Chapter 866: Dark Moon and High Wind (V)

The night is getting deeper and quieter, the moon is dark and the wind is strong.

At the beginning of the midnight hour, the city of Lin'an was completely silent. A horse-drawn carriage, protected by more than a dozen guards, drove slowly through the empty and dim streets. The wheels made a "gurgling" sound as they rolled over the cobblestone road, which was the only sound besides the wind for miles around.

This hour is the most sleepy time of the day. Not to mention Lord Qian, who has been busy with state affairs and is already exhausted and drowsy, even the guards are bored and listless.

After all, as an important military official, Lord Qian was summoned by the emperor almost every day. He had walked back and forth from the palace to the Privy Council countless times, and had always been safe and sound without any setbacks. Therefore, the guards had long been accustomed to it, and even subconsciously let their guard down.

After all, in Lin'an, even if someone was extremely brave, he would not dare to cause trouble for the Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council.

As the carriage swayed, the exhausted Lord Qian sometimes drowsy and sometimes awake, on and off, but he was never able to sleep soundly like he used to.

For some reason, he felt a little uneasy tonight. He wanted to sleep several times, but was awakened by a sudden heart palpitation.

No matter how hard he thought about it, he still couldn't figure out where his worry came from.

"Cough cough!"

Hearing the noise coming from the carriage, a burly black-faced guard came up and asked respectfully, "What do you want, sir?"

"Can Bai Jin come back?" Perhaps because he had just woken up or because he was exhausted, Lord Qian's voice sounded a little hoarse.

"Reporting to the Lord, Lord Bai has not returned yet."

"He has been in Tianji Pavilion for an hour and should have returned long ago."

"Maybe... Lord Bai saw that it was getting late, so he went home directly..."

"No! Bai Jin is always careful in his work, it's impossible for him to be so careless."

"This……"

"Go back to the Privy Council later and go to the Tianji Pavilion." Lord Qian said calmly, "I suspect that Bai Jin and Qin Wei are at a standoff over a disagreement. Pass on my order and have them come to the Privy Council to see me early tomorrow morning."

"As ordered!"

"Go back quickly! I don't know why, but I feel a little uneasy."

"Yes."

After giving the order, the speed of the carriage suddenly increased by three points, and the guards also changed from walking to jogging.

After a while, the carriage galloped to the intersection. As long as they passed the archway in front of them and walked for an incense stick of time, they would reach the Privy Council.

However, what surprised the coachman and the guards was that at this moment, there stood a man in black, as straight as a gun, on the top of the archway.

What's more, this person was holding a sharp blade in his hand, which emitted faint cold light under the reflection of the hazy moonlight.

In the middle of the night, someone blocked the road with a sword. I knew without asking that he was up to no good.

In the blink of an eye, the sleepiness of the dozen or so listless guards disappeared and they looked alert.

"Who's playing tricks up there?"

The black-faced guard waved his hand to stop the carriage from moving forward, and his tiger eyes glared fiercely at the man in black on the archway. His voice was deep and loud, and his tone was steady and firm.

"Boom!"

At the same time, more than a dozen guards drew their swords. They were well-trained and consciously divided into two groups. One group held swords in front and lined up on the left and right of the black-faced guards. The other group surrounded the carriage to ensure that Lord Qian was safe.

"what's up?"

As if disturbed by the noise outside the car, Lord Qian, who had just fallen asleep, woke up again. Angrily, he lifted the car curtain and asked an angry question.

"Lord be careful!"

Seeing Lord Qian show up, two guards hurriedly jumped onto the carriage and used their bodies as a shield for him to prevent anyone from shooting arrows at him.

"This is……"

Seeing the guards with their swords drawn and looking at him eagerly, Lord Qian was stunned at first, and then looked in the direction pointed by the black-faced guard. When he squinted his eyes and tried to distinguish the black-clad man on the archway, his confused eyes suddenly froze, and his face was filled with shock.

"That's... Liu Xunyi?" Lord Qian looked at the expressionless Liu Xunyi in disbelief, and subconsciously exclaimed, "Why is he here?"

"Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt has its creditor. You have been hiding behind the scenes, manipulating Qin Wei, plotting tricks in secret, and causing such misery to me, the Marquis, the Prime Minister, and the East Palace. Do you really think you can just sit back and watch the fire and get away with it? Tonight, I will come to you on behalf of the Marquis to claim his life!"

"presumptuous!"

Liu Xunyi's rude words made Lord Qian furious. He pushed aside the two guards who were blocking him, pointed at the righteous Liu Xunyi, and scolded: "I didn't go to find you, but you took the initiative to come to me. Good, good! Since you have fallen into the trap, it saves me from sending people to arrest you. Tonight, I will use your head to defend justice and execute you according to the law."

"Humph! Even now you are still full of morality and ethics. It's disgusting to see you acting like a hypocrite."

After saying that, the furious Liu Xunyi suddenly pointed the Wuji Sword towards the sky. A vast murderous aura swept out from the tip of the sword, accompanied by the roars of tigers and dragons. A strong wind suddenly arose between heaven and earth, and cloud dragons and wind tigers slowly condensed around the Wuji Sword, intertwining and circling.

"Whoever kills him will be promoted one rank and receive a reward of 1,000 taels!"

Seeing Liu Xunyi's murderous intent, Lord Qian's expression changed quietly, and a hint of fear flashed in the depths of his eyes.

"You are such an audacious imperial criminal, you dare to openly oppose the West Palace. I think you are tired of living!"

A big reward will always attract brave men, not to mention that these guards are the loyal and brave warriors of Mr. Qian? The black-faced guard, who had already been unable to bear it, shouted, soared into the sky, waving his steel knife fiercely, and rushed straight to Liu Xunyi on the archway.

At the same time, another four or five guards flew up and rushed towards Liu Xunyi from different directions.

"Liu Xunyi, I've heard of your name in the border camp, but I never believed you were as evil as the legend said." The black-faced guard challenged, "We both have two hands and two feet. You have a sword and I have a knife. I don't believe I can't beat you!"

"There are some things you can't help but believe!"

"Stop talking nonsense! Look at the knife!"

"Keng!"

“Ka…” “Puff!”

Before the black-faced guard could finish his words, Liu Xunyi suddenly attacked, and with a lightning-fast sword, he met the whistling steel knife without hesitation.

However, at the moment when the swords touched, the black-faced guard's steel knife was pierced by the Wuji sword. The extremely sharp blade brushed against the cracked blade and came in a flash, making a sharp and piercing golden sound.

This move shocked the black-faced guard, and he lost all control of his fierce attack. Unfortunately, before he could react, Liu Xunyi's ruthless sword had already penetrated deep into his chest, piercing his heart and killing him instantly.

"hiss!"

When the others watched Liu Xunyi easily take the life of the black-faced guard, they all looked horrified and felt timid.

"Now it's your turn!"

Liu Xunyi did not intend to give them a chance to breathe. With a loud shout, the Wuji Sword turned around, and the sharp sword energy transformed into ripples that spread out, making it impossible for the guards who were caught off guard to avoid it, and they were hit one after another.

In mild cases, the skin will be torn and the blood will bleed profusely. In severe cases, the sword will cut the throat and kill the person.

At one moment, several guards in the air fell to the ground like dumplings, with "crackling" sounds. Some of them were dead and motionless, while others were seriously injured and wailing. The tragic scene was shocking and made one's back cold.

It was not until this moment that Lord Qian truly understood what Lord Jia meant when he repeatedly emphasized in Jingyun Pavilion that Liu Xunyi was "a master of martial arts."

"Stop him! Stop him!"

Gradually realizing that his guards were no match for Liu Xunyi, the uneasy Lord Qian hurriedly ordered the other guards, and then impatiently urged the driver: "Don't worry about others, go back to the Privy Council!"

"drive!"

The panicked driver had already wanted to escape, and he whipped the horse with all his might. The horse neighed in pain and rushed towards the intersection desperately.

The crazy carriage knocked down three or five guards who were unable to dodge in time. They could never have imagined that they did not die on the battlefield, nor at the hands of the enemy, but instead died under the hooves of their own people.

Seeing Lord Qian fleeing in panic, Liu Xunyi's eyes suddenly turned cold. He flew to the ground and stabbed two guards down at the same time. With a tap of his foot, he moved flexibly among the guards like a dragon, and his sword moves were tricky and as fast as lightning.

No entanglement, no lingering battle, no mercy, just knock down one person with one sword. Although it won't kill them, it will make them unable to fight again.

In the blink of an eye, Liu Xunyi, covered in blood, stepped on the head of a guard and flew out, leaving behind a field of wounded guards who were covered in wounds and screaming in agony.

"Where are you going, old thief?"

"call!"

"Click..."

With a thunderous roar, Liu Xunyi swung two sword energies in mid-air, breaking the pillars of the memorial archway. The tall memorial archway collapsed with a deafening roar in the air, and collapsed in the direction where the carriage had fled.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, the collapsed memorial archway hit the carriage that had no time to avoid it, and the heavy stone plaque pressed the horse to death. The driver was caught off guard and squeezed between the broken memorial archway and the broken carriage. His bloody chest sank horribly. Blood was flowing from all seven orifices, his eyes were dazed, he was breathing out but not in, and it seemed that he would not live long.

For Mr. Qian, the archway only hit the front of the carriage and did not crush him to death in the carriage. It was a blessing in disguise.

However, when the archway hit the carriage, the carriage lost balance and lifted up high, then fell apart in mid-air. The old and frail Mr. Qian staggered in the chaos, shook violently, and was finally thrown high into the air and fell into the ruins.

He was lucky because he was not killed by the archway.

The reason why he was said to be unfortunate was because Liu Xunyi was walking towards him with a furious look in his eyes and a sword in his hand.

"Cough cough..."

The wounded Qian lay weakly in the ruins, with broken bones and no strength left. Even though he was panicking, he could do nothing but watch the murderous Liu Xunyi approaching.

"You dare to assassinate an official appointed by the imperial court... Aren't you afraid of having your entire clan exterminated..."

"Humph!" Looking at the bluffing Lord Qian, Liu Xunyi said calmly, "I am the only one among the Nine Clans, and I... have no intention of leaving alive."

"Liu Xunyi, I have no personal grudge against you. Everything I do is for the greater good of the court..."

"I don't understand the court's plans, and I don't want to understand."

While he was speaking, Liu Xunyi walked over to Lord Qian on the messy ground and put the tip of the sword against his chest. His face changed immediately, his voice stopped abruptly, and his breathing became more rapid.

"Liu Xunyi, you..."

"The Marquis has raised me, and the Prime Minister has cultivated me. If I cannot avenge them, I, Liu Xunyi, will not rest in peace." Liu Xunyi's face was stern and cold, "I don't know who is right and who is wrong in the open and secret struggles between the East and West Mansions. I only know that kindness and hatred must be avenged, and killing people must be punished with life!"

"you……"

"Suffer to death!"

"Do not……"

"Whoosh!"

"puff!"

Just when Liu Xunyi made up his mind to stab Mr. Qian to death with a sword, a roar filled with anger and despair suddenly came from behind him. Before Liu Xunyi could concentrate and realize that something was wrong, he suddenly felt a gust of wind coming, and his back felt cold, and a piercing pain quickly spread throughout his body.

Almost at the same time, a sharp blade suddenly protruded from his chest. Blood gushed out like a fountain from the wound, and the bright red blood soaked Liu Xunyi's clothes.

"Boom!"

It was as if all the strength in his body was drained away in an instant, and Liu Xunyi's mind quickly fell into chaos and confusion, and the Wuji Sword could not help but slip out of his hand. His legs softened, and he fell to his knees with a "thump", unable to support himself any longer.

Liu Xunyi slowly lowered his head in extreme pain and weakness, wanting to check his injuries, but his dazed look suddenly changed, and two lines of hot tears burst out of his eyes. The falling tears were like the fleeting life, falling into the endless abyss drop by drop.

Just because... he recognized that the owner of the sword stuck in his chest was his "good brother" whom he just couldn't bear to kill, Qin Wei.

……

(End of this chapter)