The Great Bandit of Journey to the West

Chapter 57 Suicide and Return to Heaven

suburbs.

A funeral procession lingered at Sanzhi Plain, north of the Wei River. A female corpse with a vajra sticking out of her shoulder was placed in front of the dug grave. It was none other than Xu Ani, who had already died.

Yang Yong stood beside her body, his face haggard, as if waiting for someone to arrive.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Feng walked over from a distance, passing through the crowd to reach the front.

Hearing the noise behind him, Yang Yong said in a hoarse voice, "You've come. Dugu Tuo is dead, isn't he?"

Jiang Feng said with a regretful expression, "Yes, I heard he died in a traffic accident."

I heard that when he left the city gate, he was walking too fast and wasn't watching where he was going. He collided with a passing black dragon, and his body was almost smashed to pieces.

Yang Yong chuckled: "Then he's really unlucky."

Jiang Feng glanced at Xu Ani in the coffin and asked curiously, "How did you know I was coming to find you?"

Yang Yong sighed, "You didn't come to see me, but to see Ani's body, didn't you?"

I heard you never leave a complete corpse behind. I'm afraid you didn't confirm with your own eyes that she was truly dead before digging her up and burning her body.

Jiang Feng clicked his tongue twice: "The magic she cultivates is too evil. She can even have nine extra lives. It's not impossible for her to be resurrected through possession."

You probably don't want me to burn her body because you're hoping for the same thing.

Yang Yong's body stiffened slightly: "Who knows? I only know that she would rather commit suicide and take all the blame than implicate me. It's rare to meet such a devoted woman; I have to do something for her..."

Alas, if I had taken her from Dugu Tuo when I first met her, she wouldn't have ended up like this today.

Unfortunately, I was ultimately unable to grant her the title of Empress. Even if someone left a record of her in historical books, she could only be referred to as Lady Xu, a concubine of the deposed Crown Prince Yang Yong…”

Watching Jiang Feng sprinkle oil on Xu Ani's body and set it ablaze, he paused, a hint of helplessness in his eyes: "Is your heart made of stone? I've already said all this, and you still want to burn her..."

Jiang Feng said, "I don't dare believe a single word that you Yang family members say. Especially Yang Guang, sometimes even I am confused by his acting."

Yang Yong laughed heartily: "No wonder my second brother sent you here. Apart from me, you are probably the person in the world who understands him the most."

"After this incident, the Empress Dowager became even more determined to change the crown prince, and I fear I have no hope of turning the tide."

Although Father Emperor has successfully eliminated the influence of the maternal relatives, he will understand what it means to feel like he's sitting on pins and needles once he faces his second brother, who has become the crown prince.

"My dear second brother is the biggest winner in all of this!"

He looked at Jiang Feng with admiration and said, "It's a pity that you have offended both the Emperor and the Empress. Given the Emperor's petty nature, he will definitely not let this go."

"Leave Daxing as soon as possible. Perhaps you'll have a chance to be reinstated once your second brother takes over."

Jiang Feng sighed, "Is this what they mean by 'a dying man speaks good words'? Dugu Tuo's assets in Jingzhao still need to be dealt with, and I can't leave for the time being."

Yang Yong shook his head slightly: "In that case, take good care of yourself."

Jiang Feng retrieved the Vajra Pestle from a pile of ashes and headed down the mountain.

Meanwhile, Yang Jian, who had been sulking for half a day after being threatened by Jiang Feng, finally fell asleep.

In his dream, everything was blood red, with mountains of corpses and seas of blood everywhere. Yang Jian looked at the hellish scene around him with fear and shouted loudly.

"Guards! Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!"

"Prime Minister, are you calling for help for me?"

A boy dressed in a dragon robe, bleeding from all seven orifices, appeared before him, startling Yang Jian so much that his face turned pale and he stumbled and fell to the ground.

"You...you..." Yang Jian staggered backward, his pupils trembling as he stared at the boy's face, his expression filled with terror.

The little boy in front of him was none other than Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou, whom he had poisoned many years ago!

Emperor Jing of Northern Zhou was the last emperor of Northern Zhou. Yang Jian usurped his throne and established the Sui Dynasty.

After becoming emperor, Yang Jian secretly sent someone to poison Emperor Jing, who was only nine years old when he died.

Yang Jian looked at the boy in front of him in fear. His face was exactly the same as the one that Emperor Jing looked like when he poisoned him!

With tears of blood streaming down his face, Emperor Jing said with a wronged expression, "Grand Chancellor, there's no need to shout anymore. I've been shouting here for years, and not a single person has come to protect me."

Yang Jian stammered, "Your Majesty, how can we get out of here? I'll go outside and call for guards!"

Emperor Jing sobbed, "I don't know. I opened my eyes and found myself here. Grand Chancellor, my stomach hurts so much..."

"Prime Minister, why did you feed me spoiled food? My stomach hurts so much!"

As he spoke, he suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Yang Jian's hand.

"His Majesty!"

Yang Jian cried out in surprise and suddenly woke up from his dream.

By this time, his clothes were soaked with sweat. Looking at the familiar surroundings, he realized he was dreaming and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Just as he was about to call for help, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a small, bloody handprint on his white sleeve!

"ah--"

A scream rang out, followed immediately by footsteps outside.

An official led several guards in quickly. Seeing that there was no danger in the palace, he relaxed and bowed.

"Your Majesty, Li Jing, the Palace Attendant, has come to protect you. May I ask what happened just now?"

Yang Jian averted his gaze from the bloody handprint on his sleeve and said in a trembling voice, "Immediately summon Master Jizang to the palace, as well as Yuan Shoucheng, Qi Hui, Wang Yuanzhi... Oh, and bring Jiang Feng here with me too!"

After a quarter of an hour, Yang Jian had calmed down, and the people he had summoned arrived one after another.

Jiang Feng arrived last, looking displeased, and then listened to Wang Yuanzhi recount what had happened.

Glancing at the undergarment stained with bloody handprints, Jiang Feng said, "Your Majesty, are you afraid that the former Emperor Jing will come seeking revenge?"

Hearing his blunt words, Yang Jian's face darkened with anger. He said, "Stop talking nonsense! It's clear that an evil spirit is impersonating the former Emperor Jing to plot against me. Do you have any way to eliminate this evil spirit?"

Jiang Feng glanced at him indifferently: "Your Majesty, please don't make a mistake. If you can't even pronounce the name of the evil spirit correctly, many spells will have no effect at all."

Yang Jian's face stiffened, and he looked at Master Jizang with suspicion.

Jizang nodded with a troubled expression.

Yang Jian watched the group hesitate for a moment, then sighed and said, "It's him, it's Emperor Jing who has come to seek revenge on me."

Jiang Feng laughed and said, "That makes things easier. This humble monk has a way to solve it, and it will be effective immediately."

Yang Jian hurriedly asked, "What method?"

Jiang Feng looked at Li Jing, who was guarding Yang Jian, and said, "Your Majesty, draw this brother's sword, put it to his neck, and you will immediately become a ghost. You will never have to be afraid of ghosts again."

I call this plan—suicide by cutting one's throat and returning to heaven!