Chapter 44: Eyes Part Two

“Compensate,” Cui Lueshang said seriously, “We would compensate them with a large sum of silver so that the family of the dead could live comfortably for the rest of their lives. Of course… there are some scums in big families, using their influence to suppress such incidents. These cases wouldn’t even be put on trial. Li Yuan once beat the assistant of a policeman to death in Xiang City. He didn’t compensate at all and kicked that family out of the city… I know that it is wrong, and I tried to convince him…”

Fang Jie interrupted and asked, “But what if an ordinary soldier accidentally killed a member of big families? What will happen then?”

“They… they will need to pay with their lives…” Cui Lueshang’s expression changed, and his voice became so quiet that he had a hard time hearing himself. He had never thought about this question before, and he was moved now thinking about this in detail.

“Do you think that will be the end?” Fang Jie snorted and said, “If that assistant killed Li Yuan by accident, he will be executed, and his family will be destroyed. Perhaps even his relatives and friends will be negatively affected!”

“Do you know how many enemies the soldiers need to kill to get one count of military merit?” Fang Jie asked.

Cui Lueshang shook his head.

Fang Jie explained slowly, “Injuring an enemy is one mark, and killing three enemies is nine marks. Only a total of nine marks would be one count of military merit. To participate in the entrance exam of the Martial Arts Academy, at least 20 counts of military merit are required. How many enemies need to be killed? When killing an enemy, the soldiers need to bear the risk of being killed instead.”

Fang Jie didn’t know that Li Xiaozong lied to him. According to the rules of Great Sui, only five counts of military merit were required. Li Xiaozong wanted to keep Fang Jie in Fangu, so he lied for at least two years.

While Fang Jie was talking, a powerful arrow dashed toward his throat!

The arrow was shot out from the soil!

Dozens of men in black suddenly leaped out from the grass on the two sides of the road; they probably dug out pits beforehand and hid in them.

When Fang Jie passed by, they suddenly dashed out like eagles, and they had identical crossbows in their hands.

These crossbows were inferior to repeating crossbows in damage, but it depended on the situation.

In a war, repeating crossbows were killing machines. However, in an assassination attempt, the regular crossbows were way more powerful. They had longer range, were easier to carry, and could even penetrate doors.

When dozens of crossbows shot out arrows, it felt like dozens of bolts of lightning went for the same target.

Fang Jie wasn’t prepared. He was used to Mu Xiaoyao and Da Quan being around him. These two people had unique sensing abilities; one could detect the enemies’ cultivation strength while the other could sense murderous spirits. In the past, these two were able to warn Fang Jie ahead of time.

This time, there was no warning.

Mu Xiaoyao who was inside the compartment of the horse-drawn carriage didn’t sense anything, and Da Quan didn’t smell any murderous spirit.

This sudden assassination was something that Fang Jie had never faced before.

He wasn’t inside the compartment of the carriage, and he also wasn’t beside Da Quan.

Fang Jie was riding a tall horse, making him a clear target. Except for Cui Lueshang who was also riding a horse about a meter before him, Fang Jie couldn’t find an obstacle that could block the arrows.

These assassins leaped out from the two sides of the road, and the closest one was only about 20 meters away.

For arrows that were shot out of crossbows, this distance was nothing.

A second ago, Fang Jie was stating the injustice for the border soldiers without caution.

In the next second, the saber on Fang Jie’s back already appeared in his hands.

In a flash, Fang Jie chopped away the arrow that was before him and jumped off the horse without hesitation.