Chapter 555

Wen Boyuan stared with blazing eyes at Hu Xiaotian beside Wu Jing Shan, and said word by word, "This person is a bandit of the Hunshui Gang!"

Wu Jing Shan sucked in a breath of cold air; if that were true, this favor would be hard to speak of. He turned and glanced at Hu Xiaotian. Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "What does General Wen say?"

Wen Boyuan sprang to his feet, step by step approaching Hu Xiaotian, and said, "I say Liang Yinghao is a bandit of the Hunshui Gang!"

Hu Xiaotian furrowed his brows and said, "I'm not deaf, why are you shouting so loudly?"

Wen Boyuan looked at Hu Xiaotian with undisguised pride and said, "Lord Hu truly has wide connections; even a bandit of the Hunshui Gang is your friend."

Hu Xiaotian smiled narrowly and said, "You mean I'm colluding with bandits?"

Wen Boyuan gave a cold smile and said, "That's what you yourself said."

How could Liang Yinghao possibly be a bandit of the Hunshui Gang? Just based on your one-sided words, it's not credible.

Wen Boyuan chuckled and said, "I knew you'd say that!" He waved his hand; behind him the crowd shifted, and two warriors stepped forward, pressing a man with a deer-like head and mousey eyes. That man bowed before Wen Boyuan and said, "Your servant, Yu Zhishan, has met General Wen."

Wen Boyuan pointed at Yu Zhishan and said, "This man was formerly a bandit of the Hunshui Gang; he knows Liang Yinghao—listen to what he has to say."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, stepped slowly up to Yu Zhishan, smiled narrowly, and asked, "Are you a member of the Hunshui Gang?"

Yu Zhishan nodded repeatedly and said, "In the past I was, but now I have turned from darkness to light, pledged myself to General Wen, and from now on I will mend my ways, serve the country loyally, and never again do those wicked deeds that exhaust heaven's virtue."

Hu Xiaotian asked, "Do you know him?" He pointed at Liang Yinghao.

Yu Zhishan said, "I do; he is Liang Yinghao, the seventh chief seat of the Hunshui Gang."

Liang Yinghao laughed loudly and said, "Nonsense, I don't know you!" At the crucial moment he still showed considerable courage.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Then do you recognize me?"

Yu Zhishan looked bewildered, while Wen Boyuan beside him said meaningfully, "Take a good look—this is our Deputy Envoy for the Marriage Mission, Lord Hu."

Yu Zhishan suddenly realized and said, "You look somewhat familiar. Oh, I remember now—you seem to have been to the Hunshui Gang's stronghold..."

Hu Xiaotian chuckled and said, "You remember me, so why wouldn't I remember you? You had better look carefully—your claim that I have ties to the Hunshui Gang concerns my innocence." He said this, took another step forward, and leaned his face toward Yu Zhishan, as if to let him see clearly.

Yu Zhishan also leaned in, blinked his eyes, and said, "That's right… you… you must have been to our headquarters..." Before he could finish, Hu Xiaotian flashed his hand upward; a cold light swept across Yu Zhishan's neck. Yu Zhishan cried out, clutched his throat, but it was already too late. The artery in his neck was severed by the dagger in Hu Xiaotian's hand; blood spurted from between his fingers. Yu Zhishan collapsed to the ground, his legs twitching incessantly—clearly he could not survive.

Those around never imagined Hu Xiaotian would dare slash Yu Zhishan's throat with a single blow. Just moments ago they had been chatting and laughing; in an instant he launched a lethal strike—even Wen Boyuan had not expected Hu Xiaotian to be so bold and reckless. He snapped, "Hu Xiaotian you……"

Hu Xiaotian kicked the still‑twitching Yu Zhishan on the ground and snorted coldly, "Blind fool. How dare you slander the Zajia!"

Wu Jing Shan was terrified by the brutal scene before him, his legs going weak; he almost collapsed, but his retainer Wu Kui grabbed him and steadied him.

Wen Boyuan roared, "Hu Xiaotian, you actually killed to silence a witness!"

Hu Xiaotian naturally killed to silence a witness; doing such a thing openly before everyone's eyes is not the first time. Earlier in the Black Pine Forest he had eliminated Wen Boyuan's trusted aide Zhao Zhihe, but only Tang Qingxuan had seen it, and she had helped him give false testimony. This time, however, he did away with Yu Zhishan before so many people, which is truly overbearing.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "Killing is fine, but silencing a witness is another matter. The Zajia are pure and loyal to the court; we have escorted the princess from Kangdu, enduring hardships all the way here, with sincere hearts that heaven can attest. Why would the Zajia need to silence anyone? General Wen, can you give me a reason?"

Wen Boyuan's face flashed with killing intent as he said, "You colluded with the Hunshui Gang, inside‑outside cooperation to attack the princess's convoy."

Any evidence?

Wen Boyuan pointed at Yu Zhishan, who had already breathed his last—so-called dead men tell no tales—and then turned his gaze to Liang Yinghao, saying, "He is the evidence."

Hu Xiaotian laughed loudly and said, "Wen Boyuan, Wen Boyuan, the Emperor entrusted you with an important task, charging you with the princess's safety, yet you not only failed to fulfill your duty but instead envied the talented and resented the able. All along this journey you have opposed me at every turn; although you have often harmed me, I recalled the importance of this mission and bore the grudge, following Wu Sir's advice to put the greater good first. I had thought my hard work would move your Conscience, but I never expected that, having just escaped danger, you, this treacherous villain, would scheme against me."

Wen Boyuan pointed at Liang Yinghao and said, "Do you dare say he is not a member of the Hunshui Gang?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Of course not; do you have any witnesses?"

"You……" Wen Boyuan's scalp went numb with rage; just moments ago there had been a witness, but now Hu Xiaotian has killed him. He blamed himself for not fully recognizing the man's baseness, actually daring to commit such a brazen act of killing to silence a witness before everyone's eyes.

Wu Jing Shan finally caught his breath just now; the brutal scene of Hu Xiaotian's killing was truly shocking. This kid's strike is indeed fierce, but thinking about it, Hu Xiaotian's harshness has its reasons. From the current situation, Wen Boyuan is likely not framing him without cause—he must have caught Hu Xiaotian in some compromising position, which is why he dares to openly call him to account. Hu Xiaotian acts with resolute determination; indeed he settled Yu Zhishan with a single stroke, removing the witness and naturally turning the tables. Moreover, given his status, killing a Hunshui Gang bandit is not really a crime. Wen Boyuan is all show and no substance, turning a good hand into a bad one. Hu Xiaotian, truly a person of high caliber.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Liang Yinghao, in front of Wu Sir and everyone else, tell them whether you are a bandit of the Hunshui Gang; if you dare utter even half a lie, I need not have General Wen deal with you—I will personally dig out your heart."

Liang Yinghao clearly saw what had just happened; he was sharp enough to realize that, seeing Hu Xiaotian do away with Yu Zhishan, he understood Hu Xiaotian was protecting him today. With the witness gone, Wen Boyuan could do nothing against him. He shouted, "Hu Sir, Wu Sir, I am wronged! I have lived here since childhood, knowing the terrain of Peak Forest Gorge intimately. My mistake was not in leading you out of the predicament, but in meddling further, wanting to follow Hu Sir to serve the country. It would be better to remain an ordinary commoner, living a plain life, than to be slandered as a bandit and bring shame upon my ancestors."

Wen Boyuan snapped angrily, "What a cunning thief! If you won't speak the truth, I'll beat it out of you—men!" The hundred-plus warriors behind him shouted in unison; their voices shook the drill ground, frightening Wu Jing Shan until his face drained of color. It seems today's clash is unavoidable.

Hu Xiaotian gave a glance; Zhou Mo sprinted over in several quick strides to where Liang Yinghao was bound, seized the flagpole as thick as a thigh, exerted force with his arms, and with a crack it snapped at the base. The ropes binding Liang Yinghao instantly loosened and fell to the ground; Liang Yinghao broke free and hurriedly darted to one side.

Zhou Mo seized the flagpole, gave it a swirl in the night wind so the corner flag at the top coiled tightly around the pole, then he leapt up, landing steadily from the dispatch platform onto the drill ground with a thud that shook the earth. He drove the broken flagpole deep into the ground—over three feet—staring furiously at the hundred-plus warriors, his bristles standing on end like a vajra manifest or a deity descending.

Although the hundred-plus warriors were many, seeing Zhou Mo's godlike martial display, each was terrified, their hearts pounding; they halted their steps, none daring to advance another step.

Wen Boyuan gripped his sword hilt, knowing he and Zhou Mo must inevitably clash; if today he were overwhelmed by the opponent's aura, thereafter before these subordinates he would never again be able to lift his head.

Wu Jing Shan hurriedly said, "Everyone, don't be impulsive; please hear me out, please hear me out." Smoothing things over also requires picking the right moment; seeing the two sides suddenly reach a stalemate, Wu Jing Shan realized his time to act had come.

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "Wu Sir, say what you have to say; I have always respected you."

Wu Jing Shan sighed inwardly, "I'm not yet senile; you two youngsters don't treat me as a person at all, just trying to use me as a spear." He let out a breath and said, "We have shared wind and rain, lived and died together; the hardships of our journey from Kangdu here, I have seen them all. You two are both loyal to the court. General Wen, in protecting the princess, has lost many elite troops; if one said he harbored divided loyalties, I would be the first not to believe it. Had he not led these warriors in bloody struggle, forsaking life and death, I would probably have been killed by bandits already." He then turned to Hu Xiaotian and said, "Lord Hu, you are resourceful and wise; at several life‑and‑death moments, it was you who turned the tide, leading us out of predicament. Setting aside other talk, anyone who claims you colluded with the Hunshui Gang bandits, I simply do not believe. If it were not for you retrieving the dowry, and if it were not for you bringing back Liang Yinghao as a guide, we would probably still be trapped in Peak Forest Gorge."

Wen Boyuan said, "Wu Sir, if he has never done anything guilty, why then kill to silence a witness?"

Wu Jing Shan said, "A mere bandit actually dares to besmirch Lord Hu's innocence; if it were me, I would also want to kill him swiftly—dead is dead, and even if he lived, his words would not be credible."

Wen Boyuan's eyes flashed with fire, he inwardly cursed, "Old fogey, you've sided with Hu Xiaotian—I don't know what good you've gotten from him." Wen Boyuan said, "Wu Sir, since you say that, I have nothing I can do." The witnesses are all dead; he truly has no recourse. (to be continued~^~)