My enemies became my companions

Chapter 619 He Wants to Kill Me Too? (Part 2)

A tall horse rode straight past him, and the prince, dressed in a python robe and exuding an air of majesty, did not stop.

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment, and only for a fleeting moment.

The tall figures gradually disappeared into the distance, followed by a long procession that surged in like a torrent from the wide city gate.

Chen Yi lowered his eyes slightly.

Even with Zhu E's miraculous disguise skills, which concealed her female characteristics, Chen Yi could still tell that it was Qin Qingluo.

They were only a few feet apart just moments before. She walked past the city gate, so close, and Chen Yi was momentarily stunned into not realizing it.

The moment we met came unexpectedly and ended just as quickly.

Chen Yi turned his head slightly and looked directly at the ancestral temple behind the layers of walls.

A slight ripple stirred in my heart.

When the Sun in the Spouse Palace is afflicted by a negative influence, the marriage is in reality but not in name.

I didn't pay much attention to the prophecy Zhou Yitang made back then, but I realized it was exactly what she wanted to hear when we parted. By then, she had already ridden away and it was too late to turn back.

Chen Yi never liked things that were beyond repair.

If Qin Jingde and his group have some ulterior motives, that's fine; if they have no ulterior motives,
Even if the Qin family ancestral temple is a den of dragons and tigers, he is still determined to venture in.

The thought had barely formed in his mind when Chen Yi vaguely heard some sounds again, accompanied by a strange feeling that he couldn't quite explain.

Fragmented, blurry
"Come...come...come..."

The sound seemed to be...

Inside the ancestral temple?
Thirty paces outside the gate, the ceremonial guard stopped, and the King of Annam, dressed in a python robe, dismounted.

Upon entering the ancestral temple gate, one should not rush or drive, but descend upon the palace gate, thus demonstrating one's detachment from the mortal world.

Dark clouds loomed over the city, and thick bolts of lightning tore through the sea of ​​clouds, blasting everything into a white expanse. The rows of armor flashed with a cold light, illuminating the face of the female prince.

Her face was serious and cold, and she showed no sign of turning around to look again.

Chen Yi... Chen Zunming...

Even with disguise, Qin Qingluo, who had witnessed Aunt Zhu's miraculous disguise skills over the years, still considered such techniques shallow and easily seen through. Moreover, she would recognize this person even if he were reduced to ashes.

Qin Qingluo loosened the reins, and an attendant stepped forward to take them. She continued walking without stopping, remaining silent in front of the ancestral temple.

His appearance here, blending into the guards, was indeed surprising. However, with everyone watching and the ancestral temple above, Qin Qingluo did not show his emotions. In the blink of an eye, he crossed the Yin Gate, and at this moment, his thoughts settled down.

That person's figure swept across my heart once more.

The Annan Prince's Mansion has been operating in Nanwei for many years. Under the management of successive Annan princes, the mansion's spies have long formed a complex and interconnected network. Although they do not know everything in the world, the entire Nanwei is covered by this network, which extends outward in circles, and the last circle disperses outward to many more points, keeping track of all major events in the martial arts world.

At the Heroes' Gathering at Longhu Mountain, the news spread that Chen Yi, the wanted commander of the Western Depot, was so virtuous that he could overwhelm even the Heavenly Official. However, less than a month after the event, Qin Qingluo learned of it. After reading the details, she believed that there was a trick involved. She thought that he must have been plotting something behind the scenes to reverse his reputation and achieve some other goal.

I thought he was still in the Central Plains, but I never expected that he had already entered the Southern Frontier and infiltrated Dragon Tail City during the autumn festival.

The master of ceremonies held a sandalwood box with both hands, inside which was a black gauze winged crown. Today was the autumn sacrifice, and because it was in the year of Jiaxu, Jia belonged to Yang wood and Xu belonged to Yang earth. In order to avoid the omen of wood overcoming earth in Jiaxu, the usual seven-tassel crown was replaced with a black gauze winged crown.

What was he trying to achieve by doing this?
The black gauze winged crown was slowly raised and placed on her head. Qin Qingluo's snake-like eyes narrowed slightly.

...Is he going to kill me too?
Dark clouds churned above Dragon Tail City, accompanied by flashes of lightning and thunder; everyone knew a torrential downpour was about to begin.

However, the faces of the King of Annam and his entourage of relatives, civil and military officials remained unchanged. The autumn sacrifice is one of the major sacrifices of the year, and the temple is worshipped throughout the four seasons without wavering, regardless of wind or rain. If it is postponed or changed, it is considered blasphemy.

The sacrificial robes are woven with golden dragons, coiling and leaping, as if silently chanting in the clouds.

The winged crown covered the ends of her hair, leaving only her solemn face. After putting on the crown, she looked less like a seasoned soldier and more like a majestic monarch.

She walked steadily along the imperial path, step by step entering the depths of the temple.

Inside the courtyard, attendants were already lined up, each holding their breath, hands at their sides, standing silently like clay or wooden sculptures. Wisps of smoke rose from the incense burner, swirling and filling the solemn hall.

Inside the hall, candles burned brightly, illuminating the rows of solemn ancestral tablets on the niches. The vermilion lacquer and gold characters stood in orderly rows, as if the unbroken spirits of the Qin family lineage were gathered here.

On the offering table, the three sacrificial animals of the highest rank were already prepared: the heads of an ox, a sheep, and a pig, placed in a large bronze sacrificial vessel, with the animal bodies piled up like a small mountain.

The master of ceremonies announced in a chant: "The king enters the temple."

The prince's relatives and officials temporarily halted their advance. Qin Qingluo's face was expressionless, shrouded in an indescribable solemnity. With the ancestral tablets before him, the scene was awe-inspiring.

The master of ceremonies drew out the words and chanted again, "The king enters the temple, pay homage!"

Just then, as the King of Annam began to pay homage to the ancestral tablets, a furious shout suddenly rang out:

"A false king shall not enter the temple!"

Suddenly, a beam of cold light appeared among the clan members, transforming into a bolt of lightning that shot straight through Qin Qingluo.

Changes occurred suddenly.

This change did not originate outside the temple, but rather from the core of the clan's ranks!
The master of ceremonies abruptly turned his head, and in that instant, the scene seemed to freeze: the imperial relatives and officials, who had just been holding their breath and standing in solemn formation, instantly transformed into startled birds and beasts upon seeing the cold glint of metal reflected among the crowded birds and beasts, scrambling to make way. The heavy bronze ritual vessels in the hands of the eunuchs carrying offerings and ceremonial objects fell to the ground, hovering in mid-air; lacquer trays filled with grains flew from their hands; the guards hesitated, grabbing their swords and trying to push forward, but unable to squeeze in. Even the drawn-out "Bow—" of his own voice hadn't completely dissipated before turning into a short, terrified sob stuck in his throat…

Qin Qingluo stared straight ahead, her lips slightly parted, as if outlining two words.

"coming."

A bolt of lightning ripped across the sky, and the image continued to flow.

"Escort!"

A scream rang out, but the cold light had already pierced towards Qin Qingluo. The source of the light was actually a clan elder in the front row who was standing very close to Qin Weinian. His usually gentle and modest face was now twisted like a vengeful ghost, and his eyes were filled with a deep-seated madness.

That deadly glint of light was none other than a soft sword that slid out from the wide sleeves of his ceremonial robe. The blade was as thin as a cicada's wing and its entire body was etched with a dark blue light, clearly indicating that it was coated with a deadly poison!

At this moment, infused with his internal energy, it was taut and straight, aiming straight for Qin Qingluo's unsuspecting back!

"Your Highness!" the guards shouted as they broke through the crowd, but they were still very far away.

Qin Qingluo's reaction was nothing short of inhuman! She didn't turn around, as if she had eyes in the back of her head. The instant that angry shout rang out, her foot, which was about to land, froze in place, and her body turned to the side at a tiny angle that defied all logic.

Tsk-!
The poisoned soft sword grazed past her python robe!

Qin Qinglu remained unfazed and threw a punch horizontally. Bang!
A muffled thud suddenly resounded as the expensive sacrificial robes were ripped apart by the fist, sending shreds flying. Qin Weinian coughed up blood, and a few drops of crimson blood splattered out, landing on the vermilion base of the nearest ancestral tablet, "The Divine Seat of the Ancestor King of Annam"!

Those few scarlet dots, set against the solemn gold lettering, were shocking to the eye!

Missing his first strike, Qin Weinian's madness intensified. With a flick of his wrist, the soft sword, like a venomous snake, raised its tip and drew a strange arc in the air, bypassing Qin Qingluo's turned body and once again lunging for her throat!

This move is insidious and cunning; it's a suicidal tactic!

"Protect the Emperor!!!" The guards, their eyes bloodshot, trampled over the officials on the ground, roaring as they drew their swords and charged forward. But the distance was too great, and the imperial entourage was already in chaos due to the sudden assassination attempt. Shouts, shoving, and falls filled the air, the crowd churning like boiling water, blocking the guards' path.

Qin Qingluo's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and the solemn, calm demeanor was finally shattered, replaced by an abyss-like chilling killing intent.

She did not retreat. Instead, she faced the sword light and her left hand shot out like lightning. Her target was not the sword itself, but Qin Weinian's wrist holding the sword.

With five fingers forming a claw, the fingertips even faintly gleamed with a cold, hard metallic sheen, aiming straight for the opponent's pulse point!
At the same time, her wide right sleeve suddenly rippled, and a sound like wind and thunder seemed to surge from within the sleeve. A powerful and vigorous force surged out, not to attack Qin Weinian, but to slam into the huge bronze furnace beside her.

boom!
The massive incense burner, weighing over a thousand pounds, was shaken by this force. The thick layer of incense ash inside erupted like an enraged volcano, carrying with it scorching sparks and unburnt pine and cypress branches.

The scorching ashes and burning debris instantly formed a burning barrier, slamming into Qin Weinian's face and upper body.

"Ah—!" Qin Weinian was caught off guard. His vision was obscured by the scalding ash. The intense pain burned his skin, and the pungent smoke and ash choked his lungs. His sword strike faltered.

In that brief moment of hesitation, Qin Qingluo's left hand, with its iron claw, gripped Qin Weinian's right wrist, which was holding the sword, like a steel hoop. The force of her fingers penetrated deeply, and the bones emitted a groan that made one's teeth ache.

The assassination attempt failed, and the ensuing confrontation lasted only a few breaths.

"Qin Weinian!" Qin Qingluo's deep voice pierced through the ashes and chaos, striking Qin Weinian's ears clearly, "How dare you commit regicide before our ancestors?!"

Qin Weinian's face was contorted with pain and rage. Ignoring Qin Qingluo's questioning, he roared, "Attack! Attack!"

Before the ancestral tablet, the candlelight flickered, crimson bloodstains intertwined with scalding ashes. In the solemn and majestic ancestral temple, the assassination had only just begun. At the center of the storm, Qin Qingluo's icy eyes had locked onto several relatives deep within the chaotic crowd, their faces also changing drastically, their hands reaching for their waists or sleeves.

Assassinating someone in the ancestral temple is an act of disobeying ancestors and blaspheming the gods—a grave crime indeed. However, since things have come to this point, there is no way out. The only option is to kill Qin Qingluo here, expose her true identity as a woman, and declare her a false king. In this way, there will be no assassination attempt. All their actions will be considered acts of honoring the king, repelling barbarians, and restoring order.

The assassins who had previously disguised themselves as Taoist priests and monks no longer needed to disguise themselves. They rushed through the crowd, each displaying their martial arts skills as they leaped and charged towards Qin Qingluo in front of the temple.

really……

Qin Qingluo remained composed. Over the past few days, she had meticulously planned and repeatedly exposed flaws, using coercion to lure out these rebellious members of the clan, so that she could uproot them and wipe them out in one fell swoop. For this reason, she had not yet killed Qin Weinian on the spot. Instead, she broke off the bronze spear of the door god sculpture next to her and nailed Qin Weinian, who was trying to get up, to the ground, showing no regard for his status as a clan elder.

However, although they are called clan elders, they are not actually Qin Qingluo's elders.

After the progenitor Qin Xuzhi was enfeoffed as a king and took up his fief, he devised twenty generational names for the Qin family descendants. The first ten generations of Qin family members have all passed away, and the last ten are: Yuan Ding Feng Yue Jing, Qing Wei Jing Chang Li.

Because Qin Qingluo's lineage consisted of three generations of fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers who all had children late in life, Qin Qingluo is the only one still alive among the Qing generation.

Beside the whole sacrificial animal, pure white thatch wrapped around clear, mellow wine, five-colored silks neatly stacked, and plump grains of grain were placed in a simple celadon plate, silently offered before the ancestral spirits. The offerings were abundant and pure.

Blood stained the ground around the temple gate.

Some of the assassins who charged along the way were entangled by the guards and had to fight them, but most of them had a clear target and rushed straight for the prince in the python robe. His throat was so close, as if wealth and glory were within reach.

A Taoist priest raised his long sword high and brought it down with a swift, powerful strike, his eyes flashing with the gleam of a successful attack.

Suddenly.

Suddenly, the soil beneath his feet cracked open, and thick lumps of iron emerged from them, as if a giant statue had risen from the ground and was about to crash into the assassinating Taoist priest.

It thrust upwards with a giant blade, piercing the Taoist priest who was already close by in mid-air, splitting him in two. His face was stiff and cold, and he didn't even have time to feel the fear of impending death.

A colossal iron lump emerged from the ground, its entire body resembling cast iron. Its faceplate was engraved with intricate patterns, and the fine rain that splashed onto it evaporated instantly. A dripping aura of blood emanated from its body, and blood streaks were exposed at the joints of its armor, as if blood was still flowing inside.

Qin Weinian's face suddenly turned pale, and he murmured in disbelief in a hoarse voice, "This kind of evil spirit... you actually dared to hide under the ancestral temple, hide under the ancestral temple?!"

The female prince did not respond.

"The most vicious heart is that of a woman. We have not done as badly as you, not as badly as you. We deserve to lose!" Qin Weinian roared out of tune in a trembling voice.

Qin Qingluo seemed unconcerned by the words of the man who was doomed to die. She was more concerned about the situation in the temple, where the puppet officials hidden there had moved again and were fighting the assassins.

"Close the temple gates, don't let anyone escape."

"The assassin shall be executed on the spot!"

"If any member of the clan surrenders, they may still have a chance to live!"

The situation reversed in an instant.

The guards hurriedly closed the massive temple gate from the inside. Just then, a figure darted past like a fish, so fast that it was impossible to see clearly. It was just a fleeting glimpse, like a color that hadn't yet blended.

Qin Qingluo, however, recognized who it was.

Her snake-like pupils narrowed slightly.

Is he really going to kill me too?
The man's figure suddenly appeared on the spot, and his purpose could not be clearer. Qin Qingluo's eyes flashed with murderous intent. With her left hand, she snatched a spear from a guard who rushed forward and moved like a dragon to meet the approaching figure.

Upon entering the temple courtyard, Chen Yi heard a loud noise inside. Before he could think any further, he had already stepped onto the clouds and rushed into the temple.

He guessed,
Qin Jingde and his men indeed made their move.

Perfect timing, let's seize this opportunity.

They went straight into the Qin family ancestral temple.

By the way,
Chen Yiwei curled the corners of his mouth.

A hero saves a beauty?

With his sword in hand, he wanted to find the assassins and stage a hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress story, but he found that the assassins had been defeated and were like prey that had rashly walked into a trap, being hunted down by one side.

As he turned his head, he saw the nearly twelve-foot-tall puppet general sweeping his giant sword, then instantly turning around and charging towards him.

Chen Yi stopped abruptly.

Looking back again,

The female prince in the python robe also came carrying a spear.

There was no hero rescuing the damsel in distress, only a den of dragons and tigers.

(End of this chapter)