Chapter 1463

Li Honghan did not immediately make up his mind, hesitating as he said, "But doing this may not necessarily benefit us."

Zhang Ziqian gave a hehe laugh and said, "It may not benefit us, but it will be a heavy blow to Hu Xiaotian—gain for one, loss for the other; such a simple principle needs no explanation from an old man like me."

Long Xi Yue came outside accompanied by Xiao Rou; Liang Yinghao saw the two emerge and hurriedly bowed, saying, "Your Highness, why have you come out?"

Long Xi Yue smiled gently and said, "Brother Liang, I seem to hear someone coming from outside."

Liang Yinghao nodded; just now the group from Xichuan entered the ruined temple, their voices and neighing horses creating quite a commotion, which inevitably startled Long Xi Yue. He reported the outside situation to her truthfully, and after finishing, he added reassurance: "Your Highness, there's no need to worry; we have made preparations and can handle any situation. Although he spoke with confidence, I am also somewhat uneasy, for we do not know the motives of those Xichuan fellows."

Long Xi Yue furrowed her brows and said, "You mean they have already learned our identities?"

"Not bad!"

Long Xi Yue said, "If I am not mistaken, Zhang Ziqian's true purpose in coming just now was to probe; he must have already deduced that Young Master Hu is not here."

Liang Yinghao said, "That shouldn't be the case; Zhan Peng only said the lord is resting and should not be disturbed."

Long Xi Yue said, "Zhang Ziqian is known as the top strategist of Xichuan and also Li Tianheng's most loyal subordinate; we must be extra cautious."

At that moment, Zhan Peng approached the two, seeing Long Xi Yue present, he wanted to speak but hesitated. Long Xi Yue said, "It's fine, Elder Brother Zhan, say whatever you have to say; there's no need for reservations."

Zhan Peng clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, I just sent people out the rear gate to patrol outside, and they saw figures moving along the rear road. I fear those from Xichuan intend to act against us."

Liang Yinghao snapped angrily, "We are still on the territory of Tianxiang State; do they really have the audacity to strike at us?"

Long Xi Yue said, "Power and ambition can make people unscrupulous. I have heard that Xichuan has long coveted Red Wood Creek; last year they sent envoys to Piaoxiang City, proposing to join Tianxiang State in destroying Nan Yue. After success, they would take only Red Wood Creek and Cang'er Sea, leaving all other lands to Tianxiang State. The Empress Dowager saw through their plot, believing their true aim was to use Tianxiang State to open a southern passage, so she rejected them outright. This time Li Honghan's visit still ultimately aims at Red Wood Creek."

The hearts of Zhan Peng and Liang Yinghao grew heavy. If Red Wood Creek is so vital to Xichuan, then Li Honghan's mission is like trying to fetch water with a bamboo basket—fruitless. In disappointment, resentment may breed hatred, and given Zhang Ziqian's wisdom, he should already have inferred that Hu Xiaotian is not here. If they intend to harm Long Xi Yue to retaliate and strike at Hu Xiaotian, tonight is absolutely the best opportunity.

Zhan Peng and Liang Yinghao exchanged a glance, then stepped aside to confer quietly. Liang Yinghao suggested, "How about this: I will take a few brothers out through the rear gate. If those people mean us harm, they will surely follow, and we can engage them in the dense forest of Lianyun Mountain. I just discovered that the eighteen Arhats in the Luohan Hall are all hollow in the abdomen; digging them out would provide hiding places. Zhan Peng, you protect the Princess and hide her there; once it's safe here, we can withdraw."

Zhan Peng shook his head and said, "Those twenty brothers should remain under my command; we will lure the Xichuan men away, and the Princess will be entrusted to your care."

Liang Yinghao still wanted to argue, but Zhan Peng cut him off, saying, "This is settled; no further discussion needed."

Liang Yinghao could only nod, lowering his voice: "Our greatest advantage is that although they might guess the lord is not here, they do not know our numbers, so we can fight them openly while ensuring the Princess's safety."

Zhan Peng said, "Take good care of yourself."

Liang Yinghao whispered, "Remember, take Zeng Xiao Rou with you when you leave."

Zhan Peng said, somewhat surprised, "You suspect her?"

Liang Yinghao said, "She is, after all, of the Xu clan; the young master instructed me to be extra wary of her on the road. Moreover, Zhang Ziqian is wily and crafty; if our party lacked a woman, he would likely deduce our 'feigning an attack east while striking west' ploy."

Zhan Peng nodded, glanced toward the distant Long Xi Yue, and said, "I fear the Princess may not agree."

Liang Yinghao said, "No need to be frank with the Princess; go find Xiao Rou and tell her we are splitting our forces, let her follow you to escape, and I will handle the Princess's side."

After deciding on the plan, the two each went toward Long Xi Yue and Xiao Rou.

Zhan Peng's guess was correct; upon hearing that Zhan Peng wanted to take Xiao Rou away, Long Xi Yue could not help but wonder, "Why would you let Xiao Rou take risks in my place?"

Liang Yinghao lowered his voice: "Your Highness, let me be frank—Zeng Xiao Rou is actually a spy of the Xu clan; she has been infiltrating us all along using the suffering-body ruse. The young master saw through this long ago, and in order to learn some Xu clan secrets via this channel, he went along with it, but he did not want you to worry, so he never told you the truth." In fact, Liang Yinghao had no evidence at all; he said this merely to help Long Xi Yue make up her mind quickly, so that Zhan Peng could take Xiao Rou away.

Zhan Peng and Xiao Rou, however, had a different exchange; upon hearing his words, Xiao Rou instantly understood his intent and, without hesitation, nodded, saying, "I understand General Zhan's meaning; I will go with you."

Seeing her agree so readily, Zhan Peng felt, on the contrary, somewhat uneasy, for their aim was to protect Princess Anping, and they had not considered Xiao Rou's safety; in a sense, it amounted to making her impersonate the Princess and expose her to danger, favoring one over the other, which left him feeling somewhat sorry to Xia Zhangming, especially since, before departure, Xia Zhangming had specifically instructed him to look after Xiao Rou well.

Lightning flashed across the sky; the heavy rain that had just paused poured down again. Zhan Peng led twenty guards escorting Xiao Rou, swiftly departing under the cover of the rain. At the same time, Liang Yinghao brought Long Xi Yue into the Luohan Hall, letting her hide in the abdomen of the Long-browed Arhat. Liang Yinghao's skill at digging holes in the ground is top-notch; boring a hole in the clay statue is trivial for him. The key is to shape the opening properly and dispose of the displaced earth, leaving no trace.

He lowered his voice to Long Xi Yue: "Your Highness, remember this well: you must not make any sound or movement; I will not come for you, and you must not come out on your own."

Long Xi Yue nodded; Liang Yinghao restored the statue to its original state, leaving only a small hole for her to breathe through. Once everything was back as it was, he himself hid inside the nearby Subduing Tiger Arhat clay figure.

Just as Zhan Peng's side had left through the rear gate, Li Honghan received the news and asked in a low voice, "How many people departed?"

Zhu Jingyao replied, "They should all have left!"

Li Honghan snorted coldly and told Zhu Jingyao, "Pass the order: pursue them immediately; do not let a single one escape."

Zhu Jingyao said, "Rest assured, Senior General; Chen Hu has already led ten brothers to guard the westward route, and none of them will get through."

Li Honghan strode out.

Zhang Ziqian said, "The Senior General still needs to be cautious."

Li Honghan said coldly, "Being overly cautious might just let them all get away, Mr. Zhang—no need to reassure you; I will leave two brothers to guard you, so just wait calmly for our good news." Then he told Zhu Jingyao, "You stay behind to protect Mr. Zhang." Having said that, he marched into the wind and rain.

Zhang Ziqian could only sigh as he watched Li Honghan's departing figure; Zhu Jingyao said, "Mr. Zhang, don't blame him—the Senior General suffered a setback on this trip and has been in low spirits."

Zhang Ziqian gave a wry smile: "It's not that I blame him; I just feel this matter isn't that simple, and I hope he won't fall for someone else's 'feign an attack east while striking west' scheme."

Zhu Jingyao said, "Sir, there's no need to worry; I have already sent people to search the rear courtyard, and it is completely empty—no one remains."

Zhang Ziqian said, "Come with me to have a look."

Zhu Jingyao secretly laughed at Zhang Ziqian's excessive caution; his men had already thoroughly combed the rear courtyard, leaving no chance of oversight. Though he always respected Zhang Ziqian, and since Zhang had made the request, he could not well refuse, so he accompanied Zhang to the rear courtyard. Besides the two of them, two guards remained behind; they had already searched the courtyard thoroughly and found nothing suspicious.

Zhang Ziqian came to the room where Long Xi Yue had just been resting, saw that the indoor brazier was still unextinguished, shook his head, lifted his gaze, and fixed it on the Guanyin statue straight ahead; his heart stirred, and he said to Zhu Jingyao, "Jingyao, have these clay figures been searched?"

Zhu Jingyao said, "Do you suspect someone is hiding inside?" He walked over, drew his waist saber, and with a single stroke split the Buddha statue in two; the upper half crashed down, dust and smoke filled the room. Zhang Ziqian covered his mouth and nose; when the dust settled, he looked up and indeed saw that the cut surface of the statue was hollow.

Although Zhang Ziqian suspected something was wrong with the statue, he did not want Zhu Jingyao to take such action; damaging the Buddha image would be a grave disrespect to the Bodhisattva.

Zhu Jingyao laughed heartily and said, "Sir, you can rest easy now—there's nobody inside."

Zhang Ziqian shook his head, a faint bitter smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Zhan Peng led his men in a gallop, then suddenly reined in his horse, extended his right hand in a halt signal, spread his arms, and the twenty soldiers under him split into two groups, disappearing into the thickets on either side of the road.

Xiao Rou also dismounted; she had expected Zhan Peng to take them all the way into Lianyun Mountain, but she never imagined that, having just left, he would choose to ambush in the woods. She trembled as she said, "General Zhan, why are we stopping? Aren't we supposed to flee?"

Zhan Peng said in a deep voice, "I never thought of fleeing!" He drew his horn bow from behind, his eyes firm and confident—tonight he would surely make Li Honghan pay a heavy price! (To be continued~^~)