Chapter 325: Is this escape of yours serious?

Crazy.

Crazy.

Really crazy!

So-called princess, shouldn't she be of noble birth, untouched by mortal affairs?

But every time he opens his mouth, it's just 'take the silver yourself,' 'first count you as having done a task,' 'once the silver is in hand, we split fifty-fifty'...

Listening to this, it's hardly different from that sort of lowlife who scrapes a living in the market, treating money as life itself?

Most crucially, this princess's courage is truly huge—

Following closely after that key, it wasn't anything else; indeed, it was a stack of small booklets.

In the booklet, it records not only the general information of all caravans passing through Yongzhou, but also the cargo lists reported by each caravan upon clearance!

On the rivers, fish and dragons mingle.

Although there's bound to be some outward compliance but inner defiance, and smuggling does occur, with this booklet in hand, combined with the caravan masters' situations, we can weed out most of the scrawny monkeys and precisely pick out the 'fat sheep'!

Something this important, ordinary people probably can't even get a clue about it...

But now, that princess, for some unknown madness, actually gave the booklet directly to him!

The sound of horse hooves clip-clopping continued in his ears; Liu Ji, thinking of this, couldn't help but click his tongue—

That princess, how could she not fear him taking the booklet and running away?

One must know, what she gave him is nothing more than a key and a booklet...

Before leaving, she also gave him a horse as an afterthought.

Just these three things.

What makes the daughter of the deposed crown prince, surnamed Ran, think that with just these three things he'd willingly work for her, seize the goods, and even give her half?

Once he has the silver and goods in hand, filthy rich, then who would still need to respect the Zhoufu!

After taking a few more cities, he could clearly become a prefect himself!

"Clip-clop......"

The sky is bright and the air clear, the breeze gentle and pleasant.

The horse beneath him kicked up a series of echoes; Liu Ji turned his head, gazing fixedly at the Zhoufu city walls now barely visible behind him.

The lingering effects of the drug still lingered on him, but once out of that dungeon, it was wide skies for birds to fly, vast seas for fish to leap.

He's out.

This time he's really out.

Liu Ji's usual carefree smile faded with the last wisp of the city walls disappearing; after a few breaths, he regained his composure, whipped the reins and shouted:

"Giddyap!"

The fine horse neighed and galloped off, jolting.

The black horse's hooves were superb, its four legs flying, kicking up dust, the clip-clop of hooves urgent and continuous, breaking through the headwind all the way, it raced wildly toward Horizontal City without cease.

After a full gallop of over an hour, the scenery along the way receded backward, the Zhoufu territory flung far behind, yet the outline of Horizontal City's walls still had not appeared.

Liu Ji frowned, pondering the route, when suddenly a few familiar figures flashed at the fork in the official road ahead.

Over ten sturdy-clad men stood scattered by the roadside, each wearing a short sword at the waist, alert, their eyes constantly scanning; they were his brothers tasked with scouting outside the city.

The gazes of all locked onto the black horse charging forth; initially they were on guard, gathering strength, but the moment they saw the person's face and build on its back, they all froze.

In the next instant, the vigilance on everyone's faces faded, replaced by extreme joy and excitement.

The bearded big man leading them strode forward at a run, not waiting for the horse to steady, he quickly stepped to block the roadside.

Liu Ji seized the moment to tighten the reins; the fine horse let out a long neigh and stood firm.

He flipped off the horse neatly, his body swaying slightly, not yet steady, his second brother rushed forward to grab his arms, his voice full of urgency and lingering fear:

"Big brother! It's really you! You've finally come back!"

"That day on the old road, we were ambushed; a sky-full of incapacitating drugs and crossbow bolts came out of nowhere; the brothers all passed out, and when they woke they saw only a mess on the ground, with no trace of you! We searched everywhere, finding only a few signs of struggle, not a single clue!"

Clearly a bearded big man, yet when speaking of these days of anxiety, he could hardly keep his voice from choking:

"The brothers who woke from the ambush did so hastily, the drug's aftereffects too strong, their minds muddled; they couldn't give a clear account of the ambushers. We privately speculated over and over, fearing the Zhoufu had secretly set a trap, using the pretext of summoning for duty to scheme against the elder brother, then later divert blame eastward to force us to rise in rebellion against the Zhoufu, landing us with a charge of treason!"

"You weren't in the city, so the brothers couldn't decide, nor dare to rashly raise troops to storm the Zhoufu and seize people; they could only suppress their fury, bringing the brothers to guard the border day and night, day after day living in fear, just dreading hearing bad news about the elder brother!"

Every word, every sentence, as if weeping blood.

The brothers gathered around, hearing this, all lowered their heads, eye sockets red, the anxiety of these days plainly written on their faces.

Seeing his loyal brothers like this, Liu Ji felt a warm glow in his chest, he raised a hand and patted his second brother's shoulder, his tone calm and comforting:

A few simple words of reassurance slightly eased everyone's anxiety.

But the bearded big man's anger and resentment hadn't lessened in the slightest; he jerked his head up, his eyes fierce and vicious, gritted his teeth and urgently asked:

"Big brother, if you returned safely, you must have fought your way out of the encirclement! Now that you're finally back, quickly tell us: who exactly set the ambush? Is it that newly appointed princess in charge of Yongzhou?"

"If it was her, the brothers will immediately muster and ready the horses! This feud is irreconcilable; we will surely storm the Zhoufu, hack her to pieces, and avenge the elder brother's shame!"

A chest-full of fervent anger surged forth; the surrounding brothers clenched their fists in agreement, battle spirit soaring.

But Liu Ji, hearing this, slightly startled, an image uncontrollably surfaced in his mind: that smiling, sly, fox-like beautiful face from the dungeon, his expression contemptuous, looking at a person or a stray dog by the roadside made no difference...

But Liu Ji, upon hearing those words, was slightly startled; an uncontrollable image surfaced in his mind of that smiling, sly, fox-like beautiful face from the dungeon, his expression contemptuous, as if looking at a person and looking at a stray dog on the roadside made no difference......

Such vicious revenge talk, if truly carried out to tear apart that gorgeous face...

He subconsciously muttered a sentence, his tone tinged with subtle helplessness:

"That princess is actually quite pretty; there's really no need to hack her to pieces."

As his words fell, the assembly's fervent battle spirit froze instantly.

The brothers looked at each other, you at me, me at you, faces full of bewildered astonishment.

All the brothers looked at each other, you looked at me, I looked at you, faces full of bewildered astonishment.

Nobody expected that, after enduring ambushes, imprisonment, and suffering humiliation, the eldest brother's first words upon returning were not about revenge or settling scores...

Instead, he actually praised the enemy's handsome appearance?

Is that right?

Can that be right?

So, which "siege" is this "breaking out of encirclement" that our eldest brother went through?

It couldn't be the "curtain" of a tent, could it?

The brothers stared at each other, the tense, murderous atmosphere carrying a hint of strange absurdity.

Liu Ji saw this, quickly gathered his composure, stopped idle chatter, waved his hand decisively, suppressed the crowd's restless emotions, and ordered in a low voice:

"This official road is wide, with many people and mixed eyes—it's no place to talk. Upon my return this time, I've encountered a matter that could bring wealth and honor to all our brothers; if we handle it well, we could dare to aspire not just to the Zhoufu, but even to a share of the world..."

"First return to the city; the details will be told when we get back!"

The brothers hurriedly suppressed their doubts, responded in unison, and gathered around Liu Ji to prepare for the return.

With many people but few horses, a young brother stepped forward, intending to mount up and follow along.

Liu Ji casually pulled him onto the black horse; the two shared a mount, the horse sank slightly, and the leather pouch hanging at the side of the saddle was squeezed and deformed, its opening slightly gaping to reveal a dark, ancient-looking wooden outline.

Liu Ji glanced at it, felt curious, raised his hand and pulled the object out of the pouch.

It was a peculiarly shaped wooden device, not an ordinary weapon, with an intricate and complex structure, a smooth-polished wooden body paired with fine mechanisms, an antiquated yet novel style—a crossbow he had never seen before.

At the bottom of the pouch lay a thin sheet of paper, bearing a few strokes that noted the device's name and assembly instructions.

This item is called——

General's Crossbow.

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