The first year of Yonghui, March, rainy night.

The pouring rain drowned out the sound of neat steps, and a group of soldiers, led by their superiors and captains, gathered around a sleeping mansion.

"Your Excellency?" Pei Liang, the captain of the right Longwu Army, walked under the horse of the Longwu general, Gao Jianfang, and asked loudly.

Gao Jianfang, who was dressed in armor, looked at the plaque of the mansion in front of him through the water curtain dripping from his helmet, "Zhao Guogong Mansion". On both sides of the plaque, the white lanterns emit a faint light, and the couplets on the door and the white flowers of the two stone lions at the door all indicate that the mansion has just held a funeral.

Although the emperor's order was difficult to disobey, Gao Jianfang didn't understand why not long after the death of Zhao Guogong, the emperor connected the nine clans of Zhao Guogong with the crime of rebellion.

"Your Excellency!" Seeing that Gao Jianfang was sitting on the horse and still didn't make any movement, Pei Liang, who was a little anxious in his heart, shouted loudly again.

Gao Jianfang, who knew that he couldn't wait any longer, had no choice but to let go of the confusion in his heart at this time, and waved his hand, "Action!" ”

The soldiers standing in front of the gate of the mansion slammed the wood that had been prepared for a long time into the vermilion gate. A dull crash sounded, waking up the little guy inside the door.

"Big night, knock what? Look for death! The little guy in the door thought that someone was calling the door, and yelled impatiently. But the soldiers outside the door were unmoved, still ramming rhythmically. At this time, the little guy in the door also noticed that something was wrong, and he lost his voice. It was clearly preparing to call someone. But the next moment, the sturdy vermilion gate was shattered.

The little guy inside the door looked at the soldiers outside the door dumbfounded, and just as he was about to ask, dozens of sharp arrows had already been shot into the body of the little guy behind. Seeing this, the other little guys all panicked, and ran away one by one, shouting, "There are thieves!" There are thieves! ”

The vermilion gate was smashed open, and the soldiers who had been waiting outside the gate for a long time were gathered, with sword and shield hands in front and crossbowmen following closely behind, pouring into the palace of the Duke of Zhao. The sound of bowstrings continued to sound, piercing the rain curtain and nailing all the fleeing family members to the ground.

Although the first to discover the situation was dead, the cries before death still woke up the sleeping mansion. In addition, Zhao Guogong's mansion had just held a funeral, and some people did not sleep deeply. In just a few moments, a number of men armed with knives and sticks poured into the front yard.

In the backyard, Xie Min, who had inherited the title of Duke of Zhao, stood in front of the door in court clothes, silently watching the rain curtain flowing from the eaves. And beside him, his second brother Xie Quan rested his left hand on the hilt of the sword, his face full of anger.

"Big brother, are you just watching them behead us on trumped-up charges?" The screams that kept ringing in his ears made Xie Quan unable to bear it anymore, and questioned his eldest brother loudly.

"The king wants the minister to die, and the minister has to die!" Xie Min turned his head to look at the second brother beside him, the second brother who had a deep relationship with him since he was a child, and his heart was sad. "Second brother, this is already the case. Don't persuade me anymore. Before they come to the backyard, you might as well leave with Yu'er! ”

"The court is mediocre, and the queen is in power. My Xie family has been loyal and good for generations, why should I suffer this unknown injustice? Xie Quan pulled out the saber at his waist, "Big brother, let's go together!" ”

"Bastard! Have you forgotten what your father said to us before he died? Xie Min first scolded loudly, but when he saw Xie Quan's indignant eyes, he sighed deeply, "Second brother, this is no longer a matter of a family or a country!" As long as you can take Yu'er away, it will be a merit for a thousand years and beneficial to all people! ”

"Big brother!" When Xie Quan wanted to say something, Xie Min pushed Xie Quan away, and a dart cut through a strand of hair on Xie Quan's sideburns, and then nailed it to the pillar behind the two of them. Xie Quan held his sword in his hand and shouted into the dark night sky, "What person? ”

"I have long heard that the Xie family has a pair of brothers who are geniuses in martial arts, and when I see them today, they really live up to their reputation!" A cold voice came from all directions, making it impossible to determine its location.

"Rats, pretend to be ghosts!" Xie Quan's eyes flashed with a gleam, and his right hand was handed forward, and the saber in his hand flew out, hovering in the heavy rain, and then stabbed somewhere in the night sky.

"Damn! The Xie family's great sin! I've taught you all the art of Edgeworth! The man who didn't know where was shocked at first, and then laughed strangely, "Do you think you can run away in this way?" Stupid! ”

As soon as the mysterious man's voice fell, there was a little flash of light in the rainy night. The speed of the rain began to slow down, and the water droplets began to condense. By the time the two flying swords slammed into the night sky, the heavy rain had turned into hail.

"Cultivators!" The faces of the two brothers of the Xie family changed greatly, and Xie Min turned his head in horror and shouted to Xie Quan: "Second brother, go away." At this moment, after Xie Min saw the flying sword, he didn't have the look he had just now, and he didn't care about the eldest brother next to him, so he turned his head and left.

"Want to go? It's late! ”

Xie Quan was frightened, the flying sword without the master's control was out of order, and it was soon cut off by the flying sword with better material. The broken sword thrust into the ground, clanging.

The flying sword in the air was controlled and chased towards Xie Quan, and the mysterious man appeared in front of Xie Min. looked at the mysterious person in front of him. Years of reading poetry and poetry allowed Xie Min to quickly stabilize his mind.

"I don't know if the real person is cultivating in that immortal mountain?" Xie Min hugged his fists.

"Real people? I'm just a man who pays for my life! The mysterious man squinted at Xie Min, "A lowly person like me can't be called a real person!" ”

"Then I don't know your Excellency, why people are working hard. If you can, can you spare my second brother's life today? The Xie family of Qi County will be thanked again in the future! Xie Min took a deep breath and said heavily.

"What? Take your own family to press me? Don't say that you are just a small side branch disciple, that is, the real concubine of the Xie family in Qi County appeared in front of me. I dare ...... too! Before the mysterious man finished speaking, he grabbed Xie Min violently, then turned around and hid behind Xie Min's back with a solemn expression.

"How dare you?"

Heaven and earth became quiet at this moment, hail and rain stagnated in the air, and the screams and fighting in the front yard were silent, as if the person in mid-air was a black hole, completely absorbing time and space.

"Qi County Xie family?" The mysterious man's pupils shrank, and the hand that grabbed Xie Min's neck also used a few more force, and Xie Min's face suddenly turned from ruddy to pale, and then to bruised.

"No, they told me. The Xie family in Qi County can't come! The mysterious man seemed to have figured out something, and his hand just wanted to use his strength to break Xie Min's neck. But the next moment, his hand hung limply.

"Whew...... Call...... Whew......"

Xie Min, who breathed air again, gasped for breath, but his eyes were firmly fixed on the corpse of the mysterious man who fell at his feet.

The mysterious man was quietly killed by a sharp weapon through the skull, and he could easily kill a cultivator who could resist the sword, and the cultivation of the person in front of him was ...... Xie Min didn't dare to think about it anymore. Legend has it that there are thousands of humane methods for cultivating the Tao, and it is inevitable that your thoughts will not be discovered.

The man didn't seem to care about the death of the mysterious man, and fell lightly in front of Xie Min, and then asked, "What step has the emperor's plan reached?" ”

Hearing this, Xie Min's heart froze, but he showed a confused look on the surface, "I don't know what Your Excellency said?" ”

The man glanced at Xie Min, then squatted down, groping on the corpse of the mysterious man, and said angrily: "You scholars have a lot of fancy intestines. ”

After pulling out a waist tag from the corpse of the mysterious man, the man stood up and said with a smile: "Since you don't want to say it, then I won't force it." After saying that, he flew away directly.

Seeing the man disappear into the rainy night, Xie Min couldn't hold on any longer, and sat directly on the ground with a plop.

Zhao Guogong Mansion, front yard.

Gao Jianfang walked into the front yard with blood. Looking at the corpse on the ground, the already tightly knit brows twisted a little more. Pei Liang, who was following behind, sensed Gao Jianfang's dissatisfaction, and after cursing those soldiers who were unable to use their hands and feet, he explained to Gao Jianfang: "My lord, the resistance we encountered was even more powerful than we imagined. The Zhao Guogong Mansion actually raised some martial arts masters, and several brothers were injured because of it. ”

Gao Jianfang didn't pay attention to Pei Liang's explanation, but asked coldly, "What about the others?" ”

"Back to adults, they all look at the pressure in the front hall, it's just ......"

"Just what?"

"Your Excellency, you'd better come and see for yourself." Pei Liang took the torch from the soldiers beside him, and then took it away in front of him, walking towards the backyard of the Zhao State Mansion.

Walking through the winding pavilion, Pei Liang led Gao Jianfang to the backyard of Zhao Guogong's mansion.

"Tall, sir!" Looking at Gao Jianfang who came, Xie Min said with a sneer.

"Master Xie." Gao Jianfang responded coldly, his eyes locked on the corpse at Xie Min's feet, and then turned his head to look at Pei Liang.

"My lord, we don't know about that. After arriving in the backyard, we found Master Xie standing here in court clothes, and the body was also lying there. Pei Liang hurriedly explained.

After making sure that Pei Liang didn't know what was going on with the corpse, Gao Jianfang turned his head to Xie Min and said, "Master Xie, I don't know where Brother Ling and Gongzi Ling are?" ”

"Master Gao is also an understanding person, why do you need to ask?" Xie Min stretched out his hands, "Please also ask Master Gao to quickly put that shackle on me." ”

"Master Xie......" Looking at his former classmates, the once prosperous Zhao Guogong Mansion has become this end again, Gao Jianfang felt a little desolate in his heart. But the emperor's order was difficult to disobey, Gao Jianfang waved his hand, and the soldiers around Xie Min put Xie Min in shackles and prepared to escort him to the front yard.

"Your Excellency?" Seeing that Xie Min was escorted away, Pei Liang walked to Gao Jianfang's side and asked in a low voice.

"Keep looking, be sure to find Xie Quan and Xie Yu! At the same time, notify the city gate lang to strictly check the people entering and leaving the city gate after dawn! ”

"Yes".

As the soldiers dispersed and continued to search for the second and youngest sons who disappeared from Xie Fu, there were only four guards left by Gao Jianfang's side.

Looking up at the rain that kept falling in the dark night sky, Gao Jianfang seemed to see the direction of the future.