The bone-chilling cold instantly woke him up. His eyes snapped open, and he realized that in the span of an extremely short amount of time, he had actually drifted into an extremely brief dream. In that dream, A-ruan seemed to be in it…Dong Ruan.
He sat up and discovered that his back had, unbeknownst to him, become drenched in cold sweat.
Then he heard a piercing, drawn-out scream.
The scream was shrill and lingering. To Yin Zhi Shu, whose clothes were already soaked with sweat and whose heart was still pounding wildly, the scream caused him to feel like he was still in the middle of the dream, and that it was Dong Ruan who was screaming in agony.
He sat upright with a start and reached out to lift the carriage curtain, but his hand froze halfway— if this was an ambush, lifting the curtain now would make him immediately into the target!
His hand hovered by the window. Outside, the hurried footsteps of his guards could already be heard fast approaching. The guards rushed to surround the palanquin, followed by the sounds of blades being unsheathed and bows being drawn. In an instant, the guards had sealed off the area around him completely. His guard captain’s deep voice rang out: “Arches, prepare——”
Before his voice could even fade, a faint cry of gasps, followed by the sound of a thud as if something was rolling down from above. Immediately followed by the sound of steel clashing together from the upwind direction. His guard captain let out a surprised “Huh?”
Yin Zhi Shu could no longer hold back and raised his foot to stomp the floor of the palanquin.
The palanquin halted. The guard captain hurried over and saluted in front of the carriage. Yin Zhi Shu asked in a low voice, “What’s going on?”
His trusted subordinate hesitated, as thought trying to come up with the right words before replying, “Your Highness…it seems someone up above is being chased….”
Taken aback momentarily, Yin Zhi Shu then frowned, “Do not approach too closely to troublesome areas. Didn’t I tell you already? Just avoid it!”
But as soon as he spoke the words, he remembered that this route was chosen after three days and three nights of deliberation by his strategists, so it doesn’t seem wise to change it arbitrarily. Noticing that not only had his guard captain not responded but seemed to have more to say. Irritated, he barked, “What are you dawdling for? Speak quickly! Don’t delay the time!”
“Your Highness…” The guard captain’s voice was very low, “The one who is being chased…you’ll understand if you take a look.”
Startled, Yin Zhi Shu flung back the carriage curtain and saw a gravely injured man lying at his guard captain’s feet. The man was covered in blood, barely clinging to life. Judging by the moss from the roof tiles on his clothes, the man must have been the one who had just tumbled down from the rooftop. Yin Zhi Shu’s gaze dropped to the man’s waist. There, a corner of an indigo unicorn emblem caught his eye.
The symbol of the Changning!
Lu Zhi Yan was attacked?
The guard captain let out a sheepish smile, “If this man had not rolled down, I was just about to order a volley of arrows…” He had recognized the Changning insignia and dared not say anymore.
Yin Zhi Shu stopped hesitating, and under the shield of his guards, he lifted the curtain back further and looked upward. Sure enough, on a nearby rooftop, his archers, originally stationed there, were standing to the side, gripping their bows like fools. Meanwhile, Lu Zhi Yan and a few of his subordinates dressed as ordinary men were fighting back to back, engaged in a fierce, desperate battle. As they fought, they were fast-moving out of Yin Zhi Shu’s sight. The young prince’s hair was already disheveled, and looked worse for wear. Their opponents were a group of ruthless men dressed in grey, all wielding the most ordinary-looking steel longswords, yet they also possessed excellent hidden-weapon skills. The swords struck swiftly, and every so often, one of them would release flying blades, causing cries of pain from Lu Zhi Yan’s men as they were struck.
Yin Zhi Shu’s eyes narrowed. He suddenly remembered that on his own birthday, assassins had also infiltrated his residence. Those assassins also possessed excellent swordsmanship and skills in using hidden weapons. It seemed to be of the same fighting style. Who are these people? They targeted him first, and now they are going after Changning? Was it his political enemies hoping to weaken his growing influence, or was it a plot from Tiansheng’s side?
By now, Lu Zhi Yan had also seen him. In the midst of the chaos, he opened his mouth, seemingly to call out something, but just then, an opponent flicked a wrist and sent a dazzling dart flying toward him. The attack forced Lu Zhi Yan to swallow his words back as he bent backward to dodge the dart that shot past his chest, tearing off a swath of his front robe, narrowly missing having the dart pierce straight into his heart.
This was truly a close call. So close that even Yin Zhi Shu’s hand trembled from the shock. He watched as Lu Zhi Yan performed another backward arch and flipped in mid-air to escape from being encircled. He seemed to have been slightly injured, and his body swayed as he darted to the side before dashing out.
With him darting out, Lu Zhi Yan’s men immediately followed after to protect him. The relentless assassins also pursued them. The guard captain looked at the Regent, waiting for his order: should they send people to chase after them or ignore it?
Yin Zhi Shu pondered for a moment—- ignoring it was impossible. Chengning was an ally. If they abandoned the young prince even after he was being pursued right in front of them, then the old King Changning would be furiously sending his troops to charge right into Xiliang. In logic, he should divide his forces and send them out to help, but he has always been cautious by nature. The thought of dividing his forces made him wonder if this could be his enemy’s conspiracy to split off his men? What if the split-off sections of guards were taken out one by one, and then some group would come immediately to attack him? What if the division of forces caused chaos, allowing the enemy to take advantage of the situation and launch an attack? After thinking round and round, he decided it was better to take all the guards himself and follow after personally. With such overwhelming strength on his side, who could touch him without mobilizing a full troop? And in Jin City, who could mobilize an army without his knowledge.
After considering all the possibilities, he believed this was the safest and most reliable plan. Judging by the direction Lu Zhi Yan and his men had fled, they seemed to be heading toward the direction of the Flower Goddess Temple. That path also led to the palace. The path is a bit more secluded, but the area there was open on all sides, making it impossible to hide, which meant he wouldn’t have to worry about being ambushed.
Inside the palanquin, he sat, deep in thought. He really couldn’t suppress his doubts regarding those assassins. Ever since the incident happened at his birthday banquet, the matter kept circling in his mind, like a massive shadow weighing heavily on his chest. Even in his dreams, he is trying to figure out who his enemy is, hiding in the dark. How hateful it is that the other side cut off all leads so quickly, leaving him with no clue to go on at all. For someone in his position, to have an enemy that seems impossible to catch, that is more terrifying than a nightmare. And now, seeing a clue surfacing right in front of him, how could he possibly let it slip away?
Yin Zhi Shu hesitated only for a split second before saying immediately, “Set out! Send some men to go after them first. I will follow as well!”
The guard captain was surprised for a moment and said cautiously, “The ceremony is about to start soon…”
Yin Zhi Shu waves his hand half-heartedly, “Looking at that route, even if we had to take a detour, we won’t be late. Besides, it’s not a big deal anyway.”
In Xiliang, only he would dare to say that the emperor’s birthday was “not a big deal.” The guard captain chuckled, stepped back, waved his hand, and shouted, “Change course—-”
The large palanquin lifted and changed direction. Sunlight flickered across the curtain. Yin Zhi Shu leaned against the wall of the carriage, deep in thought. He had no suspicion toward Lu Zhi Yan at all— he had seen with his own eyes how close the young prince had come to death. Besides, Lu Zhi Yan only had a few men with him. It was obvious the ambush was a surprise to them. One of Lu Zhi Yan’s men was even lying at his feet moments before, barely clinging to life.
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