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In the VIP private room in the backyard of his own tavern, Lu Xuan had arranged to meet Long Bo, also known as Xiao Gui.
As soon as Lu Xuan entered, he felt a deadly killing intent approaching. A short knife suddenly appeared from the side.
"No..." A cry of alarm came from inside the room. But Lu Xuan ignored it. His right hand reached out and, faster than anyone else, grabbed the hand holding the knife. With a snap, the strong arm was like a rotten tree branch in Lu Xuan's hand, broken off directly.
At this moment, Long Bo rushed up in a panic.
"My lord, spare his life. Yu Chang didn't do it on purpose (in the TV series, she's a woman, but in the original novel, she's a man)."
"It wasn't intentional; that last blow was aimed at killing me."
“When I make a move, it’s always to kill. You’re more powerful than me, so spare my life and I can do ten things for you.”
Yu Chang spoke coldly. This kid, like Xiao Si, grew up freely in a chaotic world. Unfortunately, he didn't have Xiao Si's fate, being adopted by a master like Lu Xuan. Shou Zhu Lang adopted him and trained him to be an assassin. However, he found he couldn't control him, and the boy killed several people before escaping. From then on, he became a freelance assassin.
Long Bo saved his life, so he promised to do ten things for Long Bo. Now, he is offering the same conditions to Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan chuckled softly upon hearing this.
"Alright. Now do the first thing for me. Kill the person behind you."
Long Bo's expression changed instantly. Without thinking, he flicked his right hand, and a dagger slid from his sleeve. A stab to the back, directly into Yu Chang's waist. He then twisted, using his full weight to push Yu Chang to the ground. His left hand firmly held Yu Chang's intact left hand.
Struck by a sudden blow, Yu Chang proved to be a formidable opponent. With a forced effort, her broken right hand grabbed Long Bo's neck, and the two became entangled.
Lu Xuan calmly sat down on a chair to the side, watching the two fight to the death. Yu Chang's skills were clearly superior to Long Bo's. Unfortunately, Lu Xuan first broke Yu Chang's right hand, and then Long Bo stabbed him in the back. He lost 80% of his fighting strength. In the end, he was suppressed by Long Bo and finally fell silent.
Long Bo, panting heavily, stood up, looking at Lu Xuan warily. Seeing that Lu Xuan showed no intention of attacking, he reluctantly relaxed. He knew from their first meeting that this Captain Lu was a top-tier expert. However, having never fought him, he didn't know just how strong he was. Yu Chang, who was beside him, knew of such an expert and had followed along, wanting to witness his skill.
But he hadn't expected Yu Chang to launch a sneak attack. This assassin was completely different from his obedient subordinates. Or perhaps he had anticipated it, but clung to a sliver of hope. Unfortunately, even with Yu Chang's skill, and in a sneak attack, she couldn't last a single round against Lu Xuan.
Unbeknownst to him, Lu Xuan's senses were now incredibly sharp; while in the courtyard, he had already heard that there were two people inside the house. He could even sense that one of them was carrying a murderous aura.
"Looks like my new subordinate isn't very good. He failed to complete his first task. He even promised to do ten things for me. I've made a bad deal."
Long Bo trembled slightly, knowing he had been too reckless today. He had harbored a侥幸心理 (a gambler's mentality), wanting to test this powerful figure who always seemed to control everything. But he never expected to be nearly killed on the spot.
"Tell me, how are things on the Turkic side?" Lu Xuan suddenly changed his tune, as if nothing had happened. It was the corpses on the ground that made Long Bo lose focus.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, three groups of nearly ninety skilled Turks have already entered Chang'an and are lying in wait."
"How many places are they hiding in?"
"It was divided into three courtyards in total."
“Very good. Choose one, and I will lead the Brigade Battalion to wipe them out tonight.”
"My lord, this..." Long Bo felt he couldn't keep up with Lu Xuan's train of thought. Wasn't it you who arranged for the Turks to come in? Why are you suddenly ordering killings?
Are you waiting for me to explain?
"No, it's just that the Turks' wild nature is hard to eradicate..."
"It's precisely because their wild nature is hard to quell that we need to teach them a lesson. With such a group of elite Turkic troops in Chang'an, they can't resist. Once they slip up, all the rest of the plan will be wasted. Do I need to explain further?"
"Long Bo understands. I will make the arrangements."
"Very good, Zhang Xiaojing will be leading the team tonight. You need to make sure things are arranged properly."
Long Bo: "......"
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In Pingkangfang, in a courtyard that should have been uninhabited, a group of Turkic wolf guards were arguing.
"We've been here for almost half a month, when are we finally going to make our move?"
"We have to wait until the Lantern Festival of the Tang Dynasty. If we calculate the time, there are less than three months left."
“Three months. We’ve already arrived in Chang’an, why don’t we just storm into the palace and take the Tang emperor’s nickname?”
"Who do you think you are? This is Chang'an City, do you think you're on the grasslands? There are tens of thousands of soldiers in Chang'an City. How can we, with just a few dozen people, kill their emperor?"
"If we can't kill the emperor, then we'll set the city on fire. The houses here are all close together; one fire will burn down a whole area. Then we can take advantage of the chaos to massacre everyone and turn Chang'an upside down."
"Shut up," the wolf guard in charge snapped at the loud voice. But he himself was beginning to waver. This simpleton, though seemingly reckless, had a plan that actually had some merit. It was just that the nobleman wanted them to follow the orders of that Tang man. What a joke! How could they, the dignified wolf guards, be ordered around by a Han Chinese? Just then, his expression changed slightly.
"Shut up, all of you." At his command, the thirty or so wolf guards in the room fell silent, looking at him in bewilderment. It was late October, the weather had already turned cold, but the grass, trees, ants, and insects hadn't completely disappeared; there should still be some sounds. But now, the courtyard was far too quiet. The battle-hardened wolf guard leader keenly sensed something was amiss.
But before he could give any further instructions, a dense whistling sound came from the air. Countless crossbow bolts swarmed in from the weak points of the doors and windows.
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Chapter Seventy-One: Winning Over
Lu Xuan had been preparing for the Turkic matter for some time. He knew the Turks' character. With so many elite Turkic troops gathered in Chang'an, it would be strange if they waited patiently for three months before making a move. Therefore, Lu Xuan had to suppress their arrogance before they became impatient.
A group of Turks had only recently arrived in Chang'an. Following Lu Xuan's instructions, they hadn't been properly equipped. Without armor or shields, a single volley of arrows had already fallen at least half of the Turkic wolf guards. The rest were all wounded.
Realizing they were trapped inside and facing certain death, the remaining dozen or so Turks immediately prepared to break out. At the very least, they wanted to charge out and kill a few Tang people. But just as they were about to ram the door, they discovered it was already blocked from the outside. Their charge failed to break through.
Several other Turks went up and tried to ram the door together. But at that moment, the wooden door was pierced by the huge impact, and more than a dozen spears pierced through the door, pinning the Turkic wolf guards who were ramming the door together.
With a bang, the door opened. It was forced open from the outside in. The remaining wolf guards raised their swords, ready to fight to the death. But to their despair, they discovered that at the forefront were four heavy shields, each as tall as a person.
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