Chapter 8: The Intersection of Fate

  Wu Zhiyuan ordered to continue the journey, and he himself returned to the carriage. Before he could sit down, a beautiful young girl suddenly started asking questions in rapid succession: "Brother, why are you being so polite to him? Are you sure he will return the fine steed? Is he highly valued by brother?"

  Wu Zhiyuan smiled and listened to his sister's question, saying: "Rui'er, one by one, I don't know which one you're referring to." The girl playfully stuck out her tongue and stopped talking, but a pair of bright eyes kept staring at her brother, waiting for Wu Zhiyuan to answer her question.

  Wu Zhiyuan thought for a moment and smiled, saying: "I think he has a good appearance, although he didn't deliberately show off, but there is a royal air on his body, which shows that his status is noble. However, he doesn't rely on his power to oppress others, which is quite rare. Besides, since the other person really has an urgent matter, why not take advantage of the situation?"

  "But I think what brother values most is that he has such martial arts skills at a young age, brother likes to make friends with heroes and knights, so it's probably because of this." Rui'er said warmly.

  "Nui'er is getting smarter and smarter now, you saw everything that just happened, didn't you?" Wu Zhīyuǎn said with a smile.

  This girl is named Wu Caiyun, the pearl of the Wu family. Fortunately, she has not developed a proud and extravagant temperament, but is instead gentle, beautiful, elegant, refined, and knowledgeable about books and etiquette. She is proficient in all aspects of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, which is truly rare. Although her marriageable age is still early, many people have come to the Wu family's residence to propose marriage, including members of the royal family and noble clans. Wu Zhìyuán has long vowed not to let his sister become a political sacrifice for the family, so he must become stronger in order to guarantee his sister's true happiness.

  "It's getting late, young master. Traveling at night can be perilous. There is an inn up ahead. Shall we continue on or rest for the night? Please decide, young master." A elderly man with a large axe slung over his shoulder leaned against the carriage and asked loudly.

  "Wu Shu, you can decide on this matter, no need to tell me." Wu Zhongyuan gently placed his sleeping sister's body on the car bed, carefully covering her with a quilt, and then got out of the carriage, smiling at the old man.

  "It's not possible, the rules can't be abandoned, don't mention this again and make things difficult for us." The elderly man known as Wu Shu said seriously. Chen Zhiyuan bowed his hands together in a salute, "It was my mistake, please forgive me, Uncle Wu."

  Then loudly declared: "Rapid Righteous Guard is in charge of perimeter security, let's rest here for the night."

  "Yes sir." The crowd responded in unison.

  The old man known as Wu Shu was a veteran of the Bei Bao chain, and no one knew his real name except for the master of the house. However, if you knew his nickname "Blood Demon", it would send chills down your spine. Countless people had died at his hands before he was subdued by the master of the Bei Bao chain. He was a man of both good and evil, quick to draw his sword at the slightest disagreement, and had killed many people. But he was also fiercely loyal and highly skilled in martial arts. He followed the master of the Bei Bao chain into battle for many years, and could have lived out his days in peace. Instead, he chose to become the guardian of the young master, which was truly admirable. The younger generation of the Wu family had all grown up under his watchful eye, so they naturally held him in high esteem. If Wu Lao were to discipline someone from the Wu family and report it to the master, the person being disciplined would certainly be punished. After the Wu family entered the inn, a cold wind blew by, and in the nearby forest, there was a faint rustling sound. Upon closer inspection, dozens of black-clad figures wearing night-traveling clothes were seen.

  "Tonight, we must capture Chen Zhiyuan and his sister alive. This is a death order. If we fail, we will also have no chance of survival." The leader of the black-clad men paused and ordered the black-clad men behind him: "In a while, you twelve people will surround Xueyiwei's Blood Demon, and the rest will launch a main attack on the residence. Remember, leave no one alive in the house. We will start at two o'clock, when the enemy is most exhausted." The crowd of black-clad men nodded silently, without making any noise.

  Wu Zhiyuan carried his sister to the bedroom and handed her over to the maid for careful care, then walked out. Although he was tired from traveling, he couldn't put down his studies. If the four major families couldn't get good results in the imperial examination, it would be a very shameful thing.

  On the other side, Zhao Kuang saw from afar a group of people on the road, numbering over 500, all cavalrymen, advancing with a flowing and swift momentum. The Song Dynasty had very few cavalrymen due to the lack of warhorses, which made them less mobile in battles against the Jin Dynasty, putting them at a disadvantage.

  Zhao Yan galloped forward, blocking the path that this group of cavalry must take. The 500 cavalrymen saw a single person and horse in front of them and didn't dare to be careless, immediately reining in their horses and forming an attacking formation. The 500 men moved as one, without any disorder. Zhao Yan's eyes lit up, this group of cavalry was well-trained and well-equipped. They must have been through the baptism of war, but he didn't know whose troops they were, however, he had the imperial edict to mobilize troops in his hand, and if these cavalrymen were from the Imperial Guard, he absolutely couldn't let them go.

  A young general rode forward, shouting: "I am a forbidden army under General Chen. Who are you? Don't you know that blocking the official army will be beheaded?" Because he saw that the person blocking the road was just a child, his tone was relatively polite. If it were an ordinary person, they would have ridden away long ago and wouldn't bother to talk. Zhao Yin was quite satisfied with this troop and knew that since the other side was a forbidden army, there was no need to be polite.

  "Repeatedly saying: 'I am Chongguo Gong Zhao Song, I have been ordered to take over this unit, follow me.'"

  The young general was visibly taken aback, but immediately ventured to say: "Please let me check the military token."

  Zhaoyan handed the red gold military token to the young general's messenger. After reading the token, he knelt on one knee and said: "Sir, we are willing to serve as dogs and horses." This is the emperor's exclusive military token, if they don't obey immediately, aren't they asking for death? Fortunately, this general also recognized it, otherwise, it would have been a joke.

  "From now on, we are all brothers, united in heart and mind, our unity is stronger than metal."

  Zhao Yin also understood that at this time, he had to give them confidence. The Imperial Guards were still quite moved, as there was no royal family member who would call these soldiers brothers. Especially in the Song Dynasty, where military personnel were looked down upon and literature was valued over martial arts. Everyone followed Zhao Yin back to the military department's barracks assigned to him. Only Zhao Yin did not know that 'rescuing' these hundreds of people would leave behind a huge hidden problem for himself.

  Zhao Yan soon learned that the general's name was Xue Yue, and his courtesy name was Xiao Lian. He was a native of Bianjing, had fought in the Western Army against the Western Xia, and this time he came back mainly to bring birthday gifts for the emperor. Zhao Yan had already checked over several tens of thousands of taels of white silver and 50,000 taels of yellow gold. Without hesitation, Zhao Yan accepted all of it; this was the capital for his family's prosperity, and whoever it belonged to, there were hardly any in the imperial court who dared to make things difficult for him openly.

  "Sir, there is an inn not far ahead. As it's getting late, would you like to rest for a while?"

  "Let's just follow what General said." Zhao Yan also did not object.

  On the other side, outside the inn, at the second watch of the night.

  A group of black-clad men quietly approached the inn under the cover of night, and the few Tang family members responsible for keeping watch on the perimeter had vanished. The black-clad men worked in a well-coordinated manner, rushing to their respective positions. They swiftly arrived at the window, confirmed that no one was around, and then took out a bamboo tube they had prepared earlier, poking through the paper window and blowing in a misty substance from inside.

  "Who?" The voice had barely fallen when a scream was heard, and it turned out that a young man from the Wu family had eaten something bad for his stomach earlier and got up at night to relieve himself. He stumbled upon the black-clad person's actions and was immediately killed by a knife slash. The killer had intended to cover the victim's mouth but was a step too late, and blood splattered out along with a scream. A bloody shadow was cast on the wall, looking extremely eerie. The young man from the Wu family was indeed well-trained, as swift movements were heard coming from each room without much commotion. If it had been a disorganized team, there would have been shouting, not only revealing their position but also affecting morale.

  When the Wu family disciples rushed out, they were suddenly ambushed by black-clad men hiding on one side. In a very short time, more than 20 people were killed, all with a single knife to the heart, and the air was filled with blood. Fortunately, the Wu family disciples had the advantage of numbers and fighting power, and both sides entered a stalemate. The Blood Devil used his knife to slash down one of the black-clad men, panting slightly. These eight black-clad men had been surrounding him since earlier, but did not attack. The price of being hit by a knife earlier was that seven people were killed, while the remaining five looked at the dead black-clad man without even looking at him, still surrounding him and staring coldly at the Blood Devil. The Blood Devil's pupils shrank slightly, wondering who these people were sent by. He wasn't worried about himself, but rather worried about the safety of the young master. However, he was more helpless, as in his peak years, not to mention twelve black-clad men, even if a hundred more came, he could easily leave. Now that he was older, it was indeed true that he had the heart but lacked the strength. Although he could kill the people in front of him by risking injury, he now had to maintain his best state to cope with the enemy, at least before rescuing the young master, he absolutely could not die.

  The black-clad men, seeing that the situation had been exposed, the leader's face revealed a hateful expression, and he made several hand gestures to the people beside him. After receiving the message, the black-clad men quickly took out flammable materials and threw them at the easily combustible objects in the inn, instantly igniting flames and filling the air with thick smoke. The black-clad man who had just caused the entire squad to be discovered had already had one arm chopped off, blood splattering everywhere. He was seen standing on the side, his face dripping with sweat, which had long since soaked through his mask, but he dared not show even a hint of dissatisfaction, only enduring the pain in silence.

  Wu Zhiyuan's face was slightly pale, but he remained calm, pacing back and forth in the room. The flames rising up made Wu Zhiyuan understand that it was time to make a decision. More than a dozen Tang family members surrounded Wu Zhiyuan's room, originally planning to escort the young master out, but since Wu Zhiyuan and his sister were not skilled in martial arts, they feared losing their way on the road and could only reluctantly abandon this plan. Wu Zhiyuan was not afraid of death, but he was more worried about his sister, and if they couldn't deliver these horses to Anxiu Fortress, it would be unbearable. Wu Zhiyuan thought to himself: "Not far from the capital, yet daring to commit such a brazen murder and arson, even more bizarre is that the Imperial Guard and government offices have not made any moves for so long, the reason behind this is intriguing. The person who went out to seek help must also be in a desperate situation. For the time being, there's really no other way, although it's not a sure thing, but it can be estimated who sent these people.

  Finally, Wu Zhiyuan made up his mind and said to a man with a cold face not far from him: "Geng Cheng, take the rest of the people and take Cai Xuan away. Their target is me. As long as you break through successfully, you will avenge me in the future. Do not disobey orders."

  "Yes, young master." Wu Cheng lowered his head and clasped his fists to accept the order, but his eyes sparkled with tears and his voice had a barely perceptible tremble.

  "Brother, I won't leave. If we're going to die, let's die together." Wu Caiyun rushed out with tears streaming down her face, grabbing onto her brother's clothes and sobbing uncontrollably.

  "Stop messing around and follow me to the city." Wu Zhiyuan's eyebrows shot up, this was the first time Wu Caiyun had seen her brother get angry at her since she was a child, and for a moment, she stood there, unsure of what to do.

  On the other side, the Blood Demon slowly turned around and said faintly: "Dark Shadow, I didn't expect you to have fallen so low one day."

  The man in black laughed and said, "Blood Demon, don't you know that those who know when to yield are the true heroes? Considering you're a senior, if you're willing to abandon your evil ways and turn to the light, I can spare your life. What do you say?"

  "Mind your own business, kid."

  "Am I qualified then, old demon head?" A hoarse and icy voice echoed from the dark corner.