DLERB -Chapter 29 A Welcome Gift? Hang That Old Man on the City Gate!

“Assassins!”

“There are assassins trying to kill the Young Lord!”

Terrified screams erupted from the crowd.

Clang!

Ying Ziye did not even need to give an order.

Hundreds of Jinyiwei moved simultaneously like perfectly engineered killing machines.

Their Embroidered Spring Blades slid halfway from their sheaths at the same moment, the cold reflected light forming a dazzling wall beneath the setting sun.

In an instant, they formed an airtight circular blade formation, protecting Ying Ziye, Li Si, and the high officials at the center.

An overwhelming aura of slaughter shot into the sky.

“Protect the Young Lord!”

One-armed Commandant Zhang Han’s eyes nearly split from rage.

Dragging his injured body, he roared and raised his single iron fist, standing at the very front.

“Protect the Young Lord!”

“Protect the Young Lord!”

Old Farmer Sun picked up a hoe from the ground, his calloused hands gripping it tightly.

Behind him, hundreds upon hundreds of citizens did not flee in panic.

They looked at the tiny figure before them, then at the divine crop seeds they had just received.

Their fear was replaced by a more primal anger.

They voluntarily surrounded the area, armed only with hoes, wooden clubs, and even stones picked from the ground.

Using nothing but their flesh and blood, they formed another wall of protection outside the Jinyiwei blade formation—thicker and broader than steel itself.

Every rough, weathered face was filled with fury and determination unto death.

Li Si looked at the scene before him, his limbs icy cold, his whole body trembling violently.

Assassins!

And from the Xiang clan of Chu—the most vicious remnants of the fallen states!

He grabbed Ying Ziye’s sleeve, his voice shaking.

“Your Highness! Quickly! Return to the palace at once!”

“Order the entire city into lockdown immediately! Seal all four gates! Search house by house! We must find those assassins!”

An elderly imperial censor with graying hair also rushed forward, face flushed red.

“The Chancellor is correct! This is a direct provocation against the might of Great Qin!”

“We must strike with thunderous force and let these rats understand that Xianyang is not a place where they can run wild!”

Yet at the center of the blade formation—

That tiny figure merely stood there without the slightest trace of surprise on his face.

Instead, he curiously looked at the messenger.

“The Xiang clan?”

“You mean Xiang Liang—the one whose state General Wang Jian destroyed decades ago, and who’s now hiding in Kuaiji Commandery?”

The messenger slammed his forehead to the ground, his voice trembling in fear.

“Reporting to Your Highness! Yes, it is him!”

“Isn’t he busy recruiting troops and preparing to rebel?”

Ying Ziye asked curiously again, as though discussing a neighbor’s missing chicken.

“How does he have time to send people to play around in Xianyang?”

The messenger froze for a moment before hurriedly replying.

“According to our spies, the leader of the assassins is named Xiang Zhuang! He is Xiang Liang’s number one swordsman and possesses peerless martial skill!”

Ying Ziye let out an “Oh,” then turned toward Qinglong behind him.

“Uncle Qinglong, have you heard of him? Is he very strong?”

For the first time ever, Qinglong’s face became extremely grave.

He bowed respectfully.

“Reporting to Your Highness.”

“Three years ago, by His Majesty the First Emperor’s order, I pursued the remnants of the six states. In the Eastern Commandery, I fought this man in a battle to the death.”

Qinglong paused.

Every word seemed squeezed from between clenched teeth.

“In that battle, I suffered seven wounds.”

“He received six sword strikes.”

“In the end… neither side won.”

The entire crowd gasped in shock.

Li Si and the imperial censor inhaled sharply.

Who was Qinglong?

Commander of the Jinyiwei!

The terrifying existence who had snapped a halberd in half between two fingers inside Qilin Hall!

And even he admitted he could only fight the man to a draw?

What kind of monster swordsman was Xiang Zhuang?!

Li Si’s face instantly turned deathly pale.

Yet Ying Ziye looked as though he had just heard something very interesting.

Excitedly, he clapped his little hands.

“So strong!”

“Then where is he now?”

Qinglong shook his head.

“This man’s swordsmanship is strange and unpredictable. He excels at concealment.”

“After entering the city, the Jinyiwei lost all trace of him.”

“But one thing is certain.”

“He is already inside Xianyang.”

Ying Ziye nodded, an extremely satisfied smile appearing on his little face.

“So he’s already inside.”

“Good.”

Good?!

Those two words struck everyone like a pair of heavy hammers.

Li Si nearly fainted on the spot.

The assassins had already infiltrated the city—what was good about that?!

What exactly was this little ancestor thinking?!

The imperial censor stepped forward again and urgently bowed.

“Your Highness! You absolutely must not underestimate this threat!”

“Please issue an immediate order to mobilize the city guards and cooperate with the Jinyiwei to conduct a full search of Xianyang! Even if we must dig three feet into the earth, we must find this villain and execute him publicly!”

Ying Ziye turned to look at him and blinked his innocent eyes.

“Old Grandpa, let me ask you something.”

“If you were a rat hiding inside a grain warehouse, and suddenly saw the whole house overturning boxes and searching for you everywhere…”

“Would you stroll out proudly for a walk?”

“Or would you hide yourself even deeper in some dark corner?”

The censor’s face instantly turned red like pig liver.

His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

Ying Ziye shook his head and sighed like a little adult.

“If we make such a huge commotion searching for him, wouldn’t that just openly tell him that I’m afraid of him?”

“This is my own Xianyang City.”

“Why should I fear a rat that doesn’t dare show itself in the light?”

He turned toward the human wall formed by the citizens and waved his small hand.

“Everyone, don’t worry. Go home.”

“They’re just a few little rats from Chu. They can’t cause much trouble.”

He pointed toward Qinglong and the surrounding Jinyiwei.

“With Uncle Qinglong and these big brothers here, they won’t even be able to touch the corner of my clothes.”

Seeing the lingering worry on everyone’s faces, he puffed out his cheeks and added in a childish tone:

“Hurry home already! Don’t delay watering the divine crops tomorrow!”

“That’s the truly important matter! If anyone ruins the crops, I’m going to get angry!”

Watching his little-adult behavior, the fear in the people’s hearts faded considerably.

“The Young Lord is right! We’ll listen to him!”

“Everyone disperse! Don’t cause trouble for the Young Lord!”

The crowd slowly began to disperse.

Li Si watched the scene anxiously, stomping his foot as he tried to persuade him further.

“Your Highness, this—”

A powerful old hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

It was Wang Jian.

At some point, the old general had opened those eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.

Without looking at Li Si, he simply stared at the tiny figure in the distance.

“Chancellor.”

Wang Jian’s voice was as steady as a mountain, carrying the aura of iron cavalry and bloody battlefields.

“A hunter never fears prey entering his hunting grounds.”

Li Si’s entire body trembled.

Every word he wanted to say died in his throat.

In the distance, Ying Ziye was already giving Qinglong new orders.

“Go.”

“Take that half-dead old man beside the fields…”

“…and hang him at the gates of Xianyang.”

“Use the tallest flagpole so the entire city can see him.”

Qinglong froze.

“Your Highness… this is…”

Li Si cried out in alarm.

“Your Highness, you must not! Chunyu Yue is one of the greatest Confucian scholars of our age! To humiliate him like this will ignite the fury of scholars throughout the realm!”

Ying Ziye turned around.

Under the moonlight, the smile on his delicate jade-like face looked innocent…

…and eerie.

“Good.”

“I’m afraid they won’t get angry.”

“Only when they’re angry…”

“…will they crawl out from their hiding holes.”

That night.

The moon was dark.

The wind was fierce.

Above the gates of Xianyang, a temporary flagpole over ten zhang high had been erected.

The half-dead Chunyu Yue was bound to its top by icy chains like a discarded rag.

The freezing wind cut across his aged face like knives, bringing wave after wave of piercing pain.

With great effort, he opened his cloudy eyes.

He looked down at the silent city beneath him.

Then up at the crescent moon hanging in the sky.

Inside him, nothing remained except endless despair and regret.

He was finished.

His life…

His Confucian ideals…

All of it was over.

And then—

Chunyu Yue’s body suddenly stiffened.

He felt a chill.

A terrifying chill, as though it had risen from the deepest pits of hell itself—a cold capable of freezing even the soul.

Instinctively, stiffly, he turned his neck toward a shadowed corner of the city wall.

Within the darkness—

There seemed to be a pair of emotionless eyes…

…staring fixedly at him.