UCTOOT CH96

Three rickety carriages traveled along the pitch-black mountain road. The night breeze blew gently, lifting the curtains to reveal the charming and beautiful faces of several beauties inside. A fragrant breeze drifted out, gladdening the heart.

Deep in the night, all was silent, save for the eerie and terrifying screeches of a few night owls.

The accompanying attendant pulled the curtains shut, swallowed after seeing the beauties: “Damn it, our master really knows how to enjoy himself, a different one every day!”

Steward Wu: “Just drive your cart honestly!”

The man asked: “I just don’t understand why we always drive in the middle of the night. Is there something shameful?”

“Shameful? Our master likes Min courtesans. At a time when fighting is critical, he wishes he could skin the people opposite alive and eat their meat and drink their blood. Is it appropriate to be seen? It’s just hard on us.” Steward Wu said a few sentences, “Strange, what’s going on today? I always feel like there are ghosts in this forest? Eyes are watching.”

—Just as the voice fell.

Swish.

A sharp arrow pierced through the windy night, shooting straight through the beam of the carriage with such force that it penetrated deep into the wood. “Who?!” Steward Wu’s eyes widened suddenly as he looked left and right. Several figures emerged from the depths of the night, wearing long swords and wristbands, their faces covered. Just as Steward Wu wanted to shout, those people had already rushed behind him, placing a knife on his neck.

“Be honest. Do what you should do, return to the mansion as you should.”

While speaking, all the dancers in the carriage were dragged out. Ignoring their wails, they were stripped of their clothes. Another group was ordered to watch over these dancers, while the others put the messy clothes on themselves. In the night, one couldn’t tell much difference.

Steward Wu: “Assassins?!”

“The carriage, are you driving it or not?”

Steward Wu was furious: “Bold! Do you know who this is—” Before he could finish, there was a gurgle in his neck, cut by a sharp blade, and blood spurted from his throat.

As a professional hitman kept by Xie Wuchi, Xin Bin had his own coldness and efficiency at critical moments. Staring at the bloodstained blade, he turned to another person: “You—”

“This lowly one is willing, willing!” That man was dizzy, nodding like pounding garlic.

Behind the carriage, a knife was pressed against his waist, and a whistle was blown into the deep forest not far away. Xie Wuchi appeared stepping on the thin night mist, his face covered by the light and shadow of the moon, followed closely by guards. With a look of contemplation on his face, he turned and disappeared into the forest.

When the carriage arrived in Lanxian, the guards recognized it long ago. Lifting the curtain for a glance, they asked: “Where is Steward Wu?”

The man trembled: “Steward Wu has a stomachache and is relieving himself behind. He asked me to transport the beauties in first.”

“Enter the city.”

Inside the sedan chair in the darkness, beneath the dancers’ robes were cold faces one after another. Passing through the threshold, under the eaves in the night, the group was led by this man towards the courtyard. Jia Wu was keen on singing and dancing, often drinking until dawn and waking up lying on a beauty’s soft lap in the morning light. Transporting beauties met little obstruction along the way.

Not only was there no obstruction, but most of the guards in this courtyard had been withdrawn. Those who hadn’t been withdrawn were killed along the way. Amidst the bloodshed, the cart driver opened his eyes wide in negligence, knowing he would surely die, “Help! —” Before he could scream, a sharp blade cut his throat with a chi.

Swords flashed and shadows danced; corpses fell to the ground. Plain shoes stepped on fresh blood, leaving a few footprints. The scene was cleared. Xie Wuchi then walked in surrounded by people. His brow and eyes were calm, without the slightest fluctuation, as if he didn’t want to be tainted by filth. Xin Bin tsked at the corpses: “Every injustice has its perpetrator, every debt has its debtor. Don’t blame us if there are strange things. If you want to blame, blame yourselves for following a corrupt official who preyed on the people. It is the tens of thousands of soldiers who died unjustly in Yinzhou who entrusted us to claim your lives!”

Clang! The door was pushed open. Jia Wu’s guards relaxed upon seeing the dresses, but in an instant, they were all killed by Xin Bin and the others.

Then, the courtyard door slammed shut with a loud bang! Inside the room, beauties were everywhere. The person drunk on the couch was slapped loudly and crisply Pa!

Jia Wu opened his hazy eyes. The blood of the person in his arms was flowing onto his arm, pupils contracting: “You, you—”

Xin Bin dragged the Min courtesan’s overly narrow dress, full of rouge scent, and smiled at him: “Lord Jia, the beauty from Bei Min has been delivered. Tonight, I will serve you.” Patting his chest, “Guaranteed satisfaction!”

A heavy punch made Jia Wu cough violently, his face instantly turning red: “Guards!”

“All dead!”

“Who are you, what do you want—”

Jia Wu glared at Xin Bin’s face, realizing in astonishment: “…You are, Commander-in-Chief Xie’s man!”

“Lord Jia, good memory.”

The shadow covering him dispersed. Xin Bin’s face turned respectful as the ferocious shadows parted, and a figure in a moon-white shirt walked in from the door. Xie Wuchi entered holding a silver-bronze crossbow mechanism, his long fingers clicking the trigger of the suspended knife intermittently. The glittering silver arrow was poised to release as he raised his eyes.

“Commander-in-Chief Xie!? It’s you?”

“What are you doing? Good! You want to touch me? There are fifty thousand Imperial Army troops stationed outside the city, and my sister sits in the imperial harem of the Eastern Capital. You actually want to touch me?” Jia Wu spoke incoherently, “If you touch a single hair on my head, the imperial city guards will tear you to pieces!”

Xie Wuchi: “Lord Jia has such self-knowledge. Having your door broken down late at night, you immediately guessed you were going to die.”

Jia Wu’s eyes rolled, and he said fiercely: “You want to move against me for those five hundred thousand dan of grain? withdraw your men!”

Xie Wuchi: “Too late.”

“What’s too late?”

“Since I have appeared in front of Lord Jia, between you and me, only one can live. Lord Jia is unreasonable. At a time like this, you still sell grain and fodder, making people wish they could kill you quickly.”

Jia Wu collapsed backward, struggling to prop himself up: “You know? What is the war situation in Yinzhou now? How much grain is needed? I’ll have someone send it immediately!”

Xie Wuchi swept a glance at the room full of beauties covering their mouths with tears in their eyes, none daring to speak. He said: “Pitiful, beautiful women suffer unhappy fates. However, anyone associated with you, Lord Jia, won’t live long.”

Jia Wu was furious: “Do you really dare to kill me!”

Xie Wuchi said evenly: “Of course I have to kill you. If I don’t kill you, how can I retrieve those five hundred thousand dan of grain? Only your death can redeem this mistake. Besides, that’s in the Min people’s territory. Being attacked from front and rear is not a pleasant feeling.”

Jia Wu looked at him with eyes splitting open, suddenly even more stunned: “What? That batch of grain was sold to the Min people?!”

Xie Wuchi said: “Your minions handled it all. You just needed to show documents and seals. Textual work. Listening to a few songs and reciting a few poems every day, did you really think you were clean?”

“What they did has nothing to do with me! My Jia family has received imperial favor for generations, a family of officials. Even if I’m a scoundrel, I wouldn’t sell grain to the Min people to let them fight my Great Jing soldiers, becoming such a traitor! There must be a misunderstanding. Commander-in-Chief Xie, even if I, Jia Wu, sell official positions and titles, letting down the soldiers and the people, it has nothing to do with you, right? There are national laws to punish me. is it your turn to act on behalf of Heaven?”

“Then you are stupid, not even knowing what you are doing, fooled by your subordinates.” Xie Wuchi pressed the crossbow against his forehead. “Lord Jia, since you mentioned it, let me ask you something. At the most critical moment of the war, selling soldiers’ rations with peace of mind, is there some unspeakable difficulty?”

Jia Wu looked up sharply: “Unspeakable difficulty?”

“Short of money? Not right. Lord Jia—advocates peace, correct?”

Word by word, killing intent was fully revealed.

Xie Wuchi’s pupils were distinct black and white, staring at him unblinkingly. His eyelashes cast a few scattered rays of light, covering the chill.

Jia Wu’s face was full of panic, his spine finally going limp. Struck in the brain center by a punch, he couldn’t speak, flustered: “You… how do you… I…”

“Lord Jia advocates peace and wants to negotiate peace with Bei Min. Therefore, he wants the pro-war officials to suffer setbacks, performs his duties perfunctorily, and sells grain. The pro-war officials are all from the younger generation. The court wants them to fight but fears failure, so it reuses young and strong ones without backing. First, they have few interest collusions and can risk their lives for military merit; second, they are easy to discard at any time. Once defeated, they can be killed to surrender to the enemy without heartache.”

“As the saying goes, when the cunning hare dies, the running dog is cooked.”

“In the whole world, there is no group more difficult than the pro-war officials.”

“Can only win, cannot lose; can only advance, cannot retreat. Once defeated, fear will be planted in people’s hearts, and they will be immediately replaced by new people. Lord Jia, His Majesty specially summoned me to Yinzhou to defend the city. You want me to die—?”

Jia Wu was sweating profusely, sweat raining down, his breath seeming to be cut off. His dark eyes stared fixedly at Xie Wuchi. Frost appeared under Xie Wuchi’s eyes. The arrowhead pressed against Jia Wu’s throat, and he pulled the trigger: “You want me to die, so don’t blame me. Lord Jia—take care, I won’t see you off.”

Pfft! The arrowhead shot rapidly from the powerful crossbow, piercing through the windpipe. With a crack of shattering neck bones, Jia Wu’s eyeballs, indulged in sensual pleasures, almost stared out of their sockets. Spring-like blood gushed out from under the withered, yellow, and turbid skin.

Jia Wu’s limbs twitched violently. The dancer beside him burst into a convulsive scream of “Ah!”, which was covered. The arrowhead pierced very deep, sinking into the windpipe and stabbing through the neck.

In an instant.

Jia Wu’s breath was cut off.

Xie Wuchi withdrew his gaze, threw down the crossbow mechanism, turned, and went out the door. Under the moonlight, he took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from the back of his hand and his clothes, his expression inscrutable.

“My lord…” Xin Bin asked from behind.

Xie Wuchi said evenly: “Leave no one alive.”

“Yes!”

Click! Behind him, the room door was closed. The sounds of spurting blood and cutting flesh were isolated. Shadows of waving knives danced wildly. Low and muffled screams were suppressed. The more blood gathered on the floor, the more it looked like a ghostly scene of devils descending to the world!

The blood on the back of Xie Wuchi’s hand was wiped cleaner and cleaner.

Guards waited at the courtyard entrance. Not far away, the sound of horse hooves came from all directions. Xie Wuchi tidied his sleeves and left under the cover of the guards. Behind him, the guards instantly changed into the dresses of Min courtesans, hacking and killing in the courtyard. After being witnessed, they snatched the door and fled towards the outside of Lanxian City.

Xie Wuchi turned into the side courtyard, leaving the greetings behind him. Dawn was breaking, and the courtyard was covered in faint light. The smell of blood on Xie Wuchi’s hands hadn’t dissipated. Killing someone like Jia Wu didn’t cause any fluctuations in his heart.

Xie Wuchi walked to the side of the courtyard and saw the candle lit in the room, his steps pausing.

The fishy smell of blood floated in the air. Xie Wuchi smelled it when checking his sleeves. The mute servant passing by the door with a basin stammered and was stopped by him: “Bring a few clothes over. Bath.”

Xie Wuchi turned and went to the side room, not entering this door directly.

In the room, Shi Shu was lying on the pillow, half-asleep. Vaguely hearing the sound of horse hooves getting closer, he had a nightmare. He dreamed he was in a desperate valley, surrounded by the sound of horse hooves, encircled layer by layer. Everyone had ferocious faces shouting “Kill!” “Kill!” “Kill!” “Kill him!”

Shi Shu was in the center of the crowd, unable to escape. Watching a bucket-sized horse hoof kicking towards his face, he opened his eyes abruptly—

The room was pitch black. A figure was groping around. Cold sweat broke out on Shi Shu’s forehead as he shouted: “Xie Wuchi?”

Ignored him.

Shi Shu: “Xie Wuchi! Speak, why aren’t you answering me? When did you become so aloof?”

Shouting again, still ignored. Shi Shu looked carefully; it turned out to be one of the two mute servants kept by Xie Wuchi, opening the cabinet to look for clothes. Shi Shu yawned: “What are you looking for his clothes for? He’s back?”

Mute servant: “Ah ah ah…”

Shi Shu was suspicious: “He’s back? Does he want to take a bath? Why bring clothes out? With our relationship, does he need to be secretive about taking a bath?”

Mute servant: “Ah ah ah…”

“Forget it, you don’t need to answer me.” Forcing a mute person to talk was bullying. Shi Shu stopped talking and got out of bed. The scab on the wound on his back was very thin and easily torn. He moved carefully to the floor, draped a loose and thin piece of clothing over himself, not noticing it was Xie Wuchi’s inner garment. When Shi Shu walked to the door, the courtyard was full of cool moonlight, and the commotion suddenly reached his ears.

The sound of horse hooves from the dream.

Through the courtyard wall, soaring firelight shone, illuminating a small half of the sky. Shi Shu heard many people shouting: “Come quickly! Chase! Don’t let them run away!” “Such a big event! What should we do?” “Where are the guards! Where the hell did all the guards die?” “Hurry up and find someone!”

“What happened?”

Shi Shu temporarily forgot about Xie Wuchi. His back hurt very much as he walked with difficulty to watch the excitement. He stopped at the door.

A person came to the door with a panicked face, speaking incoherently: “Beg, beg to see Lord Xie! The Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs died suddenly in the middle of the night. Please quickly invite the Commander-in-Chief to come and discuss the funeral arrangements!”

Died suddenly?

Shi Shu’s eyes widened suddenly: “Jia Wu died suddenly in the middle of the night?”

The guard hurriedly and anxiously said: “Is there such a big event? But my master is currently in Yinzhou, not in the city. Since that’s the case, I’ll send someone to inform my master!” Saying so, he mounted his horse and rode away in a cloud of dust.

Xie Wuchi didn’t come back?

Shi Shu watched at the door. Why did Jia Wu suddenly die? His health didn’t seem bad; he was full of vigor, a golden branch and jade leaf soaked in tonics. And the terrified appearance of these servants, coupled with everyone’s discussion, made it seem like Jia Wu was murdered…

Shi Shu wanted to walk to the main street to look, but there were too many people, and he was afraid of falling and dying suddenly in a collision. He turned around: “Good good good, Jia Wu is dead. It’s truly the cycle of heaven; whom has the heavens ever spared! This person did all kinds of bad things…”

Shi Shu moved back to the side courtyard step by step. After the door was tightly closed, a snow-white figure appeared before his eyes. Xie Wuchi had just finished bathing and was wearing inner garments, his black hair loose on his shoulders. He walked down the steps step by step, looking up to meet the gaze of the struggling Shi Shu.

Shi Shu’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. How could I forget, Jia Wu’s deadly enemy is this great god in front of me. Xie Wuchi, with dark eyebrows and eyes, walked closer and supported Shi Shu’s arm.

Shi Shu smelled the faint scent on him: “What soap did you use, so fragrant?”

Xie Wuchi: “Incense.”

Shi Shu let out an “oh” and lowered his voice: “Jia Wu is dead. Did you do it?”

Xie Wuchi: “It was me.”

A ripple rose in Shi Shu: “It really was you. You have ability. He died well.”

Xie Wuchi said calmly: “If he doesn’t die, he always blocks the road so others can’t walk. Only when he dies can those military provisions be dared to be retrieved, without hindering anyone’s face, allowing Yinzhou to win this battle.”

Shi Shu applauded: “Xie Wuchi, you really kill whoever blocks you, man or Buddha!”

As soon as the voice fell, they reached the door. Shi Shu slowed down his movements and lifted his foot with difficulty to step inside, his whole person like slow motion in a movie. Xie Wuchi leaned against the door and watched him for a moment: “Need help?”

Shi Shu: “Yes! Do you have any discernment!”

Just after speaking, Xie Wuchi approached. Shi Shu only felt his vision go black as he was suddenly picked up by the buttocks. Shi Shu had learned to be obedient long ago, hugging his shoulders abruptly. Without needing Xie Wuchi to spare a hand to hold his back, he lay in his arms, smelling the white sandalwood scent on him.

Seeing him walking towards the bed, Shi Shu hurriedly refused: “No no no, I’m about to merge with the bed. I’m not getting on the bed!”

Xie Wuchi stopped, turned to the small couch for accompanying sleep at the side, and sat down. Shi Shu then sat face to face on his lap, arms hugging his shoulders. Shi Shu looked carefully at this posture, immediately feeling awkward, resistant, and hard to accept: “Xie Wuchi, put me down.”

“Holding you like this won’t bump the wound on your back. It saves effort and is light.”

Shi Shu struggled weakly, blushing and bristling: “But, this posture is so weird!”

“Uncomfortable? Didn’t you see others dating in high school? They all sit on laps and chat like this.”

Shi Shu: “…………”

Indeed.

Shi Shu suddenly comprehended the word “dating” and understood Xie Wuchi’s hint. The handsome and elegant boyish face began to heat up and turn red. Xie Wuchi turned a deaf ear, undoing the rope knots and loops of his inner garment with one hand: “Like wearing my clothes?”

Shi Shu understood he was undoing the clothes for fear the fabric would abrade the wound, but the heavy breathing and his fingers gave Shi Shu a strange and unfamiliar feeling: “I, I just wore it casually… I don’t have many clothes here. This is you, your residence.”

“No matter. The fabric I’ve worn is worn smooth and won’t chafe.” Xie Wuchi’s voice lowered. The sash was untied, revealing Shi Shu’s shoulders. His collarbone was fair, and the cuffs slid just to the wrists, revealing the healthy and slender upper arms and well-proportioned back from frequent exercise.

Shi Shu’s fingers began to tighten: “Xie Wuchi… what are you looking at?”

Xie Wuchi didn’t hide it: “Looking at your chest.”

“…………”

Resigned, bro.

Shi Shu: “What’s there to look at? Don’t look—”

Shi Shu sensed that heated gaze. His tailbone seemed to be ignited, a strangeness rising all over his body. Xie Wuchi raised his eyes from the lapels: “Want to lick.”

Shi Shu’s fingers suddenly plunged into his pitch-black hair: “I’ll bite you, I want to bite you to death!”

“Hm?”

Shi Shu: “Not allowed to look, I… am not ready.”

Xie Wuchi separated his legs slightly, scooping Shi Shu’s legs to pull him closer into his embrace: “Lean into my arms and it won’t be seen. You’re sick, and I don’t want to stimulate you, in case the wound gets deeper.”

Shi Shu had nothing to say, resting his chin on his shoulder, then realized: “According to you, when I’m better, do we have to do everything?”

Xie Wuchi said softly: “I want to try.”

Shi Shu endured for two seconds but couldn’t hold back, biting his shoulder through the inner garment. His canine teeth tightened, burying his entire fluffy head in his embrace. After biting the shoulder, he bit the Adam’s apple. Shi Shu just had itchy teeth, upset by him, biting his Adam’s apple indiscriminately. But when he really bit, he was afraid of hurting him, so he mouthed it and moved away, breathing hot air onto his skin.

Xie Wuchi’s breathing became a bit messy, seemingly unable to bear the disturbance. A well-defined hand pressed on the back of his head, pressing down slightly to fix Shi Shu’s head more firmly: “Be good, alright, don’t climb.”

Shi Shu frowned: “Xie Wuchi, you’d better sleep with one eye open at night. Maybe one day I’ll kill you.”

Xie Wuchi’s reaction was steady. He casually picked up a book and turned a page with one hand: “If you really have that ability, it’s okay too—this book, have you flipped through it?”

Shi Shu suddenly became alert about the erotica book he mentioned, his eyelid twitching: “No! How would I read that kind of book!”

Xie Wuchi: “Haven’t read it, that’s good too. When your body recovers, we’ll read it together.”

“…………”

Shi Shu was speechless, just as someone outside the door came to inquire: “My lord.”

Xie Wuchi’s confidant Lin Yan: “My lord, should we leave the city and prepare to handle urgent affairs in the Deputy Commissioner’s courtyard? I see they are urging very much, quite frightened. The whole courtyard is announcing the death everywhere!”

Shi Shu wanted to stand up, but Xie Wuchi pressed his lumbar dimples, making his waist weak and continuing to lie in his arms. Shi Shu was afraid Lin Yan would enter and bit him anxiously, but Xie Wuchi’s voice was calm and composed: “Dead is dead, what’s the rush? Ignore it.”

Lin Yan obeyed: “Yes.”

“Outside the city, pay more attention to Ping Yichun and Miao Yuanliang’s messengers. Jia Wu is gone; now we can go all out. If those two can’t burn the Min army’s grain route and granaries, or retrieve those dozens of ships of grain, they will also be punished according to military law.”

“Yes!”

The footsteps moved away from the door. Shi Shu struggled out of his arms sweating profusely. This time he used force, leaving several teeth marks on Xie Wuchi’s collarbone.

Shi Shu’s fair face met his gaze, breathing within inches. Xie Wuchi kissed his damp nose tip: “Puppy.”

Shi Shu: “Is this also a normal dog?”

Xie Wuchi: “No.”

Hateful! Shi Shu propped himself up on the bed and climbed up with difficulty, straightening his waist. He re-buttoned the knots of the inner garment undone by him until he was dressed tightly, finally feeling a sense of propriety and stability. Xie Wuchi put down the book in his hand and said: “That’s good too.”

Shi Shu: “I can’t sleep anymore. Let’s sit for a while. When are you leaving?”

Xie Wuchi: “Stay with you a little longer.”

Shi Shu pursed his lips, not knowing what to say, thinking Xie Wuchi, you’re quite good at dating. They exchanged a few words. Xie Wuchi prepared to leave, but before leaving, he left a sentence.

“At daybreak, I’ll let you meet someone. Xiao Shu from Beilainu Street. She’s coming to see if you’re dead yet.”

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