Chapter 374: Chapter 226 Hidden Guard
When they heard there were assassins, the people playing in the back mountain scattered in panic, and Zhao Yao and Song Jicai were separated by the frightened crowd.
Tong Xi was relieved that he hadn’t been separated from His Highness; otherwise, if anything were to happen to His Highness, he wouldn’t be able to absolve himself even in death.
"Your Highness, what do we do now?" Tong Xi frowned as he looked at the crowd jostling around them. If they wanted to return to the temple, or go down the mountain, they would have to squeeze through the mob. In that case, he and His Highness might get separated.
Tong Xi looked around. The bamboo forest was very quiet; he could clearly hear the sounds of fighting and screaming coming from the nearby peach grove.
"Your Highness, it’s not safe here. We should leave quickly." The peach grove was not far from the bamboo forest, and if the assassins came over, they wouldn’t even have a place to hide.
"It’s not safe," Zhao Yao replied, his gaze fixed on the nearby peach grove, his expression slightly grave, "Let’s hurry down the mountain."
Tong Xi crouched in front of Zhao Yao: "Your Highness, let me carry you down the mountain."
Just as Zhao Yao was about to climb onto Tong Xi’s back, a few people escorting Qin Xiulian came towards them. Behind them, a group of people in black clothing followed.
"Your Highness, we need to go quickly." Tong Xi immediately stood up, holding Zhao Yao as he ran down the mountain.
The guards were also escorting Qin Xiulian down the mountain.
Zhao Yao turned to look back and saw the group of black-clothed men brutally attacking the guards protecting Qin Xiulian with swords and knives.
A group of black-clothed men spotted Zhao Yao and his group and immediately pursued them.
Zhao Yao exclaimed in alarm, "Not good, they want to silence us."
Tong Xi naturally noticed as well, "Your Highness, rest assured, even if I die, I will protect you..."
Before he could finish speaking, a group of black-clothed men appeared from not far ahead, holding swords and knives. In the sunlight, the blades gleamed with a cold, chilling light. They advanced towards Zhao Yao and his group.
The black-clothed men behind them had already caught up, and those in front were closing in as well.
Black-clothed men also appeared on the left and right sides.
Zhao Yao counted about thirty to forty assassins.
Sending so many assassins to kill Qin Xiulian, they truly intended to see Qin Xiulian dead.
Tong Xi shifted his body so Zhao Yao lay on his back.
"Your Highness, close your eyes."
Just as Zhao Yao was about to close his eyes, he saw a few black-clothed men suddenly appear and swiftly kill the group of black-clothed men surrounding them.
What is going on?
Why are the assassins killing each other?
The black-clothed men surrounding Zhao Yao’s sides were also baffled by the sudden appearance of these new black-clothed men. They thought these newcomers were their allies, but unexpectedly, they killed their own.
The newly appeared black-clothed men moved with strange agility and their attacks were lethally precise and ruthless.
The initial black-clothed men, seeing this, without hesitation attacked the newly appeared group.
A dozen black-clothed men surrounded and attacked them, but they were no match for the newcomers. Soon, the dozen or so black-clothed men were left without breath.
Tong Xi, who was about to make a move, stared in shock at the unfolding scene; what just happened?
On Tong Xi’s back, Zhao Yao was equally bewildered, completely unaware of what was happening before him.
Tong Xi saw four black-clothed men approaching and immediately heightened his alertness.
At that moment, the four black-clothed men bowed to Zhao Yao: "Subordinates greet the Tenth Prince." Then they added, "Tenth Prince, we will escort you down the mountain."
"Who are you?" Tong Xi didn’t relax his guard just because they addressed Zhao Yao as "Tenth Prince." He asked in a defensive tone, "What is your intention?"
"We are the Hidden Guards assigned to protect the prince. This place is dangerous; we must leave quickly."
Hearing they were Hidden Guards, Tong Xi felt somewhat relieved.
"Your Highness, we..."
The tallest among the four black-clothed men spoke with a respectful tone, "Your Highness, we must hurry down the mountain."
"You are my Hidden Guards?" Zhao Yao was puzzled; when did he ever have Hidden Guards? Why didn’t he know?
Zhao Yao thought of his second uncle’s residence, which had many Hidden Guards. Could these four be sent by his second uncle to protect him?
"It was the Emperor who sent us to protect Your Highness."
"Father?" Zhao Yao was shocked. It was his stubborn father who sent these Hidden Guards.
"Your Highness, we should hurry down the mountain."
Hearing the sounds of fighting from behind, Zhao Yao turned to look and saw the guards struggling to fend off the black-clothed assassins surrounding Qin Xiulian.