You're Strong But Now You're Mine-Chapter 538 - 536 Escape

"Yeah, still alive." Le Yu couldn't help but sigh as well: "Apart from time, who else can defeat this old bastard?"

"Isn't it normal for the principal to be alive?" Kui Nianruo was puzzled: "He's so strong."

"But his enemies are stronger." Le Yu said, "Apart from those minor threats, his enemy last night was the mastermind you all know—the host of the Immortal Palace plan, Smile."

"Smile isn't very strong either." Li Ying said, "Teacher Qin also said the power of Immortal Blood isn't very strong…"

"Last night, it wasn't just the principal fighting Smile alone; it was the principal, Statistical Department Director Xie Chenyuan, and the Commander of the Twelve Guards Yu Ke besieging Smile together." Le Yu said, "Even if they survived in the end, the principal told me that if Smile had gone all out at the last moment, at least one martial pillar would have been taken down. He also said that if it weren't for the three of them confronting Smile last night, all the martial pillars of Yanjing would be destroyed now, with Smile suppressing Yanjing, unmatched, and this glory would truly have a new owner."

Everyone found it hard to believe: "Really?"

The understanding that Smile was very strong was acceptable, but the notion that Smile could annihilate all martial pillars, and even single-handedly suppress Yanjing, dominating the glory, was beyond their comprehension.

"Boasting achievements and never lying are well-known traits of the principal." Le Yu sighed, "Honestly, if Smile were still alive, the only thing I could do... would be to die by his hand."

No one could grasp the deeper meaning of this remark, but everyone knew Smile was truly unbelievably strong—stronger than the Blue Flame that Le Yu always praised—yet Smile was ultimately dead, and they didn't dwell on him further, asking: "Teacher Qin, what exactly happened last night?"

"Do you want to hear the detailed version or the brief one?"

"Detailed version?"

"The detailed version is like thirty chapters of novel content, I'm too lazy to tell."

"Then the brief one."

"The mastermind attempted to seize the Holy Sword Glory and launched the monster transformation plan, causing nearly half the people in the vicinity of Yanjing to turn into beasts last night, fighting amongst themselves. Meanwhile, the outer district army used the night's monster transformation plan, now having broken through Beichen Pass and Nanming Pass, and will soon reach Yanjing."

Even though Le Yu had removed many details, the amount of information was still overwhelming for them. Qian Yuya was the first to digest it: "Can the five military camps in the vicinity hold off the outer district army?"

"Optimistically, they can hold off for two or three days."

"Is Yanjing likely to defend successfully?"

"If everyone becomes soldiers, if united, if preferring death over surrender," Le Yu said, "But as far as I know, many noble families and court ministers are connected with the outer district army."

"Wait, wait!" Li Ying quickly shouted: "Teacher Qin, do you mean... the outer district army is going to attack Yanjing soon!?"

"That's right."

"But how dare they?" Li Ying was incredulous: "It's civil war, this is Yanjing... fighting for power in the outer district is one thing, but how could they dare attack Yanjing?"

Though Li Ying's words seemed naive, they actually made sense—war within governing districts, or between districts, is unusual but understandable, not causing much psychological burden to soldiers, as it's all about fighting for interests.

But attacking Yanjing is different!

This is rebellion! This is treason! This is a betrayal of the nation, a betrayal of glory, a betrayal of instilled patriotism, a betrayal of the loyalty cultivated since childhood!

Even with severe land consolidation, commoners barely breathing, class conflicts on the verge of breaking out, at most they would raise knives against landlords, governors, and magistrates, no one would dare think of rebellion!

A two-thousand-year-old dynasty, a consistent history, the weight accumulated through time, how could ordinary people resist it?

If it were rebellion out of desperation, it would be understandable, but now it's official outer district troops entering the capital, they wouldn't be living so poorly in the army, right? Even if life was bad, they could at least take down their officers first!

"Once you know which armies are coming, you'll understand," Le Yu smiled: "First, the Storm Army. As rebels from Skyrim, they have no pressure attacking Yanjing."

"Then there's the Ta Bai Army, with Youyun Ta Bai who have always been defiant towards the Imperial Court, their commanders throughout history have been framed by the court, Ta Bai Army has been defiant towards the court for a long time, often showing off to demand money and grain. They might not have rebellion in mind, but they certainly wouldn't resist entering Yanjing to shock the court."

The Jin Hui Heng Hui Army, Azure Blood Source Army, like the Ta Bai Army, the Imperial Court considers Jin Hui people cold and arrogant, and Azure people barbaric and rude, denigrating them often, with few Jin Hui or Azure people in the court. Such differentiation over time, would they be without grievances, without anger?

The only exception is the Chenfeng Linhai Army… still unsure how Blue Flame made the Linhai Army willing to conspire with him.

The Xiabei Beiwei Army remains loyal to the court so naturally didn't come; Leiyin District is autonomous, uninterested and unaffected by the court, thus they haven't come either.

But Li Ying still found it hard to accept: "This is attacking the capital..."

"May not necessarily be rebellion," Lin Xue said, "How could they tell their army they're here to overthrow? It must be under the guise of loyalists and righteous forces, attacking to punish treacherous ministers, and with the court's misrule and throne vacant for two years being facts, lower-ranked soldiers truly believe their commander is coming to Yanjing to administer justice."

"Is now the time to discuss whether they dare and might rebel!?"

Qin Yueshi interrupted the discussion, stood up, and loudly said, "The point is Yanjing can't be defended, meaning it will soon fall, leading to war disaster and court upheaval. Now amidst this situation, how can we ensure our survival?"

"Sis is right." Le Yu stood up, standing by the window, looking at the scenery outside the Platinum Tower, "I'll give you some time to think."

Except Qian Yuya, the others did need some time to digest the sudden big change—they were all surprised that being in Yanjing, they confronted such a rare military disaster that occurred once in hundreds of years, and all being young girls around twenty, they weren't entirely bewildered thanks to the quality education at the Imperial Academy.

However, during this tense contemplation, Kui Nianruo was the outlier. She looked at the painting of a woman's back hanging on the wall, poked Li Ying, signaling her to look.

Li Ying glanced at the woman's back in the painting, initially a bit scared, then quickly frowned, showing uncertainty, and poked Lin Xue and Qin Yueshi, signaling them to look too.

Lin Xue and Qin Yueshi reacted the same way, first scared, then surprised, finally somewhat angry, and Qin Yueshi stood up and exclaimed: "Brother!"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you fool us like this?"

"What fooling?" Le Yu remained indifferent.

"That painting!" Qin Yueshi pointed at the painting of the woman's back, "That painting was completely turned away from us initially, and every time we came, it turned a bit more, now nearly facing us!"

"Oh, is it?" Le Yu calmly glanced at the painting, "Could you have remembered it wrong? I remember the woman in the painting was almost turning around."

"Still pretending!" Qin Yueshi walked over, pointing at the edge of the painting frame, "Look, this is blood! You clearly got it on when swapping the painting today, right!"

Oops, busted.

Like Cha Huan maintaining a trick for decades was truly too difficult.

Le Yu emotionlessly changed the topic: "Have you come up with a plan?"

"In a collapsed crisis, we are mere insignificant individuals. To ensure personal safety in such dire circumstances, there's only one way," Qian Yuya calmly said, "And that is to leave." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"No need to sugarcoat it, it's running away," Le Yu said, "I've found the way out, abandon anything that can't be taken, and leave Yanjing along the river to return to Dongyang, avoiding the war. Sis, don't worry, I've already informed Yueyang, he is responsible for preparing the departing ships."

Everyone nodded convincingly, yet at this moment, Kui Nianruo posed a very sensitive question: "What about Shuiyun Palace?"

"She'll come with us!" Le Yu answered without hesitation: "It's just one more person, one more mouth, I can afford her."

Qian Yuya: "So when do we leave?"

"Today! Once Shuiyun arrives to join us, we leave immediately!"

Qin Yueshi: "Where is Shuiyun now?"

"Yeah, where is she now?"

Le Yu looked at the Imperial Academy outside the Platinum Tower, glanced at the Holy Sword mark on the back of his right hand: "Didn't I tell her to come find me quickly… why hasn't she come yet?"