Chapter 540 Assassination, City-wide Manhunt (5k)

Three days?

Zhao Duan nodded calmly: "Okay, I will send someone to contact you later and give you the letter that needs to be delivered."

This sentence hides a message, that is, Zhao Duan has already figured out where Feng Xiaolian is staying.

Feng Xiaolian, a veteran of the entertainment industry, was not surprised and could not help but say:

"Commander-in-Chief, I will do my best to handle this matter as a token of the Huai Palace's sincerity. However, I would like to take the liberty to remind you that if you intend to incite Zhao Shixiong to revolt, it is probably not a good choice and could easily lead to your own death."

Zhao Duan looked indifferent and glanced at him: "Are you teaching me how to do things?"

Oops, this line seems to be used a bit too often...

Feng Xiaolian smiled and shut up tactfully, then exchanged a few fake greetings before leaving and continuing to roam around the brothel.

Zhao Duan was not in a hurry to leave, and continued to listen to music and drink.

After three rounds of drinks, he left before Wang Qi arrived, and then walked around the city a few times to make sure he had shaken off all the tails. He walked into a hidden alley, took out a palm-sized silver scroll, and shook it gently.

With a "rustle", the prepared clothes fell to the ground. He quickly changed his outer clothes, wiped his face with his right hand, activated the mask named "Jiuyi", and changed into a new look again.

At this moment, the sun was setting and the sky was dark again. When Zhao Duan walked out of the alley, he saw the smoke from cooking fires under the dark sky, which was straighter than those of the men in Sichuan and Chongqing in his previous life.

There was murderous intent in Zhao Duan's eyes as he walked towards the place he had scouted earlier in the morning. He decided to hunt down Wang Qi tonight.

In the past, the Thousand Illusions God of the Kuangfu Society once lurked in the capital and assassinated court generals. Zhao Duan followed suit today.

"It's time to create some chaos."

…

The night deepens.

After nightfall, Yongjia City will gradually enter a state of martial law and curfew, and only a very small number of people will be allowed to walk at night.

Among them naturally was the Grand Inspector Wang Qi.

Three quarters past Xu.

In the brightly lit Yunshao Courtyard, the sounds of stringed instruments and obscene words and talk continued as usual.

The pot-bellied Wang Qi, surrounded by guards, walked out of the main gate and stepped onto the carriage outside.

Then, the carriage returned to the military camp along the deserted streets under the protection of soldiers in armored uniforms.

Although Wang Qi was lustful and indulged in brothels, he seldom stayed overnight outside. He left the brothels on time at 12:30 pm every night. His movements were unusually regular, as if they were specially prepared for assassination.

However, his eyelids were twitching tonight, and he felt vaguely uneasy.

"Didn't I sleep well?" Wang Qi thought to himself, leaning back in the carriage and closing his eyes to doze off.

At the same time, beyond a street corner on his route, further away, in a five-story restaurant.

Zhao Duan sat silently on the tiles, cross-legged and looking at the moon in the sky which was covered by clouds.

There was a small hourglass next to him. At this moment, the last grain of sand fell and the time was up.

Zhao Duan stood up like a civet cat, turned around and walked to the top of the roof, raised his eyes and looked over the streets and rooftops, and fell on a convoy that was slowly moving on a main road in the distance.

The curfew meant that there were no outsiders in the city to interfere, making it easy to lock on to the target.

"It's up to you." Zhao Duan murmured, stroking an old mysterious bow in his hand. The bow was made of wood and was as light as a feather. The word "Taibu" was engraved on it in ancient characters.

Taibu bow!

The weapons left behind by Lu Tong after his death!

Nie Yurong reminded that they should not get close to Wang Qi, so Zhao Duan will use this weapon to carry out a long-range sniper attack tonight.

He took out an arrow from the quiver, bent the bow and drew the arrow, and strands of energy flowed from his fingertips into the bowstring.

Strands of Qi were drawn out, and mottled spots of light were spit out one after another. As the bow was bent, an illusory arrow was condensed.

The illusory arrow merged into one with the real iron arrow.

The sound of the wind echoed in Zhao Duan's ears, mixed with the whimpering of ancient tree branches being blown by the wind, like a whisper.

His sights were locked on the approaching carriage, knowing that if he fired his arrow, it would hit the target.

However, not to mention Wang Qi's trump card, the guards beside him alone would intercept the arrow first and greatly weaken the power of the arrow.

That was why he did not immediately think of using the Taibu bow to snipe.

It was not until the Great Dream Scroll that I received inspiration from Pei Niannu [Silver Armor Version].

"How does a warrior snipe an enemy from a distance?"

Zhao Duan suddenly raised his longbow, pointed the arrow towards the sky, and shot out with a whoosh!

The arrow was wrapped in white turbulence and flew towards the night sky, seemingly "a thousand miles away" from its target.

However, the Taibu bow has the property of "guaranteed to hit the target", so even if the arrow is shot off target, it will adjust itself and lock onto Wang Qi again.

But in this case, because of the long detour, the time it takes for the arrow to reach Wang Qi will be extended.

And this is what Zhao Duan needs.

Without stopping, he kept pulling out arrows from the quiver at his feet and shooting them frequently.

But every time he shot an arrow, he would adjust the angle of "deviation".

Zhao Duan closed his eyes and recalled what Pei Niannu said in his dream when she made a bow and arrow out of bamboo and demonstrated it to him.

He whispered softly:

"All fear stems from insufficient firepower."

"This arrow will kill you."

…

On the long street, the moonlight was as cold as water.

At this moment, the wind was blowing and the clouds were moving. The moonlight was briefly blocked by the clouds. Wang Qi's team turned a corner.

Suddenly, several powerful soldiers near the carriage's ears twitched at the same time, and they all looked in a certain direction in the distance. They subconsciously drew their swords and shouted:

"There's an assassin!"

As the words fell, everyone heard a sharp and low howl.

Above the residential houses under the cover of night, an arrow tore through the air current, its tail feathers trembling, and came whistling, its target firmly locked onto the carriage.

"Protect the Lord!"

A military guard jumped out fiercely, his whole body covered with罡气, and slashed out with the sword in his hand, wrapped in wind and thunder.

However, during the collision, his knife-holding arm felt numb and painful as if it had been electrocuted. His face changed, and he realized that the assassin's cultivation was very high, and even the aura attached to the arrow was so fierce.

"The strongest man in the world!"

But fortunately, it was finally blocked...

"here we go again!"

Before the soldiers could catch their breath, one sound of breaking air after another rang out almost simultaneously. At this moment, many arrows attacked from all directions in the night.

The ordinary soldiers beside the car surrounded it, but had no time to react. Only a few officers of the Divine Chapter joined forces to try to stop the arrows with powerful kinetic energy.

Some ordinary soldiers were unable to dodge and were pierced through the chest by the deflected arrows. Blood splattered and they died instantly.

Wang Qi in the carriage opened his eyes the moment he was attacked and said to himself:

"I'm waiting for you!"

There was a blue and white porcelain bowl in his right hand. Without hesitation, he threw the bowl to the ground after hearing the word "world".

“Bang!”

The old porcelain bowl shattered, and the clear water inside spread out to form a huge pool at his feet!

At the same time, with Wang Qi as the center, a green "light wall" suddenly spread out in the air. In the blink of an eye, it spread in all directions and covered an area of ​​ten feet around!

If you look down from the sky, the street corner and the entire army are suddenly upside down by a huge, several-story-high, illusory "blue and white porcelain bowl"!

It's as if a barrier has been created to isolate this place.

At the same time, Wang Qi took a step forward and stepped into the puddle of water beneath his feet.

The last time this ancient talisman appeared publicly was about six hundred years ago, and was called the "Blue and White Cage".

Before the internal mana is exhausted, mortals can also use it. Once it is broken, a formation cage that can trap the world realm will be constructed around it.

Before it dissipates, people inside cannot leave and people outside cannot come in.

Wang Qi can use the water in the bowl to leave the cage and teleport to a place about a hundred meters away!

This is the confidence that makes him dare to fish. Even if the strongest man in the world comes, the guards outside can stop him a little, giving him enough time to smash the porcelain bowl.

Any assassin will be trapped in this cage and caught in a trap.

However, the foolproof trap eventually had a flaw. Zhao Duan neither stepped into the cage nor had any intention of "failure".

At this moment, under the cover of the rest of the arrows, the first arrow he shot circled in the air, and with a "puff" sound, it pierced the wooden board of the carriage and accurately pierced Wang Qi's back!

Just for the sake of concealment, this arrow has the least amount of energy attached to it, but for a civil servant, it is deadly enough!

"Ah!" Wang Qi screamed and fell down, but his boots had already sunk into the water under his feet. Ripples spread out, and his whole body disappeared into the carriage. The water on the ground quickly dried up.

At the same time, the seriously injured Wang Qi suddenly appeared in a nearby alley. His face was pale, and he covered his bleeding lower back with his hands. He left the guards behind him and tried his best to escape deep into the building.

Trying to make a living by taking advantage of the complexity of architecture.

After Zhao Duan shot the arrow, he calmly retracted the Taibu bow and took out a palm-sized, simple mirror.

[The Mirror of Romance]!

This was a talisman he had obtained a long time ago. Because it was practical enough, he did not feed it to the Red Flame Holy Armor.

At this moment, he recalled Wang Qi's appearance in his mind. Ripples appeared on the mirror, and an alley slowly appeared, as well as Wang Qi who was staggering and fleeing in panic.

"Not dead yet? Then I'll send you off myself."

Zhao Duan looked at the extremely eye-catching, inverted blue and white porcelain bowl-shaped barrier and realized that Wang Qi's backup plan had been used up.

He leaped like a ghost and ran between roofs and houses.

At some point, a sword flashing with cold light appeared in his right hand.

"Who is it?!" At this time, the noise here had attracted the rebels patrolling nearby. Some soldiers raised their spears and shouted loudly.

Zhao Duan landed lightly on the ground, his figure moving past like a ghost, the sword energy flashing, and a group of corpses fell to the ground.

As long as they are not surrounded by a large group of soldiers in a military formation, these few people are no different from chickens and dogs to him now.

Soon, Wang Qi, who was running in panic, suddenly stopped. He held the wall with one hand and stared at a figure appearing in the depths of the dark alley.

At this moment, the moonlight was pouring down, and Zhao Duan approached leisurely.

Wang Qi looked fierce but was actually weak: "The military experts will be here soon, you can't escape..."

rub!

A flash of a knife flashed by, and Wang Qi fell to the ground in disbelief, blood gushing from his neck, and he was no longer breathing.

Zhao Duan shook his wrist, and the blood on the tip of the knife left a straight line on the wall.

"I originally wanted to arrest you and interrogate you, but since you've made such a big noise, it will soon attract experts. I have no choice but to kill you."

Zhao Duan sheathed his sword, without even looking at Wang Qi, and quickly disappeared into the night.

"It's time for Song Jinxi and the others to take action."

…

Just as Wang Qi said, the noise caused by the blue and white porcelain bowl was enough to attract the attention of the strong men in the city.

Not long after, a large number of cavalrymen rushed into the quiet street, each holding a torch, lighting up the entire street.

"Great General!"

The officer trapped in the barrier saw the cavalry outside dispersing, and a middle-aged man who was not tall, even a little short, walked out like a moon surrounded by stars.

Zhao Shixiong was on his horse, still in his pajamas. He seemed to have fallen asleep and was suddenly awakened.

His face was expressionless, and suddenly he grabbed the air with his right hand, then sank his wrist, ripples appeared in the night sky, and a large Guandao was pulled out from the void by him.

The long sword slashed in the air!

The huge blue and white bowl that covered the entire street corner cracked with a sound, and spider-web-like cracks appeared, and pieces withered away.

The magic circle that could trap the secular world couldn't even withstand his sword!

Inside the carriage, the blue and white porcelain bowl that had been broken into pieces pieced itself together and returned to its original state, but there was no water in the bowl, which meant that the magic power contained in it had been temporarily exhausted.

"search!"

Zhao Shixiong spat out this word coldly.

Immediately, the cavalrymen turned into a torrent of steel, flowing in all directions.

Soon, someone reported: "General, Wang Qi's body has been found!"

He's dead... Zhao Shixiong's heart sank, and he quickly came to the alley. In the light of the torch, he saw Wang Qi lying on the ground in a pool of blood, with his eyes open.

A personal guard took a look and stood up to report:

"General, Supervisor Wang Qi died from a slashed throat, but was severely wounded by an arrow first."

It was hard to tell what Zhao Shixiong was thinking, as he suddenly raised the Guandao in his hand high.

At this moment, the rolling scarlet energy infused the blade, and the engraved runes on this Guandao, which also had a distinguished origin, lit up. The blade spit out crimson flames, covering the entire alley.

Then, in the crimson light, first Wang Qi appeared, holding onto the wall and running hurriedly, and then a young man appeared, holding a knife.

Obviously, the knife in Zhao Shixiong's hand is not just an ordinary weapon, but also contains some magic.

It can actually "restore" the scene that happened here not long ago.

"Is he the assassin?" Zhao Shixiong stared at the illusory Zhao Duan in the crimson light.

He had no impression of his disguised face, but when he caught a glimpse of the knife, his gaze narrowed slightly, and a strange color flashed across his eyes:

"Is it him? That Zhao Duan?"

He laughed.

"How dare you hide in the city and kill people right under my nose..."

A personal guard came back from outside the alley and reported:

"General, there's no trace of the assassin nearby. He must have gotten far away."

Zhao Shixiong nodded and was about to speak when he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves approaching from outside the alley.

When everyone looked over, they saw a tall, fair-skinned woman in her thirties or forties, with a curvy figure and a long sword on her back, jumping off the back of a sturdy horse.

Also wearing pajamas, he hurried out.

"lady!"

A group of guards immediately lowered their eyes and did not dare to look up.

"Gongsun?" Zhao Shixiong frowned and looked at the woman: "What happened?"

The woman named Gongsun, who came from the Gongsun clan, frowned and glanced at Wang Qi's body on the ground before saying:

"Not only Wang Qi, but other military supervisors were also assassinated. We haven't yet counted the casualties, but the number of people who have received the news should be no less than five."

Zhao Shixiong laughed, threw away his Guandao, and ordered murderously:

"Order! First thing's first, check the surrounding five streets for any suspicious individuals who appeared in this area today.

Second, investigate Wang Qi’s whereabouts in the past ten days, as well as all the people who knew that he was carrying the blue and white cage.

Third, start with the attacked military supervisors to see who is investigating them recently, and...what unusual things have happened in the city recently. Nothing worth noting should be missed!

Fourth...city-wide search!

In the past fifteen days, all unfamiliar faces and outsiders who appeared in the city must be checked!

There's no need to compare portraits; the other person's appearance will change, but he's definitely a man, and we'll focus on checking young men... Also, contact Xiu Yi Zhizhi and inform His Majesty that Zhao Duan might have sneaked into the city!"

Gongsun, who was tall and plump, and dressed in slept clothes, was stunned for a moment.

Zhao Duan?

The unmarried husband chosen by the empress? The cruel, cunning, and treacherous minister nicknamed "King Zhao" who was in charge of suppressing the rebellion?

Was it him who did it?

Gongsun's expression grew serious, and he nodded, "I'll make the arrangements."

Zhao Shixiong stared at the corpse on the ground with a smile on his face.

"I am actually very interested in this young man from my family surnamed Zhao. If we can eliminate this treacherous villain, it will definitely be a great achievement for me."

My husband, do you think so highly of that treacherous minister?

Gongsun was slightly surprised.

…

…

That night, with the issuance of Zhao Shixiong's military order, the entire Yongjia city was shaken.

Groups of rebels, holding torches, ran through the streets and alleys of the city with murderous intent, searching for any suspicious people overnight.

On the streets, the tranquility of the curfew was broken, and the people hiding in their homes could only hear the orderly footsteps outside and the metallic sound of iron hooves hitting blue bricks as war horses galloped.

A solemn and murderous atmosphere.

A similar scene only happened when Zhao Shixiong led his troops into the city and accepted the surrender without bloodshed.

Recently, the assassination attempt carried out by Zhao Duan and a small group of shadow guards has once again plunged the entire city into a solemn atmosphere, as if it had entered winter early.

Zhao Shixiong took Wang Qi's body back to the government office, which was also the "combat command center."

After succeeding, Song Jinxi and other shadow guards quickly went into hiding, trying their best to cut off all traces that could lead to their capture.

And more people are still ignorant of what happened.

Zhao Duan changed back into the appearance and clothes of "Dong Ping", returned to Hongni Lane in the dark, entered the room, lit the candles, and began to boil water to prepare for a bath.

On the table were the sword and the Taibu bow.

His operation tonight went relatively smoothly, but the situation of Song Jinxi and others was still unclear, so he needed to wait for more news.

However, it can be imagined that Zhao Shixiong will react soon.

Taking into account the recent big moves of Yexiangmen, Zhao Duan is very clear that neither he nor Song Jinxi and others can hide for too long and will eventually be found out.

"However, it's not easy to find us in a city with a population of hundreds of thousands. So, as long as we don't expose ourselves, we should be able to hide for a while."

Zhao Duan was thinking about how to use Feng Xiaolian's connection to contact Zhao Shixiong.

To carry out his own plans.

Suddenly, his ears moved, and he raised his hand to collect the bow and arrow and the sword on the table.

Then, there were footsteps outside the door and the sound of the door creaking open.

The door was pushed open, and the girl Du Shishi was holding a small lantern and looking at Zhao Duan who was washing his feet.

"Miss Du, is there something wrong?" Zhao Duan frowned. "It's not right to break into a stranger's bedroom without knocking at the door at night."

Du Shishi stared at him suspiciously, "You just came back?"

Zhao Duan smiled: "I came back early."

"Really?" Du Shishi stared at him dimly. "But when I came here before, I found you weren't here."

(End of this chapter)