Free Web NovelChapter 311: Under Siege
It was unclear who sensed it first, but both Anji and Hong Nian Niang reacted at the same time. Although it was not the right moment to be admiring the Vermillion Bird’s Blood Arts, Anji could not help but stare at her godmother’s fiery inner arts as they grew like wildfire and enveloped the entire Red Palace. She could only wonder how much blood Hong Nian Niang spent to soak the Red Palace for this very moment. However, she did not fall behind and activated the spell she had been working on for a while now.
BOOM!
The Red Palace shook. Even with metal beams hidden beneath the wooden exterior, it swayed slightly. Just how strong was the attack? How did they breach the barrier of the four guardians in Chang’an?
After the first wave, Hong Nian Niang collected herself and checked on Anji. The girl seemed fine, so she beckoned for her to follow.
"We’re heading to the watch tower to check on the situation. Liu Guiya should be busy with your third brother, and we can worry about your second brother later. Stay behind me and see if you can spot where they are coming from."
Half running to keep up with Hong Nian Niang’s long strides, Anji agreed. Her golden core hummed threateningly, but the seals kept it in place. There was something nearby with a very dense energy that resonated with her harmonic arts. However, due to the chaos, she had no time to analyse the changes with her second sight.
Through the walls, there was chaos on the other floors. Guests who had been sleeping moments earlier were now screaming and being evacuated by ghost staff members impersonating as regular staff. The murim guests have all taken up weapons and are on guard. Anji heard all of these as they bypassed everyone, heading to the highest point.
BOOM!
The second shake came, and Anji winced. Even with the formation shield activated and Hong Nian Niang’s blood purification arts, the Red Palace would not hold out for much longer. She had no idea what they were attacking with, but none of their defence measures worked against terrifying physical blunt force.
"What are they hitting us with?" Hong Nian Niang hissed and swept Anji’s feet off the floor, tucking the girl under one arm.
Before Anji could prepare her heart, they were already jumping out of the nearest window. With too much going on, Anji zoned out momentarily until her feet touched granite roof slabs.
After taking the shortcut up, Hong Nian Niang was faced with a new issue. The roof tiles that Mingshen painstakingly scouted were cracking. The rocks, as huge as the size of Anji’s head, flew from beyond the southern gate and pelted the Red Palace. Outside, a group of people dressed like mercenaries and merchants operated the five catapults.
Without waiting, Hong Nian Niang flew off the roof with weightless footwork and landed at the attacking group like a meteorite. In one move, she had taken out six men instantly, interrupting their catapult loading.
Anji watched as things transpired quickly before her eyes. Down in the streets, the guards were awakened and doing their best to calm the public order. However, there were protesters and rioters fanning the flames of hate and smearing the Red Palace’s reputation. Many were victims of debt and adultery, affiliated with the Red Palace’s main business. Customers who were evacuated from the main door were pelted with rotten food and stones. Someone even poured oil and set a small fire at the side entrance, causing pandemonium.
Yet all Anji did in the chaos was stare blankly at the vast night sky. Her eyes continued to glow golden until they shone like amber, reflecting the flames spreading up the wooden beams.
Vibrating in her core, the dragon pearl Anji received from Grandpa Jin as a child started to scream. For a second, her energy aura turned unstable and pulsed deeply, causing a minor shockwave to spread all across Chang’an.
Time slowed. Anji saw without seeing. The suffering, the hate, the corruption and more. She understood and felt a single tear roll down her left cheek. Yet, she saw more than she could comprehend.
In the chaos and panic and fire, a beam of light shot up from the north. The non-cultivators did not seem to be able to see it, but the cultivators paused and snapped their heads towards the same direction. Then, the next beam of light came from the east.
There was no doubt what was happening now. However, to her horror, Anji was paralysed. She could not move, no matter how much she struggled, almost as if her body had been possessed and locked into place. Her golden core, fused with the dragon pearl, seemed to hijack her meridians, pulsing to the rhythm of someone else’s breathing.
After the beam of light from the east gate shot into the dark sky, the west gate responded in kind. Now, everyone else waited to see if the southern gate would do the same, the gate closest to the source of chaos in the capital city.
Like Hong Nian Niang, the Vermillion Bird was not one to disappoint. Like the flamboyant Red Palace, it awakened with a horrible shriek, bursting into divine flames and lighting the sky entirely with its awakening that would give the sun a run for its money.
Four gates, four guardians. And Anji’s golden core was now the heart of its new array. It was not her plan to turn into a beacon for the repaired five-element formation when she tuned the ancient seals on these gates.
Thanks to the Vermillion Bird’s temper, the toxic miasma plaguing Chang’an burned away in a flash. The other three guardians did not remain idle either. By dousing the fire of hate with his water, the Black Tortoise worked with the Azure dragon, who nurtured the weakened hearts and minds of citizens poisoned by miasma for too long. Like Bai Dajin’s character, the White Tiger roared and pounced at the group of demonic cult members disguised as angry merchants and mercenaries, tearing them up violently.
Hong Nian Niang, with the new backup support, watched as the army of nearly sixty demonic cultists bled from seven orifices and collapsed as the White Tiger guardian spirit annihilated what she would struggle for at least half a day within minutes.
Despite the spiritual phenomenon only known to legends, the lady in red could only focus on that small spot of light on the roof of the Red Palace. Unlike the rest of the spiritual guardians who manifested as beams of light, the small light on the roof was weak.
Could it be that Anji had done something again?
Flooded with worry, the Vermillion Sect leader returned quickly. Everything was a mess after the siege, but nothing mattered more than the children’s safety.
