Chapter 119 Aren't you afraid the wind will make your tongue twist?
The sharp whistling of an arrow piercing the air broke the afternoon's tranquility, catching everyone off guard.
"Watch out!" Pei Zhiwei exclaimed.
Almost simultaneously, dozens of masked assassins suddenly emerged from the dense forest along the riverbank. Dressed in black and their faces covered with black scarves, only their fierce eyes were visible.
Holding a gleaming longsword, he charged toward the convoy without a word.
"Protect the evidence and the criminals!" Xiao Yunzhan reacted extremely quickly, drawing his sword instantly with a chilling glint as he charged towards the foremost assassin.
The blade clashed with the opponent's weapon, producing a piercing metallic clang and sparks flying.
Xie Ji didn't hesitate either. He casually tossed aside the freshly roasted rabbit, grabbed the spear beside him, and with a flick of the tip, pierced through the shoulder of an assassin.
His moves were wide and sweeping, his gun flashing, forcing the two assassins who were approaching the prison cart to retreat repeatedly.
Although Pei Zhiwei's martial arts skills were inferior to the two, she was excellent in lightness skills, her movements were as agile as a swallow, and she wielded a dagger, targeting the assassins' weak points such as their wrists and ankles.
She circled behind one of the assassins, slashed with her dagger, and the assassin, in pain, released his grip on the sword, which fell to the ground.
Before the attacker could react, she dodged the attack by sidestepping and kicked him in the back of the knee. The assassin staggered to his knees and was subdued by the elite soldiers who arrived shortly after.
The elite soldiers from Huainan accompanying the convoy were already on high alert and engaged in fierce combat with the assassins.
The sounds of clashing swords, shouts, and screams mingled together, turning the once peaceful riverbank into chaos in an instant.
Several assassins broke through the defenses and rushed to the prison cart, swinging their knives to strike the wooden bars, but Xie Ji deflected them with a spear, the tip grazing their arms and leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound.
On the other side, Pei Lin, knowing his skills were ordinary, was quickly pulled back to the riverbank by Yan Jinghong. The two stood close to the riverbank, watching the battle warily.
Yan Jinghong held a long sword and stood protectively in front of Pei Lin, his expression solemn. He was prepared to jump into the river with Pei Lin to escape if they found themselves outmatched by the assassins.
Fortunately, the assassins had clear objectives and were focused on the prison cart and evidence. Seeing that Pei Lin did not intend to stop them, they actually did not come to cause trouble for them, allowing the two to watch from the riverbank.
The most intense fighting took place beside the prison cart, where three assassins worked together to hold Xie Ji back, while two others focused their attack on the cart.
But when they swung their knives at the wooden fence, there was only a clang, the knives were deflected, and the fence remained completely still.
The lead assassin was taken aback. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the seemingly ordinary prison cart was actually a solid iron cage, impervious to ordinary swords and knives.
Undeterred, he turned to look at Zhang Xuren inside the prison cart. He saw that the man had an arrow stuck in his chest and was groaning as he clutched the wound. Strangely, however, not a drop of blood was seeping out.
"Something's not right!" The assassin leader's heart sank. He turned sharply to look at Xiao Yunzhan, who was locked in combat with two assassins. His voice was filled with barely suppressed rage.
"Your Highness is quite generous, actually dressing this good-for-nothing in golden silk armor!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunzhan dodged the assassin's blade while scoffing, his tone full of mockery.
"What you consider rare treasures are nothing more than something that would make each of you rich if you had one."
As he spoke, he flicked his wrist, and his sword drew a sharp arc, forcing back two assassins. His movements were fluid, elegant, and swift.
Although these assassins came with great force, the elite soldiers were well-trained, the guards also flanked from the outside at the right time, and the archers nocked their arrows and aimed them at the assassins, firing arrows to provide support from time to time.
The masked assassins were unable to break through the defenses. They couldn't even get close to the carriage where the evidence was stored, let alone touch the prison cart. There were also archers watching from the outside. If they continued to fight, they would only suffer heavy casualties.
The lead assassin made a quick decision and gestured for retreat. Upon seeing this, the other assassins immediately feigned a retreat and began to withdraw in an orderly fashion.
As they were leaving, the lead assassin suddenly called out, "Lord Pei, my master said, 'Leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future!'"
Before the words were even finished, the assassins had already retreated swiftly back into the dense forest, their figures disappearing in an instant, leaving only the voice lingering by the river, demonstrating that this person's internal strength was truly remarkable.
The battle abruptly ceased, leaving the riverbank in a state of disarray. Several wounded elite soldiers sat on the ground bandaging their wounds, while the bodies of the dead assassins were dragged aside.
Pei Zhiwei, without even catching her breath, rushed to Pei Lin and Yan Jinghong's side, looking them up and down: "Father, Mother, are you alright? Are you hurt?"
“We’re fine,” Pei Lin shook his head, his tone calm, as if the danger just now had nothing to do with him. “These people’s target wasn’t us.”
Yan Jinghong nodded in agreement: "Don't worry, with me here, no one can hurt your father."
Xie Ji put away his spear, walked to Xiao Yunzhan's side, nudged him with his elbow, and teased in a low voice, "Your bragging skills have really improved."
They even gave each person a set of gold-threaded soft armor. Isn't that an exaggeration?
Why didn't you get me one too?
Aren't you afraid the wind will make you bite off more than you can chew?
Xiao Yunzhan not only didn't feel ashamed, but instead looked completely at ease, raising an eyebrow and saying, "As the saying goes, all's fair in war."
You know I'm bragging, but my status speaks for itself, and see, they still believed me, didn't they?"
At this moment, Pei Lin and Yan Jinghong also came over.
Xiao Yunzhan looked at Pei Lin and asked, "Lord Pei, are you really not injured?"
"No." Pei Lin's expression was calm, as if he was already used to such danger.
“These people are still wary of our identities, especially yours, Your Highness, and dare not go too far.”
Yan Jinghong looked at Xiao Yunzhan and then at Pei Lin with a puzzled expression. "When Your Highness investigated Zhang Mo last time, you also encountered assassins. Those assassins did not hold back at all. Why did you hold back this time?"
I thought they would at least take action against you; otherwise, I would have joined Zhiwei and the others in protecting the evidence.
Xiao Yunzhan stopped smiling, his expression becoming more serious, and explained, "Last time at Zhang Mo's house, we didn't have any substantial evidence."
If something happens to me, they can easily blame it on the assassin who killed Zhang Mo, saying that I accidentally killed him after witnessing the incident.
Even if His Majesty is furious, he cannot do anything to them openly because he has no evidence.
But now it's different. We have solid evidence in our hands, and this involves too many powerful families.
If any of us were to be harmed, not only His Majesty, but the entire world would assume that they were assassins who killed others to destroy evidence.
Now, they should be the ones worrying about whether someone with a long-standing feud with them will attack us and frame us.
Pei Zhiwei nodded. "So their visit this time was just a test, or rather, a warning to us."
Pei Lin gazed at the surging river before him and sighed softly, "But they still don't understand. It's not that we want to exterminate them, but that their actions are intolerable to Heaven and Earth."
If only I had known then what I know now.
After a quick cleanup and tidying up of the scene, the group set off again.
The wounded soldiers were placed in carriages, and the prison carts and evidence carts were also carefully inspected. After confirming that everything was in order, the convoy continued along the official road towards the capital.
In the evening, we finally arrived in Sizhou.
The group decided to rest for the night at the official post station in Sizhou and replenish their supplies before setting off again.
When the innkeeper saw so many distinguished guests and the elite soldiers escorting the prison cart, he dared not be negligent. He quickly arranged for the best courtyard and had food and hot water prepared.
As night deepened, the official post station was quiet, and most of the people who had been traveling all day had already rested.
Pei Zhiwei was just about to rest when she suddenly smelled a burning odor, followed by shouts of "Fire! Fire!" from outside.
Her heart tightened, and she immediately pushed open the door. She saw that the roof of the official post station was engulfed in flames, with flames shooting into the sky and thick smoke billowing out. The fire was spreading extremely quickly and soon reached the courtyard where they were.
"Father! Mother! Wake up! There's a fire!" Pei Zhiwei shouted as she rushed into Pei Lin's room.
Pei Lin and Yan Jinghong were also awakened by the thick smoke and were preparing to rush outside.
Yan Jinghong protected Pei Lin, with Pei Zhiwei following closely behind. The three of them rushed to the window and saw that the door was blocked by fire. Without hesitation, they broke through the window and landed on the open ground in the courtyard.
"Cough cough..." Pei Lin coughed incessantly from the thick smoke, and Yan Jinghong quickly patted his back for him.
Pei Zhiwei looked up and saw that the carriage storing the evidence had been engulfed in flames. Countless rockets were fired at the carriage, and the arrows were wrapped with grease-soaked fire cloth. The fire was so fierce that it could not be extinguished at all.
Zhang Xuren, who was in the prison van, was kept inside, covered with a black cloth, and guarded by special personnel, so the rockets did not actually hurt him.
The others in the official post station also fled and stood on the open ground outside, looking at the burning post station with panic on their faces.
Just then, a voice suddenly came from the night sky; it was the voice of the assassin leader from the daytime.
"Your Highness, please rest assured, we have no intention of harming anyone. If Your Highness and Lord Pei are willing to lend a hand, my master will be eternally grateful for your kindness!"
The sound dissipated into the night, yet lingered for a long time.
Xiao Yunzhan narrowed his eyes, a hint of coldness flashing in them, and snorted coldly: "This trip south has truly opened my eyes."
"They dare to burn down even official post stations; what wouldn't they dare to do?"
Pei Lin gazed at the burning official post station, his expression calm, and slowly said, "It's better that no one is hurt."
Now, we only have Zhang Xuren as an important witness. As long as we protect him, our trip won't have been in vain.
As for Zhang Xiao and Wang Heng, they were clearly not their targets for elimination.
Xie Ji slammed his gun on the ground in frustration. "But the problem now is that all our belongings are in the official post station. Our clothes and travel expenses have all been burned!"
At this time of year, the closer we get to Beijing, the colder it gets. What should we do?
"We can't just freeze all the way to the capital, can we?"
Xiao Yunzhan's gaze darkened, and he suddenly shouted, "Mount up! To the Prefectural Governor's Mansion of Sizhou!"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately perked up.
Xie Ji's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands: "Hey, you're the one with the best ideas!"
The official post station is burned to the ground like this; are all the garrison troops in Sizhou dead?
I think the governor of Sizhou is definitely involved!
We'll stay at his place, eat and drink as we please, and take what we're entitled to when we leave. I don't want him to have the slightest complaint!
The group immediately mounted their horses, escorted the prison cart, and galloped towards the prefectural governor's residence in Sizhou.
It was nearly midnight, and the gates of the Sizhou Prefectural Governor's Office were tightly shut, utterly silent.
The guard stepped forward and pounded on the door, the loud banging echoing especially loudly in the night.
After a while, the doorman came running over, cursing and swearing, and impatiently shouted through the crack in the door, "Who is it?"
What are you knocking about in the middle of the night?
Who dares to disturb the governor's rest?
Upon seeing this, the guard flew into a rage, pushed open the gate, and slapped the gatekeeper across the face, causing him to stumble.
"How dare you! His Highness Prince Rui has arrived! Order your governor to open the main gate to welcome him!"
The gatekeeper was so dizzy from the beating that he covered his cheek and looked up to see that everyone on the bus had an extraordinary air about them.
A squad of elite soldiers followed behind, escorting a prison cart. Terrified, they dared not delay and hurriedly ran inside.
"His Highness has arrived! Quickly! Report to the Prefect! His Highness Prince Rui has arrived!"
Before long, Li Liang, the prefect of Sizhou, came running out almost scrambling, his outer garment not even properly on, followed by a group of flustered servants.
He ran to Xiao Yunzhan's horse, knelt down with a thud, and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your humble servant Li Liang was unaware of Your Highness's arrival and has failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me, Your Highness!"
Xiao Yunzhan looked down at him, his tone icy: "The governor slept very soundly tonight."
The entire official post station in Sizhou was burned down, flames soaring into the sky, and you didn't hear a single word?"
After saying that, he ignored Li Liang's repeated kowtowing and admitting his mistakes, dismounted, and took the lead in walking into the governor's mansion.
"Since your Sizhou is so unsafe, then I will rest in your governor's mansion."
I want to see if there's still a peaceful place left in Sizhou.
Li Liang trembled with fear and quickly got up, respectfully following behind Xiao Yunzhan, repeatedly replying, "Yes, yes, Your Highness is right!"
"This humble official will immediately have the best courtyard prepared for Your Highness and the other officials!"
He dared not delay in the slightest and immediately ordered his servants: "Hurry!"
"Clean up the main courtyard, tidy up all the rooms, prepare hot water and meals, and make sure His Highness and all the officials are well taken care of!"
The servants dared not delay and immediately got to work.
Li Liang even gave up his own main house and personally directed his servants to arrange it, fearing that there might be the slightest oversight.
After a good half hour of fussing, everything was finally settled.
Everyone went back to their rooms to rest. Pei Zhiwei walked into the courtyard, looked at the waning moon in the sky, and suddenly thought of Lu Yinzhou.
She chuckled and whispered to Yan Jinghong beside her, "Mother, where do you think Grandpa Lu is now with those things?"
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