“The earth is shaking! The earth dragon is turning!”

“Don’t panic, it’s the imperial mausoleum, the imperial mausoleum is about to collapse!”

When truly facing disaster, the people who had just been craning their necks to watch the excitement became anxious, retreating in panic and confusion.

Qin Yining was swept backward by the crowd, stumbling and nearly falling. Ji Yun supported her arm, and with great difficulty they managed to steady themselves.

The ground continued shaking, followed immediately by the sound of collapse from the imperial mausoleum entrance. What Li Qitian had treated as a grand project over the years, investing enormous manpower and resources to build, had gradually collapsed in mere moments. Even the originally level ground nearby showed signs of cracking and subsidence.

The people were finally truly frightened. Everyone fled in panic in all directions, fearing they would be trapped in that expanse of ruins from the imperial mausoleum, their bones lost forever.

Qin Yining was jostled by the chaotic crowd. If not for the protection of those beside her, she might have already fallen and been trampled.

While hastily trying to avoid the chaos, Qin Yining glimpsed through gaps in the crowd Lu Heng surrounded by guards in the center.

Lu Heng’s expression was calm, as if all this chaos before his eyes wasn’t caused by him, and as if the ground collapse that trapped and buried those people alive had nothing to do with him. His gaze held a coldness that Qin Yining had never seen in him before. He seemed to have placed himself outside the mortal world, watching with cold eyes this drama of life and death, unmoved by any of it.

Qin Yining pressed her lips together. Taking advantage of Lu Heng not noticing her, she looked away and quickly fled while pulling Ji Yun’s hand.

Just as she turned around, Lu Heng seemed to sense something and looked in her direction.

That figure was tall and slender, with a graceful form wrapped beneath coarse cloth clothing. True beauty lies in the bones, and Qin Yining possessed exactly this quality. Lu Heng’s heart skipped a beat. Having watched countless people fall into deep pits with the ground collapse without the slightest emotion, his heart now raced as he couldn’t help but chase after her for a few quick steps.

“Master?” The guard beside him was about to lead him away from this place, but was suddenly pulled in the wrong direction by Lu Heng, and hurriedly pulled him back.

Lu Heng stared intently in one direction, but still lost sight of that person in the surging crowd.

Was it her?

He couldn’t be mistaken!

Though he was surprised that someone who had been in the capital just recently would now appear at the imperial mausoleum, Lu Heng had no doubt whatsoever.

Perhaps this was a perfect opportunity for him to have her forever, to keep her completely by his side!

“Order people to quickly surround this area! Don’t let anyone escape.” Lu Heng quickened his pace while giving orders in a deep voice. “The situation is special right now. We don’t know how many different forces are in this crowd. If word leaks out, you and I may find it hard to preserve our lives.”

His subordinates understood the gravity of the situation even more upon hearing this, and immediately passed down Lu Heng’s orders.

Qin Yining’s group had already approached the edge of the square when Jingzhe immediately spotted the armed men surrounding the area with weapons.

“Master, what should we do?” Jingzhe didn’t dare act rashly, retreating to Qin Yining’s side while many people were pressing forward to question and shove.

Qin Yining pressed her lips together: “It seems that bringing everyone here to watch the imperial mausoleum’s destruction was just a pretext. What he really wanted was to gather all the county’s people in this place.”

“Why gather so many people?” Ji Yun asked anxiously.

Qin Yining smiled slightly, though the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Since he’s plotting rebellion, he naturally wants to occupy this place. By gathering people here to screen them and eliminate suspicious persons, only then can he ensure his own safety.”

Liao Zhibing’s face was grave as he pressed his lips together, the downward curve of his mouth deepening his nasolabial folds somewhat.

“Alliance Leader, if this is the case, we probably won’t escape easily.”

They naturally wouldn’t escape easily, because they were suspicious persons to Lu Heng.

Qin Yining lightly bit her lower lip with her white teeth, adding some color to her pale lips beneath the disguise. “We can only act as circumstances permit. If necessary, we’ll fight our way out.”

The task she had come to do hadn’t even been accomplished by her own hand before Lu Heng preempted her. If she were to be captured by him and used as leverage to threaten Pang Xiao, this trip would be too much of a failure.

Just then, Xiao Xue turned her head in puzzlement: “I think I heard hoofbeats.”

“I heard them too,” Jingzhe said as well.

With all the commotion around them and the people’s constant shouting, Qin Yining couldn’t hear any sounds from outside at all. But since Xiao Xue and Jingzhe said so, she naturally believed them.

“Let’s wait here for an opportunity. It’s probably Lu Heng’s troops coming as reinforcements. With so many people in Huichuan County, his screening can’t be completed in a short time. We’ll take the chance to escape.”

“Yes.”

Several people nodded in agreement.

While they were talking, troops had already surged over like a rising tide, blocking all the roads back to the city.

The people were already panic-stricken, with many relatives and friends having perished when the imperial mausoleum collapsed. Now seeing these suddenly arriving troops, everyone was scared out of their wits.

Lu Heng had now reached the perimeter and still stood on high ground, calling out loudly: “Fellow villagers, don’t panic. What just happened was merely an accident that no one could have predicted. I destroyed the imperial mausoleum and will certainly anger the incompetent ruler! I know you’re all righteous people with heroic hearts, but among you there might be running dogs of the incompetent ruler mixed in. So everyone line up quietly and pass through inspection one by one. As long as you can mutually verify each other’s identities, you can go home. From now on, I won’t let anyone disturb your lives, and you can all continue living as before!”

When Lu Heng finished speaking, people beside him immediately mixed into the crowd, loudly repeating his meaning.

Circumstances were stronger than people. The people were nearly scared out of their wits, and with the knife handle in others’ hands, what choice did they have but to obey?

On the road back, checkpoints had now been set up. Everyone crowded forward, mutually verifying their identities.

Lu Heng’s subordinates began keeping records.

Some who had no relatives or friends nearby were not allowed to pass and were made to stand together in one area.

Some were full of worry, but others were full of anger and refused to submit. When questioned, they stubbornly asked: “Who do you think you are! This is rebellion! I’m a citizen of Great Zhou and will never submit to rebels’ manipulation!”

As soon as these words were spoken, whether Lu Heng’s subordinates or the surrounding people, all were frightened pale.

Lu Heng also heard this person’s questioning and said in a deep voice: “This person must be a running dog of the incompetent ruler! He’s an accomplice helping the incompetent ruler exploit the people. Kill him!”

With one command, before that defiant person could argue further for himself, a blade had already struck his neck.

Blood spurted up to the sky with a “poof” sound. The people were so frightened they couldn’t even make a sound, only knowing to retreat.

This scene of complete silence greatly satisfied Lu Heng, and he said in a gentle voice: “No need to worry. I only kill the incompetent ruler’s running dogs. As long as you can mutually verify the clarity of your identities, I will never lay a hand on anyone. Therefore, please cooperate well for your own sake, and don’t follow the wrong path.”

Saying this, he waved his hand, signaling for the inspection to continue.

Qin Yining looked at the people beside her. Their expressions were all very tense. They were now outsiders, with no one but each other to verify their innocence. Combined with Qin Yining’s familiarity with Lu Heng, their chances of exposure were too great!