After Huang Jin’s injuries had mostly healed, the two remaining Imperial Guardians supported him as they departed.
The imperial relatives who had been innocently caught up in the incident exchanged glances, all dumbfounded.
Setting aside the battles shrouded in illusion, just the sight of Emperor Jianwen’s ordinary face appearing behind Huang Jin, and then unhesitatingly tearing open Huang Jin’s throat, was enough to keep these imperial relatives awake for months.
Not to mention the few imperial relatives who were accidentally killed by the Imperial Guardians; at present, not even a large piece of them could be found, they were so thoroughly mixed together that one might cry for the wrong person even when burying them.
At that moment, they dared not leave, nor dared they stay.
Finally, Zhu Zai stood up and clapped his hands.
“Everyone, please listen to me.”
“Let’s put aside what just happened for now; it’s better to hurry into the palace. No matter what, the villains surely wouldn’t dare cause trouble in the palace. As long as we see His Majesty and explain the situation, we should have some protection.”
With a leader, the imperial relatives naturally agreed.
However, their carriages had all been destroyed by Emperor Jianwen, and it was already late, the streets were pitch black, and none of them dared to proceed.
It was Zhu Zai and Li Miao who led the way, and only then did the others dare to follow behind them, walking together towards the imperial palace.
Glancing at the cowering imperial relatives behind him, Li Miao lowered his voice and said to Zhu Zai.
“How was it, Commander, was it a good show?”
“Did your ancestor especially bring you glory? Ten Imperial Guardians, and he almost killed Huang Jin.”
Zhu Zai frowned tightly.
“That was Emperor Jianwen.”
“Ten Imperial Guardians, and they couldn’t stop him from killing?”
Li Miao laughed.
“No, no, that fellow, anyone facing him for the first time will suffer a loss. If you don’t know how to guard against him, and he uses it well, it naturally seems formidable.”
“But he only picked on the weak, he didn’t dare touch those few Imperial Guardians, did he?”
“In my opinion, the eight Imperial Guardians who chased after him will make him suffer a considerable loss.”
“In that case…”
Zhu Zai breathed a sigh of relief.
He had also been startled by Emperor Jianwen’s performance, and after hearing Li Miao’s words, he finally felt somewhat relieved.
“However, Emperor Jianwen cannot be allowed to live.”
Zhu Zai said.
“Targeting imperial relatives, and being difficult for even several Celestials to defend against, if he is truly allowed to hide within Shuntian Prefecture, I’m afraid that within a month, all of my Zhu family’s imperial relatives, except for the imperial family, will be killed by him.”
Li Miao, however, said indifferently.
“Let’s wait and see. Isn’t the Emperor already looking for trouble with him? We don’t need to rush.”
“Since things have come to this, let’s finish tonight’s meal first.”
Zhu Zai sighed deeply and nodded.
Tianshou Mountain, Imperial Mausoleum.
The eight Imperial Guardians pursued relentlessly, clashing with Emperor Jianwen several times. Although they each suffered some losses, they gradually lost the feeling of powerlessness they had felt earlier, watching Huang Jin’s throat being torn open before their eyes.
Emperor Jianwen was not impossible to deal with.
Firstly, when he attacked with full power, his mind was entirely focused on executing his moves, making him unable to maintain the illusion.
Secondly, he had not cultivated the "Jiezi", and his martial arts consisted only of the purest “Ming Shen Martial Codex”.
No matter how profound a martial art, it can only focus on one particular direction. To advance courageously, one cannot be soft and cunning; to be ever-changing, one cannot be rigid and unyielding.
As long as there were characteristics and focuses, the eight Imperial Guardians could naturally find ways to counter him.
Thirdly, the Imperial Guardians discovered that as their fear of Emperor Jianwen dissipated, the effect of the illusions on them also decreased accordingly.
They had, by chance, discovered the characteristic of Stillness: “determined by the heart”.
And the fourth, and most important, point.
The Imperial Guardians discovered that Emperor Jianwen was injured, and severely so.
Knowing that this was the best opportunity to pursue and kill Emperor Jianwen, the eight Imperial Guardians also became ruthless, beginning to exchange injuries to delay Emperor Jianwen’s movements.
The few of them fought and fled, chasing him out of the city and into Tianshou Mountain.
When the Imperial Mausoleum appeared before their eyes, Emperor Jianwen’s figure flickered, activating “Stillness” to obscure their vision. When the Imperial Guardians emerged from the illusion, they found that he had vanished.
The Imperial Guardians exchanged glances.
“Yellow Eunuch’s prediction was indeed correct.”
One Imperial Guardian said.
“At this time, the defending army has not yet been recalled, and within the Imperial Mausoleum, there are only a portion of the defenders and the Xiaoling Guard.”
“Emperor Jianwen fleeing here is ironclad proof that Zhu Shoujing conspired to release Emperor Jianwen!”
One Imperial Guardian frowned.
“But, there are also several Celestials within the Xiaoling Guard, and Zhu Shoujing is no less powerful than us. If Emperor Jianwen joins forces with him, we might run into trouble if we rashly pursue him inside.”
One Imperial Guardian roared.
“Everyone, is this still the time to be hesitant? Our ‘time’ is running out!”
“This time, watching Yellow Eunuch’s throat being torn open right before us, we will inevitably be punished by His Majesty. If we don’t make up for it with meritorious deeds, we will be left to watch ourselves die of old age!”
At these words, the Imperial Guardians fell silent.
The court’s methods of controlling these Imperial Guardians were not limited to only three: extending life, relatives and friends, and Gu .
There was also “time”.
As mentioned before, these Imperial Guardians had a “shelf life”. The longer and more frequently they were awakened, the faster the Celestial Human Five Declines, suppressed by secret arts, would progress.
And depending on the task, the time Imperial Guardians needed to be awake varied. Some tasks only required an hour of awakening, some a day, and some even half a month.
An hour was a “first-class task”.
One or two days was a “middle-class task”.
Half a month or more was a “lower-class task”.
Wang Zhi was dead, and Huang Jin was the Emperor’s most trusted attendant. With something happening to him, these Imperial Guardians would naturally face punishment.
Which meant being assigned to those “lower-class tasks”.
As the time they were awakened grew longer, the Celestial Human Five Declines progressed faster and faster, yet the court would not use secret arts to put them back into slumber.
The outcome was often watching their skin gradually loosen, their vision gradually blur, their limbs gradually weaken,
Eventually collapsing into a heap, yet unable to die immediately due to their hard-cultivated internal energy, watching themselves wither away.
For Celestials who had practiced martial arts their entire lives and prided themselves on their skills, this was undoubtedly the most terrifying way to die.
Therefore, they dared not leave.
After a long moment, an Imperial Guardian gritted his teeth.
“Let’s go in together and look out for each other.”
“Even if something goes wrong, they can’t keep all eight of us. Once we confirm the Xiaoling Guard’s rebellion, we’ll have an explanation when we return!”
“So be it!”
The few nodded in agreement and walked together towards the Xiaoling Guard’s station.
Meanwhile, inside a house at the Xiaoling Guard’s station, Zhu Shoujing was completely unaware that he had become a rebel.
He was sitting at his desk, meticulously writing a memorial to report on the events at the Imperial Mausoleum last night.
Suddenly, his gaze sharpened, and he reached out to grasp the hilt of the saber by his desk.
“Who!?”
He looked towards the window.
There, a shadow, illuminated by firelight, swayed slowly.
