Jiang Suizhou froze in place, and for a while, he thought that he was hallucinating.
But the next moment, he was dragged back into reality.
He heard the whistling of the wind, accompanied by the rustling sound of tree branches and leaves, and then a few dark shadows surrounded them in an instant.
Before Jiang Suizhou could react, he felt the man tighten his hold around his waist and protect him in front.
“Be careful,” he heard the man beside him say in a concise whisper.
The bunch of shadows closed in and impermeable rushed forward like wolves hunting in the dead of the night.
With two against many, and surrounded by a group, it was no doubt a dead end.
However, the long sword that served as an ornament in his place, morphed into a sharp weapon in Huo Wujiu’s hand that sealed throats with blood. The sword displayed not the tiniest bit of fancy stance, but the several assassins trapping them simply couldn’t get close. With only a dozen rounds, the black-clad assassins who attacked fell down one after the other.
After chaotic rustles of branches and leaves, calm was restored to the surroundings.
It was just that seven or eight corpses were left beneath Huo Wujiu’s feet, and blood stained the brown soil with dark shade.
He looked up and saw Huo Wujiu holding his sword in one hand while checking on the motionless corpses on the ground.
The blade of the sword on his hand was still dripping with blood.
“… Huo Wujiu?” Jiang Suizhou called blankly.
Was he crazy or was he hallucinating? Why would Huo Wujiu appear at this time, and still stand in front of him, with his legs working as if he had not been injured at all?
Before Huo Wujiu could respond to him, an indistinct whizz broke the silence in the air.
A silver glittering concealed weapon broke through the condensed dark branches and headed straight at Jiang Suizhou’s face.
Huo Wujiu immediately carried him and dashed sideways. The silver concealed weapon whipped past his cheek and cut off a strand of his hair.
At the same time, a person leapt straight down from the canopy. In no time, he was already in front of him with a short dagger aimed straight at Huo Wujiu’s throat.
He was the leader of this bunch of assassins. He used concealed weapons to attract Huo Wujiu’s attention and then attacked while he was distracted.
Because Huo Wujiu dodged just now, he was now facing the blade. Although Huo Wujiu couldn’t deflect it, he didn’t panic at all. He wielded the sword in his hand steadily, and in the next second, the man’s warm blood splashed on half of his body.
Nonetheless, the dagger also landed straight into his shoulder socket.
Jiang Suizhou was too close to him. In a tick, he did not even see how the two moved. In just a few short rounds, he heard an inaudible muffled grunt.
It came from the chest that was pressed against his back shoulder.
His pupils shrank, and he glanced back at Huo Wujiu.
But Huo Wujiu’s eyes wandered around for some time. Afterward, he slowly let go, and the sword in his hand clattered on the ground.
“Are you injured?” Jiang Suizhou heard Huo Wujiu ask him in a deep voice.
He himself, rather blandly, raised his hand and drew out the dagger in his shoulder.
His blood spurted and mixed with the assassins’ blood.
For some reason, a burst of heat flooded Jiang Suizhou’s eyes.
“… You’re hurt,” he stammered.
The Hou Zhu watched as the mad horse carried Jiang Suizhou into the forest. The forest ahead of the hunting ground was originally part of Tianping Mountain. The terrain inside was complex, with dense branches and bottomless depths.
The bodyguards and ministers around were all greatly frightened, but the Hou Zhu sat on the horse with his head held high, quite like a victorious general.
“No one is allowed to go in.” He stared at the forest that swallowed people like a beast, and added, “I want to see whether this Fifth Brother of mine has the ability to hunt back that stag for me.”
Who in the court did not know that His Highness Jingwang had not practiced martial arts for a day since he was born because of his frailness?
Of course, he was incapable of hunting a stag; he was only capable of breaking his neck in the depths of the jungle.
But no one dared to speak, because this was the family business of His Majesty.
If His Majesty wanted him to hunt stags, he had to go hunting; if His Majesty wanted him to die, then he also must die.
The expressions on all their faces were masked, while Hou Zhu raised his head and stared deep into the distance behind the forest.
It was a sublime mountain range covered by impermeable trees.
His eyes shone smilingly.
It was no secret that he wanted to kill Jiang Suizhou long ago. But at the same time, the ancestral rites and laws reigned supreme, so he couldn’t easily kill Jiang Suizhou.
But this time, his uncle agreed with him.
His uncle promised that this time, no one had to do anything. Jingwang would never come back alive.
The Hou Zhu stared far back at the mountain range, and after a moment, with a flip of his whip, he led his horse around and trotted toward the few prey scattered in the pasture in front of him as if nothing had happened.
“Why are you looking dazed?” he asked.
Only then did the crowd regain their senses. Each acted as if nothing had happened, and continued to follow the Hou Zhu to round up the hunt.
