Brother Fan took two steps back, put away his Emei thorn and opened his hand. The sickle-shaped hidden weapons on the ground flew back into his hand, and he stood aside on guard.
"See Your Highness." Gu Shengchao bowed his hands and saluted.
The man in white smiled and said, "It seems you heard all our conversation."
Gu Shengchao said truthfully: "I only heard the last few sentences. This brother is so good at martial arts that I almost lost him. It took me a long time to find this place. Before I could listen carefully, I was discovered by Brother Fan."
The man in white said generously: "Since we are all our own people, how about we go in and have a cup of tea?"
"It's up to you." Gu Shengchao followed the man in white and walked in.
The man in white took the first seat, and Gu Shengchao gave up his second seat and sat at the bottom. The man that Gu Shengchao was following stood aside uneasily. Brother Fan waved his hand and the man quietly retreated. Brother Fan had a hidden weapon in his hand. He felt it was inelegant, so he quickly put it away and sat next to the man in white, guarding against Gu Shengchao.
Brother Fan poured tea for everyone and said in admiration to Gu Shengchao: "Fan admires the little brother for his good skills. If I hadn't admitted my mistake, the little brother would have been the one who saved His Highness in the wild!"
Gu Shengchao said humbly: "It's not worth mentioning. Brother Fan's hidden weapon is unique in the world and almost killed me. If His Highness hadn't stopped him in time, I might not have escaped tonight."
The three of them laughed, and the man in white asked, "May I ask your name?"
"Go back to Your Highness, Cao Min Gu Sheng Chao."
The man in white waved his hand and said: "You and I don't need to be polite in private. I am the ninth son of the current emperor, named Jue Cheng. I have been kept as a hostage in the West Cold Country. Now my Dawu Dynasty is in turmoil, and I want to come back to reorganize the court. According to According to the spies, you are not on the list of Wuyou Escort Agency, why did you suddenly appear?"
Gu Shengchao was shocked. It seemed that every move of the escort agency was under the control of others. He replied: "I was delayed on the road and only arrived recently, so no one knows about it."
The prince Juncheng nodded and said: "In the past few days, you have frequently visited the prison of the Ministry of Punishment to prepare for the prison robbery. The Ministry of Punishment has already known about it and has laid out a dragnet waiting for you to take the bait. The young master of the Escort Bureau is also a figure. In order to save his old father, he would rather risk all his family wealth. It's really rare to fight to the death. What's even more valuable is that you warriors know that even though you are chasing moths into the fire, you still want to grab chestnuts from the fire. Little did you know that there are people inside who have already defected to the Ministry of Punishment, and all their words and deeds are known to the Ministry of Punishment. If you insist on going your own way, you will surrender yourself. There is no return from the snare.”
Gu Shengchao was stunned and asked: "His Highness has made it clear, how should we respond?"
"Call your young master here, I want to talk to him." Prince Juncheng's attitude was sincere and not aggressive.
Gu Shengchao was in trouble: "To be honest, I don't have much interaction with Wuyou Escort Agency. How can I make them trust me?"
Prince Juncheng thought for a while, took pen and ink and wrote the four characters "Seeing the words as the face" on a piece of white paper, and stamped his seal underneath. He explained: "The young master of the escort agency often has contacts with officials in the capital, so he should know this."
"Okay, how can I contact His Highness?" Gu Shengchao put away the paper and put it away.
"Just outside the Gaosheng Inn, Brother Fan will contact you there." Prince Juncheng replied.
Gu Shengchao said goodbye, and Brother Fan sent him to a high wall. He pressed somewhere in the corner, and a step appeared in the depression in the wall. He went up the step and pushed open the wooden board above his head. He went up to the closet. Push the door and walk out of the closet. There is a guest room, and one person sleeps in the guest room. If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, who would have known that this ordinary guest room would have such a clever design. Gu Shengchao walked out of the guest room and came to the inn corridor. He suddenly felt like he was dreaming. No wonder such a mechanism couldn't track the other party.
He said goodbye to Brother Fan and searched along the way he came. There were many houses along the way, but he couldn't find the courtyard where he came from. He rushed to the inn where Zhong Lei was staying, but there was no one in the room. He asked the waiter, who said that he had just checked out of the room and did not know where he had gone. Gu Shengchao had no choice but to return to the inn to discuss with Liu Ximei.
Liu Ximei also shook her head: "Anyone who encounters such a thing will be suspicious. It originally involves life-and-death secrets. Someone eavesdropped but was not caught. One of his own suddenly disappeared and naturally became alert. Who can know whether the other party is collaborating with the enemy and rebelling?"
The two were discussing when Gu Shengchao suddenly noticed someone eavesdropping outside the window. He was about to have a seizure when he noticed that the person's aura was somewhat familiar. It was undoubtedly Zhong Lei. He pursed his lips toward the window, dipped his finger in water and wrote the word "clock" on the table, and Liu Ximei understood.
Gu Shengchao said deliberately: "It's over, it's over. No one from the escort agency can be contacted. The Ministry of Punishment already knows their plan. If you go there in two days, you will definitely die. How should I inform them?"
Liu Ximei followed: "Yes, the key to life and death is why they disappeared suddenly. Did you say something they shouldn't have said or did something they shouldn't have done, making them mistakenly think you were a spy."
Gu Shengchao replied: "No, I just found someone eavesdropping and chased me. The person was actually sent by the Ninth Prince to contact the escort agency, saying that the Ministry of Punishment was waiting for us to surrender and catch them all. Brother Zhong Lei could not be contacted. , what should we do!"
The breath outside the door moved to the door, and the door was pushed open. Gu Shengchao and Liu Ximei stood up pretending to be surprised. Zhong Lei motioned them not to talk, and after observing that no one was outside, he closed the door and asked in a low voice: "What did you just say?" Is it true?"
"Brother Zhong Lei, were you eavesdropping outside just now?" Liu Ximei pretended to be scared.
This was the first time Zhong Lei saw Liu Ximei's true face, and his heart trembled when he saw her coquettish and angry look, and he did not dare to look directly at her. He turned his head and explained: "Brother Gu, please forgive me. The young owner of the village has long known that there is a traitor, and has been unable to find out who it is. It is unreasonable for you to complete the delivery of escorts alone this time. Today, there is an inexplicable disappearance during the tracking process. In order to be safe, We changed all the contact points. I was brought up by Uncle Xu, and I never doubted him. I didn’t believe that the person Uncle Xu identified would betray him, so I came here secretly to investigate, and I ask for your forgiveness."
Gu Shengchao said humbly: "Brother Zhong is serious. I am a newcomer. It is an honor for me to trust Brother Zhong. How can I blame him?" He took out the note with the seal of the prince and handed it to Zhong Lei, "This is This matter is not trivial, Brother Wangzhong quickly handed this token to the young master’s family, saying that the Ninth Prince wants to meet with the young master’s family for an interview, and I will wait for you at Gaosheng Inn.”
Zhong Lei knew that this matter was important, so he packed the note and left in a hurry.
Gu Shengchao put on Liu Ximei's mask and said: "We can't stay here for a long time, let's change to an inn!"
Liu Ximei readily agreed. The two people walked towards the city and found an inn behind a tile house called Donglai Inn. There are crowds of people in front of the hotel, and there is only one alley leading to the inn behind it, so you can clearly see the guests coming in and out. It is really a perfect place to take a break from the hustle and bustle. After settling Liu Ximei, Gu Shengchao immediately rushed to Gaosheng Inn.
Brother Fan was guarding the inn lobby when he saw Gu Shengchao arriving and led him to the guest room opposite the lobby to rest. This room is special because everyone coming and going in the lobby can see clearly. The two waited patiently. While chatting, Gu Shengchao learned that Brother Fan's name was Fan Lixin. Because he was older, people called him Brother. It was almost midnight, and Qi Tianzeng and Zhong Lei arrived belatedly.
"I could have visited in advance, but I have important matters involved. Please forgive me. I don't know if His Highness is resting, so I ask this brother to be accommodating." Qi Tianzeng's tone was very humble.
"Let me ask!" Fan Lixin returned not long after leaving and said, "My Highness has not rested yet, please come with me."
Zhong Lei wanted to go there with Qi Tianzeng, but Qi Tianzeng stopped him and said: "Your Highness is sincere, and we must be honest with each other. I can go alone."
Gu Shengchao and Zhong Lei were waiting in the guest room, but Qi Tianzeng didn't come back for a long time. Zhong Lei was anxious for fear that something might happen to his young master's family, so he kept pacing in the room, but Gu Shengchao was sleepy, lay down on the bed, and fell asleep. It was not until the end of his ugly life that Qi Tianzeng came back in high spirits.
"Young master, you are back." Zhong Lei was worried and his eyes were bloodshot.
Qi Tianzeng was overjoyed: "His Highness and I hit it off like old friends. We chatted so much that we forgot about the time and made you worry about us."
Gu Shengchao also woke up and asked: "The current situation is chaotic, what should we do next?"
"Everything remains as usual. We will go to the prison on time tomorrow." Qi Tianzeng said with a smile.
Zhong Lei was frightened, and lowered his voice to dissuade him: "We knew we were going to catch him without any help. Why do we have to hit the stone with an egg?"
Gu Shengchao seemed to have some realization and stared straight at Qi Tianzeng: "The young master and His Highness want to join forces?"
Qi Tianzeng nodded slightly: "Relying on the power of the Escort Bureau alone is like a worm shaking a tree. The power behind this incident is far beyond what you and I can imagine, and it cannot be done overnight."
At midnight on the next day, Gu Shengchao and others gathered in another secret courtyard of Qi Tianzeng. Unlike last time, this time the courtyard was spacious and five carriages were waiting there.
Qi Tianfeng lowered his voice and said: "My dear heroes, tonight's actions are related to everyone's lives and fortunes. You should be more cautious along the way. In order not to be discovered, the carriages have been sealed. Please stay calm inside and don't act rashly. , when we get to the location, fight out together, only by taking things by surprise can you succeed immediately."
Everyone wore a mask and set off in different vehicles in order. The carriage car was airtight, and the door curtains were blocked from the outside. The bumps in the small space where you couldn't even see your fingers made you feel dizzy and uncomfortable. Everyone didn't know how many times they walked around the street. Finally, the carriage stopped, and someone whispered outside the carriage: "Do it."
Everyone couldn't hold it back and almost went crazy. Some opened the door curtain and jumped down, some were knocked out directly, and some even exploded with internal force and smashed the car to pieces and jumped away. The sky was gloomy at this moment, and the scene in front of me was shocking.
At the door of the prison, several jailers were lying in a pool of blood with their heads dislocated. Qi Tianzeng ran out with a man on his back covered in blood, and said hurriedly: "Quickly!" Zhong Lei broke his back leg and was injured. He was limping and his body was stained with blood. . Gu Shengchao had already been shot through the chest by an arrow. He staggered out of the door and stumbled over the jailer's corpse. He fell sideways to the ground without moving.
"It's important to save our boss!" Someone stepped forward to help Qi Tianzeng.
"If you can't escape, a dragnet has been laid for you long ago. You are dead."
One person mocked, under the dark night, hundreds of people gathered from all directions, holding bows and arrows in their hands and pointing them at everyone.
