"Xuan Yuanjue!" Shen Li finally came to his senses and quickly tried to turn over. But as he moved, he found that Xuan Yuanjue's hand was still around his waist.
"Hmm?" Xuan Yuanjue looked at Shen Li, who was right above him and within arm's reach. He let out a soft sound, a bit dazed.
"Let go!" Shen Li had a cold and extremely gloomy face.
Only then did Xuan Yuanjue put away the smile on his face and quickly withdrew his hand. Shen Li didn't hesitate and immediately got up from the ground.
Only then did Shen Li notice that Han Yue was fighting with a black - cloaked man, while Mu Wulin was also holding a knife, trying to cut the spider webs on Wu Sixi's body.
"Don't waste your efforts. Those spider webs are specially made by the Night Shade Division. Swords can't cut them, and fire can't burn them! They can't be undone!"
After Shen Li said this, he also whipped the Night Shadow Whip towards Mu Wulin. Mu Wulin had no choice but to temporarily give up and dodge.
Just then, several killers from the Night Shade Division rushed over. Xuan Yuanjue handed Wu Sixi over to them for custody and then joined the fight against the black - cloaked man.
When the black - cloaked man saw Wu Sixi being taken away by the killers, he moved his hands even faster, as if he was extremely eager to rescue Wu Sixi.
Shen Yi stood on the periphery, protected by several people. His eyes were fixed firmly on the black - cloaked man. "My lord Shen, have you seen where this black - cloaked man's martial arts come from?" Xiao Hanzhi, who was standing next to Shen Yi, also looked at the black - cloaked man and asked.
Hearing this, Shen Yi still didn't take his eyes off the black - cloaked man. He just shook his head and said, "I've truly seen this kind of martial arts for the first time! But it doesn't seem to be from Dongling!"
"Oh? My lord Shen has read all the martial arts books in the world and still hasn't seen it. It seems this black - cloaked man is quite mysterious! I just wonder where he really comes from and whether he has any relation to those black - cloaked men from the Pufa Temple last time?"
"The martial arts don't seem to be from the same school, but it's hard to say if there are other connections!" Shen Yi didn't hide the truth and said directly.
"The matter is getting more and more interesting!"
The black - cloaked man didn't come alone. Soon, a group of twenty or thirty black - cloaked men suddenly descended from the sky and joined the fight. The purpose of those black - cloaked men was simple. They were after Wu Sixi, Zhuang Yusheng, and Mu Wulin.
After two black - cloaked men rescued the seriously injured Zhuang Yusheng from under the swords of the imperial guards, they immediately left without hesitation, taking him with them.
"Don't let them get away! Chase them quickly!" Xiao Hanzhi ordered, looking at Zhuang Yusheng who had been rescued and escaped by the black - cloaked men.
The remaining black - cloaked men didn't back down. They automatically divided into two groups. Some were responsible for rescuing Mu Wulin, while others slowly advanced towards the killers who were guarding Wu Sixi.
However, Mu Wulin was no match for Shen Li in terms of martial arts. At this time, his body was already covered with bloodstains from the Night Shadow Whip, and even his face wasn't spared. He was whipped twice.
Shen Li whipped again, directly aiming at Mu Wulin's neck and tightly entangling him under the Night Shadow Whip. On the other hand, he was on high alert, staring at those black - cloaked men.
Seeing Mu Wulin, whose neck was tightly entangled by Shen Li and who was painfully stretching out his hands, the black - cloaked men didn't stop their actions. They moved towards Shen Li again. Without hesitation, Shen Li loosened the whip, releasing Mu Wulin, and at the same time threw a spider net at him.
But Mu Wulin reacted quickly and dodged in time. He didn't end up being trapped in the spider web like his elder brother Wu Sixi.
On the other side, Han Yue and Xuan Yuanjue were gradually getting the upper hand against the black - cloaked man they were fighting!
This black - cloaked man looked at Mu Wulin, who had been taken over by his own people, and then at Wu Sixi, who was surrounded and protected. He had no choice but to give up and leave first.
After him, the other black - cloaked men didn't stay either. They grabbed Mu Wulin and fled.
Xiao Hanzhi looked at the only remaining Wu Sixi. His face was not good - looking. He directly led the imperial guards to chase after the direction where the black - cloaked men had left.
But those people were all highly skilled in martial arts and had excellent light - body skills. The two legs of these imperial guards on the ground were simply not fast enough. In a short while, those people disappeared without a trace.
In this siege of the Panhu Stronghold, except for Zhuang Yusheng and Mu Wulin, who were rescued, the rest of the people in the Panhu Stronghold were either dead or captured. It could be said to be a great victory.
Wu Sixi had also been secretly imprisoned in the dungeon of the Night Shade Division. Not many people in the capital knew about the siege of the Panhu Stronghold.
On the day after the Panhu Stronghold was destroyed, the list and evidence of the officials in the court who were involved in the illegal salt business were presented to Emperor Dongling.
Emperor Dongling looked at the densely written names on the memorial. He couldn't help but find it funny in his heart, but there was a sad smile on his face. "I've worked diligently for decades. Sitting on this throne, I've worried about the world every single day!"
"But look at these people! They're all lining their own pockets and forming cliques for selfish ends! The national treasury is empty. With these moths around, how could the national treasury be full!"
Emperor Dongling was extremely angry. He slapped the memorial on the table with a "pop".
Seeing this, Xiao Hanzhi and Shen Yi in the imperial study immediately knelt on the ground.
Emperor Dongling paced back and forth in front of the desk restlessly with his hands behind his back, trying to calm his anger.
"I remember that in this recent month, there was a place in the south that had continuous heavy rain for four or five days, almost washing away the dam. They asked me to allocate funds, right?"
Hearing this, Xiao Hanzhi bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it's Xialing City! This place has a low - lying terrain and is prone to waterlogging. Last month, there was a sudden heavy rain, and several bridges within the territory were almost washed away. So they submitted a memorial asking the Ministry of Revenue to allocate funds to rebuild the bridges!"
"Good! I'll approve this matter now! Since it's just a small city, let the Ministry of Revenue allocate 100,000 taels of silver there!" After Emperor Dongling said this, he pointed at Xiao Hanzhi and said, "You'll handle this matter personally!"
Hearing this, Xiao Hanzhi's eyes lit up. He said loudly, "Your son will surely live up to your Majesty's expectations!"
Emperor Dongling looked at Xiao Hanzhi and nodded in satisfaction. "Xialing City is located in the south of the Yangtze River. You should have never been to such a far place. When you get there, take a good look at the local customs and the living conditions of the common people. When you come back, tell me about it!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Shen Yi, you'll stay in the capital this time! I have other things for you to do! You'll additionally select a team of highly skilled martial artists from the Night Shade Division to protect Hanzhi all the way, so as to prevent him from being bullied. Also, send a team of shadow guards to secretly protect him. You must ensure everything is foolproof and let Hanzhi come back safely!"
"Yes, Your Majesty! Your subject will surely do his best to let those guards protect the Fourth Prince well!"
Only after hearing Shen Yi's words did Emperor Dongling nod in satisfaction.