Heaven-Defying Seal

Jiang Shuo, having escaped death by a hair's breadth, ultimately could not bring himself to abandon the masked man who had saved his life. He crouched nearby and watched in secret, only leaving after the man had safely escaped.

"I don't know many people in Yulin. Who was kind enough to lend a hand?" Jiang Shuo vaguely felt that voice had sounded familiar, but in the rush of the moment, he had no time to think it over.

Under Meng Xiong's orders, the soldiers in the city also joined the search for Jiang Shuo.

Facing the tight search, Jiang Shuo was like a rat scurrying across the street, hiding east and dodging west all the way until he reached the entrance of the Hundred Flowers Sect. He had just hidden in a corner by the wall and was about to step out when a towering figure approached from across the street—it was Meng Xiong. Jiang Shuo was startled. After scanning his surroundings, he spotted a carriage parked before the gates of a wealthy household and, with no other choice, hurriedly slipped into its compartment. Soft cloth cushions lined the inside, silk curtains draped around it—it was extravagantly luxurious.

Before Meng Xiong emerged from the Hundred Flowers Sect, the driver returned from relieving himself.

Jiang Shuo was frantic. For every moment he delayed, Yu Yuhan's chance of survival diminished by another fraction.

Though he had asked Meng Xiong to deliver the message, the condition for Meng Xiong doing so was that Jiang Shuo had been killed. The reason was simple: if Meng Xiong informed Feng En, Jiang Shuo would have no need to return to the Hundred Flowers Sect, and Meng Xiong's plan to wait by the tree stump for a rabbit would inevitably fall through.

Just as Jiang Shuo finished struggling inwardly and decided to risk alerting the enemy by rushing out, dense footsteps sounded outside the carriage.

A bad feeling rose in Jiang Shuo's heart. Fortunately, the carriage was large enough to be divided into an outer and inner compartment. Jiang Shuo had only just hidden in the inner compartment when the noisy discussions outside gradually became clear.

"Young Master Zhu, what Mister Chen told this humble official is exactly the same as what you said. Though the drought around Yulin has been severe, the Imperial Court allocated supplies properly, opened the granaries in time for relief, and soothed the people. How could there be any talk of 'people eating one another'? As for plague and rebellion, that is even more baseless nonsense. It must be colleagues in the Imperial Court maliciously slandering this humble official. Alas, I only regret that I am but one man, unable to split myself in two, and cannot attend to everything. It is inevitable that one or two commoners may not have enough to eat."

"This is... Chen Bingting?" Jiang Shuo inwardly cursed that this dog of an official truly knew how to spout nonsense. At the same time, he was very curious about who this Young Master Zhu was, to make Chen Bingting speak so humbly.

"Magistrate Chen, you have worked hard." A voice, clear and perfectly articulated, rang out, bright as the morning sun of spring.

Then the curtain was lifted, and Jiang Shuo saw a hazy figure enter the carriage. Beside the carriage, Chen Bingting and another man bid him farewell together. That must have been the Mister Chen he spoke of.

"Let's go," the figure said softly. The driver urged the carriage onward.

As the carriage moved farther and farther away from the Hundred Flowers Sect, Jiang Shuo was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. With Chen Bingting nearby, he did not dare make the slightest stir. Once the carriage turned the street corner, Jiang Shuo could no longer hold back. He leaned out from the inner compartment and covered the man's mouth. "Don't move. Turn the carriage into that alley ahead and let me off. I won't harm you."

At first, the other man's whole body trembled. Startled and afraid, he instinctively struggled, and his leg accidentally struck the side of the carriage with a crisp thump, drawing the driver's attention. "Young Master Zhu, what happened?"

If the man did not respond, the driver would inevitably grow suspicious. Jiang Shuo turned him by the shoulder and gestured for silence. After thinking for a moment, the man nodded in agreement.

Jiang Shuo carefully removed his hand. The man was quite composed. He took a deep breath and called outside, "It's nothing. There's an alley ahead. Stop the carriage there."

Seeing how cooperative he was, Jiang Shuo breathed a sigh of relief, and his movements relaxed considerably.

Before seeing him, judging from Chen Bingting's attitude, Jiang Shuo had guessed that the man was at least past forty. Yet in truth, he was about Jiang Shuo's age, exceptionally young. This greatly exceeded Jiang Shuo's expectations.

Jiang Shuo gave him only one glance before ignoring him, quietly waiting for the carriage to stop.

At that moment, the man suddenly noticed something strange. Pointing at Jiang Shuo's chest, he asked, "What's that glowing thing on you?"

"Hm?" Jiang Shuo lowered his head and saw light indeed shining through his clothes. It was the Hundred Segment Bone his father had left him. "The last time it glowed was when I encountered the bone-replaced Vicious Wolf on Nine Tripod Mountain. Could it be..."

Jiang Shuo abruptly raised his head and stared fixedly at the young man before him, his expression somewhat terrifying. The young man was full of confusion. "Wh... what's wrong?"

"Would you mind letting me examine your body?" Thinking that the man might be connected to his father, Jiang Shuo suddenly grew extremely nervous.

"..." The young man froze, his eyes widening. This request was far too strange.

"Forgive my offense." Jiang Shuo took the young man's silence as consent and pounced on him, seizing his arm while his other hand felt upward along the line from wrist to elbow to shoulder.

No one had ever dared treat him with such rudeness from childhood until now. In his extreme shock, the young man's mind went blank. After a brief daze, he could not help but shout furiously, "Insolent! Do you know—mmph!" Before he could finish, Jiang Shuo clapped a hand over his mouth. Jiang Shuo was immensely strong, leaving the young man no power to resist; he could only be at another's mercy. Suddenly, Jiang Shuo's movements froze. One hand gripped the young man's back collar, while his eyes stared unblinkingly at the back of his neck.