AWB Chapter 462 Untitled Manuscript
Chapter 462 Untitled Manuscript
Chapter 462 Untitled Manuscript
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He abandoned the car and fled.
The assassin had been chasing him for three days and two nights, and finally, his maids, attendants, servants, and guards were killed one by one.
He hadn't had any water or food for a long time, so his throat was thirsty and his stomach was as empty as a drum.
But he didn't dare stop for a moment, as this seemed to be his only remaining instinct - to run away.
He wanted to escape to the imperial city, but the journey was long.
He was not sure whether all the assassins had died in the fierce fight, nor did he know whether a group of people in black would suddenly jump out from the front and kill him. He could only protect his thin left chest with one hand, and wave the other hand, which was cracked and bloodstained, mechanically to push away the branches, weeds and vines that blocked the way ahead.
Then, his foot slipped and he rolled down the high hillside. His speed was much faster than when he climbed up the mountain, and he immediately rolled to the middle of the mountain.
This time, he was finally able to stop his unconscious steps, because his feet were in the air, hanging on the cliff halfway up the mountain. Fortunately, his right hand tightly grasped the extending branch.
But this can only allow him to hold on for half an hour at most. Once the time is up, the soil will loosen and he will fall into the valley along with the branch, leaving no trace of his body.
He didn't know whether he should shout for help.
On the one hand, this place is located high in the mountains and is sparsely populated. Even if there were people, they might not be able to hear his cry for help; secondly, there was no way of knowing whether the pursuers behind him would find him by following the sound; finally, and most importantly, his throat was dry, he coughed up blood, he was exhausted, and had no more energy to call for help.
Fortunately, there is always a way out. The weeds in front of me began to sway, and a cold and otherworldly figure appeared.
Wearing a jade crown, holding a sword, and dressed in white like wisps of smoke, he stands out from the crowd, like a gentleman, ethereal and clear like an orchid.
"You seem to need help?"
When the immortal-like man spoke, he found himself in a daze. He suddenly came to his senses, grabbed the life-saving branch again, and said in a hoarse voice: "God, save me."
The man nodded, leaned on his sword, leaned forward, and stretched out a long, clean, bony hand to him. Just when he was about to grab it, the hand was suddenly lifted up, making him miss.
"Tell me your family first, in detail." The voice that sounded like a human immortal said coldly, "I don't know your background, if I rescue you rashly, I'm afraid you will bring harm to the world in the future."
His suddenly tense heart slowly calmed down again, thinking that the immortal was indeed meticulous and thoughtful, so he hurriedly explained, but coughed repeatedly because he spoke too quickly. Fortunately, the immortal was not impatient at all and waited for him to calm down.
"I am Shen Hongzhi, the third-rank official of the Ministry of Revenue of Zheng State. I have been ordered by the Holy Emperor Lu Kang to carry the imperial edict and the imperial sword to privately visit the south to investigate the drought and flood disasters, check the taxes over the years, and find out where the disaster relief funds went. Unexpectedly, the military and government in the south colluded, not only falsely reported taxes and concealed the disaster, but also embezzled the funds, raised private soldiers and built an army, all of which were used to serve the King of the Southern Border. For many years, they have been plotting to rebel against our Zheng State next spring..."
He spoke with difficulty, coughing up blood from time to time, and spoke intermittently. He wanted to eat for several times but couldn't hold on. But seeing that the immortal had remained calm and listened attentively, he persisted.
"This line, this script..." The immortal nodded, indicating that he already knew what happened. "It's predictable. Finding the real evidence, being ambushed by pursuers, falling off a cliff while escaping, and hanging by a thread. It's related to the rise and fall of the country. It's really a chance."
"You have introduced yourself, so I should also state my identity to be polite." He raised his hand and saluted the man who was suppressing him, neither humble nor arrogant: "My name is Xie Miao, and my courtesy name is Jingzhi. I am the guardian of the two boundaries, a true god and a later immortal."
"Two rooms?" The man chewed on the words of the immortal, as if he had just realized the vastness of the world and the limits of human beings, and murmured in a low voice.
"The place where humans live is the human world, and the place where immortals live is here, that is, Liangjian. This mountain is called Liangjian Mountain. I am here to guard this mountain to prevent living souls from mistakenly entering and immortals from crossing over." Xie Miao spoke slowly and said, "You trespassed into Liangjian Mountain without permission, and I followed your trail."
"Thank you, Immortal. Can you rescue Shen first and then talk about the past?"
"No." Xie Miao said seriously, "I said before that I must first confirm your identity and that you are not a bad person. Now you need to provide evidence to prove that what you said is true."
As he spoke, Shen Hongzhi slid down a little more. The soil on the branch slipped away, making it look even more shaky.
"How do you prove that what you said is true?" The immortal asked after he finished speaking.
"I have hidden in my left chest the correspondence of the King of the Southern Territory plotting rebellion, and the letter I wrote to Emperor Lu Kang, which can serve as proof."
Xie Miao nodded, and with just a raise of his hand, the letter flew out from Shen Hongzhi's chest and fell into his hand. He opened the envelope, read it carefully, and confirmed that the letter was correct.
So, Xie Miao lowered his head again, just in time to meet Shen Hongzhi's eyes full of desire to survive, and said again: "The letter is real, but that doesn't mean anything. You may be lying, or maybe what you said is true, but the envoy in it has been killed by you, and you are impersonating him."
If Shen Hongzhi had been a little wary of Xie Miao before, then after he performed miracles, his disrespectful and blasphemous mentality disappeared in an instant. He was sure that the man with extraordinary temperament in front of him was an immortal, and that he had mistakenly entered his immortal mountain while avoiding pursuers, and was fortunately met by him. As for the pursuers who had not caught up with him, they were blocked at the foot of the mountain by the immortal's magical powers, and saved his life by accident.
Shen Hongzhi first bowed and thanked again in his heart. He did not dare to slack off in answering Xie Miao's question. He said respectfully, "Shen is very worried. I encountered bandits on the road before. All my tokens have been lost. I really can't prove my identity." At this point, his face showed a little more respect. "As long as the immortal can lend a hand to save Shen from danger, when Shen returns to the palace and reports to His Majesty, he will definitely build a mountain and a temple, erect a holy statue, and let all the people worship and offer sacrifices. I dare not say a single word of nonsense."
"He is quite smart. Once he meets the emperor, his identity will be proven. But everything depends on my help. If he really deceived me, I can easily find him with my extraordinary status and settle all the old and new accounts at once."
Xie Miao muttered a few words in his heart and nodded again.
"You are right." Xie Miao suddenly asked again: "You just said that these three prefects colluded and embezzled a lot of money from the imperial court?"
"A total of 1.27 million taels of silver and 320,000 taels of gold." Although Shen Hongzhi's voice was like a broken raincoat, he answered fluently.
“How many years’ income?”
"The details are unknown, but the earliest recorded one is more than seven years old."
"Three prefects have embezzled so much? In seven years, it is reasonable to average it out. The south of the Yangtze River is rich. This does not include the money that has been squandered and extorted from the people."
"I already know." Xie Miao complained in his heart and then continued: "The reason why I asked you again is to confirm whether what you said is false or not, and whether it matches what you said before."
"It should be so. It should be so." Shen Hongzhi said yes repeatedly.
"But..." Xie Miao changed the topic again: "I still can't save you. Why exactly..." Under Shen Hongzhi's astonished gaze, he summoned a jade mirror with his backhand and used his spiritual power to drag it in front of Shen Hongzhi.
Shen Hongzhi stared blankly at himself in the mirror. His clothes were torn and barely covered his body. There was mud and blood all over his body, and flies were flying around him. It was obvious that there was a foul stench. His face was pale and had many wounds. His blood had clotted. There was a rotten wound on the corner of his forehead and maggots were wriggling. When he turned his head to the side, only half of his skull was left, and there was little brain matter left.
He opened his eyes wide, tears almost bursting out, and there was turbid liquid mixed with cold water in the corners of his eyes, leaving two bloody marks on his face.
"I...I actually..." He was stunned and said, "I am actually a wandering ghost of a dead person?"
"That's right." Xie Miao pointed out the cruel fact. "Only living souls can travel between the two mountains. Ghosts can get lost sometimes. I am here to guard the boundary of the human world. It is my duty to exorcise evil spirits and seize souls. I tested your good and evil before, and I was also thinking about where you should go. It has been proved that you were not a very evil person in your life. We have met each other, which means we are destined. If you have any unfulfilled wishes, you can tell me."
Unfulfilled wish...
Shen Hongzhi felt a sudden buzzing sound in the half-empty head. He couldn't accept that he had tried his best to survive, but ended up dying at the foot of the mountain and becoming a ghost. Thinking of this, he was in a daze before and his soul was wandering around, not knowing where he was.
The emotions on his face changed again and again. He thought about how he had studied hard for ten years and finally became an official. On the day he married his wife, gongs and drums were beating and red silk was rolling. After marriage, the couple loved each other and their children were filial. Then he thought about how he worked diligently for the country and the people, and was fortunate to be appreciated by the emperor, and was promoted step by step. He was fortunate to know the wishes and ambitions of His Majesty, and he was even more passionate and loyal. Then he thought about how he was entrusted by the king and the emperor personally sent him to the palace gate. He shed tears on his homeland and vowed to find out the treacherous and evil, eliminate evil, collect evidence, punish local corrupt officials, and clear obstacles for the emperor's great cause, so as to live up to the great grace. Then he thought about... his last wish...
He opened his mouth and found that his throat was choked. When he spoke again, he was vomiting blood and was furious.
“My… my last wish…” He pointed at the document in Xie Miao’s hand with a trembling hand, and said word by word: “Please, please, the gods, thank you, the immortal…” His eyes were filled with tears, and he couldn’t speak:
Please give it to Your Majesty. This is an important matter that will benefit hundreds of thousands of people. This is a life-saving medicine! Medicine!"
With this letter, the emperor would know about the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people in the south who were suffering from the disaster. With this letter, the conspiracy of the king of the southern border could be exposed early, allowing the emperor to prepare in advance for the unexpected. With this letter, the south might be spared from the invasion of war and displacement. With this letter, the emperor would have the authority to mobilize the local armies to crown kings and jointly fight against the rebellion of the king of the southern border...
This is also why he fought desperately to survive. He knew that even after his death, he still had resentment and was obsessed with delivering the letter to the king. He would not die in peace!
Xie Miao nodded again, then he drew out his sword and introduced it, "This sword is for Fengshan." The sword shone like silver, the blade was as white as snow, and the words "Fengshan" were engraved on it.
Then without hesitation, he swung his sword away smoothly.
The sword did not pierce the chest of Shen Hongzhi's wandering soul, but the sword tip turned and cut off the crumbling branch.
Suddenly, Shen Hongzhi, along with the life-saving straw that had lost connection, fell into the endless abyss until his figure and shouting completely disappeared.
Xie Miao sheathed his sword and lowered his head to look again at the letter that was wrinkled and soaked with sweat after being grasped by Shen Hongzhi.
"Rebel? Then let him rebel."
He tore the letter into pieces and let them scatter in the deserted valley, as if they had never appeared.
“What the hell does it have to do with me?” Xie Miao carried the sword on his shoulder. His posture was no longer as cold and calm as before. Instead, he looked like a monkey carrying an iron rod. He walked back a few steps along the original path, and suddenly stopped. He looked up at the dark thunderclouds approaching here, and cursed in a low voice:
"Damn, it came really fast this time."
Black clouds carrying purple lightning as thick as stone pillars struck down from the sky. The wind howled and the earth trembled. Xie Miao dodged another thunderbolt by leaning sideways and cursed angrily: "Fuck your ancestors, Mingji, you little bastard--" Before he could dodge in time, the lightning struck him like a whip, almost tearing his skin and taking away half his life.
Xie Miao endured the pain and eased it for a while, then continued from the previous chapter: "I am doing this for the sake of justice, my dear son, did you hear me? I am doing the justice of heaven!"
Another thunderbolt fell, and Xie Miao was injured. He was a little slower and was hit again: "You son of a bitch, be gentle, that's enough. It's just another person killed, why are you really doing it? I'm giving you face, right?"
This time, the thunder did not strike again. Instead, the rolling black clouds became thicker and thicker, with thunder and lightning, as if brewing a thicker, bigger and more fatal blow.
Seeing this, Xie Miao discussed with him again: "If you hit me, it's the same as me hitting myself. If you're hurt, I'm hurt too. Why do you have to make things difficult for yourself?"
This time the thunder showed no mercy and struck Xie Miao directly, landing on his head. A bright light flashed and it took more than ten seconds to dissipate.
Xie Miao clenched his teeth and stopped talking. After a long while, he spat out a mouthful of blood and laughed like a madman:
"What is Heaven's way? It is that the poor remain poor, the rich become richer, the law-abiding die in prison, the loyal die in betrayal, the patriots die by the king's orders, the diligent die in hard labor. It is also said that criminals run rampant in the world, the promiscuous have children and grandchildren around their knees, the flatterers live by the king's side and enjoy the emperor's grace, and the lazy live a life of leisure and no worries about food and clothing."
Every time he spoke, a thunderbolt from the heavens would fall on him. Xie Miao simply did not dodge and just took it one by one. There was madness and excitement hidden in his black eyes:
"The evil bullies the good, the rich bullies the poor, the noble bullies the common people, and all beings deceive one another. This is the way of heaven."
The sky was so bright from the explosion that it was like day.
Xie Miao endured the thunder tribulation, with a smile on his face: "The way of heaven has always been fair, but its principles of operation are completely opposite to what people expect."
Then, his eyes became cold, and his black and red pupils glanced towards the center of the thundercloud in the sky. Another thundercloud came down from his head, splitting the sky and the earth into two parts as if splitting the sky and the earth.
"The way of heaven is flawed, and what's missing is me, Xie Miao. You and I are one body, Ming Ji! Why don't you recognize me!!!"
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