AUBTN -Chapter 118 The Grand Director Is Injured

Just as the tension between the two sides reached the point of drawing swords and bending bows, Yu Qing—who had been keeping her head lowered the entire time—suddenly let out a loud cry.

“Ah!”

Everyone was startled.

Yu Qing began acting as if she were performing a shamanic ritual, pointing at the sky and shouting:

“The Founding Emperor has manifested! The Founding Emperor has manifested!”

“What did you say?” Zhao Shuo frowned deeply.

Yu Qing abruptly stopped trembling and adopted a solemn, imposing expression, pointing straight at Zhao Shuo.

“Impudent Zhao Shuo! You poisoned the young emperor and harbor treacherous ambitions, yet you dare bark wildly in my presence!”

The entire place fell into deathly silence.

This… was the Founding Emperor possessing her?

Ancient people were deeply superstitious about spirits and gods. For a moment, many officials were so frightened their legs went weak.

Taking advantage of everyone’s stunned state, Su Hewan quickly triggered the mechanism.

“Your Majesty, please unveil the Heavenly Edict!”

Although the young emperor was terrified, he still followed the rehearsal plan and abruptly unfurled the sacrificial scroll in his hands.

A soft click sounded.

The back of the scroll, which had previously been completely blank, suddenly revealed several blood-red characters under the sunlight—

“Zhao Shuo murdered his sovereign—Heaven will not tolerate it!”

At the same time, the East Depot agents who had been lying in ambush lit the specially prepared fireworks.

All around the Temple of Heaven, eerie blue flames suddenly shot up, howling in the wind like ghostly fire.

“Heaven’s punishment! It really is Heaven’s punishment!”

“This is Heaven sending us a warning!”

The entire court fell into panic.

Zhao Shuo’s face changed drastically.

“Th-this is sorcery! Sorcery! Kill them! Kill them all!”

He finally tore off his disguise and ordered his assassins to attack.

“Move!”

Shen Jue also gave the command.

The East Depot experts hidden in the shadows burst out like phantoms, clashing with Zhao Shuo’s assassins.

In an instant, the entire Temple of Heaven turned into a battlefield from hell.

Lu Yan protected Yu Qing and Su Hewan while fighting his way toward Zhao Shuo.

“Lu Yan, catch!”

Su Hewan pulled a porcelain bottle from her sleeve—the vial of Ice Silkworm Saliva—and hurled it high into the air.

Lu Yan leapt upward and caught it steadily.

“Zhao Shuo! This is the antidote to the poison you gave His Majesty! We already made it!”

Holding up the antidote, Lu Yan shouted to the many ministers and generals under Zhao Shuo’s control: “Zhao Shuo is a treacherous man who tried to control you all with poison! Now the antidote is in my hands—anyone who wants to live, put down your weapons!”

That furious roar, combined with the strange Heavenly Edict and ghostly flames, completely shattered the morale of Zhao Shuo’s faction.

Many imperial guards began to waver and gradually laid down their weapons.

Seeing the situation slipping away, madness flashed in Zhao Shuo’s eyes.

He suddenly drew his sword and lunged straight toward the young emperor standing at the edge of the altar, completely unguarded!

“If I can’t have it, then we’ll all die together!”

“Your Majesty!”

The distance was too great. Lu Yan was entangled by assassins and couldn’t rush to help in time.

Su Hewan felt as if her heart had stopped.

At that critical moment—

A red figure flashed past like lightning.

Shen Jue dove forward, grabbing the young emperor and pulling him away—but he couldn’t dodge Zhao Shuo’s sword!

The blade pierced straight through his shoulder.

“Grand Director!” Su Hewan cried out in heartbreak, rushing over without hesitation.

Yet Shen Jue seemed not to feel the pain at all.

With one hand, he seized Zhao Shuo’s sword arm, a cruel smile appearing on his face.

“National Preceptor, the road to the Yellow Springs is cold. Allow this one to send you on your way.”

With his other hand, a short blade slipped from his sleeve.

A flash of cold light—

And a thin line of blood appeared across Zhao Shuo’s throat.

He widened his eyes, staring in disbelief at the madman before him. Clutching his throat with both hands, he finally collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

Shen Jue’s body swayed slightly before slowly falling.

“Shen Jue!”

Su Hewan rushed forward and caught him as he collapsed.

Blood dyed his crimson python robe redder still—so much so that it was impossible to tell which was the color of the robe and which was the color of the blood.

“Don’t cry…”

Shen Jue raised his blood-stained hand, wanting to wipe away the tears on Su Hewan’s face. But afraid of dirtying her, his hand stopped midair.

“All my life… my hands have been stained with blood… I always thought I would die without even a body left…”

“I never imagined… that I’d be able to die in your arms…”

“Shut up! Don’t you dare talk about dying!”

Su Hewan frantically pressed down on his wound, tears falling like broken pearls.

“You’re a scourge! Scourges live for a thousand years! I won’t let you die!”

“Imperial physician! Where is the imperial physician? Yu Qing, do you have any medicine to stop the bleeding?!”

The entire Altar of Heaven had fallen into chaos. But in Su Hewan’s world, it seemed there was only the man before her—his face gradually turning pale.

Shen Jue watched her panicked expression, yet the smile on his lips deepened.

How nice.

In this world, there was finally someone who would truly cry for him… who would truly feel pain for him.

This life… was worth it.

“Shen Jue, I want you to live! Do you hear me?! I want you to live!”

Holding him tightly in the midst of blood and smoke filling the sky, she burst into uncontrollable sobs.

Su Hewan pressed desperately on Shen Jue’s shoulder, the warm, sticky blood covering her hands making her tremble all over.

Her reason told her she needed to stop the bleeding—but her tears wouldn’t obey, blurring her vision.

“Cough…” Shen Jue choked out a mouthful of blood.

But he was still smiling.

With great effort, his fingers hooked onto Su Hewan’s sleeve. His voice was so soft it seemed as though it might shatter in the wind.

“Don’t… don’t cry. It’s ugly.”

【You’re about to die and you’re still calling me ugly! Shen Jue, you bastard! If you dare die, I’ll go find ten or eight pretty boys!】

Hearing the grief-stricken voice in her heart, the curve of Shen Jue’s lips froze. Then he broke into a violent coughing fit, more blood spilling from his mouth.

This woman… really…

He sighed inwardly. In the end, he could no longer resist the overwhelming darkness. His hand dropped limply.

“Shen Jue—!”

The Eastern Depot guards protecting them also cried out in shock.

“Grand Director!”

Lu Yan kicked away a blocking assassin. Sheathing his embroidered spring saber, he grabbed the trembling old imperial physician by the collar and practically flew over with him using lightness skills.

“Save him!”

After throwing out those words, Lu Yan turned and rushed back into the battlefield.

Yu Qing dodged the flashing blades and hurried to Su Hewan’s side, her face pale with fright.

“Wanwan, it’ll be fine. It’ll be fine! Director Shen is blessed with great fortune—he definitely won’t die!”

Su Hewan looked at Shen Jue’s tightly shut eyes and forced herself to calm down.

She knew the limitations of ancient wound medicine.

“It has to be stitched! The wound must be stitched!”

She stared straight at the imperial physician and demanded sternly, “Do you have needle and thread? We need to stitch his wound!”

The old physician’s beard trembled violently.

“Th-this… the body, hair, and skin are gifts from one’s parents. How could we treat it like sewing clothes—”

“Shut up!”

Su Hewan’s gaze turned sharp. At that moment, there was even a trace of Shen Jue’s usual authority about her.

“Lu Yan! Find someone to carry Shen Jue inside!”

Unable to care about anything else, Su Hewan shouted toward Lu Yan, who was still killing enemies in the distance.

Soon, Shen Jue was carried into the royal residence.

The upheaval at the Altar of Heaven ended in an extremely tragic manner.

Zhao Shuo was beheaded, and all the rebels were executed.

But the price paid was far too heavy.

The Director of the Eastern Depot lay gravely wounded and unconscious, his life hanging by a thread.

For the past few days, the air in the entire capital seemed frozen.

Inside Yuyuan Garden, the smell of medicine hung thick and heavy.

Su Hewan had been keeping watch for three full days and nights.