Chapter 351: How could the person who arranged the chess pieces die so easily?
Three days later, on Yangguan Avenue, Xiao Nanyue slowly opened his eyes in the bumpy carriage.
The green mountains and clear waters passing by outside the window brought with them the unique scenery of Southern Zhao, but they could not conceal the depression that had not yet dissipated between his brows.
When his consciousness was stripped from the chaos, the numerous mechanisms of the Shuyu Underground Palace and the curling purple mist of the Soul-Locking Forest still flashed before his eyes. Only the white light before he fell into a coma was blurred into a warm glow in his memory.
"Your Majesty, are you awake?"
Han Xiao heard the movement in the carriage, lifted the curtain and handed over the water bag.
Xiao Nanyan took it, drank a few sips, and asked calmly:
"Where is this?"
"Your Highness, we are now in Liuzhou on the Nanzhao border. It will take less than a day to reach Tianqi Xinzhou."
"What?"
Xiao Nanyan was startled, and suddenly regained consciousness: "Who allowed you to take me away from Jiangdu?"
Han Xiao hesitated for a moment and took out a note from his sleeve:
"Your Majesty, please take a look at this."
Xiao Nanyue unfolded it and stared at the line of beautiful small characters on it, his hands trembling slightly.
He was very familiar with Xiyan's handwriting, simply because he had taught her that handwriting himself.
He stroked the paper with his fingertips and suddenly remembered the white light in front of his eyes when the miasma entered his brain in the Soul-Locking Forest three days ago.
Xiyan, she couldn't bear to see him die in Nanzhao, so did she rescue him?
“Yan Yan…”
A frozen corner in his chest suddenly warmed up, but then he thought of the Thousand Machine Dragon Trapping Formation and the Soul Locking Forest set up by Xie Zhen, which almost cost him his life.
This trip to Nanzhao was a life-or-death experience, but it ended in vain. My anger surged like magma.
He sat up suddenly, and his black cloak slipped off his shoulders, revealing the crisscross wounds on his upper body. Han Xiao had already cleaned and applied medicine to him one by one.
"Thank you!" Xiao Nanyan squeezed out these two words from between his teeth, with a chill that penetrated his bones.
"I have given in time and again, just wanting to see Xi Yan, but you have obstructed me in every possible way, nearly causing my death in Nan Zhao. How can I let this go?"
Han Xiao looked at the fierce fire burning in his master's eyes and asked in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, what should we do next?"
The green branches outside the window brushed against the shaft of the carriage. Xiao Nanyan stared intently at the direction of Nanzhao Jiangdu, a cold arc curling up at the corner of his mouth:
"Since courtesy won't work, then we have no choice but to resort to force. Return to Yandu immediately. I will mobilize my troops to attack Nanzhao!"
He slowly pressed the note in his hand against his chest:
"I simply don't believe that he will not hand over Xi Yan when the enemy is at the gates of the city."
The carriage accelerated, crushing the fallen flowers on the ground.
When they reached a valley, the carriage suddenly shook violently and then stopped abruptly.
Han Xiao hurriedly lifted the car curtain and met Mo Ren's gaze outside the car:
"Why did it stop?"
A trace of worry flashed across Mo Ren's face: "It's a horse lock. It seems there is an ambush here!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp whistle was heard, piercing the silence.
Then, more than a hundred black-clad killers broke out from the thorn bushes on both sides of the deserted path, and the flashes of swords and shadows of knives formed an impenetrable web of death in the afterglow of the setting sun.
"Protect the prince!"
Han Xiao and Mo Ren drew their swords and stood in front of the carriage to protect it, but when they saw the person in the lead, their pupils suddenly shrank.
But the one standing in the front was a middle-aged man in gray clothes, with a sword hanging from his waist and his hands behind his back. Although his temples were a little frosted, he was still handsome and heroic, but there was a murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
Han Xiao shouted loudly, with a hint of shock:
"Xiao Beicheng?"
The person coming from the opposite side was indeed Xiao Beicheng.
At this moment, he stared at the half-lifted curtain of the sedan chair, with a cruel arc on the corner of his mouth:
"Nan Yan, are you all right?"
The carriage was as silent as a grave, with only the rustling of fabric rubbing against each other.
After a moment, Xiao Nanyue pulled down the curtain of the sedan chair, slowly tied the jade belt, and dressed himself neatly.
The moment he raised his eyes and met Xiao Beicheng's gaze, the afterglow of the setting sun just happened to cover their eyebrows and eyes. The sparks that flew when their eyes met almost ignited the stagnant air around them.
"You are not dead?"
Xiao Beicheng threw his head back and laughed, startling the skylarks from the treetops:
"How can the person who arranged the chess pieces die so easily?"
He looked at Xiao Nanyan's pale face with his eagle eyes:
"Seeing you trapped in a chess game is more fun than killing you myself."
A cold light flashed in Xiao Nanyan's eyes:
"You've long known that Xiyan is Princess Nanzhao. That day at Feiyun Temple, whether I handed over the military token or not, you would have cut the rope and let her fall into the pit. And then, you informed the Xie brothers beforehand and rescued Xiyan. Why did you go to all this trouble?"
Xiao Beicheng smiled and said, "You are so smart, it shouldn't be difficult to guess."
Xiao Nanyan snorted, "Back then, you poisoned Queen Nan, abducted Xiyan, and released her to a farmer's house. You originally intended to use her as a bargaining chip to one day coerce Xie Zhen into helping you rebel against Tianqi. However, eight years ago, this plan failed, and she was accidentally brought back to Nanzhao by the king, disrupting your plans. So you took advantage of her, hoping to use her to turn against me one day."
Xiao Beicheng clapped his hands and smiled: "She is indeed worthy of being the child I raised. Although there are some deviations in the details, the general idea is correct. Back then, her identity was a sharp weapon to check and balance Nan Zhao, but unfortunately, a combination of mistakes..."
He dragged out the last word, a sinister glint in his eyes:
"Luckily, you and Helian Feng are both truly attracted to this chess piece. This game is becoming even more interesting!"
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