pdf-ebookys Chapter 382
Chapter 382
Gu-ah— Gu-ah—Just as everyone looked up at the sky, they saw over a dozen large birds flying gracefully out of the distant pine forest.
As they flew closer and their appearances became clear, someone shouted loudly, Your Majesty, they are immortal cranes! Immortal cranes!
Immortal cranes were praised by the world as auspicious birds symbolizing longevity. Seeing over a dozen at once, each with an elegant and immortal posture, everyone cried out that this was a sign of great fortune.
The crowd instantly boiled over with discussion. It seemed as if these auspicious birds could take away the impending drought.
People's eyes shone. The gloom of last night's fierce battle was diluted by this morning's chorus of a hundred birds, especially when they saw the cranes circling above their heads, prompting continuous congratulations to Emperor Mingxi.
Even the members of the diplomatic mission had to admit that this was indeed a sign of good fortune.
Only Yue Fuguang, who had received a scientific compulsory education and experienced the most unscientific of things, harbored doubts about this scene in her heart.
As the saying goes, she knew her own worth very well. The appearance of these birds was a bit unusual.
System, are you sure there is no earthquake?
Rest assured, Host. I spent a massive amount of energy probing underground, and found no anomalies within a hundred miles.
The system then glanced at the Great Yan monarch and his officials, who were so caught up in the so-called auspicious signs that they only knew how to say auspicious words and lacked any sense of crisis. It could not help but complain, Master, what are these people getting so excited about? These birds are not coming for the emperor.
The officials who had just been endlessly showering the emperor with flattery suddenly did not know whether to spit out the words on the tip of their tongues. Their faces turned bright red, unsure if it was from embarrassment or shame at their own previous words.
Emperor Mingxi coughed lightly. Just as he was about to speak, the dozen or so immortal cranes traced a beautiful arc in the air and landed one after another in front of Yue Fuguang.
Yue Fuguang: They really are coming for me!
Their long wings slowly folded. With a highly human-like Gu-ah— cry toward her, their slender necks bent into an elegant arc, their red crowns lowered, and their beaks lightly touched the ground.
Standing on one leg in a golden rooster posture, they silently demonstrated their submission to Yue Fuguang.
Yue Fuguang looked down at the cranes, which were barely shorter than her. The touch of vermilion on the top of their heads was especially striking between the pure white and ink black.
Just as the cranes submitted, the hundred birds fell silent. They fluttered down onto the surrounding ground without fear of humans. Only then did Yue Fuguang see clearly.
Some held the brightest and most beautiful feathers in their beaks, while others carried fruits still bearing crystal dewdrops.
There were even a few vermilion birds and monal pheasants carrying ginseng with broken roots and dark red lingzhi mushrooms in their beaks.
Sun Huajing looked over and over again, his eyes full of heartache. This ginseng looked to be over a hundred years old, right?
And this lingzhi mushroom grew so well!
These birds did not know how to dig properly. They took good ginseng and broke all the roots off the main stem. How much medicinal efficacy must have been lost!
And that large lingzhi mushroom had damaged edges.
Do you need something? Yue Fuguang did not know if they could understand her words.
She was not narcissistic enough to think these birds were really paying homage to her like a hundred birds to a phoenix. Bringing gifts and acting so submissive meant they definitely had a favor to ask.
Little Zhu, help translate and see what these little guys want from me.
Gu-ah—
Gu-ah—
The cranes cried out a few times, turned their long necks toward the depths of the mountain forest, and cried out a few more times in that direction.
Cluck!
Cluck!
The forest responded with a chorus of clucking sounds, followed by several large, snow-white swans flying out from within.
They landed in front of Yue Fuguang with equal elegance, their long swan necks also bending into elegant arcs like the cranes.
Their forms could not help but remind Yue Fuguang of a birthday in her childhood when she received a music box with a spinning swan carved into it from her father.
That was one of the few times in her memory when her father's gift was not a black card, but a carefully chosen present. Therefore, she had treasured that music box for many years.
Master, the cranes say there are humans hiding in the mountain forest. They smell danger. The swans came from the direction of the great lake; those people, some have hidden in the water.
The system took the cranes' intermittent expressions, processed them, and relayed them to Yue Fuguang.
Yue Fuguang lowered her eyes and thought about the meaning of these disjointed words. It was certain that people were hiding in the forest. If they were not the imperial court's people, they were assassins sent by the noble families.
She had woken up a bit late today and had not had time to ask about the emperor's harvest during the night. Could it be they had not cleaned up properly, allowing fish that slipped through the net to hide in the woods and disturb the birds inside?
No, if it was as she guessed, then what was going on with those fierce beasts hiding in the forest?
They could not possibly be dissatisfied with the food delivered to their door!
The Great Yan monarch and officials simultaneously thought of this possibility. Although the large net they cast last night had not caught all the fish.
But those who slipped through the net could not make any waves. Therefore, Emperor Mingxi had sent a large number of personnel into the forest in pursuit. Victory was in his grasp, so he was not anxious at all.
Your Majesty, are there still guards in the forest?
Yes, you did not know last night, but a group of assassins entered the hunting ground camp. Although most were caught, a few slipped away and hid in the mountains.
Shen Jian and Wei Shouyi took men into the forest, and I expect it will not be long before they capture everyone.
Yue Fuguang glanced at the ground, which had been cleaned but still bore obvious traces. A thick layer of dirt had been shoveled away; did this mean a lot of blood had flowed?
How many people did Your Majesty send in? Where are they all right now?
Yue Fuguang looked at the birds in front of her, then glanced at the faint silhouettes in the distant mountain forest, feeling a rather bad premonition.
Emperor Mingxi gestured to Huo Ying behind him. Huo Ying immediately stepped forward and said, Reporting to the Junior Preceptor, from last night to this morning, three thousand one hundred men have gone in successively. The latest news is that they have spread a net and searched up to thirty miles away, found traces of the assassins, and are currently pursuing them all the way forward.
Minister Huo, how many assassins came last night, and how many hunting ground guards do we have left now?
After a brief thought, Huo Ying replied, Last night, there were about a hundred and seventy to eighty assassins. We captured a total of one hundred and thirty-two assassins, of which seventy-eight were taken alive.
Our camp's Royal Guards still have one thousand eight hundred men, and there are over five hundred other guards.
At this time, Huo Ying also had a bad premonition and could not help but ask, Has the Junior Preceptor thought of something?
Yue Fuguang was a bit speechless. A few dozen people ran away, and they transferred over three thousand guards away. This strategy of luring the tiger from the mountain was so obvious; she did not believe the emperor and the others could not see it.
The main camp here only had a little over two thousand combatants left to protect such a large group of people at the very top of the Great Yan Dynasty's pyramid. How could that be enough!
Yue Fuguang cast a suspicious glance at the emperor. Could it be that the emperor had a backup plan and was deliberately beating them at their own game?
Regardless of whether the emperor had a backup plan or not, Yue Fuguang decided to first resolve the danger in the mountain forest. She did not believe the emperor's backup plan could solve the crisis in the woods.