Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 383 A Traitor Emerges from Hachiya

Yan Junyu twirled his sword, flicked the blood off, and Li Yang's eyes widened before he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Sister Zhao! You have no idea, this androgynous guy can actually spit poison!"
How can there be such a disgusting move in this world? Spitting on me like that, if it gets on me, it'll burn a hole in me!

Yan Junyu lifted the hem of her dress, which had become hollowed out, her face full of disgust.

He really wanted to say that the hair on his stomach had been curled up by the hot iron, but he was worried that saying it would embarrass Zhou Zhao.

He had already inquired beforehand and found out that Jingyi was Su Changying's man.

He was Zhou Zhao's man.

He can't afford to lose face, he can't afford to lose!

As he thought about it, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that Jing Yi hadn't dealt with Huo Ting yet, and he immediately became a little smug. "Hey, hurry up, our Sister Zhao is waiting!"

As Yan Junyu spoke, he proudly flashed his little tiger teeth.

Upon hearing this, Jing Yi seemed to wake up from a dream, and the long sword in his hand suddenly became sharp, almost instantly being placed against Huo Ting's neck.

"Oh, I almost fell asleep. I didn't sleep well last night."

Last night, a raccoon dog with its family of four came to his yard. He was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night.

Huo Ting's face was even more ashen upon hearing this. "A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. If you want to kill Jingyi, then do it quickly with your sword."

Upon hearing this, Jingyi untied a roll of hemp rope from his waist and tied Huo Ting up like a rice dumpling.

The longsword was sheathed.

Just then, a series of intermittent flute sounds came from somewhere, sounding like a child learning for the first time, lacking breath control and unable to play the notes properly.

Upon hearing this, Jing Yi's eyes sharpened, and he decisively pulled out his usual dagger, stabbing it twice symmetrically into Huo Ting's thigh.

Huo Ting screamed repeatedly. He had met Jing Yi before and heard that he was a subordinate official that many people in Chang'an wanted to fight for. He was someone who would disappear when he needed to be, acting as the shadow of his superiors, and when he needed to step forward, he was a smooth talker and a face to his superiors.

Who would have thought that our reunion today would be so humiliating?

What does this mean? Does it mean that even if he were asleep, he wouldn't be a match for him?
Huo Ting clenched his fists in an ugly manner and looked angrily at Jing Yi.

Jingyi's fair face flushed slightly. "Sorry, it's just a habit. I feel like stabbing my thigh whenever I hear the flute."

He used to prick himself, but now he doesn't want to anymore; the new kittens he's adopted probably won't like the smell of blood.

Zhou Zhao listened and chuckled speechlessly, "Let's go."

Yan Junyu lightly leaped over and unceremoniously reached out and pulled Huo Du down from the wall. Huo Du was in pain again and immediately fainted.

The enforcer from Nanyang Sword Manor jumped up with practiced ease, delivered another heavy blow to the back of Huo Du's neck, and then hoisted him onto his shoulder as if carrying a sack of potatoes.

Zhou Zhao didn't say much. He reached out and picked up the child who had been knocked unconscious by Huo Du. The three of them flew away at lightning speed as agreed.

……

Dark clouds loomed overhead at the West Palace Gate, where three armies faced off.

The wind seemed to stand still at this moment, and a great battle was about to break out.

This was the scene that Zhou Zhao and his two companions saw when they arrived.

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at Commander Huo, who was being attacked from both the Northern and Southern armies.

"Eight grains, spears, and halberds divide the north and south."

The Eight Grains are millet, sorghum, rice, sorghum, rice, hemp, beans, and wheat—eight crops commonly used by the people of the Great Qi Dynasty. The Eight Grains also have a second meaning: they are the names of stars belonging to the Purple Palace Enclosure (Ziwei Yuan). The Purple Palace Enclosure is the location of the Heavenly Emperor's palace. While there is no Heavenly Emperor on Earth, there is a Human Emperor; therefore, the Purple Palace Enclosure refers to the imperial palace where His Majesty resides, specifically the Western Palace.

After seeing the new trailer, she was stumped by the term "Bagu". She thought that perhaps there was a key figure named Bagu, or perhaps there was such a place in Chang'an, or perhaps the key was the intersection of alleys in Chang'an with the names of eight crops.

But in the end, it's all about simplifying complexity.

What was Grand Commandant Huo planning to do in his rebellion? To force the emperor to abdicate, of course.

The Eight Valleys refers to the West Palace, where the Northern and Southern armies will have a bloody battle.

Zhou Zhao guessed that if she hadn't acted in advance, it would have been during the wedding of Prince Dai and Zhou Wan that Grand Commandant Huo suddenly launched a rebellion, which would have delayed Su Changying and A Huang, leaving her alone to protect the emperor and the newlyweds and fight to the death against the twelve golden men.

As expected, despite her intervention, Commander Huo still besieged the West Palace, just as she had anticipated.

This time, however, they were well-prepared.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then tiptoed and arrived at Su Changying's side with lightning speed.

Su Changying rode a tall horse, and kneeling in his carriage was Huo Yu of the Huo family. Huo Yu was covered in dust and dirt, but when he saw Zhou Zhao bring Huo Ting and Huo Du over, he became excited.

"Su Changying, Zhou Zhao, you will die a horrible death!"

As soon as he shouted, Huo Taiwei, who was riding a tall horse in the middle of the crowd, looked at Zhou Zhao.

His gaze was like that of a falcon, filled with intense killing intent.

On his left and right sides, there were four assassins dressed in gold.

"Zhou Zhao, have you ever considered that if you are wrong, you will be the one who forced me to rebel? I am utterly loyal to His Majesty, how can I allow you young brats to humiliate me?"

Zhou Zhao was not on horseback and was much shorter than Grand Commandant Huo when she stood on the ground, but her aura was in no way inferior.

"If you didn't have rebellious intentions, why would you raise assassins? When the Northern Army came to arrest prisoners, if the Grand Commandant was innocent, why would he not offer a single explanation and directly march on the Western Palace?"

The assembly of a large army cannot be accomplished in a short time. Everyone here is a martial artist; how could they not know this?
I, Zhou Zhao, would stake my head on it; do you, you spineless coward, dare to do the same? You wouldn't.

As she spoke, her eyes flickered, and she looked up at Commander Huo.

"Of course I'm not worried, because I, Zhou Zhao, would never wrong an innocent person."

Commander Huo's expression remained unchanged. He rode his horse in the center of the crowd, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Outside the West Palace was the Northern Army led by Su Changying, while inside the West Palace was the Southern Army led by Han Xincheng.

Despite being surrounded and facing certain death, Commander Huo remained completely calm. His eyes swept over the Huo family members at Zhou Zhao's feet, showing no intention of stopping.

There was dead silence.

Just then, Commander Huo suddenly shot an arrow into the sky!

Unexpected changes occurred!

Unrest broke out in both the Northern and Southern armies.

Zhou Zhao turned around and saw that several generals in the Northern Army had responded and raised the flag of rebellion!

Not only that, but the situation was also the same in the Southern Army, and in a short time, the situation changed.

Commander Huo held his longbow high, like a god of war.

Zhou Zhao watched, a slight smile playing on her lips. She turned her head and exchanged a glance with Su Changying on horseback before suddenly disappearing from the spot.

(End of this chapter)