Chapter 406: First Volume_Chapter 406: Please Enter the Jar

First Volume_Chapter 406: Please Enter the Jar

Inside the camp tent, Qin Feng casually tossed the Jinyiwei secret letter to the side; it clearly listed the movements of Wei Xiao.

Qin Feng glanced at Zhao Yuxiong, who was blocking the doorway, armed to the teeth, and felt not the slightest pressure—instead, he found it rather amusing.

"This Wei Xiao truly lives up to his name as the Number One Under Heaven Killer—his ability to lie in wait is remarkable. He spent months lurking in the Northern Border. If he could be recruited into the Jinyiwei, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. What a pity… his background is unknown, and taking him in rashly might only invite a wolf into the house."

Qin Feng paid no heed to the situation outside the tent and continued reviewing the war reports from all sides.

Facing the encircling Wei Xiao, he showed none of the fear or tension one would expect. Instead, he slowly rose to his feet and said unhurriedly, "A scholar apart for three days must be looked at with fresh eyes."

"Back then, killing Qin Feng would have been as easy as reaching into a bag. How long has it been since then? Now it would be as hard as ascending to heaven."

Just then, a cool, clear woman's voice drifted in on the night wind.

"There is more than one person under heaven who wants Feng'er's life. It's just that you, being an assassin, weren't important enough to warrant special attention, so we never found the time to come after you."

Wei Xiao's eyes glinted with amusement as he followed the sound. He saw Li Xiaolan, dressed all in black with a neat, efficient ponytail, slowly step out from behind the Black Cavalry.

At the sight of an old acquaintance, the corner of Wei Xiao's mouth curled upward: "The old saying is true—teach your apprentice well, and you starve the master. Training these Beixi County spies, surely half the credit is mine?"

Undeniably, half of the Jinyiwei's strength came from Wei Xiao. Li Xiaolan had made the 'skills' Wei Xiao taught a required course for the Jinyiwei. In other words, every Jinyiwei member counted as half a disciple of Wei Xiao.

Take the essence, discard the dregs.

Li Xiaolan felt no gratitude for Wei Xiao's 'contributions' to the Jinyiwei. On the contrary, given any chance, she would kill Wei Xiao without the slightest hesitation. The reason was simple—this man was scheming to harm Qin Feng.

Li Xiaolan stared coldly at Wei Xiao, leaving no room for sentiment: "Kill!"

The Jinyiwei made no move, remaining at Li Xiaolan's side, while the Black Cavalry pressed toward Wei Xiao. Even though Wei Xiao was bold as a bear and unrivaled in martial skill, facing Black Cavalry clad in heavy armor and armed to the teeth, he could only be trampled. The reason was simple: Wei Xiao excelled at stealth killing, but he lacked the ability to 'pierce armor.'

Knowing his fate was sealed, Wei Xiao showed no fear. He still gripped his bow and slowly aimed an arrow at the chest of the Black Cavalry before him.

He released his grip.

Only a sharp "snap" was heard.

The arrow grazed the plate armor on the Black Cavalry's chest and flew off, barely scratching a mark, unable to inflict any real damage. Such poison-coated arrows, a lethal weapon against any ordinary person, were like toys before the Black Cavalry.

At the same time, four Black Cavalry slowly raised the cavalry spears in their hands.

They had no intention of engaging Wei Xiao in close combat. Relying on the length of their spears, they would simply 'impale' him on the spot.

Just as the Black Cavalry attacked, a firm, resonant voice rang out.

"Hold—Young Master Qin has ordered Wei Xiao taken into custody!"

The Black Cavalry obeyed without question. Though the spear tips still pointed at Wei Xiao, they did not press the attack.

Wei Xiao glanced sideways at Zhao Yuxiong and sneered: "Take me into custody? Is it you who are naive, or is it Qin Feng?"

"A Heavenly Ranking Jin ShaShou cannot be taken alive by anyone."

Facing Wei Xiao's contempt, Zhao Yuxiong's expression remained blank, his eyes betraying no ripple: "You're welcome to try."

Wei Xiao slung his bow, drew a short blade from his waist, kicked off with his toes, and shot forward like a night phantom. In the blink of an eye, he was already before Zhao Yuxiong.

The short blade hacked down hard against Zhao Yuxiong's chest.

Clang!

With a piercing screech of friction, a shower of sparks burst from Zhao Yuxiong's chest.

That slash left only a single mark on Zhao Yuxiong's heavy armor.

One strike missed, another followed.

Wei Xiao reversed his grip and swept back, the short blade landing squarely on Zhao Yuxiong's neck. Unfortunately… Zhao Yuxiong was wearing pen-collar armor; his neck and the lower half of his face were protected by armor plates.

Two strikes missed, and even Wei Xiao could not deliver a third.

Zhao Yuxiong swept out with a large hand, seizing Wei Xiao's left shoulder. His right hand tossed aside the spear, and wearing the thick cloth gloves issued by Tianji Camp, he grabbed the short blade and wrenched it inward with force. With a sharp 'crack,' the short blade was snapped clean in two by Zhao Yuxiong. Gripping the broken half, he drove it straight into Wei Xiao's lower abdomen.

For all his martial prowess, Wei Xiao was, in the end, flesh and blood. With no 'defense' on his body, he was run clean through the lower abdomen by the broken blade.

In that critical instant, Wei Xiao pulled out a pouch of lime powder and flung it at Zhao Yuxiong, forcing Zhao Yuxiong to raise a hand to shield his eyes.

Having broken free, Wei Xiao moved with astonishing speed, drawing a Small Golden Mace from Zhao Yuxiong's waist and swinging it with all his might at Zhao Yuxiong's chest.

As a short-hafted blunt weapon, the Small Golden Mace had a remarkable effect against armor.

With this hammer blow, even the thick pen-collar armor could not fully protect Zhao Yuxiong.

Just then, a cavalry spear over two zhang long came sweeping through the air, slashing straight at Wei Xiao's face. Wei Xiao ducked low and dodged, losing his chance to strike Zhao Yuxiong. Immediately afterward, his back was struck by another spear. He felt a sudden tightness in his chest and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Two more spears swept in, one from each side, slicing past the back of Wei Xiao's neck and crossing to 'pin' him to the ground. Then four more spears came, crossing in pairs to pin his legs to the earth.

Zhao Yuxiong brushed the lime from his arm and looked at Wei Xiao, firmly fixed to the ground by six spears. Though there was not a trace of mockery in his eyes, he secretly admired Wei Xiao's martial skill—had he not been clad in heavy armor, Zhao Yuxiong would already be dead.

……

Zhao Yuxiong still offered a line: "Six Jinyiwei, twelve Black Cavalry, surrounding you completely. Even the desperate struggle of the Gold Number Four assassin is somewhat laughable. Only an army can defeat an army. Forget you—even if a Shanyin Expert came, before the iron hooves of a great army, he would be nothing more than a puddle of mud."

"Surrender, and you may keep your dignity."

As his words fell, Zhao Yuxiong waved a hand casually: "Pin him down!"

Wei Xiao, famed as the Number One Under Heaven Killer, was pinned to the ground by six Black Cavalry. A chain was then locked around his neck, and he was dragged away without a shred of dignity.

Having witnessed the entire affair, a deep glint flashed through Li Xiaolan's eyes.

An assassin is, after all, an assassin. With the advantage of terrain, facing a group of ordinary people or light-armored soldiers, it would be a one-sided slaughter, like playing with monkeys.

But against a proper iron army, he proved so utterly powerless.

This was undoubtedly a lesson for the Jinyiwei as well: either strike by stealth, or die—never engage heavy armor soldiers head-on.

Clatter…

The tent flap was pushed aside, and Li Xiaolan stepped in. But before her heels had even settled, a figure came rushing toward her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Third Sister, I missed you so much! Mwah—"