Chapter 229: The Killer

Dragon Inn Gate

Previously, Liang Biaotou once said that Gusu had a magical and vast inn opened by General Wen Tao's former subordinates, which could send people to the Jing Dynasty.

He didn't know if this was the one Liang Biaotou was talking about.

Chen Ji looked out the window. The thief Hu Sange had run far away with several young children. Only he and dozens of corpses were left in the room, and outside the window, the silver-white moonlight poured down.

He listened as the sound of iron hooves grew closer and closer, finally stopping at the relay station entrance. The sound of densely packed armor pieces rubbing against each other rose, and over a hundred people dismounted at the door.

Someone shouted:"Surround the relay station!"

Amidst the shouting, Zhang Xia rushed into the guest room and looked at Chen Ji standing in the moonlight:"Chen Ji, people from outside the relay station have arrived, they should be the Crown Prince's people!"

She glanced at Chen Ji, then went directly to pull the bedsheet from the bunk bed. When she reached the bed, she saw the corpse flowing with blood tears and hesitated, stopping her action.

But after only two breaths of hesitation, Zhang Xia hardened her resolve and pulled down a bedsheet.

Chen Ji was slightly startled, not understanding what she wanted to do.

Zhang Xia came up to him, lowered her head, and used the bedsheet to re-wrap the whale knife:"I guessed you definitely wouldn't want to attract attention. This knife is too eye-catching, I'll help you cover it properly."

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, then showed a smile and said:"Second Miss Zhang, you are calm in the face of danger and meticulous, I admire you. Let's go, let's go out and see."

The two came to the courtyard and just saw Chen Li Qin lifting the hem of his official robe and hurrying in:"Madam, Xiao'er."

Liang Shi stumbled a few steps and threw herself into his arms, crying sadly:"Master, you've finally returned. If you were any later, I'm afraid you wouldn't have seen us."

Chen Li Qin coughed:"The Crown Prince has also arrived, don't lose your etiquette."

Liang Shi raised her head in surprise, her gaze passing over Chen Li Qin's shoulder, looking towards the relay station gate outside.

She saw a noble young master wearing a white fox fur coat walking towards them, followed closely by more than twenty armored soldiers wearing silver armor and white cloaks over their shoulders, their hands pressing tightly on their waist-length swords.

That noble young master had his hair tied with a white jade hairpin, his lips were red and his teeth were white, as if he had stepped out of a painting.

"Crown Prince Your Highness," Liang Shi quickly separated from Chen Li Qin's arms, wiped her tears, and performed a curtsy: "Ten thousand years of peace to Crown Prince Your Highness."

The Crown Prince returned the bow and said gently:"Aunt Chen, please don't be polite. It's all my fault for being negligent today. I clearly knew that Gusu was not peaceful, yet I didn't think to arrange armored soldiers to fully protect you all. Fortunately, there were no major incidents, otherwise, I fear I couldn't escape the blame even with ten thousand deaths."

Liang Shi was somewhat flattered to see the Crown Prince return her salute:"Crown Prince Your Highness, you absolutely cannot say that."

Chen Li Qin bowed at the side:"Crown Prince, there's no need to blame yourself. Who could have imagined that the evildoers in Gusu would be so rampant as to dare harm the relatives of court-appointed officials? I am already endlessly grateful that you could come personally."

Chen Wen Xiao cried:"Father, this matter must be thoroughly investigated!"

Chen Li Qin's face darkened:"Crying and sobbing in front of the Crown Prince, where is your decorum? Learn from your elder brother, look how he handles things."

The Crown Prince praised:"My wise brother Wenzong is truly a hero. After this disaster, he still dared to go to the prefecture office alone to report, which is enough to show his courage and spirit."

Chen Ji and Zhang Xia and others stood in the corner of the courtyard. Zhang Zheng muttered in a low voice:"After coming for so long, no one has gone to see those maidservants and servants. They all died in vain."

Zhang Xia glared at him fiercely:"Brother, say less."

Zhang Zheng said boldly:"Our Zhang family and Xu family are not afraid of him either!"

Zhang Xia lowered her voice:"You don't plan to be an official, but don't implicate others!"

Zhang Zheng glanced at Chen Ji and closed his mouth.

At this moment, Chen Ji remained silent.

The instant the Crown Prince appeared, the molten flow in his body surged wildly, like a fierce tiger.

His heart beat rapidly, and the blood pumped by his heart flowed from the blood vessels in his forehead, causing a gurgling pulse sound, like the roar of the molten flow.

After more than ten full breaths, the molten flow gradually returned to silence.

This was the first time the molten flow had such a crazy reaction... Could it be because he saw the heir of a country?

While contemplating, the Crown Prince looked towards the courtyard. His gaze swept across Chen Ji's face, and when he saw Zhang Xia, his gaze paused slightly, then he looked towards Zhang Zheng and Xiao Man:"These are..."

Chen Wen Zong stepped forward from behind:"Reporting to the Crown Prince, on the left is my younger brother Chen Ji and his personal maidservant. On the right are the son and daughter of Master Zhang Zhuo. The two of them came to Gusu with us this time, originally intending to sightsee, but unexpectedly were caught in danger."

The Crown Prince nodded slightly and cupped his hands to Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia:"I was ordered to come to Gusu this time to thoroughly investigate the case of killing the innocent and claiming credit. I have implicated the two of you."

Before he finished speaking, firelight lit up outside the relay station.

The crowd turned back, and a team of armored soldiers with torches arrived, their gazes like wolves and tigers. The armored soldiers wore rattan armor, and on the rattan armor, one could still see traces of axe chops and knife cuts.

They were border army armored soldiers.

Behind the Crown Prince, more than twenty silver-armored guards drew their swords. The border army armored soldiers wore worn rattan armor, their waist knives were not drawn, but their footsteps did not stop.

A majestic aura, forged in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, rushed forth, forcing the guards to subconsciously retreat two steps.

The border army stood on the steps of the relay station, and the Crown Prince's guards stood on the courtyard steps below. Swords were drawn, and bows were drawn taut on both sides. The flames of the torches swayed constantly, making puffing sounds in the wind.

Just at this moment, Chen Ji suddenly felt someone grab his arm, and the grip became stronger and stronger.

He looked sideways and saw Zhang Xia staring in the direction of the border army.

Zhang Xia's lips were slightly open, and she said in a voice as fine as a mosquito:"The person behind the border army general came to the relay station this afternoon. At that time, this person didn't wear rattan armor, but his right cheek has a scar. I won't mistake him."

Chen Ji's pupils suddenly contracted. He looked over, and the man with the scarred face looked over the heads of others, scrutinizing the courtyard as if searching for something.

Something wasn't right.

According to the relay station attendant, this relay station was idle year-round and usually didn't even have enough firewood.

It was unreasonable for a border army armored soldier to quietly come to the relay station in plain clothes.

If this person was really the murderer, he was too arrogant. After killing thirty-four members of the Chen family, he actually dared to swagger back here.

What confidence did this border army have to dare defy the heir of a country in this way?

Zhang Xia asked in a low voice:"Do you want to expose him?"

"No," Chen Ji replied without changing his expression: "This is border army territory. If we really provoke the other side to desperation, no one can survive. Moreover, we only saw the other side come over, we can't prove that the other side poisoned them. Don't be nervous, don't let the other side discover any clues."

Zhang Xia nodded, her expression gradually calming down:"Understood."

In the tense confrontation, the Crown Prince looked up at the border army on the steps:"Gentlemen, what is the matter?"

The leading border army general cupped his fist and replied:"Reporting to the Crown Prince, this general heard the report from the prefecture office guards that a homicide occurred at the relay station, and I have led my men to arrest the evildoer."

Li Xuan stepped forward to block the border army:"Gentlemen, there is no need to enter, my Feathered Forest Army is sufficient here."

The border army general was startled upon hearing this. He immediately pressed his hand to his waist knife and said in a deep voice:"Master Li, my Gusu prefecture office governs thirty-six thousand households and is in charge of this city's land. Catching spies and criminals are the duties of my prefecture office. I hope the Crown Prince and Master Li will not overstep."

Li Xuan pressed the hilt of his waist sword and retorted:"How do I know this wasn't done by your Gusu border army? If this case is handed over to you, it will just give you an opportunity to destroy the evidence!"

The border army general's face changed, and fierce light appeared in his eyes:"Master Li, what do you mean? My border army guards the border here, sacrificing our lives and shedding our blood. I cannot tolerate you splashing dirty water!"

Li Xuan laughed coldly:"Whether or not I'm splashing dirty water, you know very well in your heart."

The border army general said angrily:"When our border army kills people, we always face the Jing Dynasty thieves with cold steel, when have we ever used such despicable means as poison?"

Li Xuan still wanted to say something, but was pressed on the shoulder by the Crown Prince.

He turned back to look at the Crown Prince:"Crown Prince Your Highness..."

The Crown Prince said slowly:"No harm, I will speak with General Zhou."

Li Xuan hesitated for a moment and retreated to the side.

The Crown Prince looked up at the border army general on the steps:"General Zhou, Master Chen just arrived and suffered this misfortune, it is already alarming. After I return, I must write a memorial overnight and send it to the capital with a six-hundred-li urgent dispatch to report to my father emperor and thoroughly investigate this matter. Now the border army also has suspicion, it's better to avoid suspicion."

General Zhou's expression was solemn:"Your Highness, it's not that we are intentionally offending heavenly might, but we are also worried that someone will frame us and shift the blame onto us. In recent years, the border army has suffered many criticisms and truly cannot afford this kind of stigma. The Crown Prince originally came to investigate the case of killing the innocent and claiming credit, which is unrelated to this matter, why intervene?"

The Crown Prince gently shook his head:"No, Master Chen is now a junior scholar in the Imperial Academy and works in my East Palace. His matter is naturally the matter of my East Palace. General Zhou, you led your men to surround my Feathered Forest Army, could it be that you intend to rebel?"

General Zhou stared directly at the Crown Prince:"Crown Prince, there is no need to intimidate me. I, Zhou, have crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, and I stand upright and ask my heart without guilt. Even if I have to reason before the imperial presence, I am not afraid. If Crown Prince Your Highness insists on not letting us investigate this matter, then we can only offend."

The Crown Prince looked at the fierce border army armored soldiers and pondered for a moment before saying:"Let's do it this way, the border army and the Feathered Forest Army will investigate this matter together. If the border army is truly innocent, the Feathered Forest Army can also serve as a witness for you."

General Zhou's eyes flashed, and after several breaths, he made a decision:"Good!"

The Crown Prince turned his head to look at Chen Li Qin:"Master Chen, you cannot stay in this relay station, you all follow me back to the prefecture office together, there are still several empty courtyards there."

Chen Li Qin cupped his hand:"It all depends on Crown Prince Your Highness's arrangements."

The Crown Prince then looked at Zhang Zheng and Zhang Xia:"What do the two of you think?"

Zhang Xia replied:"Reporting to Your Highness, we will follow the Chen family together."

The Crown Prince was the first to walk up the steps, and the border army armored soldiers successively made way.

Zhang Zheng asked in a low voice behind them:"Should we run? The prefecture office is the border army's old nest, wouldn't us living there be throwing ourselves into a trap? Then we'd be on tenterhooks every day, not even daring to eat."

Zhang Xia denied it:"If we run, it will definitely cause the other side to have doubts and beat the grass to scare the snake."

Chen Ji said calmly:"If the border army really did it, they absolutely will not let people die inside the prefecture office. Let's go, it's actually safest to go to the border army's territory at this time."