Chapter 61: Fight
The man's voice was as gentle as falling jade, and he slowly announced his name:
"The Crown Prince of Wuyue Country, Chen Yingqi."
There were at least fifty people imprisoned in this hostage house. Wan Bijiang didn't even know Liu Quedan, let alone Wu Yue Kingdom, a tiny country that he had never heard of.
Wan Pijiang pointed his sword at Chen Yingqi and said, "Good boy, if you have the guts, come down and fight me. If you win, I will spare your life!"
Liu Quedan, who had been calm just now, suddenly changed his expression upon hearing this and stood up from the ground: "No!"
"General Wan, the person you want to compete with is me, why bother to involve an innocent person!"
Wan Pijiang sneered: "Prince Quedan, you said you don't know swordsmanship, how can I ask you for advice? Now that someone is standing up for you, just be happy!"
He had just been deflected by a stone from the young man called Chen Yingqi, and he felt that the opponent's strength was unfathomable. He immediately gave up Liu Quedan, flashed a cold light in his hand, and flew towards Chen Yingqi to kill him.
"Oh my! General Wan, I am unarmed. Aren't you trying to kill me?!"
Chen Yingqi stood on the courtyard wall and yelled deliberately, but his face showed no sign of panic. He was seen jumping back and forth on the eaves with a light body, dodging Wan Pijiang's pursuit with ease. Although he had no weapons, he was not at a disadvantage.
Wan Pijiang's sword moves were powerful and vigorous, and he took a bold and aggressive approach. Facing such a nimble person, he inevitably felt frustrated and annoyed, like punching cotton: "Boy! If you have the guts, don't run away, fight me head-on!"
How shameless!
Everyone below was cursing in their hearts, saying, not only did you fail to catch up with the person you were chasing, but you even wanted the other person to fight you with bare hands. How could you be so shameless? At least give him a sword first!
Chen Yingqi stopped walking after hearing that. He landed on the roof. He had been running for so long without getting red in the face or out of breath. He smiled and said, "General Wan, you have the energy to use up, but this prince hasn't had dinner yet. How about this? We can decide the winner in one stick of incense. It will be quick and decisive."
Wan Pijiang was wearing heavy armor, and he was inevitably out of breath. Upon hearing this, he tore off his armor and threw it heavily into the snow. He was only wearing a thin undershirt, and sweat had already appeared on his bronze chest: "You said it, if you can't win within one stick of incense, don't blame me for taking your head!"
Chen Yingqi snapped his fingers and said, "It's a deal!"
A guard immediately brought an incense burner to light the incense. It was snowing heavily and the wind was cold. Although he used his hands to block the wind and snow, the incense still burned very quickly.
Gongsun Wuyou said nervously: "Oh, what should I do? He doesn't have a sword in his hand. How can I fight Wan Pijiang?"
Liu Quedan was also worried. They were being held hostage in the palace, and their swords had been taken away long ago. Even if he wanted to help, he was powerless at the moment.
Chen Yingqi picked up a bamboo branch from the corner of the yard. He tried to bend it and found it was flexible enough, so he used it as a weapon and made a sword gesture: "General Wan, please come in."
Wan Pijiang couldn't help but laugh when he saw this: "Fool, you dare to fight me with a bamboo stick, you will definitely die today!"
Wan Bijiangyu didn't give Chen Yingqi any chance to react and immediately attacked with his sword. Without the burden of armor, his speed was much faster.
Chen Yingqi did not dodge this time. He just flipped over the wall and started fighting with the opponent. The yard was suddenly filled with flying sand and rocks, and only two swift figures could be seen.
Zhao Yuzhang was watching from the dark, and was really shocked. He couldn't help but whisper to Shang Junnian beside him: "Although Wan Pijiang's swordsmanship is not among the best among immortals, it can be ranked among the second-rate. His swordsmanship is powerful, and few people can stop his full-strength attack. Where did this Chen Yingqi come from? He is so young, but he can fight on par with Wan Pijiang."
Shang Junnian stared at the competition and felt that the man was familiar, but he couldn't tell where he was familiar. He said indifferently, "Equally matched? Didn't you see that he was playing tricks on Wan Pijiang? After a hundred moves, Wan Pijiang didn't hurt Chen Yingqi at all, but he himself was injured repeatedly. If the opponent had a long sword instead of a bamboo stick in his hand, he would have died for sure."
Zhao Yuzhang finally saw the mystery, but he was still a little hesitant: "Could it be that Wan Pijiang was deliberately trying to trick him with his sword moves?"
Shang Junnian shook his head slowly: "Look carefully at Chen Yingqi's moves, don't they look familiar to you?"
Zhao Yuzhang took a closer look and, as if waking from a dream, he could not help but exclaim in surprise: "His moves are exactly the same as Wan Pijiang's!"
It turned out that Chen Yingqi had just dodged on the eaves in order to catch Wan Pijiang's sword moves. During the fight, he simply changed the opponent's moves and returned them all. This not only prevented Wan Pijiang from stealing his skills, but also won the competition openly. What a good way to give someone a taste of their own medicine!
Didn't Wan Pijiang want to steal the unique sword moves? Of course he did, because they were all his own moves.
Zhao Yuzhang sighed again: "What a smart person!"
At this time, the incense in the stove was almost burned out. Chen Yingqi's wrist trembled like a spirit snake, and the bamboo stick attacked Wan Pijiang's face directly. The latter immediately bent down to avoid it. Unexpectedly, Chen Yingqi saw the opportunity and flew up. His hand was like an eagle's claw and struck straight down, accurately strangling Wan Pijiang's larynx.
“Bang—!”
Wan Pijiang could not withstand this devastating blow, and his huge body fell heavily on the snow. He almost vomited blood. He stared at the young man above in astonishment, his face pale and ugly.
He lost?!
He actually lost?!
There was dead silence all around, and no one could have imagined that such a powerful figure would emerge from the Hostage House.
Chen Yingqi held Wan Pijiang's throat in an inverted position and smiled: "General Wan, you lose."
As he finished speaking, he lightly hit Wan Pijiang's chest with his palm, used the force to retract his momentum, flipped over and floated away several meters, with a beautiful posture, like a nimble blue bird.
Seeing this, the guards nearby came forward and helped Wan Pijiang up from the ground, asking in unison:
"General, are you okay?"
"Do you want to call a doctor?"
Wan Pijiang shouted angrily, "Shut up, everyone!"
He pushed the person who was supporting him away and looked at Chen Yingqi fiercely, feeling both angry and admiring: "Good boy, I never thought that such a person as you would emerge from the small country of Wuyue. This general will remember you!"
"Today, I, Wan Pijiang, have not mastered my skills well enough. When the envoy from Longquansi comes one day, I hope you will still be as arrogant as you are today! Let's go!"
Wan Pijiang had lost face, so he naturally would not stay here any longer. He said nothing and led his team to mount their horses. The dull sound of horse hooves quickly faded away, leaving behind a trail of mud on the snowy road.
After the people from Longquansi left, everyone felt as if they had been pardoned. They all looked at the young man in the field, and all kinds of gazes intertwined into a web, encircling the other party tightly, and the most common look among them was suspicion.
There was no other reason, the young man just looked very unfamiliar, and it seemed like I had never seen him in the mansion before.
Finally, Liu Quedan was the first to step out and bowed to Chen Yingqi: "Thank you for your help, brother. I will never forget your kindness."
Gongsun Wuyou also ran up like a bird and asked, "Your name is Chen Yingqi? Are you from Wuyue Country? Why haven't I seen you before? But your swordsmanship is really amazing. You actually beat Wan Pijiang!"
Chen Yingqi brushed the dust off his hands and said with a smile, "I'm not a hostage of Wuyue Nation. I was sent to guard the gate of the hostage palace. I couldn't stand Wan Pijiang bullying people, so I came in to play with him. You don't have to mind it."
Although these protons were trapped within the four-sided wall and were not allowed to go out, the guards patrolling outside had seen them before, so Chen Yingqi was unfamiliar with them.
Gongsun Wuyou scratched his head and said, "You are so good at martial arts, but you are only here to guard the gate? I have never seen you in the guard team."
Chen Yingqi explained, "This is my first day on duty, so you've naturally never seen me before. As for my Kung Fu, it's just so-so. You're all princes, so your Kung Fu is definitely better than mine, and there are many experts among you."
As soon as these words came out, many people in the courtyard subconsciously looked at the dark corridor, where they saw a man wearing a black robe. He had a wonderful appearance, gloomy and indifferent fox eyes, and a good aura, but he seemed to be sick, with a pale face and blood loss, revealing a sense of illness.
Gongsun Wuyou muttered to himself: "There is a master among us..."
Unfortunately, his scapula was pierced and his shoulder injury has not healed yet, so it is even a question whether he can hold a sword.
When Shang Junnian saw that everyone was looking at him, he withdrew his gaze expressionlessly, turned around and went back to the house. He seemed to be a loner and very withdrawn.
Chen Yingqi deliberately asked: "What's wrong with him? He doesn't look very happy."
Gongsun Wuyou explained: "Brother Junnian doesn't like to talk much."
The unfamiliar face Chen Yingqi injected a bit of vitality into the usually quiet Proton House, because according to him, the soldier in charge of meals was his sworn brother, and although he could not guarantee that they would eat well in the future, they would definitely have hot meals.
It was freezing cold, and no one could stand eating cold, hard steamed buns for several months. But today there was a basket of hot sugar triangles and sticky, soft red rice porridge. Everyone was scrambling for it, fearing that they would miss out if they were late.
Only Shang Junnian was staying in the room, warming himself by the fire. In front of him was a charcoal basin filled with damp, dry wood. The fire was lit, but it was very smoky.
Zhao Yuzhang came in with a tray, sat down opposite him, picked up a triangular sugar bun and handed it to him, saying, "Eat some. It's a rare treat today. The bun is hot and has sugar in it. It won't taste good when it's cold. It's really unfair for you to eat cold steamed buns during this period."
Shang Junnian did not answer, but continued to warm himself by the fire. He stretched out his bony hands, with thick knots left on his palms from sword practice. The flames dyed his face a warm orange, but deep in his eyes was a thick, indissoluble ink. He asked in an indistinct tone:
"I used to lead troops in battles. During the most difficult times, the rear was cut off from food. I even ate Guanyin mud and tree bark. Is there anything wrong with steamed bread?"
There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone, but it could have been just a casual remark.
Zhao Yuzhang didn't know what he was thinking of, and he sighed bitterly: "It is said that the royal family is ruthless, but I didn't expect them to be so ruthless. In order to please the Immortal Emperor, they would even send you here!"
Shang Junnian lowered his eyes, his eyelashes casting a dark shadow: "You are the crown prince and you were sent here, so what am I?"
Zhao Yuzhang laughed at himself: "So what if I am the crown prince? Wu Yun has too many princes. I am not worth anything at all."
While they were talking, they heard footsteps outside the door. It was Chen Yingqi. He was holding a cloth bag in his hand, not knowing what it was. He walked up and asked curiously, "Hey, why don't you two go to eat, but hide here to warm yourself by the fire?"
Zhao Yuzhang had a good impression of him and said in a fair tone, "Oh, we are a little cold, so we are staying inside. Aren't you supposed to be guarding the hostage house? Why don't you wear armor and stand guard outside like them?"
Chen Yingqi squatted down and said, "It's only my first day here, I need to get familiar with the place first, and the guard commander Chen Zhong is my elder brother, no one dares to control me."
Zhao Yuzhang thought to himself, no wonder this person is so casual and unfocused: "It's a pity that you have offended Longquansi today. If they come knocking on your door in the future, I'm afraid your elder brother won't be able to protect you."
Chen Yingqi waved his hands and said, "Let's worry about the future later. By the way, I have a roast chicken here. Do you want to eat it?"
As he finished speaking, he untied the cloth bag in his hand, and saw that inside was a bright yellow beggar's chicken wrapped in a lotus leaf, which smelled delicious. Zhao Yuzhang had not seen meat for a long time, and he could hardly recognize what a chicken looked like.
Zhao Yuzhang was stunned for a moment, and it was difficult to take his eyes away from the roast chicken: "No need, you should eat it yourself."
Shang Junnian also said calmly: "No need."
Chen Yingqi said, "I had eaten when I came here. There happened to be a fire here. It would be great if you roasted some. But be sure not to let anyone find out, or there won't be enough to share."
He tore off a chicken leg and stuffed it into Zhao Yuzhang's hand, then tore off another chicken leg and handed it to Shang Junnian. However, he did not expect that the latter would not appreciate it. Instead, he glared at him coldly with his slightly upturned fox eyes, and opened his thin lips slightly, and uttered words with an unpleasant tone that was particularly inconsistent with that pretty face:
"I said no, don't you understand what I'm saying?"
Shang Junnian's personality changed drastically after his scapula was pierced, and he lost even a trace of his pretended kindness. In his eyes, Chen Yingqi appeared out of nowhere and showed kindness to them for no reason. His identity and martial arts were questionable, and the word "danger" was written all over him. Before he understood everything, he must not make close friends with him.
“Dang—”
Shang Junnian stood up immediately, kicked away the stool he had just sat on and left, leaving only two people looking at each other beside the charcoal brazier.
Zhao Yuzhang felt a little sorry, after all, Chen Yingqi meant well. He awkwardly took the chicken leg and said, "He is just like that. It will be fine once it's cooked. You don't have to worry about it. If he doesn't eat it, I will."
Chen Yingqi also smiled and said, "This Prime Minister is really a man of character."
The tone of voice sounded meaningful and familiar, but unfortunately Shang Junnian was gone.
Chen Yingqi took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands. "It's getting late, and I should leave. If you need any help when I'm on duty, just let me know."
Zhao Yuzhang felt even more embarrassed. He stood up and bowed, but with the chicken leg in his hand, he looked a little funny. "Thank you very much."
"The effort of raising your hands is over."
Chen Yingqi left the house and walked out of the mansion. However, after taking only two steps, he suddenly noticed something strange behind him. He turned around subconsciously and saw that it was Liu Quedan.
Chen Yingqi raised his eyebrows in confusion: "Prince Quedan, do you have anything important to say?"
Liu Quedan looked at Chen Yingqi with mixed feelings. He spoke hesitantly, "Thank you for your help today."
Chen Yingqi smiled, his eyes were bright and clear, and he looked completely different from everyone else in the palace. "Prince Quedan has already said thank you, so there's no need to thank him again. Besides, I'm in charge of the hostage palace. I can't just sit back and watch Wan Pijiang come and cause trouble. I'm just doing my job."
Liu Quedan curled his lips slightly: "I'm afraid others may not think as you do. There are so many guards outside the mansion, and you are the only one willing to help."
Chen Yingqi pretended not to hear the sarcasm in his words: "I take turns every five days. If Prince Quedan needs any help, just ask."
Liu Quedan nodded: "You don't have to call me Prince, just call me by my name. We have fallen to this point, so why should we still distinguish between high and low?"
Chen Yingqi just said: "Etiquette cannot be abandoned."
As it was getting dark, he finally turned around and left the hostage house. The guards at the door watched him stagger away, but acted as if they didn't see him, staring at him as if he was some important figure.
After leaving the hostage house and turning into another street, they saw a two-horse carriage parked quietly there. Pearls and jades hung from the corners, and servants were following it. It looked extremely expensive. Chen Yingqi, who claimed to be a guard at the hostage house, lifted the curtain and went in.
There was a lampshade burning inside, with bright candlelight.
Chen Yingqi lay on the soft couch inside and took a breath comfortably. He remembered something and raised his hand to feel around the edge of his cheek for a moment. After a moment, he actually tore off a human skin mask as thin as a cicada's wing.
The carriage moved slightly and was driven forward. The old voice of Eunuch He came from behind the curtain: "Your Highness, you are taking too much risks today."
Chen Yingqi turned out to be Lu Yan in disguise.
Today, he just had the urge to go and see what Shang Junnian was doing in the hostage house. Unexpectedly, he ran into Wan Pijiang looking for trouble, so he helped him out.
"No problem, I am confident that I can handle Wan Pijiang. Besides, with your secret protection, nothing will go wrong."
Lu Yan lazily fell on the couch, and suddenly opened his eyes as he thought of something:
"By the way, when we get back home, please ask the eunuch to go to the hostage house."
Eunuch He drove the carriage forward in the semi-darkness. The horse's hooves made a crisp sound when they landed on the snow. He whipped the whip. The dark blue sky was clean and clear, but dusk was approaching. "What do you want, Your Highness?"
Lu Yan said in a playful tone, "Of course, go and bring this beautiful lady here."
When he was in the mansion before, Shang Junnian was a little unruly but still relatively obedient. He didn't expect that he would be like a hedgehog in the hostage mansion and would kill anyone he caught. Lu Yangang had just given him the cold shoulder for no reason, so naturally he wanted to find a way to get back at him.
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