Chapter 63

"Listen! This mountain was opened by me, this tree was planted by me. If you want to pass this way, leave behind the money for the road!"

A phrase that would make ordinary people tremble with fear echoed loudly.

Accompanying these words were a flurry of arrows.

Just one volley of arrows, and out of the thirty-eight people in the convoy, sixteen or seventeen had already fallen.

"Kill!"

A group of black-masked bandits, wielding knives and swords, rushed out from the roadside, slashing everywhere.

Blood splattered everywhere.

A man in the convoy who had cultivated inner strength, his eyes bloodshot, slashed down one of the bandits and shouted, "Bold bandits, daring to rob the convoy of the Chancellor's residence, you truly don't want to live! Brothers, follow me and cut them all down!"

In an instant, the sound of clashing blades and swords filled the air.

The man who had cultivated inner strength swung his blade, but it was intercepted.

The two blades clashed, evenly matched.

The man's face changed drastically, and he exclaimed, "An inner strength expert?"

The black-clad figure remained silent and swung another blow.

...

"Who are these people?"

The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a beautiful face, delicate and refined.

This gentle, delicate woman, upon seeing the scene of flying blades and splattered blood, turned pale.

A few feet away from the gentle woman's carriage stood an elderly man with gray hair.

The old man's expression was grave as he carefully observed the situation and said, "These people's sword techniques are fierce and not of the usual kind. They are definitely not bandits. Even if they were bandits, they wouldn't be so foolish as to provoke us."

Generally, when bandits rob on the road, they target one or two people, or a small group. Even if these bandits were numerous and had some backing, they would only rob ordinary convoys.

Their group, though less than forty in number, each carried weapons. Anyone with a bit of discernment wouldn't dare to provoke them.

"When the Chancellor was young, he hated evil and injustice. The bandits and outlaws in Qingyuan Prefecture were all eradicated by me and my men. For decades, there have been no incidents of highway robbery. Now, for dozens of bandits to suddenly appear, it's almost certain they are targeting us."

The old man looked at the purple sandalwood box inside the carriage, his expression grave, and said, "Although the hundred-year-old cold year grass is a rare medicinal herb that could make people take risks, this matter is not simple."

Su Wenxiu bit her lip and said, "The hundred-year-old cold year grass is for Grandfather's illness. They came to intercept us, not for the herb, but to prevent Grandfather from recovering and regaining consciousness."

The old man sneered, "When the Chancellor sent me to assassinate the crown prince of the Great Chu Dynasty, only about twenty martial artists were willing to follow me, while the rest of the officials pretended to be unaware. Now, these people are sending dozens of skilled hands to harm the Chancellor. Ha, for the sake of the country and the people, they are timid, but when it comes to harming the pillars of the state, they send thirty or forty people. Truly diligent, and truly ironic."

Su Wenxiu clenched her hand, her delicate fingers pale.

The battle was intense, but the guards of the Chancellor's convoy were gradually falling behind.

Ye Qing's uncle, the head of the guards, had cultivated inner strength and was a martial arts expert, yet he was held back by a black-clad figure. This showed that the black-clad figure was also an inner strength expert.

"Truly, it's a pity for that young Taoist." Thinking of the innocent young Taoist who had died, she couldn't help but look over. The carriage he had been in had overturned, and the young Taoist lay motionless by the roadside, likely dead.

Su Wenxiu sighed softly, thinking, "I originally suspected the young Taoist's mysterious appearance, but I never thought that bringing him along would lead to his death. If I had known, I should have left him by the roadside and given him some silver as compensation."

"That's a divine mechanism crossbow," the old man said gravely. "This type of crossbow comes from the military, is extremely heavy, and requires a cart to transport. It's also quite troublesome to load, so it hasn't been widely used and is only used secretly. The fact that the other side can use such a crossbow shows that the person behind the scenes is of high status."

"A secret military crossbow?" Su Wenxiu looked shocked.

"Look at that carriage; it was easily pierced by the crossbow bolt. The young Taoist was hit by the crossbow bolt and, with the immense force, even shattered the side of the carriage," the old man said, looking at the carriage and sighing. "Only a divine mechanism crossbow could have such power."

Su Wenxiu sighed and asked, "Grandpa Liu, is there any hope for him?"

"There's no hope," the old man named Liu shook his head. "These crossbow bolts are as thick as an arm and can shoot a thousand steps away. Even a fierce tiger or a strong ox would be killed by one bolt, let alone a person."

The old man sighed, "The carriage was shattered, and the young Taoist's bones and tendons are likely broken. The crossbow bolt must have pierced his chest and abdomen, leaving his internal organs in shreds. To think, the carriage was originally mine, and the young Taoist died in my place."

Hearing this, Su Wenxiu felt even more unbearable, especially since she felt the young Taoist was an innocent victim. She felt guilty, but with the battle still ongoing, she had to focus and look at the scene.

More than twenty bodies lay on the ground, mostly guards from the Chancellor's convoy.

Thinking of these people who had died for her family, Su Wenxiu looked sad and gritted her teeth, "Grandpa Liu, you must act now."

Seeing his own guards falling one by one, the old man named Liu was also distressed but shook his head, "No, the first bolt from the divine mechanism crossbow hit my carriage, showing they knew I was in the convoy and must have a backup plan. If I act now, I'll be distracted, and if I'm hit by the crossbow bolt, I won't survive."

Grandpa Liu was the most skilled martial artist in the convoy. If something happened to him, the dangers on the hundred-mile journey would be unmanageable, and the hundred-year-old cold year grass would be lost. Su Wenxiu almost turned away, unable to bear the sight.

The young Taoist was an innocent victim, tragically killed, which was heartbreaking. But these guards were loyal and had risked their lives for the Chancellor's residence, which was admirable and moving.

"From the first bolt, the divine mechanism crossbow was on the east side. It should have been reloaded by now, so why hasn't it fired?" Seeing his guards at a disadvantage, the old man was also restless, waiting for the crossbow to fire so he could take advantage of the reloading time to help.

But the crossbow should have been reloaded by now, so why hasn't it fired?

If it doesn't fire, he can't be distracted and can't go to help.

Thinking this, the old man's face darkened.

Whoosh!

A sharp whistle sounded in the air, and the crossbow bolt was fired.

The old man's face changed drastically.

Because the crossbow bolt came from the west.

But he had been guarding against the east.

Despite the wrong direction, the old man's inner strength was high, and his movements were agile. He heard the sound and tried to dodge, but the crossbow bolt grazed his shoulder, tearing away a piece of flesh.

The old man was still shaken, but another bolt came from the east. Although he was already on guard, the bolt from the west had startled him, but he still had some defense.

This bolt only hit the old man's waist, sending him flying a few feet and landing on the ground. He spat out a mouthful of blood, quickly pressed the acupoints on his waist to stop the bleeding, and just managed to lift his head before fainting.

It turned out the other side had two divine mechanism crossbows, one on the east and one on the west.

Su Wenxiu heard two whistles, turned to look, and saw Grandpa Liu fly a few feet and land on the ground, spitting out blood and fainting. Seeing this, she was shocked and quickly got out of the carriage.

At that moment, a person rushed out from the grass and grabbed the gentle, delicate woman.

"What a beautiful face," the man said with a cold smile, his face twisted with malice, and he opened his mouth to bite Su Wenxiu's face.

Su Wenxiu was terrified.

At that moment, a pale hand reached out from Su Wenxiu, brushing past her right cheek and lifting the man's chin.

The man's chin was lifted, and he bit off half his tongue.

Blood splattered.

But it didn't stop there.

The hand continued to apply force, lifting the man's chin upward.

The man, his face twisted with fear, fell backward, almost flying a dozen feet before landing softly.

His head was thrown back, his eyes wide open, and he died with his eyes open.

"The young Taoist almost lost his life."

A cold voice sounded.

In Su Wenxiu's ears, it sent a chill down her spine.

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