Chapter 233

Zhu Shoujing gripped the blade handle tightly, and his heart slowly sank to the bottom.

The little eunuch was right.

The Xiaoling Guards never had the idea of rebelling in the first place; even after the Jianwen Emperor explained everything to him, he did not have the slightest intention of cooperating with him to oppose the Emperor.

The Xiaoling Guards were originally loyal to the Taizu Emperor and were indeed somewhat distant from the court. The members were also father-to-son successors, so they could not be said to be very loyal to the Emperor himself.

But, after all, the current Xiaoling Guards were no longer the same group of people as back then. And the Jianwen Emperor was not the Taizu Emperor himself.

Zhu Shoujing reached this step today, first because of Ji Tianrui's calculations, leading him step by step into a trap; second, he understood the Emperor's nature, and from the moment the Xiaoling Guards took action against the retainers, it was impossible for the Emperor to give the Xiaoling Guards a way to live.

Being forced onto the shelf, without any preparation, it was already not easy for the Xiaoling Guards to support themselves until now.

It seemed that today was the swan song of the Xiaoling Guards.

"Kill."

The little eunuch spat out a word.

Swish!

Swish!

Swish!

The retainers appeared in front of Zhu Shoujing in an instant.

————————

The little eunuch and most of the retainers had already left the Great Red Gate procession, and only a portion of the Imperial Guards remained to watch over the members of the imperial clan.

The middle-aged clansman walked to Zhu Zai's side and said in a low voice.

"Brother, are we still not going to act?"

"The Xiaoling Guards are about to be killed and scattered; taking advantage of the fact that the little eunuch and His Majesty are not here, let's kill our way out of the encirclement; perhaps we can save a few more people."

"Wait a little longer."

Zhu Zai lowered his voice and said.

"Still waiting?"

The middle-aged clansman said anxiously.

"Brother, this is a matter of life and death; you have managed the Embroidered Uniform Guard for decades, how can you be so indecisive! If you don't act when you should, you will suffer chaos!"

Zhu Zai waved his hand, interrupting the clansman's words.

He reached out and pointed to the perimeter.

"Do you see those two?"

The middle-aged clansman looked in the direction Zhu Zai pointed and saw two old men who looked as if they were on the verge of death, talking to themselves on the perimeter of the procession.

"Brother, who are they?"

"You can count these two as a thousand elite soldiers. With these two here, not one of us can leave."

Zhu Zai said slowly.

"What!?"

"Brother, are you joking? Is there anyone else in this world with such outstanding martial arts?"

The middle-aged clansman first did not believe it, but then let out a long sigh. Zhu Zai was definitely not someone who spoke nonsense, and with the safety of half the imperial clan at stake, he would never deceive him at this juncture.

"Then, Brother, how long are you going to wait?"

The middle-aged clansman asked.

"Waiting for someone."

"Who?"

Zhu Zai suddenly turned his head to look into the depths of the dense forest.

"They are here."

The two retainers guarding the perimeter of the procession also stopped talking and turned to look into the depths of the dense forest.

Patter.

Patter.

Patter.

A sound of footsteps walked out from the depths of the dense forest, neither slow nor fast, neither tight nor loose.

The two retainers secretly guarded themselves, having already prepared to use secret methods to return to their peak state at any time.

Today's matter was different from usual; three experts as outrageous as the Jianwen Emperor had already appeared, who knew what kind of monster would walk out of the dense forest at this moment!

It might be another expert who could rival five or six retainers!

The palms of the two retainers were already covered in cold sweat.

After a while, the footsteps finally arrived close by.

A young figure walked out of the dense forest, lifted his head to look at Zhu Zai, and raised his hand to greet him.

"Commander! Are you alright?"

"An Ziyang!?"

Zhu Zai gasped, looking left and right.

"Is there anyone else!?"

"No, the Thousand-Household... oh no, the Commander asked me to find you alone; the others went to support the Xiaoling Guards."

An Ziyang spread his hands.

"What use can you be!"

Zhu Zai frowned.

He knew An Ziyang's level very well. Second-rate internal energy, first-rate means, not even counting as peak! Facing any Heaven-Man level expert, he couldn't even last a single move!

Let alone these two retainers!

The two retainers looked An Ziyang up and down and let out a sneer.

"I thought the few Heaven-Man level experts from the Ming Sect who ran away just now had come back. If not, getting a few peak experts would also be enough for us to loosen our muscles."

"You have no one left? Sending a second-rate piece of trash to die?"

An Ziyang did not take offense at all, smiling leisurely.

"Two seniors, don't look down on my second-rate."

"You must know that I am an elder of the Tang Men and a direct disciple of the Shenji Sect; my mechanisms and hidden weapons are not something ordinary experts can resist."

"Ha! Mechanisms? Hidden weapons?"

The retainer let out a mocking laugh.

"Have you Embroidered Uniform Guards been in the Jianghu for so long that you've become stupid! No matter how hard your mechanisms are, it's good enough if they can hurt a first-rate expert. Hidden weapons not launched by a Heaven-Man level expert's true energy are as useless as pebbles in front of us!"

"Hey~"

An Ziyang waved his hand.

"Don't speak too soon."

"It just so happens that last night, after my Commander brought me to the Imperial Mausoleum, he gave me a hidden weapon that can deal with Heaven-Man level experts, and it is currently in my bosom."

"If the two of you are so confident, why not try it?"

The two retainers looked at each other and frowned.

"Who is your Commander?"

One asked.

"It is exactly the peerless expert who sent the Jianwen Emperor fleeing in panic a few days ago and killed five of your colleagues."

An Ziyang reached into his bosom.

"Why, do the two of you not know yet?"

"Hiss—"

The two retainers gasped.

The name of a person is the shadow of a tree. Li Miao's fierce reputation had already been deeply carved into the hearts of the retainers.

The imperial court currently has only thirty-some retainers; excluding the few who are already on the verge of death and will kick the bucket after waking up once more, there are only twenty-some left.

Li Miao's move directly wiped out nearly a quarter!

Could the subordinate of such a fierce person be a fool who ran over to die?

There must be something tricky about this!

The two retainers looked at each other and nodded.

White mist suddenly rose from one of them, and it dissipated in an instant. Looking again, he had already turned into a middle-aged man in his forties.

The other one had also prepared to lift his secret method and return to his peak state at any time.

An Ziyang asked leisurely.

"How is it, are you ready?"

"My hidden weapon is about to be activated."

The two retainers stared fixedly at his hands.

An Ziyang suddenly smiled.

"Watch closely!!!"

Swish!

He actually, like some perverts in Li Miao's past life, suddenly pulled open his outer garment! Revealing the black and white inner garment inside!

"Wha—"

One retainer had not even finished saying "what kind of thing," and stopped abruptly.

"Forcibly absorbing the eight wildernesses, trapping oneself in the abyss."

"Greedily devouring until mad, bones crack and marrow withers;"

"Heaven's wrath and people's resentment, life is extinguished... spirit is chased away."

An Ziyang's inner garment was actually densely covered with words! The two retainers had been watching An Ziyang with full attention, and they took in all the text at once!

"This is!?"

One retainer suddenly looked at An Ziyang.

"How is it! Are the two of you satisfied with my hidden weapon!?"

An Ziyang laughed loudly.

"Anyone who is hit by my hidden weapon is an enemy of the imperial court! An enemy of His Majesty!"

An Ziyang looked at the two retainers with a ferocious smile.

"How about it? Two seniors?"

"After being hit by my hidden weapon, why don't you hurry up and run for your lives?"

(End of Chapter)