Upon realizing this, the ministers' faces turned ashen. They followed the Emperor and ran toward the city gates. When they reached the top of the wall, their expressions soured further. In the distance, a massive cloud of dust announced the arrival of a large cavalry force, galloping toward Andu. The thunderous rumble of ten thousand hooves echoed in their ears.
"Hahaha! Good!" The An Emperor sat in the main seat on the tower, a look of mad excitement on his face as he watched the army approach. "As long as my mother clan arrives, I can slaughter all these traitorous officials!" A terrifying smile spread across his face, a true sign of his madness. His words sent a shiver down the spines of the ministers who had just arrived. It was clear that once the Central Shazhou's forces entered Andu, the Emperor would use them to purge the court. For a mad king, his trust could change in a heartbeat, and with it, the lives of entire families. The ministers were terrified, but there was nothing they could do but wait for their fate.
"Look! There's an army coming from the west too!" a sharp-eyed minister suddenly shouted, pointing to the west. It was late afternoon, and the setting sun made the dust cloud hard to spot. But once alerted, everyone squinted and saw that an equally large force was approaching from the west.
This was not the direction of the Central Shazhou, but the Western Shazhou! The ministers all turned to the Duke of Chu, who stood calmly, lightly stroking his beard with a faint smile. He clearly knew this was going to happen.
"Duke of Chu?" The An Emperor, Li Shun, also spotted the large army from the west. His eyes widened in shock as he looked at the Duke. "You betrayed me too?!" His finger, pointing at the Duke, trembled slightly.
"I knew you all harbored rebellious thoughts!" The Emperor roared when the Duke didn't respond. "Guards! Kill the Duke of Chu!" Several palace guards rushed forward, drawing their swords to attack the Duke. But in the next second, two guards behind the Duke of Chu moved. In just two moves, they slit the throats of the attackers, who collapsed slowly, clutching their bleeding necks with looks of disbelief.
"You..." The Emperor was stunned. He hadn't expected the Duke of Chu to have such skilled bodyguards. Their martial arts were clearly superior to his palace guards. Even Deng Hui, standing by the Emperor's side, merely clutched his sword hilt. He knew from their speed that drawing his sword would be useless; he was no match for them.
"Your Majesty, why the hostility?" The Duke of Chu's facade was gone. He bowed to the Emperor with a smile. "I only feared you would do something irreversible in a fit of rage, so I gathered my tribesmen to protect the officials and citizens of Andu."
"Your Majesty has always loved his people like his own children and treated his officials like family!"
"I'm sure you can understand my actions!"
The ministers were completely bewildered. They had no idea the Duke of Chu was part of this grand play. But his words brought them a great sense of relief. Although both sides were tribal forces, the Duke of Chu was clearly more rational than this mad Emperor. Even if he seized the throne, he wouldn't engage in a bloody massacre of Andu's officials and people. With this thought, many officials began to look at the Duke of Chu with a hint of flattery. After all, the victor was still unknown.
"This is rebellion!" The Emperor became even more unhinged. "I am the Son of Heaven! It is my right to have you all killed! The thunder and rain of heaven are all blessings!" His words made the ministers frown. This mad Emperor truly wanted their lives. They all silently hoped the Duke of Chu would succeed in his rebellion. They felt no hesitation in supporting a new ruler over this one who showed no righteousness.
Before the Duke of Chu could speak, a guard standing behind the Emperor suddenly struck, swiftly cutting down the guards around him. He then placed his sword at the Emperor's throat.
"You..." The sudden turn of events shocked everyone, including Li Shun.
"Li Shun!" The guard's voice was a clear female one. She sneered, "It hasn't even been twelve hours, and you've forgotten the feel of my blade?"
"You're... Ren Xin?!" The Emperor's brows furrowed, and he immediately recognized her voice. The events of the previous night were still fresh in his memory. The guard removed her human skin mask, revealing the beautiful face of Ren Ruyi. The ministers weren't as surprised this time. Seeing Li Shun once again held captive by Ren Ruyi, they weren't as tense as last night. Many secretly wished Ren Ruyi would just end the Emperor, believing it would be a blessing for An.
"Ren Xin!" Deng Hui was the only one still loyal to Li Shun. "Let His Majesty go at once, or I will..."
"Or what?" Just then, a new figure appeared. A young man wearing a jade fox mask leaped gracefully from the tower's rooftop, landing lightly beside Ren Ruyi. He didn't stop but continued walking toward Deng Hui.
"You're courting death!" Deng Hui, whose threat had been interrupted, was already annoyed. Seeing the man walk toward him with his hands behind his back, he glared and thrust his sword toward the man's chest.
But Wei Tingyu, the man in the mask, was unimpressed by Deng Hui's swordsmanship. He didn't even bother to dodge. He simply extended his left hand, turning it into a claw shape to meet the blade. His powerful inner energy, cultivated for over twenty years, surged forth, shattering Deng Hui's sword into pieces with a shockwave. As the pieces clattered to the ground, Deng Hui was stunned. But his feet couldn't stop in time. Within a single breath, Wei Tingyu's left hand was at Deng Hui's throat. Deng Hui felt a massive force, and his vision went black. The sickening sound of his neck bone snapping followed as his body went limp.
Wei Tingyu's clean execution—shattering the sword and killing Deng Hui in a single move—left everyone in utter shock. Deng Hui was no weak fighter, yet he couldn't even withstand a single move from this "Jade Fox Gentleman." Even the Duke of Chu, who had already sworn allegiance to Wei Tingyu, was flabbergasted. He was also deeply grateful. With Wei Tingyu's skill, beheading an enemy general was as easy as reaching into a pouch. If he had been an enemy, he might have met the same fate as Deng Hui without ever knowing what hit him.
"Good! You... you're all in a conspiracy to rebel..." The Emperor was terrified that his most loyal enforcer had been instantly killed. He still shouted, "Duke of Chu! Ren Xin! And your accomplice!"
"Don't think you can control An by holding me hostage!"
"Once my mother clan arrives, none of you will survive!"
"I will have all of Andu as my burial ground! Hahahaha!"
The ministers paled at the Emperor's crazed words. Whether the Duke of Chu was rebelling or not no longer mattered. The Emperor's words implied the Central Shazhou forces were coming to massacre the city. A mad Emperor was willing to drag everyone down with him.
"Duke of Chu! What do we do now?"
"Yes! Only your Western Shazhou army can stop these madmen from the Central Shazhou!"
"We're all counting on you!"
The ministers gathered around the Duke of Chu, begging for protection. The Western Shazhou's forces were not large enough to save the entire city. But the Central Shazhou might not be crazy enough to suffer heavy losses just to fight them. The Duke of Chu had leverage for negotiation. Perhaps he could save the lives and fortunes of the officials.
The Duke of Chu, however, was filled with worry. He looked intently at Wei Tingyu, as he was now subordinate to this Marquis of Jining. What to do next? He had to listen to his master.
"You're truly insane!" Ren Ruyi scoffed. "My master's prediction was correct!"
"Your master?" The people on the tower were taken aback. Their gazes fell on the Duke of Chu, but he didn't act like a superior. Instead, he was filled with respect for the Jade Fox Gentleman. In that moment, everyone understood. Ren Ruyi's master was not the Duke of Chu, but this young man in the mask. Even the Duke of Chu followed his orders. Who was this man? The ministers looked at each other, none of them knowing.
"What?" The Emperor was momentarily stunned by Ren Ruyi's words. "You predicted I would summon my mother clan to Andu?"
"No! If that were the case, you should have killed me last night. Why did you wait until today to stop me?"
"Unless this was also part of your plan? I fell into your trap?!"
The Emperor, though mad, was not stupid. He sniffed out the strange logic. "Correct!" Wei Tingyu nodded, impressed by the Emperor's political instincts, and revealed the final answer.
"If we had killed you last night, the Central Shazhou would have descended into chaos, which would have been a great trouble."
"So we might as well let you gather all your Central Shazhou forces here. We can solve this problem once and for all right here at the gates of Andu."
"It's easier for everyone this way... isn't it?"
Wei Tingyu's words shocked the ministers. This was a continuous trap! But the Central Shazhou was the most powerful tribe in An, with about ten thousand young, strong men. They had all come to attack Andu. How could anyone stop them? The Western Shazhou had come to help, but even if all their young men were gathered, they would only number five or six thousand. They were all nomadic tribes, so their fighting skills were roughly the same. With a nearly two-to-one disadvantage, the Western Shazhou's chances of winning were slim.
"Hahahaha!" The ministers knew this, and so did the Emperor. His eyes widened, and he burst into laughter. "Even with the Western Shazhou on your side, what good will it do?"
"When the two tribes clash, the Western Shazhou will be defeated in less time than it takes an incense stick to burn!"
"Then my mother clan will enter the city and take you all with me to my grave!"
The ministers felt a chill. They believed this was the most likely outcome. The Western Shazhou had a chance to win, but it was so small that they held no hope. But the Duke of Chu, adjusting his robes, knelt before Wei Tingyu. "Master, do not worry. My Western Shazhou will fight to the last man and will not retreat!"
He knew from the numbers that his tribe couldn't fight the Central Shazhou head-on. But seeing the calm demeanor of Wei Tingyu and Ren Ruyi, the Duke knew they had a plan, and a good chance of winning. His tribe was just a pawn, but it needed to prove its value. The people of the grasslands were never afraid of death. If they could gain greater benefits for their tribe, they would not hesitate to lose half their population. All the young men of the Western Shazhou were here, but the women and children were not, so the tribe's future remained secure. If he could prove his worth to Wei Tingyu now, when he ruled the world, the Western Shazhou would surely have a place to live and thrive. The Duke of Chu, having tied his entire tribe to Wei Tingyu's chariot, was determined.
"Good," Wei Tingyu nodded and extended his hand, signaling the Duke to rise. The old man slowly got to his feet, a submissive posture as he stood beside Wei Tingyu. The ministers were astonished. Many of them wondered if they should also kneel before Wei Tingyu. The Duke's respect for him was a clear sign of his power, and a possible lifeline for them.
"An entire tribe willing to be wiped out?" The An Emperor was shocked by the Duke of Chu's promise to Wei Tingyu. "You all say I'm mad, but I think the Duke of Chu is the crazy one!" His madness intensified. He couldn't grasp why the Duke would do such a thing. Under Ren Ruyi's watch, he burst into maniacal laughter. "Hahahaha! You're all mad! All of you! Only I am sane! Hahahaha!"
But his laughter was cut short as his eyes fell on the plains before the city. The Central Shazhou and Western Shazhou armies had arrived at the city gates almost simultaneously. Only then did the crowd get a clear look. The leader of the Western Shazhou was none other than the Duke of Chu's daughter, Princess Chuyue! Wei Tingyu had sent two of his female Golden Shadow Guards to protect Chuyue the night before, fearing she would get carried away in her first battle and forget to protect herself.
The Western Shazhou forces were slightly faster. As Princess Chuyue led her five thousand cavalry past the city tower, she looked up at the people on the wall. Her eyes were fixed on the jade fox mask worn by Wei Tingyu.