Chapter 134

Chapter 134: The Phoenix Temple and the Cries of Ten Thousand (Part 2)

Holding halberds and shields, the horde of rioters who had come with overwhelming force were clearly former 

ordinary civilians. Now, each with a crazed expression and wide-eyed rage, they charged forward, brandishing 

their halberds and shouting slogans: "The tyrant is heartless, divine punishment descends upon the people; the 

Phoenix Temple, acting on behalf of Heaven!"

Seeing this sudden turn of events, the villagers were stunned, standing there dumbfounded, at a loss. Judging 

from the size of the enemy, there were probably at least ten thousand of them. Just as the rioters were about to 

pounce, the thousand elite soldiers who had been guarding the infected reacted swiftly, immediately rushing out 

and separating the rioters from the villagers.

Feng Xiang emerged from the shadows, leading the Seventeen Wind Shadow Guards to Liu Yi. He said in a deep 

voice, "Lord Liu, my master has ordered us to cover the evacuation of the villagers."

Liu Yi glanced at Si Cang Qing, who was already standing at the forefront of the soldiers. Suppressing his slight 

panic and worry, he composed himself and raised his voice, loudly addressing the stunned villagers, "Fellow 

villagers, bandits are causing trouble! Please follow the instructions of the officials and evacuate to avoid being 

harmed by the bandits."

At the same time, the dark mass of bandits clashed with the soldiers, creating utter chaos. Many timid villagers 

screamed and cried in terror, and Feng Xiang and his men struggled to control the situation.

With a casual wave of his hand, Si Cang Qing repelled the rioters who had surrounded him. He quickly scanned 

his surroundings, then coldly commanded, his inner force resonating in the ears of his soldiers, "Kill them all!"

Though these people had once been his subjects, they were now tools of bandits. Their savage expressions 

revealed utter madness—to prevent further chaos, they must be exterminated without mercy!

"No!"

The villagers who were retreating with Liu Yi and the others became increasingly agitated, some crying and 

running towards him.

"My husband!"

"Aqing!"

The villagers' chaotic cries momentarily drowned out all other sounds. Si Cang Qing immediately understood; 

many of these rioters must have been former locals. According to the information, many uninfected people had 

gone to seek refuge with the Phoenix Temple.

This chaos completely spiraled out of control.

Caught off guard, the soldiers were pushed aside by the villagers behind them. Taking advantage of this, the rioters 

launched an even more ferocious attack, pressing the soldiers relentlessly as if their lives depended on it. 

This side, hampered by the influx of villagers, was temporarily restrained and forced to retreat repeatedly.

"Father!"

In the chaos, a thin child squeezed through the rioters, his face filled with pure joy. The child's small body was 

surprisingly agile; he weaved and twisted his way to a man at the front, equally frenzied, grabbing the man's leg 

and laughing uproariously, "Ah..."

Before he could utter the word "Father," he was kicked aside.

"Little Tiger!" An old woman, who had also struggled to push her way through, cried out suddenly, watching 

helplessly as the throng was about to trample the child's fallen body.

Without time to give orders, Si Cang Qing swung his arm again, his powerful internal energy shattering the 

crowd. In the instant the danger arose, the silken threads on his wrist flicked out, binding the feet of those who 

had fallen, and with a sudden swift movement, more than a dozen people were knocked down.

With a light leap, Si Cang Qing instantly appeared before the unconscious child, scooping him up with one hand. 

With a twist, his internal energy forcefully repelled the rioters who were charging forward.

However, even though Xiao Hu was rescued, the same tragedy inevitably repeated itself. The young woman, 

before even reaching her husband, was stabbed to death by the enemy's halberd.

This shocking turn of events brought the previously agitated villagers to a standstill. That was their relative; why 

had he now become so terrifying and utterly unfamiliar?

Holding Xiao Hu in his arms, Si Cang Qing leaped into the air, his feet landing on the heads of the rioters. He 

coldly declared, "If you don't want to die, fight back!"

The rioters had lost their minds. Now that they had broken through the defenses, these villagers had no choice but 

to help themselves to survive!

Seeing the child in Si Cang Qing's arms, the old woman's body went limp. She uttered only three words, "What a 

tragedy..." before collapsing to the ground.

Si Cang Qing's words jolted the villagers back to their senses. Seeing familiar faces among the ferocious rioters, 

and witnessing the soldiers' valiant resistance, most covered in blood, the villagers, filled with grief and rage, 

finally picked up hoes and clubs to fight back.

Even their own family members—who could stand idly by while being slaughtered?

With the villagers' help, and given that most of the rioters were untrained, the enemy's attack slowed down. 

Seeing this, the soldiers fought with even greater ferocity. Once they exhausted the enemy's strength, the crisis 

would be alleviated. Many of the rioters were relatives of the villagers they were protecting; saving their lives was 

paramount.

Si Cang Qing didn't issue another order to massacre. He trusted his carefully selected elite troops; the most 

important thing now was to control the situation. Pushing through the fighting crowd, Si Cang Qing arrived at 

Cheng Tian Bi, who was being protected by Feng Zi. He handed Xiao Hu to Feng Zi and said, "Bi, be careful."

Glancing at the wound on Xiao Hu's head, which had stopped healing, he added, "Bandage him up."

◇Cang◇Huan◇Seven◇Palaces◇

Watching the rioters repelled to the edge of the woods, the soldiers stood in front of the villagers, forming a 

defensive line once more, warily watching the exhausted and powerless masses.

Their rapid breathing and swaying bodies showed they were no longer capable of fighting.

Liu Yi breathed a slight sigh of relief and spoke softly, "Lord Xiang, thank you for saving us. Now, please help 

the Emperor evacuate the villagers!"

The riot just now was truly inexplicable and tragic. Originally, he had some disagreement with Si Cang Qing's 

execution order, but now it seemed… compared to the villagers who had finally escaped the plague, those who 

took advantage of the chaos truly deserved to die!

Before Feng Xiang could respond to Liu Yi's words, a new change occurred.

A gentle, melodious female voice drifted through the air, like chanting some scripture, softly lingering in the ears, 

causing one to feel a sense of disorientation. The soft, murmuring voice sounded like a mother singing a lullaby, 

soothing a crying child.

Compared to the villagers and soldiers' dazed state, the previously exhausted rioters seemed to have suddenly 

regained their energy. They abruptly raised their weapons, shouting as they broke through the soldiers' defenses, 

ready to slaughter the civilians!

The soldiers, being trained, reacted quickly, raising their weapons to parry the attacks of the now-frenzied crowd. 

However, compared to before, perhaps due to excessive exertion, the soldiers were weak in the knees, many unable 

to withstand the fierce onslaught and falling to the ground. The enemy, on the other hand, was even more ferocious 

than before.

Si Cang Qing's eyes were icy cold. He mobilized all his power, mercilessly unleashing the Liuhua Sword 

Technique, tearing apart the leading rioters one by one with its sword energy. Even so, the rioters were oblivious, 

charging forward relentlessly.

No matter how skilled in martial arts, one person cannot withstand the combined might of thousands fighting to 

the death, let alone protect those villagers who seemed to have been driven mad.

Just as the rebels were about to unleash a bloodbath, brandishing their halberds, a clear, resonant flute melody 

suddenly filled the air at this critical moment.

Si Cang Qing immediately sensed the subtle power within the flute, its strength counteracting the power of the 

woman's voice. The clear, crisp melody, with its strangely peculiar tune, instantly refreshed the soul, like a thirsty 

person drinking a pot of cool water, instantly reviving their spirits.

The villagers, whose expressions had been vacant, suddenly brightened their eyes. The soldiers, who had been 

on the verge of collapse, regained their strength and immediately counterattacked.

The rebels, their spirits waning with the increasingly loud flute music, crumbled, retreating little by little to the 

edge of the woods under the relentless pressure of the soldiers.

"Hiss—"

Accompanied by the sudden, piercing sound of the flute, the weapons in the hands of the rioters clattered to the

ground, followed by frantic screams as they clutched their heads.

"Ah—"

The painful screams echoed through the once tranquil countryside. The madness gradually faded, and they 

collapsed limply to the ground, their screams turning into soft groans.

The woman's voice had already begun to fade, and as the rioters collapsed one by one, the flute music also 

subsided. This bizarre scene startled all who witnessed it, but seeing the rioters groaning helplessly on the ground, 

everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Si Cang Qing narrowed his eyes, gazing towards the other end of the woods, his gaze slightly uncertain.

The villagers also put down what they were carrying and rushed forward to investigate—after all, many of their 

relatives were there, and now it seemed they had all returned to normal.

As a precaution, the soldiers blocked the way ahead, calming the villagers while awaiting Si Cang Qing's 

instructions.

Withdrawing his gaze, Si Cang Qing coldly surveyed the people lying scattered everywhere before him, and 

slowly walked forward. These people, with their pale faces and bluish-purple lips, showed the pain they had 

endured, yet an undeniable sense of relief seemed to express the joy of breaking free from some kind of control.

The previous ordeal had calmed the villagers considerably, and they no longer protested against the soldiers' 

obstruction. However, looking at the blood-soaked ground and the gruesome corpses, many still secretly wiped 

away tears.

The countryside, once filled with the heavy stench of blood, was now eerily silent, devoid of its previous chaos, 

save for the rhythmic breathing of the crowd.

Si Cang Qing bent down, about to examine the condition of a particular individual among the rioters.

"Ah—" A piercing scream suddenly rang out. His legs were abruptly grabbed and held tightly. Si Cang Qing's 

expression changed, and he tried to break free, but he met the other person's sorrowful and desperate eyes, and 

hesitated.

A moment later, everyone howled again. The gradually fading flute music rose again, but then the long-silent 

woman's voice suddenly rang out, no longer gentle, but fierce and shrill, piercing straight into everyone's minds. 

Even Si Cang Qing was momentarily overwhelmed.

Suppressing his discomfort with his inner energy, Si Cang Qing suddenly noticed that a complex, pale blue vine

 was gradually rising on the arm of the person who was holding him and howling, exposed outside their clothes.

Greedy, Si Cang Qing kicked the person away the moment they lunged at him.

In the forest, a blood sacrifice was unfolding.

All the rebels screamed hysterically, their hands desperately tearing at their hair—and then, thick black blood 

flowed from their faces.

Seeing so many people die instantly, bleeding from all seven orifices, the villagers finally let out a heart-wrenching 

cry.

A handful of dust in this mortal world, half a handful of the people's tears, half a handful of the people's blood.

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