Qiu Yongsi arrived behind Hongjun and saw Yang Yuhuan with disheveled hair pushing aside a soldier. She angrily rebuked, "If you want to kill me, then kill me. How can I allow you to humiliate me like this?"
"Your Yang Family has humiliated my brothers and my soldiers who protect the country. Have you not done enough?!" Chen Xuanli angrily roared, "Yang Yuhuan! You are full of evil! If you don't die today, we will rebel! "
Instantly, the sound of weapons being thrown to the ground could be heard. Hongjun had never seen such a scene and was stunned.
"His Majesty has given the order," Yang Yuhuan said with a trembling voice, "I will die if I am willing."
Chen Xuanli took out Li Heng's order and said in a deep voice, "The Crown Prince has given the order. Exorcist Hongjun, Qiu Yongsi, do you want to go against the order?"
Hongjun took a step forward and Qiu Yongsi followed closely behind. He casually said, "You are all soldiers who protect the country. I have never doubted this. However … if our families are determined to protect the Imperial Concubine's life, we will have no choice but to turn against each other."
Everyone had seen Qiu Yongsi riding a dragon before and knew that they were no match for him. They immediately retreated with fear on their faces.
Chen Xuanli coldly said, "Have you thought this through? Qiu Yongsi, if you do this, you will be rebelling against the order!"
Qiu Yongsi coldly sneered, "The Tang Dynasty in your hands seems to have come from the Yang Family. The order of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is nothing to me." As he spoke, Qiu Yongsi took out an item and showed it to Chen Xuanli.
Everyone was shocked and the guards of the six armies retreated. Gao Lishi recognized the jade pendant and said with a trembling voice, "This is Yang Guang's … Yang Guang's …"
Even Yang Yuhuan was stunned and slowly gasped for breath.
Hongjun said, "Follow me back to Chang 'an."
Chen Xuanli said in a low voice, "Qiu Yongsi, Hongjun Kong, it seems like you have also been bewitched by this demon concubine. Fine, you exorcists are powerful, but it is impossible for us to protect His Majesty! If we don't kill this treacherous concubine today, even if we have to slaughter every last one of our six armies, we will never pick up our weapons and fight for you! "
Hongjun: "You …"
Hongjun could not stop gasping for breath. He could save Yang Yuhuan, but he could not force these soldiers to protect Li Longji willingly. Yang Yuhuan looked at Hongjun and Qiu Yongsi and shook her head slowly.
She turned around and walked towards Li Longji. She raised her head and looked at his aged face.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind, "Hongjun, I'm here to take a soul from you. Li Jinglong promised to give it to me. "
Hongjun: "Kun …"
"Shh." The voice said in a low voice, "As long as it's hers, bring this soul to me."
Yang Yuhuan could not stop sobbing. She leaned forward and hugged Li Longji. Li Longji was dizzy, but he said, "Bitch! You deserve to die! "
As he spoke, the senile emperor pushed Yang Yuhuan to the ground and kicked her away.
At that moment, Gao Lishi, Yang Yuhuan, and the surrounding guards were all stunned. Chen Xuanli was shocked at first, but then he laughed loudly and said, "Did you see that! Hongjun Kong! His Majesty will not be deceived by the Yang Family anymore! Kill her! "
Chen Xuanli was afraid that things would change if he delayed. His subordinates all pointed their arrows at Yang Yuhuan.
"Wait!" Yang Yuhuan burst into tears. She walked towards Hongjun and turned to face the soldiers of the six armies. With tears in her eyes, she took out a dagger and handed it to Hongjun.
"Even if I die, I won't die in your hands." Yang Yuhuan said miserably.
Hongjun looked at Li Longji. His eyes were already cloudy. With Gao Lishi's help, he was mumbling something.
"Where's my jade ring? Where's my jade ring? "Li Longji asked Gao Lishi.
Hongjun: "…"
Qiu Yongsi understood. He said softly, "He mistook Gui Fei for Princess Taiping …"
When Yang Yuhuan heard the words "where's my jade ring?", she immediately knelt down and cried. Chen Xuanli stepped forward again and said, "It's useless to delay any longer. Go. With one life, your Yang Family will be freed. What else do you have to complain about?"
Hongjun knelt down on one knee with his eyes closed. His hand trembled uncontrollably. He was unable to stab the dagger into Yang Yuhuan's chest.
"After my brother left the court, I've been waiting for this day to come." Yang Yuhuan said softly, "Hongjun Kong, your father saved my life. Now that you've taken it, we'll settle this … karma."
Hongjun knelt down on one knee and hugged Yang Yuhuan. He looked up at Chen Xuanli. The soldiers of the Shenwu Army surrounded Li Longji. Gao Lishi said with a trembling voice, "Hongjun Kong, hurry up … do it. The enemy will catch up soon."
Yang Yuhuan placed one hand on Hong Jun's wrist and pressed it against her chest.
"Bring her soul to me." Kun Shen's voice sounded in his ears again.
Hongjun clenched his teeth and stabbed the dagger into Yang Yuhuan's chest. Blood instantly splattered all over her clothes. Hongjun cried out in pain.
"Your Majesty … your concubine … will leave first." Yang Yuhuan closed her eyes.
Chen Xuanli and the soldiers all had mocking expressions. Chen Xuanli finally couldn't help but say, "Little brother, just because she gave you some pastries, a few hundred taels of silver as a reward, and several pieces of silk, you can't bear to take her life? Have you ever thought about how many families have been broken apart because of her and Yang Guozhong?! "
The soldiers of the six armies were all expressionless as they stared at Hongjun and Qiu Yongsi behind him.
"How much blood and lives have been stained by the hands of her Yang Family?" Chen Xuanli almost roared, "The Exorcism Division claims to be loyal to the Tang Dynasty, but they're also the Yang Family's lackeys!"
Hongjun looked up at Chen Xuanli. Chen Xuanli immediately felt a sense of danger.
"Femme fatale is a constant calamity." Hongjun said in a deep voice, "Since you're so worried about the country and the people, why don't you blame the person standing behind you?"
Chen Xuanli: "…"
Yang Yuhuan's body glowed faintly. Hongjun said slowly, "The collapse of the country wasn't the work of one person. Why don't you think about who created all this by blaming her for the death of the Tang Dynasty?"
Hongjun once asked Li Jinglong about it, and Li Jinglong patiently explained it to him. Li Longji was never muddle-headed. Using Yang Guozhong to exclude An Lushan was the embodiment of the emperor's schemes in the past. The Tang Dynasty worshiped military power and ruled the country. The border regions were enfeoffed, and the provincial governors were powerful. Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong, and the others bore infamy, but they were all chess pieces under the emperor's power. Otherwise, if Li Longji was determined not to use the power of the Yang Family, Yang Yuhuan wouldn't be able to do anything to the six armies no matter how powerful she was.
"Give the body to me," Chen Xuanli said, "I still need to check if she's really dead."
In an instant, thousands of strands of energy burst out of Yang Yuhuan's body and soared into the sky. It was as if an extremely powerful demon soul was released at the moment of her death! Qiu Yongsi took a step back. Hongjun was extremely surprised. He put down the body and stood up, looking at the sky.
The demon soul twirled and spun, glowing in the dark night as it rose into the sky.
"What's wrong?" Chen Xuanli followed Hongjun's gaze, but he couldn't see anything.
The demon soul flew towards Hongjun and Qiu Yongsi, floating in the sky behind them. The two of them suddenly turned around and saw the demon soul's long hair fluttering in the wind. Its face was bright like the moon, emitting a faint light. It vaguely carried a sense of holiness like when Lu Xu transformed into the White Deer. Qiu Yongsi immediately knew that the demon soul released from Yang Yuhuan's body was an extremely powerful demon soul.
"They can't see me," the demon soul said softly. "Thank you, Mahamayuri."
"You …" Hongjun was extremely shocked. However, the demon soul said gently, "Don't speak. Otherwise, they'll be even more suspicious."
As she spoke, she floated to Yang Guifei's corpse and bent down to hug her gently. However, Chen Xuanli had already taken advantage of this time to order his subordinates to go forward and check the corpse, in case the crafty exorcists who were good at using magic used any tricks to make Yang Yuhuan's corpse come back to life.
The demon soul slowly stood up and let out a long sigh. She said softly, "Finally … I'm out. This life is truly like a dream …"
As she spoke, Chen Xuanli said coldly, "Hongjun, remember what you said today."
Hongjun didn't touch the body again. Immediately after, Chen Xuanli ordered the Shenwu Army to move out and escort Li Longji away. In the darkness, Li Longji asked Gao Lishi, "When will Huan 'er follow us?"
"Your Majesty." Gao Lishi said softly, "This is your personal expedition. The Imperial Concubine is in the palace, waiting for your triumphant return …"
Gao Lishi put on Li Longji's helmet and helped him onto his horse. The six armies surged forward like a tide. Chen Xuanli didn't even look back as he led the army into the darkness.
The demon soul floated forward and stared at Li Longji's departing figure. After a long time, Qiu Yongsi asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"
"Yu Zaoyun," the demon soul replied softly. She then turned around and stared at Hongjun.
Hongjun suddenly recalled that when Wu Qiyu rebelled, he stared at Yang Guifei and said with a trembling voice, "Sister …"
"You're still alive!" Hongjun said with a trembling voice.
Yu Zaoyun sighed softly and replied, "From that day onwards, your father sealed me inside Yang Yuhuan's body."
It was already nighttime outside Chang 'an City. Hu Sheng led the few remaining soldiers of the Long Wu Army to fight on the city walls. The majority of the army had already been sent to escort Li Longji away. The ones defending the city were all defeated soldiers who had retreated from the frontlines.
Everyone was still waiting at night. Hongjun and Qiu Yongsi still hadn't returned.
Yang Guozhong said with a trembling voice, "How long are you going to wait?"
Atay couldn't sit still any longer. He repeatedly signaled to Mo Rigen with his eyes. Mo Rigen replied, "We'll wait for Hu Sheng's order. When they really can't hold on any longer, then it'll be our turn."
Flames rose in front of the city. The demon soldiers were fearless and kept attacking the city guards. The dark clouds had already spread to the top of the city walls. This time, An Lushan's advance seemed to be more cautious. It seemed to have sensed that the exorcists in Chang 'an's camp would come up with some kind of surprise attack. Billowing demonic aura followed the demon soldiers as they advanced.
"We can't hold on any longer — —!" Hu Sheng roared, "Retreat!"
Hu Sheng took out his longbow and nocked an arrow. He pointed at the northwest corner of Chang 'an and released the arrow. The arrow flew through the air and whistled towards the Exorcism Division. The arrow flew higher and higher into the sky. It drew an arc and fell to the ground.
A whistle sounded. The signal to retreat was here.
The entire city was retreating. The mortal army could no longer stop them. Everyone immediately stood up. Mo Rigen said, "Move!"
Li Jinglong was still asleep. Yang Guozhong asked, "Where are you going?"
Lu Xu carried Li Jinglong onto the carriage. Everyone left the Exorcism Division. Mo Rigen whistled and waved two fingers at Lu Xu. Lu Xu nodded.
The carriage sped into Chang 'an. At this moment, almost all of the citizens had been evacuated. The six armies, the chamberlains, and the entire city seemed to have been baptized by a hurricane and fell into darkness. In front of the empty main hall, Lu Xu dragged Yang Guozhong inside and threw him on the ground.
The Carp Demon asked, "What are you doing?"
Lu Xu replied, "Guarding here and waiting for Elder Shi to wake up."
"Where is this?" Chen Feng woke up.
Lu Xu had Chen Feng sit on the steps. He carried Li Jinglong up and laid him flat on the Emperor's couch.
"This is the Emperor's home," Lu Xu explained to Chen Feng. "Don't go anywhere. Just wait here."
Chen Feng nodded. Lu Xu found some leftover snacks from the palace and handed them to him. He said to the Carp Demon, "I'll leave this place to you, Zhao Zilong."
The Carp Demon was frightened out of its wits. It had to stay with Li Jinglong, who was unconscious and didn't know what was going on, and Yang Guozhong, who it was most afraid of? What a joke!
"Didn't you say to guard here?" the Carp Demon shouted.
Chen Feng said, "Huh? A talking carp?"
The Carp Demon said, "Don't worry about the talking carp at a time like this!"
Lu Xu started walking outside and said, "What I meant was for you to guard here."
The Carp Demon immediately flew forward and hugged Lu Xu's leg, shouting, "Don't go! Don't leave me alone! "
"Don't you have someone to accompany you?"
"That's a child!"
"He's not even afraid of Xie Yu. What are you afraid of!"
"How could he know what kind of person Xie Yu is —!" The carp demon cried out crazily, but Lu Xu kicked the carp demon into the air. With a swoosh, he transformed into a shadow and vanished.
Chen Feng: "???"
The Carp Demon: "… …"
This time, Yang Guozhong was defeated for no reason at all. He had taken every possibility into account, but he didn't expect that everyone would play him like a monkey. Now, they even left him in the main hall of Xingqing Palace and didn't care about him.
He kept struggling, but the runes that bound him were cast by Qiu Yongsi because he gave up resisting. Now, he couldn't break free at all. He turned to look at the Carp Demon, and the Carp Demon immediately hid behind Chen Feng.
"Do you want some?" Chen Feng asked the Carp Demon and fed it some mung bean cake.
The Carp Demon looked at him for a while and said, "You're really cute."
Chen Feng: "?"
"Hongjun must have been as cute as you when he was young," the Carp Demon added.
When Madam Duan was still alive, although the Chen family was poor, they still took good care of their children. Later, with Li Jinglong's help, they let Chen Feng dress well and eat well. Although no one cared about him for several days, Trandol helped him tidy up simply like a small piece of beautiful jade.
"Where's Auntie?" Chen Feng asked again.
"Auntie went to hide from the demons," the Carp Demon answered. "She'll come later."
Chen Feng was asking about Trandol. When everyone left the Exorcism Department, they knew that a big battle was inevitable. It was too dangerous for Trandol to take the baby with her, so she went to Mount Li to hide temporarily. Chen Feng should have left with them, but for some reason, Chen Feng insisted on staying with his "benefactor" and waiting for him to wake up.
Everyone wanted to let Trandol take Chen Feng away by force, but they were suddenly stopped by Lu Xu.
"Everything has its own destiny," Lu Xu said. "If he's a Mind's Lamp holder, he might be fated to stay."
Thus, everyone gave up and let Chen Feng stay by Li Jinglong's side.
Chen Feng pulled Li Jinglong's withered fingers and said, "He's so thin. Does he not have enough to eat?"
The Carp Demon answered, "He's been sleeping for many days."
Yang Guozhong turned to look at Li Jinglong. At this time, Chen Feng climbed onto Li Jinglong's body and looked at his sleeping face. At this moment, Li Jinglong's chest was faintly glowing. Chen Feng was a little sleepy again, so he lay down on Li Jinglong's body, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.