Xian Town was as silent as a dead city.
Though candles burned in the residences on either side of the lanes, not a single person came out to watch despite the fierce sounds of fighting.
Lu Yao and Lei Zhixin stood back to back, swords in hand, between the Shadow Guards and the civil officials. They formed a second line of defense behind the Shadow Guards, closely protecting those who knew no martial arts.
Everyone looked tense, but not because of the vicious bandits surrounding them like a pack of wolves.
-Emperor Mingze had put himself in danger, personally seized a heavy sword from one of the enemies, and was now moving unhurriedly among the bandits. As his robes billowed, pillars of blood as tall as a man erupted one after another, yet he dodged them with ease, never letting a drop touch him.
The profile he occasionally revealed as he turned was stern and cold. He looked even more like an evil spirit than these natives of Xian Town.
"Uh..."
Someone finally found his voice. "This doesn't seem quite right..."
It was far more than "not quite right."
The emperor himself was weaving among the bandits, slipping into every opening with unstoppable force, while they, his subjects, cowered within the protective ring formed by the Shadow Guards, shrinking back and relying on him for protection...
If word of this got out, they would be impeached without pause until the day they died!
Lu Yao's lips moved, his voice seeming to stay caught in his throat. "Then go persuade the master to come back."
The man who had spoken abruptly shut his mouth. A long while passed before he spoke again, his expression conflicted. "The master... why, why is he doing this?!!"
The bandits were highly skilled, but Xu Jiu