"Who goes there!"
Chunyu Qiong hid behind several personal guards, watching the defenders on the wall warily. "I am Senior General Chunyu Qiong! Where is Registrar Cui?"
At those words, Cui Lin soon appeared atop the wall, his face full of delighted surprise. "General Chunyu, you've finally arrived... but why have you brought so few men?"
He was puzzled. There were only a hundred cavalrymen outside the city, far short of the ten thousand troops they had agreed upon. Had they discovered something?
Seeing someone there to receive him, Chunyu Qiong finally relaxed. "The army is still concealed in the wooded hills. I came ahead to scout the situation. How are things inside?"
"Not good!" An idea stirred in Cui Lin's mind, and he deliberately spoke with urgency. "Yuan Xi has already killed Zhang Liao! General Chunyu, hurry back and tell the army to enter the city. I'll open the gates for you. Whatever you do, don't let this opportunity slip away!"
"What?"
Chunyu Qiong was instantly shocked and could not help cursing. "It's all that cowardly rat Ju Shou's fault! I told him to move sooner, but he wouldn't listen. Scout, scout, scout-scout my ass!"
"I'll just send someone back with the message. Open the gate! Let me into the city first!"
A trace of murderous intent flashed through Cui Lin's eyes as he nodded repeatedly. "Very well, I'll open the gate right away. Hurry inside, General Chunyu!"
With the sound of turning mechanisms, the North Gate slowly opened.
Overjoyed, Chunyu Qiong impatiently led his hundred light cavalrymen through the gate. He would go to the Imperial Palace first to kill Yuan Xi and capture the Son of Heaven while he was at it, claiming the foremost merit!
The gateway was deep and dark, like a gaping black maw.