The bright moon hangs diagonally in the night sky, the evening wind blows slowly, and the night is as cool as water.
Just as everyone was preparing to witness the second sword duel between Zhao Qing and Ye Gucheng, outside the Zen temple, the rapid sound of hoofbeats came from far and near.
A knight swept into the temple like a whirlwind, and a pair of shining eyes glanced at everyone. His eyes paused on Jin Jiuling, and finally fell on Ye Gucheng, who was about to unsheath his sword.
The eyes of Jin Jiuling and others also lit up. They had recognized that the knight who was rushing towards him was wearing the same clothes as the guards of Pingnan Palace, and he was undoubtedly an expert among the guards.
"Lord Ye City!" The expert guard saluted Ye Gucheng and reported in a deep voice: "The young prince encountered an assassin and is now dying. The prince was furious and sent out guards and experts to search inside and outside the palace, and asked you to go back and take charge of the overall situation.
”
Everyone was surprised that Prince Nan Wang was attacked by an assassin not long after Ye Gucheng left the palace.
You know, there are more than 800 guards in Prince Pingnan's Mansion, all of whom are equipped with strong bows and crossbows, and a large number of martial arts experts have been recruited; and it is said that the young prince himself has also received the true inheritance of swordsmanship from Ye Gucheng, and has the third
The strength of a first-class player.
Under such a tight defense, the assassin was able to almost succeed. It is conceivable that the martial arts skills are so high. It is no wonder that the guards who came did not go to call the palace manager Jin Jiuling, but directly asked Ye Gucheng, the world's top master, for help. This incident was not like the embroidery thief who stole the eighteen dendrobium pearls from the palace, but it endangered the life of the royal family and seriously offended the court. The subsequent investigation by the government will obviously be strict and much more terrifying. After this incident happened, Ye Gucheng, as the master of Crown Prince Nan, was highly respected by the palace and could not ignore it. It seemed that the fight between him and Zhao Qing would not go on.
After hearing the guard's report, Ye Gucheng frowned deeply and closed his eyes for a while. He opened his eyes, looked at Zhao Qing with apologetic eyes, and asked the guard: "How is the prince's injury?"
The good guard looked sad and answered truthfully: "The young prince was stabbed in the right chest by the opponent. He was seriously injured. If he hadn't had martial arts, it would have been difficult to save him."
"Have you seen the assassin clearly?"
Jin Jiuling's face was heavy. He was also partly responsible for the protection and dispatch of the palace guards.
However, no one expected that when he heard the news, he felt a little happy in his heart.
After all, after Prince Nan is assassinated, he will greatly occupy the original strength of tracking down the embroidery thief in a short period of time. As time goes by, the evidence pointing to him will also be reduced.
At the same time, it is best to connect the assassin with the Embroidery Thief as much as possible. In this case, you will completely get rid of the suspicion of time.
Seeing the hesitation on the guard's face, Jin Jiuling stepped up and asked: "The few people present are all seniors and masters on the right path. There is no need to worry about leaking secrets. Tell us the characteristics of the assassin, and your friends can help identify them."
”
Ye Gucheng looked at the guard and said, "You said, Jin Jiuling's problem is also my problem."
The guard nodded and described: "The other person was wearing a thin white shirt. He was probably a thin man. He wore an iron mask on his face and an elegant long sword in his hand."
"At that time, the young prince was reading a book in the courtyard. The assassin broke in through the main entrance of the courtyard openly. He waited until the young prince drew his sword and was on guard and many guards rushed around before he started to take action."
"With just one move, he killed seven or eight of our brothers, broke through the surrounding defenses, slashed the young prince's face with his sword, and then stabbed the young prince's right chest. He then killed dozens of people and broke through.
Going, it’s just... it’s like entering a deserted place.”
"You just said that the Crown Prince's face was scratched?" Ye Gucheng's face changed slightly, and his cold star-like eyes suddenly lit up, staring closely at the guard's eyes.
Mu Daoren, Lu Xiaofeng and others were surprised when they heard Ye Gucheng's question. Why didn't they care about the injury on the young prince's right chest, but asked about the scratch on his face?
Only Zhao Qing next to him knew the reason. The assassin who suddenly appeared had time to stab Prince Nan's crown prince and scratched his face before stabbing him on the right chest. It was probably done deliberately, or he might have recognized Prince Nan.
The prince’s appearance.
The plan of Prince Pingnan and Ye Gucheng to usurp the throne was based on the fact that Prince Nan had the same appearance as the current emperor. Prince Nan's face was deliberately scratched, which is hard not to remind people of this. p>
That assassin with superb martial arts skills, has he discovered the hidden conspiracy of Pingnan Palace? Did he know about this in advance? Has his goal been achieved?
Both Zhao Qing and Ye Gucheng were confused at this time.
More importantly, who is this assassin? Which top master in the world is he?
Zhao Qing knew that Ye Gucheng's heart must be in chaos now, and he was no longer suitable for sword competition. She threw the long sword in her hand back to Master Gusong, thinking endlessly about the identity of the assassin.
Prince Nan was assassinated. This was a situation that had never occurred in the original plot. It was obviously a butterfly effect. The swordsman in white shirt was thin and had extremely good swordsmanship. Who could he be?
Zhao Qing suddenly thought of the disguise modification technique he learned from Sikong Zhaixing, coupled with the bone shrinking technique that can change the body shape, the assassin's range has been greatly expanded.
But having said that, if Prince Nan's appearance is ruined, Ye Gucheng will have no choice but to give up his plan. After his mentality recovers, he should transform into a swordsman who devotes himself to the sword.
When Zhao Qing was thinking in his mind, Jin Jiuling also pretended to be thinking, but in fact he was overjoyed.
There is nothing special about the assassin's figure. It can be completely transferred to Aunt Gongsun. She can be modified in disguise and use a one-handed sword instead.
After all, she has many identities such as female butcher, Peach Blossom Bee, Lady of the Five Poisons, and Grandma Xiong. It is quite reasonable to add the identity of an assassin.
Jin Jiuling took out an exquisite folding fan, turned it a few times, and then said in a deep voice:
"The assassin knew the location of the young prince, and even found himself in a deserted place in the palace. Is it possible that he had mastered the terrain of the palace in advance and found out the martial arts practiced by the palace guards?"
Lu Xiaofeng glanced at Jin Jiuling and said thoughtfully: "Yes, he must have obtained relevant information in advance. Although I don't know the specific defense of the palace, but with the rumored strength of Pingnan Palace, he is the best master in the world, and he is also very powerful.
It’s hard to come and go as freely as he does.”
Jin Jiuling nodded and said: "Perhaps as a master of Ye City Lord, Miss Zhao's level is capable of doing this, but looking at the world, where can we find a third such master? My martial arts skills are pretty good.
It’s good, but it’s definitely not possible.”
Mu Taoren's eyes flickered. Jin Jiuling's judgment made sense, but he underestimated the number of masters in the world. If Ye Gucheng was not in charge of the palace, he would be fully capable of trying.
Lu Xiaofeng said: "It suddenly occurred to me that the recent embroidery thieves who stole the palace's jewels might have had someone who went to the palace first and watched the terrain for him."
Jin Jiuling sighed and said with a sad face: "In this case, there will be at least two spies in the palace who betrayed information. Really..."
The guards of Pingnan Palace have always been treated very well. It is really surprising that two spies appeared in succession.
Lu Xiaofeng shook his head and said: "No one can be sure whether the two spies are the same person."
Jin Jiuling slapped the folding fan and said: "If the spies are the same person, then..."
Jin Jiuling did not say the last words, but everyone present already understood what he meant, and most of them also had suspicions: Could it be that today's white-shirted sword-wielding assassin is the recent embroidery thief?
Ye Gucheng beside him couldn't help but nodded. He also agreed with the conclusion that the assassin was related to the Embroidery Thief.
In itself, the two are very close in time, so they are quite related.
Furthermore, as a master of swordsmanship, he knows very well that an embroidery needle can also be used to perform superior sword techniques. In other words, the needle technique of an embroidery needle can be converted into a corresponding sword technique under normal circumstances.
Rather than knife techniques, stick techniques, etc.
Perhaps the ultimate goal of the embroidery thieves in committing so many crimes was for Prince Nan.
Guzi was involved in a lot of robberies. Although he participated in the assassination of the royal family, he inevitably had to be reported to the court. Unless he could be killed and silenced in advance, otherwise the other party would be interrogated by the government after being captured.
Revealing the secret of the palace.
This means that the people in the palace have to let him go, or even help him clear his name, and use the secret as a threat to fly away.
Ye Gucheng was unsure about the related idea. He glanced at Jin Jiuling, who was discussing with Lu Xiaofeng, and his eyes kept changing.
On the side, Jin Jiuling turned his fan and said to Lu Xiaofeng: "Although your inference has given me a lot of hints, I still want to say that you don't need to get involved in this kind of thing!" He shook his head. Lu Xiaofeng said: "Why can't I participate?"
Jin Jiuling said calmly: "Because this matter is too difficult, and you don't want to care about it at all!"
Lu Xiaofeng said dissatisfied: "Who said I don't want to take care of it? I just want to take care of it for you."
Jin Jiuling said: "I bet you can't break this piece of jewelry!"
Lu Xiaofeng slapped her thigh and said, "Okay, whatever you want to bet on, I'll bet on you!"
Everyone on the field laughed. Lu Xiaofeng drank some wine and was provoked, so she agreed to do such troublesome things.
Ye Gucheng glanced at Lu Xiaofeng and said, "I am also responsible for dealing with assassins."
But at the same time, they are actually also curious about whether the Nosy Lu Xiaofeng, the first arrester of the Six Gates in three hundred years, and Ye Gucheng, the lord of Baiyun City, can find out and catch the embroidery thief and the assassin.
