Thus, she chose decisive abandonment and ruthlessly severed all ties. It was the same with Qin Zhiyan, and the same with Chu Li.

Qing Xia slowly shook her head, dispelling those inexplicably chaotic thoughts from her mind. She smiled faintly at Xi Linyu, her expression forlorn as she said, “I don’t belong here.”

Her words carried double meaning, secretly referring to her heart that belonged to modern society. But in Xi Linyu’s ears, it was Qing Xia’s reason for not interfering in the struggle between aristocratic families and the imperial court. He nodded solemnly and said in a deep voice, “In that case, many thanks, Miss.”

Qing Xia knew he had misunderstood her meaning, but she didn’t explain. Regardless of whether she interfered or not, Chu Li had his own judgment, and she had no right to comment on his actions.

“Miss!” A urgent shout suddenly rang out from outside the tent. Qing Xia frowned, turned around, lifted the curtain, and walked out the main entrance. She saw Le Song standing at the door with a grave expression and asked in a deep voice, “What’s the matter?”

“Lady Zhu Lan wants to leave the camp. After we blocked her, she mobilized the remaining soldiers of the Li Academy. I’m afraid she’s going to force her way through.”

Upon hearing this, Qing Xia was stunned, then the corners of her mouth curved into a cold smile.

There’s a path to heaven you won’t take, yet you insist on barging through hell’s gates! Since you’re seeking death yourself, you can’t blame me for being ruthless in eliminating traitors.

Flinging her cloak behind her, she said to Le Song and the others in a deep voice, “Ready the troops. I’m going to meet this Lady Zhu Lan.”

“Move aside! Our lady wants to leave the camp. Who dares to obstruct her?” Lady Zhu Lan’s nephew, Li Academy Regiment Leader Li Zicheng, stood at the entrance of the western camp with a group of Li Academy disciples, shouting angrily.

Chu Li’s Imperial Guard Commander Qi Lang had a cold expression, holding a large sword, standing proudly before the camp gate. He glanced disdainfully at the corner of his mouth and said coldly, “His Majesty has ordered that no one may step outside the camp gates. If you want to die, feel free to come up and try.”

“How dare you!” Li Zicheng shouted loudly, drawing the treasured sword from his waist, saying, “Our Li Academy has guarded the East for over three hundred years, holding the position of Chief Minister in the Council of Elders. You’re just a small Imperial Guard Commander—are you trying to rebel?”

Hunting torches crackled and burned, the cold blade edges reflecting the red light of the torches, emanating an even more sinister aura of death. The Li Academy disciples had always been tyrannical and overbearing. Now seeing a commoner commander daring to shout at them, they were even more enraged, all drawing their swords forward. Over three hundred Li Academy warriors shouted in unison, raising their war blades with a swoosh, assuming an attacking posture, looking ready to fight to the death.

Qi Lang raised an eyebrow and waved his hand slightly. With a thunderous roar, countless spears and sharp blades were unsheathed simultaneously. Eight thousand Imperial Guard soldiers instantly rushed forward, surrounding the Li Academy warriors in the middle. The front row held shields, the back row held spears, and from the corner towers on all four sides came the cold gleam of arrows, countless bloodthirsty silver arrowheads coldly aimed at the center of the field.

Only then did the Li Academy people realize something was terribly wrong. Their former arrogance vanished completely. The pampered young masters looked around in panic, never expecting that the Imperial Guard soldiers who usually bowed and scraped to them would actually dare to point their blades at them.

“Qi Lang, you bastard! Are you really going to rebel?” Li Zicheng shouted with insufficient confidence and panicked expression.

Qi Lang smiled coldly, glancing disdainfully at these aristocratic young masters who were all thunder and no rain, saying indifferently, “I have the king’s orders to guard the camp gates. Your Li Academy doesn’t respect His Majesty’s imperial decree and forcibly tries to leave camp. It’s only natural for me to stop you. Yet you ask if I’m rebelling? Could it be that you were truly knocked senseless by our Miss that day?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Imperial Guards burst into thunderous laughter. Li Zicheng was furious, but facing the chilling blades, he dared not utter another word.

The entire Li Academy faction fell into deathly silence, like quails. Qi Lang waved his hand and said to his subordinate soldiers, “The Li Academy disobeys military discipline and plots rebellion. Arrest them first and hold them for His Majesty’s judgment.”

“Yes!”

Uniform fierce shouts rang out simultaneously as numerous Imperial Guards walked toward Li Zicheng and the others.

“Wait!”

A clear voice suddenly rang out. Lady Zhu Lan, wearing a deep purple long robe, with heavy makeup and elaborate hair, her clothes wafting fragrance, slowly walked forward. Behind her actually followed prestigious elders from the other six great families and several neutral generals from the army.

“Madam!” Li Zicheng and the other Li Academy warriors saw Lady Zhu Lan like a lifeline, shouting loudly in unison.

Lady Zhu Lan’s eyes were sharp, glaring fiercely at Li Zicheng and the others, then turned her head to look at Qi Lang and the others, saying methodically, “Commander Qi says he has the king’s orders. I wonder where His Majesty’s written decree is? May I have a look?”

Chu Li had been unconscious since his return—where was any written decree? Qi Lang’s expression remained unchanged as he said in a deep voice, “This subordinate received His Majesty’s oral decree. If Madam doesn’t believe it, you can wait in camp for His Majesty to finish handling affairs and summon you for inquiry.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Lady Zhu Lan raised an eyebrow, suddenly turned around to address the crowd behind her, “Everyone, Zhu Lan wasn’t wrong! His Majesty took each family’s elite personal guards to hunt in the Sahan Desert this morning, only returning in the evening. The Black Guard suffered heavy casualties, none of the families’ elites survived, only the eldest son of the Xi Lin family came back alive. As soon as he returned to camp, he found Xi Linyu and entered the central command tent, then restricted us family heads from leaving camp and controlled the entire northern camp’s military power. What’s happening here—can’t everyone figure it out?”

Lady Zhu Lan’s eyes were sharp, completely shedding her previous seductive appearance. She stared coldly at Qi Lang and said shrilly, “You were originally just a lowly horse herder. His Majesty was merciful, giving you the opportunity to lead armies and hold great power. Who would have thought you’d repay kindness with ingratitude, harboring wolfish ambitions, colluding with the Xi Lin clan of Heng City to usurp our Great Chu’s realm! You schemed to harm each family’s elite guards and His Majesty’s life, and now you want to confine the family elders under house arrest. Your crimes reach the heavens—you’re worse than pigs and dogs!”

Her voice was shrill, her gaze venomous, her tongue sharp. For a moment, she stunned all the soldiers present.

Qi Lang was, after all, just a warrior. Seeing her turn the tables and pin all the blame on his head, he immediately flew into a rage, saying angrily, “His Majesty is right now in the central command tent. Don’t make false accusations!”

Lady Zhu Lan’s eyes turned cold, the corners of her mouth curving into a cold smile as she said lightly, “If that’s the case, then let His Majesty come out to meet everyone. All the great families have lost their elites and suffered countless casualties. How can staying silent like this convince anyone?”

“You!”

“What about me?” Lady Zhu Lan snorted coldly, saying angrily, “Treacherous rebel, you haven’t even changed dynasties yet, and we great families haven’t all died out either. You dare speak to me like this! Even if the late emperor were alive, he would respectfully call me Madam. Are you tired of living, or do you have other backing?”

Qi Lang’s eyes were bloodshot but he was speechless, because the order to confine the family heads had actually been given by Qing Xia. The most difficult thing now was that Chu Li simply couldn’t come out to meet anyone, allowing this witch to exploit this loophole.

“Esteemed elders and generals!” Lady Zhu Lan suddenly called out tearfully, “Great Chu’s success or failure hangs in this one gamble! The Imperial Guards have already colluded with the Nanjiang people and that old fox Xi Linyu to betray their lord and usurp the state, murdering His Majesty. The elite guards of all the great families have been annihilated, dying for their country. If we don’t step forward to stop this, Great Chu’s century-old foundation will be destroyed overnight. How could we face our ancestors in the underworld?”

“Madam speaks truly!” An elderly man with a white beard suddenly declared loudly, “His Majesty is dead. We must raise the banner of righteousness, restore order from chaos, and not let these petty villains occupy Great Chu’s territory and enslave Great Chu’s people!”

Tremendous shouts thundered forth. The family disciples following the great families and soldiers under several neutral generals all shouted in unison. Qi Lang’s eyes were red with rage as he shouted to suppress them, but it had no effect whatsoever. Lady Zhu Lan wept tears while putting on an appearance of worrying about the country and people, heartbroken, yet her eyes flashed with cold, cunning brilliance. She suddenly raised her hand and shouted loudly, “The only plan now is to ask the generals to subdue the northern camp’s Imperial Guards. Everyone break out of Huan Chao Yi and return to your respective territories to make new plans and save Great Chu’s people from their dire straits!”

Everyone agreed, shouting angrily in unison, emotions running high. Lady Zhu Lan stood under the protection of Li Academy disciples, her eyes sharp, her clothes luxurious, the pearls on her head glittering with dazzling light.

Just when the situation was about to spiral out of control, suddenly there came a whooshing sound through the air from the direction of the central command tent. A brilliant white silver gleam flew toward them like a projectile, aimed directly at Lady Zhu Lan’s face. Everyone cried out in alarm. Lady Zhu Lan’s face changed drastically as she grabbed a Li Academy disciple beside her to shield herself.

With a muffled thud, the white silver gleam instantly pierced through that Li Academy disciple’s throat, emerging from the back of his neck, continuing toward Lady Zhu Lan with undiminished momentum.

Everyone stared dumbfounded at Lady Zhu Lan. They saw the young man in front of her with wide eyes, a large bloody hole in his neck, silver-red blood trickling from his throat, covering his silver-white deerskin armor. Suddenly, the man’s feet convulsed, his knees buckled, and he knelt heavily on the ground. His head tilted, and with a thud, he collapsed.

“Ah!” Lady Zhu Lan cried out in alarm. Everyone looked and heard a crisp crack as all the pearls on Lady Zhu Lan’s head scattered to the ground mixed with blood and mud, making dull sounds. The silver-white dagger, its handle still bloody, trembled as it stuck in her towering hair ornament!

“Who’s there!” Li Zicheng shouted, waving his war blade, calling fiercely, “Attacking from the shadows—what kind of skill is that? Come out!”

From the direction of the flickering main tent, a group of horsemen slowly emerged from the shadows. The young commander in the lead wore green leather armor with a dark red cloak, a cold iron helmet on his head, carrying an exaggeratedly large ghost-head broadsword. His armor was covered in blood-reeking dark red stains, almost dyeing his armor and cloak the same color. Though small in stature, the figure emanated an unmistakable thick aura of killing intent, like a death-seeking Asura escaped from hell.