Desperate Counter-Kill

Qiulan left the carriage and ran frantically down the street ahead.

She screamed for help as she sprinted for her life.

But this stretch of road was remote, with few houses on either side and barely any passersby. A few older women heard her, but they only quickened their steps and hurried away, not daring to respond.

"Someone, please save my young master! I beg you!"

Qiulan ran and shouted, but got no reply.

Once she'd gone far enough, she thought about heading straight back to the Chen Mansion to report. But then it hit her: even if the master knew, what then? The bandits would likely just flee the city.

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

Normally, commoners reporting a crime had to follow procedure. A full round of formalities wasted a lot of time.

But since it involved the Chen family's young master, things couldn't be handled by the book.

The one who received her was Captain Wang He.

The sick woman he'd arrested earlier—that was Wang He's doing.

Chen Yin Fu, as a prominent figure in the county, made sure to visit the County Office every year to grease the wheels. Wang He had benefited plenty from Chen Yin Fu's generosity. After hearing Qiulan's account of Chen Mo's plight, he immediately declared:

"Miss Qiulan, go back and tell Master Chen. I'll send officers right away to seal off the four city gates—east, west, south, and north. Hopefully, we're not too late."

"Thank you, Captain Wang. My master will remember your kindness." Qiulan knelt and thanked him repeatedly. "If the young master is saved, my master will surely reward you handsomely."

After kowtowing, Qiulan hurried out of the County Office and dashed straight for the Chen Mansion to deliver the news.

A group of constables watched Qiulan leave. One lean, wiry officer said, "Captain, are we really going after bandits? Those thugs dared to snatch someone in broad daylight in the city—how are we lowly constables supposed to handle that?"

Wang He replied, "We've all taken gifts from the Chen family. Now that the Second Young Master is in danger, we have to at least put on a show of effort. Otherwise, if Master Chen takes offense, we won't be getting any presents next year."

Hearing this, the constables broke into grins.

"The captain's got it figured out."

Qiulan ran herself ragged back to the Chen Mansion and found Zhou Liang. After hearing her story, Zhou Liang grabbed her and led her to the central courtyard, where they found Chen Yin Fu and Lin Yu Lan.

Lin Yu Lan listened to Qiulan's account, her face flushed with shock, her body trembling. She nearly choked on her breath.

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

Qiulan was frantic. "Yes! I was terrified—I had no idea what was happening. Then two masked men on horseback came galloping up. They must have been after the young master."

Zhou Liang turned to Chen Yin Fu. "Brother Chen, the Second Young Master broke through to the Muscle Refining Realm just yesterday. A Second Gate martial artist should be more than a match for ordinary bandits. He wouldn't just freeze up for no reason. This smells like something sinister. Maybe we should spend some silver to summon Daoist Priest Li again?"

Huff!

Chen Yin Fu took a deep breath. "Don't panic, don't panic... Let me think."

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

Only Chen Yin Fu kept his composure.

After a moment, he turned to Qiulan. "At the very end, Xiao Mo bit off your jade hairpin and kept half in his mouth?"

Qiulan didn't dare hide anything. "Yes. I wanted to stay, but the young master yelled at me to go report. I figured staying was useless, so I ran to the County Office to file a complaint, then came back."

With that, she dropped to her knees, awaiting punishment.

But Chen Yin Fu didn't punish her. His eyes glinted with sharp thought. "Xiao Mo kept his wits in a crisis and had a plan. He wouldn't just wait to die. Brother Zhou, take the household guards to the west gate. Bring Qiulan with you."

After they left, Lin Yu Lan sat sobbing in her seat. "I only have one son left—Erlang. If anything happens to him, how can I go on? I never wanted Erlang to practice martial arts in the first place."

Chen Yin Fu said, "This isn't Erlang's fault. If he hadn't trained, would the bandits have left him alone? On the contrary, it's because he trained that he has a sliver of a chance."

Lin Yu Lan wept, "You say it so lightly. Those bandits dared to strike in broad daylight..."

Chen Yin Fu said nothing, but his eyes were bloodshot. Finally, he let out a long sigh. "I'm not being cold-hearted. It's just the way the world is. I really have no choice!"

Lin Yu Lan looked up and saw the tears in Chen Yin Fu's eyes. She grabbed his arm tightly. "Husband! You have to save Erlang. You have to save Erlang!"

Chen Yin Fu said, "Daoist Priest Li is far outside the city—too late. Get me five thousand taels in silver notes. I'll go to the Red Lantern Society again. Hopefully, I can get an audience."

So it really was that Granny Li!

Back when Chen Mo left the Blood Ridge Black Market, he'd felt something off about Granny Li and even had Xie Dong investigate Old Master Li's situation. Xie Dong never got back to him.

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

He never imagined Granny Li would be so ruthless as to extend her claws into the city itself.

"Let's go, Chen family's fool."

The Short Black-Clad Man grabbed Chen Mo's right hand, hoisted him onto his back, and carried him off the carriage.

The short man couldn't resist showing off a little. "See, big brother? You worry too much. Granny's got skills. The Chen fool can't move a muscle."

The tall black-clad man pulled down his veil, revealing a scarred face. "Enough, less talk. Take off your veil now. Get him out of the city fast. The Chen family has pull in town—if they pull strings and seal the gates, we're in trouble."

The short man also removed his veil, then turned to look at Chen Mo. "Chen fool, blame your bad luck."

With that, he chopped a heavy hand strike right at Chen Mo's neck. A piercing pain shot through him, and a wave of drowsiness washed over Chen Mo.

If he hadn't trained to the second level, the Muscle Refining Realm, he would have passed out on the spot.

Fortunately, Chen Mo was tough enough to withstand that knife-hand strike. But he quickly realized the other's intent and pretended to go limp and unconscious.

Seeing Chen Mo unconscious, the short man slung him over his shoulder and mounted his horse. The two spurred their steeds toward the West City Gate.

Chen Mo was held in front of the short man, unable to move, forced to let him ride toward the city gate.

A sharp sense of danger kept Chen Mo's mind unusually clear, thoughts racing.

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

Otherwise, he'd be doomed beyond redemption.

His hands and feet were pinned, immobile. The only thing he could move was his head. With half a jade hairpin in his mouth, he could stab one man to death by surprise. But he couldn't deal with the other, and that would alert the tall one... he'd still die.

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

The gate had guards, and plenty of people.

Chen Mo cracked his eyes open a sliver, watching the streets on both sides.

Before long, the two horses reached the West City Gate.

With the recent surge of Mad Demon Disease cases, Honghe County's controls were strict. Leaving the city required a travel permit and a checkpoint.

The tall man stopped at the gate, pulled out his permit, and handed it to the soldier on duty.

The sword-bearing soldier checked the permit, then glanced at the short man and Chen Mo on the horse behind. Since Chen Mo was "asleep" with his head down, the soldier didn't get a clear look at his face.

"What business leaving the city?"

The tall man said, "I'm Zhu San, and that's my brother-in-law Zhu Liu. The sleeping one is my nephew. He came to town yesterday to see a doctor, and we're heading back to the countryside today."

The soldier returned the permit and waved them off. "Go on."

The tall man, Zhu San, pocketed the permit, thanked him, and mounted his horse, turning back to Zhu Liu. "Let's move."

"Got it." Zhu Liu replied, about to spur his horse through the gate. His mind was already on handing the kid over to the old woman, collecting the reward, and heading to Spring Breeze Tower for a good time.

Just then, Chen Mo, who had been slumped over with his head down, suddenly turned.

Huh?

Awake?

Zhu Liu's face went pale with shock, but the next moment he met a gaze as vicious as a demon's. A wave of intense unease hit him, and he opened his mouth to speak. But then he saw Chen Mo open his mouth, bite down on a broken jade hairpin, and drive it viciously into his forehead.

Pfft!

The inch-long jade hairpin plunged into Zhu Liu's forehead, blood spurting out.

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

Even in death, he couldn't believe it was real.

He had been hit by the old woman's Nightmare Suppression Technique, knocked out cold by him—how could he still launch such a swift and ferocious counterattack?

The next moment, Chen Mo and Zhu Liu both tumbled from the horse.

Ignoring the pain in his body, Chen Mo roared hoarsely, "I am Chen Mo, son of Chen Yin Fu! These two are bandits. Capture him, and there's a hundred silver taels reward!"