Chapter 4: Truth Shines Beneath the Muzzle Flash!

Zheng Chun’s triangular eyes darted between Xiao Yunshang and the several maidservants, his gaze oily and repulsive.

"I intend to conduct the inventory myself! Is there a problem with that?"

Receiving his silent command, the Imperial Guards behind him smirked and stepped forward to seize Xiao Yunshang and Qiushuang.

"Let’s see who dares!"

Xiao Zhan stepped forward, placing himself directly between them and the guards. His dark brocade robe was slightly parted, revealing the black weapon tucked into his belt—a sinister, heavy presence.

Zheng Chun was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke.

"Xiao Zhan, do you really think that fire-poker in your hand can frighten me? Do you think it can defy the Emperor’s divine authority?" His voice suddenly pitched higher, becoming shrill and grating. "Take them! Kill anyone who resists!"

A burly leader of the Imperial Guards, his face full of brawn, chuckled at Zheng Chun’s order. He raised his broadsword and swung it toward Xiao Zhan’s head. "My apologies, young prince!" He figured that once Xiao Zhan was subdued, the strange "Thunder God Cannon" would naturally be useless.

Xiao Yunshang and the maids had never witnessed such a scene; they screamed in unison and instinctively turned away.

In the blink of an eye—

*BANG!*

A thunderous roar erupted, far louder and more terrifying than the shots Eunuch Li had heard in the courtyard earlier. The very beams and pillars of the great hall seemed to tremble!

The burly guard’s mocking grin froze, his sword still suspended in mid-air, but his body was thrown backward as if struck in the chest by an invisible giant hammer. With a sickening thud, a spray of blood erupted from his chest. He hit the floor several yards away, twitched twice, and went still.

The hall fell into a silence so profound one could hear a pin drop. Everyone was paralyzed by the shock. What was that sound? What was that thing? In a heartbeat, a living man was simply gone?

Zheng Chun’s face twitched uncontrollably. His lips trembled, and his eyes bulged as if they might pop out, fixed on that strange, pitch-black object in Xiao Zhan’s hand. That was no fire-poker! That was a death warrant!

The rest of the Imperial Guards felt their legs turn to jelly. Their hands, clutching their weapons, shook like leaves in an autumn gale. The clatter of steel hitting the floor echoed through the hall. They stared at Xiao Zhan as if he were a vengeful spirit crawled up from the depths of the underworld.

"Sorcery! It’s sorcery!" one guard cried out, his voice cracking with terror, and he turned to flee.

Xiao Zhan raised the muzzle slightly.

*BANG!*

Another shot rang out. The fleeing guard collapsed, a bloody hole in the back of his head, brains and blood splattering the floor.

"Who else would like to try?" Xiao Zhan’s voice was low, yet it pressed down on everyone’s heart like a heavy stone. A thin wisp of smoke still curled from the muzzle of his Desert Eagle; the scent of gunpowder was more stifling than any poison.

"Witchcraft! Xiao Zhan! You dare use black magic to bewitch hearts and defy the Emperor's soldiers!" Zheng Chun finally found his voice, though it remained thin, shrill, and trembling. "Where are the guards? Take this warlock down! The Emperor has decreed that all must join in the execution of evil!" He shrieked, desperate to use the weight of numbers to regain control.

But he was met with dead silence and even more pathetic reactions from the guards. Several of the more cowardly ones dropped to their knees, their heads thumping against the floor as they kowtowed. "Spare us, Young Master! Spare us! We were only following orders!"

"A bunch of useless trash!" Zheng Chun trembled with rage.

Xiao Zhan curled his lips and slowly shifted his aim toward Zheng Chun. "Eunuch Zheng, look at my 'fire-poker' again. What do you think now?"

"You... you dare kill me? I am an Imperial Envoy! I represent the Emperor!" Zheng Chun felt a chill race from his heels to his crown as the black muzzle stared him down. His knees gave way, and he nearly collapsed, though his mouth remained defiant.

"An Imperial Envoy?" Xiao Zhan stepped toward him, the Desert Eagle leveled steadily at the center of his brow. "In my Prince of Yan’s estate, you treat lives like dirt, smear my father’s name, and dare to lay a hand on my family. What are you, exactly?" He radiated a bone-chilling cold. "Today, I will teach you the meaning of the truth: truth lies only within the range of a gun!"

"No! Xiao Zhan!" Xiao Yunshang suddenly cried out, rushing forward to grab his hand. "Brother, you cannot kill him! He is the Imperial Envoy. If you kill him, there will truly be no turning back!" Her face was deathly pale, her eyes swollen with tears, her voice filled with desperate pleading. She wanted nothing more than to skin Zheng Chun alive, but she knew that killing the envoy was an act of open rebellion. The entire estate, from the highest-ranking official to the lowliest servant, would lose their heads.

Xiao Zhan’s brow flickered. Seeing his sister’s red, tear-filled eyes, the fire in his heart dimmed slightly. He understood her concerns. He slowly lowered the gun, though the muzzle remained aimed at Zheng Chun.

"Sister, do you think that by sparing him, we have a way back?" Xiao Zhan’s voice was as cold as shards of ice. "The imperial decree states clearly: my father 'committed suicide out of guilt,' the men are to be 'sent to the front lines as soldiers,' and the women are to be 'enslaved.' This isn't a trial; it’s a pre-arranged play, waiting to see how we die!"

He swept his gaze across the hall—some were paralyzed with fear, others wept, and some looked on in blank confusion. His voice rose sharply. "Do you think this is only aimed at the Prince of Yan’s estate? You are wrong! This is the Emperor’s venomous scheme! My father guarded the northern frontier, his achievements casting a shadow over the throne; he was long a thorn in the Emperor’s side. Talk of treason is nothing but a lie; a tyrant needs no excuse to persecute his victims!"

"Weakening the fiefs! That is what the old Emperor truly wants!" Xiao Zhan’s words struck the crowd like hammers. "Once the Prince of Yan’s estate falls, the other princes are next! He wants to reclaim all military power and pluck out anyone who hinders his rule. We are merely the first to be slaughtered!"

Zheng Chun heard this and felt his soul leave his body, shrieking, "Xiao Zhan! You are spouting nonsense! This is slander against His Majesty! This is inciting rebellion!"

"Whether I am spouting nonsense, you know, and the old Emperor knows better!" Xiao Zhan scoffed, ignoring Zheng Chun’s hysterics. He looked at the guards, the weeping maids, and the servants. "Do you still expect kneeling and begging to work? Do you still expect the imperial court to grant us a path to survival?"

"Death is certain either way! Instead of being dragged off like cattle to be butchered or enslaved, letting them toy with us as they please, why not fight them to the death?"

A veteran guard with a bushy beard suddenly roared, his eyes bloodshot, as he stooped to retrieve a discarded broadsword.

"Right! Fight them!"
"Kill them all! Avenge the Prince!"
"One kill to break even, two to make a profit!"

Xiao Zhan’s words were like dry brush thrown into a fire, instantly igniting the suppressed rage and bitterness within them. Those who had resigned themselves to their fate now had murderous glints in their eyes. Even the maids, who had been trembling, wiped their tears; though still afraid, their expressions hardened with a desperate, ruthless resolve.

Xiao Yunshang stared blankly at the scene, watching as the timid servants transformed into people ready to kill, then back at her brother’s young yet hardened face. She realized Xiao Zhan was right. The Prince of Yan’s estate had no retreat. Since the Emperor had struck with such lethal intent, he would never leave them alive.

The atmosphere in the hall had shifted completely due to those few gunshots and Xiao Zhan’s words. Zheng Chun pointed at Xiao Zhan, shaking. "You... you are all rebelling! You are all rebelling!"

Xiao Zhan tucked the Desert Eagle into his belt and picked up the AK-47 from the floor. He pulled the charging handle, the metallic *clack* ringing out clearly.

"Rebelling?" He grinned. "Congratulations, you guessed right."