The Killer's Cleansing Manual

"Heaven and earth are equal, yet I only admire them.

Here I stand at the purple altar, seeking its path.

Respectfully perform sacrifices, and be happy and contented.

Embroidered with Zhou and Zhang, it carries the supreme power of the gods."

-

Qi Yili was wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, a royal crown on his head, with a solemn look in his eyes, holding agarwood in his hand, and walking steadily on the altar.

He murmured the prepared sacrificial text, and dozens of officials in two-color official uniforms lined up behind him and knelt on the ground as he bowed.

A gentle breeze caressed my face, and the rare warmth of spring was intoxicating. Qi Yili moved calmly, following the ceremonial officer's every word with measured and logical movements, a delight to watch.

Qi Zhaomian stood beside him in front of the altar, inserting the incense in her hand into the incense holder, her face expressionless. Unlike the eulogy Qi Yili recited, she only repeated that sentence in her mind.

Father, Mother, I will never let the kingdom you left behind fall into the hands of others. Please bless my son's safe return and keep the people of Jingguo safe and happy.

We chose to have lunch in the open air of the White Horse Temple. The spring scenery was charming, and it was quite interesting to have a meal while enjoying the scenery.

Qi Zhaomian listened to the noise outside and felt that it was almost time. There seemed to be the faint sound of horse hooves, and it seemed that the ground was shaking because of the arrival of the rebels.

It was excitement, the thrill of finally catching all these rebels in one fell swoop, rather than panic.

She took a sip of sake, placed the cup on the table, then straightened her fine clothes and quietly waited for Ye Lang, Ji Shihan's vanguard, to arrive.

Only about an incense stick had passed, and everyone was still holding their glasses and thinking of some brilliant toasts when suddenly a cannon sounded outside, causing several people's wine cups to fall over.

"what happens?!"

"Who's firing the cannon?"

A group of people were talking, and Qi Yili subconsciously looked at Qi Zhaomian. The latter was sitting motionless like a mountain, looking at the only path leading to this place, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

Ye Xi and Liu He had been hiding among the accompanying guards for a long time. When they heard the cannon fire, they could no longer hold back and came to Qi Yili's side and said, "Your Majesty, we will go and check what's going on."

Qi Yili thought for a moment, and seeing that Qi Zhaomian still didn't say a word, he shook his head and said, "Wait a little longer."

After one cannon shot, several more followed. The generals present knew what was going on outside and immediately drew their swords to defend themselves.

Now, several civil servants who came here also understood why they were chosen. It had nothing to do with their political achievements, but because they had the ability to protect themselves in this chaos.

Everyone was on edge until a young monk stumbled in and fell to his knees:

"Your Majesty! Thieves are coming from outside! They've already reached the second courtyard!"

The White Horse Temple has five inner courtyards, and there are only three doors left before we can confront the thieves.

Qi Zhaomian looked at Ye Xi and said, "Xiaoxi, all the garrison troops are at your disposal. Go ahead. I'll have to trouble you before Juan'er comes."

Ye Xi stood up suddenly: "Don't worry, Your Highness!"

The King of Nanman was worried when he saw Liu He leaving with Ye Xi. He looked around and had to send Liu Tao out as well.

"Go ahead, Tao'er. It's good to lend a hand to your sister."

Liu Tao nodded, picked up the scimitar she had prepared long ago and chased after him.

When the three of them arrived at the third courtyard, Ye Lang had already broken through the door. He and the rebels he led were all masked, rushing around like a group of black-clad killers.

Ye Xi originally wanted to fight with him in the third courtyard, but there were still many monks there. Fighting here would be like hell for the monks, so he had to call the monks back first.

All the surviving monks retreated to the fourth courtyard under Ye Xi's protection. At this moment, Ye Xi and Ye Lang opposite were only separated by a wooden door.

"Brother, are you really going to risk your life for him to this extent!?" Ye Xi roared angrily.

Ye Lang outside the door was startled, and then turned angry the next second: "That's right! Since you already know who I am, I don't have to bother pretending. If you surrender now, I can spare your life and send you to hard labor. If you persist, you will die!"

Ye Xi gritted his teeth, and Liu He, who was standing beside him, was even more enraged by this remark. With a cold face, he raised his crossbow and fired an arrow. There was a scream outside, and then Ye Lang's angry voice came: "Attack!"

The sound of killing was deafening outside the door. Ye Xi calmly analyzed the current terrain and commanded the less than 500 guards behind him.

"The last hundred shoot arrows, and the first hundred hold heavy shields!"

At a command, the imperial guards began to shoot arrows in unison, hitting a large number of the first group of people rushing up from Ye Lang's side!

"Raise your shield and move forward. Break down this door for me!"

The small wooden door might be able to block a few attacks in front of ordinary people, but in front of these well-equipped soldiers, it was no different from paper.

Liu He thought of the artillery they had just fired, looked at the narrow courtyard, and suddenly had an ominous premonition, so he hurriedly pulled Ye Xi.

"We are very crowded here now. If Ye Lang drops a fire bomb, it will be very bad."

Ye Xi suddenly had an idea and hurriedly passed a message to the back quietly - the archers continued to shoot arrows and retreated behind the fifth door.

Sure enough, as soon as they left the yard, Ye Lang's voice shouting "Throw the fire bomb" came into their ears.

Ye Xi took a longbow and deflected the fire bomb that was about to fall into the inner courtyard, and the rest of the fire bombs fell into the fourth courtyard.

The sound of artillery bombardment was so deafening that it made people's scalps numb. The officials in the inner court became even more panicked when they saw that they had retreated to such a situation.

Seeing this, a general shouted, "You are all generals in armor, why are you so timid in the face of the rebels? Protect His Majesty! Protect His Highness!"

The shout aroused the fighting spirit of the military generals, and even a few civil officials who were able to protect themselves were ignited. They took some weapons and stood guard beside Qi Yili and Qi Zhaomian.

After all, Ye Lang's fire bombs were almost gone. The people who climbed up the wall found that there was no one in the fourth courtyard. There were only bullet holes and smoke on the ground.

Ye Langfang realized that his action had been predicted, and he became even more angry and humiliated. He rushed straight into the fourth courtyard and blew open the door of the inner courtyard with a fire bomb!

The wooden door was blown black, and when a breeze blew, it could no longer hold on and fell to the ground.

Smoke and dust rose up. Ye Xi stood in front of the five hundred imperial guards, with the generals glaring at him behind him, and Qi Zhaomian and his sister surrounded by civil officials on the high platform.

Ye Lang rode out of the smoke and dust, with a thousand rebels standing solemnly behind him. Wearing a black scarf, he immediately saw Qi Zhaomian standing on the high platform, wearing a black and gold-patterned robe.

There was no expression on her face and she sat upright. Not a speck of smoke and dust fell on her. She looked like a goddess witnessing the battles in the human world from a distance, holy and solemn.

Ye Lang's heart was burning with excitement. In his opinion, everyone in the inner courtyard was in his pocket, especially Qi Zhaomian, who was trapped in this courtyard and could not escape from his control.