

The so-called 'vengeful spirit' was nothing more than a puppet made of silk threads, human skin, whale bones, and other materials!

As for the wailing and cursing sounds, they must have been arranged in advance by the rebels in the dense forest, coordinated with the movements of these puppets.

As his thoughts raced, Jiang Chen put away his weapon and scanned the surrounding Imperial Army, rebuking coldly, "Do you see what this is?"

"Just a pile of trash, and you're scared out of your wits. You've completely embarrassed me!"

"The Master does not speak of strange phenomena, forces, or chaos. The so-called vengeful spirit is just a conspiracy by the rebels. I warned you before, and yet you still fell for it. Utterly foolish!"

The Imperial Guards couldn't lift their heads from the scolding, their faces burning with shame.

They usually prided themselves on being elite, but today they had made such a spectacle of themselves in front of the Emperor, they were utterly ashamed.

At this moment, Jing Yue led her men out of the dense forest, her brows furrowed and her beautiful face looking grim.

"Your Majesty, these rebels ambushing in the dark are very skilled in spells. This subordinate was careless for a moment and let him escape."

A sharp glint flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes, and he sneered, "It doesn't matter, I have already deployed men in advance. They won't be able to escape."

"Moreover, the tung oil that Xu Mu transported is enough to burn down this forest. Once they lose their cover, we can wipe out this group of rebels in one fell swoop!"

After saying that, he raised his saber and pointed it straight ahead, "Go, join up with Xu Changqing and the others. Today, I will trap them like turtles in a jar!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Imperial Guards nodded one after another, followed his steps, and rushed to the edge of the dense forest.

At the same time.

The rebels ambushing in the depths of the dense forest were also desperately fleeing.

The high temperature from the burning trees, the poisonous fumes from the tung oil, and the hidden guards biting at their heels made it impossible for them to escape according to their original plan.

They could only run around like headless flies.

"Senior Brother, I can't take it anymore. If we don't break through, we'll definitely be burned alive here!" A middle-aged sorcerer said with a face full of fear, his eyes filled with deep regret.

As soon as he finished speaking, the yellow-robed sorcerer leading the way suddenly stopped and said angrily, "Outside the forest are all the imperial soldiers. With our manpower, going out is just suicide!"

Hearing this, the middle-aged sorcerer became agitated and hissed, "Then what do you say we should do? Just keep running? And end up being burned alive?!"

"Rather than that, I'd rather be hacked to death. At least that's a quick death!"

The yellow-robed sorcerer's face stiffened. After hesitating for a moment, he said through gritted teeth, "What you say is easy… even if we want to break through, it's not now."

"At least we have to shake off these hidden guards, otherwise we won't be able to escape far."

After saying that, the two of them exchanged a glance, and their feet suddenly sped up, like arrows leaving the bow, leaving their companions behind and rushing into the distance.

In the astonished gazes of the other rebels, they flashed away.

At this time, at the edge of the dense forest.

Jiang Chen had joined up with Xu Changqing, Meng Qi, and others.

He was stationed at the front line, directing everyone to form a formation.

In the burning firelight, rebels dressed in black were searched out by the soldiers and taken to the sacrificial altar square.

And those wronged souls weaving through the forest were also taken down by Jiang Chen's men, chopped into several pieces, and displayed in front of the assembled clan elders and ministers.

Looking at the puppet remains on the stone platform, everyone in the square had livid faces, as if they had been slapped hard across the face. The fear in their hearts had completely turned into humiliation and anger!

They had been fooled by these damned rebels again!

What utter disgrace!

Recalling their humble appearance of kneeling and begging for mercy just now, the faces of these clan elders and ministers instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. They wished they could immediately dismember these rebels to vent their anger!

Jiang Chen's dark gaze swept over these ministers, and he sneered playfully, "Gentlemen, this is the vengeful spirit you were worshipping. Take a good look so that you won't be deceived by these petty tricks again and disgrace the court!"

"Oh, right, I also heard just now that several families wanted to take these vengeful spirits back and build ancestral halls to worship them."

"I don't like people who go back on their word. Whoever made that oath just now, take these things back and set up memorial tablets to be placed alongside your ancestors, understand?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the faces of several members of the royal clan instantly turned green.

Taking these broken things home and setting up memorial tablets to worship them, wouldn't they become the laughingstock of the entire imperial capital?!

How did His Majesty come up with these damaging ideas?

He was determined to embarrass them!

Thinking of this, these clan members understood that their weak actions just now had completely angered the Emperor.

They no longer dared to act like the aloof royal relatives they used to be, and they all knelt down, repeatedly begging for forgiveness.

"Your Majesty, this humble subject knows his mistake and will never do it again!"

"Your Majesty, the rebels are cunning, and this humble subject was deceived by villains, which led to this great mistake. Please forgive me!"

While they were begging for forgiveness, the ministers who had not been singled out also knelt down one after another, kowtowing and admitting their mistakes, as if they were afraid that Jiang Chen would hold a grudge and settle accounts with them later.

Jiang Chen looked at the weeping and wailing clan members and ministers, and suddenly felt bored.

A bunch of useless trash who know nothing but to drag others down, and after the fact, they only know how to admit their mistakes.

It's a complete waste of resources to keep them around. He must find an opportunity to replace them all in the future.

With a cold snort, Jiang Chen retracted his gaze, "If you know you're wrong, then show me some sincerity in admitting your mistakes!"

"Now that the fengshan sacrificial altar has been damaged by the rebels, and the surrounding forests have also been destroyed by the rebels, the money for repairing and restoring them will be provided by you, understand?"

Seeing that the Emperor had relented, everyone was as if they had been granted amnesty and nodded like chickens pecking at rice.

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty, rest assured, this subject will send the money tomorrow."

"Your Majesty, this subject will definitely follow your orders!"

"..."

Jiang Chen was too lazy to pay attention to these flattering fellows. He turned around and walked towards Jing Yue, saying in a deep voice, "What's the situation with the capture? Have all the rebels been captured and executed?"

Jing Yue's brows were tightly locked, and a trace of shame appeared on her beautiful face. "Please forgive me, Your Majesty, the mastermind of the blood letter conspiracy has not been caught yet."

"According to the confessions of those who were captured, the rebels' actions tonight were presided over by two sorcerers… they have not been caught yet."