togophonebook Chapter 50: Freedom and the Wilderness
Chapter 50: Freedom and the Wilderness
Meanwhile, in a simple house just a hundred steps away from the prefect's residence.
"What?!"
A low growl, suppressing his anger, exploded in the confined space.
Suddenly, a strong, muscular man dressed like any other ordinary citizen in the city sprang up from his seat.
His eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his forehead bulged out like earthworms.
The burly man strode over to the other man kneeling on the ground. The other man had a hideous scar across his face and was covered in sweat.
The strong, muscular man grabbed the scarred man's collar and lifted him off the ground like a chick.
"Say that to me again?!?"
The scarred man's feet dangled in the air as he met the guard captain's bloodshot eyes, which seemed to spit fire.
A chill ran from the soles of my feet straight up to the top of my head.
He had no doubt that if he didn't offer an explanation, he would be torn to pieces by the enraged guard captain the next moment.
Driven by a strong will to survive, the scarred man hurriedly tried to explain himself.
"Commander...Commander! This really can't be blamed on the brothers!"
"We obeyed Your Majesty's strict orders and took turns keeping a close watch on all the gates of the Prefect's Mansion for twelve hours a day. We could see even a mouse crawling out clearly."
"But the Grand Master and his party haven't even left the door once."
Seemingly worried that the guard chief wouldn't believe him, the scarred man's voice grew increasingly urgent.
"Really, no, the brothers can guarantee it with their heads!"
However, this explanation only added fuel to the fire.
The anger in the guard's eyes did not subside; instead, it burned even brighter, almost becoming tangible.
The veins on his forehead throbbed violently, and the muscles in his face contorted as if he were forcing a sentence out from between his teeth.
"You can't blame them?! Then are you going to blame me?!"
"Save that nonsense for His Majesty!!!"
"Your Majesty...Your Majesty..."
Upon hearing those two words, the scarred man felt as if all the bones in his body had been removed, and his legs went weak.
If the guard captain hadn't been holding his collar so tightly, the scarred man would probably have collapsed to the ground long ago.
The unfathomable pupils of the First Emperor Ying Zheng, which seemed to pierce through everything, instantly appeared before his eyes.
An immense chill, like an icy tide, completely engulfed the scarred man.
Just as he was on the verge of suffocating despair, a bolt of lightning suddenly cleaved through his chaotic mind.
"It's...it's the Grand Master?!?"
As if grasping at the last straw, the scarred man cried out in despair.
"Um??"
The guard's hand, which was gripping his collar, loosened slightly involuntarily.
"Yes! It's the Grand Master!"
The scarred man spoke at an astonishing speed, like a drowning man clinging to a piece of driftwood.
"The Great Master is... he is an immortal. He must have used some kind of immortal magic to leave quietly."
"This...this is beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals like us, Commander Wei!"
After listening to the scarred man's almost roared explanation.
The guard's face darkened. He stared intently at the scarred man's face, which was contorted with fear, and remained silent for several breaths.
Finally, the hand that was gripping the collar slowly loosened its grip.
The scarred man, who had survived the ordeal, collapsed to the ground with a thud, panting heavily.
The guard captain looked grave, his gaze fixed on the prefectural governor's residence, his eyes filled with complex emotions. "That's all we can do," he said.
He then turned around abruptly, his gaze sharp.
"Hurry! Immediately! Choose the fastest horse and the most capable men! Travel without stopping, day and night, and hurry to Xianyang."
"Report this entire incident, word for word, to His Majesty immediately!"
"Those who delay will be executed!"
"Yes! Yes!"
The scarred man felt as if he had been granted a pardon and scrambled to his feet.
He didn't even bother to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. He bowed deeply and rushed out of the room, almost using both hands and feet, to convey this extremely urgent order.
And almost identical scenes.
At the same time, the same event was also taking place in two other equally secluded and simple houses around the prefectural governor's residence.
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On the other side...
The north wind whipped up bits of withered grass, churning them into waves across the boundless, yellow grassland.
Looking out, the sky is high and the land is vast, the clear sky is clear and cloudless, and there is only this endless grassland.
The wind rustles through the grass.
Fusu gently squeezed the horse's belly with his legs, and the chestnut horse beneath him raised its head and hooves, its four hooves flying as it trod across the withered yellow meadow.
The wind blew in his face, billowing his robes and making a rustling sound.
Fusu's brows relaxed, all the melancholy that had accumulated over this period dissipated, and a genuine, heartfelt smile appeared on his lips.
Sometimes she would raise her hand to brush away the wind-blown hair from her temples, and sometimes she would shout out loud.
The sound echoed freely in the vast expanse of heaven and earth.
"How is it, Young Master Fusu?"
Zou Yun easily caught the reins and rode alongside Fusu.
"This was probably the most enjoyable moment of my life."
A bright light shone in Fusu's eyes, and even though his cheeks were reddened by the cold wind, he did not feel cold at all.
At this moment, he forgot his identity as the eldest son of the empire, forgot the mountain of government affairs piled up in the Shangjun Prefecture, and forgot his father Ying Zheng's scrutinizing gaze.
Immersed in the boundless joy of galloping on horseback, feeling the speed of the wind rushing past my ears.
"Snapped!"
Fusu lightly flicked his whip, urging the horse to run faster, his body brimming with the carefree spirit and vitality of youth.
Seeing his appearance, Zou Yun also became interested.
Zou Yun raised his hand and pointed to a small hill on the horizon ahead, its peak clearly visible in the sunlight.
"Young Master Fusu..."
He extended the invitation in a loud voice.
"Let's have a competition and see who can reach the top first!"
Before he finished speaking, Zou Yun spurred his horse, and the steed neighed loudly, suddenly accelerating forward.
"Alas--!"
As Zou Yun rode, he made several strange noises.
"Great Master... Ha..."
Looking at Zou Yun, who had surpassed him in an instant, Fu Su felt a long-lost competitive spirit rekindle in his heart.
His smile deepened, his eyes sharpened, and he gave a low shout, urging his horse to speed up.
In an instant, the sound of hooves struck the earth like a torrential rain.
"Meng Jun, is this really going to work?!"
Feng Zhixue, who was lagging behind, looked at the two figures galloping ahead and sighed hesitantly.
Feng Zhixue could almost picture the uproar that would erupt within the prefectural governor's mansion after abducting an imperial heir.
He looked at Meng Xuande beside him, seeking confirmation once again.
Meng Xuande smiled bitterly, his eyes filled with complex emotions as he looked at the two figures in front of him, which were getting smaller and smaller.
"Now that things have come to this, do we really have a choice?"
He asked back helplessly.
Meng Xuande originally thought that the Grand Master simply found the accompanying guards too numerous and cumbersome, which was why he proposed to get rid of them.
But he knew that there were actually three guards following him in secret to ensure the trip would go smoothly.
That's why he agreed to Zou Yun's audacious "plan".
But Meng Xuande never expected that the Grand Master's methods would be so unpredictable.
Now, he's completely on the hot seat.
"If it weren't for His Majesty's deep trust in my father, he probably would have lost his head after what he did today."
Meng Xuande felt a bitter taste in his mouth, and even a fine layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
"Great Master, how many more secrets remain hidden?"
Meng Xuande subconsciously raised his hand and touched the cloth in his bosom through his thick robe.
"When we pass by a certain pavilion, Your Majesty will send a reliable person on horseback to deliver the secret report back to Xianyang at full speed."
On the other side, Zheng Ze, who had been silent all along, seemed to sense the worries of the others and spoke up calmly.
Meng Xuande took a deep breath and sighed, "That's all we can do."
He now only hoped that such remedial measures could still appease His Majesty the Emperor.
The three of them chatted in hushed tones as they controlled their horses, inevitably discussing the current situation and the Grand Master.
Wei Shuqing, meanwhile, huddled in Meng Xuande's arms, his hands gripping the slightly raised saddle pad tightly in front of him.
With each jolt of the horse, his small body rose and fell with it.
Under a clear blue sky, the warm sun shone on the withered grassland, casting a soft, warm glow.
Without the hustle and bustle of the city or the constraints of urban walls, the group rode their horses across the grasslands on the border of the Qin Dynasty.
The world is vast, and horses gallop freely.