Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 388 His Choice
Zhou Zhao walked closer and looked at the child's head. There was a smear of bright red blood in his hair.

She reached out and gently touched it; the blood was fresh, the bloodstains were still wet.

Zhou Zhao thought for a moment, then reached out and pressed down hard.

The mural suddenly opened to both sides, and the sounds of fighting could be clearly heard.

Zhou Zhao's breath hitched as he looked at the scene inside.

This is still a tomb, but its layout is completely different from the previous ones. The magnificence and the carved dragons and phoenixes all demonstrate that this is an imperial mausoleum.

The moment the door opened, countless eyes turned to look.

Zhou Zhao involuntarily tightened his grip on the dagger in his hand. In front of him was a sunken platform, the entire terrain resembling a shallow copper basin. Su Changying stood in the center of the crowd, fighting with Grand Commandant Huo.

The two of them were surrounded by a dense crowd of men dressed in black.

The men in black at the innermost circle held long swords, waiting for their chance to strike Su Changying, looking for every opening in his defense.

Those people were all dressed in night clothes, wearing headscarves and veils, only their eyes were visible.

The men in black in the basin were staring intently at Su Changying, oblivious to everything else.

The men in black who were watching the commotion outside the basin all turned their heads, pointing their long swords at Zhou Zhao.

Zhou Zhao felt a chill in her heart. As the saying goes, two fists can't beat four hands. She hadn't expected that Grand Commandant Huo's rebellion wouldn't involve sending out all his troops, but rather leaving a backup plan here.

It seems today is going to be a fight to the death.

With so many people, how long will it take to kill them one by one?

"Zhaozhao, let's go!"

Zhou Zhao listened to Su Changying's words without hesitation. Like a gust of wind, she rushed directly into the group of people in black.

Her right hand held the cyan imperial dagger, and with a flick of her left wrist, a silver dagger slid into her palm.

Wherever she went, two screams followed, instantly claiming two lives.

The stone wall behind him slowly closed, and a dense swarm of black-clad men, like corpses devoid of pain, surrounded him, trying to squeeze Zhou Zhao into a corner.

They can't kill them all, they simply can't kill them all.

This is not the way to go.

Zhou Zhao felt her hands were numb from killing, and her vision was obscured by splattered blood. The world suddenly turned red, but she couldn't free her hands to wipe the blood from her eyes.

She grew increasingly calm, and in the instant that a group of longswords were thrusting towards the corner, she lightly leaped and climbed directly onto the stone wall.

The sword's edge severed the brocade pouch hanging from her waist, and countless swords slashed towards it. With a crack, the small bottle inside shattered into pieces, and the medicinal powder inside sprayed out instantly.

Zhou Zhao held his breath, clinging to the protrusions on the rock face like a gecko.

Pink powder scattered everywhere, and a large number of the huddled men in black instantly fainted.

Seeing that her plan had succeeded, Zhou Zhao breathed a slight sigh of relief. She held onto the rock face with one hand and threw coffin nails swiftly with the other.

Another group of men in black fell, but by this time the coffin nails had all been used up.

Without hesitation, Zhou Zhao took out a handful of copper coins from his sleeve and threw them at the men in black below.

There were too many men in black. Even though she had killed a large number of them, a few people with good agility still managed to dodge and fly towards the rock wall.

"Grand Commandant Huo, your subordinate is useless!"

As Zhou Zhao spoke, she spat out the blood in her mouth, wiped her face, and kicked off the stone wall, charging towards the few remaining men in black like a tiger.

A sharp pain shot through her thigh; someone had slashed it open. Zhou Zhao frowned, leaping through the air as he used his dagger to slit the throats of the last few men.

She leaped lightly and landed on the ground, stumbling and nearly losing her balance.

Blood dripped from her dagger as she stepped over the corpses on the ground and headed towards the "bottom of the basin."

The men in black surrounding Su Changying all fell to the ground, leaving only him and Commander Huo standing.

"What, you survived a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood when you were a kid, and you think you'll be lucky again today?"

Now, Commander Huo was covered in blood and wounds. He looked like a giant python whose scales had been stripped off, his armor tattered and on the verge of breaking apart at any moment.

Zhou Zhao glanced at Su Changying, then lightly leaped to Huo Taiwei's side.

Like the group of men in black who had surrounded Su Changying earlier, she stood on the periphery, patiently searching for Huo Taiwei's weaknesses. Whenever she had a chance, she would stab him without hesitation, no matter what part of his body it was. Before long, the armor shattered and fell to the ground.

With Zhou Zhao causing trouble, Huo Taiwei's movements became much more sluggish. Finally, Su Changying found an opening and pierced Huo Taiwei's dantian with her long sword.

Commander Huo spat out a mouthful of blood, his long sword braced against the ground.

His body swayed, and finally he could no longer support the sword in his hand, and he fell to the ground.

His face was ashen, and he spat out another mouthful of blood.

"You killed my brother Zhou Yan, didn't you? You've already reached the pinnacle of your position, so why did you still vie for the throne and help the Third Prince retrieve the imperial edict?"
Zhang Ran is your accomplice. He helped you arrange a meeting with Princess Changyang at Shanming Villa, giving you the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

But who knew things would turn out this way? Not only did we get involved, but we also had an unexpected guest, Li Huaishan, appear.

"Seeing that Princess Changyang is dead, you interrogate my brother, asking if he killed her."

Commander Huo looked at Zhou Zhao with unusual calmness.

"Didn't you see it all?"
Why bother asking me?

Commander Huo sneered and looked up at Su Changying.

"How many meritorious officials has Marquis Lu killed for His Majesty over the years? And what has become of him now? He has been stripped of his military power by His Majesty because of a foolish woman in the inner quarters."

Reaching the highest position in the government is not an honor, but a death sentence.

When my mother passed away, I swore to God that I would never again become a homeless dog, nor would I let my children and grandchildren experience the tragedy of their entire family being wiped out.

Su Changying, Zhou Zhao, one day you will understand how I feel.

As he spoke, he glanced up and swept his eyes over Zhou Zhaotong and Su Changying.

"Han Xincheng commands the Southern Army, while you command the Northern Army. The more glorious your service to the emperor is today, the more miserable you will be tomorrow."

As he spoke, Commander Huo looked towards the mural in front of him.

The back is carved with dragons and phoenixes, looking exceptionally gorgeous, a stark contrast to the miserable state of the other side.

His thoughts were somewhat wandering.

He held a high position and watched helplessly as the new dynasty was established, and his brothers who had fought alongside him to conquer the world died one by one.

Your Majesty was wounded on the battlefield back then, and it was clear that your life was in danger.

The Empress was highly skilled and powerful, and the Emperor worried that the Crown Prince was weak and would become a puppet of the Empress's family. So he wrote a will to change the succession to the Third Prince.

He stood in front of the mural for a whole night and finally made his decision.

(End of this chapter)