There were still sounds of fighting all around, but it was as if the air between Shao Xi and the man had solidified, both of them standing motionless.
"You...? Sixth grade...?"
The three words that came out of that person's mouth were still intermittently. You can imagine how frightened he felt at this time.
He saw the Cuiyu Sword hanging steadily in the air, and the blade was close to his throat. The cold air on the sword made his whole body feel chilly. At this moment, Shao Xi could take his life at any time as long as he was willing.
"What you said is not accurate enough. To be more precise, it should be the peak of the sixth grade."
"Sixth grade..., peak...?"
"Can you speak more coherently? Aren't you tired of jumping out three or four words like this?"
The man's Adam's apple obviously moved up and down, and he must have swallowed his saliva due to nervousness.
"I lost! I'm willing to give up!"
"Then what? Do you want to continue fighting?"
The man lowered his mask and glanced at Cuiyu Sword with his eyes. He didn't even dare to shake his head. He stood stiffly in place, not daring to move rashly.
"No more fighting, I'll let you do whatever you want."
Shao Xi smiled bitterly. He never expected that the other party would surrender so quickly. After all, he was a fifth-level master, so he would give up the struggle so quickly?
It can be seen how much suppression the sixth-grade peak has for him, which makes him completely lose the idea of resisting.
"Can you tell me who sent you here?"
"I can't say it. If I say it, I might as well let you kill me right now."
Shao Xi raised his eyebrows indifferently, and controlled his vitality to take back the green feather sword.
"Now that you have admitted defeat, take your people and leave here. Don't force me to go on a killing spree."
The man in black didn't speak anymore. He just turned around and disappeared into the crowd with a few leaps. Then there was a whistle from far ahead. After the group of assassins who were fighting fiercely with the guards heard it, they all started to shout towards them. After retreating from the battle, they all turned around and ran towards the direction outside the gorge, obviously giving up the encirclement and killing operation.
Shao Xi stopped the guards who were planning to catch up and asked them to count the casualties. As a result, only a few of the mission's guards were slightly injured, while the other party had many dead and some injured.
Shao Xi ordered people to carry them to the car. After bandaging and treatment, they learned from their mouths that the mastermind behind the operation was General Fu Zuoliang. After hearing this, Shao Xi smiled and said nothing. Let the team move on and leave this valley.
"Hmph! I didn't expect that Fu Zuoliang was so bold. He really dared to send people to assassinate the mission. I will report this to the Holy Lord when I return to the capital. How can I let him do whatever he wants?"
Zhang Shou was filled with indignation and complained to himself. This attack on the mission was not easy for him to explain to either the young emperor or the prime minister after he returned to the capital. Fortunately, there were no major casualties in the mission, especially Shao Xi's safety.
"Master Zhang, why can these injured assassins who were captured alive ask who is behind them at the first glance? But the fifth-level master who I fought with just now refused to say who sent him. Don't you think this Is it a little strange?"
"Master Shao, this is not surprising. Most of these assassins are just recruited from the world. There are all kinds of people. Some people are afraid of death and will naturally betray their employers. The person who takes the lead is obviously It's the person next to Fu Zuoliang. If he betrayed his master, he would be more miserable alive than dead, so naturally he refused to say anything."
Shao Xi nodded thoughtfully and said, "Well, maybe what you said makes sense. Maybe I think too much."
Zhang Shou cautiously said to Shao Xi: "Master Shao, I am responsible for the attack on the mission. The purpose of Fu Zuoliang's attack on the mission was to destroy the establishment of diplomatic relations between Jingyuan and Nanzhao. I hope Mr. Shao attaches great importance to the overall situation and does not let this attack affect your mission. After returning to the Jingyuan Dynasty in the future, I hope that you can explain this matter to your pilgrimage and avoid misunderstanding between the two countries."
Shao Xi suddenly smiled.
"Master Zhang, don't think too much. Even if you don't tell me, I know that someone wants to sabotage this mission. Naturally, I won't be so stingy, because this matter will affect the diplomatic relations between the two countries. On the contrary, the more Some people want to obstruct this matter, but the more I want to make it happen, some people don't want to see the two countries have good relations, but I want to promote the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries."
After hearing what Shao Xi said, Zhang Shou finally let out a long breath, secretly glad that he didn't mess up the matter, but at the same time he also admired Shao Xi's open-mindedness and wisdom.
If it were an ordinary envoy, he would have gone back after encountering such a large-scale attack. Later, he would have to make arrangements for the Southern Zhao Kingdom in front of his holy superior. The result would naturally deepen the misunderstanding between the two countries.
But Shao Xi is different. He has a stubborn streak. The more he tries to do something that others don't want him to do, the more he wants to do it. In his own words, why should he let others decide what he should do?
However, this attack also reminded Shao Xi that the killers had arrived before anyone could reach Yongchuan City. If he entered Yongchuan City later, would there be killers everywhere around him?
He himself doesn't care, no one can kill him anyway, but he can't just leave such a large group of people in the mission, so it's hard to be a parent!
Because there was an attack, both the escorts of the mission and the escorts of the reception group were extremely vigilant and on guard at all times during the rest of the trip, especially when setting up camp at night. Whistle, for fear of another accident.
But Shao Xi felt that the same thing would not happen again in the next journey. If he missed a hit, there was no need to do it a second time, but a smart person would not do such a stupid thing.
So he was quite relaxed along the way, leaving all the matters of the guards to Zhang Shou to worry about.
Zhang Shou, who was originally in a hurry, became even more anxious because of this matter. He kept urging the reception group to speed up in front every day, leading the delegation to move quickly, just to reach Yongchuan City one day earlier. With a large group of imperial guards, there is no need to work as hard as now.
Not to mention, after Zhang Shou's urging, the entire team's traveling speed increased greatly. It might have taken five or six days to travel, but it only took more than four days to reach Yongchuan City.
Looking in the direction of the capital from a distance, Zhang Shou finally breathed a sigh of relief. He finally lived up to his trust and brought the delegation safely. He finally had an explanation with Zhao Hongjin and Han Zeng.
The delegation entered Yongchuan City in a mighty manner, attracting people in the city to come and watch.
Over the years, the Jingyuan Empire has never sent a mission to Southern Zhao. The people of Southern Zhao felt a little strange and wanted to see what the mission sent by the Jingyuan Empire, as a great power in the Central Plains, was like. What is the scale? What does an envoy look like?
In fact, the common people are just watching the excitement. What can they see from this large group of people? Anyway, just seeing a lot of people coming and the carriage looking very luxurious was enough to make them marvel, and everything else was nonsense.
Although this Yongchuan City is the capital of Nan Zhao, it seems that the scale of this capital is not much larger than that of Yujiang City. It just has more tall buildings. It seems to have the majesty of the capital, but the others are really not. I thought there was something strange.
However, the architectural style here is quite interesting. It does not have the towering ravines and embroidered gates and carved rafts of the Central Plains. Instead, it looks a bit petty. But if you think about it, you can understand. What kind of magnificent things can a small country with limited supplies create?
Although the city is not big, it is quite prosperous. People are coming and going on the streets. Craftsmen and businessmen can be seen everywhere. There are also many shops, restaurants and teahouses.
Although the population of Southern Zhao is not that large, the capital city is bustling with people and traffic, and there is no shortage at all.
Before the mission entered the city, Zhang Shou had already sent people to the city to inform the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the reception. Therefore, before the mission had gone far into the city, they encountered a team from the Ministry of Rites to greet them.
This time, Southern Zhao paid great attention to Jing Yuanguo's envoy. Holy Lord Zhao Hongjin entrusted Prime Minister Han Zeng to personally supervise the reception of the Ministry of Rites. Therefore, the Ministry of Rites did not dare to slack off at all. When he heard that the envoy had entered the city, he would come early The prepared ceremony guard came out, which can be said to be quite grand.
The person who greeted the head of the delegation was none other than Feng Xianpei, Minister of Rites, and he was also very excited at this time.
This is the first time he has welcomed such a large-scale mission since he took up the post of Minister of Rites. Being able to personally witness the establishment of diplomatic relations between Jingyuan Kingdom and Nanzhao Kingdom in his lifetime can be regarded as a milestone in his career as an official, so today he He didn't even sit in the sedan, but walked all the way with the honor guard to personally greet the Jingyuan delegation.
As the envoy of Jing Yuan Kingdom, Shao Xi could not avoid the etiquette matters between the two parties, so he hurriedly dismounted and walked to the front of the team to meet Feng Xianpei. Although the two parties had never met before, let alone knew each other, they still greeted each other warmly. Although Shao Xi thinks this is fake, after all, it is a diplomatic etiquette, and appearances must be done.
"Master Shao, you have come a long way, thank you for your hard work! I have prepared a rest house for your delegation, and I would like to invite your delegation to stay and have a good rest for two days. I will assist everyone in the etiquette department. The officials have set up a banquet for Mr. Shao and his entourage, and when I am summoned by the pilgrim Lord, I will personally go to the post to invite Mr. Shao to come to the pilgrimage. I also ask Mr. Shao to wait patiently for two days."
Although Shao Xi is one rank lower than the other party in terms of official rank, Shao Xi is not an official of Southern Zhao. At this time, his identity is an envoy of the Jingyuan Empire, and the Jingyuan Empire can be said to be a superior state to Southern Zhao. , so Shao Xi naturally doesn't need to be too humble.
"Lord Feng, you are so polite! I am here as an envoy to your dynasty on the orders of my pilgrim king. Firstly, I want to thank your dynasty for sending envoys to visit our dynasty. Secondly, I want to discuss the two countries with your lord. It is a matter of establishing diplomatic relations. This visit has caused trouble to Mr. Feng, and I will inevitably cause you a lot of trouble in the days to come. I would like to express my thanks in advance."
As the chief official receiving the delegation, Feng Xianpei naturally had to be considerate and polite. Seeing what Shao Xi said, he hurriedly returned the favor.
"Master Shao is a guest from afar, so there is no need to be polite to us. No matter what you need, just say hello to me. This trip is a long one, will it go smoothly for Master Shao?"
When Shao Xi heard this, he thought to himself, "Don't you know whether it will go well or not?"
"It went well, very smoothly! It was fun and delicious along the way, and I was able to catch a few more assassins. Not to mention how smooth it was!"
"Well--!"
Some people died, but not completely...
