This courtyard was very secluded, and people usually didn’t come by; as long as there was no major commotion in the wine cellar, it wouldn’t attract the patrolling guards.
Yet, someone did come.
From the sound of footsteps and the friction of armor, it was two adult soldiers.
The Governor’s Mansion was largely controlled by remnants of the former dynasty, with the main forces of Chen Kingdom stationed outside it, so Gu Chengfeng deduced that the two people were lackeys of the former dynasty’s remnants.
Gu Chengfeng silently positioned himself behind the door; he couldn’t see the situation outside and had to focus all his attention on the movement and the voices of the newcomers.
At this time, Gu Jiao had already begun suturing the wound in the abdominal wall.
Seeing this, Gu Chengfeng almost understood that the surgery was almost finished, but the more crucial the final moment, the more nothing could go wrong.
Gu Chengfeng’s heart tensed slightly.
The two soldiers entered the courtyard and walked in the direction of the wine cellar, when one of them pulled his companion aside and said, "Alright, there’s no one around here, take it out!"
"Keep your voice down! Don’t let anyone hear!" his companion whispered back.
"Yes, yes, yes, I’ll be quiet!" the soldier’s voice softened a bit, but his tone became more urgent, "You better not only fuss about speaking softly, where’s the thing you brought? Bring it out!"
Gu Chengfeng almost understood from here that the two men were not there to check on his grandfather, and his heart settled back into his stomach a bit.
But he dared not take it lightly, still tightly clenching two hidden weapons in his hand.
His companion then took out a small porcelain bottle and handed it to the soldier, saying, "Here!"
The soldier removed the stopper and took a sniff at the bottle’s mouth, his tone somewhat disdainful: "What kind of smell is this?"
"They all smell like this!"
"Really effective, huh?"
"How about you try it, and then you’ll know if it’s effective or not?"
"Have you tried it yourself? Can it really be seven times in one night?"
Gu Chengfeng frowned when he heard this, what seven times in one night, these indecent words were too much, he really wanted to stuff those two men’s mouths!
He turned to look at Gu Jiao, who was treating Lord Hou, to see if she had finished suturing.
This girl was treating the injury so earnestly, she hadn’t heard those dirty words, had she?
"Just say if you want it or not?"
"Want it! How could I not want it! How much?"
"Outside, it sells for one tael of silver; the boss is my friend and gave me a discount. Two hundred wen for me, and I would have to charge someone else an extra fifty wen. But you’re my brother, I won’t overcharge you for our relationship."
Gu Chengfeng snorted inwardly.
Such lowly stuff wasn’t even worth ten wen, and still, they were talking about brotherhood?
That soldier ended up being the sucker, spending two hundred wen to buy that bottle of so-called rejuvenating pills. freёwebnovel.com
"Let’s go," the soldier said to his companion.
"Wait."
"What is it?"
"Over there."
"What about over there?" The soldier looked around and said, "Oh, the wine cellar."
Gu Chengfeng’s heart clenched tight!
"I heard that the wines in the Governor’s Mansion of Lingguan City had been treasured for more than ten years as daughter’s red," his companion said as he started walking towards the wine cellar.
The soldier stopped him: "Hey, who was the one who just said we shouldn’t be discovered? In the middle of the night, if you walk out with a jar of wine, aren’t you asking to be caught sooner? There’s plenty of wine back at my place! I’ll give you a jug when we go back!"
"Ah... okay then."
The companion allowed himself to be persuaded by the soldier, and they left the courtyard together.
Gu Chengfeng finally breathed a sigh of relief.
His entire back was soaked in cold sweat, his forehead sticky. He wiped his brow with his hand and asked Gu Jiao, "Is it done?"
Gu Jiao snipped off the last thread and stuck a piece of gauze over the wound: "Not yet, the fractured places need to be immobilized."
Lord Hou had fractures in all his limbs, which must be immobilized first, or moving him would be very dangerous.
Half of the dismantled table was thrown into the fire, with half remaining. Gu Jiao first made do by whittling down a few planks.
Gu Chengfeng went over to help her.
However, at that moment, something unexpected happened.
The two men who had already left hurried back!
"No good! It’s Guard Captain Liu! If he discovers that we haven’t been patrolling properly and snuck over here instead, he will definitely punish us!"
It was the voice of one of the soldiers.
"Quick, hide!"
His companion said.
"Where to hide?" the soldier asked, trembling with fear.
"The wine cellar!"
Gu Chengfeng’s brow twitched!
It was inevitable...
Gu Chengfeng didn’t give the two men a chance to push the door; he burst out directly, shooting down the two soldiers in front of him with two hidden weapons.
"Assassin!" Captain Liu drew his sword from his waist and led the remaining subordinates in a charge towards Gu Chengfeng.
These men, including Captain Liu, were all ordinary soldiers with mediocre skills. Gu Chengfeng didn’t feel much pressure fighting them. However, Captain Liu seemed to realize Gu Chengfeng’s skills were not ordinary, and without hesitation, he blew on the wooden whistle hanging at his waist.
A towering figure leaped through the air, kicking Gu Chengfeng squarely in the chest. Gu Chengfeng fell heavily at the entrance of the wine cellar and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Gu Chengfeng clutched his chest, recognizing the black-clothed man as one of the experts he and Gu Jiao had tracked all this way.
Hence his partner descended from the sky, one on the left and one on the right, blocking the courtyard’s entrance.
No wonder he was undetectable when they drugged him; their skills were almost on par with the Emperor’s Dragon Shadow Guard.
Gu Chengfeng, one hand pressing against his aching chest and the other hand using his sword to support his body, stood up with a fierce look in his eyes.
"Archers, ready!" Captain Liu bellowed.
A row of archers entered one by one, knelt on one knee, pulled their bows in unison, and aimed at Gu Chengfeng.
Old Lord Gu, who was in the midst of having his right leg set, seemed to sense that his grandson was in trouble, and he slowly opened his eyes, turning his head to look outside the door.
Having been in a stupor for far too long, his vision was blurred; he could only dimly see a familiar figure, defiantly lifting a long sword, fiercely protecting the person inside the room.
Old Lord Gu’s eyes suddenly filled with moisture.
Gu Chengfeng was kicked down by the black-clothed expert for what felt like the umpteenth time; with each fall, he spat out blood, but he would always stand up again.
The black-clothed expert seemed weary at last; after knocking Gu Chengfeng down onto the snowfield one final time, he planted his boot on Gu Chengfeng’s chest.
He signaled to another black-clothed expert.
His partner, understanding, strode towards the wine cellar.
Gu Chengfeng clutched a hidden weapon in his palm, but before he could throw it, the black-clothed man standing over him crushed his hand bones.
It was all supposed to end.
The black-clothed expert lifted his ice-cold boot, stomping viciously down towards Gu Chengfeng’s skull!
Suddenly, the sky began to unleash heavy snow, flakes swirling down relentlessly.
"Ah—"
A piercing scream rang out; incredibly, the black-clothed man’s partner outside the wine cellar had been yanked inside with great force.
And almost simultaneously, a red-tasseled spear shot out from within the wine cellar, with a chilling whoosh piercing the flying snow, and with a whoosh speared through the black-clothed expert’s heart, flipping him through the air and fiercely nailing him to the solid wall!
Everyone was stunned; the next second, they all looked towards the wine cellar, only to see a slender figure had appeared at the door, seemingly out of nowhere.
In the midst of the swirling snow, the young man’s long hair was black as ink, his eyes icy and his aura murderous, like a Shura stepping out of purgatory.
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