Chapter 112: Pegasus Meteor

A high wall, gray tiles, and a small alley with green flagstones.

At the entrance and exit of the alley, over ten armored soldiers, holding knives, stood solemn and menacing, trapping Chen Ji and the secret agent dead center. Chen Ji moved his wrists and took off the cloth strip from his mouth.

One armored soldier lowered his head to look at the uneven stone-slab road. The hemp rope he had just cut lay quietly there, with a neat cut.

The armored soldier's face suddenly changed. He slowly held the edge of his knife horizontally in front of him, vigilantly and seriously sizing up Chen Ji.

His strike just now, a knife intended to kill, had unintentionally saved a person.

The edge of the knife was neither more nor less, not injuring Chen Ji in the slightest.

That moment just now was extremely fast. Others might not have seen clearly, but he saw clearly where he intended to chop. Coincidence?

Impossible.

He slowly turned the edge of his knife toward Chen Ji and said in a low voice to his colleague, "There's an expert." After speaking, he added, "The person who tied him up might be even more formidable." The armored soldiers slowly closed in.

Within the narrow alley, the secret agent tried to break out several times without success. Moreover, he suddenly felt that these armored guards seemed to be deliberately targeting him. Every strike was full force and exceptionally fierce.

As the armored guards approached step by step, like pressing down mountain ranges, the secret agent and Chen Ji's space to maneuver shrunk. After just a few probing rounds, the secret agent's left arm and chest had each taken a knife, and fresh blood was dripping. The armored soldiers exchanged glances; this person seemed not as formidable as they had imagined! Strange!

The next moment, the armored soldiers swung their knives and chopped again.

Chen Ji, while dodging the momentum of the knife, pressed in a low voice, "Where is the Secret Agent Department's copper whistle? Call colleagues for support." Without even a single knife in his hand, Chen Ji felt awkward everywhere he fought. Earlier, he had stalled for time, unwilling to approach Peony Bridge, afraid of being affected by the fight between the Liu family and the Secret Agent Department. He hadn't expected the Liu family to be determined to kill Jin Zhu, secretly bringing in so many elites.

With over ten just in this small alley, how many were there in the entire block?

Now was not the time to think about these things; he had to escape first.

Chen Ji continued, "Hey, your..."

He didn't finish his words, but he was suddenly stunned.

He saw the secret agent pull his clothes, actually using his body as a shield in front to try to rush out and kill.

The armored soldiers were about to pounce, but they suddenly stopped in their tracks.

Yet, they saw Chen Ji suddenly grasp the back of the secret agent's long knife blade. With just a light shake of his hand, the secret agent involuntarily loosened his grip, and the knife body transmitted a strange, electric-shock-like tremble. Before the secret agent could react, the armored soldiers saw Chen Ji suddenly turn around. With his right hand grasping the back of the knife, he backhandedly slanted the knife tip into the secret agent's lung. The secret agent looked at Chen Ji in disbelief, only emitting a "heh heh" gasping sound from his mouth. In the dim alley, Chen Ji used his left hand to push the secret agent's chest, slowly drawing the knife from his lung. In the silence, he looked at the armored soldiers for a moment: "Did Lord Liu send you to save me? Take me away." The armored soldiers saw his calm demeanor, not like it was fake.

Just as the other armored soldiers were about to retrieve their knives, one armored guard suddenly said, "Lord Liu never explained this matter. Take him down. Bind him up first."

Suddenly, firelight rose in the distance.

The blazing fire illuminated the entire block, as if someone had casually wiped scarlet pigment on a black canvas with their palm, broken and magnificent.

The firelight crossed over the white walls and gray tiles. The shadows of people in the alley also shook incessantly. Everyone felt the heat wave sweeping in.

Breathe.

Chen Ji swung his knife like a star river hanging upside down, light flowing on the shiny knife. It seemed as if the knife was also burning, sweeping with the fire.

The first charging armored guard raised his knife to block, but Chen Ji's knife was too fast. Before he could even lift his hand, the knife had already chopped onto his shoulder.

The sound of leather splitting rang out. After cutting open the leather armor, this knife actually only left a half-inch deep wound on the armored soldier's shoulder, not fatal.

Chen Ji frowned and stepped back. He looked at the edge of his knife, then at the leather armor opposite.

This knife in his hand was too different from the one on Aoyama.

The secret agent who had fallen to the ground earlier coughed up bloody foam, looking at this scene in despair, his eyes full of unwillingness.

He desperately wanted to go and tell Jin Zhu that this person was indeed problematic.

But he had no opportunity.

The armored guard tilted his head to look at his wound, saying expressionlessly, "He can cut open armored guards, he's an official, but his cultivation realm is not too high. Form an array and kill him on the spot."

Amidst the swaying firelight, the armored soldiers successively stepped over the body of the fallen secret agent. Their shadows swept over the secret agent's face one after another, like a final reflection before death.

The blazing fire was constantly approaching. In winter, the flames in Lu City had formed a sea of fire.

Heat waves surged in the small alley. Hair even curled in the scorching air.

Chen Ji didn't retreat but advanced. At the moment of contact between the two sides, the armored guards relied on the toughness of their leather armor, fighting with wide-open moves, leaving no room for retreat.

But Chen Ji no longer clashed hard. Instead, the edge of his knife cut through the gaps in the leather armor at a strange angle, like an antelope hanging its horns, ethereal and traceless.

A sound of "zhi" rang out.

The knife tip brought a streak of fresh blood, which splashed on the white wall.

The armored soldiers were shocked by this knife and successively retreated backward.

The wounded person lifted his leather armor to check his wound, and suddenly discovered his armpit had been picked open by a knife, blood flowing like a stream.

A major artery had burst.

Initially, he didn't feel it was fatal, but after three breaths, the armored soldier felt the strength of his entire body draining away like a river leaking its banks.

This one knife shattered the confidence that the leather armor had given the armored soldier. Relying on their bravery, they couldn't even block the knife with their armor.

Both sides were people with extensive battle experience and naturally understood the level of this knife.

They silently sized up Chen Ji, only feeling that the official in front had a realm that was not too high, but this knife technique was more important than his realm.

One of them said in a fierce voice: Kill!

The armored soldiers pounced again.

The alley was narrow. At most, four armored guards could surround and attack Chen Ji at a time. When one person died, a living person would supplement the formation.

One after another, armored guards fell, and one after another, armored guards supplemented the battle formation.

Until a certain moment, everyone suddenly discovered that there was no one left behind them to supplement the ranks.

Chen Ji moved back and forth in the middle of the small alley, like a stone roller, crushing all the armored soldiers in this alley.

He didn't know how long had passed. Chen Ji was bathed in blood. Blood was sprayed and splashed on the white walls of the alley, as if it were a landscape painting of ten thousand mountains covered in red.

Only the last armored soldier remained in the alley. Chen Ji advanced a step, and the armored soldier retreated a step.

The armored soldier turned around and ran wildly, but after only two steps, he saw Chen Ji throw the long knife in his hand. The knife tip actually crossed several meters, piercing straight through the armored soldier's neck.

Amidst the firelight, Chen Ji supported himself against the wall with his hand, bending over and panting heavily.

He withdrew his hand. In this human purgatory, the blood was boiling hot, the air was boiling hot, and even the walls were boiling hot. Chen Ji stood up, blankly looking towards the head and end of the alley, and for some reason, dry-retched several times. Then he forced himself to stand up. He thought for a moment, then threw the corpses one by one into the sea of fire. He turned around, put on a set of leather armor, and escaped outwards...

Blocks and the sea of fire were filled with corpses. Armored guards could be seen patrolling back and forth everywhere, capturing and killing the remaining secret agents. Chen Ji, wearing leather armor, lowered his head and ran madly towards the bank of the Lu River. In tonight's game, he had to personally confirm Jin Zhu's death. Passing through layers of small alleys, the sound of flowing water got closer and closer.

When he emerged from the maze-like alleys, he felt the world suddenly open up, and even the air was incomparably fresh. Chen Ji supported himself against the wooden railing beside the river bank, breathing greedily, while turning his head to look towards Peony Bridge in the distance. Blurred morning light and firelight intertwined. He saw Jin Zhu in a desperate fight, actually exerting his last strength, grasping Xi Feng and Liu Tiao's collars, throwing them both fiercely out, leaping over the crowd, and falling into the ice-cold and piercing water of the Lu River.

With two ordinary sounds, Xi Feng struggled in the water for a moment before sticking his head out, crying out heartbreakingly, "Lord!"

Jin Zhu on the bridge angrily said, "Quickly run!"

After speaking, he no longer struggled and slowly stood firm.

Liu Ming, wearing a black fox-fur coat, appeared. He placed his copper hand stove on the carriage and lightly clapped his hands: "I didn't expect the conscienceless Secret Agent Department's Twelve Zodiacs would actually sacrifice themselves to save people."

Jin Zhu sneered, "I just wanted to send them to report to the Minister. When the Minister requests His Majesty, he will immediately dispatch the Wan Nian army to kill your entire Liu family." Liu Ming shook his head: "The one in Ren Shou Palace may not bother with such unclear matters. He will only sit on his white crane couch and cultivate, waiting for the people below to kill each other until they're half-dead before coming out to mediate. Only when you and I fight fiercely will he sit steadily. Over the years, my Liu family has been nibbled away little by little just like this. I understand this better than you." Jin Zhu was silent.

A moment later, he simply sat down on the ground like a roll of meat. "No need to waste effort. The king becomes a king, the defeated is a bandit. There's nothing good to say." Liu Ming asked with interest, "Lord Jin Zhu, are you not interested in working for my Liu family? You only need to write a letter scolding the treacherous minister and a court memorial, and my Liu family may spare your life."

Jin Zhu cursed with a wide mouth, "Talk your mother's dog fart! You want to make this old man scold the Minister? What are you? Is there no one in the Liu family? Why would they let you, an ignorant good-for-nothing second-generation descendant, manage the family? Where is your old man? Let him come over and pound this old man's legs."

Liu Ming coldly laughed, "Eunuch dog, kill him."

Yuan Zhang beside him quietly said, "Pickle him well with lime. I want to send him back to the Jing Dynasty. Jin Zhu has killed many of my Jing Dynasty people over the years. I think the military strategist will definitely like the person whose head is on this."

On the river bank, Chen Ji was too far away to see clearly or hear what Jin Zhu and Liu Ming were saying.

He only saw from a distance that when Zhang Guo Er went to kill Jin Zhu, Jin Zhu, despite his severe injuries, suddenly attacked. After breaking one of Zhang Guo Er's legs, he sat back down on the ground.

When another tattooed man approached Jin Zhu, Jin Zhu actually attacked again, striking the opponent until they coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, before falling back onto the bridge.

Until the third time, Jin Zhu wanted to repeat his old trick, but because his speed was a beat slower, he was finally kicked to the ground.

This time, he was truly at the end of his rope.

Liu Ming laughed with anger, "I've long heard that the Twelve Zodiac Jin Zhu doesn't have a single true word in his mouth. Today I experience it." Jin Zhu no longer paid attention to him. He simply closed his eyes and lay down on the bridge, keeping his mouth shut. His fingers trembled slightly. Even the most arrogant person, facing death, couldn't truly maintain a calm expression. But just at this moment, Chen Ji suddenly saw through the bridge arch that a black boat was slowly sailing towards the other side of the bridge. Standing at the bow of the boat was a young man in white clothes. His hands were empty, yet he suddenly struck a full bow and draw string posture. In an instant, a white bow appeared in the air, flickering with brilliant starlight.

With a bang, the bowstring vibrated.

A star fell from his hand, dragging a long comet tail, rushing straight towards Zhang Guo Er who had just stood up on the bridge. That star, amidst the morning light and firelight, drew a tiny parabola from a distance. In the blink of an eye, the star was as if it had eyes, going straight through Zhang Guo Er's heart.

Zhang Guo Er suddenly spurted out a mouthful of fresh blood.

He lowered his head to look at the hole in his chest and murmured, "You mother, Tian Ma." As he spoke, he saw Tian Ma standing at the bow of the boat drawing his bow full, and one by one, stars dragging comet tails surged out.

A hundred billion Tian Ma. The person had not yet arrived, but the arrows had already pierced through the armored guards on the bridge one by one. After one arrow pierced four people, its momentum still didn't stop.

When Jin Zhu heard the name Tian Ma, he had already opened his eyes in excitement.

He suddenly sat up, his gaze crossing the railing, looking towards the distant river surface, his voice laughing madly: "Tian Ma has come, Tian Ma has come! You all can go to hell!"

As he spoke, a star fell and flew over Jin Zhu's head. This arrow didn't shoot anyone; it was just to greet Jin Zhu in this special way.

The next falling star fiercely pierced Yuan Zhang's thigh.

If Yuan Zhang hadn't dodged in advance, this arrow would probably have shot through his heart.

But Tian Ma didn't give up and drew his bow full again.

With a bang, a falling star rushed towards Yuan Zhang's heart at an extremely fast speed.

Jin Zhu suddenly shouted: "Wait, don't kill him! I want Meng Ji to interrogate him!"

In an instant, the shot-out falling star actually changed direction slightly in the air, flying past in front of Yuan Zhang's cheek, causing his hair to shake violently, as if a Tian Ma had whooshed past in front of him.

Yuan Zhang looked at Liu Ming with a gloomy face, then turned and threw himself limply into the Lu River, swimming in the opposite direction of Tian Ma.

Jin Zhu said urgently, "Xi Feng, Liu Tiao, follow him for me!"

But as soon as he finished speaking, miserable cries from Xi Feng and Liu Tiao came from under the bridge.

Jin Zhu cursed and stood up, running to the stone railing beside him and craning his head down to look: "You two who can't succeed at anything but are good at failing! Are you dead or not? If you're not dead, squeak!" "Not dead!"

Jin Zhu supported himself against the railing, his eyes narrowed, staring fiercely at Yuan Zhang as he swam further and further. But at this moment, he suddenly let out a light "eh": "Wait, who is that?"

Where his gaze reached, there was actually a young man taking off his leather armor on the bank of the Lu River, and he plunged into the water and disappeared.

Jin Zhu's eyes widened: "Looking at the body shape, how is it a bit like Chen Ji?"

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PS: Tian Ma looks really handsome when he appears.