Time Travel: The Survival of Li Zhi

Chapter 565 Time waits for no one

A flash of dawn cut through the dark night. As the sun slowly rose, the outline of the capital city gradually became clear in the morning mist.

However, the tranquility of the early morning was broken by the sound of neatly arranged armor rubbing against each other on the street.

Teams of imperial guards, armed with spears, shuttled through the streets with solemn expressions. The undried bloodstains on their armor showed the bloody storm of last night.

Whenever they arrived at a house, the imperial guards would break in and drag out those who were implicated in the palace coup last night. No matter whether they were high-ranking officials or ordinary people, they were all taken to the Heavenly Prison.

The people had already closed their doors and windows, not even daring to look through the cracks in the doors. They just whispered to each other inside the house, wondering what kind of shocking event had happened last night.

Deep in the palace, the bedroom was filled with a strong smell of medicine.

The emperor leaned against the cushioned headboard, his face pale to the point of being transparent, even his lips were bluish-gray. Last night's confrontation had drained all his energy.

The palace maid carefully held the medicine bowl, scooped up the medicine with a silver spoon, blew it cool, and then gently brought it to the emperor's mouth.

The emperor swallowed a few mouthfuls with difficulty, then waved his hand, his voice as weak as a candle in the wind: "Help me lie down."

After the maids had finished packing and left, the emperor waved his hand, signaling Li Zhi and Zhao Wuji to leave. They bowed and tiptoed out of the bedroom, slowly closing the heavy door.

In the corridor, the morning light shines through the carved window lattices, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground.

Zhao Wuji stood with his hands behind his back. His face, tense from last night, remained gloomy. Only when he looked at Li Zhi did a trace of genuine gratitude flash through his eyes. He slowly spoke, "Thanks to you this time. Otherwise, if those thieves had succeeded, His Majesty and the Crown Prince would have been in great danger."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi hurriedly bowed and said, "Master, you are too kind. Protecting the emperor and the country is the duty of the Night Patrol Division. I am only fulfilling my duty."

"Duty?"

Zhao Wuji chuckled, waved his hand, and said, "Don't be so modest. The emperor has seen your contribution this time and will definitely reward you generously. However, the reward will be arranged by the emperor himself, so I will not interfere."

He paused, his gaze gazing beyond the palace walls. His expression gradually grew solemn. He continued, "Although the rebellion in the Imperial Palace has subsided, the mutinies within the various Night Patrols remain unresolved. The rebels are colluding with the evil cultivators, and the situation is on the verge of spiraling out of control. I need to remain in the capital to deal with the aftermath and thoroughly investigate the remnants of those involved in the coup, so..."

Zhao Wuji turned to look at Li Zhi and said word by word, "You will leave immediately and travel to various places as the acting chief to quell the unrest in the various regions. Do not allow the current situation to deteriorate and get out of control again."

"Acting Chief?"

Li Zhi's heart suddenly moved, and he looked up at Zhao Wuji. He hadn't expected the other party to give him such a great power. This was not just a delegation of tasks, but more like a trust.

Zhao Wuji seemed to see through his thoughts. A rare smile of relief appeared on his face. He reached out and patted his shoulder: "Go, and be careful. The future of the Night Tour Division may rest on young people like you."

With that, he said no more, turned around and strode away. The morning sun stretched his figure outward, making it seem lonely and desolate.

Li Zhi looked at his back, his eyes slightly narrowed, and instantly understood the key point.

The involvement of two guardians, Duan Gang and Lin Tianshan, in this coup posed a significant threat to Zhao Wuji, the head of the Night Patrol. Even though he provided timely assistance to quell the rebellion, he ultimately could not escape the blame for inadequate oversight.

After the storm subsides, he will most likely resign.

Zhao Wuji asked Li Zhi to deal with the unrest in various places. This was not only a test of Li Zhi's ability, but also a way to pave the way for Li Zhi to gain merit and prestige.

As long as Li Zhi can handle this matter properly, it will be natural for him to take the throne in the future.

"Night Patrol Division... Acting Chief..."

Li Zhi muttered to himself.

He looked up at the sky where the morning mist had dissipated. The sun was rising, and its golden light spread over the palace walls.

After taking a deep breath, Li Zhi turned and walked out of the palace.

 …

"Hurry up!!"

"Hurry up, damn it, don't take the things, just go!"

"Stop fucking dawdling...those in front should hurry up, and those behind should catch up!"

“Hurry up, hurry up…”

The streets and alleys of Huanggang City were filled with roars one after another. A dozen yamen runners ran at the top of their lungs, spitting as they shouted, and kept hitting the ground with the water and fire sticks in their hands, urging the dawdling people to hurry up.

The old men in the team staggered forward with crutches, and the children were held tightly in their mothers' arms. The cries, curses and the sounds of objects colliding were intertwined, making it a chaotic mess.

On the city wall, Huanggang prefect Wang Huairen gripped the battlements tightly, his knuckles turning white.

He looked at the throng of people moving below, his brows knitted into knots. He turned to look at the burly man beside him, "Captain Liu, there are simply too many people in this city. I'm afraid we won't be able to evacuate them all in a short time..."

Liu Erniu, known as Captain Liu, frowned. His dark uniform, the uniform of the Sheep Camp, was already damp with morning dew. The machete at his waist gleamed coldly in the morning sun. He interrupted gruffly, "Don't be afraid! We must evacuate as soon as possible! If they don't want to die, they need to move even faster!"

The prefect's face turned pale and his lips moved but he couldn't speak. He also knew that what the captain of the Yanghuanying camp said was true. Any delay at this moment could mean the life or death of thousands of people.

He finally sighed heavily, lifted up his official robe and ran towards the city. He thought that with his status as a prefect, if he supervised the people, no one would dare to delay anymore.

Erniu did not look back at the leaving prefect. His eyes were fixed on the morning mist outside the city.

The milky white mist was like the breath of a giant beast, covering the official road in the distance. Low roars could be vaguely heard coming from the depths of the mist. The sound was not a human voice, but more like thousands of wild beasts grinding their teeth and sucking blood, drifting over with the wind, making the defenders on the city wall look pale and their hands holding their weapons tremble.

He took a deep breath and suppressed the heaviness in his heart.

When the news came last night that the commander of Donggang City had abandoned the city and fled with his 30,000 troops, Erniu thought it was a rumor.

It was not until the brother he sent out to get information came back with a horrified look on his face that he realized something was wrong.

Tens of thousands of monsters broke into the unguarded Donggang City and slaughtered and ate all the people in the city overnight!

The fall of Donggang City also left Huanggang City behind it exposed to the sight of the monsters without any hindrance.

Compared to Donggang City, which is a frontline city heavily guarded, the military strength of Huanggang City is far inferior. The entire Huanggang City has only a thousand city guards who are responsible for maintaining the daily security and stability of the city.

If the 17th squad of the Sheep Camp led by him had not happened to pass by here, given the vigilance of the people in Huanggang City, they would probably have waited until the monsters arrived at their doorstep before they were discovered.

But even though the Yanghuanying was the elite among the elite of Yongguo, Erniu only had a hundred people at the moment.

This amount of manpower is just a drop in the bucket. How can we resist those monsters?

Therefore, after learning the news, Erniu immediately found the prefect of Huanggang City and asked him to order all the people in the city to evacuate Huanggang City.

However, it is impossible for all the hundreds of thousands of people in the city to be evacuated immediately.

Erniu's face couldn't help but reveal a hint of anxiety.

Time waits not for us!