The First Lackey Under The Empress

In Ouyang Ye's mind, completing the task of arresting the false emperor was the most important thing; who actually caught her was not the key.

And the plan proposed by White-headed Eagle could indeed increase the probability of success.

"Okay, okay, giggle… I was just thinking the same thing." Yao Shiniang, with her seductive gaze and flirtatious manner, covered her mouth and giggled, her eyes seeming to drip with water:

"However, I am not interested in the Prince's reward, I only want to capture that Zhao Du'an."

Pervert… Ouyang Ye and White-headed Eagle cursed inwardly at the same time. The three parties immediately separated in a fan shape, expanding the coverage of their pursuit and search, and chased forward.

The leader of the Prince's secret agents, bringing up the rear, watched the two sorcerers each disappear into the forest, then suddenly turned his head and said to a secret agent beside him:

"Just now, did you see my face?"

The secret agent was immediately soaked in cold sweat, and hurriedly said, "No… This subordinate would not dare."

Ouyang Ye, his face hidden by the hood, stared at him coldly. The group of secret agents fell into a strange silence, the atmosphere so oppressive that it was difficult to breathe.

"Plop!" The secret agent who was named could not withstand the pressure, his knees went weak, and he knelt on the ground, begging for mercy:

"Lord Ouyang, spare me, this subordinate did not mean to."

During the pursuit just now, the wind had briefly lifted a corner of the hood, and he had glanced at it subconsciously.

Within the entire Prince's secret agent system, there had always been a taboo circulating:

Never stare at the leader's face. If violated, a miserable death is highly likely.

This was because Ouyang Ye had an indelible tattoo on his face, the brand left by the Ministry of Justice when he was exiled to Lingnan.

It was also the shame he cared about most.

Ouyang Ye repeatedly rubbed the handguard of the Miao sword three times with his thumb, finally stopping the urge to kill, and said coldly:

"There will not be a next time."

Huff—

The secret agents all breathed a sigh of relief and, led by their leader, chased forward.

…

After leaving the group, Yao Shiniang immediately used her lightness skill with all her strength. Her heavy breasts seemed to have no effect on her movements, and her body was as light as a feather.

Her embroidered shoes stepped on the ground, and she shot out like an arrow, leaping into the sky, stepping on the branches extending from the treetops, and after a few nimble bounces, she left the others behind.

Then, on her face thickly covered with powder, her delicate nose sniffed lightly, as if tracking a scent. After a moment, the corners of her mouth rose, and her delicate body swooped down like a falcon.

She chased in a certain direction.

Before long, she once again captured the traces left by Zhao Du'an's running, and traced them all the way. Several times, she vaguely saw the figure of Zhao, carrying the false emperor, in front of her.

But just as she was about to close the distance, she was forced back by the dark golden flying knives that came whistling!

Thus, chasing and escaping, always maintaining a distance where she couldn't lose him, but always just one step away from catching up.

"Heh, the little公子 is very strong. Carrying a woman and still running so fast, do you really think you won't get tired from consuming so much energy?"

Yao Shiniang smiled, her voice echoing in the forest.

Suddenly, Zhao Du'an in front seemed to finally be exhausted, and abruptly hid behind a large tree.

Yao Shiniang was overjoyed, but cautiously slowed down. Sure enough, she heard a "whoosh" sound tearing through the air beside her ear, and her pupils suddenly narrowed.

A streak of dark golden light actually rose from the ground behind her, heading straight for her heart!

Zhao Du'an had actually hidden the Golden Crow Flying Knife in the dead leaves on the ground while escaping, and now he used his mind to connect with it, the flying knife tearing through the rotten leaves to kill!

"Bang!"

Yao Shiniang seemed to have eyes on the back of her head, and took a step ahead to spin around, each hand holding half of a "scissor"-shaped weapon, blocking the knife!

Then, she chanted something in her mouth, and the illusory "Djinn" twisted and descended.

But before she could utter a "wish", a series of "ropes" made of twisted Buddhist characters suddenly flew out from behind the large tree where Zhao Du'an was hiding.

Tying her up in a "tortoise shell bondage" position.

Yao Shiniang was shocked, and hurriedly changed the "wish" in her mouth to escape the predicament.

The flame on the illusory old candlestick flickered, as if someone had blown on it, and the bizarre green flame flowed, burning through the ropes formed by the "Demon Sealing Curse".

Yao Shiniang fell down, only to see the flying knife had already whistled away. Turning her head to look, Zhao Du'an had once again carried the "Empress" on his back and disappeared in front of her.

Only the mocking laughter of the other party came from the forest:

"You'll know how my stamina is and how long I can last, old aunt, once you try it."

Old aunt… The smile on Yao Shiniang's face froze, her eyes turned cold, but she smiled even more enchantingly:

"Is that so? Then this aunt is becoming more and more fond of you."

Her sorcerer's robe billowed, and she chased after him again, but she was more careful. After chasing for a while, the sound of gurgling water came from ahead.

It was a stream running across the mountain forest. Yao Shiniang stepped on a tree trunk and was about to cross the stream when she suddenly heard a voice behind her: "Be careful!"

Yao Shiniang's heart tightened, and she hurriedly turned around, but it was difficult to gain leverage in mid-air. Her waist twisted into an incredible angle, barely forming a human-shaped twist. Looking down, she saw a series of "water spears" suddenly bursting out of the stream!

The water spears were fierce and abnormal, like powerful crossbows on a battlefield city wall, with the momentum to pierce her through.

"Ah—"

Yao Shiniang let out a wail, and even though she tried her best to avoid vital points, she was still stabbed in the abdomen by a water spear, and another pierced her calf, blood spurting out.

"Awoo—"

The sound of wolves howling appeared. In the dark forest, a large group of flying birds, like dark clouds, whistled and rushed forward, blocking the water spears with their bodies in a fearless manner.

The "White-headed Eagle" with white hair and a sinister smile, riding a fierce tiger, held a red bone flute in both hands and played it at his lips.

The eerie music echoed in the dense forest.

The corpses of the cloud-like flying birds fell crackling, staining the stream red, but no new water spears pierced out from under the water.

Zhao Du'an, holding the Xuanwu Seal, hid in the water and suddenly sensed the fish in the water frantically gathering towards him.

"He's in the water! Where the fish gather!"

White-headed Eagle shouted loudly. At the same time, a group of fierce wolves and brown bears surrounded and attacked the stream.

These ordinary beasts had a red light swirling around their fur, as if they had been blessed with magic, giving them bloodthirsty combat power far exceeding their peers.

"What beastmaster…"

Zhao Du'an frowned. With his cultivation, he was not afraid of these beasts.

If he let go and fought back, he had the confidence to kill these two sorcerers—he wouldn't even need to use "Pei Niannu".

However, his core purpose was not to fight this group of people, but to lead them away, buying time for Zhenbao.

So all the way, he had not killed anyone, but had been fishing the crowd like flying a kite.

At this moment, a humanoid "water man" walked out of the stream, the stream flowing with a rustling sound, revealing Zhao Du'an's figure.

He held the Xuanwu Seal, hesitated slightly, preparing to kill one before leaving, but then changed his mind, drew out the Frost Sword, and unleashed a "Peach Blossom Swordplay".

Blood splattered, and the heads of the wolves separated from their bodies. He took the opportunity to escape again.

Almost at the same time, a series of arrows flew from the forest again like poisonous tongues. Ouyang Ye led a large group of secret agents to arrive.

He looked at the White-headed Eagle riding a tiger, who was not very good at frontal combat, and then at Yao Shiniang lying on the ground, covering her bleeding abdomen, her eyes fierce, and said with contempt and sarcasm:

"It seems that splitting up was not a good idea. If he wasn't focused on escaping with the false emperor, if he had just stopped and fought, you two would have been dead long ago."

Ouyang Ye was not in a hurry to continue the pursuit, because the initiative was in his hands.

As long as Yao Shiniang and White-headed Eagle were still alive, they would not lose track of the Empress.

And after continuous attacks, the secret agents also needed to rest a little to recover their strength.

He wasn't too anxious, just like a clever hunter, he would have enough patience to slowly chase the prey, tightening and loosening the reins, until the prey was exhausted, and then capture it.

Conversely, if he chased too closely, never giving Zhao Du'an the opportunity and hope to escape.

If Zhao Du'an was really forced into a corner, he would fight a bloody battle with his abundant energy, even if the others won, they would inevitably suffer heavy casualties.

Ouyang Ye's strategy was to exhaust Zhao Du'an's energy through pursuit and escape.

However, after chasing for so long, this guy still didn't show any signs of fatigue, his energy was as abundant as ever, but the secret agents were a little out of breath.

"How can this guy, surnamed Zhao, still be able to run so well while carrying the false emperor?"

He didn't know that one of the functions of the World Honored One's Green Lotus was to greatly enhance Zhao Du'an's physical strength and energy.

In terms of consumption, he feared no one under the Earth Realm.

"Something's wrong," White-headed Eagle, riding a tiger, suddenly said, "The Empress he's carrying is fake."

"What?"

Not only the secret agents, but even Yao Shiniang, who had recovered from her injuries and stood up again with the help of the "Djinn's" wish, was stunned.

White-headed Eagle said, "I saw it very clearly with the eyes of the birds and wolves just now. What he's carrying is just a dummy filled with cotton, wearing a dragon robe. The Empress is not here."

Been played?

No, it's a diversion…

Ouyang Ye's face sank, realizing that he and others had been tricked again. He suddenly turned around and shouted, "Return the way we came! The false emperor is still near the border checkpoint! Chase down the official road, she can't escape far!"

A secret agent hesitated, "That Zhao thief ahead..."

"Don't worry about him!" Ouyang Ye's mood was gloomy, but he laughed instead, saying in a sinister tone:

"Since his purpose is to lead us away, he will naturally chase after us as long as we return."

The others also woke up and their eyes lit up, responding and turning back.

Traveling in the mountains and forests was extremely difficult. Although they chased for a while, they were not too far from the checkpoint. If they turned back in time, they might catch up with the Empress.

...

"They discovered it?"

In the dense forest, Zhao Du'an fled forward for a while, and stopped when he realized that no pursuers were coming from behind.

Turning around and running back, he climbed a giant tree like a nimble ape, carrying the "dummy" he had created on the road in advance, standing on a branch and looking out, his heart sinking.

In his vision, the Wangfu secret agents actually turned back, completely giving up chasing him.

"I was still seen through... That's right, a dummy will be noticed sooner or later..."

Zhao Du'an's heart was anxious. He estimated that Zhenbao had not been out of Jiancheng's border for long at this time, even if she used the "Nine Transformations" mask to change her appearance.

However, with the Wangfu's cautiousness, they would not let go of any suspicious person.

And with Zhenbao's current state, it was difficult to deal with even a few ordinary people. Once she was caught up, she would definitely die!

"I have to hold them back. Should I use Pei Niannu? ... But with my current internal strength, I can't maintain Pei Niannu's descent for too long, and my Qi Sea will be drained... So, I must kill all these people in a very short time. Once I can't kill them all, it will be me who dies!"

Zhao Du'an hesitated to weigh the pros and cons. He was not sure whether these secret agents carried any trump cards with them.

He only had one chance to strike.

"Forget it, I can only take a gamble..." Just as Zhao Du'an's eyes turned fierce and he made up his mind to fight once.

Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he looked towards another direction of the forest from the tree branch.

He saw that in the vast wilderness, a large group of birds were suddenly startled.

"Could there be more pursuers?"

Zhao Du'an's hand holding the tree trunk suddenly exerted force, his fingernails almost piercing into the wood.

...

"Wait a minute!"

Ouyang Ye, who was running, also sensed the abnormality, raised his hand, and everyone stopped.

The warlock Baitou Weng looked solemn and said, "A group of people are approaching quickly! They are coming for us! It's very dangerous!"

People?

Who would come at this time?

Ouyang Ye and Yao Shiniang looked suspicious and subconsciously adopted a defensive posture. The secret agents aimed their crossbows at the front.

Then, they saw in the depths of the dense forest, about a dozen figures jumping between the trees like ghosts, their figures extremely fast, almost leaving afterimages!

And the person in the lead was actually a head of white hair, wearing a very conspicuous bright red python robe!

Hai Gonggong's python robe fluttered in the wind, his feet lightly stepping on the branches of the trees, as light as a wisp of smoke. In the blink of an eye, he arrived from a distance and stood with his hands behind his back on a tree branch.

Behind him, a dozen imperial guards followed closely, their eyebrows gloomy like evil spirits.

"Hai Chunlin! ! How could he appear here?"

Ouyang Ye was shocked and terrified, and Yao Shiniang and Baitou Weng also turned pale at the same time!

Hai Gonggong coldly overlooked the crowd in the forest and said, "Kill them all immediately, leave no one alive."

"Yes!"

One imperial guard after another responded and floated into the forest. In the blink of an eye, one Wangfu secret agent after another, who had been cultivated with heavy money, died, their bodies bursting with blood. They had almost no power to fight back and fell like wheat.

"Block him for a moment!"

At the same time as seeing Hai Gonggong, Ouyang Ye shouted.

Yao Shiniang did not hesitate and wished to the "Lamp God" at the cost of serious injury.

The yellow flame of the ancient candlestick flickered, and a circle of fire spread out, covering the three of them.

Almost at the same time, Hai Gonggong stood on the treetop and gently chopped down with a hand knife!

However, the hand knife, which was enough to injure a world-realm expert, disappeared when it hit the "candlelight".

"Puff!"

As a price, Yao Shiniang spat out a mouthful of blood, visibly aging a bit. In order to block this blow, she used her own life as "lamp oil" to drive the "wild god" once.

And in this little bit of world time, Ouyang Ye flicked out the Miaodao with his thumb!

With a clang, the Miaodao did not slash at Hai Gonggong, but slashed at the ground!

On the narrow Miaodao blade, there was actually a burning purple talisman!

"Buzz!"

Circles of ripples spread out, covering the three of them. The teleportation was activated, and the three disappeared into the forest.

Hai Gonggong frowned and snorted coldly: "God..."

At this time, except for the three who escaped with a backhand, this team of Wangfu secret agents had all died miserably, and their bodies were lying all over the ground.

Hai Gonggong floated to the ground, and a dozen imperial guards who had finished killing gathered around:

"Gonggong, what shall we do next..."

Hai Gonggong turned his head, looked in a certain direction in the distance through the forest, his eyes were complicated, but he still didn't go over, and said calmly:

"Evacuate, attack the nearby rebel camp, find the Jing Wangfu secret agents that may still exist nearby, and cover His Majesty's departure."

Song Jinxi, who was good at assassination, couldn't help but say:

"Gonggong, since His Majesty is nearby, why don't we..."

Hai Gonggong shook his head and said with his hands behind his back:

"Do you think no one is staring at us? We are always on the surface. Once we contact His Majesty, it will attract the strong among the rebels. At that time, our team may not be able to withstand it.

On the contrary, as long as we bite the Wangfu secret agents, the people of the Fashi sect, and the rebel generals, and cover His Majesty's escape, it is the most effective.

After a pause, he added:

"However, before, we didn't know which direction His Majesty went, so we had no choice but to split up and search in different directions.

Now that we have determined the location, we should find a way to get the other Zen teams to come over and not waste time in the wrong place."

Song Jinxi asked curiously: "How do you plan to notify Mo Zhaorong and the others, Gonggong?"

Hai Gonggong's tone was cold, he turned his head and looked at the nearest county town that had been occupied by the rebels, and said lightly:

"Kill. Killing enough people will naturally muddy the waters."

A dozen imperial guards looked at each other with fierce eyes:

"For His Majesty, we will die without regret!"

Immediately, this team quickly disappeared into the dense forest.

After a while, in the direction Hai Gonggong initially looked.

Zhao Du'an walked out with a cotton-filled dummy on his back and a Frost Sword in his hand, his expression complicated.

He glanced at the pile of corpses on the ground, looked at the direction Hai Gonggong left, pursed his lips, sheathed his sword, threw down the dummy, only took the dragon robe, and ran wildly in another direction.

He must reunite with Zhenbao as soon as possible!

...

...

Outside Jiancheng Road.

Xu Zhenguan successfully left the checkpoint, avoided the official road, and specially chose a small road to walk towards the circled place on the map.

After resting for these two days, although she was still weak and the palm print left by Xuan Yin had not dissipated, it was not difficult to walk.

When she arrived at the long-abandoned city wall marked on the map, she found that there was indeed no one around.

Xu Zhenguan found the most hidden corner of the wall, squatted down, curled herself up as much as possible, and began to wait quietly.

The sun rose little by little, and the sun fell little by little.

She did not move, did not eat anything, did not drink water, just hugged the Tai'a sword and the small package she carried with her, biting her lips and waiting quietly.

The time had long passed the agreed noon, but she did not leave alone as agreed, but was still squatting at the bottom of the desolate wall, her eyes staring at the road in the direction of Jiancheng Road, without blinking.

Finally, as the sun set in the west, when a ray of afterglow shone obliquely on the old and abandoned low city wall, the last bit of expectation in her eyes finally dimmed and disappeared.

Xu Zhenguan propped up her numb legs, supported the wall little by little and stood up. She carried the small package on her back and looked at the road one last time.

No one came.

A little tear flickered in Xu Zhenguan's eyes. She turned her head and walked towards the Huai Shui River with some staggering.

Suddenly, the sound of a bell came from behind.

Xu Zhenguan suddenly stopped and turned her head back nervously.

In her vision, in the twilight of the dusk, at the end of the dirt road, a broken donkey cart came little by little.

In the cart, Zhao Du'an was wearing a straw hat, holding a whip, and gently whipping the donkey.

The donkey cart was walking, and the bell hanging under the donkey's neck made a clear sound.

"Hee ~"

Zhao Du'an drove the donkey cart to Xu Zhenguan, reined in the reins, and showed a bright smile in the sunset:

"Your Majesty, your subject is late in rescuing you."

...