Chapter 262: Chapter 262: The Grand Plan Is Complete, Fury and Agony
The battle raging in the background had been a close match at first.
But these assassins must have undergone special anti-poison training, and Sanchuan and Si Hai were gradually losing ground.
A moment ago, their leader had tried to launch a sneak attack on Wei Ting from behind.
But instead, he was struck by a hidden weapon that pierced the joint of his left shoulder blade, making him cry out in unending pain.
Wei Ting dusted off his hands and remarked, "Truly, assassins from Xijin. You just love to play dirty. A pity for you, I’ve seen far dirtier."
Yu Wen Tianqing said, "I’ve long heard how formidable General Zhenbei is. Since you want her, you can take her. My target is someone else."
Wei Ting asked doubtfully, "What makes you think you’re in a position to bargain with me, Fourth Prince? With just these few men?"
Yu Wen Tianqing replied, "Even with just these few, your victory isn’t guaranteed."
The two Hidden Guards were already covered in wounds and couldn’t last much longer.
The smile at the corners of Wei Ting’s mouth widened.
"Did you think I came alone? You dare to infiltrate the Imperial Palace of Beili. Not a single one of you is leaving today."
At these words, the grey in Yu Wen Tianqing’s eyes deepened. Realizing something was wrong, he smashed the window open with a palm strike, only to find the courtyard outside filled with guards dressed in black.
Ji Qingwu glanced out and recognized their attire. They were men from the Imperial City Department.
’Why can Wei Ting command men from the Imperial City Department?’
’Duan Mingfeng’s loyalty to the Emperor is beyond question. There is only one explanation.’
A dark glint appeared in Ji Qingwu’s eyes. ’The enmity between Emperor Wu Su and Wei Ting... it’s all an act.’
The next instant, Yu Wen Tianqing lunged at Ji Qingwu, intending to take her hostage.
Wei Ting was about to counter with a palm strike of his own.
"Don’t touch his hand!"
As Ji Qingwu shouted, she thrust her sword forward decisively.
Her arm was still too weak; the force of his palm strike knocked her sword askew, and the tip only managed to graze Yu Wen Tianqing’s hand.
A moment ago, while Yu Wen Tianqing was looking outside, she had picked up the sword Wei Ting had knocked to the floor, hiding it behind her back.
Blood dripped from Yu Wen Tianqing’s hand, but it wasn’t ordinary red. Instead, like his sword, it shimmered with an iridescent light.
Wei Ting gasped at the bizarre, almost demonic sight.
Ji Qingwu warned, "His sword and his blood are both poisonous. Be careful."
Just then, several short, shrill eagle cries echoed from the eaves.
A blue light filled Yu Wen Tianqing’s eyes. He licked the blood from the back of his hand.
He declared in ecstasy, "The grand plan is a success! The Emperor of Beili is nothing special after all!"
With that, Yu Wen Tianqing abandoned his five remaining accomplices in the room and leaped out the window.
Ji Qingwu’s face instantly turned deathly pale, and her hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
Wei Ting couldn’t leave Ji Qingwu’s side. He kept his composure and shouted an order to the men outside.
"Surround them! Capture the Xijin assassins alive!"
Three squads gave chase to Yu Wen Tianqing, while one squad of black-clad guards entered the study. They bound the remaining assassins with ropes, restraining their limbs and throwing them to the ground.
Sanchuan and Si Hai were already covered in wounds. They knelt on the ground, gasping for breath. Having heard Yu Wen Tianqing’s words, their eyes flickered with alarm.
The muscles on Si Hai’s cheeks twitched. "We lost contact with the Hidden Guards protecting His Majesty earlier," he said, his voice trembling. "Could it really be..."
Sanchuan slammed his fist on the ground in frustration.
Ji Qingwu was silent for a long time before she finally looked up, her eyes vacant. "What did he mean... ’The grand plan is a success’?"
Wei Ting’s expression was also grim. "It might just be a lie he concocted to create a diversion for his escape."
The leader had been unmasked. It was the same man who had accompanied Yu Wen Tianqing when they’d "mistakenly" entered the clinic.
He laughed maniacally. "HAHAHAHAHA! Trading our lives for that old Beili Emperor’s—it’s worth it! Let’s all go to hell together!"
Snapping out of her daze, Ji Qingwu snatched the dagger from Wei Ting’s hand, knelt, and grabbed the assassin’s collar.
Without giving him another chance to speak, her hand moved with chilling stability, plunging the dagger straight into the assassin’s windpipe.
The leader’s throat could only produce a gurgling hiss.
Each breath was a long, painful struggle, yet he was forced to keep fighting for air, clinging desperately to life.
Ji Qingwu watched him struggle on the verge of death and said coldly, "How could your lives ever be worth his? Don’t even dream of it."
Sanchuan and Si Hai had been with her for a long time, but they had never seen such a cruel side to her. Both were too shocked to speak.
Wei Ting watched her kneeling figure. The hand gripping the dagger was drained of all color, so white it was nearly translucent, with blue veins bulging starkly.
It was a picture of absolute rage and agony.
Ji Qingwu bolted from the room and grabbed the nearest guard.
"Get me a horse! The fastest one you can find."
Wei Ting followed, blocking her path with his arm and gripping her hand tightly. "Qingwu, calm down," he said with a frown. "Don’t be rash."
Ji Qingwu stared toward the gate and yelled urgently, "Go find me a fast horse!"
Wei Ting said in a low, firm voice, "I’ve already sent men. We’ll have news soon. It could still be dangerous if you go now."
Ji Qingwu turned her head to look at the man holding her hand, her eyes now laced with red veins.
SLAP!
She slapped him without a shred of mercy, knocking his head to the side.
Ji Qingwu’s voice was ice-cold. "If you won’t get me a horse, then get out of my way!"
She started to walk out of the hall, but someone suddenly grabbed her leg.
"Don’t go." The voice was young, but firm.
Yuan Heng had climbed out from the book chest.
Ji Qingwu looked down and saw him, her gaze fixed on the features so strikingly similar to the Emperor’s.
Tears welled up and fell from her eyes, a single large drop landing on Yuan Heng’s face.
"I have to go. He’s in danger, he might need me right now."
Yuan Heng’s eyes were red-rimmed as well.
"Father Emperor’s location is perilous. We don’t know what the situation is yet, but I know he would never want you to put yourself in danger."
’She hadn’t been able to see him before he left the palace.’
’Just now, that Xijin villain had claimed their plan was a success. That meant he was in a terrible situation...’
’She had to see him.’
Ji Qingwu roughly wiped her tears away and pried the little boy’s hand from her skirt.
Two black-clad guards hurried to Wei Ting’s side.
"General, an urgent message from outside the palace."
At the sound of their voices, Ji Qingwu whipped her head around, her eyes locking onto the slip of paper in Wei Ting’s hand as if it were a piece of driftwood in a storm.
She took a step forward and, disregarding all rules and decorum, snatched it from him to read it.
The message was brief, only a handful of words.
Ji Qingwu’s fingertip traced each word on the paper. A sharp pain lanced through her heart, and her breathing became ragged.
Emperor ambushed. Life in peril. Returning.
The shock in Wei Ting’s heart was no less than hers.
But he was a highly trained general; it was in his nature to remain fearless in a crisis.
He asked, "How long until the Emperor’s carriage returns to the palace?"
The guard replied, "Another hour."
Wei Ting paced by the door. "Lock down this information," he said in a low voice. "The fewer people who know, the better."
By the time he finished issuing all the necessary orders, he looked up and found that Ji Qingwu was gone.
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