69novels Chapter 22: Zhan Doudou's Counterattack
Chapter 22: Zhan Doudou's Counterattack
Shen Zhong still understood, and roughly guessed who was behind all of this.
Of the delegation, only Ye Chengfeng from Dongyi City led a group that broke away from the group.
According to his subordinates' report, it was the young city lord's eight sword attendants who went to summon Yan Bingyun.
Shen Zhong is now in a difficult situation; he cannot simply abandon Fan Xian.
Whether Fan Xian lives or dies is irrelevant, but he cannot die in front of everyone.
Within a distance of less than 500 meters, more than a dozen experts have already challenged Fan Xian.
Even though Fan Xian had cultivated the domineering true qi, he was now somewhat exhausted.
At that moment, however, someone blocked the delegation's path.
He Daoren, a ninth-rank master from the Northern Qi Dynasty!
And since he was Cheng Jushu's master, his appearance at this time was perfectly reasonable.
"Stop him!"
Shen Zhong's words not only indicated that he wanted to stop He Daoren, but also gave a signal to his subordinates.
That concludes today's plans; it's time to clear the room!
"Shen Zhong, are you going to stop me? I need a reason."
Shen Zhong rode his horse and arrived beside He Daoren.
"Martial arts challenges should be fair. Lord Fan is still somewhat exhausted. Is there any suspicion of taking advantage of his weakness?"
He Daoren could certainly see Fan Xian's current state, but it was unlikely that he would give up so easily.
"Take this one move, and we'll call it quits for today!"
He Daoren completely ignored Shen Zhong and instead looked at Fan Xian.
Today, he is not only challenging Fan Xian, but also taking this opportunity to openly and legitimately convey a message to Fan Xian.
It's impossible to give up based on just one sentence from Shen Zhong.
It should be understood that, given He Daoren's status, he had virtually no legitimate opportunity to contact Fan Xian.
Wang Qinian also reminded Fan Xian of the visitor's identity in real time.
According to Wang Qinian, this is Cheng Jushu's master.
Fan Xian then asked, "Are you here to avenge Cheng Jushu?"
"You two fought in the street, and he lost and was killed by you. It's because he wasn't skilled enough, so you can't blame anyone else."
"If that's the case, then why did you come?"
"Naturally, it's to verify whether the rumors are true. I have no way to investigate what happened that day; I can only see if you have the ability to kill him."
Having said that, He Daoren no longer hesitated and took several steps forward.
In the blink of an eye, he flew to Fan Xian's side, and the two clashed swords and exchanged a few blows.
In the end, Fan Xian's knife was knocked away, and He Daoren naturally wouldn't kill him.
The two finally clashed with palm strikes, and Fan Xian, who cultivated domineering true qi, was second to none in palm strikes.
"Such impressive for such a young age."
After saying this, He Daoren turned and left cleanly and decisively.
"Here it comes, Xiaolan, you lost!"
"How did I lose?"
Xiao Lan was still confused and walked along the street, looking towards the other end.
Finally, they noticed something amiss, and saw eight swordsmen escorting a carriage.
A group of Northern Qi Imperial Guards followed behind them.
"How is this possible?"
Xiao Lan stared incredulously at the group of Imperial Guards led by the Eight Swordsmen.
Eight swordsmen rode their horses to the front of the delegation.
"His Majesty of the Great Qi has decreed that Yan Bingyun be replaced by Xiao En, and requests that Envoy Fan come to discuss the matter in detail."
Fan Xian, who had just returned to the carriage, heard a familiar voice.
He lifted the carriage curtain and saw who it was.
"What's going on? Aren't those Ye Chengfeng's eight sword attendants? How did they end up with the Northern Qi Imperial Guards?"
"Oh, where is Yan Bingyun? I won't agree to hand over Sean if I can't see him."
"Envoy Fan, there is no need to worry, Yan Bingyun is inside the carriage."
Although Fan Xian had many doubts in his heart, now was not the time to investigate.
He gestured for Wang Qinian to come over and check. Wang Qinian went into the carriage and saw Yan Bingyun unconscious inside.
He turned around and nodded at Fan Xian.
Seeing that Wang Qinian had confirmed it was true, Fan Xian, though unwilling, had no choice but to continue detaining Xiao En.
They had no choice but to hand over the prison cart containing Sean to the Eight Swordsmen.
At this moment, Shen Zhong seemed to see an opportunity.
"My colleagues, let's hand Sean over to our Imperial Guards for safekeeping!"
That's right, Shen Zhong referred to the Eight Sword Attendants as colleagues!
Didn't he know that the Eight Swordsmen were Ye Chengfeng's subordinates?
Shen Zhong knew, of course, that he said that on purpose in order to gain the upper hand.
After all, he is still the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and is considered the superior of the Eight Swordsmen.
However, the eight sword attendants ignored him completely. The eight of them surrounded the prison cart in the middle, while the outer perimeter was guarded by the Imperial Guards they had brought.
At this moment, Shen Zhong was caught in a dilemma: whether to stop them or not. He could only watch helplessly as the Eight Sword Attendants passed by him and slowly disappeared into the distance.
The Eight Swordsmen, instead of taking Xiao En to the Imperial Guard prison or sending him to the palace, did not take him with them.
Instead, they headed towards the inn where Ye Chengfeng was.
Looking in the direction the eight swordsmen had gone, Ye Chengfeng sighed and said, "I really underestimated this young emperor!"
Ye Chengfeng guessed that Zhan Doudou would arrange for the Eight Swordsmen to exchange for Xiao En, but he did not expect that Zhan Doudou would send Xiao En to him.
As far as Ye Chengfeng was concerned, the Northern Qi could do whatever they wanted with Xiao En.
This has absolutely nothing to do with him.
Ye Chengfeng was eager for the Southern Qing and Northern Qi to fight to the bitter end, so that they, the Eastern Yi City, could sit high on the viewing platform!
Now that the young emperor has sent Sean to him, he's trying to drag him down with him!
"That's absolutely outrageous! They handed over the head of their own elite guards to a foreign envoy!"
Ye Chengfeng complained again.
"Young Master, isn't this a good thing? I heard that Sean knows a secret that both Southern Qing and Northern Qi want to know. If we can get it from him..."
Before Xiaolan could finish speaking, Ye Chengfeng immediately flicked her forehead.
"What were you thinking? Originally, we could have just sat back and watched the world go by, but now look what's happened—we've become the fish!"
"What's wrong with you? Other people didn't get angry even after losing a bet, but you're the one who's angry, young master?"
Ye Chengfeng was so angry with Zhan Doudou that he had forgotten about the bet with Xiao Lan.
Reminded by her, Ye Chengfeng immediately brought up the old matter again.
"Oh, young master, you don't mean you want me to go to Nanqing to pick up Miss Ruoruo right now, do you?"
"Wow, when did you become so smart?"
Ye Chengfeng was also helpless!
He could already foresee that Sean was in his hands.
What will Emperor Qing, who has always wanted to know the secrets of the temple, do?
They will definitely send someone to cause trouble for Ye Chengfeng.
Will Emperor Qing use Fan Ruoruo as a breakthrough point?
The answer is yes, it's inevitable.
Ye Chengfeng said helplessly, "Alas, there's nothing we can do about this unexpected turn of events."
"Xiao Lan, remember this: when you go to Kyoto in Nanqing, secretly take Ruo Ruo away. You must remember not to be discovered by anyone, including Ruo Ruo's family."
"What if Miss Ruoruo doesn't agree to leave with me?"
Xiao Lan's concerns were perfectly reasonable, and Ye Chengfeng naturally thought of them as well.
"Then take her away by force. Remember, after leaving Nanqing Capital, head straight for Dongyi City."
"I know, young master, you've emphasized it many times."
"Hmph, if you weren't so unreliable, would I have reminded you so many times?"
"Alright, let's not waste any more time. While everyone's attention is on Sean, take this opportunity to leave!"
Although Xiaolan didn't know where the danger came from, the fact that her young master was taking it so seriously was enough to prove the importance of the matter.
Xiaolan doesn't understand any grand principles; the young master's words are the greatest truths for her.