The First Lackey Under The Empress

Qi Yuchun appeared!

This Grand Commander of the Righteous Uprising Society, second only to Zhuang Xiaocheng in rank, had left the city last night, ambushing himself in the mountain hollows near the Misty Locked Lake.

He had been suppressing his aura and killing intent, avoiding the perception of everyone, including Eunuch Hai, as if he were a stone among the mountain weeds.

Only now, as Eunuch Hai was distracted by Duan Shuliu, did the assassin lying prone in the weeds on the mountain head beside the lake finally reveal himself.

A split second before Zhao Du'an heard the words “prepare to die”, the perception ability granted by his mid-grade Divine Chapter vaguely showed him the source of the danger.

Therefore, when he suddenly turned around, he saw a martial artist wearing a straw raincoat, with a firm face and a blue stubble, suddenly leaping up from the winter-withered grass.

The moment Qi Yuchun leaped up, he drew a long spear in his hand.

The extraordinary spear was wrapped in rags and straw, making it look like a stick to outsiders. Now, as Qi Yuchun shook his arms and "twisted" his wrist at the end of the spear,

the disguise covering the spear shattered, revealing a gleaming spear.

“Ah–”

Xu Junling and her maidservant screamed almost simultaneously, not only them, but also the tourists who had not yet dispersed on the shore of the distant lake.

Many of them had just been driven ashore, still indignant, but unexpectedly witnessed the change on the river. Now, belatedly, they finally realized what was happening.

Those scholars who were still swimming near the shore, unable to climb up, felt a chill down their spines. Their angry curses towards Zhao Du'an suddenly stopped, replaced by intense fear.

Especially after witnessing the martial arts expert swooping down from the mountain like a raptor pouncing on a building ship, they felt a strong sense of relief.

“Engage the enemy.”

Zhao Du'an ignored the screams in his ears and spoke calmly.

Even before he spoke, Lang Shiba and Ji Yue had simultaneously turned their heads and stood in front of Zhao Du'an.

Almost instinctively, the two judged that this martial artist was extremely powerful, probably not much inferior to Duan Shuliu. It would be difficult to protect Zhao Du'an without their combined efforts.

“Clang!”

Lang Shiba leaped up bravely, his long saber enveloping a violent saber aura, while Ji Yue's red dress fluttered as she disappeared into the water, with whirlpools gathering on the lake.

With the old servant's previous comments, Zhao Du'an wasn't too nervous about Qi Yuchun's side.

He believed that the two could at least stall the enemy, even if they couldn't defeat him.

Fortunately, the ship was in the middle of the lake, and the lake water was Ji Yue's domain. Although Qi Yuchun was incredibly strong, it was difficult for him to set up an ambush in the water. Therefore, the pouncing distance was enough for the two guards to actively meet him and block this Grand Commander.

Therefore, after the initial shock, Zhao Du'an turned his gaze back to the other side.

After Eunuch Hai rushed out, he originally wanted to fight steadily to avoid any unexpected setbacks, but after sensing Qi Yuchun's killing intent behind him, he temporarily changed his attack.

He realized that this assassination was of a grand scale. If it was really the work of Prince Jing, all three guards would definitely be included in the plan.

So, for the sake of safety, he had to give up killing and instead focus on repelling Duan Shuliu as soon as possible.

The moment the thought arose, the python-robed old eunuch thrust out the Frost Sword in his hand.

“Crack, crack” ice flowers condensed on the blade, and the surrounding temperature plummeted. At the tip of the blade, a wisp of fine, azure sword energy spread out.

Martial Examination Slash!

He used his famous stunt right away!

Duan Shuliu's expression changed, as if he hadn't expected the old eunuch to be so impatient, but instead he smiled.

The reason why so-called expert skills can show their full power is not because the moves themselves are powerful, but because of the layers of accumulation in the early stages.

If there are no initial rounds of exchanges, gradually accumulating strength and momentum, and forcibly using the ultimate move, its power will be reduced by at least half.

It will also consume energy, disrupting the rhythm.

“This old eunuch is already on the decline, so he's wasting his strength so recklessly. Could it be that he wants to compete with me in terms of energy?”

Duan Shuliu snorted, stepped on one foot, and the wooden hairpin suddenly shot out like a sharp arrow, but he retreated backwards. While retreating, his gray-robed figure flickered again and again, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right.

The azure sword energy was unstoppable, splitting the hairpin in the middle, and then suddenly spread out into a surface, sealing off any room for evasion, showing that the old eunuch's control over his strength had reached perfection.

Since Duan Shuliu couldn't avoid it, he simply stepped on the water surface with both feet, creating a splash of water.

Borrowing the momentum of the water, his body leaned forward, his hands joined together to form a palm blade, actively facing the sword energy. He chopped down again and again with both hands, almost pulling out afterimages, and he cut off eight or nine tenths of that sword energy in one breath like a madman.

Eunuch Hai thrust out his sword, colliding countless times with Duan Shuliu's steel-like hands. The two fought, causing thick water columns to spurt up around them with loud booms, creating a terrifying momentum.

Even Hou Renmeng and others, who were fighting underwater, were forced to emerge from the water, with large areas around them dyed red with blood, accompanied by floating corpses.

“Princess, quickly go into the cabin to hide!”

The maidservant, Lǜ Shuǐ, was as white as paper, and frightened, she grabbed the young lady and was about to hide in the cabin.

Although Xu Junling's delicate body was also trembling, she was much calmer. She turned her head to look at Zhao Du'an and said sadly:

“Will you let me into the cabin?”

Zhao Du'an withdrew his gaze from the battle between the old servant and Duan Shuliu. His eyes were already filled with tears, which was the backlash he received from forcibly watching the fight between experts who were a great realm higher than him.

His eyes were red, and he reached out and pressed on the princess's shoulder without emotion, turning her in place. He also stepped forward and stood close beside her, and said softly:

“Isn't it good to be by my side?”

Xu Junling bit her lip and let out a sigh. She didn't react at all to the so-called teasing in these words, but simply said:

“Qi Yuchun, it's him, isn't it?”

With her status, it was not surprising that she recognized the Grand Commander.

Unlike the almost evenly matched battle on Eunuch Hai's side, this side was clearly divided between offense and defense.

The "Drunkard" Lang Shiba wielded a scimitar that was impenetrable, but it was entirely a "defense".

Cooperating with Ji Yue, who was hiding in the bottom of the lake and repeatedly using the power of the water, they stubbornly blocked the Grand Commander, who was wearing a straw raincoat and holding a famous spear called "Broken", outside the boundary.

This strategy was extremely rational. The two had been in the Back Lake for many years and were good at defending against foreign enemies. At this moment, they were guarding Zhao Du'an as if he were the Yellow Register Treasury of the Back Lake.

One in the sky and one in the water, they faintly had the posture of mutually supporting horns in the army formation.

Qi Yuchun was not old, not yet forty years old, but the blue stubble added a bit of vicissitudes to him.

His first half of his life can be described as brilliant. He rose all the way to the position of commanding the Imperial Guards, and his entire family was deeply trusted by the old emperor.

However, because the family's decision was leaning towards the Second Prince, he ended up with his family destroyed. During the Xuanmen coup, Qi Yuchun was defeated by the Empress and escaped from the capital at the cost of serious injuries, hiding in the remote mountains to recuperate.

After recovering a bit, he dared to enter the city to find out the news, and learned that dozens of members of the entire Qi family had been beheaded due to the coup, leaving only one of his descendants, and a few remaining family branches.

Qi Yuchun was confused for a long time, and thought about killing his way back to the palace and personally avenging the Empress, but he knew that it would be meaningless except to die.

In a daze, Zhuang Xiaocheng contacted him and gathered the remnants to defend the Second Prince's widow and children, trying to "restore order."

Qi Yuchun felt that living had a new meaning.

This assassination of Zhao Du'an was a voluntary request. Qi Yuchun felt that although he couldn't kill the Empress, it would be a kind of revenge if he could personally kill the man favored by the Empress.

“Chī chī chī…”

At this moment, facing the solid saber aura like a city wall and the huge water snake circling below, Qi Yuchun frowned, and the Overlord Spear in his hand frequently attacked, causing Lang Shiba to retreat again and again, with blood overflowing from the corners of his mouth.

He suddenly stabbed the spear into the bottom of the lake, Ji Yue hugged the tip of the spear, pushed it with both hands, letting the blood spread, but she sank into the bottom of the lake again.

He was confident that he could defeat these two people, but it was hard to say whether he could make it before Eunuch Hai returned to support.

“Should I use all my strength?”

Qi Yuchun hesitated in his heart whether to kill Zhao Du'an at the cost of injury.

But thinking of Grand Tutor Zhuang's instructions and his understanding of Prince Jing, he endured it.

……

On the boat.

“He doesn't seem to be able to get in.”

Xu Junling said softly, perhaps knowing that the target of this group of people was not her, she became more and more calm.

However, Zhao Du'an slowly frowned. The martial artist's alertness made him suddenly have a bad premonition, and a picture vaguely appeared in front of him.

“Chī chī—”

In his right sleeve, the Golden Crow Flying Knife turned into a dark light and began to spin and fly around him. The Six Talisman Treasure Armor under his clothes could also be activated at any time.

But in the field of vision, what other enemies are there?

Zhao Du'an's heart moved, and he suddenly rudely grabbed Xu Junling and blocked her in front of him, and the sense of crisis suddenly weakened.

“……” Zhao Du'an adjusted his posture again, staggered his body, and the sense of crisis surged into his heart again.

He seemed to be pulling the princess, but he repeatedly changed positions several times without showing any signs, and finally judged the exact location of the source of the danger.

“Is there another assassin hiding there?” Zhao Du'an murmured softly.

Xu Junling was grabbed stiffly by him, trying to struggle, and exclaimed:

“Let go of me, I'm not your meat shield!”

She guessed Zhao's sinister intentions.

Zhao Du'an glanced at her terrified expression, and suddenly showed a meaningful smile, let go of his hand, and smiled:

“Did I hurt you?”

Xu Junling was stunned.

at the same time.

In the distance, inside the slightly opened mouth of the huge Earth God statue's head, there was a huge cave.

A marksman holding a bow and arrow, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, was aiming at Zhao Du'an, who was standing with Xu Junling on the distant lake.