Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 384 Predicting Your Predictions
"Brothers, who helped His Majesty conquer the Great Qi Dynasty? It was Grand Commandant Huo!"

Behind the Northern Army, a burly man in black armor, riding on horseback, raised his arm and shouted, "The birds are all gone, the bow is put away! We generals should not meet such an end!"

He spoke with great excitement, his whole body leaning back like a drawn bow.

He suddenly drew the bowstring taut, raising his hand to shoot an arrow at Su Changying, but before he could release it, a long sword appeared out of thin air and cut the bowstring in two.

The bowstring snapped back and struck his cheek. The burly man screamed and covered his eyes.

Just then, he felt a heat behind him. Before he could even shout, his throat hurt, and he fell off his horse.

Suddenly, an old man appeared on the horse he had been on.

The old man held a roast chicken in his hand, took a bite, and then suddenly turned around, throwing the chicken bone in his hand so hard that it pierced through the head of the burly man's henchman.

He grinned and said to the hesitant soldier who didn't know what to do:
"Take this advice, old man Tianquan. Isn't it good to live a life of luxury with General Su? If you insist on rebelling, how many heads do you have to give away?"

As Tianquan spoke, his figure flickered and disappeared from the spot.

Meanwhile, at another epicenter of the riot, the leading captain hadn't even had time to react before his deputy stabbed him in the chest. He looked at his comrade in disbelief, "Why? Didn't we agree on this...?"

The deputy sighed softly, "You have been exposed long ago. I am acting on General Su's orders. If you are plotting rebellion, you will be killed without mercy."

Commander Huo, standing in the center of the crowd, watched as the commotion subsided instantly.

It's like someone is waiting with a bucket of water, ready to extinguish any sparks that may appear.

As he thought about it, a look of horror finally appeared on his face.

As Huo Taiwei spoke, his long sword suddenly thrust forward diagonally. "Zhou Zhao, you expected this all along?"

Zhou Zhao stepped back, and said with some regret, "You only just realized? If I had known you were this useless, I would have arrested you long ago. In this contest, whoever strikes first wins. Commander Huo, you've lost."

Commander Huo listened, his lips pressed tightly together.

Zhou Zhao's speed in solving the case far exceeded his expectations. He also did not expect that Su Changying and Zhou Zhao would dare to stake their lives on it and ask His Majesty to order his arrest.

His original plan was that when the three armies faced off, his trusted confidants hidden among the northern and southern armies would betray him at the same time, at which point the western palace gates would be wide open.

With the Northern and Southern armies in disarray, he could easily storm into the palace...

Unfortunately, Zhou Zhao had already guessed his plan and suspected that he had spies in the Northern and Southern armies. She and Su Changying had placed executioners next to every suspicious person, ready to capture the leader and kill his trusted general as soon as they showed any signs of trouble.

If it had been later, and he had been fully prepared, the soldiers might not have hesitated.

But now he hastily raised an army, like a stray dog, and the Huo family members were left in front of the army like dead dogs.

Those opportunists, assessing the situation, naturally had little will to fight.

As Huo Taiwei pondered, his gaze toward Zhou Zhao grew increasingly profound.

Fighter jets are extremely important, and he lost the initiative.

As Huo Taiwei pondered, he met Zhou Zhao's second attack, and the two separated immediately upon contact.

After the riots in the North and South armies subsided, Su Changying and Han Xincheng simultaneously raised their long swords and rode forward to meet them. In an instant, the sound of clashing weapons filled the area outside the West Palace Gate, and streaks of blood trickled down the stone slabs in front of the gate.

As Su Changying approached, Grand Commandant Huo said calmly, "Stop them."

He flashed and flew directly towards the palace. Zhou Zhao tried to intercept him, but two golden figures immediately appeared in front of him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yan Junyu facing off against a beautiful woman who looked to be around thirty years old, while Jing Yi was facing off against a one-eyed bald man wielding two black curved swords. He looked extremely powerful, far superior to the androgynous drug-using man from before.

At this moment, Tianquan and Xu Yuan had also arrived, each pulling a golden statue.

Su Changying, like an arrow shot from its bow, chased after Grand Commandant Huo. When she reached Zhou Zhao, the two exchanged a glance and said, "Be careful."

When Grand Commandant Huo arrived at the West Palace Gate, Han Xincheng stopped one of the two Jurchen assassins who were flanking him.

The remaining person escorted Commander Huo away at high speed.

"You still have the nerve to look at others? You're practically asking for it!"

Hearing the angry voice, Zhou Zhao snapped out of his daze and looked at the two people in front of him, a man and a woman.

The man who spoke had a fleshy face and was quite burly. Even in the dead of winter, he was only wearing a single layer of clothing, revealing his layered belly.

Beside him stood a stunningly beautiful woman. Seeing Zhou Zhao looking at her, the woman's eyes sparkled as she gave him a flirtatious wink. "My name is Xiaoyu. Young lady, you are so beautiful. It's a pity that the world is about to lose another beauty."

As Xiaoyu spoke in a sweet voice, her body suddenly twisted into a strange arc, and the irritable man behind her took advantage of this moment to swing his purple-gold hammer at Zhou Zhao.

The sledgehammer came with a strong gust of wind, possessing an overwhelming and destructive force.

Upon hearing the noise, Zhou Zhao thought to himself that something was wrong; this person was most likely like Ah Huang, possessing superhuman strength.

If someone were to be hit by his hammer, they would either die or have all their bones shattered.

As Zhou Zhao was thinking, he saw a large sword being held at bay, directly blocking the purple-gold hammer.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhao curled the corners of his lips and turned to look over, "Ah Huang!"

Ah Huang nodded his straw hat, and the massive hammer, as heavy as Mount Tai, pressed down on Ah Huang's broadsword without moving an inch.

Seeing this, the irritable man exerted all his strength and pressed down on Ah Huang. Ah Huang took a deep breath, shouted, and his seemingly weak arms seemed to contain infinite power, forcefully flipping the irritable golden man to the ground.

The irritable Jin man cried out in pain, looked down, and saw that the tiger's mouth of his hands, which were gripping the hammer, was covered in blood from the impact.

"You've come at the perfect time. I've never seen anyone stronger than me."

Ah Huang remained silent, his broadsword slashing fiercely at the irritable man on the ground like a storm.

Upon hearing the whooshing sound, the hot-tempered man rolled away to avoid it.

The broadsword missed its mark and fell directly to the ground. Those fighting nearby heard several cracking sounds, and a crack appeared instantly in front of the smooth West Palace Gate, as if an ox had plowed it.

The people of Chang'an had all heard that His Highness the Prince of Chu could lift a tripod, but this was the first time they had witnessed his skill in person.

For a moment, I forgot what I was doing.

Meanwhile, Ah Huang noticed the gazes around him, and his broadsword moved even more swiftly...

So many people! I just want to finish cutting them down and hide!

(End of this chapter)