306 Return to Heavenly Revelations
The sounds of the cavalry horseshoes were getting louder and louder, and Lanyue Marquis felt as if the entire piece of land under his feet was shaking. He quickly guessed which army was rushing towards them.
Twin-bladed Ye Banner Battalion.
Lanyue Marquis pressed down on the hilt of his sabre, his expression serious. Although he was the highly important regent of state, there was still someone in the imperial court that he knew he could never control - the Beili General-in-chief Ye Xiaoying. But, shortly after, he saw that the one leading the army was someone in a green dress, and Lanyue Marquis’s brows slowly relaxed, releasing his sabre as well. Sure enough, as the army approached, the Ye Banner Battalion suddenly slowed down and gradually came to a stop. Lanyue Marquis looked thoughtfully at the lady dressed in a commoner’s clothing riding alongside Ye Ruoyi. Back then, when he wanted to take Xiao Se away, this woman armed with a spear had also stood in his way, her expression stubborn.
"Marquis," Ye Ruoyi greeted respectfully, cupping her fist.
"Miss Ye is truly worthy of your father. I’ve always heard that you had a weak constitution and even standing too long was difficult. I never would have thought you could ride a horse so wildly with an aura that’s no less than your father’s." Lanyue Marquis gave a faint smile.
Ye Ruoyi also smiled politely and said, "Lanyue Marquis has overpraised me. This time, I have left Heavenly Revelations without permission and plead to the Marquis for pardon."
"It’s fine." Lanyue Marquis waved a hand. "You’re childhood friends with Chuhe and grew up together. I trust you."
Ye Ruoyi returned a beatific smile. "In other words, does the Marquis mean that you don’t trust my father?"
"The Ye Banner Battalion are known to recognise the tiger and wolf as their master. Your father is the head of tigers and wolves. We can conspire to take all under Heaven, but must never trust him completely," Lanyue Marquis said calmly.
Ye Ruoyi did not pursue further, but said, "We should be here for the same person."
"Your father had an agreement with me to see who could snatch him a year later." Lanyue Marquis smiled faintly, but his eyes gleamed with a sharp look.
"Is Marquis still concerned with the matter of snatching him?" Ye Ruoyi asked.
Lanyue Marquis didn't reply, and asked instead, "The lot of you have rushed here all covered in dust, looking travel-worn. Looking at this young lady from Snow Moon City, it’s even more apparent that you’ve gone through a serious battle. You must have encountered enemies on the road."
"Merely the Luo City Army. Hardly an enemy," Ye Ruoyi said.
"A little arrogant there." Lanyue Marquis nodded. "At least you’ve blocked a wave of enemies for him. We rushed here from Heavenly Revelations, but didn’t do anything after all. We’re not qualified to compete with you. But, there’s something I just realised. Perhaps you’ve already understood it long ago."
"Yes, I’ve always understood!" Ye Ruoyi said.
"None of us can snatch him because he will never listen to us. We can support him, but we’re only fit to chase him behind his horse." Lanyue Marquis pulled his horse’s reins to face in the direction Xiao Se had rode off earlier, and shouted, "Move out! We return to Heavenly Revelations!"
One thousand three hundred Brave Tiger Guards responded at the same time, turning their horses around and galloping back at full speed.
The Ye Banner Battalion commander rode his horse forward and spoke softly to Ye Ruoyi, "Are we going too?"
"We will follow up to the city walls of Heavenly Revelations City, then you return to Ningzhi!" Ye Ruoyi said after thinking for a while.
"That Lanyue Marquis, can we trust him?" Sikong Qianluo suddenly asked.
"Qianluo, we cannot easily trust the people of Heavenly Revelations City. Even more so for the members of the Xiao Clan imperial family, we cannot trust a single one of them," Ye Ruoyi replied softly.
Sikong Qianluo nodded and said sternly, "I’ll remember."
"Let's go!" Ye Ruoyi whipped her horse vigorously.
They followed after the Brave Tiger Guards for about a hundred miles, and soon Heavenly Revelations City became visible ahead. Suddenly they saw another group of riders coming quickly from a distance. The group was small, about a dozen or so, but they had an heroic air about them. They were all armed with swords or sabres and mostly dressed in white. Riding at full speed on the open road, they were filled with the aura of youthful gents of the martial world. And the one who was riding the fastest was even more conspicuous. Because he was dressed in red, sandwiched within a group of white and when the wind blew, he looked like a burning flame from a distance.
"Lei Wujie?" Ye Ruoyi was stunned.
"Miss Ye." Lei Wujie shook his tattered sleeves and smiled. "Are you going to Heavenly Revelations?"
"Of course." Ye Ruoyi couldn't help but want to laugh when she saw his serious appearance.
Lei Wujie nodded. "That's such a coincidence. I’m also going to Heavenly Revelations. How about we travel together."
Ye Ruoyi smiled. "Okay."
"Miss, I…" Lei Wujie wanted to say more, but he was kicked off his horse by Sikong Qianluo. Sikong Qianluo scolded him angrily, "Are you blind? Didn’t you see your shijie right here?"
Standing to one side, Xie Yanshu smiled wryly and said, "Qianluo-shijie, it took me a lot of effort to rescue this guy. Please don’t beat him to death again."
"What happened?" Ye Ruoyi asked hurriedly.
Xie Yanshu looked at Lei Wujie, who was struggling to climb back onto his horse, and told the rest about how Unrivaled City had intercepted them.
"Snow Moon City really deserves to be the number one city of the martial world. Looks like you’ve long made preparations to support Xiao Se’s return to Heavenly Revelations. You’ve arranged people everywhere to respond." Ye Ruoyi exclaimed, and then suddenly thought, "That’s right, so Tang Lian-shixiong must also have gotten involved this time, Where is he?"
"I don't know." Xie Yanshu shook his head and said, "There’s no news from da-shixiong."
Sikong Qianluo shook her head. "Da-shixiong is the last person we need to worry about. With him around, he will definitely settle his side safely. We’ll wait for him when we return to Heavenly Revelations."
"That makes sense." Lei Wujie nodded. "Snow Moon City’s da-shixiong is the most reliable person under Heaven. We'll await our reunion in Heavenly Revelations!"
"Alright." Ye Ruoyi nodded.
One thousand three hundred Brave Tiger Guards, one thousand Twin-bladed Ye Banner Battalion, and a dozen or so talented disciples of Snow Moon City, all rode on the same road.
They were all following a single person dressed in blue robes.
Above the Heavenly Revelations City city walls, one of the city guards was just dozing off, but he was shocked awake by the thunderous roar of horseshoes. He stood up and peered out intently, receiving such a fright that he almost lost grip of the weapon in his hand.
"Are… are… are they going to siege the city?"
"Siege what city?" The Commandant of the City Gates reached out and smacked him heavily on the head. "The ones on the left holding twin blades are General Ye's Ye Banner Battalion. The ones on the right in light armor are the Brave Tiger Guards that Lanyue Marquis brought out a few days ago. They’re just riding a little faster than usual, and you’re already frightened to this degree."
"Then who is he?" The city guard looked at the young man in blue who was riding in front of them. "Are they chasing him?"
"He is…" The Commandant of the City Gates looked at the figure. Although he couldn’t see him clearly from a distance, he immediately guessed the man’s identity. He swallowed a gulp and spoke the next three words solemnly, "Yong'an Prince."
The man in blue robes finally arrived at the city gates. Xiao Se reined in his horse and slowly raised his head to look at the massive words “Heavenly Revelations” above the city gates.
"I'm back," he said softly.
The silence stretched.
"I'm back!" He suddenly pulled out the staff at his waist and roared into the sky!
Behind him, a magnificent army of thousands charged as they drew their blades and roared with him!