Across the street, several people were not riding horses, and the old man with a hunched back was leading the way.
In the cold night, the old man shuttled through the alleys and lanes as if he were in the daytime, and soon he arrived at the street that Chu Yong mentioned.
There was an old tree at the corner of the street. Chu Yong put his hand to his mouth and made a gurgling sound. A man wearing a nightgown came down from the tree.
Seeing Song Chengze bowed, "Master Lin, the third house from this side, the one with a small stone lion at the door. Those two people entered through the front door, and the people who came later entered through the back door."
"Hasn't come out yet?"
"There's no front door, and there shouldn't be any back door either. I didn't receive any signal."
Song Chengze nodded and said, "Keep watching. Let's go to the back door."
When they went around to the back door, the gate creaked open and four or five people came out.
Chu Yong pulled out a black handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to Song Chengze, who tied it around his ears and covered his mouth and nose.
With the help of the lantern held by the person behind, Prince Duan's face appeared in front of Song Chengze. It was really him?
Prince Duan was also wearing ordinary robes. The two men in front brought horses, and two more people came out of the door. Song Chengze looked at Chu Yong, and Chu Yong nodded. It seemed that these two people were the people left by Meng Hai.
Prince Duan took the reins and said, "I'm glad your general knows what's going on. He's absolutely right to do this. He's a smart guy. Just based on what you two have said, it's impossible for me to believe him. I want to see the results. In six months, at most, I want to see Old Five suffer. Then I'll naturally believe him and consider everything he says."
One of Meng Hai's subordinates nodded and said, "Don't worry, the general has kept me here just so I can see you. With your words, all you have to do is wait for good news."
Prince Duan nodded in satisfaction and was about to mount his horse when he heard someone behind him say, "Who's over there?"
Behind the house was a river, with few houses and a few trees by the river. Song Chengze and his companions could only hide behind the trees. There was a slope there, and the lanterns of the people in front of them flickered, casting shadows on the snow.
As soon as the words came out, Chu Yong held his waist and whispered to the people around him, "Escort the prince back."
While he was speaking, several people from Prince Duan's side had already come over here. Chu Yong drew out his soft sword and jumped out to meet those people.
Here, Song Chengze was protected by two other guards and ran quickly towards the intersection they had just come from. The person who was keeping watch on the tree also came down and followed Chu Yong to deal with Prince Duan's men.
Prince Duan looked at the three people running away and narrowed his eyes. "Go after those people."
He then jumped on his horse and headed in the direction Song Chengze had run.
Hearing the sound of horse hooves coming from behind, Song Chengze quickened his pace. As long as he turned the corner, his horse would be there.
But people cannot outrun horses. Soon, Prince Duan and a few men caught up with them. The two guards fought with Prince Duan's men. Song Chengze did not dare to stay any longer and continued to run towards the corner of the street.
Prince Duan kicked his horse's belly and rushed in front of Song Chengze with a dagger in his hand. He turned around and exerted force with his hand. Song Chengze's right arm was cut, cotton wool flew out, and a piece of his sleeve was cut off.
Prince Duan withdrew his hand and said, "Stop, I promise I won't hurt your life." After that, he stabbed at Song Chengze for the second time. Song Chengze dodged and ran to the other side, but that side was the back door of a house and he couldn't get out at all.
When Song Chengze felt the dagger coming towards him again, his body suddenly felt lighter. A tall man picked him up and jumped onto the eaves of the house in front of him. He disappeared in a few jumps.
When Song Chengze's guards saw the prince being taken away, they had no intention of fighting and ran out of the street corner in a hurry.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I am Wu Hen."
After hearing this, Song Chengze closed his eyes gently and let out a long breath.
Wu Hen is Zhou Yu's personal bodyguard. He is an expert in martial arts, especially in lightness skills. All the guards in Prince Rui's Palace, including Chu Yong and Dong Hai, are inferior to him.
As they were talking, Wu Hen and Song Chengze were already riding on horses towards the direction of Prince Rui's Palace.
"Didn't you leave from the iron shop?"
"Second Master and Master Xu left from that door, and Third Master Yue left from another. Second Master left something behind and went down to retrieve it. I just reached the entrance of the alley and saw Uncle Dong, and then I knew the prince was here. I was worried that the prince didn't have enough people with him and that he was in danger again, so I came to check on him."
Uncle Dong is the old man who led the way just now.
After a while, the two arrived at the side gate of Prince Rui's Mansion. "I'll go back and see how Brother Chu and the others are doing."
Song Chengze nodded and said, "Be careful."
Wu Hen agreed, watched Song Chengze enter Prince Rui's Palace, then mounted his horse and headed back to the east of the city.
――――――
Prince Duan looked at his dagger, the bright red bloodstains looked even more vibrant against the backdrop of the white snow.
After a while, the guards surrounded them.
"Did you catch it?"
The head guard of Prince Duan's palace clasped his fists and said, "One died, the rest ran away. They were all very skilled in martial arts."
"Stupid, go check that dead man and see if you can find anything."
Prince Duan continued to fiddle with the dagger in his hand. He put the dagger under his nose and sniffed it, then frowned and looked at the piece of cloth on the sleeve of the man he had just cut.
"Pick it up."
Prince Duan took it, turned it over and looked at it, then put it under his nose and sniffed it. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, as if he didn't believe it. He gently wiped the blood off the dagger with the cloth, thought for a while, and said with a gloomy face, "Let's go to Prince Rui's Mansion."
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com