Chapter 718: The Welling of Sorrow
Not only did the five elderly men know about the Bloodsword Sect, they also knew just how powerful the Bloodsword Sect was. It scared the five of them very much.
“Not good, they’re actually from the Bloodsword Sect! Let’s go!” Old man Mateng exclaimed without any further thought. Before he had even finished speaking, he began to flee into the distance at a great speed.
“Let’s go!” Old man Situ yelled loudly and also began to flee. The remained three Fifth Heavenly Layer old men naturally did not dare to stay for any longer, fleeing into the distance almost simultaneously with old man Situ.
“The sect master has orders to capture and kill the five of them. Pursue them!” The man who had appeared first of the four said coldly. Afterwards, they all turned into streaks of red light simultaneously to pursue the five men, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Although the appearance of the four protectors from the Bloodsword Sect had saved the Changyang clan, those in the Changyang clan did not feel a sense of joy from surviving the disaster. Instead, they were all heavy-hearted. The entire Changyang Manor was flooded by a dense feeling of sorrow.
The guards within the Changyang clan were frightened to death by what had happened. Immediately, some guards stumbled towards the outside of the manor with trembling legs, each with pale faces.
Afterwards, more and more guards who feared death and did not want to be drawn into the matter all chose to leave. Most of them were guards who were hired by the Changyang clan with a lot of money. They worked at the Changyang clan, but they were not hell-bent on the job. If it were ordinary people, they would charge up without fearing death and massacre bravely, but the people the Changyan clan had provoked were Saint Rulers. Also, it was not just one Saint Ruler, but five. They felt burdened by a great pressure, and with the death of Jian Chen’s parents, Changyang Ba and Bi Yuntian, they all believed the Changyang clan was utterly doomed this time.
Although there was still the fourth young master who possessed a strength that could rival the Saint Rulers, they all believe that the odds really were against the fourth young master this time.
The high-ranking members of the Changyang clan sensed the departure of the guards, but they did not stop any of them, allowing them to leave.
Not long after, many of the guards, servants and followers of the Changyang clan had left. Only around four hundred royal guards stayed behind, as well as a few mercenaries and followers who were born and raised within the clan.
The parents of the followers were all old members of the Changyang clan. Even some of their ancestors had always worked in the Changyang Manor, so they were extremely loyal.
“Fourth sister, fourth sister, nothing must happen to you. Wake up, wake up.” Jian Chen’s second aunt, Yu Fengyan, leaned on Bi Yuntian’s corpse wailing. She constantly shook her body.
In the surroundings, the older people of the Changyang clan remained silent. They all displayed a deep feeling of grief. Today, what happened definitely was an extremely heavy blow to the Changyang clan
The news of the Changyang clan disaster spread in all directions like wild fire. Very soon, it had covered a radius of several thousand kilometers, causing all those who heard it to be greatly astounded.
Whilst everything was unfolding, Jian Chen was having a merry time with the third prince, Qin Ji, in the Qinhuang Kingdom. They sat a large, round table which was full of people, with around a dozen or so. However, other than Jian Chen and Qin Ji, the others were all female. They were all princesses of the Qinhuang Kingdom or young ladies of great clans. All of them were extremely pretty, and even some of them seemed to be able to cause fish to drown just from their appearance. They were all famed beauties within the Qinhuang Kingdom.
The beauties had come for an obvious reason, perhaps because of the orders from elder members of their clans, or perhaps they just wanted to come themselves.
Beside Jian Chen, the two princesses, Qin Shuang and Qin Yubing. sat close to Jian Chen. They smelt like orchids and constantly helped Jian Chen to wine and food. Their gazes at Jian Chen were filled with admiration and infatuation.
“Haha, brother Jian Chen, I, Qin Ji, have lived at the Drifting Clouds Palace for thirty years, yet it’s never been as lively as it is today. All these beauties and young ladies of great clans have gathered in my Drifting Clouds Palace. It’s a great honor for my humble abode.” Qin Ji chugged down a cup of good wine and laughed in a carefree manner which had originated from his joy. Although Jian Chen was already a Saint Ruler both in name and reality, he still remembered Qin Ji as a brother, even though his status was greatly different from before. It moved Qin Ji greatly.
His brother, Jian Chen, was an Imperial Protector of the kingdom. With a relationship like that, Qin Ji would be full of confidence even when he spoke to his own father, the king. Qin Ji could even feel that his father now treated him very differently, and even the eminent dukes and ministers who held great power treated him much more courteously than before.
Jian Chen’s face carried a warm smile. He was a person who viewed friendship with great importance. Even though he did not have many sworn brothers, Qin Ji was one of them, so no matter how much he changed, he would never forget their relationship.
After clinking glasses with Qin Ji, Jian Chen wanted to down the entire cup of good wine. However, just when the cup touched his lips, Jian Chen suddenly shook violently. A lot of the wine was split, dirtying his clothes.
The two princesses sitting next to Jian Chen immediately pulled out their silk, fragrant handkerchiefs that had accompanied them for great times to gently wipe at the wine on Jian Chen’s clothes. They said gently, “Young master Jian Chen, you should slow down. Look, the wine’s been splashed onto your clothes.”
Jian Chen did not pay any attention to the two princess’s voice. He slowly put down the cup and grasped his chest with his hand. His complexion began to change and his expression slowly became solemn.
Feeling the change in Jian Chen, Qin Ji immediately showed an expression of concern and asked, “Brother Jian Chen, what’s wrong?”
Jian Chen did not reply. His eyebrows were tightly furrowed and his hand remained tightly pressed on his chest. This was because he suddenly felt a weird pain in his heart and at the same time, his calm and immovable state of mind suddenly began to waver. He became perturbed and felt a great sense of unease and agitation flood his soul from deep within.
“What’s happening, just what’s happening? What has happened?” Jian Chen mumbled to himself at a loss. He had never encountered such a situation, even when he faced against insurmountable foes or incoming dangers. He had never felt such a feeling before.
“Brother Jian Chen, just what’s happening to you?” Qin Ji placed down his glass of wine and stared at Jian Chen in confusion.
“I don’t know. Why do I suddenly feel uneasy?” Jian Chen slowly stood up from his seat and paced around the palace. His eyebrows were tightly furrowed. He had no idea just what had happened.
Around the table, all the famed beauties looked at each other. They did not know just what had happened to Jian Chen.
Suddenly, a gleam of light flashed across Jian Chen’s eyes. His expression immediately became grim and thought, “Perhaps something has happened at home?” Thinking up to there, Jian Chen’s uneasiness became even stronger, causing him to change greatly in expression. A great wave of terror flooded his heart.
The terror was not a type of fear brought on by undefeatable enemies, but a fear that extremely terrible things had happened.
“Brother Qin Ji, I must depart immediately. I will be bidding farewell first!” Jian Chen could not stay for any longer. He immediately bid farewell to Qin Ji, before apologising to the famed beauties around the table. Afterwards, he hurried out of the Drifting Clouds Palace, rushing over to where the Space Gate was in the royal palace.
Qin Ji did not urge Jian Chen to stay. He stood in the Drifting Clouds Palace and watched as Jian Chen departed into the distance. His expression was full of doubt and shortly afterwards, he muttered to himself, “Perhaps something’s happened to Jian Chen’s home?”
Jian Chen’s departure was very hurried. He did not even bid farewell to the king or the four Imperial Protectors and instead directly got people to activate the Space Gate using his identity as an Imperial Protector. He passed through the gate and left the Qinhuang Kingdom.
As there was a destination set up for Space Gates outside Lore City in the Gesun Kingdom, Jian Chen directly arrived outside the city.
When Jian Chen arrived outside the city, he arrived right in the centre of the camp of the Eastern Deity Swords. There were soldiers clad in silver armor patrolling everywhere.
The opening of the Space Gate alerted the soldiers of the Eastern Deity Swords. Immediately, several people saw Jian Chen exit the Space Gate, but they seemed to know who Jian Chen was. After seeing him clearly, they all dropped to one knee and exclaimed, “We greet the Imperial Protector.”
In the blink of an eye, everyone in the surroundings knelt on one knee.
Jian Chen did not have the time to pay any attention to the soldiers. He immediately shot into the sky, flying towards Lore City.
Jian Chen descended from the sky in the Changyang Manor. The moment his feet touched the ground, Jian Chen seemed to have been petrified, standing there blankly and dumbstruck. In front of him, there was a ring of people composed of the elderly people and guards who had not left. As for the centre of the ring, Bi Yuntian and Changyang Ba lay there, eyes closed and pale faced.
All the remaining people of the Changyang clan gathered there. None of them spoke, feeling great remorse within their hearts. The entire Changyang clan was enveloped by a great feeling of grief.
It was less than two hours since the tragedy had occurred.
Jian Chen stared blankly in the direction of the people. Although the centre of the crowd was covered up by the surrounding people, he seemed to be able to see through the obstruction and clearly observe what was inside.