If someone hadn’t suddenly released an arrow, Li Shu wouldn’t have noticed the presence of hidden individuals around. 1314 was reflecting on itself— it failed to give the host a timely warning.
Due to the limitations of the small world, most of Li Shu’s powers were restricted. But even if he could only use a small portion of his strength, he shouldn’t have missed the presence of people around him.
How did these people manage to almost completely blend into the environment?
Of course, now wasn’t the time to ponder that question. Li Shu leaped up, evading the arrows that kept coming. Seizing the opportunity, he glanced in the direction of the small dilapidated temple. What were the identities of the two children, and why did they attract a group of well-trained assassins? Or perhaps, were there others in the temple?
[1314, check the situation inside the temple.]
While giving instructions to the system, Li Shu swiftly deflected the continuous rain of arrows. Finding an opening, he rushed towards the temple.
[The situation doesn’t look good,] 1314 spoke faster. [Both children are injured, and the male protagonist is here too. He has several wounds, and there is a poisoned arrow in his shoulder. The male protagonist is enduring it without passing out.]
Li Shu’s steps slightly paused, then he accelerated. [You said Qi Mingxuan is here? Why is he here? There doesn’t seem to be such a scene in the plot.]
[It indeed isn’t there. The plot line got messed up since the male protagonist left Xian Guo Temple unscathed. Host, don’t worry; as long as there’s no warning from above, everything should be fine.]
Squeezing through the unclosable door crack, the moment Li Shu entered, he smelled a strong scent of blood. The temple was small, and even without the system’s guidance, he quickly spotted the three people who were not in the best condition.
The boy he met earlier stood protectively in front of Qi Mingxuan and another girl, watching the approaching figure warily.
“Don’t come any closer!” The boy warned sternly.
Seeing this scene, Li Shu felt somewhat helpless. Why did he always encounter the injured male protagonist?
“Who are you?” Qi Mingxuan frowned, trying not to show weakness. The people outside were wary of him, so they didn’t dare to come in. This newcomer, he didn’t know if he was a friend or foe, so he had to be cautious.
“Someone entrusted me to come and rescue you.” Li Shu deliberately lowered his voice, he had no intention of revealing his true identity.
Upon hearing this, Qi Mingxuan looked at the masked man in front of him with suspicion.
He was cloaked in a blue robe, wearing a silver mask with intricate patterns covering half his face, only revealing his lips, chin, and a pair of cold eyes.
Those eyes…
Qi Mingxuan calmed down and patted the boy in front of him. “It’s okay, he’s not a bad person.”
Upon hearing this, the boy moved aside a bit, but his gaze remained fixed on Li Shu, fearing that he would do something inappropriate.
Li Shu quickly reached Qi Mingxuan, crouched down and asked, “How are you feeling?”
He was clearly not well, his face was pale, and his lips were tainted purple due to poison from the arrow lodged in his left shoulder. A pair of eyes as sharp as an eagle’s showed no signs of weakness. It was no wonder those people outside didn’t dare to attack recklessly.
“I’m troubling you again,” Qi Mingxuan stared at the masked man, answering a question with an unrelated answer.
Li Shu didn’t reply to this. Instead, he took out the medicine he exchanged last time and gave it to the male protagonist. “I’ll handle the people outside; you focus on recovering.”
After saying that, Li Shu stood up.
“Wait… My people should be arriving soon. You don’t have to go out and take risks. Those people outside are specially trained assassins, and are very dangerous.”
Unfortunately, Li Shu’s actions were too quick. Before he could finish speaking, Li Shu had already pushed the door open and stepped outside.
Ignoring the injury on his shoulder, Qi Mingxuan struggled to get up. Seeing this, the boy hurriedly moved over and assisted him.
Due to the movement, the wound reopened. Caught off guard, Qi Mingxuan took a sharp breath. Suddenly, a dizzying sensation overwhelmed him. If the boy hadn’t been supporting him, Qi Mingxuan might have collapsed to the ground.
Dragging such a body outside would be of no help and likely hinder that person. Qi Mingxuan had to abandon the plan to go out, and sat back down with the boy’s help.
He had to think of another way.
Waiting always felt long. As the medicine took effect, Qi Mingxuan entered a semi-dazed state.
The sneak attack was almost successful before because Li Shu was careless. Now that he knew there were enemies, it would be very difficult for those people to hurt him.
However, the ambushers used some method to seamlessly blend into the environment, making it challenging to detect.
1314 checked and explained proactively, [These people practice a special technique that allows them to unleash their maximum potential. This comes at the cost of destroying part of their consciousness and reducing their lifespan. In this world, those who cultivate this technique are called dead soldiers.]
Li Shu had not used his abilities since coming to this world. Since they were dead soldiers, he could kill them directly.
Without giving them time to react, Li Shu took action. He didn’t need any weapons. He enveloped his body with spiritual power, turning it into his best weapon.
With the system’s help, Li Shu swiftly found the hiding places of those people. He passed through like a phantom and effortlessly took down several people.
The dead soldiers were caught off guard and suffered heavy losses. They finally abandoned their hiding and attacked in a group.
This time, it wasn’t as easy as earlier. After all, he was now in a mortal body, it couldn’t withstand much spiritual power. After dealing with one, another came, and these dead soldiers seemed impervious to pain. Unless a fatal blow was delivered, they could repeatedly attack with their injuries.
With an impatient click of his tongue, Li Shu thought about whether there were any moves that could wipe out these people at once.
[Host, this body can’t endure it anymore.]
[Host—]
[Shut up!] Wiping the blood from his mouth, Li Shu sent the person who attacked him from the front flying, [I know.]
[No, Host, the male protagonist is coming out!]
Huh?!
As the system spoke, the pressure on Li Shu’s side suddenly decreased. These people’s target was Qi Mingxuan. With Qi Mingxuan showing up, they naturally abandoned Li Shu, who wasn’t their target, to go after the real objective.
Turning around, Li Shu indeed saw Qi Mingxuan fighting the dead soldiers. After quickly dealing with the remaining two or three, Li Shu joined the battle alongside Qi Mingxuan.
The two of them cooperated, and the efficiency was much faster. Trusting each other, they took turns covering each other’s backs, not worrying about enemies approaching from behind. Soon, the two of them dealt with the remaining dead soldiers.
Both sat exhausted in the midst of the corpses, neither saying a word. After a while, Li Shu, who felt somewhat recovered, stood up.
“Your people have arrived, I’ll leave now.”
“You saved me again.” Qi Mingxuan’s voice was a bit breathless, but his spirits were good. He looked up at the young man in the sunset, a strange emotion surging in his heart.
The young man was clearly disheveled, yet he couldn’t divert his gaze.
Participating in this battle was already strenuous. He wanted to keep Li Shu, but the other party would disappear too quickly, and in a few breaths, the person had disappeared.
Li Shu couldn’t hold on any longer either. After confirming that the male protagonist couldn’t see him, he leaned against a tree and vomited a mouthful of blood.
[Host, are you okay?] 1314 asked anxiously.
[It doesn’t matter, just rest for a few days.] This body had a weak foundation, a little exertion and it couldn’t bear it. Li Shu frowned, somewhat dissatisfied.
[How is it going on Qi Mingxuan’s side?] After such an effort, Li Shu didn’t want it to be in vain.
[Host, don’t worry. An Yu who is always by the male protagonist’s side has already brought people over. They were delayed by another group earlier, but they’ve now managed to break free.]
No wonder An Yu wasn’t following Qi Mingxuan this time. It turned out he was hindered by another group.
[Who’s trying to kill the male protagonist this time?]
[It’s the Fang family. The Fang family suffered the most significant losses in this cheating case, and the two sons of the family head lost their lives because of it. The youngest daughter was also abandoned by Prince Yu because of this incident. The Fang family bears a deep hatred towards the male protagonist and wants to drag him down to his death.]
After this incident, the Fang family was in complete decline. As prosperous as they were in the past, they now faced utter misery. Success and wealth were like fleeting clouds, dispersing with the wind. For those who had never experienced it, it might be bearable, but for those who had once enjoyed it and were now brought back to their original state, few could endure such a fate.
Perhaps there were others plotting behind this, and whether it succeeded in eliminating a major opponent or not, there was already someone ready to take the blame. Either way, it wasn’t a loss.
“Your Highness, this move of yours is brilliant,” the middle-aged man exclaimed, stroking his beard.
“Since he showed no mercy first, don’t blame me for being unrighteous. If he harms my tendons and bones, he shouldn’t expect any benefits!” Prince Yu snorted heavily. Initially, he intended to win over Prince Qin for his own use, and offer him a fiefdom after the plan succeeded. However, since Prince Qin didn’t appreciate it, he wouldn’t show mercy.
“Let those people act cautiously, don’t give others a chance to catch us off guard. My elder brother is keeping a close eye on us!”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“By the way, I heard that the Left Prime Minister’s eldest son participated in the imperial examination this time and caught Zhang Min’s attention?” Prince Yu picked up a white chess piece, contemplating, “Go check who among the successful candidates can be of use to me.”
“It’s their honor to be noticed by Your Highness.”
Glancing at the sky outside, Prince Yu remarked, “At this hour, the plan should be completed, right?”
As the words fell, a servant hurried in, kneeling and saluting, “Greetings, Your Highness Prince Yu.”
“No need for formalities. Has there been news from over there?”
“Yes,” the servant recalled the received message, suppressed his fear and said, “Your Highness, Prince Qin has returned home safely. However, none of our dispatched men have returned.”
“What did you say?!” Prince Yu stood up abruptly, his eyes wide with disbelief. “What did you just say? Say it again!”
“Your Highness, please calm down. Our men… none of them returned,” the servant repeated, kowtowing several times, “I dare not lie, but indeed, not a single one returned.”
“How is that possible?” To ensure success, he mixed his trained dead soldiers with the Fang family’s people. How could Qi Mingxuan resist such a powerful force alone?
Prince Yu was shocked and frightened, and asked again, “This afternoon, you told me the plan went smoothly. Now you’re saying… Are you saying that Prince Qin killed the fifty dead soldiers I sent, alone? How is that possible?”
“Prince Qin was not alone. The plan had succeeded initially; Prince Qin was hit by a poisoned arrow. However, later, a masked man appeared, and after that, there was no more news from there.”
“Investigate! Find out for me! I want to know who has such great abilities!”
He had cultivated those dead soldiers with painstaking efforts, and losing so many at once was heartbreaking. He must avenge this grudge!
