Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 393 - 392: The Misty Mountains

Lu Qing, while maneuvering in the duel with the Fortress Lord, kept an eye on every subtle movement of the opponent, but discovered that the Fortress Lord seemed intent on breaking through, showing ruthless cruelty towards the soldiers he captured.

However, from start to finish, there was no sign of the suicidal determination shown by the death warriors disguised as priests in the Li State camp.

Could it be... his mission is not yet complete, so he can’t just die?

Just as this suspicion arose in Lu Qing’s mind, over there Lu Yan and Lu Zhang had already fought their way close to the Fake Castle Master.

Lu Zhang, possibly because he did not want to appear too weak in front of Lu Yan or his subordinates, was especially concerned about maintaining his dignity. This time he was particularly fierce, not daring to retreat, gritting his teeth, widening his eyes, and wielding his sword against the Fake Castle Master.

The Fake Castle Master glanced at his face a few times, then suddenly, when they were not far apart, laughed loudly and recited in a high voice: "The mountain is towering, with clouds perched on its peak. Ascend those clouds, the mountain’s mist is vast and gray."

This sudden act stunned everyone present slightly; fearing it might be some spell or witchcraft to drive poison, they hastily looked around on guard for any strange occurrences.

Lu Zhang also heard these lines clearly, his face suddenly changed, from the flush caused by intense fighting, it turned pale.

And taking advantage of his distraction and change of complexion, the Fake Castle Master suddenly lunged at him while everyone else was wary of a sneak attack, swiftly grabbing Lu Zhang’s throat, pulling him close, using him as a shield, and with great force, his fingertips almost pierced into the flesh of Lu Zhang’s neck.

Lu Zhang seemed terrified, with a bloodless face, his eyes dull as he was restrained by the Fake Castle Master, as if he had lost his soul.

Seeing the situation, Lu Yan frowned, and the movement he was about to make came to a halt.

Even though he looked down on his usually pretentious elder brother, blood was thicker than water after all.

Now that Lu Zhang was held by the neck and used as a shield, he couldn’t just recklessly rush up and let Lu Zhang die at the opponent’s hands.

"Come on! Weren’t you very fierce just now?" the Fake Castle Master laughed triumphantly, squeezing Lu Zhang’s neck, taking a few steps back, adding more force to his grip, "Quick! Tell your people to get out of my way! Anyone who tries to stop me today will die on the spot!"

Lu Zhang, never having experienced such a thing, didn’t have time to think, hastily gestured to his subordinates to stand aside.

Seeing this, the soldiers did not dare to delay, quickly moved aside, and made way for space behind the Fake Castle Master.

This small courtyard was already at one corner of the Immortal Castle. The Fake Castle Master, holding Lu Zhang hostage, leapt up onto the wall, his eyes coldly scanning the surroundings below. Suddenly, he pushed Lu Zhang down from the high wall without warning.

Lu Zhang screamed in fear as he fell downwards.

Lu Qing and Lu Yan, of course, couldn’t just watch him get hurt and quickly moved forward to catch him, preventing him from getting seriously injured.

Once they helped Lu Zhang stand steady again and turned back to look, there was no trace of the Fake Castle Master on the high wall.

Lu Yan looked indignantly at the soldiers standing helplessly on the side: "Are you all a bunch of idiots!?

Did you just stand there and watch him escape!?

I was signaling to you from below all this time, indicating you should be ready to ambush at any moment. Are all of you blind?!"

The other soldiers dared not argue with Lu Yan, the Third Prince known for his fiery temper, and lowered their eyelids, bowed their heads, not responding.

One braver soldier saluted Lu Yan, saying, "Please don’t be angry, Prince Xuan. We all follow Prince Yi alone. Since leaving the Capital, Duke Yan instructed us repeatedly to only follow Prince Yi’s orders.

Prince Yi did not instruct us whether to stay or pursue.

We had no choice but to obey Prince Yi’s orders and couldn’t leave him alone while his safety was unassured."

The man’s attitude was indeed humble enough, with an air of honest simplicity, yet his words made Lu Yan’s face turn somewhat ugly.

With a major enemy in front, Lu Zhang’s men using "only following Prince Yi’s orders" as an excuse to openly ignore others’ orders, letting the crucial "big fish" escape—if this happened on the battlefield, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Moreover, the soldier’s words seemed to imply, if they had rushed to pursue the Fake Castle Master, leaving Lu Zhang alone with Lu Qing and Lu Yan, those two might have harmed Lu Zhang.

Such words hit Lu Yan right in the heart.

Lu Yan glared at the man, his breathing becoming heavy, with eyes like blades, seeming to want to carve several pounds of flesh off the other.

Just as he was about to lose patience and strike at the provocative soldier, Lu Qing’s hand casually rested on his shoulder, making Lu Yan pause and calm down.

Perhaps in others’ eyes, Lu Qing merely placed his hand gently on Lu Yan’s shoulder casually, but Lu Yan himself knew very well how much force that hand quietly used, enough to bring him back to his senses.

"Brother, I’ll lead people to chase him down!" he shouted, speaking loudly as he quickly rushed out, calling his men loudly to follow him in rapidly searching the area.

After all, the Fake Castle Master was injured, one of those injuries being a sword thrust through his entire shoulder by Lu Qing, so he certainly couldn’t run too fast.

As soon as Lu Yan left, Lu Zhang’s posture wobbled and swayed again, then collapsed.

Lu Qing hurriedly supported him, instructing Lu Zhang’s subordinates to carry him to a secure place to settle him, while the others had to guard all positions to prevent the Fake Castle Master from suddenly returning to take them by surprise.

Zhu Yu followed behind Lu Qing, slightly frowning, his mind replaying the recent chaotic events several times, weaving through them, and arrived at the entrance of a small courtyard.

Before she could step into the courtyard, she was nearly run into by someone rushing over, startling her enough to jump back a step.