Gu Yuzhi sat blankly on the snow, holding Huo Qiyuan's rock-solid body, his mind completely blank, as if he could not hear any sound.
In just a moment, snow fell on him and Huo Qiyuan.
After an unknown amount of time, the sounds of fighting around them finally ceased, and someone carrying a torch walked over. Gu Yuzhi followed the footsteps and looked up, only to see one of the men remove his mask.
Even though the snowflakes blurred his vision, Gu Yuzhi could still see clearly that it was an extremely thin and pale face with dark circles under his eyes, sunken eye sockets, and purplish-black lips. He looked like he was terminally ill and didn't have much time left.
Before the man could even speak, he coughed. The few remaining assassins quickly surrounded him, draping cloaks over his shoulders. One of them said, "Master Boss..."
The man waved his hand, made a fist, covered his lips, and coughed violently again.
Head Manager?
Gu Yuzhi rolled his somewhat numb eyes and said hoarsely, "Li Yanping?"
The man hummed in surprise, took the torch, and half-squatted in front of Gu Yuzhi. He pinched Gu Yuzhi's cheek hard with his other hand, shook it from side to side, and then let go: "I thought His Highness Prince Wen had an extra head or an extra pair of eyes, which is why he kept ruining our plans. But I didn't expect him to be just an ordinary person with one nose and two eyes."
Gu Yuzhi subconsciously pulled Marshal Huo behind him. He could sense that Marshal Huo was still breathing, though very weakly.
He remained silent, afraid that he might inadvertently anger the man and reveal that Marshal Huo was still alive.
Gu Yuzhi really wanted to cry, but he also understood that he was already in the enemy's hands, and crying was the most useless thing to do. So he gritted his teeth and his eyes were full of defensiveness and hostility, like a wounded wolf cub surrounded by hunters, desperate but unwilling to admit defeat.
Li Yanping hadn't expected that Gu Yuzhi could remain so calm even after things had come to this point. Thinking of the two people he had shot and killed, he lost his desire to tease him and slightly raised his hand: "Tie up the young prince's hands and drag him all the way back to Changzhou."
The person next to Gu Yuzhi glanced at him and whispered, "Manager, if we drag him back like this, he might not survive."
He turned and pointed ahead at the official road: "Besides, aren't the inns on both sides of the road still owned by the Wen family? What if they inform Qi Wenhan..."
"Qi Wenhan is not in Changzhou these days, so don't worry about him. Take him back and lock him in the woodshed. It doesn't matter if he's missing an arm or a leg, as long as he's alive."
Li Yanping glanced at him sideways and scoffed, "The living Prince Wen is far more valuable than the dead Prince Wen."
He originally intended to kill Gu Yuzhi to settle the matter, but now he suddenly felt that capturing Prince Wen alive, so that the Wen family would be hesitant to act against them, would be the best course of action.
The man clearly didn't think so, and stepped forward again to persuade him: "Manager, you must think twice! If we kill him here now, no one will know it was us! But if we take him back, the Wen family will definitely know it was us!"
The man took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Manager, kidnapping and murdering a prince is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family! I can't let the rest of my brothers risk their lives with you!"
Li Yanping was already at his limit. After lying in ambush in the freezing cold for two days, his whole body felt stiff with cold. He suppressed the itch in his throat, thought for a moment, and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, kill them. Let's get it over with."
If he were still in good health, there would be value in abducting Prince Wen back, but his condition clearly wouldn't allow him to make it back to Changzhou.
He was lucky to have several princes accompanying him on his journey to the underworld.
Li Yanping knew that once news of Gu Yuzhi's death spread, not only the Wen family, but the Emperor would definitely send an imperial envoy to investigate, and the entire northern desert would be turned upside down.
But he didn't care, because given the current situation, it was only a matter of time.
If he had turned the tables earlier and dragged a minor prince into it, he would have made a profit.
Let the employer worry about what happens next!
Li Yanping staggered forward two steps and heard a soft "thud," the sound of a sharp blade piercing his body.
He thought that person had killed Gu Yuzhi, and a smile crept onto his face. But as he turned his head, he saw a small figure shooting toward him like a slingshot. The person he had sent to kill Gu Yuzhi fell to the ground with a thud, blood gushing from his throat like a spring, quickly staining the snow beneath him red.
Li Yanping's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He knew Gu Yuzhi had some skills, but he didn't expect that even in this situation, he could still turn the tables and win.
He didn't move, watching helplessly as the dagger was pressed against his throat. The next instant, a long sword deflected the dagger, and the guard beside him rushed forward, kicking Gu Yuzhi away with a heavy kick.
His small body slammed into the shaft of the cart with a thud, and rolled a long distance down the tilted shaft.
Gu Yuzhi lay face down on the ground, his mouth and nose covered in snow, the cold sensation amplifying the pain.
He felt as if his internal organs had shifted, and he coughed up blood as soon as he opened his mouth.
Gu Yuzhi looked at the mouthful of blood with teary eyes, thinking to himself that if he could still go back alive, he didn't know how much bitter medicine he would be fed by Judge Qin.
But if he could go back, he would never complain about the bitterness of Qin Yuanpan's medicine again.
Gu Yuzhi sniffed, tried to stand up by supporting himself with his hands, but a powerful force struck him and he was kicked away again, then crashed heavily to the ground.
He felt as if his hands and feet were broken, and he didn't know how many ribs were broken. His whole body ached so much that he didn't dare to breathe. His mouth was slightly open, and blood was flowing down from the corner of his mouth.
Before Gu Yuzhi could think further, his collar was grabbed and he was dragged forward. After a while, the person stopped and asked with a strong sense of murderous intent, "Manager, are you alright?"
Li Yanping subconsciously touched his neck, then shook his head, squatted down again, grabbed Gu Yuzhi's head and forced him to look at him. He saw that Gu Yuzhi's face was covered in blood, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.
Li Yanping released his grip: "Blind him first, then kill him."
He didn't have a habit of torturing or killing people, so if Gu Yuzhi hadn't fought back and almost injured him, he would have intended to kill him directly.
But as soon as he stood up, Li Yanping's mind was filled with Gu Yuzhi's eyes, which made him feel inexplicably uneasy.
"Alright!" the man replied, grabbing Gu Yuzhi's head with one hand and forcefully pulling him up.
Gu Yuzhi had been unconscious from the excruciating pain, but the sharp pain in his scalp brought him back to his senses. He struggled to open his eyes and saw the cold tip of a sword already pressed against his face...
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