Chapter 787 - 232: Lone Army
In the land of Qingzhou, that red building by the river turned to ashes overnight, but fortunately, there were no casualties among the guests inside. The madam of the Red Building vanished as well, taking with her the courtesans as if they had never existed. Some curious guests recalled that on the evening of the fire, they had seen a strikingly beautiful man in red attire, who seemed otherworldly, suspecting him to be a Spirit Demon who had ventured out from the depths of the mountains to frolic in the mortal world, then, fearing discovery, he razed the Red Building to the ground, leaving no trace behind.
The rumors made that fire even more mysterious and enticing.
The beautiful palace was reduced to ruins, erasing the love and hatred contained within, with no one knowing what plays had been performed or what tales of separation and reunion had been witnessed that night. In the deep of night, at the gates of Qingzhou City, figures were seen sending off a carriage carrying a coffin into the distance.
"My lord," Wen Ji said, "are you really going to meet Yin Zhili?"
Both Old General Jih and Yin Zhan were gone. Jih Heng intended to return Old General Jih’s body to Yanjing but could not personally escort it at once, because they still had Jiang Li in their custody. It was only after Situ Jiuyue sent a message through the networks in Yanjing City that he learned about everything that had happened.
Yin Zhili, true to form, hadn’t harmed Situ Jiuyue, except for Hai Tang, whose little finger had been chopped off—a command from Yin Zhan. In fact, Yin Zhan had further ordered that if Jiang Li remained in their hands, they should kill the Ye Family and others to prevent further complications. But Yin Zhili vehemently opposed this, threatening with his life, and eventually, they let the Ye Family go.
It was then that Jih Heng realized why Yin Zhan wore a peculiar smile on his face until his death. He had already paved the way for Yin Zhili’s retreat; whether Yin Zhan died in the Red Building or not, Yin Zhili could use Jiang Li’s life to push Jih Heng into a corner.
"My lord, that bastard Yin Zhili must have set a trap. He knows you’d go for Miss Jiang the Second and plans to take your life. You must not act rashly!" Zhao Ke also advised.
"There’s bound to be a battle between me and Yin Zhili sooner or later," Jih Heng chuckled and said, "since I promised Xue Huaiyuan, I will keep Ah Li safe."
Zhao Ke and Wen Ji were somewhat puzzled. Why was protecting Jiang Li a promise to Xue Huaiyuan? Did Xue Huaiyuan regard Jiang Li so highly? And yet why did Jih Heng abide by Xue Huaiyuan’s words? Was Xue Huaiyuan that important to Jih Heng?
"But Yin Zhili is encamped a hundred miles away in the deer field, with hundreds of men, while we only have... how will we break through? The Yin Family Troops are also unaccounted for and probably lying in ambush, just waiting for you to walk into their snare," Zhao Ke still objected.