Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 81: All in vain overnight
When everyone walked out of the hall, they saw flames on the river. Dozens of warships came, with at least three thousand people. Arrows were shot at the defenders on the island, causing screams.

Seeing the heroes appear, the ships stopped firing arrows. A burly man on the main ship shouted, "Hua Manlou is extravagant and has hidden weapons, recruited soldiers, gathered the remnants of the fallen country, plotted evil, and rebelled against the Qin Dynasty. They deserve to be killed. If you throw down your weapons and surrender, I will show mercy and spare your life. Otherwise, I will exterminate all your clans."

Tian Jing stepped forward and shouted, "Fan Qian, you are so bold that you dare to mobilize troops to besiege me without my order. This is a rebellion. Soldiers, listen to my order and capture this traitor quickly!" After hearing this, the Qin soldiers were unmoved.

Fan Qian laughed and said, "Master Tian, ​​you didn't expect that, did you? You thought these soldiers would listen to you? You have been in collusion with the rebels, taking bribes, and living a life of debauchery. The evidence is irrefutable. I have already reported this to His Majesty. Your Majesty is wise and has already issued an edict to me. I have been waiting for today, when all the remnants of the rebels will gather, to annihilate them in one fell swoop. By the way, your family members have all been executed before I came here."

After hearing this, Tian Jing cried out "Ah!" and fell to the ground, cursing angrily: "Fan Qian, you are worse than a beast, you shall not die well!"

Xiang Liang said to the heroes, "There is a fast boat behind the island. Please follow Lord Qu and leave first. I will bring 500 soldiers to defend the island and we can hold out for a while!"

Guo Zijing raised his sword and shouted, "Why are you leaving? We were just worried that there were no Qin soldiers to kill. Today is a good opportunity to kill them to our heart's content!" More than a dozen heroes including Zhang Liang and Yi Shuihan were reluctant to leave.

Xiang Liang said, "Okay, then let's kill to our heart's content!" He immediately began to command the deployment of the defenders, and Qu Heng left with Gongsun Yu and others.

At this time, Fan Qian shouted: "Don't leave any one alive, shoot!" Arrows flew towards the shore again.

Xiang Liang hurriedly gave orders to extinguish the torches and retreat fifty feet to avoid arrows. He also ordered a dozen people to pile dry firewood under the house and pour kerosene on it in preparation for lighting it.

After the Qin soldiers had fired their arrows, they rushed towards the shore shouting and killing. At this time, the defenders on the shore drew their bows and shot at the rushing Qin army. The Qin army was immediately shot down and screamed in pain.

But after all, the Qin soldiers were numerous and well-trained, and the hundreds of people on the island found it difficult to resist the Qin soldiers' offensive. The Qin soldiers quickly pressed forward, shouting and killing, and a melee broke out. Yi Shuihan raised his sword, flew up, and led many masters on the island to rush into the Qin army, like a tiger among a flock of sheep. Every time the sword was swung, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and there were screams.

Xiang Liang mounted his horse and galloped into the encirclement, wielding his halberd with such force that he could move mountains and rivers. Every time he swung the halberd, he swept down a group of people, as if he was in an empty space and could move freely.

Seeing this, Fan Qian was very anxious. He said something to the dozens of men in black beside him. After hearing this, they drew their weapons and jumped off the main ship. They stepped on the waves and rushed towards the heroes on the island. They were very skilled in cultivation. In a moment, they were fighting with the masters on the island. There were flashes of swords and sounds of killing.

Xiang Liang swept away the Qin army, his body covered in blood, and looked at the battlefield. Although the Qin army had lost most of its men, there were only a few left on his side. Knowing that the situation was hopeless, he shouted to the heroes who were fighting hard, "It has come to this point. There is no point in fighting any further. We must save our lives and make long-term plans. Heroes, please follow me." He led the heroes, fought and retreated, lit dry firewood, and turned to the back of the island.

Behind the island was a steep cliff, and a narrow path was dug to lead to the island shore in preparation for escape. Xiang Liang led dozens of heroes, crossed the narrow path, jumped onto two speedboats, cut the ropes, and sailed downstream to escape from the island. Looking back, he saw that the entire island was on fire, illuminating the river like daylight.

The boat had not traveled far when they saw torches suddenly light up ahead. Four Qin warships, connected by iron chains, were anchored in the river, waiting for them to pass.

Xiang Liang thought, "This is bad! Princess Yu and Qu Heng must have been intercepted by them. I wonder if they are still alive now."

It was too late to avoid it, so they had to force their way through. Arrows were shot at the speedboat as dense as heavy rain. The heroes waved their weapons and tried their best to resist. Yi Shuihan and other masters of light skills flew up, stepped on the river water, and rushed towards the warship opposite. Guo Zijing and other people who were good at swimming dived into the water, trying to cut the chain to allow the speedboat to pass smoothly.

The Qin army had too many people, and Yi Shuihan and his men could not kill them all. In addition, there were some people with strong cultivation on the boat. For a moment, those people were surrounded. As long as Guo Zijing and his men showed their heads in the water, arrows would be shot at them. They were about to hit the chains. At this time, Xiang Liang shouted, "Abandon the boat and jump into the water!"

Just as a dozen people jumped into the water, the speedboat hit the iron chain and was instantly shattered. Yi Shuihan shook off the siege, jumped up, and jumped into the water. The water surface was like boiling water, and countless arrows shot into the water.

……

The sky was grey, white mist was rising from the river surface, with the smell of blood wafting in the air. Flocks of water birds were looming on the water, chirping. Occasionally, corpses and broken wooden boards floated across the water, and the water plants on the shore were swaying in the water. This was the lower reaches of the Huai River, already within the territory of Donghai County.

Gongsun Yuruan leaned against a dead tree, her beautiful eyes staring at the river without blinking, her clothes sticking to her body, making her look even thinner. Overnight, all her efforts were wasted, and her only hope was shattered. She clearly remembered that when the country was destroyed, the palace was burned, her mother committed suicide, her father was captured, and the palace maids were slaughtered and ravaged by the Qin army. General Xiang Liang led his four siblings to fight their way out of the siege, but in the end, she was the only one who survived. "Even if there are only three households in Chu, it will be Chu who will destroy Qin. But destroying Qin is easier said than done."

Luo Yan was hit by several arrows while trying to save her, but fortunately, no vital parts were hit. Although his life was not in danger, it would be difficult for him to recover in a short period of time. He sat behind Gongsun Yu and used his internal energy to heal his wounds.

Under another tree not far from them, there was another person, that was Wuzhan. They followed Qu Heng on the speedboat. When they fled, they first encountered the Qin army waiting downstream. Most of them did not know martial arts and could not resist the arrows of the Qin army. They jumped into the water one after another. Gongsun Yu could not swim. In a hurry, Luoyan picked up Gongsun Yu and resisted the arrows while stepping on the water to escape. After being hit by several arrows, he could not hold on and fell into the water. Fortunately, Wuzhan grabbed a piece of the boat plank and floated over. The three of them grabbed the boat plank and went downstream, and they escaped. As for the others, their lives and deaths were unknown. Wuzhan wanted to go back along the Huai River to find Jin Xingzi and Ling Kongzi. Now he urgently needed their protection. When Hua Manlou was besieged by the Qin army, he didn't know where they were. However, he was not worried that they would die, but he was worried that they would search for him along the Huai River.

Turning to look at Gongsun Yu's desolate figure, he immediately felt sympathy in his heart. He wondered where she would go in the future, how long she could live, and whether she could give up this shattered road of revenge.

Seeing a boat coming from upstream, Wuzhan said, "Let's leave here quickly, the Qin soldiers are searching here."

All three of them were exhausted, and Luo Yan was seriously injured. After walking and resting for a long time, they finally passed through the jungle on the river bank and came to a quiet village with only a few families living far apart. Wuzhan took out some silver and let Luo Yan stay in the home of an elderly widower so that he could recuperate in peace.

The old couple had never seen so much silver before, and were overjoyed. They thought Wuzhan took Gongsun Yu out for an affair, so they gave their entire house to them and moved to their neighbor's house. They also prepared meals on time and brought them to the three of them.

Wuzhan originally wanted to arrange for them to stay and then leave to look for Jin Xingzi and the other two, but when he saw Gongsun Yu's sad figure, he could not speak, and his heart always ached. Although they had only known each other for one day, he always wanted to care about her, and he wanted to understand one question: why was her body so weak.

It was not until night fell that Wuzhan was meditating and practicing the art of health preservation that he heard Gongsun Yu sigh from the east room, "Arsenic has fallen into the water."

Luo Yan said: "That's the best. Otherwise, if the princess eats more, she will be dead!"

Wuzhan broke out in a cold sweat when he heard this. "So that's it!" He had heard Lu Qingfang say that this substance was highly poisonous. Taking a small amount for a long time could make your skin fair and your figure charming, but your life would not be long. He didn't expect that she was so weak and took this substance for a long time. "Why do you ruin your body like this?"

Gongsun Yu said: "At this point, there is no other way. I can only rely on myself."

Luo Yan said: "If the princess dies, who will be left in Chu State? Who will restore the country?"

"What use is restoring the country to a woman like me? If I can kill Ying Zheng, I will be worthy of my father and mother."

Luo Yan said: "Why not go and ask Master Li for help? He won't live for many days anyway, so he will die wherever he goes!"

Gongsun Yu hissed, "Keep your voice down, he can hear you!"

Luo Yan shouted, "I want him to hear it. If he doesn't agree, I will kill him."

"If Master Li was afraid that you would kill him, he would have run away long ago. Why would he place us here? He is not the kind of person you think. He may be in more pain than I am."

"There are only a few days left. How can I not feel pain?"

"You are so heartless, stop talking!"

……

Wuzhan couldn't calm down for a long time after hearing what Luoyan said, not because of what he said, but because he knew what Gongsun Yu wanted to do. Maybe Gongsun Yu never expected anyone to avenge her. She was ready to assassinate Ying Zheng alone from the beginning. Otherwise, why would she take poison for a long time, why would she lower her status as a princess and play the piano for those extravagant people every night? She did this to let her reputation reach Ying Zheng's ears, so that one day, he would be selected into the palace, with the determination to die, and look for an opportunity to assassinate her. Meeting him was just a coincidence. What she said was just a revelation of her heart.

The moonlight shines through the wooden window into the house, without leaving any shadow, but the cicadas chirp incessantly. Wuzhan's heart is filled with empathy, melancholy, and confusion.

The east room and the west room are very close to each other, so you can hear each other without talking.

(End of this chapter)