novelraw Chapter 143: The Jade Pendant and the Sword Dance
Chapter 143: The Jade Pendant and the Sword Dance
Jiang Ci, portraying Xiang Yu, took the two bamboo scrolls.
His fingertips deliberately avoided any contact with Zhang Liang.
In his eyes, the surrender document representing the allegiance of nine hundred thousand households of commoners and the entire fertile land of Guanzhong seemed like nothing more than two cumbersome pieces of waste paper.
He tossed them aside casually.
The scrolls rolled into a corner of the low table with a dull thud.
This action was more bone-chillingly insulting than any verbal humiliation could ever be.
Inside the grand tent, a deathly silence reigned.
The gazes of all the Chu Army generals held undisguised mockery as they scrutinized this man, who not long ago had proclaimed himself the "King of Guanzhong," now brought low and humble as dust.
Jiang Ci finally deigned to shift his gaze from Zhang Liang's face back to Liu Bang.
He raised a hand slightly."Fill the Duke of Pei's cup."
An attendant immediately stepped forward and filled the empty wine vessel before Liu Bang with liquor.
Jiang Ci raised the bronze wine vessel before him, which he had polished to a bright shine.
"The Duke of Pei has traveled a long way. You must be weary."
His tone was flat, devoid of any discernible emotion.
"While I was east of the mountains, I heard that the Duke of Pei's army maintained strict discipline, entering the passes without harming a single hair of the populace in autumn, sealing the treasuries, and simply awaiting my arrival."
Qin Feng, proving himself worthy of the title Film Emperor, slipped back into character seamlessly.
His hands trembled as he lifted the wine vessel, his face contorting into a smile uglier than a grimace.
"This subject dares not take credit. This subject was merely guarding Guanzhong temporarily for Your Majesty."
Jiang Ci completely ignored his defense, continuing as if he hadn't spoken.
"Such loyalty is a great comfort to me."
He paused slightly, his dark eyes fixed on Liu Bang.
"However, I am curious. Why then did you dispatch troops to guard the Hangu Pass, preventing my entry?"
The color instantly drained from Qin Feng's face, and cold sweat rolled down his temples.
The hand holding the wine vessel shook violently, splashing the clear yellow wine, soaking his sleeve.
"Your Majesty, please see clearly! This was all the slander of petty men! Someone sought to drive a wedge between my loyalty and Your Majesty's favor!"
With a *thump*, he slid completely from his seat, kneeling awkwardly on the ground.
"This subject is willing to offer everything to Your Majesty, I only beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly!"
Jiang Ci looked at Liu Bang prostrate on the ground, his face still a placid lake without a ripple.
He drained the wine from his cup in one go.
His fingertips rubbed against the cold, empty bronze vessel.
"Rise."
He uttered the two words.
"Let the feast begin."
At his command, the deathly silence in the tent was instantly ignited.
The resonant sounds of chime bells and stringed instruments swelled, and dancers filed in gracefully.
The Chu Army generals erupted into coarse, raucous laughter, tearing into roasted lamb with their hands and gulping down strong liquor from large bowls.
The low tables before Liu Bang and Zhang Liang were laden with sumptuous dishes, yet the two men sat rigidly, not daring to move a muscle.
Jiang Ci did not spare Qin Feng another glance.
He acted as if he were truly hosting an ordinary banquet, toasting and exchanging pleasantries with the generals beside him like Zhongli Mo and Long Ju.
This extreme level of disregard was more suffocating than any direct threat.
It was then that Jiang Ci's peripheral vision caught sight of Fan Zeng sitting opposite him.
The veteran actor Huang Shengqiu, playing the role of Honored Father Fan Zeng, sat upright with perfect posture.
He slowly raised his right hand.
Between his thumb and forefinger, he held a circular jade pendant.
A jade *jue*.
He raised the *jue* to eyebrow level, silently displaying it towards Jiang Ci on the main seat.
*Jue*. To decide. To pass judgment.
Jiang Ci saw it.
But he acted as if he had seen nothing, turning his head to raise his cup to Long Ju beside him.
"Long Ju, your valor in battle is commendable. Drink this cup!"
Long Ju immediately stood up and downed the wine in his cup with a heroic flourish.
Across from him, Huang Shengqiu slowly lowered his hand.
On his heavily made-up face, crisscrossed with lines, flashed an expression of barely restrained anxiety.
The song and dance continued.
After several rounds of wine.
Fan Zeng raised the jade *jue* in his hand for the second time.
This time, his movement was more urgent, his hold higher.
The smooth, warm jade pendant reflected a cold light under the leaping flames of the tent's torches.
Jiang Ci continued to laugh and talk with the generals.
A surge of euphoria from holding absolute control rose within Xiang Yu's shell.
He was savoring Liu Bang's fear.
All the people under heaven were merely playthings in his palm. Their life and death rested on his whim.
This feeling was more intoxicating than conquering cities and territories, or beheading enemy generals and seizing their banners before ten thousand troops.
Finally.
When Fan Zeng, for the third time, raised that jade *jue* high with a slightly trembling hand.
The corner of Jiang Ci's mouth even leaked an extremely soft chuckle.
He turned his head and said to another general, "Today's dances are too soft and effeminate. Why not change to something more vigorous and fierce to liven things up?"
This sentence utterly shattered Fan Zeng's last shred of patience.
Huang Shengqiu, playing Fan Zeng, abruptly stood up.
He no longer looked at Xiang Yu on the main seat. Instead, he strode directly from his own seat, quickly walking over to Xiang Yu's cousin, Xiang Zhuang.
Fan Zeng leaned close to Xiang Zhuang's ear, whispering urgent words in a low voice.
Xiang Zhuang immediately stood up, strode to the center of the grand tent, and bowed to Jiang Ci.
"Your Majesty! As the monarch feasts with the Duke of Pei, there is nothing in the army to provide entertainment. Your subject requests to perform a sword dance as celebration!"
Jiang Ci, reclining on his tiger-skin chair, merely gave a slight nod with his chin.
"Granted."
With a *clang*, Xiang Zhuang drew the long sword from his waist.
The music in the tent abruptly changed.
An aura of slaughter and warfare assaulted the senses.
Xiang Zhuang's sword dance held no beauty.
From the very first move, it was a fierce slash and thrust.
Sword light flashed, carving deadly arcs through the air.
Every stance, every movement, was filled with pure killing intent.
The sword's wind howled, causing the torchlight on both sides to flicker wildly.
Even more terrifying was that the endpoint of each of his lunges, each of his sweeping strikes, seemed to subtly, indistinctly, point towards Liu Bang's seat.
This was not a sword dance.
This was a rehearsal for an assassination.
Liu Bang's body had already stiffened into stone.
At that moment, another figure also rose, drawing his sword.
It was Xiang Bo.
"One man dancing alone is too dull! I shall join you as a companion!"
Xiang Bo laughed heartily and joined the ranks of the sword dance.
But the moment he entered, the nature of the sword dance changed completely.
When Xiang Zhuang's sword thrust towards Liu Bang's left side, Xiang Bo's body would shadow it, blocking that direction.
When Xiang Zhuang's sword slashed towards Liu Bang's right side, Xiang Bo's sword would "unintentionally" parry it, producing a sharp clang.
"Clang!"
"Clang! Clang!"
Inside the grand tent, two streaks of sword light intertwined frantically.
On one side was undisguised murderous intent.
On the other was a desperate, protective maneuvering.
The killing aura, within this confined space, escalated to its peak.
And the mastermind behind it all, the Hegemon seated on the main throne, Jiang Ci.
He watched the scene before him with keen interest.
Even the hint of a faint, elusive smile played on his lips.
He seemed completely indifferent to the outcome.
He was simply appreciating this extraordinarily spectacular drama.
Xiang Zhuang's offensive grew fiercer and fiercer.
His sword was like a viper's tongue, the angles becoming increasingly tricky.
Finally, with a feint, he tricked Xiang Bo's parry. His long sword transformed into a streak of cold light, shooting straight for Liu Bang's chest!
Xiang Bo, horrified, tried to defend, but it was already too late.
Qin Feng, playing Liu Bang, saw his pupils contract to pinpoints, his entire person utterly frozen, bereft of reaction.
The tragedy of blood spraying five paces away was right before their eyes.
In that split second, a flash of lightning.
"BANG—!"
A tremendous crash.
The tent's entrance was violently smashed open from the outside by brute force!
A furious roar rolled in from outside the tent, vibrating the entire structure with a hum.
"Your subject Fan Kuai! Here to block the sword for my lord!"