Song of Adolescence

He was a docile house steward in the Grand Preceptor's Residence, and always accompanied Dong Zhu around. He didn't talk much, kept his head low, almost as if he was afraid of showing the long scar on his face.

But when he raised his head and the scar across his left cheek was exposed, you would realise that his eyes had always been so fierce. Thus, he was never docile and submissive. Thus, he was still that demigod of carnage from hell.

"Retreat!" Li Tian struck with his fist and forced Lanyue Marquis to fall back into the carriage. But, at the same time, Lanyue Marquis swung a powerful sabre move and forced Li Tian to jump back. He landed on the roof eaves.

Lanyue Marquis sat in the carriage and glanced at Jin Yan with a wry smile. "Is the Grand Preceptor also on that list?"

Jin Yan's face lost its colour and he nodded with difficulty.

Lanyue Marquis cursed angrily, "Damn it."

As soon as he spoke, one of the Brave Tiger Guards fell into the carriage. His armour was on the verge of falling apart and although he was not critically injured, it was impossible for him to continue fighting. Lanyue Marquis cursed swiftly, picked up his sabre and stepped outside. He raised his head and glared at Li Tian, who was standing on the eaves, and asked, "Grand Preceptor Dong Zhu is known as the backbone of the country. Is this how he fulfils his role as the backbone?"

"Precisely because of this, the Grand Preceptor is the backbone of the country. An emperor who is terminally ill, a group of princes fighting each other for the throne, why not let someone who is perfectly legitimate, and has the support of most of the army, take the throne? The Grand Preceptor's considerations are truly for the sake of the country." Li Tian bowed his head.

"For the sake of the country?" Lanyue Marquis sneered and tightened his grip on his sabre. "My shifu told me that if I had the fortune to meet Li Tian one day, I must help him retrieve what he lost back then."

"But you're not as good as your shifu." Li Tian sneered.

"Yet, if Li Tian was still the Li Tian of the past, I would already be a dead man." Lanyue Marquis pulled over one of the Brave Tiger Guards next to him and snapped, "Get the man inside out of here. His injuries are too severe!"

"Yes, sir." The Brave Tiger Guard entered the carriage hurriedly.

"Jin Xian Gonggong, I'll leave the rest to you. Take Chengfang Street and hurry straight to the imperial palace. Once you're there, someone will meet you," Lanyue Marquis ordered sternly.

"Thank you for the trouble, Marquis." Jin Xian flung his rosary out of the carriage. The Buddhist beads exploded in midair, and each bead shot at the killers hiding in the smoke. The Brave Tiger Guard supported his seriously injured comrade out of the carriage, and Jin Xian Gonggong's last Buddhist bead struck the horse. The horse neighed loudly and charged ahead wildly. The remaining Brave Tiger Guards took out their medicine bottles, applied the medicine directly on their wounds, then immediately followed after.

Lanyue Marquis leapt into the air and swung his long sabre, preventing Li Tian from giving chase.

"Out of my way!" Li Tian shouted angrily.

"There's no road ahead. You can turn back." Lanyue Marquis turned his hand lightly and gestured with his long sabre.

"Arrogant." Li Tian swung his palm.

"My sabre is based on the word 'violence'!" Lanyue Marquis slashed his sabre downwards.

"Go!" Jin Xian stepped out of the carriage and wielded the whip.

Everyone in Heavenly Revelations City who knew Jin Xian Gonggong knew that this eunuch was an elegant and quiet person. Very few people had seen him raise his voice but at this moment, Jin Xian's long hair fluttered in the wind and he was wielding a horse whip that appeared out of nowhere. He rode on the horse and swung the whip fiercely.

"Warriors of the Brave Tiger Guards, are you willing to join your brothers to kill all the evil spirits, monsters and demons on this road!"

"This is Chengfang Street." With Jin Xian in the lead, the company careened into the long and wide street. Both sides of the street were lined with buildings and the moment he stepped onto the street, all the doors of every building swung open instantly.

"Kill!" Countless men in black jumped out of the buildings and charged at the carriage.

Jin Xian eyed the oncoming assassins, frowned slightly, and spoke in a soft voice, "There should be more."

"Jin Xian, release the man in the carriage." Shen Xiduo, who was dressed in the official uniform of the Court of Judicial Review, led a group of men and stood at the other end. He rolled open the decree in his hand and announced, "I was entrusted with the emperor's decree to investigate and capture the fugitive. Hand over the person in your hands!"

"The Court of Judicial Review is also here." Jin Xian frowned and murmured, "Where are the men sent by Jin Xuan and Xiao Se? Are they hiding in the dark, or…"

Lihe Street.

This was the narrowest street in Heavenly Revelations City, well known for its local delicacies. During the day, it was extremely lively and crowded. Those who weren't rich but wanted to taste the delicacies of the commoners would always wander into this street. However, after the recent disturbance, Heavenly Revelations City was still under curfew and all the shops had long since closed for the day. Now, the whole street was silent and desolate. Two Brave Tiger Guards were hurrying along the street.

"You two, where are you going?" A youth in a red shirt and armed with a sword appeared at the intersection.

"Why do you seem to be seriously injured, but there's no blood on the ground?" The lazy Prince holding a long staff appeared behind them.

This was an extremely narrow street with no exit and no road left for retreat.

This street was very quiet. On it were only Xiao Se, only Lei Wujie, and only two Brave Tiger Guards.

Or perhaps, they were not Brave Tiger Guards.

Jin Xian Gonggong turned around and rebuked Shen Xiduo, "Do you see these men? They're Brave Tiger Guards. Are you going to search the carriage under our escort? Are you intending to rebel?"

"If the person I'm looking for is found in the carriage, then I'm afraid the true rebel is Gonggong, am I right?" Shen Xiduo swung his executioner's blade and pointed at the carriage.

There were nearly a hundred assassins from various factions hiding in the dark. However, a whole squad of officials from the Court of Judicial Review suddenly intervened. And facing them were the Brave Tiger Guards and the Eunuch of the Court of State Ceremonial.

"This is truly a mess." Jin Xian drew his Snowstorm sword that was once famous in the martial world. He raised the sword and whispered, "Kill!"

On this wide avenue, without the smoke obscuring them, the Brave Tiger Guards were able to display their true prowess. They arranged themselves into a formation around the carriage and advanced slowly. Neither the assassins nor the men from the Court of Judicial Review could get near the carriage.

Only Shen Xiduo took a flying leap and slashed down with his executioner's blade. He tore a gap through the entourage, stepped onto the carriage, exchanged three moves against Jin Xian, and reached into the car. But, his fingers closed around the icy cold scales of an armour.

"What!" Shen Xiduo exclaimed.

Jin Xian swung his long sword, and a blast of frost aura cut a hole in Shen Xiduo's robe.

"If you weren't the Chief Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, I would already have taken your life. There aren’t many people in Heavenly Revelations City I cannot kill!" Jin Xian turned his head, waved his horse whip again, and bolted out from within the circle of Brave Tiger Guards, heading straight for the imperial palace.

The Brave Tiger Guards roared in response and stood in the way of the assassins and the men from the Court of Judicial Review. The carriage left on its own, careening at high speed down the street.

On the rooftops of Heavenly Revelations City, a white-haired woman was running at a dead sprint. She looked in the direction of the imperial palace and muttered to herself, "Chengfang Street, or Lihe Street?"𝗳𝔯𝙚e𝒘e𝚋𝘯𝚘ν𝙚l.𝑐o𝙢