Chapter 135: Internal Troubles and External Threats

"Young Master, watch out!"

Yang Ke let out a roar.

No one had expected this sudden turn of events. There were four of them in total, all appearing to be martial artists with high-level skills. Each one was masked, and they were aiming directly for Liu Zheng's life! Several weapons were thrusting either toward Liu Zheng's head and neck or toward his lower abdomen.

Goosebumps rose all over Liu Zheng's body.

He felt as though he had been enveloped by the intense killing intent emitted by these four people, and he found himself unable to move for a moment.

"Young Master, crouch down!"

Yang Ke shouted, drawing the sword he carried at his waist.

This Yang Ke, having traveled the world of martial arts, possessed extraordinary skills; he threw his scabbard, striking one man on the head, while the tip of his sword traced several circles in the air, sharp and startling.

Only then did he barely manage to open a gap in the four men's encirclement.

Liu Zheng shuddered, and, caring nothing for his image, he rolled violently on the ground, while several weapons narrowly grazed over his head.

"Kill!"

The goal of these four was very clear: it was Liu Zheng!

One of them quickly became entangled in a fight with Yang Ke, with the sole purpose of preventing Yang Ke from looking after Liu Zheng.

The other three attacked Liu Zheng once more.

Liu Zheng, a man with no power to truss a chicken, was in no position to fend them off.

Crying out in his heart that his life was at an end, he fled in a hurry.

Seeing a vegetable stall nearby, Liu Zheng jumped toward it like a madman, with the three men following closely behind, trying their best to hunt him down.

Instantly, the entire street was thrown into chaos.

Fortunately, ever since he had transmigrated, Liu Zheng had been exercising every morning with Jiang Xuan and the others; otherwise, he would surely have met his end here today, unable to even run away.

Even so, those men still left several sword marks on his body.

Fresh blood spurted out directly.

Several times, they had nearly struck his vital parts.

"Who dares to bully my brother!"

Just then, a sudden, explosive shout rang out from ahead. Upon hearing it, Liu Zheng thought to himself that help had finally arrived, and Du Biao came rushing over like a gust of wind with a group of brothers.

Seeing this, the four men knew there was no chance left today, so they exchanged a glance and scattered to flee.

"Brother Liu!"

Seeing Liu Zheng in such a state, his clothes in tatters and several wounds deep enough to reveal bone, Du Biao's eyes immediately turned red: "It is my fault, Big Brother Du. I only just learned that Brother Liu had come to Baiya. Brother Liu, I..."

With a look of deep distress, he hurriedly arranged for his brothers to support Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng was already panting for breath from the run; he bent over to catch his breath for a moment before smiling bitterly: "It seems this Baiya Prefecture doesn't quite welcome me."

Yang Ke had also run over by now, and under his direction, many brothers from the Baiya Army had appeared on the street, searching everywhere for those assassins.

Du Biao said angrily: "What kind of rats dare to touch my brother in Baiya Prefecture? If you have the guts, come at me!"

Just then, a group of government soldiers finally arrived late. Zhang Chengjiang, the Prefect of Baiya whom Liu Zheng had met back in Liangzhou, was sweating profusely: "What is going on here, what is going on? Who dared to be disrespectful to our Young Master Liu!"

"Investigate, investigate for me!"

"Did you hear me? Within three days, you must find out who did this!"

Zhang Chengjiang was furious.

The group of lazy government soldiers hurriedly agreed.

Only then did Zhang Chengjiang look over with concern: "I also just received the news that Young Master Liu had arrived in his Great Carriage, and this, this, this kind of thing happened."

Du Biao said coldly: "Prefect, the War Horse Contract Meeting is about to begin."

"With such public security in the city, how can anyone feel at ease?"

Zhang Chengjiang was drenched in sweat and hurriedly expressed his apologies.

Liu Zheng, standing to the side, narrowed his eyes slightly. It was clear that the Baiya Army held absolute sway in this place, and this Prefect, Zhang Chengjiang, was nothing but a puppet. Even with so many onlookers pointing and whispering, Du Biao could still point at his nose and curse him in the middle of the street.

If it were the once-mighty Baiya Army, that would be one thing...

But now...

Liu Zheng hurriedly smiled and persuaded: "Brother Du, it's fine, it's fine. Having just come off the battlefield, who knows if they were sent by the Xiongnu? Who could have guarded against that?"

Zhang Chengjiang nodded hurriedly, saying yes, yes, yes, and then continued to order a strict investigation.

Only then did Du Biao snort coldly and stop pressing the issue.

Zhang Chengjiang sighed and said to Liu Zheng: "It is a blessing for Baiya that Young Master Liu could come! My Taishoufu will certainly do its best to play the host..."

Everyone knew that the Yinzhou Army had gained great fame this time, and their combat power was astonishing.

At this moment, Liu Zheng's thirty thousand troops were just outside the city, which would surely ensure Baiya's temporary stability. But no one had expected that with thirty thousand troops outside, the commander, Liu Zheng, would be assassinated right in the city; no wonder Zhang Chengjiang was sweating so profusely. If those thirty thousand troops found out and waved their hands, could Baiya withstand it?

"No time! Brother Liu must come with me first, hahahaha, this elder brother of yours has just escaped death, and you, little brother, have done much the same; we must drink a large cup of wine to celebrate!"

Du Biao grabbed Liu Zheng's arm and said with a warm, friendly smile.

Zhang Chengjiang looked embarrassed and then excused himself to leave.

Du Biao and Yang Ke hurriedly led Liu Zheng toward the headquarters of the Baiya Army. On the way, Yang Ke sighed and warned: "Third Brother, you really shouldn't have been so harsh to Zhang Chengjiang."

Du Biao snorted: "Isn't he just a spineless coward? What is there to fear! He hurt my brother, how are we to settle this account!"

"But don't you worry, little brother, the assassin today was definitely sent by the Xiongnu. Now that you are here, this elder brother will certainly ensure your safety!"

Liu Zheng smiled: "Brother Du, you have recovered quite quickly."

After chatting and walking for a while, they finally arrived at the Baiya Army's quarters. At a glance, Liu Zheng thought to himself, "Good heavens," the Baiya Army's place was actually much larger and far more opulent than the Taishoufu he had just passed.

One could even say that this Baiya Army headquarters was comparable to an imperial palace.

He clicked his tongue slightly in surprise.

Did this Baiya Army really not know what it meant to be low-key? No matter how powerful or wealthy they were, they were nothing more than a group of official-bandits.

"How about it, Brother Liu, is it impressive enough?"

"The boss is out, but he will be back by the time of the Contract Fair! Otherwise, if he saw you, Brother, he would surely be overjoyed!"

Liu Zheng smiled upon hearing this.

It seemed that Yang Ke and Du Biao were the ones in charge of the Baiya Army at this moment. Walking into this imposing Baiya Army palace—that was indeed the impression it left on Liu Zheng. Perhaps because word had spread that the young master of the Liu Family had arrived, there were many people along the way casting sidelong glances, pointing, and whispering at Liu Zheng.

"Quick, quick, quick, call Miao over here for me!"

As soon as he walked in, Du Biao could not help but shout loudly.

Soon, a physician carrying a medicine chest arrived, responsible for cleaning Liu Zheng's wounds. Although there looked to be quite a lot of blood, in reality, none of the wounds were fatal.

"Those damn assassins!"

"If I catch them, I will definitely make them pay!"

Du Biao's eyes turned red as he watched.

Yang Ke said indifferently, "What does Young Master Liu think?"

Liu Zheng gave a wry smile and said, "Baiya is about to become a gathering place for storms, so I really dare not say for sure... but I believe that Zhang Chengjiang today was clearly late on purpose..."

Du Biao was stunned, then immediately flew into a rage: "What do you mean? Could these assassins have been sent by the Taishoufu?"

"Impossible, that coward, how could he dare, he..."

As he spoke, his eyes widened, and he shut his mouth.

Yang Ke also narrowed his eyes slightly.

That's right...

Regarding this crisis of the Baiya Army, they had only considered external factors but had not thought about the internal conflicts.

This good-natured Prefect Zhang Chengjiang, who had been suppressed by the Baiya Army for decades...

Could it be that he really had no thoughts of his own?

Liu Zheng's heart also sank.

It seemed that this trip to Baiya Prefecture could be described as having both internal and external troubles.