https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-510-The-Lantern-Festival-Incident/13464695/
Chapter 511: Taking You Home
Chapter 511: Taking You Home
Cui Hu pursued northward. Though his martial arts skills were inferior to Jifeng’s, he possessed exceptional vision, making him akin to an eagle in the dark of night.
“I’ve spotted him!”
He slid into a narrow alley to the west.
A ragged beggar was carrying a sack and preparing to leap onto a rooftop.
Cui Hu gathered his qi, stomped his foot, and dashed forward like an arrow released from a bow.
However, the other party seemed to sense him. As the killing intent approached, he turned and shot three hidden weapons at Cui Hu.
“Damn!”
Cui Hu’s heart skipped a beat. He flipped in mid-air, evading the weapons, and landed on a nearby eave.
The beggar took the opportunity to escape the dead-end alley.
“Think you can run? Not that easy!”
Cui Hu pushed himself to catch up.
Seeing that his pursuer was still on his heels, the beggar grew both startled and enraged, launching another set of darts.
“Dry weather—beware of fire—”
The night watchman was banging his copper gong in the alley, but as he struck it, the gong suddenly vanished, leaving only a wooden mallet in his hand.
The night watchman: “...!!”
Cui Hu swung the gong to block the incoming hidden weapons.
“Ha! Now what, punk! Let go of the... Madam...”
Damn!
Was the sack carrying the Crown Prince or the Madam?
Finally, the beggar’s hidden weapons were exhausted. Cui Hu leaped like a carp jumping over a dragon gate and tackled the beggar to the ground.
He pried the sack from the beggar and cut the rope sealing it.
To his surprise, the sack contained neither the Crown Prince nor the Madam, but an unconscious civilian.
“Damn, I’ve been tricked!”
Cui Hu turned his gaze to the beggar.
The beggar bolted!
“No escape!”
Cui Hu struck at the beggar’s vital point.
At that moment, the civilian in the sack suddenly opened his eyes and, without hesitation, plunged a dagger into Cui Hu’s chest.
Clang!
The dagger was blocked by something hard.
The man was startled.
Cui Hu slapped him away and looked down at his torn shirt. “Lucky I was wearing a heartguard.”
The heartguard was a gift from Jifeng. It was the only one among the imperial guards, not as good as the Heaven Silk Soft Armor, but sufficient to withstand ordinary weapons.
The man, struck by Cui Hu, fainted on the spot.
But Cui Hu wasn’t entirely without reward.
In the sack, he found a bottle of gu.
“It seems to belong to the Madam.”
Cui Hu quickly uncorked the bottle, and a small gu insect flew out.
“A Tracing Gu?”
Cui Hu hurriedly followed it.
Meanwhile, the black-clothed man carrying Lu Zhaoyan escaped the alley and headed south.
The lead beggar said coldly, “He’s trying to return to the Crown Prince’s Mansion! Stop him!”
The other beggars, who were actually skilled martial artists, rushed forward, with some even taking shortcuts to block his path from the front.
The black-clothed man tried to reach the bustling streets, but each time, his path was either blocked or he was forced back.
Finally, after breaking through the encirclement, he paused, looking at the crowded street.
“Let’s go have a few drinks.”
“Prince Jin lost, and the Crown Prince’s mood is predictable. We’d better not cause trouble now. Patrol carefully and drink another day.”
A pair of patrolling guards marched down the street.
The group of “beggars” chasing the black-clothed man and Lu Zhaoyan also stopped.
No matter how skilled they were, they couldn’t stand up to an imperial army.
The black-clothed man took a step forward.
He hesitated.
In the end, he abandoned the idea of seeking help from the imperial guards and used his lightness skill to leap onto the roof.
The beggars, seeing this, quickly pursued and blocked his path.
No matter how proficient the black-clothed man was in lightness skill, he couldn’t match the sheer number of his pursuers.
Moreover, they seemed to be extremely familiar with the terrain of the imperial city, always managing to outmaneuver him and intercept him from unexpected directions.
After half an hour of fleeing with a grown man on his back, his stamina was rapidly depleting.
Worse still, he was getting farther from the Crown Prince’s Mansion, and the surrounding area was becoming less populated.
This meant fewer witnesses, and even if he made a loud commotion, it would be less likely to draw attention. It also provided ample time for any killings to be covered up.
Whizz!
An arrow whizzed past Lu Zhaoyan's head.
The black-clad man's ears twitched, and he kicked off the side wall, leaping into the air to evade the arrow.
However, avoiding one only meant facing more.
Darting weapons followed closely behind.
It was the technique of the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion!
"Put me down."
The Lu Zhaoyan on his back suddenly spoke.
The black-clad man indeed put him down.
Then he took off his outer robe, using it to block the arrows and darts flying at him, and shot them back at the attackers.
With a chorus of agonized screams, several beggars fell to the ground.
Almost simultaneously, the black-clad man wrapped Lu Zhaoyan in his outer robe, tightly securing him to his back again.
Lu Zhaoyan was taken aback: "You..."
The black-clad man said nothing and continued to flee with Lu Zhaoyan on his back.
Lu Zhaoyan smelled the strong scent of blood. Paralyzed by the softening powder, he struggled to turn his head and saw the trail of blood marks left behind in the darkness.
"You're injured."
Lu Zhaoyan said.
The black-clad man remained silent.
Lu Zhaoyan lay on his broad back, weakly sighing, "You... don't have to..."
Another arrow pierced the air. The black-clad man rolled to the side, his shoulder colliding with the wall.
His right arm was dislocated.
Without a word, he used his left hand to pop it back into place.
His strength was waning, his injuries worsening, and the "beggars" were closing in.
He gritted his teeth and fired a mechanism box backward.
Boom! The mechanism box exploded, sending a barrage of silver needles flying, hitting the pursuing beggars.
By now, he was already covered in wounds, panting heavily, and had to use all his strength just to take each step.
As he limped out of the chaotic alley, the sound of clapping echoed from the street ahead.
Clap!
Clap!
Clap!
"Truly... impressive."
Prince Jin stood in the empty, cold street, as if he had been waiting for them all along.
His gaze fell on Lu Zhaoyan's face: "Second Brother, I never thought you'd be so lucky. You were supposed to die, yet someone is willing to risk their life for you."
He then looked at the masked black-clad man, "And the one risking their life for you is actually my own son."
The black-clad man froze.
Lu Zhaoyan remained unperturbed: "Lu Zhaohua, no matter how shameless you are, you can't claim your nephew as your own. Yuan'er is my son, not yours."
"Yuan'er?"
Prince Jin laughed coldly, his sharp gaze scanning the masked face of the black-clad man, "You mean Lu Linyuan? If it's Lu Linyuan, why is he masked? Saving one's father is a natural duty, not something to hide, right?"
Lu Zhaoyan maintained his composure: "I intended to assassinate you tonight, but you struck first. The victor writes the history, so I have nothing to say."
Prince Jin said, "Second Brother, you really know how to defend him. Whether it's Lu Linyuan or not, we'll know once the mask is removed."
Prince Jin took a step toward the black-clad man.
Behind him stood eighteen mysterious experts.
The black-clad man had no chance of escape.
"Run."
Lu Zhaoyan said to the black-clad man.
Prince Jin replied, "Too late."
One of the experts behind him struck the black-clad man's pressure points from a distance, rendering him immobile.
Prince Jin approached him, staring straight into his eyes, which were now wide with fear.
Just as Prince Jin raised his hand to remove the mask, a familiar voice called out from the alley: "Father!"
Prince Jin frowned and turned to see Lu Qi, drenched in sweat, approaching him.
"You..."
Prince Jin was stunned.
End of Chapter(End of Chapter)
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