Wang Han valued his life, and being buried alive was an exceptionally cruel way to die. Cold sweat poured down his body as he reached the peak of terror, yet he dared not make a sound, fearing any noise might reveal his consciousness. With his heart in his throat, he desperately struggled against his bonds behind his back. Only by freeing himself would he have a chance to escape. Fortunately, they hadn’t maimed him when they captured him, and his martial arts skills were not weak.
Wang Han held his breath, working on his bonds while listening to the conversation nearby.
“Brother, what did this guy do to deserve such treatment from the Master?”
“You don’t know? This guy used to work for the Master, handling crucial matters. Now that the Master is under investigation, he can’t be left alive. The Master originally planned to deal with him in Luozhou but didn’t expect him to dare return. Well, now that we’ve caught him, we might as well handle it here.”
Wang Han’s heart sank. So the Empress had never intended to spare him!
She had planned to take his life in Luozhou, but he had returned early…
Realizing this, Wang Han’s heart plunged into an icy abyss. His family background was humble; he had only received promotions because he helped the Empress. Otherwise, he would have remained the lowest-ranking guard his entire life. For this reason, he had felt grateful to the Empress, which was why he had done so much for her. He had thought the Empress was worth following, but never imagined that while pretending to arrange his departure from the capital, she was planning his death!
The thought filled his heart with a bone-chilling cold.
This was the Empress – how could someone who was the Mother of the Nation care about honor when dealing with someone as lowly as him?!
Wang Han felt both sorrowful and angry, but soon fear dominated his entire consciousness.
Though the Empress didn’t value his life, he didn’t want to die. Gritting his teeth and barely daring to breathe, he finally managed to free his hands from the ropes.
In the distance, the two men continued talking…
“If that’s the case, why not deal with him earlier in the palace?”
“Heh, the Empress is being watched by Prince Cheng now. How could she dare act within the palace? In normal times, this guy would have been dead ten times over…”
“Ah, what bad luck for this fellow, running into such timing.”
“He’s just too stupid, actually believing what those above told him. If it were me, I wouldn’t have followed their arrangements. If they told me to go to Luozhou, I’d head straight for Yunzhou as soon as I left the capital. That’s the only way to truly escape. But this fool dared to return.”
Wang Han’s heart was filled with bitterness. During his days on the run, how could he have known what was happening in the palace? Besides, he truly wanted some family wealth to rely on, which was why he dared return. He never expected the Empress to have already stationed people to deal with him!
Heart cold with despair, Wang Han pulled off his blindfold and surveyed his surroundings. He quickly realized where he was – near the capital, only Qi Wu Mountain had such a burial ground. So they planned to bury him alive here!
Looking over, he saw two tall figures. Though dressed in ordinary clothes, their bearing revealed them as trained fighters, with a stern military air about them. Wang Han instinctively knew they must also be palace guards, and the Empress’s trusted men at that.
A torch was stuck in an unmarked grave, and the two men were digging beside the burial mound, not even glancing in his direction. Wang Han’s trembling hands worked at the ropes on his legs, and soon he had removed all his bonds. Regaining his freedom, his heart leaped with excitement and he couldn’t help but scramble up. As he did so, the dead leaves and branches beneath him crackled loudly, and instantly the two diggers turned around!
“He’s awake! Don’t let him run—”
At this point, only a fool wouldn’t run!
Wang Han not only had to run with all his might, he had to find a way to shake off these two men. However, having just regained consciousness, and with the diggers blocking his path up the mountain, he could only flee downhill in the opposite direction!
“Stop!” came another shout, but it did not affect Wang Han.
At this point, even if they caught him, Wang Han would fight to the death!
Just as he thought this, a powerful gust of wind struck from behind. Wang Han instinctively sensed something wrong, but before he could react, a scabbard slammed heavily into his back. Running at full speed when struck, he pitched forward violently. The fall left him dizzy, his back in agony, and both hands and elbows bleeding!
Wang Han was shocked – he hadn’t expected his pursuers to possess such formidable martial arts skills. He realized that if caught unarmed, he stood no chance against these two.
Gritting his teeth, Wang Han immediately got up and continued sprinting downhill, panting heavily. Having been bound all day, he was nearly exhausted. After the running and falling, his strength was rapidly failing, yet the sounds behind him grew ever closer. Wang Han could think of nothing else. In the pitch darkness, the terrain grew increasingly steep. At one point, Wang Han suddenly felt something was wrong ahead, but before he could identify what it was, he stepped into empty air and fell!
Wang Han felt an excruciating pain in his ankle as he crashed heavily to the ground. Tears streaming from his eyes, he looked up to find himself on a main road leading up Qi Wu Mountain. During the Qingming Festival, many carriages would travel this route, but at this midnight hour, the road was deserted. Wang Han remembered his pursuers, but try as he might, he couldn’t stand – his ankle seemed dislocated…
Despair suddenly flooded Wang Han’s heart. This time, death was certain!
Just then, the sound of carriage wheels suddenly rang out. Wang Han’s heart jumped – who would be traveling this mountain road so late? Surely not some wandering ghost…
Wang Han had this thought but wasn’t afraid – even ghosts seemed more welcome than his pursuers.
Looking up, he saw a carriage accompanied by four or five light cavalry racing along the mountain road, quickly approaching. Wang Han was dizzy with pain, and the carriage stopped just before it would have run him over.
“Your Highness, there’s someone on the road, who seems to be injured!”
Your Highness?! Wang Han suddenly raised his head to look at the carriage. The curtains were drawn, and though he couldn’t see who was inside, in the capital, only a few could be addressed as “Your Highness”!
Hope immediately surged in Wang Han’s heart. “Help! Your Highness! Help! This humble one is from the Imperial Palace Guard—”
Wang Han wanted to detain this group – it was his only chance for survival!
“Imperial Palace Guard?” The guard beside the carriage was extremely surprised and immediately rode forward.
Wang Han saw a handsome but indifferent face. He looked at the man before him pleadingly, then glanced back at the dark forest above the road. The mounted guard quickly noticed movement in the forest and alertly asked, “Someone is trying to kill you here?!”
Wang Han’s eyes brightened – this guard was sharp, his master must be no ordinary person. But who?
Just as the question arose, Bai Feng said, “In the carriage is His Highness the Crown Prince of Prince Rui. He came tonight to pay respects to the late Princess. Who exactly are you? Imperial Palace Guards have no business being on this mountain in the middle of the night!”
Fighting for his life, Wang Han was ready to say anything, and he was especially surprised to learn the carriage contained Prince Rui’s Crown Prince!
Wang Han knew Yan Chi’s reputation well. Moreover, anyone with the slightest military ambition couldn’t help but deeply admire Yan Chi. So Wang Han, his eyes bright, said, “I beg His Highness to save me! This humble one knows certain matters, and now someone wants my life. I beg His Highness to save me…”
As he spoke, two black shadows leaped down from the forest, stopping ten paces in front of Wang Han.
These two saw Wang Han and naturally also saw Bai Feng. They were startled, clearly not expecting to encounter another group so quickly. Wang Han immediately grew fearful, “Please, Your Highness, save me—”
He gazed at the carriage curtain, crying out in supplication.
After a moment, a soft “Mm” came from inside the carriage. Bai Feng quickly understood while the two men’s expressions changed, presumably upon hearing the words “Your Highness.” As they tried to retreat, Wang Han hurriedly said, “Your Highness, don’t let them leave, they’re the Empress’s men—”