Four Tigers

Recent events had rocked Chaoge and the Royal Palace one after another: a meteorite had fallen from the sky, the Imperial Study had exploded, people from the Daoist Sect had arrived, the Great King had been captured and trapped inside a magical treasure, a vicious dog had bitten the royal carriage, and the Crown Prince had been abducted from the East Palace. All of it left Fang Bi and Fang Xiang feeling immense pressure.

In the Imperial Garden, the Great King had received a letter blown in by a strange wind. Naturally, Fang Bi and Fang Xiang hadn't missed it.

Knowing the Great King as they did, now that he knew where the Crown Prince was, he wouldn't pass up even the slightest chance to bring him back.

So they had lined up here early, waiting for King Zhou to give the order.

But one sentence from King Zhou had rendered all their preparations useless.

Still, since the Great King had said so, Fang Bi and Fang Xiang didn't dare say much. They simply sent someone out of the palace at once to summon reinforcements.

It took a while, but someone finally brought Di Xin his Carefree Horse and his General-Slaying Saber.

Di Xin didn't bother putting on armor. He mounted his horse with the saber in hand and headed straight for the Royal Palace gates.

Outside the palace gates, he happened to run into King Wu Cheng of Zhenguo, Huang Feihu, who had hurried over after hearing the news. Behind him, Prime Minister Shang Rong and Vice Prime Minister Bi Gan were also approaching in their carriages.

News of the previous day's incident at the Royal Palace had spread quickly. All the court officials knew the Great King, who often skipped court, certainly wouldn't hold an audience that day, so they hadn't gone to Longde Hall to urge him to attend.

After all, they also needed to carry out several of the Great King's recent decrees outside the court.

"Great King, may I ask why you're leaving the palace?"

Huang Feihu was unlike Fang Bi and Fang Xiang. He was an important court official with command over the military, as well as the Imperial Father-in-law. His status went without saying, and he didn't have to be as cautious when speaking to King Zhou as the two palace-guarding generals.

"What business is it of yours?"

King Zhou frowned and turned his horse's head, intending to ride around Huang Feihu.

But Huang Feihu reached out and seized the reins, blocking the Carefree Horse. "Great King, forgive my frankness, but the safety of the whole kingdom rests on you. You mustn't rush into danger. Please return to the palace. I'll go to Tiger Head Cliff in your place."

"The assassin can fly. Can you?" King Zhou frowned again.

"But the Great King can't fly either! This matter... the Great King absolutely mustn't risk himself."

By then, Shang Rong and Bi Gan had arrived too. They climbed down from their carriages and urged him to reconsider, almost in unison.

"Is Yin Jiao my son, or yours? I'm saving my son. Don't try to stop me." Di Xin opened his mouth and immediately shut them down.

"Well... of course he's the Great King's..."

Which court official would dare claim Yin Jiao as his own son? That would be asking for death.

Their replies couldn't keep pace with Di Xin. As soon as those words left their mouths, he said, "The Crown Prince is in danger. As his Father King, I ought to go save him. Don't say another word. The General-Slaying Saber in my hand isn't for show. If anyone follows me and puts the Crown Prince in danger, you'll all be buried with him!"

After speaking, King Zhou tapped the horse's rump with the saber's shaft, released the reins, and galloped west along the main street.

The many court officials gathered before the palace looked at one another, unsure what to do.

Only Huang Feihu stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, then decisively said, "Fang Bi, take three thousand Imperial Guards. I'll lead ten thousand elite soldiers to meet the Great King near Tiger Head Cliff."

"King Wucheng, can you guarantee the Great King's safety and rescue the Crown Prince?"

Prime Minister Shang Rong asked hurriedly.

Huang Feihu could only shake his head with a bitter smile. "Even if I go to Tiger Head Cliff myself, I don't know whether I can survive an encounter with the Daoist Sect, let alone do anything else. But things have come to this. As loyal subjects, we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate. If the Great King truly encounters danger, I'll protect him with my life and die without regret."

The others exchanged glances again. They all knew Huang Feihu was telling the truth, but none of them had a better plan.

Unlike the officials gathered before the palace, Di Xin wasn't nearly as tense.

It was now all but certain that the Daoists were testing whether he possessed Magic Power.

The Daoists were formidable, but they wouldn't dare go so far as to kill him. If they could have killed him, Goddess Nuwa would have acted long ago.

The consequences would be more than she was willing to bear.

It simply wouldn't be worth it.

If the Daoist Sect truly wanted to get rid of him, there was no fundamental difference between doing it in the Royal Palace and at Tiger Head Cliff.

So, though Di Xin had acted before the palace as if he were going to his death, he was quite relaxed on the way there.

As he rode, he considered all the possible situations that might arise.

The question was simply how the other party would test him, and how he could avoid revealing that he already knew their intentions. Otherwise, he would be giving himself away.

They might not dare kill him, but if they proved beyond doubt that he was the one who had stolen their treasure, they would still have plenty of ways to punish him.

With that accusation alone, they might even be able to kill him without going against the will of Heaven.

So the key was to keep them from concluding that he had stolen their treasure.

Tiger Head Cliff was a dangerous spot on Chaoge Mountain, more than thirty li from Chaoge.

Chaoge had once been called Mei Township, then Mei Town. It had taken its present name from Chaoge Mountain, west of the city.

At the speed of Di Xin's Carefree Horse, thirty li wasn't a long journey.

Di Xin knew where Tiger Head Cliff was. He wasn't the only one—nearly everyone in Chaoge knew of it.

It was a perilous place, high above the ground, with a sheer cliff hundreds of zhang tall below.

When hunting on Chaoge Mountain, Di Xin had climbed Tiger Head Cliff more than once to gaze down at Chaoge and survey the land under his rule.

The road narrowed into a trail that led to the foot of the mountain, where it gradually vanished into the weeds. Farther up, horses could go no farther, and the rest had to be climbed on foot.

Di Xin dismounted, tied his horse in a nearby grove, then set off toward Tiger Head Cliff on foot, General-Slaying Saber in hand.

He could see the outline of Tiger Head Cliff in the distance, but reaching it would still mean climbing seven or eight li of mountain path.

Halfway there, Di Xin suddenly stopped. He tightened his grip on the General-Slaying Saber and looked toward a dense forest in the distance.

A gust of wind stirred there, and a massive, striped tiger strolled out, leisurely making its way toward him.

Di Xin knew Chaoge Mountain was home to many wild beasts. That was why he had chosen to hunt here in the past. But he couldn't tell whether this tiger had been sent by the Daoists.

He wasn't the least bit flustered. He hurried a couple of steps to the right, reaching an open spot with fewer trees, then fixed his gaze on the tiger, saber at the ready.

The shaft of the General-Slaying Saber was five chi long. Too many obstacles nearby would make it difficult to use properly.

"Holy shit..."

Soon, Di Xin swore. After the first tiger, he saw three more of the same size leap out of the forest and join it.

The four tigers advanced side by side, heading straight for Di Xin.

At first, they weren't moving particularly fast. But as they drew closer, all four were already charging like the wind.