Chapter 70 The Journey Home (3)
The temple fell silent for a moment, with only the crackling of firewood remaining.
The firewood chopped from an offering table was indeed not enough to last until dawn, but it did last until their clothes were dry. Fearing that there might still be men in black chasing after them, Meng Guanqi reported back to the Crown Prince, telling them to rest well and arranging for Li Xiaoxiao and Zhao Jian to take turns keeping watch at night.
With no medicine available, the injured men urgently needed rest to recover their strength. The Crown Prince did not refuse and allowed Wan Quan and Pang Shi to sleep together against the wall.
Li Xiaoxiao stood at the entrance of the dilapidated temple, listening to the sound of wind and snow outside. The snow showed no signs of abating, and the situation was quite dire. If the snow continued after dawn, they would probably have to brave the snow to go out.
If it were just the four of them, master and servants, it wouldn't be a problem. They had some dry rations with them, and it wouldn't be a problem to wait until the snow stopped before continuing. But now they've gotten involved with the Crown Prince and his entourage, which is a hot potato that they can't get rid of, but they can't get rid of either.
Even if it means braving the heavy snow, we have to find a way to get these people away after daybreak.
It's only a little over a hundred li from here to Luzhou. Surely delivering them to the prefect of Luzhou will be enough, and then they can go home for the New Year!
But for some reason, she felt things wouldn't go so smoothly.
If they dared to pursue even the Crown Prince, wouldn't the person hiding behind him have a backup plan? If the first attack fails, and the Crown Prince recovers and finds reinforcements, it will be a counterattack with the full strength of the country. Therefore, the opponent must have made a meticulous plan before daring to make a move, and would definitely not have prepared just a few assassins.
It is estimated that there will be more fierce battles.
In any case, people cannot be led to Biyang County.
Biyang County is such a poor place. Magistrate Meng has been running it for a year, but he hasn't even managed to find enough low-ranking officials. It's so poor that it can't accommodate the Crown Prince, who is a big shot like him.
Li Xiaoxiao had always assumed that the clerks in the various departments of the county government were also civil servants with national staff, so for a long time she couldn't understand why there were so few people in the county government. It was just Head Constable Shi leading a few soldiers, busy with everything, acting as both father and mother. Later she found out that the county government had to raise its own money to pay the salaries of these clerks. The national treasury only covered the salary of Magistrate Meng. Magistrate Meng had just taken office when he had diarrhea, was stripped of his salary for half a year, and received a bad review. He could barely support his own family, so how could he afford to support the people in the government office? Therefore, the entire county government only had about ten people, and many things had to be done by Steward Zhao and Zhao Jian.
If we actually manage to lure the Crown Prince, this formidable figure, we could not only lose everything in no time, but also risk our lives.
She didn't want her peaceful little home to be destroyed by these few ruthless people.
The fire had gone out, and the chill was getting stronger. Just as Li Xiaoxiao was about to go back to her corner to sit down, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a flash of fire in the distance. Her expression changed drastically, and she quickly lay down on the ground. Listening carefully, she heard a slight tremor coming from the ground.
She stood up solemnly, her gaze falling on the corner of the wall to her right. The fire had long since died down, and four people huddled together were fast asleep. The entire temple was shrouded in darkness, pitch black everywhere, making it almost impossible to see any figures.
Sparks were flashing and approaching. She hesitated for only a moment before resolutely rushing into the snowstorm.
Whether they are friend or foe, she has to go forward and find out.
As she passed by the corpses of the men in black she had thrown away, her eyes lit up and an idea came to her. She picked up one of the corpses and carried it with her.
Her figure flashed through the woods like a ghost, looking around for a place to hide.
She finally found a big tree. Although all the leaves had fallen, the branches were particularly lush. She threw the body under the tree, jumped down, curled up into a ball, and lay motionless among the branches, patiently waiting for the arrival of the sparks.
The twinkling lights slowly approached, the wind howled, and rain mixed with snow splashed everywhere, making it hard to open one's eyes.
She was uncomfortable perched in the tree, and the person carrying a lantern and braving the snow wasn't much better off.
In such wind and snow, the tinderboxes lit up but were extinguished by the heavy rain in no time. Since the travelers had come in the middle of the night, they could not possibly have brought a lamp to block the wind. So the light flickered on and off, barely illuminating the way forward, and their progress was very slow.
They gradually approached the big tree where Li Xiaoxiao was hiding and finally discovered the body lying on the ground.
Li Xiaoxiao only needed to confirm whether they knew these men in black to know whether they were friends or foes.
Upon discovering the fallen body, the leader, struggling to hold up the tinderbox, quickly signaled those behind him to stop. He then handed the tinderbox to the person behind him, one hand on the scabbard and the other on the hilt of his sword, and hissed, "Who goes there?"
The only sound was the whistling of the wind.
The leader cautiously stepped forward and kicked the corpse on the ground. He quickly realized that the body had already stiffened. He gestured to the people behind him to move the tinderbox forward and then ripped off the mask of the man in black.
"Nan Qi! It's Nan Qi!" the man with the tinderbox whispered. "Boss, Nan Qi's body is here. Did their mission fail?"
The leader's face was ashen: "Their marks have vanished here, but not a single person has been found. Men, come here!"
Several people suddenly stepped forward from behind: "My lord!"
The leader said, "Search the woods thoroughly to see if there are any other discoveries. If there is any unusual activity, do not alert them. Return immediately to report."
"Yes!" The men quickly dispersed into the woods, and returned in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn: "Boss, we found a dilapidated temple a hundred meters to the southeast, and there are several horses in front of it."
How many horses are left?
The leader asked urgently, "Can you recognize these as our horses?"
The man said, "I dare not get too close, but after carefully examining the outermost saddle, it seems to be the chestnut horse of the scholar beside the Crown Prince."
So the Crown Prince and his companions must be resting in the dilapidated temple!
No wonder they found Nan Qi's body here. It seems that Nan Qi and his companions chased Pang Shi into the dilapidated temple and fought a fierce battle, where they were killed!
The most urgent task now is to find the remaining subordinates. Where are they? Were they killed or captured? Only then can we make the next move.
The leader counted the returning subordinates and looked around: "Where are the other two? Why haven't they returned yet?"
Just then, the remaining two men returned carrying a corpse: "Boss, we found Nan Wu's body."
The leader quickly squatted down to examine the bodies of Nan Wu and Nan Qi: "Nan Qi died by slitting his throat, and Nan Wu... his chest cavity was completely shattered. He died from a single blow. Pang Shi is so terrifying! It seems the others are also in grave danger."
The man with the tinderbox exclaimed in shock, "Pang Shi killed all five of us by himself? Sir, what should we do now? Should we retreat?"
The leader muttered, "Nan Er left me a letter before the pursuit. Although Pang Shi is brave, he was seriously injured when he was surrounded at Luoma Slope. Could it be that he deliberately pretended to be injured to lure us here?"
As expected of the Crown Prince's personal guard, his skills are truly remarkable.
The men who followed him followed his every command; they could leave immediately at his word.
But can he leave? If he misses this opportunity, will he have another chance to meet the injured and alone Crown Prince?
He gritted his teeth: "I don't believe Pang Shi could kill Nan Erwu and get away unscathed! This is our best chance, brothers. There are ten of us. Even if each of us takes a bite out of flesh, it will be enough to trap them here and kill them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the remaining men simultaneously gripped the hilts of their knives at their waists.
The leader said in a deep voice, "Fifteen!"
A thin young man stepped forward: "Fifteen is here."
The leader said, "Go to Luzhou immediately and tell the magistrate what happened here, so that he can make preparations as soon as possible."
Fifteen responded with a "yes," immediately mounted his horse, and hurried away.
Nestled in the tree, Li Xiaoxiao was secretly alarmed. The person who killed the Crown Prince was actually in Luzhou? And an official at that? Who was so audacious?
Beneath the tree, the leader gripped the hilt of his sword and shouted in a deep voice, "Brothers, the Crown Prince is in the temple right now. If we can take his head, our century-long mission will be accomplished. When our master ascends the throne, he will surely reward us for our contributions, and we will be ennobled and appointed as generals! Follow me, let's charge into the temple!"
The eight men following behind him were filled with fervor, drawing their longswords: "Charge!"
Just as the group was about to run forward, they suddenly saw something fall from a tree and landed with a thud in front of them.
Everyone was shocked. Upon closer inspection, they saw a person wearing a straw hat and a raincoat jump down from the tree above them. So he had heard everything about the head falling off.
The straw hat obscured the person's face, and the raincoat completely concealed his small stature, making it impossible to discern his true nature.
The leader, long sword in hand, coldly asked, "Who are you?"
Li Xiaoxiao sighed: "You shouldn't be talking about things that could cost you your lives here, and you certainly shouldn't let me hear it. I'm so fed up with this kind of fighting and killing. I wish I could stay far away from it, but you guys are just asking for trouble and insist on bringing it to me. You should know that I don't actually like killing that much."
When did this kid ambush them in the tree? And why did he jump down on his own without them noticing?
The leader dared not underestimate his opponent. Recalling that Nan Qi's body was right under the tree where he was hiding, he suddenly seemed to understand something: "Did you kill Nan Qi? Did you deliberately leave him under the tree for us to find?"
Li Xiaoxiao gave him a thumbs up: "You got it right!"
The leader looked surprised and uncertain. Nan Qi only had a wound on his neck, and judging from the shape of the wound, it was the kind of wound that could only be caused by suicide. How strong must this person be to force Nan Qi to commit suicide?
This person was not Pang Shi. Although he had never fought Pang Shi in person, he knew that Pang Shi was as strong as a bear and almost twice the size of the boy in front of him. So who was he? When did the Crown Prince gain such a powerful expert by his side without them knowing?
He narrowed his eyes: "Who exactly are you?!"
Li smiled and said, "An unlucky passerby."
The leader sneered, "Fine, if you don't want to talk, then so be it. You won't have another chance to speak."
He is Nan Yi, the leader with the highest martial arts skills among the Fifteen Shadow Guards. No one has ever survived where his blade points.
And the tip of that knife is now pointing directly at Li Xiaoxiao.
If there were light in the cold night, Nan Yi would surely have seen that Li Xiaoxiao's dark eyes were full of pity.
She never wanted to kill anyone, but if these waves of assassins weren't dealt with, Meng Guanqi, Zhao Jian, and Asheng would all die here.
It's hard to say whether it was her bad luck or the bad luck of these black-clad assassins, or perhaps they were all just unlucky.
Her empty right hand was raised high.
The wind whipped up the clouds, and dark, heavy clouds quickly gathered together, swirling into a terrifying vortex above her head. Wisps of lightning flickered in and out of the thick black clouds like dragons, crackling and hissing.
Nan Yi and the others looked at the young man in front of them in fear.
Lightning bolts swirled down along with the vortex of rain and snow, transforming into rings of silver that coiled around his fingertips.
What was happening before their eyes was far beyond their comprehension. Was he a god or a ghost?
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