Chapter 42 "The Legendary Number One Assassin in the World..."
Zhan Xiao's eyes turned cold, and he pierced Zhan Xiao's left knee with another sword.
Li Wei's face was still contorted: "Really...really..."
Zhan Xiao continued to twist the blade half a turn. The intense pain from the twisting of the blade caused Li Wei to convulse, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. Even his screams became hoarse.
"Where is the princess?"
The dying Li Wei, his eyes filled with despair, finally broke down in pain: "In...in the abandoned temple in the south, I'm not lying to you, it was the Third Prince who ordered us to hide the princess there, and then surround and kill you when you went to find her!"
Zhan Xiao stared at him for a moment. Seeing that his eyes were unfocused and his tone seemed genuine, he sheathed his sword. Before leaving, he pierced the man's left shoulder blade with another sword to confirm that the man had lost the ability to move and could not send a message. Only then did he turn around and rush south.
Ordinary sleeping pills have no effect on Jiang Fushi, but in order to find out what these people are up to, she pretends to be unconscious.
These people didn't kill her at the post station, perhaps because they didn't want to leave too many traces at the scene, or perhaps they had a reason not to kill her.
After a long and bumpy ride, Jiang Fushi finally realized that she had been put down. She secretly opened one eye and saw a broken Buddha statue and a dusty offering table. The air was filled with dust and mildew, and it seemed to be a dilapidated temple.
Two men in black stood guard at the door, seemingly waiting for someone. One of them said, "Why haven't they arrived yet?"
"What's the rush? Once Commander Bian has dealt with that guard, he will naturally come to deal with her."
"When the people arrive, kill her and bury her, make it clean."
Jiang Fushi felt a chill run through her body, and a cold sensation instantly spread to her limbs.
While secretly observing the two men's movements, she pulled out a palm-sized oil paper packet from her sleeve.
This is the potent sedative she used for self-defense called "Three Steps Down".
She pretended to have just woken up, coughed lightly, and quickly attracted the attention of the man in black.
"What's going on? Didn't I tell you to increase the dosage?!" one of them yelled, striding towards her.
They approached without warning, and Jiang Fushi said weakly, "Water...give me water..."
The two men in black exchanged a glance, then impatiently leaned down, only to inhale a strange fragrance as soon as they got close. They abruptly stood up and backed away, only to find their limbs weak and their vision blurring.
"You, you..." Before they could finish speaking, they both collapsed to the ground.
Jiang Fushi quickly got up and kicked the two people lying on the ground several times. After confirming that they were completely unconscious, she quickly ran out of the temple.
Outside, snow was falling heavily, the world was a vast expanse of white, the cold wind was like a knife scraping against my face, and the snow on the ground was already above my ankles, making it impossible to see any direction.
She stumbled and staggered as she fled, when suddenly she heard the sound of hooves behind her. She turned around in shock to find a troop of cavalry surrounding her.
The leader among them was none other than Bian Chen, the commander of the Third Prince's personal guards, who had fought against Zhan Xiao on the day of the Winter Ceremony.
“It’s you.” Jiang Fushi faced the wind and snow, looking directly at him.
“Yuhe… no, Your Highness Yong’an, we meet again.” Bian Chen rode up to her on horseback, looking down at her.
Jiang Fushi sneered: "What? To take my life, do I really need Commander Bian to personally lead his troops here?"
Bian Chen's lips curled into a mocking smile.
"Of course not. Your Highness's life is nothing more than an ant to me. This time, we have gone all out to surround and kill Zhan Xiao."
The wind and snow intensified, swirling up thousands of snowflakes. Jiang Fushi closed her eyes, her long eyelashes covered in frost, and gave a bitter smile.
Unexpectedly, she would die here; she had thought she would suffer humiliation and die in Qiongle.
A fist-sized block of ice shot out from the depths of the snow, striking Bian Chen's wrist and causing his hand, which was about to slash Jiang Fushi, to go numb. The long sword in his hand clattered to the ground.
Bian Chen winced in pain and shouted angrily, "Who's there!" The cavalrymen instantly became alert and raised their weapons, aiming them into the depths of the snow.
The cold wind swirled snowflakes, slowly outlining that figure.
A tall, imposing man emerged from the depths of the snow, his black fox fur coat covered in snowflakes. He held a long sword, its blade still stained with unmelted frost. With each step, his powerful aura seemed to freeze the surrounding snow and wind for a moment. The cavalrymen instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons and even softened their breathing.
It was as if he alone was an army of thousands.
Jiang Fushi's eyes instantly welled up with tears, the image of that person reflected in her eyes, clear and burning.
He came to save her.
Bian Chen was taken aback at first, then his face turned ferocious. Seeing this, the guards next to him quickly picked up the long sword that had fallen in the snow and handed it to him.
"You've come, that's perfect. It saves us the trouble of guarding the dilapidated temple. We'll take care of you and the princess right here in the snow!"
"You want to kill me?" Zhan Xiao said indifferently, "but you don't have the ability."
Bian Chen laughed wildly, "Hmph, I have fifty iron cavalrymen here, each one brave and skilled in battle. Even if you are lucky enough to protect yourself, with this burden, there is absolutely no way you can escape our encirclement and slaughter!"
"This day next year will be the anniversary of your death!"
Before he finished speaking, Bian Chen gave the order, and instantly all the cavalrymen charged towards Zhanxiao like arrows released from a bow.
Zhan Xiao stood steadily in front of Jiang Fushi, protecting her behind him. Just as the cavalry was about to charge at them, he lightly touched the snow with his toes, leaped into the air, and suddenly drew his longsword.
The surging sword energy stirred up the cold air of heaven and earth, even splitting the falling snowflakes in two. Before the two cavalrymen in the first place could react, their arms were slashed by the sword energy, and their long swords flew out of their hands.
The snowflakes, falling heavily, condensed into ice blades as the sword struck, pouring down like a torrential rain. The cavalrymen, unable to dodge in time, were all cut by the ice blades, screaming as they fell from their horses, clutching their wounds and lying on the ground.
Bian Chen was horrified, and his hand holding the knife trembled slightly.
I thought that the fight at the celebration that day was Zhan Xiao's full strength, but I didn't expect that he didn't even use 30% of his skills at that time.
The snowflakes fell faster and faster, like countless white blades dancing in the air. After landing, Zhan Xiao did not stop and charged straight at Bian Chen with his sword. His speed was so fast that Bian Chen did not have time to block and could only dodge to the side in a sorry state. The armor on his chest was cut open by the sword energy, and cold air rushed in instantly.
Zhan Xiao drew his sword with a backhand motion, changing from a sharp slash to a horizontal sweep, forcing Bian Chen to retreat repeatedly, the snow beneath his feet crunching under his feet.
The two fought their way from the center of the snowfield to the entrance of the dilapidated temple. The entire battlefield fell silent, with only their figures intertwined amidst the swirling snowflakes.
Bian Chen struggled to defend himself, his arms already aching and numb, cold sweat mixed with snowflakes streaming down his forehead, but he saw that Zhan Xiao's eyes remained cold, and his sword moves not only did not slow down, but became even more swift.
First, he knocked away Zhan Xiao's breastplate with a sword, then he pierced his right shoulder with another sword. Finally, Bian Chen knelt on one knee, watching the snowflakes condense into frost around Zhan Xiao. A thought flashed through his mind like a thunderclap.
This...this is! The Shadowless Kill of the Jade Flower!
When the move is made, the temperature within a radius of ten feet drops sharply, and breath turns to frost. Before the sword tip even arrives, the chilling sword energy is already pressing in like a blizzard. In the entire martial arts world, only one person can use such a sword move.
Bian Chen collapsed heavily into the snow, blood gushing from the wound on his chest, staining the white snow beneath him red.
He struggled to lift his head and saw Zhan Xiao standing against the light, his long sword pointing directly at his throat. A few drops of crimson blood slid down the blade and landed on his cheek.
Bian Chen chuckled softly, with a sense of impending death.
"You, you are Han Ren." He said with certainty, "The legendary number one assassin in the world is you."
Zhan Xiao remained silent, and the tip of his sword advanced another half inch.
Bian Chen continued, his voice hoarse and frantic: "No wonder, no wonder I could never beat you, no wonder no one in the capital could be your match, no wonder you dared to fight us all by yourself, so, so it turns out, you are Han Ren!"
He muttered to himself, his eyes gradually becoming unfocused.
"The world's number one assassin has become Princess Yong'an's bodyguard. What benefits did she promise you that would make you risk your life for her?"
The sword plunged into his throat without hesitation.
Bian Chen's body trembled, and then his breath ceased.
Zhan Xiao's eyes were cold and piercing. He flicked his wrist and sheathed his sword. As if sensing something, the swirling snow gradually stopped, leaving only a few snowflakes falling silently.
Stepping over the corpses scattered on the ground, he walked towards Jiang Fushi. In the vast snowy wilderness, the princess was curled up in the snow, a small ball huddled together, like a lop-eared rabbit with nowhere to go.
The word "Your Highness" made Jiang Fushi suddenly raise her head.
The man in front of her half-squatted down, looking her in the eye. The hem of his dark fox fur coat was stained with dark red blood, but his body exuded a warm aura that even the wind and snow could not suppress, making her feel a chill in her heart.
“…Zhan Xiao.” Her voice was hoarse, still trembling with suppressed sobs, and her eyes were still red.
"It's alright now," Zhan Xiao said, extending his palm towards her.
That hand had distinct knuckles, and the palm, covered with thin calluses, was rough yet warm; the moment it grasped hers, it transmitted warmth to her.
Jiang Fushi sniffed, used the momentum to get up, but her heels were still a little weak and she almost fell on the snow. He caught her arm in time to steady her.
As darkness fell, the snow fell even more heavily, with large snowflakes swirling in the air, completely covering the mountain roads. It wasn't a good time to venture out rashly; it was best to stay somewhere sheltered from the wind and snow and avoid the chill of the night.
So the two returned to the dilapidated temple.
The dilapidated temple was even colder than outside; the wind seeped in through the cracks in the walls, stinging one's cheeks.
Zhan Xiao found a bundle of firewood from somewhere, then used his sword to chop the broken wooden table in the temple into pieces, mixed it with the firewood, and lit it. The faint flames slowly licked the wood, finally creating a warm spot in the corner.
Jiang Fushi calmed down by then, but felt a chill all over her body, even her fingertips were still icy. She moved to the fire and squatted down to warm herself. By the flickering firelight, she could see that Zhan Xiao's black robes were stained with many marks.
It wasn't snow, but scattered specks of blood, some already black, others tinged with dark red.
She immediately became anxious: "Are you hurt? Are you alright!"
Zhan Xiao calmly raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the bloodstains on his clothes, then threw the half-burnt piece of firewood in his hand into the fire: "This is not my blood."
Jiang Fushi breathed a long sigh of relief, sat against the wall, and went through the events of the day in her mind. She then asked Zhan Xiao how he had found this place.
His concise explanation revealed that he recognized the Cao family army from the moves used by the bandits, realized something was amiss, and thus tracked them all the way here.
She immediately understood most of it.
The Third Prince conspired with the Cao family to abduct her on the way to the marriage alliance, but did not kill her at the beginning. So what was the motive for not killing her at the post station?
Furthermore, judging from the fact that Bian Chen led elite cavalry to surround them, the Third Prince even sent his personal guard commander, indicating that this operation was of great importance to him. Now that Bian Chen has been killed by Zhan Xiao, the group is leaderless, and there should be no more pursuers for the time being.
But she couldn't figure out what the purpose behind this was for the time being, and the more she thought about it, the heavier her head felt.
Rubbing his throbbing temples, he saw Zhan Xiao beside him carefully wiping the long sword in his hand by the light of the fire.
The sword was gleaming, but the guard was particularly eye-catching, with a piece of emerald green jade inlaid in the center of the guard, gleaming warmly in the firelight.
Jiang Fushi blurted out, "Your sword is really special. Does it have a name?"
Zhan Xiao froze, as if lost in a distant memory. After a moment, he slowly said, "This sword of mine is called Zheyu."
"Zheyu? Does it have any special meaning?"
He lowered his eyes and stared at the jade on the sword guard, his fingertips unconsciously stroking its warm surface, the firelight flickering in his deep eyes.
"The jade inlaid on this sword was originally a jade pendant, which I retrieved from under my foster mother's corpse years ago... the largest fragment. I asked the swordsmith to forcibly inlay it onto the sword to etch hatred into it, and named the sword 'Zheyu' (Broken Jade). It is to sever both the enemy and the past."
Jiang Fushi was so surprised that her eyes widened, and she was speechless for a moment.
"you……"
She stared blankly at his profile, outlined by the firelight, as he continued:
"I was an orphan from a young age, but fortunately I was raised by three foster mothers. They were all women from brothels. After leaving the brothel, they pooled their money to open a small embroidery shop. Life wasn't rich, but it was peaceful."
"Once, my foster mother, Granny Liu, went shopping outside the city and happened to run into a former benefactor. The man was grateful for their past friendship and knew that I liked swordsmanship, so he gave me a sword manual. In the meantime, Granny Liu would tell me the contents of the sword manual. Over time, I gradually mastered the intricacies of the sword manual."
"When I was twelve years old, I accidentally used a tree branch as a sword in the street and performed a sword move. Unexpectedly, I was discovered by people who coveted this unique skill. They followed the clues to the embroidery workshop. At that time, I was out buying embroidery thread in a neighboring town and was not at home. In order to force my foster mother to reveal the whereabouts of the sword manual, they tortured my three foster mothers to death."
"When I returned home... my foster mother's body was already incomplete."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Fushi's heart clenched, and she instinctively gripped her fox fur coat tightly, her eyes instantly reddening.
She wanted to offer comfort, but felt that any words would be too weak, so she could only bite her lip and softly say "Mmm" to indicate that she was listening.
She dared not interrupt, afraid of disturbing his rare recounting of the past, and also afraid that if she spoke, her tears would fall.
"So you're practicing your sword so hard because you're looking for a chance to get revenge?"
"yes."
"So, have you found your enemy?"
Zhan Xiao looked at her, his gaze deep, like the dark night.
"Found it."
Jiang Fushi pursed her lips, a sudden tightness gripping her heart, and dared not ask any further. Fearing he would turn away to settle the score once and for all, she could only pretend to be indifferent and look away, staring at the flickering fire.
"Your Highness, please rest for a while. Once the wind and snow subside, I will escort you on your journey."
"……Um."
Jiang Fushi closed her eyes as instructed, but couldn't fall asleep. After some time, she opened her eyes and instinctively looked to her side.
Zhan Xiao sat leaning against the wall, his eyes closed, his steady breathing condensing into a thin white mist in the cool air.
She hesitated for a moment, then held her breath and carefully reached out, her fingertips gently touching his wrist.
She didn't immediately withdraw her hand, but remained in that position, carefully examining his sleeping face in the dim light. He radiated a reassuring warmth, making her want to get even closer in this biting cold night.
"He's so warm..." she thought vaguely, her body unconsciously leaning slightly forward. As her forehead rested lightly on his strong shoulder, she told herself: just for a little while, I'll get up once I warm up... just for a little while...
Almost the instant her breathing became even and deep, Zhan Xiao opened his eyes. Feeling the weight on his shoulder, his body stiffened for a moment.
The princess leaned half her body against his shoulder, breathing lightly, with wisps of hair falling down her forehead, partially obscuring her eyes and brows, sleeping soundly.
He remained silently in his original position, ultimately not moving.
The warm campfire enveloped the two figures, casting a silhouette of them leaning against each other on the dilapidated temple wall.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Fushi was awakened from her sleep by a series of chaotic hoofbeats and footsteps approaching from afar.
The sound was initially indistinct, but gradually became clearer, clearly heading towards the dilapidated temple. She suddenly opened her eyes, and Zhan Xiao was already standing by the door with his sword, intently observing through the crack in the door.
"Are they... are they pursuers?"
Zhan Xiao listened intently for a moment, then shook his head at her.
He was dressed as an ordinary merchant manager, followed by more than ten capable guards dressed as shop assistants, leading packhorses, like a small caravan. Qingdai was also dressed in coarse cloth and mingled in the group.
Upon seeing Jiang Fushi, Qingdai immediately rushed forward, her voice trembling with tears: "Your Highness, we've finally found you!"
She looked Jiang Fushi up and down, and only after confirming that the princess had no external injuries did she breathe a long sigh of relief and feel at ease.
Mu Yun stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I am late, Your Highness, I apologize for the apology."
Jiang Fushi quickly let them in and hurriedly asked, "How did you find this place?"
Mu Yun said, "Your Highness, we have been following the princess's orders and have been secretly trailing behind the marriage procession these past few days. Yesterday, we saw Your Highness's procession staying at the post station when, unexpectedly, a bandit attack occurred. We immediately hid in the shadows to observe the situation and happened to meet Miss Qingdai rushing out, so we stopped her and questioned her."
"When we rushed back to the inn, we learned that His Highness had been kidnapped by bandits. We immediately searched for clues in the surrounding villages and towns. Fortunately, the villagers nearby told us that they had heard the sound of weapons clashing coming from the direction of this dilapidated temple, so we hurriedly came to find it."
Jiang Fushi felt somewhat relieved after hearing this, and then inquired about the current situation of the post station.
"The post station is now under the management of officials from the Ministry of Rites. The rest of the entourage has either died or scattered, leaving very few survivors. They are currently in a state of great distress, searching everywhere for His Highness's whereabouts."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Fushi pondered for a moment, and Mu Yun added, "It will be dawn in half an hour, which will be just right to escort you back to the post station."
“No.” Jiang Fushi rejected his suggestion.
She sat down, deep in thought. The marriage procession was a complex group, and she wondered if the Cao family and the Third Prince still had spies around. If she were to show herself now, it would be tantamount to stepping into a trap once again.
"Are there any women in your caravan?"
Mu Yun shook his head: "For the sake of convenience, this group will consist entirely of men."
Jiang Fushi was at a loss, so she asked as a second choice: "Then... are there any men whose figures are similar to mine?"
Despite his doubts, Mu Yun turned around and carefully examined the guards behind him, then pointed to one of them and said, "He is slender; perhaps we can give him a try."
He then pressed further, "What is Your Highness trying to do?"
Jiang Fushi glanced at the guard, assessed the feasibility, and ordered, "Find a cloak to cover his face, let him impersonate me, and return to the inn with you."
...
In front of the post station.
Jiang Fushi hid in the carriage, lifted the curtain, and watched as the 'fake jade lotus' was ushered in by the people of the post station. The scene was chaotic for a moment, but she was eventually settled in the upper room on the east side of the second floor.
Mu Yun and the others had already laid an ambush in various hidden corners of the courtyard as planned. She and Zhan Xiao stayed in the car, carefully observing the shadows cast on the window of the second-floor guest room. To make it realistic and lower the enemy's guard, she had Qing Dai lie and say that Zhan Xiao, who had escorted the princess back, was seriously injured and unconscious, and had been arranged for other treatment.
Sure enough, this news made them lower their guard.
Just a quarter past the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), shortly after the lights in the 'Fake Jade Lotus' room were turned off, a very slight sound came from the window lattice being pried open.
Zhan Xiao immediately leaped out of the carriage and sneaked into the post station. When Jiang Fushi arrived hurriedly with the help of guards, she saw that 'Fake Yuhe' had already swiftly subdued a man in black and said to her, "Your Highness, this man came in the dead of night to assassinate you."
Jiang Fushi gestured for the guards to take the man away, then stepped forward and lifted the man's veil. She was momentarily surprised upon seeing his face. It was the young eunuch who had greeted her with unusual trepidation and respect at the inn's entrance earlier that day.
"It's you..." Jiang Fushi's voice turned cold. "Speak, on whose orders did you come to kill me? Was it the Cao family, or the Third Prince?"
The eunuch knelt on the ground, trembling. Seeing the 'seriously injured' Zhan Xiao appear before him, he felt a chill run down his spine, and tears and snot streamed down his face. "No, don't kill me! I'll tell you... actually, I'm actually a member of the Cao family..."
“Li Wei was worried that the plan might change, so he arranged for a small guard to be stationed at the post station. He said that if the princess really managed to escape and return to this place, he would kill her.”
Jiang Fushi asked, puzzled, "Why?"
"If the Cao family simply wanted to take revenge on me, they could have killed me during the first assassination attempt. Why go through all the trouble of kidnapping me and now sending you to silence me? What exactly is the mastermind behind you?"
The eunuch trembled at her question, prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly, saying with a mournful face, "I received a mission that once you are kidnapped, we will arrange for our people to take your place... to go and marry you off."
Author's Note: [Cat's paw]
The next two chapters are very important; they are the copywriting chapters, so many details need to be perfected. If I don't finish writing them by tomorrow, I will post a leave notice.
Thank you for your support, everyone! Sending love! [heart emoji]
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