Volume 1: Zhu Xian Town Crisis Chapter 86: Assassination of Xiao Yi (Part 2)

  Thanks for Su's reward!

  Those four Iron Guards saw the situation was unfavorable and immediately shouted: "Form a circular shield wall to protect Lord Xiao!"

  However, the sedan was too big and they couldn't form a circle around it. They could only set up a shield wall in front of and behind the sedan to desperately resist the approaching Ba-Di soldiers.

  "Kill!" Niu Tong shouted loudly, charging to the front of the enemy, swinging his wolf-toothed club, and with one swing, he knocked down an enemy who was holding up a shield.

  At this moment, he only felt a rustling sound on his side, and hastily lowered his head to see a long spear coming from the left.

  Niu Tong dodged to the side and struck back with his stick, instantly sending the enemy flying with a mouthful of blood, rolling to one side. The Golden Army guards defending in front of the sedan chair saw Niu Tong's bravery and suddenly felt fearful, their formation slightly loosening.

  The leader of the Iron Guards shouted hastily: "I'll take care of you!"

  He also held a curved knife and rushed to Niu Tong's front, fighting him together.

  At this moment, Yue Yun coldly observed that more than 40 of the enemy's guards had fallen, most of whom were shot and killed by Guan Ling's archers. They were originally an intact defensive formation, but under the direct attack of Niu Tong's warriors and the wave after wave of cold arrows from Guan Ling's archers, they had already collapsed and were no longer a cohesive unit.

  Pedestrians on both sides of the street fled in all directions, and the scene was thrown into chaos.

  Yue Yun saw that the time had arrived, so he slid down from the eaves of the house along the rope that had been pulled in advance, and descended into the sedan chair from mid-air.

  Xiao Yi and his entourage never expected that the attacker would have strung a black rope across the sky above Yongsheng Bridge beforehand. At this moment, their guards were all concentrated at the head and tail of the bridge, desperately resisting the attack by Niu Tong and others, and had not anticipated that the enemy would fall from the sky to the sedan chair where Xiao Yi was riding.

  Yue Yun's foot touched the ground and he suddenly jumped up with great force, kicking one foot to the left and one to the right, sending the two sedan bearers who were standing in front of the sedan flying.

  Then he pulled open the curtain of the sedan chair and saw that inside Xiao Yi was sitting upright, his face pale with fear.

  Xiao Yi saw the enemy had already killed his way to his face, and was so frightened that he hastily cried out: "Iron Guard, save me!"

  Those few Iron Guards are now rushing back, but they can't teleport and can't arrive at the sedan chair immediately. They are still five or six zhang away from Yue Yun.

  Yue Yun sneered and shouted loudly: "No one can save your treacherous dog life!"

  This sentence was specially asked by Guan Ling for advice, and it took many rehearsals to get the pronunciation just right.

  At this moment, Guan Ling had already shot several cold arrows in a row. Among the three uninjured Iron Guards, two had already been hit by arrows and fell to the ground.

  Niú Tōng was also leading his troops in a fierce battle, trying their best to tie down the enemy and prevent them from retreating.

  Xiao Yi saw that Yue Yun had already raised his curved knife and heard him speaking the Jurchen language, greatly surprising him: "Are you a subordinate of King of Lu (King of Lu was the title held by Wanyan Zonghan)?"

  Yue Yun did not respond, but instead let out a stern shout. Then, with a swift slash of his sword, he struck out with a speed that rivaled lightning.

  Xiao Yi hastily raised his hand-held sword to block. Just then, a "clang" sound was heard, and the sword was chopped off by Yue Yun and fell to the ground.

  Yue Yun let out a cold laugh, a glint of chilliness flashing in his eyes, and swung his curved knife at Xiao Yi, who had already turned pale...

  Xiao Yi immediately fell with his head severed, blood spraying everywhere, dying a terrible death in the sedan.

  Yue Yun's face revealed a victorious smile as he picked up Xiao Yi's head and then issued the order to retreat.

  The long rope crossing over Yongsheng Bridge was immediately retracted by the wind chimes on the roof, without leaving any trace.

  The entire raid was completed in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and demonstrated the high efficiency of the elite troops' combat skills and their powerful attacking ability.

  By the time the city guards from Chu State arrived, they saw that amidst the raging flames, the bridge was littered with corpses and the Golden Guards groaning in blood pools. As they looked on, they caught sight of Xiao Yi's headless body slumped over in his sedan chair...

  "How could this have happened?" Qin Xi's face turned extremely ugly and his heart was in a mess after learning from Zheng Song that Xiao Yi had been killed.

  "When I arrived at the post house, I learned that Xiao Yi had already gone to Lan Gui Fang. So I hurriedly rushed to the east of the city and when I arrived at Yong Sheng Bridge, I found that this place had been sealed off by the city guards. Geng Zhuo, Liu Mingcheng and others were all present. Fortunately, I knew Liu Mingcheng, and after asking him, I learned that Xiao Yi was ambushed on Yong Sheng Bridge, more than 40 of his followers and guards were either killed or injured, four iron guards had two deaths, and Xiao Yi's head was cut off by the ambushers." Zheng Song also reported with a tense face.

  "This is going to cause big trouble!" Qin Xi suddenly became anxious and flustered, thinking that with Xiao Yi's death, the State of Jin would definitely not let the matter rest, and would certainly propose all sorts of harsh conditions, making it seem like peace talks were now further away than ever.

  Wei Liangchen beside him was even more frightened, his face ashen. He was the one responsible for escorting Xiao Yi to Lin'an. If Xiao Yi's killer wasn't found, even if Qin Hui didn't kill him, he wouldn't be able to keep his official position anymore.

  "Has the murderer been found out to be from which place?" Fan Tong was also very surprised, but he was much calmer than Qin Xi and Wei Liangchen who were directly related to the case.

  Zheng Song hastily replied, "According to the civilians and surviving guards at the scene, all of these people had their heads and faces covered with black cloth, making it impossible to see their appearance. However, each one was highly skilled in martial arts, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner, clearly they were elite soldiers who had undergone rigorous training."

  Qin Xi hesitated for a moment before making a decisive decision: "Go to the City Guard immediately and see if there are any clues about Geng Zhuo."

  Qin Xi and his entourage arrived at the city guard's mansion, only to find that the place was heavily guarded, with three times more guards than usual. Everyone's face looked tense.

  After Zheng Song reported, Qin Xi and others were allowed to enter the mansion. Liu Mingcheng saw Qin Xi and others arrive, and hastily came forward to pay his respects.

  Qin Xi waved his hand and said hastily: "Lord Liu, let's dispense with the formalities for now. Have you found any leads on the murderer?"

  Liu Mingcheng also shook his head anxiously: "Now the city has almost been turned upside down, but no suspicious person has been found. However, a crack was found near the west wall of the south city, leaving some climbing ropes, and there were footprints under the city wall leading to the forest two miles south of the city. Our constables found many horseshoe prints there, and it is estimated that the murderer climbed out of the city after getting what he wanted, then rode a horse to escape into the forest."

  Qin Xi heard and couldn't help but let out a long sigh, only to realize that the enemy had escaped on horseback, and it was unknown which direction they had fled in. Indeed, it was already impossible to catch up.

  Wei Liangchen hastily asked: "Has anyone guessed who the murderer might be?"

  Geng Zhe, as the Chu State Defense Envoy, had obviously sent someone to investigate and said with a somewhat disdainful expression: "On the day of Liu's birthday banquet, Special Envoy Xiao spoke loudly and offended many people. It would be quite troublesome to investigate. Moreover, what is most suspicious is that according to the surviving iron guards beside Special Envoy Xiao, the attackers' battle cry was in Jurchen language, and they called Special Envoy Xiao a traitor. Therefore, I deduce that it is highly likely that this was done by someone within the Jin people themselves."

  "Impossible!" Qin Xi was stunned as soon as he heard it: "Has the King of Jin gone mad? What's the point of killing his own envoy?"

  Geng Zhe then explained in detail: "I asked the two iron guards who followed him, and they both said that before Xiao's envoy was killed, his last words were 'You are a subordinate of the King of Lu', from which it can be seen that Xiao's envoy had seen some clues before he died."

  Wei Liangchen's spirit lifted upon hearing the three words 'Lu Guo Wang', and he hastily said: "I know where the murderer is from! It must be a remnant of Wanyan Chalan, the former prime minister of Jin country, whose title was Lu Guo Wang!"

  Qin Xi listened and was very puzzled, his brow furrowed: "Lord Wei, are you saying that a subordinate of Wanyan Kuai's had someone kill Xiao Yi?"

  "Yes!" Wei Liangchen's eyebrows relaxed a lot at this time, and he felt relieved to know that the murderer was a Jin person, not a Song person. Even if the government pursued responsibility, he would also be much more relaxed.

  He explained in detail: "Xiao Yi is a person I understand very well. He was originally a member of the Wanyan Kuodai faction, and when the contract was signed last year, he was also an envoy. At that time, he still only looked up to Wanyan Kuodai..."

  Wei Liangchen began to elaborate on Xiao Yi's situation, allowing everyone to finally have a general understanding of his life and character.