Chapter 341 Who is the Hidden Mantis 1
Hearing the man's envious words, the man who gave the suggestion just gave him a forced smile before turning back to search for something in the woods.
"Ouch!"
Just as he suddenly saw a blade of grass move, the man screamed, startling him so much that he involuntarily flinched.
Why are you making such a fuss?
She glared at the man with annoyance, and slowly put the sword she had just raised back down.
"My stomach hurts a little. You watch over it for a bit, I'll be right back."
Without waiting for his agreement, the man clutched his stomach and ran off into the dense forest.
The man naturally knew what his companion was up to; it's said that lazy donkeys on millstones produce a lot of excrement and urine, and that's certainly true.
However, his urgent need to defecate saved his life. Watching the man's disappearing figure, the man raised his hand, and immediately a dozen or so people emerged from the spot where there had been trembling.
"Is everything here?"
The man in the lead spoke in an icy tone, his murderous aura completely undisguised. The man in the dark seemed a little afraid upon seeing the figure and quickly nodded respectfully, saying, "Everything is here, nothing is missing."
The man in black looked down on the man's obsequious manner. He glanced at the boxes, opened one of them, and after seeing that it was indeed what he wanted, he looked at the man and said, "Well done. His Highness will definitely not shortchange you."
As the man in black spoke, he tossed a purse into the man's hand. The man caught it, weighed it, and just as he felt its weight, a cold sword slashed across his neck.
The man's eyes had barely filled with fear and disbelief when he collapsed to the ground.
"Useless!" the man in black said as he walked up to the man, took the purse from his hand, and put it back into his bag.
The man glanced in the direction the people had left, then waved his hand, and immediately someone headed in that direction.
Ji Wenxuan and Xu Yunzhi were locked in a fierce battle. Although Ji Wenxuan had more men, most of them were ordinary soldiers, and he was beginning to show signs of defeat.
"Xu Yunzhi, why are you going to such lengths for Lu Youming?"
While exchanging blows with Xu Yunzhi, Ji Wenxuan looked at Xu Yunzhi with a questioning tone, "Since you are his advisor, you should know what kind of person he is. Are you really willing to let such a person become the next crown prince?"
Ji Wenxuan's words carried a hint of anger, but Xu Yunzhi, upon hearing them, laughed loudly as if he had heard a joke.
Pushing aside Ji Wenxuan's attack, he said, "I'm not a citizen of the Great Zhou. What kind of crown prince the Great Zhou needs is none of my business. Ji Wenxuan, don't tell me Yun Yichen never told you my background?"
Ji Wenxuan didn't actually know Xu Yunzhi's background. Yun Yichen had only told him that Xu Yunzhi was very dangerous and that it would be best to avoid contact with him if possible.
"You're not from the Great Zhou?! Then who are you? A person from the State of Jin?"
Xu Yunzhi's accent clearly has a Beijing accent, so how could he not be from the Great Zhou? When Yun Yichen spoke of danger, was he referring to more than just Xu Yunzhi?
Xu Yunzhi's words left Ji Wenxuan speechless for a moment. Seeing his reaction, Xu Yunzhi smiled slightly and pressed on, saying, "So, in Yun Yichen's heart, Young Master Ji's status is nothing more than this. You even went to such lengths for him. Was it worth it?"
"Shut up."
As Ji Wenxuan spoke, he leaped into the air and charged straight at Xu Yunzhi.
Because of his guilty conscience and confusion, Xu Yunzhi easily dodged his attack. Seeing this, Xu Yunzhi continued, "Yun Yichen is so dishonest with you, why should Young Master Ji risk his life for him? Although the Third Prince is a bit cunning, he is still His Majesty's son. Now that the Crown Prince is surrounded by enemies, isn't it the same to choose between the Third Prince and the Fifth Prince?"
It has to be said that Xu Yunzhi's words struck a chord with Ji Wenxuan.
If others didn't know about these two princes, that would be one thing, but as a member of the General's Mansion and a close friend of the current Grand Secretary, Ji Wenxuan naturally knew that no matter which of them ascended the throne, the Great Zhou would not have a good emperor.
This is also why the Ji family has always supported the emperor's decision to appoint the crown prince. Although the crown prince is somewhat lustful, he is not very cunning. If he is supervised by the officials, even if he cannot achieve anything, he can at least live peacefully for several more decades.
But if this person were replaced by either Lu Youming or Lu Yuanbin, I'm afraid the Great Zhou Dynasty would not be at peace.
"Is this your reason for helping the Third Prince?"
Since it didn't matter who I chose, I just picked randomly?
Ji Wenxuan couldn't accept this explanation, and Xu Yunzhi didn't intend to make him accept it either. Taking advantage of his distraction, Xu Yunzhi delivered a swift chop to the neck, knocking the unsuspecting Ji Wenxuan unconscious.
As the leader, Ji Wenxuan's collapse immediately caused the others to crumble. In no time, Ji Wenxuan's men were all subdued.
"Take your things and let's go."
Xu Yunzhi gave an order to his men, and immediately someone drove a carriage over.
"Master, what should we do with these people?"
The guards watched as the men fell to the ground, waiting only for their master's order to end their lives one by one.
To his surprise, Xu Yunzhi glanced at those people and said, "Let them be!"
The guards couldn't believe their ears. Their master was always decisive and ruthless. When did he become so easy to talk to? Shouldn't he have just ordered these people killed to avoid leaving any future trouble?
Xu Yunzhi actually wanted to kill these people at first, but when he thought about how among them were the Ji family army guarding the frontier, people around Ji Wenxuan, and most importantly, Ji Wenxuan was that little girl's cousin, he couldn't bring himself to give such an order.
If that little girl knew he had killed her family, she would probably never forgive her for the rest of her life.
Xu Yunzhi didn't want Gu Shuyan to hate him, so he changed his usual behavior and let Ji Wenxuan and his group go.
After Xu Yunzhi left with his people and belongings, Ji Wenxuan, who was lying on the ground, tilted his head and stood up on his own.
"Young master, what do we do now?"
Those who had fallen behind also stood up one by one upon seeing this.
“Back to the woods.”
Without a second thought, Ji Wenxuan gave the order. The emotions they displayed earlier, as well as their inferior martial prowess, were all pre-arranged by Ji Wenxuan. The purpose was to make Xu Yunzhi's men believe those things to be true.
As it turned out, Xu Yunzhi did not check any items, but that doesn't mean he wouldn't check them after leaving.
Therefore, they needed to quickly put the real thing away before Xu Yunzhi discovered that something was wrong.
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