Chapter 106: Sudden Crisis!

As Li Yuanjing had roughly anticipated, Zhang Zhiji came out to show off once more, arrogantly winning over the crowd’s favor. The banquet was nearing its end.

Everyone eagerly began flattering him, as if they wanted to worship Zhang Zhiji to the heavens.

Naturally, Li Yuanjing moved closer to Zhang Zhiji at this moment. He had intended to make a brief appearance by Zhang Zhiji’s side, just to impress Liu Yun and Deputy Wang, and settle matters that very night.

However, circumstances were not so accommodating.

In the current scene, there was no chance for him to even utter a word.

Just as Li Yuanjing was preparing to keep a low profile beside Zhang Zhiji, unwilling to draw too much attention to himself, a sudden sharp instinct struck him.

He suddenly noticed that the window to Zhang Zhiji’s right had been slightly ajar—when, he did not know. At that moment, amid the bright glow of the surrounding lights, a cold glint flickered within the gap.

“Watch out!”

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Almost at the instant the cold light shot out, Li Yuanjing pounced fiercely onto Zhang Zhiji like a starving tiger.

“Pfft, pfft, pfft!”

In the next moment, two tall bodyguards standing beside Zhang Zhiji became like live targets at a shooting range, pierced through by a volley of sharp arrows, blood gushing uncontrollably.

These fools, entrusted with protecting Zhang Zhiji, were not even armored.

“Ah, ah—”

What shocked Li Yuanjing even more, to the point his jaw nearly dropped, was that as the two bodyguards fell, one collapsed right on top of him. Warm blood dripped from Li Yuanjing’s body onto Zhang Zhiji’s face.

Zhang Zhiji, who always played the part of a formidable hero among men, suddenly screamed in a chilling, heart-wrenching, and utterly unmanly manner.

What’s more, Li Yuanjing could distinctly feel Zhang Zhiji’s lower body twitching involuntarily…

It seemed this man had literally been scared into losing control.

But Li Yuanjing had no time to dwell on such matters. With a wolf-like roar, he yelled:

“Protect Lord Xiao, someone—quick, protect Lord Xiao!”

“Ah…”

“Hurry, someone! There’s an assassination attempt on Lord Xiao…”

“Help! Help!”

As Li Yuanjing raised his voice, the surrounding gentry and guards finally reacted, screaming desperately.

In no time, bodyguards rushed hurriedly toward them.

The entire scene erupted into utter chaos.

“Kill him!”

“He’s not dead yet!”

At this moment, seeing that their initial strike hadn’t finished off Zhang Zhiji, the assassins stopped hiding. With a loud crash, they smashed the wooden window and thrust two dark, powerful crossbows inside.

Even Li Yuanjing shuddered in fright.

But now, there was nowhere left to hide for him and Zhang Zhiji.

Still, Li Yuanjing reacted immediately.

The tall bodyguard who had fallen like a wooden target was still pinned on top of him.

Li Yuanjing growled sharply at Zhang Zhiji:

“Lord Xiao, push with me!”

Zhang Zhiji was no fool and quickly understood Li Yuanjing’s intent. He strained with him.

Together, they flipped the nearly two-hundred-pound bodyguard’s corpse upright, placing it right in front of them as a shield.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

“Pfft!”

“Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft…”

In an instant, the two crossbows fired simultaneously from the window, shooting five or six razor-sharp arrows like a rainstorm toward Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji.

But Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji were just half a second faster; most arrows struck the fallen bodyguard’s body.

One or two even hit the bodyguard’s sword, clanging fiercely before bouncing off.

“Ah, ah—”

Zhang Zhiji was truly frightened out of his wits, screaming again like a slaughtered pig.

Li Yuanjing couldn’t simply cover his mouth, so he shouted louder to drown out the screams:

“Someone, protect Lord Xiao! Protect Lord Xiao…”

“Here, here!”

“Catch the assassins! Don’t let them escape!!!”

As Li Yuanjing’s voice cracked from shouting, finally suppressing Zhang Zhiji’s unmanly screams for a moment, the guards on duty reacted and rushed outside to pursue the assassins.

“No good!”

“They’re getting cornered! Retreat quickly!!”

The assassins weren’t fools either; seeing reinforcements arriving, they dared not linger and retreated swiftly.

Soon, fierce cries and clashing sounds erupted outside.

Meanwhile, more of Zhang Zhiji’s bodyguards burst into the hall. The situation was finally under control as they hurried to check on Zhang Zhiji.

“Lord Xiao, are you alright?”

Li Yuanjing finally climbed off Zhang Zhiji, his body already soaked with warm, sticky blood.

Yet, he could clearly sense he was uninjured. After a thorough check confirming no wounds, he felt relieved.

Once Li Yuanjing finished his self-examination, Zhang Zhiji was helped to his feet but his calves trembled uncontrollably.

He yelled loudly:

“Useless! Useless! All of you are useless! What good are you to me? What good?!”

“Lord Xiao…”

The bodyguards hung their heads in shame, too embarrassed to look up.

Zhang Zhiji ignored them completely and hurriedly grabbed Li Yuanjing’s arm, asking:

“Sir, sir, are you alright?”

Clearly, compared to these “useless” bodyguards, Zhang Zhiji now trusted Li Yuanjing—who had just saved his life—above all else.

Li Yuanjing had by now recovered much and hastened to reply:

“Lord Xiao, I’m fine. Are you alright?”

He then quickly examined Zhang Zhiji’s body.

Though Zhang Zhiji was unharmed physically, the fright had shattered him. His face was pale as iron, trembling and grinding his teeth as he looked at Li Yuanjing:

“Sir, what should we do now?”

Li Yuanjing made a swift decision:

“Lord Xiao, leave some elite troops here to defend. The rest must quickly capture those assassins!”

Zhang Zhiji suddenly caught on, barking like a wolf:

“Are you all deaf? Didn’t you hear the sir’s words? Hurry up and catch those damned assassins!!!”

“Uh, yes!”

The captains of the bodyguards finally snapped to attention, leaving three squads—forty or fifty men—to guard the hall, while the rest went after the assassins.

“Sir, I can never repay your lifesaving grace. From now on, I shall regard you as my own brother…”

With the situation stabilizing, Zhang Zhiji recovered somewhat and bowed deeply to Li Yuanjing.

But Li Yuanjing was no longer naive, no longer fooled by Zhang Zhiji’s outward show.

Feigning great astonishment, he said:

“Lord Xiao, this is too much, truly too much. You’re overwhelming your humble student…”

He hurriedly helped Zhang Zhiji up.

Zhang Zhiji wiped the blood off his face, finally managing a smile. Just as he was about to say something, a guard suddenly shouted urgently from outside:

“Bad news! Fire! Fire!”

“Hurry and inform Lord Xiao! We must leave immediately!”

Li Yuanjing’s brow furrowed deeply as he looked outside, his expression darkening.

Outside, flames and smoke billowed, chaos spreading everywhere.

Zhang Zhiji saw the scene too. His regained confidence vanished instantly, and he anxiously looked at Li Yuanjing:

“Sir, sir, what should we do now…”

Unconsciously, Li Yuanjing had become his pillar of strength.