Crossing the Mountains

Chapter 138 Fight again
Before the fire broke out in the funeral hall, Aisha was praying to God Monroe in front of the altar, begging the god to take the believer's soul from the sacred fire so that Aisha could forget the pain of this life and go to a carefree paradise.

As the flames gradually rose higher and the thick smoke blurred everyone's vision, Zhou Wenzong seized the opportunity, pretending to lose his mind due to excessive grief, and splashed the sacrificial wine onto the white curtains around the mourning hall.

He called out "A-Lan's" name loudly and rushed towards her memorial tablet.

The wide sleeves of the mourning dress swept across the offering table, seemingly unintentionally brushing against the candlesticks. The candle flames fell to the ground, and the wine-stained curtains were instantly ignited, quickly engulfing the entire mourning hall.

The bridal chamber, which held the sweet memories of the King and Queen's newlywed life, was instantly engulfed in flames.

The fire was even more intense than the one on the altar.

Someone exclaimed in alarm, "Fire! The funeral hall is on fire!"

Everyone realized that the King of Qin was still inside! The most urgent task was to rescue the King of Qin!
Two large fires raged, and the palace was thrown into chaos.

Zhou Wenzong covered his nose with his sleeve, felt around to find the mechanism behind the memorial tablet, and let Tan Huaike, who was lying on the altar, slide down the partition to the ground. He then took off his headdress and outer garment and threw them into the fire. He immediately disguised himself as a maid in the mansion and blended into the crowd.

Taking advantage of this moment, General Lingchuan, under the pretext of protecting the Mohe delegation, led his troops to rush onto the altar, pulling out Aisha who was kneeling and praying, and throwing a large wooden shrine into the fire.

Aisha was forcibly dragged away from the altar, but she still looked back at the burning fire.

He knew what General Lingchuan had thrown into the fire.

Those were Alan's ashes, preserved by the Zhenxi Army.

After Princess Alan was assassinated in the valley, the Zhenxi Army, tasked with collecting her remains, found her body. She had been burned beyond recognition, and only remnants of her jewelry and clothing could be used to identify her. To facilitate storage and avoid attracting attention, they simply burned Alan's body to ashes and stored it, along with her jewelry, in a wooden shrine. This way, even if investigated later, it could be said that the princess had received the most dignified treatment according to the religious customs of the Mohe people.

The ornament that Tan Huaike was wearing on his head just now was one of the ornaments left behind by Princess Alan.

Now, along with her ashes, they have once again been reduced to ashes.

There are still flaws in doing this. How could the ashes and belongings be so fragmented after being burned? But the fire at the Prince of Qin's mansion caused great chaos. It was the Mohe delegation who collected the princess's ashes and belongings. Once everything calmed down, those clues could naturally be smoothed over.

With tears in her eyes, Aisha murmured, "Alan, your brother has finally fulfilled your long-cherished wish. Can you rest in peace now?"

The guards rescued the King of Qin, who had been knocked unconscious by the smoke, from the mourning hall and hurriedly carried him to a spacious and well-ventilated place. They also quickly sent someone to fetch the imperial physician. Everyone was too busy to attend to anything else.

When Shen Tu Zhuo entered through the east gate, this chaotic scene was what he saw.

He disregarded everything else, focusing solely on searching for Tan Huai Ke amidst the frantically running crowd. However, the palace was filled with maids dressed identically, making it quite difficult to spot him at a glance.

Meanwhile, Tan Huaike was also trying to get east, but she was dressed as a maid and her face was deliberately covered in soot, making her unrecognizable. As a result, she was mistaken for a real maid and dragged to fetch water to put out the fire.

Just as she was about to escape for the third time and was forced to fetch water, an old servant with gray hair pulled her to a secluded spot and said in a deep voice, "There are too many people on the east side. The imperial physician will also be coming from that side in a while. Go out from the west courtyard."

Tan Huaike was about to break free when he heard his voice and suddenly froze: "You are... that masked man!"
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He wasn't wearing a mask at this moment, but he had disguised himself, looking like Old Hou from the woodshed in the mansion. Having been rescued twice before, Tan Huaike was willing to trust him, and his tense emotions gradually calmed down.

She was a little worried: "Go out through the west gate? But someone is supposed to meet me at the east gate."

The masked man said, "It's alright, getting out of here is the priority. The Empress and those suspicious courtiers all know you're planning something today, and I'm afraid they might go all out..."

He didn't finish his sentence, and Tan Huaike knew perfectly well what he meant.

Regardless of the Empress's intentions, she is now the biggest weakness of the Eastern Palace faction. If she falls into the hands of the opposing forces, all their previous efforts will be in vain. The masked man's worries were not unfounded. When they arrived at the West Courtyard, two servants suddenly appeared out of nowhere, holding gleaming daggers and blocking their way. Clearly, they had been lying in wait for a long time, just waiting for them to come to them.

Zhou Wenzong and Tan Huaike had known for some time that they had spies planted around them, and they had anticipated this situation; otherwise, they wouldn't have had Shen Tuzhuo ready to provide backup. Shen Tuzhuo hadn't arrived yet, but the masked man was more than capable of handling the situation.

To avoid causing trouble for the masked men, Tan Huaike obediently hid behind the artificial hill and waited for him to deal with the two men.

The masked man was disguised, making it inconvenient for him to carry weapons, but this did not hinder his parrying and counterattacks in the slightest. The opponent's dagger was in his hand in the blink of an eye. His movements were swift and clean, and the two thugs were no match for him. Seeing the masked man slit one man's throat with a backhand and kick him far away, Tan Huai Ke secretly cheered and patiently waited for the other man to be taken down.

Just as she was watching the battle intently, a warm, large hand suddenly covered her mouth.

Tan Huaike was startled and struggled, crying out, "Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!"

Shen Tu Zhuo quickly whispered in her ear, "It's me! What are you standing here for? Come with me!"

Tan Huaike stopped struggling, patted his hand, and signaled him to let go.

Shen Tu Zhuo released her hand, pulled her towards the side gate of the west courtyard, and casually asked, "Who is that old man? Is he a skilled bodyguard that the Prince of Qin arranged for you?"

Tan Huaike, still thinking about that place, kept turning back as he walked: "No, you still remember..."

As they spoke, the masked man had already dealt with another informant. Hearing the commotion behind the artificial hill, he panicked and turned around to see Tan Huaike being dragged away. He could only see Shen Tu Zhuo's back and, thinking that another person had appeared in his way, immediately came to his rescue.

He was so fast that Tan Huaike didn't even have time to react.

Hearing the sound of wind breaking behind him, Shen Tu Zhuo instinctively pulled Tan Huai Ke behind him to protect him, and went to meet them.

Ding, ding——

The long sword and the short dagger clashed, and the two were instantly locked in combat.

Tan Huaike hurriedly shouted, "Don't fight! They're all on our side!"

The masked man recognized Shen Tu Zhuo's face and immediately stopped. However, Shen Tu Zhuo did not know his identity, and Tan Huai Ke had not explained it clearly earlier. Since the other party had attacked first, he wanted to subdue him first.

So although he didn't use his killing move, he didn't hold back either.

In a brief moment of stunned silence, the masked man's arm was slashed.

Tan Huaike felt extremely guilty and rushed over to check on his injuries: "Are you alright?"

The masked man shook his head and remained silent.

Shentu Zhuo withdrew his hand, frowned, and asked, "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

The masked man remained silent. Tan Huaike, thinking he was angry, explained, "He is the masked man who saved us, just in disguise."

Shen Tu Zhuo pressed, "It's you again? Why are you everywhere? Why do you always hide your face and never show your true identity?"

Even though this person seems to be on their side, Shen Tu Zhuo cannot easily trust him, after all, his identity is a mystery, and he has never even seen his true face.

The masked man walked silently toward the west gate, clearing a path for them.
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Next chapter: Come with me.