Chapter 297: One hit, one silence. [Thanks to everyone for your support! Again]

The first quarter of the Mao hour (5:00–5:15 AM).

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

Quyuanjie.

Marquis Yongyi's Mansion.

The bone-chilling cold wind blew, causing the tree branches to sway.

From time to time, withered branches fell onto the street.

At the passageway leading from the inner courtyard of the Xu residence to the racecourse, a master and servant, one tall and one short, walked out holding a lantern, heading toward the racecourse.

Arriving at the small hut by the edge of the racecourse, Xu Zaijing felt something was wrong. He shivered and glanced at the stables; inside, the Li Ju and the two Long Ju were restlessly snorting and pawing at the ground with their iron-shod hooves.

A Lan looked at Xu Zaijing standing at the hut's entrance, spoke a few words in the Northern Liao language to Xun Shu, and then ran over.

"Young Master, the Long Ju are acting strange, could it be..."

As he spoke, Qingcao opened the door to the hut.

At the doorway, the two large dogs sent by the Xie family were standing beside Yin Bo, not barking, and one of the large dogs was biting Yin Bo's trouser leg.

Xu Zaijing's master stared at Xu Zaijing with a very grim expression, his voice low and hoarse as he said, "Jing'er, hurry and put on your armor, the situation is not right!"

As he spoke, he pointed at the large dogs.

Xu Zaijing nodded without hesitation, hurriedly pushing Qingcao and pulling A Lan into the hut.

Qingcao was still looking at all this in a daze.

After entering the hut, Xu Zaijing walked straight toward the right side of the central fire stove. After A Lan was pushed by Yin Bo, he hurriedly followed.

Yin Bo continued in a low, hoarse voice, "Qingcao girl, hide in the cabinet!"

Then, limping, he walked to Xu Zaijing's side, took the arm guards handed over by A Lan, and put them on Xu Zaijing.

He spoke at an extremely fast pace, "I hope it's a false alarm. I've only had this feeling once before, the time my leg was crippled."

Xu Zaijing nodded with a solemn expression, watching A Lan's movements, and said, "Give me the breastplate first!"

A Lan hurriedly put down the boots with embroidered edges in his hands and helped Xu Zaijing put on the breastplate hanging to the side.

Xu Zaijing's ears twitched, and he said, "Master, it seems they have already started climbing the walls!"

Yin Bo nodded, helping Xu Zaijing put on the armor even faster.

Suddenly, Qingcao ran over to help Xu Zaijing tie the cords of his armor.

With three people helping, plus Xu Zaijing's own eight hands, the armor was put on at an extremely fast speed.

"Qingcao girl, your hands aren't even shaking, that's rare! Sigh! I shouldn't have let Qingyun stay in the room to accompany his wife."

Hearing his master's words, Xu Zaijing smiled and whispered, "Master, there are three unfilial acts, and having no descendants is the greatest."

Yin Bo raised his single eye to look at him and whispered, "Not bad, you can still laugh!"

After saying this, he handed the helmet to Xu Zaijing, then limped to the side, took the towel that had been drying on the water tank,

and muttered to himself:

"I never thought that the pine oil I use to treat my leg pain would have another use."

As he spoke, he dipped the towel into it.

Xu Zaijing, meanwhile, walked while tying the outermost layer of his robe, took the large bow from the wall that he usually used—which had already had its bowstring removed—

and holding the bowstring in his hand, Xu Zaijing said, "A Lan, give me the quiver!"

As he spoke, Xu Zaijing had already strung the bow.

A Lan trotted over and tied the quiver filled with feathered arrows onto the leather belt Xu Zaijing used to secure his robe.

As Xu Zaijing walked outside, he said, "Qingcao, hurry and get into the cabinet."

"Oh!"

As he spoke, A Lan stuffed two steel maces into Xu Zaijing's waist.

Opening the door, Xu Zaijing arrived at the entrance of the hut. His master limped over and whispered, "I'll wrap it for you, here are two fire-feathered arrows for illumination."

Xu Zaijing hurriedly pulled out two feathered arrows.

Four or five breaths later, Xu Zaijing's master used a bamboo pole to take down the lantern at the entrance. Xu Zaijing lit the feathered arrows that were half-wrapped with the pine-oil towel.

Because the hut blocked the view,

the men in black did not see A Lan place the steel spear diagonally against the wall.

Those experts from the Bai Gao Kingdom who were climbing down the wall in night-traveling clothes only suddenly saw the lantern light in front of the hut flicker.

This change caused the group of men in black to stop their movements.

Seeing the light in the stables and the middle of the hut, someone walked into the stables.

The dozens of experts who had climbed down the wall then quietly and quickly rushed toward the stables and the hut.

Moreover, the sharp blades in their hands seemed to be coated with something, showing no reflection at all. Under the moonlight, some seemed to be holding crossbows level.

Listening to the faint footsteps,

Xu Zaijing nodded to his master in front of the hut.

"Whoosh!"

The lantern was blown out. Xu Zaijing pulled the bowstring slightly twice, and the two lit feathered arrows flew high into the air.

While the lit feathered arrows were still flying in the air,

Xu Zaijing had already seen someone approaching the stables, less than a dozen steps away from the hut, and he also saw clearly that among these experts, there were shields and crossbows.

Xu Zaijing swiftly pulled out armor-piercing arrows from the quiver. The powerful bow, which had astonishing strength, seemed like a soft bow used by young ladies in his hands. In less than a single breath, three arrows had already been shot out.

The group of men in black was slightly startled by the "one extinguished, two lit" sequence.

Before they could react, the expert in black who was exposed under the firelight and holding a crossbow was sent flying by the feathered arrows.

What surprised Xu Zaijing was that they actually didn't scream.

Oh, some had their throats pierced and couldn't scream anymore.

At this moment, the lantern light in the stables was also being extinguished one by one.

In this extremely short time, the large bow in Xu Zaijing's hand never stopped, and three or four thick feathered arrows were shot out again.

Xu Zaijing whispered, "Hiss, did it hit bone or pierce armor? That shouldn't be!"

Under normal circumstances, a feathered arrow with this much bow strength hitting an unarmored target should have pierced straight through. Don't ask Xu Zaijing how he knows this,

because this was precious experience from the Jin Yangshan stronghold.

The burning feathered arrows in mid-air had already fallen to the ground.

While thinking and speaking, four more thick sharp arrows were shot out, pinning the experts in black who had just climbed down the wall and were carrying crossbows at their waists to the wall.

A man in black who wanted to stomp out the feathered arrow had his foot on the flames, but then he was sent flying by another feathered arrow.

After Xu Zaijing shot this arrow, he swiftly reloaded and drew the string. After adjusting his direction, a black shadow running to the stable entrance had an extra hole in his head.

Just as Xu Zaijing adjusted his direction, the flames on the ground were extinguished.

The entire Xu family racecourse fell into darkness, with only moonlight and starlight spilling down.

Xu Zaijing continued to swiftly shoot an arrow at a black shadow.

But the sound was not that of hitting a human body, but a "thud"!

"Oh! A shield!"

As his thoughts raced, the curvature of the large bow in Xu Zaijing's hand increased by a level.

"Clang!"

A shield-bearing expert in black had his shield pierced straight through, the feathered arrow pinning him and the shield together.

Then Xu Zaijing adjusted his direction again and sent away another expert who seemed to have an injured arm and had dropped his shield.

In the dim light, white vapor rose from the bodies of the experts in black hit by Xu Zaijing, some fast and some slow.

The fast ones were the experts' painful breathing, and the slow ones were their blood cooling down.

Xu Zaijing's bow and arrows first dealt with the men in black holding crossbows, who posed a greater threat.

The distances varied, and the result was that the expert in black closest to him was only six or seven steps away.

At this distance, well, the power of the bow and arrow was still sufficient.

After Xu Zaijing shot two more arrows and sent two people flying, he dodged a sharp blade with a sideways movement and, using his right hand that held the feathered arrow, pulled out the steel mace from his waist.

"Clang!"

"Puff!"

The expert in black's sword was knocked away by the bow arm, and the steel mace, striking the expert's armor, made the armor and him deeply merge into one.

Xu Zaijing looked up at the black shadow not far away that was standing still facing him. Without a word, he threw the steel mace out.

Amidst the whistling sound of wind being broken, the steel mace smashed something, and the black shadow fell to the ground.

At this moment, another approaching man in black raised his sword to hack down. Xu Zaijing swiftly grabbed an arrow and drew the bow.

"Snap!"

The bow arm in Xu Zaijing's hand snapped directly. It must have been damaged when he knocked away someone else's sharp blade earlier, and under the strain, it simply collapsed.

This scene was still quite conspicuous under the moonlight, and it greatly boosted the confidence of the experts in black.

Xu Zaijing flashed backward swiftly, dodging the man in black's hack, and swung the bow arm he was holding. The effect was naturally not as good as the steel mace,

but it still made the person's head tilt to the side, hmm...

Fighting until now, still, apart from the muffled groans of exertion, no one was wailing, including those who had been hit by Xu Zaijing's moves.

Hmm, this bunch really are experts; they really don't make a sound!

Thinking of this, Xu Zaijing used the bow arm to block the expert in black's sword swing.

"Swish!"

The bow arm in Xu Zaijing's hand was sliced off directly. Such sharpness indicated that this man in black was using a precious sword.

Thinking of this, Xu Zaijing threw the bow arm in his hand with all his might and pulled out the steel mace with his backhand.

That expert in black dodged very quickly, but his companion behind him did not dodge fast enough. After being hit in the chest by the flying bow arm, he immediately dropped his sword, clutching his chest.

"Ding!"

Sword and mace collided, sparking a shower of sparks.

The expert in black almost couldn't hold onto his precious sword.

He looked in horror at the steel mace in Xu Zaijing's hand. If it were an ordinary sword, his precious sword would have long since sliced through the opponent's weapon.

But tonight, he happened to encounter such a solid steel mace!

Seeing Xu Zaijing's lightning-fast hacking motion, he reflexively raised his precious sword.

"Clang!"

Another shower of sparks flew.

Xu Zaijing looked at the steel mace stuck in the shoulder of the precious sword holder and shook his head.

Another one who doesn't make a sound!

Then he kicked the expert in black away.

Looking at the leader who was kicked flying and kneeling on the ground, and Xu Zaijing, who was holding a steel mace in the darkness and not making a sound like a killing god, the surrounding experts in black had a moment of stillness.

Someone in the darkness reached behind their waist and took out two things similar to the one in Xu Zaijing's hand.

Then they rushed up again.

In the darkness, sparks flew again, and the sound of clanging continued to come.

Suddenly,

After Xu Zaijing smashed a shield, his steel mace got stuck in it. This momentary hesitation allowed the shield-bearer's fast sword to hack over.

Xu Zaijing could only let go and push, dodging the shield-bearer's companion's hack, and then he leaped forward, arriving at the side of the hut.

He grabbed the refined steel spear A Lan had placed against the wall.

Watching Xu Zaijing dance a spear flower with a whistling sound, the men in black surrounding him sighed for some reason.

Just now,

they thought that once they got close to this divine archer, they could solve him in two or three moves.

Who could have thought that this divine archer, wrapped in armor, wouldn't panic even when closed in on.

At a distance where he couldn't draw his bow,

this fellow actually still had a pair of steel maces at his waist.

After sacrificing so many lives and finally managing to parry his steel mace, making him empty-handed,

he ended up doing a roll and leap, and suddenly had a long spear in his hand!!!

According to the killers from the Chuihuan Department, this was just a tiny Marquis mansion of the Great Zhou, and the mansion's personal guards were all in the north.

But how is this person harder to kill than the experts around Empress General Mi Mu of the Bai Gao Kingdom?

When they killed the Empress, they only lost four companions who grew up with them, but how many have died now?

Is it that they don't understand combined attack techniques?

No,

it's really that this person's movements to end his companions' lives were too clean and swift, and his movements were extremely accurate, simple, and fast!

Thinking of this in his mind, in the eyes of the expert in black, a cold glint arrived first...

He fell to the ground in some confusion.

His remaining consciousness only felt his left eye heating up, and his right pupil soon fell into darkness.

Finally, what he heard was the sound of metal weapons colliding by his ear.

Before at the Jin Yangshan stronghold, the elite private soldiers of Prince Yan wearing step-armor had thick armor but were easy to kill.

Tonight's opponent had much better skills than Prince Yan's private soldiers,

and the weapons used were even sharper and tougher, just like the one who used the precious sword earlier.

He actually withstood two of his moves!

Thinking of this, Xu Zaijing swiftly pulled out the long spear that had pierced into the expert in black's armor.

This made the man in black, who wanted to grab his refined steel spear to create an opportunity for his companion, grab at empty air and could only collapse to the ground in frustration.

When the man in black coughed up blood, his eyes lit up because a companion much stronger than him moved sideways, and the long spear only pierced his armor.

The uninjured companion reacted extremely quickly and gripped the spear shaft tightly.

Then...

Then the companion was lifted into the air by this person's long spear and smashed heavily onto the other companion.

Listening to the sound of the impact, he knew that neither of them would survive.

Watching this person easily stab the two stacked-together people again, finishing them off—oh, it should be finishing them off with a spear!

Actually, his own finishing moves before were also this easy and elegant, just like in the Bai Gao Kingdom, when he and his companions slaughtered those Bai Gao Kingdom Li clan royals,

he had once pierced two with one blade, sending away a woman protecting a little girl.

That woman was... what was the target this morning...

He couldn't remember.

Snap.

A person lay down in front of him. Under the moonlight, he could see that this companion's eyes were full of panic.

Sss, sss.

This person was desperately using his hands to cover his neck, and warm liquid was vaguely splashing onto his face.

In the courtyard next to the Falcon Room,

lived the relatives of the three people, General Mi Mu Tuoxia and Mie Mi Chusheng of the Bai Gao Kingdom.

There were old and young. The old people were light sleepers, and hearing the faint sound of collision, the old person opened their eyes abruptly.

"Taotie! Taotie!"

The old person shouted urgently.

"Aunt, what's wrong?"

"Grandmother, why are you speaking so loudly?"

The women and children sleeping with the old person in the room were woken up and asked hurriedly.

The Li brothers, who were in the room next door, also draped their clothes over themselves and walked into the room.

"Aunt, what's wrong?"

Li Li Chi Mei stepped in boots, draped in a cotton-padded jacket, holding a candlestick, and walked to the bedside.

"Listen! What is that sound!"

As soon as the old person spoke, the room went quiet, and the clanging sound of weapons colliding came through.

Li Taotie whispered, "It should be the Fifth Young Master practicing martial arts."

The old person shook their head and said:

"No! He doesn't make this sound when practicing martial arts on normal days, and he wouldn't have so many weapon collisions with that strong attendant! Something is wrong!"

Hearing this, Li Taotie walked out of the door, listened carefully, and after looking at his brother, said:

"Quick, put on your clothes!"

"Brother, is the Fifth Young Master practicing with the Hou Fu's personal guards?"

Hearing Li Li Chi Mei's words, Li Taotie said:

"Can't you hear the unique clashing sound of Bai Gao swords?"

"Tuogao, go help your cousin put on his armor!"

The old person's voice came again.

There was a flurry of chaos in the courtyard.

When the Li Taotie brothers came out,

the sky was no longer dark but had turned deep cyan. It was no longer necessary to use candlelight to see things clearly.

Looking around,

they saw several black ropes hanging down from the snow-white high walls of the Xu residence,

and there were several black shadows standing motionless by the wall under the ropes.

Near the hut closer to the Li brothers,

a black shadow was waving a long spear.

"Clang!"

The sound of parrying crossbow arrows came through.

Looking at the people lying in disarray around and the intense smell of blood,

the Li Taotie brothers immediately pulled out the large Gao swords at their waists and ran lightly toward this side.

They did not run at full speed, otherwise, they wouldn't have the strength to help Xu Zaijing fight once they arrived.

Suddenly, after a head appeared on the wall, it shrank back quickly.

Xu Zaijing looked up, and it was also a face covered in black cloth.

Soon, the sound of whipping horses came from outside the wall.

And the expert in black who had just pulled the crossbow trigger to delay Xu Zaijing's speed looked at Xu Zaijing walking over with the long spear.

He shook his head with disbelief in his eyes.

Behind him, there was another companion who was weakly gripping the rope, wanting to climb the wall to escape,

but whether it was exhaustion or fear, the man in black by the wall kept sliding down halfway up.

The delaying man in black looked back at his companion, pulled out a short blade, and ran toward the wall.

Then, in Xu Zaijing's surprised eyes, the man in black with the short blade slit the throat of that companion by the wall.

Xu Zaijing could feel the pain of that man in black; it seemed the companion whose throat he slit was some relative of his.

Then the man in black turned the blade toward his own throat, wanting to commit suicide.

Xu Zaijing swiftly threw the long spear in his hand, which happened to pin the shoulder on the side of the hand holding the blade of the last living person.

The short blade fell to the ground,

and the long spear also pinned him to the wall. The man in black looked at Xu Zaijing, who had run over from not far away and had no more projectiles, and with a mocking look in his eyes, he used his foot to nudge the hilt of the blade.

The short blade was nudged onto the back of his foot, then he lifted his foot, and the blade fell into his other hand. Just as Xu Zaijing took off his helmet, wanting to throw it over,

that survivor had already neatly finished himself off.

Looking at the last man in black by the wall who had no possibility of being saved,

Xu Zaijing put his helmet back on with hatred and ran a few steps toward the wall.

At this time, the Li brothers had just run to the middle of the racecourse.

Xu Zaijing stepped and leaped onto the high wall, took down a brick, and held it in his hand, but after some delay, he could only see someone riding a horse and fleeing not far from Quyuanjie.

Xu Zaijing broke the brick in half with hatred and threw half of it out.

As a result, the rider turned his head and happened to dodge the brick aimed at his head.

Xu Zaijing let out a curse.

Throwing away the half brick in his hand, Xu Zaijing jumped off the wall, pulled out the long spear, and walked to the side of the hut, shouting, "Master... it's safe."

Yin Bo walked out of the hut, looked at the men in black lying all over the ground, and smacked his lips.

This disciple of his...

After a while, the Li Taotie brothers arrived nearby.

"Fifth Young Master! It was us who implicated you!"

Li Taotie said with an apologetic look after sheathing his long sword.

Li Li Chi Mei on the side did the same.

Xu Zaijing shook his head and said, "It's fine, come, come help collect the bodies!"

"Fifth Young Master, should we finish them off first, in case any are faking death?"

Xu Zaijing nodded and said, "Good!"

As he spoke, he began to check the bodies with the spear in his hand.

The Li brothers also pulled out their long swords again, and then the two watched one, and one didn't make a sound.

Li Li Chi Mei even shook his head.

At this time, A Lan and Xun Shu dragged the man in black with the "One" on his head from the stable entrance over.

While collecting the bodies,

Li Taotie suddenly froze after pulling off the mask of a man in black.

His gaze turned to a necklace around the man in black's neck.

Then, as if possessed, he pulled out the necklace, looked at it carefully, and his hands began to tremble.

He clutched the necklace in his hand and began to cry.

This change stunned everyone in the field.

Then, Li Taotie pulled out his large Gao sword and began to hack wildly at the corpse.

It was Li Li Chi Mei who hugged his arm and pulled him to the side: "Brother, when the great change happened, you should have thought of these things!"

Li Taotie collapsed weakly into his brother's arms: "Brother, it's more important to clean up this mess now."

Li Taotie put the necklace into his pocket, wiped his tears, and nodded.

Two quarters of an hour later, the "guests" were laid out neatly.

Xu Zaijing looked at the Li brothers and said:

"Taotie, are you alright?"

The Li elder brother nodded.

Xu Zaijing said, "That's good! Taotie, Li Chi Mei, you two first go with Qingcao to the warehouse to get some burlap and coarse cloth. After sending them over, guard the back courtyard gate and intersection. Before the people from the Imperial City Department and Kaifeng Prefecture arrive, don't let anyone in the inner courtyard see."

The two brothers bowed and agreed.

"A Lan, Xun Shu, you go separately to the Imperial City Department and the Kaifeng Prefecture office to find people, tell them to bring more large carts!"

"Yes, Young Master."

"Right!"

Hearing Xu Zaijing's voice, A Lan and Xun Shu stopped.

"Find some high-ranking monks and Daoist priests from temples and monasteries to come at noon to perform rites!"

"Yes, Young Master!"

Xu Zaijing glanced at Qingcao in the hut and said, "Qingcao, take them two and hurry, you are not allowed to come back, and you are not allowed to look back!"

Qingcao bowed and left with the Li brothers.

After most people had left,

Xu Zaijing looked at his master and said, "Master, help me remove my armor."

Soon, the Li brothers dragged back half-a-person-high coarse cloth, and Xu Zaijing had also almost finished removing his armor.

No one in the Xu inner courtyard had been able to come out.

When the sun came out,

Zhao Meifeng stepped off the carriage in a hurry.

Looking at the two Imperial City Department clerks standing on the side wearing guard uniforms, he fiercely struck them with his scabbard:

"Watch them!"

Gao Yunqing, who was following, hurriedly bowed. Looking at Zhao Meifeng walking in, he said in a low voice, angry at their failure to meet expectations:

"You... what exactly are you doing?"

The two Imperial City Department clerks clutched their possibly broken arms in pain, lowered their heads, and didn't speak.

Zhao Meifeng entered the Xu courtyard with a bitter face.

When he arrived at the racecourse,

looking at the ten men in black neatly arranged in three rows, covered with coarse cloth, his eyelids twitched:

"Fifth Young Master, did you do this yourself..."

Xu Zaijing, who was sitting at the hut entrance washing the blood off his armor with warm water from the fire stove, nodded.

He picked up a weapon from his side and said with a smile, "It's a pity, the edge is chipped."

Zhao Meifeng squeezed out a smile and said, "It's fine, I'll help you sell it, it will definitely fetch a high price."

"Fifth Young Master, I'm sorry!"

Zhao Meifeng whispered.

Xu Zaijing nodded and continued to focus on washing his armor.

Great Zhou Imperial Palace,

The Emperor, who was holding the morning court, sat on the dragon throne, talking with the ministers.

Suddenly,

when an eunuch stepped into the hall, he stepped on his robe and fell to the ground.

In the silence, it was very eye-catching.

Many officials turned their heads to look.

The Grand Eunuch glared and shouted:

"Which little monkey is this! Don't even know how to walk?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! It is—it is an urgent report from the Imperial City Guard. An official from the Kaifeng Prefecture is also requesting an audience outside the palace gates, earnestly begging for the Kaifeng Prefect, Lord Gu, to go out and handle an urgent matter."

The Grand Eunuch walked down quickly and took the secret report from the hands of the little eunuch who had walked over.

He returned to his original position at a fast speed, without his robe fluttering, and handed the urgent report to the Emperor.

The Emperor opened the urgent report with a solemn expression.

After reading just a few lines,

the Emperor's expression changed: "This is truly outrageous!"

With a loud shout, Sheng Hong shivered. He peeked and saw the Emperor's chest heaving.

"Kaifeng Prefect, see for yourself! In broad daylight, under the clear sky, a thief has actually struck the home of a Great Zhou Marquis!"

As he spoke, the urgent report was thrown to the ground. Gu Lin hurriedly stepped out of the ranks, knelt down, picked up the urgent report, and breathed a sigh of relief after reading it.

Because the urgent report said that there were no casualties at the Marquis Yongyi Mansion.

"Thank heavens!"

"Your Majesty! This minister has failed in his duty!"

"Investigate it carefully for me!"

Gu Lin kowtowed to the ground: "Yes!"

After finishing, the Emperor said in a low voice, "Is this the reward for My benevolence toward the vassal kings?"

These words were heard by many in the silent Great Hall; some remonstrating officials from the Censorate lowered their heads slightly.

In an alley near the Bai Gao Kingdom's relay station,

A loafer with pierced ears, disguised as a woman to act as a night-patrolling barbarian, knocked on the gate of a courtyard.

The courtyard gate opened.

After looking left and right to ensure no one was around, the loafer stepped into the courtyard.

Soon, he appeared inside the Bai Gao Kingdom's relay station.

He also had an additional golden dangling earring on his ear.

Arriving at the door of a room, he straightened his clothes, rubbed the back of his head, and knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Looking at his disheveled subordinate, who hadn't had time to remove his makeup and looked like a clown, the man sitting cross-legged on the couch studying a Go manual said:

"How did it go? You didn't harm any innocents, did you?"

Jin Chuihuan knelt on the ground and said in a hoarse voice, "Minister, the men I brought—they are all gone!"

The man turned to the side, looking at his kneeling subordinate in disbelief, and set down the Go manual in his hand.

"What did you say?"

"Thirty experts—they are all gone!"

The man turned his body, got off the bed, put on his shoes, and walked a few quick steps, his breathing somewhat rapid as he said:

"A miscalculation, a miscalculation! I never expected the Great Zhou to exert such effort to protect these two brothers!"

"How many Great Zhou Imperial Guards did our men kill or injure?"

The kneeling man buried his head in his arms and said in a muffled voice, "Minister, not a single one was harmed! The one who wiped out our experts was just one person!"

The man was stunned; he walked quickly to Jin Chuihuan's side and kicked him hard a few times, saying:

"Do you know what you are saying?"

"When we besieged Empress General Mi Mu, we only lost four such good experts! And now you tell me all of them are gone!!?"

"Minister! Your subordinate saw it with his own eyes from the wall of the Marquis Yongyi's residence. I only saw one person wearing Great Zhou armor. In the end, he was the one who killed those two Rendo brothers. That Fifth Young Master of the Xu family wasn't resting in bed at all."

The man took a deep breath.

"This entire affair was planned by you alone! I will report this truthfully to Xingqing Prefecture! And to your father as well."

"Yes, Minister."

Watching Jin Chuihuan kneeling on the ground, a smile appeared on the man's lips.

(End of chapter)