Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 377 Escape
"Why did your general tie me up?" Wei Xian's voice became even colder, with an unquestionable sense of oppression.

The servant's body was frozen with fear, and the cold sweat on his forehead had soaked his entire forelock. He stammered, his words intermittent, unable to form a complete sentence: "He...he...he...General...the General said..."

Wei Xian raised his eyebrows, obviously dissatisfied with the servant's answer, and asked sharply, "What?"

He growled, and the dagger in his hand leaned forward again. The sharp blade gently cut the skin of his neck, and a stream of blood quickly oozed out and dripped onto the ground. The servant felt a burst of coldness in his neck, followed by a stinging sensation as the blade cut the skin, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

"I... I say... General... The General saw you on the street... and then... and then he let us pass..." He began to quickly reveal the truth, his voice filled with extreme fear and pleading: "You are a member of the Imperial Guard, you must have been sent by that... the dog emperor of the Ming court..."

Wei Xian's brows knitted tightly together as he heard this. Although the explanation was ridiculous, there was no reason for the servant to lie to him at this moment. Furthermore, the message conveyed in the words forced him to take it seriously. Without wasting any more time, he whispered, "Who knocked me out?"

Hearing this, the servant was so frightened that he couldn't even speak clearly: "Qian... Qian Zong!" He almost roared out: "Please spare my life, my dear! It's our Qian Zong, it really is him!"

Wei Xian's eyes flashed with enlightenment. It turned out to be a misunderstanding. All this was just an unfounded misunderstanding by Zheng Hongkui's generals. However, even though the matter gradually became clear, Wei Xian still did not dare to fully believe this statement. In this situation, anyone could conceal the truth, and any words could be a false guidance.

"What I'm asking is, who knocked me out!" Wei Xian emphasized his tone again, his voice became colder and his eyes became sharper.

"It was the Qianzong! It really was him! Otherwise, how would we dare to touch you!" The servants practically knelt down and begged for mercy: "Please spare our lives, my dear! It was really the Qianzong! He made us do it..."

Wei Xian continued to press for information about the situation at the Li Mansion, trying to extract more information from the servants. As these questions were revealed, the servants' answers became increasingly unclear, but Wei Xian did not stop. Instead, he quickly tied up the servants.

He didn't dare to be careless, especially since the other party could very well attack him suddenly. Therefore, when changing his clothes, he was particularly careful to secure the servant securely, ensuring that nothing could go wrong. When Wei Xian was dressed and stood up, he looked at the tightly bound servant at his feet and couldn't help but feel a bit of contempt in his heart. The absurdity of the situation almost made him want to laugh.

The servant saw Wei Xian stand up, his eyes suddenly widening in fear, his pupils dilated, his mind blank. His hands were bound and pinned tightly behind his back, his mouth blocked with a bloodstained cloth. Although he couldn't make a sound, the fear that spread from his bones was enough to make anyone collapse.

Wei Xian's eyes were dark as water, and he looked at the servant's fear with indifference. He didn't want to kill this innocent servant, but he also knew that if he didn't deal with it cleanly, he would be exposed to greater danger. He tightly grasped the rope that tied the servant and stepped closer.

As the night deepened, Wei Xian held the rope tightly with his left hand and followed the servant closely. Although his clothes were stained with blood, the dim light made it impossible for outsiders to see the bloodstains on his clothes clearly.

He took every step with extreme caution, fearing that the slightest mistake would reveal his true identity. The servant's heart had long been shattered by fear and anxiety. He no longer dared to struggle and was completely passive.

He didn't care about anything else, only thinking about how to survive. In order not to anger the terrifying official in front of him, he agreed to take Wei Xian out of the back door of Li's mansion. The two of them walked cautiously in the dark corridor, their footsteps almost silent.

As a servant of the Li Mansion, he was very familiar with the layout of the mansion and had a clear route in mind. With every step he took, he listened nervously to the movements around him, fearing that he would be discovered by other servants. The Li Mansion was not small, and most of the dozen or so servants were veterans with strong martial arts skills.

For Wei Xian, fighting alone was not impossible, but it was also unnecessary. He did not want to risk being surrounded by a gang and fighting with those fierce and ferocious servants. His goal was clear - as long as he could escape from the Li Mansion, how could a mere Lieutenant General Li pose a threat to him?
However, after the two of them had walked for a long time, Wei Xian still didn't see the back door the servant had mentioned. His brows gradually furrowed, and a feeling of unease emerged in his heart. How could the Li Mansion be so large that there was no back door? His intuition told him that there must be something wrong with this place.

Immediately, Wei Xian grabbed the servant and quickly pulled him into a dark corner. Without hesitation, the blade of his dagger pierced the servant's palm. Blood gushed out, flowing down the wall. The dim moonlight made the bloodstains particularly glaring. The servant's face turned pale with pain, but he didn't make a sound.

He gritted his teeth and tried his best to endure the severe pain from his body, because he knew that if Wei Xian heard any sound, his life would be gone.

"Listen, if I still can't see the back door in half a quarter of an hour, it won't be your palm that will be stabbed." Wei Xian's low and cold voice came from the darkness. His eyes were as sharp as a knife, staring at the servant in front of him, as if he wanted to pierce through him.

The servant's neck was tense, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, his eyes were filled with fear, and his mouth was slightly open, but was being held tightly by Wei Xian.

"Official." The servant uttered an indistinct groan. His throat was compressed and he could not make any sound. He struggled to express something, but he could not utter a single word clearly.

Wei Xian loosened his grip slightly, but the cold light in his eyes did not diminish at all. He asked again in a deep voice, "Where is the back door?"

"Master, Master..." Upon hearing this, the servant mistakenly thought that his life was coming to an end. Tears welled up in his eyes and he choked out, "Don't kill me, I won't dare to do it again. I... I'll take you out right now..."

The muscles on Wei Xian's face twitched slightly, and then he tightened his palms. The servant's cheeks were pinched almost deformed, and the pain made his tears and snot mixed together. The dagger in his right hand circled in the air with Wei Xian's movements.

The servant's body trembled involuntarily, and sweat soaked his entire back. He obviously realized that if he did not cooperate, the consequences would be disastrous.

"How dare you lie to me!" A trace of anger flashed in Wei Xian's eyes, and he almost roared in a low voice.

He'd been attacked and kidnapped for no apparent reason, then tied up and thrown into the woodshed. He'd been on the brink of life and death for so long, and now he was still terrified, afraid he'd be discovered again, only to be tricked by this guy in front of him. After going through so much trouble, how could he not be furious?
The life and death he had witnessed over the past six months suddenly erupted at this moment, turning Wei Xianxian into a brutal beast. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. The anger in his heart was like a huge wave, gradually swelling and finally ready to explode.

Wei Xian clutched the servant's cheek tightly, his arm suddenly exerting force. Without a moment's hesitation, the force erupted, sending the servant's head slamming into the wall with a dull thud. Dust flew from the wall, and Wei Xian's heart beat faster with the shock of the blow, as if his entire rage had been unleashed with the thud. Then, he grabbed the servant again and plunged the dagger into him.

"Ah!" Because his mouth and nose were strangled, the servant could only let out a low but extremely painful hoarse cry.

His palm had been shattered into a mass of rotten flesh by Wei Xian's dagger, and the pain was so intense that he almost lost all feeling. His head was swirling from the impact, and his vision was blurry. Then, a warm liquid gushed out from the back of his head, carrying a fishy-sweet smell that almost made him lose consciousness.

Facing Wei Xian in front of him, he felt an unprecedented fear in his heart. This was not only because of the other party's violence, but also because he could not understand this person's true identity at all. At the same time, he regretted very much that he had tried to deceive the other party.

He didn't know Wei Xian's true identity, and he didn't dare to offend Lieutenant General Li, so he could only use this method to delay time so that he could escape at the right time. However, he didn't expect that the yamen runner in front of him would see through his plan so quickly, and his move would be so cruel.

The servant couldn't help but let out a low groan, his expression distorted to the extreme. Wei Xian's breath calmed down a little, he narrowed his eyes and continued in a cold voice:
"In which direction?"

"...left...left, left hand..." The servant was in so much pain that his words almost turned into a groan, and his voice became hoarse due to excessive pain.

Wei Xian narrowed his eyes slightly and sneered, "You'd better not lie to me again!"

The servant's lips trembled, his eyes filled with despair: "This time it's... it's real, it's real..."

Hearing this, Wei Xian finally released his grip on his cheek, but he still didn't completely let down his guard. The servant was no longer able to speak, and the blood from his wound had already formed a small pool. He could only tremble continuously, trying his best to keep himself from falling.

"Lead the way." Wei Xian waved his hand, letting the servant go ahead. The two of them slowly walked in the direction the servant pointed, while Wei Xian had already begun to plan his next move in his mind.

Wei Xian's grip remained unwavering. He gripped the servant's neck and quickly led him out. Every step felt like treading on a knife's edge. Wei Xian could feel his heart pounding, nearly bursting from his chest. He knew any negligence would land him in trouble again, and at this moment, he couldn't afford to be distracted.

As they turned the corner, they were met by two servants from the Li Mansion. Under the moonlight, they slowly approached them, chatting, occasionally glancing down at their feet, seemingly oblivious to anything unusual.

Wei Xian's heart suddenly tightened, and he could almost hear his own heartbeat echoing in his ears like thunder. He held his breath, tightly grasped the servant with both hands, and his fingertips almost pierced through the other's neck.

At this moment, a sudden scream shattered the stillness. From the direction of the woodshed came a piercing shriek, the sharp sound piercing the ears of the two servants like a knife. They paused, turned their heads in the direction of the sound, and then quickly ran over.

Wei Xian tightly grasped the servant's neck, and without any pause, the two of them passed each other silently. Fortunately, they were not discovered. After this thrilling incident, Wei Xian breathed a sigh of relief, almost thinking that he had escaped a disaster.

However, a sudden scream from behind made him alert instantly. It turned out that the servant who had just hurried past had accidentally stepped on the bloody stain on the ground and fell without any preparation.

The servant muttered curses and stumbled to his feet. In the moonlight, he quickly saw the blood-stained marks on the ground, and his face suddenly turned pale. He looked down and exchanged a glance with the other servant, as if realizing something instantly.

The two exchanged glances, and a conclusion quickly emerged in their minds: the two people who just passed by were definitely related to this pool of blood! They hurriedly stopped, their steps becoming faster and faster, and quickly chased in the direction of Wei Xian and the servants.

Wei Xian's heart leaped into his throat again. Cold sweat formed beads on his forehead and trickled down his cheeks. He turned his head sharply, a cold glint in his eyes. His mind had already made up its mind. At this moment, there was no turning back; he could only fight to the death.

Wei Xian grabbed the servant's neck and pushed him hard, causing him to fall to the ground. He then quickly rushed into the shadows on the side and disappeared into the darkness under the cover of night.

The servant had just fallen and was immediately unable to move due to the pain. His head was dizzy and his consciousness gradually blurred. The pursuers behind him were getting closer and closer, but Wei Xian had already disappeared without a trace, his figure completely blending into the darkness.

Wei Xian did not hesitate too much. Faced with the situation, his only choice was to react quickly and act decisively, not giving his opponent any chance to breathe.

He instinctively turned around and quickly pulled with his left hand, and the taut rope was torn loose. Before the servant next to him could fully react, the chest was stabbed fiercely by the dagger in Wei Xian's hand.

The blade slashed across his abdomen, its sharpness spurting blood instantly. One strike after another, the dagger quickly inflicted several deep wounds on the servant's body, leaving him with visible bone. After five or six cuts, the servant struggled in pain and fell to the ground. Immediately, the two servants rushed towards Wei Xian with wooden clubs. He chose not to retreat, but instead used the fallen servant's body as cover and rushed forward.

Wei Xian showed no fear, his movements swift and deadly. Before a servant, who was trying to dodge, could react, Wei Xian had already closed in on him, slicing his arm from the side with his knife. The servant groaned, nearly losing his balance, and stumbled. He tried to fight back, but it was too late.

However, another servant took the opportunity to swing the wooden stick in his hand at him, instantly hitting Wei Xian's right arm. The blow was so powerful that Wei Xian felt a sharp pain and his body involuntarily leaned back, almost losing his balance.

(End of this chapter)