With Jiang Chenâs assurance, Ye Rong naturally didnât insist on maintaining martial law. He had truly been under a tremendous pressure from all around in the past couple of days.
Countless petitions and censures had flown before His Majesty like snowflakes. Fortunately, His Majesty didnât express much at this moment, he displayed no leanings and gave it all the cold treatment.
He neither pressured Ye Rong, nor read any of the petitions.
It was only when Ye Rong lifted martial law that the surrounding pressure slowly died down.
Lu Wuji was a bit surprised when he received the news that Ye Rong had lifted the martial law. Although Yang Zhao had warned him to stay put, Lu Wuji still couldnât help but make a trip.
âUncle, it looks like that Ye Rong couldnât hold up beneath all the pressure. Martial law has been lifted and our chance has arrived.â Lu Wujiâs expression was as vicious as a viperâs.
âHuh. Iâd rather hoped that heâd hold out a bit longer. The more stubborn he had remained, the worse everyoneâs impression of him wouldâve been. This Ye Rong knows well when to advance and when to retreat.â Yang Zhao was quite regretful. Heâd rather have used this opportunity to censure Ye Rong and perhaps even drag him down from his position.
Who wouldâve thought that Ye Rong would give up after just a few days, robbing them of their best excuse in an instant.
Lu Wuji however, spoke âUncle, what need we fear Ye Rong for if we remove Jiang Chen? Ye Rong is a tiger without claws when deprived of Jiang Chenâs support, just an enfeebled cat. Would it not be easy to drag him down when we move against him afterwards?â
Yang Zhao sighed, âAlthough Jiang Chen is important to Ye Rong and even ninety percent of the reason why Ye Rong could make it to his current position, Ye Rong is the Crown Prince right now and some preparations are needed in order to bring him down even if Jiang Chen is removed from the picture. That wonât be easy. Wuji, you really need to change your nasty habit of being rash.â
Yang Zhao delivered timely criticism for Lu Wujiâs reckless and unbridled behavior.
Lu Wuji chuckled. âYes, Uncle! However, the main task at hand is to take down Jiang Chen and beat him into the ground!â
Yang Zhao didnât deny this and nodded slightly. âWuji, now that the greater picture has formed, youâll need to guide the Hidden Hand well. Remember, donât allow yourself be entrapped as well.â
âHehe, donât worry Uncle. A fall in the pit brings a gain in the wit. I suffered greatly when I stuck my neck out for Ye Dai, how could I make the same mistake this time? Now that the Hidden Hand is here and I can murder someone with a borrowed knife, what greater joy is there?â
Yang Zhao nodded. âMurdering someone with a borrowed knife. Well said. The Hidden Hand exacts revenge for all their grudges, letâs observe as they and Jiang Chen go at each otherâs throats this time. Wuji, now that the martial law has been lifted, this is a superb opportunity for the Hidden Hand. However, Jiang Chen is no simple character, warn them not to make a move unless they have absolute confidence. They should either kill him in a single strike or lie in wait, gathering their strength. They need to find a chance to kill him with one shot. Should they fail, killing Jian Chen later will be much harder.â
âSpeaking of killing, the Hidden Hand should be much better at it than us?â A sinister smile appeared on Lu Wujiâs lips. âTheyâre hailed as the strongest assassin organization within the sixteen kingdoms. With us feeding them intelligence and giving them conveniences, they should close up shop if they still canât take care of a mere Jiang Chen!â
Lu Wuji had no doubts regarding the assassination abilities of Hidden Hand at all.
Although Jiang Chen was abstruse and currently had the limelight, he was still just a young man with shitastically wonderful luck at the end of the day. His little tricks and good luck were useless in the face of absolute power. Lu Wuji didnât think that Jiang Chen would be able to escape disaster in the face of the Hidden Handâs pursuit.
âUncle, since the martial law has been lifted, Iâm going to notify them and make some preparations.â Lu Wuji responded.
Yang Zhao thought for a moment and said, âBe careful on your way, donât let anyone trail you. Otherwise, the opportunity will be gone if this matter is exposed and furthermore, weâll be the ones doomed.â
Lu Wuji smiled, âUncle, what do us Dragonteeth Guard do? Itâs always us trailing others. Someone trailing us? We neednât worry about that!â
âCaution is the parent of safety. We need to be careful with each step we take at the moment. We could lose everything in just one moment of carelessness.â In the end, Yang Zhao was still the experienced and steady one in the end.
Those within the Dragonteeth Guard all knew each otherâs tricks, as such it was very unlikely that theyâd be able to trail one another.
In addition, Jiang Chen didnât have enough men to follow Lu Wuji. As for Ye Rong, although he was Crown Prince now, his network and connections still werenât as wide as those of Yang Zhaoâs, a vice director of the Dragonteeth Guard.
This was to say that Yang Zhao didnât fear Ye Rong when it came to the eliteness of their troops. He was completely unafraid in this moment at least.
Otherwise, he wouldâve never allowed Lu Wuji to act as he did. He didnât oppose Lu Wuji meeting up with the Hidden Hand at this crucial moment obviously because he was fully confident that he had an overwhelming power in the information network compared to Ye Rong.
Lu Wuji wasnât a fool. He was in no rush to go out after leaving Yang Zhaoâs residence and only set out after half a day.
He didnât make straight for his goal when he set out either, but instead took a walk through the streets of the capital and only headed for the Hidden Handâs hideout after he had made certain that no one was tailing him.
Lu Wuji had indeed been quite cautious this time. He had men openly and covertly covering him, exercising utmost prudence to prevent being followed.
Xue San was a bit surprised to see Lu Wuji. âYou again? Can you really do as you will within the capital of the Skylaurel Kingdom?â
Xue San didnât want to maintain such a high profile like Lu Wuji.
âIs every assassin as cautious as you?â Lu Wuji smiled. âI naturally wouldnât have come without a reason. Iâve brought good news.â
âWhat good news?â Xue Sanâs forehead creased.
âCrown Prince Ye Rong finally crumbled beneath the pressure and lifted martial law. Wouldnât you say that this is good news? Without martial law and with our cover, I trust there will be no difficulties in your assassination plan?â
The Hidden Handâs desire to kill Jiang Chen was quite ardent, but Lu Wujiâs desire to see Jiang Chen die was just as strong, or perhaps even stronger.
âLifted martial law?â Xue San was a bit taken aback. âIsnât that a trap?â
Assassins were naturally cautious. Where Lu Wuji and Yang Zhao saw opportunity, Xue Sanâs first thought was that it was a trap.
âTrap?â Lu Wuji guffawed. âHave you not heard of the censures and petitions flurrying down like snowflakes in court? Ye Rong has just been made into a Crown Prince and yet he has gone against the grain to order martial law. How much foundation would a newly vested Crown Prince have? Do you know how much inconvenience martial law brings to the lives of those dukes, nobles, and officials? The longer he laid down martial law, the thicker the stack of censures grew. Do you think he can bear up underneath all that?â
Xue San had no interest in the internal politics of the Skylaurel Kigndom. He was different from Lu Wuji. He was an assassin, and his first priority was to rule out all risk.
Although various reasons could lurk behind the sudden lifting of martial law, Xue Sanâs first thoughts were, whether there was a trap behind this martial law?
âDonât you be paranoid Xue San. Although Ye Rong is the Crown Prince, my uncle still holds great influence within the capital. To be blunt, whatever ploy Ye Rong might be thinking of, he wonât have the power to execute it. His influence and his powerâs foundation arenât solid enough to set up a large scheme. Plus, youâve brought your elites this time. How much of a ripple can a small scheme cause in the face of absolute power? Xue San, donât tell me you actually fear Jiang Chen deep down?â
Lu Wuji wasnât a fool as he even tried to goad Xue San into action through sarcasm.
However, such tactics were rendered useless in the face of an assassin.
Xue San snorted coldly and looked Lu Wuji like he was looking at an idiot.
âI really wouldnât be afraid if Jiang Chen was as much of a buffoon as you are.â Xue San jeered mercilessly. âItâs a pity that heâs not. According to our intelligence, Jiang Chen isnât that easy to handle. My Hidden Hand must kill Jiang Chen, but youâre not on the level to be in the know of how to kill him and what preparations weâll be setting up. What you are to do is cooperate with us. You have no right to mouth off about other things, do you understand me?â
Lu Wujiâs face sank. âXue San, are you looking down on me?â
Xue San laughed faintly. âI hope you prove worthy of my respect after this timeâs partnership.â
Lu Wuji was greatly incensed. Although they were partners, the thing he abhorred the most was the feeling of being looked down on by others.
However, he still remained someone with a shrewd mind. Although he was infuriated, he knew better than to affect his partnership with the Hidden Hand over a mere verbal dispute.
In addition, he also knew that he couldnât afford to get on the bad side of the Hidden Hand. It wasnât that the Hidden Hand was a war machine, but assassins who lived in the underworld were like maggots latching onto a foot. There would be complications to oneâs very death if they were to set their sights on you.
...
Just as Lu Wuji set foot outside his door, the Rat King keeping watch immediately commanded forth the elite of his children and locked onto Lu Wujiâs route from beneath the ground.
The Rat King then brought this intelligence back to Jiang Chen as soon as possible.
When he heard that Lu Wuji had made his move, Jiang Chen too was overjoyed. He immediately notified Ye Rong to covertly deploy his elite troops and set up a net according to the path that the Rat King had reported.
All of this was done with utmost secrecy.
Jiang Chen and Ye Rong both knew that Yang Zhaoâs influence within the capital was like an intricate web laced with many informants. If they went about this with great fanfare, they would surely alert the enemy.
Jiang Chen wasnât afraid of Yang Zhao, but he still decided to do things secretly as he cared for Xue Tongâs safety.
As for Lu Wuji and Xue San, they had no idea regarding of any of this.
âLu Wuji, get rid of Xue Tong as soon as possible. Leaving him alive means an additional risk factor.â Xue San said again.
However, Lu Wujiâs plans were to thoroughly torture Xue Tong and have him accuse Jiang Chen and Ye Rong of their wrongdoings in the maze realm after Jiang Chen was destroyed, using him to drag Ye Rong down.
Killing Jiang Chen, deposing of Ye Rong, and raising up Ye Hao so that he, Lu Wuji would become the best candidate to be the general director of the Dragonteeth Guard after Ye Hao took the throne. That was Lu Wujiâs ultimate ambition.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
And that was why he still allowed Xue Tong to live.