The Constable Blocks the Road

"If I heard correctly, Junior Sister Wenxiu's surname is Ji?"

Ouyang Lan realized it belatedly and her eyes widened.

"Senior Sister."

Lu Wu-bing shook his head and gave her a look.

He signaled Senior Sister Xiaolan not to ask further.

Because he saw the difficulty on Ji Wenxiu's face.

At the same time, he had a rough idea of her identity.

Over the past few days, some of his past memories had gradually returned.

Although he spent most of his days at the Lu family in Jiangzhou, eating, waiting for death, hunting, and playing, living a carefree life.

Sometimes, he couldn't help but overhear some bold scholars discussing state affairs. When they got drunk and heated, they would spread some gossip.

Like, "Northern Zhou is diligently governing, its army is strong and its horses are well-fed. Their desire to conquer us is unceasing, and they will eventually march south...

While Great Li indulges in civilian pleasures and military idleness, and those adults are busy fighting for power and profit every day, this world might be on the verge of great change."

And "His Highness the Crown Prince was admiring flowers and picking laurels in the Eastern Palace, accidentally fell into the water and drowned, plunging the entire court into grief.

His Majesty fell gravely ill and did not attend to state affairs for three months..."

Even more so, "Eighteen pirate swordsmen attacked and broke through the small city of Donglin, looting it clean.

The county magistrate surrendered on bended knee, bringing shame upon the civilized world..."

All these messages indicated that the Great Li Dynasty in the south was showing signs of decline... It wasn't a complete mess, but it was nowhere near strong.

In any case, there were internal troubles, external threats, and pirate raids.

To the west, grassland wolf riders frequently sent small cavalry units to harass them.

Of course, the greatest danger was the Northern Zhou army.

Yuwen Zhao was ambitious and strategic, with a grand vision to conquer the four seas... He had a multitude of strategists and a rain of generals, and his military might was extremely powerful.

Especially after Prince Jinyang, the heir to the Prince of Jinyang in Northern Zhou, became a disciple of Ye Wushuang, the current sect master of the Reincarnation Sect, the Six Paths of the Demonic Sect, which had always opposed Northern Zhou, turned to support Yuwen Zhao and began to heavily infiltrate the Southern martial arts world.

This led to widespread conflict, with smoke rising everywhere and battles erupting in the martial arts world and the imperial court.

Under such circumstances.

The situation of Great Li's Princess Changle, who was betrothed to Northern Zhou, became awkward.

If before, her status was merely awkward and her suffering was severe, she was still valued by Northern Zhou and would become a bond of friendly peace between the two countries.

But after His Highness the Crown Prince of Great Li dissolved into water, Princess Changle's situation became extremely perilous.

Because, by chance, the current Great Li Yongming Emperor had only one son and one daughter.

The son was dead.

Whether it was an accident or he was murdered, his bloodline was essentially finished.

If he didn't want a member of the imperial clan to succeed him, he would have to bring back his daughter.

What betrothal?

That was all bullshit.

But some things weren't as simple as wishing them to be.

To bring back Princess Changle, let alone how Northern Zhou would react, they had just prepared for the wedding and sent the bride to the capital of Northern Zhou. It wasn't that easy to just turn around and bring her back.

Moreover, the various vassal kings of Great Li also disagreed!

Wouldn't this dash their hopes?

If the princess returned, what would be left for them?

Another point was that many officials in the court also had their own calculations.

Most of them did not think that bringing back a mere woman to succeed to the throne was a good choice.

Just the thought of a woman becoming emperor... Northern Zhou hadn't even attacked yet, and their sky would collapse first.

It would be better to choose a virtuous prince from the imperial clan to adopt and ascend the throne.

The Yongming Emperor disagreed.

Although he enjoyed calligraphy and painting, frequented brothels, and took elixirs and cinnabar daily, his body was worn out and he wouldn't live long.

But he had never thought of giving up his power.

Nor did he want his brothers to be the ones laughing in the end.

So, that was the situation.

Lu Wu-bing carefully recalled the memories in his mind.

Looking at the young girl Ji Wenxiu again, he felt that her coarse language and foul mouth were actually not that difficult to understand.

If it were him, he might have cursed even more fiercely.

Damn heaven!

"I thought my situation was dangerous enough, but I didn't expect there to be someone even worse off."

He wanted to throw this "hot potato" away, but thinking about it, it didn't make a difference whether he threw it or not.

Not to mention that the Celestial Star Sect had already gotten involved.

Just the fact that he and Senior Sister Xiaolan had rescued a young girl in a roadside shop was witnessed by so many people.

It was too late to distance themselves now.

Even if he took a step back.

Lu Wu-bing really couldn't do something like this.

"From now on, no matter who dares to block our path, or for whatever reason, do not trust them."

He thought for a moment and then moved forward.

He said coldly, "At the fastest speed, return to the Celestial Star Sect first, and then decide our next move. Junior Sister Wenxiu, do the words '[Qingyun]' on that jade pendant mean anything? Why are you still hiding things? Summon any reinforcements you have."

"Others cannot be certain of their intentions, so it's hard to say. However, my aunt did remind me that Qingyun Daoist is trustworthy. But, the Daoist's whereabouts are unpredictable, and he doesn't reside in the Qingyun Temple in Xiangzhou long-term. I heard he spends most of his time wandering the streets, looking disheveled, like a beggar... Oh, right, the Daoist loves his drink and always carries a yellow gourd of wine." Ji Wenxiu said helplessly.

At this moment, she didn't dare to trust anyone. She felt like there were traitors everywhere.

"Only trust an old Daoist whose whereabouts are unpredictable." Lu Wu-bing was a bit speechless. How could they find him now? Distant water couldn't quench immediate thirst.

"Anything else?"

"There's also..." Ji Wenxiu secretly glanced at Ouyang Lan and whispered, "There's also Senior Uncle Qin Huaiying of the Celestial Star Sect."

"Mother!" Ouyang Lan wasn't surprised Ji Wenxiu knew her mother's name. She was just surprised why she trusted her so much. Logically, they didn't know each other. When they were on the mountain, she hadn't heard her mother mention anything about the court. However, now wasn't the time to overthink things.

The group hurried along.

They passed a city without entering, following the riverbank and treading on the grass. In Lu Wu-bing's opinion, with Ji Wenxiu joining their group, anyone was a potential threat. The best option now was to strike fast and get this "hot potato" out of Xiangzhou before anyone could react. Of course, sending her to the Celestial Star Sect was also an option. If the sky fell, someone tall would hold it up.

"Stop, the authorities are investigating..." Just as they rounded the city, seven or eight constables in black clothes were rapidly chasing after them. The leader was agile, riding his horse at full speed, brandishing his saber. Several riders behind him shouted in unison.

"You killed someone and ran, how audacious."

"We killed someone? Whom did we kill? You must have the wrong people. Our Celestial Star Sect has always been law-abiding and never wrongly killed good people. No, we didn't kill anyone at all." Ouyang Lan's eyebrows shot up in anger.

"A man and two women, the murder case at Zuihu Residence. Someone clearly saw your faces. Whatever defense you have, come back with us and explain it carefully to the magistrate." The leading constable said righteously.

"Everyone, I am Yan Shixiong, the constable of Sanhu County. I have never wronged a good person in my life... Whether you did it or not will be clear soon. Please do not make a mistake." With that, they brandished their sabers, dismounted, and surrounded Lu Wu-bing and the others.

Chains were held, spears and bows were wielded, each radiating murderous intent.

"We..."

Ouyang Lan had clearly never seen such a scene.

The Celestial Star Sect had always been on good terms with the government and never had conflicts with the constables.

Especially within the territory of Xiangzhou, they were quite renowned.

It was outrageous that this constable, upon hearing her identity, still refused to back down and insisted on taking her back for questioning.

"Murder, horse theft."

Lu Wu-bing sighed. He could see that the man's eyes flickered, and his words did not match his intentions.

"We're running out of time." As he spoke, he drew his sword.

"Hum..."

The sword light was like silk.

It had already pierced the throat of Constable Yan Shixiong.

The constable clearly hadn't expected something like this to happen, his eyes showing terror and disbelief.

His long saber hadn't even been swung before he was struck in a vital spot, falling to the ground dead.

"That was satisfying."

Ji Wenxiu had been holding in her anger for a long time.

With a movement, the short sword in her hand had already carved out a half-moon, grazing the necks of two constables holding sabers.

Ouyang Lan was just a tiny bit slower.

Her long sword swept out, deflecting three arrows. Several points of starlight flashed as she charged into the constables.

In the blink of an eye, seven men fell. The remaining one scrambled to his feet, mounted a horse, whipped it, and turned to flee.

"It has nothing to do with me, I don't know anything. Young heroes, spare my life, it was all Constable Yan's decision."

"Don't chase him. It's just a petty tactic to stall for time. Let's go."

Lu Wu-bing glanced back and didn't pursue the fleeing constable.

He waved his hand, and they each mounted a horse, galloping away at full speed.

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