Even though Gao Ying had drunk a lot today, he now had nine ranks of cultivation. If he activated it and circulated his internal energy, he could easily force out the alcohol. When he realized that something had happened at the capital, he'd wanted to force out the alcohol’s effects, but as soon as he used his cultivation, he immediately realized that something was wrong inside his body. He felt really dizzy, and even his inner ki was chaotic. With all of those signs, it was easy to see that something wasn’t right.
Gao Ying suddenly looked at Pei You, his expression carrying both disappointment and fury. He cried, “I thought of you as my brother, yet you actually schemed and plotted against me!”
Pei You had told him that the Pei clan was interested in becoming related to him through marriage, and had thus invited him over to the Pei manor to take a look at the ladies here. Now, it seemed the entire affair was a conspiracy!
Pei You’s expression changed greatly as he exclaimed, “It wasn’t me! I didn’t do it!” Then, he quickly got up and looked in the direction of his father.
There were many people on the woven mats that were completely oblivious to what was going on. They had all still been so happy a moment ago, so why had they suddenly fallen out?
Just then, Pei Yi quickly stood up from his seat. With a clap of his hands, a large group of guards appeared and moved to surround Gao Ying. In response, Gao Ying’s guards all drew their weapons and protected him. The women all ran away toward the inner residence in panic.
“Father, just what is going on?” Pei You exclaimed, alarmed and angry. He really never could have imagined that any of this would ever happen.
Pei Yi said with a sigh, “You’ve probably already guessed it. Why bother asking so many questions?”
Pei You replied with a scowl, “You used me to fool him?”
Gao Ying said with a sneer, “Keep acting, why don’t you!”
He quickly took out a porcelain bottle and shoved several pills into his mouth. At the same time, he gave them to his subordinates. He was now the Right Guard General, after all, and the Liu clan was now incredibly powerful, so he had all kinds of amazing medicines. There was naturally no lack of antidotes among them. Sure enough, after ingesting these pills, he immediately felt his condition improve considerably.
When he saw that, Pei Yi’s expression changed. He yelled, “Capture him!”
With a shout, the subordinates all rushed straight at Gao Ying.
“General Gao, hurry and escape!” the guards at Gao Ying’s side quickly shouted.
Every clan had their own deathsworn soldiers. Now that it was clearly proven that this was a trap, it would definitely be impossible for all of them to get away. They could only try their best to help Gao Ying leave, upon which their mission would be complete. As for their families, they would naturally be taken care of by the Liu clan.
The two sides clashed, and blood was instantly drawn. In this kind of irreconcilable battle, they instantly abandoned all flowery tricks and techniques. They only used the attacks that would take lives the quickest.
The guards that protected Gao Ying’s side were naturally all carefully selected elites; every single one’s cultivation was higher than these Pei clan subordinates. However, the difference in numbers meant that all they had awaiting them was an inevitable defeat.
Even Gao Ying’s eyes became completely red. He gritted his teeth and cut down two Pei clan guards around him, then rushed out. His thoughts moved quickly. There was no way that this ploy would be solely directed against him. They had definitely lured him away from his post to do something else there. After seeing the huge fire by Cloud Dragon Gate, he realized that their main objective was the Imperial Palace. However, as long as he returned to the Imperial Palace, he would be able to gather his Right Guard Army. Then, there would be a chance to overturn the situation.
The Pei clan clearly understood that well. They continued to rush at him in endless waves. As they fought around him, Gao Ying’s subordinates prioritized his safety above all. Even if they were injured or lost their lives, all they sought was just to buy one more minute, one more second of time.
It was just a few courtyards' worth of distance, and yet one after another, the guards all fell around Gao Ying. Eventually, not a single person survived. Even so, the results they obtained were also clear. Gao Ying finally reached the Pei clan courtyard’s walls. He was about to leap out when he suddenly heard a fierce shout.
“Where do you think you’re going?!” With a flash, Pei Yi stood in Gao Ying's way.
Gao Ying gritted his teeth. He prepared to fight when Pei You appeared between the two of them, saying, “Brother Gao, hurry and leave! Leave this place to me!”
Gao Ying was stunned. Meanwhile, Pei Yi erupted with fury, roaring, “Have you gone mad? Do you know that what we're doing today is enough to have our entire clan executed? If he leaves, our entire clan might face annihilation!”
Pei You smiled in distress, saying, “You didn’t tell me a single thing, so how could I have known what you all were scheming? The only thing I know is that I can't sell out my friend for the sake of my own clan’s glory!” Afterward, he immediately shouted, “Gao Ying, why aren’t you leaving yet?!”
Gao Ying gritted his teeth. He cupped his hand toward Pei You’s back, then jumped over the fence and ran toward the court.
The other soldiers wanted to chase after him, but they were stopped by a slash from Pei You.
“You unfilial son!” Pei Yi roared furiously. He could no longer hold himself back and charged forward.
...
Once Gao Ying left the Pei manor, roughly a dozen soldiers rushed over and asked, “General Gao, what is happening?”
Gao Ying had always been a careful person. These were people he'd left outside the Pei manor. Who would have thought that they would actually prove to be of vital use?
“The Pei clan has committed treason. The Imperial Palace is in danger. Hurry and send some people to contact the Liu clan’s elders. The rest of you are to follow me back to the Imperial Palace!” Gao Yi quickly issued the appropriate commands. Soon after, the soldiers formed several groups and ran in different directions.
Gao Ying took the remaining seven or eight soldiers toward Cloud Dragon Gate. Surprisingly, however, there was no battle there. Instead, soldiers were patrolling the city gate tower in a clear and orderly manner. Others were putting out some of the leftover fires.
“Name yourselves!” the soldiers by the palace gate barked vigilantly when they saw people approach. However, when they saw Gao Ying, they clearly sighed in relief and said, “So it was General Gao.”
“What happened?” Gao Ying asked. Why were things different from what he imagined?
“Devil Sect traitors appeared, trying to infiltrate the Imperial Palace in the night. We discovered them and already eliminated them,” a general on the gate tower replied.
“Devil Sect?” Gao Ying’s brows furrowed.
When had the Pei clan allied with the Devil Sect? Besides, even if there really was a conspiracy, they would either choose to wait or launch a thunderous, all-out offensive. How could they be so easily defeated? Wouldn’t such actions from the Pei clan only be courting disaster? He couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. He was about to walk toward the palace gates when he noticed that these soldiers were a bit unfamiliar.
He quickly reined in his horse and asked, “By the way, why don’t I see General Li?”
Li Mian was also a nephew of the Liu clan. The Liu clan hadf sent him to guard the strategic location of Cloud Dragon Gate, and also had him manage a portion of the Imperial Palace’s soldiers.
“General Li was seriously injured from fighting against the Devil Sect renegades. The imperial physician is currently treating him. General Gao should come in and take a look,” the military officer on the city walls said with a wave.
When he heard that, Gao Ying’s expression changed. He turned around and ran, shouting to his men, “Hurry and leave!”
The moment they saw that, the Imperial Palace guards’ expression changed. They all drew their weapons to attack him.
Unfortunately, the mounts Gao Ying and his men rode were all special beasts that had been carefully raised by the court since they were young. They also had wind element runes applied to their bodies; such runes came from the academy and made them even faster. The guards were worried that they would be exposed and didn’t dare to show any hostility, so there was no way they could catch up in such a situation.
When he saw that the soldiers had been left behind, Gao Ying sighed in relief. He wondered whether to return to the Liu clan and look for Liu Guang and Liu Yao, or leave the city to find Third Elder Liu’s camp outside the city.
Just then, a group of men appeared right in front of him, blocking his way forward. His expression changed, but he calmly said, “So it was General Zhao. Something has happened at Cloud Dragon Gate. Please go there and provide reinforcements.”
The middle-aged man at the head of the group was East Central General Zhao Quan. His seniority in the royal family was high, and he was even one generation above Zhao Han. Zhao Quan’s father was one of the eight dukes, Imperial Tutor Zhao Chen. His son was Hexi King, Zhao Zai, who frequently collaborated with King Yan. They had been one of the most influential clans in the entire capital. Unfortunately, some tragedies had befallen them. Because they'd gotten involved in the conflict between the Meng clan and King Dai against Zu An, Zhao Chen was killed on the spot by Zu An, which made their clan’s power fall considerably.
When he thought about his own relationship with Zu An, Gao Ying immediately sensed that Zhao Quan's arrival was nothing good.
Zhao Quan replied with a fake smile, “Isn’t General Gao the Right Guard General who is in charge of the protection of the Imperial Palace? Why are you running in the opposite direction instead of going there?”
Gao Ying secretly gestured to his subordinates while replying, “Traitors have instigated a great scheme today. I still need to go to other areas to investigate the situation.”
“But I fear you won’t be able to go anywhere anymore,” a voice called out. The men from Cloud Dragon Gate had already caught up.