Chapter 394 It's time to go to the capital.
Li Rong lowered his gaze coldly, undisturbed by the commotion, the tip of his sword drawing closer: "My patience is limited, the antidote!"
"General, don't worry, here you go." Zhao Xiuyuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, he gave a wry smile, reached into his robes, and continued his pleasantries: "General, you certainly care about the Grand Preceptor. Come to think of it, you didn't take the token I gave you earlier. I had planned to visit again to offer you some silver and check on your health, but I never imagined you'd be in such a state..."
Suddenly, I remembered Changshan. Xiuyuan's death is no loss. But Changshan was your brother who fought alongside you in countless battles, saving you from life-or-death situations on several occasions. When you were in trouble, only Changshan refused to believe it. He led his brothers to betray the Zhao family, determined to wait for your return.
You really just watched him die?
General, I've followed you since I was a child...
Are you planning to slaughter all the former members of the Li family army? Can't you even spare the lives of our brothers?
A biting wind whipped up the snowflakes on the ground, its howling sound like a mournful cry. Li Rong stared at Zhao Xiuyuan's face, momentarily stunned.
Zhao Xiuyuan touched it in his pocket, and the next second, a flash of cold light appeared, and the dagger was aimed straight at Li Rong's face.
In a flash, Li Rong kicked the dagger out of his hand.
Zhao Xiuyuan was kicked to the ground by Li Rong, and the dagger in his arms was snatched up by Li Rong's longsword and pinned to his shoulder armor with a "whoosh".
Zhao Xiuyuan groaned, his face turning deathly pale. He held his breath, refusing to scream. He tried to get up, but Li Rong pressed his foot under his body.
"I gave you a chance!"
Li Rong stood like a cold statue, his long sword approaching, its blade gleaming with a chilling light.
Zhao Xiuyuan felt a chill run up his spine to his head, and a fierce look surged forth: "Li Rong! You are truly ruthless, leaving me no way out!"
You think killing me, Zhao Xiuyuan, is the end of it? Xiao Yuanshan won't let you get away with this! If not Zhao Xiuyuan, then there's Zhang Xiuyuan, Wang Xiuyuan!
Li Rong, ask yourself honestly, have I ever tried to kill you?
When you were defeated, I merely went with the flow! What wrong did I do? ...Li..."
Zhao Xiuyuan's voice stopped abruptly, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.
This was because Li Rong's arrow had already pierced his skin. If it had gotten even an inch closer, it would have been too late to save him.
"I'll say it one last time: the antidote."
Zhao Xiuyuan's eyes widened in terror. Even if he hadn't, he feared he would still be doomed. His mind raced, and he roared, "You...you dare kill me! Li Rong, I am here on His Majesty's orders to escort the princess back to the palace. If I die in this desolate wilderness, His Majesty will surely punish you for disloyalty!"
"The crime of disloyalty?" Li Rong looked at him: "After all these years, you haven't improved at all. You have truly failed my teachings. I, Li Rong, have committed so many crimes, what's one more?"
Zhao Xiuyuan collapsed for a moment, but still managed to shout: "Don't you think about your wife, children and elderly parents? If you are punished again, what will happen to them?"
And...and what happened back then, don't you want to investigate anymore?"
"I'll investigate after you die!"
Just as Li Rong was about to sever Zhao Xiuyuan's neck, Zhao Xiu's pupils suddenly contracted, and the next second he suddenly spoke:
"Li Sheng!"
Li Rong's movements faltered, and the long knife slashed a deep bloody gash across his neck.
"You...you don't want to know how Li Sheng died? Back then...back then, my father was ordered to escort Li Sheng to Huguo Temple to give birth, and I was there too..."
Zhao Xiuyuan carefully observed Li Rong's expression, took a deep breath, and continued, "General, before Li Sheng died, he was still thinking of you, his younger brother..."
The next second, Zhao Xiuyuan's neck was gripped, and his feet were nearly a foot off the ground. He desperately tried to pound the wrist that was holding his neck, but the arm was almost like steel, and no matter how hard he hit it, he couldn't break free.
He was thrown down hard before he completely lost consciousness.
Zhao Xiuyuan lay on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His face was flushed, and he was panting heavily.
After a long while, she knelt before Li Rong, tears streaming down her face, as if a drowning person had grasped at the last straw: "Cough cough... General... Back then, Li Sheng's premature delivery wasn't because she was disturbed during the Flower Festival. Rather... from the moment she stepped into Huguo Temple, she had already fallen into someone else's trap."
I don't know who the General blamed for this, but I can tell you that it was definitely not Xiu Yuan's doing. When Xiu Yuan and my father arrived, the child in Li Sheng's womb had already been thrown out. She wasn't dead yet..."
Li Rong's almost numb eyes twitched almost imperceptibly.
The next second, he covered his arm.
In a daze, I felt an unbearable pain and itching on a long scar on my arm, and it was burning hot.
As a child, I was so playful that I almost burned down the ancestral hall. My father swung his whip at me.
He lost his mother at a young age, but his elder sister protected him, and she stopped the whip. Half of it was on his arm, and half on his sister's arm.
Now, he hasn't heard his elder sister's name in a long time.
Zhao Xiuyuan seized the opportunity and suddenly threw a handful of powder at Li Rong.
As Li Rong retreated and dodged, a sudden change occurred.
With a bang, several smoke grenades exploded at the foot of the plane.
When they came to their senses again, there was no trace of Zhao Xiuyuan in front of them.
Zhao Xiuyuan and his last remaining guard fled in panic on a single horse.
"Young Master, you must not act rashly. Once we return to the capital, Li Rong will not be able to escape the charge of murdering the Imperial Envoy! As long as we live, we can always fight another day!"
Zhao Xiuyuan turned to look at Li Rong, his eyes filled with boundless hatred. He clutched the wound on his shoulder blade, his voice sounding as if squeezed out from between his teeth.
"Li Rong, you will pay for this humiliation a hundredfold in the future!"
...
"Arong! How are you? Are you injured?" Chi Heng arrived with his men and looked Li Rong up and down before finally letting out a sigh of relief.
"Zhao Xiuyuan has fled."
Li Rong touched the scar on his arm, staring in the direction Zhao Xiuyuan had left.
Chi Heng: "If that bastard gets away, who knows what kind of lies he'll tell you when he gets back? I'm worried about what will happen with the Emperor..."
Oh well, there's plenty to do, one more won't make a difference.
"And you, why didn't you wait for me? This isn't a place one person can navigate alone. Is it worth risking our lives for such a petty scoundrel?"
Li Rong nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the bloodstains on the ground, gradually fading into the distance.
“Ah Heng, he was right about one thing.”
"Hmm?" Chi Heng looked over.
Li Rong: "If Xiao Yuanshan doesn't die, there will be countless Zhao Xiuyuans besides one. Perhaps it's time to go to the capital. We must settle things with Xiao Yuanshan."
“Arong…” Chi Heng suddenly looked up at him: “You want to go back? Back when you were at the height of your power, you still couldn’t touch him. What about our current situation?”
Chi Heng sighed: "This matter needs to be considered carefully. In any case, it's the end of the year, so we should hurry back home to avoid worrying my sister-in-law and the others."
"General, Master, Zhao Xiuyuan's villa has been searched. We only found a few money bags and nothing else. It seems to be a temporary place for him."
Chen Shu and Sun Wen were both veterans of battle, and were used to looting treasures. They were swift, accurate, and ruthless.
Chi Heng took the money pouches, glanced at them, and frowned in dissatisfaction: "This scoundrel is down on his luck now? How come there's so little stuff? I wonder if it's enough to cover your sister-in-law's losses today. A Rong, go and say a few nice words to your sister-in-law later. She's been busy today, so she must be in a bad mood."
As he spoke, not hearing a response from Li Rong, he subconsciously turned around to look.
But then Li Rong spat out a mouthful of black blood and fell straight down.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
