Aoyama

Chapter 250 Fire
"Kill him!"

Xiao Wu worked hard all night. Not only was he scolded by the shopkeeper, but he also had to take a kitchen knife to the Hong Xiu Zhao next door and personally chop the dancer he had been in love with, leaving him covered in blood.

At this moment, he attacked angrily, and the powerful bone-chopping knife flew out of his hand, spinning and buzzing in the air, heading straight for the prince's face.

At the critical moment, Li Xuan drew his sword from its sheath, and the tip of the sword lightly touched the spinning handle of the knife. With a slight shake of his wrist, the bone-chopping knife actually began to spin around the tip of the sword.

Li Xuan shook his wrist again, and the bone-chopping knife went back to where it came from, heading straight for Xiaowu's chest and abdomen.

Xiao Wu was so frightened that he leaned back with a shudder, and the boning knife whizzed past his nose narrowly.

With a thud, the boning knife hit the wooden board outside the counter, and the handle continued to tremble.

"This idea is difficult to implement, let's do it together!" Xiao Wu cursed angrily.

The shopkeeper stopped him angrily and said, "Go away and stop embarrassing yourself here."

"Oh," Xiaowu stood up straight, pulled out his kitchen knife from the counter, and led Xiaoliu back to the shopkeeper's side.

The shopkeeper first looked at Li Xuan. His swordsmanship, which seemed to make light work of heavy objects, was truly astonishing. However, what was even more eye-catching than his swordsmanship was the young man standing next to Li Xuan, wearing white clothes with arrow sleeves and a silver crown on his hair.

The moment Xiao Wu threw the bone-chopping knife, the young man kept smiling and didn't even blink, as if he was certain from the beginning that the bone-chopping knife would not hurt him.

Such magnanimity is rare.

Xiao Wu asked in a low voice: "Boss, where are you from?"

The shopkeeper said calmly: "With such a dignified demeanor and such a master by his side, he must be the big shot from the capital."

The prince smiled and broke the deadlock, clasping his fists and saying, "Sir, we are just passing by and have no ill intentions. Is there any misunderstanding between us? If my words just now have offended you in any way, I apologize to you here."

The shopkeeper also smiled and bowed: "It was my ignorance that caused the misunderstanding. It has nothing to do with you, sir."

The prince took a few steps forward and looked at the inn with interest: "Boss, the waiters in your inn are all officials in the Xiantian realm. No wonder Longmen Inn has a great reputation in Guyuan City. I just don't know why the waiter wanted to take action when I mentioned Chen Ji's name just now? Did Chen Ji do something offensive to your inn when he lived here?"

The innkeeper explained, "Sir, you misunderstood. Young Master Chen is a distinguished guest of our inn. Just tonight, a spy from the Jing Dynasty came to assassinate him, and even made a big hole in the roof of Room Tianzi A. So when you asked if Chen Ji lived here, the waiter thought you were here to assassinate Young Master Chen as well."

After hearing this, the prince was subconsciously surprised and asked, "The Jing Dynasty spy assassinated Chen Ji? Why?"

The shopkeeper looked at the prince and said calmly, "Perhaps it's because Young Master Chen ruined their plan before. These Jing Dynasty spies are afraid of Young Master Chen's keen observation and are afraid that he will find out something else, so they just take the initiative."

The prince turned to look at Qi Chenzhuo: "Did he mention this tonight?"

Qi Chenzhuo shook his head: "No, he didn't say anything."

The prince sighed in a low voice: "We were only thinking about the news he sent, but we didn't know he was still in danger. I'm ashamed. Brother Chen Ji was also very patient and never said a word. Nowadays, there are too few people who just do things without complaining."

Qi Zhuozhuo's face flushed red and he dared not say anything.

At this time, Li Xuan changed the subject. He sheathed his sword and asked the shopkeeper loudly, "Excuse me, shopkeeper, did you hear any movement from the Red Sleeves next door? Where did all their people go?"

Xiao Wu said calmly: "We cut it down, what's wrong?"

Li Xuan: “?”

It's that simple?
Li Xuan was in doubt and asked, "Why do you want to kill the people who are in charge of Hongxiuzhao?"

The shopkeeper smiled and responded, "They had nothing to do in the middle of the night, so they came to assassinate the young master of the Chen family. They are asking for death, and they can't blame others. It's just that the young master of the Chen family has no injuries. If he had been injured, it would be difficult for them to die."

Qi Chenzhuo was shocked.

The prince and Li Xuan couldn't help but look at each other: Chen Ji was so familiar with Longmen Inn? Previously, they just mentioned the name, and the innkeepers beat them up.

Hong Xiuzhao came to assassinate Chen Ji, but the innkeeper came to hack him at night?
How long has Chen Ji been in Guyuan?

How could this be?

The prince was silent for a moment, then whispered to Li Xuan and Qi Chenzhuo, "If we want to succeed in this trip to Guyuan, I think we can't do without the help of Brother Chen Ji. I hope you two will put aside your prejudices and shake hands with Brother Chen Ji later."

Li Xuan hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness, don't worry too much. As long as it can help you succeed, I will do anything you want. Moreover, Chen Ji is indeed extraordinary, so I should put away my contempt and arrogance."

Seeing that Qi Zhuozhuo remained stiff and refused to speak, he quickly gave him a look.

Qi Chenzhuo said reluctantly: "Me too."

The prince smiled and said, "That's good. Maybe you will become colleagues after returning to the capital."

After that, he looked at the shopkeeper, bowed and said, "Shopkeeper, we are not here to kill Chen Ji, but to be his friends. Please ask the clerk to go up and inform him that an old friend is visiting."

Xiao Wu looked at the shopkeeper, who winked and said, "Go ahead." Xiao Wu ran upstairs. A moment later, Chen Ji followed him downstairs. Seeing that it was the prince, he immediately clasped his fists and said, "Your Highness..."

The prince shook his head slightly, and Chen Ji immediately changed his words: "Mr. Zhu, I'm sorry for not welcoming you in person. I wonder what important matter has brought you here so late at night?"

The prince smiled and said, "Can you please go out and talk to me for a moment?"

Chen Ji thought about it, picked up his clothes and walked out.

After everyone left, Xiao Wu leaned on the counter and said boredly, "Shopkeeper, are these people friends of the young master of the Chen family?"

The shopkeeper sneered, "No. When I said that the young master of the Chen family was assassinated, these people did not ask about his safety at the first time. Instead, they only cared about why the Jing Dynasty spy wanted to assassinate him. Can they be true friends? If I were assassinated, what would be your first reaction?"

Xiao Wu thought for a moment and said, "Is it time for me to become the shopkeeper?"

The shopkeeper yelled angrily, "Get lost! Even if I die, it won't be your turn!"

……

……

Outside the gate, hundreds of imperial guards stood on their horses in the night on Qiuci Street.

Chen Ji bowed and asked, "Why is Your Highness here?"

The prince smiled and explained, "You came to deliver the news tonight, but you couldn't even enter the Dusi Mansion. I heard about this and rushed here immediately, fearing that you would feel resentful. I just heard that you were assassinated. Thank you for your hard work."

Chen Ji whispered, "It is my duty to share His Highness's worries, and I dare not complain."

The prince looked around, and Li Xuan immediately understood what he meant. He stepped forward and clasped his fists, saying, "Brother Chen Ji, I apologize for offending you before. I, Li Xuan, was too narrow-minded. I hope you will put aside the past grudges and continue to assist His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with us."

Chen Ji hurriedly said, "Lord Li, you are too kind. I am not a narrow-minded person and I don't take the previous incident to heart."

After saying that, he looked at Qi Chenzhuo.

It's your turn.

Qi Chenzhuo raised his eyebrows.

He was silent for a long time, and finally he gritted his teeth and clasped his fists and said, "I, Qi Chenzhuo, also admire capable people. I have offended you before, but I won't do it again in the future."

The prince smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Alright, let's work together from now on, and we should work together...Brother Chen Ji, do you have any clues about the thief from Jing Dynasty?"

Chen Ji thought of the clerk of the glass shop and the owner of the fur shop that Xiao Wu had mentioned, but he responded, "Your Highness, there is none for the time being."

The prince was a little disappointed, but soon smiled and said, "It's okay. I believe that my dear brother will gain something by staying in this Longmen Inn..."

However, before he finished speaking, he saw flames rising up from Guyuan City. In the distance, huge clouds of dust rose up into the sky, and the smell of ashes wafted in the wind.

The city of Guyuan became noisy, and people from every household climbed onto the roofs to look out.

Li Xuan pushed hard and rose up like an eagle, stepping onto the roof of the octagonal building of Longmen Inn in a few steps.

He stood on the gray tiles, holding onto the double-eaved roof of the octagonal building and gazing into the distance, and saw three fires burning in Guyuan City, which did not look like an "accidental" fire.

If the water leaks accidentally, it will never burn in three places at the same time!
When Li Xuan saw the source of the fire, his expression suddenly changed. He turned around and shouted to the prince, "Your Highness, this is not good. It's coming from the direction of the Dusi Mansion, the Border Army's granary, and the armory!"

They prevented poisoning in the water, but they could not prevent the granary from being set on fire. Not only was all the food in Guyuan City destroyed, but the border troops' already scarce rattan armor was also destroyed.

No, the armor of the Yulin Army was also caught in the fire at the Dusi Mansion.

Guyuan is finished.

Chen Ji immediately looked at the prince and said, "Your Highness, there must be spies among the border troops, otherwise there would be no chance of success."

The prince gave the order: "Yulin Army, listen up, return to the Dusi Mansion to put out the fire!"

Chen Ji shouted: "Zao Zao!"

The next moment, the sound of war horses neighing came from the backyard of the inn. Zaozao actually ran through the inn, pushed open the cotton curtain of the inn and came to Qiuci Street, with heavy white air coming out of his nostrils.

Chen Ji grabbed the saddle and turned over. A window on the third floor opened and Zhang Zheng shouted, "Chen Ji, go ahead!"

After saying that, he threw the whale knife out of the window. Chen Ji caught it steadily in his hand and rushed away at lightning speed.

(End of this chapter)