Qiu Mama’s face went pale in an instant.
Old San and Old Si could no longer restrain their fury. They turned to Li Changshi and said, “Lord Li, you saw it for yourself, didn’t you? It was this d*mned eunuch, he gave our leader a false order that lured him here, only to get him killed!”
Li Changshi stumbled back a few steps, then finally couldn’t help but raise his voice and shout toward the door, “Guards! Someone come! Help!”
But, who was left to answer?
Anyone not loyal to Eunuch Xu had already been killed.
Eunuch Xu had come fully prepared. Who knew where he had gathered so many men from?
Clearly, he had expected this might happen and had come ready to silence everyone.
Li Changshi was both terrified and furious. “You dare defy orders and run rampant like this? Aren’t you afraid His Highness will find out?!”
Eunuch Xu acted like he’d heard a hilarious joke. He burst into laughter and said, “How could I be defying orders? I’d only be guilty of that if you all lived to report to His Highness. But if you’re dead, then I’m still the obedient servant I’ve always been, no?”
As he spoke, his voice turned cold. “Kill them!”
What was the point of more talking?
They had to get rid of Li Changshi and all the others standing in the way. Only Qiu Mama should be spared, for her to give up Qi Yuan’s whereabouts.
As long as Qi Yuan was still in her “living dead” state, she could be eliminated.
Only then would the threat be fully removed.
Old San and Old Si immediately lunged toward Eunuch Xu.
They had already suspected he was behind all this. Now that he admitted it, and even ordered everyone’s deaths, they had nothing to lose.
If they were going to die anyway, they might as well take this d*mned eunuch with them!
Eunuch Xu only curled his lip in disdain. He didn’t even glance at them.
His men intercepted the two immediately. Within moments, Old Si had his throat slit. Old San followed soon after.
Li Changshi stumbled back in horror, his face drained of blood.
Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine Eunuch Xu had such audacity.
Was he insane?
To dare deceive and defy the prince at this level?!
He pointed a trembling finger at Eunuch Xu and was just about to speak when, suddenly, pain shot through the back of his neck.
He collapsed to the ground.
Behind Qiu Mama, someone rose quietly to their feet, gazing at Eunuch Xu in the lamplight with a half-smile.
Eunuch Xu’s eyes flew open in shock. “Qi Yuan?!”
How could it be Qi Yuan?
Gao Qing had written in every letter, confirming repeatedly that she was in a coma, completely unresponsive.
Gao Qing wasn’t known for much, but suspicion was something he had in spades.
And Qi Yuan had fooled even him?!
Qi Yuan gently pulled Qiu Mama behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder protectively. Then she gave Eunuch Xu a sunny smile. “Yes, Eunuch Xu, it’s me. The very Qi Yuan you worked so hard to kill, but failed.”
With a flick of her wrist, one of the men charging at her dropped to the ground instantly.
Eunuch Xu’s heart leapt. He recognized what was strapped to her wrist.
A sleeve arrow!
A mechanical sleeve-mounted arrow launcher, custom ordered by Qi Wang himself from the Ministry of Works after arriving in Jiangxi!
Eunuch Xu had always stayed close to Qi Wang, so of course he knew how deadly that thing was. “Dodge!” he roared.
Even though he had prepared, even though he’d requested extra manpower from Huang Hongzhong, this was still only just enough, to deal with Gao Qing and possibly a few others.
But this weapon, this advantage, was too overwhelming.
Every shot Qi Yuan fired brought another enemy down.
She was killing them one by one, efficiently, methodically.
His forces would soon be overwhelmed!
And this wasn’t Eunuch Xu underestimating her, he knew all too well what this woman was capable of.
How many of Qi Wang’s elite assassins had already died at her hands?
Qi Yuan was a killer without mercy.
But his warning had come too late. Qi Yuan’s sleeve arrow had already fired in rapid succession, mowing down a large portion of his forces.
The remaining guards, terrified by the carnage, no longer dared charge in blindly.
Qi Yuan looked at Xu coldly. “Eunuch Xu, you really gave me a lot of credit. You sent assassins all the way to the capital to kill me. That failed, so you went to all the trouble of getting me dumped in this plague-sealed Gaojia Town.”
She paused and clicked her tongue. “So thorough. Truly admirable.”
Eunuch Xu’s thoughts spun wildly. “You… You know about Gaojia Town…”
She knew about the plan to burn and seal the town?
Then… Fang Yuanping hadn’t detonated the explosives as ordered? Was that also her doing?
No, how could that be?!
No matter how skilled she was, she was just one person. No superhuman powers.
How could she possibly stand up to Fang Yuanping and his troops?
But it didn’t matter now.
He gritted his teeth and shouted, voice hoarse with desperation, “Kill her! All of you, kill her now!”
She must not be allowed to live. This Qi Yuan girl, absolutely must die!
Frantic, he shouted at Little Dongzi, “Is that everyone?! Bring everyone here! Now!”
He wanted Qi Yuan to die a miserable death.
But just as he roared, footsteps echoed from the lower floor.
From the sound of them…
Eunuch Xu snapped his head up and caught sight of two figures charging up the stairs.
His eyes widened in disbelief. “Liujin?! Cheng Chunsheng?!”
Years in the capital meant he recognized both men immediately.
One was the Imperial Grandson’s personal bodyguard. The other, Lai Chenglong’s most trusted man.
What were they doing together?!
He had no time to find out, because in the blink of an eye, Qi Yuan was already in motion.
She used the heads and shoulders of those around her as stepping stones, leaping straight toward Eunuch Xu like a blur.
She swatted Little Dongzi aside, then seized Eunuch Xu by the throat, and, with explosive force, smashed through the balcony railing, dragging him down to the first floor.
The sensation of falling, of freefall, made Eunuch Xu’s entire body tense in terror.
His throat wheezed with strangled gasps.
Qi Yuan just smiled as she stared at him, until she crashed him into the ground below.
He hit the floor hard with a scream of agony.
She landed over him, pinning him down.
Then she looked at him and asked softly, “Does it hurt?”
Eunuch Xu couldn’t respond.
His entire body was wracked with pain. He lay there curled like a shrimp dropped into boiling water, trembling and spasming.
No. This couldn’t be happening.
Everything had been going perfectly.
How had it all gone so wrong?!
What had Qi Yuan done?
What was she planning now?
