As soon as Xin Zizhao heard Wei Shuxuan's question, he knew he couldn't hide it from her any longer. He had no choice but to tell her everything that had happened the previous night. "That's exactly what happened."
"What? You didn't even wake me up? I wanted to get involved too. It's not every day we get attacked like that!" Wei Shuxuan felt annoyed. She had slept through it all, and Xin Zizhao had even let her inhale so much knockout incense. No wonder she had felt so weak when she got up at noon today.
"Okay, okay. Next time we'll wake you up."
Xin Zizhao said helplessly. Otherwise, she would surely scold him relentlessly. Sometimes even he was at a loss with Wei Shuxuan.
"That's more like it," Wei Shuxuan said with a smug smile. "I knew it. I told you that Sima Tianhai's men would launch a sneak attack. I told you to be prepared, but I didn't expect them to come so soon."
"We think Sima Tianhai must have placed many of his men around Baiyang Town. So, they might be monitoring our every move."
"Baiyang Town is neither too close nor too far from the capital. It has a large population and is an important trading hub with other countries. It's indeed a good place to hide one's identity."
Xin Zizhao thought for a moment. He remembered that a minister had once reported to him about the sudden population increase in Baiyang Town. At that time, he had ordered the relocation of the surplus population to other less populated towns, and the capital was one of the major destinations. Now he realized that his solution might have given Sima Tianhai an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
"What's wrong, Xin Zizhao?" Wei Shuxuan turned her head and saw Xin Zizhao looking preoccupied.
"I once issued an imperial edict to relocate the surplus population in Baiyang Town. It seems that this edict has actually given Sima Tianhai a chance to strike."
On the other side, Ge Zian said, "I received a secret letter from my trusted subordinate this morning. He told me that the Eleventh Prince went to the imperial study to get the imperial seal. The palace was surrounded by elite soldiers, and the man leading the troops was a handsome man wearing an eye patch."
Hearing this, Xin Zizhao and the others immediately knew who it was. "Isn't that the envoy who came to negotiate peace with us last time, Qihar?"
"Yes, it's him," Ge Zian nodded. "I suspect he has been following the Eleventh Prince all along. Maybe this usurpation was all planned by Qihar."
"Qihar?" Wei Shuxuan had an impression of this man. He did wear a single eye patch and was tall. He seemed to be the same as the servant she had seen beside the Eleventh Prince.
"Wei Wei, didn't you say you saw a familiar person beside the Eleventh Prince?" Wei Shuxuan turned to look at Wei Wei who was following behind. Xin Zizhao quickly steadied Wei Shuxuan to prevent her from falling off the horse.
"Yes," in an instant, the image of Qihar flashed through Wei Wei's mind. He was indeed the same man he had seen in the Eleventh Prince's bedroom. "Could it really be him?"
"Most likely..." Wei Shuxuan's intuition told her that Qihar was not a simple man. Maybe he knew the witchcraft of the Qiangfeng Kingdom and had controlled the Eleventh Prince. If they could control the Eleventh Prince and make him a puppet to control the Yulong Kingdom, it would be as if the Yulong Kingdom had fallen into Sima Tianhai's hands.
"Let's hurry up."
Wei Shuxuan urged Xin Zizhao and the others to set off quickly. She was a little worried that after Qihar and Sima Tianhai achieved their goals, they might dispose of Xin Yeheng. Although Xin Yeheng was Sima Tianhai's grandson, there was not much affection between them. Sima Tianhai had ignored his own daughter for more than a decade, let alone a grandson.
However, things often didn't go as expected. Just as they were about to reach the outskirts of Baiyang Town, a group of black-clothed men suddenly appeared in front of them. "Kill them!"
Xin Zizhao whispered in Wei Shuxuan's ear, "Stay here and don't move."
Then, he leaped off his horse and kicked a black-clothed man who was flying towards them. The man was instantly kicked into a tree trunk behind. Wei Wei, Xin Shang, and Ge Zian also quickly dealt with the black-clothed men. The leader of the black-clothed men didn't expect them to be so skilled in martial arts. He had underestimated these young masters.
Seeing his companions being killed one by one by Xin Zizhao and the others, the leader of the black-clothed men gritted his teeth. "Retreat! Retreat now!"
"Yes, leader!"
The uninjured black-clothed men quickly carried away their injured companions. Just as Wei Wei and Xin Shang were about to chase after them, Xin Zizhao stopped them. "Don't chase. It will be disadvantageous for us if we do."
So, Wei Wei and Xin Shang gave up the idea of continuing the pursuit. Xin Zizhao was right. If they chased the black-clothed men to their base, the situation would be unfavorable for them. After all, they were in the open while the enemy was in the dark.
"Anyway, we're not injured. Let's go into Baiyang Town and rest."
After they entered Baiyang Town, they noticed that there were some people wearing different clothes. They should not be from the Yulong Kingdom. Xin Zizhao carefully observed the people coming and going on the street. He always felt that there was a very intense gaze following them after they entered the town. But when he looked again, the gaze was gone.
"Master, what's wrong?" Xin Shang was curious when he saw Xin Zizhao looking around.
"...It's okay. Let's find an inn to stay in."
"Mr. Xin, if there's any problem, please discuss it with us before taking action."
Ge Zian added from behind. Xin Zizhao nodded. Wei Shuxuan also felt that there were more surveillance eyes after they entered Baiyang Town. She felt extremely uncomfortable. She stepped forward and took Xin Zizhao's hand. Xin Zizhao felt Wei Shuxuan's uneasiness and held her hand tightly.
They randomly chose an inn to stay in. Wei Shuxuan and Xin Zizhao were organizing their luggage in the room. "Xin Zizhao, don't you think the atmosphere in this Baiyang Town is really strange?"
"I know. It's probably because Sima Tianhai has sent his men here, making the town a mess. Maybe Sima Tianhai already knows that we'll come to Baiyang Town and has already sent people here to wait for us."
Wei Shuxuan thought for a while. "So, this town is actually full of ambushes? We should go back to the capital as soon as possible and not stay in Baiyang Town any longer."
"Yeah, I think so too."