Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 694

Chapter 694: Lamp

The guards at the palace gate, seeing Li Ji emerge, made way for him as if he were a demon.

In the two months Li Ji had been with the Imperial Guard, he had personally dealt with over a dozen people, not to mention others he disliked.

Most of the guards now were former members of the Imperial Guards, and they were all uneasy around Li Ji.

Li Ji strode confidently out of the palace gate, glanced around, and as dusk approached, Xiao Dezi’s words still echoed in his mind.

He walked a short distance, and soon Chunlai came leading his horse, asking where they were going.

“To drink,” Li Ji replied with a flourish, mounting his horse and heading straight for Chunfeng Tower.

Chunlai followed his master with trepidation. Everything seemed unsafe to him, and he repeatedly warned his master against coming to the capital, especially the palace, but his master wouldn’t listen.

Chunlai was deeply worried about his master.

Chunfeng Tower was already bustling with diners. Li Ji went upstairs, ordered two jugs of wine, and began drinking.

Drinking so heavily, he quickly became drunk. After three jugs, Li Ji was soon intoxicated.

Chunlai grumbled as he helped his master up. Once outside Chunfeng Tower, it was already dark, so they borrowed a lantern from the tower and rented a carriage.

The further they rode into the Mansion, the fewer pedestrians appeared on the streets.

As they rounded a bend, Chunlai tightened the reins on his horse when he heard his master’s voice behind him.

“Don’t panic, keep going,” Li Ji said calmly, not like someone who was drunk. “If a fight breaks out, stay to the side. If you get hurt, I won’t be responsible.”

Chunlai was sweating nervously, but his master had told him not to panic, so he could only force himself to remain calm, though his hand on the reins trembled uncontrollably.

The carriage entered a dark alley, its end nowhere in sight, as if someone had deliberately extinguished all the lights around it.

A gentle breeze blew around them, but Chunlai felt it was an eerie, ghostly aura, silently praying to leave quickly.

But things didn’t go as he wished.

Just as Li Ji had predicted, not long after the carriage entered the alley, a group of men in black suddenly attacked. He rushed out of the carriage, grabbed Chunlai by the back of the neck, and threw him into a corner.

Chunlai, panting heavily, drew his sword. Though not particularly brave, he was skilled in martial arts, but with so many opponents, he was quickly slashed on the arm, tears streaming down his face from the pain.

On the other side, Li Ji, however, wasn’t at a disadvantage. His expression was cold, and his movements were swift and decisive.

Shortly afterward, Li Ji’s reinforcements arrived and quickly dealt with the men in black.

He was arrogant and a thorn in Xu Wenyong’s side. Even if Xu Wenyong didn’t intervene, many people wanted him dead.

Going to Chunfeng Tower for a drink was precisely to eliminate these people lurking in the shadows.

Washing his sword, he walked up to Chunlai. “You watch them clean up this place. Throw the bodies in the mass grave.”

“And what about you?” Chunlai asked anxiously, his eyebrows furrowing like a caterpillar.

Li Ji glanced at Chunlai with a pout. If he had the choice, he definitely wouldn’t have chosen Chunlai, this indecisive and dim-witted attendant. But it was too late for regrets now. “Just listen to me; I’ll be back later.”

With that, Li Ji quickly disappeared into the night.

Chunlai could no longer see his master’s back. A heavy weight pressed down on his heart, yet he dared not speak out. He could only silently pray that the deceased old prince would bless his master, and incidentally, he would complain to the old prince.

Meanwhile, Li Ji went to the third branch of the Pei family.

Although still somewhat shocked by Pei Que’s scheme, he wanted Pei Que to return to the capital.

Only with Pei Que back in the capital could he once again stir up a storm in the capital.