Hellish Reversal

Qiulan left the carriage and sprinted wildly down the street.

She screamed for help as she ran for her life.

Unfortunately, this stretch of road was rather deserted, with few houses on either side and hardly any passersby. Even when a few middle-aged women heard her, they hurried away with their heads down, too afraid to respond.

"Someone, please! Save my young master! I'm begging you!"

Qiulan ran and shouted the whole way, but no one answered.

As she got farther away, Qiulan decided to return to Chen Mansion and report what had happened. But then she thought: Even if Master finds out, what good will it do? The bandits will probably leave the city.

With that in mind, Qiulan went straight to the County Office and beat the grievance drum.

Ordinary people who reported crimes had to follow the proper procedures. Going through all the steps took quite a while.

But when the Chen family's young master was in trouble, the matter could hardly be handled as usual.

The one who received Qiulan was Captain Wang He.

He was the one who had arrested the woman who'd suffered an attack earlier.

Chen Yin Fu was a prominent figure in the county and visited the County Office every year to maintain his connections. Wang He had received plenty of benefits from him, so after hearing Qiulan describe what had happened to Chen Mo, he immediately declared, "Miss Qiulan, go back and tell Master Chen. I'll send constables to seal off all four city gates at once. I hope we're not too late."

"Thank you, Captain Wang. Our master will remember your kindness." Qiulan knelt on the ground and bowed repeatedly. "If the young master is rescued, our master will reward you handsomely."

Only after kowtowing did Qiulan hurry out of the County Office and head straight to Chen Mansion to deliver the news.

After a group of constables watched Qiulan leave, a lean constable said, "Chief, are we really going after the bandits? They dared snatch someone in broad daylight, right in the city. How could little constables like us handle them?"

Wang He replied, "We've all accepted gifts from the Chen family. Now that the Second Young Master is in danger, we have to show some willingness to help. Otherwise, if Master Chen takes offense, how are we supposed to collect our gifts next year?"

Hearing this, several constables broke into smiles.

"Chief, you've thought of everything."

Qiulan ran back to Chen Mansion for dear life and found Zhou Liang. After hearing her story, Zhou Liang led her to the central courtyard to find Chen Yin Fu and Lin Yu Lan.

When Lin Yu Lan heard Qiulan's account, her face flushed with shock and her body began to tremble. She nearly choked on her breath.

Chen Yin Fu asked from beside her, "You're saying Xiao Mo suddenly shouted, then lay in the carriage unable to move?"

Qiulan was beside herself with panic. "Yes. I was terrified and had no idea what was happening. Then two masked men on horseback came rushing over. I'm afraid they meant to kidnap the young master."

Zhou Liang turned to Chen Yin Fu. "Brother Chen, the Second Young Master broke through into the Muscle Refining Realm just yesterday. A two-barrier martial artist should be able to handle ordinary bandits. He shouldn't have suddenly become unable to move. I'm afraid he encountered something sinister. Should we spend some money and ask Daoist Priest Li to come again?"

Whoosh!

Chen Yin Fu drew a deep breath. "Don't panic, don't panic... Give me a moment to think."

Everyone present was in a panic, especially Lin Yu Lan, whose eyes brimmed with tears.

Only Chen Yin Fu managed to keep his composure.

After a moment, Chen Yin Fu turned to Qiulan. "At the end, Xiao Mo bit off your jade hairpin and kept half of it in his mouth?"

Qiulan didn't dare hide anything. "Yes. I wanted to stay, but the young master shouted at me to go report it. I thought I'd be no use if I stayed, so I went to the County Office to report it and then hurried back."

As she finished speaking, Qiulan dropped to her knees, waiting to be punished.

But Chen Yin Fu didn't punish her. His eyes glimmered as he said, "Xiao Mo stays calm when trouble comes. He must have a plan, so I doubt he'll just wait to die. Brother Zhou, take the household guards and go to the west gate. Take Qiulan with you."

After everyone had left, Lin Yu Lan sat in her seat and sobbed. "Second Young Master is my only son. If anything happens to him, how will I go on living? I never wanted him to practice martial arts in the first place."

Chen Yin Fu replied, "You can't blame Second Young Master for this. If he hadn't practiced martial arts, would the bandits have left him alone? On the contrary, it's precisely because he practiced martial arts that he has a chance of survival."

Lin Yu Lan choked out, "Easy for you to say. Those bandits dared commit murder in broad daylight..."

Chen Yin Fu said nothing, but his eyes were already bloodshot. At last, he let out a long sigh. "I'm not speaking callously. That's just the way of the world. There's truly nothing I can do!"

Lin Yu Lan looked up and saw tears glimmering in Chen Yin Fu's eyes. She clutched his arm tightly. "Husband! You have to save Second Young Master. You must save him!"

Chen Yin Fu said, "Daoist Priest Li is outside the city. There's no time. Bring me five thousand taels in banknotes. I'll go to the Red Lantern Society again. Hopefully, they'll grant me an audience."

So it really was Granny Li!

Back when Chen Mo had left Blood Ridge Black Market, he'd sensed something was off about Granny Li. He'd even asked Xie Dong to investigate Old Master Li's circumstances. Xie Dong still hadn't sent back any news.

And lately, Chen Mo had been staying in the city, so he hadn't thought much of it. He'd assumed the city was safe.

He hadn't expected Granny Li to be so vicious as to reach her claws into the city.

"Come on, you Chen family fool."

The Short Black-Clad Man grabbed Chen Mo by the right hand and swung him onto his back, then carried him down from the carriage.

The Short Black-Clad Man seemed rather smug. "Big Brother, I told you not to worry. Granny's powerful. The Chen family fool can't move."

The tall black-clad man removed his veil, revealing a scarred face. "All right, enough talk. Take off your veils and get him out of the city right away. The Chen family holds sway in the city. If they pull strings and seal the gates, we'll be in trouble."

The Short Black-Clad Man removed his veil too, then turned to Chen Mo. "Chen family fool, blame your bad luck."

With that, he struck Chen Mo hard on the neck with the edge of his hand. A piercing pain shot through him, and his head began to swim.

If Chen Mo hadn't cultivated to the second barrier of the Muscle Refining Realm, he would have passed out on the spot.

Fortunately, Chen Mo was sturdy enough to withstand the blow. But he quickly realized what the man intended, so he pretended to grow groggy and faint.

Seeing Chen Mo unconscious, the Short Black-Clad Man mounted his horse with Chen Mo on his back. The two men galloped toward the west gate.

The Short Black-Clad Man held Chen Mo in front of him. Unable to move, Chen Mo could only let the man ride toward the city gate.

The intense sense of danger kept Chen Mo's mind razor-sharp, his thoughts racing.

Now that he knew who was behind this, he absolutely couldn't let them take him to Blood Ridge Black Market.

Otherwise, he'd be doomed beyond redemption.

His hands and feet had been pinned immobile. The only part of him he could move was his head. With half a jade hairpin in his mouth, he could strike by surprise and stab one man to death. But he couldn't deal with the other man as well. That would inevitably alert the tall man... and Chen Mo would still die.

Then... his only chance was at the city gate.

There were guards stationed at the gate, and plenty of people.

Chen Mo opened his eyes to a narrow slit, constantly watching the streets on either side.

Before long, the two horses reached the west gate.

With Mad Demon Disease flaring up frequently in recent days, Honghe County had tightened its controls. Those leaving the city needed travel permits and had to submit to inspection.

The tall man stopped at the gate, took out a travel permit, and handed it to the guard.

The armed guard checked the permit, then looked at the Short Black-Clad Man and Chen Mo on the horse behind him. Since Chen Mo was "asleep" with his head lowered, the guard couldn't clearly see his face.

"What are you leaving the city for?"

The tall man replied, "I'm Zhu San. That's my brother-in-law, Zhu Liu. The one asleep is my nephew. He came to the city yesterday to seek treatment, and we're taking him back to the countryside today."

Only then did the guard return the travel permit and wave them through. "Go on."

Zhu San took the permit, thanked him, and mounted his horse. He glanced back at Zhu Liu. "Let's go."

"Sure," Zhu Liu replied, about to ride out of the gate. He was already thinking about handing the captive over to Granny, collecting his reward, and then going to Spring Breeze Tower to enjoy himself.

Just then, Chen Mo, who had been dozing with his head lolling, suddenly turned toward him.

Huh?

He's awake?

Zhu Liu was instantly stricken with alarm. But in the next moment, he saw a pair of eyes as vicious as a demon's. A powerful sense of foreboding surged through him. He was about to say something when Chen Mo opened his mouth, a broken jade hairpin gripped between his teeth, and drove it hard toward Zhu Liu's forehead.

Squish!

The inch-long jade hairpin plunged into Zhu San's forehead, spraying blood everywhere.

Zhu Liu tried to fight back, but it all happened too quickly.

Even as he died, Zhu Liu couldn't believe any of it was real.

He'd clearly been struck by Granny's Nightmare Suppression Technique. He'd clearly been knocked unconscious by them. How could he still unleash such a swift, ferocious counterattack?

In the next moment, Chen Mo and Zhu Liu both fell from the horse.

Ignoring the pain in his body, Chen Mo roared, "I'm Chen Mo, son of Chen Yin Fu! These two are bandits! Capture them, and you'll get a hundred taels of silver!"