Chapter 1394: Seemingly Unperturbed

Liu Songping frowned slightly, then held his blade horizontally in front of himself to guard against a sneak attack, and likewise rushed out the door behind Li Zhao.

Although from the standpoint of protecting Wei Zhongxian, it would be best for him not to leave the room, his worry that Li Zhao might once again be at a disadvantage after going out made him just as hastily follow.

A moment later, he quickly understood that the opponent's intention was not to ambush Qi Wang, but to flee.

Li Zhao clutched his wound, then jumped down from the wooden stairway railing in the corridor, hung suspended in midair for an instant, and finally landed on the ground.

"Trying to run?"

Qi Wang had by now realized everything that had happened. He curled his lip in a cold sneer, then slashed sideways with his blade, forcing back the enemy before him, and prepared to jump down after him.

"Stop right there!" Liu Songping shouted, finally managing to restrain his nephew's impulsiveness.

At the stairway entrance, they could still limit the enemy's numerical advantage and block their combined assault; if they went down, wouldn't that be tying their own noose?

After being shouted to a halt by his uncle, Qi Wang resentfully hunched his shoulders, then once again hacked his blade toward the opponents.

These agents' martial skills were all mediocre, and because he was not being surrounded, he easily held his own gate, not letting a single person through, and instead wounding several of them; one even got kicked down the stairs after being slashed by him and was now wailing at the foot of the staircase.

After this bout of fighting, the young man's hot blood was roused, and for an instant he even felt he was too strong, as if nothing under heaven was beyond his power.

"Ha! You lot of thieves, aren't you just too pathetic? Still dare to be arrogant now?!" Mocking them as he went, he kept swinging his blade, forcing several men to retreat step by step; some were so tense they even missed a step and tumbled rolling down the stairs.

It's over.

Only this single thought remained in Li Zhao's mind now.

The wound on his arm throbbed with increasing pain, the blood never having stopped; he could only hope this slash had not injured his sinews or meridians. And his own subordinates, seeing him wounded, had clearly lost their nerve as well, with little will left to fight.

All the agents had already retreated back down, their gazes toward the two men above carrying obvious hatred tinged with a trace of fear. The entire hall was deathly silent, broken only by the unending groans of the more severely wounded agents.

No matter what, the fight could not continue now.

These two bastards, how can they be this formidable! The fury in his heart had no outlet.

"You two, daring to oppose the Eastern Depot — aren't you afraid of dying without a burial place?" He stared fixedly at the two men upstairs, as if looking at the murderers of his own father.

"We are of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and in our eyes there is only the imperial commission." Liu Songping's face still wore that calm, almost numb expression. "As long as the imperial commission is fulfilled, what else is there to care about?"

"Hmph, imperial commission... imperial commission..." Li Zhao's hand clutching his wound tightened more and more, almost as if he meant to crush his own hand.

Only after a long while did he speak, his voice grim. "You think that just because you have an imperial commission, you won't die? Fine. I want to see, when the time comes, just how you die!"

After speaking, he waved his hand, making a gesture.

His subordinate agents understood tacitly; a few went to support the wounded agents who could barely move, then pulled them along as they all left the hall.

The door was soon opened, and they departed without a single word; the continuous sound of hoofbeats quickly rang out.

Once the hoofbeats had faded into the distance, the post station runners, who had been hiding who knows where, finally came rustling and creeping out of the darkness.

Their faces were all deathly pale, clearly terrified out of their wits by this great battle between the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Brawling at a post station was originally a violation of court law, but before these two godlike killers who could take on a whole crowd alone, how would they dare utter a single extra word?

They looked at one another for a long time, and not one of them dared make a sound.

"Alright, my apologies — we've made a spectacle for you all." It was Liu Songping who spoke first instead. He first apologized to the post runners, then pulled a small piece of silver from his bosom and tossed it directly onto the ground. "There now, clean the place up first. It's an unsightly mess everywhere, and that's no good for you either. Take this silver for now... consider it hardship pay."

"Yes, yes, yes!" The post runners finally came to their senses, but perhaps too frightened, they were all somewhat incoherent.

"Remember — not a word of today's events to anyone!"

Just as they were crowding around that piece of silver, Liu Songping suddenly shouted out, then flashed the blade in his hand, still stained with blood. "Otherwise, we'll let you taste the might of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Understood!" The post runners hastily nodded and bowed.

Liu Songping let out a long breath, then drew a handkerchief from his bosom and began meticulously wiping down the Embroidered Spring Saber in his hand.

"Third Uncle, what do you think we should do now?" Qi Wang also took out a handkerchief to wipe his saber, walking over to Liu Songping as he did so. "Those people are gone for now, but there's no telling when they might come back... Should we leave first?"

Although young and full of mettle, he was no fool after all, and not always thinking of brawling and fighting for glory.

"You know to retreat now? Not bad." Liu Songping smiled. "But we can't leave. On the contrary, we need to get a good night's sleep right here."

"Huh?"

"Those scoundrels have horses. If we run now, we can't outrun horses... and with the weather this cold, if we can't find shelter, never mind us — at the very least Eunuch Wei won't be able to bear it." Liu Songping said calmly. "Don't be afraid. With me here, those people won't dare come again tonight."

Then, he turned and patted his nephew on the shoulder. "Still... lad, you've made progress!"

At his uncle's praise, Qi Wang smiled a little bashfully.

"Third Uncle is the truly formidable one!"

"You wait here a moment. I'll go inside and check on the situation."

After praising his nephew for a while, Liu Songping's expression turned serious again, and he turned and walked toward Wei Zhongxian's room.

After the great battle just now, the inside was a complete wreck; even the door had collapsed onto the floor, leaving the wind to pour in unchecked. Only that bed, through his meticulous protection, had remained utterly unmoved throughout the fight, bearing none of the scars that covered everything else.

By now, Wei Zhongxian had crawled out from within the bed and was sitting composedly on its edge.

His expression was extremely calm, betraying no sign of fear at the battle that had just occurred; he merely kept his gaze lowered, as if lost in thought.

"You have been alarmed, Eunuch. Please forgive me." Liu Songping walked to the bedside, then respectfully bowed to him.

"You go too far with those words. As things stand, I am a convict and you are my guard — what sin do you need me to forgive?" Wei Zhongxian looked up at him, then smiled bitterly. "Besides, had you not rushed in in time, I would likely have long since fallen to that man's murderous hand. How would I be in any position to fault you in the slightest? You have truly been put to great trouble this time, Officer Liu."

"Eunuch, how could this humble one possibly be worthy of such a form of address? Please do not speak of it again!" Liu Songping's expression shifted. "This humble one bears orders to deliver you, Eunuch, to the imperial mausoleum, and naturally must devote every effort. It is nothing more than eating the sovereign's grain and being loyal to the sovereign's cause; you need not feel indebted, Eunuch."

"Since you will not let me address you so, how then should I address you?" Wei Zhongxian asked. "Do you have a courtesy name?"

"Although this humble one knows a few characters, I have never taken a courtesy name." Liu Songping answered at once. "Eunuch may simply call me Songping."

"Songping, Songping... very well." Wei Zhongxian nodded. "And rightly so — neither you nor I are literati or refined gentlemen; what point is there in learning their pretentious airs? Only..."

He suddenly sighed. "What a pity, for you. Such martial skill, such ability — in all my years as Superintendent of the Eastern Depot, I have seen few men with ability like yours. For the Embroidered Uniform Guard to only make you a Squad Leader — truly, you have been buried!"

"In the Embroidered Uniform Guard, without money or influence, and unwilling to stoop to those shameless deeds of fawning and flattery, what use is good martial skill alone?" A flicker of dejection crossed Liu Songping's face; clearly, he harbored some resentment in his heart as well. "Besides, this humble one has already reached this age — what more is there left to seek?"

"If there is nothing left to seek, then why did you stake your life to protect me like this?" Wei Zhongxian suddenly smiled again. "Alright, I understand. You have defended me so desperately — I will certainly not treat your nephew poorly."

Liu Songping said nothing more, only bowed.

"Those people have been beaten off by you. Now, what do you plan to do with me?" Wei Zhongxian asked again. "Shall we flee at once?"

"His Excellency is already weary. If we travel now, I fear it would be bad for your health. Therefore, I have decided we should rest here for the night." Liu Songping answered respectfully. "This place is already in ruins. Your Excellency, please change to a different room first."

"Fine, fine. I'm touched that you still care so much for me!" Wei Zhongxian sighed. "Rest assured, for such wholehearted devotion, I will certainly reward you handsomely."

"Thank you, Your Excellency." Liu Songping saluted once more, then stepped forward and helped Wei Zhongxian down from the bed.

When the two of them walked out the door, Qi Wang also followed behind them, then escorted Wei Zhongxian back into an adjacent room.

At this time, a post-station runner brought hot water into Wei Zhongxian's new room. Wei Zhongxian removed his socks and began soaking his feet, while Qi Wang and Liu Songping left the room.

"Although those villains have fled in panic, there is no guarantee they won't return tonight. For safety's sake, the two of us will take turns keeping watch tonight. You go to sleep early; I'll come wake you later." After they walked out of the room, Liu Songping suddenly said.

"Third Uncle." This time, however, Qi Wang did not obediently comply. Instead, he stopped in his tracks and looked seriously at Liu Songping.

"Mm, what is it?" Liu Songping also stopped, looking at him with great curiosity.

Tomorrow or the day after, I will say a few casual words, solely about this book. If you all have the time, please remember to come take a look.