Chapter 182: She Was Everywhere in All His Nightmares
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“I know that you were the one who sent Xiao Jin’s exiled team out.”
“I was the one,” Li Da answered truthfully.
“I want to know what Su Ying was like on this journey.”
Li Da thought that Xiao Jue would ask about Xiao Jin. To his surprise, he was asking about Su Ying.
Ah, Su Ying, gulp! She was really embedded deeply in his memory… That was simply… She was never absent from his nightmares.
All those who worked as officials in the capital knew about the matter between Xiao Jue and Su Ying. Li Da didn’t know why, at this point, he was asking about this woman whom he didn’t like.
“She’s… she’s quite powerful.”
“How powerful?”
Li Da rubbed his hands nervously. “Tearing a white tiger apart with her bare hands, making a head explode with just one kick, punching an officer? Gulp… and she also took on a violent mob single-handedly? Using a python as a pendant?” Li Da felt that there were simply too many such examples. Every single incident was still extremely shocking to him.
Xiao Jue’s expression darkened with every word Li Da said. In the end, his face was downright ominous. If it wasn’t for what happened before, he would have thought that Li Da was playing him for a fool. However, he had personally seen Su Ying hold him hostage against hundreds of men, and she had even escaped unscathed without the slightest indication of fear. This was definitely not the Su Ying he knew.
Definitely not!
“When did she become like this?”
Li Da frowned and thought for a while. He really didn’t have any impression anymore. There were too many people in the exile team at that time, so he rarely paid attention to everyone. Everyone was unkempt and looked half-dead, so he didn’t take particular notice of anyone.
“Probably… more than a month after she was exiled? It was probably around that time.” He couldn’t remember the details clearly, but his mind was filled with the images of Su Ying making heads explode with one kick…
“Was Xiao Jin still alive when he exited from the pass?”
“He was still alive.” There were records of this matter at all the checkpoints. He could not fake it. It was just that he did not want to say that not only was Xiao Jin alive, but he was also living quite well.
“Then have his two legs healed?” Xiao Jue’s face turned increasingly more ominous until he saw Li Da shaking his head.
“No, he did not stand up all the while.”
Xiao Jue revealed a sinister smile. “Send him off.”
Li Da’s hair stood on end. He was really afraid that when Xiao Jue said “send him off,” he meant sending Li Da to the netherworld.
Fortunately, Xiao Jue didn’t think there was any benefit in taking his life, so he told him to scram.
“Your Highness, this woman Su Ying really hid herself very deeply,” Liang Kuan said.
In the past, Su Ying was chasing and clinging onto Xiao Jue like a fool, so how could she be this powerful?
“Your Highness, are you sure that person is Su Ying?”
Xiao Jue had his doubts before, but he had secretly observed Su Ying’s face and confirmed that he wasn’t wrong. Thus, he concluded that Su Ying had intentionally concealed her strength in front of him.
What was this bitch trying to do?
“However, you don’t have to worry, Your Highness. Even if Xiao Jin doesn’t die, we will slowly disintegrate his forces in Jin City. Nothing can return to what it was.”
However, if Xiao Jin was not eliminated, it would be difficult to dissipate the hatred in Xiao Jue’s heart. “There hasn’t been any news from the mercenary army that I have tasked you to track down. What the hell is going on?”
Liang Kuan’s face was a little tense. He was also very angry about this matter. His men had also tried to contact the leader of the mercenary army, but the people there kept saying that they were still looking for him after the two sides lost contact. However, after they left the pass, their people disappeared with Xiao Jin and the others. It was as if they had evaporated into thin air. They could not be found no matter how hard his men tried.
“Your Highness, do you think this matter is related to Xiao Jin and the others?” However, Liang Kuan felt that even if he killed dozens of people, surely there should be corpses left behind, right?
“You still have the guts to ask me? 1 want to know why am 1 keeping you guys with me! Back then, we should have killed him within the territory. It’s all because of you idiots, all you cowardly, paranoid fools. Otherwise, he would have rotted in the ground long ago!”
Zhang Kuan didn’t dare to utter a word. If he hadn’t accidentally received news from the Ministry of Justice that the Emperor had secretly talked to the Minister of Justice and said that he must see Xiao Jin leave the territory alive, they wouldn’t have only killed the people around him.
“Your Highness, please calm down. You’re here to negotiate peace with the Nan State, yet you’ve encountered an assassin. Wouldn’t it be a good opportunity for you to search for Su Ying and Xiao Jin’s whereabouts in the name of a large-scale search for the assassin?”
Xiao Jue narrowed his eyes. “You’re right. Someone tried to assassinate me. 1 have to locate the assassin no matter what. Go to the nearest city and mobilize as many soldiers as possible.”
Without the tiger tally as the military authority, the soldiers at the pass could not be mobilized on a large scale. If they wanted to assign more people to search for those two, they could only go to the nearby cities to mobilize soldiers.
“Yes, Your Highness. I’ll set off immediately.”
Three days after Jiang Yang left a message for Lin Kun, Lin Kun finally met Xiao Jin.
When Lin Kun saw Xiao Jin standing tall in front of him, he could barely conceal the excitement on his face.
“Your Highness, your two legs have healed? Can you walk freely now?”
Jiang Yang saw that Lin Kun was so excited that he was about to go crazy. He reached out and punched him twice. “What are you thinking, rascal? Of course, His Highness has recovered. His two legs are even more nimble than before.”
Lin Kun didn’t even dare to dream about it. “This is great! Your Highness, if General Sima and the others knew about this, they would definitely drink three jars of wine to celebrate.”
Xiao Jin also smiled faintly when he thought of his two legs.
Lin Kun didn’t forget to get down to business. “Your Highness, Xiao Jue isn’t dead.”
The smile on Xiao Jin’s face gradually faded. Su Ying said that she had stabbed Xiao Jue once. With Su Ying’s killing technique, Xiao Jue should have had a hard time surviving.
“Can you find out his specific condition?”
Lin Kun shook his head. “It’s very difficult. The security in his courtyard is very strict, and the people around him are all his trusted aides. It’s very difficult for our people to get in. However, from the piecemeal information we gathered, we know that the day he was carried back, he was covered in blood and looked very seriously injured.”
Xiao Jin suddenly thought of something. Many years ago, Xiao Jue had obtained a soft armor that could block sharp weapons. Xiao Jue was cautious and afraid of death. He would wear that armor even when he slept at night. Su Ying’s dagger definitely stabbed him, but it was very likely that Xiao Jue’s soft armor had blocked the strike.
“What is he doing here this time?”
“The spies in the capital have sent news that the Emperor sent him to probe what the Nan State is planning and to negotiate peace.” Now that Xiao Jin, who had a high chance of winning against the Nan State in battle, had been exiled and no one knew if he was dead or alive, the Chu State’s Emperor naturally did not want to start a war with the Nan State.
“No wonder the spies from the Nan State came to look for Your Highness. They probably don’t want to negotiate peace,” Jiang Yang said when he heard that.
Lin Kun added, “They were defeated so badly by His Highness before. With the vengeful nature of the Nan State’s people, they will definitely not let the matter rest. However, they are also worried that when the Emperor exiled His Highness, it was just a pretense. When they send out their troops again, they fear they will be dealt a fatal blow.”
“No.” Xiao Jin shook his head slowly as he said, “The monarchs of the two states don’t want to fight, but some people want to fight again..”