"Prince Li is truly a battle - hardened general. His words can always hit the enemy's innermost thoughts!" The masked face of the black - clad man turned towards Prince Li.
"I wonder how many men Prince Li has brought today?"
"Just six thousand imperial guards. No more, no less," Prince Li said in a flat voice.
"Well, coincidentally, we also have exactly sixty men today! Sixty against six thousand. What do you think, Prince Li?"
"In battle, numbers are not the only key to victory. It depends on how you deploy your troops. If you win, you can retreat unscathed; if you lose, none of you will survive!" When Prince Li said this, his face showed no expression, making it impossible to discern his true thoughts.
"If it were you, Prince Li, how would you choose?" The black - clad man seemed a bit hesitant as he asked Prince Li.
"As long as the green mountains remain, there will always be firewood. Preserve your strength!"
"Hehe! What a good saying about preserving strength!" The black - clad man threw his head back and laughed twice. The sword in his hand trembled, and it cut another wound on Xiao Hanzhi's neck. Blood gushed out from the wound and quickly covered his neck.
"Fourth brother!" Prince Qi and Prince Shi exclaimed simultaneously and couldn't help but take a big step towards Xiao Hanzhi.
The black - clad man immediately became vigilant. "Don't come closer!"
Hearing this, Prince Qi and Prince Shi both took two steps back.
Seeing this, the black - clad man no longer paid attention to them. He turned to Prince Li and said, "Prince Li is right. Only by taking a step back can we preserve our strength. However, we have no choice. Advancing means death, and retreating also means death!"
"Your Excellency need not worry. As long as you agree to release Prince Si, I will ensure your safe departure. I will not send anyone to pursue you or harm you in the slightest!" Prince Li directly guaranteed.
"Hehe! I trust Prince Li's character, but as for the Emperor of Dongling, hum! I dare not trust him!" The black - clad man was quite tempted by the condition proposed by Prince Li but also had his own concerns.
"Your Excellency can rest assured. At this moment, the Emperor has fully entrusted this matter to me. I guarantee here that as long as you release the person, the imperial guards at the foot of the mountain will not harm you or your men in the slightest!"
Prince Li's voice was full of persuasive charm.
"Really?"
"Absolutely true! Your Excellency can see. This is the token that can mobilize the imperial guards. As long as you release the person, we will never make things difficult for you!"
The black - clad man's eyes were fixed firmly on the token in Prince Li's hand. "Okay! Prince Li, I'll trust you this time! I can release the person!"
"However..." The black - clad man paused at this point, looked at Prince Li and said, "You should let us go down the mountain first!" The black - clad man's tone was firm and unchangeable.
"I can also let you go down the mountain first, but Prince Si must be released after you reach the foot of the mountain!" Prince Li's attitude was equally firm and unyielding.
"Prince Li can rest assured. Prince Si's life is so important. How could I harm him! But not at the foot of the mountain. I know there's a pavilion a dozen miles away from Pufa Temple. I guarantee that we will release Prince Si after we safely reach there!"
When Prince Li was about to speak, Prince Qi, Xiao Jinnan, stepped forward first and disagreed. "No! What if you don't release the person then? It's a dozen miles away from here to the pavilion. If you run away then, where can we chase you?"
"Prince Qi and Prince Li can rest assured. You can also send a small team of men to follow us. When we reach the pavilion and release the person, you can take him back and let us go!"
"Humph! What if there are your men near the pavilion and you set up a trap? Then you'll just run away again, won't you?" Xiao Jinnan also questioned.
"Then according to Prince Qi's opinion, what should we do? Should I just kill Prince Si right now? Would that be a better outcome!" The black - clad man was not a patient person. He was obviously impatient with Xiao Jinnan's repeated doubts.
"You..."
The black - clad man ignored Prince Qi, Xiao Jinnan. He directly turned his masked face towards Prince Li. "In this matter, does Prince Li make the decision, or is Prince Qi's words more authoritative?"
Hearing this, Prince Li directly said to the black - clad man, "I agree to what Your Excellency said. However, I have one condition!"
"Prince Li, please speak!"
"Before reaching the pavilion, Your Excellency must ensure the safety of our Prince Si and not let him be harmed again!" As Prince Li spoke, his eyes were always fixed on Xiao Hanzhi's bleeding neck.
"Prince Li can rest assured. What happened just now was an accident. I guarantee it won't happen again."
"Good! As long as Your Excellency can ensure Prince Si's safety, I have no interest in taking your life either." Although Prince Li agreed to the requirements put forward by the other side, his words still contained a veiled warning.
Then Prince Li first stepped aside and also signaled the personal soldiers he brought to step back, leaving a path.
The black - clad man tightened his grip on the sword and nudged Xiao Hanzhi threateningly, making him go first. He followed Xiao Hanzhi's steps and slowly walked down the mountain. At the same time, a group of black - clad men were also vigilantly looking around.
The black - clad men walked in front, and Prince Li led his men behind. Xiao Jinnan and Xiao Luo quickly followed up. Only Xuanyuan Jue and Shen Li were still standing there.
"Miss, are you okay?" Jiao Yue and Ming Yue rushed over at this time, worriedly asking.
"I'm fine!" After Shen Li said that, she looked behind them and couldn't help asking, "Where's Han Yue? Has she come back?"
Jiao Yue and Ming Yue looked at each other and both shook their heads.
"We haven't been out of the mountain since we came in. We haven't met Han Yue!" Jiao Yue said to Shen Li.
"Han Yue may be at the foot of the mountain," Ming Yue guessed.
Shen Li nodded. "Let's go down the mountain too!"
At this moment, at the foot of the mountain, one could clearly see that it was full of imperial guards in armor and armed with weapons from afar.
Shen Yi also came this time to assist Prince Li in rescuing the princes and the heir of the Xuanyuan family. Just now, when Prince Li went up the mountain to check, Shen Yi led his men to guard at the foot of the mountain.
Now, Shen Yi was standing at the foot of the mountain. Seeing a group of masked black - clad men slowly moving down the mountain, he couldn't help but start to wonder whether these black - clad men didn't know that the foot of the mountain was already surrounded or were just fearless enough to come down.
However, he got the answer soon.
"Prince Li!" Shen Yi saw that the group of black - clad men suddenly stopped in place, and Prince Li was also coming down from afar. He immediately bowed to Prince Li.