Chapter Fifty-Nine Assassin

  During this time, there were constantly eunuchs coming to report.

  "Wei Zhonglang led his troops in a circular formation to protect the emperor"

  "Gao Zilang will have already blocked off the streets and set up barricades to prohibit the killing of idle roaming people"

  "When hearing of the separation, the three gates will be closed and entry and exit will be prohibited. Several people who broke in were killed."

  "Liu Sima led the county officials to go door-to-door to check and inspect the household registration and search for suspicious people"

  "Thanks for expelling the bandits and calming down the refugees outside the city walls."

  Feedback came in, the hustle and bustle of the city gradually subsided. More were the troops running back and forth, shouting orders to each other, apparently my deployments had come in handy.

  That Cheng Shili couldn't help but look at him with admiration, clapping enthusiastically "Sir is indeed wise and perceptive, I reckon there's a traitor causing trouble, the surging river water we've been longing for has finally arrived" I thought to myself that it was indeed a lucky guess, but didn't explain further.

  Reporting the situation outside, it turned out that someone wore forbidden military uniforms to attack the soldiers of Hanzhong and the government office of Hechi County, setting fires everywhere. Although there were not many people, they caused a great disturbance, making everyone feel endangered and unable to distinguish between friend and foe, resulting in great chaos. At that time, only the nearest troops could rush over.

  The temporary residence of the old emperor was a product of several large households in the city, with walls knocked through and connected (the county magistrate's mansion was surprisingly shabby), after passing through the winding and tortuous gates and corridors, which took some effort, the places seen were also full of chaos.

  They charged inside, only to encounter a formidable foe. A large crowd of people were already blocked at the entrance, unable to advance an inch despite repeated desperate charges, resulting in heavy casualties. The narrow corridor could only accommodate two people standing side by side, with fallen soldiers lying all over the ground, their chests and necks sealed with a single sword strike. Upon seeing my arrival, they made way for me, reporting in unison.

  "Wei Zhonglang is attacking another gate"

  "Dozens of brothers rushed in"

  Inside, the killing sounds grew more intense, and I couldn't help but feel anxious and furious. Was this large group of people going to be trapped here? I cursed loudly at these foolish guys, "A bunch of idiots, can't you just break down the wall?" The soldiers on the outside heard my voice and seemed to come to their senses, apparently having experience with breaching walls. They picked up axes and other heavy tools and started smashing against the wall with a loud crash, sparks flying everywhere, bricks and stones scattering all over the place. Some of them worked together to push against the weakened wall, and the people inside heard my words and became even more frantic, some even trying to rush out. Suddenly, there were cries of pain and people fell down in front of the door, hit by hidden projectiles.

  I shouted "Come on, hurry up", but it was two guards who brought the pot of oil for my fried chicken in the afternoon. The people surrounding the front were rushing to avoid it, and suddenly a figure rushed out, a pot of boiling oil splashed out, with a loud crash, and inhuman screams echoed inside and outside the door. In the midst of the steam-filled air, several charred and burnt human figures twitched and struggled, rolling around ceaselessly, apparently having been drenched without any defense. Tonight's fried chicken was not made, but these assassins all got to enjoy it instead.

  But I was determined in my heart, the initial shock of those assassins' terrifying skills and legendary martial arts had long been cast aside. No matter how formidable their abilities were, they were still human, and flesh and blood could not withstand the onslaught of water, fire, knives, and guns. At this moment, with a loud crash, several sections of the high wall collapsed, and soldiers poured in through the gaps.

  At my order, they loudly shouted, "Prime Minister Wei, the old marshal", "Left Censor-in-Chief Wei, the great marshal", "General Wei, the second", "Minister Yu", " Envoy Yao, the prime minister"... Several important officials were all safe and sound, only then did I step into the inner courtyard under tight escort.

  "To be honest, I never thought human speed could reach that level, like a flowing shadow. The things in the Tang Dynasty's 'Red Thread Girl' seem to not be unfounded after all, I wonder if it has something to do with humanity's untapped potential"

  It was clear that they had joined the Imperial Guard, those assassins were covered in blood, gradually surrounded by a small circle in front of the calm and collected old emperor, fighting in several piles, layer upon layer on the ground, it's unknown how many fell, those soldiers were not worthy opponents, yet they continued to fight with all their might, each blow landing with precision, the scene was extremely brutal.

  What shocked me even more was the group of assassins who kept fighting. I knew all of them, they were the old eunuchs who usually obeyed me and looked down on others with a humble attitude.

  He was clearly a eunuch with a clean face, yet every time he took action, people felt a strong and fierce aura. Paired with his feminine tone of voice, it gave people an inexplicable feeling, even evoking the desperate and tragic illusion of a life-or-death battle on the sandy field. Compared to his opponent's cunning and ruthless sharpness, although he was empty-handed against a blade, he didn't fall behind at all. Several assassins almost rose up, but were repeatedly knocked down.

  Someone suddenly shouted "Shaolin Dahong Boxing", and saw that the old eunuch with a wrinkled face, thin eyes and long eyebrows suddenly took a deep breath, turned his hand into a hammer, and punched like a cannon, striking fiercely on the blade of the soldier's sword. The assassin opposite him was hit so hard that his face turned white again and again, and he retreated wildly, spitting blood.

  Again, a loud "Mahabodhi Hand, Iron Sleeve Strength" was heard. Looking to the left, another assassin with two icy cold daggers like snow was seen, but was caught by a sleeve tube and couldn't escape. He hastily retreated, but was lightly patted on the shoulder by an elegant hand like a blooming flower. A cracking sound was heard, and half of his body suddenly became limp, as if all the bones had been sucked out, and he fell to the ground.

  There was another old eunuch, whose movements seemed slow, yet filled the air with a trembling hum. No matter how fast or fierce his opponent's moves were, he always seemed to be led by an invisible force, meeting every attack head-on.

  What made me drop my jaw was that Gao Lishi was among them, contrary to his usual demeanor, his fat and bloated body moved nimbly like a squirrel, dodging and jumping around, using a feather duster to deflect water splashes, fighting off several assassins with glee, and even finding time to strike back with a cold smile, making a rustling sound on the blade, his body was covered in a blurry mess of blood-soaked clothes and flesh.

  My eyes widened in astonishment, my heart overflowing with unbridled joy. I had actually seen the legendary martial arts that were said to be out of this world, and it was none other than a master from the renowned Shaolin Temple who had been hiding in seclusion.

  I thought about the various things in the movies and TV shows about Shaolin Temple, but I also suddenly realized that based on the historical legend of the thirteen monks who saved the Tang Emperor, the connection between Shaolin Temple and the Li Tang royal family throughout history must be like this.

  No wonder the emperor was so willing to let me take command, with them around, taking down someone like me who doesn't even know martial arts would be a piece of cake. But with these people here, how could Ma Wei's post still be in such disarray? Probably even the most skilled fighters couldn't withstand the anger of tens of thousands of soldiers, it's overwhelming to think about.

  All of this was just a short time, and on the other end, I saw Wei Tao rush over to the emperor's side, merge into one, and after exchanging greetings, he also joined the battle group. With a pair of silver guns that I had seen before in my war array, they shot out starlight, stabbing, poking, and clashing, flying forward, suddenly bursting forth from among the ordinary soldiers, assassins emerged without warning, and with just one glance, several people were instantly injured.

  The overall situation has been decided, but those more than a dozen assassins were also extremely ruthless and exceptional, each carrying injuries as they advanced and retreated in tacit agreement, yet when faced with the numerous soldiers, not one of them showed any intention of fleeing.

  Because the emperor was surrounded by many people, my methods were not useful, but the performance of those assassins made me frown, these people are not idiots, why are they waiting for something when they are struggling in desperation?

  I recalled the experience of the Lougu Valley battle, a very uneasy feeling quietly rose to my heart, a mournful cry, and another assassin with more than ten blood holes all over his body fell down, but what made me feel terrified was that when I saw him fall, he had an excited and expectant expression on his face. Where did the problem lie? And then one after another fell down.

  Their eyes, whether consciously or unconsciously, kept glancing in one direction, because of the battle, the courtyard had long been cleared out, there was nothing to hide in that direction except for the corpses on the ground. Wait, it seemed like that corpse had moved. I secretly cried out "not good", and grabbed the nearby bronze incense burner and smashed it over, anyway if it was a dead person they wouldn't feel anything. As soon as I made my move, a soldier-clad "corpse" suddenly exploded upwards.

  In the midst of a stunned and bewildered gaze, a storm of sword light burst forth like a blizzard, sweeping over everything. The chill of the distant air struck people's faces. Wherever the sword light passed, not a single person was spared from covering their throats and vomiting blood before falling to the ground. In an instant, a patch of empty space appeared amidst the crowd.

  It was a single sword that sealed the throat, and more than a dozen selected guards who came forward had no power to resist. The sword light flashed and swirled, spraying blood and falling to the ground, and in an instant, a large area fell. The opponent's figure was extremely fast, only seeing a vague shadow rolling in the crowd, where he passed by, blood gushed out, and the silver sword light continuously burst open the bloody flowers of death, pressing forward in an instant.

  I was shocked and fell to the ground, but unexpectedly from a strange angle, I caught a glimpse of the eunuch quietly approaching behind the old emperor, with an unremarkable dark long needle in his hand.

  In an instant, my whole body turned cold. Deep in my heart, I was watching as my companions were killed or wounded one by one, yet I waited for the most opportune moment to strike. It was a plot within a plot, with multiple layers of deception. The assassin who finally made his move had two teams, operating in the light and in the shadows, and they struck one after another, right under our noses.

  It was a meticulously planned assassination, with each link tightly connected to the next. The grand plan had four layers, and only the last layer held the key. Just when we thought all the assassins were killed off, one emerged from among the dead bodies. But unexpectedly, even he turned out to be just a cover for the real killer.

  This is terrible, I grabbed and crawled, only to hook the corner of the old emperor's clothes and pull him down with a swoop. In the midst of a loud commotion, I found myself sandwiched between the assassin and that eunuch. I randomly grabbed something and threw it out, but before I knew it, the sword light had already reached my eyes, and my chest was in severe pain from being stabbed who knows how many times, and then I lost consciousness.

  。。。。。

  I don't know how long it's been since I died, but I'm not willing to accept it. I haven't even experienced the tenderness of a woman yet, and now I've ended up in ancient times without any explanation. It's so unfair! Why are there so many voices floating around me in the darkness? There are strange and weird sounds, with joy, worry, good fortune, and disaster. The emotions of all living things are intertwined, and among them, I feel a sense of familiarity.

  The surrounding feeling suddenly cut off, then the loud noise of discussion drilled into my ears, mixed with "it's okay, it's okay" I suddenly regained consciousness.

  The pain in my chest is unmistakable, but the sound of my heartbeat and blood flowing reminds me that I'm still clearly alive. It's just that it's as if I've been scared into a daze, which makes things a bit awkward for me, so I can only continue to pretend to be dead.

  But someone was desperately wiping away tears on my clothes, oh dear, the piercing pain made me come back to life immediately. It was Xiaoyu and Yu'er's tearful faces. Just being pressed by Xiaoyu like that, I was truly heartbroken, and I'm afraid even my ribs were broken. After carefully checking myself, there were no obvious external injuries. Fortunately, those imperial physicians knew my ways and didn't dare to confirm it, saying something about possibly having internal injuries but not really, and gave me a bit of face.

  Asking about the previous situation, it turned out that what happened later was extremely good luck, rarely seen by people, indeed a great blessing. Under unavoidable circumstances, in the end, only an incense burner was thrown out, causing the assassin to deviate slightly, changing from strangulation to piercing the heart, but somehow unable to pierce through. This brief delay affected the line of sight due to the flying hot ash, and those powerful pursuers who arrived later were beaten into a pulp. The eunuch was also slapped in the face by a strong guard who discovered him later, and was taken down on the spot with blood splashing everywhere.

  It's that busy time around May 1st again, with evaluations and summaries, the work of "finding new applications in old things" is killing my brain cells, so I had to stop for a week. Readers complaining about my slow pace is also unavoidable. Taking advantage of the May 1st holiday, I quickly finished a chapter. It may be a bit rushed, hoping everyone can point out corrections.