Chapter 224: I Think You Thought Wrong

"You... what are you going to do?"

The Witch Kingdom merchant's face turned into a pig's liver color almost the moment Li Rui finished speaking.

He retreated in horror.

Looking at Li Rui.

This Yu Kingdom old man before him is like an abyss in the sea, unfathomable.

He suddenly felt some regret.

Looking at the surrounding Witch Kingdom people, everyone retreated a step at the same time, opening distance from him.

The Witch Kingdom merchant finally couldn't hold on:

"I, I was wrong, I'll listen to you."

He wanted to soften, but Li Rui's eyes were even colder.

The next instant.

Saber light appeared.

The Witch Kingdom merchant's head flew high, scarlet blood sprayed, splashing on the trees on the side, shocking.

Everyone seeing this scene gasped.

So ruthless!

It is said that Witch Kingdom people are fierce and warlike; today they finally understood that Yu Kingdom people are the truly ruthless ones.

The mountain forest fell into a dead silence.

Li Rui said slowly: "I don't know what you are thinking, and I have no interest in knowing, but I want to tell you one thing."

"This is a battlefield!"

After speaking.

He continued to run toward the predetermined direction without looking back.

Dao Mo looked at the corpse of the Witch Kingdom merchant on the ground with complex eyes, gritted his teeth, and followed.

Just as Li Rui said, it is now equivalent to war; all benevolent means will only appear inefficient, and killing to establish prestige is the most efficient way now.

No one dared to question Li Rui's decision on the road afterward.

Until late at night.

The crowd crossed a small mountain.

Seeing the brightly lit city not far away.

Qinghe City.

When seeing Qinghe, Dao Mo's expression relaxed slightly.

He was just about to speak.

But he heard Li Rui order Tan Hu: "Call two people to go down the mountain to investigate."

Tan Hu acted vigorously, immediately calling people from the Tiger Battalion to go down the mountain.

Xu Wen had been silent all the way, only then did he speak:

"Lord Li, this is near Qinghe City; who would dare to attack here, isn't it too cautious?"

Li Rui said expressionlessly: "Does Lord Xu know when a swordsman likes to take action to kill?"

Xu Wen was stunned.

He didn't understand why Li Rui would ask a question that had nothing to do with the current situation, but still asked subconsciously: "When?"

"The moment you step into your home."

Xu Wen's heart sank.

He understood Li Rui's meaning.

Because that is when vigilance drops to the lowest, seemingly the safest, but actually the most dangerous.

Aren't they in that situation now?

A moment later.

The scout returned.

Tan Hu asked: "How is the situation?"

The scout immediately told everything he saw one by one.

Hearing that no lurking enemy was found, Tan Hu breathed a sigh of relief.

He was just about to ask Li Rui if they should enter the city now.

But found that Li Rui's face became unprecedentedly solemn, and heard Li Rui sigh: "Tiger, call people to go one mile away and fire the signal arrow."

"!!"

Tan Hu widened his eyes, looking puzzled: "Brother Li, there is no one, why fire the signal arrow?"

Li Rui explained:

"Just now Xiaohai said that there is a merchant caravan resting in the woods on the official road."

"But the county government office clearly ordered to prohibit merchant caravans from traveling; where did the merchant caravan come from?"

Tan Hu is not a fool; he started to analyze: "Brother Li, could it be those people defying the order to leave the city?"

Li Rui: "Do we have to bet our lives?"

Tan Hu was silent.

He immediately ordered a soldier: "Take people to one mile away and fire the signal arrow!"

The signal arrow is a special signal arrow of the Anning Guard.

Firing it outside Anning City will shock more than just a few Garrison Commanders; Jiang Linxian and Cao Wei will personally come out of the city to investigate.

Once confirmed to be abused, it will be punished heavily.

Li Rui is not decisive enough.

As for why go one mile away.

Naturally, it is to prevent the enemy from discovering the signal arrow; if the other party's strength is too strong, maybe they will forcibly kill them before Jiang Linxian or Cao Wei arrive.

So going one mile away can both detect the enemy at the first time and have time to retreat.

Tan Hu finished everything.

Looking at Li Rui again, his admiration became even greater.

He had been in the Northwest Border Army and knew too well how terrible people who can think meticulously in such a crisis moment are.

If it were him, he would definitely rush into the city without thinking.

Wouldn't think of so much at all.

Whoosh!

A sharp explosion echoed over Qinghe, leaving a white smoke that wouldn't dissipate in mid-air.

The Anning Guard on the west side of Qinghe City came alive in an instant.

A cavalry team galloped out of the city.

"Damn!"

Outside the official road, in the woods.

Several people who looked like Yu Kingdom merchants looked up at the white smoke in the sky.

Their faces became ugly.

"Old Rui, we..."

Several people turned to look at the old man still sitting on the stone.

They are the experts of the Nanjiang Qi family lurking outside Qinghe City.

As a result, they didn't wait for people, but waited for the signal arrow of the Anning Guard.

Old man Qi Rui stood up slowly:

"Let's go."

"This place can't stay anymore; Jiang Linxian and Cao Wei joining forces, the old man is no match."

After speaking, he took the lead and stood up.

Walking toward the depths of the mountain forest.

The others looked at each other, although unwilling, they still followed.

On the official road.

Piles of goods were placed on the ground, blowing in the strong wind, and the sky brightened with a fish-belly white.

Qi Yu's face was extremely ugly. Chased for fifty li, still let them run.

He never expected that the Witch Kingdom merchant caravan didn't follow the route on the defense map, changed the route in advance, and even abandoned all the goods on the spot.

As if knowing in advance.

"What exactly happened?"

Qi Yu was full of question marks.

Generally speaking, the routes on the defense map are strictly confirmed and almost never change.

But the final result is.

The Witch Kingdom merchant caravan really disappeared from under their noses.

Liu Jiaoniang's smile faded, watching coldly.

Anyway, this time it was planned by the Nanjiang Qi family; they were just here to help, and failing the task didn't have any impact on them.

=9+Book_Bar

Qi Yu suddenly glared fiercely at Liu Jiaoniang:

"Did you leak the news?"

Liu Jiaoniang was angered into laughter: "Qi Yu, are you a dog? You bite everyone you see."

However, she also muttered in her heart.

Today's matter, no matter how you look at it, it seems like someone leaked the wind.

Qi Yu was about to flare up.

But heard Yuan Gao speak: "Who was the leader of the Yu Kingdom this time?"

Qi Yu's mind flashed a few names:

"Witch guard Dao Mo, Supervisor Xu Wen, and Anning Guard Captain Li Rui."

When hearing the name Li Rui.

A different color flashed in Liu Jiaoniang's eyes.

"Still alive?!"

She remembered that Li Rui was drugged by the charm slave under her, and the Immortal Qi was searched from that Yu Kingdom official.

Not only didn't die, but also promoted to Captain.

However, Liu Jiaoniang didn't intend to speak; still the same sentence, today's matter has nothing to do with her.

Speaking more would only bring trouble to herself.

Yuan Gao looked at the goods and gave the final order:

"Take the goods away; it counts as completing half the task; the Anning Guard will soon send people, if it's Jiang Linxian, the old man might not be able to stop him."

Even if unwilling, Qi Yu also understood.

Now it is a situation where nothing can be done.

The Yu Kingdom cannot find them in the mountains, and neither can they.

Continuing to stay, maybe they will be surrounded by Jiang Linxian with troops; by then, it might not be as simple as not completing the task, but losing their lives.

He gritted his teeth:

"Move!"

The sun was shining, the sound of horseshoes was urgent, and the stones on the ground were jumping up and down.

A line of troops appeared on the official road.

"Arrived."

Xu Wen was the first to dismount.

This is where the goods were abandoned at that time.

At this moment, where are there any goods before his eyes, only the bare yellow land left.

Cao Wei and Yan Zhongxing dismounted.

Both faces were solemn.

Last night, Cao Wei saw the signal arrow and personally went out of the city

After clarifying the situation.

He immediately took people with Yan Zhongxing and rushed to the location where the goods were abandoned.

They were still too late.

"How audacious, to actually dare to rob the military!"

The veins on Cao Wei's forehead bulged.

This was practically a series of slaps to his face.

"Investigate!"

"You must find out exactly who did this!"

At this moment, some people from the Wu Kingdom merchant caravan cast glances at Li Rui, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Finally.

A Wu Kingdom merchant spoke up: "General Cao, the decision to abandon the goods and retreat was made by Magistrate Li. If this turns out to be just a group of petty thieves, wouldn't the dignity of both countries be completely lost?"

Upon hearing this.

Li Rui remained calm.

The expressions of the few men from the Anning Guard instantly turned cold.

Previously, Li Rui had struck with thunderous force and executed a Wu Kingdom merchant on the spot; the situation had been urgent then, and these merchants dared not make trouble. Now that the crisis had passed, they were seizing the opportunity to stir up trouble.

Yan Zhongxing was lost in thought.

Before coming, he had already learned the entire process of the matter from Xu Wen.

To tell the truth.

That possibility was not entirely absent.

After all, when Li Rui ordered the goods to be abandoned, they hadn't even seen the enemy.

Dao Mo's heart sank.

As a Wu Kingdom official, he could be almost certain that those princes of the Wu Kingdom would definitely take action; the only difference was which prince it would be.

Although these merchants were from the same country as him, he despised this behavior of valuing profit over righteousness and burning bridges.

He was just about to speak.

He didn't expect Cao Wei to be the first to snort coldly with an unkind expression: "What, are you questioning the decision of my Yu Kingdom?"

The Wu Kingdom merchant was taken aback.

He hadn't expected Cao Wei to be so aggressive, raising the matter to a national level the moment he spoke, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Cao Wei continued:

"My Anning Guard will definitely get to the bottom of this, but before it is clarified, if anyone dares to wag their tongue, no matter which country they are from, I, Cao, will kill them!"

In front of outsiders, as a Commandant of the Anning Guard, he had to unconditionally stand on the side of his subordinates, including Li Rui.

The Wu Kingdom merchant shrank his neck, cursing inwardly:

"Brainless brute!"

One was a soldier, the other a merchant; whether in the Yu Kingdom or the Wu Kingdom, once the former turned ruthless, he could not afford to provoke them.

Seeing the atmosphere becoming tense.

Yan Zhongxing sighed softly and spoke to mediate:

"The investigation can be postponed for now, but with the mutual market imminent and the goods lost, resolving this problem is the urgent matter."

Yu Kingdom merchants came to the market and found no goods.

Wouldn't the mutual market become a joke?

Cao Wei also frowned slightly.

This matter was indeed difficult to handle.

Just as everyone fell into a silence, Li Rui spoke slowly:

"Actually, there are still goods."

(End of chapter)