#476 - The Storm Is Coming
Chou time, Great Ning Imperial City.
“Dong—dong, dong, dong!”
“Fourth watch of Chou time, the weather is freezing!”
“Dong—dong, dong, dong!”
“No wind, no rain, all is peaceful.”
“…”
The urgent sounds of the night watch drum grow heavy, gradually the sounds of people disappear.
The one fast, three slow clangs of the wooden clapper echoed in the deserted streets and alleys, the night watchman dragging out his long trailing voice, shouting the same “all is peaceful” as if he were a wandering lonely ghost.
Ever since the Xu family rebellion half a year ago, Ning Yongnian issued an edict that all large cities with populations over 100,000 would implement a curfew, which naturally included the Great Ning Imperial City.
Although Jizhou was later breached, and Wei Yanyu led the Xu family's “remnants” to abandon the city and flee, the curfew was never lifted and has continued to this day.
As night watchmen who were able to walk freely at night, they also fully witnessed the entire process of the Imperial City's nights changing from the previous prosperity and bustle to the current desolation and coldness.
Although the successive wars in Jizhou, Yuanzhou, Da Feng, and Shuzhou never affected this place, the series of effects brought about by the war have subtly changed this ancient city of ten thousand years.
No wind, no rain, all is peaceful.
If only it were really like that...
Raising his head to look at the night sky with a sparse scattering of stars around the moon, the night watchman slandered in his heart, rounded a street corner, and turned into Yongning Lane, where the Hanging Mirror Division was located.
Then.
“Clang!”
The gong fell to the ground, and the long cry came to an abrupt halt.
He widened his eyes, looking at the dark mass of people in front of him that stretched on endlessly, his eyes filled with black Flood Dragon uniforms and countless cold gazes shooting over.
The almost solidified killing intent caused the night watchman to tremble uncontrollably, his mouth wide open but unable to utter a single sound.
He tried his best to turn around and escape, but his legs were nailed to the spot as if filled with lead, unable to lift even half an inch.
The gong that had fallen to the ground reflected the moonlight, and the moonlight reflected the figure of a man not far away.
The latter just calmly glanced at the pale-faced night watchman, then withdrew his gaze, faced the black-clothed constables who filled the entire long street, and spat out two words.
“Light the fire.”
Then, this fire dragon surged out of Yongning Lane in the night watchman's dazed gaze, slowly moving towards the direction of the Imperial Palace.
The sound of tens of thousands of people's footsteps pierced the tranquility of the Imperial City, the cold wind was biting, and the coolness of the moonlight was almost chilling to the bone.
But Wei Xianzhi had no intention of hiding his tracks at all.
Since he wanted to show Ning Yongnian the Wei family's blade, he would not hide it, but would reveal its sharpness.
He wanted Ning Yongnian to know that the Wei family was not the Liu family, nor the Xu family.
He wanted Ning Yongnian to understand that in this Great Ning Imperial City, what if you are the emperor!
“…”
“Close all the windows!”
“Light the signal fires!”
“Drop the city gates!!!”
Along with the shouts that suddenly sounded from all directions, the huge Imperial City instantly became noisy.
On the side of the street, doors and windows were hurriedly closed tightly by the common people who had climbed out of bed.
Further away, iron chains turned, and the four huge city gates also crashed down.
Hundreds of watchtowers standing tall in the four directions of the Imperial City suddenly lit signal fires one after another, and several streams of people surged from all directions towards the same direction in the soaring flames.
There were constables from the Six Doors wearing flying fish robes.
There were personal soldiers from the Capital Garrison Command wearing white cloaks.
There were yellow-armored city garrison soldiers holding military weapons.
There were large and small Jianghu gangs led by the Gongji Society.
Wei Xianzhi was never an incompetent person. In the half year since the Liu and Xu families were completely destroyed and the Wei family gained power, he had already used the Hanging Mirror Division and the Tongzhou Society to control all armed forces in the Imperial City except for the Imperial Guards.
He was never a cowardly person either. Although he had never had any intention of rebelling a year ago, today he was going to be a rebellious minister who defied the world.
Last Double Ninth Festival, Wei Changtian surrounded the Prime Minister's mansion with more than a thousand people from the Hanging Mirror Division for the sake of Qiu Yun and the scorched ancestral jade.
And today, he, as a father, was going to do something very similar for his son.
Take people and surround the Imperial Palace.
Da Feng, outside Fengyuan City.
Compared to the Great Ning Imperial City, which was on the verge of a storm, although the atmosphere on a low mountain here could not be considered earth-shattering, it was tense enough.
Seven second-rank experts led by a gray-robed old man reined in their horses and stopped in the center of a forest path, while standing opposite them were several martial artists with equally impressive auras.
“Everyone, we have been waiting here for a long time.”
In the firelight, Wu Ding narrowed his eyes, once again sizing up the seven people opposite him, and finally his gaze landed on Li Wutong in the rear.
After a few breaths, he withdrew his gaze and cupped his hands towards the gray-robed old man rather politely.
“I am Wu Ding, the Great Ning General Zhenxi, ordered by the Great Ning Emperor to talk with you.”
“I wonder if you would be willing to dismount and have a chat?”
“…”
Looking back at Li Wutong, the gray-robed old man's expression was calm, and he did not become flustered because of these suddenly appearing people blocking the road.
“General Wu, I know what you want to ask, but I am sorry that I cannot answer your questions.”
“Therefore, please let us pass, General.”
“…”
The shadows of the moon swayed, and the birds and animals in the forest trembled.
At this time, although the atmosphere between the two sides was not very tense, there was an undercurrent surging.
Wu Ding brought people to block here for no more than two purposes.
Either to prevent the gray-robed old man and the seven from taking Li Wutong away, or to inquire about their situation.
Of course, neither of these two things could be agreed to by the gray-robed old man and others.
And Wu Ding certainly would not let them pass so easily.
It is still unknown what Ning Yongnian told him to do, but if he were to resort to violence...
“Everyone, can't we really chat?”
Wu Ding's face instantly turned cold, and several experts behind him, including Bai Youheng, also pressed down on their weapons.
Although according to the current comparison of combat power, it seems impossible for their side to be the opponent of the seven second-rank experts opposite them, anyone could tell that the rustling sounds in the mountains and forests were not caused by the night wind.
“General Wu, just say what you want to say.”
Glancing at the dense cold light that had already surged up in the forest, the gray-robed old man still looked calm: “But I will make it clear in advance, if the General wants us to hand over the Princess, then it is better not to say it at all.”
“Hahaha, I wonder if I can ask why?”
Wu Ding suddenly smiled and said, “You are clearly not people of my Great Ning, why would you serve Wei Changtian?”
“We came by the order of Young Master Wei, but we are not serving Young Master Wei.”
The gray-robed old man casually said a seemingly contradictory answer, and then waved his hand somewhat impatiently.
“Alright, we are in a hurry to get on the road, so we won't talk too much with the General.”
“If the General wants to stop us, then you can try.”
“Da, da, da.”
The sound of horses' hooves sounded, and eight steeds slowly strode towards the motionless Wu Ding and others again.
The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer, and soon it was shortened from more than ten zhang to less than five zhang.
Until this time, the gray-robed old man had no intention of stopping at all, and Wu Ding also seemed to have no intention of letting them pass.
If the situation were to continue to develop like this, then when the two sides got closer, a great battle would inevitably break out.
However, at this last moment, Wu Ding suddenly looked at Li Wutong and said with a half-smile:
“Princess Wuping, I heard that your father has already woken up?”
“Tsk tsk tsk, you left him in Fengyuan, but you just left like this, isn't it a bit too heartless?”
