Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 287 Taking hostages
Li Tingwei was furious. He rubbed his fingers on the hilt of the longsword and, for some unknown reason, triggered a mechanism. The sword, which had previously reflected a person's image, suddenly turned dark blue, as if it were about to ooze ink.

Anyone who isn't a fool could guess that this terrifying color indicates a deadly poison.

The blood seals the throat.

As expected, the moment the sword was revealed, the two imperial guards clearly showed more apprehension in their eyes, and dared not attack as swiftly.

Li Tingwei didn't stop there. He suddenly let out a strange cry, and Su Changying and Jing Yi, who were standing to the side, both froze.

Zhou Zhao sensed something was wrong and shouted, trying to interrupt his shout.

However, it was too late at this point. Jingyi's longsword had already cut open the rope binding Prince Consort Fan.

Su Changying seemed to be frozen in place, and her fighting movements became sluggish.

Freed from his restraints, Prince Consort Fan grabbed Fan Lishen and tried to rush out, shouting, "My lord, don't linger! Let's go! Get out of my way!"

Upon hearing this, Li Tingwei brandished his two poisoned swords and moved towards the door, making strange noises as he went. Seeing this, Zhou Zhao's men became even more ruthless, which attracted Li Huaishan's attention.

His usually gentle face suddenly revealed a strange smile as he looked at Zhou Zhao.

He laughed, then suddenly sprang up, thrusting his longsword toward Su Changying, who was affected by the chanting.

Su Changying stood there looking somewhat dazed, while Zhou Zhao was extremely anxious, and the coffin nail in her sleeve flew towards Li Huaishan.

Li Huaishan smiled contemptuously, his poisoned sword already in front of Su Changying. But just as he was about to strike, Su Changying, who had been stunned, suddenly sprang up and slashed straight at his arm with his sword.

Su Changying suddenly looked up, his eyes like those of a vengeful alpha wolf, as if fire was flowing within them.

"Godfather, your hands are not as long as mine. Besides, you can no longer control me."

As soon as Su Changying finished speaking, Li Huaishan felt a sharp pain as his arm, which had been thrust at Su Changying, was severed.

Blood gushed out, and Li Huaishan quickly pressed his acupoints, which immediately stopped the bleeding.

Take advantage of his illness to kill him!

Thinking it over, Zhou Zhao picked up the dagger and stabbed it towards Li Huaishan's neck.

"Zhou Zhao! Stop!"

Just then, a familiar, loud shout came from the doorway. Zhou Zhao looked up at the door and his face turned pale.

A Taoist priest stood in front of the door, his long sword held against the neck of Madam Zhou, her mother.

"Release your godfather, or I'll kill your mother!"

Zhou Zhao looked at the doorway. His mother was dressed in a snow-white dress. She was so thin that she looked like she was about to ascend to heaven. When she saw Zhou Zhao still standing there, her lifeless eyes suddenly lit up and she became excited.

"Ah Zhao, Ah Zhao, you're not dead! You really aren't dead! Your mother is too afraid to come, your mother is too afraid to see you!"

Because of her struggle, a bloody mark suddenly appeared on her fair neck, its bright red color particularly striking.

Zhou Zhao's feelings were extremely complicated. Ever since the Zhou family received the news of her death, her mother immediately fainted and lay on her bed, unable to get up. She never came to the mourning hall.

She had been severely depleted over the past three years, and her health, which had finally improved somewhat due to Zhou Chengan's arrival, seemed to have been completely drained again.

“Ah Zhao, don’t worry about your mother. Li Huaishan is the murderer who killed your brother, isn’t he? You don’t need to worry about your mother, you must kill him to avenge your brother! Li Huaishan, give me back my son!” “Mother!” Zhou Zhao called softly.

Upon seeing this, Li Huaishan suddenly burst into laughter.

"Zhou Zhao, it seems you can't kill me today. I've truly been caught off guard and have suffered a defeat. But you won't have another chance."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over Su Changying, then over Zhou Zhao, and finally landed on the faces of Zhou Buhai and the people from the Court of Justice.

“You all served as officials in the previous dynasty and enjoyed the court’s salary. His Majesty is said to be a tyrant, but he has not treated you poorly. When disaster strikes, you do not hesitate to betray your former master. Do people like you deserve to be subjects or be called members of the gentry?”

I am not a traitor; you are the ones who deserve to be killed!
How dare you stand here and judge me?

"I only wanted to reclaim the kingdom that was taken from me. What wrong is that? The ones who deserve to die aren't me, or even Prince Yu, but you all."

As Li Huaishan spoke, the Taoist priest holding a sword in front of the door nodded excitedly.

Zhou Zhao held her breath, her mind racing. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Li Youdao and her elder sister Zhou Xuan among the crowd at the Tingwei Temple in front of the gate.

Her eyes flickered, meeting the gazes of the two men, and the coffin nail in her hand flew unceremoniously toward the Taoist priest who was holding her mother hostage.

"Zhou Zhao!"

Zhou Buhai's furious shout suddenly rang out, his voice filled with anger and disbelief.

The coffin nails were fast and swift. The Taoist priest loosened his grip on the sword and struck at the incoming nails. Just as his sword left his neck, Zhou Xuan's whip coiled around his mother's waist like a snake, and she pulled hard.

The Taoist priest knocked down the coffin nails and, noticing this, immediately reached out to grab it. But the instant he made his move, Li Youdao's broadsword slashed directly at his outstretched arm.

The Taoist priest was startled and instinctively withdrew his hand.

The moment the hostage was rescued, several arrows shot over and struck the Taoist priest.

His eyes were wide open, staring blankly in Li Huaishan's direction, before he collapsed to the ground.

Li Huaishan's smile froze on his face. This scene happened too suddenly. No one expected Zhou Zhao to suddenly attack the person who was holding her mother hostage.

You should know that someone had a sword to her neck, and if there was the slightest misstep, Zhou Zhao might kill his own mother.

How dare she!

“Zhou Zhao, you even want to kill your own mother. You are truly different from your brother Zhou Yan.”

As Li Huaishan spoke, he took a heavy step and charged toward the door, but Su Changying and Zhou Zhao flashed and blocked the doorway.

Zhou Zhao looked coldly at Li Huaishan, "You only have one chance, and now it's gone. You want to leave with Prince Consort Fan because he has an army. As long as you leave here, even without the Northern Army, you will still have the strength to fight."

Unfortunately, judging by the time, your group of tomb raiders, Prince Consort Fan, have already surrendered.

You don't actually think we're working alone, do you?

As soon as Zhou Zhao finished speaking, he and Su Changying moved at the same time. Seeing this, the two imperial guards also immediately launched a strong attack. All four of them used their strongest attacks, and for a moment, the entire mourning hall was filled with killing intent.

The white banners billowed loudly, and the fragments of the coffin on the ground vibrated; success or failure hinged on this moment.