novelaction Chapter 404 Let go
Chapter 404 Let go
Chapter 404
As for the eldest prince, he didn't even take him seriously. He was a fool, completely devoid of scheming. After this incident, he had probably lost his fighting spirit and was naturally unworthy of being his opponent.
Thinking of this, he gathered his thoughts and ordered in a cold voice: "Since you have rescued my highness, you must have thought of a way to escape. Now, we must leave the city as quickly as possible and get away from the capital before they notice I'm gone."
"Yes," the man in black was the leader of these assassins. He responded and then turned around to go out to deal with related matters.
The other assassins outside the door saw their leader come out and looked inside. Noticing that the Third Prince had not come out with him, they whispered, "Boss, that token... aren't we going to give it to him?"
The handsome man known as "the head" glanced at him sideways when he heard this, and said calmly, "Why, are you so tired of living a good life that you have to put a shackle around your neck?"
The assassin rubbed his head upon hearing this and said, "Of course not. But I'm a little worried. What if he asks about the token in the future and blames us for not handing it over to him? What should we do then?"
The leader didn't bother to pay attention to him. He just gave him a look of disdain as if he was an idiot and walked straight ahead.
Seeing the assassin so confused, the other man couldn't help but step forward and kick him, saying in a low voice, "What token? This happened so suddenly, we haven't seen any tokens at all."
He was stunned for a moment, then slapped his head, thinking to himself: "My boss is right. I must be living too comfortably, which is why I've come up with this idea of putting a rope around my neck." Yes, they're death squads. The master wouldn't hand over the token to them, so how could they possibly obtain it? The token shouldn't belong to them, but to the Third Prince, the master. It's the Third Prince's job to figure out how to obtain it, so why should they worry about it?
Lord Cheng and Concubine Cheng had never considered that the death squads were also individuals with their own minds. Now that they were no longer under strict control, their selfish desires naturally grew. For now, these death squads were still willing to follow orders, but they naturally had their own calculations. They were not completely loyal, but simply weighing the pros and cons. After all, under the current circumstances, temporary obedience might be more beneficial for them. They could maintain a superficial loyalty to the Third Prince while secretly planning a retreat and waiting for the right time to make further plans.
It was midnight, the night still dark, and dawn still several hours away. Perhaps due to the inclement weather, the crescent moon was now completely shrouded in dark clouds, making it nearly pitch dark. Within the city, a group of men in night clothes moved through the shadows, their movements as swift as ghosts. Not only was no one observing them, but even if someone did, they'd probably mistake them for a ghost.
These people crossed most of the capital, heading not for the city gates but instead for the moat. This side of the city was not surrounded because the moat was nearly ten meters wide, with constant flow, making it an impassable passage for pedestrians. For this reason, despite the lack of a city gate, patrols were constantly maintained. Ordinary people, or even the vast majority, simply couldn't cross the river.
Even if someone capable of crossing the moat wanted to do so, it would be impossible to do so unnoticed. Alerting the patrols would inevitably attract a large army, which would be tantamount to seeking death. Therefore, even though there was no siege, the tight defenses would deter anyone who intended to trespass.
But at this moment, a group of people were lurking by the river, staring at the guards patrolling the river, holding their breath and waiting for the opportunity.
The Third Prince was no fool. He knew he had no martial arts skills, so he had quietly followed the instructions of his assassins throughout the journey. But now, hiding behind a boulder, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Are we really going to leave here? This is too much of a joke. Not only is the river turbulent and difficult to cross, but we simply can't easily avoid these guards."
The leader of the assassins did not move, his eyes fixed on the patrol guards in front of him like a hawk. When he heard the question, he lowered his voice and said solemnly, "Master, don't worry. We have our own way."
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince's brows knitted into a knot. With nothing to do, he could only purse his lips and remain silent, wondering how these men were going to get him out of the city. He waited a moment longer, and the dark clouds quietly dissipated, revealing a stream of moonlight streaming down like a veil. The Third Prince, anxious, was about to speak to urge them to leave when the leader of the assassins suddenly lowered his voice, "It's done!" His expression tensed instantly, and he followed their gaze, only to see flames rising from the opposite direction of the city—the very spot where the flames were surging was his own palace!
The riverside patrolmen didn't notice anything unusual at first, but the blaze was too conspicuous in the pitch-black night. They looked at each other, their eyes narrowed at the sight, and for a moment they hesitated, unsure what to do. Then they heard the patrol leader yell, "Quick, leave one or two men here. The rest of you, don't waste time here! Go put out the fire!"
Having said this, the patrolmen lost no time, quickly shouldering their swords and dashing towards the city center. They were charged with protecting the city's peace, and now that a raging fire had ignited that area, if the fire continued to spread, fueled by the wind, and if serious damage was caused to that area, which was home to the wealthy and powerful, they would surely suffer.
In just a few moments, only two patrolmen remained. These two were clearly distracted, constantly standing on tiptoe and glancing in the direction of the fire, completely uninterested in their patrol.
Seeing this, the leader of the assassins signaled everyone to wait patiently, then quietly advanced. By the time the two patrolmen realized what was happening, it was too late. Feeling only a sharp pain in their necks, they collapsed to the ground.
Seeing this, the leader waved his hand, and a group of secret guards escorted the Third Prince to the riverbank. After groping for a while, they finally discovered a bamboo raft. The leader gestured for the Third Prince to board the raft. The Third Prince now understood the urgency of the situation. Although heartbroken by the fire in his mansion, he also knew this was the best way to escape. If all went well, he could also create the illusion of his own death, which outweighed the risks. So, he stepped forward and sat on the raft.
Four of the secret guards jumped into the river, each carrying a corner of the raft, and swam vigorously towards the other side. These four were the best swimmers among them, and they also had the silver that the Cheng family had secretly given them. They would escort the Third Prince away first, while the other secret guards had to deal with subsequent matters. Moreover, they were not as good swimmers as these four. If they jumped into the river rashly, even with their advanced martial arts skills, they would not be able to guarantee their safety. It would be better to hide and wait until the storm died down before reuniting with the Third Prince.
.........
As the place returned to calm, several figures quietly stepped out of the darkness. Ye Yunzhou stared at the almost indistinct figure on the other side of the river, then looked at the two patrolmen lying on the ground, who had obviously been knocked unconscious, and remained silent.
Ye Yi stepped forward and carefully examined them. Seeing that the two men were not seriously injured, he ignored them and left them lying on the grass. He then looked at Ye Yunzhou with a puzzled look on his face: "Superintendent, since we discovered that the Third Prince and his men were escaping, why didn't we stop them? Why go to such great lengths, helping them set the fire and then letting them go?"