novelhk Chapter 814: Gongzi Gao’s death and Wu Can’s anger!
Chapter 814: Gongzi Gao’s death and Wu Can’s anger!
Thinking of this, Gongzi Gao felt a twisted sense of relief: as long as he was alive, there was hope, even if that hope was as slim as a candle in the wind, even if living meant endless humiliation and imprisonment. Being alive was his greatest and only hope at this moment.
Just as Gongzi Gao was curled up in the corner of the carriage, enduring the bumps and secretly planning the future for this humble "life" -
“Swish—swish, swish, swish—!”
A burst of hair-splitting, dense, sharp, air-piercing sounds suddenly ripped through the tranquility of dusk! Like the howling of death, icy arrows rained down from the grass on both sides of the road, hurling themselves at the dilapidated carriage with deadly precision!
"Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff..."
The sound of sharp blades piercing rotten wood rang out dully and densely! In an instant, the already thin carriage wall was easily pierced by countless arrows! Wood chips flew everywhere! Gongzi Gao didn't even have time to react. He felt a huge, cold force slam into his chest, and the excruciating pain instantly drowned out all thoughts! His eyes widened in disbelief, and he looked down at the arrowhead that pierced his chest, stained with his own hot blood, and only a "ho ho" sound came from his throat.
The shadow of death descended so suddenly and so ferociously, completely crushing the little joy he had just felt for being alive into dust! How... could this be possible? Wasn't he still useful?
This was just the beginning! Before the first wave of arrows had subsided, a second, even denser and more ferocious wave arrived! More arrows pierced through the carriage, fiercely piercing Gongzi Gao's lifeless body, nailing him and the dilapidated carriage to the desolate roadside!
"Enemy attack! Be on guard..." The escorting general, Wu Can, suddenly lost consciousness and screamed, his voice distorted by extreme fear. He drew his sword, a turbulent wave rising within him! This was completely different from the secret order Gao Yao had given him!
Gao Yao had promised him that after he entered the city, he would find an opportunity to eliminate Gongzi Gao through an "accident" or "death," and that he would be handsomely rewarded. But why, just as he was about to reach the county capital, on the edge of Wu Can's sphere of influence, was he ambushed so brazenly and mercilessly in broad daylight?!
A terrifying thought instantly gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake: Gao wanted more than just Gongzi Gao's life! He wanted to silence him! He wanted to bury Gongzi Gao and all the escorts here! Only in this way could he completely conceal the truth and perfectly frame Gongzi Gao's death...
"Retreat! Retreat! Break out towards the county town!" The general, his heart pounding, roared out the order almost instinctively. This force was already weak, and in order to travel light and quickly escort Gongzi Gao, this "hot potato," back to Wu Can's lair, he had only fifty or so personal guards. Now, trapped in this meticulously laid death trap, these men and horses seemed so vulnerable.
The moment he finished speaking——
“Swish, swish, swish, swish—!”
The brush on either side of the road suddenly parted, and a dozen nimble figures in tight green clothes, their faces covered by masks, leaped out like ghosts! In their hands were powerful, relentless crossbows! The cold crossbow triggers clicked, and a denser, more deadly barrage of arrows rained down upon the chaotic escort team like locusts!
"Ah!" The general felt a numbness in his shoulder, followed by a piercing pain. A crossbow bolt had lodged itself deep into his shoulder blade! The immense force of the impact knocked him off his horse, landing heavily in the dust. He struggled to get up, but his vision was dominated by the swarm of blue-clad figures approaching.
The Qingyi Society members moved with lightning speed, their coordination seamless. After the barrage of crossbows had subdued their force, they unhesitatingly drew their gleaming swords from their waists and charged into the panicked Wu Can soldiers, already shattered by the hail of arrows. Swords flashed, blood splattered! Their attacks were ruthless and precise, each blow deadly. They didn't engage the enemy, simply harvesting their lives with swiftness, giving them no chance to breathe, resist, or escape.
Screams, the clash of weapons, the groans of the dying… woven into a brutal symphony of death along this narrow official road. In less than a quarter of an hour, all sound fell silent. Aside from the cold breathing of the Qingyi Society members, there was no one left alive. Blood soaked the dry earth, and the air was thick with the stench of gore.
A leader of the Qingyi Society quickly approached the shabby, arrow-riddled carriage, resembling a hedgehog, and with his sword, pried aside the bullet-riddled curtain. Young Master Gao huddled in a corner, his eyes wide open, frozen in a final moment of terror and bewilderment. He was riddled with no fewer than ten arrows, long dead. The leader carefully confirmed his target's death, his eyes devoid of emotion, and simply nodded coldly.
"Clean it up," he whispered.
The other members sprang into action. Some quickly dragged several bodies dressed in Wu Canjun uniforms to a prominent location. They then scattered arrows vaguely engraved with Chu territory and several pre-prepared pieces of tattered leather armor or tokens bearing Chu army patterns, seemingly haphazardly yet deliberately, across the scene. Others, without hesitation, poured kerosene on the carriage and several key bodies.
The fire stick lit up and a spark fell.
"Boom!" Instantly, flames shot up, greedily devouring the carriage and the corpses. Thick smoke billowed into the sky. The flames and smoke were striking against the darkening sky, like a giant signal pointing toward Nanyang.
After doing all this, the members of the Qingyi Society, just as swiftly and silently as they had arrived, retreated into the dense forests lining the road, vanishing without a trace. Leaving behind them only blazing wreckage, corpses strewn across the ground, carefully planted "evidence," and a sickening mixture of burnt and bloody odors. This horrific scene pointed to an "obvious" culprit: Ying Bu's Chu army!
When the sentries on the towering watchtowers of Nanyang County saw the thick smoke rising from miles outside the city, the alarm bells immediately sounded frantically! The location of the smoke column was exactly where the escort team of Prince Gao was expected to arrive!
"Report! Thick smoke and huge fire were spotted on the official road east of the city! It's suspected that the convoy escorting Young Master Gao was attacked!" The scout scrambled into the county magistrate's office.
Wu Can, who was currently embracing his beloved and savoring fine wine, suddenly stood up upon hearing the news, his face instantly turning ashen! A chill ran from his feet to his head. The thing he was most worried about seemed to have happened in the worst possible way!