knife

Chapter 827 A Silent Death

Zhou Gang glanced around and whispered, "Commander, let's talk inside!"

Yan Su nodded solemnly and followed Zhou Gang into the city, saying, "Where's Huang Shijie? He knows I'm here, yet he dares to ignore me. Has he gotten too bold?"

Zhou Gang looked around and said, "Commander, his audacity is beyond absurd! He's been apprehended."

"what happened?"

Stepping into the room, Zhou Gang closed the door and said, "Ever since receiving your urgent message, I have intensified my surveillance of all key figures and control of major transportation routes. But unexpectedly, I intercepted a secret letter written by Huang Shijie to his family!"

He raised a serious eyebrow: "What does he want?"

"What else could they be doing? They actually want to persuade their family to seek refuge with Li Dachui and Jiang Qian!" Zhou Gang said, "They want to use Tongguan as a pledge of loyalty!"

With a snap, Yan Su crushed the teacup in his hand.

"I immediately led my men to Tongguan, secretly entered the pass through an inside contact, and then swiftly detained Huang Shijie. However, the few thousand men in Tongguan are mostly his subordinates, so we dare not do anything to him yet. We are currently keeping it a secret, but his men have already begun to suspect something. Now that you, Commander, have arrived, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief!"

"Does Cui Cheng know about this?"

"I haven't dared to say it yet!" Zhou Gang shook his head and said, "The situation in the south is chaotic right now. Cui Cheng is a member of the Cui family after all. Who knows what he's thinking? I guess the commander should be returning from Tongguan, so he's staying here. But if you don't return in a few more days, I'll have to inform Commander Cui. I really don't dare to kill Huang Shijie!"

“You did the right thing. I’ll handle Huang Shijie!” He nodded solemnly. “Notify Cui Cheng. To defend Tongguan, we need experienced officers. Only Cui Cheng has these people, and we can’t find suitable ones in such a short time!”

"Understood!" Zhou Gang nodded. "Please rest for the night, eat something, and be well-rested before handling official business!"

He nodded seriously: "Alright, I've barely slept on this journey, traveling day and night, I'm really exhausted. Tongguan cannot be lost. I need to get a good night's sleep and think carefully about what to do in this situation!"

“Yes, I also think it’s a difficult situation. Huang Shijie can’t be trusted, but we don’t have enough power to control these thousands of soldiers at Tongguan!” Zhou Gang stood up: “You rest first, I’ll go arrange your meals.”

Zhou Gang was always very considerate and thoughtful, arranging meals that were all of Yan Jun's favorite foods.

Under normal circumstances, people like Yan Su find it difficult to reveal their preferences to outsiders, because having preferences makes them easy to manipulate and creates weaknesses, even in matters of eating and drinking.

However, Zhou Gang was a meticulous person, and he had been with him for a long time. Moreover, he was a staunch confidant of Commander Linghu. In front of him, he was serious but very relaxed.

After finishing his meal, he went straight to sleep.

Half an hour later, Zhou Gang arrived outside the room. Listening to the long snores inside, a smile appeared on his face. He gently knocked on the door, but there was no response. He pushed the door open and walked straight in. Standing in front of the bed, looking at Yan Su, who was sleeping soundly, he actually reached out and grasped Yan Su's wrist.

Yan Su remained completely unresponsive. After feeling the other person's pulse and examining their eyelids, Zhou Gang finally felt relieved.

It's not pretending.

All the symptoms were exactly the same as those described by the person sent by Chi Qiuyuan. The medicine made by the chief pharmacist of the Grand Medical Hall was indeed extraordinary.

"Someone, please invite General Huang over!" Zhou Gang said with a smile to the outside.

A moment later, Huang Shijie, the garrison commander of Tongguan, who was in his early thirties, entered the room under the coercion of the two men. He looked at Zhou Gang, and then at Yan Su, who was sleeping soundly on the bed. His face turned pale at first, and then turned red. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans fell to the ground with a crackling sound.

He seemed to understand what Zhou Gang wanted him to do.

"General Huang, this is your chance, and also the Huang clan's chance. I hope you can seize it!" Zhou Gang took out a finely crafted crossbow from his pocket and handed it to Huang Shijie.

"I've already agreed to cooperate with you, why don't you trust me?" Huang Shijie said weakly.

Zhou Gang laughed loudly: "General Huang, you're not a child anymore, how can you be so naive? Why should I believe you? Without solid evidence, you'll kill me later. I know you hate me to death right now, don't you? But it doesn't matter, you'll definitely thank me in the future, I'm confident of that!"

“Commander Yan trusts you a lot!” Huang Shijie gripped the crossbow, looking at Yan Su, who was fast asleep on the bed: “Is this how you repay him?”

“He trusted the wrong person!” Zhou Gang shook his head: “However, I still owe him a favor, so letting him leave silently and unconsciously in his sleep is the greatest reward I can give him. General Huang, you know that if I wanted to launch a large-scale attack to kill him, it wouldn’t be impossible.”

As Zhou Gang spoke, Cui Haogu and an old woman with white hair walked in. Cui Haogu carried a sword on his back, while the old woman held a shoe sole she was sewing. She looked at Huang Shijie, smiling as she threaded the needle.

Cui Haogu is a master of the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan, while Huang Shijie had just witnessed the old woman's skills not long ago. He was defeated by her before he could even finish a single move. This woman is a master of the Demonic Sect.

If Zhou Gang wanted to openly kill Yan Su, launching a surprise attack would indeed be no problem.

“General Huang, if you want to live, he must die. It’s your choice!” Zhou Gang said calmly.

Huang Shijie lowered his head. He was well aware of what Zhou Gang hadn't finished saying. If he made the wrong choice, he would die. His deputy would also be detained along with him. It seemed that at that time, it would be the deputy's turn to be chosen.

They say there's a choice, but where is there a choice?
Huang Shijie raised his crossbow, or perhaps it was best to go along with it; in any case, Li Dachui certainly had a greater chance of winning now.

If he kills Yan Su, then just as Zhou Gang said, he will have no way out.

“Zhou Gang, everyone knows that your father was a staunch confidant of Commander Linghu. Back then, he knew he might be executed by the emperor, but he still managed to get that title for Commander Linghu. Now that you've done this, how are you going to explain it to your father?”

"Listen to your father for the first thirty years, and listen to your son for the next thirty!" Zhou Gang said with a smile. "Father is old and confused now, so he doesn't manage things much anymore. Naturally, I'll take charge. The best way to be filial to your father is to let him enjoy his old age in peace, not to let him have his head hung on the city wall when he's seventy or eighty. General Huang, don't you think so? The Huang family will also benefit from your choice today. In the current situation, do you think Commander Linghu still has the power to turn things around?"

Huang Shijie exhaled a heavy breath and then forcefully activated the trigger of the crossbow in his hand.

With a clang, the short arrow struck Yan Su squarely in the throat.

(End of this chapter)