Chapter 156: Arrest

Atop the city wall, the clang of warning gongs rang out.

Yuan Gang and Wei Duo had only just left the city when they turned and looked back.

The guards at the gate were already stopping people from entering and leaving. The heavy gates were slowly closing. Wei Duo secretly rejoiced.

Fortunately, Yuan Gang had prepared thoroughly and studied the map in advance to find the fastest route out of the city.

If they had been even slightly later, leaving now would have been difficult.

“Move.” Yuan Gang gestured for him to keep walking and reminded him, “It probably won’t be long before checkpoints are set up layer after layer on the routes in and out of Jinzhou. To be safe, we may have to spend some time traveling through the mountains.”

“N-no... no problem! J-just now... that n-noise... was it the th-thing you m-made...?”

“If you can’t say it clearly, don’t use so many words.”

At Liufang Guesthouse, a sedan chair arrived under armed escort and went directly to the source of the explosion. The bearers lowered it. Hai Ruyue, who had cleaned herself up somewhat, stepped out.

The moment she appeared, she saw an enormous crater in the earth. She remembered several artificial rockeries standing here before. Now not one remained. She looked around at the flowers and trees.

Across a broad area, they had simply vanished. Farther out, some trees had been torn out by the roots and toppled over, while others had been shredded beyond recognition. A nearby pavilion had completely collapsed.

Buildings farther away had broken tiles and shattered masonry. Walls and roofs had been damaged in several places. Li Wuhua had arrived before her.

He stood beside the crater with his hands clasped behind his back, his face tense.

Hai Ruyue walked slowly to his side and asked in surprise, “Elder, what exactly happened here?”

Li Wuhua shook his head. “I’m not entirely certain.”

“Even Elder has never encountered anything like this?”

Li Wuhua raised his head and studied the sky. After thinking, he said, “From my experience, it was probably a meteor falling from Heaven and striking this exact spot. Only that could have produced such an enormous disturbance.”

Hai Ruyue looked up at the sky as well, then down into the crater.

“Where is the meteor?”

“It probably shattered on impact.”

“So that’s what happened!”

Hai Ruyue nodded, then beckoned Zhu Shun over and lowered her voice.

“Spread word that a meteor descended from Heaven and that it is an auspicious omen, so the people remain calm. Have a meteorite fabricated and parade it through the streets to suppress any rumors.”

“Yes!”

Zhu Shun accepted the order. Li Wuhua turned and glanced at her, then smiled faintly. This woman genuinely knew how to handle political affairs.

At least she would not leave him unable to explain things to his sect.

Hai Ruyue swept her gaze over the surroundings and turned toward the person responsible for this part of the guesthouse.

“I heard some people were injured by the blast. Is Mister Yuan in the western courtyard all right?”

The man answered weakly, “He... he’s gone.”

Hai Ruyue’s brows rose sharply. “What do you mean, gone?”

“He may have taken advantage of the chaos and fled.”

“Fled?” Hai Ruyue gave a cold laugh. “You couldn’t even keep watch over a man whose cultivation was restricted and who had no strength to resist. What use are you?”

She swept her sleeve with imposing authority. Several men immediately stepped forward, seized the person responsible, and dragged him away.

“Grand Princess! Grand Princess...!”

Hai Ruyue ignored the man’s pleas.

She beckoned over a military officer. “Seal the city gates immediately and search for him!”

The officer cupped his fists. “Reporting to the Grand Princess: after word arrived from here earlier, this general had already ordered the city sealed and a search begun.”

“Good!” Hai Ruyue nodded approvingly. “Find him, no matter what!”

A river twisted through the countryside, crossed by an arched bridge. A relay station stood beside one end of the bridge. A column of men came across.

At their head rode a heavily bearded military officer on a tall horse, with a hundred infantrymen behind him. The column stopped outside the relay station.

The bearded officer, swaying lazily in the saddle, led a dozen or so men slowly inside.

He had barely dismounted when the station master hurried over and cupped his hands with a smile.

“So it’s Hundred-Man Commander Wang. Where is Your Excellency headed?”

The bearded officer stretched. “Is my assignment something you’re entitled to ask about? First bring us two tables of food and wine.”

“Right away. Please wait.”

The station master turned and immediately began ordering the relay attendants around.

The bearded officer led a group of his core subordinates beneath a shelter and sat down. Someone brought wine first. The men laughed and joked as they started drinking.

One relay attendant came past carrying a bundle of firewood toward the kitchen.

As he passed the shelter, a squad leader lowered his wine bowl, quietly slipped from the bench, and followed. He loosened a length of rope from his waist.

With one sudden stride, he lunged forward, looped the rope around the relay attendant’s mouth, and pulled tight.

Crash!

The firewood scattered across the ground. The relay attendant tried to fight back, but several soldiers instantly rushed out from the side and slammed him to the ground. One pinned an arm, another pinned a leg. They handled him like men slaughtering a pig.

The squad leader kept the rope taut and drove one knee viciously into the relay attendant’s back, holding him flat against the earth. The man struggled desperately and made muffled cries.

But the rope had cut deeply into his mouth and cheeks. He could not form a word.

The other relay attendants inside the station cried out in alarm.

At almost the same moment, the hundred troops outside began moving. Several dozen spread out and surrounded the station. Several dozen more charged inside. Bows were drawn and pointed at the relay personnel.

The station master, who had been fawning beside the Hundred-Man Commander, stared in bewilderment.

“Your Excellency... what is the meaning of this?”

The Hundred-Man Commander slowly finished a bowl of wine, rose, and lifted his chin toward the relay attendant pinned on the ground.

“Is that the newcomer?”

The station master nodded nervously. “Yes. Has he offended Your Excellency somehow?”

“Heh-heh.”

The Hundred-Man Commander gave a cold laugh and waved one large hand.

“Find his room. Search it!”

A group immediately rushed into the relay station’s rooms, overturning chests and searching cabinets.

As for everyone else working at the station, including the station master, all were herded together and made to squat on the ground with their hands over their heads. Bright blades and spearpoints stood guard all around them.

Before long, a soldier emerged carrying a birdcage containing a Goldenwing. Another unfolded a portrait as he approached the Hundred-Man Commander.

“Your Excellency, we found them!”

The bearded officer looked at the Goldenwing in the cage, then at the portrait.

“Heh.”

His cold gaze shifted toward the relay attendant held on the ground.

“Sure enough, there’s a problem. This is the man those above want. Handle him carefully. Don’t let him die!”

Several men immediately moved over. One seized the relay attendant by the hair and yanked his head back.

An iron rod was shoved directly into his mouth and forced his jaws apart. The rope binding his mouth was loosened. A pair of pliers went in next. One tooth after another was forcibly pulled from his mouth. The teeth were not discarded. Each was carefully placed into a cloth pouch beside them. Blood soon filled the relay attendant’s entire mouth.

The other men of the station, squatting nearby, felt their scalps crawl at the sight.

After every tooth had been pulled, a wad of cloth was stuffed into the relay attendant’s mouth. He was dragged upright and bound from head to foot.

The troops searching the rest of the relay station returned to report that they had found nothing else unusual. Someone brought the Hundred-Man Commander’s horse over. He mounted. The troops seized the relay attendant and prepared to withdraw. The station master hurried after him and cupped his hands.

“Your Excellency, what exactly is going on?”

The Hundred-Man Commander had not intended to bother answering. Then he seemed to think of something.

He reined in his horse and stared down at the station master.

“I hear you recently took a beautiful young concubine. Very pretty, isn’t she?”

“Uh...”

The station master froze. Then he caught the ill intent in the officer’s gaze.

He hurriedly reached into his sleeve, took out a gold coin, and offered it with both hands.

“The brothers have worked hard. Please buy yourselves some wine.”

A crooked grin appeared on the Hundred-Man Commander’s face. Then his expression abruptly hardened. He pointed his horsewhip at the station master.

“This man may be an accomplice. Take him too!”

“Your Excellency!”

The station master cried out in alarm. No one allowed him to explain.

Several soldiers rushed forward, threw him down, bound him tightly, stuffed his mouth, and dragged him away with the rest. Similar scenes were occurring in more than this place. They were occurring in more than Zhao alone.

Across every state except the State of Yan, relay stations began suffering the same sudden upheaval.

Rarely seen and unprecedented, all six states successively launched arrest operations throughout their own relay-station systems. The sweeps were swift as thunder.

What followed were rigorous investigations into the relatives, families, and ordinary contacts of those arrested. The implications spread extraordinarily wide.

For a time, no one knew how many families were ruined and how many households destroyed... Chizhou Prefectural Capital.

After a carriage left the city and traveled some distance, it gradually increased its speed and raced along the official road.

Inside, Quan Shaokang lifted the small curtain over the rear window.

Only after the prefectural capital had gradually vanished from sight did he let the curtain fall again. He turned back and sighed softly. “Once I leave this time, I’m afraid I’ll never have another chance to return.”

Quan Qiao sat beside him.

“You and I are men of the State of Yan to begin with. Master has spent every day missing the homeland. Now that you can return, shouldn’t you be happy?”

“Everything I built here came from nothing. Half a lifetime of effort is rooted in this place.” Quan Shaokang’s voice was heavy. “To abandon it all just like this... I cannot accept it.”

Quan Qiao said, “Master reacted in time and warned those above quickly enough for them to adapt. Although the lower levels suffered enormous losses, the main network has been preserved. It can be rebuilt before long. Master prevented Great Yan from suffering even greater losses. Once you return home this time, your future prospects will be bright. You should be pleased.”

Quan Shaokang gave a bitter smile. “Merit and fault can be separated by only a single line. Because I slipped here, how many families were ruined? When I left home all those years ago, my father was only a minor clerk. I never imagined that after twenty years, he would have risen to such a high office.”

Quan Qiao understood exactly what he meant. Had this happened to an ordinary man, that person would most likely have been pushed forward to bear responsibility. But Quan Shaokang had someone behind him. Even the State of Yan’s Intelligence Directorate did not dare casually throw him out as a scapegoat. After enough maneuvering, fault had instead become merit. That alone showed how formidable the person behind him was. Many people who entered this line of work spent their entire lives unable to reveal themselves beneath the sun. Yet Quan Shaokang could be urgently recalled home on the strength of supposed merit and given another post. Someone had clearly decided to pull him out of the mire. The force behind him had moved.

“Master, once you return, the Old Master probably won’t let you remain in this line of work,” Quan Qiao said with a cupped-hand gesture. “There should be another future arranged for you. I’ve benefited from Master as well this time.”

The two were not truly master and servant. Their real relationship was that of superior and subordinate, principal and deputy. Quan Qiao had indeed been able to escape this time because of Quan Shaokang.

Quan Shaokang looked lost. “Great Yan worsens by the day. Once I return, what can I possibly...” He shook his head and changed the subject. “I wonder when my family will arrive.”

“Master can rest assured. Those above will arrange their escort properly. The Old Master will not sit by and watch his own descendants come to harm either. They set out several days ago. They should be nearing the territory of the State of Yan by now. Once they cross into the State of Yan, they can reach the capital safely. Only Madam and the young masters and young ladies may be rather startled when they discover what your real identity has been all these years...”

The carriage eventually stopped at the foot of a mountain. Quan Shaokang and Quan Qiao climbed down. Quan Qiao waved to the driver. The carriage continued along the road without them.

The two men entered the forest and slowly climbed to the mountain summit.

They gathered dry wood, piled it up, and lit a fire.

Quan Qiao took out a porcelain vial and sprinkled powder into the flames. Dense yellow smoke immediately rose into the sky.

Quan Shaokang stood on the summit, looking back toward Chizhou Prefectural Capital.

“So many brothers have seen their families ruined, while I abandon them and run...”

“Niu Youdao, you’re ruthless.”

“This account between us is not finished!”

At that moment, a huge black eagle swept in from the distant sky. A violent wind accompanied its descent onto the summit. The bird stood a full zhang tall.

A cultivator jumped down, verified the identities of the two men, then pulled both of them onto the eagle’s back. He cast a spell to shield them.

The giant eagle spread its wings and rose into the sky.

Only a thin ribbon of smoke remained curling above the empty mountain...

[End of Chapter 156]