Chapter 281: A Second-Rank Official

When the shopkeeper fought to the death with the thousand commander, wind and thunder surged.

Yuan Zhen, surrounded and protected by over a hundred armored soldiers from the personal guard camp, watched the two men come and go, his eyes flat, like watching two crickets fighting, without any taste.

He sat on his horse and said indifferently, "You tried hands with Li Shen before, and never won once. Who gave you the courage to come assassinate me?"

The shopkeeper had no leisure to answer.

He tried again and again to approach Yuan Zhen, and was pushed back by the thousand commander, Li Shen, again and again.

Originally, he was only seven steps away from Yuan Zhen. After exchanging blows for several breaths, he was ten steps away from Yuan Zhen!

When he retreated, layer after layer of armored soldiers from the personal guard camp filled the ten-step gap, like closing one large door after another!

Yuan Zhen slowly recalled, "In the past, when you were captured alive as a scout, it was I who, cherishing talent, spared your life. At that time, I knew you were only pretending to submit, because when you were tattooed on the face, you were too calm, calm as if you had already made preparations. You probably don't know, even the most timid person will shed tears of humiliation when being tattooed, but you did not!"

Yuan Zhen suddenly sighed and said, "At the beginning, I kept you only to see what that fellow Qing Wen Tao exactly wanted to do, to turn the tables on him! Who knew that not long after, he died at the hands of your Southern Dynasty's own people! After he died, you drank until you were dead drunk every day in Feng Sheng State without any cover! I thought of your loyalty, and then had the thought of subduing you. I thought as long as time was long, you could always be used by me!"

"Later, you did quite a few things for me, killed quite a few people. I sent you back to Gu Yuan to lurk, and you truly gave quite a few useful intelligence! In these years, I promoted you to hundred commander, thousand commander, thinking that thus you could truly submit to me, yet I did not expect you and this Gu Yuan alike, both smelly and hard!"

At this time, the shopkeeper fighting with the thousand commander had already gradually fallen into disadvantage!

Chen Ji watched silently, without any waves on his face!

Yuan Zhen waved his hand and said casually, "Take him down!"

In the personal guard camp, an official disguised as an ordinary personal guard suddenly drew the plain knife at his waist and leaped down from his horse!

This knife came straight and went straight, fast to the extreme, chopping down towards the shopkeeper's head!

But just as this knife fell, the shopkeeper's body moved like a ghost, barely avoiding the edge of the knife, letting the blade of the knife stick to his back all the way down, chopping on the shadow of his feet!

What was strange was that in the dust stirred by the edge of the knife, the black shadow wriggled like thick smoke, actually instantly turning into a first-class Fei Yi that grew six feet and had four wings, flapping its wings and flying up to the night sky, then diving towards Yuan Zhen!

The thousand commander's heart was startled, "Fei Yi, it's the Mandala secret seal."

Chen Ji heard these words, and subconsciously turned his gaze to Xiao Man, who was also looking at the shopkeeper with a surprised expression!

At this time, the thousand commander wanted to return to defend, but was clamped by the shopkeeper's armpit, holding his arm tightly. The personal guard official wanted to return to defend, but was held by the shopkeeper's tight grip on the edge of the knife, not loosening even if his palm was cut open!

The personal guard official didn't care about abandoning the knife, but it was already too late!

The six-foot, four-winged Fei Yi came to Yuan Zhen's front, opening its blood-basin big mouth!

But a sudden change occurred. That black-as-ink Fei Yi, at the instant it contacted Yuan Zhen, actually turned into a handful of light smoke and dissipated!

The shopkeeper stood stunned in his original place, murmuring, "How can it be?"

Yuan Zhen sat on the horse saddle, rock steady and not moving, laughing loudly, "This commander is a second-rank high official of the Jing Dynasty, with dynasty fate added to my body. How can a mere small technique harm me?"

Chen Ji's pupils contracted. He recalled earlier that Jie Fan Wei commander Lin Chao Qing had also once said to Yun Yang and Jiao Tu, "This seat has the body of an original Da Ning fourth-rank official. Don't take out a mere small technique to lose face!"

Originally, the official bodies of the two dynasties could truly ward off all evils.

Was this not also a kind of official way?

While thinking, the personal guard official pressed one palm on the shopkeeper's chest. Yet, the shopkeeper's back armor and front chest armor shattered together, armor pieces flying horizontally. He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and fell heavily to the ground!

The shopkeeper struggled to crawl up, saying ferociously, "Not right, even the most second-rank high official should be injured!"

Words unfinished, the shopkeeper widened his eyes and saw Yuan Zhen take out an imperial edict from his sleeve, lightly saying, "Second rank is not enough, adding one imperial edict handwritten by His Majesty is sufficient!"

The shopkeeper dejectedly sat back on the ground, "So that's how it is!"

Yuan Zhen put away the imperial edict and gazed at the shopkeeper sitting on the ground, "You betrayed a country's crown prince, only to exchange for a chance to approach me! But you also know, with the distance just now, you actually couldn't kill me! Since you chose to endure, why not always endure down?"

The shopkeeper sat on the ground, not speaking a word!

Only hearing Yuan Zhen softly ask, "Selling your life for those officials and nobles of the Southern Dynasty, is it worth it?"

The shopkeeper coughed out several mouthfuls of blood foam, "This old man is not selling his life to the Zhu family, but selling it to this Gu Yuan!"

Yuan Zhen was startled, then raised his head and sighed, "Gu Yuan! I have fought with Gu Yuan for a lifetime, and you have also fought with me for a lifetime. Everyone has wasted time here. Why bother, why bother throwing away your life for this city!"

The shopkeeper grinned miserably and laughed, "I said that during the Battle of Qu Wu Mountain in Jia Ning twenty-five years, I had no opportunity to kill you, and some people didn't believe it; I said I was sent by General Wen Tao, and they also didn't believe it! It's as if as long as you are a spy for one day, a person becomes a ghost, your enemies don't believe you, your own people don't believe you, and living has no meaning! I won't live anymore. I will go to the underworld today and ask the general why he chose me back then. He was too biased!"

Yuan Zhen was silent for a moment, "Say hello to him on my behalf. Kill him!"

The thousand commander, Li Shen, held his spear and came to the shopkeeper's front, fiercely stabbing through the shopkeeper's heart!

Chen Ji silently watched the shopkeeper slowly close his eyes, the torchlight blown by the wind, gently swaying on his face!

Yuan Zhen no longer looked at the shopkeeper, pulled his horse, and continued towards the north. His trusted subordinate at his side said in a low voice, "Great Commander, just now the vanguard camp encountered a branch of elite infantry at Duo Ku Workshop in the north. Your humble officer is worried that there are still ambushes on that side!"

Yuan Zhen calmly asked, "Have the scouts from the west side come back yet?"

The trusted subordinate said, "They have come back. That side is empty, as if specially making way for us!"

Yuan Zhen smiled, "What does Hu Jun Xian want to do by arranging this? Test the wisdom and courage of someone like me, Yuan, and guess which side is the way to live?"

The trusted subordinate no longer spoke!

Yuan Zhen's expression gradually became arrogant, "I don't believe that the hidden soldiers inside this city can block the cavalry of my Jing Dynasty. We will kill through the northern defense line, and kill out from the north city gate!"

The trusted subordinate asked in a low voice, "Great Commander, in the rush to kill our way out, the people from the Ning Dynasty crown prince's side are afraid of becoming a burden. Who should we bring, and who should we leave?"

Yuan Zhen turned back and looked at the crown prince, Chen Li Qin, Chen Wen Xiao, Zhang Xia, and Zhang Zheng!

He suddenly said, "Leave the crown prince behind, and take the others away!"

The trusted subordinate was startled, "Great Commander, it was so difficult to get our hands on the crown prince, why do you want to leave him again? Among this group, only he is the most important!"

Yuan Zhen laughed loudly, "What can a crown prince who is treated as an abandoned son exchange for, even if he is taken away? Instead, the people from the Chen family and the Zhang family are more useful! Leave him, leave him in the Ning Dynasty. A crown prince with hate in his heart is then of great use! He must live, live and go back to the Ning Dynasty court, only then is it good!"

Having said that, he raised his whip and urged his horse, rushing north under the protection of the personal guard camp!

Chen Ji was surprised and doubtful in his heart. This Yuan Zhen's way of thinking was completely different from ordinary people. He actually really let go of the crown prince in his hands?

He clamped his horse's belly and mixed in with the Tian Ce Army iron cavalry, coming to Chen Li Qin and the others' front!

The Tian Ce Army dismounted, threw ropes to tie up the hands and feet of all the captives, and prepared one horse to carry one person!

Chen Ji's gaze swept over the captives' bodies. Which captive should he bring?

He wanted to save Chen Wen Zong, Zhang Xia, Zhang Zheng, and Xiao Man, but he had to save Xiao Man first.

Xiao Man was an official. Later, if there was chaos, he could assist him!

But just as Chen Ji went to take Xiao Man away, he turned his head and saw that a Tian Ce Army soldier had already stepped forward, using hemp rope to tie Xiao Man's hands and feet!

Chen Ji frowned. While pondering what to do, that Tian Ce Army soldier turned his head and looked at Chen Ji, nodding slightly!

Li Xuan, after taking over the Tian Ce Army corpse, had also changed into good armor and had mixed in during the time the shopkeeper was assassinating!

Chen Ji's heart settled slightly. Without any change, he came to Zhang Xia's front and without a word, tied the hemp rope on the other's hands and feet!

Zhang Xia tacitly closed his mouth and let his hands and feet be bound!

When Chen Ji bent down to tie Zhang Xia's hands, he saw that the other's hands were slightly trembling!

He straightened up and said in a low voice, "Don't be afraid!"

Having said that, he carried up Zhang Xia and placed him horizontally on the horse saddle!

Chen Ji turned back and looked at the shopkeeper sitting on the ground, then mounted his horse!

The Tian Ce Army iron cavalry took away all the captives, only leaving the crown prince alone in the dark night!