Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 475: Three Dragons
Xiao Ran stepped back while looking outside the palace gate.

His eyes became more alert, with a faint light flashing in them, as alert as a wild cat wandering in the jungle.

It's not just because the black swan is sounding the alarm, but also because of a strong sense of uneasiness, which comes from a strong anticipation of danger after experiencing several life and death experiences.

"Brother Xiao, is there any problem?"

After Xiao Ran did this, Li Jie also became nervous, but he couldn't find any problem after looking for a long time.

Xiao Ran did not answer him, but the uneasiness in his heart became more and more intense.

His eyes flashed with a faint light, and [Backtrack] was activated.

Suddenly, time seemed to start going backwards before Xiao Ran's eyes.

Blurry figures began to appear before his eyes. Xiao Ran scanned each face intently, hoping to see some useful information from them.

But as time went by, Xiao Ran's eyes began to turn red and tears could not stop flowing out of her eyes.

The ability to look back is still too much of a burden for him, and the longer he looks back, the greater the burden becomes.

Until in the shadows, Xiao Ran saw a vague outline and a strange face standing outside the palace gate for a long time.

“Yellow tide!!”

Xiao Ran was shocked. Although the face was not right, Xiao Ran could still recognize Huang Chao at a glance. This guy had been standing outside the palace gate before.

"Is Huang Chao planning to attack me?"

"That should be the way I came here. Now he is guarding outside the palace gate. Are they waiting to take action when I leave the palace?"

Just when Xiao Ran was feeling confused, he suddenly noticed that Huang Chao seemed to be looking to the other side.

"What is he looking at?"

Xiao Ran followed Huang Chao's gaze and saw Shen Xuanjun blending in with the crowd, following them step by step into the gate of the imperial palace.

"Shen Xuanjun? No, it should be Wu Man. Why is Huang Chao staring at Wu Man? Did he see something wrong, or…"

Xiao Ran wanted to see more, but his eyes suddenly hurt, forcing him to stop being able to recall.

"Are you OK?"

Li Jie, who was standing by, was also shocked when he saw Xiao Ran’s eyes were frighteningly red.

Xiao Ran waved his hands and squatted on the ground for a while before he recovered.

"What on earth is Wu Man doing?"

Xiao Ran had no idea what Wu Man was going to do, but since Huang Chao had already shown up, Xiao Ran didn't intend to miss the opportunity to kill Huang Chao.

"Go inform the Zou family that Zhang Wumeng has taken the bait."

"how about you??"

"Of course, we are going to lure Zhang Wumeng out."

Having said this, Xiao Ran patted Li Jie on the shoulder and said, "After notifying the Zou family, don't leave the palace. It shouldn't be difficult to find a place to hide. If you have nothing to do tomorrow and want to go home, then don't go."

Although Xiao Ran's first impression of Li Jie was not good, after careful observation, he found that this guy was somewhat humane and at least had come to the right path.

But I can't take care of him what happens next, so it's better to let him hide by himself.

"Well, okay, I see."

Li Jie nodded to show that he understood, and bowed to Xiao Ran: "Take care, Brother Xiao."

After saying this, he hurried back to report to the Zou family.

After Li Jie left, Xiao Ran took a deep breath, adjusted his state, and strode out of the palace gate.

He knew that since Huang Chao had shown up, he would not be too far away, and might be waiting for him somewhere at the door.

However, after Xiao Ran walked two steps along the street, he stopped.

Looking at the figure sitting on the stone bench next to him waiting for him, Xiao Ran was still a little surprised.

He didn't expect that Huang Chao was really sitting here waiting for him. After seeing Xiao Ran, he waved enthusiastically and motioned Xiao Ran to come over.

"No, you're just waiting like this?"

Xiao Ran unconsciously put his hands in his trouser pockets and walked to Huang Chao's side. He looked casual, but he was very alert in his heart. However, what Xiao Ran did not expect was that the black swan brooch on his chest did not sound an alarm.

Huang Chao raised his head and slowly tore off the human skin mask on his face, revealing Zhang Wumeng's face. He looked unusually calm: "This is a civilian residence. The people are all resting. How about we go over there? If we want to fight, we have to find a suitable place."

Xiao Ran looked in the direction Huang Chao pointed, frowned, and pointed to the other side: "I think the other side is better." "Then let's go to the other side."

Huang Chao sat up from the stone bench and brushed the dust off his butt. His calm expression made Xiao Ran feel uneasy.

To be honest, Xiao Ran also hated this kind of Huang Chao, because it made him unable to figure out Huang Chao's true colors.

The two walked forward side by side, two meters apart.

Huang Chao's demeanor became more relaxed as he watched the moonlight reflected on the water beside him. He couldn't help but recall: "We first met in Wancheng. You tricked me badly that time, but now that I think about it, I should thank you."

"Well...if you can give me some money, I'd think your thank you is quite sincere."

Xiao Ran rolled her eyes and didn't believe a word Huang Chao said.

Huang Chao naturally noticed Xiao Ran's expression, but he didn't care. He just slowed down his pace and talked to Xiao Ran about his experiences over the years like a pair of old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years.

"My family is well-off. My father is a salt merchant. I have never been hungry since I was a child. I have been studying since I was young. I am well versed in the Book of Songs, the Book of Taoism, and various schools of thought. Believe it or not, I am not a cruel person by nature."

Huang Chao stopped and looked at Xiao Ran: "I know, you think I'm just a butcher. I killed so many people, but I'm still shamelessly saying that I'm a good person. I'm even worse than a whore in a brothel."

Xiao Ran was a little surprised to hear this. He looked Huang Chao up and down again, and it seemed that he saw something different in Huang Chao this time.

"Isn't it? Wherever there are massacres, meat-eating, and yellow disasters, there are only a lot of bones left."

"Yes, but it's what I have to do."

Huang Chao did not deny his atrocities, nor did he excuse them. He admitted them very frankly, but then he changed the subject and said, "But this is exactly the way of heaven."

He pointed overhead.

"I uphold the Dao and bring disaster upon myself. This is the will of heaven. Whether it's killing people or massacring a city, this is the will of heaven. Those tens of thousands of wronged souls are my answer to the Dao of heaven."

"The grain in the world is ten bushels, nine of which are taken by the rich and powerful, while the common people can only get one of them."
Even if I don't oppose it, someone else will, so it's not me who is wrong, it's this dynasty and those wealthy and powerful people."

Xiao Ran snorted coldly upon hearing this: "Oh, if I hadn't seen with my own eyes the city you destroyed, I would have almost believed your lies. Rebellion is rebellion, what grudge do those common people have against you?"

"There is no hatred, but my army will not survive unless they die, so they themselves are also victims of the will of heaven. In addition, in some places, it is not possible not to kill them all. The Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats are naturally nobler than others. As long as they have this surname, even a commoner will act self-centered. I am not killing people, but the aristocratic concept."

When Huang Chao said this, he looked helpless.

He told Xiao Ran a story about when he had just started the rebellion, he tried to capture a city, a small town, but was defeated. The women, children, the elderly and the weak in the city fought desperately to resist, causing him to suffer heavy casualties. Finally, after he captured the city, he captured these women, children and the elderly.

As a result, we found that these people's houses were broken down and some of their children were so hungry that their bones were just skin and bones.

Huang Chao didn't understand why these people were fighting to the death to defend the city. If he came, he could open the granary, let them have enough food, and give them land.

As a result, an old man spat in Huang Chao's face and said complacently that they were from the Cui family of Qinghe, and the Cui family was willing to give them a surname.

"Just because of a surname, they are willing to work for these beasts. Don't they deserve to die?"

Huang Chao turned his head and looked at Xiao Ran.

The disdain on Xiao Ran's face turned serious at this moment.

"In places where clans are powerful, it often only takes one word to grant surnames to those who participated in the war and put them in the family tree. The common people will rush over like crazy, which is more effective than the emperor's edict. Tell me, should they die? Should they be killed?"

"This……"

Xiao Ran was speechless for a moment. Huang Chao's question really stumped Xiao Ran.

Seeing that Xiao Ran was unable to refute for a moment, Huang Chao smiled, as if he finally saw the frustration he wanted to see on Xiao Ran's face.

The two continued walking forward and came to a pavilion not far from the Daming Palace. Huang Chao sat down without any intention of fighting with Xiao Ran, looking at the Daming Palace in front of him.

"I have never denied how hateful my actions were, nor have I denied how cruel and insane the things I did were. But after me, there will be no more powerful families in the world. The Five Surnames and Seven Families will disappear from this world. No one will work like a slave for a surname. The world may not become more fair because of this, but at least it is fairer. For this reason, people who live in the future owe me a thank you."

Huang Chao looked at Xiao Ran with a smile.

These words really left Xiao Ran unable to refute, but Xiao Ran did not want to argue about these things because he was not from here. Logically, what Huang Chao said was right, but emotionally, Xiao Ran could not empathize with Huang Chao, whether he was right or wrong.

Xiao Ran was willing to spend time with him like this, just waiting for the people from the Zou family to arrive soon.

Huang Chao seemed to see what Xiao Ran was thinking. He stood up and stretched: "I know you are waiting for reinforcements, but you seem to have got the wrong direction."

He pointed to the Daming Palace in front of him and said, "Look, this is a great gift I prepared for you!"

Xiao Ran's heart skipped a beat, and a strong sense of uneasiness spread throughout his heart.

He looked and saw a haze covering the Daming Palace in the distance. The color of the sky gradually turned deep red. Faintly, there was the shadow of a dragon twisting in the sky, making a long, angry roar.

At the same time, a dark red light appeared in front of Xiao Ran's eyes, and crooked words appeared in his sight: "Triggered Main Mission 3: Fighting for the Dragon!!"

(End of this chapter)