Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 879: Unexpected Reinforcements
This is truly crazy!
Ah Liu had never been so impatient as he was now. The qualities that he was usually praised for, such as being as calm as ice and snow, or being able to remain calm even when facing a catastrophe, had long since disappeared from him. At this moment, the young man who was fighting with Chu Kuan was punching, kicking, headbutting, kneeling, and shoulder-butting, as if every part of his body was a weapon, and he just wanted to take Chu Kuan down first before anything else.
Especially when several rockets were fired in from outside the house, and flames and smoke rose up, he became like a mad tiger, furious.
However, facing such a desperate opponent, Chu Kuan, who was already injured in several places, seemed to not care about his pain at all, especially when he saw Zhu Jing throw Zhang Shou behind him without saying a word and then tried to break through with him on his back, he even laughed. Although his voice was a little intermittent because of Ah Liu's pressure, his pronunciation was still clear.
"Duke Zhao, you are a brave general on the battlefield, but fighting in such a narrow place, you are no match for the death warriors!"
"I have already arranged everything and stopped everyone. No matter if it is Master Zhu or Miss Zhu, or Hua Qi, or the retainers and generals of the Duke of Zhao's Mansion and other nobles, or the Ruiqi Battalion, none of them can come. Apart from them, no one can get through those imperial attendants outside..."
Before he could finish, there were shouts and cries, as well as the sound of swords clashing. At this time, Zhang Shou, who was lying on his father-in-law's back, saw the man rushing out without caring about anything, and he couldn't help but say, "A Liu, don't be scared by him, the reinforcements are here! I have my father-in-law here, if you take him down, it will be the greatest achievement!"
The young man who had just been really angry suddenly had a look in his eyes. He did not ask Zhang Shou where the reinforcements came from, nor did he answer. He just glared at Chu Kuan, who looked ugly, provocatively, and then without hesitation, he increased his already fast attack by another three points.
However, he had lost some of his tactics in his frenzy just now. Although he was now extremely powerful, his moves were becoming more and more tricky and vicious, so that Chu Kuan had to shout loudly in the end: "Don't be fooled by the trick of luring the tiger away from the mountain. Block the doors and windows and don't let them get out!"
But he shouted loudly and watched Zhu Jing carrying Zhang Shou out of the door. There was no response from the outside, but the sound of swords clashing continued, and it was clear that no one was paying attention to him. At that moment, his heart sank.
He had already started preparing for today's event, and had calculated Zhang Shou's possible reaction of refusing to admit it, and made the worst-case scenario plan. Therefore, he put in his greatest , even the possibility that Zhang Shou would avoid him after receiving the news. At that time, he would have to use Zhu Ying as his hidden card.
As for Zhang Shou's possible actions to ask for help from students such as Lu Sanlang and Zhang Chen, he also took them into account, so at this moment, everyone should be in a state of chaos and unable to take care of themselves. Of course, the most important thing is that no matter Zhang Shou, Ah Liu, or even Zhu Tingfang and Zhu Ying, they can't enter the palace that day, let alone contact the emperor and the prince who can make the final decision.
For example, Hua Qi, who was elusive and could bring about unexpected events, had already been sent away by him, so it was impossible for him to appear at this time. In this case, where did the reinforcements come from? Did they just drop from the sky?
When he rushed out of the house, Zhang Shou did not remind Zhu Jing, the Duke of Zhao, of anything. Compared with his father-in-law who had been through many battles, his experience in life and death fighting was infinitely equal to zero. The fight he faced in the bamboo house with Zhu Ying, Zhang Chen, and Little Fatty Lu was just like a child playing house, not worth mentioning at all.
Moreover, if he had known at that time how powerful Ah Liu was, he probably would not have made such a risky arrangement.
Therefore, he also held his breath and didn't even look at the chaotic battle situation around him, so as not to mess up Zhu Jing's judgment by making a panicked sound. But as a voice reached his ears, his forced calmness immediately flew away to Java. Not only him, but also Zhu Jing was the same.
"Dad, Shou!"
Zhu Jing had just resolutely carried Zhang Shou on his back, and when he heard Zhu Ying's call of "Dad", he felt relieved, and then his legs became a little weak. It was not because he was exhausted, but because he finally let out the breath he had just held tightly, and he finally felt a little scared. Of course, all this was diluted because Zhu Ying had just called him "Dad".
It is said that a man forgets his mother when he gets a wife, but this daughter forgot her father when she got a good son-in-law... At least she still thought about her father today, otherwise he would have carried this son-in-law for nothing!
Zhang Shou took advantage of Zhu Jing's moment of distraction to loosen his grip and slip off his back. After he stood still, he saw Zhu Ying rushing over like a gust of wind. He first dropped the sword in his hand, tightly grasped Zhu Jing's arm, and looked him up and down for a long time. He stood by and coughed softly, saying, "Yingying, today is all thanks to my father-in-law, otherwise you wouldn't be able to see me."
Fighting was still going on all around, but when Zhu Ying, who was originally dressed in a tight suit, heard Zhang Shou's words, her face suddenly changed. Thinking of the scene where Zhu Jing carried Zhang Shou out just now, she subconsciously rushed over and hugged her father, her voice suddenly became choked: "Dad, thank you... Thank you!"
Zhu Jing just wanted to put on his father's dignity, but after hearing what Zhang Shou said and his daughter's sincere expression, he was at a loss. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and found that the imperial attendants were separated and his side was in the upper hand. He patted Zhu Ying on the back and pushed her to Zhang Shou.
He did not care where these reinforcements came from, and immediately shouted: "I am Zhu Jing, Duke of Zhao. You trapped my father-in-law and son-in-law because of Chu Kuan's words. Now you are still resisting stubbornly. Do you want to be punished for treason?"
Although his shout did not make the imperial attendants led by Chu Kuan stop immediately, it did make several of them become noticeably slow and hesitant.
Zhu Ying took Zhang Shou and examined him carefully again to make sure he was alright. She was about to speak, but Zhang Shou suddenly looked anxious and turned to the burning side hall at the back and shouted, "Ah Liu, stop fighting and come out!"
Zhang Shou became very anxious when he saw that he could still hear the sounds of fighting and crackling fire in the side hall, but there was no response from Ah Liu.
Just now, letting Liu capture Chu Kuan was considered a great achievement or something. This was simply a trick he used to put pressure on Chu Kuan. After all, he was not sure what the situation was outside at that time. But now, at least his side has the upper hand and can definitely hold on for a while. How could he be willing to take the risk of Liu and Chu Kuan fighting inside?
He immediately raised his voice and shouted, "Ah Liu, stop fighting and get out first! Even if he really runs away for a while, he can't run away forever!"
As soon as the voice fell, the two figures finally rushed out at the same time. Compared with Chu Kuan who looked at the battle situation around him after landing, Ah Liu was not distracted and directly attacked the opponent. Chu Kuan was hit hard on the shoulder again without paying attention. After stumbling back a step, he touched his waist and there was a shining soft sword in his hand.
Seeing this scene, Zhu Ying immediately ignored everything else and shouted loudly: "A Liu, come back, I have something to bring you!"
Zhang Shou was furious when he saw Ah Liu, who had just rushed out of the burning side hall after he had called out to him several times, actually retreated in front of him. However, the next moment, a man withdrew from the chaotic battle and rushed over, took off the things on his back and handed them to Zhu Ying, and then ran back to fight again.
Zhu Ying immediately handed the things to Ah Liu with a smile, which turned out to be Ah Liu's spare bow and a bag of arrows!
With the bow and arrow in hand, Ah Liu's spirit and energy were completely different. When he came with Zhang Shou before, he wanted to bring his usual bow and arrow, but Zhang Shou was worried that if there was a real trick today, the enemy would be in the dark while he was in the light, and it would be more troublesome if he brought it, so in the end he could only come empty-handed. At this time, he casually hung the quiver on his body, held the bow in his left hand, and picked up three arrows in his right hand.
Even though it was just a stored force, Chu Kuan still felt the hairs on his back stand up. Although Hua Qi was known to be proficient in all weapons, he could only use it against ordinary masters, and his archery skills were only at the level of an average player. Ah Liu's small bow was obviously not a magical weapon, but it could make him feel a huge threat!
He glanced at the battlefield around him, but couldn't help but ask in a deep voice: "Master Zhang, where did you get these reinforcements?"
"From my family." Zhang Shou smiled with his eyes narrowed, and said in a casual tone, "My Zhang Garden has quite a few people, don't you know, Eunuch Chu?"
“Even if the Duke of Zhao’s Mansion had servants and guards who followed the eldest lady as a dowry, there wouldn’t be so many of them!” As soon as Chu Kuan said this, he suddenly remembered that Hua Qi claimed to have been to Zhang Garden and taught the servants there for a while.
However, because the time was very short, Zhang Yuan's people included both country boys from Rongshui Village and many guys discovered by Ah Liu from the market, so he didn't take it seriously. But now, these guys did not rely on groups of three or five to form a battle formation, so they tightly entangled the imperial attendants, but simply fought to the death, clearly a group of death warriors!
Chu Kuan's expression suddenly turned cold: "It's not even two years yet, Master Zhang, you have been able to train these warriors who are capable of fighting for their lives. It seems that I still underestimated you!"
"Eunuch Chu, please don't frame me. I can't afford it." Zhang Shou did not remain silent this time. He snorted in annoyance and said calmly, "My children's kung fu is still too poor. Although Ah Liu is training them all the time, it is still impossible for them to fight against you and others head-on. But..."
He suddenly didn't want to say the following words, but someone soon did it for him: "However, when Ah Liu recruits people, he only looks at their talents, not their conduct. He usually relies on his force. Although Yingying has been under the control of the people in the Duke of Zhao's mansion after she got married, who knows if there will be any evil-doers. So, I have to spend some time to do it for you."
When Chu Kuan heard this voice, his expression suddenly changed, and Zhu Jing was truly relieved. The emperor who came in from the outer courtyard gate did not look at Chu Kuan in particular, but gently waved to Zhu Jing who came forward to salute.
Then, the emperor said slowly, "So, there is no need to place them specially. I placed some people there when Ah Liu was free and looking around the outer city, and he took the initiative to take them in."
As if this topic involved him, Ah Liu, who was still holding his bow in alert, could not help but speak in defense: "The young master said that there are no secrets in our family, so it doesn't matter if we hire random people. Nothing has happened anyway!"
Zhang Shou immediately laughed. He had said that it didn't matter if he hired someone casually, or if something was lost at home, as long as the person was fine. Besides, it wasn't that he was arrogant, but how could he not have a few people around him when he suddenly appeared?
Seeing that Ah Liu was clearly a little unconvinced, the emperor certainly would not blame the young butler for being careless. After all, if it were not for this, the so-called street people in Zhang Garden would not have been mixed with so much sand by him. Therefore, he looked up at Chu Kuan, who was a little absent-minded at the moment, and finally laughed again: "So, Zhang Shou really has no secrets."
Chu Kuan took a deep breath. Facing the sudden arrival of the emperor, he finally understood the meaning of Zhu Jing's most important words - there was more than one famous general in the world, and the emperor certainly had more than one confidant, Chu Kuan. But even so, he still said it word by word.
"Your Majesty, that's because all the secrets are in his heart."
Seeing the emperor frowning, clearly disapproving, and thinking that there might be countless sharp cavalry camps surrounding this place, Chu Kuan couldn't help but tighten his soft sword in his hand, and then said in a deep voice: "The emperor probably thinks that I am murderous because of a false accusation, but even now in front of the emperor, I still think so."
"Unless, Master Zhang can invite all those wise men who taught you openly."
At this point, Chu Kuan paused for a moment, then smiled nonchalantly and said, "Of course, my previous actions are punishable by death, and there is absolutely no room for forgiveness. I will give an explanation to Duke Zhao and Master Zhang."
Almost as soon as the last two words fell, Zhang Shou blurted out "A Liu". The boy's action was even faster than Zhang Shou's voice. He almost didn't aim at all, and he raised his hand and shot an arrow, which hit the hilt of the sword accurately at the moment when Chu Kuan raised his hand.
However, the arrow that caused his weapon to fall out of his hand did not stop Chu Kuan's next move. He just flipped his free left hand and stabbed, and a dagger instantly sank into his chest, staining his chest with a large piece of bright red blood.
