Chapter 381 Zhao Duan: Princess Lu, we meet again
Chapter 381 Zhao Duan: Princess Lu, we meet again (two in one)
How many back-up plans did Prince Jing have in place to set up this murder?
Before the actual action was taken, no one knew about it except this prince.
Inside the huge head of the statue of the earth god, the feet of the archer in night clothes were like steel nails, firmly nailed to the dusty rocky ground.
His body was like a dead object, and he was holding the strangely shaped "talisman" bow and arrow in his hand, which was obviously not an ordinary object, without moving at all.
Only with each breath, the tip of the arrow, which was filled with power, would shake slightly.
This sharpshooter who worked for Prince Jing's Mansion had no name and was not found in the government's household register.
He was wearing black and a mask and climbed the mountain last night. He waited in this cave until dawn, lying in wait, and finally the time to take action came at this moment.
The sharpshooter wore a telescope tied with a leather belt on his exposed eye sockets, with beads of sweat on his forehead, and his eyes were fixed on a man named Zhao on the second floor of a distant ship.
Just now, he wanted to take action for a moment, but unfortunately, he was blocked by Princess Huai'an, so he had to hold back.
But Zhao Duan seemed to have an argument with the princess. The two of them were struggling with each other, and their steps were frequently staggered and overlapped.
The sharpshooter kept adjusting his direction.
at last.
The two people on the boat separated and looked at each other face to face. Zhao Duan in the telescope even took a step back.
good chance!
It's now!
"Buzz!"
In the empty cave, the bowstring vibrated, the dust on the ground rolled like waves, and the magic power accumulated in the bow was poured into the black arrow.
Surrounded by a mysterious glow.
An arrow flew out of the mouth of the Earth God statue, turned into a ray of golden light, and flew towards the ship on the lake at an extremely terrifying speed!
The speed is so fast that it makes a sharp explosion sound!
"Does it hurt you?"
On the boat, Xu Junling, who had been struggling violently, was stunned and confused when he heard Zhao Duan say this with a smile.
She just thought that Zhao Duan was so cruel that he really wanted to use her as a human shield, although she knew in her heart that this was the greatest use of being coerced into this place.
But I still can't help feeling panic and fear, mixed with resentment.
But after several pulls, the other party let go of her hand and even took two steps back. This strange behavior made her so angry that she could not express it.
"Don't be a good person!"
Xu Junling's hair was disheveled and stuck to her wet face. He was about to scold her coldly when he suddenly heard a sonic boom in his ear.
Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly caught a glimpse of golden light passing across the lake in the direction of the earth statue.
"Be careful..." He shouted these two words almost subconsciously, but as soon as the word "be careful" was uttered, the armor-piercing arrow with terrifying kinetic energy was already in front of him.
The arrow, which was filled with magic power, was powerful enough to instantly tear apart a head that had no armor to protect it, and could even penetrate the protective qi of the Divine Chapter Realm.
Duan Shuiliu? Qi Yuchun?
They were just pawns to lure away the guards around him. The real fatal blow had been lying in ambush for a long time.
Xu Junling had almost imagined the scene in her mind where Zhao Duan's head would explode like a watermelon in front of her the next second.
however……
I don’t know if it was a coincidence of fate or a predetermined dodge.
As the arrow flew across the lake, Zhao Duan, who was looking at her with a smile, tilted his head and lowered one ear as if to hear her words clearly, but he took a barely noticeable step back.
Then, the arrow, surrounded by golden electric light and with almost the power of a cannonball, brushed past Zhao Duan's head and passed through the air between the two of them.
The arrow instantly pierced into the cabin of the ship, and the terrifying kinetic energy destroyed the entire second-floor cabin into pieces!
Sawdust flying everywhere!
The maid Lu Shui, who was trying to hide in the cabin, witnessed this scene in horror. Her legs went limp and she fell to the ground. Her hands and feet were cold and she almost fainted.
Missed the shot?!
The moment this thought arose in Xu Junling's mind, she saw Zhao Duan raised his arm and pointed in the direction of the earth god statue without any sign.
At this moment, he combined the water-projectile technique learned from Hai Gongfeng with the power-accumulating technique learned from Ma Yan, supplemented by the true meaning of the swordsmanship learned from Emperor Taizu in the Martial God Diagram.
Mix as one.
Zhao Duan uttered softly: "Open the sky."
The Golden Crow Flying Knife that had been circling around him since just now suddenly accelerated, creating a twisted flame in the air.
With a speed not inferior to that of an arrow, it followed the "trajectory" across the lake, crossed hundreds of meters, and accurately pierced into the wide open mouth of the Earth Temple!
"puff!"
Inside the cave, the archer, wearing a nightgown with only a pair of eyes exposed, took off his telescope blankly, lowered his head slightly, reached out and touched his neck, his fingertips were covered in blood.
A thin line slowly appeared on his neck, and then his body fell down, and his head rolled several steps away.
The blood-stained flying knife jumped for joy, and made a circle in the cave before returning back along the same route.
Among the Taoist immortals’ methods, there is the ability to fly a sword a thousand miles to take a person’s head. Zhao Du’an is no match for the immortals. As soon as he drew his sword, he murmured the last line of the poem “Quatrains” by Lü Zu of the Tang Dynasty:
"I will fly a thousand miles into the sky with my sword in hand. I will leave you at the first watch and return at the second."
He smiled brightly, and his smile made Xu Junling dizzy.
"Princess, how about this knife?"
……
……
On a winding path in the mountains.
The Red Tide Sword in the hand of the little Taoist priest sitting in the black carriage was also shaking, as if it was about to fly out into the air in the next moment.
Standing opposite the carriage, ten feet away, Nagarjuna Bodhisattva had already pulled out the Zen stick beside him. On the huge Buddhist beads on his chest, the Buddha heads had expressions of anger or joy.
The two men faced each other from a distance, each taking a defensive stance.
Generals who are good at the art of war often understand the principle of using defense as offense. Any formation is in the most perfect and impeccable state when it is defensive. Once it moves, it will be full of flaws.
For masters of similar strength, revealing a flaw first is very likely to determine the outcome of a fight.
Suddenly, several streams of air rose up from the smoke-shrouded lake in the distance, breaking the atmosphere of confrontation between the two.
The little Taoist frowned, turned his head and looked into the distance, saying:
"One, two, three, four, five... five world realms, what a big deal. Two of them are familiar, Duan Shuiliu who came out of Qingshan? The other one is the movement of the royal martial god inheritance, could it be Hai Chunlin? Who else?"
The tall, white-faced, beardless Nagarjuna was not distracted by this deliberate flaw and said calmly:
"On my way here, I met Qi Yuchun."
"The one from the Qi family who used a gun?" The little Taoist priest recalled and said suddenly:
"The Kuangfu Society is here too. Tsk tsk, it's not enough that Shenlong Temple and Qingshan are here, even the remnants of the failed coup are here to join in the fun. I didn't check the almanac before I went out today.
So many people, and you still think it's not enough? Do you have to go over there? Is this what they call a lion or a tiger fighting a rabbit, using all their strength?"
Bodhisattva Nagarjuna smiled and said:
"I just came here to vent my anger for my disciple, but I don't know what happened in front."
"Hypocrisy." Undisguised contempt appeared on the ferocious face of the little Taoist priest:
"We cultivators transcend the mundane world. Ever since Xuanyin took charge of Shenlong Temple, you bald asses have become more and more worldly-minded. It's awful to smell. In the past, you were greedy for the yellow and white things of the believers, but now you're stirring up the fight in the temple. Is this all you have done to open your wisdom?"
Nagarjuna was not angry, but said calmly:
"The Tianshi Mansion is pure-hearted and selfless, and tries to escape from the Three Realms. In my opinion, this is a big mistake. In this world, one cannot escape from fighting with others. Hiding in the mountains means escaping from the world? Once the word 'escaping' is in mind, there is no escape for the rest of your life."
The little Taoist cursed:
"Don't argue with me. Isn't it all about your so-called merger with the Western Regions Buddhism? Who will inherit the orthodoxy? What's the difference between fighting with the imperial power? I'm leaving it to you. I can't control what happens over there, but today, don't even think about going over there."
Upon hearing this, Nagarjuna Bodhisattva simply sat cross-legged in the forest covered with fallen leaves and said with a smile:
"In that case, you and I will just wait here for the result."
The little Taoist priest was startled, and his expression suddenly changed:
"Did Prince Jing arrange any other tricks?"
As he was speaking, the magical white horse that was pulling the horse suddenly began to stomp the ground restlessly, making uneasy sounds in a certain direction.
The little celestial master's face darkened, but he heard the Bodhisattva Nagarjuna sitting in front of him say leisurely:
"If you want to leave, it depends on whether I agree or not."
……
……
"How about this knife?"
The lake was shrouded in smoke, and a blood-stained flying knife skimmed across the surface of the lake, leaving a thin line on the water surface along its way.
Zhao Duan raised his hand to catch the flying knife. Under his calm appearance, his tense muscles relaxed.
Of course he wouldn't drag Xu Junling into this unless it was absolutely necessary.
If anything happens to this princess, it will be difficult to win over Prince Huai'an.
Therefore, he was certain that the assassin in the dark would not dare to advance recklessly, so he used the perception of the middle-grade divine chapter to lock his position.
And lure the opponent into taking action, while determining the specific location and beheading him.
This thrilling scene on the ship also attracted the attention of the other two battlefields.
Qi Yuchun, who was dressed as a gangster, was filled with astonishment. He could not believe that the thief Zhao had dodged such a sudden attack perfectly.
In such a hurry, he had no time to think about how he did it. He only knew that Prince Jing's ambush had failed and the chances of success of this assassination had greatly decreased.
Thinking that he might return empty-handed, Qi Yuchun made a quiet decision. The Qi in his Dantian suddenly reversed, and the surging Qi, by means of squeezing, took another step forward.
He swung the spear named "Broken" in his hand with great force and smashed Lang Eighteen into the lake, splashing a large amount of water.
The water splashes condensed into a high wall. Ji Yue floated to the surface again, clasped his hands together, and whispered the word "prisoner".
The rolling lake water rose up and instantly condensed into a cage, sealing Qi Yuchun inside.
Qi Yuchun snorted coldly, and used his family's Overlord Spear Technique to break the cage with one shot, and the water columns healed in an instant.
Elsewhere, when Eunuch Hai sensed the sneak attack from an arrow, he divided his attention to that, and Duan Shuiliu seized the opportunity and delivered a heavy punch to the Frost Sword that was placed across his body.
The long sword that was ranked in the top 100 on the Jianghu Weapon List suddenly bent like a bow. Eunuch Hai flew back under the force, and when he saw Zhao Duan counterattacking with a sword, his eyes lit up slightly and he secretly praised.
But when he caught a glimpse of Qi Yuchun raging like a lion, ready to exchange injuries for injuries and break through to kill him, he felt a chill in his heart, and when he looked at Duan Shuiliu again, there was a hint of anxiety in his eyes.
With a sweep of the sword in his hand, thousands of piles of snow were blown up on the surface of the lake.
Eunuch Hai took one step after another, his gray hair turning black, and his aura was rising. He seemed to be learning from Qi Yuchun, reversing his aura to gain a surge of power.
Duan Shuiliu's eyelids twitched wildly and he immediately retracted his fist and switched to defense.
Although he agreed to help Prince Jing for some reasons, he had no intention of risking his life.
If this old eunuch was really pushed into a corner, Duan Shuiliu thought to himself that even if he didn't die, he would be seriously injured, so why bother?
Eunuch Hai smiled casually, seeing Duan Shuiliu's weakness that he did not dare to exchange injuries with others, and he approached him, ready to cut the Gordian knot, repel him and return to the tower ship for support.
However, at this moment, Eunuch Hai suddenly seemed to sense something and his expression suddenly changed.
Not only him, but also Duan Shuiliu and Qi Yuchun, all showed surprised expressions and looked towards the ship in the middle of the lake.
Zhao Duan had just used all his strength to chop out a blow with his sword, and just when his nerves were relaxed, he suddenly saw strange ripples appearing on the bottom of the lake below the ship.
It was a huge, archetypal magic circle that was hidden here in some unknown way. It slowly emerged at this moment, covering the entire ship.
The mottled spots of light in the magic circle rose up and suddenly condensed into a female figure.
She was dressed in blue and had a veil on her face, so her features could not be seen.
As soon as he appeared, he noticed the gazes of powerful people around him.
Princess Lu Yan'er of Prince Jing moved without hesitation and appeared in the broken cabin in a flash.
The soft right hand grabbed Zhao Duan's shoulder, and the fingers pierced into it, pulling Zhao Duan down forcibly. Together with her, they fell into the magic circle and disappeared!
As the two left, the strange circular magic circle on the lake also dimmed and disappeared.
Only Xu Junling, the maid and others were left, standing on the deck in a daze.
Teleport! ?
And the killer?
"Oh no!" Eunuch Hai, Ji Yue, Lang Shiba and others all looked terribly pale.
……
……
pain!
It hurts!
Zhao Duan closed his eyes tightly, feeling as if his whole body was restrained by some invisible force and he could not move.
Only the sharp pain came from his shoulder, and he knew that it was the sorceress who suddenly appeared and pierced his shoulder with her fingers.
Although his mind was shaken, he was not too panicked.
In his expectation, if Prince Jing really wanted to take action, it would not be surprising no matter how big the scene was.
If the assassination at Hu Ting fails, it will mean that Prince Jing will be at a disadvantage in this struggle, which may very likely lead to Prince Huai'an's defection.
He was just wondering who this suddenly appearing sorceress was and where that strange magic circle would take him.
About ten heartbeats later.
Zhao Duan felt that the restraining force suddenly loosened, and he was finally able to open his eyes. He saw himself appearing out of thin air above a mountain forest, and then falling into the forest!
"Peng!"
When his body hit the ground, he rolled down with the strength of a warrior, and the flying knife in his sleeve suddenly flew into the sky.
However, it was easily caught by Lu Yan'er. Princess Lu, who was wearing a green long skirt and holding up her veil, glanced at the flying knife struggling in her palm, sneered, chanted a spell, and the golden light of the flying knife immediately dissipated and she threw it to the ground.
Looking at Zhao Duan, who was half-kneeling on the ground, steadying his body and looking up at her, Princess Lu grabbed a sword in her hand.
She pressed down with her sword, and Zhao Duan felt his body sink. The shadows of the six-talisman armor around him dissipated, and his strength seemed to be "sealed" and suppressed.
He was lifted up by the sword energy, flew several feet into the air, and then fell heavily to the ground with his head raised, letting out a muffled groan.
Fortunately, the ground was covered with old fallen leaves, and when he fell, the surrounding yellow leaves splashed like water.
Zhao Duan was lying on the ground, gasping for breath, with blood oozing from his shoulder. He could see clearly that he was surrounded by a desolate mountain forest that was obviously far away from human habitation.
There were only bare trees all around, densely packed like spears piercing the sky.
The woman in the green dress floated down from the air, holding a long sword in her hand. The veil on her face trembled slightly and then lifted up, revealing a simple silver mask covering her face.
Visor?
Zhao Duan's brain buzzed, and countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Seeing the woman stabbing at his chest with a sword, Zhao Duan suddenly blurted out the other person's name:
"Lu Yan'er!? You are Princess Jing!"
The long sword suddenly stopped, and Princess Lu's gentle and beautiful eyes narrowed into a thin line.
……
……
In the city of Huting.
In a certain mansion, the atmosphere was lonely and solemn.
There is a chair under the eaves.
Prince Jing Xuwen, with a dignified and elegant demeanor and a peace and safety plaque in his hand, sat in a chair, quietly looking towards the direction of Yansuo Lake.
It’s just because the distance is too far, even if the strong men in the world realm fight each other, the people in the city still cannot sense it.
"Father," Xu Jinglong suddenly walked over slowly and asked softly:
"Mrs. Lu went out?"
As his stepmother, Lu Yan'er was called "aunt" by him instead of "queen mother".
Sitting on the recliner, Prince Jing had an indifferent expression, as if he was listening to music or watching a play in the audience, and he said "yes" softly.
Xu Jinglong stood aside, and seeing that there was no one around, he glanced at his father cautiously, then tentatively asked:
"Where did Aunt Lu go?"
As the crown prince, Xu Jinglong knew many things about the palace. For example, he could have intervened in the secret spies in Prince Jing's palace long ago.
But there are still some secrets that he knows vaguely but doesn't know the details.
For example, how much background does the entire palace have, and how did his father ask Duan Shuiliu to take action... To him, these are all mysteries.
Including this princess.
Xu Jinglong did not know the specific relationship between his father and Lu Yan'er, but he knew that Lu Yan'er was definitely not an ordinary person and seemed to be one of the masters in the palace.
Prince Jing opened his eyelids, turned his head and looked at his son who was standing respectfully beside him. He was silent for a moment and then smiled:
"Well, it's okay to tell you. You have made great contributions in testing Zhao Duan on the river this time, so I should let you know. That's right, your concubine Lu is a martial arts master and a master of the worldly realm. This time she went to Yansuo Lake to personally kill the villain surnamed Zhao."
Xu Jinglong pretended to be surprised:
"My aunt is such a great person? I have never heard of such a strong person in the martial arts world."
Prince Jing said calmly:
"The rivers and lakes are deep, so how can the so-called martial arts gold list be complete? Many masters are hiding underwater, unknown to the public.
Oh, you don't need to go into detail about her origins. Just know that she is the descendant of Pei Niannu, the number one female sorcerer in the martial arts world who was once as famous as our Great Yu Dynasty Emperor Taizu six hundred years ago."
"Descendants of Pei Niannu?"
Xu Jinglong was really surprised. "As far as I know, that legendary sorcerer in history didn't seem to have any offspring."
Prince Jing glared at him unhappily:
"Who said it must be Pei Niannu's child? Doesn't Pei Niannu have any brothers or sisters?"
Xu Jinglong suddenly realized:
"So, Aunt Lu is a descendant of the Pei family?"
He did not delve into the difference in surnames. Either the woman changed her surname after getting married, which barely made her a descendant. Of course, the more likely possibility was that she changed her surname to avoid exposing her background.
unimportant.
Prince Jing nodded slightly and said calmly:
"Lu Yan'er is his descendant, and the inheritance she has cultivated is also left by Pei Niannu. Her family has been searching for Pei Niannu's legacy after his death for generations, but they have never been able to find it. We only know that the final clue after his death is related to our Xu royal family. Therefore, in exchange for helping her find the inheritance, I will let her marry into the palace and protect my safety."
Xu Jinglong asked curiously:
"What's so special about Pei Niannu's inheritance that makes generations of people search for it so hard?"
Prince Jing was in a good mood and explained as an exception:
"This has to do with the legends passed down from generation to generation in her branch. It is said that Pei Niannu was extremely talented in the past and was once a celestial being. Because of the special magic he practiced, he even touched the surface of human immortals. He once broke into the Western Regions and killed people back and forth. He had a great grudge against the Buddhist sect...
Haha, this is all too long ago. It is said that Pei Niannu once snatched back a Buddhist artifact from the ancestral temple of Buddhism in the Western Regions and figured out a way to make the body die but the soul immortal.
Therefore, her descendants always believed that this sorceress was not dead, but alive.”
Xu Jinglong was shocked:
"How could there be such a method? Life span is a rule of heaven. Heavenly Masters and Dharma Kings of all generations could not live forever. How could a female sorcerer, no matter how powerful she is, achieve this?"
Prince Jing sneered:
"That's exactly the truth. But Lu Yan'er just believed it, so I let her do it. However, after I sent someone to investigate, I learned an interesting thing. This lineage of sorcerers practiced and refined masks on their faces. Even after death, the masks would not disappear.
If you get a high-level mask, you can command a sorcerer who practices a low-level mask, and the latter will have no choice but to disobey, but it smells like evil."
Xu Jinglong's eyes lit up:
"In that case, if we get the mask left by Pei Niannu, can we completely control Madam Lu?"
Prince Jing sighed:
"It's a pity that he is an ancient person from 600 years ago. How can it be easy to find him?"
Waving his hand, he ended the topic, looked towards the Yansuo Lake, and said softly:
"Go and find out. It should be over by now. Humph, he is just a running dog of the emperor. Today I will teach him that I will kill him like a butcher."
……
In the woods.
"Lu Yan'er!? You are Princess Jing!"
After Zhao Duan uttered these words, the blue-clothed princess calmly took off her veil, revealing a silver mask covering half of her face, with a cold look in her eyes:
"How did you recognize me?"
Lu Yan'er was surprised and curious.
So I don't mind wasting a little time to satisfy my curiosity.
Anyway, she had been teleported very far away and had no coordinates. Even if Eunuch Hai and others came to look for her immediately, they would not be able to find her here in a short time.
And with her cultivation level, she is confident enough to control Zhao Duan's life and death.
Zhao Duan was silent for a moment, then suddenly said in a strange tone: "It's really you."
The reason why he recognized the other person was that when he saw this mysterious sorcerer just now, the sense of familiarity surged into his heart again, and he immediately thought of the princess who came to the Humble Administrator's Garden.
What really surprised him was the silver mask on the other person's face.
Thinking of a possibility, Zhao Duan's expression became more and more strange, and he smiled and said:
"Princess Lu, we meet again."
(End of this chapter)