Someone cried bitterly, and someone called for help.
In the ruins, there came intermittent sobs of pain and sorrow.
It happened too suddenly; the authorities did not have time to seal off the nearby roads, and that sound was heard throughout Ningtai City.
Many people hurried toward the scene of the incident because their relatives and old friends lived there.
When they arrived at the spot, everyone was terrified beyond measure, trembling uncontrollably.
The bustling market looked as if a giant hammer had smashed a huge hole in it, and the fallen stones formed mounds of dirt, unrecognizable from before. Some houses farther away were smashed to pieces, and the streets were littered with bricks, tiles, household items, and corpses lying about.
Lime and brick dust covered everything, and all around was a ghastly pallor.
——Mutilated corpses and arms desperately stretched out from under the ruins, struggling to grasp something.
Someone could not resist rushing in, chanting prayers to the Bodhisattva through tears while searching, yet more people dared not even step in, turning around and fleeing in fright.
“Where was the doctor?”
“Help!”
In the outermost houses, quite a few survivors were trapped, their faces covered in blood as they pounded on doors and windows, and were subsequently pulled out one after another.
Even so, it was inevitable that some of their family members had struck the back of their heads or their foreheads, resulting in instant death.
Thus, the cries grew louder, and the people were panic-stricken, saying all sorts of things.
Why did the well-built city wall collapse?
Was it an earthquake, or had the City God become enraged? Especially since King Ning had died a few days ago, could it have been that some deity was offended?
The strong smell of sulfur lingered in the wind.
Meng Qi stood expressionlessly under a collapsed section of the city wall, next to bricks and stones that seemed unstable, ready to fall at any moment. Ordinary people did not dare approach, but a few martial artists from Fengxing Pavilion arrived promptly, carefully peering around.
Everyone looked grim.
There were no enemy troops outside the city, but if there were, such a big breach could not be plugged.
Especially since this was the eastern part of the city, not far from the royal palace and various government offices, it was not an outer city that could be easily abandoned.
“Master Meng.”
Qiu Jing arrived quickly. She had not slept all night, and after several pieces of bad news, she had almost exhausted her energy and spirit.
She did not have time to inspect the surrounding carnage. Like Meng Qi, she first rushed toward the city wall, following the sulfur scent and the signs of collapse to find where the gunpowder had been buried.
“A total of six places.”
Even though it was already reduced to ruins, they could still discover clues based on where the wall had collapsed.
Meng Qi unconsciously clenched his right hand. If this had been decades ago, when he had been a Chu general commanding an army, after occupying a city, he would have thoroughly checked for hidden dangers—city walls, granaries, wells—inch by inch.
Because he would have had manpower, capable and loyal subordinates, who would have cut off risks before the enemy attacked.
But now he had been careless, because Ningtai was located in Yangzhou, far from the Heavenly Bestowed King, he had been negligent. After all, Fengxing Pavilion was not just for show; although the city was indeed a mix of good and bad, on the whole, whether officials or martial artists, whether King Ning’s troops or King Wu’s scouts, none wished to see the royal city fall quickly.
All the various forces had their interests at stake, and the enemy’s agents (the Pili Hall) had all been caught and tightly guarded by Fengxing Pavilion. Who would have expected an accident now?
And it was a big one.
The third to arrive was Cheng Jingchuan. Unlike Meng Qi and Qiu Jing, who could use lightness skill, he came on horseback. Even if he moved quickly, it still took some time.
By then, the soldiers were already driving away the common folk, trying to seize suspicious individuals.
Cheng Jingchuan quickly intervened to stop the conflict between the troops and the martial artists. Fengxing Pavilion also gave him face, so no further trouble occurred.
Confronted with such a tragic scene, Cheng Jingchuan could not speak for a long time, his eyes filled with anger. If Pili Hall’s people had been in front of him, he might have chopped them into eight pieces.
Qiu Jing took a deep breath. Facing the overwhelmed Cheng Jingchuan and the coldly intimidating Meng Qi, she slowly said:
“This matter was too strange.”
Cheng Jingchuan immediately frowned, because her words sounded like Fengxing Pavilion was shirking responsibility.
It was Fengxing Pavilion’s Bai Yu Zhenren who had hidden the members of Pili Hall, whose private desires led to the current predicament. Although it accidentally foiled Qiu Si’s plot and allowed Qiu Jing to forcefully return and reorganize Fengxing Pavilion, to Cheng Jingchuan the only benefit he gained from this incident was Qiu Si’s death.
Now good fortune turned to disaster. The collapse of the city wall changed the entire troop deployment under King Ning’s domain.
No matter how steadily Cheng Jingchuan proposed defense methods, no one would listen now.
——Even if the city wall could be repaired in time, what had collapsed here was not just a wall, but the courage of many.
Who could guarantee that the Heavenly Bestowed King’s army would not approach the city gates? Who could guarantee they would not send more people to blow up a second section of the city wall? By then, why fight at all? Better to pack up and flee as far as possible.
Thus, before the great war even began, morale had already scattered. When the bad news arrived, it was remarkable that Cheng Jingchuan had not fainted.
Cheng Jingchuan fought hard to suppress his anger. He knew that now was not the time to blame each other. If Fengxing Pavilion, due to internal conflicts, had provided shelter to Pili Hall and let the wolves in, then could his own men be without fault? Such a long stretch of city wall, and yet several batches of gunpowder had been buried. How had this amount of gunpowder been smuggled into the city?
Wait, Cheng Jingchuan keenly caught onto the crux of the problem.
Although Ningtai was not an impenetrable fortress, compared to other cities, it had several layers of defenses maintained by different factions. Even if these factions were at odds, they still shared a common interest in maintaining the city.
How had Pili Hall managed to slip contraband gunpowder inside without being noticed?
Had Bai Yu Zhenren covered for them? No, Bai Yu Zhenren was not that foolish. It made sense for Pili Hall to bring in some hidden crossbows or arrows, but a quantity of gunpowder sufficient for siege warfare was absurd.
These thoughts flashed rapidly through Cheng Jingchuan’s mind. He went from suspicion and dissatisfaction to confusion, finally connecting to Qiu Jing’s words: “Chief Qiu was right. This matter was unusual. Quickly excavate the ruins and inspect the corpses.”
If they buried gunpowder, it had to be ignited.
Judging from the scale, the person who lit the fuse likely died on the spot. Now they could only check the bodies to find a suspect.
——Was it a stranger with unknown identity, or a city guard who betrayed from within?
“I have an informant who delivered herself right into our hands.” Meng Qi suddenly spoke, lifting a figure dressed in black night clothes from beside the ruins.
Both Qiu Jing and Cheng Jingchuan blurted out simultaneously: “It was you?”
“Oh, you both know her?” Meng Qi sized up Li Kong’er, who had been struck at her pressure points and could not say a word.
Then, with one sentence, Cheng Jingchuan betrayed Li Kong’er.
“She was one of Mr. Qiu’s people.”
“She was a disciple of the Kongkong Sect, probably the only female disciple of the same generation.” Qiu Jing added, feeling quite surprised by Cheng Jingchuan’s words. Obviously, she also did not know that Li Kong’er had been Qiu Si’s subordinate.
Li Kong’er shook her head desperately, tears welling up, pitifully raising her face.
Unfortunately, among the three people present…
No, the two humans and one Dragon Vein present would not fall for her act.
The Dragon Vein was blind, Qiu Jing was a woman, and Cheng Jingchuan was too familiar with Li Kong’er’s background.
“Mr. Qiu used her methods in a rather… unorthodox manner.” Cheng Jingchuan hinted tactfully, then continued, “To deal with officialdom’s situations, no wonder Chief Qiu did not know.”
A thief with excellent qinggong, agile movements, and a pitifully enchanting face—was she not a born spy? The beauty trap was old, but still effective, especially when dealing with officials. They only guarded against assassins, and Li Kong’er carried no lethal weapons. On the contrary, she intended to carry “something” away.
Previously, Qiu Jing had found this woman unsettling. After getting the answer, she understood. She no longer minded Li Kong’er’s flirtatious gaze because that was the other person’s means of survival, just like a beast’s claws and teeth, always ready to attack enemies and protect itself.
“She saw the Pili Hall people burying gunpowder ‘some time ago,’ and she planned to sell this information to Attendant Huang of the Patrol Yamen ‘this morning.’ They say he belonged to King Wu’s forces?” Meng Qi’s wording was very subtle, deliberately emphasizing certain words.
All those present were clever, including Li Kong’er. Her expression changed abruptly. No matter how hard she tried to remain calm, she still showed a trace of panic.
She had thought that her lie had been flawless. After all, she had been genuinely shocked when the city wall collapsed. She had not expected this at all, so her disguise at that time had been seamless. Yet in this emergency, Meng Qi, in a fit of anger, still remembered a small-time thief and did not give her a chance to escape, dragging her here directly. Li Kong’er had not expected that no conflict arose between Cheng Jingchuan and Qiu Jing. Instead, they jointly exposed her secrets.
“You saw what happened ‘some time ago,’ so why mention it only today? And why sell such important information to King Wu’s men?” Qiu Jing stared at Li Kong’er. The latter tried to speak glibly, but being restrained, she could not utter a sound.
Cheng Jingchuan fixed his gaze on Li Kong’er, a chill rising from his heart, slowly engulfing him.
Meng Qi released Li Kong’er’s acupuncture point from a distance. She hurriedly cried out her grievances: “Mr. Qiu’s whereabouts were unknown, and all his attendants were dead. Their bodies lay in the Patrol Yamen’s hands. I only wanted to use this information to strike a deal with Attendant Huang. I was just too worried about Mr. Qiu’s safety…”
Before she could finish her lament, Cheng Jingchuan interrupted mercilessly: “So that’s to say, you did not see the Pili Hall people?”
“Yes, yes, I made it all up. Such a huge collapse of the city wall, with all that commotion, could only have been caused by Pili Hall.” Li Kong’er nodded frantically like a pounding garlic mortar. Her eyes flashed pitifully toward Meng Qi, “I only said that at the time to escape.”
Meng Qi reminded her expressionlessly: “You spoke of selling the information about Pili Hall before the city wall collapsed.”
Li Kong’er froze and then argued strongly: “Th-this was just a coincidence. Right now, the most valuable news in Ningtai City, besides Mr. Qiu’s whereabouts, was the movements of the Heavenly Bestowed King and Pili Hall. It was pure luck that I stumbled upon it…”
“Kill her.” Qiu Jing waved her hand indifferently.
Li Kong’er was horrified. Cheng Jingchuan pretended to sigh: “Chief Qiu really did not intend to leave this useful pawn for me. Very well, given the current turmoil in Ningtai, with aristocrats and nobility all thinking of fleeing, it seems useless to keep her. Since she was suspected of colluding with Pili Hall, let’s kill one as a warning to others!”
“No, no, I did not collude with Pili Hall, it was not me!” Li Kong’er lost her composure and cried out, “It was Mr. Qiu who buried the gunpowder, not Pili Hall!”
Qiu Jing tilted her head slightly. Cheng Jingchuan closed his eyes, silently hiding the grief and rage surging in his heart.
——The suspicion they were unwilling to confirm, the answer they did not want to hear, finally arrived.
Before today, Meng Qi had been very understanding of them. Now, facing the corpses in the ruins, he no longer had that mood.
“The matter was very clear. In Qiu Si’s original scheme, with King Ning deceased, General Cheng and Chief Qiu would be compelled by their respective factions to confront and even fight each other. But because of my presence, neither of you would die.” Meng Qi looked at the two and said mercilessly, “If Pili Hall had not caused chaos, after Ningtai fell into complete turmoil, Chief Qiu, in order not to let Fengxing Pavilion split apart completely, could only travel far to Jingzhou or Qiantang Prefecture. Just in time to catch the Heavenly Bestowed King’s army on the move, Ningtai would still be enjoying temporary peace behind the lines. This did not match Qiu Si’s expectations, so the collapse of the city wall had been prepared long ago.”
Qiu Si had long prepared for what would happen after his own “death,” whether he truly died or faked it. Thus, his death did not change the impending crisis of the collapsing city wall.
Unless Cheng Jingchuan and Qiu Jing discovered the gunpowder beforehand—but this was almost impossible. Judging by the timing, others might have thought the best time for the wall to collapse was when the Heavenly Bestowed King’s army approached the city. Actually, no. When deploying troops to defend, how could one not inspect the city walls? Now was the most chaotic time in Ningtai, also the best day to crush people’s hearts.
“He wanted everyone to know that aside from fleeing, only death awaited them.”
Ningtai was in turmoil, and Qiantang Prefecture would not fare much better. Wealthy clans and families would flock to the southeast.
Qiu Jing was forced to leave, to stop the Heavenly Bestowed King from heading to Jingzhou.
Cheng Jingchuan had no choice but to lead the troops from Ning territory to set up defenses around Jingzhou and Yangzhou. This battle would determine life or death, but it might not be won.
Because morale had collapsed. If even Ningtai’s city wall could crumble, who would risk their lives?
Those who feared death—the officials and Jianghu forces who had fought over interests for many years—would they really be willing to follow Cheng Jingchuan and Qiu Jing?
For them, it did not matter who became emperor.
Cheng Jingchuan had aspirations, Qiu Jing had ideals. They tried their best to maintain the situation in Jiangnan, but others saw no need to gamble their lives and wealth.
Jiangnan’s commoners, merchant guilds, and some aristocratic families would perish in this turmoil, but those Jianghu forces and minor tax officials could easily surrender to the Heavenly Bestowed King and gain titles, benefits, and power. Why fight desperately?
The general trend was like a torrent, and human hearts were no more than reeds in the wind.
No matter how superb one’s martial arts or intellect, one could not turn the tide.
“Could it be that he wanted to hand everything over to the Heavenly Bestowed King?” Qiu Jing muttered. Once these words left her mouth, she immediately denied it: “No, he did not believe the Heavenly Bestowed King could unify the world.”
Throughout history, rebel armies that confused the masses with evil cults never achieved lasting success. Even if the court and vassal kings were incompetent, once these rabble-rousers established a foothold and gained large territories, their upper echelons would quickly split and collapse.
The Yellow Turban Army at the end of the Eastern Han was like that.
The Heavenly Bestowed King would inevitably follow the same path.
“By then, Jiangnan would already be…”
Suffering from war and disaster, with the people destitute and miserable, everywhere in ruins.
Author’s note:
Uh, Mo Li was rescuing people at the ruins and did not participate in this conversation.
Qiu Si officially exited the stage. Let’s give a round of applause to welcome the Heavenly Bestowed King, the next major villain [ … The author covered their head and ran away. ]
————
The Yellow Turban Army at the end of the Eastern Han was like that, and Li Zicheng’s insurgents, as well as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, were the same. The rebel army’s upper ranks were no good.
Unless they followed the Yuan Dynasty’s route, quickly transforming, gathering talents, developing their forces, and creating a new core corporate culture (cough).
