Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 367: Two More Updates Coming Soon (2)

"Useless fools, so many of you went yet you couldn’t even capture the old, the weak, the women and children who can’t wield swords, what good are you?"

"My lord, if it were only Jueqing and his few guards, they wouldn’t be much of a threat, but halfway through Cheng Yaojin emerged and gave us a lot of trouble, and they captured big brother as well," Zhang San said with a sense of grievance, just when they thought their mission was nearly complete, the surprise arrival of the king’s guard turned the tides.

"Who."

"It was Tian Yi, the personal guard of the Charmer King."

"What? The Charmer King?" His eyes widened as he suddenly stood up, his voice soared with a mix of shock and astonishment as he looked towards Zhang San.

"Yes." Kneeling on the ground, Zhang San replied in a low voice, hanging his head.

Shangguan Rui slumped back into his chair, his eyes momentarily losing the sparkle they had held before, his mind and heart filled with the thought that it was all over, his gaze blankly fixed on one spot.

Seeing that their master was silent for a long time, Zhang San and the others on the ground looked up only to see him sitting dazedly in his chair. Anxious about their own brother still being in the hands of the Charmer King and seeing their master sitting thus, they boldly approached and spoke to their master, "My Lord, please save our big brother."

Shangguan Rui sneered, "Your big brother has probably already betrayed you."

"Impossible, big brother would never do that," Zhang San firmly believed his big brother would never betray them.

With a cold laugh, he thought to himself that he was barely able to save himself, let alone care about a dog in his house. It would be better if they died; it would spare him the effort of having to kill them to keep their mouths shut. His eyes, previously dull, suddenly sparked with determination. He swiftly pulled out his Sharp Sword, and with a swift movement, the several men lying on the ground were dead, their eyes wide with disbelief that their master had killed them.

Zhang San had been keeping a watchful eye on Shangguan Rui. As he saw him reach for his sword, he dodged nimbly out of the way. Seeing his brothers die with eyes wide open, and witnessing the merciless slaughtering of his master, his heart instantly turned cold. Without a second thought, he pushed open the door of the secret chamber and dashed out.

Shangguan Rui got up and chased after him. In the courtyard, they clashed; wounded all over, Zhang San was no match for Shangguan Rui, who struck him down from mid-air with a palm, causing him to hit the ground and cough up blood. Touching the spot where the palm had hit, he realized that his master had used full Inner Strength in the hit. Filled with resentment, he took a smoke bomb from his person, using his last bit of energy to escape from the mansion.

The servants in the mansion, not understanding what had happened, all hid wherever they could find shelter.

Shangguan Rui followed for a distance but, seeing that the man had disappeared into the street, he angrily threw down his Treasured Sword stained with blood and turned to run towards the Imperial Palace.

Presenting his waist plaque, he smoothly entered the palace. A Palace Attendant guided him through a large, eerily quiet hall.

Shangguan Rui nervously glanced around the silent hall, his neck craning towards the entrance, both longing and dreading his appearance, his heart torn with conflict.

Finally, a figure dressed in bright yellow appeared in the hall. Seeing that the Emperor had arrived, Shangguan Rui’s anxiety deepened, "Your Majesty, I failed."

"Failed, just like that?" His sharp eagle-like eyes narrowed as he looked down at the man with his head bowed.

Shangguan Rui barely lifted his eyelids and said softly, "The Charmer King has captured my subordinate."

Dugu Han’s face turned ashen, his gaze piercing as he bit down on his teeth and demanded, "Why would the Charmer King intervene?"

"I am not sure, my lord. According to the reports from my men, we were almost done, but unexpectedly, the Charmer King’s people appeared and later on, the Charmer King himself captured my men on the road," he said, wiping the sweat from his forehead, his voice filled with helplessness and anger.

Dugu Han clenched his fists inside his wide sleeves. It was Dugu Chen again; why was it always him? He had thought his plans were flawless; how could he possibly have known? He hadn’t even told the person in disguise, yet why did his men suddenly appear at Xuanyuan Mansion?