Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

"Bang!"

Enraged, Zhang Changzong slammed his hand on the table. "How dare they play tricks on me? Do they think I, Zhang Changzong, am so easy to bully?"

Zhang Changzong had just heard about Gao Jian's execution by being cut in half at the waist when he realized that Gao Jian's matter had not stopped. Xue Wei had been doing it all along, but not for him, but directly for the emperor.

Zhang Changzong felt fooled and offended, as if his subordinates had bypassed him and reported directly to his superior.

It was clearly the task that he assigned to Xue Wei, but Xue Wei handed over the results directly to the emperor.

Xue Wei clearly didn't take him seriously. This wasn't just feeling fooled or offended, but also deeply disrespected. He could almost hear Xue Wei saying, "You're nothing but a male concubine. What right do you have to tell me what to do? Look, I can report directly to the Emperor. Who do you think you are?"

Zhang Changzong's most sensitive pride felt as if Xue Wei had stomped on it hard, causing his heart to clench in pain. He slowly closed his eyes, then opened them, his eyes filled with malice.

"Xue Wei, just you wait. I'll play you slowly, little by little. I'll show you what happens when you offend Zhang Changzong!"

He wrote a note and handed it to a trusted eunuch, saying, "Go and give this to Wu Chongxun."

.........

These past few days, Li Guo'er and Wu Chongxun have been inseparable, inseparable. She even moved into Wu Chongxun's residence and started living as husband and wife ahead of time.

Although Wu Chongxun disliked Li Guo'er's philandering nature, he knew that he couldn't back out of this marriage with her. It was a political marriage between the Li and Wu families, and he had to marry her. So he simply gave up and drank and made merry with her every night, wishing the spring nights were too short.

But Wu Chongxun still harbored feelings for another woman, Yuan Min. If Cui Shi was after Yuan Min's money, then Wu Chongxun was after her body.

Yuan Min's stunning beauty and her tall, voluptuous yet slender figure attracted Wu Chongxun like a magnet. If it weren't for the lingering influence of the Guanlong aristocracy, which made Wu Chongxun somewhat hesitant, he would have already snatched Yuan Min away and kept her as a concubine.

That afternoon, a palace eunuch delivered a note to Wu Chongxun. This note kept Wu Chongxun seated for a full hour. Zhang Changzong, the Sixth Prince, had given him a task: 'Break Xue Wei's leg.'

Wu Chongxun was always a key figure in the Zhang brothers' efforts to win over the Wu family. Zhang Changzong explicitly promised Wu Chongxun that he would support him in becoming the fourth generation of the Hidden Guard.

Wu Chongxun certainly knew the weight of the two Zhangs. Li Jiongxiu, Yang Zaisi, Su Weidao, Wei Chengqing, and Fang Rong—these prime ministers promoted by the two Zhangs, didn't they speak volumes?

This was the first time Zhang Changzong had asked Wu Chongxun to do something for him. Although Wu Chongxun was excited, he was not stupid at all. On the contrary, he was extremely shrewd. He immediately thought of two questions: Why did Zhang Changzong ask him? Why didn't Zhang Changzong do it himself?

Zhang Changzong must have thought he had a grudge against Xue Wei. Did he have a grudge against Xue Wei? Of course he did, but he refused to admit it. His fiancée, Li Guo'er, was Xue Wei's lover a few years ago. Many people knew about this, including him. However, at that time, Li Guo'er had not yet promised herself to him, and he was just a bystander.

Now that Li Guo'er is going to become his wife, he suddenly remembered the relationship between Li Guo'er and Xue Wei back then, and he felt as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

Zhang Changzong obviously knew about this, so he assumed that he had a grudge against Xue Wei. Wasn't that disgusting?

The second question is, why didn't Zhang Changzong do it himself? He could have easily found a few Plum Blossom Guards to break Xue Wei's legs in the street, why did he have to ask someone else?

There must be a reason why Zhang Changzong didn't do it. He was afraid, he dared not. What was Zhang Changzong afraid of? Princess Taiping?

Wu Chongxun felt it wasn't that simple. He remembered that the emperor had summoned Xue Wei last time, and Wu Chongxun vaguely guessed that Zhang Changzong was afraid of the emperor, and that the emperor must have forbidden Zhang Changzong from touching Xue Wei.

Since Zhang Changzong is afraid of the emperor and dares not touch Xue Wei, does that mean I am not afraid either?

However, Zhang Changzong personally wrote a note to ask him for help. If he didn't give him face, wouldn't he offend him? What would happen to his hidden guards?

Wu Chongxun thought for a full hour before finally making up his mind. He was going to do this, but he couldn't offend Zhang Changzong. However, he had to delegate the task to someone else and couldn't do it himself.

He thought of his brother Wu Jizhi, who had just been promoted to Left General of the Plum Blossom Guard. Perhaps he could use Wu Jizhi to give Zhang Changzong an explanation and at the same time fulfill his own long-cherished wish.

At that moment, Yuan Min's stunningly beautiful face flashed before his eyes.

.........

The third elimination round will be held on the ninth day of the third lunar month to determine the top 100 players, who will also be eligible to participate in the team competition.

Every match now is crucial for Xue Wei.

On the evening of the eighth day, Xue Wei went to bed early. Yuan Min was also at Mingyue Tower that night; she was staying on the fourth floor.

Around midnight, a piercing scream woke Xue Wei from his sleep. He jumped up, hurriedly put on his shoes, drew his sword from the bedside, and rushed out wearing only his undergarments, without even putting on his outer robe.

As soon as he rushed out the door, he heard the sounds of fighting coming from upstairs. "Amin!" Xue Wei called out in a low voice and rushed up the stairs. At the corner of the stairs, Bian Xiaohong lay in a pool of blood, shot in the chest by an arrow.

Just then, a crossbow bolt whizzed by. Xue Wei reacted swiftly, slashing the arrow with his sword and throwing a flying knife. A scream rang out as the ambush man crouching by the fourth-floor staircase was stabbed and tumbled down the handrail.

Suddenly, Zuo Qingling shouted, "Quickly, save the girl! She's in her bedroom!"

Zuo Qingling was engaged in a fierce battle with two black-clad warriors in the fourth-floor corridor when Xue Wei threw a flying knife, causing a scream as he finished off one of Zuo Qingling's enemies.

Xue Wei kicked open the bedroom door, where the maid Xiao Huan lay, her chest pierced by a sword.

There were two people, one tall and one short, standing in front of the window, each carrying a large burlap sack, which was twisting and turning violently.

One of the tall male warriors was standing on the windowsill, where a thick rope was tied, leading down to the ground floor. The warrior was attaching an iron ring to the rope, clearly intending to grab the ring, jump down, and kidnap the person in the process.

This man was born to plunder; he has exceptionally long arms and immense strength, enabling him to firmly control people under his armpits.

Xue Wei's eyes immediately turned red. Just as the male warrior on the windowsill was about to jump onto the railing with the sack in his arms, a throwing knife shot out like lightning, hitting the male warrior in the calf. The male warrior's legs went weak, and he did not jump up. His leg hit the railing hard.

In the blink of an eye, Xue Wei's second throwing knife arrived. "Thud—" The knife pierced the back of the male warrior's neck, and he slammed headfirst against the railing, motionless.

"Senior Brother!" the short female warrior behind shouted. She threw down the sack, turned around abruptly, and stared intently at Xue Wei.

She was a woman, with a petite figure like a lynx and piercing eyes like a wildcat.

Xue Wei recognized him at a glance, "What a small world! It's you!"

The woman screamed in fury, "Go to hell!"

She leaped up and glided towards Xue Wei like a bat, moving with incredible speed, her long sword aimed straight at his chest.

In a flash, Xue Wei thrust out his sword with pinpoint accuracy, and "thud!" the sword pierced the female warrior's throat.

The female warrior crashed heavily to the ground from the air, her legs twitched twice, and then she lay still.

Xue Wei strode forward, cut the rope of the sack with his sword, and helped Yuan Min out of the sack. Yuan Min, with her hair disheveled, saw the person in front of her and hugged Xue Wei's neck tightly, bursting into tears.

Xue Wei gently patted her back, "It's alright! It's alright!"

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside, as if countless people were running up.

Xue Wei and Yuan Min looked at each other in dismay. The door was suddenly pushed open, and Zuo Qingling rushed in. "It's the Plum Blossom Guard. There are several hundred of them. They've surrounded Mingyue Tower."

"Old Xue, let's take the secret passage!"

A single sentence reminded Xue Wei, and he opened the cabinet door, lifted the lid of the wooden cabinet, revealing a large, dark hole.

"Amin, you go first!"

Yuan Min hesitated for a moment, glanced at Xue Wei, and Xue Wei smiled and said, "I'll postpone it!"

Yuan Min nodded and jumped down. Xue Wei then gave Zuo Qingling a wink, and Zuo Qingling jumped down without hesitation. Just as Zuo Qingling jumped, Xue Wei shouted, "Tell Amin to go find my mother!"

He slammed the lid of the box shut and closed the cupboard door.

The moment Xue Wei heard that the Plum Blossom Guards had arrived, he realized that the mission of the man in black and the female assassin was to kidnap Yuan Min, while the Plum Blossom Guards' target was him. He had to separate from Yuan Min, otherwise no one would be able to call for help.

He grabbed the female assassin's corpse, stuffed her into a sack, and ran towards the window. The door was kicked open with a bang, and countless Plum Blossom Guard soldiers poured in, led by General Wu Jizhi.

Xue Wei bit the longsword with his teeth, grabbed the iron ring with one hand and hugged the sack with the other. He peered down and saw a long rope leading to a carriage below. The carriage had no horses, just a single compartment with an open roof. Grabbing the rope and jumping down would land him directly inside the carriage. This was a clever way to abduct people.

Xue Wei jumped off the building. Wu Jizhi shouted anxiously, "Grab them both! Don't hurt the woman in the sack!"

He turned and ran downstairs, followed by a large group of soldiers.

Xue Wei curled up, covering his head, and fell into the carriage. The carriage was covered with a seven-foot-thick layer of soft bedding. With a muffled thud, he landed heavily on the bedding, then bounced high into the air.

Xue Wei stretched his shoulders and neck and found no injuries, but he didn't know where his sword had gone. He had also thrown the female corpse in the sack halfway through the journey, and it fell heavily to the ground face down.

Xue Wei had no time to look for the sword. He jumped off the carriage and ran wildly down the street.

He had only run a little over a hundred steps when suddenly countless Plum Blossom Guard soldiers surged out from both sides and surrounded him.