The playboy county magistrate

Li Xuanzhi stepped down from the carriage and stood in front of it.

His clothes fluttered in the mountain wind, and as he faced the enemy's encirclement, he stood tall and straight like a pine tree, his face calm and composed.

He had anticipated this calamity, so he traveled light and traveled day and night. He only hoped that those who came to ambush him would not leave the no-man's land before him.

But the old guard was determined to kill, and they waited here in advance.

From the depths of the dense forest, the leader in black slowly emerged. His face was veiled by a mask, revealing only a pair of cold, sharp eyes; his voice was hoarse and icy.

"Lord Li, there is no need to go to the capital. Leaving behind the body of someone who died unexpectedly can still protect your family and friends whom you value, as well as the officials in Pingzhou who listen to you. If you insist on going to the capital, not only will your own body be destroyed, but it will also implicate many others."

The threats and inducements were blatant, every word cold-blooded, every sentence insidious.

Li Xuanzhi coldly replied, "The scoundrels hiding behind you only dare to kill you halfway. The century-old foundation of the old school is ultimately nothing but filth and corruption."

The black-clad leader's eyes flashed with murderous intent. Without another word, he coldly shouted, "Kill!"

The assassins charged forward again, their killing intent overwhelming. They were masters of encirclement, instantly forming a pincer movement. Sharp blades clashed, weaving an impenetrable net of killing intent, their cold glints locking onto every vital point on Li Xuanzhi's body.

The mountain path was narrow, and the roadblocks had not been cleared. There was no way to avoid it, and no way to retreat.

Within moments, Tang Zheng's arm was slashed open by a sharp blade, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound that instantly soaked through his clothes. He gritted his teeth and refused to retreat, stubbornly withstanding the attacks of several men and standing firmly in front of the carriage.

"Uncle Wang! Quickly take the second young master and leave!"

As Tang Zheng roared these words, he suffered a back injury and staggered violently, but he still gripped his sword tightly and fought to the death, drenched in blood.

The suicide squad members were fearless and unrestrained in their attacks, each move aimed at killing the enemy. Their roles were clearly defined.

Most of the men were tightly engaged with Tang Zheng, while the rest abandoned the fight and headed straight for Li Xuanzhi, intending to kill their main target first and end the situation completely.

Li Xuanzhi neither dodged nor evaded, his posture remaining as upright as a pine tree, calmly moving amidst the flashing blades.

These old fogies from Beijing, that's all they're good for.

Did he really think that the original owner of this body was a playboy, and that Li Xuanzhi was too?

Li Xuanzhi dodged the oncoming longsword by sidestepping it, and with a flick of his wrist, the short blade at his waist was suddenly drawn.

There are no fancy moves; the focus is on exploiting the weaknesses in the opponent's moves.

With a soft sound, the long sword in the close-combat assassin's hand was precisely knocked away.

Before the opponent could react, the short blade was already pressed against their vitals. The force was controlled yet sufficient to subdue the enemy in an instant.

One person falls to the ground, two others take their place.

The assassins showed no fear, launching relentless attacks in waves, their layered assaults leaving the enemy breathless.

The mountain path was narrow, and the large number of people actually limited things, but it gave Li Xuanzhi the opportunity to break through the situation one by one.

But what truly worries people is never his safety.

Inside the carriage, Gu Pan'er was already curled up at the innermost part of the carriage. Her back was pressed tightly against the wooden planks of the carriage, her arms were clasped together, tightly clutching a thick stack of account books and vouchers to her chest, her back and shoulders completely exposed.

She trembled, but gritted her teeth and didn't move an inch.

The deafening roar of battle filled their ears, and the flashes of cold blades and blood-red light filled their eyes.

She was afraid; she was just an ordinary woman who kept accounts and had never experienced such a life-or-death crisis.

But she knew even more clearly that what she was protecting in her arms was Li Xuanzhi's only source of confidence to turn the tide in the capital, the proof of the stable livelihood of tens of thousands of people in Pingzhou, and the last hope that the new policies would not be smeared and virtuous officials would not be framed.

People may be harmed, bodies may be damaged, but account books and evidence must never be destroyed.

"Burn the car! Destroy all documents!"

A assassin roared and charged forward, brandishing a flammable weapon.

Killing Li Xuanzhi was to silence him.

Destroying all the achievements of the new policies and the evidence of crimes committed by the gentry and noble families is to completely erase the truth, leaving no one to testify against it.

At that time, it would be possible to report that Li Xuanzhi had died on his way to escape punishment from bandits, and also to completely destroy all the irrefutable evidence.

As the flames approached the carriage, Gu Pan'er's pupils contracted sharply, but she still held tightly to the account book in her arms, gritting her teeth and not moving an inch.

"Dare to move!"

In an instant, a cold shout resounded through the mountains and forests.

Li Xuanzhi's eyes suddenly sharpened. He abandoned the enemy he was fighting in front of him and suddenly darted out, as fast as a startled swan.

The short blade slicing through the air precisely deflected the flaming object from the assassin's hand. Using the momentum, the assassin flipped over and landed on the carriage, completely shielding the people inside.

Seeing the situation dragging on, the leader of the black-clad figures realized that further delays might lead to unforeseen complications. His eyes, hidden behind his mask, flashed with murderous intent. He personally drew his sword and charged forward, saying in a deep voice:

"Everyone must work together, leave no one behind! Swift and decisive!"

Li Xuanzhi and the others were rapidly depleting their strength, and each of them was injured.

The warm crimson blood seeped through the outer robe, slowly sliding down the arm and wrist, dripping into the dust.

Just then, a series of rapid and orderly hoofbeats suddenly came from deep in the mountains and forests.

A troop of black-clad cavalry galloped in, their armor impeccable and their presence imposing.

They were not local yamen runners, but rather the uniforms of the imperial bodyguards, who were exclusively assigned to the imperial court!

The leader spurred his horse into the air, somersaulted, and the instant he landed, he shouted sharply:

"The Imperial Guards are here! His Majesty has decreed that Lord Li be escorted to the capital! Any rebels who attempt to assassinate court officials will be killed on the spot!"

The black-clad leader's expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with extreme horror and resentment.

He never expected that while the emperor seemed to be issuing an edict to seize power and summon people to the capital, he had secretly dispatched shadow guards to protect him along the way!

This was not a dead end where the old guard could be silenced, but rather a trap set by the emperor to lure the enemy out of their hole and watch as the secret of the powerful minister's privately kept assassins was exposed.

The tide of battle turned in an instant.

The Imperial Shadow Guards were incredibly powerful; in no time, more than half of the assassins surrounding them had been killed or wounded.

The remaining men were routed and had no fighting power left.

Knowing the situation was hopeless, the leader in black dared not linger and roared through gritted teeth, "Retreat!"

Upon hearing the sound, the remaining assassins immediately abandoned the fight and scattered, attempting to escape into the dense forest.

"Leave no one alive."

Li Xuanzhi's voice was cold and emotionless.

At a single command, the Shadow Guards sprang forth in pursuit, sealing off all escape routes through the mountains and forests, leaving no one undetected.

At Black Wind Pass, corpses lay strewn everywhere, and blood stained the dust.

The murderous aura slowly faded, leaving only the howling mountain wind, carrying a faint smell of blood.

The commander of the Imperial Guards sheathed his sword, stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and stood with a solemn expression.

"We are late, and we have caused Lord Li some distress."

"His Majesty had already foreseen that someone would take the risk of ambushing and killing us along the way. He ordered us to secretly accompany him, waiting for the rebels to appear and for the evidence to be confirmed before stepping forward to protect them."

Li Xuanzhi nodded slightly, his gaze deep as he looked towards the distant capital.

He was right.

That seemingly cold and ruthless imperial edict, a decree of power stripping and transfer, was never a sign of suspicion or abandonment, but rather a carefully laid trap by the emperor.

Today, they ambushed us on the way, secretly harbored assassins, and arbitrarily killed officials of the imperial court. Every single one of these acts constitutes the grave crime of treason.

The old guard thought they had laid an inescapable trap. Little did they know they had already stepped into a snare personally tailored for them by the emperor.

After clearing away the corpses on the mountain path and sealing up the evidence of the rebels' crimes, the carriages and horses set off again.