Chapter 87: The Prince of Chun's Reward

Xu Ke followed the bandits quietly, not making a sound as he walked.

This was a skill he had mastered while tracking prey.

Ever since the Yan Wang's party entered Yuanyang County, he had been trailing them the whole way.

At this moment, he was dressed in short clothes and wearing a bamboo hat, staring fixedly ahead.

When there was a distance between them and the bandits had not discovered anything unusual, he waved to those behind him.

Seeing Xu Ke's gesture, the grass suddenly swayed, and over a hundred soldiers followed up, hiding once again where Xu Ke was.

At this point, Xu Ke followed up again, repeating this process.

Half an hour later.

Xu Ke saw a dilapidated, deserted village appear ahead.

The village was distributed along a river, with over a hundred thatched huts from south to north.

Such deserted villages were common in Yan Commandery; they were all villages destroyed by the Northern Di people.

After the bandits entered the deserted village, their figures disappeared from sight.

Xu Ke's heart immediately jumped into his throat.

Without a doubt, this was the bandits' lair.

Tiptoeing into the village, Xu Ke walked while pressing against the walls of the dilapidated thatched huts.

Through the broken walls, he saw many bandits sitting idly under a large tree in the village, looking relaxed.

These bandits clearly did not expect anyone to come here.

At this time, Xu Ke waved his hand.

The soldiers behind him immediately advanced while hiding, ducking into the concealed corners of the deserted village.

"Colonel Lv, I have come to find the Prince of Chun," Xu Ke said softly after arriving behind a large tree, speaking to the hiding Lv Chang.

"It's too dangerous; how can we find him? If we are discovered, the Prince of Chun's life will be in jeopardy." Lv Chang was just as nervous as Xu Ke.

This time, he was responsible for coordinating with Xu Ke to rescue the Prince of Chun, and he did not want any mishaps in such a major matter.

Seeing that the deserted village was full of bandits, he believed it was impossible for Xu Ke to continue deeper into the village.

Xu Ke smiled confidently, "Just wait and see."

After speaking, Xu Ke darted from behind one hut to behind another.

Then he heard Xu Ke shout, "Someone come! Someone has escaped!"

As the sound rang out, the bandits who had been cooling off under the tree in the village all stood up and ran toward one location.

Lv Chang poked his head out to look, his gaze immediately drawn to the village.

The bandits were all running toward the middle of the village, stopping in front of a relatively intact thatched hut.

Then, seemingly having discovered they had been tricked, they searched toward the source of the sound.

Just at this moment, Xu Ke suddenly bolted out and ran in another direction, and the bandits immediately gave chase.

Lv Chang knew that Xu Ke was creating an opportunity for him.

Seeing that the bandits' attention was all drawn by Xu Ke, he immediately led two men to sneak toward the middle hut, stopping behind the wall of the thatched hut.

"What's going on?"

Just as Lv Chang crouched down, a voice came from the back window of the thatched hut.

"We aren't sure either; someone shouted and then ran off," another voice said.

"Probably a lunatic."

"Perhaps, but to be safe, you take some men and search the village."

"Then what about him? Should we let him go?"

"How could we? If we let him go, our whereabouts will be exposed."

A terrified voice rang out, "You promised to release me; you cannot go back on your word."

"We are bandits; bandits never keep their word."

Hearing this, Lv Chang grew anxious at once.

He stood up abruptly and saw that the wood of the thatched hut's back window was rotten and essentially broken.

He gave it a pull, and the back window was immediately torn off.

Then, he jumped through the window without hesitation.

At this moment, he saw three bandits standing in the room.

One man had just drawn his blade, and opposite the three of them was a fat man, presumably the Prince of Chun.

"Kill!" Lv Chang roared, lunging forward and swinging his blade at the bandit closest to the Prince of Chun.

That bandit was clearly stunned with fright and had his head chopped off before he could react.

Following Lv Chang's roar, the soldiers lying in ambush outside the village all shouted and charged into the village.

The bandits were thrown into a panic.

These hundred-plus men were all robust and murderous; one look told them they could not win.

With almost no hesitation, they scattered and fled.

Inside the hut, after killing the first bandit, Lv Chang did not withdraw his blade but instead attacked the second man.

That bandit hurriedly raised his blade to block.

But Lv Chang's strength was great, and he directly knocked the bandit's blade away.

Then he raised his blade again, and the bandit immediately fell into a pool of blood.

Seeing this, the third bandit turned and ran.

But just as he reached the doorway, several blades suddenly hacked at him, and he died miserably on the spot.

Seeing the soldiers charge into the courtyard, Lv Chang's spirit relaxed.

He bowed at this moment and said, "Lv Chang, Colonel of the Prince's Personal Army under Yan Wang, pays respects to His Highness, Prince Chun."

"Yan Wang?"

Prince Chun, who had been scared pale, immediately wailed and wept upon hearing this.

……

"Imperial Uncle has suffered."

More than an hour later, Zhao Xu, having received the news, arrived at the desolate village.

At this time, Prince Chun was standing by the river, looking leisurely, with no trace of the disheveled state he had just been in.

He cared most about his reputation; upon learning that Yan Wang had come, he immediately straightened his clothes and hat, forcing a calm appearance.

"It is no matter, merely a small setback," Prince Chun said, looking at the youth before him.

He had seen Zhao Xu while in Jingshi, so he recognized him, "They all say that Yanzhou is in chaos, with bandits roaming the roads; it seems that is indeed the case."

"I have let Imperial Uncle see a joke. The borderlands are still like this, but under my governance, the people of Yan Commandery have been peaceful and healthy recently. I do not know why a group of bandits would appear here," Zhao Xu said.

As he was speaking, Lv Chang walked over with an apologetic look on his face.

"Your Highness, please punish this subordinate," Lv Chang said.

Zhao Xu was stunned for a moment, "Are you confused? Rescuing Prince Chun is a great merit; why would I punish you?"

Lv Chang hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Highness, these bandits are remnants of Qingfeng Stronghold. In my eagerness to save people just now, I accidentally killed the bandit leader, Song Ya."

"Qingfeng Stronghold!" Zhao Xu was just as bewildered as Lv Chang.

Hearing this, Prince Chun said in surprise, "Could it be the bandits that Yan Wang cleared out some time ago for trading military equipment with the Northern Di?"

"Exactly," Zhao Xu felt a wave of annoyance.

The dead Song Ya was of no use to him anymore.

Prince Chun nodded slightly and suddenly leaned into Zhao Xu's ear, saying, "Nephew, you must not spread the word about Imperial Uncle being kidnapped. Otherwise, Imperial Uncle will have no way to face people in Jingshi in the future. A member of the Royal Clan being captured is a disgrace to the Imperial Clan."

Then his voice lowered further, "If you agree, Imperial Uncle will tell you something that concerns your life."

"Since it concerns Imperial Uncle's reputation, this nephew should naturally keep it secret for you," Zhao Xu said, acting as if it were only natural.

However, he was very curious about what news Prince Chun had for him.

Hearing this, Prince Chun gave Zhao Xu an appreciative look.

He whispered a sentence into Zhao Xu's ear.

"Is this true?" Zhao Xu's expression immediately turned cold.

"It was the First Chieftain himself who said it," Prince Chun said.

Zhao Xu's eyes narrowed instantly; he had not expected the Zhang Family to be this vicious.

They were actually colluding with the Northern Di to kill him.