In the evening, it was cloudy, and the twilight was blank.

Ahead was an endless forest, and Li Ke, the king of Wu, stood on a hillside, looking forward with his hand on the edge, and his brows couldn't help but wrinkle.

It was the middle of summer and the weather was hot. There was a faint mist drifting through the twilight in the twilight forest ahead, as if a demon was about to appear, and the ghost was full of ghosts.

"Your Highness, why don't you turn back to the Anding Post House and set off tomorrow?" The accompanying escort general Yin Yang admonished.

Li Ke pondered for a moment and said: "Turning back to stability, it will take more than 20 miles to go back and forth, and now the city gate is closed, which is very inconvenient." I remember that two years ago, when I passed through this place, there were still many villages and towns, and I did not see such desolation. Why don't you see anyone all the way now, and you don't even have a place to stay? ”

Yin Yang replied: "Maybe it's because of the Kalkin Mausoleum's sneak attack on the western frontier a few years ago. Since then, people from many villages outside the prefecture cities in western Xinjiang have moved to the interior to avoid disasters. In addition, it is said that there are still some Tibetan relics who occupy the dangerous places in the mountains and fall into the grass to rob passers-by. In particular, the three states of Hui, Yuan, and Jing are the least peaceful. Although the government has made every effort to expropriate and suppress them, the road conditions in these places are complicated, the mountains are dangerous, and the whereabouts of the bandits are so difficult to catch them, so they have been suppressed endlessly, and the damage is very deep. ”

Li Ke sighed lightly, "I thought that Tubo had been pacified for a long time, but I didn't expect that the scourge left by the war would still linger." Yin Yang, you don't want to say that in this mountain forest, there may be bandits and bandits, right? ”

"It's hard to say!" Yin Yang said worriedly, "Therefore, we will go back to the Anding Post House to rest for one night, and at the end of tomorrow, we will go to the government to identify ourselves, and ask the local government soldiers to accompany the escort, so that we can pass through this jungle without fail." ”

"No need. Along the way, we have not been frightened, and we can't be afraid of being like this because of a mountain forest. Li Ke glanced back at the more than ten horsemen accompanying him and said, "I'll wait for the horses to hurry up and strive to pass through this jungle before sunset." If that doesn't work, it's okay to camp on the spot and stay for the night. When I marched thousands of miles in the barren land of the plateau, I had survived those days, and I was worried about the mountains and forests. ”

"Since His Highness insists, his subordinates have nothing to say." Yin Yang subconsciously clenched the scabbard and shouted behind him, "Brothers, cheer up, so that you can protect Your Highness!" ”

"No!"

"Let's go!" Li Ke raised his whip, and the fast horse rode into the mountains and forests first. Yin Yang and more than a dozen other elite soldiers of Wu Wangfu followed closely.

More than an hour later, night officially fell.

In the middle of the mountain forest, a bonfire was raised. Li Ke, Yin Yang and others gathered around the bonfire, cooking some hot soup and eating some dry food. There are a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains and forests, but fortunately, some insect repellent and mosquito repellent potions were prepared before leaving, and several sergeants were packing up the marching tents and spraying the potions, and they were about to sleep in the mountains and forests for a night.

Li Ke sat by the fire, nibbling on dry noodle cakes with a bowl of hot soup, his eyes looking directly at the jumping flames, and he was silent.

"Your Highness, the couch has been prepared, it is better to go to bed early." Yin Yang came over and said.

Li Ke nodded, "Sit, Yin Yang." After being busy for so long, you can also take a break and come and have a bite to eat. ”

"Your Highness." Yin Yang sat next to Li Ke, drank soup and ate cakes.

Li Ke looked at Yin Yang and said with a smile: "Yin Yang, I think you have been following me for a while. I think that at the beginning, you, Qin Mubai, and Yuwen Hongtai were all lieutenants in my mansion. Now Qin Mubai is in command of the frontier, and Yuwen Hongtai is also famous all over the world. But you are still in my house, and you have ever been unhappy with the military captain who succumbed to this twist? ”

Yin Yang hurriedly put down the soup bowl and bread, clenched his fists and said: "The last general is determined to follow His Highness until death!" ”

"Well, I know you're loyal." Li Ke patted him on the shoulder with a smile and said, "You, Quan Wanji, and many officials and generals in the mansion have followed me for a long time, and they are close to each other, and they are really like brothers. I, Li Ke, have no virtue or talent, and I have the loyal assistance of so many of you, and I have no reward for you. Every time I think about it, I am ashamed. When I returned to Beijing this time, I don't know what the bad luck is. If it is fierce, then I, Li Ke, would rather be crushed to pieces, but also leave a good way back for you; If it is auspicious, then he will share the glory and wealth in the future, and he will not forget each other! ”

"I'm waiting for His Royal Highness to be the Corporal Lixian of the Yang Curtain and Bo Yuntian, so I am willing to follow all the way, without complaint or regret!" Yin Yang said, "Your Highness is the Lord of the British, the sky has eyes, and you will not lose it!" ”

Li Ke smiled indifferently and said, "Creation and making people have never come true. If things are unsatisfactory in the world, there are **. In fact, over the years, if it weren't for your concerted assistance, and Qin Mubai's secret help and many rescues, I am afraid that I would have been ruined and would have achieved nothing, let alone today? Now that my father has summoned me back to Beijing, as expected, most of it is related to the establishment of the East Palace. Therefore, our trip was actually very dangerous. ”

"My subordinates know." Yin Yang's face sank, and he said in a low voice, "Above the court, there are many people who don't want His Highness to return to Beijing. As early as the beginning of leaving the city, his subordinates and the chief of power Shi had suggested that His Highness bring more guards, why didn't His Highness listen? ”

Li Ke smiled: "What's the difference between bringing ten people and bringing a hundred?" I just went back to Beijing to report on my work, and the imperial court did not allow me to bring troops with me, so how could I make a big show and disturb the people all the way? Yin Yang, now in the whole world, I don't know how many pairs of eyes are staring at me Li Ke. But if there is the slightest outrageous behavior, it is a burst of verbal criticism, how can it be endured? As early as many years ago, Qin Mubai warned me that everything should be low-key, forbearing, not to be sharp, not to be presumptuous. As it turned out, he was right. I, Li Ke, have been able to live to this day and have the opportunity to serve the country and make meritorious contributions, all of which are due to this sentence. But it has always been the tree that wants to be quiet and the wind does not stop, no matter how low-key and forbearant I am, there have always been people who refuse to let me go. Hey......"

"Young Marshal Qin is indeed an extraordinary character." Yin Yang said, "My subordinates have always been unable to figure it out, in fact, he is shallower than me, why is he superior everywhere?" Many things that he seems to be able to predict? But whatever he wants to do, he will do it very well. ”

"Huh!" Li Ke smiled, "He is such a person, he makes people jealous and respectful, there is no way." I remember that when I drank and chatted with him a few more drinks, he boasted that whether it was from literature and martial arts, or other businesses, as long as he did what he did with his heart, he would definitely be able to do a little better than ordinary people. I was unconvinced at the time, but looking back now, it was. Qin Mubai, he is a person who is excellent in all aspects, maybe he does not have a very top and outstanding side, but as long as he does the thing with his heart, it must not be bad, this is what he is commendable. ”

"Yes, I can't be unconvinced!" Yin Yang said, "When it comes to using soldiers, he is definitely inferior to Wei Gong Li Yaoshi, and even inferior to his two senior brothers, Su Dingfang and Hou Junji; If you talk about Wenzhi, he may not be as good as a state official under his jurisdiction, and he may not be as good as His Royal Highness and Fang Xuanling, the eldest grandson Wuji and others in the court. In terms of martial arts, he is also close to my strength, far inferior to the fierce general Xue Rengui under his command; If you talk about talent, poetry and music give him no good at, but he can also play the pipa with both hands. But he just dabbled in a wide range of things, and there was no obvious missing side. ”

"You're missing an important point." Li Ke smiled slightly, "He is not as good as Su and Hou in the use of soldiers, but his two senior brothers are happy and convinced of him, and they are willing to go to the soup for him; His ability to govern is average, but he has a large number of capable officials such as Xiao Liang around him; He is an ordinary martial artist and an average talent, but Xue Rengui, Yuwen Hongtai and other tiger and lion generals are willing to stick knives in his ribs. Even the king of Jiangxia, who has outstanding merits and is famous all over the world, regards him as his own and admires him very much. There has never been a shortage of talents around him, and the four court pillars and the eighth military platform in the Kansai Army are all talents who stand alone. Just wait for him to return to the court one day to show his merits, and he will definitely rise to the top one by one. ”

"yes, why?" Yin Yang said confusedly.

"Personality." Li Ke said two words briefly, and said with an interesting smile, "This guy has a special charm that can't be seen or touched, which can make people who come into contact with him involuntarily like him, trust him, and respect him." Men are willing to be friends with him, and women are willing to trust him for life. In fact, even I have always been very fortunate to be friends with him. ”

Yin Yang grinned, "We are also very fortunate to be able to follow His Highness." As His Highness said, His Highness also has such a special charm, which can make me wait for His Highness to go to the soup and fire. In fact, Young Marshal Qin and His Royal Highness have a lot of similarities. This may be one of the reasons why the two of you are so close to each other, right? ”

"Really?" Li Ke laughed, "I haven't seen him for a while, don't say it, I really miss him a little." Yin Yang, you say, if Qin Mubai is a woman, then I will marry him! ”

"Haha!" The sergeants laughed.

While he was laughing, someone suddenly shouted, "Be careful, there's an assassin!!" ”

Everyone was shocked, and before the word 'assassin' could be heard, a sharp arrow broke through the air and the warning man screamed in pain and fell to the ground!

Obviously hit the arrow!

"Everyone be careful, protect Your Highness!!" Yin Yang jumped up, took off his clothes decisively to extinguish the bonfire, and protected Li Ke at the core with two other soldiers and hid in the dark.

There was a whistle in the surrounding woods, sharp arrows flying wildly, there was really an assassin ambush!

Li Ke also drew his knife in his hand, and said secretly: Unexpectedly, the most unfortunate thing still happened, there were really assassins on the way!

"Your Highness, be careful, there are quite a few people on the other side!" Yin Yang whispered in the dark, "Hearing the direction of the arrow, we have completely fallen into the encirclement and ambush. The other party is well-organized and premeditated, and it doesn't look like an ordinary bandit! ”

"Yes, ordinary bandits are all seeking wealth and killing people." In a dangerous situation, Li Ke was still calm and calm, and said with a sneer, "And now, the other party is about to kill before he meets his face, obviously he is here to assassinate!" ”

"Could that be?! ......" Yin Yang was full of excitement and didn't dare to say anything further.

"Don't guess, concentrate, get out of danger!" Li Ke said briefly.

"Yes!"

Not far ahead, several guards were already engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Assassins. In the darkness, the shouts of anger and killing were loud, and occasionally there were stars and fires in the night sky, and the fight was very fierce.

Yin Yang and the other two guards formed a character shape and protected Li Ke at the core. After staring at the battle in front of him for a few moments, he was shocked and secretly shouted: The opponent is not weak! The ones I chose were all the best soldiers among the elite soldiers, and all of them were extraordinary in martial arts. I didn't expect the assassin to be stronger, and our people couldn't resist it!

This is in danger!

"Your Highness, go! Subordinates will take you to break through! Immediately decided, Yin Yang pulled Li Ke to drill into the dark.

Li Ke stood still, frowned deeply and said, "Those brothers are still fighting to the death, how can Ke survive alone?" ”

"Your Highness, if you don't leave, you will only increase the casualties!" Yin Yang said urgently, seeing that Li Ke still did not move, he knelt down on one knee, "My subordinates are willing to ask His Highness to take the first step!" We are willing to go to the soup for His Highness and die forever! But if Your Highness doesn't get out of danger, the lives of those brothers will be in vain! ”

Li Ke gritted his teeth, "Okay, let's go!" ”

The three guards protected Li Ke, slashed the two assassins who stood in the way, dodged several cold guns and dark arrows, and broke through to the corner of the dark forest.

The fierce battle in the woods was fierce, and most of the ten more than ten guards of Wu Wangfu were killed and wounded. But these people all regarded death as home, and fought to the death to procrastinate, buying time for the evacuation of Li Ke and others.

In the dark night and dense forest, Li Ke and the others panicked, but they managed to escape more than a mile. The sound of fierce fighting in the rear had faded away, and the four of them hid behind several large trees, panting wildly.

"Your Highness, keep running away, we are not out of danger yet!" Yin Yang pulled Li Ke and wanted to leave again.

"Okay......"

Before Li Ke could say this, suddenly two sharp stabs broke through the air, and the two guards guarding him fell to the ground neatly and died. Li Ke and Yin Yang were shocked, and when they looked at it, the two of them were hit by arrows in their throats at the same time, breaking their necks!

"Master!" Yin Yang gasped!

"Tuk, tuk, tuk", a few slow and unhurried horses' hooves, a ride appeared in the night, blocking the front of Li Ke and Yin Yang.

"So, I've been waiting for you here for a long time, His Royal Highness King Wu!"

Immediately, the man's voice was muffled, apparently coming from a veiled scarf. Through the hazy moonlight, Li Ke looked up, and sure enough, the man on the horse was dressed in a black scarf at night, and his eyes were cold and cold, and his murderous aura burst out.

Yin Yang's hands holding the knife were full of sweat, and his face was even more sweaty, and he gritted his teeth and whispered: "Your Highness, be careful, this person's methods are extraordinary!" When his subordinates fight to the death, His Highness waits for an opportunity to escape! ”

"No need." Li Ke snorted, but stood in front of Yin Yang in a flash, put the knife into the sheath, looked up at the person on the horse, and said in a loud voice: "Your Excellency, since you came here for me, it must be an old acquaintance." Otherwise, there will be no need to mask your face! ”

Immediately, the man stared at Li Ke directly, and the light flashing in his eyes was full of solemnity and coldness. He had a knife at his waist and a bow in his saddle, as if he had not taken the two men in front of him at all, nor was he at all afraid that they would suddenly attack or flee.

"Why don't you speak? Are you afraid that I will hear your accent? Li Ke smiled coldly and said, "Just now you only said one sentence, I seem to be familiar with Your Excellency." ”

"Really?" Immediately, the man apparently laughed and spat out the two words. The horse he stepped off raised his hooves a few times, Yin Yang was like a great enemy, and he blocked Li Ke with a knife.

"I heard it, you are a Jingxiang person!" Li Ke pulled Yin Yang away, stepped forward and shouted, "As expected, Your Excellency is my old acquaintance when I was an official in Xiangzhou!" - Who are you?! ”

"Good ear, good memory!" Immediately, the man snorted and sneered twice, "Unfortunately, you're going to die." A dying person doesn't need to know so much. ”

With a "bang", the knight's long knife was unsheathed, and the cold light was shining!

"Your Highness be careful!!" Yin Yang shouted, stood up and slashed at the knight with his sword.

"No!"

Li Ke shouted, but before the words fell, he heard Yin Yang's scream, volleyed to the ground, rolled a few times, and convulsed a few times, but he didn't say anything again, as if he was dying of anger!

"Yin Yang!!" Li Ke screamed in grief and was about to step forward, when a long knife was already on his neck.

"Don't move." Immediately, the man said in a deep voice.

"Let's do it." Li Ke took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, stood up straight and closed his eyes.

"Don't worry, I didn't kill him." Immediately, the man not only didn't make a move, but said, "King Wu is righteous, and there are many loyal people around him. If such a person kills one, there will be one less, so-and-so, how can he bear it? ”

Li Ke opened his eyes in astonishment and looked at the man on the horse, only to see that he withdrew the long knife and put it into the sheath, and stretched out a hand to Li Ke, "King Wu, please get on the horse!" ”

"This! ......" Li Ke was stunned for a moment, "Your Excellency, what do you mean?" ”

"So-and-so wants to kill you, only in the flip of his hand. Since he did not kill you, he saved you. Immediately, the man's voice was as calm as the water of an ancient well, and he said leisurely, "You guessed right, it is the old acquaintance of King Wu; But it's not old knowledge, it's also a prisoner of your ranks. ”

"What? Then you...... Who is it? What's the point of being here? ”

"Naturally, it is specially for the interception and killing of King Wu."

"And what do you mean now?!" Li Ke looked sideways at Yin Yang, who was lying quietly on the ground, both shocked and angry.

Immediately the man was silent for a moment, then reached out and ripped the black scarf off his face.

Li Ke stood on the spot, stunned and speechless.

"Your Highness definitely didn't expect that it would be me." Immediately the man smiled.

"I really didn't expect it. Absolutely...... Didn't expect it! Li Ke took a deep breath, "Aren't you supposed to die a long time ago?!" ”

"Oh, that's a long story!" Immediately, the man stretched out his hand to Li Ke again, "King Wu, please get on the horse!" If you delay for a while, you can't get out! This subordinate of yours was only knocked unconscious by someone, and there is no danger of his life. When he wakes up, he goes to the government to report the case, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Just ask King Wu to flee with a certain first! ”

"You...... Why did you do that since you were the killer who came to intercept you? Li Ke said hesitantly, "If you don't explain, this king would rather be swords and axes, and he won't go with you without knowing anything!" ”

"Hey! ......" The man immediately sighed and said, "Yes, I was ordered to come and kill you." But I can't kill you when I think of the old kindness. ”

"Old Grace? How has this king been gracious to you? ”

"It's not that you have an old favor. It's a friend of yours who has a great kindness to someone and has a covenant of friends in the world. Because of him, I can't kill you. Because, you are very important to him and a good friend to him. Immediately, the man looked up at the moon and looked back on the past, sighed leisurely, and said, "Your Royal Highness King Wu, please remember that you can escape today...... It's all the blessings of your friend. ”

"I understand, you're talking about Qin Mubai! When I was in Xiangyang, it was Qin Mubai who broke through the river ghost and captured you, the leader of the green forest bandits, and then cracked the secret of the treasure of the former Sui Yang Emperor's tomb left by your grandfather, so the two of you did not know each other, but became confidants, am I right? Lord Song Cao - Zhao Chong? Li Ke said.

"That's right." Immediately, that person turned out to be Zhao Chong!

"Well, although I still have a lot to figure out, I'm willing to go with you." Li Ke took a deep breath, "Not for anything else - I believe in Qin Mubai, his vision will not be wrong!" ”

"Please get on board!"