Snow fell from the sky, and no one responded. The middle aged man smiled and waved his hand, "Charge in!"
Dozens of black robed men shouted and charged into the hall. However, as soon as they entered, they felt that something was amiss. They did not meet any resistance.
"Shoot!" A loud shout broke the silence. The guards were all armed with crossbows, and it was the most advanced five-shot crossbow.
Following the order, a sharp whistling sound could be heard.
"Pu pu pu!" Seven to eight black robed men screamed in pain as they rolled on the ground. Blood spurted from their bodies as they screamed in pain. The pain was unbearable.
"Shoot again!"
Even if the crowd was prepared, it was of no use at all. Xiu xiu sounds swept past, and in an instant, blood splattered everywhere. In an instant, it was filled with the muffled sound of arrows piercing into human bodies.
"There's an ambush!" Only after the second volley of arrows did someone shout out a warning.
"Third volley!"
"Pu pu pu!" The sounds of people screaming could be heard. At such a distance, unless one was wearing armor, even Pei Zi Yun would not be able to defend himself.
"Fourth volley, fifth volley, throw the crossbow, unsheathe the sword!"
After the fifth volley, the steps in front of the hall were littered with corpses and injured people. This type of crossbow could pierce through armor within ten steps, and penetrate wood within thirty steps. The entire courtyard was narrow, and only thirty steps could be taken. Hence, after being hit by an arrow, a huge bloody hole appeared on the body. Fresh blood spurted out and flowed down the arrow tip.
Some of the arrows pierced through their internal organs. They were in so much pain that they could not even scream. Their bodies twitched on the ground.
The courtyard was silent. In the blink of an eye, more than twenty black robed men had been killed. Only a dozen remained. Under such a terrifying situation, the middle aged man shouted, "Get into formation, charge! With me around, we are invincible!"
"With me around, we are invincible!" The middle aged man's shout awakened the black robed men. Under their honourable military training, the remaining black robed men got into formation and charged forward.
"Cloud Form!" At this point, a sword flashed. One of the black robed men had barely managed to lift his sword when he fell to the ground. His internal organs and blood flowed out of his body.
"Kill!" The surrounding black robed men screamed as they disregarded their own comrades and charged forward.
"Clang, clang, clang!" The sword and the saber clashed. With a single move, the three black-clothed men fell down, fresh blood splattering everywhere.
Although he had only killed four of them, the formation of the men in black had been broken. The Imperial Bodyguards took this opportunity to attack. Immediately the men in black screamed miserably and several of them fell to the ground.
The rest of the people were shocked and retreated. The middle-aged man who was leading the black-clothed men was extremely skilled. He turned around and tried to escape, but at this moment, a shadow rushed up to him.
The middle-aged man's hair stood on end, and his hair stood on end. He had only sent out half of the saber light when a figure appeared like a stream of light.
With a palm strike, the middle-aged man's back suffered a heavy blow. He groaned and knelt on the ground. With a ferocious look in his eyes, he shouted and raised his saber to attack again.
"Pu!" Pei Zi Yun's sword flashed. Halfway through his attack, he felt a sharp pain in his hand. Blood spurted out as one of the tendons in his hand was severed. He screamed out in pain as his sword fell to the ground.
Pei Zi Yun stepped forward to interrogate him. One of the black-clothed men who was lying on the ground raised his last ounce of strength and shouted, "Black Robed Feathered Forest, I am invincible."
His saber carried the force of wind and thunder as he fought with his life on the line. Before he could even get close to the black-clothed man, his sword flashed past. Fresh blood spurted out from his neck as he fell to the ground.
"Who sent you here?" Pei Zi Yun pointed his sword at the middle-aged man and asked. The middle-aged man laughed, "My brothers have all died in battle, how can I live?"
As he said this, he slammed his sword into the man's head. "Pu!" The tip of the sword pierced through his head and came out from the back. His eyes were filled with unwillingness and determination.
The monastery was filled with the stench of blood. The ground was stained red, and the corpses were steaming hot. Pei Zi Yun's face was expressionless, "These are all men of sacrifice. Leave none alive. Clean them up!"
"Yes!" The two Imperial Bodyguards turned around and stepped onto the snow, cleaning up the corpses. The sound of a knife stabbing could be heard as every corpse was stabbed several times.
Occasionally, there would be a few who were not completely dead. They let out a short scream before silence fell.
"The enemy is a hero, and I am a bandit. I am a hero, and the enemy is a bandit."
In actual fact, according to the standards of a soldier, these men were not bad. Pei Zi Yun looked at them and ordered, "Let's go back, the Crown Prince is waiting for us!"
Crown Prince's Mansion
The Crown Prince's Mansion, which was originally decorated with green tiles, was now covered in snow. However, the roads had been swept once, and there was only a thin layer of snow. The rest of the snow was piled up in the corners of the walls. There were many soldiers standing guard along the road. The Imperial Bodyguards at the entrance were all clad in armor. Under the armor, they wore thick cotton jackets, and their faces were red from the cold.
The sound of the snow being stepped on could be heard. A butler dressed in a brocade robe and a mink fur hat. He had several jade rings on his hands, and his body was bulging, as though he was wearing a cotton jacket. He had an air of arrogance about him as he walked towards the entrance. Just as he was about to step out, a guard stopped him, "Butler Li, the Crown Prince's Mansion is under martial law today. You are only allowed to enter, but not to leave. Please return!"
Hearing this, the butler was enraged, "Do you know who I am? I'm here on orders from the Crown Prince's Concubine. How dare you stop me? "
The butler then took out the Crown Prince's Concubine token and scolded, "The Crown Prince's Concubine token is here. Get lost."
The Imperial Bodyguards looked at each other in dismay, their faces revealing a look of difficulty. However, they didn't dare to stop him. At this point, a cold laugh could be heard, "Buying supplies? Did you smell something and run away? "
Butler Li was shocked and angry at the same time. He turned around and saw Pei Zi Yun leading a young lady into the mansion. He then said, "The Crown Prince has given his orders. Take this man down!"
"No, how can you take me down. I am the Concubine's subordinate." The butler shouted out loudly.
"Take him down!"
The butler was still struggling when one of the Imperial Bodyguards, who had fought with him earlier, slapped him across the face. A loud 'pa' sound could be heard as the butler spat out a mouthful of blood. He fell to the ground, his eyes wide open, his face filled with disbelief.
His clothes had loosened as well, and some banknotes fell to the ground. The butler's face was covered in blood as he struggled to pick up the banknotes.
"Tie him up." Two Imperial Bodyguards rushed forward and tied him up. Pei Zi Yun pulled out the banknotes and looked at them. There were ten taels each, and fifty taels each. The most valuable banknotes were worth a hundred taels each.
Pei Zi Yun then laughed, "Seven thousand and three hundred taels. The Crown Prince only earns twenty thousand taels a year. What capabilities do you have to be worth seven thousand and three hundred taels?"
"How many people have you stolen from the Crown Prince, and how much money have you received from outsiders?"
"Take him down and lock him up!" Pei Zi Yun led the lady into the Crown Prince's study room.
It was snowing at this point, and the Crown Prince's study room was filled with beasts. The room was warm, and yet the Crown Prince was restless. He was dressed in his usual robes, and would occasionally draw something on a piece of paper before erasing it. At this point, a eunuch reported, "Crown Prince, the Dao Master has returned."
The Crown Prince's face lit up with joy, "Quick, invite him in."
Pei Zi Yun entered and bowed. The Crown Prince's face was flushed red, "Don't bow, sit. How's the situation?"
"Crown Prince, we've managed to lure forty-three people here. However, they were all death warriors, and refused to surrender. They've all been executed, and not a single one of them survived." Pei Zi Yun bowed as he spoke.
"These people were extremely difficult to groom. Now that they're dead, I'm sure my brother will be heartbroken for a long time." The Crown Prince said happily. He then asked, "What about the traitors? Have you investigated them? I want to find them all, and cut them into a thousand pieces to appease my hatred. "
As the Crown Prince spoke up to this point, his face turned ashen. He was filled with hatred.
"Your Highness, I've gathered all the names. The lady lady has recorded the names and confirmed that there are no mistakes." Pei Zi Yun said. As soon as he finished speaking, the lady lady handed him the name list.
"What?" The Crown Prince took a look at the name list, and felt dizzy. Butler Li and a few others were sent out by the Crown Prince's Concubine. One of them was even the Concubine's closest confidante.
"Crown Prince, when we returned, Butler Li wanted to take the money and escape, but was stopped by the guards." Pei Zi Yun handed over some banknotes, "We found seven thousand and three hundred taels of silver!"
"Not only that, according to our investigations, Butler Li bought three plots of land outside the city. The land in the outskirts of the city is expensive, and was worth three thousand taels of silver."
"Other than that, there were a few other shops. As time was short, we couldn't investigate them one by one."
The Crown Prince received the banknotes and nodded. His face turned ashen as he frowned and took a sip of tea. He tried to compose himself, but the veins on his forehead bulged, and his cheeks twitched. He couldn't take it any longer and slammed the table, "Bring him in."
"Crown Prince, please spare me. Crown Prince, please spare me. I've been wrongly accused. They've wrongly accused me." Butler Li started kowtowing as soon as he entered.
"Wrongly accused? So much silver, so many land deeds, and so many shops. How could they have wrongly accused you? " The Crown Prince waved his hands in disgust. He then saw an imperial guard carrying a plate, which contained all the land deeds.
"Crown Prince, please spare me. It's all the Concubine's orders." Butler Li looked at the Crown Prince's face and said loudly.
"Concubine?" Hearing these words, the Crown Prince's body trembled as his face flushed red. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ever since the Concubine entered the palace, he had been doted on by the Concubine. Could it be …
"Crown Prince, don't listen to this man's provocation. You can't trust someone who would betray his master for money." Pei Zi Yun looked at him coldly and said, "In order to prevent him from speaking ill of the Crown Prince, it's best to deal with him as soon as possible."
Hearing these words, the Crown Prince understood and his expression changed. Even if the Concubine was suspicious, he couldn't do anything about it now. If the Crown Prince and the Concubine were so disloyal, how could he be the ruler of the country?
Thinking about this, the Crown Prince's expression changed. He looked at Butler Li and slammed the table, his face contorted in anger, "Not only did you betray your master, you even dare to provoke the Concubine and me. You've really reached the end of your life. Men, execute the family's punishment!"
The moment the Crown Prince gave his order, a murderous aura filled the room. Following that, more than ten imperial guards rushed out and dragged the group of people onto the snowy ground.
"Beat them!"
The imperial guards carried out the orders immediately. They slammed the wooden planks on the bodies of the men. In the blink of an eye, some of the men were badly mutilated. Moans could be heard everywhere. After a dozen strikes, some of the men fainted, but the imperial guards continued. Seeing this scene, most of the servants in the Crown Prince's Mansion watched the execution. Seeing the cries of pain lessen, they were filled with fear and trembled in fear.
The remaining few important people, including Steward Li, were tied up even more tightly. Then, they pressed them down and made snowmen towards them.
Snow continued to fall on them, covering their faces. At first, they were struggling, but after a while, they stopped moving and became real snowmen.
The entire place was silent. Everyone was trembling in fear, and their faces were pale.
"Just make them into snowmen. When spring comes, we'll feed them to the dogs!" The Crown Prince's anger turned into venomous hatred as he spoke coldly.
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