Jade-Faced Grenade King

Chen Manqing set down her teacup, rose, and smiled as she shook hands with the Su Family's young lady and Sun Shuhua, carrying herself with the poise of a highly educated woman who had studied abroad.

"Of course you're welcome. As long as you don't mind the Chen Family as it is now."

The three women were all cultured and polite as they exchanged greetings. Chen Manqing noticed that Su Yu's eyes were reddened and curiously changed the subject.

"Why is the Shuo Gang under the Jiang Family clearing out the vendors on Guanglin Street for no reason? Su Yu, you weren't hurt, were you?"

Su Yu tugged at her sleeve, looking aggrieved. "Without your Chen Family keeping them in check, the Jiang Family has become more and more brazen. I heard that in a few days, Commissioner Cao's son will be staying in Shunzhi District.

"They say the vendors lining the ten-mile street have been encroaching on the road too much, ruining Ping City's appearance...

"Just now, a few stall owners refused to pack up. Their whole families depended on those stalls to make a living...

"Then people from the Shuo Gang showed up with grenades and 'cleared' the place."

Su Yu's voice caught in her throat. Under Sun Shuhua's helpless gaze and as anger rose in Chen Manqing, she continued, "Several of those stall owners were blown to death..."

Sun Shuhua looked at Chen Manqing and nodded, confirming that it was true.

"What?! Those thugs and ruffians actually did something so utterly vile?!"

Fuming with rage, Chen Manqing took Sun Shuhua and Su Yu by the hand and hurried downstairs.

"Don't worry, Miss Su. All three of our families are here today. No matter how brazen the Jiang Family's men are, they wouldn't dare incur everyone's wrath."

As Chen Manqing descended the stairs, her thoughts were in a tangled mess.

The sudden upheaval in the Su Family made her think of the chain of events that had recently struck the Chen Family.

A couple of days ago, her father had secretly sent word to her. Her younger brother, Chen Jing, had been abducted. They had discovered that the culprit was Jia Yao, a former retainer of the Pei Family—a sorcerer who habitually wore Daoist robes and wielded the strange art of [Spirit Binding and General Commanding]. He had even secretly stolen one of her souls.

Most unbelievable of all, Wu Gou—the man she had once entrusted with an important task and placed nearly all her hopes in—had not only been dishonest, but also an informant for the Pei Family. He had stolen her personal belongings and handed them to Jia Yao as a medium for [Spirit Binding and General Commanding].

She knew how much courage it had taken to escape her betrothal to Luo Bin...

For a time, she had even been left without any source of income, living only on the money she had saved earlier and using it to support Wu Gou's martial training.

Yet the result had been so cruel: the person she trusted had betrayed her. Her wish to use him to obtain the supreme art of "Yellow Court Inner Landscape," restore the Chen Family, and prove herself had come to nothing.

For a moment, regret crashed against her heart like the tide.

The truth behind everything before her had been uncovered by Luo Bin, the country bumpkin she had once looked down on. He had even resolved the crises that had recently plagued the Chen Family.

Why?

Was it really because her judgment was so poor that she couldn't recognize a treasure when she saw one?

The questions weighing on Chen Manqing's mind nearly left her breathless. And last night, her personal maid at Chen Residence had brought word that Luo Bin had recently grown quite close to the Second Miss. That had made her feel as if a stone were lodged in her heart...

Wasn't I the one who was betrothed to him? What did Mansheng mean by this?

After much turmoil, one image finally surfaced in Chen Manqing's mind: Luo Bin at Qunyu Garden, dressed in a suit, looking dashing and handsome as he greeted her. The words "a hidden dragon emerging from the abyss" surged through her heart.

Though Chen Manqing's thoughts had wandered far away, her low heels still clicked against the stairs as she walked downstairs with the other two women, as if they were the closest of friends.

In the middle of Guanglin Street, "Jade-Faced Grenade King" Zhao Changhe stood his ground. A vest beneath his coat was festooned with grenades, all identical and numbering around twenty. The sight was chilling.

A few corpses nearby and the heart-rending wails of the women made the Zhenyuan Escort Agency's martial masters watching from a distance grow increasingly grim. Some glared murderously, as if they might leap forward the next second and tear Zhao Changhe, this butcher of innocents, to pieces.

Wei Ang had been born into poverty. At seven, he had followed his father from Luo County to Ping City, where they sold buns from a stall. Later, when life in Ping City gradually improved, they brought his mother and younger sister over as well. An old escort from the Zhenyuan Escort Agency had said Wei Ang had good bones.

He could train in martial arts.

So he studied under the old escort. After the man died, Wei Ang finally became a qualified escort. Thus, the bun stall and escort work together became the pillars of the Wei family.

And now.

His parents were still at the far end of Guanglin Street, doing brisk business selling buns...

Yet these beasts were driving away the common folk who scraped out a living at the bottom of society in the most violent, blood-soaked way possible.

Wei Ang's face flushed red, the veins at his temples twitching. At last, he couldn't take it anymore... He was about to act.

But Duan Qing stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Wei Ang! This isn't something our escort agency should get involved in. We can't afford to offend either side. If we step in, none of the martial masters in the agency will come out of this well."

"So we're just going to watch the damned Shuo Gang and the Jiang Family bully ordinary people with impunity?!"

The other escorts heard Wei Ang and erupted in anger. Many of their own families also ran street stalls. Zhao Changhe's position didn't threaten their families for now, but what about later?

Who could guarantee that this man wouldn't do something even more extreme?

Duan Qing fell silent for a moment, then snapped, "What can you do, then?

"Help these people?

"Do you know whose men the Shuo Gang are? The city government's. The Jiang Family's. They even represent Young Master Cao, who's about to stay in Shunzhi District!

"Your martial arts haven't reached Profound Mastery. What are you going to use to fight these warlords' rifles and cannons? If you dare act, the owner of our agency will even drag you out to take the blame, just to appease all these parties. You know perfectly well which matters more."

Duan Qing had a happy family. His parents had died early, but as a Jade Bone Pass martial artist, he could provide a comfortable life for his wife and children. Faced with uncertain threats like these, the best thing to do was keep quiet.

Luo Bin noticed Wei Ang, who was furious, and quietly moved to shield the others in front of him, falling into brief contemplation.

At that moment, Zhao Changhe ordered his underlings to dismantle the vendors' stalls and equipment and move them aside, loudly shouting as he did:

"From today on, no vendors are allowed to set up stalls along Guanglin Street. This won't be allowed again, either. Otherwise, you can either come back to the Shuo Gang with me or have the streets run red with blood. And lastly... if you want to go to the Ping City Inspectorate, I can send you there too!"

The whole street fell silent.

But a moment later,

a sharp cry rang out. It wasn't loud, but it carried remarkably far.

"What Shuo Gang? That's a load of crap!"

"Today, I'll see what tricks a mere Shuo Gang errand boy like you has up your sleeve... Don't forget, your gang leader, Ran Shaohua, used to depend on my Chen Family for his livelihood!"

Luo Bin pricked up his ears, finding the voice somewhat familiar, and looked toward where it had come from.

It was Chen Manqing!

And the Sun Family Eldest Miss, Sun Shuhua, who had called him "husband" that day?!