With a scream, his body fell into the shallow water near the shore. Blood flowed out, dyeing the river red under the bright moonlight.
The other masked men were terrified. Some began to scatter like birds and beasts, rushing to the shore or jumping into the water. Some were at a loss and were killed or captured by the soldiers on the ship.
Zhuo Mulan and his disciple Du Yuejiao also knocked down several people and rushed to meet them.
The battle broke out quickly and ended quickly. Several people wanted to take away the body of the masked middle-aged man killed by Shi Hao, but Shi Hao caught up with them and killed them in the midst of a chaotic fight.
Peace returned to the ship. More than a dozen people were tied up on the deck and did not have time to escape.
Li Xiuer put on an outer coat and returned to her room, looking at the big hole and the huge crossbow arrow that pierced into the room from outside.
The entire wooden bed was shattered, and the floor was cracked and twisted, which made her shudder with fear.
Turning around, she looked at the young man beside her with gratitude.
A big man was brought up by the warriors beside her. He had multiple injuries on his body, his black clothes were covered in blood, his hands were tied behind his back, and he looked quite miserable.
"Who are you from?" Li Xiu'er stood in front of him and asked coldly, "Why do you want to assassinate me?"
The big man shouted, "Since you have been caught, you can kill me or chop me up as you wish."
Li Xiuer sneered: "Isn't it easy to kill you?"
She waved her hand, and the body of the middle-aged man killed by Shi Hao was brought over. The hideous knife wounds on his chest and back were shocking to see.
The veil covering his face was also taken off, revealing his face full of flesh, his eyes glaring with a look of horror.
Li Xiuer said to the big man who was forced to kneel on the ground: "This man should be your leader. He looks like he should be a fifth-rank master and a supernatural being. He died here, so what is your life worth?"
The big man bowed his head and said nothing. Suddenly, a heart-wrenching scream came from another room in the distance.
The big man's expression turned into horror... It was another companion of his who was captured.
The scream was so sharp and miserable that just hearing it made people feel it was extremely cruel.
It was Snake Princess who was interrogating another person... How many people could withstand the torture used by the Demon Sect
Not long after, Snake Princess came over, wiped her delicate hands with a handkerchief, and said lightly: "That person confessed everything..."
Li Xiuer waved her hand and said to the big man, "I'll give you a chance to tell me yourself, which group you are from and who your dead leader is?"
She could see that the big man in front of her was also a leader of some importance.
The big man knew that even if he died, the others would not be able to withstand the torture, so he could only say dejectedly: "We are from Haiyoumen, I am You Hong, and the one who died is our third in command Xiang Kui."
Li Xiu'er was thoughtful: "Hai Youmen? It's fine if you invaded the coastal areas, but you actually came to a place like this to kill me?"
You Hong whispered, "After the old leader died, all the people he brought with him were killed or injured in the fight with the Sea Shark Gang. The remaining brothers followed the three newly elected leaders and continued to survive on the sea, but they were constantly suppressed by the Sea Shark Gang."
"The three leaders were not united. After our third leader was excluded, he took us brothers ashore. We didn't dare to go to Lingnan, so we had to sneak into the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. However, this is the territory of Huang Tianjun. We have been hiding here and there for the past few days."
"Third Master has learned from our spies that the Huang Tian Army has been in turmoil recently. Therefore, Third Master believes that if we can kill you, Miss Xiu'er, the Huang Tian Army will be in chaos, and we will have the opportunity to start an uprising in Jiangsu and Zhejiang."
Li Xiuer sneered, "You are afraid of Hong Leichi and dare not go to Lingnan, but you are trying to fish in troubled waters in our Huang Tianjun's territory?"
She looked at Snake Princess, who nodded slightly, indicating that the information matched the information she had just forced out of her.
Li Xiuer paced a few steps and asked again: "How many people do you still have?"
Chapter 312 Jiang Shang's Calculation
You Hong said: "There are still more than 120 people!"
Li Xiuer nodded: "You, the Third Master, have killed yourself. You can't go back to the sea. If you are willing to work for me, I can take you in. From now on, you will all obey my orders. If you dare to have other intentions, your Third Master will be your fate."
You Hong escaped death, how dare he still have any opinions
Besides, hiding from place to place is not a solution. Now the assassination has failed and his identity has been exposed. Not only will he be caught, but the remaining people will also face the full-scale pursuit of Huang Tianjun.
So he bowed his head and said, "We are willing to join the Huang Tian Army!"
Li Xiuer said calmly: "It's not about joining the Huang Tian Army, it's about being loyal to me!"
You Hong was shocked, and immediately kowtowed again: "We are willing to be loyal to Miss Xiu'er, and we will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
At that moment, Li Xiuer ordered his release and took him to surrender.
At daybreak, You Hong recruited all the remaining people as promised.
Li Xiuer comforted these people.
For these people, since the third in command was already dead, they had nowhere to go. Instead of fleeing like drowned dogs and becoming homeless, it would be better for them to follow Miss Xiu'er, who would at least have a place to stay.
An hour later, Li Xiuer and Shi Hao, along with Huan Tingting and She Ji, quietly left the ship and met up with Xuan Feng Huan Zhi and Sha Ling Shan in a forest.
Sha Lingshan asked, "Xiu'er, I heard that you were attacked last night. What happened?"
Li Xiuer said: "Those people are all from Haiyoumen!" She told them the situation.
Xuan Feng Huan Zhi nodded slowly: "I didn't expect Hai You Men to suddenly get involved. It gave me a false alarm."
Sha Lingshan also laughed and said, "I thought the Tianxie Sect had finally seen through your disguise and tried to ambush you on the road."
Li Xiuer said: "I was also shocked at the time, but then I thought about it and felt that something was wrong.
If there was no evidence, no matter how much suspicion the Tianxie Sect had, they would not dare to kill me like this. If there was evidence, Man Qing'er should have exposed me in front of Li Badao instead of killing me behind my back and arousing Li Badao's suspicion.
“So after I calmed down, I thought that these people probably had nothing to do with the Tianxie Sect.”
Xuan Feng Huan Zhi pondered and said, "Who else knows that these assassins came from Haiyoumen?"
Li Xiuer whispered, "The rest of the people have surrendered. Those who know their origins are all our own people."
Xuan Feng Huan Zhi looked at Li Xiu'er with a hint of admiration.
She called for surrender, but in reality she kept all those people under custody and concealed the fact that they belonged to Hai Youmen from the outside world.
This shows that this woman is very intelligent. Although she was still in shock after the assassination attempt, she quickly thought of what could be used behind the scenes.
Shi Hao asked, "Two altar masters, what is the situation in Kuaiji now?"
Xuanfeng Huanzhi bowed slightly and said, "Jinyulou was controlled by the magic poison brain-eating technique of Tianxie Sect, and her life and death were controlled by Elder Moyi. Humph, she was afraid of death and betrayed my sect, but I found her and first cured her of the magic poison brain-eating technique, letting her know that I had a way to save her. Then I used the secret method of blood-eating and soul-scraping to let her know what it means to live a life worse than death."
Sha Ling fanned herself and sighed, "You only cared about letting her know the fate of a traitor, but made me block the Demon Wing Elder for a long time outside. Alas, it's a good thing that I still have some skills, otherwise I would have been harmed by you."
Xuanfeng Huanzhi snorted: "If you can't even stop that old man, you might as well resign from the position of the altar master as soon as possible and return to the mountains to practice."
Sha Lingshan looked at "Hao Zhen" and said, "Oh, Master Hao, look at this woman. I even gave her Mirror Flower Lake as a base, but she is still not satisfied and wants to take away my position as the leader of the altar. Master Hao, when you return to the young master, you must make the decision for me."
It was the first time that Li Xiuer met Xuan Feng Huan Zhi. In the past, she only knew that this leader of the Black Lotus Realm was aloof, cruel and ruthless. Now, she saw that she was so rude to Leader Sha, but seemed quite polite to Hao Zhen.
But think about it, Hao Zhen is the young master's confidant, the two leaders naturally dare not offend him easily.
Sha Lingshan smiled and said, "But in fact, it's not Jin Yulou's fault. Now it seems that Jin Yulou has been controlled by Tianxie Sect two or three months ago. At that time, the three sects had not yet united, the Black Lotus Realm's apparent strength was far inferior to that of Tianxie Sect, and the Night Charm Demonic Scripture had not yet been unified. She didn't know that you had the ability to help her remove the magic poison brain-eating technique."
"By the time the three sects merged into one, she had already done a lot of things for the Tianxie Sect in secret. She could only go down this path and there was no turning back."
Xuan Feng Huan Zhi said coldly: "A traitor is a traitor. Even if he has ten thousand reasons, he deserves death."
Xuan Feng Huan Zhi looked at Li Xiu'er again.
Xuanfeng Huanzhi was tall, with her hair combed in a high bun, and had a dignified demeanor. She looked down at Li Xiuer, making her breathless.
Xuan Feng Huan Zhi asked: "What are your plans for the next step?"
Li Xiuer whispered her thoughts.
Xuan Feng Huan Zhi pondered for a while, nodded, and then said: "But this plan still has some loopholes, I am afraid it will arouse suspicion from some people."
Shi Hao smiled and said, "As long as we can get Chongxianmen to help testify, I can let Zhuo Sanren and Yue Jiao testify for Miss Xiu'er in the name of Chongxianmen. This way, there will be no mistakes."
Li Xiuer said happily: "If Zhuo Sanren is willing to help, that would be the best! But in this case, wouldn't we have to reveal to her that we are from the Demon Sect?"
Shi Hao said: "It's okay, I'll go talk to her, she will definitely help us."
Xuan Feng Huan Zhi and Sha Ling Shan looked at him together.
Sha Ling fanned herself and said, "Oh my—"
What are you saying "oops" for
—
Back on the ship, Shi Hao went to Zhuo Mulan and Du Yuejiao's rooms and told them that Li Xiuer was a member of the Evil Lotus Sect.
In fact, Zhuo Mulan and Du Yuejiao had more or less guessed this.
Du Yuejiao goes without saying. Although Zhuo Mulan originally knew that Shi Hao had two identities, one of which was related to the Demonic Sect, she did not know which Demonic Sect it was.
But she knew that Shi Hao's disguised identity was the "mad knife hero" Hao Xinghua.
Hao Xinghua, the "mad swordsman", assisted the goddess Nuying and Yuncaiyao in the Overlord's underground palace to kill Lie Zunyi, the retired emperor of the Man Court.
Such a big event has caused a sensation in the martial arts world, how could she not know about it
Afterwards, the "Crazy Blade Hero" was renamed the "Crazy Blade Demon Hero" by the martial arts community, and his identity as the young master of the Evil Lotus Sect was revealed. He established the Dongting Army in Dongting Lake... She cared about this news more than anyone else.
She had a sense of pride deep down in her heart that her man was so amazing.
But she couldn't tell anyone about this pride... not even her own apprentice.
Since Zhuo Mulan knew that he was the young master of the Xie Lian Sect and that he was currently disguised as Li Xiuer's bodyguard, it was natural for him to guess that Li Xiuer was actually a member of the Xie Lian Sect.
The ship sailed slowly towards Kuaiji. On the way, generals Xiao Siyu and Jing Shang arrived and met Li Xiuer.
Li Xiuer was attacked last night and narrowly escaped death. When the two of them heard the news, they hurriedly led people to protect Miss Xiuer.
"I'm fine!" Li Xiu'er said, lying on the bed, her face pale and sick. "Although I was frightened, it's nothing serious. I was injured last time, and this time I was assassinated again, which triggered my old wounds. I'm just a little uncomfortable."
Xiao Siyu frowned and said, "It turns out that the young lady's injury last time has not been fully healed. If that's the case, you shouldn't go to Huangshan with all the trouble. You should stay in Kuaiji and rest well."
Li Xiuer didn't look at them, but just lay there, sighing deeply, and said, "I was outside, but I still encountered this disaster. If I stayed in Kuaiji, I would probably be dead by now."
Xiao Siyu and Jing Shang looked at each other. Jing Shang whispered, "It is unusual for the young lady to be attacked twice in a row. Is there any other hidden story behind this?"
Li Xiuer stretched out her hand and Huan Tingting beside her helped her off the bed.
Li Xiuer suddenly knelt down in front of the two generals! Generals Xiao and Jing were shocked and hurriedly followed suit and knelt down: "Miss Xiuer, why do you have to be so polite? We are unworthy of it."
Li Xiuer wiped her tears and said, "Xiuer kneels down because I feel sorry for the two generals. Please listen to my advice. After returning to the city, take your families and flee Kuaiji as soon as possible. Escape as far as you can. No matter how many mountains and rivers you have to cross, you must not return to Jiangsu and Zhejiang."
The two generals' expressions changed. Xiao Siyu quickly thought and said in a deep voice, "Miss Xiu'er, is there something wrong with Man Qing'er?"
Li Xiuer hid her tears with her sleeves. Jing Shang said, "Miss, you don't need to hide it from us anymore. Since the chief steward married Man Qing'er, many people in the government and the army have been imprisoned and tried overnight, or have disappeared inexplicably. In recent days, the city has been undercurrents. Some of them have been secretly entering and leaving the chief steward's mansion with strange identities. There must be a reason behind this."
Li Badao appointed himself the Grand Governor of Zhejiang, so they called him the Governor.
Neither of them was a fool. Ever since Man Qing'er was married to the steward, there had been many changes in the government. It was obvious that Man Qing'er had brought a group of people to carry out a purge in the government and the army.
However, because those who were questioned or assassinated were not from their faction, their faction's power was strengthened to a certain extent, so they just sat back and watched without taking any major action.
At this moment, when Li Xiuer said this, they all felt panic in their hearts... Was she going to start taking action against the generals of their faction
Is assassinating Li Xiuer the first step in liquidating their faction
Li Xiuer choked up and said, "At this point, I will not hide it from the two generals. Since the master married Man Qing'er, I don't know what kind of magic potion Man Qing'er gave the master, but the master began to be suspicious. Those who were questioned in the government hall were all summoned by the master in the past. Those who were loyal to the master were killed without mercy."
"Man Qing'er secretly tried to sow discord many times, and even wanted to transfer the two generals away from Kuaiji, and then try to remove their military power, but I stopped her. She knew that I still had some influence on the master, so she wanted to assassinate me in Kuaiji City. If one plan failed, she would come up with another one."
"I was forced to go to Huangshan with injuries. This time, Man Qing'er probably didn't want me to return to Kuaiji, so she sent someone to assassinate me on the way. Fortunately, Chongxian Sect got the information first and found out that Man Qing'er was a member of the Demon Sect. They rushed over overnight and rescued me. I thought that if I returned to Kuaiji, I would definitely die. My death was not a pity. Even the two generals would definitely be implicated by me."
"The Demon Sect is ruthless and merciless. Once they start to kill, I'm afraid they won't even let the families of the two generals go. The two generals, please listen to my advice. While I still have a breath left, I will help you two generals to hurry to Kuaiji and take your families and escape overnight!"
Chapter 313: Chaos in Kuaiji City
Xiao and Jing's expressions changed: "Demon Sect?"
Li Xiuer said, "That's right! Man Qing'er is the evil woman of the Demon Sect's Tianxie Sect. Zhuo Mulan of the Chongxian Sect can testify to this. If Zhuo Sanren hadn't arrived in time, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to see the two generals."
As they were talking, Zhuo Mulan walked in with Du Yuejiao.
Zhuo Mulan wore a Taoist robe embroidered with bright moon and blue clouds, her hair in a Taoist bun, and held a whisk. Du Yuejiao also held an elegant whisk with a gold handle and white silk, and followed behind her in a beautiful Taoist skirt.
Xiao and Jing were already more willing to believe Li Xiuer, and now with people from Chongxianmen testifying here, how could they still have doubts
Xiao Siyu said: "Miss, please get up first!"
Huan Tingting helped Li Xiuer up and sat back on the edge of the bed. Xiao Siyu said, "What will you do if the two of us leave, Miss?"
Li Xiuer said: "There are still some people in the army who are in close contact with me. Man Qing'er and the Tianxie Sect behind her will definitely not let them go. I need to go back to Kuaiji City and try to protect them and their families so that they can leave as soon as possible."
"And I can't let that evil woman from the Demon Sect stay with my father. When I return, I will do my best to persuade my father to stay away from her as soon as possible..."
Zhuo Mulan waved her whisk aside and said calmly, "I'm afraid this is just a futile effort! The methods of the Demon Sect are insidious and strange, and all kinds of spells of bewitching and enchanting are endless. Manager Li has kept her by his side for so long, I'm afraid he has already been bewitched by her, and it's hard to say how much sobriety he still has."