After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

Gu Xichuan, courtesy name Dongxue.

The old man in black robes frowned: "If it's not Gu Xichuan, could it be the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Did Shangguan Yun personally take action?"

Xiao Chun shook his head slightly: "It's not this commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard...it's not him...it's just an unknown petty thief."

With Black Tiger Mountain fallen, the old man in black robes felt his heart sink to the bottom. He no longer cared about petty thieves or not, and suppressed his emotions as he questioned, "Whether it's Gu Dongxue, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, or any petty thief, it's all the same! In short, you have completely failed to keep your promises! You yourself were also defeated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Gu Xichuan. Now, Black Tiger Stronghold has also been breached, and that person is about to return to Nanjing... How do you plan to explain this debt?" The tone of the old man in black robes, Steward Zheng, finally turned cold.

"The things I provided for you—horses, armor, weapons—were all of utmost importance! And now…they've all fallen into the hands of the government!" Manager Zheng's voice began to tremble.

"How am I supposed to explain this outcome to the important person behind me?!"

Xiao Chun smiled noncommittally: "Explain?"

"We've done this kind of heinous crime that could wipe out your entire family... what more do you want in return?!"

"You!—" the old man said angrily.

Xiao Chun raised his hand to stop them, ignoring the old man's questions, and his voice turned cold: "Enough nonsense. We will still help you with the matter... and only we can help you with it. You will continue to give us what we need."

The old man sneered, "Master Xiao, the deeds you've committed would probably warrant the extermination of ten generations of your families!"

Xiao Chun shrugged and smiled calmly, "Wait for your master to come and kill you."

The two men stared at each other for a moment, and finally, the old man lowered his eyes.

He waved his hand listlessly: "The boat is moored outside. You take your people and go first, out of Yunhu Lake, up the Yangtze River northward... We'll talk about the rest after that person returns to Nanjing."

Although Black Tiger Stronghold was destroyed, the leader of Black Tiger Stronghold only knew one layer of his identity. No matter how powerful the Embroidered Uniform Guard was, they couldn't cook without rice... As long as Xiao Chun escaped, at least there was no worry about his identity being exposed.

The carriage was dark, with only a few slivers of cold, white moonlight filtering in through gaps in the curtains as the wind lifted them.

Xiao Chun clasped his hands in a fist and smiled at the other party, saying, "I thank Manager Zheng for his understanding."

Immediately, he lifted the carriage curtain, bent over, and prepared to go out.

At this moment, on the shallow beach bathed in moonlight.

A glint of silver light seemed to come from a great distance, breaking through the wind and passing through the distant woods. It covered a distance of several dozen feet in an instant... Xiao Chun's pupils shrank, and he immediately ducked down!

"An arrow!" a guard shouted, his eyes wide.

呲!

An arrow pierced the forehead of the large yellow horse at the front of the carriage!

Blood blossomed, and the horse neighed pitifully, its hooves pounding wildly. Xiao Chun and Steward Zheng inside the carriage immediately steadied themselves against the frame, swaying left and right as they ducked down.

Swish swish!

The four guards drew their swords, the snow-white blades reflecting a cold light in the moonlight.

The head guard decisively cut the horse's reins, and the carriage came to a stop swaying.

After struggling a few times, the horse collapsed limply, and the stench of blood filled the air.

call out!

The sharp, light whistle rang out again.

when!

The guard leader swung his sword, severing the arrowhead.

"A powerful bow! At least seventy pounds!" He gritted his teeth.

Before he could finish speaking...

call out!

On the other side, a guard was shot in the throat, his eyes wide with shock, and he collapsed with a thud.

The simple-minded mute took a step and leaped onto the carriage, while Xiao Chun had already retreated back inside.

The mute man turned around, his sharp eyes scanning the woods ahead.

At that moment, another terrifying whooshing sound came, and the mute man reached out and struck, knocking down an arrow with a bang!

"There aren't many thieves, and the seventy-pound bow won't be drawn many times!" the guard leader roared.

The remaining two guards immediately became extremely vigilant and alert to their surroundings... The leader was right; if there were more bandits, the arrows wouldn't be scattered like this.

Then, from another direction, whoosh!

A beam of silver light pierced the wind once more, and a guard, unable to dodge in time, was grazed on the cheek. Before he could even show a fierce expression, a second arrow arrived, piercing his throat.

The head guard, his eyes fierce, roared towards the woods, "You thief, come out!"

call out!

Another arrow flew towards the last guard. The guard leader swung his sword and deflected the arrow, but at the same time, a second arrow flew and struck the guard leader in the chest.

Finally, the guard, his eyes bloodshot, roared, "Brother Chen!" But it was too late.

The eyes of the guard leader, Brother Chen, were still wide open, but the light in his eyes had already faded, and his body slowly collapsed... In no more than twenty breaths, the three guards died.

Finally, the guard, his eyes bloodshot, stood beneath the carriage, knife in hand. Forcing himself to calm down, he shouted absentmindedly, "My lord, let's go..."

Before he could finish speaking, another arrow pierced his throat.

Inside the carriage, Steward Zheng's breathing became rapid.

shhhhhh!

The same arrow shot out from the woods again, three streaks of silver light heading straight for the mute man on the carriage.

But the mute seemed to have six eyes, his eyes gleaming. With a sweep of his iron palms, he knocked down three feathered arrows one after another, his body firmly guarding the carriage door.

After a moment of silence, a rustling sound came from the woods.

Three people slowly emerged from the woods.

The three of them pulled off the straw clothes they were wearing and threw them on the ground, revealing the black flying fish robes underneath.

The leader drew his embroidered spring knife, his face expressionless, and loudly proclaimed, "I am Xu Tong, a junior officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I request that the distinguished guest in the carriage alight for a discussion, and... surrender!"

Xiao Chun smiled at the old man opposite him from inside the carriage. "Steward Zheng, they're outside telling you to surrender!"

The old man glanced coldly at Xiao Chun, then took a deep breath: "Master Xiao, we're all in this together. Stop talking nonsense. That archer is still hiding in the woods. We don't have much time. If we can't get on the ship immediately, the Imperial Guards will be here in no time."

Then, the old man took out a whistle from his sleeve and blew it sharply!

"Rage—!"

A sharp, piercing sound tore through the night sky.

Humhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

A series of footsteps suddenly rang out from a boat on the water.

Xu Tong turned his head and saw that the large ship suddenly lit up with a dim yellow light. At least twenty people jumped off the ship, their hands flashing with silver light, indicating that they were all carrying weapons. They waded through the water and ran towards this place.

Xu Tong and the other two's expressions changed.

"Go!" He gripped the embroidered spring knife tightly and charged towards the carriage with his two brothers.

"Take the man in the carriage hostage... stall for time!" Xu Tong ordered in a low voice.

The other two... Qian Sijin and Xu Can immediately lowered their eyes and gritted their teeth to reply, "Yes."