puff!
The arrow struck Zhang Ying squarely in the back of the heart.
Zhang Ying collapsed to the ground like a dead pig.
Having dealt with Zhang Ying, Li Yao began to reap the rewards of his victory.
Holy crap!
The ground was covered with countless attribute-elemental orbs.
This time I've struck it rich.
Li Yao's gaze swept across the ground.
"Ding! Successfully picked up 'Luck Point', Luck +7!"
"Ding! Successfully acquired the 'Comprehension' attribute, Comprehension +5!"
"Ding! Successfully acquired the 'Physique' attribute, Physique +8!"
...
The system's notification sounds were incessant.
The attribute orbs were scattered everywhere, and Li Yao had to scan them one by one to pick them up.
This time, he gained far more than he had ever gained before.
Honestly, Wei Yingluo deserves the most credit for Li Yao's many gains this time.
If it weren't for Wei the eunuch being there, how could Zhang Ying have brought so many Imperial Guards to arrest him?
Li Yao knew that Zhang Ying was actually just a pawn.
The person who truly wanted to capture him was Zhao Jingzhong.
Presumably, Zhao Jingzhong has already discovered that it was he who kidnapped Wei Yan.
Therefore, Zhao Jingzhong arranged for Zhang Ying to arrest him and, incidentally, eliminate Wei Yan to prevent future troubles.
Li Yao knew that since Zhang Ying had failed to eliminate him this time, Zhao Jingzhong would definitely come in person to get rid of him and Wei Yan.
Li Yao was just waiting for Zhao Jingzhong to come so he could take advantage of him.
After acquiring his spoils, Li Yao turned his gaze to the three Shen Lian brothers sitting on the ground to the side.
At this moment, the three brothers, Chen Lian and his brother, were panting heavily, feeling as if they had survived a calamity.
They had just exhausted all their energy defending against the dense barrage of arrows.
What truly exhausts them is not physical exhaustion, but mental and emotional exhaustion.
Li Yao's previous remarks were thought-provoking.
In the eyes of those in power, they were nothing more than a bunch of insignificant ants.
Their lives and deaths are of no importance.
Li Yao walked up to the three Shen brothers and said, "Do you know that Zhao Jingzhong is actually the adopted son of Wei Yan?"
"ah?"
The three Shen brothers were trembling violently; the news was too shocking.
Li Yao continued, "A few days ago, Zhao Jingzhong ordered you to hunt down Wei Yan, claiming it was an imperial edict. In reality, the emperor wanted to know the whereabouts of Wei Yan's wealth, so he didn't want Wei Yan to die. Zhao Jingzhong was falsely conveying the imperial edict because he was worried that his secret would be exposed by Wei Yan."
"ah?"
The three brothers, Shen Lian and his brother, looked at each other in disbelief, once again deeply shocked.
Li Yao continued, "Therefore, when Zhao Jingzhong chose you to hunt down Wei Yan, whether you succeeded or not, you only had one fate: death!"
These words were truly thought-provoking!
At this moment, the three Shen brothers understood.
The reason Zhang Ying so recklessly shot them all must have been because he received a secret order from Zhao Jingzhong to take advantage of the chaos and eliminate them all to prevent future troubles.
Unexpectedly, despite their diligence and loyalty, they ended up as pawns, mere ants, to be sacrificed at will.
Seeing that the three Shen brothers seemed to have come to their senses, Li Yao suggested, "Instead of becoming pawns in the capital, why not leave the capital and live the life you want, living your own lives freely?"
After a moment of contemplation, the three Shen brothers nodded and said, "Yes, you're right. We've had enough of this life of being manipulated by others. We should live our own lives."
Lu Jianxing and Jin Yichuan exchanged a glance and nodded heavily.
Seeing that the three Shen brothers had finally come to their senses, Li Yao led them to the room where Wei Yan was being held.
Upon seeing Li Yao arrive, Ding Xiu quickly asked, "Have those people all been dealt with?"
Li Yao nodded.
"Wei the eunuch?!"
"So it was you who kidnapped Wei Yan."
When the three Shen brothers saw Wei Zhongxian in the coffin, they all cried out in unison.
Although they had previously received information that Wei Zhongxian had been kidnapped and brought here.
However, they were still surprised to suddenly see Wei Zhongxian.
Li Yao walked to a table at the far end of the room and took out a bundle.
Then, in front of Shen Lian and the other three, he opened the bundle.
Wow!
A dazzling golden light shone out from the bundle.
"So much gold!"
Ding Xiu's eyes immediately shot out two greedy glints.
Then, he seemed to realize something.
He pointed to the table inside and asked incredulously, "Uncle-Master, you've kept this bag of gold on that table all this time?"
Li Yao nodded and laughed, "That's what happens when you're in the darkest place. You're so stupid."
Ding Xiu was immediately filled with remorse. If he had known earlier that there was a bag of gold on the table, he would have stolen it long ago.
Li Yao laughed and said, "A pile of gold is gone. You four can divide this bag of gold among yourselves. After you've divided the gold, leave the capital as soon as possible and never return to this place of trouble."
For Li Yao, gold and silver treasures were merely external possessions. With a system by his side, he could easily acquire vast amounts of wealth no matter which world he traveled to.
Jin Yichuan quickly asked with concern, "Uncle-Master, what will you do if we leave?"
Lu Jianxing and Shen Lian also asked the same question with concern.
Ding Xiu suggested, "Why don't you come with us, Uncle-Master?"
Li Yao smiled and said, "Thank you all for your concern. I have important matters to attend to, so you can go ahead. But don't worry, with my abilities, no one in the world can do anything to me."
Urged on by Li Yao, Shen Lian and the other three reluctantly left the Zhou residence and the capital.
Thanks to Li Yao's intervention, the fates of these four people were not so tragic.
Chapter 31: Yearning for Battle, Honing Swordsmanship
"Wei Zhongxian, wake up! Stop pretending to be dead."
Li Yao sat on the edge of the coffin and poked Wei Zhongxian with the scabbard of his embroidered spring knife.
Wei Zhongxian groggily opened his eyes, muttering, "I...I'm not dead yet."
Li Yao laughed and said, "It'll be soon. Just now, your adopted son Zhao Jingzhong brought a group of people over to kill you, but I killed them all. I think he will come to end your life himself soon."
Wei Zhongxian sighed and said, "That ungrateful wretch, how could I have taken him in as my godson in the first place?"
Li Yao asked curiously, "Wei Zhongxian, would you rather fall into the hands of Zhao Jingzhong or Emperor Chongzhen?"
Wei Zhongxian pondered for a moment and said, "If I had a choice, I would rather go to Fengyang and guard the imperial tombs for the rest of my life."
Li Yao nodded and said, "It seems you've seen through it all!"
Bang!
Suddenly, a loud bang came from outside.
Li Yao said meaningfully, "Your adopted son has arrived."
After saying that, he walked outside.
Wei Zhongxian's expression changed, and he hurriedly pleaded, "If you're willing to let me go, I'll give you all my treasures."
It turns out that Wei Zhongxian was still very afraid of death.
Without turning his head, Li Yao said, "Do I look like the kind of person who's greedy for money?"
Upon arriving in the courtyard, Li Yao saw a middle-aged man who appeared to be around thirty or forty years old.
The man held a long spear in his hand, his face was cold and stern, his eyes were like lightning, and his eyes were fixed on Li Yao.
This person must be Zhao Jingzhong.
Li Yao smiled and said, "You must be Eunuch Zhao. Your godfather is inside. Would you like to go in and say hello to him?"
Zhao Jingzhong's face darkened, and he asked, "You knew everything?"
Li Yao said, "I know a lot of things, so you'd better use all your strength to kill me, otherwise your secrets will spread like wildfire throughout the entire Ming Dynasty."
Zhao Jingzhong was slightly taken aback, and asked in confusion, "Did you deliberately lure me here?"
Li Yao gave Zhao Jingzhong a thumbs up, "Eunuch Zhao is indeed clever; he thought of this very quickly."
Bang!
Zhao Jingzhong slammed his spear into the ground, causing the bluestone slab to crack.
As he removed the holster from his spear, he said coldly, "Whether you lured me here intentionally or not, you're going to die today."
Zhao Jingzhong is so afraid of Li Yao being alive that he will surely do everything in his power to deal with Li Yao.