The prefectural yamen catching fire was no small matter, and it naturally caused an enormous commotion. By the time a group of soldiers rushed out of the yamen, every civilian outside had retreated into their rooms, not daring to so much as show their heads. They had seen what these bandit soldiers had done since entering the city. Any hard bones who refused to submit had long since been slaughtered.
"Commander Zhu, none of General Fan's trusted men came out."
Those words made the leader's expression turn slightly ugly.
"What... what do we do next?"
A group of soldiers gathered around Commander Zhu, waiting for him to make the decision.
They also knew that, with their skills, there was no way they could catch an enemy who leaped over roofs and vaulted over walls. But before the general, they still had to put on the right attitude. Otherwise, if the general caught them while he was in a fury and chopped them down, where would they go to plead their case?
"Search according to the old rules. Stay sharp. The general is in a rage right now, so don't make it too obvious."
Commander Zhu swept a glance over the captain who had asked the question and gave him an answer.
"Yes."
Hearing Commander Zhu's orders, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
No one wanted to die, and these soldiers were no exception. Their loyalty was real enough, but that depended on whom it was for. If Prince Ning were here, they would certainly offer twelve parts loyalty. But with General Fan instead, it was hard to say how much loyalty remained.
After the soldiers left, they quickly began searching the streets.
Meanwhile, after Chen Luo escaped the county yamen, he did not go far. Instead, he hid atop a nearby building, recovering the Internal Qi he had expended while searching for another opportunity.
General Fan was as good as dead today!
He had not even rescued Junior Sister Apprentice. How could he possibly flee just like that? His reason for leaving first had merely been to extract himself from a dangerous situation and switch identities—from prey to hunter. Using one's strengths against another's weaknesses was the best choice. Charging in head-on below, fighting one against a thousand, and forcibly withstanding archers, poison arrows, and hidden weapons was not his style. At least, he could not do that at his current stage.
Once Commander Zhu's group had left, Chen Luo swiftly changed direction and sneaked back into the prefectural yamen.
After the earlier assassination attempt, the prefectural yamen had fallen into complete chaos. General Fan's startled subordinates searched everywhere. Many dark spots had been lit with torches to guard against a possible assassination. However, this level of search posed no threat whatsoever to Chen Luo.
As long as he was not surrounded, no one in this prefectural yamen was his match.
After crossing several Secret Posts, Chen Luo returned to the courtyard where General Fan was.
This General Fan was a bold man as well. He had not left the environment he knew best. That was the approach of a smart man. If he had truly lost his mind and fled alone to some other place in the middle of the night, that would have been genuine stupidity.
"Someone, put these women on the platform. Arrange them according to their birth dates. There must be no mistakes."
Below, General Fan picked up that booklet again. Comparing it as he went, he issued orders to the soldiers beside him.
This Time, even Chen Luo detected that something was wrong.
Could that book be some peerless secret manual? Chen Luo's eyes flickered.
General Fan still refused to put down that booklet even now. The secret hidden within could not be small.
With that thought, Chen Luo lightly shifted toward the corner of the wall.
This was the turn of the courtyard, with a large tree beside it. It was a little distance from the central platform General Fan had arranged, and only three people stood guard here. All three held torches, illuminating the entire area brightly.
Chen Luo lay hidden on the rooftop and lifted a roof tile with one hand.
With a slight exertion of his fingers, he crushed the tile into several pieces.
Puff! Puff! Puff!!
The shattered tiles flew like hidden weapons. Infused with Internal Qi, they easily pierced through the throats of the three soldiers. The three fell at once, not even having time to cry out.
"Who is it?!"
Although Chen Luo had been as careful as possible, the falling torches still caught the attention of people nearby.
The instant they detected the disturbance, someone immediately shouted.
The sound startled everyone.
"It's Jichun and the other two."
"They're dead!"
A wave of uproar swept through the crowd, and everyone instantly grew tense. They all gripped their weapons and stared nervously around them. The pitch-black sky, at this moment, looked like a demon king with its jaws spread wide, bringing an endless sense of oppression.
They had not felt it during the earlier siege, but now that their roles had been reversed, everyone suddenly understood the terror of a Bone Forging Realm Master.
"What are you panicking for? If that bastard dares show himself, I'll chop him up and feed him to the dogs!"
General Fan roared, kicking one soldier sprawling. Without caring about their reactions, he forcibly ordered them to continue their task.
The kicked soldier was full of grievances, but he did not dare resist. He could only follow General Fan back.
Whoosh.
A black flash streaked past.
With a single splat, the throat of a soldier who had just walked two steps was instantly pierced through. Scalding blood splashed across General Fan's face. Almost at the same time, several other soldiers were also attacked. What was even stranger was that, despite there being so many of them, not one person ever saw where the attacker was. Every time they rushed over, all they found was an empty corner of a building.
"What kind of hero hides and sneaks around? If you have the guts, come out and fight openly!"
The voice spread outward, carrying all the way beyond the prefectural yamen.
Even Wang Dajiang of the Sha Lake Gang, hiding in the shadows, heard it.
A master truly was a master. Alone, he had frightened the Imperial Court's pack of dogs out of their wits, leaving them only able to bark in helpless rage. Xiaomin was saved this time. Wang Dajiang was incomparably excited. He began considering whether, once this storm had passed, he should find a husband for his niece.
This "Senior Brother Apprentice" looked rather good. He was also Master Ma's disciple, and his martial arts were so formidable.
Bang! Bang!
Inside the courtyard, two more corpses fell.
The same method, the same hidden weapons.
The people around them grew ever more terrified. They no longer cared about maintaining the formation guarding the courtyard, and all those still alive clustered together. General Fan was helpless as well. He now deeply regretted not taking the risk and going all out earlier, allowing himself to fall into this passive position.
The only thing he could do was keep provoking the other party with words, forcing him to reveal himself.
"A dignified Bone Forging Realm Master only dares hide in the shadows and launch Sneak Attacks? Is your Martial Dao truly the 'way of rats'?"
Chen Luo was an exceedingly steady man. After experiencing the earlier danger, he had now shed his old self and been reborn. Stability came before all else! How could General Fan possibly provoke him into coming out with just a few words?!
Ten minutes later.
Several more people had died. Including the Secret Posts, there were not many left guarding the courtyard. The rooftops and buildings had nearly all been torn apart by General Fan's group.
Yet even so, they had failed to catch anyone.
The other party was like a ghost; they could not even see his shadow.
Now everyone had gathered in the open courtyard and cut down all the nearby trees.
Without anything to conceal him, it would not be so easy for him to launch another sneak attack.
Splat!!
Another person fell in response.
"It's a Sleeve Arrow!"
The soldier who crouched down to inspect the corpse changed expression.
The safe zone they had gone to such great lengths to create had been rendered useless by a single Sleeve Arrow.
It could stop stones, but not Sleeve Arrows!
"It's one of your Sleeve Arrows, General." Someone recognized the marking on it.
That result made General Fan's expression turn even worse.
The group swiftly returned to General Fan's room and found that its contents had indeed been ransacked. Not only were the banknotes gone, even General Fan's favorite Sleeve Arrows had vanished.
Splat!
Several more sounds rang out, and the soldiers at the rear fell dead once more.
Seven people remained—four with hidden weapons, three with sabers.
Hidden in the darkness like a venomous snake, Chen Luo's gaze swept across the seven people remaining outside. Among his more than one hundred brains, those best at observing enemies rapidly gave him their feedback.
"Stay on guard."
Sweat appeared in the palm gripping General Fan's iron spear.
There were only a few people left at his side now. Looking at the black night outside, he felt regret for the first time. If he had not come to Qingya County, would he have avoided this? At the same time, a blaze of fury rose in his heart. When had a dignified deputy general of the Imperial Court ever been driven to such a state by a jianghu wanderer? So long as he held out until dawn, he would find this bastard and exterminate three generations of his clan!
The only response was the sound of another corpse hitting the ground.
When a Bone Forging Realm Master completely cast aside all concern for his reputation, the sense of oppression he brought was this powerful.
The few people remaining in their courtyard could no longer defend against the other side. With so few men, even if the opponent leaped out openly, they would not be able to win. Yet the enemy in the shadows was so cautious that, even at this point, he still did not reveal himself and merely kept launching Sneak Attacks.
"Kill one and break even, kill two and make a profit! If you won't come out, I'll slaughter all these women!"
Under the threat of death, the remaining few finally went mad.
They no longer cared how important those women were to the general. They only wanted to force the venomous snake in the darkness out. Two of them raised their sabers and rushed toward the unconscious He Min and the others.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Several more Sleeve Arrows flew out. The three men who rushed forward had barely taken two steps when their throats were pierced through by Sleeve Arrows.
Their eyes bulged wide open as blood streamed from their throats.
Until their deaths, they never saw where the attacker was hiding.
Before you continue