Chapter 5: Those who betray me, even in death will be punished
In a small village far away from the imperial capital, the quiet evening glow surrounded the distant Youyue Forest, where the mountains were lush and green. The chaos in the imperial capital had not yet affected this peaceful place. As dusk approached, smoke drifted lazily from the chimneys of each household, carrying the faint scent of cooking rice. Occasionally, a few barks from dogs, cries from children, and scolding from women could be heard from within the village. Farmers returning home after a day's work shouldered their hoes, chatting about trivial matters in the fields. The mud on their hoes emitted the unique fragrance of grain from the farmland, also the scent of a bumper harvest. Zhang Lao Han, who lived alone at the entrance of the village, sat in his usual spot on a simple rocking chair outside his door, comfortably filling his pipe with tobacco from his own field and exhaling round smoke rings. The various flowers in his courtyard were in full bloom, red and green, lively and vibrant, including several large water vats with elegant lotus flowers, adding an otherworldly atmosphere to this farmhouse. As the farmers entered the village, they greeted Zhang Lao Han familiarly, who smiled and asked about their crops. Everything was as usual, peaceful. Just as the sun was about to set, Zhang Lao Han looked up at the sky, lightly tapped his pipe, and bent down to head back inside. Suddenly, he caught sight of the giant potted plant beside his rocking chair swaying slightly. The old man's turbid eyes snapped open wide, and a sharp gaze unlike that of an ordinary farmer fixed intently on the pot. The pot moved again, more violently than before. Without hesitation, Zhang Lao Han hastily closed the courtyard gate and rushed back to the pot, carefully moving it aside with both hands. Underneath, a square bluestone slab was revealed. He lifted the slab cautiously, exposing a hole about the size of a washbasin. Zhang Lao Han went inside to fetch a long rope, slowly feeding it into the hole. Feeling someone grab hold of it, he pulled upwards forcefully. Finally, a woman emerged from the hole with great difficulty, her body and face covered in mud and grime. The woman then passed the rope back into the hole, and soon, a man dressed in black, holding a swaddled infant, crawled out. Who would have thought that Tang Jian's long-lost Nangong Yue and He Lian Nu would appear in a small village thousands of miles away?
The old man saw that everyone had already come out, and he quickly moved the potted landscape back to its original place. He carefully restored the surrounding soil to its original state, then led the two into the small hut. After locking the door, Zhang didn't even have time to open his mouth before hastily kneeling down on one knee, loudly saying: "He Lian Shi Jia's 21st generation collateral descendant, He Lian Chuang, vows to die for the He Lian family, willing to go through boiling water and walk through fire, and offer my liver and brains to the ground!!"
"Nan Huangyue hurriedly helped He Lianchuang up with both hands and said in a soft voice, 'Senior, please get up quickly. I am Nan Huangyue, the 22nd generation's eldest grandson's wife. To put it this way, you are still my senior. If you kneel down to me, won't that be harming your junior? Please get up quickly!'"
He Lian Chuang stood up, bowed to Nan Huang Yue and said: "Madam is polite. Since the old master He Lian Zong chose me to guard this place more than 40 years ago, I have been here all along. The master once said that unless it's an emergency, he would never use this place. But what happened in the family this time? Is the master okay?"
Nan Huangyue's face turned gloomy: "The Tang family feared that Helian Gong's achievements would surpass their own, so they colluded with the Zheng family to issue a fake summons. In reality, they set up an ambush on the halfway point and killed Helian Zhan. After Helian Zhan died in battle, he escaped back to Nanjiang and raised an army to rebel against Tian Shuang. Upon hearing the news, our master predicted that the Tang family would definitely bring harm to our ancestral home in the imperial capital. Therefore, he hastily ordered me to take our young son and escape through a secret passage. After several twists and turns, we arrived here. However, our master himself refused to leave the imperial capital, wanting to prove Helian's innocence with his own death. Now, I fear that disaster is more likely than good fortune!"
"What? Thinking that Helian has been loyal and guarding the Tianxuan for hundreds of years, if there was no Helian, how would there be today's Tang family! The old master is even more loyal, who would have thought that it would end up like this, only to suffer from the master's loyalty. ", Helian Chu's words were not finished, and two lines of old tears had already fallen down. "Madam, don't worry, this place is over a thousand miles away from the imperial capital, and the secret passage was personally supervised by the great master Nan Gong Ao, after it is opened, as long as someone passes through an hour later, it will automatically collapse, the terrain here is hidden, Tang's eagles and dogs will not be able to find this place, you can rest assured and plan for future events."
"Can we really be at ease? I don't think so", suddenly, a sinister voice came from outside the door, followed by the door being kicked open violently, and more than ten cold gleaming gun muzzles pointed towards the people inside.
"Ke Lian Chang?!", Ke Lian Chuang looked clearly at the person who came, and shouted out in surprise, rushing to cover Nan Huan Yue and Ke Lian Shang behind him. His somewhat stooped body was trembling non-stop, apparently this person's sudden arrival had shocked and frightened him greatly.
"Old fellow, it's been decades since we last met, didn't think I'd still be alive, did you? I suppose you've spent these decades stuck here all alone, eating coarse food and living a hard life as a farmer, but how could that compare to my carefree and happy life!", He Lianchang brushed aside the soldiers blocking his way, slowly waving the paper fan in his hand, his lecherous eyes constantly sizing up Nan Xiangyue standing behind He Lianchuang.
Who is He Lianchang? And why is he here? This involves a matter of several decades ago. He Lianchang and He Lianchuang were both collateral descendants of the He Lian family. Fifty years ago, the He Lian family selected children with excellent qualifications and good character from among their collateral descendants for concentrated training. Those who performed well were given important responsibilities, while those who were average but absolutely loyal were arranged to be stationed in secret locations as a last resort for the family in times of crisis. He Lianchang was one of the best-performing children and was selected to handle important and confidential matters for the family. He Lianchuang, due to his limited qualifications, was arranged to stay in this small village, changing his name and surname to guard the last security of the He Lian family. The two had not seen each other since their training ended, and after several decades, they were both old men. If it weren't for the two prominent black moles on He Lianchang's left cheek, He Lianchuang would probably have difficulty recognizing this person.
"Is that He Lianchang? One of the five family managers twenty years ago? But he should have died in Tianzhu Mountain long ago!" Nan Huangyue vaguely remembered the name He Lianchang, but in her memory, this person should have been gone from the world for a long time, and she didn't know why he was standing here today.
"Tianzhu Mountain? Not bad, it turns out that He Lian Chang is dead, but I'm still alive. He Lian Chuang, you take the surname He as a joke, who can trample on it, but I want to get rid of this surname that makes me lose my dignity at all times! I've had enough of being born as a collateral descendant of the He family, destined to assist the direct line. I also have the surname He, and He Lian Zong has the surname He too. He was born to inherit the throne, with millions of soldiers listening to his orders on the battlefield. As for me, no matter how excellent or clever I am, I'll never get the chance to lead troops in battle and establish merits! And you, you're doomed to spend your life guarding this remote village, watching the sun rise and set over the You Yue Forest. Watching your hair turn white day by day, watching this empty courtyard with only your own shadow forever! Why is all this? It's because we have the surname He, but are collateral descendants who are looked down upon!! Don't you think it's unfair?! Don't you think all this is reasonable?!" He Lian Chang let out a frenzied roar, his neck bulging with veins, his face revealing resentment and deep-seated hatred.
"Shut up! Fair? You know what's fair?! The master is born to be a great commander, it's his destiny to lead the army and fight battles. What about you? I admit that you're clever, but your heart is too narrow, how can you have the vision to command an army? The master letting you manage things is already being generous. As for me, I'm just mediocre, I know I'll never be a great hero, it's my fate to stay here till old age. The master treats us well, our families all received the same treatment as his own relatives, but you repay him like this, that's what's truly unfair!"
"It's pointless to say more, back then I couldn't stand being treated as someone who could only handle family trivial matters, so I faked my own death at Tianzhu Mountain and joined the Zheng family camp. I knew countless secrets of the Helian family but never had a chance for revenge, didn't expect this Helian rebellion to give me such a great opportunity, wonder how much credit I'll get for capturing Nan Hua Yue and Helian San Young Master? Hahahaha!" Helian Chang couldn't stop laughing triumphantly.
"How dare you!", He Lian Chuang suddenly roared, taking advantage of He Lian Chang's momentary stunned state to rush forward and pull a hidden cord on the door, instantly opening a wooden board on the roof, releasing a massive amount of white powder that rained down on He Lian Chang and the soldiers at the gate. As everyone's eyes were blinded by the white powder, He Lian Chuang swiftly drew out a short blade from his waist and charged towards He Lian Chang, shouting: "Young mistress, quickly leave! There are horses in the backyard! I will use the name of He Lian to kill this traitor of our clan!"
Nan Huangyue had not yet recovered from the shock when He Lian Shang suddenly grabbed her with one arm, kicked open the back wall and swiftly exited through the opening. Indeed, he saw two white horses tied to the horse rack in the backyard without saddles or stirrups. He Lian Shang quickly ran forward, swung his palm to cut off the reins, threw Nan Huangyue onto one of the horses, mounted the other himself, held the baby tight with his left arm and grasped the horse's mane with his right hand, expertly urging the horse to gallop away.
Inside the hut, He Lianchang finally reacted and dodged to the side as He Lianchuang rushed towards him like a mad dog. However, his arm was still slashed by the dagger, leaving a deep wound. Enraged, He Lianchang charged forward, thinking that He Lianchuang was only able to land a lucky hit due to his sudden attack. But in terms of actual martial arts skills, He Lianchuang was far inferior. After a few swift attacks, He Lianchang seized an opportunity and kicked He Lianchuang's ribs with great force. The soldiers on both sides rushed forward and tightly bound He Lianchuang's hands and feet with ropes, even stuffing his mouth with cotton to prevent him from biting his tongue to death. He Lianchang didn't dare to linger and quickly led the other soldiers in mounting their warhorses and chasing after He Lianchuang through the gap he had created. The soldiers who came to pursue were all elites, and their warhorses were top-notch, carefully selected from thousands of miles away. With a loud cry, they whipped their horses and chased after the fleeing figure, following the hoof prints at high speed.
