"What does he want from me?"
"This is what the young master ordered me to send to you, young lady." A long green cloth was wrapped around the slender sword. Just by looking at the hilt, Chu Qiao knew that it was the sword she used to shoot and kill Zaru's men that night when they were hunting.
"The young master said that your sword is now returned to you. Please also return my young master's sword to me, young lady."
"I don't have it with me." Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows and said in a deep voice, "You should have told me what it was in advance, so that I could bring the sword."
"Ah?" Zhu Cheng was stunned. "I told Lieutenant General Song."
Chu Qiao’s head went dark. If you tell him, it would be the same as not saying anything. She reached out to take the sword and said, "I'll take the sword back first. I'll send someone to deliver your young master's sword to your door later."
"Miss Chu," Zhu Cheng said with an embarrassed look on his face, "The young master said that neither of you wants to have anything to do with each other, so the matter should be resolved as soon as possible, and don't drag it out. How about this, I'll wait for you here, please go back and ask someone else to bring it to me."
Don’t want to have anything to do with each other? Chu Qiao raised her eyebrows slightly, reached out to take back the sword, and said in a deep voice: "Okay."
Then he turned and left.
Carrying weapons is not allowed in Shengjin Palace. Although no one checked, Chu Qiao still put the sword inside the fur coat, lowered her head and walked quickly towards Yingge Courtyard.
In two days, she will take up her post in the Cavalry Battalion. This was a very strange appointment, and its timing was very abrupt, catching Chu Qiao off guard. Even though he was just a small official, he still caused a series of subtle ripples in the government and the country. After all, she is a woman, and Yan Xun's person.
Emperor Xia has started to use people from Yanbei. What does this mean? Does this mean that Emperor Xia wants to let bygones be bygones and let Yan Xun return to Yanbei to succeed him, so as to stabilize the hearts of the princes of the world?
Obviously, this is impossible. Over the years, Emperor Xia had always turned a blind eye to the attacks, exclusion, and infighting against Yan Xun within the Shengjin Palace. Although he never took action personally, as an emperor, his laissez-faire attitude encouraged other people with ulterior motives to eradicate Yan Xun. If Yan Xun and Chu Qiao had not been so careful, they would have probably died in the rounds of sneak attacks.
Emperor Xia once killed Yan Xun's parents and brothers in front of him, and sent this noble of the Celestial Empire to hell overnight. Then, it would be absolutely impossible to let Yan Xun return to Yanbei. It’s not that he didn’t take action, it’s just that those who took action didn’t succeed.
Now, the day of Yan Xun's return is approaching, how could he fail at the last minute and hand Yanbei over to this resentful wolf cub?
So, what is the purpose of Emperor Xia’s appointment? Almost everyone in the entire Zhenhuang City knows that the slave girl Chu Qiao is Yan Xun's strongest assistant. This girl, who is not even fifteen years old yet, has protected Prince Yan from many life-and-death crises in the past seven years. She is agile and has superb martial arts. Could it be that Emperor Xia really likes this outstanding girl and wants to recruit her and train her? Or, was it to clip Yan Xun's wings to prevent him from being obstructed in the future?
No one knows why, and all speculation is superficial. Chu Qiao knew that things would definitely not be that simple, but she just hadn't figured out the key to the problem yet.
Going around Changxuan Street is Xuanmen Road, with towering red walls on both sides and bright yellow tiles covered with white snow.
Suddenly, there was a sound of footsteps. Chu Qiao frowned. Did she remember it wrong? Was there a court meeting today?
She didn't have time to think about it. Those who could enter the inner hall of Shengjin Palace to discuss matters were officials of the third rank and above. With her status, she had to kneel down and avoid them.
The girl walked to a corner of the wall, knelt down against it, lowered her head and said nothing. The wide fox fur coat covered her eyebrows and eyes, leaving only a fair and smooth neck exposed.
The footsteps gradually approached, but they did not leave when they came to her side. A deep voice sounded above her head, "Raise your head."
Chu Qiao frowned and slowly straightened up.
Enemies always meet on a narrow road. Today is really a bad day for you.
The girl's face was smooth, and under the reflection of the white snow, it glowed with a soft light like Hetian white jade. Her eyes were as black as ink, and her features were thin, yet she exuded a hint of independence and calmness. She was still young and had not yet fully grown, but she had a cold and stern temperament like a plum blossom in ice and snow, which emanated from her from the inside out.
The man's eyes slowly narrowed and his right hand unconsciously clenched. Under the illumination of the blood-red sunset, the snow turned slightly red. His middle finger, ring finger and little finger were broken off and held together with golden finger gloves, which made it look even more weird.
"Hit me."
A deep voice suddenly echoed in the bleak wind, and the servants on both sides, who had been ready for a fight, immediately came forward. A muscular man raised his palm like a palm-leaf fan and slapped the girl hard on the cheek.
With a bang, the slap did not hit the girl's face as expected, but she blocked it instead. Chu Qiao raised her head and asked expressionlessly, "Master Wei, you ordered the servants to hurt people at will, shouldn't you give me a reason?"
"Reason?" Wei Jing smiled coldly. "The reason is that you, a lowly slave, dared to object to my words."
"Master Wei, if you have a good memory, you should remember that His Majesty has granted me the right to be freed from slavery and appointed me as the archery instructor of the Cavalry Battalion. You and I are now officials in the same court, working together for Daxia. I respect you as a son of a powerful family, so I salute you. Otherwise, with your current status, you are not qualified to accept my kneeling. After all, you have just been dismissed from your official position. How dare you, a commoner, be so arrogant in Shengjin Palace?"
The girl's face was as sharp as ice and snow. She pushed the big man away, patted her knees twice, and stood up. "I have something else to do. Sorry, I can't keep you company."
"How dare you!" Wei Jing snorted coldly and said in a deep voice, "Let me see, if I kill you, the archery instructor of the Cavalry Battalion, today, who will dare to redress your grievances!"
"Get started!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the four guards behind Wei Jing suddenly stepped forward and slashed towards Chu Qiao's head!
Chu Qiao never thought that Wei Jing would be so bold today. Not only did he openly carry a knife, but he also dared to commit murder in Shengjin Palace. However, time waits for no one, and the sudden situation does not allow her to think too much.
There were no fancy moves. There was only a crisp sound of a bone breaking, and in the blink of an eye, the guard's hand bones were broken and he screamed in pain.
Chu Qiao snatched the guard's sword with her backhand, and as if she had eyes on her back, she flew up and did a beautiful back kick, hitting the guard who attacked from behind in the chest with such force that a muffled sound was heard. The guard screamed in pain, blood gushed out of his mouth, and he staggered back.
Immediately afterwards, she made a lightning-fast move, grabbing the wrist of another guard, and swung the long sword in her other hand, using the standard ninja sword technique to chop sideways, steadily, accurately and fiercely. There were continuous cracking sounds, and before the pain even hit them, the two guards had already fallen to the ground!
All the actions took place almost within one second. The four highly skilled guards were defeated, all crippled in one move and no longer had any fighting power.
The wind blew, and Chu Qiao stood among the men lying in all directions. Her face was calm, her body was straight, and she was wearing a long white fur coat, which made her look even more otherworldly and cold as snow. It was as if she had not moved at all from beginning to end. She looked coldly at Wei Jing, who was looking angry, and said lightly, "Get out of the way."
Wei Jing's face turned pale. The hatred for the severed finger had been tormenting his mind for years, like a poisonous snake that made him lose his usual calm and composure.
"Kill her for me!" His voice was as deep as a ghost from hell.
A long wind blew through the Xuanmen Road, passing between the high walls on both sides, and blowing up large pieces of flying snow.
More than ten blue-clothed guards immediately stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and half-knelt in front of Wei Jing. They stretched out their wrists and took out a row of crossbow arrows from their fur coats like a magic trick!
Chu Qiao frowned and cautiously took a half step back. Wei Jing actually brought a bow and crossbow with him when he entered the palace. What does this mean? Was it the expansion of Wei power after Zhao Qi came to power, or was it some special imperial decree that allowed him to bring weapons into the palace?
Before he had time to think, a round of crossbow arrows came shooting at him. The close-range shooting made the arrows extremely powerful. With the momentum of thunder, they whistled through the cold wind and came towards where Chu Qiao was standing!
Chu Qiao dodged and fell to the ground, then rolled over, coming to the big man whose hand bones had been crushed before, and grabbed him by the collar. Only the sound of "puff" was heard and blood splattered. The big man didn't even have the chance to scream before he was shot into a sieve, with blood holes all over his body, and fell to the ground.
Chu Qiao used the force of the opponent's opponent against her and kicked the big man hard. The big man's body flew into the air and fell in front of the crossbowmen with a bang, disrupting their formation. Chu Qiao took the opportunity to rush forward with lightning speed! The girl grabbed a big man's head, flew into the air, and with a swish, she pulled out a handful of the big man's hair!
Everyone was dumbfounded. The brutal hand-to-hand combat meant that their bows and crossbows had no chance to show their power. The girl's ruthless methods and calm face came like a nightmare, leaving a mess wherever she went.
Every move is inflicted and the attack is ruthless.
Until this moment, everyone deeply understood what it meant that one man could block the passage of ten thousand men. Although at this moment, standing in front of them was just a thin and frail young girl.
The big men's attacks gradually became weaker, their courage grew cold, and their faces turned blue. The opponent's professional fighting skills and brutal attack methods made these guards who usually claimed to be good at close combat terrified.
In the blink of an eye, Chu Qiao had already arrived in front of him. For the first time, Wei Jing's eyes showed a trace of panic, and he hurriedly drew the sword at his waist, but the next second, Chu Qiao had kicked the two guards in front of him away and reached out to grab him.
Chu Qiao's hands looked even more terrifying than the guillotine at this moment. The subordinates of the Wei clan, who had seen powerful things, instantly burst out with noble sentiments of loyalty and protecting their master. Two guards rushed out from behind and slashed at them with swords.
The speed is incredible! The girl turned around instantly, jumped into the air, and kicked out, hitting a big man in the neck.
Taking advantage of this time, Wei Jing quickly retreated under the protection of the two. By the time Chu Qiao turned around, she had already retreated two steps. No matter how fast Chu Qiao was, her arms couldn't be that long.
The sound of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded in the distance. Presumably, the previous action had alarmed the palace guards. Wei Jing, who had originally been so imposing as to wipe out the root of the problem, suddenly felt shamefully delighted.
Then, at this moment, a green shadow suddenly appeared, and green cotton cloth was flying in the air. Wei Jing felt a chill on his neck, and a blue-white black iron sword stopped steadily at his throat!