Six months ago, he received the news of Xue Zi Ning's disappearance, unable to believe it. How could such an intelligent and wise young girl vanish?
He had always believed that one day, she would return.
And indeed, he had waited for this day.
Half a month ago, he received her personal letter, which prompted him to gather the remaining fifty thousand troops and rush to the capital, hoping to help the Empress regain her throne.
"General Wu, thank you," Xue Zi Ning said gratefully.
A personal letter, without any seal, was enough to make Wu Da Kang travel a thousand miles to meet her. She was touched beyond words.
Wu Da Kang scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Your Majesty, please don't thank this humble general. It is what I should do. Oh, and young General Gu should arrive the day after tomorrow."
Xue Zi Ning was surprised. She hadn't written to Xiling Pass, fearing the Gu family army wouldn't believe her.
Seeing her confusion, Wu Da Kang chuckled foolishly, "Zheng Dao was sent to study martial arts under young General Gu. I don't know what happened, but when this child learned about your situation, he told General Gu. General Gu discussed it with Deputy General Yang, and they are bringing soldiers to join us."
"Wu Da Kang, thank you."
With this thank you, she bowed deeply.
Wu Da Kang was startled and quickly returned the grand bow, "Your Majesty, absolutely not! You will crush this humble general. It is what I should do."
Xue Zi Ning nodded, knowing this was not the time for gratitude. Taking the capital was the priority.
"Currently, there are over twenty thousand of Xue Chang An's Imperial Guards in the city. I want to take the capital quickly, preferably without disturbing the common people."
Wu Da Kang nodded, "This humble general understands. We will set up camp here today."
Xue Zi Ning nodded, "Good."
Wu Da Kang left first.
"Sister..." Xue Zi Xuan and others also arrived.
Xue Zi Ning patted Xue Zi Xuan's shoulder and said, "You are weak. Rest quickly."
Xue Zi Xuan knew that he had to recover his strength to fight alongside his sister tomorrow, so he obediently returned to his tent to rest.
"A Ning, my people have found your Aunt Yuan," Wen Yu Xi said in a low voice.
Xue Zi Ning was taken aback and said, "Protect her well. I will see her after this is over."
Wen Yu Xi nodded, "Don't worry!"
The Imperial Palace
Xue Chang An threw the letter in his hand to the ground and stomped on it fiercely, raging, "They promised so well before, what do they want now? To save their own skin? Fine, fine, very good..."
"What about Hua Country? I helped the King of Hua ascend the throne, and now he wants to renege?"
Someone below reported, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince of Hua Country is currently acting as regent."
"Hua Yun Xuan?" Xue Chang An asked.
"No, it's Hua Yun Jin..."
Xue Chang An was so angry he almost couldn't breathe, roaring, "All of you are useless! Didn't I tell you to intercept Hua Yun Jin? How could he return to Hua Country alive?"
"Your Majesty, your subordinates did intercept him and were about to succeed, but a few people appeared midway. Your subordinates were outnumbered and Hua Yun Jin escaped."
"Useless! What use do I have for you? Guards, drag them out and beat them to death!" Xue Chang An bellowed.
"Your Majesty, please spare us! Your Majesty, please spare us!"
"Your Majesty, this is a critical moment, and we need all hands. You should not be killing people."
Xue Chang An looked up at the speaker upon hearing this, his anger intensifying, "What I do is none of your business! Xue Yu, if you hadn't let Xue Zi Ning escape back then, none of this would have happened today."
Xue Yu sneered at this, "Your Majesty, if you hadn't been so obsessed with obtaining Yan Zhao back then, the entire world would have been in your hands already."
"Xue Yu, are you telling me how to do my job?" Xue Chang An was enraged.
"This minister dares not. However, there are fifty thousand troops from Wu Da Kang outside the city. Your Majesty, I'm afraid you won't be able to fly away."
Xue Chang An frowned coldly and said, "How is the training of those people going?"
Xue Yu replied, "They can be put to use now."
"What about Li Chen Xuan?" Xue Chang An asked.
Xue Yu said, "He has already gone mad. However, Jiang Xin Qin willingly fell into demonic possession, only asking that her child be spared."
"Tell her that as long as she kills Xue Zi Ning, I will not only release her child but also reunite their family of three," Xue Chang An declared.
In the middle of the night, Xue Zi Ning was awakened by a blast of cold air. In the darkness, she sensed someone was there.
"Who?" she asked coldly.
"The one who came to kill you..." the other party's voice was as cold as frost.
Xue Zi Ning dodged the opponent's attack and waved her hand, igniting the candlelight.
Through the dim candlelight, she saw the person in front of her.
It was a woman, her face pale, her eyes slightly upturned, and her gaze a deep crimson.
Her disheveled hair framed her face as she glared at Xue Zi Ning with fierce eyes.
It seemed vaguely familiar. Finally, Xue Zi Ning realized. Wasn't this Li Chen Xuan's wife, Jiang Xin Qin?
"Madam Li?" Xue Zi Ning asked.
"Die." Jiang Xin Qin lunged at her with a dagger.
Xue Zi Ning retreated, dodging the attack.
Jiang Xin Qin had no martial arts skills. For someone so powerless to have her cultivation increase so dramatically in such a short time was baffling.
"Xue Zi Ning, only if you die can Chen Xuan truly belong to me..." Jiang Xin Qin gritted her teeth and said furiously.
"Li Chen Xuan does not belong to anyone. He belongs only to himself. Madam Li..."
"If it weren't for you, why would he be so distant and yet so close to me? Xue Zi Ning, it's all you, it's all you..." Jiang Xin Qin cried out.
In an instant, her cultivation seemed to become even deeper than before.
Has she gone mad? Xue Zi Ning was shocked.
She had seen a demonic martial art in Fan Min's handwritten notes – the Mad Demon Technique, which greatly increased cultivation. In the early stages, one could retain their sanity, but in the later stages, sanity would be lost, turning them into mere weapons.
Xue Chang An was actually using Jiang Xin Qin as a weapon.
Xue Chang An, you are truly ruthless.
With her increased cultivation and the anger in her heart.
Xue Zi Ning did not engage in a direct confrontation, as it would only lead to mutual destruction.
She fled the room. Wen Yu Xi, hearing the commotion, came out and saw a dark figure lunging at her.
Wen Yu Xi stepped forward to confront this dark figure and exclaimed in shock, "Her cultivation is so profound."
"She has gone mad," Xue Zi Ning said.
"Yu Xi, Yu Rou," Wen Yu Xi called out.
Wen Yu and Wen Rou stepped forward together. Xue Zi Ning did not stand by as an observer; she leaped forward.
The four of them finally managed to subdue the maddened Jiang Xin Qin.
They bound her and confined her in a tent.
Wen Yu Xi said, "If Xue Chang An has trained people to be this terrifying, then tomorrow..."
Xue Zi Ning knew what Wen Yu Xi meant. "Therefore, we must take the capital as soon as possible tomorrow. Every extra day increases the danger of more people going mad."
The next day, most of the residents of the capital had already evacuated overnight.
The army entered the city, guarding all exits.
In this way, Xue Chang An was nothing more than a trapped beast and wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.
Outside the Imperial Palace, what Xue Zi Ning had feared still happened. Rows of people identical to Jiang Xin Qin stood guard.
"A Ning, what should we do?" Wen Yu Xi asked.
Xue Zi Ning closed her eyes. After a long moment, she opened them. The light in her eyes was unwavering, without a trace of hesitation. She slowly said, "Saving them will not bring back the past. Kill them."