Tang Dynasty Hidden Guards

Yuan Min and Xiao Luo'er have been safely hidden and are being closely guarded by Zhong Luming.

Xue Wei, Yu Xiangzi, and the Zuo sisters have laid a trap. Xue Wei only has five throwing knives, but today he has an extra bow and arrow. He is not called the Three Masters for nothing. His archery skills, which were able to bewitch Yuan Min back then, are by no means mediocre.

Even though it was a different Xue Wei, he hadn't forgotten any of his muscle memory.

Xue Wei first came to the Tang Dynasty to practice archery when he and Yuan Min went on a spring outing. He brought a bow and arrows and shot more than twenty arrows on the shore. Although his muscle memory was very strong and every arrow hit its mark, he also made a big joke. He didn't even know that there was a difference between foot bows and horse bows.

How could he possibly know? In his past life, he played with bows and arrows by shooting balloons in a park. He owns a fencing hall, not an archery hall.

But in the eyes of the Tang people, not understanding infantry, cavalry, and archery was like a northern student not understanding why tofu pudding from the Jiangnan region is sweetened.

Xue Wei is currently holding a cavalry bow. Simply put, a cavalry bow is a short bow with low draw weight, short range, and weak power; an infantry bow is a long bow with high draw weight, long range, and strong power.

But those strong generals who wielded bows had a range and power far exceeding that of foot bows; everything has an upgraded version!

Xue Wei's horse bow was a long-tipped horn bow, a one-stone bow, which meant it required 120 jin of force to draw, while ordinary cavalrymen's horse bows were five-dou bows.

Xue Wei had heard from his brother Xue Chongjian that after their father died, he devoted himself to martial arts training, shooting at least five hundred arrows every day. He especially liked to practice archery at night, using the shuttle-piercing method to train his eyesight by staring intently at a very small target, honing his concentration to the point of being as sharp as a needle tip.

That's how he developed his three exceptional talents.

Of course, Xue Wei in later generations also practiced fencing diligently, training hard day after day for ten years; otherwise, how could he have won the national championship?

Xue Wei squatted on the far left of the roof ridge, next to a large ridge beast shaped like a dragon-dog, which blocked his view.

He didn't know where Yu Xiangzi was hiding. That barbarian woman was very cunning and often did things unexpectedly. Just like tonight when she fired a flying needle at the music hall, everyone thought she hit the other person's eye, but actually she shot through their face.

Her flying needles were coated with a medicine that wasn't very toxic, but could cause excruciating pain. Xue Wei thought about it and guessed it was the kind of medicine that could amplify the sensations in a person's nerve endings.

This woman may seem a bit silly, but she's actually very measured in her actions and won't cause trouble for herself. Otherwise, as a woman from the barbarian frontier, if she caused trouble in Han Chinese territory without a powerful backer protecting her, she would be destined to take the blame.

Zuo Qingling hid in Yuan Min's room, and Zuo Baiyun hid in a tree in the courtyard.

They all knew very well that Zhu Kuan must want to kidnap Yuan Min.

Around midnight, a dozen shadowy figures sneaked into the mansion. Their coordinated movements were so skillful that it was clear they were used to this kind of thing and were very experienced. It was as if they had scouted the place beforehand. They headed straight for Yuan Min's courtyard, which should be considered a professional skill of a flower thief.

Thinking of how many innocent women this group had harmed, Xue Wei felt a surge of murderous intent.

He has the Emperor's golden token to kill people, what's there to be afraid of!

Xue Wei slung the quiver over his back, gave it a light flick, and the quiver landed on his left shoulder. He then reached out, drew an arrow, and nocked it on the string.

Xue Wei stared at the man in black, his fingers gripping the arrow tightly, his knuckles turning bluish-white, and he even breathed very softly.

There were thirteen people in total, divided into three groups. The first five were responsible for kidnapping, the next five were for receiving the kidnappers, and the last three were responsible for protecting the retreat. This group was very organized.

Xue Wei's gaze was fixed on the five people behind him. The five people in front had already infiltrated, and the five people behind had just jumped onto the courtyard wall when Xue Wei suddenly drew his bow and shot an arrow. The arrow was as fast as lightning and "thud!" hit one of them right in the throat.

The man groaned and fell backward off the wall. The other four were startled. The second arrow came, "Thud!" Another arrow struck him squarely in the throat. The second man in black clutched his throat and fell off the wall.

At this moment, a fight broke out in the courtyard, and two screams were heard. This must mean that the Zuo sisters had successfully ambushed them.

Immediately afterward, Xue Wei fired his third arrow. Just as the three men on the wall jumped down, one of them was pierced through the back of the neck by an arrow, the tip of which protruded from his throat.

The remaining two were terrified and turned to flee for their lives, but they couldn't escape. Xue Wei's arrows were like the Grim Reaper, arriving like a shadow. The fourth man let out a muffled groan as an arrow pierced his chest and pinned him to the ground.

The last man's legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud, desperately kowtowing and begging for mercy.

An arrow shot out with unparalleled speed, "Thud!" The arrow pierced his brow, and he knelt on the ground, dying a cruel and horrifying death.

Xue Wei put away his bow and arrows, drew his longsword, ran a dozen steps across the rooftop, and leaped into the courtyard.

Three people had already fallen in the courtyard, and two men in black were still fighting with the Zuo sisters. Suddenly, they saw reinforcements coming from the other side, so the two turned and ran. Xue Wei threw a flying knife, and the one behind was pierced through the back of the neck. The one in front was so frightened that he ran wildly, with Zuo Qingling and Zuo Baiyun in hot pursuit.

The two sisters blocked Xue Wei's line of sight, preventing him from using his throwing knives. He had no choice but to draw his sword and chase after them.

As they rushed to the wall of the mansion, they suddenly discovered two accomplices lying at the base of the wall, each with a hole in their forehead, as if pierced by an iron ball or something similar, from which blood was gushing. The two were already dead, but they had a strange smile on their faces.

This was clearly not the work of the Zuo sisters, but of Yu Xiangzi. Xue Wei was stunned for a moment. He suddenly thought of the Three Smiles Powder and the fate of Yu Xiangzi's future husband.

It was quiet outside the wall. Xue Wei sensed something was wrong and rushed out the door, but suddenly stopped. There was a carriage outside the wall, with five or six corpses lying haphazardly on both sides of the carriage. The most tragic corpse was decapitated, and it was Zhu Kuan.

Zuo Qingling and the other two were still there, staring blankly at the corpses scattered on the ground. Xue Wei shouted at Zuo Qingling and Zuo Baiyun, "You two go protect the young lady, I'll handle things here!"

Zuo Qingling and Zuo Baiyun turned and ran back. Only then did Xue Wei ask Yu Xiangzi, "Did you kill him?"

Yu Xiangzi shook her head. "I've been like this since I came out, young master. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!"

Xue Wei sneered. This must be Wu Chongxun's doing, helping him make "friends" with Zhu Ling. It fits Wu Chongxun's persona perfectly: using someone else to do his dirty work.

Xue Wei looked around but didn't see the coachman. He nodded, and Wu Chongxun left one person to go back and report the news.

"Do me a favor, throw all the corpses into the carriage!"

The two of them worked together to throw all the corpses inside and outside the mansion into the carriage, and Xue Wei and Yu Xiangzi drove the carriage out of Xuanyangfang.

"What were the holes in their foreheads made with?" Xue Wei asked in a deep voice.

"We use slingshots to shoot iron pellets to hunt wild animals."

"Why are they smiling so strangely?"

"The iron pellet has a layer of opium on it, which can reduce pain and bring excitement and pleasure."

Aphrodisiac is opium, which really left Xue Wei speechless. It either makes people live in agony or makes them die in bliss. What kind of logic is this woman?

The carriage arrived directly at Qinglongfang, the southernmost point. There was no road ahead; at the end was a large lake. We had arrived at Qujiang Pool.

The two men simultaneously raised their swords and stabbed the horses fiercely. They then leaped off the carriage, causing the horses to go berserk in pain and drag the carriage directly into Qujiang Pool.

"Let's go!"

The two turned and ran, quickly disappearing into the night.

...........

Xue Wei and Yu Xiangzi rushed back to the Yuan residence, where they saw the Zuo sisters and Zhong Luming fetching water to wash the ground. Xiao Luo'er was supporting Yuan Min standing to the side, both of them pale-faced. Yuan Min was relatively calm, but Xiao Luo'er was trembling like a leaf.

Upon seeing Xue Wei return, Yuan Min rushed a few steps, threw herself into Xue Wei's arms, hugged him tightly, and pressed her face against his chest without saying a word.

Xue Wei didn't say anything, just held her in his arms, letting her fear gradually dissipate in his embrace.

Just then, Zuo Qingling stepped forward and whispered, "A woman came to the gate of the mansion and said she wanted to see you, young master, because she had something important to discuss. She asked me to give this to you."

Zuo Qingling handed half of the jade hairpin to Xue Wei, whose expression changed drastically. He asked urgently, "Where is she now?"

"She's sitting in the carriage outside the main gate, refusing to come in!"

"I'll go take a look!"

Xue Wei hurriedly left with the broken hairpin. Yuan Min suddenly remembered that Xue Wei had told her about the emperor breaking the hairpin in two, and her face turned pale.

Xue Wei arrived at the gate and found a carriage parked outside. He walked over, the window opened, revealing a cold, indifferent woman's face.

Give me the hairpin!

Xue Wei returned the broken hairpin to her. "Speak! What does the Emperor want me to do?"

The woman whispered, "Kill Zhu Ling!"