Chapter 158 – Who Bends His Back When Walking in Front of the Palace?

“Release the arrows!” Rain dripped down from Gong Dian’s mixed beard, and the pale-faced commander of the forbidden army, his voice slightly trembling, issued the order.

Countless feathered arrows broke away from the taut bowstring at this moment, abruptly raising their speed to the peak, tearing the rainwater in the air and shooting towards the Five Bamboos standing alone in the middle of the square.

The densely packed arrow feathers seemed to want to cover the sky, only today’s torrential rain took the lead in robbing this effect, so the countless branches of arrow feathers shot out at high speed were like venting their dissatisfaction, strangling the sky and the earth, and all the rain drops in the air, causing the entire sky above the square to turn into a curtain curtain of water like a divine realm!

In contrast to this horrifying sound, there were also the eerie whistling sounds of these arrow feathers piercing through the air, which represented the powerful military strength of the Qing Kingdom, as well as the irresistible killing intent.

In such a dense arrow attack, no one can survive, Fan Xian can not, even when the Great Eastern Mountain at the Ye Liuyun, facing only hundreds of crossbow arrows, and in that terrain, the Great Master’s fluttering stance, was supposed to be their greatest protection.

How to kill a great master? Fan Xian once thought deeply about this problem, must be placed on the plains, ten thousand arrows, and then use the heavy armor cavalry to charge, so as not to give the great master the possibility of escape.

Standing alone in the rain, Five Bamboo is very powerful, at least those who know his name, never think he is weaker than a great master, obviously, the forbidden army to close the army to release arrows, and Fan Idle’s plan was extremely appropriate – at this time, the square is a wide, although in the rain, there is no law that can block the line of sight, how can Five Bamboo dodge? After all, manpower is sometimes poor, and there are people who can fight against ten thousand people, but when the arrows are fired, it is like combining the strength of ten thousand people into one, how can they resist?

Facing the arrows that are denser than the rainstorm, can the five bamboo still stand in the center of the square with unparalleled strength?

Five Bamboo’s stance is not as fast as Ye Liuyun’s, five Bamboo’s strikes are not as fierce as the Four Gu Swords, five Bamboo can’t escape through the rain like the Bitter Lotus, he just indifferently raised his head through the layer of wet black cloth and looked at the black rain of arrows that came to his face and forced the wind to his face, enveloping his surroundings in tens of feet of directions.

The tips of the arrows pierced through the raindrops and arrived in front of him.

In today’s world, the strongest person in terms of lightness of body should be Fan Xian, with the help of the book of spells left behind by Bitter Lotus, he could swipe more than ten feet on the snow. However, even he, facing this rain of arrows, could not swiftly, like lightning, swept beyond the scope of the rain of arrows.

Therefore, Five Bamboo’s body didn’t move, didn’t try to avoid this rain of arrows that was obviously long-prepared and dense to the extreme, because no matter who it was, he couldn’t avoid it – he just put the brazier in the rain around him back, and crossed it in front of his own chest, just like a door that was suddenly closed, locking his figure behind the rain and mist.

Duh duh duh duh! Countless terrifying sounds of arrowheads piercing their targets seemed to ring out simultaneously at this moment. Some of the powerful arrows pierced the green stone slabs underneath Five Bamboo’s feet and bounced violently, and in the air, they couldn’t withstand the huge force borne by the arrows and snapped with a crunching sound, and some of the arrows were even shot directly into the narrow gaps between the green stone slabs, and the arrow feathers buzzed.

In just an instant, countless arrows enveloped Five Bamboo’s slightly thin body.

After the countless palpitating ringing sounds, silence fell over the Imperial City, and the pupils of everyone’s eyes gradually narrowed, shrinking in horror, not daring to look at the scene in front of them with disbelief.

The arrows were like weeds after being catalyzed by the spring rain, morosely sticking densely on the ground and splashing in the air within a range of about dozens of feet square in the middle of the square in front of the imperial palace!

And the most dense rain of arrows right in the center, five bamboo is still standing silently, I do not know when, he has been wearing the hat has been to his hands, above the interspersed with an unknown number of arrows, looking like a black fur ball, oozing with cold light.

And his right hand was still holding the brazier steadily, and underneath his right hand were countless branches of arrow feathers that he had chopped off.

The square that was wet by the rain was full of arrow branches, Five Bamboo stood in the middle of the ground full of broken arrows, except for the position where his feet stood, a ground of killing intent after folding, it seemed that in this heaven and earth there was only him left, standing on top of the clean ground.

Rain suddenly in this moment down, it seems that the heavens also began to vaguely afraid of this in the ten thousand branches of feathers and arrows, still stubbornly standing blind, want to see this scene more clearly, so the thick rain clouds above the palace suddenly was torn open a gap, the sun’s rays will be from the gap down, shining on the body of the Five Bamboo, faintly for this cloth-clothed blind man reflected a clear light.

Autumn wind in the drizzle, five bamboo body soaked clothes gently flick, rustling sound, his left hand on the top of the hat do not know how many branches of feathers and arrows, finally end of life, in his hands scattered broken, like a fragile lantern.

No one knew what had happened, and the Imperial City’s forbidden soldiers simply did not understand how such a miracle-like scene had appeared on earth.

At the moment when the arrows were approaching, Five Bamboo actually moved, only he moved too fast, so that the iron brazier in his hand and the high speed spinning hat, both traces, became a silken shadow in the rain, and no one was able to see it at all.

Five Bamboo’s feet were like two stakes, standing deep in the earth, and the iron brazier in his right hand, as if it had a life, completely calculated the trajectory of every arrow’s flight, and with the cooperation of Five Bamboo’s limbs’ powerful execution ability, it unbelievably chopped down every arrow that was actually stabbing at his body.

At that moment earlier, each of the iron brazier’s stabbing and chopping cross-blocking was forcefully limited by Five Bamboo within the range of his own body, without an inch beyond, he let those whistling arrow branches brush against his own clothes, brush against his earlobes, and brush against his own thighs, but he didn’t even give a glance to these arrow branches.

In front of those soaked cloth shoes, filled with feathered arrows, the five bamboos did not make a single block, this kind of absolute calculation ability and the confidence that comes with it as well as the strong mind that is signaled, is really not something that can be found on earth.

In exchange for any one of the great masters, I’m afraid it’s impossible to be as calm as Five Bamboos showed earlier, because in addition to Five Bamboos in this world, there is no one who can in such a short period of time, calculate so many things, and in the flash of lightening, be able to make the most appropriate kind of response.

Ten thousand arrows, but a flush, be sure to cover all the range of the five bamboo may dodge, so really toward the body of the five bamboo arrows, not so much, however …… this world, in addition to the five bamboo, who can in such a critical moment, but also so calmly make this kind of judgment?

Not much is just for the five bamboo, forgive me, that iron brazier in his hand, it is also impossible to chop down all the dense feathered arrows coming at him in an instant, so his left hand also moved, directly removed the hat hat worn on top of his head, and began to rotate rapidly in the rain, rolling up countless rain arcs, shocking away countless arrows ……

The hat hat shattered, shattering like a lantern, scattering on the wet ground with a crash, shaking up countless remnants of arrows.

Five Bamboo straightened the five fingers of his left hand with some difficulty, looking at the feathered arrows that had penetrated his arm, and an extremely real emotion suddenly appeared on his face, which originally did not have a trace of expression.

Some pain, Five Bamboo thought in his heart, and then pulled out the feathered arrows that had penetrated deep into the bone, and even penetrated out of his left small arm. The sound of the arrows rubbing against the bone and flesh of his small arm, at this moment, actually seemed to cover up the sound of the diminishing rain.

The Imperial City was silent, and the clear light penetrated down from the broken slit in the sky of Kyoto, shining on Five Bamboo’s thin body. Slowly and seemingly unaware, he pulled out the arrow from his body, then wiped the liquid that flowed out of the wound and raised his step again.

This step was filled with the sound of broken arrows as it fell, for Five Bamboo was walking on the pile of arrows in front of him, walking towards the palace.

The morale of the forbidden army was low to the extreme at this moment, even lower than a year ago when that shocking sound was heard, because although the fear of the unknown was terrifying, it was definitely not as terrifying as looking at a monster with their eyes open, they didn’t know who that strong person below the palace that was still standing in the rain of arrows was, they just subconsciously thought that the other party must not be a human being, they were only afraid that it would be some kind of a demon or monster!

Or …… a fairy?

With the strict discipline of the Qing army, even if they were facing a great master who was celebrated by all the people, perhaps they wouldn’t even pause for a moment, but would instead use successive torrential rain of arrows to attack and kill the enemies of the Qing nation, yet today they really felt fear, because that strong man didn’t just signify an incomparable power, but more crucially, they were shocked by the indifference that strong man displayed.

Therefore, when the five bamboos stepped on the dense pile of broken arrows, which was like long grass in spring, and were about to walk to the front of the palace gate, the second wave of arrows still did not fall.

The pale-faced Gong Dian stared blankly at the blind man who was getting closer and closer, suddenly feeling some bitterness in his mouth. The five great men had already leaned too close to the Imperial City, even if they were to invade again with arrows, I’m afraid that the effect would not be as good as before. Could it be that the mission that His Majesty had given himself could really never be accomplished?

Emperor Qing’s only fear of two things in his life was that black box, and the other one was the Old Five who came steadily today. His Majesty the Emperor wanted to remove Five Bamboo from this world more than once in the more than twenty years after the bloodshed in Taiping Buyeon, yet …… in the end he failed. Just to deal with Five Bamboo’s revenge, His Majesty naturally had his own set of plans.

Fan Xian had returned from the temple, and naturally, Five Bamboos had followed him back, and Emperor Qing had never had the luxury of expecting the heavens to give him a surprise. The preparations he made for the Five Bamboos were actually not much, because there weren’t many ways on earth to check and balance the Five Bamboos, not to mention the fact that there was only one old and tired and wounded His Majesty in Qing today, and that Master Ye Liuyun had long since drifted away. ……

In the Qing Emperor’s view, the only possible way to remove the five bamboo is this wall of the palace, the countless forbidden army’s obstruction, and the fire that roams the sky.

Because a few years ago in the barren field behind the Qing Temple, Emperor Qing had seen with his own eyes that the temple messenger, in the fire gradually melted into strange things, but also heard the crackling sound – Gong Dian, is the specific implementation of Emperor Qing’s plan to remove the five bamboos executives, and for this reason the forbidden army in the days prepared rockets as well as the corresponding facilities.

However, the heavens seemed to have really abandoned its chosen true son on earth in this fall of the 12th year of the Qing calendar, and when the five bamboo came outside the palace due to inexplicable and deep emotions, the sky suddenly dropped a torrential downpour of rain that was rare in Kyoto in the late fall of a hundred years.

The heavy rain that poured down from the sky struck heavily at Gong Dian’s preparations, and seemed to be an attempt to use it as a way of cleansing the South Kyoto court of its past, and burying a mighty monarch in his honor.

Gong Dian took a deep breath and looked at the approaching Five Bamboos, stopping his order to release arrows and coldly shouting in a hoarse voice, “Prepare the kerosene!”

If one wanted to envelop the Five Bamboos under the Imperial City in a sea of fire, the poisonous plan of gunpowder airbursts set up by Fan Xian via the Supervisory Court during the Kyoto Rebellion four years ago was undoubtedly the strongest. However, as early as four years ago, Fan Xian has already the large number of gunpowder in the inventory of the Supervisory Yuan are hidden under the small building, the most critical or …… this rambling rain, this damned rain, so the Palace Deng can only possibly hope that the kerosene, to be able to kill the five people under the Imperial City.

The kerosene was poured down, but it simply could not be poured onto the body of the five bamboos, who walked seemingly slowly and steadily, yet like a gazelle soaring over a cliff, and walked to the palace gates. As the rain was decreasing, the forbidden army on the imperial city finally lit up a dozen rockets and shot them all down. As soon as the fire touched the kerosene mixed with water in one place under the imperial city, it burned violently, and the fire was like a torrential rain rising from the ground, a rain of fire, fiercely probing out a huge fire to engulf the lone figure of the Five Bamboos!

At that very moment, Five Bamboos flew, or more accurately, he walked. Completely beyond the imagination of all human beings, the iron brazier in his hand accurately pierced a gap about two feet high in the palace, his body was like an arrow popped out by a bowstring, swiftly accelerating, transforming into an indifferent shadow, in the smooth and craggy wall of the imperial city, his feet kept staggering and ran towards the wall in this way!

No one could describe this scene, Five Bamboo was on his way, on the walls of the Imperial City, running right into the sky of falling rain!

When Five Bamboo’s feet, which were wearing cloth shoes, landed firmly on the head of the Imperial City, Gong Dian knew that the tide had turned, and that there was no one in this world who could stop Five Bamboo from entering the palace, except for His Majesty the Emperor.

Autumn rain under the corner of the square suddenly came a thunderous sound of hoofbeats, the number of cavalry is not large, however, extraordinarily austere, the Privy Council’s main envoy, now the first person in the military of the Qing Dynasty, Ye Chong major marshal, finally rushed over from the Privy Council.

Ye Chong’s face was a mixture of shock and irony, the rain had caused his florid white hair to stick to his slightly black face, looking exceptionally wretched. He looked far away at the lone blind man’s back on the city’s head, jumped down from his horse, and ran wildly in the direction of the imperial city in the rain, but nearly stumbled, and shouted ruefully, “The five great men, don’t make a mess!”

“I know that the temple has been deserted and broken …… but I think that since the old five is a person in the temple, the temple always has a way to keep him there, who knows that he can really return to the earth, why is this?”

“Why does this thieving God want such a heavy rain today? Why is this?”

“I have the heart of the world, my hands control ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains, but I didn’t expect to be forced to the front of the car by a piker today, who can tell me, why is this?”

“God how unfair, if give me some more time, no, if that day I did not hurt in that box under, I and why afraid of old five to come here?”

“But even if Old Five comes? Then how?”

From time to time, His Majesty the Emperor, who had heard the urgent reports from outside the palace, but still had a calm face, the corner of his lips suddenly spread a cold smile, slowly stood up from the dragon chair, smoothly raised his hands, and let the Yao eunuch beside him carefully check the dragon robe on his body for wrinkles.

There are many kinds of dragon robes, the dragon robe that Emperor Qing is wearing today is extremely close to his body, and I think it will not have any effect on his strike later on. Just, just …… why do the wrinkles at the corners of His Majesty the Emperor’s eyes look so tired? That faintly mournful?

Standing in the quiet and empty Taiji Hall, Emperor Qing had his hands behind his back and was silent for a long time, his hair was combed extremely neatly and tied casually at the back of his head with a pale yellow ribbon, looking exceptionally dashing.

After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes, and in his eyes there was no longer the faint self-deprecating color of the previous self-inquiry, there was only a piece of calm and strong confidence.

His Majesty’s calm and indifferent gaze, along the open door of the Taiji Hall, through the square in front of the hall, all the way to the main gate of the Imperial City, where the sound of killing was rising, he knew that Old Five would come from there, because he knew Old Five’s character, and he would only take the most direct path in his life.

“Have you found Fan Xian yet?” His eyes were slightly downcast as he gently turned a jade trigger between his fingers, asking casually.

“Not yet.” Eunuch Yao respectfully reported from the side, “Miss Fan disappeared last night.”

The emperor closed his eyes and said after a moment of contemplation, “I still seem to have underestimated many people, such as Ruo Ruo the girl.”

Eunuch Yao did not dare to answer at this time, only in his heart he also felt unusually odd, when the palace knew the accurate news of Fan Xian’s entry into the capital, his majesty invited Miss Fan into the palace at the first time last night, obviously, his majesty pinched Fan Xian’s lifeblood, however, who knew …… that last night Miss Fan suddenly disappeared in the palace.

If Miss Fan was a hidden expert, then why would she have been invited into the palace by the inner court, rather than fleeing right outside the palace?

The tens of thousands of forbidden soldiers at the Imperial City were still using their own flesh and blood and lives to stubbornly block the entry of the Five Bamboo, all the way to the blood, but none of the forbidden soldiers took a step back! It was the Four Gu Swords back in the day under the big green tree poking ants to death with a wooden stick also still needed time, let alone killing people at the moment, Five Bamboo was still killing calmly, yet the people in front of them had never been less, not knowing how much longer they would have to kill.

“There is still half an hour left.” His Majesty the Emperor always seemed to be able to accurately grasp the development of all things in the world, he slowly walked out of the Taiji Hall and stood under the long corridor, looking at the increasingly thinning rain outside the corridor, seemingly thinking.

The palace eunuchs and palace maidens, full of nervousness, retreated in the far place, the emperor’s side only eunuch yao a person, seems to be so lonely.

The emperor’s brow suddenly wrinkled, gently coughed a few times, took the white silk silk from Eunuch Yao’s hand, wiped the corner of his lips, and said indifferently, “If An Zhi doesn’t make a move again, this thing will be interesting.”

The atmosphere in the palace was unusually tense and serious, with not a hint of vividness and liveliness, so naturally it was rather uninteresting. At this time, Fan Xian, right in the middle of several eunuchs at the end of the long corridor of the Taiji Hall, was in an unusually heavy and complicated mood as he gazed at the middle-aged man in the distance, or now I should say that it was …… the old man.

Yesterday, just after midnight, under the cover of the dark night, Fan Xian came to the palace alone. This time he didn’t try to do what he did after that year’s pre-temple poetry session, learning to climb into the palace like a gecko, because nowadays in Kyoto, because of the war in full swing in the north, and even more so because of his return, the defense force had been raised to an extremely horrifying level, and to try to get in over the wall again had become an impossible task.

So Fan Xian used his own in this world buried the deepest piece of chess, this piece in addition to him, only Wang Qinian know, Deng Ziyue also only vaguely understand some, that is Hong Zhu.

Now Hongzhu has returned to the imperial study, regained favor, in the palace red man secretly comb guide help, Fan Xian seems to be easy, in fact, extremely dangerous through the direction of the raccoon workshop sneaked into the palace.

Fan Xian did not think about what would happen if Hong Zhu sold himself, his second life has come to this point, what else dare not lose?

After sneaking into the palace, Fan Xian learned that his sister had once again been picked up in the palace, and he immediately understood His Majesty’s thoughts, it seemed that at this moment of today’s life and death, this man sitting in the dragon chair had finally torn off all his false masks, and was ready to directly threaten himself with Ruo Ruo’s life.

This was different from when Ruo Ruo was a hostage, because at that time, His Majesty the Emperor had enough confidence in himself that he could still retain the facade of a saintly ruler, and Fan Xian was not worried that he would actually threaten himself with his sister’s life or death.

And now that the Emperor had grown old and his lingering injuries had not healed at all, it was only to be feared that he had also smelled that hint of death.

Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and carefully lowered his head behind those few palace maids, gazing at the emperor’s old man at the main entrance of the Taiji Hall through the gaps in their clothing, and for a moment his mood was actually a bit complicated.

He also knew about the strange movements at the Imperial City and guessed the arrival of Uncle Five Bamboo, however, he couldn’t figure out how to understand that Uncle Five Bamboo had really woken up? But in any case, Fan Xian was very clear about the strength of these supremely powerful people and the powerful fighting strength of the Qing army, even if Five Bamboo was unusually strong and broke through the defense of the forbidden army, he was only afraid that when he killed them and came to the Taiji Hall, he was bound to be injured.

And in the face of the Emperor’s old man, who was so well organized and at ease, how many chances of victory could Uncle Five Bamboo have?

Fan Xian’s eyes narrowed even more as he looked at His Majesty the Emperor in the distance, gently coughing twice before putting the white kerchief he was wiping his mouth with into his sleeve.