Chapter 150: A Miscalculation

When conflicts arise between people, most tend to believe that they are the cleverer party. Yet facts are never swayed by human wishes. Once the dust settles, some will win and others will lose. The victors grow even more confident, while the defeated blame fate—or someone else.

The night was peaceful, but two forces that had been gathering and growing within Nine Cauldron City were destined to collide for the first time.

Ye Xin had done everything he needed to do. All that remained was to face the test.

Xue Baiqi, Yang Xuantong, Lin Tong, Zhou Suying, and the others stood guard atop the towering Mother Cauldron, accompanied by a number of warriors from the Righteous Alliance. The Wolf Cavalry’s greatest weakness was its lack of mid-level officers. Moreover, Ye Xin did not want to deploy the men from the old camp. With fewer than twenty men divided between two locations, they were stretched painfully thin.

Ye Xin sat cross-legged at the center of the platform, with the Mother Cauldron directly before him. The elemental force here was actually denser than that in the Cambrian Hall of Dragon Soaring Martial Academy. After all, tens of thousands of origin stones grew within the Mother Cauldron, and the elemental force that naturally escaped from them was invigorating.

This was the finest place for cultivation in all of Nine Cauldron City—without exception. Unfortunately, the Mother Cauldron was the foundation of the nation’s destiny. Ironheart Saint trusted none of the great clans, fearing that they might join forces and seize resources that belonged solely to him. The warriors responsible for guarding this place were exceptionally unusual. Officially, they belonged to the Palace Guard, yet they rarely came into contact with the other palace guards. Every one of them had been castrated. They had no families or relatives, ate and slept within the royal palace, and never interacted with outsiders.

Perhaps Ironheart Saint believed that having a family would give rise to desires that ought not exist, and that once such desires arose, they would set their sights on the Mother Cauldron.

If they were a pack of dogs, then they were castrated dogs locked in cages, unable to touch the outside world for their entire lives.

After learning the truth about these unusual warriors, Ye Xin finally let go of his last doubts. So this was the kind of person Ironheart Saint trusted most. One might even say that Ironheart Saint wished everyone under heaven could become plants—never moving, never thinking improperly, merely enduring sunlight and rain and offering up their fruit each year. Only then, he believed, would the world become a true commonwealth.

Suddenly, a glow of fire appeared in the distance.

The Heavenly Prison was not far from the royal city, and the Mother Cauldron towered high enough to provide a distant view. Xue Baiqi immediately spotted the flames. Turning to Ye Xin, he said, “My lord. Just as expected—someone is breaking into the prison!”

“Han Sanmei is giving everything he has. He wants to clear away every obstacle before Iron Book Lantern.” Ye Xin sighed.

In truth, putting Feng Qishan on public trial posed no real threat to Iron Book Lantern. His desperate efforts to bury the truth were meant to forge the matter into a chain and fasten it around Ye Xin’s neck. If Ye Xin ever became a threat in the future, Iron Book Lantern could easily cast him onto the opposite side of Great Wei, claiming that Ye Xin had avenged his father and executed a traitor. He would have everyone’s support.

Han Sanmei thought Ye Xin was young and could not possess much depth of strategy. He did not know that Ye Xin had once lived in an age of explosive information, where one could gain a thorough understanding of many things without experiencing them personally.

One copy of the Han Feizi, one Records of the Grand Historian, and one Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance were enough to reveal thousands of years of change and expose the treachery and deceit of human nature.

Ye Xin had seen straight through Han Sanmei long ago. Han Sanmei, however, still believed himself to be the cleverest man in the world.

“My lord, should we go and provide support?” Yang Xuantong asked.

“No. Although I said this battle would determine what score to give Zong Bieli, I already know that he will certainly come.” Ye Xin shook his head. “If he does not, then he is no longer Zong Bieli. As for the Heavenly Prison, Moon Tiger should be able to control the situation. If the disturbance grows too serious, the Grand Commandant will naturally intervene.”

Over the past several years, Ye Xin had proven through his actions that he could calculate every move without error. The elite soldiers of the Heavenly Punishment Camp had complete faith in him. Seeing how certain he was, they said nothing more and quietly awaited the battle that was about to erupt.

Yet fate seemed intent on playing a joke on Ye Xin that day. More than an hour passed, and still nothing happened. From their position, they could see people moving along the streets near the Heavenly Prison, torches forming a long, winding dragon. The constables from the Grand Commandant’s Office had indeed arrived to reinforce the prison. The disturbance would be quelled before long.

Ye Xin’s expression changed. Zong Bieli’s forces should have appeared by now. If all was peaceful here, it did not accord with the logic Zong Bieli had always displayed.

Could he have overlooked something?

Ye Xin’s mind raced. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. He rose abruptly and asked in a low voice, “How many men are stationed at the Inner Treasury?”

“My lord, didn’t you forbid us from entering the Inner Treasury?” Xue Baiqi was startled. “So I left only a little over thirty brothers there. My lord… do you think Zong Bieli’s target is the Inner Treasury?”

“You think that impossible?” Ye Xin countered.

The Inner Treasury was Ironheart Saint’s national treasury. Ye Xin dared to set his sights on the Mother Cauldron, but he could not touch the Inner Treasury. That was a matter of principle. The resources of the Inner Treasury should be inherited by the crown prince of Great Wei. If he entered it, he would be driving Iron Book Lantern into becoming his sworn enemy.

“Even if they reach the Inner Treasury, they cannot get inside,” Xue Baiqi said. “The gates are made of tens of thousands of pounds of refined steel, and I hear the treasury walls are more than ten meters thick. Destroying the gates and walls would take at least three to five days. If they really tried, we would have heard the commotion long ago.”

“What if they have a key?” Ye Xin asked.

“There are two keys. One is in the hands of the Ghost Gentleman, and we do not know where the other is.” Xue Baiqi shook his head. “Even we have never entered. What grounds would Zong Bieli have? Besides, if the Inner Treasury truly were his target, news would have come from the Ghost Gentleman.”

“Perhaps we have all underestimated Zong Bieli. Or perhaps Old Thirteen is being watched too closely to get word out.” Ye Xin’s face turned cold. “Or perhaps… Old Thirteen knows my limits. He thinks me too rigid, too bound by a woman’s compassion, so he intends to force me across that line. That little bastard…”

Xue Baiqi fell silent. Ye Xin could curse the Ghost Gentleman, but Xue Baiqi did not dare echo him. The Ghost Gentleman was a man who repaid every slight. He would not harm Xue Baiqi, but he would certainly make him suffer a little.

“I’m going to take a look around the Inner Treasury.” Ye Xin picked up the Murder God Saber.

“My lord, I’ll accompany you,” Xue Baiqi said.

“No. Guard the Mother Cauldron. I’m enough on my own.”

Ye Xin raced down the steps. At that moment, the abilities of the Boundless Sky Wolf were displayed to perfection. Had he been riding a warhorse, it would have lost control on the steep stairs and rolled all the way down, ending as a heap of mangled flesh. The Boundless Sky Wolf, however, moved with effortless grace. With a few powerful leaps, it swept down the steps and sped toward the Inner Treasury.

The royal palace was strangely quiet after the mutiny. Palace maids and eunuchs did not dare leave their quarters even during the day, let alone at night. Before long, the Boundless Sky Wolf drew near the Inner Treasury.

Ye Xin suddenly caught the strong smell of blood. He knew then that his judgment had been correct: Zong Bieli’s target really was the Inner Treasury.

Ye Xin gently stroked the Boundless Sky Wolf’s neck. The beast slowed and crept forward without a sound.

When Ye Xin saw the gates of the Inner Treasury, he dismounted and looked to either side of the tightly closed doors. Then he sprang lightly onto the courtyard wall—and was stunned.

Dozens of wagons were parked inside the Inner Treasury.

He could not imagine how they had managed to get them in.

Because they did not wish to attract attention, no lamps were burning. Figures flitted rapidly through the darkness, carrying objects from their shoulders and placing them onto the wagons before hurrying back toward the palace vaults.

The vault gates, which Xue Baiqi had said were forged from tens of thousands of pounds of refined steel, stood open. Faint firelight could be seen within. The figures moving back and forth made almost no sound, and even their breathing was barely audible. Clearly, they were all highly trained elites.

Ye Xin felt a lingering chill of fear. Fortunately, he had sensed something amiss at the last moment. Zong Bieli’s actions had not fit his usual logic. If Zong Bieli emptied the palace vaults, Ye Xin’s troubles would become enormous.

Iron Book Lantern would fly into a rage. Han Sanmei would go mad. Shen Wangji, Wang Fang, and Deng Zhiguo would all despise him. The only person left to support him would be Wen Yuanren.

If Ye Xin had truly done it himself, there would be nothing to say. Every gain usually demanded a loss. But to be framed by Zong Bieli in this manner would be a tremendous blow.

Iron Book Lantern would publicly denounce him. Han Sanmei and the others would declare themselves irreconcilable enemies of his. Meanwhile, Zong Bieli would be laughing secretly in the darkness.

How could such a thing be tolerated?

Killing intent surged through Ye Xin. He slowly approached the line of wagons. A coachman had half his body inside one of the carriages, arranging the goods that had been loaded. He was busy and did not notice Ye Xin at all.

“Is that about enough?” Ye Xin said lazily.

“Shut up! Do you want to die?” The coachman was startled and immediately pulled his head out. The instant he saw Ye Xin, his eyes widened. “You…”

Ye Xin’s blade flashed faster than his voice. In an instant, it swept across the man’s throat and split his body in two.

More than an hour had passed. Ye Xin had no idea how much Zong Bieli’s men had already carried away. The dozens of wagons in the courtyard were merely the ones he could see. Others had certainly escaped the palace already.

It did not matter. As long as they had left traces, he could pursue them to the very end.

Blade light flashed again and again. One figure after another was cut down. When someone realized that something was wrong, he let out a panicked roar.

“Enemy attack! We’re under attack!”

In the next instant, the figures drew their weapons and surged toward Ye Xin from every direction. At the same time, the wagons in the courtyard began moving. Whether or not they were fully loaded, they skirted the palace vaults and disappeared into the darkness.

Their retreat was carried out with remarkable order, proving that the person directing them had long since prepared a meticulous plan. Whatever unexpected event occurred, he had already devised a response.

Ye Xin had no time to concern himself with the fleeing wagons. Brandishing the Murder God Saber, he fought his way toward the vault gates with overwhelming force.