Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 165 Assassination
Mo Yun also felt a pang of pity, her heart heavy with sorrow: "Every year on the anniversary of his death, the Lord would come here to pay his respects. Each time he returned, he would fall seriously ill, yet he still came every year. He said he was afraid he would forget the scene at the time, and he wanted to catch the murderer, so he couldn't forget any detail. It's like a scabbed wound being repeatedly reopened, bleeding every time, yet he does it again next time. This year's anniversary hasn't arrived yet, but perhaps because of the long wind, he came early."

Rong Wanyin felt as if a dull knife was repeatedly cutting her heart, causing her unspeakable pain. She didn't understand why she was like this, but she was in unbearable pain. She watched Yan Mingzhang silently, observing his every move.

Yan Mingzhang took out a bamboo basket and gently placed it in front of the boulder. Three plates of pastries were neatly arranged on the open ground in front of the boulder. Rong Wanyin noticed that there was actually a plate of red date cakes among them. You should know that Yan Mingzhang never eats any food with red dates.

Yan Mingzhang took out three incense sticks. As the flames shot up, wisps of smoke rose. The incense sticks were then inserted into the ground, emitting a faint, comforting sandalwood scent.

Half a cup of clear wine was poured from the white jade wine pot, moistening the ground in front of the boulder. "Father, Mother... Your unfilial son..." His voice was hoarse, with a thousand words in his heart, but he couldn't say them. He could only call out "Father" and "Mother" before he was on the verge of tears.

After kneeling for a long time, Yan Mingzhang kowtowed three times, his forehead pressed against the cold, muddy ground. The wine flowing on the ground made Yan Mingzhang feel as if he had been transported back to that bloody afternoon—scenes he would never forget: arrows piercing his mother's chest, the flowing blood seeping into the soil; his father's blood splattering from the knife wounds almost staining the boulder red; sometimes, having too good a memory is truly a punishment.

Yan Mingzhang slowly stood up, supporting himself on the boulder. Because he had been kneeling for too long, his legs were numb. When he stood up, he stumbled and almost fell. Rong Wanyin quickly stepped forward to help him up.

Yan Mingzhang looked up at Rong Wanyin, intending to thank her and smile, but before his lips could even curve into a smile, tears welled up in his eyes and dripped onto the back of Rong Wanyin's hand. Yan Mingzhang turned his head away, wiped away the tears with his fingers, licked his dry lips, and comforted Rong Wanyin, saying, "I'm fine, don't worry..."

Rong Wanyin's heart clenched painfully. She saw the veins bulging on Yan Mingzhang's neck, his hands gripping his palms tightly, drops of blood seeping from his wrists and staining his clothes. This usually resilient young nobleman was now as vulnerable as a wounded little animal.

Without hesitation, she rushed forward and embraced his trembling body. Yan Mingzhang froze for a moment, then softened as if he had removed his last layer of armor. He buried his face in her neck, his suppressed sobs mixed with heavy breathing, and hot tears soaked through the dress on her shoulders. Many things don't just fade with time.

Rong Wanyin gently patted his back, her fingertips touching his shoulder blades that heaved from sobbing. She couldn't utter any words of comfort, and all her words seemed utterly powerless.

Mo Yun touched his nose and turned around.

Suddenly, the birds in the distance were startled. Rong Wanyin looked around the woods warily. Someone was coming, and there were quite a few of them! A whooshing sound came from among the withered pine branches. Rong Wanyin drew her soft sword from her waist and blocked Yan Mingzhang with her Moyun longsword. Three sharp arrows grazed the blade and embedded themselves in the blue stone, their fletching still trembling.

"Watch out!" Before Mo Yun finished speaking, five men in black leaped out of the forest.

Three men in black instantly entangled Rong Wanyin, preventing her from breaking free despite her ability to wield her soft sword. Mo Yun brandished her longsword, engaging two of the men in black in a fierce battle.

Yan Mingzhang leaned against a boulder, panting. The scene of battle before him overlapped violently with his childhood memories, images flashing through his mind. That year, in this very place on Mount Song, the same men in black, the same flashing blades, his mother's warm blood splattering on his face as she shielded him, and the red date cake crushed into mud on the ground… The memories surged wildly in his mind, even the patterns on the date cake were clearly visible. These memories were beyond Yan Mingzhang's capacity to bear! He popped a small gray pill into his mouth.

Yan Mingzhang's temples throbbed, his head throbbing with pain. He gripped the cold rocks, his vision blurring. He struggled to stay upright; he absolutely couldn't faint now! Rong Wanyin's left shoulder was slashed open. In the instant her soft sword entangled the two men's weapons, she caught a glimpse of Yan Mingzhang out of the corner of her eye. She saw a man in black break free, his blade aimed straight for Yan Mingzhang's vitals.

"My lord!" She desperately shot out the hidden arrow from her sleeve, but it was knocked away by another person's sword.

"Your opponents are the two of us!" The two men in black blocked Rong Wanyin's path and intensified their attack.

The man in black who attacked Yan Mingzhang was completely covered up, with only his eyes showing, but Yan Mingzhang was all too familiar with those eyes.

"Changfeng!" Yan Mingzhang called out the person's name, "I know it's you!"

The man was slightly taken aback, his eyes flashed with panic, and his long sword faltered, his attack slowed by half a beat, striking the boulder and sending sparks flying.

"Why did you want to kill me?" Yan Mingzhang questioned.

"Wind-Breaking Slash?" Rong Wanyin exclaimed in surprise when she saw Changfeng make his move. "Isn't this the Zhang family's Wind-Breaking Slash? So, you really are a descendant of the Zhang family! No wonder you only use a sword and not a knife. It turns out you were trying to conceal your identity as a descendant of the Zhang family!"

"So what if it is? Because of your Yan family, our Zhang family was destroyed and our members were killed! If we don't avenge this, how can my unjustly killed relatives rest in peace in the afterlife?"

“Even if you pierce my chest, I will not admit to this crime. Their deaths are what they deserve!” Yan Mingzhang pointed to his left chest, where a blue kingfisher was embroidered.

"I don't care if you confess or not! Today is your death day!" As soon as Changfeng finished speaking, the blade pierced Yan Mingzhang's left chest. His thin shirt was torn, and crimson blood gushed out, turning the blue kingfisher into red flames. Yan Mingzhang felt a wave of dizziness, heard a series of booming sounds, and with a thud, he collapsed to the ground.

"My lord!" Rong Wanyin and Mo Yun cried out simultaneously, but they were tightly entangled and unable to break free. At this moment, Changfeng joined the battle, throwing out a handful of white powder: "Bone-Corroding Shadowless Powder!"

Rong Wanyin and Mo Yun were caught off guard and were hit squarely by the powder, causing them to fall to the ground in pain.

Changfeng crouched down and checked Yan Mingzhang's pulse several times to make sure there was no pulse. Only then did he stand up and order the men in black, "Take him away!"

A man in black glanced at Changfeng suspiciously, squatted down to check his pulse, and indeed felt a pulse at his fingertips. He then stood up, drew his long sword from behind him, and intended to deliver the final blow to Yan Mingzhang.