Chapter 124 – He Zhiyuan Dies

Chapter 124 - He Zhiyuan Dies

After what felt like an incense stick's worth of time, He Zhiyuan finally ceased his movements.

He licked the blood from his fingers and carefully folded the piece of cloth, storing it safely in his bosom.

Mo Jiuya scanned the area, noticing that everyone had settled down to rest. Even the two officials on duty were dozing off.

Swiftly leaping down from the tree, he struck He Zhiyuan unconscious with a swift chop to the neck before lifting his collar and vanishing from sight.

After running a certain distance, Mo Jiuya dropped He Zhiyuan on the ground and retrieved the cloth from his chest.

Using a fire starter, he ignited a pile of dry grass, illuminating the blood-stained message by its light.

The content was precisely as he and He Zhiran had anticipated.

It merely stated that he had noticed Mo Jiuya's unusual behavior today, rescued a white-haired old woman who seemed familiar, and that the old woman's identity didn't seem ordinary.

If Prince Rui wished to learn more, he should hasten to save him from this peril...

Having finished reading the blood-stained letter, Mo Jiuya decisively threw it into the fire to be burned.

Initially, he had intended to spare He Zhiyuan's life, but the man proved to be ungrateful.

For his own selfish desires, he was willing to betray Mo Jiuya.

Fortunately, Mo Jiuya and He Zhiran were vigilant and had detected something amiss early on. Otherwise, if that blood letter had fallen into Nanrui's hands, it would have spelled major trouble.

With this in mind, Mo Jiuya discarded the idea of using the poison He Zhiran had prepared. Instead, he swiftly ended He Zhiyuan's life with a single slash of his blade.

Afterward, Mo Jiuya stealthily returned He Zhiyuan's corpse to its original position. To avoid suspicion, he cautiously retraced his steps, cleaning up any traces of blood on the ground before returning to the tent.

The next morning, the camp was filled with a woman's wailing cries.

"Sir, my master is dead..."

The officer, annoyed, went to investigate and confirmed that He Zhiyuan was indeed deceased. He promptly rushed to inform Peng Wang.

Peng Wang, after inspecting He Zhiyuan's lifeless body, turned his head to glance in the direction of the Mo family members.

He waved at a few bailiffs, "The man is dead. Bury him!"

The He family members objected and surrounded Peng Wang.

"Sir, our master was clearly murdered. We can't just bury him without finding out who did it!"

Peng Wang shot a cold glance at the women from the He family. "So you expect me, a mere officer escorting a convict, to track down the killer?"

At the mention of the murderer, Peng Wang immediately thought of Mo Jiuya. Apart from him, he couldn't think of anyone else who would have a motive to harm He Zhiyuan.

However, this was only his suspicion; he couldn't definitively conclude that it was Mo Jiuya's doing. Moreover, even if it was Mo Jiuya, Peng Wang knew he wouldn't admit it...

Inwardly, Peng Wang cursed under his breath: This kid always lands himself in trouble!

The He family members, seeing Peng Wang's darkened expression, immediately dared not speak further about seeking justice for He Zhiyuan and could only watch helplessly as the officials carried away the corpse.

With He Zhiyuan's death, Mo Jiuya and He Zhiran no longer worried that their encounter with Mother Fei the previous day would be exposed.

Their only concern now was the potential assassination attempt from Nanzhui.

However, despite the smooth progress of the large troop for ten days, there was still no sign of any action from Nanzhui.

Despite this, Mo Jiuya and He Zhiran remained vigilant.

It was already September, and the temperature difference between day and night was gradually increasing.

Especially during the late hours, even under cotton blankets in the tents, one didn't feel particularly warm.

In the morning, as He Zhiran was folding the quilt inside the tent, she suddenly sensed Mo Jiuya's figure flicker at the entrance before swiftly disappearing.

Putting aside her task, she quickly chased after him.

She saw Mo Jiuya casually grab a cooking shovel to deflect the few arrows that were being shot towards them.

Without suspecting anything else, He Zhiran promptly retrieved a Swiss Army knife from his spatial ring and threw it towards Mo Jiuya.

"Here you go."

Mo Jiuya caught the knife with precision, continuing to fend off the incoming arrows.

He Zhiran swiftly took cover behind a large tree, scanning the direction from which the arrows were originating.

From his vantage point, he noticed several black-clad figures hidden in the shadows on the other side, aiming their bows at Mo Jiuya.

Observing that these attackers' focus remained steadfastly on Mo Jiuya, He Zhiran agilely climbed up the tree, drew his hidden wrist-mounted arrows, and fired them at the assailants.

Simultaneously, the guards and other prisoners also detected the unusual activity.

The sisters, already on high alert, held their mini pistols firmly. Had Ninth Brother and his wife not warned them to use these weapons only as a last resort, they would have already launched their own covert attacks at the source of the arrows...

On Peng Wang's end, he was also shouting about the presence of assassins, urging everyone to be cautious.

Upon encountering this situation, Peng Wang's first thought was of his two brothers who had recently lost their lives on Ox Horn Mountain.

Two of the imperial envoys have already met their demise. They can afford no further mishaps.

Men from the Fang and Xie families, having also hastily gathered makeshift weapons, were preparing to lend their support.

Regrettably, those people's attacks were solely directed at Mo Jiuya, and their adversaries were at a distance. The 'weapons' they held, such as ladles and bricks, were utterly useless in this situation.

Liang Hao, sensing something amiss, arrived promptly with Xu Qingfeng and Li Mingrui to safeguard Mo Jiuya.

He Zhiran has already dispatched three black-clad assailants from the tree with her hidden sleeve arrows.

However, the number of black-clad men was swiftly replenished.

This tactic was entirely different from the one employed by the men Nan Heng had sent previously. They remained unseen, consistently firing arrows from a distance.

It wasn't until Liang Hao and his companions joined the fray that they removed their bows from their backs, sequentially downing several of the black-clad assailants with well-aimed arrows.

Realizing their significant losses, the black-clad men finally altered their strategy. Abandoning their archery, they drew their blades and charged directly at Mo Jiuya in a fierce assault.

Observing the overwhelming number of black-clad figures, Mo Jiuya, fearing involvement of his family, unleashed his lightness kung fu and dashed into the distance.

The black-clad men relentlessly pursued him.

He Zhiran continued to follow, firing arrows at the pursuers.

The black-clothed assailants ignored those behind them, even disregarding He Zhiran's attacks, as their sole focus was on taking Mo Jiuya's life.

After sprinting several hundred meters, Mo Jiuya finally halted and raised his saber to engage the attackers in a fierce battle.

Liang Hao and the others arrived just a step behind Mo Jiuya and promptly joined the fray.

By the time He Zhiran arrived, they had already eliminated some of the black-clad men, leaving roughly two or thirty still standing.

Seeing that Mo Jiuya and the others were coping fairly well, He Zhiran persisted in shooting arrows from behind.

Realizing the situation was turning against them, the remaining dozen or so black-clad men feinted a few moves before fleeing in one direction.

Liang Hao, Xu Qingfeng, and Li Mingrui swiftly gave chase.

Amidst the chaos, only one individual persisted in attacking Mo Jiuya, and from their battling postures, it was evident that Mo Jiuya was gradually falling behind.

He Zhiran hastily raised the crossbow in her hand, aiming at the back of the black-clad man's head, preparing to deliver a fatal strike.

However, upon seeing this, Mo Jiuya shouted, "Don't harm him."