Desperados Attack - Chapter 71 - Wedding Hijack

Jing Ke turned to leave, not even planning to take his Seven-Star Dagger with him.

“Wait!”

Han Lan, with a knife in his chest, staggered back a step, blood already spilling from his mouth.

“Don’t go!”

Han Lan pleaded with him, but his body couldn’t support him to say much more.

“Capture him, don’t let him escape!”

At a commander’s order, a group of people blocked Jing Ke’s path.

Without his dagger and surrounded, Jing Ke had no way to leave.

In the chaos, Han Lan fainted.

…….

“Sigh~ This Jing Ke is truly a fool.”

Duanmu Xun said, “It’s said that Jing Ke is a hero trying to assassinate a tyrant, but I didn’t expect his martial arts to be so weak, unable to evade even a group of soldiers and acting so impulsively.”

“Hmph, he’s not impulsive; he treats every day as his last. If he encounters an unforgivable criminal, even if they live on the moon or in the abyss, he would kill them, because he is Jing Ke.”

Hearing Mohuoluoja’s remark about Jing Ke, Duanmu Xun, despite having much to say, found herself unable to speak. After all, she didn’t know him.

“What happened next? This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with you, does it?”

Duanmu Xun questioned, looking at Mohuoluoja’s serious demeanor, secretly signaling the servants.

“How is it unrelated? Shut up and let me continue!” Mohuoluoja interjected.

……..

Han Lan Mansion!

When Han Lan opened his eyes, he was already lying in bed.

“Uh!”

With parched lips and a vacant gaze, his face pale, he couldn’t tell if he was in hell or elsewhere.

“Water… water…”

A faint voice squeezed out of Han Lan’s throat, his consciousness very blurry.

“You’re awake?”

“Uh…”

A voice came from the outer room, a very familiar one, yet he couldn’t recall who it was.

“Hey, you know I used decades of my cultivation level to save you, right?”

A man approached the bed, handsome in appearance, with striking eyes.

Han Lan squinted, unable to see who the man was, but he felt this person was surely a close friend or relative.

“Don’t you remember me?”

A cup of water was handed to Han Lan. The man helped him sit up, the pain in his chest from the wound still lingering.

Han Lan drank the water to the last drop and asked, “Who are you?”

Though weak and not clearly seeing the man’s face, he knew the man must be someone he was very close to.

“Hey, didn’t you say he would recognize you? How come he…”

“Shut up!”

The man gave a command to the man behind him.

“If it weren’t for you stabbing him, making him faint like this, how would he be in this state?”

“I…”

It turned out this person was none other than Liuchuan, the great talent who had met Han Lan in the moonlit forest.

How did he end up here?

It turns out that Liuchuan had never really left. That night, he stealthily infiltrated Han Lan’s troops. Rather than a talent scout recognizing a fine steed, it was more like the fine steed sought out the talent scout.

“Do you really not recognize me?”

Liuchuan bent down in front of Han Lan and said, “I am Liuchuan!”

“Uh!”

Han Lan weakly responded. After finishing the cup of water, he lay back down again.

“Uh, how am I still alive?”

Han Lan stuttered.

“Good question, take a look at this.”

Liuchuan pulled a leather flask from his sleeve, the Jiuli Pot, and from it retrieved a jade seal. On this seal, eight phoenixes seemed ready to emerge from the four corners, with four others poised to soar from the top. Around its base was the sacred visage of Chi You, with a fully red body and inscribed with the grand seal-“Vermilion Bird.”

This object was crafted from the inner alchemy and Vermilion Bird spiritual essence of the great deity Zha Tian.

This seal belonged to the Celestial Emperor of the Six Realms; after centuries of sedimentary gathering, it became extremely spiritual, almost like a living being.

Legend has it that the holder of this seal could sense the righteousness or decadence of the reigning monarch. If the monarch was just, the Vermilion Bird Seal could bring harmony and timely weather to the land; if the monarch was unwise, it could banish all devils and demons-ghosts would dissipate upon touching it, demons would be obliterated, thus earning the title of the righteous godly seal.

The bearer of this seal could dethrone or instate a Human Emperor.

In Ancient Times, after escaping Chi You’s control, the Vermilion Bird Seal came under the command of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.

During the Xia Dynasty, to prevent future corrupt Human Emperors from abusing the power of the Vermilion Bird Seal, it was submerged into the vast seas of The Divine Land, becoming lost without a trace.

At that moment, Han Lan, an ordinary mortal, naturally did not understand these complexities, but he did understand that if it was in Liuchuan’s hand, it must be valuable.

“I used this to save your life.”

“Really? Thank you.”

Han Lan responded with difficulty.

It should be known that the Vermilion Bird Seal is not a mere mortal object, and for the seal that can grant rebirth through fire, simply restoring Han Lan to his former state was improbable.

Therefore, Han Lan was certainly more than an ordinary person.

Of course, only Liuchuan knew these truths.

…….

“So that’s how it is. Then who exactly is this Han Lan?” Duanmu Xun interrupted, her curiosity piqued. Mohuoluoja didn’t seem upset; he simply explained, “Han Lan? He is the reincarnation of Chi You!”

“What?”

Duanmu Xun was astonished to hear that the Han Lan from hundreds of years ago was the reincarnation of Chi You from thousands of years ago. No wonder he possessed such a free-spirited nature.

Thinking about this, Duanmu Xun furrowed her brows, as if something else crossed her mind, and she asked, “Wasn’t Chi You a villain? Why is he so dedicated to the country and its people in this life?”

“You’ve got so many questions, young lady. Do you want to hear the story or not?” Mohuoluoja replied.

Duanmu Xun nodded repeatedly, while stealthily checking for any signs of backup. But inside and outside the manor, all was quiet-no rescue was in sight.

Mohuoluoja continued, “And who told you that Chi You was a villain?”

“If Chi You wasn’t evil, then why did he fight Xuanyuan and Shennong’s clans?”

“Because Chi You fell in love with the daughter of the old Emperor Xuanyuan. Meanwhile, the son of the old Emperor Shennong also had his eyes set on Xuanyuan’s daughter, Zhao Ling. Chi You, being who he was, never failed to obtain what he wanted. So, along with his brothers, he crashed the wedding of Zhao Ling and Yan Ju, and took Zhao Ling away. Zhao Ling, in turn, was captivated by Chi You’s wild and bold nature. Chi You was truly an extraordinary figure. After Zhao Ling fell in love with him, Yan Ju believed Chi You had tricked him, but chose not to take action.”

“…And then?”

Mohuoluoja paused before continuing, “And then…until that day!”