264: Leaving Beijing, chasing him for three thousand miles! [Explosive Update]

Inside the Chengrui Pavilion, only Zhu Houzhao remained.

He gazed at the palace walls and glazed tiles, dyed golden-red by the setting sun outside the pavilion, a profound and resolute expression, unbefitting his age, slowly emerging on his young face.

"Imperial Uncle... Imperial Uncle... to seal the wolf's den... to annihilate Dongying..." He murmured to himself, his fingers gently tapping the stone table.

"I want to be an emperor for all eternity! I want to make the Great Ming Empire glorious again! Nine Heavens open the palaces, and all nations bow to the crown!"

"From now on, this game of chess, I, myself, will play!"

Lu Jiuyuan left the Imperial Palace but did not linger in the capital.

He still wore the dark brocade robe he had taken from the Marquis Estate, his imposing Sword Qi restrained, walking through the bustling streets like an ordinary Young Master.

Then, he rode straight out of Anding Gate.

Outside the city, the ancient road was weathered, and the setting sun stretched his shadow long.

Lu Jiuyuan untied his horse from an old tree by the roadside, mounted it, and took one last look at the Beijing city walls, which appeared even more majestic and grand in the afterglow of the setting sun.

Immediately, he shook the reins.

The steed neighed, its four hooves churning, and galloped south along the official road, raising a trail of dust.

His figure gradually merged with the twilight, disappearing at the end of the road.

Dragon Guard Manor.

The bright sunlight, filtering through the window lattice, cast Iron Courageous Marquis Zhu Wushi's face in alternating light and shadow.

He stood with his hands behind his back before a huge map of the Great Ming Empire, his gaze profound, lost in thought.

In the shadows, a blurred figure silently emerged, softly reporting everything that had happened today, from the Shouning Marquis Estate to inside and outside the Imperial Palace.

When he heard that Lu Jiuyuan had unhesitatingly slain The Two Zhangs, that the Empress Dowager in Cining Palace had ultimately endured, and that the Emperor had secretly conversed with Lu Jiuyuan for a long time in the Chengrui Pavilion, a faint ripple flashed in Zhu Wushi's eyes.

"Lu Jiuyuan... has left the capital?" His voice was low, devoid of emotion.

"Yes, Master. He left Anding Gate at sunset, heading south, his movements not deliberately concealed."

Zhu Wushi was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Understood. Continue to monitor the movements in the palace and the Eastern Depot. With Lu Jiuyuan gone, that old dog Cao Zhengchun will probably become restless."

"This subordinate understands."

The figure in the shadows quietly retreated.

Again, only Zhu Wushi remained in the room.

He paced to the wall, where a portrait of a woman hung. The person in the painting wore plain clothes, her face was beautiful, but her eyes held an unresolvable sorrow.

"Su Xin..."

Zhu Wushi reached out, his fingertips almost touching the portrait, but stopped just an inch away, his eyes swirling with complex, inexpressible emotions.

"For you, for this Great Ming Empire... all those who stand in my way must be eliminated."

"Lu Jiuyuan... you are a good blade, but unfortunately, you cannot be used by me. Therefore, you can only be... broken."

"You have waited too long in the Heavenly Mountains, it's time to return! I will give you the glory you deserve!"

He turned, his gaze once again falling upon the massive territorial map, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.

"Pass down the order, the 'Startled Goose' plan, activate."

Having left the capital, Lu Jiuyuan, alone on his horse, headed south.

The dust on the official road had not yet fully settled, but news of his sword striking down An Yunshan, his killing of Formless King Jin Bu Huan, and his sword striking down The Two Imperial Uncles had already spread like wildfire within specific circles.

The name "Iron-Faced Sword God Lu Jiuyuan" spread like wildfire.

However, Lu Jiuyuan was completely indifferent to this; his goal was clear and singular: Extinction King, Chu Xiangyu.

Of the three people he originally intended to kill, two were now dead, and this third one had run away.

One must finish what one starts, so naturally, he wanted all three of them to be neatly accounted for.

Chu Xiangyu was a highly skilled and ambitious martial artist, originally a member of the imperial clan. He had once even attempted to assassinate Emperor Xiaozong, intending to rebel.

He was defeated by Lord Zhuge and imprisoned in Cangzhou's Iron Blood Prison. He was eventually rescued through an inside-outside collaboration and disappeared into the Jianghu.

His reappearance this time, coincidentally at the time of the deaths of three high-ranking officials, and coincidentally in the capital, immediately touched the sensitive nerves of many people.

And once he showed his face, it would not be easy to hide again.

Lu Jiuyuan followed the clues, tracing them all the way to the Jiangnan region, a lake area crisscrossed by waterways and overgrown with reeds.

As dusk fell, a thin mist rose over the lake, with only a few distant fishing lights flickering.

Lu Jiuyuan reined in his horse on a high slope, his gaze, like cold lightning, sweeping over the seemingly calm reed marsh below.

The air was filled with the scent of water vapor and the unique bitter aroma of reeds, but faintly, there was also a trace of extremely faint blood and... Killing Intent.

"I've been chasing you for so long, and you're finally willing to stop and show yourself," Lu Jiuyuan suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but it spread clearly in the twilight.

Responding to him was the sharp whooshing sound that suddenly erupted from the reed thicket!

Chii chii chii — !

Dozens of emerald-green cold glints, like venomous snakes flicking their tongues, shot out from different directions, targeting Lu Jiuyuan and his steed!

Before the hidden weapons arrived, a sweet, fishy-smelling scent assailed him, clearly indicating they were laced with potent poison.

"Attacking from the shadows, and using poison? Trash, truly an eyesore."

Lu Jiuyuan snorted coldly, not even drawing his sword; he merely flicked his sleeve.

An invisible Qi wall suddenly formed, and the myriad of flying poison darts, as if striking a wall of bronze and iron, lost all their force and fell to the ground, emitting crisp 'ding-ding-dang-dang' sounds. The emerald-green venom attached to them splashed onto the grass, instantly corroding patches of scorched black.

Almost simultaneously with the obstruction of the poison darts, the reeds on both sides exploded!

Eight figures, each different in form yet all exuding a sinister, foul stench, like fiends crawling out of Hell, pounced out!

These eight were precisely the "Eight Crippled Wretches"!

Although they were dressed like yamen officials, their clothes were tattered, and their long, dirty, and smelly hair, which reached their shoulders, could not conceal their incomplete bodies and hideous faces.

Some were missing their left eye, some were blind in their right eye; some had lost their left hand, replaced by an iron hook, while others had lost their left foot, moving as swiftly as the wind with the aid of a specially made iron crutch;

Still others had faces covered in crisscrossing knife scars, or were missing ears, with bulging eyes and fangs, resembling mountain demons and evil spirits!

"Hehehe! Iron-Faced Sword God Lu Jiuyuan! You dog, you're not human!

You've chased us for two thousand li! Did we kill your father or rape your mother, you bastard, that you're chasing us so relentlessly?!

We grandpas aren't running anymore! This is where you'll meet your end!"