the enlightener says

But if Gao Changgong's strength is put aside for a while, many people will be at a loss when they mention Zhu Ran, one of the generals who followed Gao Changgong to sweep the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

After all, Gao Changgong's light was too bright, so bright that everyone couldn't help but ignore those existences beside him that were burning like candles, but still burning extremely firmly.

How strong is Zhu Ran?Almost no one knows.

But Qin Ke still remembers that in the course of military formation in the Taixuetang, Huang Hansheng lightly explained the scene of a battle when [-] Qingzhou ghosts entered the Tang Dynasty.

In that battle, Gao Changgong divided the 6000 Qingzhou Ghost Riders into two teams, of which [-] were the main force, and he led them straight to the enemy camp, while Zhu Ran led two thousand-man teams to attack from the flanks. Go straight through and block the enemy's [-] reinforcements in Gongwei Yongcheng, which was established more than a dozen miles away.

Although most of the local defenders lacked training and their armaments were not as good as Tang's elite, it was undoubtedly a tough battle between two thousand and ten thousand.

With Qingzhou ghost cavalry's consistent tactics, it is the fastest speed to raid the weak points of the enemy army, suppress the enemy's morale, burn food and grass, and before they can regroup and encircle, the Qingzhou ghost cavalry who come and go like the wind have already stepped into the camp And go, leaving only smoke and corpses all over the ground.

If the general ordered the army to pursue him in a rage, the Qingzhou Ghost Rider would take advantage of the gap in the battle line and suddenly kill a carbine, which was another unreasonable killing.Anyway, their speed is extremely fast, which means they can always hold the initiative, fight as they want, and walk as they want. This kind of leisurely complacency is enough to make any enemy feel sad and angry.

But it is difficult to use this method of warfare to block reinforcements.

Naturally, this partial battle became the biggest battle for Qingzhou Ghost Riders to reduce their numbers.

Of the 900 Qingzhou Ghost Riders who blocked the reinforcements, only [-] of them returned in the end, and almost all of these few hundred people were injured.

Qingzhou ghost riders could not supply supplies in Tang Dynasty, let alone stay to take care of the wounded. In the end, half of the 900 people died on the way home.

That day Zhu Ran was stabbed nine times in his body. When he came back to return to his life, the blood had already wetted the leather armor. The old pawn cut open his armor bit by bit with the knife, and those terrible wounds like mouths were already stuck to the armor.

He couldn't let go of the half-cut battle sword in his hand, because his hand was already as stiff as a stone during the slashing, and he couldn't move at all.

But he still reported the result without changing his expression, his heart was beating powerfully in his chest, and the sound was like thunder.

Afterwards, the veterans recalled from memory that he alone had beheaded at least three hundred soldiers.

It was also through this battle that Gao Changgong beheaded the only veteran in Tang State who was capable of threatening him, and the remaining Tang State army was just shivering sheep in front of Qingzhou Ghost Riders like a pack of wolves.

How can such a person who can survive hundreds of battles be a weak person?

Qin Ke's eyes widened.

He seemed to see a full moon blooming in his eyes, and it only took an instant for the cold blade to stick to his body. It wasn't that he didn't want to hide, but that he couldn't dodge at all. At this moment, he was unarmed. , Legs and feet were injured in that military exercise, facing such a thunderous knife, what can he do as a cripple with injured legs?

The wind stirred his hair, but it didn't bring coolness. Instead, a coldness spread up his neck, bursting out with needle-like stinging pain.

Zhu Ran's sword-drawing technique was tempered in the blood and fire, so it will naturally bring a killing intent. Qin Ke has also experienced this feeling in Mulan, but Mulan didn't really want to kill him. It means that after all, he lost a bit of vigor.

But Zhu Ran's knife was determined to kill!

Just like that...died inexplicably?

Qin Ke felt the tingling pain on his neck, and suspected that Zhu Ran's blade had been embedded in his neck. It is said that if the knife is fast enough, when the head falls to the ground, it will not feel too much pain.

When Qin Ke thought of this statement, he was both ironic and sad.I thought to myself that I really want to experience the feeling of a head landing?

So... Should I scream?

Or should I be tougher and swear?

So you don't look like a coward when you die?

Qin Ke's mind was in a mess.

At this moment, the light of the knife passed over Qin Ke's shoulder, and the sharp blade cut into a young body silently.From the shoulder blades to the ribs, the muscles and bones could not be blocked by such a sharp knife for a moment. The little eunuch Chen Chu, who was standing behind Qin Ke and smiling innocently just now, was frozen in the air with his hands pushing the wheelchair.

Qin Ke came to his senses almost immediately, and then he was hysterical. He opened his arms vigorously, like a wild beast pounced on Zhu Ran, and grabbed Zhu Ran's strong and strong arm with one hand. .

But that force still permeated Chen Chu's body, and the blade had already cut off his heart vein.

Zhu Ran turned his wrist slightly, and a stream of hot blood spurted on Qin Ke's back.

Chen Chu, who couldn't even groan in pain, fell down, followed by a few bangs, his body rolled from the highest step to the last step, with long bloodstains running from the bottom of the fallen wheelchair all the way. Extend to the bottom of the steps.

Qin Ke felt as if a thousand skin drums were being struck with a club in his chest, and the rumbling sound made his bones almost crack.

"You're crazy!" He roared loudly, the pain in his neck turned out to be just his own hallucination, and the person who could really feel the pain had already fallen into a pool of blood.

He didn't dare to turn his head to look at Chen Chu's body, but the pungent bloody smell from Zhu Ran's knife still penetrated into his nostrils continuously.

Qin Ke yelled uncontrollably, and then punched Zhu Ran's throat. As the energy and blood from his practice for so many years hit the meridians like a wild dragon, his internal organs, bones, and muscles seemed to be responding to his attack. anger.

Never once had he wanted to kill someone so strongly.

Zhu Ran took a step back, his movements seemed very casual, but it was precisely this step that he just retreated beyond the farthest range that Qin Ke's fist could reach.

Probably out of habit, after he took another step back, he waved his hand holding the knife, the warm blood could not be absorbed by the smooth blade like running water for a long time, and with a "pop", a cloud of blood exploded on the ground.

This indifferent attitude that seemed to have nothing to do with him made Qin Ke even more angry. He gritted his teeth and bent his uninjured right leg. It was like a bowstring being stretched for a moment, and then suddenly relaxed and crossed the bridge. With a distance of one foot, he got close to Zhu Ran.

Seven Swords!

Qin Ke's eyes were full of brilliance. Although he didn't carry a sword, it didn't prevent him from turning his body into a deadly weapon.

The first Jin and the wind roared, and the fingers that were closed together seemed to really give birth to a sword blade. During this push, they poked at Zhu Ran's eyes.

Perhaps because he felt the sharpness of Qin Ke's sword, Zhu Ran was slightly surprised, and before his eyes were about to be blinded by Qin Ke, he took another step back.

Qin Ke lost his fingertips and fell to the ground, but immediately bent his knees and jumped again.

The Qijin sword made the second move, Chaolu, and pointed at Zhu Ran's chest at this moment.

This morning dew is not that morning dew, and the second aggressiveness is the meaning of dripping water and piercing the stone. Although it is not as fast as the first and wind, the sharpness contained in it is even stronger than the first.

Qin Ke has no doubt that as long as he can really poke Zhu Ran's chest, even if all his fingers are broken, the force can penetrate into Zhu Ran's chest and hurt his heart and lungs.

"Stop." Zhu Ran finally spoke, but Qin Ke didn't hesitate at all, and still moved forward stubbornly.

Zhu Ran looked at Qin Ke's serious look, but after all, he didn't really try to catch Qin Ke's closed hands with his body. Following the slight movement of the long knife in his hand, he took another step back.

The third entry——

Qin Ke gritted his teeth and shouted in his heart, even the Xunfeng technique was in full swing at this moment, those originally disordered winds gathered, pushing his thin body forward, making him move closer to Zhu Ran again...

Chapter 181 Child?eunuch?No.

After two consecutive strikes failed, he had no choice but to continue to climb the peak that he hadn't yet mastered.

On the day Wuxian came back, Mulan told him that his current Qijin sword, except for the first sword, looked decent, and the rest of the swords were just in vain.

After learning the Qijin Sword, Qin Ke gradually understood that every move of the Qijin Sword seems ordinary, but if you really want to use it, the complicated changes contained in it are enough to drive a layman crazy. A layman, that is, Mulan kept filling in, filling in and filling in again and again like a duck all the way, so that he could use these swords with all his strength.

At this moment, he had no choice, because this was his only hole card. Facing Zhu Ran, an enemy who was far stronger than Sun Qing, Qin Ke would be foolish if he had to hold back.

Seeing Qin Ke's unstoppable look, Zhu Ran sighed softly.

This time, he didn't retreat.

Qin Ke's third move hadn't fully unfolded yet, but Zhu Ran moved faster than him. He took half a step forward, and the sharp long knife in his hand suddenly turned around, before Qin Ke could react. , holding the long knife on his back, he was already approaching him. When the handle of the knife touched upwards, Qin Ke's already precarious balance suddenly became disordered. Then he wrapped his arm around Qin Ke's right arm, extending upwards. At the same time, one palm, like a sharp eagle claw, held Qin Ke's shoulder.

Qin Ke only felt a huge force rushing over from his shoulder, and he lost his balance and was carried sideways by that force, but because Zhu Ran was holding its shoulder tightly, his sideways flight did not It wasn't complete, it just turned over in mid-air and fell on its back in front of Zhu Ran.

Zhu Ran slowly let go of Qin Ke's shoulders, Qin Ke's body lost its support and lay down on the cold brick surface.

There were hot tears in Qin Ke's eyes. In fact, he knew the result a long time ago. In front of Zhu Ran, he was like a clumsy and thin child.

Losing is a matter of course, winning is a surprise.

But he was still very unwilling in his heart, turned his head, Chen Chu's body was lying silently under the steps, he hated Zhu Ran for killing the little eunuch who smiled innocently for no reason, and even more hated that after such a thing happened, he would Can't do anything by myself.

The austere darkness of the palace is entrenched on the top like a monster, the stars are its eyes, and the waning moon is its mouth. It is madly mocking, mocking an impotent person lying on the ground.

Zhu Ran looked at Qin Ke and said slowly, "You misunderstood."

"Misunderstanding?" Qin Ke looked at Zhu Ran and sneered, "The man is already dead, and the body is there, and his blood is still stained on my body. Is this a misunderstanding? Or, for you nobles, these lowly people Is it okay to die more?"

Zhu Ran was silent for a moment, sheathed the knife with one hand, and two guards in armor ran out from the huge shadow of the palace behind him, and said respectfully, "My lord."

Zhu Ran nodded and said, "Go and check the corpse."

The two guards nodded, one of them ran past Qin Ke, and went down the steps to touch Chen Chu's body.

They first turned Chen Chu's mutilated body over and let him lie flat on the floor. Qin Ke saw Chen Chu's face was still full of surprise, probably because he didn't believe that Zhu Ran would draw a knife to kill him inexplicably, and then the two People began to search Chen Chu's body continuously, from top to bottom, from legs to limbs, and after a while, there were several things on their hands.

"My lord." A man ran up the steps, Zhu Ran nodded and said, "Show him something."

Qin Ke had already sat up, but in the midst of a fight, a dull pain came from his injured left leg.

The guards arranged the things in their hands on the floor one by one in an orderly manner in front of him: a small cylindrical tube no more than two fingers wide, a bag of powder wrapped in oiled paper, a sharp section protruding from the toe of the shoe edge.

Qin Ke stared blankly at these things, Zhu Ran bent down, stretched out his hand to hold the small cylindrical tube and said: "That bag of powder is used in wine, but it is not poison, it can only make people fall asleep for a few minutes. At this time, you should be able to see the shoes, and this thing..."

Zhu Ran groped for a while, found a small bump, and pressed his fingers lightly on the bump.

With a sound of "chi", two small crossbow arrows shot out, and with a fierce wind, they passed Zhu Ran's arrow and shot on the pillar at the entrance of the Hall of Peace.

"This is what Wu Yiwei likes to use in the former dynasty. It only needs to be hidden under the arm. It is usually undetectable in the sleeve, but you only need to press the button lightly..." He did not continue to say, but in the end, Qin Ke can also guess it.

"Impossible... Impossible..." Qin Ke murmured, "He is still so young, even younger than me..."

"Whether you believe it or not, the evidence is solid. Age is never an obstacle. It is even easier to train a poor child to do things than to train a doorman. A full meal. Besides, who would set their sights on such a half-grown child? Even if I am the commander of the imperial army, I am not a lunatic after all, and I can't make trouble with a child..."

Qin Ke turned his head, looked at the corpse lying on the ground, and thought of the shocking assassination in the hall that day: "He, is he also an assassin?"

"Half right." Zhu Ran looked at Chen Chu's body and said softly, "But, when necessary, he can be an assassin. If the current situation doesn't require them to take risks, they are just a mouthpiece."

He shifted his gaze to Qin Ke, and sighed, "The Sun family has seen some signs of the innate wind technique you used in the military exercise, and they have already begun to pay attention to you."

"What do you mean?" Qin Ke's mood fluctuated, "What does this have to do with him?"

"Why did you let you enter the palace tonight? This palace looks spacious, but in fact there are eyes and ears everywhere, including our people and others. Night is the easiest time to avoid these eyes and ears. I originally arranged for someone to watch you in the dark, but your luck is not very good, and you were still seen by this child." Zhu Ran closed his eyes slightly, "Afterwards, I sent someone to try to lure him away, but the result was still ..."

"What do you mean?" Qin Ke asked this for the second time, but Zhu Ran's words made it hard for him to understand, "Send someone to distract you?"

Zhu Ran stood up and reached out to pull out the two crossbow bolts on the pillar. There was a blue light shining on them, apparently a layer of poison had been quenched on them.

Then he clapped his hands, and a figure walked out from the corner of the hall.

Qin Ke didn't recognize it at first because of the dim light, but the next moment, he exclaimed: "Zhang Er!"

"My lord." Zhang Er glanced at Qin Ke, and when he walked behind Zhu Ran, his face was solemn, and his every move carried an unquestionable certainty, which even made Qin Ke a little dazed, thinking that the person in front of him was not at all. The flattering Zhang Er I met before.

"Is everything cleaned up?" Zhu Ran asked.

"Yes. Tomorrow Chen Xiong will 'retire early'. As for Chen Chu, arrange for him to go out of the palace with Chen Xiong. The two of them will die at the hands of bandits on the way."

"Okay." Zhu Ran nodded, "Clean up this child's body, and don't let anyone know that he came to the Hall of Peace tonight."

"Understood." Zhang Er cupped his hands respectfully, and then disappeared into the darkness without a sound.

Everything in front of him was too impactful for Qin Ke. In his feeling, Zhang Er should be that villain, flattering, conceited, and bullying the weak, while Chen Chu didn't look like a treacherous person in any way. The iron-clad facts forced him to believe it.

His face was extremely ugly: "You still didn't tell me that the Sun family's attention to me has nothing to do with you killing him. Even if the Sun family noticed me, they just sent him to stare at me. Why did he die?"

and also……

"There is also Chen Xiong... that should be his master, so what's wrong with his master?"

"There are some things that we don't want the Sun family to know. As for Chen Xiong, the two of them are not a simple master-student relationship in the palace." At this time, the door of the Hall of Peace slowly opened, and a Zhang's familiar face was amiable under the light of the candlelight, and the old eunuch said softly, "Master Zhu, the prime minister said let him come in to wash and change clothes."

Zhu Ran nodded, helped Qin Ke onto the wheelchair, and took him and the wheelchair across the high threshold with one stroke.

Chapter 182 The Second Meeting

The glazed screens in the Hall of Peace are painted with plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemums. Even in the dim light of candles, they are still lifelike, like living things, which shows that they are of great value.That's right, this place can be said to be the center of Jingwu, which not only represents the highest power of Jingwu, but also holds the largest wealth of Jingwu.

It's just that behind these two imaginary things, no one can tell how many people's blood and tears are contained.

Behind the screen is a single-use bathtub. When you approach it, you can faintly smell the moisture at the tip of your nose, and it must have been used not long ago.

But living in the Hall of Peace, there can only be one person who is qualified to use it.

Qin Ke has heard that there is a special bath in the royal palace, which is a full two feet wide, with firewood burning underneath, warm hot water steaming, with the fragrance of magnolia flowers, and there are even nude ladies who go into the water to serve...

But Zhuge Wanling was alone in this huge Hall of Peace, with such a simple wooden barrel, to solve the part of his daily life that should be enjoyed?

Qin Ke wetted a soft towel in the washbasin, and wiped away the blood on his skin little by little. As the warm water was gradually stained bright red by the blood in the towel, the old eunuch walked in with a set of clean clothes in his hands. , Shake it off very familiarly and prepare to help him put it on.

"No need, I'll do it myself." Qin Ke was a little embarrassed, he was really not used to being served by others, although he said that his legs and feet are not very convenient now, but he will not become a useless person, and it is still possible to change clothes.

The old eunuch didn't force it, just nodded, put down his clothes, and then slowly backed out.

Qin Ke raised his head and looked at the beams in the darkness, and felt the footsteps of the old eunuch walking slowly in the hall, and then several candles lit up in the hall.

The light brought him some warmth, and when he lowered his head, the dark red water in the pot was reflecting his flickering and restless eyes.

After sitting in the wheelchair again, he felt that the pain in his leg was much better, at least it was no longer unbearable.

A hundred days of injury to the muscles and bones, such an injury is not easy for ordinary people, but Qin Ke has practiced for many years, and his blood is thick, and the blood after Qin Ke broke through the second realm is slowly penetrating into the bones. In a month, he should be able to recover as before.