Embers of Sword

Chapter 571 Twenty-Four Hours (Seventeen)

"Yuan Jimu...is not dead?"

Jiang Qihu instantly sobered up and abruptly stood up.

How could this be—

On their way back to Dali, the delegation from Fanyin Temple was ambushed by Yuan Jimo and his trusted confidants from the Imperial City Guard. Although the ambush was well-kept, it ultimately failed, with the entire ambush team wiped out. Jiang Qihu had already investigated the files and reviewed the list of the Imperial City Guard's crossbowmen, confirming the ambush's authenticity.

He had subtly inquired about this matter when he met Xie Zhen earlier.

Yuan Jimu had already died in Qujiang, and had been completely executed.

"This matter is absolutely certain."

The Snow Lord's voice was complicated: "At this moment, Yuan Jimo is in the Imperial City Division's dungeon, checking the list and verifying the manpower."

"..."

Jiang Qihu's heart skipped a beat.

He suddenly remembered the unusual instructions his teacher had given him when he left the capital that morning.

"The position of Head of the Imperial City Guard represents years of dedicated effort from the library."

"From now on, you must hold onto this position firmly and make sure no one can find any fault with you."

【"if……"】

"If something unfortunate happens and you temporarily lose this position... it's not a big deal. Grandpa Jiang and I both have high hopes for you. The head and second-in-command of the Imperial City Guard are just fleeting clouds... nothing more than fleeting clouds..."

Each word and phrase struck the heart like a still lake, stirring up countless waves.

At that time, Jiang Qihu did not take these words to heart, because the position of head of the Imperial City Guard was already a sure thing, and the overall situation was settled... Even if Renshou Palace temporarily suppressed it, how long could it be suppressed?

Who is qualified to compete with me for the position of head of the Imperial City Guard?
It's not that Jiang Qihu is arrogant about his achievements.

Rather, he was well aware that the capital city was a complex and intertwined place, and that his position was not solely due to his own efforts.

Background is more important than hard work.

Behind him is the Jiang family and the library.

If someone could seize the position of head of the Imperial City Guard... then their background would surpass that of the Jiang family and the Imperial Library combined...

In a sense.

His position as "head" is almost inextricably linked to the Jiang family and the Book Tower.

The Jiang family's library is as solid as a rock; who can shake it?

Think about this.

Jiang Qihu's expression turned ugly.

……

……

As midnight approached, the Imperial City Guard's dungeon remained brightly lit.

Countless torches flickered, illuminating the dungeon almost as if it were daytime.

Half an incense stick later, a special envoy from Renshou Palace, dressed in a black robe and wearing a black mask, stepped into the dungeon... Many people recognized this special envoy. When Renshou Palace recently finalized the list of demon-slaying officials for the Southern Frontier, it was this special envoy who was in charge of organizing and reading it aloud.

No one knew when such a "special envoy" who was deeply favored by the emperor appeared at Renshou Palace.

Until he took off his mask.

The Imperial City Guardian, nicknamed "Copper Bone," who was in charge of guarding the dungeon, was so frightened that he immediately knelt down on the ground, crawling on all fours.

In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, all the secret agents of the Imperial City Guard rushed to the dungeon.

And so, the scene we see today came to be.

Yuan Jimu sat at the head table with his feet raised and propped up on the surface, still holding the long sword in his arms.

He seemed to be resting with his eyes closed, or perhaps waiting for something.

The candlelight flickered, illuminating that somewhat cloudy face.

"Lord Yuan, you...you're finally back?"

Tong Gu's voice was tense, and he barely dared to look up.

When the news from Qujiang reached the capital, the Imperial City Guard was devastated.

Everyone knew that Yuan Jimo and Jiang Qihu were sworn enemies, and the Imperial City Guard was divided into two factions… Tong Gu was a subordinate of Yuan Jimo who swore to serve him to the death. With the death of the chief, he would be the first to be purged. He originally thought that the Qujiang Incident would not have any impact, and since Renshou Palace was determined to suppress Jiang Qihu, it would send a second chief to parachute in. But after waiting for quite some time, there was still no movement from the palace, as if the person in charge did not care about the "farce" of the Imperial City Guard at all.

Forced by circumstances, Copper Bone decided to compromise before the reckoning arrived.

He voluntarily went to the library, handed over his "handle," and begged for Chen Jingxuan's forgiveness.

Chen Jingxuan originally did not intend to continue using such a "turning from darkness to light" chess piece.

But this time the library seemed exceptionally kind.

The bronze bones were not "punished".

This is why he can continue to serve as the Special Envoy and guard the dungeon.

However, Tong Gu had calculated everything, but he hadn't anticipated this situation... He couldn't have imagined, no matter how hard he tried, that Yuan Jimo wasn't dead at all. The reason Renshou Palace didn't send a new head priest was because the head priest hadn't been replaced from the beginning.

Looking back now, I think about it carefully.

There's definitely something fishy about this.

News of the chief's death circulated only within the Imperial City Guard.

The more people knew about the Qujiang operation, the more convinced they were of the death.

However, Renshou Palace never announced Yuan Jimu's death.

"..."

The dungeon was completely silent.

The torches flickered, and many imperial city secret agents knelt in their cells, not daring to rise. Many of their robes were soaked with sweat.

The first one was "missing" during this period.

To avoid liquidation.

Many of them voluntarily joined the library.

Protecting oneself is not shameful.

But... how should we interpret this situation now?
Every secret agent of the Imperial City Guard knew Yuan Jimo's temperament well; he was vindictive and vengeful. His arrival tonight must mean he was about to settle scores.

"Bronze bones".

Yuan Jimo spoke softly.

"My lord, your humble servant is here!"

The bronze skeleton, which was kneeling on the ground, quickly crawled forward two steps.

"How long have you been in the Imperial City Guard?"

Yuan Jimo's voice remained very soft.

"Back to my lord..."

Copper Bone took a deep breath: "Eleven years and seven months."

"That's a long time ago."

Yuan Jimu sighed and said, "Since you've been by my side, have I ever mistreated you?"

"..."

Tong Gu looked somewhat frightened.

He looked up.

The candlelight illuminated a pair of cold eyes.

He always felt that the chief minister who had returned from Qujiang was much more unfamiliar than before.

The body beneath the black robe also seemed somewhat strange.

Bang.

Yuan Jimu stood up, causing the table and chairs to shake. He walked up to Tong Gu and kicked him over backwards.

A heavy iron boot slammed down on the bronze-boned chest—clang!
With a cool sound, Yuan Jimo drew his sword, its cold light gleaming.

The blade's aura was a ghastly white, echoing and swaying against the walls of the Imperial City Division's dungeon.

"You should know that I hate betrayal more than anything else in my life."

Yuan Jimu, with his eyes lowered, slowly asked, "I have only been away from the capital for a few dozen days. You lowly dog, are you already so eager to wag your tail and beg for mercy from your new master?"

The tip of the knife traced across the bronze body.

Going all the way up from the bottom.

The ten special envoys were all half-step Yin gods who had reached the peak of the Cave Heaven.

Tong Gu was just one step away from cultivating a martial arts divine embryo, but at this moment he felt a deep chill emanating from the tip of the long sword, flowing along his skin and piercing straight to his bone marrow.

That chill was a fear he had never felt before in his life.

"Your Excellency!"

Tong Gu's voice trembled as he pleaded desperately, "This subordinate knows his mistake! This subordinate will never dare to do it again!"

"..."

Yuan Jimo ignored him, simply hovering the tip of his knife at the position of the bronze bone's forehead.

He asked expressionlessly, "Any other last words?"

The bronze bones were struck as if by lightning.

"My lord, please don't kill me!!"

The blade's aura was too dazzling; he closed his eyes, unable to look directly at it, his mind blank.

Tonggu uttered almost every plea for mercy he could think of.

"This humble servant did not want to betray them, but the library forced me to!"

"It's Chen Jingxuan, it's Jiang Qihu! They forced me to betray the master! It's all their fault!"

"I am willing to serve Your Excellency like a slave!"

"I'll do anything, anything, as long as you spare my life, sir!"

At this moment, the Imperial City Guard's dungeon is teeming with spies, many of whom are subordinates of Copper Bone...

But at this moment, he didn't care about saving face at all.

Tonggu knew Yuan Jimo too well; this guy was truly capable of killing him.

Once Yuan Jimo's bottom line is crossed.

No matter how much you beg for mercy, it's no use.

Unless...a miracle occurs.

At this moment, a miracle seemed to have truly occurred. The bronze skeleton, with its eyes tightly closed, waited for a long time, but the excruciating pain never came.

After he finished speaking, the dungeon fell into a long silence.

"Hehe...hehe..."

"Hehehe...hahahaha..."

Immediately afterwards, I heard Yuan Jimo's laughter.

The laughter was laced with sarcasm, glee, mockery, and ridicule.

Two snaps.

Yuan Jimo patted Tong Gu's cheek with the back of his knife, signaling him to open his eyes.

Tong Gu slowly opened his eyes. After a moment of dizziness, his vision gradually cleared, and he saw a tall figure with a sword at the entrance of the Imperial City Division dungeon.

"..."

Jiang Qihu watched this scene with a complicated expression.

Not long ago, when Tonggu wanted to join the Book Tower, the Master originally intended to reject it outright, but it was I who pleaded for Tonggu, which led to today's situation.

The selection process for the Imperial City Special Envoys was not easy.

Each of these special envoys is a genius who has cultivated to the perfection of the Cave Heaven realm, just one step away from attaining the status of a Yin God.

This bronze-boned creature possesses exceptional talent and works extremely hard in carrying out its missions... making it a rare and outstanding individual.

When he pleaded for mercy that day, he had actually considered a similar situation, but Jiang Qihu did not expect that the retribution would come so quickly.

Everlasting hatred makes people's hearts worse than water, waiting for nothing to make waves.

Satire.

Extremely ironic.

"grown ups……"

When Tong Gu saw Jiang Qihu, his expression turned ugly.

Yuan Jimo had been waiting.

We've been waiting for Jiang Qihu, haven't we?
Was this intentionally designed so that Jiang Qihu would see this scene?
"Lord Jiang, you've finally arrived."

Yuan Jimu laughed and said, "What do you think of this good show?"

"No way."

Jiang Qihu said expressionlessly, "Truly, evil lives on for a thousand years. This person is really lucky."

"He was really lucky to be alive."

Yuan Jimu lowered his eyes and said softly, "Haven't you heard... that those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune? I've returned alive, and tonight I'll make a decision with you."

Say it.

Yuan Jimo released the foot that was pressing on the bronze-boned chest.

He took two steps back.

It is clear.

This forces Bronze Bone to make another choice.

Tonggu sat up, looked at Yuan Jimo, and then at Jiang Qihu.

A flicker of pain crossed his face.

After a moment's hesitation, he lowered his head and crawled humiliatingly toward Yuan Jimo's location.

Unfortunately……

This choice did not save his life.

Yuan Jimo flipped his wrist, causing the long sword to flash with a bright silver-white blade, piercing through the top of the head and pinning the bronze skull directly into the earth!

"……what!"

Even the Imperial City spies, who were used to seeing death, were horrified by this bloody scene!

A distinguished special envoy.

He was nailed to death on the spot—

The bronze skeleton crashed heavily to the ground, its eyes still wide open in disbelief before it died, and gushing blood flowed from its broken seven orifices, spreading rapidly.

A strong wind blew by.

The candlelight in the dungeon flickered unpredictably as it was blown on.

Yuan Jimo pressed down on the blood-stained longsword with one hand, his robe billowing like ocean waves.

"Don't be surprised, this is just an appetizer."

Yuan Jimo stepped on the skull beneath his feet and slowly pulled the long sword out of the gap in the skull. Then he wrapped it in his sleeve and wiped the blade clean.

Yuan Jimu chuckled softly and said, "The real show is just beginning."

……

……

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(End of this chapter)