My Antique Mirror Is A Portal To Another World-Chapter 656: South City Gate

Although they were younger than the Hanlin Academy Vice Director, the three ministers were already in their forties. After running for almost two hours, they were already at their limit, but none of them dared to complain or were willing to give up.

Nodding at the general, the three of them replied with determination in their eyes, "Yes. General, don’t worry about us. We can take care of ourselves."

"Good."

The general used one hand to support the Hanlin Academy Vice Director while his other hand held his sword tightly. Peeking out of the dark alley, he scanned the surroundings for a while.

When he was sure that no rebel soldiers were around, the general said, "We will rush toward the South City Gate. Run as fast as you can and don’t stop. Understand?"

The three ministers nodded. "Yes."

Receiving their answer, the general took a deep breath, then said, "Let’s go!"

With that, he rushed out of the dark alley carrying the Hanlin Academy Vice Director, while the other three ministers followed him with all their might.

They sprinted for more than ten minutes before the general suddenly said, "Hide!"

Without having time to think, the three ministers followed the general and hid behind a pile of trash on the roadside.

"Huff... Huff... Huff..." Panting heavily, one of the three ministers asked breathlessly, "Wh–what’s happening?"

"Shh!" The general covered his mouth, then motioned toward the city gate with his eyes.

Curious as to why the general was so nervous, the minister followed his gaze toward the city gate.

The moment the minister saw the bodies scattered around the city gate and the blood stained the ground red, he took a sharp breath in horror.

Letting go of the minister’s mouth, the general observed the situation at the city gate.

A few moments later, he realized that those bodies belonged to the rebel army. He pondered for a moment, then let the Hanlin Academy Vice Director down.

Looking at the four ministers, the general said, "This general will go and check the situation. You guys stay here. If something happens to this general, run and don’t look back. Find the others and leave this city as soon as possible."

Hearing this, the four ministers’ eyes reddened. Unable to help with anything, they could only clasp their hands and bow deeply to the general.

"General, please be safe. We will wait for you here," said the Hanlin Academy Vice Director.

The general nodded, clenched his sword tightly, and then vigilantly scanned the surroundings. After making sure that it was safe, he walked out of their hiding place.

Watching the general move toward the city gate, the four ministers held their breath and prayed for the general’s safety.

Meanwhile, the general noticed that there were no signs of life there. He frowned slightly, then squatted beside one of the bodies.

Reaching toward the corpse, the general carefully checked the pulse and the cause of death.

The general inspected the corpse carefully but only found one deep slit on the throat. Tracing the wound on the neck, his eyes flickered in realization.

’This wound... Could it be...!’

Not sure if his deduction was right, the general stood up and approached another corpse.

Squatting beside the corpse, he checked the corpse’s neck directly. Finding an identical deep slitting wound on the neck, the general’s eyes flickered with certainty.

’The ones who killed these rebel soldiers were indeed Great General Feng’s people. But why? Hasn’t the Great General been captured by General Wu from the Jin Empire? Instead of protecting their master, why were they here helping us?’

Frowning deeply, the general racked his brain to find an answer, but he could only think of one possibility.

His eyes lit up as hope reignited in his heart. ’Since the Feng Clan’s shadow guards are here helping us, then... is Great General Feng faking his defeat to the Jin Army?!’

Coming to this conclusion, the general couldn’t stay calm any longer.

Looking away from the corpse, he scanned the surroundings to find any traces left by the Feng Clan’s shadow guards. Unfortunately, he found nothing except for the wound on the corpses’ necks after searching for a long time.

Watching the general was busy searching the area around the city gate, the four ministers exchanged glances.

"There should be no rebel army around," the old Hanlin Academy Vice Director said.

The other three ministers nodded in agreement.

After a brief moment of silence, one of them hesitantly suggested, "Should we go and help the general find whatever he is looking for?"

Hearing this, the other two ministers turned to look at the Hanlin Academy Vice Director for his opinion.

Being stared at by the three of them, the Hanlin Academy Vice Director pondered for a few seconds, then said, "Alright. Let’s go and ask if the general needs any help."

"Good."

With that, the three ministers helped the Hanlin Academy Vice Director up and walked toward the city gate.

"General, how is it?" the Hanlin Academy Vice Director asked as they approached him.

Hearing this, the general paused, then turned around. Shaking his head, he said, "No sign of life here. It has been a while since these rebel soldiers died."

Receiving this answer, the Hanlin Academy Vice Director asked, "What should we do now? Should we wait for the others here?"

The general thought for a moment, then said, "There is no place to hide here. Instead of waiting here, we should leave the city first." 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Then what about the others?" asked one of the three ministers.

"This general will leave a secret message here. As long as the generals see it, they will know where to find us," the general replied, then walked toward the city wall.

Taking out a dagger from his boots, he carved a few symbols on the wall, then walked back to the others.

"Let’s go." Squatting before the Hanlin Academy Vice Director, the general added, "Vice Director, the road ahead is hard to walk. Let this general carry you."

"Thank you, General," the Hanlin Academy Vice Director said gratefully.

After he climbed onto the general’s back, the five of them quickly rushed out of the city gate.

Not long after they left the imperial capital city, another group arrived.