The guard immediately reacted and cupped his hands, "Your subordinate understands."
Just as the guard stepped out of the study, suddenly a dart shot forth, and Pei Jingyi detected the danger and dodged swiftly.
Although his movement was fast, his arm was still injured.
Although his movement was fast, his arm was still injured, and blood dripped down.
Looking at his blood-stained sleeve, rage surged in his heart.
"Who?" Pei Jingyi vigilantly scanned his surroundings, and the guard drew his long sword.
No one answered, and nothing was visible, only the thick scent of blood lingered in the air.
Just as he was about to turn around and leave, suddenly footsteps were heard.
He quickly held his breath and focused, detecting a faint sound, Pei Jingyi spotted that his opponent had already positioned himself in front of him.
Using the moonlight, he saw that the man’s face bore a half-mask, showing skin pale as snow and eyes deep and dark.
He was tall and stalwart, radiating a cold and deadly aura, standing silently there, exerting an indescribable pressure.
Pei Jingyi had never felt such an intense sense of oppression and threat, his heart thumping wildly, even his breathing became labored.
The other seemed to have no intention of wasting words and lifted his leg to attack him directly.
Pei Jingyi retreated backward as the guard swung his sword to meet the attack.
After dozens of exchanges, the guard was kicked to the ground.
He spat out a mouthful of blood foam, struggling to rise but unable to get up.
Gritting his teeth angrily at the person before him, he shouted loudly, "Master, run!"
He thought he had used all his strength, but the gap was still too great.
Pei Jingyi ran towards the outside, but the masked man appeared in front of him with a flash.
"Trying to run?" he growled lowly and punched him fiercely in the chest, sending Pei Jingyi flying and crashing into a corner.
"Cough...puh" Pei Jingyi spit out a mouthful of fresh blood, feeling intense pain in his chest.
The guards of the mansion, hearing the noise, hurriedly came and surrounded the masked man.
Taking advantage of this moment, the guard quickly got up and went over to help Pei Jingyi up, "Master, are you alright?"
Pei Jingyi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his hand, glaring menacingly at the masked man, "Seize him for this prince and there will be great reward."
The masked man looked around at the guards, his eyes slightly lifted, filled with disdain.
"A bunch of useless fools."
As he spoke, he moved, and several guards were quickly knocked to the ground, lying there groaning in pain.
"Master, be careful!" the guard pushed Pei Jingyi away and raised his hand to block.
The guard was shaken back several steps but barely managed to regain his footing.
Then he turned and walked towards Pei Jingyi, who felt the breath of death and his heart seemed to be squeezed, nearly suffocating him.
Pei Jingyi asked in a fearful tone, his eyes wide with shock and terror.
The masked man’s lips curled into a bloodthirsty, cruel smile, saying indifferently, "Who I am doesn’t matter. What’s important is that someone paid me to take something from you."
"I’ll pay double the price if you let me go," Pei Jingyi thought he was after money, and although his silver was limited, buying his life was still worth it.
"Is the Fourth Prince so sure he has twenty thousand gold?"
When the masked man mentioned the price, Pei Jingyi was stunned on the spot, not expecting someone would pay such a high price for his life.
"It’s the Crown Prince, right?"
The masked man heard and laughed scornfully, truly a foolish man.
"I won’t tell you who the buyer is, but today, no matter what, I must take that thing from you. Rest assured, that thing won’t cost you your life."
Just as the masked man was about to make his move, the guard behind him stood up again, and a dart pierced his shoulder.
The guard grunted, kneeling on one knee and covering the wound on his shoulder, blood flowing more tumultuously.
His body became weaker, and eventually, he collapsed to the ground, the dart having been poisoned.
A painful scream erupted, Pei Jingyi’s eyes widened in disbelief, watching as the masked man took something from his body.
"No, no... don’t..." Pei Jingyi tried to reach out to stop him, but was violently kicked away by the masked man.
He lay on the ground, tears streaming uncontrollably, his body convulsing and trembling with immense pain, his screams filling the entire courtyard.
It was only then that he realized what the masked man meant when he said "someone paid him to take that.
He had actually cut off his manhood!
Pei Jingyi cried out hoarsely, "I will kill you, kill you!"
The masked man sneered, "This kind of punishment is almost more unbearable than death by a thousand cuts for a man, Fourth Prince, enjoy it slowly."
"Ah..." Pei Jingyi screamed in despair and passed out.
The masked man sneered coldly, leapt to the rooftop, and disappeared.
The next morning, the whole Capital City was abuzz, people spreading by word of mouth that last night a thief had broken into the Fourth Prince’s Mansion, not only injuring the mansion’s guards but even cutting off the Fourth Prince’s manhood.
In the court, the ministers had also heard of this and took turns stepping forward to say, "Your Majesty, there must be something fishy about this."
"Indeed, Your Majesty, how could a thief break into the Fourth Prince’s Mansion for no reason!"