Shushan: Extinction

Chapter 240 Loyal Servant
"The main force of the first batch of assassins was three swordsmen who mixed in with a passing caravan. They were ruthless and seemed to be assassins who specialized in doing dirty work."

Hasar whispered:

"They attacked in broad daylight, and were ruthless. They only wanted to attack, not defend. They were unwilling to leave any room for others, nor for themselves."

Gong Tianwu said:

"All dead?"

Hasar nodded:

"If I hadn't cultivated the Immortal Body, I would have been the one to die, but now they are the ones to die."

Seeing that Hasar was panting and looked exhausted, the guard captain Ye Han beside him said:

"We have tracked down the first batch of assassins as soon as possible and have obtained some clues now."

"And to be honest, if it weren't for the first batch of assassins that made us more vigilant, the second batch of assassins would have probably succeeded."

Gong Tianwu narrowed his eyes:

"Are the second batch of assassins strong?"

Hasar nodded:

"The second group of assassins only had one person, but the trouble he caused was far greater than the previous three people."

"This person's martial arts skills are extremely superb. He must have concealed his face and was extremely conceited. He only struck out with one sword and then flew away. He obviously believed that this sword could kill the enemy."

Gong Tianwu's pupils shrank slightly, and his knuckles gently tapped the wooden edge of the couch, making a dull sound:

"Now that you mention it, I have a basic hypothesis about the second group of assassins."

Hasar said:

"The reason these two groups of assassins came to kill me on the same day is because today was the only day that my trip was planned long ago, so they all thought this was a good time."

"It can be basically confirmed that the mastermind behind the first batch of assassins was one of my former enemies."

"And the second assassin should be from Che Mingguo."

Gong Tianwu said:

"Yes, I think so too. This person should be another disciple of Che Ming State's master: Li Jiang. He should be here to get back at the broken-armed Taowu."

Guard Captain Ye Handao:

"In fact, this guy's pride also saved his life. Otherwise, if he had used half a move more, he would not have been hit by just one crossbow, but would have been killed by the barrage of the Heavenly Wolf Crossbow!"

Gong Tianwu's eyes lit up and he said:

"Oh, he's hurt?"

Ye Handao:
"Yes, and it's a crossbow with added ingredients."

Gong Tianwu smiled faintly and said:

"That's going to be fun, so hurry up and give chase."

You should know that the Sirius crossbows manufactured by Gong Tianwu at this time were not mass-produced. There were only about fifty of them in total, and they were still using ordinary crossbow arrows, but they were coated with a strange poison to enhance their lethality.

The name of this poison is "Childhood". With Gong Tianwu's knowledge at that time, one can imagine the power of the poison he made.

***
Inside the dilapidated mud house, the flickering candlelight illuminated two figures.

Li Jiang was wearing a dark blue brocade robe with flowing cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs with silver thread. Even though he was leaning against the wall in a panic at this moment, he could not hide his arrogance in his bones.

He had a handsome face and sword-like eyebrows, but his face was pale at the moment, and his lips still had his usual arrogant sneer. The right chest was wrapped in white gauze, but the dark red blood that seeped out was still shocking.

The middle-aged servant Ding Zhi standing by was thin, his grey cloth clothes were washed to a pale color, his face was calm, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes.

He was half-kneeling on the ground, wiping the cold sweat from Li Jiang's forehead with a wet cloth.

"Sir, the wound is bleeding again."

Ding Zhi whispered, his hands moving gently:

"You need to see a doctor as soon as possible."

"It's just a minor injury, there's no need to make a fuss. I can continue to treat it with my internal energy."

Li Jiang sneered, but suddenly frowned, and his slender fingers unconsciously touched his chest:
"But this injury is indeed a bit strange."

His voice stopped abruptly, his Adam's apple rolled, and he felt inexplicably thirsty.

"water."

He held out his hand, his tone still arrogant.

Ding Zhi quickly handed over the water bag and watched his son stand up again and drink the water, the water flowing down his jawline. But the more he drank, the uglier Li Jiang's face became.

"Not enough. Bring more water!"

Li Jiang threw away the empty water bag irritably and suddenly found that his hands were shaking.

Ding Zhi keenly noticed this detail and said in a deep voice:

"Sir, you have already drunk three skin bags of water. This is probably not a simple matter. I suspect the crossbow arrows are coated with poison."

"poison?"

Li Jiang sneered:

"I am already a master of innate energy. My innate energy is endless and circulates over and over again. What poison can do anything to me?"

But just as he finished speaking, his legs suddenly weakened and he almost fell to his knees. Ding Zhi hurriedly supported him, but was surprised to find that the young master's body was surprisingly heavy.

"Asshole!"

Li Jiang shouted angrily, but his voice was a little weak:
"What exactly is going on"

Sweat continued to ooze out of his forehead, wetting his temples, and his underwear was completely soaked with sweat.

What's even more strange is that the sweat emits a faint sweet and fishy smell, which is particularly obvious in the small room.

Ding Zhi's nose twitched slightly, and his expression suddenly changed: "Sir, your condition is very bad!"

"Shut up!"

Li Jiang interrupted sharply, but couldn't stop breathing heavily:

"It's just some dirty tricks."

Outside the window, there was a faint sound of dog barking suddenly coming from a distance.

Ding Zhi's whole body stiffened, and Li Jiang's sneer finally froze on his face.

This gifted child of destiny only realized at this moment that he might really be in an unprecedented crisis. He gasped for breath and tried to get up to prepare for a fight, but as soon as he stood up, his legs went weak and he fell down.

The barking of dogs approached, and suddenly dozens of torches lit up outside the thatched hut. Gong Tianwu stood far away in the crowd, his black cloak fluttering in the wind, and the people next to him began to shout:
"Come out, assassin inside, and save some dignity for yourself."

"The master said that you are also a master. He sympathized with your difficulty in learning martial arts, so he was unwilling to use methods such as burning and smoking."

The wooden door opened with a creak.

Li Jiang leaned against the door frame, his face pale but still full of arrogance:

"I am here, you can kill me or chop me up as you please"

The guard in the distance shouted:
"Can someone here tell me your name?"

Li Jiang panted and said:
"Che Mingguo, Lijiang!"

He stumbled and fell before he could finish his words. Seeing this, Ding Zhi rushed over to hold him up, rushed forward, and knelt on the gravel ground with a thump:

"Please have mercy, sir! My son is poisoned, please..."

"Get out of here!" Li Jiang shouted sternly.

Ding Zhi knocked his head heavily, and blood immediately flowed from his forehead:

"I am willing to die for you! If you hadn't saved me ten years ago, I would have been a dried bone in a mass grave!"

Gong Tianwu watched coldly:
"He's a loyal dog."

"Your Majesty, please be clear!"

Ding Zhi kowtowed three more times, his face covered with blood and dirt:

"Since you didn't kill me right away, I think things can still turn around. Everything in this world comes down to fame and fortune."

"My young master comes from a wealthy family, and his master is even more powerful. Sir, please state your conditions, and I can go back and raise the funds. Please treat my young master well."

Gongtian Wuqi said:
"You are quite a far-sighted old servant."

Ding Zhi turned around and hugged Li Jiang's legs, tears streaming down his face:

"Sir! Even if I risk my life, I will definitely take you back. Please take care of yourself."

As he spoke, he tore off his clothes and bandaged Li Jiang's wound, which was broken due to his violent movement. His movements were as gentle as if he was treating fragile porcelain.

Gong Tianwu nodded and said:
"Please tell me the names of you, your master and your servant, and your origins."

Ding Zhi smiled bitterly and said:
"My son's name is Li Jiang, he is the third disciple of the Imperial Master, and my old servant's name is Ding Zhi."

Gong Tianwu said:

"You are also lucky. The assassination attempt failed and none of my men were killed or injured. So I will give you a chance to redeem him. Ten thousand taels of gold or something of equivalent value within one month."

Ding Zhi kowtowed again, and the wound on his forehead split open again:

"Please give me a fast horse, sir. I will hurry back day and night."

Gong Tianwu nodded, and Ding Zhi led the horse away, looking back every few steps. He was still wiping tears and shouting until his figure disappeared:
"Take care, sir! I'll be back soon!"

Looking at Ding Zhi's leaving back, Gong Tianwu smiled:
"Come here, please invite Master Lijiang to be your guest. For the sake of the ransom, we will still treat you respectfully. I hope you will not do anything dishonorable."

Li Jiang snorted coldly, without saying anything more, he walked into the carriage next to him.

After he left, Gong Tianwu said to Hasar:

"How's it going? Are you catching up?"

Hasar nodded and said:
"Following."

It turned out that after finding the two, Gong Tianwu discovered that an arrow popped out on his retina, but the key point was that the arrow was actually pointing at the servant Ding Zhi!

Obviously, the key person who triggered this "Wu Qu" opportunity line, which he opened at the cost of a large number of causal points, was Ding Zhi.

This is a bit surprising, but if you think about it carefully, how can ordinary people predict the changes in fate?
Who could have imagined that Duke Jing of Jin would drown in a cesspool?
Who could have imagined that a little beggar named Zhu Yuanzhang would eventually become the emperor?
Who could have imagined that a small painter on the streets of Vienna would eventually be able to take control of Germany, blitz France, severely punish Britain, and sweep across Europe?
Gong Tianwu waited for about an hour, and Hasar came back to report, and his face looked a little strange:
"Master, something is wrong."

Gongtian Wuqi said:
"What's wrong?"

Hasar said:

"That Ding Zhi went back to the inn directly. We thought he would go back day and night, but he took several boxes of luggage and then went to the pawn shop."

"Pawn shop?" Even though Gong Tianwu was mentally prepared, he suddenly felt as if he had been struck by lightning: "What the hell is that?"

Hasar smiled bitterly and said:

"Our people just watched from a distance, following your instructions and not alerting him. After he left, we went to the pawnshop and found that most of the things he pawned were probably the clothes and personal belongings of his owner, Master Li Jiang."

Gong Tianwu was somewhat stunned:
"Is this guy short of money?"

Hasar said:

"No, the innkeeper said that Ding Zhi takes care of everything, including food, clothing, housing and transportation. He is very generous and often gives a small sum of silver."

Gong Tianwu was stunned for a while before coming back to his senses:
"So, this loyal servant actually wants to run away?"

Hasar couldn't help laughing:

"Exactly."

***
The next day,

Used to imprison people in border inns near the river.

Gong Tianwu said to Li Jiang casually:

"Mr. Li Jiang, I'm sorry to bother you, but according to the latest news we have received, your servant should have absconded with the money."

At this moment, Li Jiang was pretending to be calm while writing with a pen. Upon hearing the words, his fingers froze and a large spot of stain appeared on the paper.

"he"

Li Jiang's Adam's apple rolled:

"Did he really run away?"

Gong Tianwu kicked the blood-stained cloth beside him:
"Even the underwear you were wearing in your luggage was taken to the pawn shop by him and sold for thirty copper coins."

Li Jiang suddenly laughed, and his laughter gradually became crazy. Then he continued to write on the white paper, his movements were as elegant as usual, except that his knuckles were white.

Then Hasar next to him said:
"So, now we need you to write a letter explaining the current situation, or find another reliable person to deliver the letter."

Looking at Li Jiang who was petrified, Gong Tianwu knew that this guy must be a little embarrassed now, so he said simply:
"Let's go first."

After leaving the Border Inn, Gong Tianwu said to Hasar:

"What's the situation now? Have your people caught up with Ding Zhi?"

Hasar said with certainty:

"No problem. We also tampered with the carriage that Ding Zhi was riding in. The horses pulling the carriage were fed with gray grass before they set out. This way, the horses looked fine, but they had diarrhea all the way and couldn't speed up at all."

Gong Tianwu nodded:

"Good, just arrange it."

Soon, Gong Tianwu also got on the carriage and followed Ding Zhi's escape route.

The reason why he was not tracked immediately was because Ding Zhi ran away very suddenly, and Gong Tianwu was also busy with many things to do and could not just leave.

However, two hours after the two of them had been chasing, Hasar received a tip-off and said in shock:
"What? Lost him?"

Gong Tianwu's expression suddenly changed:
"what happened?"

Hasar's face was gloomy, his rough fingers tightly grasped the whip, his knuckles turned white:

"I don't know. The tip-off said that of the six people I sent out to track him down, only one came back alive."

His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against the ground:
"The only one left was Du Gouzi. He fought hard to get back, covered in blood, and died before he could even utter a complete sentence."

Gong Tianwu's eyes flashed with coldness, and he suddenly pulled down the carriage curtain:

“Abandon the car! Change the horse!”

He jumped onto the horse nimbly, his black cloak fluttering in the wind, and then the group rode away, whipping their horses.

Three quarters of an hour later, they saw the dead spy Du Houzi in a dilapidated temple in the wilderness.

It can be seen that the body was hastily placed in front of the shrine, and a thin layer of dust had accumulated on the broken altar.

The spy was lying on his back with a horrifically distorted face - his eyes were wide open, his pupils had dilated into two black holes, and black blood scabs were solidified at the corners of his mouth.

The leather armor on his body was torn to pieces, revealing the pale skin underneath. It was covered with strange purple-blue lines, spreading from his chest to his limbs like a spider web.

(End of this chapter)