Chapter 204 Is it only possible to use child soldiers?

Lu Chi crouched down on the tree branch, grabbed the branch, swung, and easily jumped to the ground, looking directly at the two people whose path was blocked by the short knife.

"stop."

The two men, Gao and Zhuang, were facing imminent death and were under immense pressure. They were initially startled, but upon seeing yet another child blocking their way, they smirked coldly.

Gao Zhuang sneered, "What's wrong? Has the emperor run out of men? Does he only have child soldiers left? They're all little kids!"

Ai Shou muttered to himself, "What kind of time is this for you to keep talking nonsense!"

"What should we do then? This one is probably some prince or young master, maybe we should..."

Gao Zhuang then made a throat-slitting gesture.

Ai Shou turned around in frustration and saw that the prince was holding Sheng Sheng and talking anxiously. The Imperial Guards were rushing towards them and would catch up with them in just a few breaths.

Ai Shou gritted his teeth: "We're going to die anyway. We finally managed to steal the Rejuvenating Herb. Let's kill him and rush out to fight it out. Let them put us on the wanted list, whatever. At worst, we'll sell the Rejuvenating Herb for a good price, take the money, and run away to another country to hide!"

Sheng Sheng was startled and quickly turned her head to look at him.

What did she hear?

Gao Zhuang drew his longsword: "Good!"

Neither of them expected things to turn out this way.

They only went to steal a priceless herb; they hadn't planned anything like this!

They traveled all the way from Haijin to the capital.

Because the capital city is full of prosperity and wealth, and gold is everywhere, the capital city has no shortage of royal power and wealth.

The Rejuvenating Herb is extremely rare and priceless. As long as they spread the word that they have the Rejuvenating Herb, there will be plenty of people willing to pay exorbitant prices to buy it from them, and the price will only go higher, not lower.

They stole the Rejuvenating Herb from the renowned physician Shen. Although they were professional thieves, confident in their skills, they were not easily discovered.

However, to avoid causing any trouble, it is best to get to the capital as soon as possible, sell the herb quickly, and get the real money in hand.

The road through Anci County is the fastest route from Haijin to Beijing.

That's why they chose this route even though they knew the royal family was holding a winter hunt in the Shanglin Hunting Grounds. They were just passing through, and it had nothing to do with who was holding the winter hunt here.

Gao Zhuang and Ai Shou had just passed by this place and knew that the Imperial Guards patrolled here, so ordinary people would not be able to approach easily and it was very peaceful. So they chose a secluded place at the foot of the mountain to rest for a while.

They just didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that when they were resting, they were spotted by Xiao Quanzi, who was carrying a drawing and looking for beehives.

At first, Xiao Quanzi thought they were also young masters from some family participating in the hunt, but those who participated in the hunt would wear a red tassel around their waist, and the guards would only let them pass when going up or down the mountain.

Gao Zhuang and Ai Shou did not have the red tassels on their bodies, and their clothes and appearance were neither those of palace people nor those of young masters from any family. Xiao Quanzi immediately became suspicious and was about to call over the Imperial Guards patrolling in the woods.

Seeing this, Gao Zhuang and Ai Shou had no choice but to tell Xiao Quanzi to "shut up".

To prevent Xiao Quanzi from making a sound and attracting attention, the two dragged him to the bottom of the hillside and knocked him unconscious. They then ransacked his body of all his valuables.

Who would have thought that after the two had finished looting and were about to leave, a little girl suddenly appeared.

The little girl also brought two little brats with her, as well as a squad of the emperor's imperial guards.

With anger in his eyes, Gao Zhuang drew his sword and charged at Lu Chi.

Knowing he couldn't beat him, Lu Chi focused solely on dodging and defending without attacking.

Although Lu Chi's cultivation level was inferior, he was small and agile, so even if he couldn't win, he could still avoid the fight.

With a light touch of his toes, his lightness skill was even better than that of Gao Zhuang and Ai Shou. Gao Zhuang chased after him for a few times but could not catch up.

Sheng Sheng, watching from behind, exclaimed, "Wow, Brother Lu Chi is so amazing!"

After confirming that Xiao Quanzi was still alive, Xie Yunqi was noticeably less nervous. Hearing her sister praising Lu Chi again, she was unhappy, but since Lu Chi had indeed stalled for time, Xie Yunqi couldn't say anything.

After a long pause, Xie Yunqi said dryly, "Hmph, so what if he knows lightness skill? His father is a General of the Cavalry, so his martial arts are naturally formidable."

He said with a teasing tone, "Really?"

"That's right, it's just martial arts, little sister, you wait, after we return to the palace this time, your brother will also learn martial arts!"

Xie Yunqi said fiercely, his whole body burning with raging flames, full of passion.

Some people love literature but not martial arts, while others love martial arts but not literature.

Xie Yunqi, on the other hand, neither loved literature nor martial arts. In his words, why bother learning these trivial things when he could live a comfortable and carefree life?

Xie Yunqi is right. He is the fifth prince of Dayu. Consort Li and his father are strict with him but also dote on him. He has a good relationship with his brothers and sisters. He himself only wants to be a carefree prince in the future.

Even if Xie Yunqi knew nothing, she could comfortably and carefree live a life of ease.

Now, by a twist of fate, Xie Yunqi's fighting spirit to learn martial arts has been aroused, leaving Sheng Sheng both amused and exasperated.

Gao Zhuang kept slashing through the air with his sword, unable to even catch up with a small child. Naturally, he lost face and soon became somewhat embarrassed and angry: "Little brat, I didn't know you had some skills."

Ai Shou, holding the bundle, scolded him, "How come you can't even beat a child?"

Gao Zhuang was furious: "This isn't an ordinary child. Can't you tell? He has a background in martial arts!"

Ai Shou cursed under his breath, then looked at the little girl who had been shouting at them fearlessly from the start, "Damn it, is the capital really that mysterious that even a child is extraordinary?"

Lu Chi stalled for a while, and after Xie Yunqi had two people carry Xiao Quanzi back, he led his men over.

Ai Shou originally thought that Lu Chi was just a kid, and that being older would give him an advantage, so there was no need for both of them to gang up on him.

He was still holding the Rejuvenating Herb in his hand, so naturally he tried not to move it if possible, in case he accidentally dropped the priceless Rejuvenating Herb.

But who would have thought that Gao Zhuang, who was all height and no brains, couldn't even handle this?

Ai Shou slung his bundle over his shoulder, preparing to go himself, when a noisy sound of horses' hooves came from ahead.

"Quick, don't let them escape!"

The sound of horses' hooves grew louder as the well-equipped Imperial Guards rode towards them, numbering at least a hundred.

Xie Yunjia and her men rushed over from Shanglin Hunting Ground.

The two strong men cursed angrily, "Damn it!"

The two quickly turned around, but Xie Yunqi and his men had already blocked their way on the hillside behind them.