Chapter 22
The blade was drawn, its humming, and a flash of cold light appeared before his eyes. The lotus sword, with swift speed, grazed the Fifth Prince's side and pierced the assassin's ribs.
Don't misunderstand, Xue Jin'an didn't suddenly soften his heart because he missed the Fifth Prince's body, or because his swordsmanship was so bad that he could only outline a human body at such close range.
It's unclear whether the assassin was stunned by Xue Jin'an's inhumanly brilliant move or had a sudden mental lapse and issued the wrong command. Just as Xue Jin'an was about to stab the Fifth Prince in the waist with his earth-shattering sword, the assassin unexpectedly applied a force in the opposite direction to the hostage, allowing him to narrowly avoid the fatal blow.
"Thud—" That was the sound of a sword blade piercing flesh. Before the assassin could react, the Fifth Prince let out a muffled groan.
The astonishment in the assassin's eyes had not yet faded, and he subconsciously frowned.
"Useless trash, you're just getting in the way, get lost!" the assassin shouted in a low voice, then threw the Fifth Prince away like a sandbag. Almost simultaneously, the coachman cried out and rushed forward, opening his arms to try and rescue the prince.
Force analysis diagrams immediately appeared in Xue Jin'an's mind, along with data on the initial velocity and acceleration of the coachman behind him, which he had gathered from the sound of the wind in his ears. In a second, he deduced that the landing point of the Fifth Prince's parabola was exactly in the coachman's open arms.
The two sides executed a cleverly coordinated move, much like a high school physics problem, perfect for reinforcing knowledge. Xue Jin'an thought expressionlessly as his multi-threaded brain silently activated multiple functions, rapidly calculating the assassin's next movement trajectory while simultaneously using a high-definition camera to clearly see every pore on his face.
After shaking off the useless hostages, the assassin's expression became noticeably focused, as if he were closing all background applications to seriously work on this one task.
He was dressed as a guard, having previously blended into the Imperial Guard. His face, which was not covered, looked quite unremarkable, and Xue Jin'an was able to find a large number of unrelated passersby's faces using the image recognition function.
Fortunately, Xue Jin'an is not a pure human who can recognize people with the naked eye. He directly opened the facial recognition function to record this face, but the system popped up an error dialog box.
Please remove the obscuring material before entering the data.
Xue Jin'an understood something. Looking at the face in the camera again, he noticed a subtle, unnatural movement in the man's facial muscles. After noticing this, Xue Jin'an quickly found the traces of skin grafts on his face.
It's a common technique in martial arts novels called face swapping, also known as disguise.
All thoughts flashed by in an instant. The moment the assassin dropped the hostage, Xue Jin'an, expressionless, gripped the hilt of his sword with both hands, twisting and pressing down, his entire weight pressing upwards, as if throwing himself into the assassin's arms.
He didn't hesitate for a moment when he was sick and wanted to kill him.
The assassin was a highly experienced one. When he saw Xue Jin'an use his hands, he realized what he was about to do and immediately reached out and grabbed his hand with the force to crush a person's bones, trying to stop him by brute force.
He had a good plan. He had practiced martial arts for many years and was an adult. He couldn't possibly lose to a child who hadn't even grown up yet in terms of strength. And that was indeed the case. He did manage to stop the sword's momentum briefly with his strength. But the child was too cunning and actually turned the sword around!
The blade churned wildly inside his body, and the pain caused him to involuntarily loosen his grip slightly. The child used the weight of the impact to make the sword pierce through his body at an angle.
The entire movement was swift and absolutely terrifying, as if it had been rehearsed countless times, taking into account his reaction as well. It was terrifying.
What's even more terrifying is that this guy was clearly doing the deed of killing him, yet he showed not a single emotion! He was as calm as still water, as if taking his life was nothing more than a trivial matter, like picking a flower at will.
Such ruthlessness, using methods that kill without hesitation—this child is no ordinary person. Is he a secret guard? Yes, he must be a secret guard! A backup plan secretly trained by the royal family and hidden within the palace! That explains everything.
The emperor was truly adept at hiding his true intentions. If he hadn't wanted to escalate the situation and suddenly take action against the prince, this person wouldn't have been exposed. It's not surprising, really; that's how people in the royal family are—they seem to be born with an extra layer of cunning compared to ordinary people.
However, this young bodyguard is too young, and it would be difficult to silence him. But as long as he spreads the word, this test will not be considered a failure.
"Cough—" His internal organs were injured, and a foul smell surged in his throat. The assassin vomited a mouthful of blood, but a secret and subtle smile appeared on his face. "You're very good. What a pity."
The bodyguard, whose identity was exposed, let the enemy he had captured escape; now he's doomed.
What a pity. The assassin couldn't help but feel a pang of regret for such a talented person dying so young.
Xue Jin'an, who had only a vague understanding of human emotions: "...?"
"Are you provoking me?" Xue Jin'an's doubts were answered in the next second.
The assassin pressed his hand on Xue Jin'an's shoulder and released his inner force, sending Xue Jin'an flying. The assassin clutched his wound, his movements inevitably becoming somewhat sluggish. With ruthless guards blocking his way in front and pursuers behind, he had no time to stop the bleeding by applying acupressure. He used his lightness skill to run away.
Unexpectedly, the strange little guard reacted much faster than he had thought. It seemed as if he knew all his movements. He adjusted his posture in mid-air, his left toes landing and causing his body to rotate half a circle. His right leg stretched back, his upper body leaned forward, and his legs pulled into a maximum lunge. He completed the power gathering almost the instant he landed.
Then he launched himself forward and charged straight at him! The sweeping longsword seemed to have eyes, and by sheer coincidence, it blocked the assassin's path.
The assassin's light-foot technique was interrupted, and he was unable to retreat in time. Instead, he was dragged into a fierce battle by Xue Jin'an, and they exchanged dozens of blows in the blink of an eye.
The assassin grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed. To be honest, the little bodyguard's combat prowess wasn't particularly impressive. His swordplay was very basic, and some of his moves were clearly unsuitable for swordsmanship, resembling more the techniques of knives or spears. Even if his movements were precise and beautiful, they didn't offer much advantage and were easily countered by the assassin without much thought.
The young bodyguard was small, thin, and lacked strength. He also lacked internal energy, so he was no match for him in a head-on confrontation. It was only because he didn't want to be attacked from both sides and was focused on escaping to spread the news that the emperor was raising bodyguards that he didn't concentrate on making a fatal move.
Logically, he shouldn't be in such a sorry state. However, strangely enough, the little guard seemed to be able to read his mind. Every time he saw an opportunity to run away, he would block his way at the perfect moment, leaving one side open while surrounding him, forcing him to react according to the established rules.
The assassin felt a chill run down his spine. If the emperor's secret guards were all of this caliber... He dared not think any further, knowing that if he delayed any longer, there would be no way out. His eyes hardened, and he suddenly changed his move. Ignoring the blade that was thrusting at his wound again, he channeled his inner strength and struck Xue Jin'an in the chest.
Xue Jin'an's calculations were disrupted for the first time. He frowned slightly, and his security system frantically sounded alarms in his mind. Although he felt that this change of tactics was a bit too abrupt and disjointed, he still sheathed his sword, parried, and retreated, disengaging from the battle.
Now! The assassin feinted an attack and immediately used his light footwork to escape.
The entire exchange took less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea. The Imperial Guards who had rushed to protect the Emperor in the Imperial Study finally reacted and sent out a group to capture the assassins. Behind him, the groom gracefully turned and put the Fifth Prince down, picked up his weapon again, and stood in a fighting stance. The sound of a bowstring being drawn rang out as he shouted, "Your Highness, I'm here to help you!"
Whoosh—five arrows were fired simultaneously, each grazing the assassin's tail and embedding itself firmly into the bluestone slab.
This seemed to be a signal, and someone in the Imperial Guard shouted, "Shoot the arrows, dead or alive!"
Suddenly, a series of "whoosh whoosh whoosh" sounds of arrows being shot out rang out. The Imperial Guards, who had rushed halfway, quickly stopped. Xue Jin paused for a moment, looked at the assassin's back, calculated his initial velocity and acceleration, and knew that he could not catch up. He stopped and sheathed his sword.
The assassin's lightness skill was even more remarkable than his martial arts skills. This was the reason he dared to enter the palace to assassinate the prince, and even after his plan was exposed, he still wanted to take the prince hostage to cause a bigger incident, and he was so confident that he could escape unscathed. He used the palace walls to leap into the air and onto the rooftops, and in a few leaps, he was already several feet away.
Before long, patrolling guards who had discovered suspicious traces also climbed onto the roof, but their lightness skills were obviously no match for the assassins, and they were far from being able to catch up. Just when they were about to lose them, an old eunuch appeared. He kicked a tile at the assassin's back. It was none other than Lu Bingzhu, the chief eunuch of Cining Palace.
The assassin was struck by a shard of broken tile, as if he had been hit by something unbearable. Blood gushed from his mouth like a shower of flowers, and he swayed precariously like a kite with a broken string.
He managed to steady himself with difficulty, without turning around, and using the force of being knocked away, he channeled all his inner strength into his feet, disappearing from sight even faster.
Lu Bingzhu also used his lightness skill to chase after him, transforming into a swift wind, following the assassin's back as he disappeared into the palace walls.
After watching the closely contested chase that seemed to have no clear winner, Xue Jin'an looked back at his teammates who were only causing trouble and hadn't contributed anything, and fell into deep thought.
"Damn it, I think I've run into a match-fixer." Xue Jin'an wanted to report everyone involved, including the Fifth Prince, the hostage he'd slashed in the waist with a sword.
"Seventh Brother," the seemingly weak and delicate Fifth Prince, who appeared incapable of lifting heavy objects, sat on the edge of the carriage watching his seventh brother bravely confront the enemy, blurring the lines between friend and foe. He raised his hand, which had been covering a wound stained with blood, and asked with a sinister smile, "To avenge me?"
Xue Jin'an explained seriously, "I wasn't acting out of personal feelings, although I really wanted to hit you."
Fifth Prince: "You dare say you weren't stabbing me just now?"
"This is the most efficient solution, and you will no longer be threatened, isn't that good?" Xue Jin'an tilted his head in confusion, not understanding why he was dissatisfied with such a happy ending.
Everyone: "..." This statement felt a little strange, but it didn't seem wrong either.
The Fifth Prince, the person in question, bluntly exposed the absurd logic, sneering, "The person is gone, so they're no longer threatened? You think you can just die and not worry about how to live, my Seventh Prince Yama?"
“You can be saved, and you're just as hard to kill as Fourth Brother.” Xue Jin’an had more confidence in the life force of the characters in the novel than even the real people did. “Look, the assassin took good care of you; you're still alive.”
The Fifth Prince, enraged, laughed coldly and said in a sarcastic tone, "...I am truly sorry that I did not die as a hostage. I misunderstood you, Seventh Brother, for your heart that cares for the country, the people, and the nation. I was ungrateful. With my life held in jeopardy, I dared not bite my tongue and commit suicide. This is truly unbecoming of a prince, far inferior to the compassionate example of a prince like you, Seventh Brother. I am truly ashamed. Seventh Brother, please be magnanimous and do not hold it against me!"
Xue Jin'an, who had an exceptionally high level of insensitivity and could only understand the surface meaning of words, thought he had received a great deal of praise from the Fifth Prince. He pondered for a moment and realized that humans, especially the ancients, seemed to be humble in such situations.
Xue Jin'an compared the different scenarios and carefully selected the most appropriate response: "Not at all, it's all what I should do."
The fifth prince pointed at him with trembling fingers, too happy to speak for a long time.
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