tallest building

Chapter 386 Head Sacrifice

Grand Tutor Dong's coffin was to be buried on this day, and the Emperor personally escorted it to the west gate of the city before returning to the palace.

Grand Tutor Dong was to be buried in Xuling, which was over a hundred miles from the capital. Moreover, it was after a snowfall, so the road was naturally difficult to travel.

It only takes half a day to get there, since people were already clearing the snow and the road ahead before dawn.

The King of Chu led 30,000 soldiers, traveling day and night, and finally arrived near Xuling at the beginning of the Si hour.

“This is the only way for King Zhao to enter the capital. We will wait here.” King Chu took off his helmet and hat. Despite the cold weather, he was still sweating profusely from running.

"Why is it snowing so heavily in the capital? The weather is really unusual," said the adjutant beside the King of Chu. "Fortunately, we were quick enough. The messenger who went north to gather information has returned and said that the King of Zhao and his men will not arrive here for about an hour!"

“The spies who went into the city haven’t returned yet,” Chu Wang said, looking eastward. “They’ve been gone for two days and one night.”

"Your Highness need not worry. The Second Young Master is a lucky man and will surely be alright." The people around him could only try to comfort the Prince of Chu, even though they all knew that the chances of Ying Shan surviving were extremely slim.

"There will likely be a fierce battle soon, let the soldiers eat something first!" King Chu sighed deeply, suppressing all his unease.

At this moment, he was the leader of this group, and also a father seeking revenge for his son. He could not allow himself to have any weak emotions.

The soldiers quickly set up cooking pots and prepared a meal. They had set off before dawn and were already starving.

Boil snow water, add dry rations and meat, and the army's meals are always convenient and filling.

The King of Chu sent men to urge his soldiers to eat quickly, then divided them into three groups. One group stayed behind with him, while the others split into two groups and hid in the mountains to the left and right.

After everything was arranged, it was only a quarter of an hour later. Then, the King of Zhao's vanguard of over a hundred cavalrymen came slowly from the north.

They stopped upon seeing the King of Chu's camp, seemingly intending to retreat.

But the King of Chu wouldn't let them leave; the men lying in ambush on both sides came out and captured them.

"Lu Tong, how long until King Zhao's main force arrives here?" King Chu recognized the leader.

"Your Highness, we were only ordered to act as the vanguard. We don't know how far the main force is from us." Seeing this, Lu Tong naturally wouldn't tell the truth.

"Hmph! Do you take me for a three-year-old? I asked you a question to spare your life, after all, your father once worked for me. I didn't expect you to try to play tricks on me. Come, cut him down first!" King Chu said with a sneer.

"Your Highness, spare me! Your Highness, spare me! I really wasn't sure. If I had to say, it would probably take about half an hour. It's because the Prince of Fenye caught a cold, which delayed things for a while." Lu Tong, of course, valued his life.

Just then, the man whom the King of Chu had sent to scout the city returned. He dismounted from his horse a long distance away and ran towards them, weeping all the way.

"Your Highness!" He knelt down before the King of Chu with a thud.

The King of Chu's face immediately turned pale; he knew that under such circumstances, the only thing he could do was to announce the death.

"Please accept my condolences, Your Highness. I have learned that the Second Young Master passed away seven days ago and was buried in the North City." The man said while crying, "I took it upon myself to stay a few more days and found out that the Empress is now under house arrest in the palace by the Emperor. It is clear that the Empress was the one who poisoned him."

The King of Chu sat on his horse in a daze for a long time. Fearing that he couldn't bear it, the people around him surrounded him and tried to comfort him.

In truth, the King of Chu was not entirely unprepared, but he still harbored a sliver of hope.

Upon hearing the confirmation of his son's death, he couldn't help but let out a few cold laughs, a sound that chilled the heart. He glanced down at Lu Tong and the others, then suddenly roared in fury, "Behead all of them! I want to place their heads at Shan'er's grave as a sacrifice!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Tong and the others cried out and begged for mercy, but to no avail. At this moment, the King of Chu's grief and anger could only be relieved by killing.

Hundreds of heads were chopped off, and the blood melted the snow on the ground.

"Everyone, hide!" King Chu said in a deep voice, looking at the scene of carnage on the ground.

He didn't want to say anything more to the King of Zhao; he just wanted to kill him.

King Zhao turned and looked at King Fenye, who was sitting listlessly on his horse.

"Your Highness, we'd better hurry," the Prince of Zhao said anxiously. "I'm also thinking of helping with the Grand Tutor's funeral."

"Your Highness, I am truly sorry. I feel extremely dizzy right now. You may go ahead first! I will also rush over later to offer incense at the Grand Tutor's altar to express my condolences. Is that alright?" Qi Sihe said apologetically.

"Although it is Your Highness's consideration, it still makes me seem a bit too impolite, after all, I was ordered to escort you to the capital." Prince Zhao felt somewhat apologetic.

“Your Highness is being too polite. You and I have known each other for a long time, so you should know what kind of person I am,” Qi Sihe said. “You just go ahead. This is also to fulfill your filial duty. Anyway, it’s only two or three hundred miles from here to the capital. It’s not like I don’t know the way. Wouldn’t it be the same if we met up in Xuling and went to the capital together?”

Hearing this, King Zhao nodded and said, "Then thank you for your understanding, Your Highness! My wife and I will take our leave first."

Princess Zhao has also learned of her father's death and has been weeping in the carriage for the past few days.

King Zhao thought that they would arrive in the capital by dusk at the latest, and the weather was fine. Moreover, King Fenye himself had brought several hundred cavalry.

He left behind a thousand men as guards and led the main force forward.

"Strange, so much time has passed, and we haven't seen Lu Tong and the others send anyone back yet?" said one of the people around King Zhao.

“After all, the road is not easy to travel on because of the snow,” King Zhao said, not finding anything unusual. “Or perhaps they have already encountered the funeral procession.”

Meanwhile, the King of the Fields ordered his men to rest on the spot: "The sun is shining brightly right now, let's bask in the sun."

These people naturally obeyed his orders, dismounting one by one to bask in the sun.

King Zhao and his entourage hurried south, and from afar they could see a blood-red expanse ahead.

"What is that?" King Zhao frowned on his horse and ordered the soldiers in front of him, "Quickly crack two whips and go ahead to take a look."

The cavalryman spurred his horse and charged out of the ranks. When he saw what the blood-red stain was, he nearly went mad.

He barely lingered on the spot before turning his horse around and galloping north.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! They've all been killed!"

The snow was littered with corpses, all of them headless, but he recognized their clothes; they were the same as the ones he was wearing.

"Who was killed?!" King Zhao grabbed the reins and demanded sharply.

"Lu...Lu Tong and the others...they've all been killed!" The man's voice was shrill, as if possessed by a ghost. "Their heads are gone!"