Chapter 169: Showdown

"Kill them all."

Mr. Feng, under the night sky, casually and lightly uttered this sentence, deciding the fate of everyone.

In the dim Feiyun Garden, Chen Ji's gaze silently swept across the faces of Zhang Zhuo, Yao old head, Zhang Xia, She Dengke, and others, and then his eyes fixed on Mr. Feng.

Chen Ji tightly gripped the knife handle, his sweating palm soaking the black cloth wrapped around it. His nervous breathing echoed within his face armor.

How to break this situation?

No matter how Chen Ji thought, he felt there was no way out.

The next moment, Chen Wenzong suddenly pulled Chen Liqin. "Father, you can't go!"

Mr. Feng stopped at the door and turned back. "Oh?"

Chen Wenzong looked at Mr. Feng. "Release these people, and my father will write the Thief-Suppressing Proclamation for you!"

Mr. Feng laughed out loud. "You think you're qualified to negotiate terms with me? Men, chop off one of his brother's arms!"

Chen Liqin stood in front of Chen Wenxiao. "I'll go with you. All you want is a proclamation, why cause unnecessary slaughter? Release Master Zhang and Imperial Physician Yao. I will write the Thief-Suppressing Proclamation for you now!"

Mr. Feng shook his head helplessly. "Master Chen, you still don't understand. Once you embark on this path, there's no turning back. Those unwilling to be in the same boat as you are all enemies. It's just a pity about Master Zhang's talent and ambition."

He shouted towards the door. "Men, take Master Chen and his family to Jing'an Hall."

Armored soldiers who had rushed in from the north gate outside grabbed Chen Liqin by both arms. He struggled and angrily said, "If you kill them, I won't write this Thief-Suppressing Proclamation."

Mr. Feng laughed heartily. "Compromise once, and there will be a second time."

Saying that, he turned his head and said to Chen Ji, "After you two execute them, come find me in front of Jing'an Hall. There are other tasks waiting for you."

Chen Ji's heart stirred. There was an opportunity!

He had always felt that something was fishy, but he couldn't worry about that anymore.

After Mr. Feng and Chen Liqin left, another armored soldier in the courtyard drew the saber from his waist and slowly approached Yao old head and Zhang Zhuo.

Zhang Zhuo pulled Zhang Xia and Zhang Zheng behind him and retreated step by step. "My young brother, I am Zhang Zhuo, the Prefect of Luocheng. Killing me is a crime that will exterminate your family."

The armored soldier said in a muffled voice, "Sorry, Master Zhang, we are also following orders."

Zhang Zhuo said nervously, "How about this? You only kill me and release my children. I'll have them give you one hundred taels of gold. It can guarantee three generations of glory and wealth for your descendants."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly saw the black armored warrior who had punched his son earlier suddenly flash behind another black armored warrior and tightly strangle the other's throat with his arm.

The strangled black armored warrior struggled hard but in vain. He couldn't even cry out.

Zhang Zhuo's heart was startled. "This is..."

At this moment, he felt his hand empty. He turned his head and saw Zhang Xia break free from his grasp and rush out.

Zhang Xia went to the black armored warrior with the broken neck and silently and skillfully removed his arm armor, chest armor, front armor, body armor, and leg armor, not willing to waste any time.

Zhang Zhuo and Zhang Zheng looked at each other, their minds momentarily unable to process what Zhang Xia was doing.

Zhang Xia didn't care what others thought. She raised her head and looked at Chen Ji, asking directly, "Who's going to wear this set of armor? I can't wear it, the height doesn't match, and my voice will be easily recognized!"

Zhang Zheng said in a daze, "A'Xia, what are you doing? Who is this?"

Zhang Xia raised her head and glanced at Chen Ji.

Seeing that Chen Ji had no intention of revealing his identity, she didn't answer Zhang Zheng. Instead, she turned back and urged Zhang Zheng, "Brother, you come and wear this set of armor. Next, follow him closely and absolutely don't act on your own."

Zhang Zheng still hadn't reacted. "Follow who?"

Chen Ji said in a muffled voice, "She Dengke, you come and wear this set of armor."

She Dengke was stunned. "How do you know my name? Who exactly are you?"

Zhang Zhuo rushed forward several steps and immediately began to put on the armor. "I'll wear it. Zhang Zheng is impulsive, and She Dengke's reaction ability is insufficient. I'm afraid they'll mess things up!"

Zhang Xia hesitated for a moment. "Okay!"

While helping her father put on the armor, she instructed in a low voice, "Father, if you have a chance to escape, don't come back."

Zhang Zhuo laughed. "Silly daughter, what are you saying? Am I that kind of person? Don't worry, once I get out, I'll go to Tuoluosi Temple to find rescuers. With Xu Shu's face, the Buddhist temples around the world won't stand by and do nothing. Protecting a few of our lives is enough."

Zhang Xia hummed in response. "You must listen to the person beside you and don't act on your own."

Zhang Zhuo glanced at the armored Chen Ji. "Good!"

Chen Ji instructed Zhang Xia, "Don't run around for now. The outside is full of armored soldiers. You'll be safer staying in this searched Feiyun Garden."

Zhang Xia nodded in response.

Chen Ji saw that Zhang Zhuo was fully armored and immediately walked towards the outside. "Master Zhang, don't speak from now on. I will handle everything. If there's an appropriate opportunity, I will send you out."

In the rear residence of Jingwangfu.

Chen Ji and Zhang Zhuo, holding long spears and with sabers hanging from their waists, walked side by side along the stone path in the garden towards Jing'an Hall. Their armor emitted cold sounds in the quiet late night.

They encountered a team of armored soldiers driving crying servants and strong laborers towards the rear garden.

Chen Ji silently pulled Zhang Zhuo to the side to avoid them. After the team of armored soldiers left, they continued to hurry quickly.

Zhang Zhuo, with his face armor on, asked in a low voice, "What's the situation outside now?"

Chen Ji explained, "The Liu family has already sealed the city gates. At this time, they should be in the process of persuading Jingwang to join their rebellion."

Zhang Zhuo muttered to himself, "They want to coerce Jingwang to kill into the capital. At that time, as long as they kill the one in Renshou Palace and then cooperate with the current Empress Dowager to issue a forged imperial decree to pass the throne to Jingwang, this matter will succeed. Luocheng is more than six hundred li away from the capital. With a long-distance assault, they can arrive in half a month."

Zhang Zhuo frowned. "But the problem is, relying on his tens of thousands of private troops, how can he definitely force open the capital gates? Not good, other clans and armies must have been persuaded by the Liu family."

Zhang Zhuo continued to mutter, "Who will cooperate from the inside and outside? Hu family, Chen family, Yang family, Qi family? Shenji Camp, Fengtai Camp, Five Armies Camp, Leopard Camp."

As he was speaking, Chen Ji suddenly reached out and tightly grabbed his wrist, stopping his steps.

Zhang Zhuo raised his head and immediately froze in place.

Under the moonlight, he saw Mr. Feng, dressed in a green shirt, striding towards them from the small path ahead.

He smiled and looked at Chen Ji and the other person, asking, "Finished killing?"

Chen Ji said in a muffled voice, "Reporting to Mr. Feng, finished killing."

Mr. Feng nodded. "You two follow me back to Feiyun Garden. I forgot something."

In an instant, Chen Ji felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. The world was quiet, leaving only the sound of his heartbeat, and even the air gradually solidified.

Mr. Feng saw that he didn't move and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Could it be that you didn't kill Master Zhang and Imperial Physician Yao? Surely I don't need to do this small matter myself?"

Zhang Zhuo slowly reached out to touch the saber handle on his waist, but Chen Ji's grip on his wrist was like iron pliers, and he couldn't move.

In front of this high official Mr. Feng, trying to use force was no different from seeking death!

Even Jin Zhu and Tian Ma couldn't kill him, so how could he and Zhang Zhuo possibly succeed?

But, was there any other way to break this situation?

Mr. Feng walked over step by step, finally stopping in front of Chen Ji. "Not speaking?"

The next moment, Chen Ji lightly removed his own face armor. "Mr. Feng, let's talk!"

Zhang Zhuo was startled. He had already guessed Chen Ji's identity earlier, but he hadn't expected Chen Ji to ultimately choose to confront Mr. Feng.

Mr. Feng looked at the face under the face armor and suddenly burst into laughter. "So it's you. I was wondering who had such guts to deceive me to my face. You should have already escaped with the carriage from Dao Ting."

Chen Ji took a deep breath. "Naturally, there are reasons why I had to return."

Mr. Feng, with his hands behind his back, asked with interest, "You dare to remove your face armor? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and replied, "If Mr. Feng wanted to kill me, he would have done so long ago."

This Mr. Feng had discovered that his identity was problematic as early as Cuiyun Lane, yet he didn't choose to expose him but kept him by his side.

If keeping this 'spy' wasn't useful, the other party would have killed him long ago.

Mr. Feng nodded in satisfaction. "Tell me, what do you want to talk about with me?"

Chen Ji pondered for a moment. "Mr. Feng, since you spared my life, you must have something that is inconvenient for you to do yourself, so you need me to help you, right?"

Mr. Feng looked at Chen Ji with a seemingly not-smiling expression and said, "Now your life is in my hands, your life and death are all within my thoughts. The reason I spared you is that I need you to go and kill someone for me. Let's play a game. You guess who I want to kill. You have three chances. If you guess correctly, I will not only spare your life but also promise you immense wealth."

Chen Ji frowned. "Jingwang?"

He had always felt that this Mr. Feng's identity was suspicious.

If the other party wanted to obstruct the Liu family's rebellion, then as long as they killed Jingwang, the Liu family's plan would naturally be halfway foiled.

He raised his head and observed Mr. Feng's expression but heard the other party leisurely say, "Not right. You still have two chances."

Chen Ji unconsciously tightened his grip on Zhang Zhuo's wrist, his mind racing. The other party spared him naturally to utilize his specialness, for example, his special identity. What special identity did he have? A secret spy of the Secret Spy Division.

Chen Ji opened his mouth and said, "Mr. Feng wants to kill Tian Ma?"

Mr. Feng smiled and shook his head. "Still not right. Last chance."

Chen Ji's pupils slightly shrank. He actually didn't guess correctly?

Wait.

Mr. Feng didn't know that he was under the face armor earlier, so the person the other party wanted to kill was unrelated to the Secret Spy Division.

Who exactly did the other party want to kill?

Zhang Zhuo noticed that the strength of Chen Ji's grip on his wrist was getting stronger and stronger and immediately looked over worriedly.

That young man, who should have been quietly reading in the academy, was now frowning tightly, struggling for survival.

However, in the next moment, Zhang Zhuo saw the young man's eyebrows suddenly relax.

Chen Ji looked at Mr. Feng and said confidently, "Mr. Feng wants to kill General Qian of the Tiger Armor Iron Cavalry!"

Mr. Feng raised an eyebrow and then praised, "Leaving you alive earlier in Longwang Tun was indeed the right decision!"