Taking advantage of the chaos, Jin Yuanzhou and his group ran non - stop for ten kilometers overnight. Only when they looked back and couldn't see the city anymore did they stop to catch their breath.
Qian Tong landed silently beside him. Jin Yuanzhou glanced at him and saw Qian Tong take out a pill from his bosom and feed it directly to General Mao.
After riding on horseback for most of the day, General Mao, who was already seriously injured, now looked even more haggard.
After taking the pill, the ashen look between his eyebrows faded a lot.
Jin Yuanzhou was silent for a moment and finally understood why Chen Tingfeng had sent Qian Tong along.
Previously, Qian Tong had always hidden in the dark and never showed himself voluntarily. Jin Yuanzhou only saw him once when they were in the northern border city. But then, he disappeared again.
As for this capable subordinate of Chen Tingfeng, Jin Yuanzhou couldn't order him around no matter what, so he didn't bother about him, just assuming that he had his own mission.
Qian Tong handed the remaining two pills to Jin Yuanzhou. "Feed one pill every three days. Don't feed more."
No one knew exactly what kind of poison General Mao had been poisoned with. The antidote pills that Chen Tingfeng had asked Qian Tong to bring were not ordinary ones. He anticipated that the poison in General Mao's body was extremely potent, so these pills actually contained a bit of toxicity themselves.
It was a method of combating poison with poison.
Jin Yuanzhou took them solemnly and hid them in his bosom. "Will you accompany us?"
Qian Tong shook his head. "I'll follow you secretly. If you meet anyone on the way, don't mention me."
Jin Yuanzhou's eyes darkened. Who could they possibly meet on the way?
Traitors or spies, in any case, none of them were good people.
He looked down at the unconscious General Mao and sighed deeply.
This time, he had truly placed his life on the line.
After a simple lunch, Jin Yuanzhou and his group immediately set off again.
Considering General Mao's life and to prevent any unexpected events, he was determined to return to the capital within eight days.
Let's not mention how exhausted they were from the journey. Just when they were getting close to the capital, it suddenly started to pour.
Jin Yuanzhou was soaked through. He barely made out the way ahead and then rode his horse into a dilapidated temple.
His men casually picked up some dry firewood in the temple and started a fire. They said respectfully to Jin Yuanzhou, "My lord, it seems this rain won't stop for a while. Come and warm yourself by the fire to avoid catching a cold."
Jin Yuanzhou first took good care of General Mao. During the heavy rain, the only straw raincoat in the group had been given to General Mao. At this moment, he only looked a bit pale, but his body wasn't wet.
Jin Yuanzhou felt a bit relieved. A gust of wind blew from outside. Only then did he realize he was feeling cold, so he sat down by the fire.
The continuous journey had made him a bit tired. He rubbed his temples. "We're almost at the capital now, and our mission will soon be completed."
Just as everyone's faces showed a bit of joy, he suddenly said in a deep voice, "But precisely because of this, we must be more vigilant!"
"General Mao is a loyal and patriotic official. We must not let him sacrifice in such an unclear way. Do you understand?" Jin Yuanzhou's voice suddenly turned cold, like a poisonous snake spitting out its forked tongue, making people shiver.
Everyone couldn't help but feel a chill. "Understood!"
Only then did Jin Yuanzhou relax and look out at the torrential rain.
Summer rain was always like this. Once it started, it seemed to turn the world upside down. All he could hear was the crackling sound of the rain hitting the eaves, which made people feel nervous.
Such moments always made people feel idle. After Jin Yuanzhou's warning, this group of people didn't completely relax, but it was hard not to feel a bit lazy listening to the rain.
Just as everyone was drowsy, a sudden sound of horses' hooves came from afar.
Jin Yuanzhou suddenly stood up and walked to the door. His expression was hard to read.
On such a rainy day, who would come to this dilapidated temple?
Jin Yuanzhou glanced at the roof beam and felt a bit more at ease. He moved his hand behind his back. Everyone saw his gesture and nodded secretly. A few people withdrew to protect General Mao, and the rest slowly gathered around Jin Yuanzhou.
The sound of horses' hooves got closer and closer, almost merging with the thunder in the sky, making it hard to tell where the sound was coming from.
Suddenly, a neighing sound rang out. Jin Yuanzhou saw that the leader was wearing a straw raincoat completely soaked by the rain and had a black cloth covering his face. He looked at Jin Yuanzhou from afar through the rain curtain.
Almost in an instant, a cold light flashed, and the clash of swords and knives began.
Jin Yuanzhou was pushed back by his guards. Knowing that he wasn't good at martial arts, he turned around and ran towards General Mao. The guards surrounded them tightly.
A guard blocked a slashing knife head - on but was kicked flying by the black - cloaked figure.
The black - cloaked figure was very skilled. Every strike was a deadly move. There were fewer and fewer guards around, and more and more were injured.
Jin Yuanzhou couldn't help but feel terrified. He suspected that this person wasn't from the court. Such deep - seated killing intent and the calm eyes that remained unchanged even when slitting someone's throat made him think of the secret guards behind the emperor.
As the guard in front of him was kicked flying again, Jin Yuanzhou was extremely shocked. He took out the dagger from his sleeve and threw it at the opponent.
He threw it without any technique. The black - cloaked figure didn't expect his aim to be so poor, but he had great strength. For a moment, his rhythm was disrupted. He stepped back two steps and looked up. Several sleeve arrows were coming towards him in succession.
Qian Tong flew down. With a flash of the knife, their blades clashed, creating sparks.
After just a few moves, Qian Tong became familiar with the opponent's moves. When he attacked again, he even imitated the opponent's style.
The black - cloaked figure was shocked. He deflected the sleeve arrows and then flew forward, raising his knife and slashing at Qian Tong!
His movement was extremely fast. Qian Tong hardly had time to dodge. Just as the knife was about to fall on him, Jin Yuanzhou couldn't help but shout, "Be careful!"
Suddenly, a change occurred. Through the layers of rain curtain, an arrow made of black iron shot through the sky like a flying bird. With great momentum, it shot the black - cloaked figure flying!
Qian Tong twisted his waist, and a wisp of black hair fell to the ground. Then he took out a dagger from his sleeve and directly slit the man's throat.
The black - cloaked figure widened his eyes. It seemed that he never expected that he would die here today. He could only die with deep unwillingness.
Jin Yuanzhou's heart was in his throat, but when he saw the person stepping in from the door, he suddenly let out a sigh of relief.
Once the breath that had been holding him up in his heart dissipated, he felt dizzy. He took two steps back before regaining his composure.
He waved away the guard who wanted to support him, took a deep breath, and stepped forward to salute. "Greetings, Crown Prince Heir."
Chen Tingfeng was dressed in a black robe and slowly walked in from outside with a bow in his hand.
The rain had soaked his cloak. He threw the bow to Yuanbao who followed him in, then slowly raised his head. A bolt of lightning split the sky, and the silver - like light illuminated half of his face.
He said slowly, "Lord Jin, long time no see."