Half an hour ago, Hui An's carriage passed by a civilian residence next to the post station.
This residence had now become a living hell. Seven or eight corpses lay scattered inside the courtyard.
The entire family, old and young, had been wiped out.
Blood flowed along the cracks of the stone-paved path to the feet of a man dressed in dark, coarse cloth. The man shifted his feet, frowning with a hint of distaste.
"Tsk~"
A cold laugh reached his ears. A woman, also clad in dark, coarse cloth with her black hair tied up high, pulled a dagger from a corpse. Blood splattered everywhere. The woman dodged the flying droplets, then lowered her head to wipe the dagger clean with the corpse's clothes. Only then did she slowly stand up. She looked the man up and down, her lips curling into a mocking smile as she asked, "What, are the soles of your shoes lined with gold? Can't they even touch a little blood?"
"It will leave traces!" the man said with a cold expression.
If his feet were stained with blood, those with keen senses would inevitably smell the metallic scent.
The woman put away her dagger. A look of mockery appeared on her face, which was far from delicate, even a bit rough.
Traces?
Did someone who never laid a hand to kill fear leaving any traces?
The man knew the woman held reservations about him, but he didn't care. He took out a xun from his怀 and put it to his lips, playing a tune.
A deep, mournful melody drifted into the air, turbulent and resonant, sorrowful and melancholic.
"Where is that xun music coming from?"
The xun's melody reached the post station, and Liu Zizheng listened intently.
The xun's sound was distant, unending, its melody sorrowful and heart-wrenching. To describe this sound, one could only use words like, "Contemplating the vastness of heaven and earth, I am overcome with grief and tears."
A wave of sorrow suddenly spread through Liu Zizheng's heart. He looked up in the direction the sound was coming from, his hand rising dazedly. His touch was icy cold. He didn't know when his tears had begun to fall, but he was now weeping uncontrollably.
Why was this happening?
The last vestiges of his rationality fought against the curtain that was about to blind his eyes and overwhelm his mind. But the immense, overwhelming grief engulfed him like a flood of beasts, dragging him down into the depths of an emotional ocean, where he gradually sank.
The post station became an ocean of sorrow. Some cried, some raged. Yu Chengxuan stood on the steps, holding Xiao Hua, looking at everything before him with cold eyes, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
The woman leaped into the post station and found Yu Chengxuan.
"Master!"
She knelt at Yu Chengxuan's feet, showing no arrogance.
Yu Chengxuan did not speak. He merely waved his sleeve dismissively. The woman stood up, drew her dagger, and headed for the rooms of the envoys from Dali.
With a swift movement, blood filled the air.
...
"You're saying Yu Chengxuan sent you to find me?"
After entering, Hui An stated the purpose of her visit. Nan Shiying's teacup paused slightly in her hand. As if remembering something, she suddenly stood up. "Disaster!" Without time to explain to Hui An, she rushed out of the room and shouted to Xuan Yi, "Quickly send people to the post station! Yu Chengxuan..."
Before she could finish her sentence, a deafening "boom" echoed in the distance, followed by flames erupting into the sky, painting it red.
As Hui An stood up and ran towards Nan Shiying, the explosion occurred. She even felt the ground beneath her feet tremble. She staggered, almost falling, and as soon as she regained her balance, she rushed outside.
"That direction... is it the post station?"
Hui An's eyes widened in horror.
Nan Shiying's face turned so dark it seemed water could drip from it. Hui An's visit, the incident at the post station, Yu Chengxuan was trying to tell them: I know what you are planning, so I've made the first move!
Nan Shiying did not care about Yu Chengxuan's preemptive strike, nor the mockery and sarcasm displayed by his arrangement of Hui An's visit. She only cared about the safety of the civilians near the post station!
"Xuan Yi, order the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Patrol Battalion to immediately proceed to the post station to provide disaster relief. Do not concern yourselves with the lives of the Dali personnel at the post station. Focus all your efforts on rescuing the nearby civilians."
"Yes!"
Xuan Yi, seeing Nan Shiying's chilling glare and the seething killing intent radiating from her, dared not hesitate.
Hui An looked at Nan Shiying with a face full of dread. "Your Highness, is it Yu Chengxuan?"
Nan Shiying turned, her eyes like knives, cold and sharp. As her gaze fell upon Hui An, Hui An's heart trembled violently, and she shivered uncontrollably.
"If my Lin Yuan people are killed because of Yu Chengxuan, for every one life lost, Dali will lose ten. All Lin Yuan forces can withdraw; just our Demon Hunt Army alone can annihilate your Dali forces. Hui An... whether the peace talks are successful is no longer important. What's important is that our Demon Hunt Army will make you pay tenfold, a hundredfold!"
"Your Highness, this matter is not from Dali, it is my father the Emperor's decree. Dali wishes to maintain amicable relations with Lin Yuan for a hundred years. This is all Yu Chengxuan's personal action, I..."
"But he is a Dali prince!"
"Is he not?"
Hui An opened her mouth. Wen Zhong and Bi Chongwen were still stationed at the border, not daring to retreat until the peace talks concluded. If the Princess Consort was determined to have the Demon Hunt Army attack Weicheng, then Wen Zhong and Bi Chongwen would absolutely be unable to resist. At that time, they could lose more than just the twelve cities of Weicheng.
Hui An wished she could turn back time. If possible, she would have killed Yu Chengxuan at any cost the moment he stopped her.
The Patrol Battalion was the first to reach the fire.
Before them, flames roared like dragons, and the crackling sound of burning wood was incessant.
This fire could not be saved.
The only fortunate thing was that there was no wind today, otherwise, the flames might have spread across the entire street.
The source of the fire was not the post station, but a civilian residence across the road from it. As the fire spread, sparks quickly touched the post station. The patrol battalion members used wooden carts to bring buckets of water. Li Hao directed the men to fight the fire, but suddenly heard sounds of fighting from within the post station.
"Leave half the men to fight the fire, the rest will follow me inside!"
Li Hao made a decisive move, leading his men into the post station. Inside, a sea of blood had formed. The thick scent of blood, roasted by the fire, had turned into a mist of blood that filled the air. Li Hao saw Liu Zizheng engaged in combat and, without a word, drew his sword and charged forward.
"Clang~"
The sound of clashing weapons was far from pleasant. As the Patrol Battalion, along with the Ministries of War, Justice, and Dali Temple, arrived, the tide of battle began to turn.
However, no one was left alive.
The assassins, realizing they were outmatched, bit into poison and committed suicide.
At the post station, thirteen envoys from Dali had died. Yu Chengxuan, protected by his guards, sustained only minor injuries. Although Yu Chengxuan was not seriously harmed, Liu Zizheng's face was ashen and bloodless. He was directly responsible for the day's events.
This was not the time to assign blame. The fire could not be extinguished in a short time, so they could only focus on evacuating the people first.
The fire raged for a full hour, burning twelve civilian houses before finally losing its relentless momentum and gradually being put out by everyone's efforts. Traces of explosives were found at the origin of the fire. From the residence, which had been reduced to little more than beams and pillars, seven or eight charred corpses were carried out.