Chapter 40: Chapter Forty To Kill This Prince, Fifth Brother Has Spared No Expense…

Chapter 40: To kill this prince, Fifth Brother has truly spared no expense...

The forest deep at night was exceptionally quiet, with even the chirping of insects and croaking of frogs remarkably scarce. Occasionally, a nightingale's call would break the silence, only to fade away swiftly.

The hunting grounds were vast, and for Wei Zheng and his companion to find any trace of assassin organizations other than the Thousand Kill Pavilion in such an expansive forest was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.

After nearly an hour of fruitless searching, they were unsurprised by the outcome.

Wei San looked up at the dark clouds in the night sky, his unease intensifying.

The forest was too quiet, so quiet it felt eerie. For the annual autumn hunt, the grounds were stocked with numerous wild animals. Even in the dead of night, such profound silence was unnatural.

Assassins possessed a keen intuition for danger; the more elusive the clues, the more unsettling the situation became.

Wei Zheng, walking ahead, suddenly halted. He stood before a tree trunk so thick it would take two people to encircle it, leaned in, and examined it closely.

The tree trunk was covered in moss, and on the tender green moss, a few faint indentations were visible. He raised his hand to compare, and they perfectly matched the shape of fingers in a gripping gesture.

These indentations were left by someone pressing their hand against the tree for support, though it was also possible they were left by hunters pursuing prey during the day.

"Master, have you found something?"

Wei San hurried over, immediately noticing the shallow indentations.

Wei San was not naive enough to believe they were left by the hunting party. He thought to himself, as expected, his intuition was correct.

"No need to search further. This hunting ground is likely already teeming with 'rats.' I just wonder which 'benefactor' has sent me this assistance."

Wei Zheng sneered. This impatient style was truly reminiscent of Fifth Brother, as always.

Since he was so eager to seek death, then he, as the younger brother, would have to fulfill Fifth Brother's wish.

Wei Zheng rubbed the moss off his fingers. "Summon Wei Er and the others. Have them carefully search for where these 'rats' are hiding."

Wei San nodded in understanding, then imitated the nightingale's call, whistling twice in a pattern of three long and one short. The hidden assassin guards of the prince's residence who heard the signal quickly gathered silently nearby.

Soon, dozens of figures gathered silently in the shadows. They did not reveal themselves, and Wei Zheng issued orders decisively: "Once you find those 'rats,' do not act rashly. Just monitor their every move. I have a greater purpose for them."

"Have Duan Lin notify the Thousand Kill Pavilion Master. The mission has been temporarily changed. Have the Thousand Kill Pavilion's assassins find a way to infiltrate that group of killers and muddy the waters of this hunting ground as much as possible."

Since they were going to play, they might as well go all in. No one would be left untouched.

The clouds obscuring the moonlight dispersed, and the silvery moonlight pierced through the branches and leaves, casting mottled, dim shadows on the ground. Wei Zheng's figure was mostly hidden in darkness, his pitch-black pupils gleaming with a chilling light. The ruthlessness and bloodlust in his eyes were heart-pounding, like a demonic entity crawled out from the depths of hell.

***

The final day of the autumn hunt was overcast and rainy, giving off a sense of impending doom, like dark clouds threatening to crush a city.

Compared to the first day, today was clearly less suitable for hunting. In the past, the Old Emperor might have simply called a retreat back to the capital. But for some reason, he was in exceptionally high spirits today and insisted on proceeding with the final day's hunt despite the threatening weather.

The most important part of the three-day autumn hunt was actually the final day's competition. Whoever bagged the most and the largest game would be crowned this year's champion. Wei Zheng, however, had been busy sightseeing with his male favorite and naturally had not hunted any prey.

"Seventh, if you don't perform well in today's final hunt, you'll kneel in repentance in the ancestral hall yourself when we return to the capital."

The Old Emperor directly called him out. Even if Wei Zheng was unwilling, he could not defy the emperor's order. He could only obediently lead his horse and mount it. But before setting off, he urged his horse straight toward the male favorite and, in front of everyone, single-handedly lifted him onto the horse.

The male favorite let out a shrill cry of fear, and then the horse's hooves kicked up dust as the sweating-blood steed carried both of them into the depths of the dense forest.

Everything happened in an instant. By the time everyone reacted, the two had already disappeared. Over the past few days, everyone in the hunting grounds had witnessed how the Virtuous Prince doted on that male favorite. They could only sigh and remark on the Virtuous Prince's youthful impulsivity and rare devotion to love.

The Old Emperor tightened his jawline, staring into the distance as if deep in thought, his cloudy eyes gleaming with shrewdness.

The Fifth Prince, seated in a wheelchair, watched the farce conclude with a sarcastic smirk. He glanced at a guard at the edge of the crowd, who gave an almost imperceptible nod, and then he nonchalantly looked away.

The Crown Prince silently observed everyone's reactions. When he noticed the Fifth Prince's expression, which the latter thought was well-hidden but was actually easily seen through, he suddenly stopped his steps toward the hunting grounds.

He casually handed his horsewhip to his attendant beside him and quickly walked to the Old Emperor's side.

He sat down directly, making it clear he had no intention of leaving.

The Old Emperor glanced at him sideways. "Crown Prince, why aren't you joining the hunt?"

The Crown Prince took a sip of the tea offered by a maid and calmly said, "I've already hunted quite a lot over the past two days. If I participate in today's hunt, the outcome would be too predictable. I should give others a chance."

The Old Emperor remarked indifferently, "It seems the Crown Prince is quite considerate of others."

The Crown Prince smiled without replying and personally poured a cup of tea for the Old Emperor. "Father, please."

The Old Emperor looked at the teacup presented to him and finally accepted it, effectively allowing the Crown Prince to remain by his side.

***

Wei Zheng, having swept his companion along, entered the hunting grounds. He urged his horse forward at full speed, leaving the other participants who had followed him far behind.

Wei San diligently played the role of a delicate male favorite, feigning weakness. He pressed himself fearfully against Wei Zheng's chest, face-to-face, his hands tightly gripping Wei Zheng's lapels.

Although Wei Zheng knew this was all an act, he still found it incredibly endearing.

His strangely possessive desires were unprecedentedly satisfied, and he couldn't resist teasing him. He said playfully, "Sui Yun, you must hold on tight to me. If you accidentally fall off the horse, I will be heartbroken."

The frightened person in his arms stiffened and immediately wrapped his arms around Wei Zheng's waist, holding on tightly.

Wei Zheng laughed heartily. "My good Sui Yun is so obedient. I'll hunt a great tiger for you to make a shawl as a reward."

The young men who couldn't keep up and were forced to witness this display: "…………"

Meanwhile, in a certain part of the dense forest within the hunting grounds, the assassins who had received their orders tightened the curved knives at their waists and dispersed, slipping into the forest like ghosts.

To create opportunities for these assassins, Wei Zheng had already sent his men ahead to locate the tiger’s traces. After putting on a show with Wei San for the other participants, he headed deep into the hunting grounds.

The young men who had been following them saw them going deeper and deeper. Those who knew the deepest parts were dangerous wanted to warn them, but the pair ahead moved too quickly, and they were left behind before they could even speak.

Dark clouds pressed down from the sky, and a sudden strong wind arose, causing the tree branches and leaves to shake violently, unable to withstand the force.

The horse galloped through the forest, so fast it was almost a blur.

"They're here."

Wei San lifted his head from Wei Zheng's chest, his sharp eyes like arrows piercing through the forest cover, spotting the enemies hidden in the shadows.

"There are nearly a hundred of them. To kill me, Fifth Brother has truly pulled out all the stops." Wei Zheng listened intently, not missing the slightest unusual movement.

He tightened the reins, and the horse, in pain, let out a loud whinny, slowing down and eventually stopping.

Animals have a natural intuition for danger. Perhaps sensing something abnormal, it became unusually restless, pawing the ground.

Wei Zheng patted its neck soothingly, but the horse, which would usually calm down, remained unsettled and became even more agitated.

Raindrops as large as beans began to fall one after another. It should have been a bright, clear day, but the dark clouds obscuring the sky made it unnaturally dark.

The howling wind mingled with the rustling of leaves, and several falling leaves, struck by the rain, were pierced and shattered mid-air by a flash of cold light.

Wei Zheng’s expression turned stern as he shielded Wei San while simultaneously drawing the soft sword coiled around his waist.

Clang—

The blade of the soft sword was extremely flexible, yet it held firm even against the sharp, unstoppable arrows. The arrow was deflected by the soft sword, thudding deeply into a tree trunk with a resonant quiver.

The hidden assassins were not surprised by the failure of their first strike; they had never expected to kill the Virtuous Prince with a single arrow. After the first sneak attack, countless more arrows streaked swiftly from the shadows.

"Let's go!"

It wasn’t that Wei Zheng and Wei San couldn’t handle the situation, but the assassins avoided direct confrontation, clearly intending to exhaust their internal energy before moving in for the kill.

Wei Zheng had no intention of giving them that chance. While he needed to stage an incident of being ambushed and endangered, getting injured in the process was unnecessary.

According to Wei Zheng’s original plan, during today’s hunt, he would have been accompanied by the sons of several ministers. The Thousand Kill Pavilion assassins would chase their group to a cliff’s edge, where he and Wei San would be severely wounded and ultimately fall off the cliff, escaping death by a hair's breadth. The ministers’ sons would also be seriously injured, but the Thousand Kill Pavilion would deliberately spare their lives, making them witnesses to his assassination and fall.

Afterward, whoever he wanted to implicate would be subject to his accusations once he was rescued from the cliff and could accuse anyone he pleased.

Wei Zheng’s plan was nearly flawless, but he hadn’t anticipated the Fifth Prince’s impatience and interference.

A month ago, he had already arranged everything in this hunting ground. At most, the assassins were replaced at the last minute, but the outcome would ultimately be the same.

Wei San glanced into the distance. "Those ministers’ sons…"

Wei Zheng said, "Leave them. Their presence or absence makes no difference."

He had changed his mind. Why bother with eyewitnesses? The scarcer the information there was about him, the more concerned his father would be about his safety.