Chapter 85: I Once Robbed the Prince of Northern Suppression

In the night sky.

A bright meteor streaks across the horizon.

The National Preceptor, draped in white robes, stands in the courtyard, observing the celestial phenomena at night.

"Second Prince, the Po Jun Star is rapidly approaching Ziwei."

"Xiao Moting will return to Shengjing tomorrow!"

Xiao Rui's expression is one of shock and suspicion.

"Lord National Preceptor, An Fuhai went to Beijiang to deliver the imperial decree and has not yet returned."

The National Preceptor's voice is faint, "Second Prince, this humble official did not say that Xiao Moting is returning to the capital under imperial decree."

"What!" Xiao Rui rises in alarm, "He dares to return to the capital without an edict? This is treason!"

Having said this, he immediately shakes his head.

"Impossible. Beijiang is so far away; even if Xiao Moting could fly, he wouldn't be able to return to the capital this quickly."

"I ask that the Prince make preparations early," the National Preceptor says slowly. "This time, if you let him go, the next time, he will take your life."

"National Preceptor, it is not that I do not believe you." Xiao Rui's brows are tightly locked as he paces back and forth, "I will enter the palace now to report this to my mother, the Consort..."

He takes two steps, then suddenly stops.

Xiao Rui turns around, a ferocious, cold sneer appearing on his face.

"Xiao Moting wants to kill me? He guards Beijiang and sits atop over a hundred thousand troops; I cannot move against him!"

"But he has returned to the capital in private. To avoid attracting attention, he surely cannot have brought many troops with him."

"Shengjing is my territory! Killing Xiao Moting will be as easy as turning over my hand!"

"Imperial Guard Commander Meng Ming leads eighty thousand Imperial Guards, all of whom are elites! I will go find Commander Meng now to borrow the military tally and mobilize troops."

On the rugged Post Road, the minivan drives along, bumping and jolting.

The driver has been swapped for Qin Zhan.

Xiao Dabao sits in the back seat, head tilted back as he sleeps, drool flowing from the corner of his mouth.

He sniffs back the drool and talks in his sleep.

"Want to eat... ham... sausage..."

The soldiers have been sitting in the vehicle for two days; the novelty has long since worn off, and they are all drowsy.

Suddenly, Liujin's emotionless voice breaks the silence.

"Prince, someone is following us."

Xiao Moting, who was resting with his eyes closed, opens his eyes.

"Ah! Watch out!"

Qin Zhan suddenly lets out a loud roar and slams on the accelerator.

The minivan comes to a sudden, screeching halt.

Everyone in the vehicle slams into the seats.

Ahead on the Post Road, a large pile of wood is conspicuously placed, blocking the way forward.

Qin Zhan frowns, "Where did this wood come from? We have to move the roadblock before we can keep driving."

"Get out of the vehicle," Xiao Moting orders, "Bring your weapons; watch out for an ambush."

The minivan convoy stops.

The soldiers jump out of the vehicles to clear the roadblock.

Everyone is wearing plain clothes, disguised as merchants from out of town.

The black martial attire Xiao Moting is wearing is the clothing Bai Wei sent over.

The group has just stepped out of the vehicles.

Suddenly!

From the withered grass on both sides of the Post Road, over a hundred men and women emerge, holding knives, swords, and clubs, their faces full of malice.

"There are bandits!" Qin Zhan shouts sharply, "Protect the Prin... protect the Young Master."

The Northern Frontier Army soldiers "whoosh" and surround Xiao Moting.

The number of bandits is about a hundred or so, all of them in rags.

The leader is a tall man holding an axe, his hair looking like a bird's nest.

He walks forward and sneers.

"What a bunch of fat sheep; I've been eyeing you for a whole day!"

"Leave all your belongings and your heads behind."

Qin Zhan is stunned.

"You want to rob us?"

What a joke!

The Northern Frontier Army soldiers are all fierce, every one of them a warrior forged in the slaughter of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Furthermore, the hundred elite soldiers Xiao Moting brought are all the best of the best, capable of taking on a hundred men each.

A bunch of bandits actually wants to rob them?

Xiao Dabao walks forward, "Just based on you lot, you want to rob us? Get lost, quickly."

The man shouts, "What is there to be afraid of robbing? We've even robbed the Prince of Northern Suppression!"

Xiao Moting, who had not been speaking, immediately knits his sword-like brows upon hearing this.

"You have robbed the Prince of Northern Suppression?"

The man laughed wildly, "That's right, the Prince of Northern Suppression Xiao Moting can't beat me at all! If you're scared, hand over your things!"

Xiao Moting looked thoughtful and nodded.

"Very well, come and take them yourself."

After speaking, he swung his horse-chopping saber and turned his head to give an order.

"You all stand back, I'll take them on alone."

Qin Zhan and the others folded their arms and stood by the side of the road, looking as if they were watching a good show.

Robbing the Prince of Northern Suppression?

This bunch of bandits must be here for a laugh!

The man let out a loud shout and swung his axe down fiercely.

"Death wish! Everyone attack, let him know how strong we are!"

The surrounding bandits swarmed forward.

Xiao Moting raised his horse-chopping saber, dancing it into a sharp blur of blade shadows.

Slash!

Sweep!

Done in one breath!

The wind of the blade rose, and his long hair flew!

A chorus of screams rang out; the bandits were beaten back repeatedly, not daring to step forward at all.

The man's arm was struck by a blade, and he gasped in shock and fear.

"The mark is a bit tough, the wind is tight... let's bolt..."

This was underworld slang, meaning the opponent was too strong, they couldn't win, and it was time to run!

Qin Zhan stepped forward to block him.

"You want to leave so easily?"

The man let out a yell and hacked down with his axe.

Qin Zhan didn't move, letting him hack.

Clang!

The rusted axe struck Qin Zhan's chest.

The axe chipped.

The man stood before Qin Zhan, looking at him in shock, then at the chipped axe in his hand.

"You... you..."

Qin Zhan's clothes were cut open, but the Heart-Protecting Helmet worn underneath only showed a scratch.

The Heart-Protecting Helmet was sent by Bai Wei, forged from White Cast Iron and produced by the village Iron Factory; the quality was top-notch.

In the blink of an eye.

All the bandits were subdued.

The man was tied up and forced to kneel on the ground.

Suddenly, a bandit screamed in alarm.

"This... this is the Prince of Northern Suppression, I recognize his saber technique!"

Xiao Moting narrowed his dark eyes.

In Yannan, someone actually recognized his saber technique!

It seemed this group of bandits was not simple!

The man was shocked, "Prince of Northern Suppression?"

Xiao Dabao tapped the man's face with his saber.

"Didn't you say you'd robbed the Prince of Northern Suppression and that Xiao Moting couldn't beat you?"

"Look, the one who just beat you all single-handedly is the Prince of Northern Suppression, the Fourth Prince of Daliang."

Instantly!

The man's mouth hung wide open, as if an egg could be stuffed inside.

This... is really the Prince of Northern Suppression?

Qin Zhan stepped forward, "Why talk so much to him? Kill them all."

Just as he finished speaking, a large group of people suddenly crawled out from the withered grass all around.

Old men, children, women...

The crowd knelt on the ground, kowtowing desperately and crying out.

"We beg the Prince of Northern Suppression to spare our lives."

"We are all villagers from nearby; there was a great drought this year, and we lost our water source."

"Everyone was about to die of thirst and hunger, so Village Head Wu couldn't bear it and led the village guards out to seize grain and water for us to eat."

Xiao Moting held his breath and looked at the man in surprise.

"You are a village head?"

He hadn't expected the bandit leader to be an official under Yuan Canghai!

No wonder someone had recognized him earlier!

But how had Yannan Pass become so chaotic that even officials had to resort to highway robbery?

The man gave a bitter smile.

"Reporting to the Prince of Northern Suppression, my name is Wu Da, and I am the village head of this area."

"This year, Yannan is suffering from a great drought, and the military funds for the Yuan Family Army are insufficient; the issued military pay is being exploited layer by layer, and by the time it reaches our hands, only a few coins are left."

"The villagers are either parched or dying, and since I was born in the village, I cannot watch my fellow townsfolk die of thirst. Thinking there were many merchants on the Post Road, I planned to pull one job, but I never expected that the first time I robbed someone, I would run into you..."

The refugees all around were growing in number.

Two or three thousand people had gathered!

They were all nearby villagers, and they all knelt on the ground, weeping and kowtowing to plead for mercy for Wu Da.

Xiao Moting frowned deeply.

Qin Zhan stepped forward and bowed with both hands.

"Prince, this group of refugees has recognized you and learned of our whereabouts; they must all be killed."

"Wipe out these thousands of people to silence them." Xiao Dabao was also uncharacteristically serious. "It is they who lacked eyes and came to rob you."

A murderous intent flashed in Qin Zhan's eyes.

"The Prince is benevolent; let me handle these refugees and kill them!"