pertwk Page 402
Page 402
Guihai Yidao had no choice but to follow them, and couldn't help but wonder how the useless prince had suddenly become so imposing.
Even I was fooled, and before I knew it, I was following the other person.
Before long, a massive army appeared before Chu Yang. However, what annoyed him was that this army couldn't even maintain the most basic formation, and its discipline was extremely lax.
They were more like bandits than soldiers.
The bearded general at the head of the group looked more like the chieftain of a mountain stronghold.
"General Zhao, let me introduce you. This is His Highness Prince Xian, and the other two are Li Gexiao and Li Xunhuan."
"You should have heard of their names."
The bearded general surnamed Zhao, with a disdainful expression, didn't even glance at them directly, and sneered, "A mere Assistant Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and a third-ranked scholar—in the past, I, Zhao, would have had to grovel before them, but now..."
"As for the wise king? Heh."
Li Gexiao and Li Xunhuan didn't care about General Zhao's verbal belittling. After glancing at the lazy army, they knew that this Zhao was going to be in trouble.
Guihai Yidao was quite angry. How could Zhao talk like that and put him in such a position?
Suppressing his anger, Gui Haiyi said, "General Zhao, I have confirmed that Jinling City is safe. Why don't we take advantage of the situation and head south to relieve the Qi family army's predicament?"
"Go south? Are you crazy, or am I crazy?" General Zhao looked at the group as if they were idiots. "Wanglong City is a death trap. Whoever goes there will die. I'd rather enjoy a few days in Jinling City. It's the richest city in the south."
"Enjoy?" Chu Yang stared at him coldly. "How do you enjoy it? Tell me."
General Zhao laughed heartily, "Young Prince, you've lived in the capital since you were a child, and you're ignorant of the ways of the world. Haven't you heard the saying that bandits are like combs and soldiers are like fine brushes?"
Upon hearing this, Li Gexiao and Li Xunhuan's expressions darkened.
"If you say those words, you deserve to die, and you can't blame anyone else."
Chu Yang reached out and grabbed at the void, and the immense gravitational force instantly pulled General Zhao towards him.
"Why can't I move?!"
General Zhao was both shocked and furious, his body was completely out of control, and he couldn't even resist.
"Let go of the general!"
The closest lieutenant drew his long sword and shouted the loudest, but did not take a single step.
The other soldiers reacted similarly; with their commander captured, not one of them wanted to risk their lives to save him.
"What a bunch of useless trash! The safety of the southern Ming Dynasty is actually relying on a few of you!"
Chu Yang gripped General Zhao's neck tightly, his eyes like knives, sweeping coldly over the soldiers.
With a snap, General Zhao's neck broke off, and his head rolled off his shoulder like a ball, rolling to the deputy general's feet.
"General Zhao is dead!!!"
The lieutenant shouted at the top of his lungs, his expression one of extreme fear.
An uproar arose, and the soldiers showed signs of fleeing.
Chu Yang felt increasingly disappointed.
"How could Your Highness..."
From the moment Chu Yang made his move, Gui Haiyi's mind went blank. The virtuous prince, who had indulged in a life of luxury for more than twenty years, could actually kill the general guarding two cities with a mere flick of his wrist.
"Cao Shaoqin and Ma Jinliang both left the capital in such a hurry, and with Lord Guo resigning, could the reason be..."
As a secret agent of the Dragon Guard Manor, Guihai Yidao was more perceptive than others, and he found the truth from the slightest clues.
Thinking of how Chu Yang had endured so many years and carried the stigma of being a good-for-nothing playboy for so long, Gui Haiyi felt both admiration and a chill run down his spine.
What does Your Highness want to do?
Guihai Yidao trembled slightly. At this moment, all he wanted was to return to the Dragon Guard Manor as soon as possible and tell his adoptive father, Iron-Blooded Marquis, everything.
"Brother Yidao, don't rush. First, follow the Prince's instructions and bring back the Qi Family Army. After that, you can ask the Prince for instructions before deciding what to do."
Li Gexiao silently put his arm around Gui Haiyidao's shoulder and used the unique grappling techniques of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to subdue him. Gui Haiyidao subconsciously tried to break free, but his shoulders felt as heavy as if they weighed ten thousand pounds.
"Your skills have recovered?!"
"How was it restored?!"
Guihai Yidao looked at Li Gexiao in shock. Tiedan Shenhou once said that if Li Gexiao was injured like that, his martial arts foundation would be reduced to less than one-tenth, and he would never be able to recover in this lifetime.
"Brother Yidao, you'd better take my words to heart. It's for your own life."
Li Gexiao suddenly let go, patted Guihai Yidao's shoulder, and then stepped aside, watching him with a smile.
Gui Haiyi had no doubt that if he didn't agree, the other party would definitely kill him without hesitation.
"You two take these useless people to meet General Qi."
"Aren't we waiting for Duan Tianya to come back?"
"There's no need to wait any longer."
Chu Yang turned and glanced at his deputy, "Do you have a problem with that?"
The lieutenant dared not speak again; the last person to speak had been beheaded. He kept kneeling on the ground and kowtowing.
"You have no backbone as a general. Once this matter is over, get out of here on your own and don't let me see you again."
After speaking, Chu Yang didn't even want to look at him again and turned to leave.
Li Gexiao and Gui Haiyidao were left to clean up the mess. They were just a bunch of bandits, and the two of them were strong enough to suppress them.
Li Xunhuan caught up with Chu Yang and asked, "Why didn't Your Highness ask me if I wanted to go?"
Chu Yang casually said, "Didn't you want to leave a long time ago?"
Li Xunhuan was taken aback for a moment, and asked, "How did Your Highness figure that out?"
Chu Yang said, "Some people are born free, like unrestrained birds. They may stay in one place for a short time, but they will eventually fly to the boundless sky."
These words struck a chord with Li Xunhuan, who couldn't help but exclaim, "That jar of Daughter's Red wine back then tasted truly wonderful. To be able to drink with Your Highness once in this life is a great fortune indeed."
Chu Yang laughed and said, "It's a pity that you, bird, have too many sad things hidden in your heart, so you can't fly happily."
A hint of sadness flashed in Li Xunhuan's eyes, but coupled with his handsome face and graying temples, the melancholy he exuded only accentuated the mature charm of a middle-aged man.
The two returned to Jinling City, wanting to take another look at the wounded soldiers, but at the entrance of the clinic, they saw Lu Xiaofeng fighting with someone.
The person who fought Lu Xiaofeng had exceptional agility, on par with Lu Xiaofeng, but his clothes were rather shabby and his appearance was rather unappealing, not befitting of a master.
Neither of them went all out; it was more like a friendly squabble.
Lu Xiaofeng was still cursing, and Chu Yang and Li Xunhuan only understood what he was cursing when they stepped forward.
"You wall-climbing flea, you call yourself the King of Thieves, but you have no loyalty whatsoever, leaving us to die in the Blissful Tower!"
"Lu Xiaoji, you're talking nonsense! That's a powerful demon that's already grown up. You two have both been captured. How can I fight it alone? I need to find someone to help me!"
"Where are you?! We've been looking for you for so many days, where are you?!"
"Who knows if that Bliss Pavilion has a formation? I've led my men around the mountains for a long time and we still have no clue!"
"And then you just stopped looking?!"
"I need to find a knowledgeable Taoist priest to break the formation, otherwise how can I save you!"
Where is the Taoist priest?
"Still looking..."
Lu Xiaofeng was trembling with anger.
With the way you're searching, even if I get sucked dry by that pink-haired skeleton, you still won't find me!
"Sikong Zhaixing, you're such a bastard."
"Hehe, same to you."
Lu Xiaofeng caught a glimpse of Chu Yang watching the show out of the corner of his eye, so he stopped what he was doing, glared fiercely at Sikong Zhaixing, and then walked towards Chu Yang.
Chu Yang joked, "So this is the famous King of Thieves. He doesn't look quite like I imagined."
Lu Xiaofeng explained, "It's a disguise. That kid's real face isn't that ugly, but it's not much better than that."
Sikong Zhaixing got angry and pointed at Lu Xiaofeng, yelling, "Lu Xiaofeng, who are you calling ugly?!"
Lu Xiaofeng said smugly, "If the four of us stand together, tell me who's the best looking."
Sikong Zhaixing glanced at Hua Manlou, licked his lips, and realized that he was no match for him in terms of appearance. Then he looked at Chu Yang and Li Xunhuan, and his forehead instantly broke out in a sweat. He couldn't find any room for rebuttal.
A dejected Sikong Zhaixing waved his hand, "I've lost out in this life, let's compete again in the next."
Chu Yang couldn't help but laugh. This guy was really interesting; no wonder he could become friends with Lu Xiaofeng.
Lu Xiaofeng looked around but didn't see Li Gexiao. He asked, "Where's the drunkard?"
Chu Yang said, "He has important things to do."
Lu Xiaofeng said with a look of surprise, "A drunkard has something important to do? It's like the sun has risen in the west."
"Oh! Speaking of important matters, I have some earth-shattering news I haven't told you yet, Lu Xiaoji." Sikong Zhaixing said solemnly, "The Lord of Baiyun City, Ye Gucheng, has challenged Ximen Chuixue to a duel on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The two want to determine the number one swordsman in the world, and the duel will take place at the Forbidden City!"
Lu Xiaofeng was shocked. "The Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here!"
Hua Manlou frowned and said, "The human race is in a precarious situation. How can they fight amongst themselves because of their own selfish desires? There are not many martial arts masters who are good at swordsmanship to begin with."