Nanzhou Prefecture was colder than usual that twelfth month. Snow lay thick on the eaves and roads.
There were far fewer pedestrians on the streets than usual, too.
Jiang Yun was dressed in a constable's uniform, his saber hanging at his waist, patrolling the northern part of the city with Qian Bochou.
"Ah-choo!"
Qian Bochou rubbed his nose and folded his arms across his chest. "It's freezing out here, and the Prefect insists I patrol the streets in person."
"I've dragged you out here to suffer with me, too, old brother."
Seven people had gone missing in the north of the city in quick succession. Without Jiang Yun by his side, Qian Bochou wouldn't have come to patrol there even if someone beat him to death.
Jiang Yun's gaze drifted toward the towering building in the north. "Prince Su's Mansion sure is enormous."
Within Nanzhou Prefecture, Prince Su's Mansion could be called a city within a city.
The mansion's guards patrolled along the City Wall at regular intervals.
The two of them knew perfectly well what was behind the recent disappearances in the north of the city.
But there wasn't much they could do about it.
Qian Bochou rubbed his hands together. "Let's wander around for a bit, then head back and find a tavern for a hot drink."
"You haven't been to Yichun Tower here in Nanzhou Prefecture, have you, old brother?"
"Quite a few of the girls there were brought in from the Imperial Entertainment Bureau in the capital."
"Their refinement is far beyond that of ordinary brothels."
Jiang Yun replied, "I'm not interested in that sort of thing."
"How can you not be interested?" Qian Bochou exclaimed. "Let me tell you, a man..."
Jiang Yun shot him a look and asked in confusion, "You can barely handle your wife and seven concubines at home, and you still have the energy to go looking for pleasure?"
Qian Bochou curled his lip. "That's different."
As they were talking, a cry for help suddenly came from the alley on the right up ahead.
"Help! Help! What are you doing?"
Jiang Yun and Qian Bochou exchanged a glance and hurried over.
Two thugs had cornered a beautiful woman against the wall in the alley.
"Stop!" Qian Bochou shouted. "In broad daylight, under the clear blue sky, and you dare harass an innocent woman?"
The two thugs looked to be around thirty and were dressed in ragged clothes. When they turned and saw the two constables, their expressions shifted slightly.
"Save me, officers!" the beautiful woman cried, running toward Jiang Yun and Qian Bochou.
"Don't worry, I'm here!" Qian Bochou hurried forward and put an arm around the woman's slender waist. He drew the saber from his belt. "You bastards, get down on the ground!"
Jiang Yun stood at the entrance to the alley, his brows drawing together. Something felt off.
The north of the city was where the rich and powerful lived. Qian Bochou had told him that thugs rarely dared cause trouble there.
And they certainly wouldn't dare harass a richly dressed young lady there.
"Hey, Qian, something's not right," Jiang Yun called, placing a hand on his saber.
Qian Bochou was still holding the woman around her slender waist, searching the two thugs.
Qian Bochou nodded. "Something's off. These two bastards don't even have a single copper coin on them."
Suddenly, Qian Bochou found an iron token in one of their hands.
He pulled it out and took a look. His brow furrowed. "What's this? A token from Prince Su's Mansion's guards?"
The two thugs' eyes turned cold.
"Hahahaha! So you're brothers from Prince Su's Mansion's guards. You should've said so!" Qian Bochou hurriedly stuffed the token back and pushed the woman toward the two men.
"Brothers, enjoying yourselves in this icy weather? Carry on. We didn't see a thing."
Qian Bochou wasn't stupid. The moment he saw the token, he knew they were in trouble.
He turned and ran toward Jiang Yun, blinking frantically. "Go!"
Jiang Yun slowly turned around. Dozens of guards from Prince Su's Mansion had already blocked the way out of the alley.
Their leader was a middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a scholar's long robe and looking every bit the man of letters.
Qian Bochou lowered his voice and told Jiang Yun, "Lu Wanyu, one of the mansion's advisors. They say Prince Su's Mansion brought him in from the capital."
Then Qian Bochou grinned broadly and raised his hands in greeting. "It's been a long time, Lord Lu! The last time we met was at Prince Su's birthday feast. I was fortunate enough to be invited."
Lu Wanyu held a folding fan in one hand and smiled faintly. "Constable Qian, this has nothing to do with you. My Heir Apparent would like to invite Jiang Yun to the mansion as a guest."
Jiang Yun's heart sank. Invite him as a guest?
He glanced at the many guards surrounding them and inwardly knew things looked bad.
Qian Bochou frowned and looked at Jiang Yun. After taking a deep breath, he pulled a banknote from his robes and approached with a big smile. "Lord Lu, the two of us are still on duty, so today isn't convenient. Jiang and I will come to the mansion to pay our respects to the Heir Apparent another time."
Lu Wanyu accepted the banknote and said coolly, "Someone, escort Constable Qian out of here."
"Lord Lu, you took the money! That banknote is worth a full fifty taels!" Qian Bochou said through gritted teeth, his expression changing.
Lu Wanyu said, "If you hadn't given me that banknote, you'd have to come back to the mansion with us. You should be grateful."
The guards quickly seized Qian Bochou, tied him up, and tossed him aside.
Everyone's eyes turned to Jiang Yun in the alley.
Jiang Yun knew things were bad, too. Tang Wanxin had entered Prince Su's Mansion, and she might make a move against him herself.
He hadn't expected them to dare seize him in broad daylight, right here in the bustling north of the city.
Jiang Yun glanced around and asked in a deep voice, "Have you been waiting here for me for a long time?"
Lu Wanyu chuckled. "Whether you came to the north of the city or not made no difference. In all of Nanzhou Prefecture, there's no one our mansion wants to capture that we can't."
"You'd better surrender. You'll suffer less that way."
With that, Lu Wanyu gave his folding fan a slight wave.
The dozen or so guards beside him charged at Jiang Yun as one!
Though these guards hadn't entered the Martial Dao, anyone selected to join Prince Su's Mansion's guard force was no pushover.
Seeing more than a dozen guards charging toward him, Jiang Yun quickly bit his finger and drew a talisman on his left hand.
"Heaven and Earth have no bounds; lend me the power of the cosmos!"
He thrust out a palm.
Boom!
In the cold alley, a bolt of lightning as thick as a barrel burst from Jiang Yun's hand.
The Lightning Palm Strike pierced through the bodies of the dozen guards.
The guards were all struck by the current and fell to the ground, writhing and groaning.
Lu Wanyu held his folding fan, his eyes brightening slightly. "So you have a few meager tricks."
"I began cultivating the Confucian Dao as a child. By the time I was thirty-seven, I had already reached the seventh rank of the Virtue Realm."
"Unfortunately, after leaving the capital for Nanzhou Prefecture, I haven't made a move since."
"Nanzhou Prefecture is, after all, a small place."
"It's hard to come across anyone worthy of making me act."
"How pitiful. What a shame."
"Let's see just how powerful that palm of yours is."
Before you continue