Niao Ni
Chapter 382: Unwilling to Let Go
The tall man wearing a bamboo hat withdrew his gaze from the white snow on Mount Cang's peak, silently drained his cup of leftover tea, ordered a bowl of plain noodles, and began to eat without any relish.
This place was thirty *li* outside Kyoto, called Stone Tablet Village.
And this tall man wearing a bamboo hat was the second priest of the Qing Temple, Master Sanshi, who had traveled arduously from Jiangnan to Kyoto. Master Sanshi had not come to Kyoto to discuss Dao or to break off a willow branch outside the Imperial Way. He had come to kill, he had come to... assassinate the Emperor!
Although Fan Xian had intentionally or unintentionally let him leave in Jiangnan, the Supervisory Council's investigations were thorough. Even though the Northwest Road was not heavily guarded, it still took Sanshi a considerable amount of time to bypass the Supervisory Council and the Black Riders' blockade to reach Kyoto.
The Junshan Assembly was indeed a loosely organized group, but when this organization had an unusually sacred and important task, its importance became prominent. And no one knew exactly how many important figures from various forces in the world were gathered in this mysterious organization.
Although Master Sanshi was honored as the second priest of the Qing Temple, he did not have much influence in the Junshan Assembly. Moreover, he personally strongly opposed the Junshan Assembly's arrangements in Jiangnan. After attempting to interfere with Fan Xian's administration without success, Master Sanshi cast himself aside, detached himself from the Junshan Assembly's arrangements, and traveled alone to Kyoto with lofty ambitions, his heart filled with a red sun.
He went to Kyoto to kill, to kill the impossible.
As he thought this, he silently ate his noodles, meticulously chewing each strand into a paste according to his eldest brother's earnest teachings, before swallowing it contentedly.
For some reason, Master Sanshi felt an uncontrollable sorrow as he ate, and two turbid tears rolled from his aged eyes, dripping into the noodle soup.
He was going to Kyoto to ask the Emperor, why!
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After finishing the noodles, he adjusted his bamboo hat, covering his face, picked up his man-high wooden staff from the side of the table, left the noodle shop, and began to walk towards Kyoto along the small path at the foot of Stone Tablet Village Mountain.
Ahead was the dark imperial city, and behind him was the pure white mountain. The ascetic walked between them.
The forest grew deeper and deeper, the road narrower and narrower. It was still early, and no woodcutters were diligently rising early to chop wood. In the remote wilderness, no pedestrians were likely to pass by. The mountain path was silent, so silent that it was almost eerie, without even the sounds of birds or insects.
Master Sanshi was not, after all, a martial artist skilled in assassination, but rather an ascetic with extremely high cultivation. So, although he felt a little strange in his heart, he didn't pay much attention to it.
Neither the imperial court nor the Junshan Assembly should know that he had come to Kyoto from Jiangnan. The only one who knew about this was the Saintess of Northern Qi, Miss Haitang. And in no way would Haitang reveal his whereabouts. Master Sanshi was very confident in this. He did not believe that anyone would have grasped his route in advance, thus setting up an ambush ahead of time.
So, when that fierce and deadly arrow shot out from the dense forest, aiming to pierce his eye socket, Master Sanshi was very surprised.
The arrow flew in a very strange manner. At first, it was silent, like a ghost, until it was only three *chi* away from his face, when it suddenly produced a sharp whistle. The arrow's whistle hooked the soul and captured the spirit, causing immense fear!
Hiss... Roar!
The black arrow seemed to shout out the word "kill".
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……
Master Sanshi grunted, and thrust his long wooden staff hard into the ground. The bird-head carved at the top of the staff extended forward in a very short time, blocking the arrow that seemed to have flown from beyond the heavens.
With a muffled thud, the arrow shot fiercely into the staff's head. The immense power contained in the arrow caused Master Sanshi's wrist to tremble slightly, and the bird-head carved on the staff burst apart in an instant!
Master Sanshi narrowed his eyes, a chill rising in his heart—such lightning-like archery seemed to be only at the level of Yan Xiaoyi, the Grand Commandant of the Northern Expedition, and Yan Xiaoyi should be in Cangzhou City at this time, thousands of *li* away from Kyoto.
Through the leaves in the forest, Master Sanshi's clear eyes saw the face of the archer clearly. It was a young and unfamiliar face, but he knew that the arrow he had personally caught must have been taught by Yan Xiaoyi himself. This unfamiliar young man must be Yan Xiaoyi's disciple!
While thinking about these things, Master Sanshi had already used the counter-force of that staff to fly into the air, spreading his body like a large bird, holding the wooden staff, and smashing it towards the archer like a madman!
Although he didn't know why the other party wanted to kill him, he wouldn't allow himself to die before entering Kyoto and asking the Emperor that question.
Master Sanshi was burly, wearing a bamboo hat, and his staff was full of murderous intent. His whole body soared in the air, like a fierce bird, full of an air of no return.
When fighting with an archer, the most important thing is to close the distance, but... at this time, leaping into the air, exposing all his vulnerabilities to the other party, and with no place to borrow strength in the air, it is even more difficult to avoid those extremely ghostly arrows...
Master Sanshi swept past, looking at the archer's tranquil face, knowing that the other party was going to take the opportunity to shoot an arrow.
Sure enough, the archer didn't know how to move, his hands flashed, and he took an arrow from behind him, nocked, aimed, and shot!
Very simple three movements, but completed so naturally, so harmoniously, so quickly, as if it was an indivisible action, very beautiful.
This simple beauty comes from diligent practice and talent for archery.
With a whoosh! The second arrow had already shot towards Master Sanshi's throat. At this time, he was in the air and could not avoid such a swift arrow!
But this was what Sanshi was waiting for.
He grunted, not dodging or avoiding, and circulated his *zhenqi* to his chest and abdomen, using his most foolish, but also most powerful, Iron Shirt to withstand this arrow!
The arrow hit his throat, making a strange, cracking sound.
A strange light flashed in Master Sanshi's eyes, and his whole body had already charged in front of the archer, and he struck him with his staff!
At this time, the distance between the two was only three *chi*. How could the archer avoid it?
……
……
The archer still had a tranquil expression. Facing the staff that was like a madman, he retreated two steps very steadily, holding the longbow in front of him, and uttering a word: "Seal!"
Four golden knives appeared from nowhere, transforming into four streams of light, sealing Master Sanshi's deadly staff!
A loud bang exploded, the knives shattered, the staff's momentum was disrupted, and the forest was filled with dust.
And in the dust, the sound of arrows rang again, a soul-snatching arrow pierced through the dust and over the trees, and within a very short distance, it shot towards Master Sanshi's throat again.
The distance was too close. Master Sanshi could not avoid it, nor could he let his fragile throat constantly accept the test of the Yan family's archery. So he raised his palm, posing in a gesture of reverence for the temple.
The other party used four knives to seal his staff, and he would use one palm to seal this arrow.
The thin, soul-devouring arrow, nailed on Master Sanshi's thick, calloused palm edge, just like a mosquito, biting the flesh of the poor, shook twice before falling to the ground.
It was just a very slight sting, a nail. But Master Sanshi's body shook violently!
He was shaken back a step by this arrow… and another arrow arrived. Master Sanshi raised his palm again, sealed it, and retreated again.
The arrows shot out from the dust became faster and faster, as if there was no interruption. No one knew what kind of terrible hand speed the archer behind the dust possessed!
Like this, nine arrows.
Master Sanshi was forced back nine steps, forced back to the edge of the mountain road by those terrible arrows. He grunted, his *zhenqi* flowing straight to his arms, and with a wave of his long staff, he shook off the last arrow… then he found his feet tighten, and a terrifyingly beastly trap snapped shut with a snap, bloodily clamping his right foot!
This beast trap was so big, it should be used to trap tigers. Even though Master Sanshi had the indestructible skill of the Iron Shirt, he still encountered the trap, his calf was cut open, and fresh blood spurted out.
Master Sanshi gave a painful roar! He furrowed his unwilling eyebrows, and there was also a small blood spot on his throat, and there were many small blood spots on his hand holding the wooden staff, slowly oozing blood.
So many unpredictable arrows, if it were someone else, they would have been shot into a hedgehog long ago. Only he had not been truly hurt, but unfortunately, he was still forced into the trap by these arrows in the end.
The dust gradually settled, and the face of the young archer appeared again in the forest opposite, along with four swordsmen holding broken blades.
Master Sanshi looked at the other party indifferently, and said: "I didn't expect it to be you who killed…"
Before he could finish his words, the young archer had come to kill and silence him, and had no interest in talking with Master Sanshi. Although he knew that Master Sanshi was also a legendary figure, the rising heroes of the younger generation did not have any extra awe.
The young man used his steady right hand to place the poisoned black arrow on the string, and once again aimed at Master Sanshi's throat, who could not move.
"Shoot."
He said a word, but the arrow in his hand did not leave the string.
The forest was in a mess, and no one knew how many archers were pouring out from all directions, surrounding Sanshi in the middle from a distance of more than ten *zhang*. They all held bows and arrows in their hands, and according to this word "shoot", countless arrows left the string, turning into soul-snatching straight lines, and stabbing fiercely at Master Sanshi's body in the center!
Master Sanshi's pupils shrank, looking at the other party's arrangement... he knew that he might really not survive today. Being able to arrange so many archers in the mountains must be the manpower of the military. No matter how powerful a master is, he cannot survive after facing the army's ruthless and cold-blooded successive attacks, not to mention that his right foot has been clamped by that hateful beast trap!
I am not Ye Liuyun, nor am I Ku He, Master Sanshi sighed in his heart, and waved the long staff in his hand, resisting the rain of arrows from all directions.
Dang dang dang dang, countless shattering sounds rang around him, but in a moment, there were already more than a hundred flying arrows shattered by his wooden staff, and the broken arrows piled up around him, looking exceptionally desolate.
There were also some arrows that pierced through his defensive circle and stabbed into his body, but these archers were not as good as the previous young man, and could not pierce Master Sanshi's Iron Shirt.
The leading young archer was not in a hurry, just coldly watched Master Sanshi struggling like a dying beast, watching the ascetic fighting helplessly against the rain of arrows. He knew that the other party's *zhenqi* was strong, and if he wanted to shoot him to death from a long distance, he needed patience, and he had to keep consuming it, as long as Sanshi's *zhenqi* showed any signs of inadequacy, his hard-hitting skills would no longer be able to maintain... when the arrows entered his body, that would be the time of Sanshi's death.
So he just aimed at Sanshi's throat, and waited coldly for that moment.
And the dozens of archers in the forest were just coldly shooting arrows non-stop.
Master Sanshi howled loudly, and kept waving his wooden staff, struggling in the rain of arrows.
There will always be a time when he runs out of strength.
So at this time, Sanshi's bravery and majesty looked so sad.
Faced with the powerful army machine, what use is a martial arts master...?
What a cruel scene this is.
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The ruthless volley continued, and the broken arrows piled up on Master Sanshi's body got higher and higher, gradually submerging his calf, and completely submerging the beast trap and the injured leg in the arrows. It looked like a self-immolating monk, constantly chopping at the pile of firewood that was about to ignite himself.
Master Sanshi's clothes were already wet with sweat, and the speed at which he waved the wooden staff had also slowed down, and it was clear that his *zhenqi* was not as abundant as it had been at the beginning.
This was the opportunity. The leading archer, who had been waiting for a long time, easily released his middle finger, and the arrow on the string shot out!
With a whoosh, with a ding, the whole forest, the whole world seemed to be quiet at this moment.
Master Sanshi held the arrow on his throat, his mouth groaned, but he could not say anything, and blood flowed out along his palm.
The surrounding archers also stopped shooting.
The young archer frowned, and said coldly and ruthlessly: "Continue."
The arrow momentum rose again, and in an instant, more than a dozen arrows were shot into Sanshi's body, and blood stained his whole body red.
Sanshi slowly closed his eyes, and sighed again in his heart, knowing that feigning weakness to lure the enemy was also not feasible. The disciple of Yan Xiaoyi was indeed as cold and ruthless as his master.
He waved his hand, flicked his sleeves quickly, swept away a few arrows, opened his eyes, a fierce light appeared, and with a roar, the wooden staff that had been held in his hand was shaken from the outside by this pure *zhenqi*, and the wooden pieces flew horizontally, revealing the knife inside... the broadsword!
In Suzhou City, Sanshi once cut off a long street with one knife, and at this time, his knife could only... cut himself.
He slashed diagonally downwards, the blade entered the flesh silently, and he fiercely cut off his right calf!
He would no longer be trapped by the beast trap. Sanshi took off like a large bird with broken wings again, and killed into the enemy's formation like a goshawk fighting a rabbit. The blade light was like splashing snow, and it was pouring blood. In one face-to-face meeting, he cut off three heads, broke open the chests and abdomens of several people, and the forest was filled with blood!
What a domineering knife!
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When Sanshi drew his knife, the cold and ruthless young archer had already turned and left, quietly climbed a tree, and began to shoot arrows one by one. He knew that the other party had reached the end of his strength, and had also cut off one of his legs, and blood was flowing out so relentlessly, that the other party would not be able to support it for too long.
Sure enough, the light of the knife, after a moment of stunning brilliance, was still gradually dimming.
After killing a group of archers, Master Sanshi's body was poisoned, his wounds broke open, and his blood was exhausted. He held the handle of the long knife on the ground, groaned, and吐吐吐 out his last breath of turbid air.
The second priest of Qing Temple, dead.
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After confirming Sanshi's death, the archers surrounded him. They were all elites in the army. Today, they came to besiege... even to shamelessly murder the second priest of Qing Temple. Not everyone could maintain their superficial calm, especially after the other party was tricked, he could still cut off one of his legs, and kill so many of his brothers. When these people thought about it at this time, they could not help but feel chills in their hearts.
"Clean it up, you go back to the camp." The young archer said coldly: "Ding Han, you are responsible for cleaning up."
A soldier saluted in a low voice and agreed.
The forest returned to calm again. These archers in the army took off their disguises, and secretly changed their clothes and returned to the camp.
After leaving the forest, the young archer had changed into ordinary civilian clothes, and did not return to the camp with the large group, but turned east and west out of the mountain forest, found the official road back to Kyoto, hitched a ride on a passing cart, and entered Kyoto, chatting and laughing with the merchant all the way.
After entering Kyoto City, the archer first went to eat two bowls of vegetable porridge, and then bought a paper windmill on the street, passed through the South City Street, walked through quiet alleys, and looked at the entrance of a storyteller's hall. It seemed that he could not resist the temptation of today's story, and went upstairs to order a bowl of tea and a plate of melon seeds, and began to listen to the story.
After listening for a while, he seemed to be a little urgent, and went to the latrine.
After leaving the courtyard wall behind the latrine, after confirming that no one was following him, he entered a mansion. No one knew whose mansion this was, and he walked as easily as if he was in his own home.
After entering the study, he bowed down in front of the desk, and reported to the pair of small feet under the desk: "Your Highness, it has been taken care of."
"Thank you for your hard work." Princess Li Yunrui of Qing Kingdom smiled slightly. The woman, who was so beautiful that she didn't look like a mortal, added a bit of charm when she smiled.
The young archer was so cold and ruthless when he shot and killed Master Sanshi, but at this time, he did not dare to look directly at the princess's eyes. After getting up, he stood aside respectfully.
"Sanshi... it's really a pity." The princess sighed with regret: "He didn't listen to this palace, and insisted on being brave. At this time, how can we let His Majesty suspect us? Everything is not ready, now is not the time to act. People who don't listen like this, we have to let him go."
The young archer remained silent, knowing that these major events should be the concern of the elders, and he only needed to execute them.
The princess glanced at him, smiled, and said: "You can't follow General Yan to fight in the north, do you have any complaints?"
The young archer smiled and said: "My father is just drinking all day in the north, where is there any excitement from Kyoto."
After saying a few more words, the princess let him out of the study.
This mansion was nameless and surname-less, and no one knew that the princess would occasionally come here. She liked to sit alone in this study and think about things, and often thought about herself to the point of infatuation.
The Junshan Assembly? … A self-deprecating smile appeared on the corner of her lips. What was the purpose of her forming the Junshan Assembly when she was still young? It was to do something for Qing Kingdom, it was to help her imperial brother do things that her imperial brother was inconvenient to do, such as killing which minister and robbing whose family property.
Although her imperial brother had never known of the existence of the Junshan Assembly, this Junshan Assembly had secretly helped him a lot, such as the war with Northern Qi, and the secret influence on Dongyi City.
But when did this matter undergo such a big change? The purpose of the Junshan Assembly has undergone a great change in her hands!
A trace of sadness flashed across the princess's face. She thought of Fan Xian, who was far away in Jiangnan, the Internal Treasury, the Supervisory Council, and the suspicion and tendencies that the Emperor had shown in the past two years… I give you bright pearls, what will you give me?
She closed her eyes, then opened them again, and her eyes had returned to calm. She smiled and thought, since you can't tolerate me, I should cherish myself. It's not impossible to pay some price for this. What Mr. Yuan said really made sense.
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It was still that mountain forest. Apart from the faint smell of blood, there was no trace of the ambush that had taken place earlier. The military's ability to handle the scene seemed to be no worse than that of the Supervisory Council.
Everyone had withdrawn, and Ding Han, who was left behind by Yan Xiaoyi's son to be responsible for handling the aftermath, was the last to leave the mountain forest.
Strangely, not long after he left, he quietly turned back to the forest, and under a pile of mud, found a broken arrow that he had deliberately covered up, and carefully put it into his arms.
Then, he spat two mouthfuls of saliva on his hands, and began to dig the ground very hard. He didn't know how long he dug, but finally dug to a very deep place, and dug out the corpses that had been burned out of shape. After confirming Sanshi's corpse, he took out a dagger from his boots, inserted it into the corpse's neck bone, and very carefully cut off Master Sanshi's head.
He refilled the soil, sprinkled leaves, and laid green moss. After confirming that there were no problems, the man named Ding Han finally sighed with satisfaction and turned to leave the mountain forest.
He didn't need to enter Kyoto, because the place he was going to was originally outside Kyoto.
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Chen Garden's back mountain, back door, wooden arched door, old servant.
The old servant took a box and a package from his hand. Ding Han gave a silent salute and began to return to the camp.
In a cold room, Chen Pingping sat in a wheelchair, smiling as he looked at the charred head on the cloth, and asked: "You said... burned like this, can His Majesty still recognize that it is Sanshi, that fool?"
The old servant chuckled, but couldn't say anything. He just watched the master seemed to be happy, and he was also happy.
Chen Pingping took out the broken arrow from the box again, squinted his eyes and looked at it for a long time, and suddenly said in a sharp voice: "Sanshi is a fool, do you think the princess is also a fool? Who else can she use, but Yan Xiaoyi's son? Of course, it can tie Yan Xiaoyi tighter... but it's also easy to expose, isn't it?"
It was obvious that the Dean of the Supervisory Council looked down on the younger generation's level of conspiracy.
He gently stroked the wool blanket on his knees with his dry and thin hands, and shook his head and said: "There are always some people in this world who think that some things will never be known... such as, that bullshit Junshan Assembly."
The old servant said softly: "Do you want to enter the palace?"
"Yes."
"It seems that Ti Si is a little difficult to deal with." The old servant was Chen Pingping's confidant and housekeeper of twenty years, and knew most of the Dean's thoughts, so he reminded him carefully.
Chen Pingping fell into silence, and after a moment, he said: "Fan Xian, maybe he will act too early... but let him do it, let him do what he thinks is the right thing. As for those things that he may not be willing to do, I will do it."
There were many things that Chen Pingping would never tell Fan Xian, because he knew that Fan Xian's heart was far less hard and strong than his own. He pushed the wheelchair to the window, and in the distance, he could vaguely hear the laughter of the beauties collected by those old men.
He looked outside, thinking of Mr. Yuan, who had been by the princess's side, and couldn't help but smile innocently like a child: "Often the things that the enemies don't want me to know, I actually know, but..."
A trace of self-mockery flashed in the old man's eyes, and he sighed: "Being a person who knows everything is actually not a happy thing sometimes."
The old servant gently massaged his shoulders, knowing that the Dean would enter the palace with the head and the broken arrow tomorrow, and the Junshan Assembly would be revealed in front of His Majesty for the first time, and His Majesty would finally make a decision.
And what the Dean needed was for His Majesty to make a decision.
Chen Pingping slowly lowered his head. If he didn't make some big things happen, if he didn't die some nobles in the palace, how could he be willing to let go and die?