I became the God Brother of the Regent King after Transmigration!-Chapter 372 - 288: Assassin

The flames on the torch flickered more fiercely.

The forest was eerily quiet, and Gu Lan could only hear the sound of her own steady breathing.

She lowered her gaze, her eyes cold.

It seemed that from the beginning, when she was assigned to escort the Empress Dowager to Mu City, the Empress Dowager’s objective was her.

Everyone knew that Gu Lan was highly skilled in martial arts, and ordinary assassinations would not succeed. To truly succeed in assassinating her, one would have to bear the wrath of the entire Dingyuan Marquis Mansion.

That’s why Su Xinyu chose this moment for the assassination, four men from four directions, flawless and certain death.

And once it succeeded, the blame for killing the Young Master Gu would fall on the Su Family’s archenemy—they originally came to assassinate the Empress Dowager, and the Young Master Gu died heroically protecting the Empress Dowager, a tragedy worthy of song and tears, indeed a talent envied by Heaven.

But there was a flaw in this plan; Su Xinyu didn’t expect Zhao Cheng to change his mind at the last minute, nor did she expect... Little Xu to be the Crown Prince’s man.

Gu Lan helplessly touched her lower back which had stopped bleeding, without using the Longquan sword, casually took out a short sword, and stared ahead.

The previous arrow hit the silk belt fixing her waistband, causing her belt to be crooked now; Gu Lan felt that it wasn’t suitable for her to move recklessly.

"Are you really not coming out? Then I’ll go back now and kill the Empress Dowager."

After a rustling sound, a burly masked man in black stepped out slowly from behind the bushes.

His steps were light, like a wild cat, making Gu Lan raise an eyebrow.

This man held a long knife, with a bow slung over his back; obviously, he was the previous leader of the black-clothed men.

"Since the Young Master Gu is injured, why dare to come here alone without guards, not leading the imperial guard?"

The man held the long sword across his chest, his exposed eyes cautiously scanning over Gu Lan.

He deliberately lowered his voice, yet could not suppress its sharpness.

Gu Lan looked at him without speaking, turning the short sword.

"So fast!"

The man exclaimed in surprise, only seeing a grey flash before his eyes, hearing a "whoosh" near his ear; he didn’t have time to raise his sword to block. The short sword in Gu Lan’s hand had already severed the tendons in his legs.

"Thud—"

The man fell to the ground, not uttering a scream, only letting out a muffled groan uncontrollably.

Instant kill!

Gu Lan moved in front of the man, knelt on one knee, and held the short sword reversed against his neck, reaching out, tearing off his mask without hesitation.

Underneath the mask was a plain, beardless face, which seemed unremarkable, appearing to be in his thirties or forties, a face that would easily be lost in a crowd, with eyes showing defiance and coldness.

Most importantly, she hadn’t seen it before.

"Almost forgot to tell you," Gu Lan stared at the man’s deep brown eyes, lightly patting his face with the cold and bone-chilling sword blade, "I’m not best at being a general, but rather... solo kills."

Her stealth and assassination abilities were actually harder to display when people were around.

The man’s face turned very unsightly: "I didn’t expect the Young Master Gu to be so strong even after being injured... I’ve underestimated you."

Gu Lan said, "Don’t say that; your arrow was well-shot. As a killer, you should seize the chance to kill with one strike. Since you failed to kill me, be ready to be counter-killed."

It was rare to encounter a peer, so Gu Lan was willing to exchange a few words.

"Moreover, a killer who should’ve chosen to ambush, coming out from the dark to face off with someone — your mind is disturbed, how can you fight me?"

The man lowered his head: "Does the Young Master Gu think I’m a killer?"

Gu Lan asked back, "Aren’t you?"

Only a killer understands a killer best; this person’s way of hiding and footsteps were different from ordinary martial artists. How could she be wrong?

An ordinary and plain face is the best disguise for a killer; it would be a waste if such a person isn’t a killer.

The man let out a bitter laugh and said, "I thought the Young Master might say I’m a eunuch."

"That, I actually didn’t notice."

Gu Lan raised her eyebrows, observing carefully, noticing the man had no Adam’s apple, no stubble on his face, his voice also carried some sharpness — no wonder he was the Empress Dowager’s man.

"Since you didn’t see I’m a eunuch, how did you recognize I’m the Empress Dowager’s man?" The man tremblingly raised his arm, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and asked puzzledly.

Gu Lan glanced at the man’s still-bleeding legs, simply put away the knife, leaned against a tree, and carefully wiped her bloodstained hands.

"Half a year ago, on the way with Rong Heng to Yinzhou, the leader of the assassins we encountered was you, wasn’t it?" she said.

At that time, she and Rong Heng had just deduced that the Wei Army’s attack on Cang Wind Port was a ruse, the real target was Yinzhou, so they planned to split forces, and then they encountered a group of equally travel-worn masked men.

That group clearly was also on a hurry, but still fought with them; the leader’s voice, Gu Lan always remembered.

Later with the appearance of Li Yuanju’s matter, it wasn’t hard to guess that those masked men were sent by the Su Family to assist Li Yuanju.

Since being ambushed, Gu Lan felt the leader of the black-clothed men’s voice particularly familiar, until she was hit by an arrow and suddenly remembered, that leader of the masked men at the time was him!

Given that, he was part of the Su Family, and naturally the Empress Dowager’s man too.

Everything made sense, Empress Dowager Su meticulously orchestrated her assassination, and as she said before, she had entrusted her forces to the Crown Prince, except for the accompanying guards, before leaving the capital.

So this assassination, the Crown Prince certainly knew about it, presumably disguising the black-clothed men as the Su Family’s archenemies...

Why were the Mu City guards delayed by half a two-hour? When she got back and investigated starting here, it might also relate to the Crown Prince.

"Didn’t expect the Young Master to remember everything from six months ago so clearly," the man said, finally loosening his grip on the knife, or maybe he just didn’t have the strength to hold it anymore, "That time, I happened to encounter you and Fifth Young Master Rong, and tried to take action."

Gu Lan held her sore waist with composure: "So you are indeed the Empress Dowager’s subordinate, but transferred to the Crown Prince by the Empress Dowager."

"Yes."

The man admitted, kneeling on both knees, collapsed before Gu Lan, his arms supporting his body to prevent himself from fainting from excessive blood loss.

"My name is Sai Guang; I was originally a confidant of the Empress Dowager. Because the Empress Dowager was leaving the capital, she handed me over to the Crown Prince to command."

"Sai Guang?"

Sai Guang took a deep breath, eyes wide, his tone filled with unwillingness and hatred: "I am willing to do anything for the Young Master, just beg you not to harm the Empress Dowager."

His life was expendable, but the Empress Dowager was now in Gu Lan’s hands.

This assassination was orchestrated by the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince themselves. Gu Lan wanted to kill the Empress Dowager; she didn’t even need to do it herself. The reason was already prepared for Gu Lan.

Gu Lan thought, Empress Dowager Su could be the first in history to fabricate a snare only to trap herself.

She calmly said, "It’s not about whether I want to save her; Little Xu’s arrow was poisoned, the Empress Dowager is doomed. You can either die with her now or choose another condition... for example, beg me to give her a proper burial?"

Gu Lan actually didn’t know whether the arrow that hit the Empress Dowager was poisoned, but she wasn’t going to let it go.

Sai Guang froze, his face turning paler, tears rolling down.

He spat out fresh blood, muttering despairingly, "Poison... indeed, since the Crown Prince took the trouble to plant Little Xu by the Empress Dowager’s side, how could he show mercy."