At this time, the small courtyard outside has been completely controlled by Nilinsi. More than a dozen spies were guarding everywhere. When they saw them coming out, they quickly gathered together to protect Murong Xue without waiting for orders from their superiors.
When everyone was about to walk out, a black thing suddenly flew out of the bamboo forest outside the wall, and with a swish, it landed in front of everyone.
As soon as the thing touched the ground, it rolled forward for a while before stopping.
Qiao Shengchun glanced subconsciously by the light of the torch, and suddenly turned pale and said in shock: "Old Xu? Xu Jinfeng!"
Hearing this, the others all looked at it and realized that the black thing turned out to be a human head! The head of Nilinsi Luoyi branch commander Xu Jinfeng!
In an instant, the spies felt their blood running cold.
Lao Xu was responsible for directing peripheral support today, why is his head missing now?
Just when everyone was in shock, a long laugh sounded from the gate of the side courtyard: "Murong Xue, Murong Xue, you are the bait, and you finally caught some big fish for me."
With laughter, hundreds of Xuanjia soldiers came out of the darkness and surrounded the entire courtyard. A large number of archers also appeared on the surrounding rooftops.
The courtyard gate was illuminated by torches as if it were daytime, and Lao Jianhua appeared there, with Di Xian and Xie Bao on the left and right.
Qiao Shengchun's eyes were split open and he shouted angrily: "Old thief, you are so cruel!"
Lao Jianhua smiled scornfully: "Shengchun, you are getting more and more unruly. When you see me, not only are you not polite, but you also say nasty things to me? Back then, you were just a small deputy flag-bearer under my command. Normally, You don’t even dare to show off your anger, so why have you become so arrogant now that you have been promoted to Commander-in-Chief?”
"Bah, old thief! I, Nilin Division, have a mortal feud with you!" Qiao Shengchun couldn't help but scolded: "Don't show off to me, I will pay with your blood today!"
As he spoke, he drew his sword out of its sheath and jumped towards Lao Jianhua.
When Xie Bao, who was standing next to Lao Jianhua, saw this, he shouted suddenly, picked up two large copper hammers, and stepped forward to block Qiao Shengchun's way.
The sledgehammer weighing hundreds of kilograms was like a bamboo pole in Xie Bao's hand, light and weightless, but when the hammer head flew up, it was faster than the opponent's steel knife.
In just three or four encounters, Xie Bao's copper hammer hit the blade, and with a snap, Qiao Shengchun's steel knife flew away. Another copper hammer spun around and almost hit his lower back.
Qiao Shengchun remained calm in the face of danger and narrowly avoided the hammer blow. He pulled out a dagger from nowhere in his hand, and in the blink of an eye he started a close-quarters fight with Xie Bao.
When the two Nilin Division spies saw the Palm Commander's weapon being knocked away, they were worried that he would suffer a loss, so they couldn't help but rush up and join the battle group.
Xie Bao threw his arms away, not afraid of the attack from the three men at all. He danced a pair of eight-sided bronze hammers with great force, completely taking the initiative on the field.
Lao Jianhua ordered coldly: "General Xie, Qiao Shengchun is going to be captured alive. This person is known as the best torturer in Beiya. I want to let him have a taste of my methods to see who is better."
"As you command!" Xie Bao agreed loudly. He flashed to the side of a spy like a beast, made a feint with his left hammer, and then smashed down with his right hammer like lightning and flint. The spy was confused by his false move and failed to react in time. He was hit with a copper hammer until his brains burst and he died on the spot.
Xie Bao didn't stop after he succeeded. He turned around and knocked away another spy's weapon, then flipped his wrist and hit the other spy in the chest. There was a muffled bang, and the spy was hit by him and flew more than two feet away. He spit out blood and died while still in mid-air.
When Qiao Shengchun saw this, he couldn't help but be furious. He desperately tried to get close to Xie Bao, using every move to risk his life.
Xie Bao, however, had a lot of time to spare, and kept jumping and moving, obviously trying to exhaust Qiao Shengchun's energy and finally capture him alive.
But unexpectedly, Qiao Shengchun seemed to be desperate, but in fact, the drunkard's intention was not in drinking. He spotted the gap where Xie Bao was avoiding, suddenly shook his hand and shot the dagger at Lao Jianhua, who was watching the battle, and at the same time shouted: "Old Wang! Retreat!"
Wang Hai, who had been watching the battle from behind, heard the signal and jumped into action at the same time.
He cut off the cloth belt tied around Murong Xue's waist with a knife, and at the same time as Rui Ji slipped off her back, he threw seven or eight confusion beads around.
Smoke suddenly rose up and completely enveloped everyone. Wang Hai grabbed Murong Xue's shoulders and retreated quickly.
Almost at the same time, all the Nilin Division spies raised their weapons and charged towards Lao Jianhua like crazy tigers.
For a time, the courtyard fell into chaos.
Xie Bao, Di Xian and other Xuanjia troops took advantage of their own strength and launched a merciless siege, vowing to trap Qiao Shengchun and the others to death.
However, what is unexpected is that although Nilin Division only has about twenty people, they are all desperate soldiers. Facing enemies several times their own, they have no fear. The more they kill, the stronger they become, and the more they kill, the crazier they become. !
When the sword struck their bodies, the spies not only did not scream in pain, but also showed strange smiles. They shouted in a hoarse voice like they were chanting a curse: "Be loyal to my emperor and kill the thief! Kill the thief! Kill the thief!"
Just when Qiao Shengchun and others were fighting desperately to hold back the Xuanjia Army, Lao Wang Hai, a former police officer, had already pulled Murong Xue and rushed out from another direction with the help of the smoke.
As he rushed forward, he shouted in Murong Xue's ear: "General, wake up! The prince is still waiting for you!"
Murong Xue originally planned to break away from Wang Hai and fight back to rescue Rui Ji who was left behind, but when he heard the word "prince", his heart suddenly froze.
Li Bing, for Murong Xue, involved too many things.
Only the prince could make him give up everything.
Murong Xue looked at the surrounding Xuanjia troops, feeling as if her heart was turning upside down. He didn't dare to think about what kind of misfortune Rui Ji would encounter next, let alone whether the child in her belly could still survive.
At this time, the only thing he could do was not to let down the warriors who sacrificed their lives to save him, and tried every means to save his life, return to the prince, and complete his unfinished mission.
Suddenly, Murong Xue waved her arm to block Wang Hai's hand, roared to the sky in pain, then snatched the long knife of a Xuanjia soldier, chopped off half of the opponent's head with one blow, and then acted like crazy Brandishing his weapon, he broke out towards the empty rear courtyard wall.
The Xuanjia Army was frightened by his bravery and couldn't help but retreat. In the blink of an eye, Murong Xue and Wang Hai successfully fought their way out and climbed out of the wall. After landing, the two looked for the right direction. Just after running a few dozen steps, they heard Lao Jianhua's laughter behind them: "Murong Xue, where are you running?!"
Wang Hai couldn't help but complain secretly.
Lao Jianhua was one of the top masters in the Nilin Division of Beiya at that time, and his skills were on par with Shen Lie's. At this time, not to mention that the opponent's men were everywhere. Even without the Xuanjia Army, he and Murong Xue were no match for Lao Jianhua in a one-on-one duel.
With no choice but to lose the car to save the handsome man.
"General, remember Songshan Temple! Let's go quickly!" Wang Hai lowered his voice, and after saying these words to Murong Xue, he turned around to meet Lao Jianhua, who was getting closer and closer.
Murong Xue knew in her heart that Wang Hai was planning to sacrifice himself and cling to his terrifying opponent to give him a chance to escape. On the battlefield, every second counts. At this moment, Murong Xue could no longer care about her feelings, so she could only speed up and run without saying a word.
When he rushed to the outer wall of Taifu's Mansion and jumped over the wall, he couldn't help but look back and saw Wang Hai being stabbed through by Lao Jianhua's sword, and his body fell limply to the ground.
"Lao Jianhua, I'll fuck your mother!" Murong Xue cursed with tears in her eyes and jumped out from the wall.
-
Having been an official in Luoyi for a long time, Murong Xue was already very familiar with the terrain here. Therefore, even if there were no people from Nilin Division to support him, he still walked quickly through the streets and alleys, running wildly under the night.
Murong Xue chose the same direction of escape as when Shen Lie was besieged, first to Luoshui in the city. The Luoshui River runs across Dongdu. Not only are its tributaries complex, but it can also go straight out of the city. As long as Lao Jianhua jumps into the river, even if Lao Jianhua mobilizes the entire Xuanjia Army, he may not be able to catch him.
Murong Xue broke through Xuanzhengfang and went straight to Leap Horse Bridge. Before Lao Jianhua could catch up, she jumped into the cold Luoshui River with a splash, causing ripples in circles.
-
When Li Jiangyao took Zhou Xing and others back to Luoyi, the eastern capital, ten days had passed since Qiao Shengchun and the others were ambushed and the entire army was wiped out.
The secret stronghold outside the city was now deserted, and there were no contact points throughout the city.
The heads of fifty-eight elite spies from the Nilin Division, including Qiao Shengchun, Wang Hai, and Xu Jinfeng, were hung high in wooden cages on the east gate tower of Luoyi, and they died with their eyes open.
After a lot of hard work, Zhou Xing, Qian Honglie, Zheng Xiao and others brought back fragments of information from all over the place, and gradually spliced them into a complete picture, showing the general story of the entire incident.
That night, Nilinsi set up a deadlock because of Lao Jianhua's false shot. As a result, all the forces left in the Eastern Capital were almost uprooted by the Xuanjia Army. Including many secret backstabs who have long used their ordinary identities as cover to lurk in Luoyi and rarely participate in operations, they have not been spared.
Wang Hai and Xu Jinfeng both died in battle with the enemy during the process of rescuing Murong Xue. They died happily. Deputy Commander Qiao Shengchun was not as lucky as them.
He was seriously injured by He Bao and captured alive. He didn't even have a chance to commit suicide by swallowing poison, so Di Xian directly knocked out all the teeth in his mouth, completely suppressing him.
After that, Lao Jianhua inflicted cruel and inhuman torture on Qiao Shengchun in Taifu's mansion in front of a group of Xuanjia soldiers. He tortured him for three days and three nights before finally dying of anger.
During the entire torture process, there were as many as a dozen people who vomited and fainted just watching the torture. However, Qiao Shengchun never gave in and begged for mercy. Not only did he not reveal any information about Nilinsi, but he also cursed Lao Jianhua repeatedly until he died. He was a tough guy.
After brutally killing Qiao Shengchun, Lao Jianhua just said lightly: "I didn't intend to get any secrets from you, I just wanted to play with you."
Although the contact time was not long, in Li Jiangyao's impression, Qiao Shengchun was calm, experienced, loyal and modest. As the highest-ranking official of the Nilin Division besides Shen Lie, he never took over the command halfway to Li Jiangyao. There were no complaints or obstacles at all.
On the contrary, no matter what kind of instructions were arranged, and no matter how many ranks there were between the sixth-grade captain and the deputy commander-in-chief, as long as Li Jiangyao spoke, Qiao Shengchun would execute it meticulously and conscientiously.
A good man.
This is Li Jiangyao's heartfelt evaluation of Lao Qiao before.
There is also Wang Hai, Xu Jinfeng, and those spy brothers from Nilin Division. Don't tell me how bad, ruthless, and perverted they are. They are willing to do this because of their absolute loyalty to the emperor and Shengtang. Appear in front of people as a devil.
To be precise, he appeared in front of the enemy.
The voices, looks, and smiles of Qiao Shengchun and the others have long been deeply engraved in Li Jiangyao's heart and cannot be removed.
