Chapter 178: Using the Egret to Lure the Sovereign

Chapter 178: Luring the Sovereign with the Egret

Outside the Xiaoxiang Medical Hall, heavy guards remained stationed. When Guan Jiu led Wu Tuyin in through the side door, the vast medical hall was completely empty.

"Where are the guards on duty?"

A barely perceptible scent of herbs hung in the air. Guan Jiu limped over and flung open a door, cursing, "Are you all dead? Where are the guards? Get the hell out here!"

The Xiaoxiang Medical Hall was quite large, surrounded by high walls, with various rare medicinal herbs planted throughout. From a vantage point, one could see a massive medicine cauldron at the center of the courtyard, surrounded by several large herbal pots. Judging by the soot on the firewood and the blackening of the cauldrons, no fire had been lit to brew medicine here in at least a month.

The medical hall was silent, with no sound of patients groaning in pain. Guan Jiu, for his part, was used to it—after all, this wasn't a real clinic that healed the sick.

"Sovereign, hold on a moment. I'll go take a look—maybe the guards all went to haul the bodies."

Typically, patients who died in the Xiaoxiang Medical Hall were piled together in one spot, and then taken out at a set time. Guan Jiu figured maybe so many people had died lately that the guards had all pitched in to deal with it.

"Hold on."

Looking at the deserted medical hall, Wu Tuyin's steps faltered slightly, a flash of caution crossing his face.

Suddenly, a flapping sound broke the silence. Wu Tuyin looked up to see a black parrot flapping its wings and landing on the wall. The little thing wasn't afraid of people, preening its feathers while watching Guan Jiu and Wu Tuyin with curiosity.

"Where'd this black bird come from? What bad luck!"

Guan Jiu grabbed something to throw at the bird, but before Guan Jiu could make a move, the parrot flapped its wings and flew away.

Wu Tuyin watched the parrot land on the cauldron in the courtyard, then fly to the eaves, and finally settle under an apricot tree.

The apricot tree was old and, though not in bloom, was thick with leaves. Through the dense leaves, something appeared to be hanging from the tree.

"Sovereign, it looks like someone's hanging from that tree?"

Guan Jiu had also noticed the anomaly beneath the apricot tree. The net swayed, heavy with something. Looking closer, it was plainly a man trapped inside. Though the man was hunched over, making his face hard to see, a fine jade hairpin on his head was clearly visible.

The instant he saw that jade hairpin, Wu Tuyin's face went dark. The look he gave Guan Jiu was as if he could skin him alive inch by inch. "Take some time to think about how you want to die," Wu Tuyin said, his gaze sinister.

"No, Sovereign, it wasn't me!"

Guan Jiu tried to explain, but Wu Tuyin wouldn't listen. He moved, leaping a few times to reach the leafy apricot tree.

"Si Lu, wake up!"

Wu Tuyin was about to reach out and untie the net holding Si Lu when suddenly a gust of wind blew, shaking the leaves all over the tree. Sunlight happened to fall just then, and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a long sword poorly hidden in "Si Lu's" hand.

"Fell for it!"

Wu Tuyin's heart lurched. After cursing under his breath, he kicked off the trunk and vaulted into the air!

Seeing him run, "Si Lu" suddenly snapped his eyes open and leapt out with sword in hand: "Bandit leader, don't you dare run!"

It was Luo Bei.

The two flew up into the treetops, one right after the other, and the fierce clash of sword against Golden Whip rang out.

They went back and forth, sparks flying with every clash of their weapons. Not far away, Guan Jiu watched, trembling with fear. "Wh-what's going on? Sovereign, be careful!"

Guan Jiu looked at Wu Tuyin with worry, then a young man's light laughter sounded in his ears. "Worrying about others won't help you, Lord Guan. You'd better worry about yourself."

"Who!"

Guan Jiu spun around in shock and saw Qin Jiao, smiling warmly, standing shoulder to shoulder with the dashing Xie Nai. Both were strikingly handsome, standing straight and tall together like a painting of fallen immortals. Xie Nai especially—his expression icy, his brows and eyes dripping with arrogance with every downward glance—exuded the noble air of royalty.

"Prince of Lingnan?" Guan Jiu's face changed as if he'd seen a ghost, stumbling back in terror. "You... weren't you at the city gate receiving..."

He cut himself off mid-sentence, snapping his mouth shut.

Qin Jiao found this funny. At a time like this, with Guan Jiu calling "Sovereign" so sincerely, did he still plan to deny it?

"Receive who at the city gate?" Qin Jiao looked at Guan Jiu. "How did Lord Guan know we were going to pick up Eunuch You?"

Guan Jiu was still trying to weasel his way out. "What is Young Master Qin talking about? This humble official doesn't understand."

"Doesn't matter if you don't understand." Qin Jiao curled his lips into a smile, about to say something more when Xie Nai cut in from beside him: "Someone, take him away for questioning."

Xie Nai's expression was cold, his deep black eyes unruffled. Qin Jiao had a milder temper and was willing to go back and forth with Guan Jiu's excuses, but Xie Nai didn't have that kind of patience. For someone whose guilt was already confirmed, unless they were confessing, Xie Nai felt that saying one more word to them was a waste of time.

"No, spare me! Prince of Lingnan, spare me! This humble official did nothing..." Guan Jiu, caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, panicked and shouted, his face deathly pale.

But Xie Nai ignored him, his gaze landing directly on Wu Tuyin, who was locked in battle with Luo Bei.

"Xie Nai, long time no see."

While fighting Luo Bei, Wu Tuyin still found the time to talk to Xie Nai. His tone was easy, with no trace of the tension of being surrounded. "You're still just as scheming as ever."

After all this time, the two old rivals faced each other again. Hearing Wu Tuyin's words, Xie Nai smiled coldly. "You're just too stupid."

Most people would have been provoked by Xie Nai's words, but Wu Tuyin wasn't. His voice stayed steady. "Where's Si Lu?"

To actually dare use Si Lu as bait to lure him into this—Wu Tuyin glanced at Xie Nai and Qin Jiao. Which of these two came up with this "luring the sovereign with the egret" trick?

Qin Jiao noticed the change in Wu Tuyin's expression and was secretly shocked. He hadn't expected to bet right on how much Wu Tuyin cared about Si Lu.

"Where's Si Lu?" Wu Tuyin asked again.

Xie Nai's eyes were icy. "Killed."

"No way." Wu Tuyin spun around and kicked Luo Bei flying, his voice loud and defiant. "There's no way you would have killed Si Lu."

"So certain?"

As he spoke, Xie Nai took the bow and arrow Luo Ri handed him. His white brocade robes billowed gracefully, the wind filling his wide sleeves. The man drew the bow, nocked the arrow, his eyes sharp and cold. "In your eyes, do I still look like a good man?"

With that, the arrow left the string with immense force, flying straight at Wu Tuyin!

"Twang—!!"

A harsh clang of metal rang out. Qin Jiao looked over and saw that Wu Tuyin had actually caught Xie Nai's Crimson Feather Arrow with his Golden Whip!

"Prince of Lingnan, if that arrow of yours had hit me, the peace between Tianyuan and Mengqin would be over."

"Just a friendly spar—the Chieftain is overreacting."

Xie Nai finished speaking, nocked another arrow, and fired. This time Wu Tuyin dodged it again. But just as he sidestepped the arrow, a huge net suddenly fell from above!

Seeing this, Wu Tuyin immediately drew the soft sword from his waist, raised it, and slashed—the net tore apart instantly. At the same time, several masked guards in foreign clothing appeared all around the medical hall.

"Xie Nai, you've crossed the line."

Wu Tuyin's guards surrounded him in a tight circle. Because they knew in advance that the Prince of Lingnan liked to attack with arrows, they were holding specially made umbrella-shaped shields.

The Xiaoxiang Medical Hall was empty and silent as Xie Nai raised an eyebrow, his tone wild and unbridled:

"Oh, is that so?"

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