Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

"What?!"

Zhang Yin's expression changed drastically.

"An assassination attempt was made on the emperor in the West Garden. More than a dozen palace maids took action and managed to seriously injure the emperor until he fell into a coma. Yet, they were able to save him!"

All I can say is that Zhu Houcong's life was not meant to end!

As for Zhu Houyu, assassinating a top-level external martial arts master was already much more difficult.

Since the information was leaked in advance, giving him time to prepare and even allowing him to set a trap, your operation is unlikely to succeed.

If Zhu Houyu were wearing heavy armor and wielding a suitable heavy weapon, even if all six elders attacked together, they wouldn't be able to kill him in a short time.

Once the rescue team arrives, you will have no choice but to evacuate.

It's normal that Duan Chaoyong and Wang Ziyan couldn't escape, but with the six elders working together, even if the enemy had hundreds of armored soldiers lying in ambush, breaking through the encirclement shouldn't be too difficult.

Besides, if there really were so many people lying in ambush, you should have discovered it long ago.

Duan Chaoyong, having used Guo Xun to set a trap, could not possibly have revealed the secrets of the six elders to him. Zhu Houyu also did not know that the assassins who came to kill him would be six top-notch internal martial arts masters.

It's highly unlikely that he orchestrated a trap that would leave four top-tier internal martial arts masters alive.

What exactly happened with Elders Zheng, Zhou, Wang, and Pang?!

"Master, we made a grave mistake in our judgment of Zhu Houyu!"

Wu Nian stood up and clasped his hands in greeting to Zhang Yin.

"Because Zhu Houyu could wield a long sword weighing 27 jin, we always thought he was a master of external martial arts."

Having just heard that the news had been leaked, Zhu Houyu knew that someone would come to assassinate him, and the leader also thought that he would put on heavy armor in advance to protect himself.

But in fact, after the six of us infiltrated the Marquis of Wuding's residence, we saw with our own eyes that Zhu Houyu was not wearing any armor at all.

He also arranged for five internal martial arts masters to lie in ambush at his lodgings. Two of them were as skilled as us, while the other three were still lacking in skill.

There were no large troop of armored soldiers, nor powerful bows and crossbows for use in battle.

After Elder Pan and I escaped from the Marquis of Wuding's mansion, we thought carefully about why this happened.

The only answer is that Zhu Houyu also misjudged us. He ambushed five internal martial arts masters, and it's likely that he originally intended to deal with assassins who were also internal martial arts masters.

As for what kind of assassin Zhu Houyu was originally wary of, we don't know.

But someone who could command such seriousness must be no ordinary person.

"Perhaps, it's not that there are no clues at all."

Elder Pan spoke up.

"Don't forget, Zhu Houyu may very well have been possessed by demons or evil spirits!"

In that case, what he might be wary of are sorcerers who exorcise demons.

"What are you talking about?"

Zhang Yin looked puzzled.

"How did this get onto the topic of demons and monsters!"

These supernatural and bizarre things are nothing more than fabrications by people.

It's one thing for ordinary people to believe in ghost stories, but why do you believe them too?

Our religion has been passed down for hundreds of years, and no one has ever seen a real demon or monster!

"Father, I'm afraid this time, we'll have no choice but to believe it."

Li Dali sighed deeply.

"Not only do demons and monsters exist in this world, but they are also incredibly audacious, having seized the body of the emperor's own younger brother!"

Father, aren't you wondering how the four elders, Zheng, Zhou, Wang, and Pang, were lost?

All four of them died at the hands of Zhu Houyu!

Elder Zheng was ambushed by Zhu Houyu using a type of firearm we've never seen before that doesn't require lighting. That's one thing, but you could say it was because he wasn't prepared.

For a prince who is in charge of the country, it is not difficult to have skilled craftsmen create an ingenious mechanism that can ignite a fire.

However, the deaths of the three elders, Zhou, Wang, and Pang, were extremely strange and exactly the same.

We switched Zhu Houyu's 27-pound longsword beforehand, but since he already knew about the assassination attempt, he could certainly secretly prepare another heavy weapon.

However, the scenario we expected—where a master of external martial arts, clad in heavy armor and wielding heavy weapons, joined the battle—did not materialize.

On the contrary, after the two sides started fighting, Zhu Houyu always had his men hold the front, while he used darts and muskets to launch sneak attacks.

This is not the fighting style of a master of external martial arts at all.

Moreover, Elder Pang successfully rushed in front of Zhu Houyu and pierced his abdomen with a sword. The sword went through his liver and the tip came out from his back.

If the liver is punctured, even the most skilled fighter will collapse within a few breaths and die quickly.

However, Zhu Houyu seemed completely unharmed, not only moving freely but also barely bleeding from his wounds.

Even if he were one of those extremely rare individuals, like the one his father mentioned, whose internal organs are reversed, and the puncture site wasn't his liver, it would still be impossible to achieve this level of skill.

"After Elder Pang's longsword pierced Zhu Houyu's lower abdomen, his entire demeanor changed."

Even now, Wu Nian still feels lingering fear when she mentions it.

"Although he was still able to move freely, he gave me a strange feeling."

The way he walks doesn't look like he's using his leg muscles for power at all.

It was more like an invisible force was moving his limbs.

From that moment on, he finally stopped hiding his strength.

Without making any contact with each other, Elder Pang suddenly covered his face and let out a scream.

Elder Pan and I were the furthest apart, and Elder Pang had his back to us, so we didn't see what was going on right away.

But soon, we found out the answer.

Zhu Houyu, with a long sword stuck in his stomach, walked past the two elders, Zhou and Wang.

The two elders' eyeballs suddenly burst open without warning, as if someone had stabbed their eye sockets with their fingers.

I saw it very clearly: Zhu Houyu didn't even move his hand, and he didn't make any contact with them.

This is absolutely not something that martial arts can do!

The three elders' eyeballs suddenly exploded, and after they went blind, they were quickly killed by Zhu Houyu's internal energy masters.

Such bizarre methods are simply beyond our ability to counter.

Elder Pan and I acted decisively, unleashing our most powerful moves to force back our opponents and then fled the Marquis of Wuding's residence.

"Father, the next day we learned from our sources in the palace that the long sword in Zhu Houyu's abdomen had been removed, and that he had been sitting in front of the emperor's bed in Renshou Palace for a long time, and that he was in good spirits."

Li Dali continued.

"Being pierced through the abdomen by a longsword, even if it doesn't hit a vital spot, is definitely a very serious injury."

Apart from the bandage on his lower abdomen, Zhu Houyu showed no signs of injury whatsoever.

In any case, this is something that a living, breathing human being could never do.

"Zhu Houyu's gait after his injury didn't feel like that of a living person; it was more like that of a walking corpse!"

Elder Pan sighed.

"This feeling is actually very similar to that of people who are possessed by evil spirits in legends."

The three of us felt that the real Zhu Houyu was probably already dead!

The one now inhabiting the body of the emperor's younger brother is actually a terrifying demon!