C230

"Young master, are you leaving?" Gong Sou stood up and asked the green-clothed gongzi.

The green-robed young master looked at the silhouette inquiringly. "How long until they arrive?"

Shadow thought for a moment. "A quarter of an hour at most." The green-robed young master nodded and said, "Gongzi."

Gongzi understood: "Do it!"

Dozens of assassins made their move at the same time, their palms turning into sabers, slicing the side of the prisoner's neck. At the same time as they fainted, he quickly sealed the few major acupoints on their bodies and bent over to carry them on his back.

The young man in green looked at their neat movements with a satisfied expression on his face. He then turned to Shadow and ordered, "Shadow, go check on Zhong Li's side. We'll be leaving now."

The silhouette replied, "Yes, Mistress, be careful."

The man in cyan smiled. He didn't seem worried at all, "You and Zhong Li have delayed them. I don't need to worry."

The silhouette replied, "Yes," before nodding towards Gongzi Sou before leaving lightly, not leaving a single footprint on the snowy ground.

Gongzi bounced around in the snow, making footprints after footprints, but he didn't forget to give the order, "Blood Slaughter, Blood Fall, Blood Maple!"

The three assassins stepped forward, "Yes, subordinate!"

Gong Du looked at the footprints he had left behind, and instructed quickly: "The three of you, take three people with you, and move towards the south from three different directions. You may not move very fast, but you must try your best to not leave any footprints, or step on the footprints of the person in front of you. "In this case, give me as fast as you can – can you do it?"

Xue Sha and Xue Luo simultaneously shouted out, "Yes!"

Xue Feng froze for a moment before hurriedly replying, "Yes."

Gong Du pointed in a direction, sweeping his arm across a bit, "Xue Luo Xue Feng, all of you leave from here and go directly to the inn that I instructed to rest. I'll leave the rest to you. "

"Yes!" The three of them answered at the same time. Under the palace's perverse gaze, they each took three people from behind, separated in the designated direction, and quickly left. The first few steps were a little deep, so everyone's footsteps were noticeably lighter. The pace was basically the same, with the last person's deviation from the previous person's and its miniscule details.

In a group of four, the footprint that fell to the ground was only a little deeper than an ordinary person's footprint.

"Mute, you come." Gongzi beckoned to his disciple, and when he walked to his side, he put his arm around his shoulder and pointed in a direction, "Take some people with you, and head down in this direction. You don't have to worry about leaving footprints. "However, hurry to Lord Feng Xuan's place."

The mute looked at him in a daze, silently spitting out a few words with a questioning look in his eyes.

Gong Tiexi rubbed his head, "Yes, let's go look for Goddess Sis."

The mute's eyes were sparkling as he nodded his head vigorously.

Gong Tiexi pointed out thirteen people. "You guys go with him. Remember, spread the distance as far as you can, as long as you can see the mute. Use your best movement technique and fastest speed! "

"Yes sir!"

Seeing that he had made the necessary arrangements, the man in green smiled leisurely, "Alright, stop jumping around and carry Ran Shun on your back. Half of the remaining people will leave with me while the other half will leave with Gong Du. "

Gong Tianxiong shrugged his shoulders and went to move Ran Shisui to his side. He smiled and said, "It's an emergency. Sorry for the offense."

"There's a lot of trouble." He groped around on his back.

"Alright, everyone hurry up and leave."

— —

"Waiter, ten jugs of wine first." Han Yan walked into the restaurant, greeted him and got ready to sit down.

"No need, come sit here." Zhao Qingyan, who was sitting in the corner, stood up with a wine bowl in her hands and looked towards the waiter. "You can bring out the dishes in the kitchen now."

He wore an unremarkable blue robe, a plain white cloak over his shoulders, and his hair was tied up with a normal headband. There was only a scented sachet tied around his waist; there wasn't even a jade pendant.

Han Yan was stunned for a long time before recognizing him. He said with some surprise, "Young Prince? What are you doing here? "

The rest of the people looked over when they heard his voice. All the imperial guards knew who he was and hurriedly bowed. Those from the Board of Justice who had heard this person's identity from Han Yan also hurriedly bowed. They did not know whether they should kneel down and bow, or bow like the imperial bodyguards.

Zhao Qingyan nodded slightly, indicating that they did not need to be overly courteous. She looked at Han Yan and said, "The places where you guys have been drinking nine times out of ten times are here. I am naturally waiting for you all to come back."

Han Yan looked at the bowl of wine in the young prince's hands and the empty jar on the table. His mouth twitched, "Young prince, you sneaked out to drink again? Does Your Highness know? "

Zhao Qingyan finished the wine in his bowl and casually put the empty bowl to the side. He glanced at him and said, "If Father knew, would I still be standing here?"

Han Yan casually replied, "That's true …" Then he suddenly came back to himself, "That's not right! "Young Marquis, you drank so much …"

Zhao Qingyan raised his hand to cut him off and pointed at his clothes. "Can you tell who I am?"

Han Yan was stunned. He was stunned for a long time before he said, "Actually, if you don't meet someone familiar, you shouldn't be able to tell." After all, as the crown prince of Qi, he could not be dressed in such shabby clothes.

Zhao Qingyan smiled, not caring that his answer was sincere. "It's fine if you can't tell. Do you think Father will send someone to follow me if I walk around the capital?"

Han Yan stared at him for a while and saw that he seemed to be normal. He didn't show any signs of getting drunk. He then let out a sigh of relief. "Young prince, you should take it easy. Otherwise, we will be taught a good lesson by the prince."

"When we left the manor, Hao Wen accompanied me out. Father will only teach him if he wants to be lectured." Zhao Qingyan answered carelessly, then nodded to the people around her before walking out, "The dishes are ready. You can eat first." "Han Yan, come here for a moment."

Han Yan looked at the dishes brought up and sniffed, "From the restaurant across the way? Young Prince has spent a lot. "

Zhao Qingyan smiled without a care. "I promise you good wine and good dishes."

Han Yan shrugged, turned around and said, "You guys eat while it's hot." Then he followed Zhao Qingyan out.

— —

"Royal brother!"

Ren Zong raised his head and saw the king of the letters striding in. He waved to a court lady at the side and said, "Go down first."

"Royal brother, when he left the city, he was taken away by someone!" "They left quickly. I sent someone to throw them away."

Ren Zong was surprised. "Lost them?" The people sent by the Xin King were definitely not ordinary, they were good at hiding and tracking. From the time the carriage left the city to the time the message was sent back, not even two hours had passed. It was hard to believe that he could shake them off in such a short period of time.

"They met a few experts. In order not to expose their whereabouts, they didn't dare to follow too closely. "This is my mistake, I hope that royal brother …"

Ren Zong waved his hand to indicate that he did not have to blame himself, "They were already prepared. It is not unexpected for them to lose someone. "Tell me, how did you get lost?"

The King of Letters organized his thoughts. "They just followed the carriage out of the city when they met a person who asked for directions. There were nearly a hundred people gathered outside the city gate, but this man held Shen Yi Fan's hand and asked for directions. After sending this person away, they followed the direction he headed in and were once again surrounded by a crowd of onlookers. By the time they squeeze in, there's no one there. "

Ren Zong asked, "What about the footprints? Don't tell me the footprints have been trampled by those people who came to watch the show. "

The king shook his head. "That's not true." There were a lot of footprints on the snowy ground. Most of them were very shallow, probably left behind by the expert of Qing Gong. They followed the footprints, and they traveled in a dozen different directions. However … I only sent ten people. "

Ren Zong raised an eyebrow, "Dozens of directions? How many of them are there? "

The king muttered, "It's hard to say." But from the very first footprint, it was at least one person, holding a prisoner hostage. There were also footprints left behind by the guards who were escorting the prisoners. The scene was so badly damaged that we shouldn't be able to see anything. "

The eyes of the Ren Sect elder moved slightly, "They are holding them hostage. Even if those criminals do not resist, would they still cooperate with them and use their Qing Gong to leave?"

King Xin froze. "But …"

Ren Zong waved his hand, signaling for him not to say more, "Send them out and search further to see if any of the remaining people were beaten unconscious or not."

"If we can find the others, it means that their goal is only to move one person in time," King Xin said. On the other hand, there is more than one person they want to take with them. "

Ren Zong said, "That's hard to say …" If their faces were seen, it would be an option to take the prisoners with him so as not to implicate Merle. Killing people to keep their mouths shut is not Mo'er's style, but taking them further away before letting them go is a good idea. "

The King of Letters reminded, "Those are forty living people. The traces left behind after they were taken away in the snow are not easy to deal with."

Ren Zong smiled and replied, "That's right, that's why I told them to give it a try."

Perhaps it was because of his smile, but the nervousness in his heart was greatly relieved. He also revealed a smile, "It's all thanks to royal brother that I neglected this."

Ren Zong gave a slight smile, "Other than this, are there any other discoveries?"

The messenger hesitated, "The people I sent today saw Mo'er leave the manor. He sat at a tavern for a long time, and when the people who were escorting him came back, he and Han Yan went out together. "

Ren Zong thought for a moment. He had always been close to Mo'er, and could be considered one of the people that Mo'er valued. "You mean …"

"Han Qian must have been responsible for this escort mission and Mo'er must have arranged it. "It seems like it was Mo'er who took him away on the way."

Ren Zong asked, "Is there any movement from the Light Wind Palace side?"

The messenger king was slightly startled and shook his head, "The entrance of the Light Wind Palace is still tightly shut. No one is going in or out. Last time, the people who went to rescue the prisoners did not go back, and the person who came this time to fetch Ran Ran must not have come out from the Light Wind Palace either. "

"I have moved from the time when I issued my decree to the present day, and it has only been a few days. It is too late to find someone from the Light Wind Palace." Ren Zong casually said, affirming his words.

The king was stunned for a moment before nodding silently. "That's true."

Ren Zong thought for a moment and looked up at him, "There is no need to rush over the matter of robbing the prison. There is a delay in the letter yesterday, it said that it will be back in a few days' time. When he comes back, everything will be clear. "

The king pursed his lips. "I was too impatient."

Ren Zong shook his head to show that he didn't care, "Let's not talk about this first. You can talk about Mo'er's side in detail later."

"Mo'er left the house by the back door, dressed in simple clothes. He rode an ordinary horse to the tavern and continued to drink there. Not long after, Han Yan brought his team back and also went to the inn. Everyone stayed in the restaurant to eat and drink while Han Yan and Mo'er went to a teahouse not far away. "

"He went to the inn alone?"

King Xin was startled, his face slightly changed, "Yes, where did Ran Hao go?"

After receiving the answer, Ren Zong was not surprised at all, "Since Han Yan is in charge of escorting them, the person protecting them along the way must be Ran Hao."

The King of Letters frowned. "He has already been released, so it is not surprising that they sent a carriage to send him away, or to let him stay in the Prince's Mansion for a period of time. But why did Mo'er go through so much trouble to get someone to take him away? Could it be that he has become suspicious? "

Ren Zong shook his head. "Maybe it wasn't him who was suspicious."

The king was stunned, he didn't understand what he meant. "What does royal brother mean?"

Ren Zong said, "If my guess is correct, Mo'er will only be responsible for sending people out of the city, and he will not know where those people will be sent to."

"However, whether it's the escape from the prison or the release of Ran Shun Qian, these things happen without any forewarning. Mo'er was in the capital, so it was no surprise that he would send them out of the city. However, how did the people who saved them know that someone would need their help? "

Ren Zong laughed, "Then what if the person who saved him was the person who robbed the prison? However, some of them did not flee with the traitors. Is it that they have the chance to receive Merle's request, and the time to save him? "

The Duke of Xin didn't understand. "But, why would Mo'er do this? In terms of emotion, he should not even be involved in the matter of the prison break. "

As if surprised by his overly positive tone, Ren Zong looked at him for a moment before replying with a smile, "In the entire matter, I only saw two words — use and trust."

The King of Letters suddenly froze. The puzzlement on his face turned into contemplation, and he didn't answer.

"Merle was aware that saving someone would remove his anger, or even punish them, but he still had to take the risk. I think that someone said something to him. And since he was released, Mo'er could send him to someone else without worry. That also shows how much trust he has in the person who brought him away. " The man's fingers were crossed, his chin was pressed against his hands, and his eyes were dark.

Prince Xin asked, "How can Imperial Brother be sure that the person behind the two attempts at rescue is the same person?"

Ren Zong said faintly, "The person who was saved last time was someone from the Light Wind Palace, but this time, it was Ran Shun."

"Who does royal brother think will save them? Ran star dust? "

"He doesn't have the guts, and he doesn't have that sort of scheming." Ren Zong narrowed his eyes and after a while, he spoke slowly, "I can only think of two people that are related to the Light Wind Palace and that Mo'er cares so much about."

Prince Xin narrowed his eyes, "Ran Hao and Jiang Wuyan."

Ren Zong nodded, "I prefer the latter." Pausing, he continued, "He has always been by Mo'er's side. There is no way he would know what Mo'er does not know. On this matter, he's the one who doesn't need to be suspected the most. "

The messenger gritted his teeth as a trace of hostility flashed through his eyes, "Jiang Wuyan, he actually dares to use Mo'er as a shield."

Ren Zong corrected him, "They should be using Mo'er as a blade to test the limits of my endurance."

King Xin sighed helplessly and said, "But Mo'er is willing to believe him."

Ren Zong smiled, "That's right."

The two brothers were silent for a moment. Then, the king asked, "What about Mo'er?"

"Keep it a secret." Ren Zong shook his head, looking a little tired. "Let's delay it for a while and find a suitable opportunity in a few days. I will have a talk with him."

King Xin nodded silently. "For now, this is all we can do."