Chapter 395: Seeing is Believing

"So, I'm worth this much now," Chen Ji thought with a self-deprecating laugh.

When the forty-two assassins disguised as Jie Fan Guards appeared, Chen Ji, Zhang Xia, and Zhang Zheng instinctively assumed these men were after the Crown Prince or Prince Fu. No one else would warrant such a large-scale operation.

It wasn't until crossbow bolts rained down from Yingluo Rock that Zhang Xia suddenly realized these men were trying to kill Chen Ji.

Who could it be?

Regardless of success or failure, these suicidal assassins were meant to disappear afterward, and the safest way to do that was to die. But who would pay such a heavy price just to kill a mere captain of the Imperial Guards?

There was no time to think. They quickly left Yingluo Rock, following the narrow mountain path. Ahead lay Baisong Ridge!

Before they could catch their breath, crossbow bolts rained down again from the side slope of Baisong Ridge!

In a split second, Yang Yang roared, "Yang Fang, Yang Xian, block the arrows!"

The two Myriad Age Army soldiers led by Yang Yang immediately rushed to the group's flank, their armor absorbing over a dozen crossbow bolts to protect them!

In just an instant!

Both men were riddled with arrows like porcupines, yet they gritted their teeth and continued to gallop silently, covering the others as they traversed the mountain path!

Fortunately, they were wearing the Myriad Age Army's concealed armor. After the arrows pierced the armor, only the arrowheads could penetrate their skin and muscle.

Yang Yang asked loudly, "Are you alright?"

Yang Fang gritted his teeth and replied, "No vital organs hit! We won't die!"

"Not dying doesn't mean it doesn't hurt!" Qi Zhenzhuo, seeing the arrows embedded in their bodies, put himself in their shoes. If Chen Ji had asked him to block arrows just now, he absolutely wouldn't have been so decisive!

At this moment, on the side slope of Baisong Ridge, more people were hiding behind hackberry trees, firing arrows and ready to give chase at any moment!

Yang Yang looked up ahead. The path ahead was a difficult, rugged uphill climb, impassable for horses!

Zhang Zheng panted, asking, "Abandon the horses?"

Zhang Xia stated firmly, "We can't abandon the horses. Abandoning them here would be suicide. After this uphill stretch, the path becomes flat. We have to get through."

Qi Zhenzhuo looked back at the forest: "They'll definitely pursue us. If we're slowly climbing the slope, we'll be live targets. Someone needs to stay behind at the bottom to buy time for those going up!"

At this, he turned and looked at the arrows still stuck in the Myriad Age Army soldiers, then gritted his teeth and said, "I can stay behind to cover the retreat."

Chen Ji said decisively, "No, you all go first. Yang Yang and I will cover the retreat!"

No sooner had he spoken!

Yang Yang didn't hesitate! He immediately slowed his pace with Chen Ji, gradually falling to the rear of the group!

This was the elite of the Myriad Age Army!

They could be arrogant, they could be overbearing, but they couldn't be foolish, and certainly not afraid of battle!

No one needed to persuade them; wherever the military banner pointed, they would charge!

The two slowly reined in their horses at the foot of the slope, their gazes sweeping coldly across Baisong Ridge!

The trees growing on Baisong Ridge were not white pines, but Chinese hackberry trees!

In autumn, the leaves of these trees turn red, which is where the name "Fragrant Hill Red Leaves" comes from!

The assassins were patient. They hid behind the trees, waiting for Chen Ji and Yang Yang to flee so they could pursue them. They remained in a stalemate, unmoving.

However, the trunks of the hackberry trees weren't very thick; there were always places where one's body couldn't be completely concealed!

Yang Yang's sharp gaze scanned the forest. He spotted an assassin hiding behind a tree, with an inch of his right leg exposed from behind the trunk!

He immediately drew two feathered arrows and pulled the bowstring taut!

The first arrow ripped through the outer calf of the assassin's exposed leg, causing him to instinctively collapse with a cry of pain!

In an instant, the second arrow arrived, piercing the assassin's throat, and his cry of pain abruptly ceased!

Yang Yang glanced at Chen Ji and asked, "How's that for you?"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly saw Chen Ji drawing his bowstring, empty. The ancestral horn bow of the Yang family emitted a deep hum!

The assassin behind the hackberry tree heard the bowstring and immediately darted out, intending to counterattack during the interval between Chen Ji's shots. But it was only at that moment that Chen Ji actually nocked an arrow, piercing the assassin who had just emerged!

The power of the feathered arrow was immense! As it pierced the assassin, it carried his body and straw cloak backward through the air!

Yang Yang scrutinized Chen Ji from head to toe, instinctively asking, "Did you really kill that many people in Guyuan?"

Seeing is believing!

The Myriad Age Army, accustomed to slaughter, naturally knew how difficult it was to kill over a hundred Tiance Army soldiers! They had directly engaged Jing Dynasty cavalry outside Chongli Pass, fighting for several hours until their blades were blunt and chipped. Even a Grand Official at the peak of the Xiantian realm couldn't claim over a hundred heads; only a Grand Official in the Seeking Dao realm would have a chance!

When they first heard the Crown Prince's report of achievements and requests for commendation, they laughed heartily in the barracks, believing the Crown Prince had gone mad and was boasting outrageously!

The Myriad Age Army had all heard Chen Ji's name, but not in a good light! It was associated with a reputation for deception and falsehood!

But now, as Yang Yang scrutinized Chen Ji, he believed about 70% of that report. Otherwise, he wouldn't have traded his ancestral horn bow to Chen Ji. "It's strange," he mused, "if it's true, why has the Crown Prince never stepped forward to defend you, letting others ruin your reputation?"

Chen Ji replied calmly, "I don't know."

As Yang Yang's gaze suppressed the assassins in the forest, he extended an olive branch: "Hey kid, how about joining my Myriad Age Army! The Imperial Guards are a place for pretty girls; it doesn't suit you!"

Chen Ji looked up the slope, seeing that everyone had already crested it, and immediately said, "Now is not the time for this. You go first."

Yang Yang no longer hesitated! He immediately spurred his horse and charged up the slope. When he reached halfway, as if remembering something, he suddenly unstrapped the quiver from his waist and tossed it to Chen Ji: "You only have three arrows left, not enough! Use mine for now! I still have three more here!"

Chen Ji caught the quiver in mid-air and tucked it into the gap between his right leg and the saddle—the fastest spot to draw arrows!

Just as Yang Yang was climbing, over a dozen assassins hidden behind the hackberry trees suddenly charged out. They wore straw cloaks and conical hats, held crossbows in their left hands, dragged long sabers in their right, and exuded a fierce killing intent!

"Kill!"

Someone roared, "Six arrows, six lives! Trade with him."

However, before they could get close to Chen Ji, they heard bowstrings twang, one after another!

The assassins charged forward! But out of the corner of their eyes, they saw their comrades, one after another, being carried backward through the air by feathered arrows!

In a flash, only four of the dozen-plus men remained!

The assassins' pupils constricted. More than ten arrows had already been fired; it was a trick.

From the slope, Yang Yang mocked loudly, "Whose suicidal assassins are you? You have courage but no strategy; you can't take our lives. Send your commanders instead!"

Yang Yang, though outwardly rough like a mountain, was shrewd beneath his gruff exterior!

Before leaving, he deliberately threw the quiver and said those words, simply to make the assassins mistakenly believe Chen Ji only had six arrows left!

When the assassins charged out, intending to trade their lives, they were hunted down one by one by Chen Ji!

Yang Yang, triumphant, boasted, "I, your general, even deceived the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry outside Chongli Pass!" As he spoke, he saw a flock of birds startled in the distance on the slope, clearly indicating more assassins were converging in their direction. "Not good, run!" he exclaimed.

With that, he himself crested the slope and vanished from sight!

Chen Ji no longer hesitated. He spurred his horse uphill!

As he urged his warhorse up the mountain, he looked back, drawing his bow to suppress the assassins behind him, fighting and retreating simultaneously!

By the time he reached the mountainside, he could already see over twenty more assassins, clad in straw cloaks, charging from the distance. The cloaks, damp with morning dew, shed droplets as they ran!

The two fastest among them looked up and met his gaze, their eyes beneath their conical hats brimming with murderous intent!

Zhang Xia waited at the foot of the mountain after crossing it, waiting a long time before Yang Yang finally rejoined him!

Zhang Zheng looked up and saw that Yang Yang had left Chen Ji alone on the other side of the mountain. He was immediately startled: "Yang Yang, how could you leave Chen Ji alone to cover the rear?"

Yang Yang retorted irritably, "Zhang Zheng, damn it, isn't my life a life too? And here I thought we've been brothers for over ten years."

Zhang Zheng raised an eyebrow: "That's not what I meant. But if you two were covering the rear together, why are you the only one who came back first?"

Yang Yang sneered, "Making a fuss over nothing. Of course, the strongest one stays behind to cover the rear! When our dynasty's founding ancestor established the country, he was defeated and fled from Luocheng! At that time, he personally led the rear guard. An enemy general, leading three hundred cavalrymen, charged directly at him, but saw the ancestor shoot them down left and right, and every pursuer fell. Only then did the pursuers abandon the chase!"

Zhang Zheng hesitated for a moment: "Yesterday, I heard in a play that the founding ancestor was defeated in Ganzhou! Today, you're saying he was defeated in Luocheng. How could he keep losing? How did this Ning Dynasty come about then?"

Zhang Xia looked up at the slope and said calmly, "It's not uncommon. The founding ancestor suffered defeats forty-one times in his life, experiencing forty-one major ups and downs. He established the Ning Dynasty only at the age of forty-five! Brother, only those who can afford to lose can become emperor!"

As they spoke!

Chen Ji had already crested the hill and was charging down: "Quick, let's go!"

Once he was down the mountain!

Zhang Xia urged Zaobao to follow him: "Chen Ji! These people didn't just enter the mountain; they must have been ambushed here last night! And there are definitely more than forty-two of them!"

Their opponents were well-prepared and had no intention of letting Chen Ji leave Xiangshan alive! But who exactly wanted him dead, and why? Who was it?

If they didn't even know who their enemies were, they wouldn't be able to determine where to flee next!

Chen Ji leaned over his horse's back, closing his eyes in thought, letting the mountain wind ruffle his hair!

When he opened his eyes again, he spoke in a voice only Zhang Xia could hear: "It's the Crown Prince!"

Zhang Xia frowned in thought!

Chen Ji continued his deduction: "Even if these suicidal assassins aren't the Crown Prince's people, he's definitely involved! For example, outsiders like Yang Yang don't believe the Guyuan battle report. They don't believe I've killed over a hundred Tiance Army soldiers. So, if they wanted to kill me, they wouldn't have mustered such a large force! They'd think a dozen men would be enough!"

"Only those who experienced the Guyuan battle with us know that killing me isn't easy! Only you know that I truly killed over a hundred Tiance Army soldiers!"

Among all those who wanted Chen Ji dead, only the Crown Prince knew!

Killing Chen Ji required sacrificing hundreds of lives!

But Chen Ji still couldn't understand!

Why was the Crown Prince so determined to kill him?

Were there other reasons?

Zhang Xia whispered, "Let's capture a few alive as evidence to take back to the capital and give to the Hu family. Then bribe Meng Ji to interrogate them in dreams. The Hu family would definitely be interested in pushing for the Crown Prince's deposition!"

Chen Ji shook his head: "Suicidal assassins brave enough to be used here definitely won't reveal anything! They probably only know they're supposed to kill me, but not why. They might not even know who's funding them. We need to capture some, but not right now!"

Zhang Xia pondered for a moment and said, "If there are ambushes, we can't continue towards Xianglu Peak. Yang Yang and I will go back with you! We'll take the same path back through Hongye Villa; perhaps there will be fewer pursuers there!"

Chen Ji glanced back at the flock of birds circling in the sky!

Suddenly, he turned his horse and charged towards the Shibapan mountain road: "We can't go back the same way! Follow me!"

Zhang Xia didn't understand where he was going at first, but seeing the direction he took, his eyes immediately lit up!