Chapter 163: Exchange Your Head for Wealth and Rank

Song Song Yusheng shook his head with a bitter smile and hesitated, saying, "This matter carries far too great a risk. Tu Tu Kesiluo is highly skilled in martial arts; subduing him without his knowledge is far too difficult." His tone was filled with deep anxiety and unease.

Li Bo patted Song Song Yusheng's shoulder with full confidence and said, "My lord, please rest assured and do not worry. I have made preparations." As he spoke, his eyes shone as if he had already seen the dawn of victory.

"What preparations?" Song Song Yusheng asked in a trembling voice.

Li Bo smiled proudly, took out a bottle of liquid, shook it, and said, "This is a sleeping powder I obtained from a mysterious pharmacist in the south. Just a little bit will make someone fall into a deep sleep, completely unable to resist!"

Song Song Yusheng frowned and said, "You... what do you intend to do with this poison?"

A trace of ruthlessness flashed in Li Bo's eyes as he said, "Don't you know yet? I intend to use this poison to eliminate that detestable Tu Tu Kesiluo beside Jiang Jiang Mingyu!"

Song Song Yusheng was startled and quickly said, "Have you gone mad? How can you do such a thing? Do you know who Tu Tu Kesiluo is? He is the most trusted and closest guard of Jiang Jiang Mingyu, highly skilled in martial arts, possessing extraordinary wisdom, and even considered a brother in Jiang Jiang Mingyu's heart! If you dare harm a single hair on his head, Jiang Jiang Mingyu will never forgive you!"

Li Bo let out a cold sneer and said, "I know who he is, and precisely because of that, I must eliminate him! At that time, please go and have a long talk with Jiang Jiang Mingyu to divert his attention. I guarantee I will seize the opportunity to silently send Tu Tu Kesiluo into a deep slumber; at that moment, Jiang Jiang Mingyu will be at our mercy." As he spoke, his eyes shone as if he had already seen the dawn of victory.

Song Song Yusheng sighed and said helplessly, "Very well, we can only proceed with the plan for now. But I must remind you three times: this matter carries extreme risk; a single slip will have consequences too terrible to imagine. We must be absolutely certain and can under no circumstances allow any negligence." His tone was filled with deep anxiety and unease, worrying that this plan might fail.

Li Bo struck a disdainful pose, exuding boldness: "My lord, when have I ever made a mistake in my usual work? This time I will also ensure it is flawless with no omissions. Please entrust this task to me; I will surely show you a perfectly successful result!" At this moment, his face was full of smiles, appearing infinitely excited and confident.

Song Song Yusheng understood in his heart that Li Bo was determined to strike at Jiang Jiang Mingyu this time. And he himself had been drawn into this conspiracy. He did not wish to participate in such matters, but he could not stop Li Bo.

"Very well, time waits for no one. Let us act now and go."

Saying this, he grabbed a dagger from the bookshelf and was about to leave the room.

Li Bo asked, somewhat confused.

"My lord, what is the reason for this?"

Song Song Yusheng, having tucked the dagger into his sleeve, said with some worry.

"This matter carries great risk; consider it merely for the sake of preserving our lives. Let us go."

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, Song Song Yusheng arrived at Jiang Jiang Mingyu's door with a nervous heart. He took a deep breath, trying to make himself appear more relaxed and at ease.

Seeing this, Li Bo said no more, turned around, and went to drug Tu Tu Kesiluo.

Arriving at the door of the room, Li Bo poured in the sleeping powder. Hearing the heavy snoring coming from inside Tu Tu Kesiluo's room, he secretly rejoiced that the plan was progressing smoothly.

He smiled sinisterly and muttered to himself with pride, "Sleep well. When the sun reaches the third mark, your head will leave your body. At that time, I will achieve fame and success, becoming a great Da Gong in the court in one stroke!"

At this very moment, Jiang Jiang Mingyu opened the door with a smile and said warmly, "Ah, Magistrate Song, you come at this hour; is there something urgent?" He warmly invited Song Song Yusheng to take a seat.

Song Song Yusheng forced a smile and said, "Nowhere, nowhere, there is nothing urgent; I just came to check on my lord and incidentally wanted to know my lord's future arrangements." He forced his tone to sound more relaxed and casual.

The two began to chat casually.

Song Song Yusheng tried his best to divert Jiang Jiang Mingyu's attention, while Jiang Jiang Mingyu did not notice the perfunctory nature and neglect in Song Song Yusheng's words at all.

Just then, with a loud "Boom," Li Bo kicked the door open fiercely with a powerful kick and shouted, "Jiang Jiang Mingyu, today is your day of death; your head will be my trophy!" His tone was filled with excited exhilaration and confidence.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's face darkened, and he asked in a deep voice, "Who is this? You burst in suddenly and speak inappropriately; what exactly do you intend to do?" His tone was calm, completely unshaken by Li Bo's sudden intrusion.

Li Bo held a large crescent blade, wearing a gloomy smile on his face: "I am Commandant Li Bo of the Longteng County Defense Camp. Jiang Jiang Mingyu, today is your day of death."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu slowly stood up, hands clasped behind his back, brows furrowed, and said calmly, "What does this mean? I have never known you; why do you seek to take my life?"

Li Bo immediately stepped forward two paces, revealing a ferocious expression, and shouted loudly, "The meaning is that I have been ordered to execute you and take your head to present to the newly ascended emperor in exchange for wealth and rank!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyes instantly became sharp as knives; he suddenly turned his head to look at Song Song Yusheng standing aside, his tone filled with cold fury: "So that is how it is; you have been plotting against me from behind!"

Song Song Yusheng seemed stunned by Jiang Jiang Mingyu's glance, involuntarily stepping back two paces. He forced an ugly smile onto his face and stammered, "That's right... Jiang Jiang Mingyu, I had already planned all this with Commandant Li. I came here to find you as we had discussed. You took my Longteng County; how could I let it go?"

Speaking to this point, Song Song Yusheng suddenly raised his voice, and a trace of ruthlessness returned to his face: "Today I will chop off your head and present it to the newly ascended Your Majesty! This can win me fame and merit!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu looked at Song Song Yusheng's triumphant appearance, cold light exploding in his eyes, and said in a chilling tone, "Listen well. Even if you join forces to kill me now, you will hardly escape death. Do not forget that Tu Tu Kesiluo and my two thousand elite troops are still in Longteng County."

"Tu Tu Kesiluo and I have lived and died together for many years, close as brothers. Those two thousand men are all my trusted old subordinates who have followed me."

Cold light flared in Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyes, and his tone was resolute: "If you dare harm a single hair on my head, Tu Tu Kesiluo and my trusted men will surely cut you into a thousand pieces; you will know this if you try!"

Li Bo let out a scoff upon hearing this and said disdainfully, "Jiang Jiang Mingyu, you still care about Tu Tu Kesiluo and your two thousand men? They have all drunk themselves into mud and are lying on the ground unconscious! As for Tu Tu Kesiluo, he is currently in his room sleeping soundly and having sweet dreams. If it were not for the need to keep him alive to persuade your subordinates to surrender, we would have dealt with him long ago."

"You still expect those drunkards and dreamers to come save you? Pure fantasy! Simply ridiculous!" After Li Bo finished speaking, he restored a face of coldness and said in a deep voice, "Enough nonsense. Jiang Jiang Mingyu, hand over your head!"

Before the words had fully faded, Li Bo suddenly drew the large crescent blade from his waist and slashed down at Jiang Jiang Mingyu, the blade edge heading straight for his neck!