Ambush

There was a wonton stall in an alley near North Street in Heavenly Dance City.

An Itinerant Doctor was holding a bowl, slurping down his food with gusto.

The wontons had thin wrappers and generous fillings, served in a broth made with baby bok choy, sprinkled with dried shrimp, and topped with chili oil.

The Itinerant Doctor was eating so heartily that a fine layer of sweat appeared on the tip of his nose.

After a moment, he swallowed the last spoonful of broth and tossed the large bowl onto the pile of bowls nearby.

He patted his belly, let out a satisfied sigh, and said:

"Delicious, truly delicious. In my opinion, Boss, your wontons are absolutely the best in Heavenly Dance City. Places like Zhiwei Restaurant and Green Bamboo Pavilion are far inferior compared to yours."

The stall owner was sitting to the side, looking bored.

Business was slow today. The Chu Family was hosting a banquet, an open house where anyone who came and offered congratulations could sit down and eat and drink.

Naturally, his little wonton stall didn't get much business.

Hearing the Itinerant Doctor's words, the owner didn't feel particularly happy. Instead, he looked at the doctor warily:

"You're not planning on eating and running, are you?"

There were plenty of people struggling to find food these days. Although Heavenly Dance City was doing relatively well under Wu Ganqi's governance, it wasn't to the point where everyone had enough to eat.

Some people didn't work, just idled around, and when they got desperate, they would go to places like restaurants to eat for free.

They would order a table full of good food and wine, gorge themselves, and then, when the waiter came, they would curl up, holding their heads, just waiting for a beating.

Restaurants had big businesses and lots of staff. Even if they didn't hire thugs or martial artists, they had kitchen helpers and men who chopped wood in the back courtyard who could act as enforcers.

Sometimes, a heavy-handed beating could actually kill someone.

This Itinerant Doctor finished his meal without paying and was still saying nice things. He didn't look like a good person no matter how you looked at it.

If he really was planning to eat and run, his little stall wasn't like those big restaurants with their large operations.

Without anyone to help, it was hard to say who would come out on top if a fight broke out...

The Itinerant Doctor chuckled dryly:

"Boss, what are you saying? Do I look like someone who eats without paying?"

As he spoke, he took out the money for the wontons from his pocket and tossed it onto the table.

He stood up, letting out a light breath:

"I have a feeling it's going to rain. I hope I have another chance to come and eat your wontons next time."

After saying this, he picked up his banner from the side and walked out of the alley.

The owner watched his retreating back, pursed his lips, picked up the money, and tucked it into his pocket.

He looked up at the sky. It was clear for miles. Where was the rain?

"Crazy..."

After muttering to himself, he quickly packed up his stall.

He wasn't working anymore today and planned to go to the Chu Family banquet.

After the Itinerant Doctor left the alley, he headed east. After leaving the east city gate, he didn't take the main road but turned into a narrow, winding path nearby.

Once he reached a secluded spot, he threw the banner he was holding into the grass and started taking off his clothes.

But at that moment, several figures dressed in green appeared and surrounded him.

The doctor's expression froze, and he let out a dry laugh:

"Good sirs, are you after money or my life?"

"Come with us."

Among the green-clad figures, one stepped forward and spoke coldly.

"Alright, alright, so you're after a person."

He nodded quickly, clasping his hands together in a gesture of surrender.

One of the green-clad men was about to take out a rope from behind him to tie him up, when he saw the doctor suddenly make a swift motion with both hands. White powder immediately rose, creating a cloud of white mist.

The green-clad men had seen him being compliant and thought it would be an easy capture.

They never expected this to happen. Except for one green-clad man who was somewhat alert and hadn't come forward, the others were all covered in the powder.

The next moment, a flash of brilliance appeared.

Several people immediately let out muffled groans and knelt down, clutching their throats.

Blood gushed from between their fingers.

The last green-clad man saw that something was wrong and turned to leave... This person had killed several of his companions with one move. He was definitely not an opponent. He had to go back and deliver the message.

But before he could take a few steps, he heard the sound of something cutting through the air from behind him.

He quickly turned around, but his body stiffened.

A shuttle dart had already pierced his throat.

As the swirling white mist dissipated, the Itinerant Doctor grinned.

"Trouble, this is really troublesome...

"They found me this quickly? Something's not quite right."

He rubbed his temple and began to erase the traces at the scene.

Then he took off his own clothes and also stripped off a set of green robes, but he didn't put them on, just kept them with him.

This was to mislead the pursuers behind him. When they arrived here and saw the Doctor's clothes on the ground and one of their own having a set of green robes taken, they would definitely suspect he had changed into green robes.

They wouldn't know that underneath his outer clothes was a set of black close-fitting attire.

Finally, after creating the illusion that he had fled east, he flew up and headed north.

He made the people behind him search for green robes to the east. Who would have thought he would be heading north in black clothes?

He traveled like this for half an hour, circling around, and only relaxed after confirming there were no pursuers behind him.

Just as he was about to continue forward, his expression suddenly changed.

He spun around abruptly and saw a figure rising into the air, a single palm strike seemingly creating a wall of air around him.

"Azure Void Palm!!"

He couldn't believe his eyes. The Azure Void Palm was a secret technique of the Chu Family that was not passed down.

Within the Chu Family's heritage, it was a palm technique that ran through everything.

Its power was ordinary when first practiced, but as the internal energy of the Ruoxu Scripture increased, it gradually revealed its extraordinary effectiveness.

How could someone from the Chu Family chase him here?

With that thought, he didn't hesitate. He brought his two palms together, facing each other in the air, and faintly, it seemed as if meridians were flowing between the two palms.

Immediately after, he twisted and pushed with his hands.

A mighty force was instantly pushed out by him, colliding fiercely with the palm force of the Azure Void Palm.

BOOM!!!

With a muffled sound, the Doctor felt a sense of relief.

Although this person was using the Azure Void Palm, their internal energy was insufficient to unleash its full power, and they were sent flying through the air by his palm strike.

He wasn't a killer, he was a contact person.

Although he didn't know which member of the Chu Family had made a move, he didn't want to get entangled with them.

Taking advantage of the opponent's retreat, he wanted to turn around and leave.

But he didn't expect that at the moment he turned around... a long sword suddenly pierced through his shoulder.

"What..."

Although his heart was filled with shock, his reaction was not slow at all.

Taking advantage of the moment the opponent's long sword was pulled out of his body, the Doctor used the momentum to turn around, his palm secretly containing internal energy, ready to strike. But when he turned back, the space behind him was empty.

Immediately after, both his ankles felt cold, and he could no longer stand, falling to his knees with a thud.

The blood-stained long sword was placed against his neck.

A voice that was incredibly familiar to him came from beside his ear:

"Bai Qi, you're alive. Why didn't you tell me?"